High Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s

Climate change has been thought to drive the accelerated expansion of global drylands. However, many studies reveal that Arid Central Asia (ACA) has been warming and wetting in recent decades, representing an anomalous response to global climate change. Given that ACA is composed of complex ecosyste...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Yong Zhang, Chengbang An, Luyu Liu, Yanzhen Zhang, Chao Lu, Wensheng Zhang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	climate change Tianshan mountains deserts oases ecozone Agriculture S
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/01b0f1556346467b869d48f5abb4c015
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:01b0f1556346467b869d48f5abb4c015
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:01b0f1556346467b869d48f5abb4c0152021-11-25T18:09:07ZHigh Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s10.3390/land101111312073-445Xhttps://doaj.org/article/01b0f1556346467b869d48f5abb4c0152021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/11/1131https://doaj.org/toc/2073-445XClimate change has been thought to drive the accelerated expansion of global drylands. However, many studies reveal that Arid Central Asia (ACA) has been warming and wetting in recent decades, representing an anomalous response to global climate change. Given that ACA is composed of complex ecosystems and landforms, it is not clear whether or not this trend is uniform in this topographically heterogenous region. Here, we integrate the Google Earth Engine and ERA5-Land reanalysis data to study the trend of changes, since the 1980s, in temperature and precipitation in the Tianshan Mountains and the surrounding deserts, collectively referred to as the Tianshan and Desert Ecozone, which is in Northwest China. Our results show that only 20.4% of this area is becoming both warmer and wetter, which occurs mainly in the altitudes above 2800 m (Tianshan Ecozone). All three alpine ecosystems (coniferous forests, alpine meadow, and nival zone) in the Tianshan Ecozone exhibit similar warming and wetting trends, including of elevation-dependent wetting on the specific altitude range. In contrast, the low-lying oasis where human activities are mostly concentrated is undergoing warming and drying, which will face a greater threat of drought projected under three emissions scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5). These results highlight the importance of considering the differences of climate change in different altitude gradients and different ecosystems when studying climate change in drylands.Yong ZhangChengbang AnLuyu LiuYanzhen ZhangChao LuWensheng ZhangMDPI AGarticleclimate changeTianshan mountainsdesertsoasesecozoneAgricultureSENLand, Vol 10, Iss 1131, p 1131 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	climate change Tianshan mountains deserts oases ecozone Agriculture S
spellingShingle	climate change Tianshan mountains deserts oases ecozone Agriculture S Yong Zhang Chengbang An Luyu Liu Yanzhen Zhang Chao Lu Wensheng Zhang High Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s
description	Climate change has been thought to drive the accelerated expansion of global drylands. However, many studies reveal that Arid Central Asia (ACA) has been warming and wetting in recent decades, representing an anomalous response to global climate change. Given that ACA is composed of complex ecosystems and landforms, it is not clear whether or not this trend is uniform in this topographically heterogenous region. Here, we integrate the Google Earth Engine and ERA5-Land reanalysis data to study the trend of changes, since the 1980s, in temperature and precipitation in the Tianshan Mountains and the surrounding deserts, collectively referred to as the Tianshan and Desert Ecozone, which is in Northwest China. Our results show that only 20.4% of this area is becoming both warmer and wetter, which occurs mainly in the altitudes above 2800 m (Tianshan Ecozone). All three alpine ecosystems (coniferous forests, alpine meadow, and nival zone) in the Tianshan Ecozone exhibit similar warming and wetting trends, including of elevation-dependent wetting on the specific altitude range. In contrast, the low-lying oasis where human activities are mostly concentrated is undergoing warming and drying, which will face a greater threat of drought projected under three emissions scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5). These results highlight the importance of considering the differences of climate change in different altitude gradients and different ecosystems when studying climate change in drylands.
format	article
author	Yong Zhang Chengbang An Luyu Liu Yanzhen Zhang Chao Lu Wensheng Zhang
author_facet	Yong Zhang Chengbang An Luyu Liu Yanzhen Zhang Chao Lu Wensheng Zhang
author_sort	Yong Zhang
title	High Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s
title_short	High Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s
title_full	High Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s
title_fullStr	High Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s
title_full_unstemmed	High Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s
title_sort	high mountains becoming wetter while deserts getting drier in xinjiang, china since the 1980s
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/01b0f1556346467b869d48f5abb4c015
work_keys_str_mv	AT yongzhang highmountainsbecomingwetterwhiledesertsgettingdrierinxinjiangchinasincethe1980s AT chengbangan highmountainsbecomingwetterwhiledesertsgettingdrierinxinjiangchinasincethe1980s AT luyuliu highmountainsbecomingwetterwhiledesertsgettingdrierinxinjiangchinasincethe1980s AT yanzhenzhang highmountainsbecomingwetterwhiledesertsgettingdrierinxinjiangchinasincethe1980s AT chaolu highmountainsbecomingwetterwhiledesertsgettingdrierinxinjiangchinasincethe1980s AT wenshengzhang highmountainsbecomingwetterwhiledesertsgettingdrierinxinjiangchinasincethe1980s
_version_	1718411540646854656

High Mountains Becoming Wetter While Deserts Getting Drier in Xinjiang, China since the 1980s

Ejemplares similares