Analysis of slight precipitation in China during the past decades and its relationship with advanced very high radiometric resolution normalized difference vegetation index. (14th August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Xinyue; Balkanski, Yves; Wu, Zhengfang; Gasser, Thomas; Ciais, Philippe; Zhou, Feng; Li, Laurent; Tao, Shu; Peng, Shushi; Piao, Shilong; Wang, Rong; Wang, Tao; Li, Bengang
• Is Part Of: International journal of climatology. Volume 38:Number 15(2018)
• Page Start: 5563
• Page End: 5575
• Publication Date: 2018-08-14
• Subjects: growing season -- multiyear trends -- NDVI -- slight precipitation -- space correlation; Climatology -- Periodicals; Climat -- Périodiques; Climatologie -- Périodiques; 551.605
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.5763
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0899-8418

Abstract

Abstract : Precipitation is one of the most important factors determining the occurrence of extreme hydro‐meteorological events and water resource availability. Precipitation in different grades has diverse ecological effects, and slight precipitation (SP, defined as 0.1–1.0 mm/day) is the minimal level among them. In this study, we investigated SP trends from 1961 to 2013, as well as the relationship between SP and advanced very high radiometric resolution (AVHRR) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in China during growing season from 1981 to 2006. The distributions and trends of SP were analysed by calculating the daily precipitation data. The average annual slight precipitation amount (SPA) and the number of slight precipitation days (SPD), derived from 839 monitoring stations in China, show a decreasing trend over the last five decades, which is in agreement with total precipitation (TP) but in different rates. When the trend was analysed seasonally, SP in most stations decreases significantly in September–October–November (SON) and June–July–August (JJA), and the largest decrease is found in SON. About 49.5 and 68.7% of monitoring stations show a decreasing trend in SON, in both SPA and SPD, whereas the trend is less popular in March–April–May (MAM, SPA: 19.7%, SPD: 41.4%) and December–January–February (JJF, SPA: 25.6%, SPD: 43.1%). Moreover, our analysis indicates that the decrease of SP is mainly due to the decrease of SPD as the median amount of daily SP was unchanged over the past five decades (close to 0.3 mm/day). Based on 26‐year (1981–2006) semi‐monthly AVHRR NDVI data and the records of SP data, the relationship between AVHRR NDVI and SP was also investigated. In regions with lower (<600 mm) TP, the correlation coefficients between NDVI and SP tend to be higher. These results highlight that SP has different effects than TP on vegetation growth. We also analysed time lag effects and concluded that the sensitivity of NDVI to SP for grass vegetation (the correlation coefficient is 0.327) is more noticeable than for trees (0.211) or shrubs (−0.058). The relationship between SP and NDVI also provides us new insights on the dependence of vegetation growth on meteorological factors. Abstract : Distribution of SP in China and its relationship with natural vegetation.