Effects of extreme soil water stress on photosynthetic efficiency and water consumption characteristics of Tamarix chinensis in China's Yellow River Delta

Soil moisture is a major limiting factor for plant growth on shell ridge islands in the Yellow River Delta. However, it is difficult to carry out situ experiment to study dominant plant photosynthesis physiological on the shell ridge islands under extreme soil water stress. To evaluate the adaptability of plants to light and moisture variations under extreme soil moisture conditions present on these islands, we measured photosynthetic gas exchange process, chlorophyll fluorescence, and stem sap flow variables for 3-year-old trees of Tamarix chinensis Lour, a restoration species on these islands, subjected to three types of soil water levels： waterlogging stress （WS）, alternating dry-wet （WD）, and severe drought stress （SS） to inform decisions on its planting and management on shell ridge islands. Gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, and stem sap flow in T. chinensis were then measured. Net photosynthetic rate （PN）, transpiration rate （E）, and water use efficiency （WUE） were similar under WS and alternating dry-wet conditions, but their mean E and WUE differed significantly （P 〈 0.05）. Under SS, the PN, E and WErE of T. chinensis leaves varied slightly, and mean PN, E and WUE were all low. Apparent quantum efficiency （AQY）, light compensation point （LCP）, light saturation point （LSP）, and maximum net photosynthetic rate （PNmax） of leaves were not significantly different （P 〉 0.05） under WS and dry-wet conditions; however, under extreme drought stress, compared with the dry-wet conditions, LCP was higher, Lsp was lower, and AQy and PNmax were both at the lowest level. Therefore, drought stress weakened light adaptability of leaves, and the efficiency of light transformation was poorer. （3） Maximum photochemical efficiency （Fv/Fm） and the actual photochemical efficiency （ΦPSII） were similar under waterlogged stress and dry-wet conditions, indicating a similar healthy photosynthetic apparatus and photosynthetic reaction cen- ter activity, respectively. Under SS, Fv/Fm was 0.631, and the coefficient of non-photochemical quenching （NpQ） was 0.814, which indicated that while the photosynthetic mechanism was damaged, the absorbed light energy was mainly dissipated in the form of heat, and the potential photosynthetic productivity was significantly reduced. The daily cumulants of sap flow of T. chinensis under drywet alternation and severe drought stress were. 22.25 and 63.97% higher, respectively, than under waterlogging stress. Daily changes in sap flow velocity for T. chinensis differed under the three soil water levels. Stem sap flow was weak at night under severe drought stress. Under drywet alternation, daytime average stem sap flow velocity was the highest, and night stem flow accounted for 10.26% of the day cumulants, while under waterlogged stress, the average nightly stem flow velocity was the highest, accounting for 31.82% of the day cumulants. These results provide important information for regional vegetation restoration and ecological reconstruction.

Comparison of soil physico-chemical properties under different land-use and cover types in northeastern China's Horqin Sandy Land

The Horqin Sandy Land of northeastern China was originally a grassland with plenty of water and lush vegetation dominated by palatable grass species along with sparsely scattered woody species. However, it has experienced severe desertification in recent decades due to its fragile ecology together with inappropriate human activities. Currently, the landscape of the Horqin Sandy Land is dominated by irrigated croplands and sand dunes with different degrees of vegetation cover, as the region has become the most important part of the semiarid agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China. In this study, we compared soil physical and chemical properties under different land-use and cover types （irrigated cropland, rainfed cropland, sandy grassland, fixed dunes, and mobile dunes）. We found that soil particle size distribution; organic C, total N, and total mineral element, microelement, and available microelement and nutrient contents; pH; CEC; and bulk density differed significantly among the land-use and cover types. In general, soil quality was highest in the cropland, intermediate in the sandy grassland, and lowest in the dunes. The most important soil quality attribute, soil organic carbon （SOC） storage, decreased in the fol-lowing order： irrigated cropland （5,699 g/m^2） 〉 sandy grassland （3,390 g/m^2） 〉 rainfed cropland （2,411 g/m^2） 〉 fixed dunes （821 g/m^2） 〉 mobile dunes （463 g/m^2）. SOC was significantly positively correlated with a large proportion of the other soil physico-chemical parameters. Our results suggest that the key issue in restoration of the degraded soils will be to increase SOC storage, which would also create a high potential for sequestering soil C in desertified areas of the Horqin Sandy Land.

