A study on the simulation of carbon and water fluxes of Dangxiong alpine meadow and its response to climate change

The alpine meadow ecosystem accounts for 27%of the total area of the Tibetan Plateau and is also one of the most important vegetation types.The Dangxiong alpine meadow ecosystem,located in the south-central part of the Tibetan Plateau,is a typical example.To understand the carbon and water fluxes,water use efficiency(WUE),and their responses to future climate change for the alpine meadow ecosystem in the Dangxiong area,two parameter estimation methods,the Model-independent Parameter Estimation(PEST)and the Dynamic Dimensions Search(DDS),were used to optimize the Biome-BGC model.Then,the gross primary productivity(GPP)and evapotranspiration(ET)were simulated.The results show that the DDS parameter calibration method has a better performance.The annual GPP and ET show an increasing trend,while the WUE shows a decreasing trend.Meanwhile,ET and GPP reach their peaks in July and August,respectively,and WUE shows a“dual-peak”pattern,reaching peaks in May and November.Furthermore,according to the simulation results for the next nearly 100 years,the ensemble average GPP and ET exhibit a significant increasing trend,and the growth rate under the SSP5–8.5 scenario is greater than that under the SSP2–4.5 scenario.WUE shows an increasing trend under the SSP2–4.5 scenario and a significant increasing trend under the SSP5–8.5 scenario.This study has important scientific significance for carbon and water cycle prediction and vegetation ecological protection on the Tibetan Plateau.

Characterization of alpine meadow surface crack and its correlation with root-soil properties

Quantifying surface cracks in alpine meadows is a prerequisite and a key aspect in the study of grassland crack development.Crack characterization indices are crucial for the quantitative characterization of complex cracks,serving as vital factors in assessing the degree of cracking and the development morphology.So far,research on evaluating the degree of grassland degradation through crack characterization indices is rare,especially the quantitative analysis of the development of surface cracks in alpine meadows is relatively scarce.Therefore,based on the phenomenon of surface cracking during the degradation of alpine meadows in some regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,we selected the alpine meadow in the Huangcheng Mongolian Township,Menyuan Hui Autonomous County,Qinghai Province,China as the study area,used unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)sensing technology to acquire low-altitude images of alpine meadow surface cracks at different degrees of degradation(light,medium,and heavy degradation),and analyzed the representative metrics characterizing the degree of crack development by interpreting the crack length,length density,branch angle,and burrow(rat hole)distribution density and combining them with in situ crack width and depth measurements.Finally,the correlations between the crack characterization indices and the soil and root parameters of sample plots at different degrees of degradation in the study area were analyzed using the grey relation analysis.The results revealed that with the increase of degradation,the physical and chemical properties of soil and the mechanical properties of root-soil composite changed significantly,the vegetation coverage reduced,and the root system aggregated in the surface layer of alpine meadow.As the degree of degradation increased,the fracture morphology developed from"linear"to"dendritic",and eventually to a complex and irregular"polygonal"pattern.The crack length,width,depth,and length density were identified as the crack characterization indices via analysis of variance.The results of grey relation analysis also revealed that the crack length,width,depth,and length density were all highly correlated with root length density,and as the degradation of alpine meadows intensified,the underground biomass increased dramatically,forming a dense layer of grass felt,which has a significant impact on the formation and expansion of cracks.

Elevational patterns of warming effects on plant community and topsoil properties: focus on subalpine meadows ecosystem

