Volume fractal dimension of soil particles and relationships with soil physical-chemical properties and plant species diversity in an alpine grassland under different disturbance degrees

Fractal geometry is an important method in soil science,and many studies have used fractal theory to examine soil properties and the relationships with other eco-environmental factors.However,there have been few studies examining soil particle volume fractal dimension in alpine grasslands.To study the volume fractal dimension of soil particles （D） and its relationships with soil salt,soil nutrient and plant species diversity,we conducted an experiment on an alpine grassland under different disturbance degrees：non-disturbance （N0）,light disturbance （L）,moderate disturbance （M） and heavy disturbance （H）.The results showed that （1） Ds varied from 2.573 to 2.635 among the different disturbance degrees and increased with increasing degrees of disturbance.（2） Shannon-Wiener diversity index,Pielou＇s evenness index and Margalef richness index reached their highest values at the M degree,indicating that moderate disturbance is beneficial to the increase of plant species diversity.（3） In the L and M degrees,there was a significant positive correlation between D and clay content and a significant negative correlation between D and soil organic matter （SOM）.In the H degree,D was significantly and positively correlated with total salt （TS）.The results suggested that to a certain extent,D can be used to characterize the uniformity of soil texture in addition to soil fertility characteristics.（4） For the L degree,there was a significant negative correlation between D and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index; while for the M degree,there was a significant negative correlation between D and Pielou＇s evenness index.

Fluxes of methane,carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide in an alpine wetland and an alpine grassland of the Tianshan Mountains,China

Methane （OH4）, carbon dioxide （CO2） and nitrous oxide （N2O） are known to be major greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. To identify the flux dynamics of these greenhouse gases is, therefore, of great significance. In this paper, we conducted a comparative study on an alpine grassland and alpine wetland at the Bayinbuluk Grassland Eco-system Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences. By using opaque, static, manual stainless steel chambers and gas chromatography, we measured the fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 from the grassland and wetland through an in situ monitoring study from May 2010 to October 2012. The mean flux rates of CH4, N2O and CO2 for the experimental alpine wetland in the growing season （from May to October） were estimated at 322.4 μg/（m2.h）, 16.7 μg/（m2.h） and 76.7 mg/（m2.h）, respectively; and the values for the alpine grassland were -88.2 μg/（m2.h）, 12.7 μg/（m2.h）, 57.3 mg/（m2.h）, respectively. The gas fluxes showed large seasonal and annual variations, suggesting weak fluxes in the non-growing season. The relationships between these gas fluxes and environmental factors were analyzed for the two alpine ecosystems. The results showed that air temperature, precipitation, soil temperature and soil moisture can greatly influence the fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2, but the alpine grassland and alpine wetland showed different feedback mechanisms under the same climate and environmental conditions.

高寒草地土壤掩埋对凋落物分解速率的影响大于氮素富集

由于高寒草地退化、鼠害严重、大风频繁等原因,凋落物被频繁掩埋在土壤中。但凋落物的位置变化和氮富集对高寒草原凋落物分解速率和养分动态影响的认识尚不清楚。为了研究凋落物位置变化(地表、掩埋10 cm和悬空60 cm)和氮富集对高寒草原优势植物凋落物分解的影响,本研究依托2009年在新疆天山巴音布鲁克高寒草原设置的长期模拟氮沉降研究平台,以对照和氮富集处理样方的优势植物羊茅(Festuca ovina)和赖草(Leymus tianschanicus)凋落物为试验材料,测定分解过程中凋落物质量损失和碳氮磷含量的变化特征。研究结果表明,掩埋凋落物分解速率显著快于地表凋落物,悬空处理凋落物分解速率慢于地表凋落物。氮富集显著影响凋落物质量,进而影响凋落物分解。而凋落物质量残留在对照与氮富集土壤掩埋之间无显著差异。这些结果表明,氮富集通过凋落物质量而不是通过土壤环境因素,影响短期凋落物分解。不同处理的所有试验凋落物均有碳和磷的释放现象。对照处理的凋落物,凋落物氮以累积为主,而氮富集处理的凋落物,凋落物氮以释放为主。这表明凋落物分解可能受到氮元素限制,氮富集改变了凋落物分解调控的氮循环过程。本研究提供了直接证据,掩埋处理的凋落物有更快的质量损失和碳元素释放,土壤掩埋是旱地凋落物分解速率比模型预测的快的一个候选解释。