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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional Plant Ecology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1440993
This article is part of the Research Topic Vegetation Resilience in Ecological Autocatalysis under Climate Change View all 3 articles

Stability of Gross Primary Productivity and Its Sensitivity to Climate Variability in China

Provisionally accepted
Xiaojuan Xu Xiaojuan Xu 1*Fusheng Jiao Fusheng Jiao 2Haibo Gong Haibo Gong 3Jing Liu Jing Liu 1Kun Zhang Kun Zhang 1Dayi Lin Dayi Lin 1Yue Yang Yue Yang 1Naifeng Lin Naifeng Lin 1Qian Wu Qian Wu 1Yingying Zhu Yingying Zhu 1Jie Qiu Jie Qiu 1Changxin Zou Changxin Zou 1
  • 1 Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing, China
  • 2 Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 3 Peking University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Identifying the stability and sensitivity of land ecosystems to climate change is vital for exploring nature-based solutions. However, the underlying mechanisms governing ecosystem stability and sensitivity, especially in regions with overlapping ecological projects, remain unclear.This study quantified the stability and sensitivity of gross primary productivity (GPP) to climate variables (temperature, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), soil moisture, and radiation) in China from 1982 to 2019. Our findings revealed the following: (1) GPP demonstrated an increased trend with lower stability in Eastern regions, while a decreasing trend with higher stability was observed in Western and Southwest China. Notably, the stability of GPP was highest (74.58%) in areas with five overlapping ecological projects: Grain to Green, Natural Forest Resource Protection Project, Threeriver Ecological Conservation and Restoration Project, Return Grazing to Grassland Project, and Three-North Shelter Forestation Project. (2) In regions with minimal or no overlapping ecological projects, temperature and radiation jointly dominated GPP variations. In contrast, water-related factors (VPD and soil moisture) significantly affected GPP in areas with multiple overlapping ecological projects. (3) In the southwestern and northeastern regions, GPP exhibited the highest sensitivity to climate change, while in the eastern coastal areas and Tibet, GPP showed low sensitivity to climate change. In the Loess Plateau, where five ecological projects overlap extensively, carbon sinks primarily demonstrate a monotonic increasing trend, high stability, and low sensitivity to climate change. This study aimed to assess the stability of the land ecosystems and delineate their sensitivity to climate changes, thereby laying the groundwork for understanding ecosystem resilience.

    Keywords: gross primary productivity, Sensitivity, stability, Climate Change, Ecological Engineering

    Received: 30 May 2024; Accepted: 12 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xu, Jiao, Gong, Liu, Zhang, Lin, Yang, Lin, Wu, Zhu, Qiu and Zou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xiaojuan Xu, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.