Predicting and delineating soil temperature regimes of China using pedotransfer function

Soil temperature regime(STR)is important for soil classification and land use.Generally,STR is delineated by estimating the mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 50 cm(MAST50)according to the Chinese Soil Taxonomy(CST).However,delineating the STR of China remains a challenge due to the difficulties in accurately estimating MAST50.The objectives of this study were to explore environmental factors that influence the spatial variation of MAST50 and generate an STR map for China.Soil temperature measurements at 40 and 80 cm depth were collected from 386 National Meteorological Stations in China during 1971–2000.The MAST50 was calculated as the average mean annual soil temperature(MAST)from 1971–2000 between 40 and 80 cm depths.In addition,2048 mean annual air temperature(MAAT)measurements from 1971 to 2000 were collected from the National Meteorological Stations across China.A zonal pedotransfer function(PTF)was developed based on the ensemble linear regression kriging model to predict the MAST50 in three topographic steps of China.The results showed that MAAT was the most important variable related to the variation of MAST50.The zonal PTF was evaluated with a 10%validation dataset with a mean absolute error(MAE)of 0.66°C and root mean square error(RMSE)of 0.78°C,which were smaller than the unified model with MAE of 0.83°C and RMSE of 0.96°C,respectively.This study demonstrated that the zonal PTF helped improve the accuracy of the predicted MAST50 map.Based on the prediction results,an STR map across China was generated to provide a consistent scientific base for the improvement and application of CST and land use support.

Interactive effects of soil temperature and moisture on soil N mineralization in a Stipa krylovii grassland in Inner Mongolia, China

Determining soil N mineralization response to soil temperature and moisture changes is challenging in the field due to complicated effects from other factors. In the laboratory, N mineralization is highly dependent on temperature, moisture and sample size. In this study, a laboratory incubation experiment was carefully designed and conducted under controlled conditions to examine the effects of soil temperature and moisture on soil N mineralization using soil samples obtained from the Stipa krylovii grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. Five temperature（i.e. 9℃, 14℃, 22℃, 30℃ and 40℃） and five moisture levels（i.e. 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% WHC, where WHC is the soil water holding capacity） were included in a full-factorial design. During the 71-day incubation period, microbial biomass carbon（MBC）, ammonium nitrogen（NH4 ^＋-N） and nitrate nitrogen（NO3^--N） were measured approximately every 18 days; soil basal respiration for qCO2 index was measured once every 2 days（once a week near the end of the incubation period）. The results showed that the mineral N production and net N mineralization rates were positively correlated with temperature; the strongest correlation was observed for temperatures between 30℃ and 40℃. The relationships between moisture levels and both the mineral N production and net N mineralization rates were quadratic. The interaction between soil temperature and moisture was significant on N mineralization, i.e. increasing temperatures（moisture） enhanced the sensitivity of N mineralization to moisture（temperature）. Our results also showed a positive correlation between the net nitrification rate and temperature, while the correlation between the NH4 ^＋-N content and temperature was insignificant. The net nitrification rate was negatively correlated with high NH4 ^＋-N contents at 80%–100% WHC, suggesting an active denitrification in moist conditions. Moreover, qCO2 index was positively correlated with temperature, especially at 80% WHC. With a low net nitrification rate and high soil basal respiration rate, it was likely that the denitrification concealed the microbial gross mineralization activity; therefore, active soil N mineralization occurred in 60%–80% WHC conditions.

Alternate row mulching optimizes soil temperature and water conditions and improves wheat yield in dryland farming

Straw mulching allows for effective water storage in dryland wheat production. Finding a suitable straw mulching model that facilitates wheat growth was the objective of this study. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of two straw mulching patterns （FM, full coverage within all the rows; HM, half coverage within alternate rows） and two mulching rates （4.5 and 9.0 t ha^-1） on soil moisture, soil temperature, grain yield, and water use efficiency （WUE） of winter wheat in northern China, with no mulching （M0） as the control. Results showed that mulching increased the soil water storage in all growth stages under high mulching rates, with a stronger effect in later growth stages. Water storage under the HM model was greater in later stages than under the FM model. Soil water content of HM groups was higher than that of FM groups, especially in surface soil layers. Evapotranspiration decreased in mulched groups and was higher under high mulching rates. Aboveground biomass during each growth stage under the HM model was higher than that under M0 and FM models with the same mulched rate, leading to a relatively higher grain yield under the HM model. Mulching increased WUE, a trend that was more obvious under HM9.0 treatment. Warming effect of soil temperature under the HM pattern persisted longer than under the FM model with the same mulching rates. Accumulated soil temperature under mulched treatments increased, and the period of negative soil temperature decreased by 9-12 days under FM and by 10-20 days under HM. Thus, the HM pattern with 9.0 t ha^-1 mulching rate is beneficial for both soil temperature and water content management and can contribute to high yields and high WUE for wheat production in China.

