Assessing changes in biomass, productivity, and C and N stores following Juniperus virginiana forest expansion into tallgrass prairie

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1940-1946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D Norris ◽  
John M Blair ◽  
Loretta C Johnson ◽  
Robert B McKane
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Tallgrass Prairie ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Juniperus Virginiana ◽  
Aboveground Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Closed Canopy

An increase in woody plant abundance in regions historically dominated by grasses is a recent land cover change in grasslands worldwide. In tallgrass prairies of North America, this increase in woody plant cover includes the development of dense stands of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.). To evaluate the consequences of this ongoing land cover change for ecosystem functioning, we developed allometric equations, using data from Kansas and Oklahoma, to estimate aboveground biomass and productivity in closed-canopy redcedar stands. We then applied these equations to three closed-canopy redcedar stands, 35–80 years old, which developed on sites formerly dominated by tallgrass prairie in eastern Kansas. Aboveground plant biomass for these redcedar-dominated sites ranged from 114 100 kg/ha for the youngest stand to 210 700 kg/ha for the oldest. Annual aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) ranged from 7250 to 10 440 kg·ha–1·year–1 for the oldest and younger redcedar stands, respectively. Estimates of ANPP in comparable tallgrass prairie sites in this region average 3690 kg·ha–1·year–1 indicating a large increase in C uptake and aboveground storage as a result of the change from prairie to redcedar forests. Therefore, the widespread occurrence of redcedars across the woodland–prairie ecotone suggests that this land-cover change may have important consequences for regional net C storage.

scholarly journals Towards quantification of Holocene anthropogenic land-cover change in temperate China: A review in the light of pollen-based REVEALS reconstructions of regional plant cover

2020 ◽  
Vol 203 ◽  
pp. 103119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Furong Li ◽  
Marie-José Gaillard ◽  
Xianyong Cao ◽  
Ulrike Herzschuh ◽  
Shinya Sugita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Plant Cover

scholarly journals Recent above-ground biomass changes in central Chukotka (Russian Far East) using field sampling and Landsat satellite data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iuliia Shevtsova ◽  
Ulrike Herzschuh ◽  
Birgit Heim ◽  
Luise Schulte ◽  
Simone Stünzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Additive Model ◽  
Northern Taiga ◽  
Above Ground Biomass ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Closed Canopy

Abstract. Upscaling plant biomass distribution and dynamics is essential for estimating carbon stocks and carbon balance. In this respect, the Russian Far East is among the least investigated subarctic regions despite its known vegetation sensitivity to ongoing warming. We representatively harvested above-ground biomass (AGB, separated by dominant taxa) at 40 sampling plots in central Chukotka. We used ordination to relate field-based taxa projective cover and Landsat-derived vegetation indices. A general additive model was used to link the ordination scores to AGB. We then mapped AGB for paired Landsat-derived time-slices (i.e. 2000/2001/2002 and 2016/2017), in four study regions covering a wide vegetation gradient from closed-canopy larch forests to barren alpine tundra. We provide AGB estimates and changes in AGB that were previously lacking for central Chukotka at a high spatial resolution and a detailed description of taxonomical contributions. Generally, AGB in the study region ranges from 0 to 16 kg m−2, with Cajander larch providing the highest contribution. Comparison of changes in AGB within the investigated period shows that the greatest changes (up to 1.25 kg m−2 yr−1) occurred in the northern taiga and in areas where land cover changed to larch closed-canopy forest. As well as the notable changes, increases in AGB also occur within the land cover classes. Our estimations indicate a general increase in total AGB throughout the investigated tundra-taiga and northern taiga, whereas the tundra showed no evidence of change in AGB.

