Analysis of observations on the urban surface energy balance in Beijing

The 1-year（2009-2010） measurements are analyzed of the urban surface energy balance（SEB） obtained from the sensors located at three vertical layers of a 325-m tower in downtown Beijing.Results show that：（1） The measurements from the 325-m tower represent the SEB characteristics of the cities located in semi-humid warm-temperate continental monsoon climate zone.In a typical hot and rainy summer,cold and dry winter,the measured Bowen ratio is minimum in summer and maximum in winter.The Bowen ratio measured at 140 m for spring,summer,autumn,and winter are 2.86,0.82,1.17,and 4.16 respectively.（2） At the height of 140-m（in the constant flux layer）,the noontime albedo is ~0.10 for summer,~0.12 for spring and autumn,and ~0.14 for winter.The ratios of daytime sensible heat flux,latent heat flux,and storage heat flux to net radiation are 0.25,0.16,and 0.59 for clear-sky days,and 0.33,0.19,and 0.48 for cloudy days respectively.（3） Under clear-sky days,the nighttime sensible heat flux is almost zero,but the latent heat flux is greater than zero.For cloudy days,the nighttime sensible heat flux is slightly greater than the latent heat flux in winter.The nighttime upward heat flux is presumably due to the anthropogenic release（mainly latent heat for summer,while latent and sensible heat for winter）.

Construction and progress of Chinese terrestrial ecosystem carbon, nitrogen and water fluxes coordinated observation

Eddy Covariance technique(EC) achieves the direct measurement on ecosystem carbon, nitrogen and water fluxes, and it provides scientific data for accurately assessing ecosystem functions in mitigating global climate change. This paper briefly reviewed the construction and development of Chinese terrestrial ecosystem flux observation and research network(China FLUX), and systematically introduced the design principle and technology of the terrestrial ecosystem carbon, nitrogen and water fluxes coordinated observation system of China FLUX. In addition, this paper summarized the main progress of China FLUX in the ecosystem carbon, nitrogen and water exchange and environmental controlling mechanisms, the spatial pattern of carbon, nitrogen and water fluxes and biogeographical mechanisms, and the regional terrestrial ecosystem carbon budget assessment. Finally, the prospects and emphases of the terrestrial ecosystem carbon, nitrogen and water fluxes coordinated observation of China FLUX are put forward to provide theoretical references for the development of flux observation and research in China.

Seasonal variation in carbon exchange and its ecological analysis over Leymus chinensis steppe in Inner Mongolia

Eddy covariance technique was used to measure carbon flux during two growing seasons in 2003 and 2004 over typical steppe in the Inner Mongolia Plateau, China. The results showed that there were two different CO2 flux diurnal patterns at the grassland ecosystem. One had a dual peak in diurnal course of CO2 fluxes with a depression of CO2 flux after noon, and the other had a single peak. In 2003, the maximum diurnal uptake and emitting value of CO2 were -7.4 and 5.4 g·m-2·d-1 respectively and both occurred in July. While in 2004, the maximum diurnal uptake and release of CO2 were -12.8 and 5.8 g·m-2·d-1 and occurred both in August. The grassland fixed 294.66 and 467.46 g CO2·m-2 in 2003 and 2004, and released 333.14 and 437.17 g CO2·m-2 in 2003 and 2004, respectively from May to September. Water availability and photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) are two important factors of controlling CO2 flux. Consecutive precipitation can cause reduction in the ability of ecosystem carbon exchange. Under favorable soil water conditions, daytime CO2 flux is dependent on PAR. CO2 flux, under soil water stress conditions, is obviously less than those under favorable soil water conditions, and there is a light saturation phenomena at PAR=1200μmol·m-2·s-1. Soil respiration was temperature dependent when there was no soil water stress; otherwise, this response became accumulatively decoupled from soil temperature.

Estimate of productivity in ecosystem of the broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest in Changbai Mountain

We measured soil, stem and branch respiration of trees and shrubs, foliage photosynthesis and respiration in ecosystem of the needle and broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountain by LI-6400 CO2 analysis system. Measurement of forest microclimate was conducted simultaneously and a model was found for the relationship of soil, stem, leaf and climate factors. CO2 flux of different components in ecosystem of the broad-leaved Korean pine forest was estimated based on vegetation characteristics. The net ecosystem exchange was measured by eddy covariance technique. And we studied the effect of temperature and photosynthetic active radiation on ecosystem CO2 flux. Through analysis we found that the net ecosystem exchange was affected mainly by soil respiration and leaf photosynthesis. Annual net ecosystem exchange ranged from a minimum of about -4.671μmol·m-2·s-1 to a maximum of 13.80μmol·m-2·s-1, mean net ecosystem exchange of CO2 flux was -2.0μmol·m-2·s-1 and 3.9μmol·m-2·s-1 in winter and summer respectively (mean value during 24 h). Primary productivity of tree, shrub and herbage contributed about 89.7%, 3.5% and 6.8% to the gross primary productivity of the broad-leaved Korean pine forest respectively. Soil respiration contributed about 69.7% CO2 to the broad-leaved Korean pine forest ecosystem, comprising about 15.2% from tree leaves and 15.1% from branches. The net ecosystem exchange in growing season and non-growing season contributed 56.8% and 43.2% to the annual CO2 efflux respectively. The ratio of autotrophic respiration to gross primary productivity (Ra:GPP) was 0.52 (NPP:GPP=0.48). Annual carbon accumulation underground accounted for 52% of the gross primary productivity, and soil respiration contributed 60% to gross primary productivity. The NPP of the needle and broad-leaved Korean pine forest was 769.3 gC·m-2·a-1. The net ecosystem exchange of this forest ecosystem (NEE) was 229.51 gC·m-2·a-1. The NEE of this forest ecosystem acquired by eddy covariance technique was lower than chamber estimates by 19.8%.

Satellite-based Estimation of Gross Primary Production in an Alpine Swamp Meadow on the Tibetan Plateau:A Multi-model Comparison

Alpine swamp meadows on the Tibetan Plateau,with the highest soil organic carbon content across the globe,are extremely vulnerable to climate change.To accurately and continually quantify the gross primary production（GPP） is critical for understanding the dynamics of carbon cycles from site-scale to global scale.Eddy covariance technique（EC） provides the best approach to measure the site-specific carbon flux,while satellite-based models can estimate GPP from local,small scale sites to regional and global scales.However,the suitability of most satellite-based models for alpine swamp meadow is unknown.Here we tested the performance of four widely-used models,the MOD17 algorithm（MOD）,the vegetation photosynthesis model（VPM）,the photosynthetic capacity model（PCM）,and the alpine vegetation model（AVM）,in providing GPP estimations for a typical alpine swamp meadow as compared to the GPP estimations provided by EC-derived GPP.Our results indicated that all these models provided good descriptions of the intra-annual GPP patterns（R〉20.89,P〈0.0001）,but hardly agreed with the inter-annual GPP trends.VPM strongly underestimated the GPP of alpine swamp meadow,only accounting for 54.0% of GPP_EC.However,the other three satellite-based GPP models could serve as alternative tools for tower-based GPP observation.GPP estimated from AVM captured 94.5% of daily GPP_EC with the lowest average RMSE of 1.47 g C m^（-2）.PCM slightly overestimated GPP by 12.0% while MODR slightly underestimated by 8.1% GPP compared to the daily GPP_EC.Our results suggested that GPP estimations for this alpine swamp meadow using AVM were superior to GPP estimations using the other relatively complex models.