Human appropriation of net primary production estimates in the Xinjiang grasslands

Xiaotao Huang; Li Ma; Geping Luo; Chunbo Chen; Gangyong Li; Yang Yan; Huakun Zhou; Buqing Yao; Zhen Ma

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242478

Human appropriation of net primary production estimates in the Xinjiang grasslands

PLoS One. 2020 Dec 2;15(12):e0242478. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242478. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Xiaotao Huang^{1

2

3}, Li Ma^{1

2

3}, Geping Luo^{4

3}, Chunbo Chen^{4

3}, Gangyong Li⁴, Yang Yan⁴, Huakun Zhou^{1

2

3}, Buqing Yao^{1

2

3}, Zhen Ma^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology for Cold Regions Laboratory in Qinghai, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai, China.
² Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai, China.
³ University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁴ Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, Urumqi, China.

Abstract

The human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) was developed to estimate the intensity of human activities in natural ecosystems, which is still unclear in the Xinjiang grasslands. Using the Biome-Biogeochemical Cycle (Biome-BGC) grazing model in combination with field data, we assessed the HANPP and explored its spatiotemporal patterns in the Xinjiang grasslands. Our results showed that (1) the HANPP increased from 38 g C/m2/yr in 1979 to 88 g C/m2/yr in 2012, with an average annual increase of 1.47%. The HANPP was 80 g C/m2/yr, which represented 51% of the potential net primary production (NPPpot), and the HANPP efficiency was 70% in this region. (2) The areas with high HANPP values mainly occurred in northern Xinjiang and northwest of the Tianshan Mountains, while areas with low HANPP values mainly occurred in southern Xinjiang and southwest of the Tianshan Mountains. (3) Interannual variations in HANPP and NPPpot were significantly positively correlated (P<0.01). Interannual variations in HANPP efficiency and grazing intensity were negatively correlated (P<0.01). These results can help identify the complex impacts of human activities on grassland ecosystems and provide basic data for grassland management.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
China
Geography
Grassland*
Herbivory
Human Activities*
Humans
Models, Theoretical
Reproducibility of Results
Time Factors

Grants and funding

This research was financially supported by the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) “Light of West China” Program (2018), “The effect of grazing on grassland productivity in the basin of Qinghai Lake”, the Key R&D and Transformation Projects in Qinghai Province (2018-SF-146), Province Natural Foundation of Qinghai (2017-S-1-04; 2020-ZJ-925) and the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research program (2019QZKK0302).