Please wait a minute...
Journal of Arid Land  2013, Vol. 5 Issue (1): 15-24    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-013-0137-3
Research Articles     
Changes in terrestrial surface dry and wet conditions on the Loess Plateau (China) during the last half century
YuBi YAO1,2,3,4, RunYuan WANG1, JinHu YANG4, Ping YUE1, DengRong LU5, GuoJu XIAO6, Yang WANG4, LinChun LIU4
1 China Meteorological Administration Key Laboratory of Arid Climate Change and Reducing Disaster, Lanzhou 730020, China;
2 Gansu Province Key Laboratory of Arid Climate Change and Reducing Disaster, Lanzhou 730020, China;
3 Lanzhou Institute of Arid Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Lanzhou 730020, China;
4 Meteorological Bureau of Dingxi City, Dingxi 743000, China;
5 Gansu Meteorological Information Center, Lanzhou 730020, China;
6 New Technology Application Research and Development Centre of Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Download:   PDF(455KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      

Abstract  This paper, using a revised Penman-Monteith model, computed the terrestrial surface humidity index of the Loess Plateau (China) based on climatic factors of monthly mean temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind speed and sunshine duration observed on the plateau from 1961 to 2008. The temporal-spatial distribution, anomaly distribution and sub-regional temporal variations of the terrestrial surface dry and wet conditions were analyzed as well. The results showed a decreasing trend in the annual average surface humidity from the southeast to the northwest in the research area. Over the period of 1961–2008, an aridification tendency appeared sharply in the central interior region of the Loess Plateau, and less sharply in the middle part of the region. The border region showed the weakest tendency of aridification. It is clear that aridification diffused in all directions from the interior region. The spatial anomaly distribution of the terrestrial surface dry and wet conditions on the Loess Plateau can be divided into three key areas: the southern, western and eastern regions. The terrestrial annual humidity index displayed a significantly descending trend and showed remarkable abrupt changes from wet to dry in the years 1967, 1977 and 1979. In the above mentioned three key areas for dry and wet conditions, the terrestrial annual humidity index exhibited a fluctuation period of 3–4 years, while in the southern region, a fluctuation period of 7–8 years existed at the same time.

Key words transdisciplinary research      land and water management      ecosystem services     
Received: 02 May 2012      Published: 06 March 2013
Fund:  

The National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB955903, 2012CB955304), the Special Fund for Public Welfare Industry (GYHY201106029, GYHY200806021), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40830957), the China Meteoro-logical Administration Special Program for Climatic Change (280200S011C00), and the Drought Meteorology Science Re-search Program (IAM201111).

Corresponding Authors:
Cite this article:

YuBi YAO, RunYuan WANG, JinHu YANG, Ping YUE, DengRong LU, GuoJu XIAO, Yang WANG, LinChun LIU. Changes in terrestrial surface dry and wet conditions on the Loess Plateau (China) during the last half century. Journal of Arid Land, 2013, 5(1): 15-24.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-013-0137-3     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2013/V5/I1/15

Allen R G, Pereira L S, Raes D, et al. 1998. Crop evapotranspiration: guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56. Rome: FAO.

Chattopadhyay N, Hulme M. 1997. Evaporation and potential evapotranspiration in India under conditions of recent and future climate change. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 87: 55–73.

Chen S B, Liu Y F, Axel Thomas. 2006. Climatic change on the Tibetan Plateau: potential evapotranspiration trends from 1961–2000. Climatic Change, 76: 291–319.

Ci L J, Yang X H, Chen Z X. 2002. The potential impacts of climate change scenarios on desertification in China. Earth Science Frontiers, 9(2): 287–294.

Deng G Y. 1979. A climatic calculative method of evaporation from open water. Acta Meteorologica Sinica, 37(3): 87–96.

Ding Y G, Shi N. 1992. Research on convergence of the eigenvalues for the EOFs expansion of meteorological field among different schemes. Chinese Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 16(4): 436–443.

Du J, Li C, La B, et al. 2009. Climatic changes of terrestrial surface humid index and its impact factors over Tibet in recent 35 years. Acta Meteorologica Sinica, 67(1): 158–164.

Guo R, Li F M, He W Y, et al. 2011. Spatial and temporal variability of annual precipitation during 1958–2007 in Loess Plateau, China. In: IFIP. Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 345: 551–560.

