Grassland productivity and carbon sequestration in Mongolian grasslands: The underlying mechanisms and nomadic implications

Environmental Research

Volumn 159, Issue , 2017, Pages 124-134

  Shao, Changliang ^a   Chen, Jiquan ^b   Chu, Housen ^c   Lafortezza, Raffaele ^b,d   Dong, Gang ^e   Abraha, Michael ^b   Batkhishig, Ochirbat ^f   John, Ranjeet ^b   Ouyang, Zutao ^b   Zhang, Yaoqi ^g   Qi, Jiaguo ^b  

^a INSTITUTE OF PLANT PROTECTION   (China)

^b MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY OF BARI   (Italy)

^e SHANXI UNIVERSITY   (China)

^f INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY   (Mongolia)

^g AUBURN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Carbon emission; Ecosystem function; Eddy covariance; Global change; Global warming

Indexed keywords

CARBON; CARBON DIOXIDE;

CARBON BUDGET; CARBON DIOXIDE; CARBON EMISSION; CARBON SEQUESTRATION; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION; EDDY COVARIANCE; ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS; GLOBAL CHANGE; GLOBAL WARMING; GRASSLAND; HIGH TEMPERATURE; NET ECOSYSTEM EXCHANGE; NET ECOSYSTEM PRODUCTION; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; RESPIRATION; SHRUBLAND; SOIL MOISTURE; SUCCESSION; VEGETATION TYPE;

AIR TEMPERATURE; ARTICLE; CARBON SEQUESTRATION; CLIMATE CHANGE; DROUGHT; EDDY COVARIANCE; GRASSLAND; GREENHOUSE EFFECT; GROWING SEASON; MONGOLIA; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PRODUCTIVITY; SCRUB; SEASONAL VARIATION; SOIL MOISTURE; STEPPE; TEMPERATURE SENSITIVITY; VEGETATION; CARBON CYCLE; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; MIGRATION;

MONGOLIA;

CARBON CYCLE; CARBON SEQUESTRATION; CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES; GRASSLAND; MONGOLIA; TRANSIENTS AND MIGRANTS;

EID: 85026829878     PISSN: 00139351     EISSN: 10960953     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.08.001     Document Type: Article

References (83)

