Estimating and Analyzing the Optimum Temperature for Vegetation Growth in China

The photosynthetic optimum temperature for vegetation growth means the ambient temperature is most conducive to plant growth.In this study,GIMMS NDVI data set and daily temperature data set measured by 752 meteorological stations in China from 1982 to 2006 were used to contrastively analyze the relationship between the NDVI and temperature change characteristics at both spatial and temporal scale.Based on the analysis,we extracted the corresponding temperatures in the process of vegetation growth phase.And finally the optimum temperature range and reference optimum temperatures of Chinese various terrestrial eco-geographical regions were obtained.The study firstly provides a scientific calculation framework and produces the reference optimum temperature of different regions.The relationship between terrestrial vegetation growth and the ambient temperature are close,and the optimum temperatures are distinct in different eco-geographical regions.Thereinto,the lowest temperatures appear in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau eco-geographical regions,about 10 ℃.While the highest optimum temperatures appear in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and South China regions,their values are more than 25 ℃.Moreover,the reference optimum temperature can be availably estimated by two related factors,elevation and latitude.Our results can provide useful references for model parameterization.