Climate warming profoundly affects plant biodiversity, community productivity, and soil properties in alpine and subalpine grassland ecosystems. However, these effects are poorly understood across elevational gradients in subalpine meadow ecosystems. To reveal the elevational patterns of warming effects on plant biodiversity, community structure, productivity, and soil properties, we conducted a warming experiment using open-top chambers from August 2019 to August 2022 at high(2764 m a. s. l.), medium(2631 m a. s. l.), and low(2544 m a. s. l.) elevational gradients on a subalpine meadow slope of Mount Wutai, Northern China. Our results showed that three years of warming significantly increased topsoil temperature but significantly decreased topsoil moisture at all elevations(P<0.05), and the percentage of increasing temperature and decreasing moisture both gradually raised with elevation lifting. Warming-induced decreasing proportions of soil organic carbon(SOC, by 19.24%), and total nitrogen(TN, by 24.56%) were the greatest at high elevational gradients. Experimental warming did not affect topsoil C: N, p H, NO_(3)^(-)-N, or NH_(4)^(+)-N at the three elevational gradients. Warming significantly increased species richness(P<0.01) and Shannon-Weiner index(P<0.05) at low elevational gradients but significantly decreased belowground biomass(P<0.05) at a depth of 0–10 cm at three elevational gradients. Warming caused significant increases in the aboveground biomass in the three elevational plots. Warming significantly increased the aboveground biomass of graminoids in medium(by 92.47%) and low(by 98.25%) elevational gradients, that of sedges in high(by 72.44%) and medium(by 57.16%) elevational plots, and that of forbs in high(by 75.88%), medium(by 34.38%), and low(by 74.95%) elevational plots. Species richness had significant linear correlations with SOC, TN, and C: N(P<0.05), but significant nonlinear responses to soil temperature and soil moisture in the warmed treatment(P<0.05). The warmed aboveground biomass had a significant nonlinear response to soil temperature and significant linear responses to soil moisture(P<0.05). This study provided evidence that altitude is a factor in sensitivity to climate warming, and these different parameters(e.g., plant species richness, Shannon-Weiner index, soil temperature, soil moisture, SOC, and TN) can be used to measure this sensitivity.

Effects of long-term grazing exclusion on vegetation structure,soil water holding capacity,carbon and nitrogen sequestration capacity in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau

Grazing exclusion is one of the primary management practices used to restore degraded grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.However,to date,the effects of long-term grazing exclusion measures on the process of restoring degraded alpine meadows have not been evaluated.In this study,moderately degraded plots,in which the vegetation coverage was approximately 65%and the dominant plant species was Potentilla anserina L,with grazing exclusion for 2 to 23 years,were selected in alpine meadows of Haibei in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.Plant coverage,plant height,biomass,soil bulk density,saturated water content,soil organic carbon(SOC)and total nitrogen(TN)were evaluated.The results were as follows:(1)With aboveground biomass and total saturated water content at 0-40 cm depth,the average SOC and TN contents in moderately degraded alpine meadows increased as a power function,and the plant height increased as a log function.(2)The average soil bulk density at 0-40 cm depth first decreased and then increased with increasing grazing exclusion duration,and the minimum value of 0.90 g·cm^(-3) was reached at 15.23 years.The plant coverage,total belowground biomass at 0-40 cm depth,total aboveground and belowground biomass first increased and then decreased,their maximum values(80.49%,2452.92g·m^(-2),2891.06 g·m^(-2))were reached at 9.41,9.46 and 10.25 years,respectively.Long-term grazing exclusion is apparently harmful for the sustainable restoration of degraded alpine meadows.The optimal duration of grazing exclusion for the restoration of moderately degraded alpine meadows was 10 years.This research suggests that moderate disturbance should be allowed in moderately degraded alpine meadows after 10years of grazing exclusion.

Analysis for Soil Characteristics of Degraded Grassland on Alpine Meadow

[Objective]The aim of this study is to explore the effects of grassland degradation on soil physical and chemical properties.[Method]The ratio of plant root to soil and soil texture on Alpine Meadow were investigated in this study,and soil available N,P,K,Cu,Zn,organic matter and pH value were also analyzed by routine analysis of soil nutrients in different degraded grasslands.[Result]With the intensification of degraded gradient and the soil depth,the ratio of plant root to soil was decreased gradually.The highest ratio of plant root to soil was in 0-10 cm depth of soil in grassland with different degraded gradients,while its ratio of plant root to soil changed from 0.001 to 0.040 with soil type of loam.Soil chemical characteristic changed in different degraded gradients.The content of available N,P,K reduced significantly with the soil depth and the intensification of degraded gradients.The content of Cu and Zn was relatively lack in degraded grassland.[Conclusion]There is no significant correlation between nutrition content or pH value and the succession degree of degraded grassland.

