Variation of ecosystems over East Asia in association with seasonal, interannual and decadal monsoon climate variability

Nearly half of the global low latitudes are characterized by a monsoon clim ate. This paper first analyzes the global spatial distribution of the rate of climate variation based on precipitation data. Results show that the mon soon regions in Asia and West Africa, and to a lesser extent in Australia, have the highest rate of climate variation on all time scales. These variat ions are manifested as seasonal jumps, high interannual and interdecadal va riabilities, and abrupt changes between climate regimes. The monsoon regions are covered by various types of ecosystems which accoun t for a large portion of the global biomass. Further analyses of the variat ions of ecosystems in the Asian region and their relationships with the mon soon climate have shown that the spatial and temporal variabilities of ecos ystems are characterized by their strong response to variations in monsoon rainfall, one of the major energy flows in terrestrial ecosystems. The high rate of variation in monsoon climate strongly influences variation in Asia n ecosystems. Changes in Asian ecosystems seem to be mainly driven by varia tions in monsoon climate over various time scales. This observation has led to the proposal of 'monsoon-driven ecosystems' in Asia.