Analysis of plant resources and diversity in the southeast area of Taihang Mountains

Taihang Mountains are situated between Shanxi Province and the North China Plain,spanning Beijing,Hebei,Shanxi,and Henan provinces and cities.The mountains extend from northeast to southwest for over 400 km,naturally deviding the second step from the third one in China.The southeastern area of Taihang Mountains specifically refers to Changzhi City and Jincheng Administrative Region of Shanxi Province.Given Shanxi Province’s robust development plans for the southeast area of Taihang Mountains,the medicinal plant resources in this area will be affected.Therefore,it is imperative and urgent to conduct a comprehensive investigation and study on the medicinal plant resources in the southeast area of Taihang Mountains.By means of field investigation,literature review,and specimen identification,the plant resources and diversity of two counties in the southeast of Taihang Mountains were evaluated.The findings revealed 234 plants species across 172 genera in 70 families,primarily comprising angiosperms.The families with more species included Compositae,Leguminosae,Rosaceae,Labiatae,Ranunculaceae.Among the genera,those with more species were Cynanchum,Selaginella,Clematis,Thalictrum,and Rhamnus.A total of 114 medicinal plants were identified,constituting 48.72%of the total.Regarding medicinal parts,the concentration is in roots and rhizomes,followed by whole plants and fruits.On the basis of investigation and study,some suggestions on the development,utilization,and protection of medicinal plant resources in southeast Taihang Mountains were made.These suggestions provide valuable insights for the study on medicinal plant resources and vegetation in the southeast of Taihang Mountains,serving as a scientific basis for the protection and sustainable utilization of wild medicinal plant resources.

Crustal anisotropy of Taihang Mountain Range using azimuthal variation of receiver functions

摘要探讨了利用接收函数方位变化研究各向异性复杂地区速度结构的可能性。详细介绍了具有任意对称轴方向的横向各向同性系统中介质响应的计算过程，并将利用接收函数方位变化研究地壳各向异性的方法应用于华北太行山地区。结果表明，研究台站下方地壳具有明显的各向异性特征，其中地表盖层表现为8％-15％的慢轴型各向异性；深部地壳各向异性略小，表现为3％-5％的快轴型各向异性特征,不同台站获得的各向异性对称轴的方向及深度分布不具有明显的一致性,区域构造环境的变化可能是导致地壳各向异性存在的原斟。

Late Cenozoic Geomorphology, Geochronology and Physiography of Yuntaishan in Southern Taihang Mountain, North China

The late Cenozoic geomorphic features and geochronologic data of the Zhingfang River catchment in the Yuntaishan World Geopark are studied. Several quarternary geochronologic methods, including electron spin resonance （ESR）, optically stimulated luminescence （OSL）, thermo-luminescence （TL） and U-series are presented in this paper. The results suggest that there are two planation surfaces, named as the Taihang surface which is a peneplain of Taihang stage formed during Oligocene or Oligocene to early-middle Miocene period, and Tang-hien surface which is a mature wide valley of Tang-hien stage formed during late Miocene-Pliocene or Piiocene-early Pleistocene period and probably ended prior to 2.2-2.6 Ma based on ESR dating. After the Tang-hien stage, the incision and aggradation of the river formed six stream terraces with heights of 3-5 m, 8-12 m, 22-24 m, 28-38 m, 50-62 m and 80-85 m above the river bottom, respectively. The dating results of the alluvium sediments suggest that these terraces were formed during Holocene, 20-23 ka B.P., 110-120 ka B.P., 200-240 ka B.P., 840-1200 ka B.P. or ~450 ka B.P. and 1600-1800 ka B.P. or -1100 ka B.P., respectively. These results indicate that episodic incision of the river, which controls the formation of the scenery in the Yuntaishan World Geopark, was mainly influenced by the periodic dry-wet climate change during late Cenozoic mountain uplift.

