New perspective on spring vegetation phenology and global climate change based on Tibetan Plateau tree-ring data.

ABSTRACT: Phenological responses of vegetation to climate, in particular to the ongoing warming trend, have received much attention. However, divergent results from the analyses of remote sensing data have been obtained for the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the world's largest high-elevation region. This study provides a perspective on vegetation phenology shifts during 1960-2014, gained using an innovative approach based on a well-validated, process-based, tree-ring growth model that is independent of temporal changes in technical properties and image quality of remote sensing products. Twenty composite site chronologies were analyzed, comprising about 3,000 trees from forested areas across the TP. We found that the start of the growing season (SOS) has advanced, on average, by 0.28 d/y over the period 196

SUBMITTER: Yang B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5502585 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature