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Springer Geography

Wei Zhou
Jianlong Li
Tianxiang Yue

Remote Sensing
Monitoring and
Evaluation of
Degraded Grassland
in China
Accounting of Grassland Carbon Source
and Carbon Sink
Springer Geography
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Wei Zhou Jianlong Li Tianxiang Yue
• •

Remote Sensing Monitoring

and Evaluation of Degraded
Grassland in China
Accounting of Grassland Carbon Source
and Carbon Sink

123
Wei Zhou Jianlong Li
Department of Geographic Information School of Life Science
and Land Resources Nanjing University
Chongqing Jiaotong University Nanjing, China
Chongqing, China
School of Geographical Sciences
Southwest University
Chongqing, China

Tianxiang Yue
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural
Resources Research (IGSNRR)
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing, China

ISSN 2194-315X ISSN 2194-3168 (electronic)

Springer Geography
ISBN 978-981-32-9381-6 ISBN 978-981-32-9382-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9382-3
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Contents

1 Research Progress of the Grassland Carbon Cycle and Grassland

Degradation in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 General Situation of Grassland in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Related Definitions and Model Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 Basic Process of Carbon Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2 Observation and Simulation of NPP and Carbon
Sinks in Grassland Ecosystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.1 Overview of Grassland Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.2 Grassland Degradation Monitoring Method . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3.3 Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3.4 Ecological Restoration Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4 Problems in Carbon Sinks Accounting and Grassland
Degradation Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
1.4.1 Studies on the Driving Mechanism of Grassland NPP
in China Are Few . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
1.4.2 Research on the Grassland Carbon Sinks Evaluation
in China’s National Scale Area Few . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
1.4.3 Lack of Remote Sensing Monitoring and Driving
Mechanism Quantitative Assessment of Grassland
Degradation in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13
2 Grassland Coverage Inter-Annual Variations and Its Coupling
Relation with Hydrothermal Factors in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.1 Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI) . . . . . . 19
2.2.2 Meteorological Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.3 Land-Cover Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

v
vi Contents

2.2.4 Estimation of Grass Coverage and Its Accuracy

Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 20
2.2.5 Grassland Vegetation Coverage Trend Analysis . . . . .... 22
2.2.6 Correlation Analysis of Grass Coverage and Climate
Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 23
2.3 Implementations and Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 23
2.3.1 Spatial Distribution of Long-Term Mean Grass
Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 23
2.3.2 Temporal Changes of Grass Coverage in China . . . . .... 24
2.3.3 Correlation Analysis of Grass Coverage and
Temperature, Precipitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3.4 Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3 Spatial–Temporal Dynamics of Grassland Net Primary
Productivity in China and Its Response to Climate Factors . . . . . . . 39
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.2 Data Source and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.2.1 GIMMS NDVI Data and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.2.2 Meteorological Data and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.2.3 Grassland-Type Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.3 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.3.1 CASA Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.3.2 Validation of CASA Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.3.3 Inter-annual Variation Trend of Grassland NPP . . . . . . . . 44
3.3.4 Correlation Coefficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.4 Results and Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.4.1 Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Grassland NPP
in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 45
3.4.2 Time Dynamic Analysis of Grassland NPP in China . ... 46
3.4.3 Correlation Analysis Between Grassland NPP and
Temperature and Precipitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.4.4 Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4 Inter-annual Variation in Grassland Net Ecosystem Productivity
and Its Coupling Relation to Climatic Factors in China . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.2 Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.2.1 Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.2.2 Data Source and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Contents vii

4.3 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.3.1 BEPS Model Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.3.2 Research Indicators and Statistical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.3.3 Implementations and Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.3.4 Spatial Distribution of Grassland NEP in China . . . . . . . . 64
4.3.5 Inter-annual and Monthly Changing Trend
of Grassland NEP in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 66
4.3.6 Inter-annual Variation Trend of Grasslands’
CSE and RUE in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 67
4.3.7 Correlation Analysis of Grassland NEP with
Temperature and Precipitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 68
4.3.8 Lag Analysis Between Grassland NEP and Precipitation
and Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.3.9 Connection Between PD and Grassland NEP . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.3.10 Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
4.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5 The Variation of Landscape and NPP of Main Pastoral
Grasslands in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.2 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.2.1 Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.2.2 Land-Use Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.2.3 Landscape Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.2.4 CASA Model to Estimate NPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.2.5 Model Accuracy Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
5.3 Implementations and Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
5.3.1 Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Dynamic Changes
of Grassland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
5.3.2 Changes in Pattern of Grassland Landscapes . . . . . . . . . . 90
5.3.3 Changes in NPP of Grassland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.3.4 Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.3.5 Effects of Ecological Restoration Measures
on Grassland Productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
5.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
6 Grassland Degradation Remote Sensing Monitoring and Driving
Factors Quantitative Assessment in China from 1982 to 2010 . . . . . 105
6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
6.2 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6.2.1 Study Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6.2.2 Data Sources and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
viii Contents

6.2.3 Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

6.2.4 Calculation of Fractional Vegetation Cover . . . . . . . . . . . 111
6.2.5 Slope of Grassland NPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
6.2.6 Grassland Degradation Status Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
6.2.7 Scenarios Design and Quantitative Assessment Method
of Grassland Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
6.3 Implementations and Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
6.3.1 Spatial Distribution of Grassland Degradation Status . . . . 113
6.3.2 Quantitative Assessment of Grassland Degradation
or Restoration in China from 1982 to 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.3.3 Comparative Analysis of the Driving Contribution
of Two Factors in the Nine Provinces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
6.3.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
6.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
7 Grassland Degradation Restoration and Constructing Green
Ecological Protective Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
7.1 Overview of the Green Ecological Protective Screen Policy
in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
7.2 Restoration Technology of Degraded Grassland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
7.2.1 Grassland Degradation in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
7.2.2 Restoration of Degraded Grassland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
7.2.3 Restoration Technology of Degraded Grassland . . . . . . . . 128
7.3 Sustainable Use of Rangeland Resource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
7.3.1 Grassland Improvement and Artificial Grass Planting
in Pasturing Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
7.3.2 Strengthening Laws and Regulations and Implementing
Grassland Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
7.3.3 Control the Excessive Utilization of Grassland . . . . . . . . . 131
7.3.4 Improving the Compensation Mechanism for Grassland
Ecological Construction and Strengthening the Reward
Mechanism for Ecological Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
7.3.5 Establishing a Comprehensive System of Grassland
and Livestock Products Industrialization According
to Local Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
7.3.6 Adjusting Ecological Restoration Project Reasonably . . . . 134
7.4 Construction of Grassland Green Ecological Protective Screen . . . 135
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Chapter 1
Research Progress of the Grassland
Carbon Cycle and Grassland
Degradation in China

