Together,the heat island eff ect and air pollution pose a threat to human health and well-being in urban settings.Nature-based solutions such as planting trees are a mitigation strategy to improve outdoor temperatures...Together,the heat island eff ect and air pollution pose a threat to human health and well-being in urban settings.Nature-based solutions such as planting trees are a mitigation strategy to improve outdoor temperatures(thermal comfort)and enhance air quality in urban areas.In this study,outdoor thermal comfort,and particulate matter levels were compared between treeless and treed areas to provide a better understanding of how street trees improve thermal comfort and air quality.Street trees decreased the physiological equivalent temperature from 46.3 to 44.2℃in summer but increased it from 36.4 to 37.5℃in autumn.Air temperature and relative humidity contributed more in summer while wind speed contributed more in autumn.Particulate matter concentrations were negatively correlated with physiological equivalent temperature in summer but not in autumn.The presence of trees decreased concentrations of fi ne particulate matter in hot summer conditions but increased in hot autumn conditions.The presence of trees increased coarse particulate matter in very hot summer conditions in summer and in hot autumn conditions.Overall,the layout of trees in urban street canyons should consider the trade-off between outdoor thermal comfort and air quality improvement.展开更多
Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica(P.sylvestris)plantations are extensively established in the boreal zone.Increasing stand biomass of these plantations can effectively enhance carbon stock,which is crucial for mitigating...Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica(P.sylvestris)plantations are extensively established in the boreal zone.Increasing stand biomass of these plantations can effectively enhance carbon stock,which is crucial for mitigating climate change.However,the current understanding of optimizing plantation strategies to maximize stand biomass is primarily derived from experiments in tropical and subtropical zones,which is difficult to extend to the boreal due to substantial climatic differences.Based on a comprehensive dataset from 1,076 sample plots of P.sylvestris plantations in the boreal zone of China,we evaluated the effects of tree species richness and stand density on tree height,diameter at breast height(DBH),and stand biomass to investigate the optimal plantation strategy.Furthermore,we examined how these effects changed with stand age and investigated their relative importance.We found that monocultures at a high stand density of 2,000–2,500ha^(−1) were the optimal plantation strategy to maximize stand biomass(107.5Mg·ha^(−1)),and this held true at almost all stand ages.Unfortunately,this strategy resulted in low species richness and small individual trees(10.6m height and 9.8cm DBH),thus presenting a trade-off.In addition,as stand age increased,the effect of tree species richness on stand biomass shifted from positive to negative,but the effect of stand density was always positive.Overall,stand age had the greatest effect on stand biomass,followed by stand density and then tree species richness.Our findings reveal a distinct plantation strategy for optimizing stand biomass of P.sylvestris plantations in the boreal zone.More importantly,this study highlights that(1)maximizing stand biomass in the boreal zone may compromise tree species richness;(2)net effects of tree species richness on stand biomass are not always positive,as negative selection effects offset positive complementary effects.展开更多
This study aims to verify the concept of niches at multiple spatial scales in plant communities.To this end,we analyzed the niche characteristic of Rhododendron dauricum plant communities in Northeast China at three s...This study aims to verify the concept of niches at multiple spatial scales in plant communities.To this end,we analyzed the niche characteristic of Rhododendron dauricum plant communities in Northeast China at three spatial scales.At the local scale,we calculated the Importance Value(IV)of species in five communities in the north of the Da Hinggan Mountains.At the intermediate scale,we examined five communities in their entirety,calculated the niche breadth of the species,and integrated niche overlap and interspecific association to analyze interspecific relationships.Further,the generalized additive model(GAM)was used to analyze the impact of topography and soil factors on niche characteristics.At the regional scale,we analyzed the geographical distribution of dominant species of R.dauricum plant communities in Northeast China and used principal component analysis(PCA)to analyze the impact of geographical and climate factors on species distribution.The results show that at the local scale,the IV of the species in each community varies widely.At the intermediate scale,species with a wide niche breadth tend to have a high value for IV.Larix gmelinii,Betula platyphylla,R.dauricum,Ledum palustre,and Vaccinium vitis-idaea had a relatively wide niche breadth and a high niche overlap,and the interspecific associations were almost all positive.Elevation and soil nutrients were the most dominant environmental factors.At the regional scale,species with a wide niche breadth tend to have a wide range of distribution,and temperature and precipitation were the most dominant environmental factors.This study suggests that the niche characteristics at three scales are both related and different.Niche characteristics at the local scale were various and labile,and niche characteristics at the intermediate and regional scales were relatively regular.These results show some degree of consistency with previous studies from an evolutionary perspective.The action mechanisms of these communities are related to differences in the dominant environmental factors.In addition,the integration of niche overlap and interspecific association determine interspecific relationships more accurately.展开更多
Suitable habitat is vital for the survival and restoration of a species.Understanding the suitable habitat range for lycophytes and ferns is prerequisite for effective species resource conservation and recovery effort...Suitable habitat is vital for the survival and restoration of a species.Understanding the suitable habitat range for lycophytes and ferns is prerequisite for effective species resource conservation and recovery efforts.In this study, we took Athyrium brevifrons as an example, predicted its suitable habitat using a Maxent model with 67 occurrence data and nine environmental variables in Northeast China.The area under the curve(AUC) value of independent test data, as well as the comparison with specimen county areal distribution of A.brevifrons exhibited excellent predictive performance.The type of environmental variables showed that precipitation contributed the most to the distribution prediction, followed by temperature and topography.Percentage contribution and permutation importance both indicated that precipitation of driest quarter(Bio17) was the key factor in determining the natural distribution of A.brevifrons, the reason could be proved by the fern gametophyte biology.The analysis of high habitat suitability areas also showed the habitat preference of A.brevifrons: comparatively more precipitation and less fluctuation in the driest quarter.Changbai Mountains, covering almost all the high and medium habitat suitability areas, provide the best ecological conditions for the survival of A.brevifrons, and should be considered as priority areas for protection and restoration of the wild resource.The potential habitat suitability distribution map could provide a reference for the sustainable development and utilisation of A.brevifrons resource, and Maxent modelling could be valuable for conservation management planning for lycophytes and ferns in Northeast China.展开更多
Use of a non-zero hydrologic response unit(HRU) threshold is an effective way of reducing unmanageable HRU numbers and simplifying computational cost in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) hydrologic modelling. H...Use of a non-zero hydrologic response unit(HRU) threshold is an effective way of reducing unmanageable HRU numbers and simplifying computational cost in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) hydrologic modelling. However, being less representative of watershed heterogeneity and increasing the level of model output uncertainty are inevitable when minor HRU combinations are disproportionately eliminated. This study examined 20 scenarios by running the model with various HRU threshold settings to understand the mechanism of HRU threshold effects on watershed representation as well as streamflow predictions and identify the appropriate HRU thresholds. Findings show that HRU numbers decrease sharply with increasing HRU thresholds. Among different HRU threshold scenarios, the composition of land-use, soil, and slope all contribute to notable variations which are directly related to the model input parameters and consequently affect the streamflow predictions. Results indicate that saturated hydraulic conductivity, average slope of the HRU, and curve number are the three key factors affecting stream discharge when changing the HRU thresholds. It is also found that HRU thresholds have little effect on monthly model performance, while evaluation statistics for daily discharges are more sensitive than monthly results. For daily streamflow predictions, thresholds of 5%/5%/5%(land-use/soil/slope) are the optimum HRU threshold level for the watershed to allow full consideration of model accuracy and efficiency in the present work. Besides, the results provide strategies for selecting appropriate HRU thresholds based on the modelling goal.展开更多
The vertical distribution of air pollutants in urban street canyons is closely related to residents’health.However,the vertical air quality in urban street canyons has rarely been assessed using field observations ob...The vertical distribution of air pollutants in urban street canyons is closely related to residents’health.However,the vertical air quality in urban street canyons has rarely been assessed using field observations obtained throughout the year.Therefore,this study investigated the seasonal and annual concentrations of particulate matter(PM2.5 and PM10),CO,NO_(2),SO_(2),O_(3),air quality index,and their responses to microclimatic factors at three height levels(1.5,27,and 69 m above street level)in an urban street canyon.The PM concentration was higher at 27 m than at 1.5 m in winter,whereas the situation was reversed in other seasons.It was found that photochemical pollutants such as NO_(2) and O_(3) were the primary pollutants in the urban street canyon.The days on which O3 was the primary pollutant at the height of 1.5 m accounted for 81.07% of the entire year.The days on which NO_(2) was the primary pollutant at the height of 27 and 69 m accounted for 82.49% and 72.33%of the entire year,respectively.Substantially higher concentrations of NO2 and O_(3) were found at the height of 27 m than at 69 m.In-canyon concentrations of NO_(2) and O_(3) were strongly correlated with air temperature,wind speed,and wind direction,which played important roles in photochemical reactions and pollutant dispersion.展开更多
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31901153,32130068,41801187)Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province of China(2020-MS-026)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS(2022195).
