Li Fang-Fang, Lu Hou-Liang, Wang Guang-Qian, Yao Zhan-Yu, Li Qiong, Qiu Jun
College of Water Resources & Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience & Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Sep 10;838(Pt 2):155844. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155844. Epub 2022 May 10.
Compared with other factors influencing vegetation patterns, such as light and temperature, precipitation has relatively large variability, especially on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), where the natural environment is extremely fragile and sensitive. However, the impact of precipitation regimes, rather than precipitation amount, on vegetation has seldom been revealed. This study characterised the precipitation regimes by both the amount and temporal distribution of precipitation and zoned the QTP as different precipitation regimes accordingly. The response of vegetation to such precipitation regimes was then investigated. The results indicate that the vegetation patterns are quite consistent with zoning, that is, there is a certain type or a few dominant types of vegetation in each sub-region divided by the precipitation regimes. The areas where the precipitation became more uniform within a year were concentrated in grassland and bare land, which benefits the restoration and improvement of the ecological environment of the plateau. The increase in precipitation variability in the south-eastern part of the plateau may lead to natural disasters such as floods and mudslides. This study provides a novel perspective to understand the distribution of vegetation patterns.
与光照和温度等影响植被格局的其他因素相比，降水具有相对较大的变异性，尤其是在自然环境极其脆弱和敏感的青藏高原。然而，降水格局而非降水量对植被的影响鲜有揭示。本研究通过降水量及其时间分布来表征降水格局，并据此将青藏高原划分为不同的降水格局区。随后研究了植被对这种降水格局的响应。结果表明，植被格局与分区相当一致，即在按降水格局划分的每个子区域中存在某种类型或几种优势植被类型。一年内降水变得更加均匀的区域集中在草地和裸地，这有利于高原生态环境的恢复和改善。高原东南部降水变异性的增加可能导致洪水和泥石流等自然灾害。本研究为理解植被格局的分布提供了一个新视角。