Abstract Grasslands, one of the most common vegetation types in the world,
account for nearly 20% of the global land surface. The vast land cover and carbon
sequestration potential make it become the important composition of the terrestrial
carbon cycle. In China, grasslands mainly locate in the arid and semi-arid areas in
the northwest and the Tibetan Plateau alpine climate regions, which make it sensitive
and vulnerable to climate change and frequent human intervention. Along with the
global warming and population explosion, substantial land-use and cover change has
occurred in China due to overgrazing, grassland reclamation, and over-mining explo-
rations. All these changes had led to serious ecological problems, such as grassland
degradation, desertification, and future changes of the global carbon cycle. In recent
decades, Chinese government has initiated several ecosystem restoration programs
to mitigate the environment degradation. Meanwhile, along with the development
of remote sensing technology, grassland carbon sequestration can be simulated by
ecological remote sensing model in large scale, and previous studies showed that
grassland of China is carbon sink. Grazing is one of the main ways of grassland
resource utilization and is also the main factor of grassland degradation. About 35%
of the degraded grasslands in the world are caused by overgrazing, which accounts
for more than 20% in China. However, the spatial–temporal dynamic of carbon sink
or source of grassland of China, and the driving mechanism of grassland degradation
in China need deep analysis.

Keywords Grassland ecosystem · Carbon sink · Grassland degradation ·

Ecological project · Remote sensing

1.1 General Situation of Grassland in China

Grassland is one of the most widely distributed vegetation types on the earth’s surface.
The global grassland area is about 24 million km2 , accounting for 20% of the global
land area. Alpine, tropical, and temperate natural grasslands are very sensitive to
regional climate change (Asner and Martin 2004; Wang et al. 2002). At the same
time, the huge distribution area may make the grassland play an important carbon
sink function in the global carbon cycle (Parton et al. 1993; Scurlock and Hall 1998).
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 1
W. Zhou et al., Remote Sensing Monitoring and Evaluation of Degraded
Grassland in China, Springer Geography,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9382-3_1
2 1 Research Progress of the Grassland Carbon Cycle …

The study also showed that grassland ecosystem vegetation and soil carbon storage
accounted for 34–37% of global terrestrial carbon storage (2500 Pg C) (Matthews
et al. 2000). In addition, 90% of the carbon storage of grassland ecosystem was
stored in the soil, while the above-ground vegetation biomass accounted for only
10% (Sharrow and Ismail 2004). The rate of soil carbon decomposition in grassland
ecosystems is relatively slow, so it is a potential carbon sink (Conant et al. 2001).
Grassland of China is a natural barrier for ecological environment protection. It is
mainly distributed in the temperate continental semi-arid climate zone and the Qing-
hai–Tibet Plateau alpine climate zone. The area is about 4 million km2 , accounting for
41.7% of the country’s land area (Ren et al. 2008), accounting for 6–8% of the global
grassland area, while China’s grassland carbon reserves account for about 9–16%
of global grassland carbon storage (Ni 2002). However, the ecological environment
of grassland distribution areas in China is fragile and sensitive to climate change.
In recent years, disturbances in human activities have intensified, especially over-
grazing, grassland reclamation, excavation of herbs, and mining. The combination
of warming and drying of the climate and human disturbances led to changes in the
structure and function of grassland ecosystems in China, and large-scale degradation
and desertification of grassland.
Grassland degradation in China began in the 1960s. In the mid-1970s, the country’s
degraded grassland accounted for 15% of the total grassland area. With the sharp
increase of population in the 1980s, with the sharp increase in population, the demand
for food and livestock products increased, grassland overloaded grazing, grassland
reclamation and grassland degradation. The phenomenon is becoming more and more
serious. By the mid-1980s, the grassland degradation area accounted for 30% of the
total grassland area, and in the mid-1990s, it reached more than 50%. The grassland
ecological environment is deteriorating (Fan et al. 2007). Grassland degradation will
lead to simplification of grassland community structure, degradation of grassland
ecological environment function, showing decline in grassland cover, height and
productivity, reduction of grassland species diversity, reduction of ecological service
value (Levy et al. 2004; Li 1997; Turner II et al. 2001), reduction of perennial herb,
and proportion of inedible grass increase (Milchunas and Lauenroth 1993; Milton
et al. 1994). At the same time, grassland overload grazing reduces the amount of
surface litter and biomass entering the soil and reduces soil carbon input. On the
other hand, trampling of livestock also lead to the change of soil water permeability
and soil hydro-thermal conditions, increasing soil erosion, eventually leading to
a decrease in grassland NPP (Millington et al. 2007; Snyman and Fouché 1991)
and an increase in soil organic carbon release (Wang et al. 2002). Severe grassland
degradation will lead to a decline in grassland carbon sequestration and a reduction
in ecological function.
Climate warming has an important impact on the global carbon cycle and terres-
trial carbon balance, and especially in the late 1980s, with the acceleration of global
industrialization and urbanization and population expansion, the dynamic changes
of the global carbon cycle are closely related to climate change and human activities,
and have become the focus of attention of scientists and governments (Houghton
et al. 2001). As an important part of the global carbon cycle, terrestrial ecosystems
1.1 General Situation of Grassland in China 3

