Modeling the Roles of Precipitation Increasing in Glacier Systems Responding to Climate Warming—Taking Xinjiang Glaciated Region as Example

The studies on prediction of climate in Xinjiang almost show that the precipitation would increase in the coming 50 years, although there were surely some uncertainties in precipitation predictions. On the basis of the structure of glacier system and nature of equilibrium line altitude at steady state （ELAo）, a functional model of the glacier system responding to climate changes was established, and it simultaneously involved the rising of summer mean temperature and increasing of mean precipitation. The results from the functional model under the climatic scenarios with temperature increasing rates of 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05 K/year indicated that the precipitation increasing would play an evident role in glacier system responding to climate change： if temperature become 1 ℃ higher, the precipitation would be increased by 10%, which can slow down the glaciers retreating rate in the area by 4 %, accelerate runoff increasing rate by 8 % and depress the ELAo rising gradient by 24 m in northern Xinjiang glacier system where semi-continental glaciers dominate, while it has corresponding values of only 1%, 5 % and 18m respectively in southern Xinjiang glacier system, where extremely continental glaciers dominate.

Water-use efficiency in response to simulated increasing precipitation in a temperate desert ecosystem of Xinjiang, China

Water-use efficiency（WUE） is a key plant functional trait that plays a central role in the global cycles of water and carbon. Although increasing precipitation may cause vegetation changes, few studies have explored the linkage between alteration in vegetation and WUE. Here, we analyzed the responses of leaf WUE, ecosystem carbon and water exchanges, ecosystem WUE, and plant community composition changes under normal conditions and also under extra 15% or 30% increases in annual precipitation in a temperate desert ecosystem of Xinjiang, China. We found that leaf WUE and ecosystem WUE showed inconsistent responses to increasing precipitation. Leaf WUE consistently decreased as precipitation increased. By contrast, the responses of the ecosystem WUE to increasing precipitation are different in different precipitation regimes： increasing by 33.9% in the wet year（i.e., the normal precipitation years）and decreasing by 4.1% in the dry year when the precipitation was about 30% less than that in the wet year.We systematically assessed the herbaceous community dynamics, community composition, and vegetation coverage to explain the responses of ecosystem WUE, and found that the between-year discrepancy in ecosystem WUE was consistent with the extent to which plant biomass was stimulated by the increase in precipitation. Although there was no change in the relative significance of ephemerals in the plant community, its greater overall plant biomass drove an increased ecosystem WUE under the conditions of increasing precipitation in 2011. However, the slight increase in plant biomass exerted no significant effect on ecosystem WUE in 2012. Our findings suggest that an alteration in the dominant species in this plant community can induce a shift in the carbon-and water-based economics of desert ecosystems.

Discussion of Fenlong Cultivation Supporting Food and Environment Safety and Broadening Survival and Development Space

A new high-efficiency farming method of global significance, Fenlong tech- nique capable of making soil fertile, increasing yield and improving ecological envi- ronment was introduced; and the Fenlong technique could deeply plough and scarify soil with a depth up to 30-50 cm, which is deeper than the depth of tractor tillage, solving the problem of difficulties in deeply ploughing and scarifying soil and keeping soil loose for muttiple seasons. The application to 20 crops in 18 provinces proved that yield could be increased by 10%-30% without increase in chemical fertilizer, quality could be improved by more than 5%, and water storage could be increased by 100%; yield could be increased for multiple seasons sustainably, and the yield of dry-land crops increased by 32.57%-38.2% from the second year to the fourth year; the net benefits of rice increased by 21.82% averagely from the first season to the sixth season; and the usage amount of chemical fertilizer decreased by 0.35-4.29 kg per 100 kg produced grain compared with conventional tillage, with an decrease amplitude of 10.81%-30.99%. It was discussed that the Fenlong technique could maximize friendly permanently-sustainable unitization of ＂natural resources＂ including soil nutrients, water, oxygen and light energy, and has good development potential in multiple fields. It was put forward that if it is popularized in 0.67x108 hm2, pro- ductivity of farmland could be newly increased by 0.1-0.13×10^8 hm2, 5.0 ×10^6 t of chemical fertilizer could be saved, the＇ storage of agricultural water could be in- creased by 3.0×10^10 m3, and increased food could feed 2,0-3.0×10^8 people.

Increased precipitation magnifies the effects of N addition on performance of invasive plants in subtropical native communities

Nitrogen(N)deposition,precipitation and their interaction affect plant invasions in temperate ecosystems with limiting N and water resources,but whether and how they affect plant invasions in subtropical native communities with abundant N and precipitation remains unclear.We constructed in situ artificial communities with 12 common native plant species in a subtropical system and introduced four common invasive plant species and their native counterparts to these communities.We compared plant growth and establishment of introduced invasive species and native counterparts in communities exposed to ambient(CK),N addition(N+),increased precipitation(P+)and N addition plus increased precipitation(P+N+).We also investigated the density and aboveground biomass of communities under such conditions.P+alone did not enhance the performance of invasive species or native counterparts.N+enhanced only the aboveground biomass and relative density of invasive species.P+N+enhanced the growth and establishment performance of both invasive species and native counterparts.Most growth and establishment parameters of invasive species were greater than those of native counterparts under N+,P+and P+N+conditions.The density and aboveground biomass of native communities established by invasive species were significantly lower than those of native communities established by native counterparts under P+N+conditions.These results suggest that P+may magnify the effects of N+on performance of invasive species in subtropical native communities where N and water are often abundant,which may help to understand the effect of global change on plant invasion in subtropical ecosystems.

Dependency of litter decomposition on litter quality,climate change,and grassland type in the alpine grassland of Tianshan Mountains,Northwest China

Litter decomposition is an important component of the nutrient recycling process and is highly sensitive to climate change.However,the impacts of warming and increased precipitation on litter decomposition have not been well studied,especially in the alpine grassland of Tianshan Mountains.We conducted a manipulative warming and increased precipitation experiment combined with different grassland types to examine the impact of litter quality and climate change on the litter decomposition rate based on three dominant species(Astragalus mongholicus,Potentilla anserina,and Festuca ovina)in Tianshan Mountains from 2019 to 2021.The results of this study indicated there were significant differences in litter quality,specific leaf area,and leaf dry matter content.In addition,litter quality exerted significant effects on litter decomposition,and the litter decomposition rate varied in different grassland types.Increased precipitation significantly accelerated the litter decomposition of P.anserina;however,it had no significant effect on the litter decomposition of A.mongholicus and F.ovina.However,warming consistently decreased the litter decomposition rate,with the strongest impact on the litter decomposition of F.ovina.There was a significant interaction between increased precipitation and litter type,but there was no significant interaction between warming and litter type.These results indicated that warming and increased precipitation significantly influenced litter decomposition;however,the strength was dependent on litter quality.In addition,soil water content played a crucial role in regulating litter decomposition in different grassland types.Moreover,we found that the litter decomposition rate exhibited a hump-shaped or linear response to the increase of soil water content.Our study emphasizes that ongoing climate change significantly altered litter decomposition in the alpine grassland,which is of great significance for understanding the nutrient supply and turnover of litter.

Analysis of Factors Influencing Shut in Pressure Cone in Offshore Strong Bottom Water Reservoir

X oilfield is an offshore strong bottom water reservoir with water cut up to 96% at present, and liquid extraction has become one of the main ways to increase oil production. However, the current liquid production of the oilfield reaches 60,000 m3/d due to the limitation of offshore platform, well trough and equipment, the oilfield is unable to continue liquid extraction. In order to maximize the oil production of the oilfield, it is necessary to study the strategy of shut in and cone pressure. Through numerical simulation, this paper analyzes the influence of different factors, such as crude oil density, viscosity, reservoir thickness, interlayer, permeability and so on, on the drop height of water cone and the effect of precipitation and oil increase after well shut in. At the same time, the weight of each factor is analyzed by combining the actual dynamic data with the fuzzy mathematics method, and the strategy of well shut in and cone pressure is formulated for the offshore strong bottom water reservoir. It provides the basis and guidance for the reasonable use of shut in pressure cone when the reservoir with strong bottom water meets the bottleneck of liquid volume.

Carry over from previous year environmental conditions alters dominance hierarchy in a prairie plant community

Aims To determine if an experimentally applied anomalous weather year could have effects on species composition and community structure that would carry over into the following year.Methods We conducted a field experiment applying two levels of temperature(ambient and+4
C)and two levels of precipitation(ambient and doubled)and followed cover of plant species during the treatment year and one post-treatment year.Data analysis included ordination analysis,examination of species frequency distributions and comparison of cover of functional groups and individual species.Important Findings A drought during the summer and fall of the treatment year resulted in significant differences in community structure between the 2 years.C3 and winter annual species were depressed in the spring of the second year following the dry autumn.Species richness and legume cover increased in the second,wetter,year.Treatments caused no overall differences in community structure but did alter the dominance hierarchy of species among treatments as well as years.Warming decreased relative cover of winter annuals and early spring-flowering species but increased other annuals.Warming and double precipitation together increased cover of C4 perennial graminoids.In particular,the warming and precipitation treatments both increased the abundance of Andropogon gerardii,not individually altering the dominance hierarchy but together nearly doubling the relative cover of A.gerardii,making it the most abundant species in the combined treatment,while the cover of Bromus arvensis,the former dominant,decreased by 25%.The following year,Andropogon relative cover increased further in the former warmed plots,becoming dominant in both the formerly warmed and warmed plus double precipitation treatments.The year following treatments also saw an increase in relative cover of summer-blooming species in the formerly warmed plots and differences among the former treatments in species richness of functional groups.If the effects of one anomalous year on plant abundance can carry over into the following year,several warm years could have a significant impact on plant community structure.