Impacts of climate change on vegetation phenology over the Great Lakes Region of Central Asia from 1982 to 2014

Dryland ecosystems in the Great Lakes Region of Central Asia (GLRCA) are highly sensitive to climate change due to the climate of spring precipitation. Although shifts in vegetation phenology have been widely attributed to rising temperature, the effects of solar radiation and drought on phenology remain largely unknown. Understanding the mechanisms of vegetation phenology response to climatic factors is essential for assessing the impact of climate change on dryland ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal variations of vegetation phenology across the GLRCA using a long-term series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and then examined the response of vegetation phenology to climate change within different climate zones by combining with climate data (surface temperature, soil moisture, short-wave radiation, and standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI)). The results suggested that the start of growing season (SGS) and the end of growing season (EGS) were significantly earlier regionally by -0.143 days/year and -0.363 days/year, respectively. Because of changes in SGS and EGS, length of growing season (LGS) across the GLRCA was shortened at a rate of -0.442 days/yr, which was mainly attributed to advanced EGS. Additionally, SGS of vegetation was negatively correlated with surface temperature but positively correlated with soil moisture and SPEI. These results indicated that surface temperature was a major determinant of advanced spring phenology, while increased soil moisture and mitigated drought would delay spring phenology. The response of autumn phenology to surface temperature and short-wave radiation varied across different climate zones. In arid climate zone, autumn phenology was obviously advanced with the increase of surface temperature and short-wave radiation. In cold climate zone, higher surface temperature and short-wave radiation postponed autumn phenology. Meanwhile, the thermal growing season did not accurately characterize the actual vegetation growing season because GLRCA phenology was different from most of Northern Hemisphere.

Automated summary

This study investigated the spatial and temporal variations of vegetation phenology in the dryland ecosystems of the Great Lakes Region of Central Asia (GLRCA). The results showed that the start of growing season (SGS) and the end of growing season (EGS) were significantly earlier regionally, leading to a shorter length of growing season (LGS) across the GLRCA. Surface temperature was found to be a major determinant of advanced spring phenology, while increased soil moisture and mitigated drought would delay spring phenology. The response of autumn phenology to surface temperature and short-wave radiation varied across different climate zones.