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.

Comparative study of boron and neon injections on divertor heat fluxes using SOLPS-ITER simulations

Based on the EAST equilibrium,the effects of boron(B)and neon(Ne)injected at different locations on the target heat load,and the distributions of B and Ne particles were investigated by transport code SOLPS-ITER.It was found that the B injection was more sensitive to the injection location for heat flux control than impurity Ne.The high electron and ion densities near the inner target in the discharge with impurity B injected from over X-point(R1)led to plasma detachment only at the inner target,and the localized B ions in the cases with injection from outer target location(R2)and upstream location(R3)led to far-SOL detachment at the outer target,but not at the inner target.In contrast,for Ne,the spatial distributions of Ne ions and electrons were found to be similar in all the cases at the three injection locations,and the detached plasma was achieved at the inner target and the electron temperature was reduced at the outer target.For locations R2 and R3,impurity B showed a more pronounced effect on the heat flux at the far-SOL of the outer target.Further analysis indicated that Ne atoms came mainly from the recycling sources,whereas B atoms came mainly from injection,and that their distinct atomic distributions resulted from the difference in the ionization threshold and ionization mean free path.In addition,the radiation proportion of B in the divertor region was larger than that of Ne when the total radiation power was similar,which suggests that B has less influence on the core region.

Comparison of ERA5 turbulent fluxes at the air-sea interface with measurements from a wave-following platform

Turbulent fluxes at the air-sea interface were estimated with data collected in 2011-2020 with a low-profile platform named OCARINA during eight experiments in five regions:2011,2015,and 2016 in the Iroise Sea;2012 in the tropical Atlantic;2014 in the Chilie-Peru upwelling;2017 and 2018 in the Mediterranean Sea,and 2018 and 2020 in Barbados.The observations were carried out with moderate winds(2-10 m s^(-1))and average wave heights of 1.5 m.In this study,the authors used the fluxes calculated by the bulk method using OCARINA-sampled data as the input.These data can validate the fluxes estimated from ERAS reanalysis data.The OCARINA and ERA5 data were taken concomitantly.To do this,the authors established an algorithm to extract the OCARINA data as closely as possible to the reanalysis data in time and position.The measurements of the OCARINA platform can conclude on the relevance of the widely used reanalysis data.

Seasonal response of nitrogen exchange fluxes to crab disturbance at sediment-water interface in coastal tidal wetlands

Coastal wetlands are hotspots for nitrogen(N)cycling,and crab burrowing is known to transform N in intertidal marsh soils.However,the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.This study conducted field experiments and used indoor control test devices to investigate the seasonal response of nitrogen to crab disturbance at the sediment-water interface in coastal tidal flat wetlands.The results showed that crab disturbance exhibited significant seasonality with large seasonal differences in cave density and depth.Due to crab disturbance,nitrogen fuxes at the sediment-water interface were much greater in the box with crabs than in the box without crabs.In summer,NH-N showed a positive flux from the sediment to the overlying water,but NO2-N and NOg-N showed positive fluxes from the sediment to the overlying water only in early stages.In winter,NH-N showed a positive flux from the sediment to the overlying water,but NO-N and NO,-N both exhibited positive and negative fluxes.These results indicated that the presence of crab burrows can cause the aerobic layer to move downward by approximately 8-15 cm in summer and directly promote nitrification at the sediment surface.

Impact of Initial Soil Conditions on Soil Hydrothermal and Surface Energy Fluxes in the Permafrost Region of the Tibetan Plateau

