The 0.1° stem area index dataset over Tibetan Plateau from 1981 to 2018

Description:

Based on the method of Zeng et al. (2002), we built the monthly stem area index (Ls) data product over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) at 0.1°×0.1° spatial resolution from 1981-09 to 2018-12 by using leaf area index data (LAI) from GLASS (Liang et al., 2021) and grass fractional cover data from Lawrence and Chase (2007). Here, We revised the method, considering that grass is completely green (no WGS) from May to August, the Ls,min is set to 0; in September when the grass begins to wither (Xiao et al., 2023), its Ls value is obtained by subtracting the Lgv in September from that in August; from October (when grass turns completely withered) to the April of next year, the Ls is calculated without adding of withered leaves, considering the small magnitude of LAI (<0.2) in non-growing season; the monthly remaining rate of withered leaves and stems (α) is obtained from the observed total area of leaf and stem data of Xiao et al. (2023), which actually represents the neutralization of monthly removal of dead leaves and the withering part, especially in October. The calculation of Ls starts from September, 1981. Based on the above, the Ls is calculated on the sub-grid scale, then it multiplies by the fractional vegetation cover of grass to obtain the stem area index on the grid scale.

Dataset Characteristics:

Spatial Coverage: 75º~105ºE, 25º~40ºN;

 Temporal Coverage: Sep. 1981-Dec. 2018;

 Spatial Resolution: 0.1º;

 Temporal Resolution: Monthly;

 Data Format: NetCDF.

Citation:

Qi, Q., Yang, K., Li, H., Ai, L., Wang, C., Wu, T. (2024). Negative impacts of the withered grass stems on winter snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau. Agric. For. Meteorol., 352, 110053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.110053

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Kai Yang ([e-mail])