In addition, the NTP has been one of the major sources of the sand storms that have occurred in China Ixazomib FDA [12].Since 1970s, earth observing satellites add to your list have become a unique tool with which one can objectively monitor status and changes of the terrestrial ecosystems at the regional and global scales, and for ecological, geographical, meteorological and environmental studies [13-18]. One important Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries sensor on-board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s series of satellites is the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), which records spectral data that are useful for monitoring the terrestrial environment [19-24], land use and land cover changes [25-33], and Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries the interaction between the terrestrial ecosystem and climate [34-40].

Pervious Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries studies reported that climate change has affected the inter-annual variations of vegetation conditions and grassland dynamics [41-44]. In recent years, under the dual influences of natural Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries and human factors, Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries a large expanse of grassland in the NTP region has seriously degraded [2, 10]. The drier and warmer climate in the NTP and its surrounding areas has also aggravated desertification and soil erosion. The grassland productivity has also declined greatly and become a huge obstacle to the sustainable social, economic and ecological development. Despite the ecological significance of the region, until now, little research has been carried out to study the Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries long-term grassland dynamics and the Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries driving forces.

In this study, we investigate Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries the spatial and temporal variations and possible causes of the grassland ecosystem in the NTP using a 19-year time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data and corresponding climate and demographic data.2.?The study areaThe NTP region lies within 29��55�� -36��30�� N, and 83��55�� -95��05�� E (see Drug_discovery Fig. 1). It covers approximately 395,400 km2 and is composed of eleven counties. The total area of the NTP accounts for 32.82% of the total land area, and 41.65% of the total grassland of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.Figure 1.Study area. The NTP is located in the South-western of China with elevation above 4,500 m.In the NTP region, the annual mean temperature ranges between -2.

9�� and 3.4��C, and the annual precipitation between 298.6 and 708.4 mm.

Affected by Anacetrapib the atmospheric circulation and local terrain, about 80% of the total precipitation occurs in between June and September, and the amount meanwhile of precipitation declines from the east to west and from the south to north. Snow usually occurs from the October to April. The annual evaporation ranges from 1,500 -2,300 mm, increasing from the southeast to northwest [2, 10, 44]. The duration of sunshine in a typical year averages more than 2,852 hours [8].Geographically, four climatic zones can be delineated in the NTP region: temperate-humid, sub-frigid sub-humid, sub-frigid semi-arid, and frigid arid zones Z-VAD-FMK [45].