Welcome to Acta Prataculturae Sinica ! Today is

Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (7): 15-31.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2025234

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatiotemporal dynamics of edible forage and its climatic driving mechanisms in the Three-River Headwaters Region from 1981 to 2020

Shu-chao LIU1,2,3(), Quan-qin SHAO2,3,4(), Jiang-wen FAN2,3, Hai-bo HUANG2   

  1. 1.School of Remote Sensing Science and Technology,Aerospace Information Technology University,Jinan 250299,China
    2.Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100101,China
    3.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
    4.School of Ecology,Hainan University,Haikou 570228,China
  • Received:2025-06-10 Revised:2025-10-09 Online:2026-07-20 Published:2026-05-21
  • Contact: Quan-qin SHAO

Abstract:

The Three-River Headwaters Region (TRHR) is a core area of the ecological security barrier on the Tibetan Plateau. Understanding the dynamics of edible forage in this area is crucial for the sustainable utilization of alpine grasslands. This study integrated multi-source remote sensing data, including the global land surface satellite (GLASS) products, the Net Primary Productivity (NPP) dataset estimated by the remote sensing process coupled model, the global production efficiency model carbon exchange and vegetation structure analysis (GLOPEM CEVSA), and Landsat satellite imagery, long-term field monitoring data, and meteorological records to construct a grassland yield dataset (1981-2020) and quantify the spatiotemporal differentiation of the proportions of edible forage under varying degradation gradients. The results show that: 1) Over the past 40 years, the average edible forage proportion was 0.69, showing a “decline-fluctuation-recovery” trend, with periodical averages of 0.72 (1981-1990), 0.69 (1991-2004), 0.66 (2005-2012), and 0.70 (2013-2020). Despite ecological restoration efforts, the proportion of edible forage has not returned to the level in the early 1980s. 2) The edible forage yield exhibited a spatial decline from east to west, with an annual average of 403.48 kg·ha-1 and a total yield of 13.2261×106 t. Significant increases (P<0.05) occurred in 62.5% of the regions. 3) The annual average temperature dominated climatic drivers (68.3% of areas showed positive correlations) affecting the spatiotemporal dynamics of edible forage, while precipitation exerted stronger effects in arid zones (<400 mm) and severely degraded areas. 4) Within the Three-River Source National Park, edible forage yield showed an overall increasing trend but varied significantly among zones, being markedly higher in the Lancang River Source Park (399.56 kg·ha-1) than in the Yangtze River Source Park (169.37 kg·ha-1). The results of this study elucidate the differential regulatory mechanisms of climate warming and precipitation changes on alpine grassland restoration, providing a scientific foundation for adaptive management strategies in the TRHR.

Key words: Three-River Headwaters Region, edible forage, forage yield, spatiotemporal dynamics, climatic drivers