Inter-annual rainfall variability in Central Asia - A contribution to the discussion on the importance of environmental stochasticity in drylands
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Inter-annual rainfall variability in Central Asia - A contribution to the discussion on the importance of environmental stochasticity in drylands. / von Wehrden, Henrik; Hanspach, Jan; Ronnenberg, Katrin et al.
In: Journal of Arid Environments, Vol. 74, No. 10, 10.2010, p. 1212-1215.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Inter-annual rainfall variability in Central Asia - A contribution to the discussion on the importance of environmental stochasticity in drylands
AU - von Wehrden, Henrik
AU - Hanspach, Jan
AU - Ronnenberg, Katrin
AU - Wesche, K.
N1 - DOI funktioniert (noch) nicht
PY - 2010/10
Y1 - 2010/10
N2 - Drylands are characterised by pronounced climatic fluctuations, especially in regard to precipitation. We tested the relationship between mean precipitation and variability values using monthly data from climate stations in both arid and semi-arid parts of Central and High Asia. Total annual and growing season precipitation values were also compared in order to produce results relevant to plant biomass productivity and thus land use. Our study confirmed the well known observation that variability increases with lower overall precipitation levels. The observed correlation indicated that growing season precipitation variability increased dramatically where mean precipitation levels fell below ∼100 mm. This sheds new light on the transition between regimes with more regular rainfall patterns and those with episodic rainfall; a focus on the growing season indicates a stronger relation between rainfall sums and rainfall variability compared to annual values. We therefore encourage future analysis for other parts of the world to improve our understanding of the relationship between climatic conditions and productivity in drylands.
AB - Drylands are characterised by pronounced climatic fluctuations, especially in regard to precipitation. We tested the relationship between mean precipitation and variability values using monthly data from climate stations in both arid and semi-arid parts of Central and High Asia. Total annual and growing season precipitation values were also compared in order to produce results relevant to plant biomass productivity and thus land use. Our study confirmed the well known observation that variability increases with lower overall precipitation levels. The observed correlation indicated that growing season precipitation variability increased dramatically where mean precipitation levels fell below ∼100 mm. This sheds new light on the transition between regimes with more regular rainfall patterns and those with episodic rainfall; a focus on the growing season indicates a stronger relation between rainfall sums and rainfall variability compared to annual values. We therefore encourage future analysis for other parts of the world to improve our understanding of the relationship between climatic conditions and productivity in drylands.
KW - Biology
KW - China
KW - Grazing
KW - Mongolia
KW - Precipitation variability
KW - Rangeland productivity
KW - annual variation
KW - arid region
KW - climate variation
KW - episodic event
KW - grazing
KW - growing season
KW - land use
KW - phytomass
KW - precipitation assessment
KW - rainfall
KW - rangeland
KW - semiarid region
KW - stochasticity
KW - weather station
KW - Asia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77955174836&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.03.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.03.011
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 74
SP - 1212
EP - 1215
JO - Journal of Arid Environments
JF - Journal of Arid Environments
SN - 0140-1963
IS - 10
ER -