Relevant Analysis of Grassland Temperature and Ground Net Radiation in Guilin

[Objective] The aim was to study the relevance of grassland temperature and ground net radiation in Guilin.[Method] By dint of ground observation data and net radiation of national benchmark climate station in Guilin from 2007 to 2009,the changes of grassland temperature and ground net radiation were expounded and their relations were pointed out.[Result] The annual changes trends of grassland temperature and ground net radiation in Guilin were basically the same.Monthly average maximum value all appeared in summer(July to August).Monthly average lowest value appeared in winter(December to next January);monthly average grassland temperature and monthly average ground net radiation had positive relation.Grassland temperature and ground net radiation had basically same distribution in four seasons.The average largest value of ground net radiation in summer was the largest and average smallest value was the smallest;the average largest value of ground net radiation in cloudy days was the smallest and average minimum value was the largest;the daily difference was the largest in sunny day and daily difference was the smallest in cloudy day.The daily changes trend of grassland temperature and ground net radiation in different weather state were basically the same;when it was sunny or cloudy,the daily largest value of grassland temperature and ground net radiation occurred between 15:00 and 19:00;when it was overcast,there was no distinct peak and daily changes.The largest value of the daily extreme value of grassland temperature and ground net radiation took place from 12:00 to 15:00.The daily lowest value took place from 20:00 to 07:00 on the next day.[Conclusion] The study provided reference for the analysis of temperature changes in Guilin.

Endocrine response of early-hatching Asian Short-toed Lark nestlings exposed to cold temperature in a high-latitude grassland habitat

Background:In high latitude grassland habitats,altricial nestlings hatching in open-cup nests early in the breeding season must cope with cold temperature challenges.Thyroid hormones(triiodothyronine,T_(3)and thyroxine,T_(4))and corticosterone play a crucial role in avian thermoregulation response to cold.Investigating the endocrine response of altricial nestlings to temperature variation is important for understanding the adaptive mechanisms of individual variation in the timing of breeding in birds.Methods:We compared nest temperature,ambient temperature,body temperature,plasma T_(3),T_(4)and corticosterone levels in Asian Short-toed Lark(Alaudala cheleensis)nestlings hatching in the early-,middle-,and late-stages of the breeding season in Hulunbuir grassland,northeast China.Results:Mean nest temperature in the early-,middle-and late-stage groups was-1.85,3.81 and 10.23℃,respectively,for the 3-day-old nestlings,and 6.83,10.41 and 11.81℃,respectively,for the 6-day-old nestlings.The nest temperature significantly correlated with body temperature,plasma T_(3),T_(4)and corticosterone concentrations of nestlings.Body temperature of 3-day-old nestlings in the early and middle groups was significantly lower than that of the late group,but there was no significant difference between the nestlings in the early and middle groups.The T_(4)and T_(3)concentrations and the ratio of T_(3)/T_(4)of both 3-and 6-day-old nestlings in the early-stage group were significantly higher compared to the middle and late groups.The corticosterone levels of 3-day-old nestlings were significantly higher in the early-stage group compared to the middle-and late-stage groups.Conclusion:Nestlings hatching early responded to cold temperature by increasing thyroid hormones and corticosterone levels even in the early days of post hatching development when the endothermy has not been established.These hormones may play a physiological role in neonatal nestlings coping with cold temperature challenges.

Response of soil CO_2 efflux to precipitation manipulation in a semiarid grassland

Soil CO_2efflux（SCE） is an important component of ecosystem CO_2 exchange and is largely temperature and moisture dependent, providing feedback between C cycling and the climate system. We used a precipitation manipulation experiment to examine the effects of precipitation treatment on SCE and its dependences on soil temperature and moisture in a semiarid grassland. Precipitation manipulation included ambient precipitation, decreased precipitation（- 43%）, or increased precipitation（＋ 17%）. The SCE was measured from July2013 to December 2014, and CO_2 emission during the experimental period was assessed.The response curves of SCE to soil temperature and moisture were analyzed to determine whether the dependence of SCE on soil temperature or moisture varied with precipitation manipulation. The SCE significantly varied seasonally but was not affected by precipitation treatments regardless of season. Increasing precipitation resulted in an upward shift of SCE–temperature response curves and rightward shift of SCE–moisture response curves,while decreasing precipitation resulted in opposite shifts of such response curves. These shifts in the SCE response curves suggested that increasing precipitation strengthened the dependence of SCE on temperature or moisture, and decreasing precipitation weakened such dependences. Such shifts affected the predictions in soil CO_2 emissions for different precipitation treatments. When considering such shifts, decreasing or increasing precipitation resulted in 43 or 75% less change, respectively, in CO_2 emission compared with changes in emissions predicted without considering such shifts. Furthermore, the effects of shifts in SCE response curves on CO_2 emission prediction were greater during the growing than the non-growing season.