Responses of vegetation yield to precipitation and reference evapotranspiration in a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia,China

Drought,which restricts the sustainable development of agriculture,ecological health,and social economy,is affected by a variety of factors.It is widely accepted that a single variable cannot fully reflect the characteristics of drought events.Studying precipitation,reference evapotranspiration(ET_(0)),and vegetation yield can derive information to help conserve water resources in grassland ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions.In this study,the interactions of precipitation,ET_(0),and vegetation yield in Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner(DMJB),a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,China were explored using two-dimensional(2D)and three-dimensional(3D)joint distribution models.Three types of Copula functions were applied to quantitatively analyze the joint distribution probability of different combinations of precipitation,ET_(0),and vegetation yield.For the precipitation–ET_(0)dry–wet type,the 2D joint distribution probability with precipitation≤245.69 mm/a or ET_(0)≥959.20 mm/a in DMJB was approximately 0.60,while the joint distribution probability with precipitation≤245.69 mm/a and ET_(0)≥959.20 mm/a was approximately 0.20.Correspondingly,the joint return period that at least one of the two events(precipitation was dry or ET_(0)was wet)occurred was 2 a,and the co-occurrence return period that both events(precipitation was dry and ET_(0)was wet)occurred was 5 a.Under this condition,the interval between dry and wet events would be short,the water supply and demand were unbalanced,and the water demand of vegetation would not be met.In addition,when precipitation remained stable and ET_(0)increased,the 3D joint distribution probability that vegetation yield would decrease due to water shortage in the precipitation–ET_(0)dry–wet years could reach up to 0.60–0.70.In future work,irrigation activities and water allocation criteria need to be implemented to increase vegetation yield and the safety of water resources in the desert steppe of Inner Mongolia.

An Analysis of the Difference between the Multiple Linear Regression Approach and the Multimodel Ensemble Mean

An investigation of the difference in seasonal precipitation forecast skills between the multiple linear regression （MLR） ensemble and the simple multimodel ensemble mean （EM） was based on the forecast quality of individual models. The possible causes of difference in previous studies were analyzed. In order to make the simulation capability of studied regions relatively uniform, three regions with different temporal correlation coefficients were chosen for this study. Results show the causes resulting in the incapability of the MLR approach vary among different regions. In the Nifio3.4 region, strong co-linearity within individual models is generally the main reason. However, in the high latitude region, no significant co-linearity can be found in individual models, but the abilities of single models are so poor that it makes the MLR approach inappropriate for superensemble forecasts in this region. In addition, it is important to note that the use of various score measurements could result in some discrepancies when we compare the results derived from different multimodel ensemble approaches.

Reference evapotranspiration concentration and its relationship with precipitation concentration at southern and northern slopes of Tianshan Mountains, China

The investigation of concentration characteristics of reference evapotranspiration(ETref) is important for water resources management. The concentration index(CI), concentration degree(CD) and concentration period(CP) are used to investigate the concentration characteristics of ETref and the relationship between ETref concentration and precipitation concentration at sub-monthly timescale based on the daily climatic variables from 1966 to 2015 in 27 meteorological stations at the southern and northern slopes of Tianshan Mountains in China. It was found that the CI of ETref is about 0.40 and less concentrated than precipitation in the study area. At the southern slope, the maximum ETref appears in late June and is earlier than the maximum precipitation(early July), ETref distributes more equally than precipitation, and the CI, CD and CP of these two variables do not show significant change based on the Mann–Kendall test. At the northern slope, both the maximum ETref and precipitation appear in early July, and ETref is more dispersed than precipitation. During the study period, the maximum ETref at the northern slope tends to appear earlier due to the impacts of wind speed, relative humidity, sunshine duration, and air temperature. ETref concentration does not match the precipitation concentration in the study area, particularly at the southern slope. The mismatch between ETref and precipitation concentration within a year reveals the water resources pressure on environmental, social and economic sustainability in the study area.

