Advances in Grassland Ecosystem Research in Northern Tibetan Plateau

With the aggravation of global change, the response and adaptation of the unique ecosystem in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to global change have been increasingly concerned by scientific community day by day, which makes the sensitivity and fragility of this ecosystem in response to global change widely recognized by scholars. On the basis of introducing the present research process on the degenerate mechanisim, measures of and approaches to recovery, carbon cycle and primary productivity toward global change, we put forward several propositions on studying the alpine grassland ecosystem in Northern Tibetan Plateau.

Research on the Remote Sensing Monitoring of Grassland Productivity Based on TM-NDVI

By means of ground survey and ＂3S＂ technology,taking Maduo County in three river sources areas as example,the remote sensing model between biomass and normalized difference vegetation index（NDVI） in sampling points was established after calculating the NDVI distribution of TM image in Maduo County,and the grade distribution map of grassland productivity in Maduo County was obtained according to the grade division of grassland productivity in Qinghai Province,so as to monitor grassland productivity step by step.The results showed that grassland coverage area in Maduo County in 2009 was about 2.22 million hm2,and NDVI was mainly from 0 to 0.5,accounting for 88.64% of total grassland area in Maduo County;there was a significant correlation between biomass and NDVI in sampling point,with the correlation coefficient of above 0.7,and their model could be quantitatively expressed as follows,namely Biomass = 552.632 × NDVI1.137;grassland productivity in Maduo County was 750-3 000 kg/hm2 which occupied 72.1% of total grassland area;the highest grassland productivity in Maduo County was 4 500-6 500 kg/hm2,but it accounted for below 1% of total grassland area.

Changes in Grassland Ecosystem Service Values in the Three-River Headwaters Region,China

[Method] This study aimed to assess the changes in grassland ecosystem Service values in the Three-River Headwaters Region of China, the source of the Yangtze, Yellow （Huang He） and Lantsang （Mekong） rivers. [Method] Biophysical values of four services were monetized within the region, including water regulation, air quality regulation, climate regulation and soil conservation. [Result] The total ESVs were 884.97×10^8 Yuan, 1 302.06×10^8 Yuan and 1 299.49×10^8 Yuan in 2000, 2005 and 2008, respectively. The amount of value per unit area experienced a steep increase from 2000 to 2005（18.10×10^4 Yuan/km2）, and then remained almost unchanged from 2005 to 2008 （-0.31×10^4 Yuan/km2）. The ESV tended to decline from the southeastern to the northwestern. ESV in the eastern and central part increased faster than that in the south-central and western part of the TRHR from 2000 to 2008. It could be seen that the ecosystem condition of grassland in the TRHR improved signifi- cantly over the study period of 2000-2008. [Conelusion] The results provided good information to assess the effectiveness of current ecological protection measures in the TRHR and support regional sustainable management policies.

Analysis of Grassland Productivity and Carrying Capacity of Natural Warm-temperature Tussock in the Central Region of Guizhou Province

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the influences of grazing and fencing on grassland productivity and carrying capacity of subtropical natural warmtemperature tussock. [Method] With the natural warm temperature tussock in Longli County of Guizhou Province as study area, monthly, seasonal and annual dynamics of grassland productivity were investigate continuously during 2010 -2012, and the data were analyzed. [Result] Under grazing and fencing conditions, grassland present biomass and forage growth of warm temperature tussock in Longli County of Guizhou Province both increased first and decreased, reaching the maximum from August to October. Fencing significantly improved the productivity of natural grassland but had little effect on the vegetation composition. [Conclusion] From the perspective of grass-livestock balance, the suitable stocking capacity of warm-temperature tussock in the central region of Guizhou Province was 3.45 -4.66 sheep/hm2 , which has high ecological efficiency and can be borne by farmers and herdsmen.

