Linking atmospheric emission and deposition to accumulation of soil cadmium in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain,China

Cadmium(Cd)is one of the most toxic heavy metals in the environment.Atmospheric deposition has been found to be the main source of Cd pollution of soil on a large scale in China,and identification of the relationships between anthropogenic emission,atmospheric deposition,and Cd accumulation in soil is important for developing ways to mitigate Cd non-point pollution.In this study,the relationship between atmospheric emission,atmospheric deposition,and soil Cd accumulation in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain in China was investigated using datasets of atmospheric emission,deposition,and soil accumulation from the literatures published between 2000 and 2020.The results showed that the soil Cd accumulation rate in the study area exceeded the national average(4.0μg kg^(–1)yr^(–1))and continued to accumulate in recent decades,although the average accumulation rate decreased from 9.45μg kg^(–1)yr^(–1)(2000–2010 period)to8.86μg kg^(–1)yr^(–1)(2010–2020 period).The contribution of atmospheric deposition flux to Cd increment in the soil was in the range of 22–29%,with the atmospheric deposition flux decreasing from 0.54 mg m^(–2)yr^(–1)(2000–2010)to 0.48 mg m^(–2)yr^(–1)(2010–2020),both values being greater than the national average.Atmospheric Cd deposition and emission were highly correlated in a provincial administrative region,which is close to a ratio of 1.0.Emission factors may be in a state of dynamic change due to the influences of new Cd emission control technologies and environmental policies.As the main sources of Cd emissions,dust,and smoke emissions per ton of non-ferrous metal production decreased by 64.7%between the 2000–2010 and 2010–2020 periods.Although new environmental policies have been instigated,atmospheric emission of Cd is still excessive.It was hoped that the findings of this work would provide a scientific basis for the rational control of atmospheric emissions and Cd pollution of soil.

Effect of Phopshate Fertilizer and Manure on Crop Yield, Soil P Accumulation, and the Environmental Risk Assessment

Phosphorus （P） applied from fertilizer and manure is important in increasing crop yield and soil fertility; however, excessive uses of phosphate fertilizer and manure may also increase P loss from agricultural soils, posing environmental impact. A long term experiment was conducted on a calcareous soil （meadow cinnamon） in Hebei Province, China, from 2003 to 2006 to investigate the effects of phosphate fertilizer and manure on the yield of Chinese cabbage, soil P accumulation, P sorption saturation, soluble P in runoff water, and P leaching. P fertilizer （P2O5） application at a rate of 360 kg ha^-1 or manure of 150 t ha^-1 significantly increased Chinese cabbage yield as compared to the unfertilized control. However, no significant yield response was found with excessive phosphate or manure application. Soil Olsen-P, soluble P, bioavailable P, the degree of phosphorus sorption saturation in top soil layer （0-20 cm）, and soluble P in runoff water increased significantly with the increase of phosphate fertilizer and manure application rates, whereas the maximum phosphorus sorption capacity （Qm） decreased with the phosphate fertilizer and manure application rates. Soil Olsen-P and soluble P also increased significantly in the sub soil layer （20-40 cm） with the high P fertilizer and manure rates. It indicates that excessive P application over crop demand can lead to a high environmental risk owing to the enrichment of soil Olsen-P, soluble P, bioavailable P, and the degree of phosphorus sorption saturation in agricultural soils.

Effect of chemical and organic fertilization on soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation in a newly cultivated farmland

Increased food demand from the rapidly growing human population has caused intensive land transition from desert to farmland in arid regions of northwest China. In this developing ecosystem, the optimized fertilization strategies are becoming an urgent need for sustainable crop productivity, efficient resources use, together with the delivery of ecosystems services including soil carbon（C） and nitrogen（N） accumulation. Through a 7-year field experiment with 9 fertilization treatments in a newly cultivated farmland, we tested whether different fertilizations had significant influences on soil C and N accumulation in this developing ecosystem, and also investigated possible mechanisms for this influence. The results showed that applying organic manure in cultivated farmland significantly increased the soil C and N accumulation rates; this influence was greater when it was combined with chemical fertilizer, accumulating 2.01 t C and 0.11 t N ha^（–1） yr^（–1） in the most successful fertilization treatment. These high rates of C and N accumulation were found associated with increased input of C and N, although the relationship between the N accumulation rate and N input was not significant. The improved soil physical properties was observed under only organic manure and integrated fertilization treatments, and the significant relationship between soil C or N and soil physical properties were also found in this study. The results suggest that in newly cultivated farmland, long term organic manure and integrated fertilization can yield significant benefits for soil C and N accumulation, and deliver additional influence on physical properties.

