Eastern-Pacific and Central-Pacific Types of ENSO Elicit Diverse Responses of Vegetation in the West Pacific Region

作者：Wang, Cong; Li, Jing^*; Liu, Qinhuo; Huete, Alfredo; Li, Longhui; Dong, Yadong; Zhao, Jing

来源：Geophysical Research Letteres, 2022, 49(3): e2021GL096666.

DOI：10.1029/2021GL096666

• VARIABILITY
• EVENTS
• PRODUCTIVITY
• CHINA
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The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is one of the main factors causing extreme climate events and, thus, has a significant influence on global climate systems. However, the long-term effects of ENSO on vegetation are not well understood due to the complexity of the ENSO phenomenon under global warming. Here, we examined the variations in the response of Leaf Area Index (LAI) to different types of ENSO from 1982 to 2017 in the west Pacific region and explored their relationship with climatic factors. Results show that about 34.5% of the vegetated area in the west Pacific region displayed LAI anomalies correlated with ENSO index from 1982 to 2017, which distributed differently across climatic types. Moreover, LAI anomalies elicited by the Central-Pacific type and by the Eastern-Pacific type of ENSO events were significantly different, which were contributed to the controls of the different types of ENSO on precipitation and temperature. @@@ Plain Language Summary The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), characterized by periodic fluctuations in Sea Surface Temperatures in the tropical Pacific, exerts a major influence on interannual climate variability around the world. Classical ENSO is associated with maximum anomalies in the eastern equatorial Pacific and is referred to as Eastern-Pacific (EP) type of ENSO. In recent decades, a new ENSO type, namely Central-Pacific (CP) type of ENSO, with maximum anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific, has occurred frequently. However, the relationship between ENSO types and vegetation changes is not well understood. Here, we compared satellite-based vegetation anomalies to different types of ENSO during 1982-2017 in the west Pacific region and explored their responses to climate anomalies triggered by ENSO. Results showed that the ENSO-correlated vegetated area differed across climate types in the west Pacific region. The vegetation anomalies in the CP type and the EP type showed significant differences in the west Pacific region, which were closely related to the controls of different types of ENSO on precipitation and temperature. We highlight the diverse responses of vegetation in different types of ENSO in the west Pacific region, and these findings may help our understanding of ENSO impacts on ecosystems.

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  中国科学院研究生院