Supporting of Potential Forage Production to the Herbivore-based Pastoral Farming Industry on the Loess Plateau

For the purpose of contributing to the establishment of optimized eco-productive paradigm, a new layout of land use of the Loess Plateau was carried out and the associated forage potential was estimated. Results indicated that the percentages of the area of grassland, woodland, basic farmland and orchard to the total productive land area were 44%, 22%, 20% and 14% respectively according to this new land use scenario. Based on the datasets of 197 counties in the Loess Plateau, the estimated forage potential would amount to 104 881 028 ton/a (hay), which can raise 104 881 028 productivity sheep unit/ a. According to the unchanged price in 1999, pastoral gross product value would amount to 52 440.51 million yuan RMB/a, which is as much as 5.3 times of that in 1999 and exceeds the agricultural gross product in 1999 by 14%. In addition, there are ca. 59% of counties whose mean pastoral product value per person would be more than 1 000 yuan RMB/a, while ca. 41% of counties whose mean pastoral product value per person would be less than 1 000 yuan RMB/a. On the other hand, the estimated agricultural gross product on the Loess Plateau would amount to 11 472 2.34 million yuan RMB/a and ca. 46% of the total would come from pastoral industry, 27% from orchid industry, 14% from forestry and 13% from farmland. From the perspective both ecologically and economically, this paper holds that the herbi-vore-based pastoral industry is a promising industry bolstering the ecological improvement and economical development on the Loess Plateau.

Seasonal Dynamics of Biomass under Different Land Use Patterns

[Objective] The aim was to study seasonal dynamics of biomass under different land use patterns. [Methed] Aboveground biomass and underground biomass of plants under 3 different surface cover conditions of Stipa krylovii, Leymus chinensis and farmland were determined in growing season （ from May to October） of 2008. [ Result ] The aboveground biomass of Stipa krylovii, Leymus chinensis and farmland in August all reached the highest value, which of Stipa krylovii, Leymus chinensis and farmland was 287.91,117.05 and 193.59 g/m2, respectively. The total biomass of plant roots of the 3 plots in July all reached the highest value, which of Stipa krylovii, Leymus chinensis and farmland was 1 683.9, 1 601.9 and 513.9 g/m2, respectively. Leymus chinensis had the biggest biomass ratio of upper plant roots （0 - 15 cm） to lower plant roots （15 -30 cm）, Stipa krylovii took second place, and farmland had the smallest one. ~ Conclusion The research provides theoretical basis for the ecological environment protection of ecological fragile area.

Changes of Productivity and Bearing Capacity of Grassland in Arid Zone of Central Ningxia over 20 Years

[Objective] The paper was to explore the vegetation regressive succession law in arid zone of central Ningxia.[Method] Based on the survey data during 1982-2001,the grass type vegetation characteristics,grassland productivity and the quality of grass in 7 survey sites were analyzed.[Result] The grass type in arid zone of central Ningxia had changed or was changing in the last 20 years;the dominant species within communities were also replacing by other species,vegetation coverage and number of plant species within communities were continuously declined,the bearing capacity of grassland had averagely declined by 114%,and the quality of grassland seriously declined.[Conclusion] The study provided basic data for the sustainable use of typical grassland.

我部在疟疾防治方面的做法

皖东地区是华东六省市的疟疾高发区之一,当地历年疟疾发病率均较高,我部自1988进驻皖东以来,坚持不懈地抓紧抓好疟疾的防治工作,有效地降低了疟疾的发病率,取得了较好的成效,现将我们的主要做法报告发如下:1 重视营区改造,整顿卫生秩序 我部营区地处丘陵及水网地带,蚊虫孳生活跃,且驻地位于乡村,卫生条件较差,防蚊设施落后,农民在夏季喜爱露宿,存在着较为严重的传染源。80年代末和90年代初,又逢洪涝灾害,暴雨洪水过后蚊虫孳生地大增,使蚊虫数量急聚增加,地区疟疾发病率也随之上升,1993疟疾发病达到高峰。针对上述特点,部队爱卫会和卫生防疫部门在建立健全疾病监测制度的同时,加强与地区防疫站的联系,及时掌握了解当地疫情,完善疾病控制制度。

Response of Artificial Grassland Carbon Stock to Management in Mountain Region of Southern Ningxia, China