Spatiotemporal analysis of drought variability based on the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index in the Koshi River Basin, Nepal

Drought is an inevitable condition with negative impacts in the agricultural and climatic sectors,especially in developing countries.This study attempts to examine the spatial and temporal characteristics of drought and its trends in the Koshi River Basin(KRB)in Nepal,using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index(SPEI)over the period from 1987 to 2017.The Mann-Kendall test was used to explore the trends of the SPEI values.The study illustrated the increasing annual and seasonal drought trends in the KRB over the study period.Spatially,the hill region of the KRB showed substantial increasing drought trends at the annual and seasonal scales,especially in summer and winter.The mountain region also showed a significant increasing drought trend in winter.The drought characteristic analysis indicated that the maximum duration,intensity,and severity of drought events were observed in the KRB after 2000.The Terai region presented the highest drought frequency and intensity,while the hill region presented the longest maximum drought duration.Moreover,the spatial extent of drought showed a significant increasing trend in the hill region at the monthly(drought station proportion of 7.6%/10 a in August),seasonal(drought station proportion of 7.2%/10 a in summer),and annual(drought station proportion of 6.7%/10 a)scales.The findings of this study can assist local governments,planners,and project implementers in understanding drought and developing appropriate mitigation strategies to cope with its impacts.

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Droughts and Floods in Shandong Province,China and Their Relationship with Food Loss

Mastering the pattern of food loss caused by droughts and floods aids in planning the layout of agricultural production,determining the scale of drought and flood control projects,and reducing food loss.The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index is calculated using monthly meteorological data from 1984 to 2020 in Shandong Province of China and is used to identify the province’s drought and flood characteristics.Then,food losses due to droughts and floods are estimated separately from disaster loss data.Finally,the relationship between drought/flood-related factors and food losses is quantified using methods such as the Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression.The results show that:1)there is a trend of aridity in Shandong Province,and the drought characteristic variables are increasing yearly while flood duration and severity are decreasing.2)The food losses caused by droughts in Shandong Province are more than those caused by floods,and the area where droughts and floods occur frequently is located in Linyi City.3)The impact of precipitation on food loss due to drought/flood is significant,followed by potential evapotranspiration and temperature.4)The relationship between drought and flood conditions and food losses can be precisely quantified.The accumulated drought duration of one month led to 1.939×10^(4)t of grain loss,and an increase in cumulative flood duration of one month resulted in1.134×10^(4)t of grain loss.If the cumulative drought severity and average drought peak increased by one unit,food loss due to drought will increase by 1.562×10^(4)t and 1.511×10^(6)t,respectively.If the cumulative flood severity and average flood peak increase by one unit,food loss will increase by 8.470×103t and 1.034×10^(6)t,respectively.

Evapotranspiration and Its Energy Exchange in Alpine Meadow Ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

To understand the water and energy exchange on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, we explored the characteristics of evapotranspiration （ET） and energy fluxes from 2002 to 2005 over a Kobresia meadow ecosystem using the eddy covariance method. The ratio of annual ET to precipitation （P） of meadow ecosystem was about 60%, but varied greatly with the change of season from summer to winter. The annual ET/P in meadow was lower than that in shrub, steppe and wetland ecosystems of this plateau. The incident solar radiation （Rs） received by the meadow was obviously higher than that of lowland in the same latitude; however the ratio of net radiation （Rn） to Rs with average annual value of 0.44 was significantly lower than that in the same latitude. The average annual ET was about 390 mm for 2002-2005, of which more than 80% occurred in growing season from May to September. The energy consumed on the ET was about 44% of net radiation in growing season, which was lower than that of shrub, steppe and wetland on this plateau. This study demonstrates that the Kobresia meadow may prevent the excessive water loss through evapotranspiration from the ecosystem into the atmosphere in comparison to the shrub, steppe and wetland ecosystems of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Different Grades of Short-time Precipitation in Xining City

Based on the hourly precipitation data from 4 observation stations of Xining City from June to September during 2005-2011,the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of short-time precipitation were analyzed.The results show that the precipitation distribution in Xining region exhibited the less-more-less trend from southwest to northeast,while the torrential rain gradually increased from the northwest and southwest to the middle.The hourly general precipitation in Xining region had obviously seasonal characteristics,and its annual distribution showed wavy changes,but the annual variation of short-time heavy precipitation and rainstorm was very obvious.Furthermore,short-time heavy precipitation was concentrated from 18:00 to 24:00,followed by 03:00-07:00 on the following day.The occurrence time of short-time rainstorm accorded with short-time heavy precipitation.It offers a useful reference for the accurate and timely short-term forecast.

