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›› 2020, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (1): 51-62.DOI: 10.7523/j.issn.2095-6134.2020.01.007

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Quantitative analysis of the impact of climate change and human activities on grassland ecosystem NPP in Xinjiang

ZHAO Peng1,3, CHEN Tao2,3, WANG Qian1, YU Ruide1,4   

  1. 1 Laboratory of Environmental Change in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China;
    2 State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China;
    3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
    4 School of Environmental and Material Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, Shandong, China
  • Received:2018-08-05 Revised:2018-11-26 Online:2020-01-15

Abstract: Grassland is the most widespread land cover type in Xinjiang, which plays a significant role in carbon cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. Climate change and human activity are two important factors affecting the terrestrial carbon cycle. Quantitative assessment of climate change and human activities is the critical step which dominates the grassland sustainability and the prevention of grassland degradation and desertification in Xinjiang. This study uses actual net primary productivity(NPP) and potential net primary productivity as indicators to quantitatively analyze the impact of climate change and human activities on Xinjiang grassland. Since the ecological engineering operation started in 2000 over China, the study period was divided into two parts:from 1982 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2015. The results showed that climatic factors were the main factors for the increase of NPP in Xinjiang from 1982 to 2000.The area affected by climatic factors accounted for 79.41% of the total grassland area. From 2000 to 2015, the area affected by human activities distinctly extended, and the area accounted for 45.05% of the total area. At the same time, human activities led to the variation of the ratio of the area with the increasing NPP from 18.71% to 27.87%, indicating that the ecosystem protection project achieved its goal. However, human activities led to the variation of the ratio of the area with the decreasing NPP from 1.87% to 15.22%. The reduction of NPP in grassland appearing in the Ili River Valley, the southern Altay Mountains, and parts of the Tianshan Mountains is mainly caused by human activities, such as overgrazing. The protection policies in these areas should be optimized and strictly followed, and the number of livestock should be controlled within a reasonable range. Therefore, the government should insist on the implementation of the ecological protection projects and gradually optimize its refinement and concreteness. In some overgrazing areas, such as Ili, Tacheng, and Altay, reduction of the amount of livestock has to be implemented so as to achieve the dynamic balance of grassland and livestock.

Key words: NPP, climate change, human activities, quantitative assessment, grassland ecosystem

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