1. Abraha, M., et al. Ecosystem water use efficiency of annual corn and perennial grasslands: contributions from land use history and species composition. Ecosystems 19 (2016), 1001–1012.
2. Ahlström, A., et al. The dominant role of semi-arid ecosystems in the trend and variability of the land CO2 sink. Science 348 (2015), 895–899.
3. Angerer, J., et al. Climate change and ecosystems of Asia with emphasis on Inner Mongolia and Mongolia. Rangelands 30 (2008), 46–51.
4. Aurela, M., et al. Annual CO2 balance of a subarctic fen in northern Europe: importance of the wintertime efflux. J. Geophys. Res. -Atmos. 107 (2002), 1–12.
5. Buckley, T.N., Mott, K.A., Dynamics of stomatal water relations during the humidity response: implications of two hypothetical mechanisms. Plant Cell Environ. 25 (2002), 407–419.
6. Burba, G.G., et al. Addressing the influence of instrument surface heat exchange on the measurements of CO2 flux from open-path gas analyzers. Glob. Change Biol. 14 (2008), 1854–1876.
7. Chen, J.Q., et al. Biophysical controls of carbon flows in three successional Douglas-fir stands based on eddy-covariance measurements. Tree Physiol. 22 (2002), 169–177.
8. Chen, J.Q., et al. Dryland East Asia (DEA): Land Dynamics Amid Social and Climate Change. 2013, HEP and De Gruyter, Beijing.
9. Chen, J.Q., et al. Policy shifts influence the functional changes of the CNH systems on the Mongolian Plateau. Environ. Res. Lett., 2015, 10, 10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/085003.
10. Chen, J.Q., et al. Divergences of two coupled human and natural systems on the Mongolian Plateau. Bioscience 65 (2015), 559–570.
11. Chu, H., et al. Net ecosystem CH4 and CO2 exchanges in a Lake Erie coastal marsh and a nearby cropland. J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeosci. 119 (2014), 722–740.
12. Chu, H., et al. Climatic variability, hydrologic anomaly, and methane emission can turn productive freshwater marshes into net carbon sources. Glob. Change Biol. 21 (2015), 1165–1181.
13. Dangal, S.R.S., et al. Synergistic effects of climate change and grazing on net primary production of Mongolian grasslands. Ecosphere 7 (2016), 1–20.
14. Dong, G., et al. Effects of spring drought on carbon sequestration, evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in the songnen meadow steppe in northeast China. Ecohydrology 4 (2011), 211–224.
15. Eggermont, H., et al. Nature-based solutions: new influence for environmental management and research in Europe. Gaia-Ecol. Perspect. Sci. Soc. 24 (2015), 243–248.
16. European Commission, 2010. Communication from the commission to the European parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions. Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative Innovation Union.
17. Falge, E., et al. Gap filling strategies for defensible annual sums of net ecosystem exchange. Agric. For. Meteorol. 107 (2001), 43–69.
18. Farquhar, G.D., et al. Responses to humidity by stomata of Nicotiana-glauca L and Corylus-avellana L are consistent with the optimization of carbon-dioxide uptake with respect to water-loss. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 7 (1980), 315–327.
19. Fernandez-Gimenez, M.E., The role of Mongolian nomadic pastoralists’ ecological knowledge in rangeland management. Ecol. Appl. 10 (2000), 1318–1326.
20. Fernández-Giménez, M.E., et al. Cross-boundary and cross-level dynamics increase vulnerability to severe winter disasters (dzud) in Mongolia. Glob. Environ. Change 22 (2012), 836–851.
21. Flanagan, L.B., et al. Seasonal and interannual variation in carbon dioxide exchange and carbon balance in a northern temperate grassland. Glob. Change Biol. 8 (2002), 599–615.
22. Foken, T., The energy balance closure problem: an overview. Ecol. Appl. 18 (2008), 1351–1367.
23. Fu, Y.L., et al. Environmental influences on carbon dioxide fluxes over three grassland ecosystems in China. Biogeosciences 6 (2009), 2879–2893.
24. Gilmanov, T.G., et al. Partitioning European grassland net ecosystem CO2 exchange into gross primary productivity and ecosystem respiration using light response function analysis. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 121 (2007), 93–120.
25. Gilmanov, T.G., et al. Productivity, respiration, and light-response parameters of world grassland and agroecosystems derived from flux-tower measurements. Rangel. Ecol. Manag. 63 (2010), 16–39.
26. Gower, K., et al. Sequential disturbance effects of hailstorm and fire on vegetation in a mediterranean-type ecosystem. Ecosystems 18 (2015), 1121–1134.
27. Groisman, P., Soja, A.J., Ongoing climatic change in Northern Eurasia: justification for expedient research. Environ. Res. Lett., 2009, 4, 10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045002.