Drought trend analysis in a semi-arid area of Iraq based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Water Index and Standardized Precipitation Index

Drought was a severe recurring phenomenon in Iraq over the past two decades due to climate change despite the fact that Iraq has been one of the most water-rich countries in the Middle East in the past.The Iraqi Kurdistan Region(IKR)is located in the north of Iraq,which has also suffered from extreme drought.In this study,the drought severity status in Sulaimaniyah Province,one of four provinces of the IKR,was investigated for the years from 1998 to 2017.Thus,Landsat time series dataset,including 40 images,were downloaded and used in this study.The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)and the Normalized Difference Water Index(NDWI)were utilized as spectral-based drought indices and the Standardized Precipitation Index(SPI)was employed as a meteorological-based drought index,to assess the drought severity and analyse the changes of vegetative cover and water bodies.The study area experienced precipitation deficiency and severe drought in 1999,2000,2008,2009,and 2012.Study findings also revealed a drop in the vegetative cover by 33.3%in the year 2000.Furthermore,the most significant shrinkage in water bodies was observed in the Lake Darbandikhan(LDK),which lost 40.5%of its total surface area in 2009.The statistical analyses revealed that precipitation was significantly positively correlated with the SPI and the surface area of the LDK(correlation coefficients of 0.92 and 0.72,respectively).The relationship between SPI and NDVI-based vegetation cover was positive but not significant.Low precipitation did not always correspond to vegetative drought;the delay of the effect of precipitation on NDVI was one year.

Spatial Pattern Difference of Contribution between Short and Long-duration Heavy Rainfall to Total Heavy Rainfall in China from 1961 to 2015

Many regions are pounded with heavy rainfall, causing flood, casualties, property damage and severe destruction to ecosystem in multiple urban areas. Frequent occurrence of extremely heavy precipitation event under the background of global climate change has caused terrible harm on economic and social development, life security, ecosystem, etc.;brought profound impact on sustainable development of disaster area;become a key factor of global and regional disasters and environmental risk;and been widely concerned by academic circle and all sectors of the society. So severe disasters caused by extreme precipitation events have attracted more and more attention, while the relationship between heavy rainfall with different duration and total heavy rainfall has become the hottest scientific frontier issue. Contribution of heavy rainfall with different duration to the total heavy rainfall has significant spatial differences. Here we used daily rainfall data from 1961 to 2015 of 659 meteorological stations in China. When the rainfall is greater than 50 mm in 24 hours, that is a heavy rainfall event. Heavy rainfall only lasting one day is defined as short- duration heavy rainfall, while heavy rainfall lasting more than two days is defined as long-duration heavy rainfall. Results indicated that: on the basis of duration days defined long-duration heavy rainfall, on the spatial distribution, total rainfall, total heavy rainfall and short-duration heavy rainfall showed "increasing-decreasing-increasing" from the southeast coast to northwest inland in China from 1961 to 2015, and on the whole meteorological station with increasing trend predominant. In the meantime, long-duration heavy rainfall showed "increasing-decreasing" spatial pattern, and on the whole meteorological station with decreasing trend predominant. We detected that there was a belt of becoming drought from northeast to southwest. The contribution of total heavy rainfall to total rainfall as well as long-duration heavy rainfall to total heavy rainfall showed "high in southeast-low in northwest" spatial distribution pattern. On the contrary, the contribution of short-duration heavy rainfall to total heavy rainfall showed "low in southeast-high in northwest" spatial distribution pattern. The contribution trend of total heavy rainfall to total rainfall and short-duration heavy rainfall to total heavy rainfall showed "increasing-mosaic with increasing and decreasing-increasing" spatial distribution pattern from northeast to southwest, and on the whole meteorological station with increasing trend predominant. On the contrary, the contribution trend of long-duration heavy rainfall to total heavy rainfall showed mosaic with increasing and increasing in the northeast, slightly decreasing in the southwest, and on the whole meteorological station with decreasing trend predominant. There was a climate transition zone from northeast to southwest, which was essentially coincident with the arid zone. The results suggested that the precipitation in China was changing to extremely accompanied by short-duration storm increased significantly. Chinese heavy rainfall especially the increase of short-duration heavy rainfall suggests that human activity is likely to be triggered an increasing in extreme precipitation.

