Impact of Land Cover Types on Riverine CO2 Outgassing in the Yellow River Source Region

Under the context of climate change, studying CO2 emissions in alpine rivers is important because of the large carbon storage in these terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, riverine partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and CO2 emission flux (FCO2) in the Yellow River source region (YRSR) under different landcover types, including glaciers, permafrost, peatlands, and grasslands, were systematically investigated in April, June, August, and October 2016. Relevant chemical and environmental parameters were analyzed to explore the primary controlling factors. The results showed that most of the rivers in the YRSR were net CO2 source, with the pCO2 ranging from 181 to 2441 μatm and the FCO2 ranging from −50 to 1574 mmol m−2 d−1. Both pCO2 and FCO2 showed strong spatial and temporal variations. The highest average FCO2 was observed in August, while the lowest average was observed in June. Spatially, the lowest FCO2 were observed in the permafrost regions while the highest FCO2 were observed in peatland. By integrating seasonal changes of the water surface area, total CO2 efflux was estimated to be 0.30 Tg C year−1. This indicates that the YRSR was a net carbon source for the atmosphere, which contradicts previous studies that conclude the YRSR as a carbon sink. More frequent measurements of CO2 fluxes, particularly through several diel cycles, are necessary to confirm this conclusion. Furthermore, our study suggested that the riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in permafrost (5.0 ± 2.4 mg L−1) is possibly derived from old carbon released from permafrost melting, which is equivalent to that in peatland regions (5.1 ± 3.7 mg L−1). The degradation of DOC may have played an important role in supporting riverine CO2, especially in permafrost and glacier-covered regions. The percent coverage of corresponding land cover types is a good indicator for estimating riverine pCO2 in the YRSR. In view of the extensive distribution of alpine rivers in the world and their sensitivity to climate change, future studies on dynamics of stream water pCO2 and CO2 outgassing are strongly needed to better understand the global carbon cycle.

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SPATIOTEMPORAL VARIATION OF NDVI IN THE YELLOW RIVER SOURCE REGION FROM 1998 TO 2016

ISPRS Annals of Photogrammetry Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-annals-v-3-2020-739-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol V-3-2020 ◽

pp. 739-744

Author(s):

J. Fu ◽

M. Wang ◽

Z. Pang ◽

W. Jiang ◽

J. Lu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Yellow River ◽

Source Region ◽

Growing Season ◽

Series Data ◽

The Yellow River ◽

Upward Trend ◽

Yellow River Source ◽

Precipitation And Temperature

Abstract. Quantification of vegetation change and its coupling relationship with climate change has become the central topic in current global change researches. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data and meteorological data from 1998 to 2016 were collected to investigate the temporal and spatial variations of NDVI in growing season in the Yellow River source region and its response to climate change, based on the trend analysis, Mann-Kendall test and correlation analysis．The results indicated that: (1) In the past 19 years, the average NDVI in the region showed a slow increase, with a growth rate of 0.002/a and a catastrophe point in 2005, and the area with an upward trend accounted for 71.4% of the total area. (2) The climate of the area had been becoming warm and moist since the recent 19 years, both precipitation and temperature in growing season showed an upward trend. The partial correlation analysis showed that NDVI was positively correlated with precipitation and temperature, significantly relevant area accounting for 31.01% and 56.40% of the total area individually. The sensitivity of NDVI to temperature was higher than that of precipitation. According to residual analysis over the 19 years, human activities had negative effects on NDVI accounting 53.58% of the study area, and the implementation of a series of ecological protection engineering measures was the main cause leading to an increasing trend of NDVI after 2005.

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High Riverine CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing affected by Land Cover Types in the Yellow River Source Region

10.5194/bg-2018-292 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Mingyang Tian ◽

