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Effects of Land Use Change on the Energy and Water Balance of the Semi-Arid Region of Inner Mongolia
Project Start Date
01/01/2005
Project End Date
01/01/2008
Project Call Name
Regional_Initiative_Name
Region
Solicitation

Team Members:

Person Name Person role on project Affiliation
Jiquan Chen Principal Investigator Michigan State University, East Lansing, US
Abstract

Within the NEESPI region, this study focuses on the reciprocal effects of the changes in land use and the energy/water balance in Inner Mongolia where steppe dominated ecosystems are rapidly transformed into pastureland, agricultural fields, and urbanized areas. As a consequence, severe and frequent catastrophes (e.g., dust storms) have been increasing in recent decades. We combine remote sensing products, modeling, and ground-intensive measurements of climate, carbon and water fluxes through multiple eddy covariance towers, vegetation, and soil in order to understand how LCLUC affects the region. Major lessons learned so far include: • The spatial distributions of water and production (MODIS) were closely related to plant species diversity at local and regional scales. • Significant increases in the air temperature since 1952 have been observed, with the increases varying significantly and being nonparallel among ecosystems. • Counties dominated by cropland have exhibited greater water use than those dominated by grassland. The annual change in the land surface water index • (LSWI) was also significantly greater for districts with dry-land irrigated agriculture. Soil moisture from AMSR-E is dependent on the LULC type, with soil moisture increases with vegetation cover. • Both cultivation and extensive grazing of grasslands had caused changes in canopy surface conductance, soil water holding capacity and soil moisture, which, in turn, decreased the growing season evapotranspiration (ET) by 7-15%. • Seasonal changes in net radiation, latent heat, sensible heat, and soil heat remained similar at cultivated, overgrazed and natural steppe ecosystems, however, large decreases in stomatal conductance (gc) occurred under intensified land use and consequently reduced ET. The reductions in gc, ET, and the decoupling factor suggest an increased sensitivity to drought. • Large-scale poplar plantations had significantly increased ET, which would deplete groundwater levels and increase drought stress in the area. The team is making a significant effort to move the study forward by including feedback between natural and human systems under the changing climate.

Project Documents

Project Documents

Year Type Title
2011 Publications Lu, N., S. Chen, B. Wilske1, G. Sun, and J. Chen. Effects of land use practices on ET–soil water relationship in semi-arid Inner Mongolia. Journal of Plant Ecology (in revision with minor revision)
2011 Publications Sun, G., P. Caldwell, A. Noormets, E. Cohen, S. G. McNulty, E. Treasure, J.-C. Domec, Q. Mu, J. Xiao, R. John, and J. Chen. Upscaling key ecosystem functions across the conterminous United States by a water-centric ecosystem model. Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences (submitted).
2011 Publications Sun, G., K. Alstad, J. Chen., S. Chen, C. R. Ford, G. Lin, C. Liu, N. Lu, S. G. McNulty, H. Miao, A. Noormets, J. M. Vose, B. Wilske, M. Zeppel, Y. Zhang, and Z. Zhang. A General predictive model for estimating monthly ecosystem evapotranspiration. Ecohydrology (accepted)
2011 Publications Zheng, B., Y. Zhang, and J. Chen. Preference to home landscape: wilderness or neatness? Landscape and Urban Planning (in press)
2011 Publications Chen, J. Interdisciplinary research in ecological research. In Han and Wu (eds.), Ecological Vision: Challenge, Response and Strategy. Higher Education Press (accepted).