Preliminary Study on the Nearc-ground Spectral Characteristic of the Degraded Meadow Grassland

IS1921 VF-256 type ground object spectrometer was used to extract the spectral data of the meadow grassland and bare land to obtain their refleotivity spectral characteristics. The experiment was carried out on the low mountain meadow steppe in the Saiwundu Village, Hargentai Town, West Ujumqin Banner, Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia. The results showed that different ground objects had different reflectances. The spectral reflectance curve of the meadow steppe plant communities had obvious characteristics of peak and valley in the visible spectrum band, and had strong reflection in the near-infrared band. The reflection curve of the bare lands in the visible spectrum band was higher than that of the meadow grassland communities while inthe near-infrared band it was lower than that of the meadow grassland communities. Under different degradation gradients, the spectral reflectivity of the meadow steppe grassland communities increased with the enhancement of the degradation gradients. Under the same degradation gradient, the Stipa grandis communities had a lower visible light reflectivity than the Artemisia frigida communities but had a higher near-infrared reflectivity than the Artemisia frigida communities; different ground objects on the meadow steppe had different spectrum characteristic, and showed a certain discrepancies with the changes of the degradation level.

No C_4 Plants Found at the Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station in Qinghai, China: Evidence from Stable Carbon Isotope Studies

Using the measurement of stable carbon isotopes in leaves as a tool to investigate photosynthetic pathway of 102 plant species grown at an alpine meadow ecosystem, at the foot of the Qilian Mountain, Qinghai, China. The results indicate that the delta C-13 values of plants have a narrow range from -28.24parts per thousand to -24.84parts per thousand, which means that none of the species examined belongs to C-4 and crassulaceous acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthetic pathway and all of these species perform photosynthesis through the C-3 pathway. This is likely due to a long-term adaptation to environments at the alpine meadow ecosystem.

Fate of ^(15)N Labeled Nitrate and Ammonium Salts Added to an Alpine Meadow in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China

To understand the dynamics of added nitrogen (N) in alpine meadow and the role of alpine plants and soil microorganisms in the retention of deposited N, the fate of 15 N labeled nitrate and ammonium salts was determined in an alpine meadow for two months. Two weeks after 15 N application, total recovery of 15 N from NO - 3_ 15 N was 73.5% while it was 78% from NH + 4_ 15 N. More 15 N was recovered in plants than in soil organic matter or in microbial biomass, irrespective of forms of N added. After one month, 70.6% of added NO - 3_ 15 N and 57.4% of NH + 4_ 15 N were recovered in soils and plants. 15 N recovered in soil organic matter decreased greatly while that recovered in plants varied little, irrespective of the form N. Compared with the results of two weeks after 15 N application, more NO - 3_ 15 N than NH + 4_ 15 N was recovered in microbial biomass. Total recovery was 58.4% (six weeks) and 67% (eight weeks) from NO - 3_ 15 N, and 43.1% and 49% from NH + 4_ 15 N, respectively. Both plants and soil microorganism recovered more NO - 3_ 15 N than NH + 4_ 15 N. But plants recovered more 15 N than soil microorganisms. During the whole experiment plants retained more NO - 3_N and 15 N than soil microorganisms while 15 N recovered in inorganic N pool did not exceed 1% due to lower amount of inorganic N. This indicates that plants play more important roles in the retention of deposited N although microbial biomass can be an important sink for deposited N in early days after N application.

Influences of Family Ranches Management Mode on Plant Community Characteristic in Hulunber Meadow Steppe

[Objective] The aim was to explore the management mode on optimal re-sources al ocation of family ranch in meadow steppe. [Method] Three double repre-sentative family ranches were selected in meadow steppe of Hulunber Old Barag Banner, and the study was carried out with the baseline survey. Three family ranches were selected as the demonstrative households for the corporation study, while other three family ranches with the similar conditions were looked as the non-demonstrative households for the comparison. Demonstrative households of the fami-ly ranches reduced the stocking rate, optimized the flock structure and took a winter feeding and other means to explore the different management models on plant com-munity characteristic of family ranch. [Result] The seasonal dynamic of community characteristic in family ranches showed the single-peaks curves. The seasonal dy-namics of community coverage, height and biomass in the demonstrative households showed higher compared with the non-demonstrative households, and community density in the experiment households was lower than that of the control experiment households. Community coverage, height and biomass of degraded grassland in family ranch have a great improve after optimization of management. Community coverage, height , density and biomass were increasing in fencing plot, but decreas-ing in free grazing area. Enclosure improved grassland coverage, vegetation height, density and forage yield. Leymus chinensis played an important role in plant com-munity. The important values of Leymus chinensis, Stipa baicalensis, Cleistogenes squarrosa, and Carex duriuscula were high. Leymus chinensis important value in the demonstrative households of optimal management was higher than that in the non-demonstrative households, and Carex duriuscula important value of the non-demon-strative households was significantly higher than that of the demonstrative house-holds. The indexes of Margalef richnes,Shannon-Wiener diversity, Simpson diversity and Pielou uniformity showed that the demonstrative households were higher than the non-demonstrative households. [Conclusion] The research provides theoretical ref-erences for sustainable development of pastures dominated by family ranch.