Xiankun Yang ◽

Lishan Ran ◽

Yuanrong Su ◽

Lingyu Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Yellow River ◽

Source Region ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

The Yellow River ◽

Co2 Efflux ◽

Yellow River Source

Abstract. Rivers connect the land and the oceans, acting as both active pipes and containers transporting carbon and other substances from terrestrial ecosystems to aquatic ecosystems. Meanwhile, rivers can release huge amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere. However, estimates of global riverine CO2 emissions remain greatly uncertain owing to the absence of a comprehensive spatially and temporally CO2 emissions measurement, especially in river source regions. In this study, riverine partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and CO2 efflux (FCO2) in the Yellow River source region under different landcover types, including glaciers, permafrost, wetlands, and grasslands, were investigated in April, June, August, and October 2016. The relevant chemical parameters and environmental parameters, including pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), were analyzed to explore the main control factors of riverine pCO2 and FCO2. The results showed that the rivers in the Yellow River source region were a net CO2 source, with the pCO2 ranging from 181 to 2441 μatm and the FCO2 from −221 to 6892 g C m−2 yr−1. Both the pCO2 and FCO2 showed strong spatial and temporal variations. The average FCO2 in August was higher than that in other months, with the lowest in October. In alpine climates, low temperature conditions played a crucial role in limiting biological activity and reducing CO2 emissions. The lowest FCO2 values (−221 g C m−2 yr−1) were observed in the glacier and permafrost regions. By integrating seasonal changes of water surface area, the total CO2 efflux was estimated at 0.37 ± 0.49 Tg C yr−1, which is significantly higher than previous studies. Although it is still a small proportion of CO2 emissions compared with the whole Yellow River Basin, but there is a huge carbon emissions potential. Since the permafrost in the source region of the Yellow River is rich in large amounts of ice and organic carbon, the continuously increasing temperature due to global warming will accelerate not only the mobilization of organic carbon in permafrost, but also the degradation of organic carbon by soil microorganisms. As a consequence, huge amounts of CO2 release from soils and rivers is anticipated.

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Impacts of climate change on hydrology in the Yellow River source region, China

Journal of Water and Climate Change ◽

10.2166/wcc.2018.085 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 916-930 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Junliang Jin ◽

Guoqing Wang ◽

Jianyun Zhang ◽

Qinli Yang ◽

Cuishan Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Yellow River ◽

Source Region ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Daily Minimum Temperature ◽

The Yellow River ◽

Vic Model ◽

Increasing Trend ◽

The Future ◽

Yellow River Source

Abstract Variations of precipitation, temperature, and runoff in the Yellow River source region were analyzed with the Mann–Kendall and Spearman rank correlation tests over the past 60 years. Based on the seven climate scenarios from CMIP5 climate models under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, responses of hydrological process to climate change were simulated using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model. Variation analysis results indicated that recorded temperature presented significant increasing trend. Daily minimum temperature presented higher increasing trend than daily maximum temperature. Annual gross precipitation presented minor increasing and annual runoff presented minor decreasing. The VIC model performed well on simulating monthly discharge at Tangnaihai station, with NSE of 0.91 and 0.93 in calibration and validation periods, respectively. The projected annual mean temperature would rise (with 25th and 75th percentiles) 1.07–1.32 °C, 1.76–2.33 °C, 3.45–4.29 °C, annual precipitation is expected to increase 3.43%–11.77%, 8.05%–17.27%, 12.84%–27.89%, and runoff would moderately increase with high variability of 0.82%–14.26%, −3.41%–19.14%, 1.43%–38.26% relative to the baseline of 1961–1990 under each RCP in the 2080s, respectively. The inhomogeneity of runoff may increase in the future. Many more droughts and floods under climate change may threaten social development in this region in the future.

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Impacts of climate change and human activities on the aboveground production in alpine grasslands: a case study of the source region of the Yellow River, China

Arabian Journal of Geosciences ◽

10.1007/s12517-016-2801-3 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Hao-jie Xu ◽

Xin-ping Wang ◽

Xiao-xiao Zhang

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Activities ◽

Yellow River ◽

Source Region ◽

The Yellow River ◽

Alpine Grasslands ◽

Aboveground Production ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

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Research on valuation of water system in source region of the yellow river based on emergy theory

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201824601089 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 246 ◽

pp. 01089

Author(s):

Yongqiang Wang ◽

Zhiming Liu ◽

Zhe Yuan ◽

Jijun Xu ◽

Jin Chen

Keyword(s):

Surface Water ◽

Water Resources ◽

Yellow River ◽

Source Region ◽

Source Area ◽

The Yellow River ◽

Energy Value ◽

Surface Water Resources ◽

Yellow River Source ◽

Value Of Water

Taking the source region of the Yellow River as an example, this paper first introduces the theory of energy value and its basic steps. Then combined with the Yellow River source area, the variation characteristics of precipitation and surface water resources from 1961 to 2011 in the Yellow River source area were analyzed, and both of them showed a trend of decreasing year by year. On this basis, using the theory of energy value, combined with relevant parameters, taking 2011 year as an example, further analyses the chemical energy and solar energy of water resources in the Yellow River source area, and gives the value of surface water resources. The value of water resources per unit is 1.59 yuan/m3. For the Yellow River source area, the overall value of water resources for the whole basin in 2011 is 33.55 billion yuan. It can provide a reference for the analysis of the value of surface water resources in the Yellow River Basin.

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