are also important sources and sinks of CO2 in the atmosphere. Vegetation and soil, as
two major components of terrestrial ecosystems, play an important role in the global
carbon cycle. Vegetation fixes CO2 in the atmosphere through photosynthesis, while
the respiration of vegetation and soil releases CO2 into the atmosphere.
Land-use and cover change (LUCC) is one of the ways in which humans can
change the natural environment on land. Studies on terrestrial ecosystems show
that human activities contribute to one-third of the world’s land surface cover as
an unsustainable ecosystem type (Vitousek et al. 1997). LUCC not only changes
the vegetation cover type and distribution pattern on land surface, but also has an
important impact on terrestrial carbon cycle. However, some studies have suggested
that the implementation of land use and management measures can make 60–70%
of the released carbon refixed and absorbed by terrestrial vegetation (Lal 2002).
LUCC has reduced the carbon sequestration potential of ecosystems by 5% in the last
20 years of the twentieth century (DeFries et al. 1999). Therefore, the unreasonable
LUCC profoundly affects the material and energy cycle of the ecosystem (Imhoff
et al. 2004).
In order to alleviate grassland degradation, restore the ecological environment
barrier of grassland, actively play the role of grassland carbon sequestration, and
reduce the damage of sandstorms to the natural environment and the serious impact
on human survival and life. The Chinese government has implemented a nationwide
large-scale ecological restoration project, such as the project of returning farmland
to forests and grasslands, which was implemented in 1999, and the implementation
of the project of returning grazing to grassland in 2003. The implementation of the
two major ecological restoration projects led to changes in land use types, grassland
cover areas and vegetation community structures, and grassland production capacity
and ecological service functions. The implementation of ecological measures pro-
motes the mitigation of grassland grazing pressure and is conducive to the increase
of soil organic carbon in grassland (Wang et al. 2011). Especially in key imple-
mentation areas, such as key counties and counties in Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, and
Ninxia, the effects of land desertification and grassland degradation are significant,
and sandstorms are controlled to some extent (Wang et al. 2012).
The driving mechanism of grassland degradation is complex; however, overloaded
grazing is considered to be the leading driver of grassland degradation (Peng 1993).
With the application of remote sensing technology, grassland degradation remote
sensing monitoring has higher effectiveness and reliability than traditional field
observation methods (Alfredo et al. 2002; Lu et al. 2007) and has high spatial resolu-
tion and temporal resolution, which makes grassland degradation dynamic monitor-
ing and degradation classification more efficient and convenient. However, previous
researches on the status and driving forces of grassland degradation have focused on
grasslands in northern China, typical grasslands in Inner Mongolia, and alpine grass-
lands on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (Li 1997; Liu et al. 2004). There are few studies
on grassland degradation and degradation dynamics across the country and for long
periods of time. Insufficient quantitative evaluation of the driving mechanism, due
to differences in degradation indicators and research methods, and differences in
research areas and time periods, leads to differences in grassland degradation and
4 1 Research Progress of the Grassland Carbon Cycle …

land desertification driving (Wang et al. 2006; Zheng et al. 2006). Therefore, the
quantitative evaluation method of grassland degradation driving mechanism is con-
structed, and the dominant factors of grassland degradation in different regions of
China are identified. This is of great significance for the evaluation of grassland
degradation and the effective implementation of ecological restoration measures in
China.
In summary, in the context of the implementation of global climate change and
ecological restoration projects, we will study the grassland productivity and grassland
carbon sinks dynamics in China for the past 30 years, analyze the impact of climate
change and human activities on grassland NPP, simulate the accounting of grassland
carbon sinks in China, explore the dynamics of grassland degradation, quantitatively
assess the driving contribution of climate change and human activities to grassland
degradation, and clarify the dominant drivers of grassland degradation in different
regions. This is of great theoretical significance for further promoting the rational
and effective implementation of ecological restoration projects, actively exerting the
carbon sequestration potential of grassland in China, and promoting the rational use
of grassland resources.

1.2 Related Definitions and Model Formulation

1.2.1 Basic Process of Carbon Cycle

As one of the most widely distributed types of vegetation in the world, grassland
accounts for 20% of the global land area; the huge distribution area makes grass-
land play an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Carbon storage in grass-
land ecosystems and soil accounts for 34–37% of global terrestrial carbon storage
(Matthews et al. 2000). Therefore, the assessment of grassland ecosystem carbon
cycle and carbon sinks function is a key link in understanding terrestrial ecosystems
and even the global carbon cycle.
Plants, litter, and soil humus constitute the three major carbon pools of grassland
ecosystems. While the grassland ecosystem carbon cycle is carried out in the atmo-
sphere, grassland vegetation, and soil (Yu et al. 2003), the carbon stocks and carbon
fluxes in each carbon pool are estimated, and the study of its changing trend is the
core of the whole grassland carbon cycle research (Qi et al. 2003).
For grassland ecosystems, green plants convert atmospheric CO2 into organic
matter through photosynthesis and store it in plants. This process is an important
part of carbon input from the atmosphere to the grassland ecosystem. It is also
the material and energy basis of the carbon cycle of grassland ecosystems, which
include both above-ground and underground parts (Tao et al. 2001). Due to the wide
distribution and diversity of grassland ecosystems, there is significant spatial hetero-
geneity in grassland vegetation composition, soil, and climatic conditions. Therefore,
there are also large differences in the factors affecting the grassland carbon cycle.
1.2 Related Definitions and Model Formulation 5

Among them, temperature, precipitation, atmospheric CO2 concentration, growth

season length, and soil texture all play an important role in driving grassland carbon
cycle. These factors indirectly affect grassland ecosystem carbon by affecting plant
community composition, plant physiological characteristics, and hydrothermal con-
ditions (Zhang et al. 2006). Human factors such as grazing and reclamation have
significant interference effects on grassland coverage, vegetation growth conditions,
and soil nutrient turnover rate, which in turn affects the formation and distribution
of grassland net primary productivity (Niu 2001).
Part of the grassland vegetation primary production of carbon is eaten by herbi-
vores, eaten by the animal, part of which is used to maintain its own metabolism and
complete secondary production, and the other part is returned to the soil in the form
of feces. The aerial part of the plant that is not eaten by animals inputs carbon into
the soil by forming litter, and the underground part inputs carbon into the soil by
forming plant roots, which is the main source of soil organic carbon.
Carbon emissions from grassland ecosystems include autotrophic respiration of
plants, soil roots, soil microbes, and soil animals. Respiratory grassland soil res-
piration is an important pathway for CO2 release from grassland ecosystems. Car-
bon emissions from grassland ecosystems include autotrophic respiration of plants,
heterotrophic respiration of soil roots, soil microbes, and soil animals. Respiratory
grassland soil respiration is an important pathway for CO2 release from grassland
ecosystems. Compared with forest and farmland ecosystems, the carbon storage of
above-ground biomass of grassland ecosystem is not obvious. Carbon is mainly dis-
tributed in soil. The global grassland ecosystem has carbon storage of about 308 Pg,
of which about 92% is stored in soil and less than 10% in above-ground biomass (Yu
et al. 2003).

