Contributions of Climate Change, Vegetation Growth, and Elevated Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration to Variation in Water Use Efficiency in Subtropical China
Ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE) plays an important role in maintaining the carbon assimilation–water transpiration balance in ecosystems. However, spatiotemporal changes in WUE in the subtropical region of China (STC) and the impact of driving forces remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed t...
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/17/4296 |
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| author | Jianyong Xiao Binggeng Xie Kaichun Zhou Junhan Li Jing Xie Chao Liang |
| author_facet | Jianyong Xiao Binggeng Xie Kaichun Zhou Junhan Li Jing Xie Chao Liang |
| author_sort | Jianyong Xiao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE) plays an important role in maintaining the carbon assimilation–water transpiration balance in ecosystems. However, spatiotemporal changes in WUE in the subtropical region of China (STC) and the impact of driving forces remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal variation in WUE in the STC and used ridge regression combined with path analysis to identify direct and indirect effects of climate change, vegetation growth, and elevated atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration (Ca) on the interannual trend in WUE. We then quantified the actual and relative contributions of these drivers to WUE change based on the sensitivity of these variables on WUE and the trends of the variables themselves. Results reveal a mean WUE of 1.57 g C/m<sup>2</sup>/mm in the STC. The annual WUE series showed a descending trend with a decline rate of 0.0006 g C/m<sup>2</sup>/mm/year. The annual average temperature (MAT) and leaf area index (LAI) had strong positive direct effects on the WUE, while the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) had a strong negative direct effect. Opposite direct and indirect effects offset each other, but overall there was a total positive effect of Ca and VPD on WUE. In terms of actual contribution, LAI, Ca, and VPD were the main driving factors; LAI caused WUE to increase by 0.0026 g C/m<sup>2</sup>/mm/year, while Ca and VPD caused WUE to decrease by 0.0021 and 0.0012 g C/m<sup>2</sup>/mm/year, respectively. In terms of relative contribution, LAI dominated the WUE trend, although Ca and VPD were also important factors. Other drivers contributed less to the WUE trend. The results of this study have implications for ecological management and restoration under environmental climate change conditions in subtropical regions worldwide. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:18:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
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| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e60a5b469724e1d9c54957b68e405012023-11-23T14:04:14ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-08-011417429610.3390/rs14174296Contributions of Climate Change, Vegetation Growth, and Elevated Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration to Variation in Water Use Efficiency in Subtropical ChinaJianyong Xiao0Binggeng Xie1Kaichun Zhou2Junhan Li3Jing Xie4Chao Liang5School of Geographic Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, ChinaSchool of Geographic Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, ChinaSchool of Geographic Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, ChinaSchool of Geographic Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, ChinaSchool of Geographic Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, ChinaSchool of Geographic Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, ChinaEcosystem water use efficiency (WUE) plays an important role in maintaining the carbon assimilation–water transpiration balance in ecosystems. However, spatiotemporal changes in WUE in the subtropical region of China (STC) and the impact of driving forces remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal variation in WUE in the STC and used ridge regression combined with path analysis to identify direct and indirect effects of climate change, vegetation growth, and elevated atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration (Ca) on the interannual trend in WUE. We then quantified the actual and relative contributions of these drivers to WUE change based on the sensitivity of these variables on WUE and the trends of the variables themselves. Results reveal a mean WUE of 1.57 g C/m<sup>2</sup>/mm in the STC. The annual WUE series showed a descending trend with a decline rate of 0.0006 g C/m<sup>2</sup>/mm/year. The annual average temperature (MAT) and leaf area index (LAI) had strong positive direct effects on the WUE, while the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) had a strong negative direct effect. Opposite direct and indirect effects offset each other, but overall there was a total positive effect of Ca and VPD on WUE. In terms of actual contribution, LAI, Ca, and VPD were the main driving factors; LAI caused WUE to increase by 0.0026 g C/m<sup>2</sup>/mm/year, while Ca and VPD caused WUE to decrease by 0.0021 and 0.0012 g C/m<sup>2</sup>/mm/year, respectively. In terms of relative contribution, LAI dominated the WUE trend, although Ca and VPD were also important factors. Other drivers contributed less to the WUE trend. The results of this study have implications for ecological management and restoration under environmental climate change conditions in subtropical regions worldwide.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/17/4296WUEclimate changeridge regressionpath analysisattribution analysis |
| spellingShingle | Jianyong Xiao Binggeng Xie Kaichun Zhou Junhan Li Jing Xie Chao Liang Contributions of Climate Change, Vegetation Growth, and Elevated Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration to Variation in Water Use Efficiency in Subtropical China Remote Sensing WUE climate change ridge regression path analysis attribution analysis |
| title | Contributions of Climate Change, Vegetation Growth, and Elevated Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration to Variation in Water Use Efficiency in Subtropical China |
| title_full | Contributions of Climate Change, Vegetation Growth, and Elevated Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration to Variation in Water Use Efficiency in Subtropical China |
| title_fullStr | Contributions of Climate Change, Vegetation Growth, and Elevated Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration to Variation in Water Use Efficiency in Subtropical China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contributions of Climate Change, Vegetation Growth, and Elevated Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration to Variation in Water Use Efficiency in Subtropical China |
| title_short | Contributions of Climate Change, Vegetation Growth, and Elevated Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration to Variation in Water Use Efficiency in Subtropical China |
| title_sort | contributions of climate change vegetation growth and elevated atmospheric co sub 2 sub concentration to variation in water use efficiency in subtropical china |
| topic | WUE climate change ridge regression path analysis attribution analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/17/4296 |
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