Possible changes in the carbon budget of arid and semi-arid Central Asia inferred from landuse/landcover analyses during 1981 to 2001

Climate records indicate that the Central Asian region has experienced a very significant warming trend during the past century (Chub, 2000; Lioubimtseva et al., 2005; Lioubimtseva, 2005). Regional land-use/landcover changes, together with responses to global climate change, result in changes in the hydrological cycle, ecosystem dynamics and the boundary layer of the atmosphere. The arid and semi-arid zones of Central Asia are very vulnerable to human disturbances and regional climate changes, because their ecosystems may be the first to reach tipping points under current human disturbances and climate change (Lioubimtseva and Adams, 2004).