基于ERA5-Land产品的黄河流域蒸散时空变化特征

近年来,黄河流域气候发生明显变化,对流域地表水文、生态等过程产生显著影响。研究黄河流域蒸散时空变化特征,对加深陆-气相互作用认识及区域水资源管理有重要意义。本文分别在黄河源区、河套地区以及黄河下游地区选取一个代表性站点[海北、SACOL(Semi-Arid Climate and Environ⁃ment Observatory of Lanzhou University)和禹城站]的观测资料,检验欧洲中期天气预报中心ERA5-Land产品中蒸散资料在黄河流域的适用性。在此基础上,利用ERA5-Land资料中1980—2021年逐月潜热通量资料,结合经验正交函数分解(Empirical Orthogonal Function,EOF)、功率谱和回归分析研究近42 a黄河流域蒸散时空变化特征。结果表明:ERA5-Land资料能够反映海北、SACOL和禹城站蒸散变化特征,与观测资料的相关性较好,偏差和均方根误差较小,适用于黄河流域蒸散时空变化特征分析。黄河流域不同区域蒸散存在多时间尺度变化,显著振荡周期主要为5、15 a,有明显的年际和年代际变化。黄河流域不同区域年蒸散EOF分解第1模态表现出同位相变化,在2004年前后由增大转为减少趋势;第2模态为偶极子分布,空间分布表现反向变化特征。近42 a黄河流域年蒸散为明显减少趋势,不同区域减幅不同,下游减少速率最快,为-3.74 mm·a^(-1),河套地区为-2.82 mm·a^(-1),黄河源区减少速率相对平缓。夏季蒸散变率最大,河套和下游减少速率较大;冬季蒸散变率较小,黄河源区减少速率最大,为-0.48 mm·a^(-1)。

Estimation of net primary productivity and its driving factors in the Ili River Valley,China

Net primary productivity（NPP）, as an important variable and ecological indicator in grassland ecosystems, can reflect environmental change and the carbon budget level. The Ili River Valley is a wetland nestled in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent, which responds sensitively to the global climate change. Understanding carbon budget and their responses to climate change in the ecosystem of Ili River Valley has a significant effect on the adaptability of future climate change and sustainable development. In this study, we calculated the NPP and analyzed its spatio-temporal pattern of the Ili River Valley during the period 2000–2014 using the normalized difference vegetation index（NDVI） and an improved Carnegie-Ames-Stanford（CASA） model. Results indicate that validation showed a good performance of CASA over the study region, with an overall coefficient of determination（R2） of 0.65 and root mean square error（RMSE） of 20.86 g C/（m^2·a）. Temporally, annual NPP of the Ili River Valley was 599.19 g C/（m^2·a） and showed a decreasing trend from 2000 to 2014, with an annual decrease rate of –3.51 g C/（m^2·a）. However, the spatial variation was not consistent, in which 55.69% of the areas showed a decreasing tendency, 12.60% of the areas remained relatively stable and 31.71% appeared an increasing tendency. In addition, the decreasing trends in NPP were not continuous throughout the 15-year period, which was likely being caused by a shift in climate conditions. Precipitation was found to be the dominant climatic factor that controlled the inter-annual variability in NPP. Furthermore, the correlations between NPP and climate factors differed along the vertical zonal. In the medium-high altitudes of the Ili River Valley, the NPP was positively correlated to precipitation and negatively correlated to temperature and net radiation. In the low-altitude valley and high-altitude mountain areas, the NPP showed a negative correlation with precipitation and a weakly positive correlation with temperature and net radiation. The results suggested that the vegetation of the Ili River Valley degraded in recent years, and there was a more complex mechanism of local hydrothermal redistribution that controlled the growth of vegetation in this valley ecosystem.