2010 Publications Yi, C., D. Ricciuto, …J. Chen, et al. 2010. Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents. Environmental Research Letter doi:10.1088/1748-9326/5/3/034007
2010 Publications Jung, M., M. Reichstein, P. Ciais, S. I. Seneviratne, J. Sheffield, M. L. Goulden, G. Bonan, A. Cescatti, J. Chen, R. de Jeu, A. J. Dolman, W. Eugster, D. Gerten, D. Gianelle, N. Gobron, J. Heinke, J. Kimball, B. E. Law, L. Montagnani, Q. Mu, B. Mueller, K. Oleson, D. Papale, A. Richardson, O. Roupsard, S. Running, E. Tomelleri, N. Viovy, U. Weber, C. Williams, E. Wood, S. Zaehle, and K. Zhang. 2010. Recent deceleration of global land evapotranspiration due to moisture supply limitation. Nature doi: 10.1038/nature09396.
2010 Publications Zhen, L., B. Ochirbat, Y. Lv, Y. J. Wei, X. L. Liu, J. Q. Chen, Z. J. Yao and F. Li. 2010. Comparing patterns of ecosystem service consumption and perceptions of range management between ethnic herders in Inner Mongolia and Mongolia. Environmental Research Letter 5. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/015001
2010 Publications Li, C. Lafortezza, and J. Chen. 2010. Contribution of Landscape Ecology to Forest Management and Conservation. HEP and Springer, 400pp.
2010 Publications Wang, Z, X. Xiao, and X. Yan. 2010. Modeling gross primary production of maize cropland and degraded grassland in northeastern China. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 150: 1160–1167.
2009 NASA LCLUC Science Team Presentation Key Lessons on Water, Carbon, and Energy Fluxes for the Semiarid Landscapes of Inner Mongolia
2009 Publications Chen, S., J. Chen, G. Lin, W. Zhang, H. Miao, L. Wei, J. Huang, and X. Han. 2009. Energy balance and partition in Inner Mongolia steppe ecosystems with different land use types. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology149: 1800-1809.
2009 Publications Lu, N., B. Wilske, J. Ni, John, R. and J. Chen. 2009. Climate change in Inner Mongolia from 1955 through 2005. Environmental Research Letter 4 045006. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045006
2009 Publications Yan, H., Y. Fu, X. Xiao, H. Huang, H.He, and L. Ediger. 2009. Modeling gross primary productivity for winter wheat–maize double cropping system using MODIS time series and CO2 eddy flux tower data. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 129: 391–400.
2009 Publications John, R., J. Chen, N. Lu, and B. Wilske. 2009. Land Cover /land use change and their ecological consequences. Environmental Research Letter 4 045010. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045010
2009 Publications Liu, C., Z. Zhang, G. Sun, J. Zhu, T. Zha, L. Shen, J. Chen, X. Fang and J. Chen. 2009. Quantifying evapotranspiration and the biophysical regulations of a poplar plantation assessed by eddy covariance and sap flow methods. Journal of Plant Ecology 33(4): 706-718.
2009 Publications Wilske B., N. Lu, L.Wei, S. Chen, T. Zha, C. Liu, W. Xu, A. Noormets,J. Huang, Y. Wei, J. Chen, Z. Zhang, J. Ni, G. Sun, K. Guo, S. McNulty, R. John, X. Han, G. Lin, J. Chen. 2009. Poplar plantation has the potential to alter water balance in semiarid Inner Mongolia. Journal of Environmental Management 90: 2762-1770.
2009 Publications Groisman, P. Y., E. A. Clark, V. M. Kattsov, D. P. Lettenmaier, I. N. Sokolik, V.B. Aizen, O. Cartus, J. Chen, S. Conard, J.Katzenberger, O. Krankina, J. Kukkonen, T. Machida, S. Maksyutov, D. Ojima, J. Qi, V. E. Romanovsky, M. Santoro, C. Schmullius, A. I. Shiklomanov, K. Shimoyama, H. H. Shugart, J. K. Shuman, M. Sofiev, A. I. Sukhinin, C. Vörösmarty, D. Walker, and E. F. Wood. 2009. The Northern Eurasia earth science partnership: an example of science applied to societal needs. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 5: 671-688.