Application of the Landsat-5TM Image Data in the Feasibility Study of Mudflow Hazards in the Southern Taihang Mountains

The Taihang Mountains area is an area in North China where serious mudflow hazards take place frequently. The hazards often obstrust traffic and make it difficult to carry out conventional ground investigations of the mudflow hazards. This paper introduces the feasibility study of mudflow hazards by using Landsat-5TM data. The study has achieved a great success through adopting both the faint spectral enhancement technique for mudflow fans (or other depositional areas) and comprehensive study of the environmental background of pregnant mudflows. Thus, remote sensing as a fast, convenient, low-cost and effective technical method can be used to recognise the situation of mudflow hazards so that effective rescue can be provided.

Estimation of evapotranspiration with drainage lysimeters in the Taihang Mountain area,China

In this research, the evapotranspiration （ET） of three native vegetation communities were measured using drainage lysime- ters in the Taihang Mountain area, China. They are a local grass, Themedajaponica, a local shrub, Vitex negundo var. heterophylla Rebd. and a mixture of both communities. The ET was measured using level lysimeters （with a slope of 0°） and slope lysimeters （with a slope of 25°）. In general, the measured ET was higher in the level lysimeters than in the slope lysimeters because of the water loss of surface runoff from the slope lysimeter. The total ETs over the growing season for the grass, shrub, and the mixture were 730.4, 742.0 and 790.7 mm, respectively in the level lysimeters, and 535.5, 504.1 and 540.1 mm, respectively in the slope lysimeters. In addition, the monthly ET peaked in August and had close linear relationship with leaf area index. The drainage lysimeter is an effective tool to estimate plant ET in mountain areas. The results from this research would provide scientific information for the vegetation recovery and sustainable development of forestry in the TM areas.

Evaluation of the production-living-ecology space function suitability of Pingshan County in the Taihang mountainous area,China

A rational utilization of land is a matter of importance in sustainable development of mountainous area.The land function in mountainous areas has a close connection with space structure of ecology,production and living.To promote a harmonious development of the relationship between people and nature in mountainous areas,it is necessary to coordinate their relationships of space functions.Suitability evaluation of basic unit function associated with multi-scale space analysis is a prerequisite to a reasonable optimization of land function structure.In this study,an optimized evaluation index system of combination functions was introduced into the assessment of ecological spatial functional suitability in ecological fragile regions by adding three indicators,namely,soil erosion sensitivity,landscape ecological risk and ecological sensitivity.The principle of"taking high"(referred to a function with high suitability to be regarded as the main function of an evaluation unit)and ecological priority(referred to the case,supposing the suitability of a unit’s three functions is consistent,the main function is determined to be the ecological function)were used to determine the main function of an evaluation unit.Pingshan County,China,located at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountain,was targeted in this case study.The production-livingecology space(PLES)function in Pingshan was identified by applying our improved valuation indexes.Further,the functional suitability distribution of the combination of elements was obtained by using overlapping comprehensive analysis method,considering the tradeoff of the functional suitability of combination elements.The regions suitable for production/living were distributed in relatively flat piedmont plains,whereas the regions suitable for ecology were distributed in the mountain areas of middle and low altitudes.Therefore,to maintain a sustainable development in mountainous areas,an improved scheme of development for Pingshan should be to delineate ecologically fragile areas,to build ecological industrial parks near existing scenic spots,to protect basic agricultural production areas,and to increase investment in science and technology,including reasonable ecological compensation.This study can provide reference for the planning of sustainable development in the Taihang Mountain area and similar regions.

