Reviews
WANG Xiaoying, ZHOU Yuke, LI Rongping, JIA Qingyu, CAI Fu, WEN Rihong, XIE Yanbing, ZHAO Xianli, ZOU Xudong, WANG Hongyu
The rate of climate change exhibits differences at daily and seasonal scales and is characterized by non-uniform warming. Particularly in the mid to high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the rate of warming at night surpasses that during the day, and the rate of warming in winter exceeds that in summer. Accurately assessing the impact of non-uniform warming on the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems represents a significant challenge in the field of global change research. This article, through a literature review, systematically analyzed the effects of non-uniform warming in winter, changes in snow metrics, and variations in photoperiod on the phenological characteristics of spring vegetation. It also discussed factors such as species specificity, geographic location heterogeneity, and seasonal compensation effects. The research indicated that seasonal changes in temperate regions have a significant impact on vegetation phenological cycle, but existing studies have shortcomings in observation experiments, mechanism understanding, and model simulation. Although controlled experiments are helpful for studying the effects of meteorological factors on vegetation, they may not fully reflect the natural conditions. Remote sensing monitoring provides a macroscopic perspective, but its data accuracy is limited by many factors, and it is difficult to capture subtle phenological changes. Ground observations provide valuable information for climate science, but the distribution of observation sites is sparse and the data uncertainty is large. In terms of the mechanism of impact, the interactions of light, temperature, and water and their effects on phenology are not fully understood, and the carry-over lag effect between seasons is not well understood either. In terms of model simulation, it is difficult to parameterize the plant phenology model, the study of parameter thresholds is insufficient, and the influence of other biotic and abiotic factors is not fully considered. These challenges limit the accuracy of predictions of plant phenological changes. Therefore, future research is needed to develop novel observational experimental methods to accurately distinguish plant responses under different environmental conditions and to validate model predictions under more natural conditions. This includes improving warming experiments, accounting for the effects of nighttime warming, and encouraging research based on global field observations. It is also necessary to strengthen the understanding of the mechanism of influence of non-uniform warming, especially the light, heat, and water requirements of spring phenology, and the complex effects of winter and spring warming on leaf phenology. In addition, research should focus on fall phenological processes and the risk of late spring frost. In terms of modeling, non-uniform warming and its associated impacts need to be incorporated into models to improve the ability to predict the response of temperate ecosystems to climate change. This includes precise measurements of the onset of ecological dormanism in trees, combined with physiological studies, and consideration of seasonal climate change effects on carbon sequestration and cycling in terrestrial ecosystem models. At the same time, the impact of seasonal snowfall should be considered and the understanding of photoperiodic effects should be deepened to assess the potential impacts of climate warming on terrestrial ecosystems, thereby enhancing our comprehension of the impacts of climate change on vegetation at the seasonal scale.