Distribution of ephemeral plants and their significance in dune stabilization in Gurbantunggut Desert

Based on systematically monitoring plants on dune ridges in the southern part of the Gurbantunggut Desert in 2002, this paper, from the angle of dune stabilization by vegetation, describes the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of ephemeral plants on isolated sand dunes, analyses the natural invasion processes of ephemeral plants on human-disturbed sand surface and expounds the importance of ephemeral plants in stabilizing sand dune surface. A total of 45 plant species were identified in the study area, 29 of which are ephemeral plants. Ephemeral plants sprouted in early April and completed their life-circle within about two months. Just as aeolian sand activities came to the strongest stage from April to June in desert regions of northern Xinjiang, the total coverage of trees, shrubs and herbs of long vegetational period on most dune ridges was less than 10%, while the mean coverage of ephemeral plants reached 13.9% in April, 40.2% in May and 14.1% in June. Therefore ephemeral plants acted as the major contributor to dune surface stabilization in the Gurbantunggut Desert. Investigations of vegetation restoration on engineering-disturbed dune surface show that ephemeral plants first recolonized the disturbed dune surface.

Impact of habitat heterogeneity on plant community pattern in Gurbantunggut Desert

This paper reports a geomorphologic landscape investigation, vegetationsurvey and soil sampling at 14 sites across the Gurbantunggut Desert between87°37′09″-88°24′04″E and 44°14′04″-45°41′52″N. The study encountered 8 species of lowtrees and shrubs, 5 of perennial herbs, 8 of annual plants and 48 of ephemeral and ephemeroidplants. These species of plants represent one-third of the species found in the GurbantunggutDesert, and their communities make up a large proportion of desert vegetation with great landscapesignificance. In the investigation we found that the plant communities are accordingly succeededwith the spatial variation of macro-ecoenvironment. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) andCorrelation Analysis (CA) we found that the micro-ecoenvironment heterogeneity of aeolian sandysoil's physical and chemical properties such as soil nutrient, soil moisture, soil salt, pH etc.only impacted the diversity of herb synusia (PIEherb) of the desert, with a negative correlation.Meanwhile, the impact of microhabitat on the plant community pattern with an antagonisticinteraction made vegetation's eco-distribution in a temporary equilibrium.

Spatial heterogeneity for grain size distribution of eolian sand soil on longitudinal dunes in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert

The grain size composition, distribution characteristics and spatial variation of eolian sand soil on distinct positions across two longitudinal dunes and interdune areas were studied by means of conventional grain size analysis and geostatistical methods. In the study, 184 samples of eolian sand soil from the 0-30cm layer were systemically collected and measured from two longitudinal dunes and interdunes in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert. The results show that the dominant grain sizes are fine and very fine sands, and the differences of grain size compositions between the distinct geomorphologic positions are significant. The contents of clay and silt are highest on the interdune areas and lowest on the crests, and higher on the leeward slopes than on the windward slopes. The contents of very fine and fine sands are highest on the windward slopes and lowest on the crests. The contents of medium, coarse and very coarse sands are lowest on the interdune lands, and highest on the crests, and are identical on the two slopes. The coarser sizes (phi(1)) and mean sizes (Mz) for eolian sand soil all have a varying tendency from fine to coarse sizes with interdune area -> leeward slope -> windward slope -> crest, and the sorting (sigma) are poorly to well sorted. The results of geostatistical analysis reveal that phi(1), Mz and a values are moderately to strongly spatially autocorrelated. The values of the spatially correlated ranges are phi(1) < sigma < Mz. The spatial variation for these grain size parameters is significant across the longitudinal dune landscape. From the crests towards the bottom of the slope, there is a varying gradient of zonal distribution, and the gradient values on the leeward slopes are larger than sites on the windward slopes.