Analysis on Change Tendency of the Precipitation Resource during Growth Period of the Conventional Crops in Plain Area before Taihang Mountains

[Objective] The aim was to study change tendency of the precipitation resource during growth period of the conventional crops in plain area before Taihang Mountains. [ Method] Based on daily precipitation data at Shijiazhuang meteorological station in recent 51 years, average rainfall dudng growth periods of the 9 kinds of conventional crops was obtained. Precipitation tendency dudng growth periods of the 9 kinds of conventional crops in plain area before Taihang Mountains was analyzed by Mann-Kendall nonparametric test. [ Result] Seen from rainfall during growth pedods of the different crops, rainfall was the least during the growth period of winter wheat, followed by summer corn. Rainfall during growth peri- ods of the cotton, oil plant, vegetable, fruit tree, potato, rice and legumes was more. Under different guaranteed rates, precipitation change also had difference. Rainfall change during growth periods of the wheat and corn was bigger, and rainfall change during growth period of the rice was smaller. Change degree of the precipitation during growth periods of the cotton, oil plant, vegetable, fruit tree and legumes was equivalent, while precipitation change during growth period of the potato was the biggest. Seen from change tendency of the precipitation during growth periods of the different crops, precipitation in the growth period of winter wheat was increasing at a speed of 0.62 mm/a. However, precipitation in growth periods of the other crops had a decreasing tendency. Precipitation in the growth periods of summer corn and legumes decreased at the same speed which was 2.11 mm/a, while precipitation in growth periods of the cotton, oil plant, vegetable, fruit tree, potato and rice decreased insignificantly. [ Con dusion] The study laid foundation for determination of the agricultural irrigation water and provided theoretical reference for regional agricultural water-saving.

Analysis of the Relationship between Vertical Distribution of Four Automatic Stations and Local Precipitation in Taihang Mountain of Linzhou

[ Objective] The reseamh aimed to analyze the relationship between vertical distribution of four automatic stations and local precipitation in Taihang Mountain of Linzhou. [ Method] Using mesoscale detection and statistical data of the automatic stations in Henan, the geographical distribution of the precipitation affected by underlying surface in mountainous area of Linzhou was analyzed. [ Result] Surface mesoscale wind field convergence line formed by thermal action of inhomogeneous underlying surface and mountainous terrain and upward movement played the strengthening role to the low-level jet. They affected formation and development of strong convective weather. The geographic distribution of precipitation in mountainous area was highly affected by the terrain, and rainfall, precipitation days and intensity in mountainous area were significantly greater than that in the surrounding hills region. In particular, rainfall on the windward slope significantly increased, and rainfall increased as mountain height within a certain height. [ Conclusion] Hourly ground data analysis at automatic stations had very good forecast indication role in formation, development and dissipation of heavy rain in mountainous areas.

A Numerical Experiment of Mesolow on the Eastern Side of the Taihang Mountains

A numerical experiment on the formation and decay process of a mesolow on the plain east to the Taihang Mountains has been conducted. The dynamical effect of the special topography of the Taihang Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains on the formation of the mesolow is very important. Namely, the difference of the heating between the Taihang Mountains and the North China plain plays an important role in the formation and decay of the mesolow.

Life in the Taihang Mountains

THE Taihang Mountain Range meanders for 500 kilometers across the territories of Henan, Shanxi and Hebei provinces. It is an important ecological screen for the North China Plain and source of water. In Hebei’s Shexian County sits Wangjinzhuang, a 300-year-old stone village nestled in the mountains.The village is a stone world-lanes, houses, court-yard walls, towers, pavilions, tables, benches and mills are all hewn fom ancient rock. Streets and lanes are paved in stones of various shapes and sizes whose sur-

Agricultural Land Suitability of Production Space in the Taihang Mountains, China