2009 Publications Miao, H, S. Chen., J. Chen, W. Zhang, P. Zhang, L. Wei, X. Han, and G. Lin. 2009. Cultivation and grazing altered evapotranspiration and dynamics in Inner Mongolia stepps. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 149: 1810-1819.
2009 Publications Yuan, W., Y. Luo., A.D. Richardson, R. Oren, S. Luyssaert, I.A. Janssens, R. Ceulemans, T. Grünwald, M. Aubinet, C. Bernhofer, D. D. Baldocchi, J. Chen, A.L. Dunn, J. Deforest, A. H. Goldstein, E. Moors, J. W. Munger, R. K. Monson, A.E. Suyker, G. Starr, R. L. Scott, J. Tenhunen, S. B. Verma, T. Vesala, and S. C. Wofsy. 2009. Latitudinal patterns of interannual variability in net ecosystem exchange. Global Change Biology 15: 2905-2920.
2007 NASA LCLUC Science Team Presentation Overview of dryland recent finding and new development in China
2006 NASA LCLUC Science Team Presentation Effects of Land Use Change on the Energy & Water Balance of the Semiarid Region of Inner Mongolia
Year Type Title
2011 Publications Lu, N., S. Chen, B. Wilske1, G. Sun, and J. Chen. Effects of land use practices on ET–soil water relationship in semi-arid Inner Mongolia. Journal of Plant Ecology (in revision with minor revision)
2011 Publications Sun, G., P. Caldwell, A. Noormets, E. Cohen, S. G. McNulty, E. Treasure, J.-C. Domec, Q. Mu, J. Xiao, R. John, and J. Chen. Upscaling key ecosystem functions across the conterminous United States by a water-centric ecosystem model. Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences (submitted).
2011 Publications Sun, G., K. Alstad, J. Chen., S. Chen, C. R. Ford, G. Lin, C. Liu, N. Lu, S. G. McNulty, H. Miao, A. Noormets, J. M. Vose, B. Wilske, M. Zeppel, Y. Zhang, and Z. Zhang. A General predictive model for estimating monthly ecosystem evapotranspiration. Ecohydrology (accepted)
2011 Publications Zheng, B., Y. Zhang, and J. Chen. Preference to home landscape: wilderness or neatness? Landscape and Urban Planning (in press)
2011 Publications Chen, J. Interdisciplinary research in ecological research. In Han and Wu (eds.), Ecological Vision: Challenge, Response and Strategy. Higher Education Press (accepted).
2010 Publications Yi, C., D. Ricciuto, …J. Chen, et al. 2010. Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents. Environmental Research Letter doi:10.1088/1748-9326/5/3/034007
2010 Publications Jung, M., M. Reichstein, P. Ciais, S. I. Seneviratne, J. Sheffield, M. L. Goulden, G. Bonan, A. Cescatti, J. Chen, R. de Jeu, A. J. Dolman, W. Eugster, D. Gerten, D. Gianelle, N. Gobron, J. Heinke, J. Kimball, B. E. Law, L. Montagnani, Q. Mu, B. Mueller, K. Oleson, D. Papale, A. Richardson, O. Roupsard, S. Running, E. Tomelleri, N. Viovy, U. Weber, C. Williams, E. Wood, S. Zaehle, and K. Zhang. 2010. Recent deceleration of global land evapotranspiration due to moisture supply limitation. Nature doi: 10.1038/nature09396.
2010 Publications Zhen, L., B. Ochirbat, Y. Lv, Y. J. Wei, X. L. Liu, J. Q. Chen, Z. J. Yao and F. Li. 2010. Comparing patterns of ecosystem service consumption and perceptions of range management between ethnic herders in Inner Mongolia and Mongolia. Environmental Research Letter 5. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/015001
2010 Publications Li, C. Lafortezza, and J. Chen. 2010. Contribution of Landscape Ecology to Forest Management and Conservation. HEP and Springer, 400pp.
