Quantitative contributions of climate change and human activities to vegetation dynamics in the Zoige Plateau from 2001 to 2020

Climate change and human activities such as overgrazing and rapid development of tourism simultaneously affected the vegetation of the Zoige Plateau.However,the spatiotemporal variations of vegetation and the relative contributions of climate change and human activities to these vegetation dynamics remain unclear.Therefore,clarifying how and why the vegetation on the Zoige Plateau changed can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable development of the region.Here,we investigate NDVI trends using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)as an indicator of vegetation greenness and distinguish the relative effects of climate changes and human activities on vegetation changes by utilizing residual trend analysis and the Geodetector.We find a tendency of vegetation greening from 2001 to 2020,with significant greening accounting for 21.44%of the entire region.However,browning area expanded rapidly after 2011.Warmer temperatures are the primary driver of vegetation changes in the Zoige Plateau.Climatic variations and human activities were responsible for 65.57%and 34.43%of vegetation greening,and 39.14%and 60.86%of vegetation browning,respectively,with browning concentrated along the Yellow,Black and White Rivers.Compared to 2001-2010,the inhibitory effect of human activity and climate fluctuations on vegetation grew dramatically between 2011 and 2020.

Source diagnostic and weathering indicators of oil spills utilizing bicyclic sesquiterpanes

Bicyclic Sesquiterpanes （BSs） are ubiquitous components of crude oils and ancient sediments. BSs in crude oils and diesel oil were identified and characterized, the effects of moderate weathering on BS distributions were discussed, and a methodology using diagnostic indices of BSs was developed for oil correlation and dif- ferentiation. The results showed that crude oils and oil products had different abundances and distributions of BSs and, consequently, resulted in different diagnostic ratios. The selected diagnostic ratio indices of BSs, such as BS4/BS5 （ratio of 4,4,8,9,9-pentamethyl-decahydronaphthalene to 8/3 （H）-drimane）, BS6/BS5 （ratio of 4,4,9,9,10-pentamethyl-decahydronaphthalene to 8/3 （H）-drimane）, BS8/BS9 （ratio of the second peak to the third peak of C16 sequiterpane）, and BS8/BSIO （ratio of C16 sequiterpane to 8fl （H）-homodrimane）, still maintained better stabilities （%RSD 〈 5%） after weathering for 30 d. The longer weathering process （150 d） had some effect on such ratios （5% 〈 %RSD 〈 10%）. The facts of the uniqueness, abundance in petroleum, and chemical stability of BSs enable them to be suitable as an effective diagnostic means for identifying spilled oil with moderate weathering, particularly for lighter refined product samples that are difficult to identify by current techniques.

Application of SCS Model in Estimation of Runoff from Small Watershed in Loess Plateau of China

Soil Conservation Service (SCS) model, developed by U. S. Soil Conservation Service in 1972, has been widely applied in the estimation of runoff from an small watershed. In this paper, based on the remote sensing geo-information data of land use and soil classification all obtained from Landsat images in 1996 and 1997 and con-ventional data of hydrology and meteorology, the SCS model was investigated for simulating the surface runoff for single rainstorm in Wangdonggou watershed, a typical small watershed in the Loess Plateau, located in Changwu County of Shaanxi Province of China. Wangdonggou watershed was compartmentalized into 28 sub-units according to natural draining division,and the table of curve number (CN) values fitting for Wangdonggou watershed was also presented. During the flood period from 1996 to 1997, the hydrograph of calculated runoff process using the SCS model and the hydrograph of observed runoff process coincided very well in height as well as shape, and the model was of high precision above 75%. It is indicated that the SCS model is legitimate and can be successfully used to simulate the runoff generation and the runoff process of typical small watershed based on the remote sensing geo-information in the Loess Plateau.