28. Han, J., et al. Legacy effects from historical grazing enhanced carbon sequestration in a desert steppe. J. Arid Environ. 107 (2014), 1–9.
29. Han, X.G., et al. The grasslands of Inner Mongolia: a special feature. Rangel. Ecol. Manag. 62 (2009), 303–304.
30. Hilker, T., et al. Satellite observed widespread decline in Mongolian grasslands largely due to overgrazing. Glob. Change Biol. 20 (2014), 418–428.
31. Huemmrich, K.F., et al. Tundra carbon balance under varying temperature and moisture regimes. J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeosci., 2010, 115, 10.1029/2009jg001237.
32. IPCC, Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K., Meyer, L.A., (eds.) Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014, IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151.
33. John, R., et al. Land cover/land use change in semi-arid Inner Mongolia: 1992–2004. Environ. Res. Lett., 2009, 4, 10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045010.
34. John, R., et al. Differentiating anthropogenic modification and precipitation-driven change on vegetation productivity on the Mongolian Plateau. Landsc. Ecol. 31 (2016), 547–566.
35. Kato, T., et al. Temperature and biomass influences on interannual changes in CO2 exchange in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Glob. Change Biol. 12 (2006), 1285–1298.
36. Kato, T., Tang, Y.H., Spatial variability and major controlling factors of CO2 sink strength in Asian terrestrial ecosystems: evidence from eddy covariance data. Glob. Change Biol. 14 (2008), 2333–2348.
37. Kelley, C.P., et al. Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 112 (2015), 3241–3246.
38. Kormann, R., Meixner, F., An analytical footprint model for non-neutral stratification. Bound. -Lay. Meteorol. 99 (2001), 207–224.
39. Lafortezza, R., Chen, J.Q., The provision of ecosystem services in response to global change: evidences and applications. Environ. Res. 147 (2016), 576–579.
40. Lei, T., et al. A new framework for evaluating the impacts of drought on net primary productivity of grassland. Sci. Total Environ. 536 (2015), 161–172.
41. Lei, T., et al. Drought and carbon cycling of grassland ecosystems under global change: a review. Water, 2016, 8, 10.3390/w8100460.
42. Li, S.G., et al. Net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange over grazed steppe in central Mongolia. Glob. Change Biol. 11 (2005), 1941–1955.
43. Li, X., et al. Estimation of evapotranspiration over the terrestrial ecosystems in China. Ecohydrology 7 (2012), 139–149.
44. Li, X., et al. Estimation of gross primary production over the terrestrial ecosystems in China. Ecol. Model. 261–262 (2013), 80–92.
45. Lioubimtseva, E., Henebry, G.M., Climate and environmental change in arid Central Asia: impacts, vulnerability, and adaptations. J. Arid Environ. 73 (2009), 963–977.
46. Liu, Y., et al. Response of evapotranspiration and water availability to the changing climate in Northern Eurasia. Clim. Change 126 (2014), 413–427.
47. Lloyd, J., Taylor, J.A., On the temperature-dependence of soil respiration. Funct. Ecol. 8 (1994), 315–323.
48. Lu, N., et al. Climate change in Inner Mongolia from 1955 to 2005 – trends at regional, biome and local scales. Environ. Res. Lett., 2009, 4, 10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045006.
49. Luo, C., Wu, D., Environment and economic risk: an analysis of carbon emission market and portfolio management. Environ. Res. 149 (2016), 297–301.
50. Ma, S.Y., et al. Inter-annual variability in carbon dioxide exchange of an oak/grass savanna and open grassland in California. Agric. For. Meteorol. 147 (2007), 157–171.
51. Maes, J., Jacobs, S., Nature-based solutions for. Eur. Sustain. Dev. Conserv. Lett., 2015, 1–4.
52. Mano, M., et al. Net CO2 budget and seasonal variation of CO2 fluxes at a wet sedge tundra ecosystem at Barrow, Alaska during the 2000 growing season. J. Agric. Meteorol. 59 (2003), 141–154.
53. Moncrieff, J., et al. Averaging, detrending, and filtering of eddy covariance time series. Lee, X., Massman, W., Law, B., (eds.) Handbook of Micrometeorology: A Guide for Surface Flux Measurement and Analysis, 2004, Kluwer Acadamic, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 7–32.
54. Ouyang, Z., et al. Disentangling the confounding effects of PAR and air temperature on net ecosystem exchange at multiple time scales. Ecol. Complex. 19 (2014), 46–58.
55. Qi, J., et al. Understanding the coupled natural and human systems in Dryland East Asia. Environ. Res. Lett., 2012, 7, 10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/015202.