Effects of long-term phosphorus fertilization and straw incorporation on phosphorus fractions in subtropical paddy soil

Study on soil phosphorus（P） fraction is an important aspect in probing the mechanisms of soil P accumulation in farmland and mitigating its losing risk to the environment. We used a sequential extraction method to evaluate the impacts of long-term fertilization and straw incorporation on inorganic, organic, and residual P（Pi, Po, and Pre） fractions in the plow layer（0–20 cm） of acidic paddy soil in southern China. The experiment comprised of six treatments：（i） no fertilizer control（CK）;（ii） straw incorporation and green manure（SG）;（iii） nitrogen and P fertilizer（NP）;（iv） NP＋SG;（v） NP＋K fertilizer（NPK）; and（vi） NPK＋SG. The results showed that, compared to the initial total soil P content（TSP, 600 mg kg^–1 in 1990）, long-term（20 years） combined continuous P fertilizer and SG significantly increased P accumulation（by 13–20%） while single fertilization（39.3 kg P ha^–1 yr^–1） could maintain soil P status at the most. The average soil P fractions comprised of extractable Pi, Po, and Pre by 51.7, 33.4, and 14.9% in total soil P, respectively. With comparison of no fertilizer addition（CK）, long-term single fertilization significantly（P〈0.05） increased the accumulation of Na HCO3^–, Na OH^–, and HCl^– extractable Pi fractions accounting for two- to three-fold, while SG increased the accumulation of Na HCO3^– and Na OH^– extractable Piand Po accounting for 12–60%. Though the mobilization of Pre fractions was not significant（P〉0.05）, our data indicate that SG may partially substitute for fertilizer P input and minimizing soil P accumulation and subsequent environmental risk in the subtropical paddy soil.

Effects of continuous nitrogen addition on microbial properties and soil organic matter in a Larix gmelinii plantation in China

Continuous increases in anthropogenic nitrogen（N） deposition are likely to change soil microbial properties, and ultimately to affect soil carbon（C） storage.Temperate plantation forests play key roles in C sequestration, yet mechanisms underlying the influences of N deposition on soil organic matter accumulation are poorly understood. This study assessed the effect of N addition on soil microbial properties and soil organic matter distribution in a larch（Larix gmelinii） plantation. In a 9-year experiment in the plantation, N was applied at100 kg N ha-1 a-1 to study the effects on soil C and N mineralization, microbial biomass, enzyme activity, and C and N in soil organic matter density fractions, and organic matter chemistry. The results showed that N addition had no influence on C and N contents in whole soil. However,soil C in different fractions responded to N addition differently. Soil C in light fractions did not change with N addition, while soil C in heavy fractions increased significantly. These results suggested that more soil C in heavy fractions was stabilized in the N-treated soils. However,microbial biomass C and N and phenol oxidase activity decreased in the N-treated soils and thus soil C increased in heavy fractions. Although N addition reduced microbial biomass and phenol oxidase activity, it had little effect on soil C mineralization, hydrolytic enzyme activities, d13 C value in soil and C–H stretch, carboxylates and amides, and C–O stretch in soil organic matter chemistry measured by Fourier transform infrared spectra. We conclude that N addition（1） altered microbial biomass and activity without affecting soil C in light fractions and（2） resulted in an increase in soil C in heavy fractions and that this increase was controlled by phenol oxidase activity and soil N availability.

Study on north boundary of subtropical zone in Funiu Mountain according to soil geochemistry

The boundary between subtropical zone and temperate zone is not only important in physical geography, but also attractive in agricultural production. Seven soil profiles studied in this paper are placed along the southern slope of Funiu Mountain at different heights above sea level. Many compositions and properties of these soils have been determined in laboratory. In this paper, the laws of migration and accumulation of soil materials on the southern slope of Funiu Mountain are discussed first, then the division of the boundary between subtropical zone and temperate zone in this area according to soil geochemistry is discussed with qualitative methods and mathematical classification method in which twelve selected indexes such as K m , Saf, Ba, β, Feo/Fet, Mno/Mnt and so on are used. The result indicates that the boundary between subtropical zone and temperate zone on the southern slope of Funiu Mountain is about 950 m above sea level.

