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Journal of Arid Land
Journal of Arid Land  2024, Vol. 16 Issue (8): 1118-1129    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-024-0022-2
Research article     
Effects of nitrogen deposition on the carbon budget and water stress in Central Asia under climate change
HAN Qifei, XU Wei, LI Chaofan*()
School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
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Abstract  

Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) plays a significant role in shaping the structure and functioning of various terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. However, the magnitude of N deposition on grassland ecosystems in Central Asia still remains highly uncertain. In this study, a multi-data approach was adopted to analyze the distribution and amplitude of N deposition effects in Central Asia from 1979 to 2014 using a process-based denitrification decomposition (DNDC) model. Results showed that total vegetation carbon (C) in Central Asia was 0.35 (±0.09) Pg C/a and the averaged water stress index (WSI) was 0.20 (±0.02) for the whole area. Increasing N deposition led to an increase in the vegetation C of 65.56 (±83.03) Tg C and slightly decreased water stress in Central Asia. Findings of this study will expand both our understanding and predictive capacity of C characteristics under future increases in N deposition, and also serve as a valuable reference for decision-making regarding water resources management and climate change mitigation in arid and semi-arid areas globally.

Key words： carbon dynamics      climate change      grassland ecosystems      nitrogen deposition      water stress index     
Received: 11 March 2024      Published: 31 August 2024
Corresponding Authors: *LI Chaofan (E-mail: lcf@nuist.edu.cn)
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HAN Qifei, XU Wei, LI Chaofan. Effects of nitrogen deposition on the carbon budget and water stress in Central Asia under climate change. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(8): 1118-1129.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-024-0022-2     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2024/V16/I8/1118

Fig. 1 Study area and types of grassland in Central Asia. Note that the figure is based on the standard maps (GS(2016)1666 and GS(2019)1822) of the Map Service System (https://bzdt.ch.mnr.gov.cn/), and the international boundaries have not been modified.
Fig. 2 Validation of simulated and observed net primary productivity (NPP; a) and vegetation carbon (C; b). Shaded gray area represents the 95% confidence interval. Dashed line represents the 1:1 goodness-fit-line.
Fig. 3 Spatial distribution of vegetation C and water stress index (WSI) of grasslands in Central Asia during the period 1979-2014 under nitrogen (N) deposition simulated by Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) (a and d), Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis-Interim (ERA-Interim) (b and e), and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) (c and f). The abbreviations are the same in the following figures.
Fig. 4 Trends of vegetation C (a) and WSI (c) and their values (c and d) of different types of grassland in Central Asia during the period 1979-2014 under N deposition simulated by CFSR, ERA-Interim, and MERRA. DG, desert grassland; TG, temperate grassland; FM, forest meadow. Shaded gray area in Figure 4a and c represents the 95% confidence interval and dashed line represents the fitting line. Bars are standard errors. The abbreviations are the same in the following figures.
Fig. 5 Spatial distributions of vegetation C difference and WSI variation under N deposition simulated by CFSR (a and d), ERA-Interim (b and e), and MERRA (c and f)
Fig. 6 Vegetation C difference (a) and WSI variation (b) of different types of grassland in Central Asia during the period 1979-2014 under N deposition simulated by CSRS, ERA-Interim, and MERRA. Bars are standard errors.
Fig. 7 Effects of climate on vegetation C (a and c) and WSI (b and d) of grasslands in Central Asia during the period 1979-2014 simulated by CSRS, ERA-Interim, and MERRA. Shaded area represents the 95% confidence interval and dashed line represents the fitting line.
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