Early warning research on salt-alkalization desertification in western Songnen Plain

Desertification is an environmental issue in the world. The salt-alkalization desertification land area formed by both primary and secondary salt-alkalization has extended in a large scale, which has become a significant eco-environmental problem. Based on the characteristics of eco-environment and the situation of desertification in westem Songnen plain, this paper reports the analyzes of its formation in background and cause. An early waming system on the salt-alkalization desertification is established and the GIS technology is used to abstract the information of desertification evaluation index. Supported by the integrated technology of the GIS and ANN, the orientation and quantitative result of desertification are gained, which is helpful to the eco-environment protection and resource development in westem Songnen Plain.

The global response of temperature to high-latitude vegetation greening in a two-dimensional energy balance model

The relationship between vegetation greening and climate change remains unclear due to its complexity, especially in drylands. Against the background of global warming, arid and semi-arid areas, including mid-latitude deserts, are most sensitive to climate change. In recent decades, the mechanisms underlying the relationship between vegetation greening and climate change have been widely discussed in the literature. However, the influence of vegetation greening in high latitudes on regional climate has not been fully studied. In this paper, a two-dimensional energy balance model was used to study the influence of greening in high latitudes on mid-latitude deserts. The authors found that when greening occurs in high latitudes, the mid-latitude desert recedes at the south boundary, while the polar ice belt and low-latitude vegetation belt both expand. Simultaneously, greening in high latitudes can induce a negative temperature anomaly in northern latitudes and a positive temperature anomaly in southern latitudes. The mid-latitude desert expands at its north and south boundaries until the CO2 concentration reaches 600 ppm(saturated state). The greening in high latitudes could result in a lower global-mean temperature in the ‘saturated’ state, due to the stronger cooling in high latitudes.

支教三感

一路平荒,寒风扑面而来,只见山重水复,我打马走过,唐崖已在脚下。初升的太阳从郁郁的枝头透出,似自山间涌出的脉脉清流,暖了寒冬。一束阳光落在我头上,像慈母的手滑过发梢,更如含笑的眸波、恋人的初拥。从唐崖回来已两日有余。从1月29到1月31日,三天光景如山风吹过。但这三天总让我想写点什么。1月29日,我们早早到桂花村赶场,午后又去南河村玩了一遭。

Patterns of Soil ^(15)N and Total N and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The patterns of soil nitrogen （N） isotope composition at large spatial and temporal scales and their relationships to environmental factors illustrate N cycle and sources of N, and are integrative indicators of the terrestrial N cycle and its response to global change. The objectives of this study were： i） to investigate the patterns of soil N content and natural abundance of 15N （δ15N） values in different ecosystem types and soil profiles on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; ii） to examine the effects of climatic factors and soil characteristics on the patterns of soil N content and soil δ15N values; and iii） to test the relationship between soil δ15N values and soil C/N ratios across ecosystems and soil profiles. Soil profiles were sampled at 51 sites along two transects 1 875 km in length and 200 km apart and distributed in forest, meadow and steppe on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Each site was sampled every 10 cm from a soil depth of 0 to 40 cm and each sample was analyzed for soil N content and δ15N values. Our results indicated that soil N and 515N values （0-40 cm） in meadows were much higher than in desert steppe. Soil N decreased with soil depth for each ecosystem, while variations of soil ~15N values along soil profiles were not statistically significant among most ecosystems but for mountain meadow, lowland meadow, and temperate steppe where soil δ15N values tended to increase with soil depth. The parabolic relationship between soil δ15N values and mean annual precipitation indicated that soil δ15N values increased with increasing precipitation in desert steppe up to 500 mm, and then decreased with increasing precipitation across all other ecosystems. Moreover, the parabolic relationship between δ15N values and mean annual temperature existed in all individual ecosystem types. Soil N and δ15N values （0-0 cm） increased with an increase in soil silt and clay contents. Furthermore, a threshold of C/N ratio of about 11 divided the parabolic relationship between soil δ15N values and soil C/N ratios into positive （C/N 〈 11） and negative （C/N 〉 11） parts, which was valid across all ecosystems and soil profiles. The large explanatory power of soil C/N ratios for soil δ15N values suggested that C and N concentrations, being strongly controlled by precipitation and temperature, were the primary factors determining patterns of soil δ15N on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Aboveground net primary productivity and soil respiration display different responses to precipitation changes in desert grassland

Precipitation(PPT)changes affect both aboveground vegetation dynamics and belowground carbon cycling processes,particularly in arid and semiarid regions.However,it remains unclear how extreme PPT variation can affect soil carbon sequestration potential.A 3-year PPT manipulation experiment with five levels(±40%,±20%and ambient PPT)was conducted in a desert grassland of western Loess Plateau.Aboveground net primary productivity(ANPP)and soil respiration(Rs)were measured to examine whether the responses of ANPP and Rs to PPT changes displayed a double asymmetry model.The ANPP was more sensitive to extreme drought than extreme wet treatments in wet and dry years,which displayed a negative asymmetric model.The change in ANPP was mainly due to the direct effect of PPT change,and plant density variation also exerted some influence in the dry year.In contrast,Rs displayed a positive asymmetry response to PPT change in dry year.This may be ascribed to enhanced autotrophic respiration due to the enhanced positive responses of plant growth and ANPP to wet treatments as well as stronger birch effect of rainfall events on heterotrophic respiration.The saturating response of Rs to extreme drought(−40%PPT treatment)was also found in the dry year.Nevertheless,the response of Rs to PPT change displayed a negative asymmetry model in wet years.The contrasting models for ANPP and Rs in response to altered PPT regime suggest that extreme wet or dry treatments may increase soil C pools effluxes toward debt in this desert grassland.