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Editor's Highlight
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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 34,
L19405,
doi:10.1029/2007GL031447,
2007
Diverse responses of vegetation phenology to a warming climate
Xiaoyang Zhang
Earth Resources Technology, Inc. at NOAA/NESDIS/STAR, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
Dan Tarpley
Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR), NESDIS, NOAA, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
Jerry T. Sullivan
Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR), NESDIS, NOAA, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
Abstract
Warming climates have been widely recognized to advance spring vegetation phenology. However, the delayed responses of vegetation
phenology to rising temperature and their mechanisms are poorly understood. Using satellite and climate data from 1982 to
2005, we reveal a latitude transition zone of greenup onset in vegetation communities that has diversely responded to warming
temperature in North America. From 40°N northwards, a winter chilling requirement for vegetation dormancy release is far exceeded
and the decrease in chilling days by warming winter temperature has little impact on thermal-time requirements for greenup
onset. Thus, warming spring temperature has constantly advanced greenup onset by 0.32 days/year. However, from 40°N southward,
the shortened winter chilling days are insufficient for fulfilling vegetation chilling requirement, so that the thermal-time
requirement for greenup onset during spring increases gradually. Consequently, vegetation greenup onset changes progressively
from an early trend (north region) to a later trend (south region) along the latitude transition zone from 40–31°N, where
the switch occurs around 35°N. The greenup onset is delayed by 0.15 days/year below 31°N.
Received 26
July
2007;
accepted 10
September
2007;
published 11
October
2007.
Keywords: vegetation phenology;
warming climate;
diverse trends.
Index Terms: 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions (0426, 1610); 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling (0412, 0414, 0793, 4805, 4912); 1630 Global Change: Impacts of global change (1225); 1632 Global Change: Land cover change; 1640 Global Change: Remote sensing (1855).
Read Full Article (file size: 258388 bytes) Cited by
Citation: Zhang, X., D. Tarpley, and J. T. Sullivan
(2007),
Diverse responses of vegetation phenology to a warming climate,
Geophys. Res. Lett.,
34,
L19405,
doi:10.1029/2007GL031447.
Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.
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