1.2.2 Observation and Simulation of NPP and Carbon Sinks

in Grassland Ecosystem

(1) Grassland NPP simulation

With the development of global change research and remote sensing computer tech-
nology, the modeling of terrestrial carbon fluxes and reserves has been developed
rapidly at regional and global scales, and NPP is the main measure of terrestrial
carbon flux among them. The existing NPP estimation models are summarized as
four types: climate productivity model, light utilization model, physiological and
ecological process model, and ecological remote sensing model (Ruimy et al. 1994).
(a) Climate productivity model: Such models only consider the impact of climatic
conditions on productivity in the estimation of NPP. There are many climate pro-
ductivity models, including Miami model (Lieth and Box 1972), Thornthwaite
Memorial model, Chikugo model, and Zhou Guangsheng model (Uchijima and
Seino 1985).
6 1 Research Progress of the Grassland Carbon Cycle …

(b) Physio-ecological process model: A physiological–ecological model based on

plant growth and development and individual-level dynamics and a simulation
model based on the internal function process of ecosystem is to simulate the
process of ecosystem structure and functional change on homogeneous patches.
The simulated spatial scale is small, neglecting the influence of spatial hetero-
geneity. This kind of model mainly has compartment models such as CARAIB
(Running and Hunt 1993; Warnant et al. 1994), BIOME-BGC (Running and
Hunt 1993), CENTURY (Parton et al. 1993); big-leaf model TEM (McGuire
et al. 1997), SILVAN (Kaduk and Heimann 1996), and KGBM (Kergoat 1998).
The advantages of these models are that they have clear mechanism and can be
coupled with atmospheric circulation model, but the disadvantages are that the
process model is more complex and needs too many parameters, so it is difficult
to be popularized and applied in large-scale space.
(c) Ecological remote sensing coupling model: First, combining the physiological
and ecological process model with remote sensing technology, the spatial distri-
bution and dynamic change of NPP on regional and global scales were studied.
For example, the NASA earth observation system uses the improved PEM model
to estimate NPP for MODIS data. Second, Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Sim-
ulator model was developed by combining LAI with remote sensing data, such
as the BEPS model based on FOREST-BGC and LAI, and the InTEC model
was developed on this basis (Chen et al. 2000).
(d) Light utilization model.
Estimation of vegetation NPP using the light energy utilization rate model is based
on the resource balance theory (Field et al. 1995). Monteith proposed to estimate
NPP by using APAR of absorbable photosynthetic effective radiation of vegetation
and the utilization ratio of light energy, which is known as Monteith’s equation.

NPP = APAR × ε

In the formula, ε, the light energy utilization rate of plants is affected by the
conditions of water, temperature, and nutrients.
In recent years, the model of light energy utilization has been widely applied in
global NPP simulation. The main models in this area are CASA (Potter et al. 1993),
GLO-PEM (Prince and Goward 1995), SDBM (Knorr and Heimann 1995), and so
on.
(2) Carbon sinks observation and simulation
Net ecosystem productivity (NEP) is the result of a balance between the two basic
physiological processes of photosynthesis and respiration in the ecosystem (Valentini
et al. 2000). At present, the estimation of NEP mainly includes two ways: On the one
hand, it can be obtained by model simulation; on the other hand, it can be obtained
by observation method. Biome-BGC model, Century model, and TEM model are
widely used in the simulation of carbon flux at small homogeneous plot level, and
the dynamic changes of ecosystem NEP can be obtained on both the day scale and the
1.2 Related Definitions and Model Formulation 7

year scale. Eco-remote sensing coupling models such as BEPS model, LPJ model,
and InTEC model are applied to the simulation and dynamic study of ecosystem
carbon flux at regional and global scales. InTEC model can also predict the future
changes of NPP and NEP in ecosystem carbon flux.
The methods of observing carbon flux NEP in terrestrial ecosystem mainly
include the following four methods: chemical method, box method, micrometeo-
rology method, and soil concentration profile method. Micrometeorological method
and box-type method are the two most widely used methods at present (Burkart
et al. 2007). Box method has been widely used in grassland, farmland, and forest
ecosystems in China (Zhou et al. 2004). Micrometeorology is a method of calculating
carbon and water fluxes by measuring gas concentration changes and near-surface
turbulence. It mainly includes energy balance method, mass balance method, and
aerodynamic method and eddy covariance method. The eddy covariance method
(EC) is a method to calculate the material and energy exchange between atmosphere
and vegetation by measuring the fluctuation of gas and wind velocity at a certain
height. Compared with conventional methods, the vorticity correlation technique
has higher measurement accuracy, and the sampling area of this method ranges from
hundreds of meters to thousands of meters longitudinally (Schmid 1994). On the
time scale, the method can measure carbon and water fluxes of ecosystems on the
scale of half an hour to several years (Baldocchi et al. 2001). With the establishment
of global flux websites, vorticity correlation method has gradually become the stan-
dard method for direct measurement of carbon flux at the ecosystem level, while box
method is still widely used in small scale.