56. Qi, J., et al. Understanding livestock production and sustainability of grassland ecosystems in the Asian Dryland Belt. Ecol. Process., 2017, 6, 10.1186/s13717-017-0087-3.
57. Qu, L., et al. Heat waves reduce ecosystem carbon sink strength in a Eurasian meadow steppe. Environ. Res. 144 (2016), 39–48.
58. Reichstein, M., et al. On the separation of net ecosystem exchange into assimilation and ecosystem respiration: review and improved algorithm. Glob. Change Biol. 11 (2005), 1424–1439.
59. Rostagno, C.M., et al. Postfire vegetation dynamics in three rangelands of northeastern Patagonia, Argentina. Rangel. Ecol. Manag. 59 (2006), 163–170.
60. Shao, C., et al. Spatial variability in soil heat flux at three Inner Mongolia steppe ecosystems. Agric. For. Meteorol. 148 (2008), 1433–1443.
61. Shao, C., et al. Ecosystem responses to mowing manipulations in an arid Inner Mongolia steppe: an energy perspective. J. Arid Environ. 82 (2012), 1–10.
62. Shao, C., et al. Grazing alters the biophysical regulation of carbon fluxes in a desert steppe. Environ. Res. Lett., 2013, 8, 10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/025012.
63. Shao, C., et al. Spatial variation of net radiation and its contribution to energy balance closures in grassland ecosystems. Ecol. Process. 3 (2014), 1–11.
64. Shao, C., et al. Grazing effects on surface energy fluxes in a desert steppe on the Mongolian Plateau. Ecol. Appl. 27 (2017), 485–502.
65. Smiraglia, D., et al. Linking trajectories of land change, land degradation processes and ecosystem services. Environ. Res. 147 (2016), 590–600.
66. Soegaard, H., et al. Carbon dioxide exchange over agricultural landscape using eddy correlation and footprint modelling. Agric. For. Meteorol. 114 (2003), 153–173.
67. Soussana, J.F., et al. Full accounting of the greenhouse gas (CO2, N2O, CH4) budget of nine European grassland sites. Agicr. Ecosyst. Environ. 121 (2007), 121–134.
68. Turner, N.C., et al. The responses of stomata and leaf gas-exchange to vapor-pressure deficits and soil-water content. 2. in the mesophytic herbaceous species helianthus-annuus. Oecologia 65 (1985), 348–355.
69. Valladares, F., Pearcy, R.W., Interactions between water stress, sun-shade acclimation, heat tolerance and photoinhibition in the sclerophyll Heteromeles arbutifolia. Plant Cell Environ. 20 (1997), 25–36.
70. Wang, Y.L., et al. Environmental effects on net ecosystem CO2 exchange at half-hour and month scales over Stipa krylovii steppe in northern China. Agric. For. Meteorol. 148 (2008), 714–722.
71. Wangchuk, K., et al. Shrubland or Pasture? Restoration of Degraded Meadows in the Mountains of Bhutan. Mt. Res. Dev. 33 (2013), 161–169.
72. Webb, E.K., et al. Correction of flux measurements for density effects due to heat and water-vapor transfer. Q. J. R. Meteor. Soc. 106 (1980), 85–100.
73. Wilczak, J.M., et al. Sonic anemometer tilt correction algorithms. Bound. -Lay. Meteorol. 99 (2001), 127–150.
74. Wilson, K.B., et al. Energy partitioning between latent and sensible heat flux during the warm season at FLUXNET sites. Water Resour. Res. 38 (2002), 1294–1304.
75. Woodward, F.I., Kelly, C.K., Responses of global plant diversity capacity to changes in carbon dioxide concentration and climate. Ecol. Lett. 11 (2008), 1229–1237.
76. Xiao, J., et al. Carbon fluxes, evapotranspiration, and water use efficiency of terrestrial ecosystems in China. Agric. For. Meteorol. 182–183 (2013), 76–90.
77. Xie, J., et al. Long-term variability and environmental control of the carbon cycle in an oak-dominated temperate forest. For. Ecol. Manag. 313 (2014), 319–328.
78. Yang, F.L., et al. Biophysical regulation of net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange over a temperate desert steppe in Inner Mongolia. China Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 142 (2011), 318–328.
79. Yuan, W.P., et al. Deriving a light use efficiency model from eddy covariance flux data for predicting daily gross primary production across biomes. Agric. For. Meteorol. 143 (2007), 189–207.
80. Zenone, T., et al. CO2 fluxes of transitional bioenergy crops: effect of land conversion during the first year of cultivation. GCB Bioenergy 3 (2011), 401–412.
81. Zhang, F., et al. Estimating canopy characteristics of Inner Mongolia's grasslands from field spectrometry. Remote Sens. 6 (2014), 2239–2254.
82. Zhang, W.L., et al. Biophysical regulations of carbon fluxes of a steppe and a cultivated cropland in semiarid Inner Mongolia. Agric. For. Meteorol. 146 (2007), 216–229.
83. Zhao, L., et al. Diurnal, seasonal and annual variation in net ecosystem CO2 exchange of an alpine shrubland on Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Glob. Change Biol. 12 (2006), 1940–1953.