IPCC. 2007. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. In: Parry M L, Canziani O F, Palutikof J P, et al. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cam¬bridge and Newyork: Cambridge University Press.

IPCC. 2012. Summary for Policymakers. In: FieldC B, Barros V, Stocker T F, et al. Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adapt¬ation. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergo¬vernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1–19.

Jesen M E, Burman R D, Allen R G. 1990. Evapotranspiration and irrigation water requirements. In: Jensen M E, Burman R D, Allen RG. ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 70. New York: American Society of Civil Engineer, 80–112.

Jiang D B, Su M F, Wei R Q, et al. 2009. Variation and projection of drought and wet conditions in Xinjiang. Chinese Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 33(1): 90–98.

Kendall M G. 1975. Rank Correlation Methods. London: Griffin.

Li H X, Liu G H, Fu B J. 2012. Estimation of regional evapotranspiration in alpine area and its response to land use change: a case study in Three-River Headwaters region of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Chinese Geographical Science, 22(4): 437–449.

Liu Q, Yang Z F, Cui B S. 2008. Spatial and temporal variability of annual precipitation during 1961–2006 in Yellow River Basin, China. Journal of Hydrology, 361: 330–338.

Liu W Q, Wang F T. 2002. Analysis on vulnerability of agro-production to climate change in the Loess Plateau. Journal of Nanjing Institute of Meteorology, 25(5): 620–624.

Lu A G. 2009. Spatial and temporal precipitation variation on the Loess Plateau in the past half century. Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 18(3): 957–959.

Ma Z G, Fu C B. 2001. Trend of surface humid index in the arid area of northern China. Acta Meteorologica Sinica, 59(6): 737–746. 

Ma Z G, Fu C B. 2005. Decadal variations of arid and semi-arid boundary in China. Chinese Journal of Geophysics, 48(3): 519–525.

Ma Z G. 2005. Dry/wet variation and its relationship with regional warming in arid-regions of northern China. Chinese Journal of Geophysics, 48(5): 1011–1018.

Mann H B. 1945. Nonparametric tests against trend. Econometrica, 13: 245–259.

Mitchell J M, Dzerdzeevskii B, Flohn H, et al. 1966. Climate change. In: WMO Technical Note No. 79. Geneva: World Meteorological Organization.

Shen S H, Zhang F M, Sheng Q. 2009. Spatio-temporal changes of wetness index in China from 1975 to 2004. Transactions of the CSAE, 25(1): 11–15.

Thomas A. 2000. Spatial and temporal characteristics of potential evapotranspiration trends over China. International Journal of Climatology, 20: 381–396.

Walter I A, Allen R G, Elliott R, et al. 2000. ASCE′s standardized reference evapotranspiration equation. In: Evans R G, Benham B L, Trooien T P. Proceedings of the National Irrigation Symposium, ASAE. Phoenix: ASCE, 1–6.

Wang P X, Yang J H. 2007. Extreme high temperature events and response to regional warming in recent 45 years in northwest China. Journal of Desert Research, 27(4): 649–654.

Wang Y Q, Fan J, Shao M A, et al. 2008a. Analysis of effects of climate change on reference evapotranspiration on the Loess Plateau in recent 50 years. Transactions of the CSAE, 24(9): 6–10.

Wang W, Chen X, Shi P, et al. 2008b. Detecting changes in extreme precipitation and extreme streamflow in the Dongjiang River Basin in southern China. Hydrology and Earth System Science, 12: 207–221.

Wang Y R, Yin X Z, Yuan Z P. 2004. Main characteristics of climate system in Loess Plateau in China. Journal of Catastrophology, 19(z1): 40–47.

Wei F Y. 2007. Statistic Diagnose and Foreshadow Technology in Present Climate. Beijing: Meteorological Press, 115–131.

Wu H B, Wu L. 2005. Methods for Diagnosing and Forecasting Climate Variability. Beijing: Meteorological Press, 208–244.

Wu S H, Yin Y H, Zheng D, et al. 2005. Study of dry and wet state in recent 30 years in China. Science in China: Series D, 35(3): 276–283.

Xie X Q, Wang L. 2007. Changes of potential evaporation in northern China over the past 50 years. Journal of Natural Resources, 22(5): 684–690.

Yao Y B, Wang Y R, Li Y H, et al. 2005. Climate warming and drying and its environmental effects in the Loess Plateau. Resources Science, 27(5): 146–152.

