Surface Regional Heat(Cool) Island Effect and Its Diurnal Differences in Arid and Semiarid Resource-based Urban Agglomerations

With the rapid development of urban agglomerations in northwest arid and semiarid regions of China, the scope of the urban heat island(UHI) effect has gradually expanded and gradually connected, and has formed a regional heat island(RHI) with a larger range of impact to the regional environment. However, there are few studies on the heat island effect of urban agglomerations in arid and semiarid regions, so this paper selects the urban agglomeration of Hohhot, Baotou and Ordos(HBO) of Inner Mongolia, China as the study area. Based on the 8-day composite Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) surface temperature data(156scenes in all) and land use maps for 2005, 2010, and 2015, we analyze the spatiotemporal distributions of regional heat(cool) islands(RH(C)I) and the responses of surface temperatures to land-use changes in the diurnal and interannual surface cities. The results showed that: 1) from 2005 to 2015, urban areas showed the cold island effect during the day, with the area of the cold island showing a shrinking feature;at night, they showed the heat island effect, with the area of the heat island showing a first decrease and then an increase.2) From 2005 to 2015, the land development(unutilized land to building land) brings the greatest temperature increase(ΔT = 1.36°C)during the day, while the greatest temperature change at night corresponds to the conversion of cultivated land to building land(ΔT =0.78°C) exhibited the largest changes at night. From 2010 to 2015, the land development(grassland to building land) bring the greatest temperature increase(ΔT = 0.85°C) during the day, while the great temperature change at night corresponds to the conversion of water areas to building land(ΔT = 1.38°C) exhibited the largest changes at night. Exploring the spatial and temporal evolution of surface urban heat(cool) islands in urban agglomerations in arid and semiarid regions will help to understand the urbanization characteristics of urban agglomerations and provide a reference for the formulation of policies for the coordinated and healthy development of the region and co-governance of regional environmental problems.

Modeling Gross Primary Production by Integrating Satellite Data and Coordinated Flux Measurements in Arid and Semi-Arid China

Assessing large-scale patterns of gross primary production (GPP) in arid and semi-arid (ASA) areas is important for both scientific and practical purposes.Remote sensing-based models,which integrate satellite data with input from ground-based meteorological measurements and vegetation characteristics,improve spatially extended estimates of vegetation productivity with high accuracy.In this study,the authors simulated GPP in ASA areas by integrating moderate resolution imaging spectral radiometer (MODIS) data with eddy covariance and meteorological measurements at the flux tower sites using the Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM),which is a remote sensing-based model for analyzing the spatial pattern of GPP in different land cover types.The field data were collected by coordinating observations at nine stations in 2008.The results indicate that in the region during the growing season GPP was highest in cropland sites,second highest in woodland sites,and lowest in grassland sites.VPM captured the temporal and spatial characteristics of GPP for different land covers in ASA areas.Further,Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) had a strong liner relationship with GPP in densely vegetated areas,while the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) had a strong liner relationship with GPP over less dense vegetation.This study demonstrates the potential of satellite-driven models for scaling-up GPP,which is a key component for studying the carbon cycle at regional and global scales.

The migration of total dissolved solids during natural freezing process in Ulansuhai Lake

High total dissolved solids （TDS） content is one of the most important pollution contributors in lakes in arid and semiarid areas. Ulansuhai Lake, located in Urad Qianqi, Inner Mongolia, China, was selected as the object of study. Temperatures and TDS contents of both ice and under-ice water were collected together with corresponding ice thickness. TDS profiles were drawn to show the distribution of TDS and to describe TDS migration. The results showed that about 80% （that is 3.602x108 kg） of TDS migrated from ice to water during the whole growth period of ice. Within ice layer, TDS migration only occurred during initial ice-on period, and then perished. The TDS in ice decreased with increasing ice thickness, following a negative exponential-like trend. Within un- der-ice water, the TDS migrated from ice-water interface to the entire water column under the effect of concentra- tion gradient until the water TDS content was uniform. In winter, 6.044x 107 kg （16.78% of total TDS） TDS migrated from water to sedirnent, which indicated that winter is the best time for dredging sediment. The migration effect gives rise to TDS concentration in under-ice water and sediment that is likely to affect ecosystem and water quality of the Yellow River. The trend of transfer flux of ice-water and water-sediment interfaces is similar to that of ice growth rate, which reveals that ice growth rate is one of the determinants of TDS migration. The process and mechanism of TDS migration can be referenced by research on other lakes with similar TDS content in cold and arid areas.

大规模人工造林是否会加剧中国北方土壤水分亏缺?

Trading water for carbon has cautioned large-scale afforestation in global drylands.However,model simulations suggested that the consumption of soil water could be partially offset by increasing precipitation due to vegetation feedback.A systematic meta-analysis of long-term and large-scale field observations is urgently required to address the abovementioned limitations,and the implementation of large-scale afforestation since 1978 in northern China provides an ideal example.This study collected data comprising 1226 observations from 98 sites in northern China to assess the variation in soil water content(SWC)with stand age after afforestation and discuss the effects of tree species,precipitation and conversions of land use types on SWC.We found that the SWC has been decreased by coniferous forest and broadleaf forest at rates of 0.6 and 3.2 mm decade-1,respectively,since 1978.There is a significant declining trend of SWC with the stand age of plantations,and the optimum growth stage for plantation forest is 0-20 a in northern China.However,we found increases in SWC for the conversion from grassland to forest and in the low-precipitation region,both are corresponding to the increased SWC in coniferous forest.Our study implies that afforestation might lead to a soil water deficit crisis in northern China in the long term at the regional scale but depends on prior land use types,tree taxa and the mean annual precipitation regime,which sheds light on decision-making regarding ecological restoration policies and water resource management in drylands.

Deep soil water infiltration and its dynamic variation in the shifting sandy land of typical deserts in China

Soil moisture is the key resource constraint in arid ecosystems, and has been a focus of research on restoration. However, quantitative studies on the contribution of rainfall to deep soil rainfall infiltration are lacking. In this study, we used the YWB-01 Deep Soil Infiltration Water Recorder which had been invented by ourselves to measure the quantity of rain infiltration into deep soil, 150 cm below ground, in four locations in China: Mu Us Sandy Land and Ulan Buh, Tengger, and Badan Jilin deserts over a 2-year period. We found:(1) Deep soil rainfall infiltration decreased progressively from east to west and from semiarid to arid areas, with two locations completely lacking rainfall infiltration. Heavy rain was important to deep soil infiltration in shifting sandy land of arid and semiarid areas.(2) Seasonal variation of infiltration was correlated with rainfall, with a time lag that was less apparent in areas with more rainfall.(3) For single intense rainfall events, infiltration maximums occurred 40–55 h after the rainfall, during which the infiltration rates increased rapidly before reaching a peak, and then decreased slowly. Continuous infiltration could last about 150 h. Rainfall infiltration was determined by the combined action of intensity, quantity and duration. Rainfall with low intensity, long duration, and large quantity was most favorable for deep soil infiltration. Our results can be used in water resource assessments and protection during eco-restoration in the arid and semiarid areas in China.