Meadow-Kendall听障儿童社会性和情绪发展评估量表学龄前版信度及效度研究

目的评价Meadow-Kendall听障儿童社会性和情绪发展评估量表(SEAI)学龄前版在中国文化背景下的适用性。方法对听力障碍儿童96例采用SEAI施测。随机选择30例,同时完成Conners教师量表测试。从中随机选择30例,2周后施测。随机选取30例,由其另一位评定者施测。对评定结果进行Pearson相关分析或Spearman相关分析。结果社交沟通行为、冲动行为、发育问题、焦虑强迫行为4个分量表和听障相关条目量表的重测信度(r)为0.94、0.55、0.87、0.31、0.74,Cronbachα为0.70、0.76、0.76、0.80、0.68;评定者信度为0.90、0.58、0.46、0.14、0.55。SEAI各分量表与TRS的诸多因子负相关(r=-0.36^-0.89,P<0.05)。验证性因子分析显示,4个分量表和1个听障相关条目量表的模型合理。结论 SEAI学龄前版具有良好的信度和效度,适用于我国听力障碍儿童。

Moving Dynamics of Nitrate Nitrogen in Soil of Maize Field on Meadow Soil of Daling River Valley in Liaoning and Its Fertilization Controlling

The moving dynamics of nitrate nitrogen（NO3-N）in soil of maize field on meadow soil of Daling river valley in Liaoning and its rational fertilization controlling were discussed in this study by the designing of different kinds of N application methods.The results showed that the content of NO3-N in soil was increased with the amount of nitrogen fertilizer;At the same amount of nitrogen fertilizer,the content of NO3-N in soil showed a trend of chemical fertilizerstraw treatmentslow controlled release fertilizer.Based on the requirement of roots in different growth stages to nutrition,the migration directions of NO3-N could be regulated by each layer of soil.In the early growth stage,the NO3-N would move upward,while it moved downward in the late growth stage.Straw returning treatment could improve the keeping ability of soil to NO3-N and avoid the downward migration of NO3-N,as well as reduce the damage of groundwater pollution.The use of slow controlled release fertilizer had achieved the continuing releasing of nutrition.Moreover,the peak of nutrition releasing had been delayed for 30 d,which had met the requirement of nutrient supply in maturing stage.The yield of slow controlled release fertilizer treatment was the highest with the least accumulation of NO3-N and less negative influence on environment.The yield of straw returning treatment and chemical fertilizer treatment was closed to each other.

Effects of warming and clipping on plant and soil properties of an alpine meadow in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Climate warming and livestock grazing are known to have great influences on alpine ecosystems like those of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau （QTP） in China. However, it is lacking of studies on the effects of warming and grazing on plant and soil properties in these alpine ecosystems. In this study, we reported the related research from manipulative experiment in 2010-2012 in the QTP. The aim of this study was to investigate the individual and combined effects of warming and clipping on plant and soil properties in the alpine meadow ecosystem. Infrared radiators were used to simulate climate warming starting in July 2010, while clipping was performed once in Octo- ber 2011 to simulate the local livestock grazing. The experiment was designed as a randomized block consisting of five replications and four treatments： control （CK）, warming （W）, clipping （C） and warming＋clipping combination （WC）. The plant and soil properties were investigated in the growing season of the alpine meadow in 2012. The results showed that W and WC treatments significantly decreased relative humidity at 20-cm height above ground as well as significantly increases air temperature at the same height, surface temperature, and soil temperature at the depth of 0-30 cm. However, the C treatment did not significantly decrease soil moisture and soil temperature at the depth of 0-60 cm. Relative to CK, vegetation height and species number increased significantly in W and WC treatment, respectively, while vegetation aboveground biomass decreased significantly in C treatment in the early growing season. However, vegetation cover, species diversity, belowground biomass and soil properties at the depth of 0-30 cm did not differ significantly in W, C and WC treatments. Soil moisture increased at the depth of 40-100 cm in W and WC treatments, while belowground biomass, soil activated carbon, organic carbon and total nitrogen increased in the 30-50 cm soil layer in W, C and WC treatments. Although the initial responses of plant and soil properties to experimental warming and clipping were slow and weak, the drought induced by the down- ward shift of soil moisture in the upper soil layers may induce plant belowground biomass to transfer to the deeper soil layers. This movement would modify the distributions of soil activated carbon, organic carbon and total nitrogen However, long-term data collection is needed to further explain this interesting phenomenon.