1.3 Literature Review

1.3.1 Overview of Grassland Degradation

The concept of grassland degradation has many definitions. In recent decades, domes-
tic scholars have carried out a lot of research on grassland degradation. Li Bo pointed
out that grassland degradation is a state in which grassland ecosystem deviates from
top-level succession under artificial activities such as grazing, reclamation, and log-
ging (Li 1990). Huang Wenxiu believes that grassland degradation is a process of
livestock production decline due to the decrease in livestock carrying capacity (Huang
1991). Some scholars believe that grassland degradation is the main form of land
desertification. It is the degradation of grassland vegetation and soil quality caused
by disturbance of human activities and unfavorable changes of natural environment.
It is also the reduction of productivity, livestock potential and ecological services,
environmental degradation and biodiversity, and weakening of ecological restoration
(Li 1997).
Grassland degradation is a universal problem in the world, and grassland degra-
dation has become a serious ecological environment problem facing the interna-
8 1 Research Progress of the Grassland Carbon Cycle …

tional community. It is estimated that about 20% of grassland biomass has declined
worldwide, with the largest area of grassland degradation in Asia being 3.7 million
km2 , accounting for 22% of the total grassland area. The grassland in China has
become one of the most severely degraded areas in the world because of its com-
plex topography, sensitive to climate change, and fragile ecological environment.
China’s grassland degradation began in the 1960s. In the mid-1970s, the degraded
grassland area accounted for 15% of the total grassland area. In the 1980s, with
the rapid increase of population, the increase of grain and livestock products and
the expansion of cities, grassland degradation caused by overloading grazing and
grassland reclamation became more and more serious. In the middle 1980s, the area
of grassland degradation accounted for 30% of the total grassland area, and in the
middle 1990s, it reached more than 50%. The ecological environment of grassland
showed an increasingly deteriorating trend (Fan et al. 2007). It has been reported
that 90% of the grasslands in China have been degraded to varying degrees. The
area of moderate and severe degraded grasslands is 1.3 million km2 , and the rate of
degradation is 6700 km2 per year (Ren et al. 2007). The above-ground biomass of
grassland vegetation has decreased from 2.2 to 3.0 t/ha in the 1950s to 0.7–0.9 t/ha
in the 1990s (Akiyama and Kawamura 2007).
There are great differences in grassland degradation in different regions. The
degraded grassland area of Inner Mongolia is reported to be about 250,000 km2 ,
accounting for 39.2% of the available grassland area, and the degraded area is increas-
ing at 830 km2 /year rate. In the western part of Northeast China, the area of ungraded
grassland is less than 26%, i.e., most grasslands are in the state of degradation, of
which the area of mild, moderate, and severe degraded grassland is 4.635 million
hectares, 4.81 million hectares, and 9.030 million hectares, respectively (Zhang et al.
2011). Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau and Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are facing severe water
erosion and wind erosion. The proportion of edible grass is only 36% (Ren et al.
2007). Degraded grassland in Xinjiang has become a serious disaster area of eco-
logical environment in Xinjiang. 80% of grassland in the whole region has been
degraded to varying degrees, and the yield of grassland has decreased by 30–60%
(Jia 2007).

1.3.2 Grassland Degradation Monitoring Method

The research on grassland resource management and grassland degradation started

late in China. In the early stage of grassland degradation research, ground survey
was the main method. With the development of remote sensing technology and
the improvement of grassland resource management technology, remote sensing
methods were widely used in grassland degradation monitoring and investigation.
The traditional field survey of grassland is time-consuming, laborious, inefficient, and
the wide distribution of grassland area makes the drawing of grassland degradation
grade map and the precision of survey results lower (Asrar et al. 1986). In contrast,
the remote sensing method for grassland degradation has high temporal and spatial
1.3 Literature Review 9

resolution and fast data updating. Therefore, the results of remote sensing monitoring
and grading of grassland degradation have higher reliability, which makes it widely
used in grassland degradation monitoring (Alfredo et al. 2002).
According to the connotation and characteristics of grassland degradation, the
remote sensing diagnostic index and the classification standard of grassland degra-
dation grade were established. Grassland degradation involves changes in vegetation
and soil physiological characteristics of grassland ecosystem. According to the Tech-
nical Regulations for Monitoring Grassland Resources and Ecology designated by the
Ministry of Agriculture in 2006, ten indicators were selected to classify the degraded
grassland into four grades. The ten indices were as follows: the decline rate of plant
community biomass, the decay rate of dominant plant population, the decrease rate
of dominant grass population yield, the decrease rate of edible herbage yield, the
increase proportion of poisonous weeds in grassland community, the decrease per-
centage of grassland coverage, the decrease rate of plant height, degradation Indica-
tors Plant Growth Rate, Soil Bare Area Status, Light Soil Erosion Degree, Medium
and Heavy Soil Volume Weight, Hardness Increase Rate and Restorable Years (Cen-
ter 2006).
The degree of grassland degradation can also be judged by indicator plants. Liu
Zhongling and others have made extensive investigations and observed the succes-
sion of grassland communities in Inner Mongolia grassland area for many years.
Indicator plant species at different succession stages of grassland degradation have
been obtained (Liu et al. 2002).

1.3.3 Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation

There are many factors affecting the degradation of grassland ecosystem—natural

factors such as long-term drought, wind erosion, water erosion, air temperature,
and precipitation(164), and human factors such as overgrazing, mowing, grassland
reclamation, cutting, mineral mining—and grassland input is insufficient. Natural
factors have long-term, irreversible, and gradual effects on grassland ecosystem,
while human activities have occasional and destructive effects, and it is dominant
and controlling to grassland degradation. It is generally believed that climate change
and other natural factors are the basis of regional ecological environment changes,
and human disturbance activities cause system dysfunction and aggravate grassland
degradation, so human activities are induced factors. In general, human factors are
the main causes of grassland degradation (Meinzen-Dick and Di Gregorio 2004).
The driving forces of grassland degradation in China are mainly climate change
(including temperature and precipitation) and overgrazing (Akiyama and Kawamura
2007; Li et al. 2008; Liu and Wang 2007; Ren et al. 2007).
Grazing is one of the main ways of grassland resource utilization and is also the
main factor of grassland degradation. About 35% of the degraded grasslands in the
world are caused by overgrazing, which accounts for more than 20% in China (Yu
10 1 Research Progress of the Grassland Carbon Cycle …

