IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i14p7640-d590747.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trends in Flowering Phenology of Herbaceous Plants and Its Response to Precipitation and Snow Cover on the Qinghai—Tibetan Plateau from 1983 to 2017

Author

Listed:
  • Yuhao Jiang

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Baolin Li

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing 210023, China)

  • Yecheng Yuan

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Qingling Sun

    (School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China)

  • Tao Zhang

    (Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA)

  • Yan Liu

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Ying Li

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Rui Li

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Fei Li

    (Environmental Information Center of Qinghai Province, Xining 810007, China)

Abstract

Based on limited controlled experiments, both advanced and delayed shifts in flowering phenology induced by precipitation and snow cover have been reported on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). To clarify the impact of precipitation and snow cover on flowering phenology, we conducted a comprehensive statistical analysis of the temporal change in flowering phenology and its responses to precipitation and snow cover changes using regression models built on the largest collection of ground phenological observation data on the QTP. We found that first flowering date (FFD) for the early-flowering time series significantly advanced at the rate of −0.371 ± 0.149 days/year ( p < 0.001), whereas FFD mid-to-late-flowering time series showed no trend at the rate of 0.158 ± 0.193 days/year ( p = 0.108). Cumulative pre-season precipitation regressed with FFD positively for early-flowering time series, with the explained variation ranging from 11.7 to 49.4% over different pre-season periods. The negative impact of precipitation on flowering phenology is unexpected, because an increase in precipitation should not hamper plant growth in the semi-arid and arid environments on the QTP. However, precipitation was found to be inversely correlated with temperature. Thus, it is likely that temperature, and not precipitation, regulated flowering phenology over the study period. No relationship was found between FFD and snow-cover melt date or duration. This result indicated that snow cover may not affect flowering phenology significantly, which may be because plant flowering time was much later than the snow-cover melt date on the QTP. These findings contrast the results of controlled experiments on the QTP, which showed that precipitation regulated flowering phenology, and with other studies that showed that snow-cover melting time determined flowering dates of early-flowering species in high latitude and Arctic zones in Europe and North America, where the low-temperature environment is similar to the QTP. These findings can improve flowering phenology models, assist in the prediction of phenological responses of herbaceous plants to climate change, and forecast changes in the structure and function of the grassland ecosystem on the QTP.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuhao Jiang & Baolin Li & Yecheng Yuan & Qingling Sun & Tao Zhang & Yan Liu & Ying Li & Rui Li & Fei Li, 2021. "Trends in Flowering Phenology of Herbaceous Plants and Its Response to Precipitation and Snow Cover on the Qinghai—Tibetan Plateau from 1983 to 2017," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7640-:d:590747
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7640/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7640/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jane Qiu, 2008. "China: The third pole," Nature, Nature, vol. 454(7203), pages 393-396, July.
    2. E. M. Wolkovich & B. I. Cook & J. M. Allen & T. M. Crimmins & J. L. Betancourt & S. E. Travers & S. Pau & J. Regetz & T. J. Davies & N. J. B. Kraft & T. R. Ault & K. Bolmgren & S. J. Mazer & G. J. McC, 2012. "Warming experiments underpredict plant phenological responses to climate change," Nature, Nature, vol. 485(7399), pages 494-497, May.
    3. Zhenong Jin & Qianlai Zhuang & Jin-Sheng He & Tianxiang Luo & Yue Shi, 2013. "Phenology shift from 1989 to 2008 on the Tibetan Plateau: an analysis with a process-based soil physical model and remote sensing data," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 435-449, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Georgeta Bandoc & Adrian Piticar & Cristian Patriche & Bogdan Roșca & Elena Dragomir, 2022. "Climate Warming-Induced Changes in Plant Phenology in the Most Important Agricultural Region of Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, February.
