Publication Date:
2021-03-29
Description:
The temperate Eurasian steppe (TES) is a region where various environmental, social, and
economic stresses converge. Multiple types of disturbance exist widely across the landscape, and
heavily influence carbon cycling in this region. However, a current quantitative assessment of the
impact of disturbances on carbon sequestration is largely lacking. In this study, we combined the
boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS), the Shiyomi grazing model, and the global fire
model (Glob-FIRM) to investigate the impact of the two major types of disturbance in the TES
(i.e. domestic grazing and fire) on regional carbon sequestration. Model performance was
validated using satellite data and field observations. Model outputs indicate that disturbance has a
significant impact on carbon sequestration at a regional scale. The annual total carbon lost due
to disturbances was 7.8 TgCyr−1, accounting for 14.2% of the total net ecosystem productivity
(NEP). Domestic grazing plays the dominant role in terrestrial carbon consumption, accounting
for 95% of the total carbon lost from the two disturbances. Carbon losses from both
disturbances significantly increased from 1999 to 2008 (R2=0.82, P 〈 0.001 for grazing,
R2=0.51, P〈0.05 for fire). Heavy domestic grazing in relatively barren grasslands substantially
reduced carbon sequestration, particularly in the grasslands of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the
far southwest of Inner Mongolia. This spatially-explicit information has potential implications for
sustainable management of carbon sequestration in the vast grassland ecosystems.
Keywords:
temperate Eurasian steppe; carbon sequestration; disturbance simulation; terrestrial modelling; grazing activity
;
551
Language:
English
Type:
article
,
publishedVersion
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