Satellite-based analysis of evapotranspiration and water balance in the grassland ecosystems of Dryland East Asia.
The regression tree method is used to upscale evapotranspiration (ET) measurements at eddy-covariance (EC) towers to the grassland ecosystems over the Dryland East Asia (DEA). The regression tree model was driven by satellite and meteorology datasets, and explained 82% and 76% of the variations of ET observations in the calibration and validation datasets, respectively. The annual ET estimates ranged from 222.6 to 269.1 mm yr(-1) over the DEA region with an average of 245.8 mm yr(-1) from 1982 through 2009. Ecosystem ET showed decreased trends over 61% of the DEA region during this period, especially in most regions of Mongolia and eastern Inner Mongolia due to decreased precipitation. The increased ET occurred primarily in the western and southern DEA region. Over the entire study area, water balance (the difference between precipitation and ecosystem ET) decreased substantially during the summer and growing season. Precipitation reduction was an important cause for the severe water deficits. The drying trend occurring in the grassland ecosystems of the DEA region can exert profound impacts on a variety of terrestrial ecosystem processes and functions.
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Jiangzhou
J
Xia
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America.
Shunlin
S
Liang
International Center for Ecology, Meteorology and Environment (IceMe), School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China.
Jiquan
J
Chen
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Wenping
W
Yuan
State Engineering Laboratory of Southern Forestry Applied Ecology and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Shuguang
S
Liu
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Linghao
L
Li
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Wenwen
W
Cai
Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Li
L
Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Yang
Y
Fu
Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment Research for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Tianbao
T
Zhao
College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment Research for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jinming
J
Feng
Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment Research for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Zhuguo
Z
Ma
Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Mingguo
M
Ma
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Beijing, China; School of Geography, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Shaomin
S
Liu
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China.
Guangsheng
G
Zhou
Center for Research in Isotopes and Environmental Dynamics, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Jun
J
Asanuma
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Shiping
S
Chen
Department of Agro-Meteorology, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Mingyuan
M
Du
Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, Juulchin, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Gombo
G
Davaa
Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Tomomichi
T
Kato
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Qiang
Q
Liu
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Beijing, China; School of Geography, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Suhong
S
Liu
Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Shenggong
S
Li
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Changliang
C
Shao
Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Yanhong
Y
Tang
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Xiang
X
Zhao
D002681:China; D065948:Grassland; D008986:Mongolia; D012621:Seasons; D018531:Spacecraft