Steppe ecosystems and climate and land-use changes—vulnerability, feedbacks and possibilities for adaptation

Butterbach‐Bahl, Klaus; Kögel‐Knabner, Ingrid; Han, Xingguo

doi:10.1007/s11104-010-0651-4

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These grasslands are comparably extensively researched, including the studies of the interdisciplinary Sino-German Research Group MAGIM (Matter fluxes in Grassland Ecosystems of Inner Mongolia), which were also conducted at IMGERS and its experimental field sites since 2004 (cp. Butterbach-Bahl et al 2011 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Grassland degradation and its accompanying problems, e.g., dust storms, constitute a central environmental problem for the livelihood of the local population in grasslands and the surrounding Chinese mainland. The results of the intense ecological research activities in these grasslands approve the necessity of the development and adjustment of the land management practices to restore and protect the fragile ecosystems of the Xilin river catchment as suggested by a number of recent publications, e.g., Jiang et al ( 2006 ), Han et al ( 2009 ), Schönbach et al ( 2009 ) and Butterbach-Bahl et al ( 2011 ). The six years of a controlled grazing experiment showed the importance of the seasonal distribution of P, temperature and soil moisture on vegetation dynamics and indicated the complex interaction of grazing, vegetation and climate (Auerswald et al 2012 Ren et al 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Variability and distribution of spatial evapotranspiration in semi arid Inner Mongolian grasslands from 2002 to 2011

Schaffrath

Bernhofer

2013

SpringerPlus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Grasslands in Inner Mongolia are important for livestock farming while ecosystem functioning and water consumption are dominated by evapotranspiration (ET). In this paper we studied the spatiotemporal distribution and variability of ET and its components in Inner Mongolian grasslands over a period of 10 years, from 2002 to 2011. ET was modelled pixel-wise for more than 3000 1 km2 pixels with the physically-based hydrological model BROOK90. The model was parameterised from eddy-covariance measurements and daily input was generated from MODIS leaf area index and surface temperatures. Modelled ET was also compared with the ET provided by the MODIS MOD16 ET data.The study showed ET to be highly variable in both time and space in Inner Mongolian grasslands. The mean coefficient of variation of 8-day ET in the study area varied between 25% and 40% and was up to 75% for individual pixels indicating a high innerannual variability of ET. Generally, ET equals or exceeds P during the vegetation period, but high precipitation in 2003 clearly exceeded ET in this year indicating a recharge of soil moisture and groundwater. Despite the high interannual and innerannual variations of spatial ET, the study also showed the existence of an intrinsic long-term spatial pattern of ET distribution, which can be explained partly by altitude and longitude (R2 = 0.49). In conclusion, the results of this research suggest the development of dynamic and productive rangeland management systems according to the inherent variability of rainfall, productivity and ET in order to restore and protect Inner Mongolian grasslands.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Variability and distribution of spatial evapotranspiration in semi arid Inner Mongolian grasslands from 2002 to 2011

Schaffrath

Bernhofer

2013

SpringerPlus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The parameterisation depends upon u * , measurement height z, SD of the vertical wind σ w and the aerodynamic roughness length z 0 , of which u * , z and σ w are measured directly by the WSMA. The roughness length is inferred using the logarithmic wind profile with the integrated universal function for momentum exchange after Businger et al (1971) in the form of Högström (1988). The KL04 is a cross-wind integrated footprint model; i.e.…”

Section: Footprint Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatially explicit regionalization of airborne flux measurements using environmental response functions

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The goal of this study is to characterize the sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat exchange for different land covers in the heterogeneous steppe landscape of the Xilin River catchment, Inner Mongolia, China. Eddy-covariance flux measurements at 50–100 m above ground were conducted in July 2009 using a weight-shift microlight aircraft. Wavelet decomposition of the turbulence data enables a spatial discretization of 90 m of the flux measurements. For a total of 8446 flux observations during 12 flights, MODIS land surface temperature (LST) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) in each flux footprint are determined. Boosted regression trees are then used to infer an environmental response function (ERF) between all flux observations (H, LE) and biophysical (LST, EVI) and meteorological drivers. Numerical tests show that ERF predictions covering the entire Xilin River catchment (&approx;3670 km2) are accurate to ≤18% (1 σ). The predictions are then summarized for each land cover type, providing individual estimates of source strength (36 W m−2 < H < 364 W m−2, 46 W m−2 < LE < 425 W m−2) and spatial variability (11 W m−2 < σH < 169 W m−2, 14 W m−2 < σLE < 152 W m−2) to a precision of ≤5%. Lastly, ERF predictions of land cover specific Bowen ratios are compared between subsequent flights at different locations in the Xilin River catchment. Agreement of the land cover specific Bowen ratios to within 12 &pm; 9% emphasizes the robustness of the presented approach. This study indicates the potential of ERFs for (i) extending airborne flux measurements to the catchment scale, (ii) assessing the spatial representativeness of long-term tower flux measurements, and (iii) designing, constraining and evaluating flux algorithms for remote sensing and numerical modelling applications.

show abstract

“…However, since the 1950s, grazing management has been subjected to a dramatic shift from pastoral nomadism to sedentary livestock farming. This shift in grazing system was accompanied by sharply increasing stocking rates (Wang and Ripley, ; Zhou et al ., ; Butterbach‐Bahl et al ., ). The economic reform of China began in the late 1970s and has led to a further rapid expansion of livestock (Figure ) resulting in degradation and declining primary production in most of the grasslands on the Inner Mongolia Plateau in northern China (Zhou et al ., ).…”

Section: Global Grasslands Under Threatmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Changes in livestock numbers (small ruminants) in the X ilin River catchment, Inner Mongolia, P.R. China (Butterbach‐Bahl et al ., ).…”

Section: Global Grasslands Under Threatmentioning

confidence: 97%

Grassland and globalization – challenges for north‐west European grass and forage research

Taube

Gierus

Hermann

et al. 2013

Grass and Forage Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The concept of sustainable intensification has recently been developed to raise productivity (as distinct from increasing volume of production) while reducing environmental impacts. This means increasing yields per unit of inputs (including nutrients, water, energy capital and land) as well as per unit of undesirable outputs (such as greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution or loss of biodiversity). It is thus helpful to understand ‘intensification’ as referring to ‘environmental factor productivity’ or ‘eco‐efficiency’. Worldwide, grassland is the most important agroecosystem delivering ecosystem services ranging from feed supply for ruminants and soil carbon storage to habitats of biodiversity. However, worldwide, grassland is under threat due to intensified land use and land‐use changes from grass to arable. In this article, we (i) highlight ecosystem services of selected grassland biomes abroad of Europe, (ii) show evidence of sustainable as well as non‐sustainable intensification options in these grassland biomes linked to European agriculture by exports of agricultural commodities (e.g. soy) and (iii) derive research strategies for north‐west European grassland research and management to match sustainable intensification strategies for the grassland‐based dairy industry.

show abstract

Steppe ecosystems and climate and land-use changes—vulnerability, feedbacks and possibilities for adaptation

Cited by 20 publications

References 43 publications

Variability and distribution of spatial evapotranspiration in semi arid Inner Mongolian grasslands from 2002 to 2011

Variability and distribution of spatial evapotranspiration in semi arid Inner Mongolian grasslands from 2002 to 2011

Spatially explicit regionalization of airborne flux measurements using environmental response functions

Grassland and globalization – challenges for north‐west European grass and forage research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About