Film-mulched continuous ridge-furrow planting improves soil temperature,nutrient content and enzymatic activity in a winter oilseed rape field,Northwest China

Film mulching system is a widely employed agricultural practice worldwide. However, the effects of different planting and mulching patterns on soil nutrient content and enzymatic activity have not been well documented. In this study, we examined the impact of four planting and mulching patterns（including control, flat planting without mulching; M1, flat planting with film mulching; M2, ridge-furrow planting with film mulching on both ridges and furrows; and M3, ridge-furrow planting with film mulching on continuous ridges） on the seed yield of winter oilseed rape, soil moisture, soil temperature, soil organic carbon（SOC） content, soil nutrient content, and soil enzymatic activity over three growing seasons from 2012 to 2015 in a winter oilseed rape field in the semi-arid area of Northwest China. Seed yield of winter oilseed rape, soil moisture, soil temperature, enzymatic activities, and contents of nitrate-nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium were all significantly higher in mulching treatments（M1, M2 and M3） than in control treatment over the three growing seasons, whereas SOC content was significantly lower in mulching treatments than in control treatment during 2013–2014 and 2014–2015. Among the three mulching treatments（M1, M2 and M3）, the M3 treatment showed consistently higher seed yield, SOC content, nutrient contents, and enzymatic activities than the other two treatments. Seed yield of winter oilseed rape was 41.1% and 15.0% higher in M3 than in M1 and M2, respectively. SOC content and soil enzymatic activities in the top 0–20 cm soil layers and nitrate-nitrogen content in the top 0–30 cm soil layers were all significantly higher in M3 than in M1 and M2. Therefore, we advise the ridge-furrow planting with film mulching on continuous ridges（i.e., M3） as an efficient planting and mulching pattern for sustainably improving the seed yield of winter oilseed rape and preserving soil fertility in the semi-arid area of Northwest China.

An analytical model for estimating soil temperature profiles on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China

Soil temperature is a key variable in the control of underground hydro-thermal processes. To estimate soil temperature more accurately, this study proposed a solution method of the heat conduction equation of soil temperature （improved heat conduction model） by applying boundary conditions that incorporate the annual and diurnal variations of soil surface temperature and the temporal variation of daily temperature amplitude, as well as the temperature difference between two soil layers in the Tanggula observation site of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. We employed both the improved heat conduction model and the classical heat conduction model to fit soil temperature by using the 5 cm soil layer as the upper boundary for soil depth. The results indicated that the daily soil temperature amplitude can be better described by the sinusoidal function in the improved model, which then yielded more accurate soil temperature simulating effect at the depth of 5 cm. The simulated soil temperature values generated by the improved model and classical heat conduction model were then compared to the observed soil temperature values at different soil depths. Statistical analyses of the root mean square error （RMSE）, the normalized standard error （NSEE） and the bias demonstrated that the improved model showed higher accuracy, and the average values of RMSE, bias and NSEE at the soil depth of 10-105 cm were 1.41℃, 1.15℃ and 22.40%, respectively. These results indicated that the improved heat conduction model can better estimate soil temperature profiles compared to the traditional model.

Evaluating the Capabilities of Soil Enthalpy, Soil Moisture and Soil Temperature in Predicting Seasonal Precipitation

Soil enthalpy （H） contains the combined effects of both soil moisture （w） and soil temperature （T） in the land surface hydrothermal process. In this study, the sensitivities of H to w and T are investigated using the multi-linear regression method. Results indicate that T generally makes positive contributions to H, while w exhibits different （positive or negative） impacts due to soil ice effects. For example, w negatively contributes to H if soil contains more ice; however, after soil ice melts, w exerts positive contributions. In particular, due to lower w interannual variabilities in the deep soil layer （i.e., the fifth layer）, H is more sensitive to T than to w. Moreover, to compare the potential capabilities of H, w and T in precipitation （P） prediction, the Huanghe-Huaihe Basin （HHB） and Southeast China （SEC）, with similar sensitivities of H to w and T, are selected. Analyses show that, despite similar spatial distributions of H-P and T-P correlation coefficients, the former values are always higher than the latter ones. Furthermore, H provides the most effective signals for P prediction over HHB and SEC, i.e., a significant leading correlation between May H and early summer （June） P. In summary, H, which integrates the effects of T and w as an independent variable, has greater capabilities in monitoring land surface heating and improving seasonal P prediction relative to individual land surface factors （e.g., T and w）.