文摘Together,the heat island eff ect and air pollution pose a threat to human health and well-being in urban settings.Nature-based solutions such as planting trees are a mitigation strategy to improve outdoor temperatures(thermal comfort)and enhance air quality in urban areas.In this study,outdoor thermal comfort,and particulate matter levels were compared between treeless and treed areas to provide a better understanding of how street trees improve thermal comfort and air quality.Street trees decreased the physiological equivalent temperature from 46.3 to 44.2℃in summer but increased it from 36.4 to 37.5℃in autumn.Air temperature and relative humidity contributed more in summer while wind speed contributed more in autumn.Particulate matter concentrations were negatively correlated with physiological equivalent temperature in summer but not in autumn.The presence of trees decreased concentrations of fi ne particulate matter in hot summer conditions but increased in hot autumn conditions.The presence of trees increased coarse particulate matter in very hot summer conditions in summer and in hot autumn conditions.Overall,the layout of trees in urban street canyons should consider the trade-off between outdoor thermal comfort and air quality improvement.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2022YFF1300500)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS(No.2022195).
文摘Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica(P.sylvestris)plantations are extensively established in the boreal zone.Increasing stand biomass of these plantations can effectively enhance carbon stock,which is crucial for mitigating climate change.However,the current understanding of optimizing plantation strategies to maximize stand biomass is primarily derived from experiments in tropical and subtropical zones,which is difficult to extend to the boreal due to substantial climatic differences.Based on a comprehensive dataset from 1,076 sample plots of P.sylvestris plantations in the boreal zone of China,we evaluated the effects of tree species richness and stand density on tree height,diameter at breast height(DBH),and stand biomass to investigate the optimal plantation strategy.Furthermore,we examined how these effects changed with stand age and investigated their relative importance.We found that monocultures at a high stand density of 2,000–2,500ha^(−1) were the optimal plantation strategy to maximize stand biomass(107.5Mg·ha^(−1)),and this held true at almost all stand ages.Unfortunately,this strategy resulted in low species richness and small individual trees(10.6m height and 9.8cm DBH),thus presenting a trade-off.In addition,as stand age increased,the effect of tree species richness on stand biomass shifted from positive to negative,but the effect of stand density was always positive.Overall,stand age had the greatest effect on stand biomass,followed by stand density and then tree species richness.Our findings reveal a distinct plantation strategy for optimizing stand biomass of P.sylvestris plantations in the boreal zone.More importantly,this study highlights that(1)maximizing stand biomass in the boreal zone may compromise tree species richness;(2)net effects of tree species richness on stand biomass are not always positive,as negative selection effects offset positive complementary effects.
基金Under the auspices of National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2016YFC0500306)。
文摘This study aims to verify the concept of niches at multiple spatial scales in plant communities.To this end,we analyzed the niche characteristic of Rhododendron dauricum plant communities in Northeast China at three spatial scales.At the local scale,we calculated the Importance Value(IV)of species in five communities in the north of the Da Hinggan Mountains.At the intermediate scale,we examined five communities in their entirety,calculated the niche breadth of the species,and integrated niche overlap and interspecific association to analyze interspecific relationships.Further,the generalized additive model(GAM)was used to analyze the impact of topography and soil factors on niche characteristics.At the regional scale,we analyzed the geographical distribution of dominant species of R.dauricum plant communities in Northeast China and used principal component analysis(PCA)to analyze the impact of geographical and climate factors on species distribution.The results show that at the local scale,the IV of the species in each community varies widely.At the intermediate scale,species with a wide niche breadth tend to have a high value for IV.Larix gmelinii,Betula platyphylla,R.dauricum,Ledum palustre,and Vaccinium vitis-idaea had a relatively wide niche breadth and a high niche overlap,and the interspecific associations were almost all positive.Elevation and soil nutrients were the most dominant environmental factors.At the regional scale,species with a wide niche breadth tend to have a wide range of distribution,and temperature and precipitation were the most dominant environmental factors.This study suggests that the niche characteristics at three scales are both related and different.Niche characteristics at the local scale were various and labile,and niche characteristics at the intermediate and regional scales were relatively regular.These results show some degree of consistency with previous studies from an evolutionary perspective.The action mechanisms of these communities are related to differences in the dominant environmental factors.In addition,the integration of niche overlap and interspecific association determine interspecific relationships more accurately.
