Hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high Andean ecosystems
Mountain ecosystems are sensitive to climate fluctuations; however, the scarcity of instrumental data makes necessary the use of complementary information to study the effect of climate change on these systems. Remote sensing permits studying the dynamics of vegetation productivity and wetlands in r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1067096/full |
| _version_ | 1797947017967697920 |
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| author | Julieta Carilla Ezequiel Aráoz Javier Foguet Elvira Casagranda Stephan Halloy Alfredo Grau |
| author_facet | Julieta Carilla Ezequiel Aráoz Javier Foguet Elvira Casagranda Stephan Halloy Alfredo Grau |
| author_sort | Julieta Carilla |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mountain ecosystems are sensitive to climate fluctuations; however, the scarcity of instrumental data makes necessary the use of complementary information to study the effect of climate change on these systems. Remote sensing permits studying the dynamics of vegetation productivity and wetlands in response to climate variability at different scales. In this study we identified the main climate variables that control vegetation dynamics and water balance in Cumbres Calchaquíes, NW Argentina. For this, we built annual time series from 1986 to 2019 of Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI, to quantify spare vegetation productivity), lake area, and snow-ice cover of peatlands, as indicators of mountain productivity and hydrology. We used a decompose function to explore trend, seasonality and random signal of the three-time series, and explored for significant changes in the mean value of consecutive periods. We used correlational analysis to explore their associations with climate records at local, regional, and global scales. The results showed that, SAVI and hydrological indicators presented different fluctuation patterns more pronounced since 2012, when they showed divergent trends with increasing SAVI and decreasing lake area and snow-ice cover. The three indicators responded differently to climate; SAVI increased in warmer years and lake area reflected the water balance of previous years. Snow-ice cover of peatlands was highly correlated with lake area. La Niña had a positive effect on lake area and snow-ice cover and a negative on SAVI, while El Niño had a negative effect on SAVI. Fluctuations of lake areas were synchronized with lake area in the nearby Argentinian puna, suggesting that climate signals have regional extent. The information provided by the three hydroclimate indicators is complementary and reflects different climate components and processes; biological processes (SAVI), physical processes (snow ice cover) and their combination (lake area). This study provides a systematic accessible replicable tool for mountain eco-hydrology long-term monitoring. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:20:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dab7832d733f4d6a9b721b99bd9f1643 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:20:06Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-dab7832d733f4d6a9b721b99bd9f16432023-01-20T07:11:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2023-01-011310.3389/fpls.2022.10670961067096Hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high Andean ecosystemsJulieta Carilla0Ezequiel Aráoz1Javier Foguet2Elvira Casagranda3Stephan Halloy4Alfredo Grau5Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, ArgentinaInstituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, ArgentinaInstituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, ArgentinaInstituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, ArgentinaAnimal and Plant Health Directorate, Biosecurity, Ministry for Primary Insdustries, New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington, New ZealandFacultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, UNT, Tucumán, ArgentinaMountain ecosystems are sensitive to climate fluctuations; however, the scarcity of instrumental data makes necessary the use of complementary information to study the effect of climate change on these systems. Remote sensing permits studying the dynamics of vegetation productivity and wetlands in response to climate variability at different scales. In this study we identified the main climate variables that control vegetation dynamics and water balance in Cumbres Calchaquíes, NW Argentina. For this, we built annual time series from 1986 to 2019 of Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI, to quantify spare vegetation productivity), lake area, and snow-ice cover of peatlands, as indicators of mountain productivity and hydrology. We used a decompose function to explore trend, seasonality and random signal of the three-time series, and explored for significant changes in the mean value of consecutive periods. We used correlational analysis to explore their associations with climate records at local, regional, and global scales. The results showed that, SAVI and hydrological indicators presented different fluctuation patterns more pronounced since 2012, when they showed divergent trends with increasing SAVI and decreasing lake area and snow-ice cover. The three indicators responded differently to climate; SAVI increased in warmer years and lake area reflected the water balance of previous years. Snow-ice cover of peatlands was highly correlated with lake area. La Niña had a positive effect on lake area and snow-ice cover and a negative on SAVI, while El Niño had a negative effect on SAVI. Fluctuations of lake areas were synchronized with lake area in the nearby Argentinian puna, suggesting that climate signals have regional extent. The information provided by the three hydroclimate indicators is complementary and reflects different climate components and processes; biological processes (SAVI), physical processes (snow ice cover) and their combination (lake area). This study provides a systematic accessible replicable tool for mountain eco-hydrology long-term monitoring.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1067096/fullCumbres CalchaquíesENSOlake areaNDSIremote sensing indicatorsSAVI |
| spellingShingle | Julieta Carilla Ezequiel Aráoz Javier Foguet Elvira Casagranda Stephan Halloy Alfredo Grau Hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high Andean ecosystems Frontiers in Plant Science Cumbres Calchaquíes ENSO lake area NDSI remote sensing indicators SAVI |
| title | Hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high Andean ecosystems |
| title_full | Hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high Andean ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high Andean ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high Andean ecosystems |
| title_short | Hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high Andean ecosystems |
| title_sort | hydroclimate and vegetation variability of high andean ecosystems |
| topic | Cumbres Calchaquíes ENSO lake area NDSI remote sensing indicators SAVI |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1067096/full |
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