Assessing the spatiotemporal distributions of evapotranspiration in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region of China using remote sensing data

Evapotranspiration(ET) is a critical component of the global hydrological cycle, and it has a large impact on water resource management as it affects the availability of freshwater resources. It is important to understand the hydrological cycle for the water resources planning and management. This study used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) satellite derived ET, and potential evapotranspiration(PET) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission(TRMM) satellite derived precipitation datasets to assess the spatial and temporal distributions of ET, PET, and precipitation during the study period at Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR) region. Based on the topographic variations and land-use/land-cover distributions, the study region which includes five counties of Hubei Province and nineteen counties of Chongqing Municipality was divided into four study zones. The ET and precipitation data were evaluated using in situ observations. The ET, PET, and precipitation data were compared to analyze the spatial and long-term(2001-2016) temporal distributions of average annual ET, PET, and precipitation, and to understand the relationships between them in the study region. The results showed that each selected zone had highest ET at the counties with the Yangtze River passing through whereas lowest at the counties which were located away from the river. Results also showed increasing trends in ET and PET from south-west to north-east in the study region. Analysis showed TGR had a significant impact on spatial and temporal distributions of ET and PET in the study region. Therefore, this study helps to understand the impact of TGR on spatial and temporal distributions of ET and PET during and after the construction.

A Multi-scale Perspective on Drought Monitoring and Assessment for the Pearl River Basin

It is accepted that climate change has a great impact on water cycle and regional water balance,and thus it would change the formation and evolution conditions of drought in some degree. By using data at 42 meteorological stations of the Pearl River Basin,the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index（ SPEI） at different time scales was calculated. Based on the SPEIs of 1- 12 months,a newly proposed index for drought--Joint Drought Index（ JDI） was established under the multi-scale perspective through the copula function. Since short-term SPEIs are essential for the identification of emerging droughts and long-term SPEIs are useful for prolonged droughts,the JDI,which integrates all the usefull informations of drought and can thus form an overall judgement,is superior than the single SPEI in drought monitoring. By the forcast evaluation system and comparison to the actual drought,the accuracy and effectiveness of JDI in drought monitoring were verified. In general,JDI can be used as a new ideal index for future drought monitoring and assessment. Additionly,we analyzed the spatio-temperal characteristics of drought across the Pearl River Basin using the JDI. The results indicate that mild drought was the most frequent drought occurred in the Pearl River Basin over the past half century,and moderate drought followed. Severe drought and extreme drought would appear occasionally while exceptional drought could hardly be found. A dry-wet-dry interdecadal variation pattern had been found from the 1960 s to the 2000 s. Since the 21 stcentury,an obvious trend toward drought can be observed in the whole basin,especially in the Xijiang subbasin,which,consequently,poses an increasing challenge for the water resource planning and management.

Spatiotemporal variations of evapotranspiration and reference crop water requirement over 1957-2016 in Iran based on CRU TS gridded dataset

Agriculture needs to produce more food to feed the growing population in the 21st century.It makes the reference crop water requirement(WREQ)a major challenge especially in regions with limited water and high water demand.Iran,with large climatic variability,is experiencing a serious water crisis due to limited water resources and inefficient agriculture.In order to overcome the issue of uneven distribution of weather stations,gridded Climatic Research Unit(CRU)data was applied to analyze the changes in potential evapotranspiration(PET),effective precipitation(EFFPRE)and WREQ.Validation of data using in situ observation showed an acceptable performance of CRU in Iran.Changes in PET,EFFPRE and WREQ were analyzed in two 30-a periods 1957-1986 and 1987-2016.Comparing two periods showed an increase in PET and WREQ in regions extended from the southwest to northeast and a decrease in the southeast,more significant in summer and spring.However,EFFPRE decreased in the southeast,northeast,and northwest,especially in winter and spring.Analysis of annual trends revealed an upward trend in PET(14.32 mm/decade)and WREQ(25.50 mm/decade),but a downward trend in EFFPRE(-11.8 mm/decade)over the second period.Changes in PET,EFFPRE and WREQ in winter have the impact on the annual trend.Among climate variables,WREQ showed a significant correlation(r=0.59)with minimum temperature.The increase in WREQ and decrease in EFFPRE would exacerbate the agricultural water crisis in Iran.With all changes in PET and WREQ,immediate actions are needed to address the challenges in agriculture and adapt to the changing climate.