Accurate initial soil conditions play a crucial role in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes in land surface process modeling.This study emphasized the influence of the initial soil temperature(ST)and soil moisture(SM)conditions on a land surface energy and water simulation in the permafrost region in the Tibetan Plateau(TP)using the Community Land Model version 5.0(CLM5.0).The results indicate that the default initial schemes for ST and SM in CLM5.0 were simplistic,and inaccurately represented the soil characteristics of permafrost in the TP which led to underestimating ST during the freezing period while overestimating ST and underestimating SLW during the thawing period at the XDT site.Applying the long-term spin-up method to obtain initial soil conditions has only led to limited improvement in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes.The modified initial soil schemes proposed in this study comprehensively incorporate the characteristics of permafrost,which coexists with soil liquid water(SLW),and soil ice(SI)when the ST is below freezing temperature,effectively enhancing the accuracy of the simulated soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes.Consequently,the modified initial soil schemes greatly improved upon the results achieved through the long-term spin-up method.Three modified initial soil schemes experiments resulted in a 64%,88%,and 77%reduction in the average mean bias error(MBE)of ST,and a 13%,21%,and 19%reduction in the average root-mean-square error(RMSE)of SLW compared to the default simulation results.Also,the average MBE of net radiation was reduced by 7%,22%,and 21%.

Investigation of bubbles escape behavior from low basicity mold flux for high-Mn high-Al steels using 3D X-ray microscope

During the continuous casting process of high-Mn high-Al steels,various types of gases such as Ar need to escape through the top of the mold.In which,the behavior of bubbles traversing the liquid slag serves as a restrictive link,closely associated with viscosity and the thickness of liquid slag.In contrast to two-dimensional surface observation,three-dimensional(3D)analysis method can offer a more intuitive,accurate,and comprehensive information.Therefore,this study employs a 3D X-ray microscope(3D-XRM)to obtained spatial distribution and 3D morphological characteristics of residual bubbles in mold flux under different basicity of liquid slag,different temperatures,and different holding times.The results indicate that as basicity of slag increases from 0.52 to 1.03,temperature increases from 1423 to 1573 K,the viscosity of slag decreases,the floating rate of bubbles increases.In addition,when holding time increases from 10 to 30 s,the bubbles floating distance increases,and the volume fraction and average equivalent sphere diameter of the bubbles solidified in the mold flux gradually decreases.In one word,increasing the basicity,temperature,and holding time leading to an increase in the removal rate of bubbles especially for the large.These findings of bubbles escape behavior provide valuable insights into optimizing low basicity mold flux for high-Mn high-Al steels.

Biomass, litterfall and the nutrient fluxes in Chinese fir stands of different age in subtropical China

Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.), a fast-growing, ever-green conifer tree with high yield and excellent quality, is the most important tree species of timber plantations in subtropical China. We investigated the characteristics of biomass, litterfall and nutrient fluxes in the 8, 14 and 24 year-old stands, representing the young, middle-aged and mature stands. The results showed that Chinese fir plantations in central Fujian province had high productivity, and the proportion of stem mass in total biomass was between 50%-70%. Chinese fir was low nutrient-return tree species with litterfall. Nutrient withdrawal from senescing needles was a strong age-dependence for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in Chinese fir. With a management system of such short-rotation and continuously pure-crop planting, harvesting timber can lead to great nutrient loss, which may be one of the causes for site degradation.

Fluxes Footprint and Source Area of Rubber Plantation

[Objective] The paper was to analyze the quality of flux observation data of rubber plantation.[Method]Based on the FSAM model,footprint and flux source area were analyzed according to the continuous flux measurement with the open-path eddy covariance system on the 50 m tower of Danzhou Key Field Station of Observation and Research for Tropical Agricultural Resources and Environments,Ministry of Agriculture from Jan 1 to Jun 30,2010.[Result] Under unstable stratification,source areas were smaller than those under stable conditions,and source areas in the dormant season were larger than those in the growing season at the same level.In the main wind direction 130°-270°,the upwind range of source areas was in the magnitude of 100-758 m and vertical upwind range was-251-251 m at 80% level under unstable stratification in the growing season,and they were some large than those under the unstable stratification in the dormant season.The source areas of the upwind and vertical upwind ranges were 173-1 858,-534-534 m especially under stable stratification in the growing season,and they were smaller than those under stable stratification in the dormant season.In the other wind directions of 0°-130° and 270°-360°,the ranges were similar to those of the growing season in the prevailing wind direction under the same atmospheric conditions.[Conclusion] The study would lay a foundation for the future flux calculation and analysis.

