Response of grassland productivity to climate change and anthropogenic activities in arid regions of Central Asia

Abstract

Background Quantitative evaluations of the relative impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activity on grasslands are significant for understanding grassland degradation mechanisms and controlling degraded grasslands. However, our knowledge about the effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change on the grassland in a mountain basin system in arid regions of Central Asia is still subject to great uncertainties. Methods In this research, we have chosen the net primary productivity (NPP) as an index for revealing grassland dynamics processes. Moreover, the human appropriation of net primary production (NPPH), which was calculated as the potential NPP (NPPP) minus the actual NPP (NPPA), was applied to distinguish the relative influences of climate change and human activities on the grassland NPP variations in a mountain basin system of Central Asia from 2001–2015. Results The results indicated that the grassland NPPA showed an increasing trend (35.88%) that was smaller than the decreasing trend (64.12%). The respective contributions of human activity, climate change and the two together to the increase in the NPPA were 6.19%, 81.30% and 12.51%, respectively. Human activity was largely responsible for the decrease in the grassland NPPA, with the area experiencing human-induced decreases accounting for 98.21% of the total decreased area, which mainly occurred during spring/autumn pasture and winter pasture. Furthermore, the average grazing pressure index (GPI) values of summer pastures, spring/autumn pasture and winter pastures were 1.04, 3.03 and 1.83, respectively, from 2001–2015. In addition, negative correlations between the NPP and GPI occupied most of the research area (92.41%). Discussion Our results indicate that: (i) anthropogenic activities were the primary cause of the reduction in the grassland NPP, especially grazing activities. (ii) For areas where the grassland NPP has increased, precipitation was the dominant climatic factor over temperature in controlling the grassland NPP changes in the study area. (iii) The findings of the current research indicate that some measures should be taken to reduce livestock pressure, and artificial grasslands can be built along the Irtysh River and the Ulungur River to relieve grazing pressure on spring/autumn pastures and winter pastures. Our results could provide reliable information for grassland management and the prevention of grassland degradation in arid regions of Central Asia.