The impact of land use and land cover change on net primary productivity on China’s Sanjiang Plain

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 2907-2917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guotao Dong ◽  
Juan Bai ◽  
Shengtian Yang ◽  
Linna Wu ◽  
Mingyong Cai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Sanjiang Plain ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Effects of Land Cover Changes on Net Primary Productivity in the Terrestrial Ecosystems of China from 2001 to 2012

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Hanwei Li ◽  
Juhua Ding ◽  
Jiang Zhang ◽  
Zhenan Yang ◽  
Bin Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Land Cover Types ◽  
Cropland Area ◽  
Land Cover Data ◽  
Increasing Trends

The 2001–2012 MODIS MCD12Q1 land cover data and MOD17A3 NPP data were used to calculate changes in land cover in China and annual changes in net primary productivity (NPP) during a 12-year period and to quantitatively analyze the effects of land cover change on the NPP of China’s terrestrial ecosystems. The results revealed that during the study period, no changes in land cover type occurred in 7447.31 thousand km2 of China, while the area of vegetation cover increased by 160.97 thousand km2 in the rest of the country. Forest cover increased to 20.91%, which was mainly due to the conversion of large areas of savanna (345.19 thousand km2) and cropland (178.96 thousand km2) to forest. During the 12-year study period, the annual mean NPP of China was 2.70 PgC and increased by 0.25 PgC, from 2.50 to 2.75 PgC. Of this change, 0.21 PgC occurred in areas where there was no land cover change, while 0.04 PgC occurred in areas where there was land cover change. The contributions of forest and cropland to NPP exhibited increasing trends, while the contributions of shrubland and grassland to NPP decreased. Among these land cover types, the contributions of forest and cropland to the national NPP were the greatest, accounting for 40.97% and 27.95%, respectively, of the annual total NPP. There was no significant correlation between changes in forest area and changes in total annual NPP (R2 < 0.1), while the correlation coefficient for changes in cropland area and total annual NPP was 0.48. Additionally, the area of cropland converted to other land cover types was negatively correlated with the changes in NPP, and the loss of cropland caused a reduction in the national NPP.

REVEALS-based reconstruction of Holocene vegetation abundance in temperate China: new insights on past human-induced land-cover change for climate modelling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Furong Li ◽  
Marie-José Gaillard ◽  
Shinya Sugita ◽  
Xianyong Cao ◽  
Ulrike Herzschuh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
Important Region ◽  
Open Land ◽  
Vegetation Cover Change

&lt;p&gt;Quantification of the effects of human-induced vegetation-cover change on past (present and future) climate is still a subject of debate. Our understanding of these effects greatly depends on the availability of empirical reconstructions of past anthropogenic vegetation cover. Such reconstructions can be used to evaluate Anthropogenic Land-Cover Change (ALCC) scenarios for the past (such as HYDE and KK), and simulated past vegetation using dynamic vegetation models such as LPJGUESS. In this context, China is an important region given that agriculture started already in early Holocene, and expanded rapidly over large areas throughout the eastern part of the country. Quantitative reconstructions of plant cover based on pollen data has long been a challenge. The REVEALS model (Sugita, 2007) is one of the approaches for quantitative reconstruction of past plant cover that has been applied, tested, and validated in many regions of the world over the last years. Relative pollen productivity (RPP) of plant taxa is a key parameter required for REVEALS applications. A synthesis of all RPP estimates available in temperate China is published in Li et al. (2018). These RPPs were used with pollen records from lakes and bogs to produce REVEALS-based estimates of Holocene regional vegetation-cover change in temperate China. In order to interpret the REVEALS reconstructions in terms of climate or anthropogenic land-cover change, we compared the REVEALS estimates of vegetation-cover change with existing palaeoclimatic data and archaeological evidences on human history and past land-use change. We also compared the REVEALS estimates with fractions of plant functional types simulated by LPJGUESS and ALCC scenarios from HYDE and KK.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The results suggest that the REVEALS-based values of plant cover strongly differ from the pollen percentages and provide new insights on past changes in plant composition and vegetation dynamics over the Holocene. Human-induced deforestation is highest in eastern China with 3 major phases at ca. 5500, 3000 and 2000 calibrated years before present. Disentangling human-induced from climate-induced pollen-based open-land cover remains a challenge. However, &amp;#160;thorough comparison of the REVEALS reconstructions with historical and archaeological information on settlement and land-use history, and with palaeoclimate reconstructions provide important clues to the question. This study is a contribution to PAGES LandCover6k.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;References: Li et al., 2018. Front Plant Sci; Sugita, 2007. Holocene.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document