Effects of Caragana microphylla plantations on organic carbon sequestration in total and labile soil organic carbon fractions in the Horqin Sandy Land, northern China

Afforestation is conducive to soil carbon（C） sequestration in semi-arid regions. However, little is known about the effects of afforestation on sequestrations of total and labile soil organic carbon（SOC） fractions in semi-arid sandy lands. In the present study, we examined the effects of Caragana microphylla Lam. plantations with different ages（12-and 25-year-old） on sequestrations of total SOC as well as labile SOC fractions such as light fraction organic carbon（LFOC） and microbial biomass carbon（MBC）. The analyzed samples were taken from soil depths of 0–5 and 5–15 cm under two shrub-related scenarios： under shrubs and between shrubs with moving sand dunes as control sites in the Horqin Sandy Land of northern China. The results showed that the concentrations and storages of total SOC at soil depths of 0–5 and 5–15 cm were higher in 12-and 25-year-old C. microphylla plantations than in moving sand dunes（i.e., control sites）, with the highest value observed under shrubs in 25-year-old C. microphylla plantations. Furthermore, the concentrations and storages of LFOC and MBC showed similar patterns with those of total SOC at the same soil depth. The 12-year-old C. microphylla plantations had higher percentages of LFOC concentration to SOC concentration and MBC concentration to SOC concentration than the 25-year-old C. microphylla plantations and moving sand dunes at both soil depths. A significant positive correlation existed among SOC, LFOC, and MBC, implying that restoring the total and labile SOC fractions is possible by afforestation with C. microphylla shrubs in the Horqin Sandy Land. At soil depth of 0–15 cm, the accumulation rate of total SOC under shrubs was higher in young C. microphylla plantations（18.53 g C/（m^2·a）; 0–12 years） than in old C. microphylla plantations（16.24 g C/（m^2·a）; 12–25 years）, and the accumulation rates of LFOC and MBC under shrubs and between shrubs were also higher in young C. microphylla plantations than in old C. microphylla plantations. It can be concluded that the establishment of C. microphylla in the Horqin Sandy Land may be a good mitigation strategy for SOC sequestration in the surface soils.

Factors influencing small-scale distribution of 10 macrolichens in King George Island,West Antarctica

Lichens are among the main primary colonists in most terrestrial ecosystems of Antarctica, where the effects of environmental factors on spatial distribution of lichens are essential to understanding the functioning of Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems. We measured abundance of 10 frequently observed macrolichens and 15 environmental factors at a small scale （20 cm× 20 cm）, in the ice-free areas of Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island, King George Island, West Antarctica, and assessed the effects of environmental factors on the local distribution of these lichens. Canonical correspondence analyses （CCA） show that 8 out of 15 environmental factors, belonging to 4 sets of variables, are important in spatial distribution of the 10 lichens. Variation partitioning analyses show that most of the variation in distribution of the 10 lichens is described by the spatial heterogeneity of substrate, bird influence and microclimate and topography, whereas human impact has no significant effects.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency as Affected by Phosphorus and Potassium in Long-Term Rice and Wheat Experiments

Improving nitrogen use efficiency （NUE） and decreasing N loss are critical to sustainable agriculture. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of various fertilization regimes on yield, NUE, N agronomic efficiency （NAE） and N loss in long-term （16- or 24-yr） experiments carried out at three rice-wheat rotation sites （Chongqing, Suining and Wuchang） in subtropical China. Three treatments were examined： sole chemical N, N＋phosphorus （NP）, and NP＋potassium （NPK） fertilizations. Grain yields at three sites were significantly increased by 9.3-81.6% （rice） and 54.5-93.8% （wheat） under NP compared with N alone, 1.7-9.8% （rice） and 0-17.6% （wheat） with NPK compared with NP. Compared to NP, NUE significantly increased for wheat at Chongqing （9.3%） and Wuchang （11.8%）, but not at Suining, China. No changes in NUE were observed in rice between NP and NPK at all three sites. The rice-wheat rotation＇s NAE was 3.3 kg kg1 higher under NPK than under NP at Chongqing, while NAE was similar for NP and NPK at Suining and Wuchang. We estimated that an uptake increase of 1.0 kg N hal would increase 40 kg rice and 30 kg wheat ha-1. Nitrogen loss/input ratios were -60, -40 or -30% under N, NP or NPK at three sites, indicating significant decrease of N loss by P or PK additions. We attribute part of the increase in NUE soil N accumulation which significantly increased by 25-55 kg ha-1 yr1 under NPK at three sites, whereas by 35 kg ha-1 yr-1 under NP at Chongqing only. This paper illustrates that apply P and K to wheat, and reduce K application to rice is an effective nutrient management strategy for both the NUE improvement and N losses reduction in China.

