Soil physicochemical properties and vegetation structure along an elevation gradient and implications for the response of alpine plant development to climate change on the northern slopes of the Qilian Mountains

It is important to explore the responses of radial tree growth in different regions to understand growth patterns and to enhance forest management and protection with climate change. We constructed tree ring width chronologies of Picea crassifolia from different regions of the Qilian Mountains of northwest China. We used Pearson correlation and moving correlation to analyze the main climate factors limiting radial growth of trees and the temporal stability of the growth–climate relationship, while spatial correlation is the result of further testing the first two terms in space. The conclusions were as follows: (1) Radial growth had different trends, showing an increasing followed by a decreasing trend in the central region, a continuously increasing trend in the eastern region, and a gradually decreasing trend in the isolated mountain. (2) Radial tree growth in the central region and isolated mountains was constrained by drought stress, and tree growth in the central region was significantly negatively correlated with growing season temperature. Isolated mountains showed a significant negative correlation with mean minimum of growing season and a significant positive correlation with total precipitation. (3) Temporal dynamic responses of radial growth in the central region to the temperatures and SPEI (the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index) in the growing season were unstable, the isolated mountains to total precipitation was unstable, and that to SPEI was stable. The results of this study suggest that scientific management and maintenance plans of the forest ecosystem should be developed according to the response and growth patterns of the Qinghai spruce to climate change in different regions of the Qilian Mountains.

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Phenology of Five Shrub Communities along an Elevation Gradient in the Qilian Mountains, China

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9020058 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 58 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yonghong Zhao ◽

Xiande Liu ◽

Guang Li ◽

Shunli Wang ◽

Weijun Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Elevation Gradient ◽

Qilian Mountains ◽

The Qilian Mountains

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Fifty Years of Change in a Coniferous Forest in the Qilian Mountains, China—Advantages of High-Definition Remote Sensing

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11111188 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1188

Author(s):

Shu Fang ◽

Zhibin He

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Remote Sensing ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Qilian Mountains ◽

High Definition ◽

Mountain Ecosystems ◽

Picea Crassifolia ◽

Vegetation Shifts ◽

Sensing Data ◽

The Qilian Mountains

Mountain ecosystems are significantly affected by climate change. However, due to slow vegetation growth in mountain ecosystems, climate-induced vegetation shifts are difficult to detect with low-definition remote sensing images. We used high-definition remote sensing data to identify responses to climate change in a typical Picea crassifolia Kom. forest in the Qilian Mountains, China, from 1968 to 2017. We found that: (1) Picea crassifolia Kom. forests were distributed in small patches or strips on shaded and partly shaded slopes at altitudes of 2700–3250 m, (2) the number, area, and concentration of forest patches have been increasing from 1968 to 2017 in relatively flat and partly sunny areas, but the rate of area increase and ascend of the tree line slowed after 2008, and (3) the establishment of plantation forests may be one of the reasons for the changes. The scale of detected change in Picea crassifolia Kom.forest was about or slightly below 30 m, indicating that monitoring with high-resolution remote sensing data will improve detectability and accuracy.

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