Drivers of phenology shifts and their effect on productivity in northern grassland of China during 1984–2017—evidence from long-term observational data

• Published in: International journal of biometeorology 2021-04, Vol.65 (4), p.527-539
• Main Authors: Xu, Lingling, Zhang, Xianzhou, Wang, Yongli, Fu, Yang, Yan, Hao, Qian, Shuan, Cheng, Lu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Physiology; Autumn; Biological and Medical Physics; Biophysics; China; Climate and vegetation; Climate Change; Dominant species; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Health; Grassland; Grasslands; Growing season; Meadows; Meteorology; Net Primary Productivity; Original Paper; Parameter uncertainty; Phenological changes; Phenology; Plant phenology; Plant Physiology; Precipitation; Productivity; Seasons; Steppes; Synergistic effect; Temperature; Temperature effects; Water deficit
• ISSN: 0020-7128; 1432-1254
• DOI: 10.1007/s00484-020-02046-0

Plant phenology under changing climate is a critical factor controlling terrestrial vegetation productivity. However, large uncertainties exist due to different data sources and phenological parameter extraction methods. In this study, we took advantage of a suite of long-term field observational data in northern grassland of China to investigate the drivers of phenological shifts and their effect on the maximum aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP max ) across four representative grassland types during 1984–2017. Results showed that drivers of phenological events (i.e., start (SOS), end (EOS), and length (GSL) of the growing season) with warming influence dramatically differed among grassland types, indicating that the synergistic effect of temperature and precipitation should be highlighted. For temperate desert steppe and alpine meadow, GSL of dominant species was both significantly lengthened with temperature rising with averaged 0.94 days year −1 ( P