Soil Erosion and Vegetation Succession in Alpine Kobresia Steppe Meadow Caused by Plateau Pika——A Case Study of Nagqu County, Tibet

This paper evaluated the impacts of mounds created by the plateau pika （Ochotona curzoniae） on the vegetation composition, structure, and species diversity of an alpine Kobresia steppe meadow in Nagqu County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Based on mound height or the depth of erosion pit, we defined five stages of erosion and compared the floristic features of communities at these stages with those in undisturbed sites. In the study area, the mounds and pits covered up to 7% of the total area. Lancea tibetica, Lamiophlomis rotata, and Potentilla biflarca were the dominant species in erosion pits, and Kobresia pygmaea, the dominant species in undisturbed sites, became a companion species in eroded areas. In the process of erosion, the original vegetation was covered by soil ejected by the pika, then the mounds were gradually eroded by wind and rain, and finally erosion pits formed. The vegetation coverage increased with increasing erosion stages but remained significantly lower than that in undisturbed sites. Improved coverage eventually reduced soil erosion, and pit depth eventually stabilized at around 20cm. Aboveground biomass increased with increasing erosion stage, but the proportion of low-quality forage reached more than 94%. The richness index and Shannon-Wiener index increased significantly with increasing erosion stage, but the richness index in mound and pit areas was significantly lower than that in undisturbed sites.

Sulfur cycle in the typical meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland ecosystem in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

The sulfur cycle and its compartmental distribution within an atmosphere-plant-soil system was studied using a compartment model in the typical meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland in the Sanjiang Plain Northeast China. The results showed that in the typical meadow C. angustifolia wetland ecosystem, soil was the main storage compartment and current hinge of sulfur in which 98.4% sulfur was accumulated, while only 1.6% sulfur was accumulated in the plant compartment. In the plant subsystem, roots and litters were the main storage compartment of sulfur and they remained 83.5% of the total plant sulfur. The calculations of sulfur turnover through the compartments of the typical meadow C. angustifolia wetland ecosystem demonstrated that the above-ground component took up 0.99 gS/m^2 from the root, of which 0.16 gS/m^2 was translocated to the roots and 0.83 gS/m^2 to the litter. The roots took in 1.05 gS/m^2 from the soil, subsequent translocation back to the soil accounted for 1.31 gS/m^2, while there was 1.84 gS/m^2 in the litter and the net transfer of sulfur to the soil was more than 0.44 gS/（m^2·a）. The emission of H2S from the typical meadow C. angustifolia wetland ecosystem to the atmosphere was 1.83 mgS/（m^2·a）, while carbonyl sulfide （COS） was absorbed by the typical meadow C. angustifolia wetland ecosystem from the atmosphere at the rate of 1.76 mgS/（m^2·a）. The input of sulfur by the rainfall to the ecosystem was 4.85 mgS/m^2 during the growing season. The difference between input and output was 4.78 mgS/m^2, which indicated that sulfur was accumulated in the ecosystem and may cause wetland acidify in the future.

Effects of long-term warming on the aboveground biomass and species diversity in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China