Fluxes of soil carbon dioxide,nitrous oxide and firedamp in broad-leaved/Korean pine forest

To understand influence of litters on the emission/absorption of CO2, N2O and CH4 in broadleaved/Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountain, fluxes of soil CO2, N2O and CH4 were measured by closed static chamber technique, from Sept 3, 2002 to Oct 30, 2003 in two types of soil ecosystems, of which one was covered with litters on the surface soil, and the other had no litters. The results showed that litters had significant influences on CO2, N2O and CH4 fluxes (p<0.05). Their diurnal change patterns of plot with litters and litter-free plot were similar, and they all showed emission/absorption peak at 18:00. The diurnal change fluxes of CO2 and N2O of plot with litters were significantly higher than those of the litter-free plot, while the diurnal flux of CH4 of plot with litters was lower than that of litter-free plot. The fluxes of CO2, N2O, and CH4 showed the similar seasonal patternsfor both plots. The fluxes of CO2, CH4 showed their peak fluxes in June, but the fluxes of N2O showed its peak emissions in August. The annual fluxes of CO2 and N2O of plot with litters were significantly higher than those of the litter-free plot, while the annual flux of CH4 of plot with litters was lower than that of litter-free plot. Keywords Flux - CO2, N2O and CH4 - Seasonal variation - Diurnal variation CLC number S718.5 Document code A Foundation item: The study was supported by innovation research project of Institute of Appiied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SCXZD0101-02) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (30271068)Bigraphy: XIAO Dong-mei (1979-), female, master of Institute of Applied Ecology. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016. P. R. China.Responsible editor: Song Funan

Soil carbon dioxide fluxes of a typical broad-leaved/Korean pine mixed forest in Changbai Mountain, China

The forest ecosystem plays an important role in the global carbon cycling. A study was conducted to evaluate soil CO2 flux and its seasonal and diurnal variation with the air and soil temperatures by using static closed chamber technique in a typical broad-leaved/Korean pine mixed forest area on the northern slope of Changbai Mountain, Jilin Province, China. The experiment was carried out through the day and night in the growing season (from June to September) in situ and sample gas was analyzed by a gas chromatograph. Results showed that the forest floor was a large net source of carbon, and soil CO2 fluxes had an obvi-ous law of seasonal and diel variation. The soil CO2 flux of broad-leaved/Korean pine mixed forest was in the range of 0.302.42 mmol穖-2穝-1 with the mean value of 0.98 mmol穖-2穝-1. An examination on the seasonal pattern of soil CO2 emission suggested that the variability in soil CO2 flux could be correlated with variations in soil temperature, and the maximum of mean CO2 flux occurred in July ((1.27±23%) mmol穖-2穝-1) and the minimum was in September ((0.50±28%) mmol穖-2穝-1). The fluctuations in diel soil CO2 flux were also correlated with changes in soil temperature; however, there existed a factor for a time lag. Soil CO2 flux from the forest floor was strongly related to soil temperature and had the highest correlation with temperature at 6-cm depth of soil. Q10 values based on air temperature and soil temperature of different soil depths were at the ranges of 2.09–3.40.

Soil CH_4 fluxes response to understory removal and N-fixing species addition in four forest plantations in Southern China

CH4 is one of the most important greenhouse gases, and mainly comes from soils in forest ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of forest management practices such as understory removal and N-fixing species （Cassia alata） addition, on soil CH4 fluxes in four forest plantations in southern China. Fluxes of CH4 were measured in Eucalyptus urophylla plantation （B1）, Acacia crassi-carpa plantation （B2）, 10-native-species-mixed plantation （B3）, and 30-native-species-mixed plantation （B4） stands using the static chamber method in Southern China. Four forest management treatments, includ-ing （1） understory removal and replacement with C. alata （UR＋CA）; （2） understory removal only （UR）; （3） C. alata addition only （CA）; and （4） control without any disturbances （CK）, were applied in the four forest plantations. The results showed that plantation types had a significant effect on soil CH4 fluxes. B1 and B2 tended to be CH4 consumers, while B3 and B4 inclined to be CH4 producers. UR decreased CH4 fluxes by providing a more optimal soil temperature and moisture regime for mi-croorganism community and increasing substrate mineralization. How-ever, CA enhanced CH4 fluxes in B1 and B2 for N-fixing function of C. alata while lowered CH4 fluxes in B3 and B4. Soil CH4 flux rate was significantly related to soil temperature and moisture conditions in the top 10-cm soil layer. Furthermore, the quality of substrates, such as Soil Organic Carbon （SOC） and mineral N might also be important driving factors for CH4 fluxes. This study improved our understanding on CH4 fluxes in plantations under different management practices such as UR and CA.