The contradiction between the shortage of land for agriculture due to rapid expansion of industrialization and urbanization and increasing population pressure is projected to impose great threats to future food security.Agricultural land suitability evaluation is an effective approach to improve the utilization of land resources for crop production and thus enhance the capacity of food provision.In this study, we evaluated the land suitability for agriculture of the production space in the Taihang Mountains by three steps: establishing indicator system, determining weights for indicators, and constructing a fuzzy matter-element model to assess the grades of suitability.Results showed that the land suitability had a significant linear correlation with potential crop yields, indicating our evaluation was effective to predict crop production.The spatial pattern of land suitability for crop production demonstrated that land with higher suitability was generally located in piedmont plains and basins, while land with lower suitability was mostly situated in mountainous areas.The area of highly, moderately, marginally suitable and unsuitable land for agriculture was 32.13%, 28.58%, 37.49% and 1.80% of the production space, respectively.However, the correlation degree analysis indicated that the requirements of these four suitability grades were currently not satisfied but could be potentially fulfilled.In terms of indicator weights, soil properties were much more important than topography and location conditions to influence the grades of suitability.Among all indicators, slope, soil organic matter, soil texture and soil depth were the most influential factors, so slope farming prevention and organic fertilization were most likely to improve land suitability for agriculture.Compared the outputs of our land suitability evaluation model with the distribution of the existing croplands, we found that about 66.52% of marginally suitable and 54.55% of unsuitable land for agriculture were currently used for croplands.Therefore, de-farming policy should be implemented in areas of these two suitability grades.In contrast, cropland expansion was encouraged in the land that was highly or moderately suitable for agriculture.Our evaluation of agricultural land suitability is beneficial for future land use planning and decision-making in the Taihang Mountains.

Detecting and attributing vegetation changes in Taihang Mountain, China

Attributing vegetation changes provide fundamental information for ecosystem management,especially in mountainous areas which has vulnerable ecosystems. Based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) data, the spatial-temporal change of vegetation was detected in Taihang Mountain(THM) from 2000 to 2014. The topographical factors were introduced to interpret the response of vegetation variation to climate change and human activities. Results showed that the avegaged NDVI during growing season showed a single-peak curve distribution, with the largest value(0.628) among 1600-1800 m. A significant greening trend was detected in THM, with the largest increasing rate(0.0078 yr^(-1)) among the elevation of1600-1800 m and slope gradient between 3~5°. The partial correlation and multiple correlation analyses indicated that vegetation variation in more than81.8% pixels of the THM was mainly impacted by human activities. In the low elevation zones less than1000 m, increasing precipitation is the principle factor promoting vegetation restoration, whereas in the high elevation zones of THM, temperature is the restricted factors impacting vegetation variation.Considering the dramatic climate change in the future,further studies should be conducted to explore inherent mechanism of vegetation growth to dynamic environment changes.

Current Situation of Information Demand of Farmers in Taihang Mountain Area: A Case Study of Pingshan County in Hebei Province

Since the reform and opening-up,economy of mountain areas in China has realized considerable development.However,due to such factors as terrain,traffic,and individual differences,compared with plain and coastal areas,mountain areas still lag far behind.In recent years,informationization construction of China develops rapidly,but it nearly stagnates in mountain rural areas.Information has become an essential factor restricting economic development of rural areas.Based on the survey of current information demand of farmers carried out in Pingshan County in Hebei Province in 2010,this study came up with relevant recommendations,in order to speed up development of rural economic in mountain areas,narrow the regional gap,improve living condition of farmers in mountain areas,and increase income level of farmers in mountain areas.

Response to Hydrothermal Change of Tree Radial Growth since 1990s in the Southern Taihang Mountains in Hebei Province

On the basis of the relationship between tree ring width of Pinus tabulaeformis in the southern Taihang Mountains in Hebei Province and climate factors, such as mean temperature, mean maximum temperature, mean minimum temperature and precipitation, we find that tree-ring width correlates positively and significantly with mean and maximum temperature in March and Spring, and with minimum temperature in March, April, Spring and Autumn. The sampling tree radial growth responds sensitively to spring temperature change.

VEGETATION CHANGES OF THE TAIHANG MOUNTAINS SINCE THE LAST GLACIAL

The vegetation of the Taihang Mountains was dominated by grass with less than 10％ forested area during the last pleniglacial. During the period of 17 000－ 10 000 a B.P. the forested area reached to 20％ － 30％ , and reached to 20％ － 40％ during the Early Holocene in the period of 10 000－ 8 000 a B.P. followed by the temperature increasing rapidly. But the northern part had more forested area than that of the southern part. During the period of 8000－ 5000 a B.P. forests developed further to 50％ or more. It was the highest period of the forest cover degree. After then, the forests began to be destroyed first in the southern part of the Taihang Mountains by people. Since 2500 a B.P. the forests were destroyed deadly. The forest cover decreased to less than 5％ before 1949. Since 1949 , although the government hold the policy of close hillsides to facilitate afforestation, the forest cover of Taihang Mountains could not exceed 11.6％ . So afforestation is an important work to keep economic and ecological sustainable development.