et al. 2003). As far as the degree of impact is concerned, it is much higher than
grassland reclamation.
Grassland reclamation, for a long time, has been regarded as a suitable agricultural
wasteland with flat land, fertile soil and good grassland vegetation growth, and is
regarded as the object of reclamation. Since 1949, under the guidance of the “grain-
oriented” policy, the whole country has set off a number of reclamation tides in
grassland areas. During the 50 years from 1949 to 1999, four major reclamations
in China have led to the reclamation of 193,000 km2 of grassland into farmland. At
present, 18.2% of the increase in farmland area in China is due to the reclamation
of grassland (Han et al. 2008). Large-scale reclamation of grassland will lead to the
rapid expansion of sandy desertification (Zhu 1997). At the same time, grassland
reclamation places, mostly located in the upper reaches of the river system or the
birthplace, reclamation of vegetation has been destroyed, surface bare, soil erosion
intensified. When rainfall is too small, runoff will decrease and even rivers and lakes
will be cut off. With the increase of the number of gale days, more sand and dust
storms are formed.
Large-scale logging and random digging have seriously affected grassland vege-
tation, accelerating grassland degradation and desertification, and become one of the
causes of grassland degradation(Chen 1990). It is reported that in the desert steppe
of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, pits are everywhere for digging medicinal herbs such as
licorice and ephedra. Each kilogram of licorice is dug to destroy 0.53–0.67 hectares
of grassland. The area of grassland destroyed by digging medicinal herbs is 26,700
hectares annually (Li 1997). In addition, woodcutting fuel-wood also accelerated
grassland degradation. For example, in the 1970s and 1980s, farmers and herdsmen
in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, cut down a large number of shrubs in order to solve the
problem of firewood, resulting in the destruction of about 40 mu of grassland per
household per year for firewood only (Bao 2003). In addition, inappropriate mining
practices exacerbated grassland degradation to a certain extent (Xu and Zhao 2000).
Overgrazing and grassland reclamation are the main human driving factors of grass-
land degradation, and they also have an important impact on the change of grassland
carbon storage (Rodriguez-Murillo 2001; Su et al. 2006).
Rodent and insect pests on grasslands are also important causes of grassland
degradation. It is reported that the habitat density and the hole density of voles in
typical grassland areas of Inner Mongolia are 384 voles/ha and 6920 holes/ha, respec-
tively. Their feeding and digging on vegetation will reduce the primary production
of grassland vegetation and lead to soil degradation. The loss of forage is as high as
44% in severe disaster years and 15–20% in normal years (Zhang and Yang 2011).
Climate change is also one of the factors leading to grassland degradation. In
recent years, with the global warming, the impact of climate change on grassland
ecosystem has become increasingly serious, which has attracted the attention of the
international community (Nautiyal et al. 2004). As temperature increases, above-
ground biomass, edible forage biomass, and plant species diversity will be reduced
(Klein et al. 2004, 2007). The aridity of climate and the in-homogeneity of spatial
and seasonal distribution of precipitation have restrained the growth of grassland
vegetation to some extent, and even resulted in the succession of grassland degra-
1.3 Literature Review 11

dation. The study shows that the temperature has increased significantly in the past
1982–1999 years, and the precipitation has changed little (Piao et al. 2004).

1.3.4 Ecological Restoration Project

Most of the grasslands in China are located in arid and semi-arid climatic regions.
The ecological environment is fragile and sensitive to climate change. At the same
time, overexploitation of resources, exploitation and human disturbance, have fur-
ther aggravated the degradation of ecological environment. China has become one
of the countries with the most serious degradation of grasslands in the world. In
the past 30 years of reform and opening up, China’s economy has developed at an
unprecedented speed, accompanied by the accelerated deterioration of the ecological
environment. At present, soil erosion, land desertification, soil salinization, sand-
storms, and the reduction of biodiversity are dominant ecological and environmental
problems in China. In addition, the severe drought in 1997 and the flood and water-
logging in 1998 have made people strongly aware that speeding up the construction of
forest and grass vegetation and improving the ecological environment have become
an urgent task facing the people of the whole country. Therefore, since the end of
twentieth Century, a series of large-scale ecological restoration projects have been
implemented by our government. For example, the Natural Forest Protection Project
(which began in 1998 and was piloted in 12 provinces with a planned investment of
96.2 billion yuan in 2000–2010), the Project of Returning Farmland to Forests and
Grassland (with a total investment of 220 billion yuan in 1999–2010), the Project of
Returning Grassland to Grassland (with a total investment of 13.57 billion yuan in
2003–2010), “Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control Project” (2000–2010, the
central accumulative investment of 4.4 billion yuan), and “Southwest Karst Region
Grassland Control Pilot Project” (2006–2010, the central accumulative investment
of 137 million yuan), and so on. These measures have a significant impact on the
ecology and social economy of grassland distribution areas (Wu and Cai 2009) and
have a great impact on land use and cover and terrestrial carbon cycle in China. At
the same time, they have also played a positive role in promoting the socioeconomic
development and environmental improvement of the surrounding areas and have
achieved better ecological, social, and economic benefits. Among them, the project
of returning farmland to forest and grassland and the project of returning pasture to
grassland have the most obvious effect in terms of scope, intensity, investment, and
restoration.
12 1 Research Progress of the Grassland Carbon Cycle …

1.4 Problems in Carbon Sinks Accounting and Grassland

Degradation Research

1.4.1 Studies on the Driving Mechanism of Grassland NPP

in China Are Few

Previous studies on grassland NPP were mainly based on small-scale regional or sam-
ple plot level, but there was little overall study on grassland ecosystem productivity
at long-term scale in China. At the same time, because of the difference of differ-
ent simulation methods and parameters setting, the comparability of NPP between
regions is often poor. In addition, the impact of driving factors on NPP was mostly
discussed from a single climate or land-use/cover change factor, while the coupling
of LUCC and grassland NPP was seldom studied. However, grasslands are widely
distributed and varied in China, and the control factors such as climate, soil, and
human activities are quite different in different regions and grasslands. The results of
regional studies only reflect the differences of regional conditions and cannot com-
prehensively and objectively reveal the size and spatial distribution characteristics of
grassland productivity on the national scale. Therefore, the estimation of grassland
NPP at the national scale is helpful to better evaluate the carbon sequestration capac-
ity of grassland ecosystem in China, and the coupling study of driving mechanism is
also helpful to rational utilization and effective management of grassland resources.