Grassland is a major carbon sink in the terrestrial ecosystem. The dynamics of grassland carbon stock profoundly influence the global carbon cycle. In the published literatures so far, however, there are limited studies on the long-term dynamics and influential factors of grassland carbon stock, including soil organic carbon. In this study, spatial-temporal substitution method was applied to explore the characteristics of Medicago sativa L. （alfalfa） grassland biomass carbon and soil organic carbon density （SOCD） in a loess hilly region with different growing years and management patterns. The results demonstrated that alfalfa was the mono-dominant community during the cutting period （viz. 0-10 year）. Community succession began after the abandonment of alfalfa grassland and then the important value of alfalfa in the community declined. The artificial alfalfa community abandoned for 30 years was replaced by the S. bungeana community. Accordingly, the biomass carbon density of the clipped alfalfa showed a significant increase over the time during 0-10 year. During 0-30 year, the SOCD from 0-100 cm of the soil layer of all 5 management patterns increased over time with a range between 5.300 ± 0.981 kg/m2 and 12.578 ± 0.863 kg/m2. The sloping croplands had the lowest SOCD at 5.300 ± 0.981 kg/m2 which was quite different from the abandoned grasslands growing for 30 years which exhibited the highest SOCD with 12.578 ± 0.863 kg/m2. The ecosystem carbon density of the grassland clipped for 2 years increased 0.1 kg/m2 compared with the sloping cropland, while that of the grassland clipped for 10 years substantially increased to 10.30 ± 1.26 kg/m2. Moreover, the ecosystem carbon density for abandoned grassland became 12.62± 0.50 kg/m2 at 30 years. The carbon density of the grassland undisturbed for l0 years was similar to that of the sloping cropland and the grassland clipped for 2 years. Different management patterns imposed great different effects on the accumulation of biomass carbon on artificial grasslands, whereas the ecosystem carbon density of the grassland showed a slight increase from the clipping to abandonment of grassland in general.

Grassland Management in China:Countermeasures to Reverse Degradation

This paper consists of four parts. Part 1 provides a brief review of the changes in China＇s pastoral animal husbandry and grasslands since reform and opening up in the 1980s. Part 2 identifies the problems of inappropriate property rights demarcation, misuse of fencing and fragmented grassland management, and proposes suggestions on adjusting the demarcation of property rights, prudent use of grassland fencing and restoring joint management by grassland village communities. Part 3 identifies problems in the grassland ecological compensation system, including a complicated scope of compensation, short duration of compensation and lack of simple and clear objects of supervision, and proposes suggestions on ensuring compensation based on changes in the number of livestock, focusing compensation on professional herders and encouraging participation by diverse stakeholders. Part 4 reveals that China＇s grassland monitoring is yet to focus on pasture property right holders, overlooks the determinants of grassland change and fails to bring into play the role of village communities in grassland monitoring, and proposes suggestions on conducting livestock monitoring in pastoral village communities, monitoring the value added of grassland ecosystem services and creating a ＂three-in-one＂ grassland monitoring team and disclosure system.

Effects of grassland amelioration on terrestrial ecosystem nutrients:a case study in Jianou Niukenglong Grassland Ecosystem Experimental Station, Fujian Province