TREND OF PRECIPITATION VARIATION IN HUBEI PROVINCE SINCE THE 1960S

Through linear regression analysis to the trend of annual,seasonal and monthly precipitation of 72 meteorological stations in Hubei Province from 1961 to 1995,it is revealed that: 1) annual precipitation was increasing by 61.0mm/10a in the eastern part of Hubei (112°E as a dividing line) and decreasing by 34.9mm/10a in the western part; 2) precipitation in winter and summer (January,February,March,June and July) was increasing in almost whole province which usually with non-uniformity of precipitation distribution from the south to the north. The precipitation in spring,autumn and winter (April,September,November and December) was decreasing in most of the areas which usually with non-uniformity of precipitation distribution from the east to the west. March and December were transition periods between two spatial distribution patterns mentioned above; 3) the eastern part of Hubei has beome one of precipitation increasing centers in China. The results was consistent with the trend that more frequent flood and drought events happened in Hubei Province which are more different in spatial and temporal scales.

Application of HYDRUS-1D in understanding soil water movement at two typical sites in the North China Plain

Recharge and discharge, such as rainfall infiltration and evapotranspiration in vertical direction, are major processes of water cycle in the shallow groundwater area of the North China Plain. During these processes, soil water movement in the unsaturated zone plays an important role in the transformation from rainfall infiltration to groundwater. The soil water movement models were developed by using HYDRUS-1D software at two typical experimental sites in Cangzhou(CZ) and Hengshui(HS) with different soil, vegetation and similar climate conditions. As shown in the results, the comparison in precipitation infiltration features between the two sites is distinct. The soil water experiences strong evaporation after precipitation infiltration, which accounts for 63% of the total infiltration at the HS site where the soil is homogenous. It is this strong evaporation effect that leads to slight increase of soil water storage. At the CZ site, where the soil is heterogeneous, the evaporation effect exists from July to October of the simulation period. The total evaporation accounts for 33% of the total infiltration, and the evaporation rate is slow. At the end of the simulation period, the soil water storage increases and the water table decreases, indicating a strong storage capacity at this site.

Modeling of the Water Table Level Response Due to Extraordinary Precipitation Events: The Case of the Guadalupe Valley Aquifer

A two-dimensional algorithm for underground water flow simulation was modified and adapted to the geohydrologic conditions of the Guadalupe valley located in the state of Baja California in northern México. In order to solve the numerical model using the balance equation, the central finite differences with spatial and temporal constant increments method were used. Such model considers a heterogeneous and transient unconfined aquifer. Modeling and calibration processes are presented using the data of water table levels provided by the water level data loggers installed in a monitoring network and precipitation data from climatic stations of both seasons: 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. It was possible to locate, correlate and model specific rainfall-recharge events with the aim of obtaining an estimation of how these events are directly reflected on the water table level of the aquifer and how it reacts against simulated extraordinary events.