1.4.2 Research on the Grassland Carbon Sinks Evaluation

in China’s National Scale Area Few

Grassland NEP is an important measure index of carbon sinks function. Previous

studies on grassland NEP in China were mostly confined to small scales, such as
sample plot level or grassland type, but the study on grassland NEP accounting
and spatial distribution pattern at national scale was insufficient. In addition, in the
simulation and observation methods of carbon flux NEP, ecological process model
is used to simulate grassland carbon flux at homogeneous sampling points. Ground
observation data are scarce, and long-term positioning observation stations and flux
stations are concentrated on the typical grassland of Inner Mongolia and alpine
grassland of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The data can be used to verify the accuracy of
NEP model simulation and cannot fully reflect the carbon sinks function of grassland
in China. Therefore, the high spatial and temporal resolution of carbon flux data can
be obtained by using the ecological remote sensing coupling model. Comprehensive
assessment of carbon sinks function and its driving mechanism of grassland in China
is of great significance to clarify carbon budget and carbon cycle of grassland in
China.
1.4 Problems in Carbon Sinks Accounting and Grassland Degradation Research 13

1.4.3 Lack of Remote Sensing Monitoring and Driving

Mechanism Quantitative Assessment of Grassland
Degradation in China

Traditional grassland degradation assessment is mostly based on field investigation,

with low efficiency and low accuracy. However, current monitoring tasks for grass-
land degradation monitoring by remote sensing: in the research scale, mostly con-
centrated in the regional scope, less research on the national scale; research content,
limited to the classification of grassland degradation, grassland degradation spatial
distribution pattern of less research; in the selection of degradation indicators, the
indicators selected by different researchers are not uniform, resulting in poor com-
parability of degradation status. In addition, the research on driving mechanism of
grassland degradation is mostly qualitative analysis or statistical analysis based on
socioeconomic indicators. The quantitative evaluation of driving force using remote
sensing technology is less. Although climate factors and human activities are the two
main driving factors of grassland degradation, the quantitative study on their contri-
bution to grassland degradation is still blank, and the grassland degradation dominant
factors in different regions are not clear. Therefore, the quantitative and spatial study
on the driving mechanism of grassland degradation is of great significance to the
sustainable utilization of grassland resources and the rational implementation of the
restoration measures of degraded grassland. In addition, determining the size and spe-
cialization of contribution which climate and human factors are making to grassland
degradation can reflect the implementation performance of ecological restoration
measures to a certain extent.

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Chapter 2
Grassland Coverage Inter-Annual
Variations and Its Coupling Relation
with Hydrothermal Factors in China

Abstract Global inventory modeling and mapping studies (GIMMS) and normal-
ized difference vegetation index (NDVI), from 1982 to 2010, were used to simulate
the grass coverage and analyze its spatial pattern and changes. The response of grass
coverage to climatic variations at annual and monthly time scales was analyzed (dur-
ing the 29 years, the nationwide annual temperature increased with a mean rate of
0.04 °C/year and precipitation decreased with a mean rate of −0.39 mm/year; how-
ever, in northwest China, precipitation increased). Grass coverage distribution had
increased from northwest to southeast across China. During 1982–2010, the mean
nationwide grass coverage was 34%, but exhibited apparent spatial heterogeneity
being the highest (61.4%) in slope grasslands and the lowest (17.1%) in desert grass-
lands. There was a slight increase in the grass coverage over the study period with
a rate of 0.17% per year. Regionally, the largest increase of grass coverage was
observed in northwest China and Tibetan Plateau. Increase in slope grasslands cov-
erage was as high as 0.27% per year, while in the plain grasslands and meadows, the
grass coverage increase was the lowest (being 0.11% per year and 0.1% per year,
respectively). Across China, the grass coverage with extremely significant increase
(P < 0.01) and significant increase (P < 0.05) accounted for 46.03% and 11% of the
total grassland area, respectively, while those with extremely significant and signif-
icant decrease accounted for only 4.1% and 3.24%, respectively. At the annual time
scale, there are no significant correlations between grass coverage and annual mean
temperature and precipitation for the total grassland area. However, the grass cover-
age was somewhat affected by temperature in alpine and sub-alpine grassland, alpine
and sub-alpine meadow, slope grassland and meadow, while grass coverage in desert
grassland and plain grassland was more affected by precipitation. At the monthly
time scale, there are significant correlations between grass coverage with both tem-
perature and precipitation, indicating that the grass coverage is more affected by
seasonal fluctuations of hydrothermal conditions. Additionally, there is one-month
time-lag effect between grass coverage and climate factors for each grassland types,
and the correlations are the highest between the current months’ grass coverage and
the former one month’s temperature and precipitation.

Keywords Grass coverage · Spatiotemporal dynamic · Climate factors ·

Correlation · Time-lag effect
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 17
W. Zhou et al., Remote Sensing Monitoring and Evaluation of Degraded
Grassland in China, Springer Geography,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9382-3_2
18 2 Grassland Coverage Inter-Annual Variations and Its Coupling …