Analysis of heat pulse signals determination for sediment-water interface fluxes

The heat pulse signal is analyzed in a new way with the goals of clarifying the relationships between the variables in the heat transfer problem and simplifying the procedure for calculating sediment-water interface fluxes J. Only three parameters x0 λand pc l are needed to calculate J by the heat pulse data for this analysis method.The results show that there is a curvilinear relationship between the peak temperature arrival time and sediment-water interface fluxes and there exists a simple linear relationship between sediment-water interface fluxes and the natural log of the ratio of the temperature increase downstream from the line heat source to the temperature increase upstream from the heat source.The simplicity of this relationship makes the heat pulse sensors an attractive option for measuring soil water fluxes.

Effects of hydrodynamics processes on phosphorus fluxes from sediment in large,shallow Taihu Lake

The turnover of phosphorus （P） in lake sediments, a major cause of eutrophication and subsequent deterioration of water quality, is in need of deep understanding. In this study, effects of resuspension on P release were studied in cylindrical microcosms with Yshape apparatus. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between flux of suspended substance across sediment-water interface （Fss） and the wind speed, and an increasing Fss during each wind process followed by a steady state. The maximal Fss under fight, moderate, and strong wind conditions were 299.9±41.1,573.4±61.7, and 2093.8±215.7 g/m^2, respectively. However, flux of P across sediment-water interface （Fp） did not follow a similar pattern as Fss responding to wind intensity, which increased and reached the maximum in initial 120 rain for fight wind, then decreased gradually, with maximal flux of 9.4±1.9 mg/m^2. A rapid increase of Fp at the first 30 rain was observed under moderate wind, with maximal flux of 11.2±0.6 mg/m^2. Surprisingly, strong wind caused less Fp than under light and moderate wind conditions with maximal flux of 3.5±0.9 mg/m^2. Fss in water column declined obviously during the sedimentation process after winds, but Fp varied with wind regime. No obvious difference was detected on Fp after 8 h sedimentation process, compared with the initial value, which means little redundant P left in the water column after winds.

Seasonal Variability of the Yellow Sea/East China Sea Surface Fluxes and Thermohaline Structure

We use the U.S. Navy's Master Oceanographic Observation Data Set (MOODS) forthe Yellow Sea/ East China Sea (YES) to investigate the climatological water mass features and theseasonal and non-seasonal variabilities of the thermohaline structure, and use the ComprehensiveOcean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) from 1945 to 1989 to investigate the linkage between the fluxes(momentum, heat, and moisture) across the air-ocean interface and the formation of the water massfeatures. After examining the major current systems and considering the local bathymetry and watermass properties, we divide YES into five regions: East China Sea (ECS) shelf, Yellow Sea (YS) Basin,Cheju bifurcation (CB) zone, Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) region, Kuroshio Current (KC) region. Thelong term mean surface heat balance corresponds to a heat loss of 30 W m^(-2) in the ESC and CBregions, a heat loss of 65 W m^(-2) in the KC and TWC regions, and a heat gain of 15 W m^(-2) in theYS region. The surface freshwater balance is defined by precipitation minus evaporation. The annualwater loss from the surface for the five subareas ranges from 1.8 to 4 cm month^(-1). The freshwater loss from the surface should be compensated for from the river run-off. The entire watercolumn of the shelf region (ECS, YS, and CB) undergoes an evident seasonal thermal cycle withmaximum values of temperature during summer and maximum mixed layer depths during winter. However,only the surface waters of the TWC and KC regions exhibit a seasonal thermal cycle.. We also foundtwo different relations between surface salinity and the Yangtze River run-off, namely, out-of-phasein the East China Sea shelf and in-phase in the Yellow Sea. This may confirm an earlier study thatthe summer fresh water discharge from the Yangtze River forms a relatively shallow, low salinityplume-like structure extending offshore on average towards the northeast.