Characteristics of soil seed banks at different geomorphic positions within the longitudinal sand dunes of the Gurbantunggut Desert, China

Understanding the characteristics of soil seed banks in sand dunes is crucial to stabilize the dune systems and maintain the plant populations in deserts. In this study, we conducted a survey investigation in the field and a seed germination experiment in the laboratory to explore the characteristics of soil seed banks at various geomorphic positions of longitudinal sand dunes in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China. Totally, 17 plant species belonging to 17 genera and 9 families were identified in soil seed banks, and 35 plant species belonging to 34 genera and 17 families were identified in aboveground vegetation. Plant species richness in soil seed banks decreased with increasing soil depth. The highest species richness was presented in the upper slope of the windward slope and the lowest species richness was presented in the base of the windward slope. There was no significant difference in seed density of soil seed banks among the examined seven geomorphic positions. The highest seed density occurred in the lower slope of the leeward slope while the lowest occurred in the crest. Moreover, seed density decreased with increasing soil depth, being the highest in the upper soil layer （0-2 cm）. For both soil seed banks and aboveground vegetation, there was no significant difference in Simpson＇s diversity index among the seven geomorphic positions; however, Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou＇s evenness index showed significant differences among the seven geomorphic positions. Those results showed that although there was no significant difference in seed density of soil seed banks among the seven geomorphic positions, the geomorphic positions significantly affected the species richness, diversity and distribution of soil seed banks. Therefore, understanding the characteristics of soil seed banks at different geomorphic positions of sand dunes is essential to vegetation restoration or reestablishment. Furthermore, the Jaccard＇s similarity coefficients of plant species between soil seed banks and aboveground vegetation at the seven geomorphic positions were low, suggesting that vegetation restoration or reestablishment processes should be promoted through adding seeds to surface layers.

Spatio-temporal variation of soil moisture in a fixed dune at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert in Xinjiang, China

Soil moisture is critical for vegetation growth in deserts.However,detailed data regarding the soil moisture distribution in space and time in the Gurbantunggut Desert of China have not yet been reported.In this study,we conducted a series of in situ observation experiments in a fixed sand dune at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert from February 2014 to October 2016,to explore the spatio-temporal variation of soil moisture content,investigate the impact of Haloxylon ammodendron(C.A.Mey.)Bungeon soil moisture content in its root zone,and examine the factors influencing the soil moisture spatial pattern.One-way analysis of variance,least significant difference tests and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data.The results revealed that the soil moisture content exhibited annual periodicity and the temporal variation of soil moisture content throughout a year could be divided into three periods,namely,a moisturegaining period,a moisture-losing period and a moisture-stable period.According to the temporal and spatial variability,the 0–400 cm soil profile could be divided into two layers:an active layer with moderate variability and a stable layer with weak variability.The temporal variability was larger than the spatial variability in the active layer,and the mean profile soil moisture content at different slope positions displayed the trend of decreasing with increasing relative height and mainly followed the order of interdune area>west and east slopes>slope top.The mean profile soil moisture content in the root zone of dead H.ammodendron individuals was significantly higher than that in the root zones of adult and young individuals,while the soil moisture content in the root zone of adult individuals was slightly higher than that in the root zone of young individuals with no significant difference.The spatial pattern of soil moisture was attributable to the combined effects of snowfall,vegetation and soil texture,whereas the effects of rainfall and evaporation were not significant.The findings may offer a foundation for the management of sandy soil moisture and vegetation restoration in arid areas.

Effects of spring-summer grazing on longitudinal dune surface in southern Gurbantunggut Desert

Intensive grazing in spring-summer has been responsible for environmental degradation of the Gurbantunggut Desert in recent years. The coverage of plants and biological crusts, sand surface stability and physicochemical characteristics of soil on the dune surface were conducted in 2002 （winter grazing） and 2005 （spring-summer grazing）. The results showed that over 80% of the total area of the dune surface was covered by well-developed biological crusts and plants in 2002, when the interdune and middle to lower part of dune slopes were stabilized and only the crest had 10-40 m wide mobile belt. Affected by spring-summer grazing in 2005, over 80% of the total cover of biological crust was destructed and the plant coverage only reached 1/5 of that in 2002, especially the ephemeral plant cover had a great change. The value of sand transport potential in 2005 only reached 1/3 of that in 2002, but the total surface activity in 2005 was 1.6 times stronger than that in 2002. Meanwhile the mobile area began to expand from the dune top to the whole dune surface following spring-summer grazing. Compared with 2002, medium sand content of the dune surface soil increased by 13.9%, while that of fine and very fine sands decreased by 7.4% and 8.0% respectively in 2005 and the soil organic matter in 2005 was only about 1/2 of that in 2002. It is obvious that the presence of snow cover and frozen soil in winter could avoid the surface structure destruction in winter, while spring-summer grazing made excessive damage to biologic crusts and ephemeral plants. Spring is the main windy season in Gurbantunggut Desert and therefore intensive activity of dune surface occurred following spring-summer grazing, which led to a great loss of fine sand and organic matter. It can be seen that grazing season have a significant influence on the sustainable development of the desert ecosystem in Northwest China.

Dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with desert ephemeral plants in Gurbantunggut Desert

Previous studies documented that most desert plants can be colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal （AM） fungi, however, little is known about how the dynamics of AM fungi are related to ephemerals in desert ecosystems. The dynamics of AM fungi with desert ephemerals were examined to determine the effects of host plant life stages on the development of AM fungi. Mean colonization of ephemeral annual plants was 45% lower than that of ephemeral perennial plants. The colonizations were much higher in the early part of the growing season than in later parts, peaking at flowering times. The phenology of AM fungi in root systems varied among different ephem- erals. The density of AM fungal spores increased with the development of ephemeral annual plants, reached its maximum at flowering times, and then plateaued about 20 days after the aboveground senescence. A significant positive correlation was found between AM fungi spore density and biomass of ephemeral annual plants. The life cycles of AM fungi associated with desert ephemerals were very shod, being about 60-70 days. Soil temperature and water content had no direct influence on the development of AM fungal spores. We concluded that the development of AM fungi was in response to desert ephemeral phenology and life history strategy.

Competition,spatial pattern,and regeneration of Haloxylon ammodendron and Haloxylon persicum communities in the Gurbantunggut Desert,Northwest China

Competition,spatial pattern,and regeneration are important factors affecting community composition,structure,and dynamics.In this study,we surveyed 300 quadrats from three dunes(i.e.,fixed dunes,semifixed dunes,and mobile dunes)in the Gurbantunggut Desert,Northwest China,from late May to early June in 2021.The intraspecific and interspecific competition,spatial pattern,and regeneration of Haloxylon ammodendron and Haloxylon persicum were studied using the Hegyi competition index and point pattern analysis methods.The results showed that the optimal competition distance of the objective tree in the H.ammodendron and H.persicum communities was 6 m.The intraspecific and interspecific competition of H.ammodendron was the greatest in fixed dunes,while the competition intensity of H.persicum in semifixed dunes and mobile dunes was greater than that in fixed dunes.The order of competition intensity of the two populations was seedlings>saplings>adults,and the competition intensity gradually decreased with the increase in plant diameter.The spatial distribution pattern of the three life stages of H.ammodendron and H.persicum was random,and there were no correlations between seedlings and saplings,adults and saplings,and seedlings and adults.The density of regenerated seedlings and saplings of H.ammodendron in the three dunes followed the order of fixed dunes>semifixed dunes>mobile dunes,and that of H.persicum in the three dunes followed the order of mobile dunes>semifixed dunes>fixed dunes.Therefore,when artificially planting H.ammodendron and H.persicum for sand control,the planting interval should be 6 m,and seedlings should be planted next to adults to minimize the competition between plants,which can promote the renewal of H.ammodendron and H.persicum and the stabilization of the ecosystem.

Study on the Land Reclamation of Oilfield of Gurbantunggut Desert in Junggar Basin

The exploration and development of oilfield results in damages to land resources. Along with the further development of petroleum in the Gurbantunggut Desert, the fragile ecological environment and land resource was suffering much more damage. Vegetation degradation and desertification become more prominent. In response to the damage to the fragile ecological environment and oilfield in the Gurbantunggut Desert, limit condition method was used to evaluate the suitability of land reclamation suitability. Results suggested that the main restraining factors for land reclamation were soil condition and water resources. Based on the effect and shortage of oilfield in the Gurbantunggut Desert Oilfield, the reclamation of oilfield in the Gurbantunggut desert was discussed.

