Modeling Potential Impacts on Regional Climate Due to Land Surface Changes across Mongolia Plateau
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This study investigates the climate feedback to the observed land surface changes from 1990s to 2010s in the Mongolia Plateau. Different effects on regional hydrothermal factors are studied by considering the heterogeneous land use and vegetation cover changes over the period of observation.
This paper is interesting since it completes and specifies the results obtained previously. It is useful because it emphasizes the vulnerability of the Mongolia plateau because of new vegetation changes in recent years.
But it suffers from a lack of rigor in the methodological approach. It is not always clear whether the data is observed or simulated. In the case of monthly mean 2 m air temperature (T2) and precipitation of 2011-2018, the data result from meteorological observations (lines 133-134). Why do you have to simulate these data for the period 1990-1999? Are some observations missing? What the applied physical schemes are? What is the extent of the growing season?
Line 33: Specify the meaning of momentum within this study.
Lines 78-79 Give reference for the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model. What the applied physical schemes are?
Line 150: Give reference for the Noah Land Surface Model. What the applied physical schemes are?
Line 229: what is TSK?
Line 232: replace SL1990s by SL2010s.
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript is well-written. The topic of research is interesting and will help enhance the knowledge of the region's eco-climatological aspects. However, I have a few concerns/suggestions below that need to be addressed before accepting the manuscript.
Comments:
Why was the study targeted at a coarser resolution? It could have been interesting to see the results at least at 1 km resolution.
Why have the authors considered same latent boundaries for both the scenarios? Wont these induce uncertainties in the model predictions?
A methods flowchart might be interesting to see
It would be interesting to see the impacts of socio-economic factors like grazing or fire impacts on vegetation changes.
Line 39 – providing à provide
Lines 42 – 44 – Would you please try to rewrite it better
Line 229 – What is TSK? Is it abbreviated before in the text?
Lines 233- 234 – Needs to be better reframed
Figs 5 and 6 font sizes should be increased.
Lines 316 – 318 - Needs to be better reframed
Lines 320 – 322 – Change from passive to active tense
Lines 346 – 350 – Split into multiple sentences. Try to read the entire manuscript and limit the length of a s sentence to a maximum of 2 lines. Long run-on sentences are hard to understand will loose the interest of readers.
Lines 350 – 351 – need to be better reframed
Lines 353- 357 - Split into multiple sentences.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
Title
The Title reflects the paper’s content accurately.
Abstract
The Abstract determines the paper’s content and objectives in a very manifest and complete fashion.
1. Introduction
A general introduction worthy of mention as a source is [1]. The connection between droughts and negative impact on vegetation needs source re-enforcing, see [2][3][4][5][6]. In addition there is permanent causal connection only in the case where the ability of vegetation to recover is out-balanced by drought increase in frequency, intensity and/or duration [7]. Feng attributes to socioeconomic factors by 80% the 1983-2012 desertification expansion in the North Shanxi region in China, [8]. The use of Charney [9] as a source is weakened by Ripley [10] and by the fact that it refers to the “Sahel region at the southern margin of the Sahara” [9] (Summary) while the 1920–2003 Shahara’s desertification expansion is attributed to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation [11].
2. Materials and Methods
Section 2.1 is too short and would benefit from a more complete description, including, population e.g., as in [12] and a map.
In Section 2.2 a useful source to be mentioned regarding precipitation assessment is [13].
3. Results
Very well presented using valid methods. However, while revegetation has been attributed to anthropogenic activities, a phrase repeated verbatim in Conclusions, there is no approach to negative effects as seen in [14][15][16]
4. Discussion
Needs reinforcement.
5. Conclusions
Precise and firmly based on the previous sections but need more detail.
References
[1] Panagoulia, D. and G. Dimou, “DEFINITIONS AND EFFECTS OF DROUGHTS,” in Conference on Mediterranean Water Policy, Valencia, Spain: building on existing experience Mediterranean Water Network Volume: I, General lecture, invited presentation, 1998, p. 11. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273728913_DEFINITIONS_AND_EFFECTS_OF_DROUGHTS
[2] Wang, H., A. Chen, Q. Wang, and B. He, “Drought dynamics and impacts on vegetation in China from 1982 to 2011,” Ecol. Eng., vol. 75, pp. 303–307, 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.11.063.
