Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China

Publication Date:
2018-05-10
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Electronic ISSN:
2375-2548
Topics:
Natural Sciences in General
Published by:
http://www.aaas.org/
_version_ 1836398925035077633
autor Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
beschreibung China has experienced substantial changes in vegetation cover, with a 10% increase in the leaf area index and an ~41.5 million-hectare increase in forest area since the 1980s. Earlier studies have suggested that increases in leaf area and tree cover have led to a decline in soil moisture and runoff due to increased evapotranspiration (ET), especially in dry regions of China. However, those studies often ignored precipitation responses to vegetation increases, which could offset some of the negative impact on soil moisture by increased ET. We investigated 30-year vegetation impacts on regional hydrology by allowing for vegetation-induced changes in precipitation using a coupled land-atmosphere global climate model, with a higher spatial resolution zoomed grid over China. We found high spatial heterogeneity in the vegetation impacts on key hydrological variables across China. In North and Southeast China, the increased precipitation from vegetation greening and the increased forest area, although statistically insignificant, supplied enough water to cancel out enhanced ET, resulting in weak impact on soil moisture. In Southwest China, however, the increase in vegetation cover significantly reduced soil moisture while precipitation was suppressed by the weakened summer monsoon. In Northeast China, the only area where forest cover declined, soil moisture was significantly reduced, by –8.1 mm decade –1 , likely because of an intensified anticyclonic circulation anomaly during summer. These results suggest that offline model simulations can overestimate the increase of soil dryness in response to afforestation in North China, if vegetation feedbacks lead to increased precipitation like in our study.
citation_standardnr 6255355
datenlieferant ipn_articles
feed_id 228416
feed_publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
feed_publisher_url http://www.aaas.org/
insertion_date 2018-05-10
journaleissn 2375-2548
publikationsjahr_anzeige 2018
publikationsjahr_facette 2018
publikationsjahr_intervall 7984:2015-2019
publikationsjahr_sort 2018
publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
quelle Science Advances
relation http://advances.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/4/5/eaar4182?rss=1
search_space articles
shingle_author_1 Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
shingle_author_2 Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
shingle_author_3 Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
shingle_author_4 Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
shingle_catch_all_1 Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
China has experienced substantial changes in vegetation cover, with a 10% increase in the leaf area index and an ~41.5 million-hectare increase in forest area since the 1980s. Earlier studies have suggested that increases in leaf area and tree cover have led to a decline in soil moisture and runoff due to increased evapotranspiration (ET), especially in dry regions of China. However, those studies often ignored precipitation responses to vegetation increases, which could offset some of the negative impact on soil moisture by increased ET. We investigated 30-year vegetation impacts on regional hydrology by allowing for vegetation-induced changes in precipitation using a coupled land-atmosphere global climate model, with a higher spatial resolution zoomed grid over China. We found high spatial heterogeneity in the vegetation impacts on key hydrological variables across China. In North and Southeast China, the increased precipitation from vegetation greening and the increased forest area, although statistically insignificant, supplied enough water to cancel out enhanced ET, resulting in weak impact on soil moisture. In Southwest China, however, the increase in vegetation cover significantly reduced soil moisture while precipitation was suppressed by the weakened summer monsoon. In Northeast China, the only area where forest cover declined, soil moisture was significantly reduced, by –8.1 mm decade –1 , likely because of an intensified anticyclonic circulation anomaly during summer. These results suggest that offline model simulations can overestimate the increase of soil dryness in response to afforestation in North China, if vegetation feedbacks lead to increased precipitation like in our study.
Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2375-2548
23752548
shingle_catch_all_2 Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
China has experienced substantial changes in vegetation cover, with a 10% increase in the leaf area index and an ~41.5 million-hectare increase in forest area since the 1980s. Earlier studies have suggested that increases in leaf area and tree cover have led to a decline in soil moisture and runoff due to increased evapotranspiration (ET), especially in dry regions of China. However, those studies often ignored precipitation responses to vegetation increases, which could offset some of the negative impact on soil moisture by increased ET. We investigated 30-year vegetation impacts on regional hydrology by allowing for vegetation-induced changes in precipitation using a coupled land-atmosphere global climate model, with a higher spatial resolution zoomed grid over China. We found high spatial heterogeneity in the vegetation impacts on key hydrological variables across China. In North and Southeast China, the increased precipitation from vegetation greening and the increased forest area, although statistically insignificant, supplied enough water to cancel out enhanced ET, resulting in weak impact on soil moisture. In Southwest China, however, the increase in vegetation cover significantly reduced soil moisture while precipitation was suppressed by the weakened summer monsoon. In Northeast China, the only area where forest cover declined, soil moisture was significantly reduced, by –8.1 mm decade –1 , likely because of an intensified anticyclonic circulation anomaly during summer. These results suggest that offline model simulations can overestimate the increase of soil dryness in response to afforestation in North China, if vegetation feedbacks lead to increased precipitation like in our study.
Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2375-2548
23752548
shingle_catch_all_3 Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
China has experienced substantial changes in vegetation cover, with a 10% increase in the leaf area index and an ~41.5 million-hectare increase in forest area since the 1980s. Earlier studies have suggested that increases in leaf area and tree cover have led to a decline in soil moisture and runoff due to increased evapotranspiration (ET), especially in dry regions of China. However, those studies often ignored precipitation responses to vegetation increases, which could offset some of the negative impact on soil moisture by increased ET. We investigated 30-year vegetation impacts on regional hydrology by allowing for vegetation-induced changes in precipitation using a coupled land-atmosphere global climate model, with a higher spatial resolution zoomed grid over China. We found high spatial heterogeneity in the vegetation impacts on key hydrological variables across China. In North and Southeast China, the increased precipitation from vegetation greening and the increased forest area, although statistically insignificant, supplied enough water to cancel out enhanced ET, resulting in weak impact on soil moisture. In Southwest China, however, the increase in vegetation cover significantly reduced soil moisture while precipitation was suppressed by the weakened summer monsoon. In Northeast China, the only area where forest cover declined, soil moisture was significantly reduced, by –8.1 mm decade –1 , likely because of an intensified anticyclonic circulation anomaly during summer. These results suggest that offline model simulations can overestimate the increase of soil dryness in response to afforestation in North China, if vegetation feedbacks lead to increased precipitation like in our study.
Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2375-2548
23752548
shingle_catch_all_4 Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
China has experienced substantial changes in vegetation cover, with a 10% increase in the leaf area index and an ~41.5 million-hectare increase in forest area since the 1980s. Earlier studies have suggested that increases in leaf area and tree cover have led to a decline in soil moisture and runoff due to increased evapotranspiration (ET), especially in dry regions of China. However, those studies often ignored precipitation responses to vegetation increases, which could offset some of the negative impact on soil moisture by increased ET. We investigated 30-year vegetation impacts on regional hydrology by allowing for vegetation-induced changes in precipitation using a coupled land-atmosphere global climate model, with a higher spatial resolution zoomed grid over China. We found high spatial heterogeneity in the vegetation impacts on key hydrological variables across China. In North and Southeast China, the increased precipitation from vegetation greening and the increased forest area, although statistically insignificant, supplied enough water to cancel out enhanced ET, resulting in weak impact on soil moisture. In Southwest China, however, the increase in vegetation cover significantly reduced soil moisture while precipitation was suppressed by the weakened summer monsoon. In Northeast China, the only area where forest cover declined, soil moisture was significantly reduced, by –8.1 mm decade –1 , likely because of an intensified anticyclonic circulation anomaly during summer. These results suggest that offline model simulations can overestimate the increase of soil dryness in response to afforestation in North China, if vegetation feedbacks lead to increased precipitation like in our study.
Li, Y., Piao, S., Li, L. Z. X., Chen, A., Wang, X., Ciais, P., Huang, L., Lian, X., Peng, S., Zeng, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, L.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2375-2548
23752548
shingle_title_1 Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
shingle_title_2 Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
shingle_title_3 Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
shingle_title_4 Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
timestamp 2025-06-30T23:34:49.414Z
titel Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
titel_suche Divergent hydrological response to large-scale afforestation and vegetation greening in China
topic TA-TD
uid ipn_articles_6255355