Abstract: High spatial heterogeneity exists in topography which has great impact on climate for a certain region. It's vital to study the effect of topographic heterogeneity on climate. Combining the previous single terrain analysis and climate research, this paper obtained the correlation between topographic heterogeneity and climate by analyzing the Tianshan mountainous terrain heterogeneity indices and climatic factors with partial correlation analysis and statistical analysis, and quantitatively researched the effects of topographic heterogeneity on climate. The data used in this paper were DEM raster image data and climate data from sixty-one meteorological stations located in Tianshan mountainous area during 1961-2014. Firstly, topographic heterogeneity and its impact on climate in Tianshan mountainous area were studied using spatial analysis and statistical analysis. Then, Inverse Distance Weighted Interpolation was used for obtaining the spatial distribution of climate factor. Above all, the spatial distribution and the impact of topographic heterogeneity indices on the climate were empathetically analyzed using statistical analysis. Key findings of the study include: (1)Tianshan mountainous area had the steep slope. The values of topographic heterogeneity indices in the central and the southwest regions changed largely, and the values in the other regions changed slightly. (2)The low air temperature and rich precipitation were distributed in the central parts of Tianshan mountainous area, and the other regions had high air temperature and less precipitation. (3)The slope was the major impact factor for the climate, and the impacts of the other heterogeneity indices were the least. The study of above research indicates that the topographic heterogeneity has a significant effect on the spatial distribution of climate factors such as air temperature and precipitation and so on. By studying terrain heterogeneous and climate in the particular region, we can determine the climate spatial distribution of the topographic heterogeneity effects in different terrain, and provide relevant theoretical basis on researching the dissimilarity of spatial distribution of climate in different terrain conditions. To have more concrete conclusion, the study is expected to select more terrain heterogeneity indices and climate factors to conduct further and more detailed studies.

Key words: Tianshan mountainous area, topographic heterogeneity, air temperature, precipitation