古尔班通古特沙漠西南缘多枝柽柳生理特性对沙堆不同堆积阶段的响应

多枝柽柳作为干旱荒漠区重要的防风固沙灌木,其长期与风沙作用过程中形成了柽柳灌丛沙堆,在维持区域生态环境稳定及遏制沙漠蔓延方面发挥着重要作用。以古尔班通古特沙漠西南缘地区不同发育阶段沙堆上生长的多枝柽柳(Tamarix ramosissima)为研究对象,以空间序列代替时间序列的方法模拟沙堆堆积发育过程,揭示多枝柽柳生理特征对沙堆不同堆积发育阶段的响应及适应机制。结果表明:(1)在沙堆堆积发育过程中,多枝柽柳叶片相对含水量(RWC)及自由水/束缚水(Vs/Va)均呈先上升后下降的变化,其中,在增长阶段沙堆上最高,衰退阶段沙堆上最低,水分饱和亏(WSD)则呈相反趋势;组织含水量(TWC)呈逐渐上升的变化,清晨水势(Ψ_(PD))及正午水势(Ψ_(MD))呈逐渐降低的变化。(2)在沙堆堆积发育过程中,多枝柽柳的光合有效辐射(PAR)、叶片温度(TL)、光合电子传递速率(ETR)以及调节性能量耗散[Y_((NPQ))]日变化均呈先上升后下降的变化,衰退阶段沙堆上多枝柽柳各参数的日均值最大;各发育阶段沙堆上多枝柽柳的非调节性能量耗散[Y_((NO))]日变化均呈先下降后上升的变化,实际光化学效率[Y_((II))]日变化均呈“N”型,且Y_((II))日均值大小依次为增长阶段沙堆(0.489)>稳定阶段沙堆(0.463)>雏形阶段沙堆(0.455)>衰退阶段沙堆(0.439)。(3)气温(TEMP)和PAR与叶片Y_((II))均呈显著负相关,与ETR均呈显著正相关;Y_((II))与ETR、Y_((NO))与Y_((NPQ))均呈现显著负相关;PAR、TEMP是影响不同堆积阶段沙堆上多枝柽柳生理特性的主要环境因子。综合分析表明,在沙堆堆积发育过程中,多枝柽柳可通过调节光合作用和水分利用之间的协同关系来响应微环境的变化,从而减少其脱水风险以实现最大程度资源利用。

温带荒漠灌丛和藓类结皮对土壤养分的贡献

灌丛与生物土壤结皮镶嵌分布是温带荒漠常见的地表景观之一,二者的发育均显著影响了地表土壤养分的空间分布特征及循环过程。然而,灌丛和生物土壤结皮对荒漠土壤表层养分的影响存在怎样的差异,二者对养分变化的贡献度如何尚不清楚。因此,选择中国北方典型温带荒漠古尔班通古特沙漠为研究区,以荒漠中的优势灌丛膜果麻黄(Ephedra przewalskii)灌丛和生物土壤结皮发育高级阶段的藓类结皮的结皮层及结皮下层土壤为研究对象,采集不同微生境(裸露地、灌丛下)的裸沙与藓类结皮的土壤样品。为探究不同微生境下不同土层碳、氮、磷和钾养分变化特征,测定了不同土层土壤有机碳(SOC)、全氮(TN)、全磷(TP)、全钾(TK)、速效氮(AN)、速效磷(AP)和速效钾(AK)含量。结果表明:(1)相较于裸露地,灌丛显著提高了藓类结皮不同土层有机碳、全氮和全钾的含量和裸沙全磷的含量,降低了灌丛下藓类结皮土壤全磷的含量。(2)对于速效养分而言,与裸沙相比,裸露地藓类结皮覆盖降低了土壤速效氮含量,增加了速效磷和速效钾含量;而灌丛下藓类结皮覆盖提高了土壤速效氮和速效钾的含量,但降低了速效磷的含量。(3)相关性分析显示,在0—2 cm土壤中速效磷与速效氮呈现显著负相关,而在2—6 cm速效磷与速效氮呈现显著正相关(P<0.01)。(4)贡献度分析表明,土壤中灌丛效应对养分的贡献(42.54%)要远大于藓类结皮的贡献(2.43%),但二者交互作用却降低了除速效氮以外的其他土壤养分含量。综上,灌丛、藓类结皮覆盖和土层深度变化对土壤碳、氮、磷和钾养分均具有显著影响(P<0.05),但三者间的交互效应对养分的影响不显著(P>0.05)。相对于裸露地,灌丛与藓类结皮的覆盖均对表层土壤碳、氮、磷和钾养分具有促进作用,且随着土层深度的下降,土壤养分含量呈现显著的下降趋势(P<0.05)。因此,在荒漠生态系统中耐旱灌丛与生物土壤结皮这两个最重要的斑块单元联合调控了微尺度土壤养分的空间异质性变化。