Soil temperature estimation at different depths,using remotely-sensed data

Soil temperatures at different depths down the soil profile are important agro-meteorological indicators which are necessary for ecological modeling and precision agricultural activities. In this paper, using time series of soil temperature(ST) measured at different depths(0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 cm) at agro-meteorological stations in northern China as reference data, ST was estimated from land surface temperature(LST) and normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) derived from AQUA/TERRA MODIS data, and solar declination(Ds) in univariate and multivariate linear regression models. Results showed that when daytime LST is used as predictor, the coefficient of determination(R^2) values decrease from the 0 cm layer to the 40 cm layer. Additionally, with the use of nighttime LST as predictor, the R^2 values were relatively higher at 5, 10 and 15 cm depths than those at 0, 20 and 40 cm depths. It is further observed that the multiple linear regression models for soil temperature estimation outperform the univariate linear regression models based on the root mean squared errors(RMSEs) and R^2. These results have demonstrated the potential of MODIS data in tandem with the Ds parameter for soil temperature estimation at the upper layers of the soil profile where plant roots grow in. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt at the synergistic use of LST, NDVI and Ds for soil temperature estimation at different depths of the upper layers of the soil profile, representing a significant contribution to soil remote sensing.

Soil CO_2 flux in relation to dissolved organic carbon,soil temperature and moisture in a subtropical arable soil of China

Soil CO 2 emission from an arable soil was measured by closed chamber method to quantify year round soil flux and to develop an equation to predict flux using soil temperature, dissolved organic carbon(DOC) and soil moisture content. Soil CO 2 flux, soil temperature, DOC and soil moisture content were determined on selected days during the experiment from August 1999 to July 2000, at the Ecological Station of Red Soil, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a subtropical region of China. Soil CO 2 fluxes were generally higher in summer and autumn than in winter and spring, and had a seasonal pattern more similar to soil temperature and DOC than soil moisture. The estimation was 2 23 kgCO 2/(m 2·a) for average annual soil CO 2 flux. Regressed separately, the reasons for soil flux variability were 86 6% from soil temperature, 58 8% from DOC, and 26 3% from soil moisture, respectively. Regressed jointly, a multiple equation was developed by the above three variables that explained approximately 85 2% of the flux variance, however by stepwise regression, soil temperature was the dominant affecting soil flux. Based on the exponential equation developed from soil temperature, the predicted annual flux was 2 49 kgCO 2/(m 2·a), and essentially equal to the measured one. It is suggested the exponential relationship between soil flux and soil temperature could be used for accurately predicting soil CO 2 flux from arable soil in subtropical regions of China.

Understanding the Soil Temperature Variability at Different Depths:Effects of Surface Air Temperature,Snow Cover,and the Soil Memory

The soil temperature(ST)is closely related to the surface air temperature(AT),but their coupling may be affected by other factors.In this study,significant effects of the AT on the underlying ST were found,and the time taken to propagate downward to 320 cm can be up to 10 months.Besides the AT,the ST is also affected by memory effects-namely,its prior thermal conditions.At deeper depth(i.e.,320 cm),the effects of the AT from a particular season may be exceeded by the soil memory effects from the last season.At shallower layers(i.e.,<80 cm),the effects of the AT may be blocked by the snow cover,resulting in a poorly synchronous correlation between the AT and the ST.In northeastern China,this snow cover blockage mainly occurs in winter and then vanishes in the subsequent spring.Due to the thermal insulation effect of the snow cover,the winter ST at layers above 80 cm in northeastern China were found to continue to increase even during the recent global warming hiatus period.These findings may be instructive for better understanding ST variations,as well as land−atmosphere interactions.