    2. Yaowen Kou & Quanzhi Yuan & Xiangshou Dong & Shujun Li & Wei Deng & Ping Ren, 2023. "Dynamic Response and Adaptation of Grassland Ecosystems in the Three-River Headwaters Region under Changing Environment: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-30, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Miao, Lijuan & Müller, Daniel & Cui, Xuefeng & Ma, Meihong, 2017. "Changes in vegetation phenology on the Mongolian Plateau and their climatic determinants," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(12), pages 1-13.
    2. Carlos Sanz-Lazaro, 2019. "A Framework to Advance the Understanding of the Ecological Effects of Extreme Climate Events," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-18, October.
    3. Konrad Prandecki & Edyta Gajos, 2018. "Reductin of greenhouse gases emission and sustainability: The multi-criteria approach," International Conference on Competitiveness of Agro-food and Environmental Economy Proceedings, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 7, pages 46-54.
    4. Yali Zhong & Shuqing Chen & Haihua Mo & Weiwen Wang & Pengfei Yu & Xuemei Wang & Nima Chuduo & Bian Ba, 2022. "Contribution of urban expansion to surface warming in high-altitude cities of the Tibetan Plateau," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Muhammad Arfan & Jewell Lund & Daniyal Hassan & Maaz Saleem & Aftab Ahmad, 2019. "Assessment of Spatial and Temporal Flow Variability of the Indus River," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Qianhan Wu & Kai Liu & Chunqiao Song & Jida Wang & Linghong Ke & Ronghua Ma & Wensong Zhang & Hang Pan & Xinyuan Deng, 2018. "Remote Sensing Detection of Vegetation and Landform Damages by Coal Mining on the Tibetan Plateau," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Xinjun He & Anyi Huang & Jianzhong Yan & Hong Zhou & Ya Wu & Liang Emlyn Yang & Basanta Paudel, 2023. "Smallholders’ climate change adaptation strategies on the eastern Tibetan Plateau," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 118(1), pages 641-667, August.
    8. Wang, Weijun & Zhao, Xueyan & Cao, Jianjun & Li, Hua & Zhang, Qin, 2020. "Barriers and requirements to climate change adaptation of mountainous rural communities in developing countries: The case of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Dongchuan Wang & Kangjian Wang & Zhiheng Wang & Hongkui Fan & Hua Chai & Hongyi Wang & Hui Long & Jianshe Gao & Jiacheng Xu, 2022. "Spatial-Temporal Evolution and Influencing Mechanism of Traffic Dominance in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-19, September.
    10. Munkhnasan Lamchin & Woo-Kyun Lee & Sonam Wangyel Wang, 2022. "Multi-Temporal Analysis of Past and Future Land-Cover Changes of the Third Pole," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-19, December.
    11. Xiuping Yi & Ling Zou & Zigeng Niu & Daoyang Jiang & Qian Cao, 2022. "Multi-Model Ensemble Projections of Winter Extreme Temperature Events on the Chinese Mainland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-21, May.
    12. Haidong Li & Yingkui Li & Yuanyun Gao & Changxin Zou & Shouguang Yan & Jixi Gao, 2016. "Human Impact on Vegetation Dynamics around Lhasa, Southern Tibetan Plateau, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-16, November.
    13. Zhenjie Dong & Lin Hou & Qi Ruan, 2023. "Effect of Elevation Gradient on Carbon Pools in a Juniperus przewalskii Kom. Forest in Qinghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, April.
    14. Bo Zhang & Wei Zhou, 2021. "Spatial–Temporal Characteristics of Precipitation and Its Relationship with Land Use/Cover Change on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-21, March.
    15. Junko Mochizuki & ZhongXiang Zhang, 2011. "Environmental Security and its Implications for China’s Foreign Relations," Working Papers 2011.30, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    16. Liam D. Bailey & Martijn Pol & Frank Adriaensen & Aneta Arct & Emilio Barba & Paul E. Bellamy & Suzanne Bonamour & Jean-Charles Bouvier & Malcolm D. Burgess & Anne Charmantier & Camillo Cusimano & Bla, 2022. "Bird populations most exposed to climate change are less sensitive to climatic variation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    17. Xingchuan Gao & Tao Li & Xiaoshu Cao, 2019. "Spatial Fairness and Changes in Transport Infrastructure in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Area from 1976 to 2016," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, January.
    18. Haorui Zhang & Shaowei Li & Guangyu Zhang & Gang Fu, 2020. "Response of Soil Microbial Communities to Warming and Clipping in Alpine Meadows in Northern Tibet," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    19. Olsson, Cecilia & Jönsson, Anna Maria, 2015. "A model framework for tree leaf colouring in Europe," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 316(C), pages 41-51.
    20. Minkyung Kim & Sojeong Lee & Hakyung Lee & Sangdon Lee, 2021. "Phenological Response in the Trophic Levels to Climate Change in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7640-:d:590747. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.