Response of vegetation carbon use efficiency to drought: A case study of the Manas River Basin in Xinjiang

Response of vegetation carbon use efficiency to drought: A case study of the Manas River Basin in Xinjiang | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Response of vegetation carbon use efficiency to drought: A case study of the Manas River Basin in Xinjiang Jingjing Kong, Mei Zan, Zhizhong Chen, Shunfa Yang, Jia Zhou, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7404549/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Carbon Use Efficiency (CUE) – defined as the ratio of net to gross primary production (NPP/GPP) – is a critical regulator of ecosystem carbon sequestration. Focusing on the Manas River Basin (Xinjiang, China), a typical arid endorheic basin, we analyzed CUE dynamics across four ecosystems (coniferous forest, broadleaf forest, grassland, cropland) during 2001–2020 using MODIS-derived products. Key findings: (1) Basin-scale CUE averaged 0.50 (± 0.12), peaking in coniferous forests (highest) and croplands (lowest), with strong seasonality (spring/autumn > winter, *p*<0.01); (2) Spatiotemporal stability revealed low-fluctuation zones (57.99% of the basin, primarily grasslands/woodlands) and divergent future persistence trends between plain/desert grasslands; (3) Drought response showed 3-month lag dominance, with forests exhibiting greater drought resistance (lag > croplands by 1.2 months, *p*=0.03); (4) Ecosystem resilience was generally high, modulated by interactions between vegetation type, irrigation, and climate gradients. This study establishes a mechanistic framework for predicting arid-land carbon cycling under climate stress, with implications for global dryland management. Biological sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences vegetation carbon use efficiency stability spatial and temporal trends lag effect resilience Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 15 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 14 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 08 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 03 Sep, 2025 Editor invited by journal 01 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 28 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7404549","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":511219721,"identity":"ba747dd9-382e-42b0-befb-81ab0a7af148","order_by":0,"name":"Jingjing Kong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xinjiang Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jingjing","middleName":"","lastName":"Kong","suffix":""},{"id":511219722,"identity":"caca24c0-a6ac-40b2-a33f-7bee0436c7b6","order_by":1,"name":"Mei 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efficiency, stability, spatial and temporal trends, lag effect, resilience","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7404549/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7404549/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCarbon Use Efficiency (CUE) \u0026ndash; defined as the ratio of net to gross primary production (NPP/GPP) \u0026ndash; is a critical regulator of ecosystem carbon sequestration. Focusing on the Manas River Basin (Xinjiang, China), a typical arid endorheic basin, we analyzed CUE dynamics across four ecosystems (coniferous forest, broadleaf forest, grassland, cropland) during 2001\u0026ndash;2020 using MODIS-derived products. Key findings: (1) Basin-scale CUE averaged 0.50 (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.12), peaking in coniferous forests (highest) and croplands (lowest), with strong seasonality (spring/autumn\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;winter, *p*\u0026lt;0.01); (2) Spatiotemporal stability revealed low-fluctuation zones (57.99% of the basin, primarily grasslands/woodlands) and divergent future persistence trends between plain/desert grasslands; (3) Drought response showed 3-month lag dominance, with forests exhibiting greater drought resistance (lag\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;croplands by 1.2 months, *p*=0.03); (4) Ecosystem resilience was generally high, modulated by interactions between vegetation type, irrigation, and climate gradients. This study establishes a mechanistic framework for predicting arid-land carbon cycling under climate stress, with implications for global dryland management.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Response of vegetation carbon use efficiency to drought: A case study of the Manas River Basin in Xinjiang","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-10 09:04:05","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7404549/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-10-15T22:04:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-14T18:21:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"274312389089722026895036289970779075086","date":"2025-10-10T15:48:53+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"114365460058247780796643484593722567833","date":"2025-10-08T22:19:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-08T11:01:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"335507436591337468776875079535351191099","date":"2025-09-11T16:24:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"257858760809561207968313252672528025378","date":"2025-09-03T15:10:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-03T12:56:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-09-03T12:54:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-01T18:43:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-08-29T03:52:12+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-08-29T03:49:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e9473bad-47f9-4db6-a96d-e20aeb095020","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 10th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":54303934,"name":"Biological sciences/Ecology"},{"id":54303935,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology"},{"id":54303936,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-22T16:06:59+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7404549","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-29708-6","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2025-12-17 15:58:39","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 17th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-10 09:04:05","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-025-29708-6","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-29708-6","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7404549","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7404549","identity":"rs-7404549","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}