Determining thresholds of low soil temperature for ecophysiological traits of black spruce and jack pine seedlings

Many studies have estimated approximately ranges of thresholds of low soil temperature in the growth and ecophysi-ological traits of trees, but difficultly determined the exact values. To resolve the problem, black spruce （Picea mariana） and jack pine （Pinus banksiana） seedlings were exposed to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35℃ soil temperature in greenhouses. After 90 days of the treatment, net photosynthetic rate （A）, stomatal conductance （gs）, transpiration rate （E）, water use efficiency （WUE） and specific leaf area （SLA） were measured. This study showed that all the traits had an asymmetrical peak relationship with changing soil temperature, the relationship was well simulated using a cubic curvilinear model, and the exact thresholds could be derived from the second derivative of the model. The results revealed that the thresholds varied among ecophysiological traits and between tree species. In black spruce, the thresholds were 14.1, 14.7, 10.7, 14.4 and 16.2℃ forA, gs, E, WUE and SLA; 15.4, 10.4, 14.7, 16.9 and 10.5℃ for the corresponding traits in jack pine. The lowest thresholds of E in black spruce and gs in jack pine were an indicator representing the minimum requirement of soil temperature for the regular processes of ecophysiology. The highest thresholds of SLA in black spruce and WUE in jack pine suggest they are the most sensitive to decreasing soil temperature and may play an important role in the acclimation. The averaged thresholds were at 14.0 and 13.6℃ for black spruce and jack pine, suggesting that the sensitivity of both species to low soil temperature was quite close.

Variations Trend of Soil Temperature at Deep Layers in Xining from 1961 to 2010

[Objective] The aim was to analyze the changes trend of mean earth temperature at 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 m deep to the ground in Xining from 1961 to 2010. [Method] Using the data of monthly mean soil temperatures at 0.8,1.6 and 3.2 m in Xining from 1961 to 2010, the linear trend, climatic anomalous and climate abrupt of deep soil temperature during recent 50 years were analyzed by using of linear trend analysis, accumulated variance and signal noise ratio methods. [Result] In terms of linear trend, the annual mean soil temperatures at 0.8 m in recent 50 years, as well as 1.6 and 3.2 m in recent 45 years displayed a weak increasing trend in Xining. Comparing with the average air temperature in the same period, the rising range of deep soil temperature is obvious less. The average soil temperatures at 0.8 m was the highest in 1980s, but it was the lowest in the 1960s. In spring, autumn and winter in the 1980s, the average soil temperature was a little higher than many other years at 1.6 m. In four seasons in the 1980s, the average soil temperature was obvious higher at 3.2 m. The annual soil temperatures at 0.8 m were anomalous warm in 1991, and from 1987 to 1992, as well as in 1994, 2007 and 2009. The annual soil temperatures at 3.2 m were anomalous warm. In the 1990s, there were four years which were anomalous warm at 3.2 m, as well as five years at 0.8 m and five years at 1.6 m. [Conclusion] The study provided theoretical basis for the development of climate changes in Xining.

Research on Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Temperature in China from 1948 to 2018

The change of soil temperature can affect the regional climate, so it is of great significance to research the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of regional soil temperature over a long period of time for the research of the land-air interaction, climate change and ecological agricultural construction. We use the v2.0 and v2.1 data set combined with GLDAS and Noah models to analyze the spatiotemporal variation of temperature in soil layers of 0 - 200 cm in China during the period of 71 years from 1948 to 2018. Firstly, the Mann-Kendall test method is used to research the variation trend of soil temperature over the past 71 years in China and the spatial variation of these trends. Secondly, by calculating the spatiotemporal coefficient of variation (CV) of soil temperature, the spatial-temporal fluctuation of soil temperature in China is further studied and analyzed. Finally, the Hurst index is used to analyze the possible future trend of soil temperature in China. Based on these methods, we have drawn the following conclusions: 1) The soil temperature in most areas of northern China had an increasing trend, especially in the northeast China. The soil temperature in most of the south China had a decreasing trend. The temperature trends of the four soil layers had little difference, and it remained stable on the whole. 2) The regional difference of soil temperature in China remained stable before 1999, and decreased suddenly in 2000. After 2008, the regional difference increased. Compared with the previous period, the temperature in some areas increased or decreased abnormally. 3) The soil temperature in eastern, southeast China and Xinjiang had a relatively significant variation in the 71 years. From 0 - 10 cm soil surface to 100 - 200 cm soil bottom, the spatial difference of temperature gradually decreased, which was due to the fact that the soil temperature was more affected by the surface atmospheric temperature. 4) The soil temperature in the north and northwest of China will continue to grow, and in the southern—most will continue to decrease. The soil temperature in the north of central China will become a decreasing trend, while the temperature in the south of central China will become an increasing trend.