2.1 Introduction

Response of terrestrial ecosystems to global climate change is one of the most

complex research topics in the global change studies (Walker and Steffen 1997).
Vegetation, as the main component of terrestrial ecosystem, is sensitive to climatic
change. Climate change has caused the change of vegetation growth environment,
and then impacted vegetation dynamic, composition, and functions (Keeling et al.
1996; Parmesan and Yohe 2003; Roerink et al. 2003; Weltzin et al. 2003; Xin et al.
2008). Vegetation coverage is an important ecological parameter, which reflects the
degree of lush vegetation and the photosynthetic area. Its variations are the direct
results of regional environmental change (Xin et al. 2008), and it executes an impor-
tant indication function of regional environment change (Gan et al. 2011). Researches
on the response of plant growth to climate change have been widely conducted based
on normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (Hall et al. 1992; Li et al. 2000).
Global warming has led to significant enhancement of vegetation activity in the high
latitudes of Northern Hemisphere (Myneni et al. 1997; Zhou et al. 2001). In China,
vegetation activity in most regions is also increased, especially in the Tibetan Plateau,
northwest China, and north China (Fang et al. 2001; Li et al. 2006; Piao and Guo
2001; Zhang et al. 2006). Although researches on the response of vegetation growth
to temperature and precipitation are widely conducted, the conclusions of the corre-
lations between vegetation growth and hydrothermal factors are inconsistent. Some
scholars argued that precipitation was an important factor responsible for the veg-
etation growth and seasonal variations in China (Sun et al. 2013; Tang 2003; Zhao
et al. 2001); others found that the effects of temperature to vegetation growth were
even larger than precipitation (Cui and Graf 2009; Luo et al. 2009; Sun et al. 1998;
Wu and Cai 2009). Response of different vegetation types to hydrothermal factors is
different, and the impacts of precipitation and temperature on vegetation coverage
are also varied for different spatial and temporal scales and ecosystem types. For
example, for the desert grassland in north China, precipitation serves as a restrictive
factor (Li et al. 2000).
Grassland is the biggest terrestrial ecosystem type in China and has an important
role in the national ecological environment protection plans (Ren et al. 2011). In
the recent decades, with the intensification of global climate change and human
interference, grassland ecosystem has also significantly changed. At present, studies
of the correlation between grass coverage and climate change are mainly focused on
selected specific regions and on short-term time scale (Mu et al. 2013). Little research
was done on spatial–temporal dynamic of the grass coverage and on its correlation
with climate change at national scale and on longer time scale. Grasslands accounting
for one-third of China’s total land area mainly distributed in the northwest arid and
semi-arid climatic zones, and in and around the Tibetan Plateau. These regions are
more sensitive to global change (Christensen et al. 2004). Therefore, the research
on the grass coverage dynamics and its response to climate change in China will
contribute to our understanding of impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystem.
2.1 Introduction 19

In this study, global inventory modeling and mapping studies (GIMMS) and nor-
malized difference vegetation index (NDVI), from 1982 to 2010, were used to cal-
culate grass coverage and their spatial–temporal dynamics. Finally, the correlations
between grass coverage and climate factors at annual and monthly time scales were
analyzed. This study aims to explore the effects of climate change on vegetation
growth and find the climatic restrictive factors for each grassland type. Understand-
ing of these effects provides some theoretical basis and is essential for reliable pro-
jections of the grassland ecosystem change in the future climate change.

2.2 Methodology

2.2.1 Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI)

The Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) GIMMS NDVI data,

with a resolution of 8 × 8 km, covers the periods from January 1982 to Decem-
ber 2010. Data are available at http://westdc.westgis.ac.cn/data/ with 15-day time
resolution. During the preparing of the dataset, its creators conducted the radiation
correction, geometrical correction, and cloud filtering to improve the data accuracy.
At present, this dataset has been widely used in numerous larger-scale land-cover
variation studies (Zhang and Yang 2011).

2.2.2 Meteorological Data

Meteorological data from 1982 to 2010, including monthly mean temperature and
total precipitation for 720 stations, were obtained from China Meteorological Data
Sharing Service System (http://cdc.cma.gov.cn/home.do). Ordinary Kriging interpo-
lation was used to interpolate the meteorological data into grid at 1 × 1 km spatial
resolution and with the same coordinate system as the NDVI images. In addition,
the error analysis of interpolated meteorological data was conducted in comparison
with actual measurements (Table 2.1). Results indicated that there was no significant
difference between measured and interpolated data, and the root mean square error
(RMSE) of the estimates was less than 1 °C for monthly temperature and 2 mm for
monthly precipitation (Table 2.1).

2.2.3 Land-Cover Products

The Global Land Cover 2000 dataset (GLC 2003) with 1 km spatial resolution indi-
cated that China’s grassland area accounts for approximately 35% of China’s total
20 2 Grassland Coverage Inter-Annual Variations and Its Coupling …

Table 2.1 Error analysis for the interpolated meteorological data, using year 2001 as an example
Month Temperature (°C) (n = 720) Precipitation (mm) (n = 720)
Mean error RMSE R2 Mean error RMSE R2
Jan 0.006 0.958 0.958 0.289 0.987 0.809
Feb −0.073 0.985 0.935 0.351 1.425 0.815
Mar −0.115 0.937 0.859 0.509 0.958 0.931
Apr −0.136 0.883 0.821 3.149 1.491 0.799
May −0.124 0.925 0.842 0.438 1.677 0.839
Jun −0.108 0.960 0.869 1.758 0.975 0.877
Jul −0.113 0.883 0.894 −10.026 1.709 0.841
Aug −0.095 0.908 0.886 −7.659 1.506 0.792
Sep −0.098 0.976 0.893 −4.742 0.997 0.828
Oct −0.085 0.950 0.897 2.768 1.302 0.817
Nov 0.028 0.875 0.927 0.481 1.146 0.784
Dec 0.008 0.887 0.953 −0.447 1.030 0.803

land area, mainly distributed in the northwest China and the Tibetan Plateau. At
present, grassland reclassification accuracy of GLC2000 for China is higher than
other land-cover products such as (International Geosphere Biosphere Programme
global land-cover datasets (IGBP-DISCover), the University of Maryland (UMD)
global land-cover map, and MODIS global land-cover map (Ran et al. 2010). Besides,
GLC2000 product has the highest consistency with the China vegetation cover data
with 1:100,000 and has six grassland types (Fig. 2.1).

2.2.4 Estimation of Grass Coverage and Its Accuracy

Validation

(1) Vegetation coverage estimation

Gutman and Ignatov (1998) developed a semi-empirical relationship between vege-

tation coverage and NDVI, and proposed a dense vegetation mosaic-pixel model to
derive vegetation coverage from NDVI. The model of the calculation of vegetation
coverage can be expressed as:

NDVI = NDVIv Ci + NDVIs (1 − Ci ) (1)

where NDVIs is the minimum NDVI corresponding to 0% vegetation cover or bare

soil, and NDVIv is the maximum one with a 100% vegetation cover. The vegetation
coverage (C i ) derived by the scaled NDVI can be expressed as:
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