基金Under the auspices of National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2016YFC0500300)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41675153)
文摘Suitable habitat is vital for the survival and restoration of a species.Understanding the suitable habitat range for lycophytes and ferns is prerequisite for effective species resource conservation and recovery efforts.In this study, we took Athyrium brevifrons as an example, predicted its suitable habitat using a Maxent model with 67 occurrence data and nine environmental variables in Northeast China.The area under the curve(AUC) value of independent test data, as well as the comparison with specimen county areal distribution of A.brevifrons exhibited excellent predictive performance.The type of environmental variables showed that precipitation contributed the most to the distribution prediction, followed by temperature and topography.Percentage contribution and permutation importance both indicated that precipitation of driest quarter(Bio17) was the key factor in determining the natural distribution of A.brevifrons, the reason could be proved by the fern gametophyte biology.The analysis of high habitat suitability areas also showed the habitat preference of A.brevifrons: comparatively more precipitation and less fluctuation in the driest quarter.Changbai Mountains, covering almost all the high and medium habitat suitability areas, provide the best ecological conditions for the survival of A.brevifrons, and should be considered as priority areas for protection and restoration of the wild resource.The potential habitat suitability distribution map could provide a reference for the sustainable development and utilisation of A.brevifrons resource, and Maxent modelling could be valuable for conservation management planning for lycophytes and ferns in Northeast China.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31901153)Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.XDA23070103)。
文摘Use of a non-zero hydrologic response unit(HRU) threshold is an effective way of reducing unmanageable HRU numbers and simplifying computational cost in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) hydrologic modelling. However, being less representative of watershed heterogeneity and increasing the level of model output uncertainty are inevitable when minor HRU combinations are disproportionately eliminated. This study examined 20 scenarios by running the model with various HRU threshold settings to understand the mechanism of HRU threshold effects on watershed representation as well as streamflow predictions and identify the appropriate HRU thresholds. Findings show that HRU numbers decrease sharply with increasing HRU thresholds. Among different HRU threshold scenarios, the composition of land-use, soil, and slope all contribute to notable variations which are directly related to the model input parameters and consequently affect the streamflow predictions. Results indicate that saturated hydraulic conductivity, average slope of the HRU, and curve number are the three key factors affecting stream discharge when changing the HRU thresholds. It is also found that HRU thresholds have little effect on monthly model performance, while evaluation statistics for daily discharges are more sensitive than monthly results. For daily streamflow predictions, thresholds of 5%/5%/5%(land-use/soil/slope) are the optimum HRU threshold level for the watershed to allow full consideration of model accuracy and efficiency in the present work. Besides, the results provide strategies for selecting appropriate HRU thresholds based on the modelling goal.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41730647, 41801187, 32101325)Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (No. 2022195)
文摘The vertical distribution of air pollutants in urban street canyons is closely related to residents’health.However,the vertical air quality in urban street canyons has rarely been assessed using field observations obtained throughout the year.Therefore,this study investigated the seasonal and annual concentrations of particulate matter(PM2.5 and PM10),CO,NO_(2),SO_(2),O_(3),air quality index,and their responses to microclimatic factors at three height levels(1.5,27,and 69 m above street level)in an urban street canyon.The PM concentration was higher at 27 m than at 1.5 m in winter,whereas the situation was reversed in other seasons.It was found that photochemical pollutants such as NO_(2) and O_(3) were the primary pollutants in the urban street canyon.The days on which O3 was the primary pollutant at the height of 1.5 m accounted for 81.07% of the entire year.The days on which NO_(2) was the primary pollutant at the height of 27 and 69 m accounted for 82.49% and 72.33%of the entire year,respectively.Substantially higher concentrations of NO2 and O_(3) were found at the height of 27 m than at 69 m.In-canyon concentrations of NO_(2) and O_(3) were strongly correlated with air temperature,wind speed,and wind direction,which played important roles in photochemical reactions and pollutant dispersion.