Infl uence of fire on soil temperatures of pine forests of the middle taiga,central Siberia,Russia

Temperatures of sandy podzols of middle taiga pine forests with moss and lichen ground cover were analyzed which had been exposed to ground fires of low to medium intensity.In general,temperatures in lichen and moss plots of the pine forests under study,are close to each similar,but in the first year after a fire a noticeable contrast was observed.The reasons are an increase in the amplitude of daily temperatures on the soil surface and stronger heating of upper mineral layers.Temperatures in the mineral layer with depths up to 30 cm depend on the thickness of the forest fl oor.Analysis of the results show that the duration of postfire effects in pine forests with sandy podzols is determined by a number of factors:the intensity of the fire,the degree of erosion of the ground cover and litter,and the recovery rate of these components.

Effects of shrubs and precipitation on spatial-temporal variability of soil temperature in microhabitats induced by desert shrubs

Soil temperatures at 0, 5, 10 and 20 cm depths were monitored cominuously at different microhabitats （beneath shrub canopy （BSC）; bare intershrub spaces （BIS）） induced by xerophytic shrub （Caragana korshinskii Kom.） canopy, respectively. We mainly aimed to assess the effects of shrub canopy and precipitation on the spatial-temporal variability of soil temperature. Results indi- cate that both precipitation and vegetation canopy significantly affect soil temperature. In clear days, soil temperatures within the BSC area were significantly lower than in the BIS at the same soil depth due to shading effects of shrub canopy. Diurnal variations of soil temperature show a unimoclal sinusoidal curve. The amplitude of soil temperature tended to decrease and a hysteresis of di- urnal maximum soil temperature existed at deeper soil layers. Vertical fluctuations of soil temperature displayed four typical curves. In the nighttime （approximately from sunset to sunrise）, surface temperature within the BSC area was higher than in the BIS. In rainy days, however, soil temperatures were affected mainly by precipitation and the shrub canopy had a negligible effect on soil temperature, and little difference in soil temperature at the same soil depth was found between the BSC area and in the BIS. Diurnal variations in soil temperature decreased exclusively as rainfall continued and the vertical fluctuations of soil tempera~＇e show an increased tendency with increasing soil depth.

Analysis of Variation Characters and Prediction Model of Soil Temperature in Solar Greenhouse

[Objective] The aim was to study the soil temperature changes and its forecast model in greenhouse by solar heat. [Method] Annual and daily variation characters of soil temperature were analyzed in this paper by using the observation data of air temperature out of solar greenhouse and different layers soil temperature in it. The soil temperature (daily maximum, daily minimum and daily mean) forecasting models were also studied. Simulation and test were conducted to the forecast model of soil temperature in the greenhouse. [Result] The annual changes and daily changes of soil temperature of each layer in the greenhouse were in single peak curve. The lower layer temperature changes were smaller than the upper layer. The soil temperature of each layer within the greenhouse was closely related to the relevance of same type temperature outside the greenhouse of the day. Taking the average daily temperature, daily maximum temperature and daily lowest temperature of the day and the day before as forecast factors, soil temperature forecast model of different layer of same type within greenhouse was constructed. The simulation outcome of average daily temperature of each layer within the greenhouse was better than the simulation outcome of highest temperature of corresponding layer, worse than the simulation of lowest temperature of corresponding layer. The highest temperature of lower soil and daily temperature of soil were better than the upper layer. The simulated soil temperature was much more close to the observation when the observation was during 15-30 ℃. In other interval, it was lower than the observation. [Conclusion] The study offered theoretical reference for the growth environment of sunlight greenhouse plantation.

Robust and cost-effective system for measuring and logging of data on soil water content and soil temperature profile

The paper describes the system for measuring and logging of data on soil water content and soil temperature profile. The system was tested in a field and shows great potential for performing continuous measurements. It has several benefits including ease of manufacture, low cost, reliable performance and the ability to download the data without specialized software.