Yao Y B, Yang J H, Yue P, et al. 2011a. Climatic change of terrestrial surface humid index and its impact factors over the source region of three rivers in recent 50 years. Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 20(11): 1585–1593.

Yao Y B, Wang R Y, Yang J H, et al. 2011b. Change of terrestrial surface potential evapotranspiration in Loess Plateau. Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 20(8–9): 1189–1195.

Zhang J Y, Dong W J, Fu C B, et al. 2003. The influence of vegetation cover on summer precipitation in China: a statistical analysis of NDVI and climate data. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 20(6): 1002–1006.

Zhang Q, Liu C L, Xu C Y, et al. 2006. Observed trends of annual maximum water level and streamflow during past 130 years in the Yangtze River basin, China. Journal of hydrology, 324: 255–265.

Zhang Q, Deng Z Y, Zhao Y D, et al. 2008. The impacts of global climatic change on the agriculture in northwest China. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 28(3): 1210–1218.

Zhang Q, Sun Z X, Wang S. 2011. Analysis of variation regularity of land–surface physical quantities over Dingxi region of the Loess Plateau. Chinese Journal of Geophysics, 54(7): 1727–1731.

Zhao Y X, Wang F T, Liu W Q. 2003. Climatic ecological environment, climate change and agricultural productivity in Loess P1ateau. Agricultural Research in the Arid Areas, 21(4): 142–147.

Zhou L S. 2000. China’s Agro–geography. Beijing: Science Press, 347–364.

Zuo D K, Wang Y X, Chen J S. 1993. Spatial Distribution Characters of Solar Radiation in China. In: Zuo D K. Geographical Research Paper. Beijing: Science Press, 168–185.
[1] WANG Jing, WEI Yulu, PENG Biao, LIU Siqi, LI Jianfeng. Spatiotemporal variations in ecosystem services and their trade-offs and synergies against the background of the gully control and land consolidation project on the Loess Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(1): 131-145.
[2] LIN Yanmin, HU Zhirui, LI Wenhui, CHEN Haonan, WANG Fang, NAN Xiongxiong, YANG Xuelong, ZHANG Wenjun. Response of ecosystem carbon storage to land use change from 1985 to 2050 in the Ningxia Section of Yellow River Basin, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(1): 110-130.
[3] CAO Yijie, MA Yonggang, BAO Anming, CHANG Cun, LIU Tie. Evaluation of the water conservation function in the Ili River Delta of Central Asia based on the InVEST model[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(12): 1455-1473.
[4] Mohsen SHARAFATMANDRAD, Azam KHOSRAVI MASHIZI. Evaluation of restoration success in arid rangelands of Iran based on the variation of ecosystem services[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(11): 1290-1314.
[5] YAN Xue, LI Lanhai. Spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of ecosystem services in Central Asia[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(1): 1-19.
[6] LI Feng, LI Yaoming, ZHOU Xuewen, YIN Zun, LIU Tie, XIN Qinchuan. Modeling and analyzing supply-demand relationships of water resources in Xinjiang from a perspective of ecosystem services[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(2): 115-138.
[7] YU Yang, CHEN Xi, Ireneusz MALIK, Malgorzata WISTUBA, CAO Yiguo, HOU Dongde, TA Zhijie, HE Jing, ZHANG Lingyun, YU Ruide, ZHANG Haiyan, SUN Lingxiao. Spatiotemporal changes in water, land use, and ecosystem services in Central Asia considering climate changes and human activities[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(9): 881-890.
[8] SUN Chen, MA Yonggang, GONG Lu. Response of ecosystem service value to land use/cover change in the northern slope economic belt of the Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(10): 1026-1040.
[9] Ahmed M M HASOBA, Ahmed A H SIDDIG, Yousif E YAGOUB. Exploring tree diversity and stand structure of savanna woodlands in southeastern Sudan[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(4): 609-617.
[10] Yang YU, Xi CHEN, HUTTNER Philipp, HINNENTHAL Marie, BRIEDEN Andreas, Lingxiao SUN, DISSE Markus. Model based decision support system for land use changes and socio-economic assessments[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2018, 10(2): 169-182.
[11] Tuck-Fatt SIEW, Petra DoLL. Transdisciplinary research for supporting the integration of ecosystem services into land and water management in the Tarim River Basin, Xinjiang, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2012, 4(2): 196-210.