Abstract:

The phenology changes of Plantago asiatica (PA) and their relationship with meteorological conditions were investigated in Shigatse, aiming to provide support for the study on the vegetation phenological changes in Tibet under the background of climate warming. Based on the data of PA’s phenology and monthly mean temperature, maximum temperature (T_max), minimum temperature (T_min), relative humidity (RH), precipitation (Pr) and sunshine duration (S) in Shigatse of west-central Tibet from 2002 to 2021, the change of PA’s phenophase and its relationship with meteorological factors in Shigatse were studied by the methods of linear regression, Pearson correlation coefficient and partial least regression (PLS). The main results showed that: (1) the phenophases of PA had been significantly delayed in west-central Tibet from 2002 to 2021, with rates ranging from 8.96 to 38.63 days per decade, among which the changing rate of seed full maturity date was the most obvious with the highest value. In contrast, the length of growth season had prolonged slowly at a rate of 1.03 days per decade. (2) The significant delay in the phenology of PA in west-central Tibet could be mainly attributed to the decrease of T_min in January, the reducing of S in March and RH in November, and the significant increase of T_max in November. The response rates to temperature were 3.41 and 4.37 d/℃ in the first leaf expansion date and common leaf withering date of PA, respectively.

Key words: Plantago asiatica, phenophase, change, meteorological conditions, west-central Tibet