Response of Vegetation Cover to Climate Changein the Southern Taihang Mountains in HebeiProvince

The relationships between the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)(1981-2006) in growing season and precipitation, NDVI and mean temperature(T_(mean)), NDVI and maximum temperature(T_(max)), NDVI and minimum temperature(T_(min)), and NDVI and the Palmer Drought Severity Index(PDSI) were analyzed. The results indicated that NDVI during the growing season was mostly positively and significantly correlated with precipitation last month and the month before last, and mostly negatively with temperature. There were negative and significant correlation between NDVI in June and July and T_(mean)and T_(max)in May respectively, between April NDVI and T_(min)in February and March, and between June NDVI and T_(min)in April, May and June. Vegetation cover in growing season correlated positively with PDSI, especially those last month and the month before last at 0.05 significance level, even 0.01 level. Hydrothermal conditions from March to July had significant influence on vegetation cover.

Study on “Shigang Pattern” of Ecological Modal Village in Taihang Mountains

General situation and development conditions of Shigang Village in Shexian County, Hebei Province were introduced, "Shigang Pattern" based on ecotourism was analyzed from 3 perspectives: development objective, overall layout and development pattern. Shigang Village has explored a new rural development road of "eco-agriculture driving tourism industry, and tourism industry in turn promoting modern agriculture" supported by greenhouse vegetable base and Yuquan Water Park. Enlightenment of the construction of ecological model village in Taihang Mountains was obtained as: making plans for instructing scientific decision-making; promoting development of pillar industries based on local conditions; focusing on both material and spiritual civilization, motivating cultural life of the locals; developing advantages and promoting the construction of ecological civilization.

Late Quaternary Activity of the Central-North Segment of the Taihang Mountains Piedmont Fault Zone

The location and late Quaternary activity of the Central-North Segment of the Taihang Mountains Piedmont fault zone have been studied by shallow seismic survey and combined drill exploration.Our results show that the Baoding-Shijiazhuang fault and the Xushui fault were active in the late Pleistocene,but the south Xushui fault has been inactive since the late Pleistocene.The maximum magnitude of potential earthquake of the faults is 6.0.

Genetic diversity,population structure and demographic history of Dugesia japonica in Taihang Mountains

The freshwater planarian Dugesia japonica has become a model organism in regeneration biology and toxicology due to its powerful regeneration capability and highly chemical sensitivity.Nonetheless,little is known about its evolutionary history and demographics.Taihang Mountains is the natural boundary between the Loess Plateau and the North China Plain,and is considered as one of the important priority areas for biodiversity conservation in China.In order to figure out the genetic diversity,population structure and demographic history of D.japonica in Taihang Mountains,a study based on the mitochondrial COI from 116 individuals sampled across 20 populations has been conducted.The results showed that the 116 COI sequences yielded 32 haplotypes,including 8 shared haplotypes and 24 private ones.The overall haplotype diversity(Hd)and nucleotide diversity(π)were 0.920 and 0.083,respectively.Even though the AMOVA results suggested that the genetic variation among populations was significant(FST=0.480,P<0.01),the phylogeny and haplotype network analysis based on 32 haplotypes revealed no obvious phylogeographic pattern.Furthermore,the significantly positive values of neutrality test(Tajima’s D=2.596,P<0.05;Fu’s Fs=2.769,P<0.01)together with the multimodal arrangement of mismatch distribution indicated that D.japonica in Taihang Mountains would have been undergoing population decline.We hope these findings will arouse conservation and management strategy regarding freshwater planarians and contribute to the biodiversity in the long run.