An Analysis of Precipitation Extremes in the Inner Mongolian Plateau: Spatial-Temporal Patterns, Causes, and Implications
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Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
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School of Geographical Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
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School of Science and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK
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Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainability and Climate Change Management”, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Ulmenliet 20, D-21033 Hamburg, Germany
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Institute for Ecological Economics and Management, Ukrainian National Forestry University, Lviv 79057, Ukraine
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College of Geographical Sciences, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010022, China
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Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, Inner Mongolia, Hohhot 010022, China
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International Institute for Applied systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, Laxenburg A-2361, Austria
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Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Atmosphere 2018, 9(8), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9080322
Received: 4 July 2018
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Revised: 3 August 2018
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Accepted: 7 August 2018
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Published: 19 August 2018
(This article belongs to the Section Meteorology)
To improve how extreme events and climate variations are managed, there is a need to foster a deeper understanding of their interconnections. Consistent with this objective, this paper describes how precipitation extremes change both temporally and spatially in the Inner Mongolian Plateau (IMP), China and explains their causal factors. The paper refers to data collected from 43 meteorological stations in IMP and describes how precipitation extremes formed and how they influence agriculture. Data gathered and presented in this paper may be useful in understanding the extent to which the IMP is being influenced by global environmental change. This study reveals that the eleven precipitation extremes indices, except the number of precipitation days with over 0.5 mm (R0.5), number of heavy precipitation days (R10), and total precipitation in wet days (PRCPTOT), decreased in the IMP between 1959 and 2014, and most of them were non-significant in temporal. But the dry index has a larger magnitude decreasing trend than that of the wet indices, which can indicate that the dry situation was alleviated in IMP during the study interval. This study also indicated that precipitation extremes have strong relationships with elevation, latitude, and longitude. Atmospheric circulation and topography may be further primary reasons which result in the spatial variation characteristics in precipitation extremes over the IMP. Decreases in precipitation extremes, together with human activities such as livestock improvement and ecological restoration programs, has a positive effect in gross output value of agriculture and animal husbandry in the IMP. The results contribute to a deeper insight on the possible impacts of precipitation extremes and support the development of appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope with climate extremes. This paper further proposes science-based policies for grassland protection, agriculture, and animal husbandry on the national or regional and herdsman scales.
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Keywords:
precipitation extremes; Inner Mongolian Plateau (IMP); agriculture and animal husbandry; causal factors; policy
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MDPI and ACS Style
Li, C.; Leal Filho, W.; Wang, J.; Fudjumdjum, H.; Fedoruk, M.; Hu, R.; Yin, S.; Bao, Y.; Yu, S.; Hunt, J. An Analysis of Precipitation Extremes in the Inner Mongolian Plateau: Spatial-Temporal Patterns, Causes, and Implications. Atmosphere 2018, 9, 322. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9080322
AMA Style
Li C, Leal Filho W, Wang J, Fudjumdjum H, Fedoruk M, Hu R, Yin S, Bao Y, Yu S, Hunt J. An Analysis of Precipitation Extremes in the Inner Mongolian Plateau: Spatial-Temporal Patterns, Causes, and Implications. Atmosphere. 2018; 9(8):322. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9080322
Chicago/Turabian StyleLi, Chunlan, Walter Leal Filho, Jun Wang, Hubert Fudjumdjum, Mariia Fedoruk, Richa Hu, Shan Yin, Yuhai Bao, Shan Yu, and Julian Hunt. 2018. "An Analysis of Precipitation Extremes in the Inner Mongolian Plateau: Spatial-Temporal Patterns, Causes, and Implications" Atmosphere 9, no. 8: 322. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9080322
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