Early positive effects of tree species richness on soil organic carbon accumulation in a large-scale forest biodiversity experiment

Aims tree species richness has been reported to have positive effects on aboveground biomass and productivity,but little is known about its effects on soil organic carbon(SOC)accumulation.Methods to close this gap,we made use of a large biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiment in subtropical china(BEF-china)and tested whether tree species richness enhanced SOC accumulation.In 2010 and 2015,vertically layered soil samples were taken to a depth of 30 cm from 57 plots ranging in tree species richness from one to eight species.Least squares-based linear models and analysis of variance were used to investigate tree diversity effects.Structural equation modeling was used to explore hypothesized indirect relationships between tree species richness,leaf-litter biomass,leaf-litter carbon content,fine-root biomass and SOC accumulation.Important Findings Overall,SOC content decreased by 5.7 and 1.1 g C kg^(-1) in the top 0-5 and 5-10 cm soil depth,respectively,but increased by 1.0 and 1.5 g C kg^(-1) in the deeper 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil depth,respect-ively.converting SOC content to SOC stocks using measures of soil bulk density showed that tree species richness did enhance SOC accumulation in the different soil depths.these effects could only to some extent be explained by leaf-litter biomass and not by fine-root biomass.Our findings suggest that carbon storage in new forests in china could be increased by planting more diverse stands,with the potential to contribute to mitigation of climate warming.

Linnebjer—A South Swedish Oak Forest and Meadow Area—Revisited after Half a Century

An oak forest and three wet meadows/fens were reinvestigated after 50 years concerning tree vitality, biomass and productivity, and soil chemistry. Sulphur and nitrogen deposition has changed dramatically during these years, and the aim was to analyse the differences in both the oak forest and the open field ecosystems. Trees were re-measured and soil profiles were resampled. Important visible changes in the oak forest were stated concerning the vitality of oaks. Aboveground there was a decrease in tree biomass, production and litter fall, but a huge increase in standing dead logs. During the years, the deposition of sulphur had decreased drastically, but nitrogen deposition was still high. Soil acidification in the forest had decreased, reflected in an increased base saturation in the forest, in spite of slightly lowered pH-values. Strongly increased amounts of exchangeable Ca and Mg now appeared in the forest soil, and a substantial transport of calcium and magnesium had obviously taken place from the forest soil to the meadow and fens during the years. However, the most important soil change was the accumulation of organic matter. The increased accumulation of organic matter in turn meant increased amounts of colloid particles and microsites for ion exchange in the soil. This favoured 2-valence base cations, and especially Ca and Mg that increased very much in all the studied ecosystems. Carbon as well as nitrogen had strongly increased in the forest, meadow and fen soils. This was interpreted as a natural result of increased vegetation growth due to high nitrogen deposition, increased global annual temperature and increased carbon dioxide concentration in air. It was concluded that the decreased deposition of sulphur had had a positive effect on soil chemistry, and that the deposition of nitrogen probably had stimulated vegetation growth in general, and contributed to increased amount of organic matter in the soils. However, in this studied oak forest, the decreased vitality and many killed trees were also suspected to be a result of high nitrogen deposition. Obviously increased tree growth was counteracted by decreased stress resistance, and increased appearance of pathogens in the oak trees.

