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Impacts of climate gradients on the vegetation phenology of major land use types in Central Asia (1981–2008)

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Abstract

Time-series of land surface phenology (LSP) data offer insights about vegetation growth patterns. They can be generated by exploiting the temporal and spectral reflectance properties of land surface components. Interannual and seasonal LSP data are important for understanding and predicting an ecosystem’s response to variations caused by natural and anthropogenic drivers. This research examines spatio-temporal change patterns and interactions between terrestrial phenology and 28 years of climate dynamics in Central Asia. Long-term (1981–2008) LSP records such as timing of the start, peak and length of the growing season and vegetation productivity were derived from remotely sensed vegetation greenness data. The patterns were analyzed to identify and characterize the impact of climate drivers at regional scales. We explored the relationships between phenological and precipitation and temperature variables for three generalized land use types that were exposed to decadelong regional drought events and intensified land and water resource use: rainfed agriculture, irrigated agriculture, and non-agriculture. To determine whether and how LSP dynamics are associated with climate patterns, a series of simple linear regression analyses between these two variables was executed. The three land use classes showed unique phenological responses to climate variation across Central Asia. Most of the phenological response variables were shown to be positively correlated to precipitation and negatively correlated to temperature. The most substantial climate variable affecting phenological responses of all three land use classes was a spring temperature regime. These results indicate that future higher temperatures would cause earlier and longer growing seasons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and Development, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Jahan Kariyeva, Willem J. D. van Leeuwen & Connie A. Woodhouse

  2. School of Natural Resources and the Environment — Office of Arid Lands Studies — Arizona Remote Sensing Center, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Jahan Kariyeva & Willem J. D. van Leeuwen

Authors
  1. Jahan Kariyeva
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  2. Willem J. D. van Leeuwen
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  3. Connie A. Woodhouse
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Correspondence to Jahan Kariyeva.

Additional information

Jahan Kariyeva received a B.S. degree in geography and ecology from the Turkmen State University, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in 2001; M.S. in environmental policy and planning from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio in 2006, and a Ph.D. in geography and spatial Analysis from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona in 2010. She is an Adjunct Research Scientist at the Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona. For her Ph.D. research, Dr. Kariyeva worked on phenological responses to land use and climate variation in Central Asia. Research interests: phenology, land use/cover, landscape ecology, environmental geomatics, climate change projections and implications.

Willem J.D. van Leeuwen received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Soil Science from the Wageningen University for Life Sciences, the Netherlands in 1985 and 1987 respectively, and a Ph.D. from the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson in 1995. He is the director of the Arizona Remote Sensing Center. Dr. van Leeuwen is an Associate Professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment & the School of Geography and Development at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Research: habitat characterization, land use and land cover, land surface phenology, remote sensing and geospatial science.

Connie A. Woodhouse received a B.A. degree in environmental education from Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona, USA in 1979, M.Sc. degree in geography from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA in 1989, and a Ph.D. in geosciences from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA in 1996. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Geography and Development with joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Current research includes the study of regional climates, drought, ocean/atmosphere circulation, and dendrochronology.

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Kariyeva, J., van Leeuwen, W.J.D. & Woodhouse, C.A. Impacts of climate gradients on the vegetation phenology of major land use types in Central Asia (1981–2008). Front. Earth Sci. 6, 206–225 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-012-0315-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-012-0315-1

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