Diurnal Variation Characteristics of Precipitation in the Shiyang River Basin of Northwest China in Summer

Based on the hourly precipitation data from 32 regional meteorological stations and 5 automatic meteorological stations in summer (from June to August) over the Shiyanghe River basin from 2009 to 2013, we analyzed the diurnal variation characteristics of precipitation over the Shiyanghe River basin, by using four precipitation indices (hourly precipitation, hourly precipitation frequency, hourly precipitation intensity, and different duration precipitation). The results show that the spatial distribution of hourly precipitation, hourly precipitation frequency in summer declines from upstream to downstream over the Shiyanghe River basin because of geographical position, altitude, latitude and weather systems, and the spatial distribution of hourly intensity is complex. The precipitation, the precipitation frequency and the precipitation intensity over the Shiyanghe River basin present a diurnal pattern of double-peak distribution, with the peak periods at 01:00-09:00 and 14:00-23:00, strong precipitation present single-peak with the peak period at 14:00-23:00. Total precipitations and precipitation frequencies of 1 - 3 h short-time rainfall are more than long time rainfall continued more than 10 h over the Shiyanghe River Basin. The short-time rainfall continuing within 1 - 6 h often occurs from afternoon to evening, the long time rainfall continuing more than 6 h often occurs from evening to early morning or late afternoon to evening.

Response of Vegetation Cover Change to Drought at Different Time-scales in the Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Region,China

Dominated by an arid and semiarid continental climate,the Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Region(BTSSR)is a typical ecologically fragile region with frequently occurring droughts.To provide information for regional vegetation protection and drought prevention,we assessed the relations between vegetation cover change(measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index,NDVI)and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index(SPEI)at different time-scales,in different growth stages,in different subregions and for different vegetation types based on the Pearson's correlation coefficient in the BTSSR from 2000 to 2017.Results showed that 88.19%of the vegetated areas experienced increased NDVI in the growing season;48.3%of the vegetated areas experi-enced significantly increased NDVI(P<0.05)and were mainly in the south of the BTSSR.During the growing season,a wetter climate contributed to the increased vegetation cover from 2000 to 2017,and NDVI anomalies were closely related to SPEI.The maximum correlation coefficient in the growing season(Rmax)was significantly positive(P<0.05)in 97.84%of the total vegetated areas.In the vegetated areas with significantly positive Rmax,pixels with short time-scales(1-3 mon)accounted for the largest proportion(33.9%).The sensitivity of vegetation to the impact of drought rose first and then decreased in the growing season,with a peak in July.Compared with two subregions in the south,subregions in the north of the BTSSR were more sensitive to the impacts of drought variations,especially in the Xilingol Plateau and Wuzhumuqin Basin.All four major vegetation types were sensitive to the effects of drought variations,especially grasslands.The time-scales of the most impacting droughts varied with growth stages,regions,and vegetation types.These results can help us understand the relations between vegetation and droughts,which are important for ecological restoration and drought prevention.

Estimating Evapotranspiration Using Chloride Mass Balance in a New Mexico Paired Basin Study 2009-2019

A paired basin study in the upper Santa Fe River watershed following forest thinning and prescribed burns successfully measured water budget components in a treated and an untreated (control) basin. The paired basin study was established to investigate questions that have arisen regarding changes in water yield from forest treatments. Precipitation, stream flow, soil moisture, and chloride concentrations in precipitation and stream flow were measured to quantify the water budget components. The results from eleven years of data collection and analysis have a high degree of confidence with respect to measuring the water budget components based on the mass balance of water and chloride. The differences in the geologic structure and topography between the two paired basins appeared to impact the water budgets more than the forest treatments, except during periods when winter precipitation and snowmelt represented a significant component of inflow. Although this paired basin study was not able to portray a simple relationship between forest thinning and water yield, the chloride concentration methodology used to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) was successful. These detailed observations of chloride deposition and transport characteristics may be relevant for other researchers working in forested basins with substantial ET. ET rates were estimated by examining the cycle of chloride entering and exiting each basin over six integration periods. ET was estimated to be about 90% to 94% of precipitation in the treated basin and 77% to 86% in the control basin. The higher ET in the treated basin both before and after forest treatments may be due to the much greater area of west-facing hillslopes in the treated basin, which receive warm afternoon sun, and the greater area of rock cover in the control basin. Variation in the chloride concentration of collected precipitation samples from different sites indicates that horizontal precipitation of chloride in the tree canopy is an important consideration when using the chloride mass balance approach to calculate water budget components.