Fine root litter quality regulates soil carbon storage efficiency in subtropical forest soils

●High-quality and low-quality root litter had contrasting patterns of mass loss.●Greater litter-derived C was incorporated into soils under high-quality root litter.●Root litter decay rate or litter-derived C were related to soil microbial diversity.●Root litter quality had little effect on soil physicochemical properties.●High root litter quality was the main driver of enhanced soil C storage efficiency.Decomposing root litter is a major contributor to soil carbon(C)storage in forest soils.During decomposition,the quality of root litter could play a critical role in soil C storage.However,it is unclear whether root litter quality influences soil C storage efficiency.We conducted a two-year greenhouse decomposition experiment using 13C-labeled fine root litter of two tree species to investigate how root litter quality,represented by C to nitrogen(C/N)ratios,regulates decomposition and C storage efficiency in subtropical forest soils in China.‘High-quality’root litter(C/N ratio=26)decayed faster during the first year(0−410 days),whereas‘low-quality’root litter(C/N ratio=46)decomposed faster toward the end of the two-year period(598−767 days).However,over the two years of the study,mass loss from high-quality root litter(29.14±1.42%)was lower than‘low-quality’root litter(33.01±0.54%).Nonetheless,root litter C storage efficiency(i.e.,the ratio of new root litter-derived soil C to total mineralized root litter C)was significantly greater for high-quality root litter,with twice as much litter-derived C stored in soils compared to low-quality root litter at the end of the experiment.Root litter quality likely influenced soil C storage via changes in microbial diversity,as the decomposition of high-quality litter declined with increasing bacterial diversity,whereas the amount of litter-derived soil C from low-quality litter increased with fungal diversity.Our results thus reveal that root litter quality mediates decomposition and C storage in subtropical forest soils in China and future work should consider the links between root litter quality and soil microbial diversity.

Responses of Agronomic Benefit and Soil Quality to Better Management of Nitrogen Fertilizer Application in Greenhouse Vegetable Land

As a result of intensive greenhouse vegetable production in northern China, the potential risk of nitrogen （N） fertilizer over-applied is increasingly apparent and is threatening ecosystem and the sustainability of food production. An experiment was carried out in Shouguang, Shangdong Province, China to evaluate agronomic benefit and soil quality under different N applications, including the conventional chemical N rate （1000 kg N ha^（-1） season^（-1）, N1）, 70% of N1 （N2）, 70% of N1 ＋ maize straw （N3）, 50% of N1 ＋ maize straw ＋ drip irrigation （N4）, and 0% of N1 （NO）, during two successive growing seasons of autumn-winter （AW） and winter-spring （WS）. The maximum yields for N4 were 1.1 and 1.0 times greater than those for N1 in the AW and WS seasons, respectively. N agronomic efficiency （AEN） and apparent N recovery efficiency （REN） were greatest with the N4. A significant relationship was found between soil NO3-N content and electrical conductivity （EC） （R^2 = 0.61 in the AW season and R^2= 0.29 in the WS season）. Reducing N fertilizer decreased soil NO3-N accumulation （20.9%-37.8% reduction in the AW season and 11.7%-20.1% reduction in the WS season） relative to the accumulation observed for N1 within the 0-100 cm soil layer. Soil urease and invertase activities were not significantly different among N treatments. The N4 treatment would be practical for reducing excess N input and maintaining the sustainability of greenhouse-based intensive vegetable systems in Shouguang.

Soil organic matter content and chemical composition under two rotation management systems in a Mediterranean climate

The crop rotation system in organic farming is a determinant factor to accumulate and preserve soil organic matter(SOM),and in depth knowledge on its effects is still lacking.Tillage intensity in particular is crucial to maintain soil aggregates and protect SOM from degradation.The evolution of SOM was tested in two adjacent fields under two different rotation cropping systems(low-intensity tillage and high-intensity tillage),and the effect of a further cultivation of legume in both fields was evaluated using ^(13)carbon(C)-nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)and elemental analysis of samples isolated through combined aggregate size and density fractionation.The two adjacent fields had been managed using the following organic farming methods for 13 seasons since 1998:i)alfalfa-based,with nitrogen(N)enrichment and low-frequency tillage with alfalfa(Medicago sativa)(9 seasons),winter wheat(Triticum durum)(3 seasons),and broad bean(Vicia faba)(1 season)and ii)cereal-based,with N depletion and annual tillage with barley(Hordeum vulgare)(7 seasons),sunflower(Helianthus annuus)(2 seasons),broad bean(Vicia faba)(3 seasons),and bare fallow(1 season).Soil sampling was carried out at the end of the 13-year rotation(T0,November 2011)and after winter wheat and chickpea cultivation in both fields over two subsequent years(T1,July 2013).Bulk organic C was significantly higher in the alfalfa-based system than in the cereal-based system at both T0 and T1,with SOM occluded in soil aggregates and associated with mineral particles.In terms of the macroaggregates heavy fraction at T0,the alfalfa-based field contained twice the organic C of that in the cereal-based field,as well as three times the organic C in the occluded particulate organic matter(POM).The occluded POM(oPOM)had a lower aryl/O-alkyl C ratio in the alfalfa-based system than in the cereal-based system,suggesting that oPOM undergoes a lower degree of decomposition during low-intensity management.The aryl/O-alkyl C ratios of the macro-and microaggregate oPOM decreased from T0 to T1 in the cereal-based system,suggesting increased protection of these fractions by soil aggregates.Thus,including legumes in crop rotation appears to positively affect the accumulation of SOM associated with mineral particles and within soil aggregates.