Estimation of Turbulent Fluxes Using the Flux-Variance Method over an Alpine Meadow Surface in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

The flux-variance similarity relation and the vertical transfer of scalars exhibit dissimilarity over different types of surfaces, resulting in different parameterization approaches of relative transport efficiency among scalars to estimate turbulent fluxes using the flux-variance method. We investigated these issues using eddycovariance measurements over an open, homogeneous and flat grassland in the eastern Tibetan Plateau in summer under intermediate hydrological conditions during rainy season. In unstable conditions, the temperature, water vapor, and CO2 followed the flux-variance similarity relation, but did not show in precisely the same way due to different roles （active or passive） of these scalars. Similarity constants of temperature, water vapor and CO2 were found to be 1.12, 1.19 and 1.17, respectively. Heat transportation was more eft% cient than water vapor and CO2. Based on the estimated sensible heat flux, five parameterization methods of relative transport efficiency of heat to water vapor and CO2 were examined to estimate latent heat and CO2 fluxes. The strategy of local determination of flux-variance similarity relation is recommended for the estimation of latent heat and CO2 fluxes. This approach is better for representing the averaged relative transport efficiency, and technically easier to apply, compared to other more complex ones.

Estimating Heat Fluxes by Merging Profile Formulae and the Energy Budget with a Variational Technique

A variational technique (VT) is applied to estimate surface sensible and latent heat fluxes based on observations of air temperature, wind speed, and humidity, respectively, at three heights (1 m, 4 m, and 10 m), and the surface energy and radiation budgets by the surface energy and radiation system (SERBS). The method fully uses all information provided by the measurements of air temperature, wind, and humidity profiles, the surface energy budget, and the similarity profile formulae as well. Data collected at Feixi experiment station installed by the China Heavy Rain Experiment and Study (HeRES) Program are used to test the method. Results show that the proposed technique can overcome the well-known unstablility problem that occurs when the Bowen method becomes singular; in comparison with the profile method, it reduces both the sensitivities of latent heat fluxes to observational errors in humidity and those of sensible heat fluxes to observational errors in temperature, while the estimated heat fluxes approximately satisfy the surface energy budget. Therefore, the variational technique is more reliable and stable than the two conventional methods in estimating surface sensible and latent heat fluxes.

Air-sea carbon fluxes and their controlling factors in the Prydz Bay in the Antarctic

The Prydz Bay in the Antarctic is an important area in the Southern Ocean due to its unique geographic feature. It plays an important role in the carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean. To investigate the distributions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and surface seawater and its air-sea exchange rates in this region, the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition （CHINARE） had set up several sections in the Prydz Bay. Here we present the results from the CHINARE-XVI cruises were presented onboard R/V Xue/ong from November 1999 to April 2000 and the main driving forces were discussed controlling the distributions of partial pressure of carbon dioxide. According to the partial pressure of carbon dioxide distributions, the Prydz Bay can be divided into the inside and outside regions. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide was low in the inside region but higher in the outside region during the measurement period. This distribution had a good negative correlation with the concentrations of ehlorophyll-a in general, suggesting that the partial pressure of carbon dioxide was substantially affected by biological production. The results also indicate that the biological produetion is most likely the main driving force in the marginal ice zone in the Southern Ocean in summer. However, in the Antarctic divergence sector of the Prydz Bay （about 64°S）, the hydrological processes become the controlling factor as the sea surface partial pressure of carbon dioxide is much higher than the atmospheric one due to the upwelling of the high DIC CDW, and this made the outside of Prydz Bay a source of carbon dioxide. On the basis of the calculations, the CO2 flux in January （austral summer） was -3.23 mmol/（m^2 · d） in the inner part of Prydz Bay, i.e. , a sink of atmospheric CO2, and was 0.62 mmol/（m^2 · d） in the outside part of the bay, a weak source of atmospheric CO2. The average air-sea flux of CO2 in the Prydz Bay was 2.50 mmol/（m^2 · d）.