[3] Alamdarloo, E. H., M. B. Manesh, and H. Khosravi, “Probability assessment of vegetation vulnerability to drought based on remote sensing data,” Environ. Monit. Assess., vol. 190, no. 12, pp. 1–11, 2018, doi: 10.1007/s10661-018-7089-1.
[4] Xu, H. jie, X. ping Wang, and X. xiao Zhang, “Decreased vegetation growth in response to summer drought in Central Asia from 2000 to 2012,” Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinf., vol. 52, pp. 390–402, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.jag.2016.07.010.
[5] Liu, S., Y. Zhang, F. Cheng, X. Hou, and S. Zhao, “Response of Grassland Degradation to Drought at Different Time-Scales in Qinghai Province: Spatio-Temporal Characteristics, Correlation, and Implications,” Remote Sens., vol. 9, no. 12, p. 1329, 2017, doi: 10.3390/rs9121329.
[6] Jiang, Y., R. Wang, Q. Peng, X. Wu, H. Ning, and C. Li, “The relationship between drought activity and vegetation cover in Northwest China from 1982 to 2013,” Nat. Hazards, vol. 92, no. s1, pp. 145–163, 2018, doi: 10.1007/s11069-018-3282-3.
[7] Prince, S., G. Von Maltitz, F. Zhang, K. Byrne, C. Driscoll, G. Eshel, G. Kust, J. P. Martínez-Garza, C. Metzger, G. Midgley, D. Moreno-Mateos, et al., “Status and trends of land degradation and restoration and associated changes in biodiversity and ecosystem functions,” in Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration, L. Montanarella, R. Scholes., and A. Brainich, Eds. Bonn, Germany: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), 2018, pp. 221–338.
[8] Feng, Q., H. Ma, X. Jiang, X. Wang, and S. Cao, “What has caused desertification in China?,” Sci. Rep., vol. 4, p. 15998, 2015, doi: 10.1038/srep15998.
[9] Charney, J. G., “Dynamics of deserts and drought in the Sahel,” Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., vol. 101, no. 428, pp. 193–202, 1975, doi: 10.1002/qj.49710142802.
[10] Ripley, A. E., “Comment on the Paper ‘Dynamics of Deserts and Drought in the Sahel’ by J.G. Charney,” Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., vol. 101, no. 428, pp. 193–406, 1975, doi: 10.1002/qj.49710142922.
[11] Thomas, N. and S. Nigam, “20th century climate change over Africa: Seasonal hydroclimate trends and Sahara desert expansion,” J. Clim., vol. 31, pp. 3349–3370, 2018, doi: 10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0187.1.
[12] Fang, J., Y. Bai, and J. Wu, “Towards a better understanding of landscape patterns and ecosystem processes of the Mongolian Plateau,” Landsc. Ecol., vol. 30, no. 9, pp. 1573–1578, 2015, doi: 10.1007/s10980-015-0277-2.
[13] Panagoulia, D., “Assessment of daily catchment precipitation in mountainous regions for climate change interpretation,” Hydrol. Sci., vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 331–350, 1995.
[14] Han, J., H. Dai, and Z. Gu, “Sandstorms and desertification in Mongolia, an example of future climate events: a review,” Environ. Chem. Lett., vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 4063–4073, 2021, doi: 10.1007/s10311-021-01285-w.
[15] Filei, A. A., L. A. Slesarenko, A. V. Boroditskaya, and O. Mishigdorj, “Analysis of Desertification in Mongolia,” Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol., vol. 43, pp. 599–606, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373918090066.
[16] Ren, H. and G. Zhou, “Measuring the impacts of anthropogenic activities on Inner Mongolian temperate grassland,” L. Degrad. Dev., vol. 29, no. 9, pp. 2942–2950, 2018, doi: 10.1002/ldr.3055.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors
Thank you for your responses and for your clarifications to the manuscript.
However, I allow myself to insist once again on the merits of the status of the data used for the simulation and interpretation of the evolution of vegetation in relation to climate change and the anthropogenic impact. In order to improve the readability of the paper, it would be desirable to insert in the method a summary table showing the periods during which the data are observed, while specifying the period used to calibrate the model.
Kind regards
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The authors have addressed all the suggested changes. The manuscript can be accepted for publication. Congratulations.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
