Publications

Yao, YH; Suo, NDZ; Zhang, YC (2022). Comparative analysis of the mass elevation effect and its implication for the treeline between the Tibetan and Bolivian plateaus based on solar radiation. JOURNAL OF MOUNTAIN SCIENCE, 19(4), 1082-1094.

Abstract
As one of the main non-zonal factors, the mass elevation effect (MEE) has significant impacts on both regional climates and mountain ecological patterns. In recent years, with the development of quantitative techniques and methods, quantitative studies on the MEE and its implication on mountain altitudinal belts have developed rapidly. However, some issues have not been solved yet, such as high errors in spatial temperature estimations and difficulties in the definition and extraction of intramountain base elevation. Moreover, there is still a lack of comparative studies on the MEE and its influence on treelines and snowlines as most studies were conducted on specific mountains or plateaus. To compare the MEE magnitudes of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the Bolivian Plateau (BP), we estimated the correspondent air temperatures and simulated the solar radiations based on MODIS surface temperature, station observation, and treeline data. Then, we analyzed the elevation of the 10 degrees C isotherms on the two plateaus, the temperatures at the same elevation, and the solar radiations. According to the mechanism of the MEE and the relationship of solar radiation and treeline, we constructed treeline models for the two plateaus through a stepwise regression analysis by considering several influencing factors of the MEE (e.g., air temperature and precipitation) and using solar radiation as its proxy. The results showed that: (1) the MEE magnitude on the TP is equivalent to that on the BP although the former is slightly higher than the latter; (2) the MEE strongly influences the highest treelines in the northern and southern hemispheres, which both occur on the two plateaus. Notably, the treeline distribution models based on solar radiation had higher accuracies than those models with parameters of temperature and precipitation (the adjusted R-2 values were 0.76 for the TP and 0.936 for the BP), indicating that solar radiation can be used to quantify the MEE and its implications on treelines. Overall, the results of this study can serve as a basis for subsequent analyses on the MEE's impact factors.

DOI:
10.1007/s11629-021-6971-4

ISSN:
1993-0321