This paper studies the effects of land cover changes on distributions andcirculations of nutrients in a terrestrial ecosystem, taking Jianou Niukenglong Grassland EcosystemExperimental Station as a case study. During a two year experiment from 1994 to 1996, the land covertypes were changed from desert slopeland to grasslands, in particular, Chamaecristarotundifolia(pers) green + Pasdum thunbergii and Glycine max var. + Pasalum thunbergii. In order tostudy land cover change effects on nutrients in the terrestrial ecosystem, we selected organicmaterials (OMs), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and aluminum (Al) to study theirchanges in total soil nutrient concentrations, nutrient reserves in soil, distributions andreservations of nutrients in distinct grassland communities and overall nutrient contents reservedin terrestrial ecosystem, and their circulation with land cover change. The experimental resultsindicate that with the increase of vegetation coverage, the total concentrations of N, P and K growrapidly in the soil, but that of Al decreases markedly. The increases of the total concentrations ofN, P and K were mainly the consequences of changes of the factors that affect soil evolution, e.g.,soil moisture, and changes of soil evolution processes, e.g., weathering rate and the decrease ofsoil erosion. These changes were caused by land coverage growth from desert slopeland to grassland.With the change of the land cover types and the increase of land coverage, the activity of Alaccelerated as well, and the vertical penetration and lateral penetration of Al have been increased.Therefore, the loss of Al within the experimental terrestrial ecosystem was inevitable, and thetotal concentration and reserve of Al in soil have become smaller and smaller, in spite of thegrowth of grass absorbing some amounts of Al. The Al reserve has increased in vegetation, but it hasdeclined in total terrestrial ecosystem. Land cover change also affects the circulations ofnutrients in the terrestrial ecosystem and for the purpose of study on nutrient circulations, wechoose to study plant absorption, litter and reservation of nutrients to establish an index toindicate the situations of nutrient circulations within terrestrial ecosystems. The results indicatethat in the two land cover types (two grassland ecosystems), the sequence of nutrient circulationindices are N > K > P > Al in Chamaecrista rotundifolia(pers) green + Pasalum thunbergii and P > N >K > Al in Glycine max var. + Pasalum thunbergii. On the basis of the study, we can conclude thatland cover change affects both distributions and circulations in the terrestrial ecosystem, and thatdifferent changes have distinct influences on distributions and circulations. Some nutrients wereaffected differently in some contents.

Simulation of CO_2 and sensible/latent heat fluxes exchange between land surface and atmosphere over cropland and grassland in semi-arid region,China

A comparison between simulated land surface fluxes and observed eddy covariance （EC） measurements was conducted to validate Integrated Biosphere Simulator （IBIS） at Tongyu field observation station （44°25＇N, 122°52＇E） in Jilin Province, China. Results showed that the IBIS model could reproduce net ecosystem CO2 exchange （NEE）, sensible and latent heat fluxes reasonably, as indicated by correlation coefficients exceeding the significant level of 0.05. It was also evident that the NEE and sensible heat fluxes were characterized by diurnal and seasonal variation both in the grassland and the cropland ecosystems, while the latent heat fluxes correlated with evapotranspiration, only took on the diurnal variation during the growing season. Moreover, both sensible heat fluxes and the latent heat fluxes were larger in the cropland ecosystem than that in the degraded grassland ecosystem. This different characteristic was possibly correlated with vegetation growing situation in the two kinds of ecosystems. A close agreement between observation and simulation on NEE, sensible heat fluxes and latent heat flux was obtained both in the degraded grassland and the cropland ecosystems. In addition, the annual NEE in the model was overestimated by 23.21% at the grassland and 27.43% at the cropland, sensible heat flux with corresponding 9.90% and 11.98%, respectively, and the annual latent heat flux was underestimated by 4.63% and 3.48%, respectively.

Soil Carbon Stock and Flux in Plantation Forest and Grassland Ecosystems in Loess Plateau, China

Carbon sequestration occurs when cultivated soils are re-vegetated. In the hilly area of the Loess Plateau, China, black locust （Robinia pseudoacacia） plantation forest and grassland were the two main vegetation types used to mitigate soil and water loss after cultivation abandonment. The purpose of this study was to compare the soil carbon stock and flux of these two types of vegetation which restored for 25 years. The experiment was conducted in Yangjuangou catchment in Yah＇an City, Shaanxi Province, China. Two adjacent slopes were chosen for this study. Six sample sites were spaced every 35-45 m from summit to toe slope along the hill slope, and each sample site contained three sampling plots. Soil organic carbon and related physicochemical properties in the surface soil layer （0-10 cm and 10-20 cm） were measured based on soil sampling and laboratory analysis, and the soil carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions and environmental factors were measured in the same sample sites simultaneously. Results indicated that in general, a higher soil carbon stock was found in the black locust plantation forest than that in grassland throughout the hill slope. Meanwhile, significant differences in the soil carbon stock were observed between these two vegetation types in the upper slope at soil depth 0-10 cm and lower slope at soil depth 10-20 cm. The average daily values of the soil CO2 emissions were 1.27 μmol/（m2·s） and 1.39 μmol/（m2·s） for forest and grassland, respectively. The soil carbon flux in forest covered areas was higher in spring and less variation was detected between different seasons, while the highest carbon flux was found in grassland in summer, which was about three times higher than that in autumn and spring. From the carbon sequestration point of view, black locust plantation forest on hill slopes might be better than grassland because of a higher soil carbon stock and lower carbon flux.