Carbon sequestration in the total and light fraction soil organic matter along a chronosequence in grazing exclosures in a semiarid degraded sandy site in China

Horqin Sandy Land is a fragile, seriously desertified region located in Inner Mongolia of China. Over- grazing is one of the primary drivers of desertification in this region. We investigated whether the establishment of grazing exclosures in areas with active sand dunes enhances soil carbon （C） sequestration and benefits soil re- covery. The results showed that soil organic C storage was 1.4, 1.9, and 3.5 times, and light fraction C storage was 2.3, 3.2, and 4.4 times in the 100-cm topsoil after 7, 12, and 25 years of grazing exclusion, respectively, compared to the case in active sand dunes. The light fraction of soil played an important role in soil C sequestration, although it might not change rapidly to provide an early indication of how soil C is increasing in response to grazing exclusion. The results indicated that soils could potentially sequester up to 13.8 Mt C in 25 years if active sand dunes in the study area were to be protected by exclosures. This corresponds to 12.8% of the estimated carbon loss （107.53 Mt） that has been associated with desertification over the past century in the Horqin Sandy Land. Our results suggested that exclosures have the capacity to increase soil C sequestration; however, decades will be required for soil C to recover to historical grassland levels observed prior to desertification.

Comparison of sampling schemes for spatial predictionof soil organic carbon in Northern China

Determining an optimal sample size is a key step in designing field surveys,and is particularly important for detecting the spatial pattern of highly variable properties such as soil organic carbon(SOC).Based on 550 soil sampling points in the nearsurface layer(0 to 20 cm)in a representative region of northern China's agro-pastoral ecotone,we studied effects of four interpolation methods such as ordinary kriging(OK),universal kriging(UK),inverse distance weighting(IDW)and radial basis function(RBF)and random subsampling(50,100,200,300,400,and 500)on the prediction accuracy of SOC estimation.When the Shannon's Diversity Index(SHDI)and Shannon's Evenness Index(SHEI)was 2.01 and 0.67,the OK method appeared to be a superior method,which had the smallest root mean square error(RMSE)and the mean error(ME)nearest to zero.On the contrary,the UK method performed poorly for the interpolation of SOC in the present study.The sample size of 200 had the most accurate prediction;50 sampling points produced the worst prediction accuracy.Thus,we used 200 samples to estimate the study area's soil organic carbon density(SOCD)by the OK method.The total SOC storage to a depth of 20 cm in the study area was 117.94 Mt,and its mean SOCD was 2.40 kg/m2.The SOCD kg/(C⋅m2)of different land use types were in the following order:woodland(3.29)>grassland(2.35)>cropland(2.19)>sandy land(1.55).

Effects of land-use changes on organic carbon in bulk soil and associated physical fractions in China's Horqin Sandy Grassland

The Horqin Sandy Grassland is one of the most seriously desertified areas in China＇s agro-pastoral ecotone due to its fragile ecology, combined with improper and unsustainable land management. We investigated organic carbon changes in bulk soil （0 to 5 cm）, light fraction of soil organic matter, and soil particle-size fractions induced by land-use and cover type changes. The results indicated that total soil organic carbon （SOC） storage decreased by 121 g/m^2 with the conversion of grassland into farmland for 30 years, and increased by 261 g/m^2 with the conversion of grassland into plantation for 30 years. Total SOC storage decreased by 157 g/m^2 as a result of severe grassland desertification due to long-term continuous livestock grazing, whereas total SOC increased by 111 g/m^2 following the practice of grazing exclusion （16 years） in desertified areas. Changes in land-use and cover type also show great effects on carbon storage in soil physical fractions.