Influence of mulch and poultry manure application on soil temperature,evapotranspiration and water use efficiency of dry season cultivated okra

Sustainable vegetable production especially during the dry season requires adequate conservation of soil water.This study was conducted to evaluate the sole and interactive effects of mulching(M)and poultry manure(PM)application on soil temperature(ST),crop evapotranspiration(ETc)and water use efficiency(WUE)of okra.The experiment was a Randomized Complete Block Design(RCBD)with three replicates.The treatments were M at 0 and 6t ha^(-1)and PM at 0,10 and 20t ha^(-1).Soil temperature was measured using digital thermometer while ETc was determined by water depletion method using a Time Domain Reflectometer.Irrigation at field capacity was applied manually at 2-day intervals.Independent appli-cation of mulch significantly lowered ST while joint application of 20t ha^(-1)PM(PM20)and M signifi-cantly(p≤0.05)reduced ST at 5 cm and 10 cm soil depth compared with the unmulched plots in both seasons.Application of 10t ha^(-1)PM(PM10)without M recorded the highest ETc(43.7 mm),while joint application of PM20 and M reduced ETc by about 93%compared with PM10 only.Okra used water most efficiently when PM20 was applied under mulched plot.There was 62.2%increase in WUE under mulched plots compared with the control while the residual effect of PM10 and M significantly increased WUE by 65.5%.It was evident that M alongside application of PM is a good strategy for regulating ST,moderating ETc and increasing okra WUE,especially during dry season farming.

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%.

Responses of chlorophyll fluorescence and nitrogen level of Leymus chinensis seedling to changes of soil moisture and temperature

Controlled experiment of Leymus chinensis seedlings grown in the environmental growth chambers at 3 soil moisture levels and 3 temperature levels was conducted in order to improve the understanding how leaf photosynthetic parameters will respond to climatic change. The results indicated that soil drought and high temperature decreased the photochemical efficiency of photosystem(F v/F m), the overall photochemical quantum yield of PSII(yield), the coefficient of photochemical fluorescence quenching(q\-P), but increased the coefficient of non-photochemical fluorescence quenching(q\-N). Severe soil drought would decrease F v/F m and yield by 3.12% and 37.04% under 26℃ condition, respectively, and 6.60% and 73.33% under 32℃ condition, respectively, suggesting that higher temperature may enhance the negative effects of soil drought. All the soil drought treatments resulted in the decline in leaf nitrogen content. There was no significant effect of temperature on leaf nitrogen level, but higher temperature significantly reduced the root nitrogen content and the ratio of root nitrogen to leaf nitrogen, indicating the different strategies of adaptation to soil drought and temperature. It was also implied that higher temperature would enhance the effect of soil drought on leaf photosynthetic capacity, decrease the adaptability of Leymus chinensis to drought.

Effects of degradable films with different degradation cycles on soil temperature,moisture and maize yield

Photo biodegradable film is an ideal degradable mulch film with synergistic effect of photo-degradability and biodegradability.To examine the covering effects of different films,maize was cultivated in the field with three kinds of degradable films(DF)mulching which had different degradation cycles(DF No.1,No.2 and No.3),with common plastic film mulching and no filming mulching(open ground)as comparison.The degradation rates and degrees of degradable films were examined,and the effects of different films on soil temperature,soil moisture,maize yield and relevant characteristics in each treatment were analyzed.The results indicated that the degradable films had good degradability,and the weight loss rate in 100 d for DF No.1,No.2,and No.3 were 22.31%,19.46%,and 15.63%,which were 4.16,3.63,and 2.92 times of the plastic film,respectively.In the early period of maize growth,the degradable films had good warming effects on soil,which were similar with the plastic film.The effect of DF No.2 on soil water conservation was slightly better than that of DF No.1 or No.3,similar with that of the plastic film.The soil water contents in 0-140 cm depths were significantly higher for DF No.2 than that for the open ground(p<0.05).The degradable films could significantly promote the ear development of maize,improve the ear characteristics,shorten the bald tip,and increase kernel number per plant(KNP)and 1000-kernel weight(TKW).The grain yields(GYs)for DF No.2,No.1,and No.3 were significantly improved,with 35.15%,31.35%,and 30.07%higher than that the open ground respectively(p<0.05).With no significant difference between DF and the plastic film,the GY was increased more for DF No.2 than that for DF No.1 and No.3.The degradable films fulfilled successfully all the functions of the plastic film,thus they were recommended as viable option to the plastic film due to their good degradability.