Change in Autumn Vegetation Phenology and the Climate Controls From 1982 to 2012 on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Autumn vegetation phenology plays a critical role in the survival and reproduction of vegetation in changing environments. Using GIMMS3g (Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies), MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging and Spectroradiometer), and SPOT (Systeme Probatoire d’Observation de la Terre) remote sensing data, we investigated the spatial and temporal dynamics of the vegetation dormancy onset date (DOD) and its response to temperature, precipitation, and cold degree days (CDD) in different biomes on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) from 1982 to 2012. Our results indicated that there was no significant temporal trend in the DOD for the vegetation on the QTP but found clear regional characteristics in the DOD trends with a notably advancing trend in the central region and a widespread delay in the southwestern region (>1 day year(−1), P < 0.05). Our results also indicated that temperature plays an important role in the trend of delays in vegetation autumn phenology; in particular, the preseason temperature can delay the DOD significantly; the positive correlations were observed in more than 71% of the study areas. Consistent with previous studies, we observed significant negative correlations between preseason CDD and DOD; the negative correlations were observed in more than 72% of the study areas for all the data sets. In contrast, the effects of precipitation on DOD were biome dependent. We found that precipitation could promote the extension of the growing season in meadow and grass biomes but produce weak effects on vegetation dormancy in forest biomes. Therefore, not only the magnitude but also the timing of changes in temperature and precipitation determines the effects of climate factors on DOD and further suggests that biome-specific phenological responses also need to be integrated into vegetation phenology models for future climate change investigations on the QTP.