A Preliminary Application of the Differential Evolution Algorithm to Calculate the CNOP

A projected skill is adopted by use of the differential evolution (DE) algorithm to calculate a conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP). The CNOP is the maximal value of a constrained optimization problem with a constraint condition, such as a ball constraint. The success of the DE algorithm lies in its ability to handle a non-differentiable and nonlinear cost function. In this study, the DE algorithm and the traditional optimization algorithms used to obtain the CNOPs are compared by analyzing a theoretical grassland ecosystem model and a dynamic global vegetation model. This study shows that the CNOPs generated by the DE algorithm are similar to those by the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm and the spectral projected gradients (SPG2) algorithm. If the cost function is non-differentiable, the CNOPs could also be caught with the DE algorithm. The numerical results suggest the DE algorithm can be employed to calculate the CNOP, especially when the cost function is non-differentiable.

Comparison of Soil Respiration in Two Grass-Dominated Communitiesin the Xil in River Basin: Correlations and Controls

A comparative study of soil respiration was conducted between in a semi-arid steppe community and in a wet meadow community in the Xilin River Basin of Nei Mongol. The seasonal pattern, the climatic controls, and the correlations of soil respiration with plant biomass components, were examined for each community. The main results are reported as follows: (1) The seasonal changes in soil respiration in the two communities had similar dynamic patterns (both being of two peaks), ranging from 312.8 to 1738.9 mg C(.)m(-2).s(-1) and from 354.6 to 2235.6 Mg C.m(-2).s(-1) in the growing season for the steppe plot and the meadow plot respectively. The soil respiration rate of the meadow plot was distinctly higher than that of the steppe plot, with the daily averages being 1349.6 mg C-m(-2).s(-1) and 785.9 mg C-m(-2).s(-1) respectively. (2) The correlation between soil respiration rate and soil moisture was much more significant than with temperature for the steppe community, and being on the contrary for the meadow community, reflecting the different effects of the two climatic factors in different habitats. Based on these regressive relations, the total CO2 efflux rate in the growing season in 2001 was estimated as 142.4 g C/m(2) in the steppe plot, and 236.1 g C/m(2) in the meadow plot. (3) There was no evident relation between the total canopy biomass and CO2 evolution rate, but a significant power function relation between the live canopy biomass and CO2 evolution rate in the meadow plot was detected. In the steppe plot, there existed only a weak relation between soil respiration and either live or total canopy biomass.

Application of the Conditional Nonlinear Optimal Perturbations Method in a Theoretical Grassland Ecosystem

Using a simplified nonlinearly theoretical grassland ecosystem proposed by Zeng et al.,we study the sensitivity and nonlinear instability of the grassland ecosystem to finiteamplitude initial perturbations with the approach of conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP）.The results show that the linearly stable grassland （desert or latent desert） states can turn to be nonlinearly unstable with finite amplitude initial perturbations.When the precipitation is between the two bifurcation points,a large enough finite amplitude initial perturbation can induce a transition between the grassland statethe desert state or the latent desert.