Evaluation of Ecosystem Services Provided by 10 Typical Rice Paddies in China

Based on reference review, this study investigated ecosystem services supported by 10 typical rice paddies in six rice planting regions of China. The services were primary production, gas regulation, nitrogen transformation, soil organic matter accumulation, and water regulation and flood control. The results indicated that grain production of the 10 rice paddies was between 4.71 and 12.18 t ha^-1 y^-1; straw production was 4.65 to 9.79 t ha^-1 y^-1; gas regulation was calculated to emit O2 ranging from 8.27 to 19.69 t ha^-1 y^-1 and to assimilate greenhouse gases ranging from -2.13 to 19.24 t ha^-1 y^-1 （in CO2 equivalent）; nitrogen transformation was estimated as nitrogen input ranging from 209.70 to 513.93 kg N ha^-1 y^-1 and nitrogen output of 112.87 to 332.69 kg N ha^-1 y^-1; soil organic matter accumulation was calculated to be between 0.69 and 4.88 t C ha^-1 y^-1; water regulation was estimated to consume water resources of 19875 m3 ha^-1 y^-1 and to support water resources of 6430 m3 ha^-1 y^-1; and flood control of several of the rice paddies was calculated to be 1500 m3 ha^-1 y^-1. The integrated economic value of ecosystem services of these rice paddies was estimated at USD 8605–21 405 ha^-1 y^-1, of which 74%–89% of the value can be ascribed to ecosystem services outside primary production. The results also indicated that the integrated economic value of the ecosystem services of the 10 rice paddies was higher when nitrogen fertilizer was applied in the range of 275 to 297 kg N ha^-1. Until now, the economic value of the rice paddy ecosystem has been underestimated as only the economic value of grain and straw production was previously calculated. As more and more forest land and grassland is lost to urban and industrial use, cropland and especially rice paddies, will become more ecologically important to society. The economic value of ecosystem services supplied by rice paddies, outside primary production, are worthy of increased research attention.

Spatio-temporal analysis of flowering using Li DAR topography

Spatio-temporal patterns of flowering in forest ecosystems are hard to quantify and monitor. The objectives of this study were to investigate spatio-temporal patterns（e.g. soilssimple slope classesslope aspectand flow accumulation） of flowering around Lake IssaqueenaSouth Carolina（SCUSA） using plant-flowering database collected with GPS- enabled camera（stored in Picasa 3 web albums and project website） on a monthly basis in 2012 and Li DAR-based topography. Pacolet fine sandy loam had the most flowering plantsfollowed by Madison sandy loamboth dominant soil types around the lake. Most flowering plants were on moderately steep（17%–30%） and gently sloping（4%–8%） slopes. Most flowering plants were on west（247.5°–292.5°）southwest（202.5°–247.5°）and northwest（292.5°–337.5°） aspects. Most flowering plants were associated with minimum and maximum flows within the landscape. Chi-square tests indicated differences in the distributions of the proportions of flowering plants were significant by soil typeslopeaspectand flow accumulation for each month（February-November）for all months（overall）and across months. The Chi-square test on area-normalized data indicated significant differences for all months and individual differences by each month with some months not statistically significant. Cluster analysis on flowering counts for nine plant families with the most flowering counts indicated no unique separation by clusterbut implied that the majority of these families were flowering on strongly sloping（9%–16%） slopeson southwest（202.5°–247.5°） aspectsand low flow accumulation（0–200）. Presented methodology can serve as a template for future efforts to quantify spatio-temporal patterns of flowering and other phenological events.