Modelling Air-Sea Fluxes during a Western Pacific Typhoon:Role of Sea Spray

It has long been recognized that the evolution of marine storms may be strongly affected by the flux transfer processes over the ocean. High winds in a storm can generate large amounts of spray, which can modify the transfer of momentum, heat, and moisture across the air-sea interface. However, the role of sea spray and air-sea processes in western Pacific typhoons has remained elusive. In this study, the impact of sea spray on air-sea fluxes and the evolution of a typhoon over the western Pacific is investigated using a coupled atmosphere-sea-spray modeling system. Through the case study of the recent Typhoon Fengshen from 2002, we found that: (1) Sea spray can cause a significant latent heat flux increase of up to 40% of the interfacial fluxes in the typhoon; (2) Taking into account the effects of sea spray, the intensity of the modeled typhoon can be increased by 30% in the 10-m wind speed, which may greatly improve estimates of storm maximum intensity and, to some extent, improve the simulations of overall storm structure in the atmospheric model; (3) The effects of sea spray are mainly focused over the high wind regions around the storm center and are mainly felt in the lower part of the troposphere.

An estimation of nutrient fluxes to the East China Sea continental shelf from the Taiwan Strait and Kuroshio subsurface waters in summer

According to historical mean ocean current data through the field observations of the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute during 1991–2005 and survey data of nutrients on the continental shelf of the East China Sea（ECS） in the summer of 2006, nutrient fluxes from the Taiwan Strait and Kuroshio subsurface waters are estimated using a grid interpolation method, which both are the sources of the Taiwan Warm Current. The nutrient fluxes of the two water masses are also compared. The results show that phosphate（PO4-P）, silicate（SiO3-Si） and nitrate（NO3-N） fluxes to the ECS continental shelf from the Kuroshio upwelling water are slightly higher than those from the Taiwan Strait water in the summer of 2006. In contrast, owing to its lower velocity, the nutrient flux density（i.e., nutrient fluxes divided by the area of the specific section） of the Kuroshio subsurface water is lower than that of the Taiwan Strait water. In addition, the Taiwan Warm Current deep water, which is mainly constituted by the Kuroshio subsurface water, might directly reach the areas of high-frequency harmful alga blooms in the ECS.

Three-year Variations of Water, Energy and CO_2 Fluxes of Cropland and Degraded Grassland Surfaces in a Semi-arid Area of Northeastern China

Based on 3 years （2003-05） of the eddy covariance （EC） observations on degraded grassland and cropland surfaces in a semi-arid area of Tongyu （44°25′N, 122°52′E, 184 m a.s.1.）, Northeast China, seasonal and annual variations of water, energy and CO2 fluxes have been investigated. The soil moisture in the thin soil layer （at 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20 m） clearly indicates the pronounced annual wet-dry cycle; the annual cycle is divided into the wet （growing season） and dry seasons （non-growing season）. During the growing season （from May to September）, the sensible and latent heat fluxes showed a linear dependence on the global solar radiation. However, in the non-growing season, the latent heat flux was always less than 50 W m^-2, while the available energy was dissipated as sensible, rather than latent heat flux. During the growing season in 2003-05, the daily average sensible and latent heat fluxes were larger on the cropland surface than on the degraded grassland surface. The cropland ecosystem absorbed more CO2 than the degraded grassland ecosystem in the growing season in 2003-05. The total evapotranspiration on the cropland was more than the total precipitation, while the total evapotranspiration on the degraded grassland was almost the same as the total annual precipitation in the growing season. The soil moisture had a good correlation with the rainfall in the growing season. Precipitation in the growing season is an important factor on the water and carbon budget in the semi-arid area.