Soil Organic Carbon and Nutrients along an Alpine Grassland Transect across Northern Tibet

Soil carbon and nutrient contents and their importance in advancing our understanding of biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial ecosystem, has motivated ecologists to find their spatial patterns in various geographical area. Few studies have focused on changes in the physical and chemical properties of soils at high altitudes. Our aim was to identify the spatial distribution of soil physical and chemical properties in cold and arid climatic region. We also tried to explore relationship between soil organic carbon （SOC） and total nitrogen （TN）, total phosphorus （TP）, available nitrogen （AN）, available phosphorus （AP）, soil particle size distribution （PSD）. Samples were collected at 44 sites along a 300 km transect across the alpine grassland of northern Tibet. The study results showed that grassland type was the main factor influencing SOC, TN and TP distribution along the Gangdise Mountain-Shenzha-Shuanghu Transect. SOC, TN and TP contents were significantly higher in alpine meadow than alpine steppe ecosystems. SOC, TN, TP and AN contents in two soil layers （0-15 cm and 15-3o cm） showed no significant differences, while AP content in top soft （0-15 cm） was significantly higher than that in sub-top soil （15-30cm）. SOC content was correlated positively with TN and TP content （r = 0.901and 0.510, respectively）. No correlations were detected for clay content and fractal dimension of particle size distribution （D）. Our study results indicated the effects of vegetation on soil C, N and P seem to be more important than that of rocks itself along latitude gradient on the northern Tibetan Plateau. However, we did not found similar impacts of vegetation on soil properties in depth. Inaddition, this study also provided an interesting contribution to the global data pool on soil carbon stocks.

The Effect of Utilisation on the Floristic Composition of Meadow Communities

This study presents research results which comprise the following selected communities： Phalaridetum arundinaceae, Alopecuretum pratensis, community with Deschampsia caespitosa, Holcetum lanati, Lolio-Cynosuretum, community Poa pratensis-Festuca rubra. The investigated phytocenoses developed in conditions of lack of utilisation, occasional cutting, occasional alternating meadow-pasture utilisation, pastures with uncut left-overs, 2 cuts and light grazing of the sward by cattle and 2-3 cuts. For the above-mentioned communities the following parameters were assessed： total species number and mean number of species in a phytosociological rel6ves besides Shannon-Wiener diversity index （H＇）, proportion of synanthropic species, natural valorisation number according to Ogwit and fodder value score （FVS）. Regular sward utilisation of plant communities exerts a positive impact not only on the natural values as evidenced by the total and mean number of species in a phytosociological survey and higher biodiversity index （H＇） but it also impacts the sward fodder value scores of meadows and pastures. The strongest negative influence on the floristic composition of meadow communities and their stability is exerted by sporadic, incorrect utilization as it favours taking over of green areas by grass expansive species and development of communities of low natural and use values （community with Deschampsia caespitosa, Ass. Holcetum lanati and community with Agropyron repens）. The strongest impact on the maintenance of meadow and pasture biological stability in the examined region is exerted by their regular, moderate cutting or grazing.

Interrelation between Seasonal Grazing Behavior of Guizhou Black Goat and Grassland Productivity

In order to discover the relationship of the Guizhou black goat seasona grazing behavior traits and grassland productivity, the varieties of grazing behavior of Guizhou black goat and its relationship with the grassland productivity under different grazing intensity in all seasons on Guizhou karst artificial grassland were studied. Obvious differences for goat grazing behavior were found under differen grazing intensity in either the same season or different seasons. The grazing behav ior in the same season showed that it could significantly reduce the mouth eating grass within 5 minutes, each step number, feeding speed, each food intake, daily feed intake（P0.05） under high grazing intensity. In different seasons, it could in crease the feeding time within 5 min, marching step, standing time and intake（P0.05） in the spring; while in the summer, it could improve intake mouth number each mouth eating grass number and feeding rate（P0.05）. It had no obvious dif ference in ruminant behavior parameters in the same season under different grazing intensity, but in different seasons, it can obviously increase ruminant within 5 minutes, number of ruminant feed group（P0.05） in the spring, and it can obviously in crease the time and number of each food group chew（P0.05） in the summer. The correlation analysis of main goat grazing behavior parameter showed that it had good correlation among other parameters except within 5 min walk time, each feed intake and daily feed intake（P0.05）.The relationship between goat grazing behavio parameters and grassland productivity showed that, the foraging time and standing time within 5 min were lower in the medium level of grassland productivity, while number of food intake, every step to eat grass and daily feed intake were higher with increasing grassland productivity, goats feeding speed was reduced, but each intake was increased.