Assessing the Impacts of Extreme Climate Events on Vegetation Activity in the North South Transect of Eastern China (NSTEC)

Extreme climate events frequently exert serious effects on terrestrial vegetation activity. However, these effects are still uncertain in widely distributed areas with different climate zones. Transect analysis is important to understand how terrestrial vegetation responds to climate change, especially extreme climate events, by substituting space for time. In this paper, seven extreme climate indices and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are employed to examine changes in the extreme climate events and vegetation activity. To reduce the uncertainty of the NDVI, two satellite-derived NDVI datasets, including the third generation Global Inventory Monitoring and Modeling System (GIMMS-3g) NDVI dataset and the NDVI from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites on Star Web Servers (SWS), were employed to capture changes in vegetation activity. The impacts of climate extremes on vegetation activity were then assessed over the period of 1982–2012 using the North–South Transect of Eastern China (NSTEC) as a case. The results show that vegetation activity was overall strengthened from 1982 to 2012 in the NSTEC. In addition, extreme high temperature events revealed an increased trend of approximately 5.15 days per decade, while a weakened trend (not significant) was found in extreme cold temperature events. The strengthened vegetation activities could be associated with enhanced extreme high temperature events and weakened extreme cold temperature events over the past decades in most of the NSTEC. Despite this, inversed changes were also found locally between vegetation activity and extreme climate events (e.g., in the Northeast Plain). These phenomena could be associated with differences in vegetation type, human activity, as well as the combined effects of the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events. This study highlights the importance of accounting for the vital roles of extreme climate effects on vegetation activity.

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Regional Interactions in Social Responses to Extreme Climate Events: A Case Study of the North China Famine of 1876–1879

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos11040393 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 393 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xianshuai Zhai ◽

Xiuqi Fang ◽

Yun Su

Keyword(s):

North China ◽

Food Prices ◽

Chinese History ◽

Social Responses ◽

Extreme Climate Events ◽

Extreme Climate ◽

The North ◽

Food Market ◽

Surrounding Areas ◽

Climate Events

The North China Famine of 1876–1879, known in Chinese as the Dingwu qihuang (丁戊奇荒), is a famous case of drought-induced famine in Chinese history. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical and historical evidence for understanding the impacts of extreme climate events and major disasters and the mechanisms of adaptation. From the aspects of famine-related migration and the allocation of relief money and grain, the regional interactions in social responses to extreme climate events were analyzed. This paper collected 186 records from historical documents. Regarding the regions as the nodes and the relationships between regions as the links, the spatial patterns of famine-related migration and the allocation of money and grain from 1877 to 1878 were rebuilt. The results show that, firstly, famine-related migration appeared to be spontaneous and short-distanced, with the flow mainly spreading to the surrounding areas and towns. Secondly, as a state administrative action, the relief money and grain from the non-disaster areas were distributed to the disaster areas. However, the distribution of relief grain affected the equilibrium of the food market in non-disaster areas, which led to fluctuations in food prices.

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Assessing the Impacts of Extreme Precipitation Change on Vegetation Activity

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11060487 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 487

Author(s):

Fengsong Pei ◽

Yi Zhou ◽

Yan Xia

Keyword(s):

Return Period ◽

Potential Risk ◽

Extreme Precipitation ◽

Period Analysis ◽

Extreme Climate Events ◽

Extreme Climate ◽

Extreme Precipitation Events ◽

Vegetation Activity ◽

Climate Events ◽

Precipitation Events

Extreme climate events frequently have more severe effects on terrestrial vegetation activity than long-term changes in climate averages. However, changes in extreme climate events as well as their potential risk on vegetation activity are still poorly understood. By using the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River (MLR-YR) in China as an example, this paper aims to understand the vegetation response to changes in extreme precipitation events from 1982 to 2012 using the maximum normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as an indicator. By applying extreme value theory (EVT), the potential risks of extreme precipitation events on vegetation activity were analyzed by conducting return period analysis. Results indicated that vegetation activity could be affected by extreme precipitation events, especially the combined effects of the frequency and intensity of precipitation extremes. For instance, vegetation activity could be enhanced in the regions with weakened intensity but increased occurrence of extreme precipitation events. In addition, we found potential risk of extreme precipitation events on vegetation activity from the results of precipitation extreme trend and return period analysis. These phenomena can be associated with the local occurrence of extreme precipitation events, different land cover types, and soil moisture cumulative effect on vegetation growth. This study stresses the importance of considering both current changes in and the potential risk of extreme precipitation events to understand their effects on vegetation activity.

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Changes in extreme climate events in eastern China during 1960–2013: A case study of the Huaihe River Basin

Quaternary International ◽

10.1016/j.quaint.2014.12.038 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 380-381 ◽

pp. 22-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Wei Zhang ◽

Shaoming Pan ◽

Liguo Cao ◽

Xun Cai ◽

Kexin Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Eastern China ◽

Huaihe River Basin ◽

Huaihe River ◽

Extreme Climate Events ◽

Extreme Climate ◽

The Huaihe River ◽

Climate Events

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An extreme cold event leads to community-wide convergence in lower temperature tolerance in a lizard community

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2020.0625 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. 20200625

Author(s):

James T. Stroud ◽

Caitlin C. Mothes ◽

Winter Beckles ◽

Robert J. P. Heathcote ◽

Colin M. Donihue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Temperature Tolerance ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

South Florida ◽

Lizard Species ◽

Cold Event ◽

Extreme Climate Events ◽

Extreme Climate ◽

Extreme Cold ◽

Climate Events

Extreme climate events are predicted to increase in frequency and severity due to contemporary climate change. Recent studies have documented the evolutionary impacts of extreme events on single species, but no studies have yet investigated whether such events can drive community-wide patterns of trait shifts. On 22 January 2020, subtropical south Florida experienced an extreme cold episode during which air temperatures dropped below the lower thermal limit of resident lizard populations. In the week immediately after the cold event, we documented decreased lower thermal limits (CT min ) of six co-occurring lizard species that vary widely in ecology, body size and thermal physiology. Although cold tolerance of these species differed significantly before the cold snap, lizards sampled immediately after had converged on the same new, lower limit of thermal tolerance. Here, we demonstrate that extreme climate events can drive substantial and synchronous community-wide trait changes and provide evidence that tropical and subtropical ectotherms—often characterized as unable to withstand rapid changes in climatic conditions—can endure climatic conditions that exceed their physiological limits. Future studies investigating the mechanisms driving these trait shifts will prove valuable in understanding the ability of ectotherm communities to mitigate climate change.

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