Earth's Future (Jul 2022)
Human‐Climate Coupled Changes in Vegetation Community Complexity of China Since 1980s
- Yanjun Su,
- Qinghua Guo,
- Hongcan Guan,
- Tianyu Hu,
- Shichao Jin,
- Zhiheng Wang,
- Lingli Liu,
- Lin Jiang,
- Ke Guo,
- Zongqiang Xie,
- Shazhou An,
- Xuelin Chen,
- Zhanqing Hao,
- Yuanman Hu,
- Yongmei Huang,
- Mingxi Jiang,
- Jiaxiang Li,
- Zhenji Li,
- Xiankun Li,
- Xiaowei Li,
- Cunzhu Liang,
- Renlin Liu,
- Qing Liu,
- Hongwei Ni,
- Shaolin Peng,
- Zehao Shen,
- Zhiyao Tang,
- Xingjun Tian,
- Xihua Wang,
- Renqing Wang,
- Yingzhong Xie,
- Xiaoniu Xu,
- Xiaobo Yang,
- Yongchuan Yang,
- Lifei Yu,
- Ming Yue,
- Feng Zhang,
- Jun Chen,
- Keping Ma
Affiliations
- Yanjun Su
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Qinghua Guo
- Institute of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems School of Earth and Space Sciences Peking University Beijing China
- Hongcan Guan
- Institute of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Science Peking University Beijing China
- Tianyu Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Shichao Jin
- Plant Phenomics Research Centre Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing China
- Zhiheng Wang
- Institute of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Science Peking University Beijing China
- Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA USA
- Ke Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Zongqiang Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Shazhou An
- College of Pratacultural and Environmental Sciences Xinjiang Agricultural University Urumqi China
- Xuelin Chen
- College of Life Science Northwest Normal University Lanzhou China
- Zhanqing Hao
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management Institute of Applied Ecology Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang China
- Yuanman Hu
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management Institute of Applied Ecology Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang China
- Yongmei Huang
- College of Resources Science and Technology Beijing Normal University Beijing China
- Mingxi Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan China
- Jiaxiang Li
- College of Forestry Central South University of Forestry & Technology Changsha China
- Zhenji Li
- College of Life Sciences Xiamen University Xiamen China
- Xiankun Li
- Guangxi Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Guilin China
- Xiaowei Li
- Agricultural College Ningxia University Yinchuan China
- Cunzhu Liang
- School of Ecology and Environment Inner Mongolia University Hohhot China
- Renlin Liu
- Institute of Navel Orange School of Life and Environmental Science Gannan Normal University Ganzhou China
- Qing Liu
- Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization Chengdu Institute of Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences Chengdu China
- Hongwei Ni
- Heilongjiang Academy of Forestry Harbin China
- Shaolin Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources School of Life Sciences Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
- Zehao Shen
- Institute of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Science Peking University Beijing China
- Zhiyao Tang
- Institute of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Science Peking University Beijing China
- Xingjun Tian
- School of Life Sciences Nanjing University Nanjing China
- Xihua Wang
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences East China Normal University Shanghai China
- Renqing Wang
- School of Life Sciences Shandong University Qingdao China
- Yingzhong Xie
- Agricultural College Ningxia University Yinchuan China
- Xiaoniu Xu
- Department of Forest Science Anhui Agricultural University Hefei China
- Xiaobo Yang
- The College of Ecology and Environment Hainan University Haikou China
- Yongchuan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco‐Environment Ministry of Education Chongqing University Chongqing China
- Lifei Yu
- College of Life Science Guizhou University Guiyang China
- Ming Yue
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China Northwest University Xi'an China
- Feng Zhang
- Institute of Loess Plateau Shanxi University Taiyuan Shanxi China
- Jun Chen
- National Geomatics Center of China Beijing China
- Keping Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002553
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 10,
no. 7
pp. n/a – n/a
Abstract
Abstract Vegetation community complexity is a critical factor influencing terrestrial ecosystem stability. China, the country leading the world in vegetation greening resulting from human activities, has experienced dramatic changes in vegetation community composition during the past 30 years. However, how China's vegetation community complexity varies spatially and temporally remains unclear. Here, we examined the spatial pattern of China's vegetation community complexity and its temporal changes from the 1980s to 2015 using two vegetation maps of China as well as more than half a million field samples. Spatially, China's vegetation community complexity distribution is primarily dominated by elevation, although temperature and precipitation can be locally more influential than elevation when they become the factors limiting plant growth. Temporally, China's vegetation community complexity shows a significant decreasing trend during the past 30 years, despite the observed vegetation greening trend. Prevailing climate warming across China exhibits a significant negative correlation with the decrease in vegetation community complexity, but this correlation varies with biogeographical regions. The intensity of human activities have an overall negative influence on vegetation community complexity, but vegetation conservation and restoration efforts can have a positive effect on maintaining vegetation composition complexity, informing the critical role of vegetation management policies in achieving the sustainable development goal.
Keywords