2010 Publications Wang, Z, X. Xiao, and X. Yan. 2010. Modeling gross primary production of maize cropland and degraded grassland in northeastern China. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 150: 1160–1167.
2009 NASA LCLUC Science Team Presentation Key Lessons on Water, Carbon, and Energy Fluxes for the Semiarid Landscapes of Inner Mongolia
2009 Publications Chen, S., J. Chen, G. Lin, W. Zhang, H. Miao, L. Wei, J. Huang, and X. Han. 2009. Energy balance and partition in Inner Mongolia steppe ecosystems with different land use types. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology149: 1800-1809.
2009 Publications Lu, N., B. Wilske, J. Ni, John, R. and J. Chen. 2009. Climate change in Inner Mongolia from 1955 through 2005. Environmental Research Letter 4 045006. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045006
2009 Publications Yan, H., Y. Fu, X. Xiao, H. Huang, H.He, and L. Ediger. 2009. Modeling gross primary productivity for winter wheat–maize double cropping system using MODIS time series and CO2 eddy flux tower data. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 129: 391–400.
2009 Publications John, R., J. Chen, N. Lu, and B. Wilske. 2009. Land Cover /land use change and their ecological consequences. Environmental Research Letter 4 045010. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045010
2009 Publications Liu, C., Z. Zhang, G. Sun, J. Zhu, T. Zha, L. Shen, J. Chen, X. Fang and J. Chen. 2009. Quantifying evapotranspiration and the biophysical regulations of a poplar plantation assessed by eddy covariance and sap flow methods. Journal of Plant Ecology 33(4): 706-718.
2009 Publications Wilske B., N. Lu, L.Wei, S. Chen, T. Zha, C. Liu, W. Xu, A. Noormets,J. Huang, Y. Wei, J. Chen, Z. Zhang, J. Ni, G. Sun, K. Guo, S. McNulty, R. John, X. Han, G. Lin, J. Chen. 2009. Poplar plantation has the potential to alter water balance in semiarid Inner Mongolia. Journal of Environmental Management 90: 2762-1770.
2009 Publications Groisman, P. Y., E. A. Clark, V. M. Kattsov, D. P. Lettenmaier, I. N. Sokolik, V.B. Aizen, O. Cartus, J. Chen, S. Conard, J.Katzenberger, O. Krankina, J. Kukkonen, T. Machida, S. Maksyutov, D. Ojima, J. Qi, V. E. Romanovsky, M. Santoro, C. Schmullius, A. I. Shiklomanov, K. Shimoyama, H. H. Shugart, J. K. Shuman, M. Sofiev, A. I. Sukhinin, C. Vörösmarty, D. Walker, and E. F. Wood. 2009. The Northern Eurasia earth science partnership: an example of science applied to societal needs. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 5: 671-688.
2009 Publications Miao, H, S. Chen., J. Chen, W. Zhang, P. Zhang, L. Wei, X. Han, and G. Lin. 2009. Cultivation and grazing altered evapotranspiration and dynamics in Inner Mongolia stepps. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 149: 1810-1819.
2009 Publications Yuan, W., Y. Luo., A.D. Richardson, R. Oren, S. Luyssaert, I.A. Janssens, R. Ceulemans, T. Grünwald, M. Aubinet, C. Bernhofer, D. D. Baldocchi, J. Chen, A.L. Dunn, J. Deforest, A. H. Goldstein, E. Moors, J. W. Munger, R. K. Monson, A.E. Suyker, G. Starr, R. L. Scott, J. Tenhunen, S. B. Verma, T. Vesala, and S. C. Wofsy. 2009. Latitudinal patterns of interannual variability in net ecosystem exchange. Global Change Biology 15: 2905-2920.
2007 NASA LCLUC Science Team Presentation Overview of dryland recent finding and new development in China
2006 NASA LCLUC Science Team Presentation Effects of Land Use Change on the Energy & Water Balance of the Semiarid Region of Inner Mongolia