Spatial and Temporal Variability of Key Bio-Temperature Indicators and Their Effects on Vegetation Dynamics in the Great Lakes Region of Central Asia

Abstract

Dryland ecosystems are fragile to climate change due to harsh environmental conditions. Climate change affects vegetation growth primarily by altering some key bio-temperature thresholds. Key bio-temperatures are closely related to vegetation growth, and slight changes could produce substantial effects on ecosystem structure and function. Therefore, this study selected the number of days with daily mean temperature above 0 °C (DT0), 5 °C (DT5), 10 °C (DT10), 20 °C (DT20), the start of growing season (SGS), the end of growing season (EGS), and the length of growing season (LGS) as bio-temperature indicators to analyze the response of vegetation dynamics to climate change in the Great Lakes Region of Central Asia (GLRCA) for the period 1982–2014. On the regional scale, DT0, DT5, DT10, and DT20 exhibited an overall increasing trend. Spatially, most of the study area showed that the negative correlation between DT0, DT5, DT10, DT20 with the annual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) increased with increasing bio-temperature thresholds. In particular, more than 88.3% of the study area showed a negative correlation between annual NDVI and DT20, as increased DT20 exacerbated ecosystem drought. Moreover, SGS exhibited a significantly advanced trend at a rate of −0.261 days/year for the regional scale, while EGS experienced a significantly delayed trend at a rate of 0.164 days/year. Because of changes in SGS and EGS, LGS across the GLRCA was extended at a rate of 0.425 days/year, which was mainly attributed to advanced SGS. In addition, our study revealed that about 53.6% of the study area showed a negative correlation between annual NDVI and LGS, especially in the north, indicating a negative effect of climate warming on vegetation growth in the drylands. Overall, the results of this study will help predict the response of vegetation to future climate change in the GLRCA, and support decision-making for implementing effective ecosystem management in arid and semi-arid regions.