不同干旱方式和干旱程度对玉米苗期根系生长的影响

以玉米杂交种高油115为材料,研究了直接干旱和渐进干旱两种方式（各设水分充足、轻度干旱和严重干旱3种处理）对管栽玉米苗期根系发育的影响。结果表明,采用渐进干旱方式,根系在轻度干旱时生长最好,严重干旱时最差;而采用直接干旱方式,根系在水分充足时生长最好,轻度干旱次之,严重干旱时最差。在水分充足条件下,细根（直径0.05-0.25 mm）的根长和根表面积及其占总根系的比例高于中等根（直径0.25-0.45 mm）和粗根（直径〉0.45 mm）,直接干旱表现出降低细根比例、增加中等根和粗根比例的趋势,说明细根受干旱的影响较中等根和粗根更大。这可能是玉米幼苗根系生长对干旱的一种适应性反映。

Effects of Tillage and Crop Residue Management on Maize Yields and Net Returns in the Central Mexican Highlands Under Drought Conditions

In the subtropical highlands of Central Mexico, where the main crop is maize （Zea mays）, the conventional practice （CP） involves tillage, monoculture and residue removal, leading to soil degradation and unsustainable use of natural resources and agricultural inputs. Conservation agriculture （CA） has been proposed as a viable alternative in the region, based on reduction in tillage, retention of adequate levels of crop residues and soil surface cover and use of crop rotation. This study began in 2009 when the highlands of Central Mexico suffered from a prolonged drought during vegetative maize growth in July-August, providing an opportunity for the on-farm comparison of CA with CP under severe drought conditions which 21 climate change models projected to become more frequent. Under dry conditions, CA resulted in higher yields and net returns per hectare as early as the first and second years after adoption by farmers. As an average of 27 plots under farmers＇ management in 2009, the maize yields were 26% higher under CA （6.3 t ha-1） than under CP （5.0 t ha-l）. 2010 was close to a normal year in terms of rainfall so yields were higher than in 2009 for both practices; in addition, the yield difference between the practices was reduced to 19% （6.8 t ha-1 for CA vs. 5.7 t ha-1 for CP）. When all the 2009 and 2010 observations were analyzed in a modified stability analysis, CA had an overall positive effect of 3 838 Mexican Pesos ha-1 （320 $US ha-1） on net return and 1.3 t ha-1 on yield. After only one to two years of adoption by farmers on their fields, CA had higher yields and net returns under dry conditions that were even drier than those predicted by the analyzed 21 climate change models under a climate change scenario, emission scenario A2.

Effects of different gap filling methods and land surface energy balance closure on annual net ecosystem exchange in a semiarid area of China

Based on eddy covariance measurements over two kinds of land surfaces(a degraded grassland and a maize cropland)in a semiarid area of China in 2005 and 2008,the effects of different gap filling methods,energy balance closure and friction velocity threshold(u*)on annual net ecosystem exchange(NEE)were analyzed.Six gap filling methods,including mean diurnal variation(MDV),marginal distribution sampling(MDS),and nonlinear regressions method,were investigated by generating secondary datasets with four different artificial gap lengths(ranging in length from single half-hours to 12 consecutive days).The MDS generally showed a good overall performance especially for long gaps,with an annual sum bias error less than 5 g C m-2 yr-1.There was a large positive annual sum bias error for nonlinear regressions,indicating an overestimate on net ecosystem respiration.The offset in the annual sum NEE for four nonlinear regressions was from 8.0 to 30.8 g C m-2 yr-1.As soil water content was a limiting factor in the semiarid area,the nonlinear regressions considering both soil temperature and soil water content as controlling variables had a better performance than others.The performance of MDV was better in daytime than in nighttime,with an annual sum bias error falling between-2.6 and-13.4 g C m-2 yr-1.Overall,the accuracy of the gap filling method was dependent on the type of the land surface,gap length,and the time of day when the data gap occurred.The energy balance ratio for the two ecosystems was nearly 80%.Turbulent intensity had a large impact on energy balance ratio.Low energy balance ratio was observed under low friction velocity during the night.When there was a large fetch distance in a wind direction,a low energy balance ratio was caused by mismatch of the footprints between the available energy and turbulent fluxes.The effect of energy balance correction on CO2 flux was evaluated by assuming the imbalance caused by the underestimation of sensible heat flux and latent heat flux.The results showed an average increase of 10 g C m-2 yr-1 for annual NEE in both ecosystems with an energy balance correction.On the other hand,the u*threshold also have a large impact on annual sum NEE.Net carbon emission increased 37.5 g C m-2 yr-1 as u*threshold increased from 0.1 to 0.2 m s-1,indicating a large impact of imposing u*threshold on net ecosystem carbon exchange.

Evaluating Loss-on-Ignition Method for Determinations of Soil Organic and Inorganic Carbon in Arid Soils of Northwestern China

There is a need for determinations of soil organic carbon (SOC) and inorganic carbon (SIC) due to increasing interest in soil carbon sequestration. Two sets of soil samples were collected separately from the Yanqi Basin of northwest China to evaluate loss-on-ignition (LOI) method for estimating SOC and SIC in arid soils through determining SOC using an element analyzer, a modified Walkley-Black method and a LOI method with combustion at 375℃ for 17 h and determining SIC using a pressure calcimeter method and a LOI procedure estimated by a weight loss between 375 to 800℃. Our results indicated that the Walkley-Black method provided 99%recovery of SOC for the arid soils tested. There were strong linear relationships(r > 0.93, P < 0.001) for both SOC and SIC between the traditional method and the LOI technique. One set of soil samples was used to develop relationships between LOI and SOC(by the Walkley-Black method), and between LOI and SIC(by the pressure calcimeter method), and the other set of soil samples was used to evaluate the derived equations by comparing predicted SOC and SIC with measured values. The mean absolute errors were small for both SOC (1.7 g C kg-1) and SIC(1.22 g C kg-1), demonstrating that the LOI method was reliable and could provide accurate estimates of SOC and SIC for arid soils.