Ecosystems in high-altitude regions are more sensitive and respond more rapidly than other ecosystems to global climate warming.The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)of China is an ecologically fragile zone that is sensitive to global climate warming.It is of great importance to study the changes in aboveground biomass and species diversity of alpine meadows on the QTP under predicted future climate warming.In this study,we selected an alpine meadow on the QTP as the study object and used infrared radiators as the warming device for a simulation experiment over eight years(2011-2018).We then analyzed the dynamic changes in aboveground biomass and species diversity of the alpine meadow at different time scales,including an early stage of warming(2011-2013)and a late stage of warming(2016-2018),in order to explore the response of alpine meadows to short-term(three years)and long-term warming(eight years).The results showed that the short-term warming increased air temperature by 0.31℃and decreased relative humidity by 2.54%,resulting in the air being warmer and drier.The long-term warming increased air temperature and relative humidity by 0.19℃and 1.47%,respectively,and the air tended to be warmer and wetter.The short-term warming increased soil temperature by 2.44℃and decreased soil moisture by 12.47%,whereas the long-term warming increased soil temperature by 1.76℃and decreased soil moisture by 9.90%.This caused the shallow soil layer to become warmer and drier under both short-term and long-term warming.Furthermore,the degree of soil drought was alleviated with increased warming duration.Under the long-term warming,the importance value and aboveground biomass of plants in different families changed.The importance values of grasses and sedges decreased by 47.56%and 3.67%,respectively,while the importance value of weeds increased by 1.37%.Aboveground biomass of grasses decreased by 36.55%,while those of sedges and weeds increased by 8.09%and 15.24%,respectively.The increase in temperature had a non-significant effect on species diversity.The species diversity indices increased at the early stage of warming and decreased at the late stage of warming,but none of them reached significant levels(P>0.05).Species diversity had no significant correlation with soil temperature and soil moisture under both short-term and long-term warming.Soil temperature and aboveground biomass were positively correlated in the control plots(P=0.014),but negatively correlated under the long-term warming(P=0.013).Therefore,eight years of warming aggravated drought in the shallow soil layer,which is beneficial for the growth of weeds but not for the growth of grasses.Warming changed the structure of alpine meadow communities and had a certain impact on the community species diversity.Our studies have great significance for the protection and effective utilization of alpine vegetation,as well as for the prevention of grassland degradation or desertification in high-altitude regions.

Effects of Grazing Exclusion on Plant Productivity and Soil Carbon, Nitrogen Storage in Alpine Meadows in Northern Tibet, China

Grazing exclusion is widely adopted in restoring degraded alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, its effectiveness remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of grazing exclusion on plant productivity, species diversity and soil organic carbon （SOC） and soil total nitrogen （STN） storage along a transect spanning from east to west of alpine meadows in northern Tibet, China. After six years of grazing exclusion, plant cover, aboveground biomass （AGB）, belowground biomass （BGB）, SOC and STN were increased, but species diversity indices declined. The enhancement of AGB and SOC caused by grazing exclusion was correlated positively with mean annual precipitation （MAP）. Grazing exclusion led to remarkable biomass increase of sedge species, especially Kobresia pygmaea, whereas decrease of biomass in forbs and no obvious change in grass, leguminous and noxious species. Root biomass was concentrated in the near surface layer （10 cm） after grazing exclusion. The effects of grazing exclusion on SOC storage were confined to shallow soil layer in sites with lower MAP. It is indicated that grazing exclusion is an effective measure to increase forage production and enhance soil carbon sequestration in the studied region. The effect is more efficient in sites with higher precipitation. However, the results revealed a tradeoff between vegetation restoration and ecological biodiversity. Therefore, carbon pools recover more quickly than plant biodiversity in the alpine meadows. We suggest that grazing exclusion should be combined with other measures to reconcile grassland restoration and biodiversitv conservation.

Accurate Quantification of Grassland Cover Density in an Alpine Meadow Soil Based on Remote Sensing and GPS

The principles of remotely estimating grassland cover density in an alpine meadow soil from space lie in the synchronous collection of in situ samples with the satellite pass and statistically linking these cover densities to their image properties according to their geographic coordinates. The principles and procedures for quantifying grassland cover density from satellite image data were presented with an example from Qinghai Lake, China demonstrating how quantification could be made more accurate through the integrated use of remote sensing and global positioning systems (GPS). An empirical model was applied to an entire satellite image to convert pixel values into ground cover density. Satellite data based on 68 field samples was used to produce a map of ten cover densities. After calibration a strong linear regression relationship (r2 = 0.745) between pixel values on the satellite image and in situ measured grassland cover density was established with an 89% accuracy level. However, to minimize positional uncertainty of field samples, integrated use of hyperspatial satellite data and GPS could be utilized. This integration could reduce disparity in ground and space sampling intervals, and improve future quantification accuracy even more.