Space-time analysis of the changing patterns of population pressure on the ecological environment in China

This paper examines the temporal change and spatial variation of population pressure on the ecological environment in China.We have collected sufficient data from the statistical yearbooks of 31 provincial administrative areas in 1990,1995,2000,2005,and 2010.Using a geographic information system(GIS) and relevant models,we analyzed the trend of the population pressure on ecological environment and the change of the gravity center of ecological environment quality.We conclude that:(1) generally,population pressure on the ecological environment in China was becoming higher during1990-2010,especially in some areas where the population and environment were in serious imbalance and the ecological environment experienced severe pollution;(2) during a certain period,population pressure on the ecological environment was becoming lower in some areas,but the ecological environment was getting worse;(3) the areas with super-high population pressure on the ecological environment were Beijing,Tianjin,and Shanghai;(4) the gravity center of population pressure on the ecological environment and the center of ecological environment quality move differently during the study time period,but the general trend was similar- both of them were moving from west to east.Based on the analysis,this paper also provides some policy suggestions on the control of ecological environment quality.

Nitrogen isotope composition characteristics of modern plants and their variations along an altitudinal gradient in Dongling Mountain in Beijing

Through the systematic investigation of nitrogen isotope composition (δ15N) in modern plants in Dongling Mountain in Beijing,the characteristics of δ15N in plants,the differences of δ15N among plants with different functional types,and the altitudinal trends of plant δ15N values revealed the environmental effects on δ15N.Our results are:(1) the values of δ15N of plants in Dongling Mountain range between -8.0‰ and 14.0‰,with an average value of -1.03‰;(2) δ15N values are variant among different plant functional types.Generally,the δ15N of shrubs are smaller than that of trees,and larger than that of herbaceous plants.The main reason may be the selective absorption of variant nitrogen resource with different δ15N values in soil;(3) there is a second-order polynomials relationship between the altitudes and the average δ15N values of plants,which shows a negative and positive correlation below and above 1350 m a.s.l.,respectively.This indicates that the precipitation is a main controlling factor of plant 15N fractionation for the former,and the temperature for the latter;(4) three different,i.e.,positive,negative,and no significant,correlations are performed between δ15N of individual species and altitudes.This may be related to different inherited characteristics and the process of nitrogen metabolize;and (5) variant altitudinal trends of plant δ15N are associated with different 15N composition of soil at different altitude,for which the key influencing factors are the changing temperature and precipitation with altitude rather than nitrogen content in leaf.

Changes in Vegetation and Assessment of Meteorological Conditions in Ecologically Fragile Karst Areas

Meteorological conditions have an important impact on changes of vegetation in ecologically fragile karst areas.This study aims to explore a method for quantitative evaluation of these meteorological conditions. We analyzed the changing trend of vegetation during 2000–2018 and the correlations between vegetation changes and various meteorological factors in karst rocky areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Key meteorological factors in vegetation areas with varying degrees of improvement were selected and evaluated at seasonal timescale. A quantitative evaluation model of comprehensive influences of meteorological factors on vegetation was built by using the partial least-square regression(PLS). About 91.45% of the vegetation tended to be improved, while only the rest 8.55% showed a trend of degradation from 2000 to 2018. Areas with evident vegetation improvement were mainly distributed in the middle and northeast, and those with obvious vegetation degradation were scattered. Meteorological factors affecting vegetation were significantly different among the four seasons. Overall, high air humidity, small temperature difference in spring and autumn, and low daily minimum temperature and air pressure were favorable conditions. Low temperature in winter as well as high temperature in summer and autumn were unfavorable conditions. The Climate Vegetation Index(CVI) model was established by PLS using the maximum, minimum, and average temperatures;vapor pressure;rainfall;and air pressure as key meteorological factors. The Enhanced Vegetation Index(EVI) was well fitted by the CVI model, with the average coefficient of determination(r2) and root mean square error(RMSE) of 0.856 and 0.042, respectively. Finally, an assessment model of comprehensive meteorological conditions was built based on the interannual differences in CVI. The meteorological conditions in the study area in 2014 were successfully evaluated by combining the model and selected seasonal key meteorological factors.