An Assessment of Storage Terms in the Surface Energy Balance of a Subalpine Meadow in Northwest China

The heat storage terms in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system may play an important role in the surface energy budget.In this paper,we evaluate the heat storage terms of a subalpine meadow based on a ficld experiment conducted in the complex terrain of the eastern Qilian Mountains of Northwest China and their impact on the closure of the surface energy balance under such non-ideal conditions.During the night, the average sum of the storage terms was -5.5 W m,which corresponded to 10.4%of net radiation.The sum of the terms became positive at 0730 LST and negative again at about 1500 LST,with a maximum value of 19 W mobserved at approximately 0830 LST.During the day,the average of the sum of the storage terms was 6.5 W m,which corresponded to 4.0%of net radiation.According to the slopes obtained when linear regression of the net radiation and partitioned fluxes was forced through the origin,there is an imbalance of 14.0%in the subalpine meadow when the storage terms are not considered in the surface energy balance.This imbalance was improved by 3.4%by calculating the sum of the storage terms.The soil heat storage flux gave the highest contribution(1.59%),while the vegetation enthalpy change and the rest of the storage terms were responsible for improvements of 1.04%and 0.77%,respectively.

Comparative study on CO_2 emissions from different types of alpine meadows during grass exuberance period

Potentilla fruticosascrub, Kobresia humilismeadow and Kobresia tibeticameadow are widely distributed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. During the grass exuberance period from 3 July to 4 September, based on close chamber-GC method, a study on CO 2 emissions from different treatments was conducted in these meadows at Haibei research station, CAS. Results indicated that mean CO 2 emission rates from various treatments were 672.09±152.37 mgm -2 h -1 for FC (grass treatment); 425.41±191.99 mgm -2 h -1 for FJ (grass exclusion treatment); 280.36±174.83 mgm -2 h -1 for FL (grass and roots exclusion treatment); 838.95±237.02 mgm -2 h -1 for GG (scrub+grass treatment); 528.48±205.67 mgm -2 h -1 for GC (grass treatment); 268.97±99.72 mgm -2 h -1 for GL (grass and roots exclusion treatment); and 659.20±94.83 mgm -2 h -1 for LC (grass treatment), respectively (FC, FJ, FL, GG, GC, GL, LC were the Chinese abbreviation for various treatments). Furthermore, Kobresia humilismeadow, Potentilla fruticosascrub meadow and Kobresia tibeticameadow differed greatly in average CO 2 emission rate of soil-plant system, in the order of GG>FC>LC>GC. Moreover, in Kobresia humilismeadow, heterotrophic and autotrophic respiration accounted for 42% and 58% of the total respiration of soil-plant system respectively, whereas, in Potentilla fruticosascrub meadow, heterotrophic and autotrophic respiration accounted for 32% and 68% of total system respiration from GG; 49% and 51% from GC. In addition, root respiration from Kobresia humilismeadow approximated 145 mgCO 2 m -2 h -1 , contributed 34% to soil respiration. During the experiment period, Kobresia humilismeadow and Potentilla fruticosascrub meadow had a net carbon fixation of 111.11 gm -2 and 243.89 gm -2 , respectively. Results also showed that soil temperature was the main factor which influenced CO 2 emission from alpine meadow ecosystem, significant correlations were found between soil temperature at 5 cm depth and CO 2 emission from GG, GC, FC and FJ treatments. In addition, soil moisture may be the inhibitory factor of CO 2 emission from Kobresia tibeticameadow, and more detailed analyses should be done in further research.

Levels of Germinable Seed in Topsoil and Yak Dung on an Alpine Meadow on the North-East Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

In order to clarify the interactive mechanism between grazing yak and alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,our study assessed seed density（by species） in the topsoil of alpine meadow with different grazing intensities in the Tianzhu area,north-eastern margins of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and their rates of occurrence in yak dung.Seed density in the topsoil of the lightly grazed,moderately grazed,heavily grazed and extremely grazed alpine meadows in November,2010 were 1 551,1 692,2 660 and 1 830 grains m-2,while in the same meadows in April,2011 densities were 1 530,2 404,2 530 and 2 692 grains m-2,respectively.In the cold season pasture,mean seed density in yak dung from November to April in the lightly grazed,moderately grazed,heavily grazed and extremely grazed sites were 121,127,187,and 120 grains kg-1of dry yak dung.The proportion of total seed numbers in yak dung to soil seed bank in lightly grazed,moderately grazed,heavily grazed and extremely grazed alpine meadow was 1.40,2.62,0.69,and 0.90%.12 species out of the 47 were not found in topsoil but were found in yak dung,10 species out of 45 were not found in yak dung but were found in the topsoil.Endozoochorous dispersal by yaks is therefore very important for soil seed bank and plant biodiversity and population dynamics in alpine meadows.