古尔班通古特沙漠东南部不同类型沙丘土壤水分与地形-植被因子关系

[目的]揭示古尔班通古特沙漠土壤水分的分布规律及其与地形—植被因子的关系,对制定相应的防风固沙措施以及建立科学合理的植物固沙模式有积极的指导作用。[方法]以古尔班通古特沙漠东南部地区3种不同类型沙丘(固定、半固定和流动沙丘)为研究对象,利用方差分析和冗余分析等方法对3种不同类型沙丘上4种微地貌类型(迎风坡、背风坡、丘顶、丘底)不同深度土壤水分(0—40 cm, 40—200 cm, 200—300 cm)分布特征及其与地形—植被因子之间的关系进行综合分析。[结果](1)所有类型沙丘上0—300 cm土壤水分的波动程度随深度的增加逐渐减小,表层土壤水分的波动程度大于中层和深层。(2)所有类型沙丘不同深度的土壤水分有显著的差异,且背风坡、丘底和迎风坡3种微地貌类型上土壤水分相对较为集中。(3)地形—植被因子对研究区绝大多数(半)固定沙丘的土壤水分呈负相关关系,对(半)固定沙丘不同深度土壤水分影响较流动沙丘更为明显。[结论]所有类型沙丘上的土壤水分受地形因子的影响较植被因子强,而且影响不同类型沙丘土壤水分的主要地形—植被因子也不同。

古尔班通古特沙漠梭梭冠下裸斑形成土壤学机制

古尔班通古特沙漠梭梭与齿肋赤藓共生区域中,梭梭冠下常形成藓类结皮裸露斑块。为研究梭梭冠下裸斑形成机理,以裸斑内土壤、裸斑外藓类结皮土壤、背景裸地土壤以及背景藓类结皮土壤为研究对象,测定四类土壤营养物质含量和理化因子,并测定土壤代谢组以及分析其之间差异。结果表明,裸斑内土壤养分及生态化学计量比与裸斑外藓类结皮和背景藓类结皮土壤并无显著性差异,土壤养分及生态化学计量并非造成梭梭冠下藓类裸斑的原因。裸斑内土壤Na+、K+、Mg^(2+)、SO_(4)^(2-)、CO_(3)^(2-)、HCO_(3)^(-)含量显著高于裸斑外土壤、背景裸地土壤和背景结皮土壤,总盐含量最高为1.705 g/kg。这个含量不足以对齿肋赤藓正常生长造成影响,因此裸斑内土壤中较高的离子浓度也并非藓类裸斑产生的原因。土壤代谢组结果显示不同土壤代谢物具有极显著差异,油酰胺等酰胺类化合物相对丰度最高,占总代谢物的72.68%,且在裸斑内土壤中相对丰度显著高于裸斑藓类结皮土壤、裸地土壤和背景结皮土壤,因此推测裸斑内土壤中油酰胺等酰胺类化合物可能是抑制齿肋赤藓生长的主要原因,是造成古尔班通古特沙漠梭梭冠下藓类裸斑产生的主要土壤学机制。

古尔班通古特沙漠不同区域藻类结皮微生物结构和潜在功能

藻类结皮形成和发育,能够提高土壤稳定性并增加土壤有机质含量,为微生物生长、繁殖和草本植物拓殖创造条件。因此,藻类结皮潜在功能对后续生物结皮及生态系统演替具有重要意义。然而,古尔班通古特沙漠藻类结皮营养循环相关微生物及潜在功能机制尚不清楚。以古尔班通古特沙漠不同区域藻类结皮为研究对象,采用宏基因组测序技术,研究藻类结皮微生物群落及碳氮循环功能基因特征。研究结果表明蓝藻菌门、变形菌门、放线菌门是藻类结皮中主要微生物类群,在沙漠固碳和氮循环中起到重要作用。微生物α多样性结果显示仅物种丰富度指数在三个区域内存在显著差异。β多样性结果显示藻类结皮未因沙漠局部气候及理化因子差异产生微生物群落分化。而微生物群落功能基因对环境变化响应要比微生物群落更为敏感,沙漠东部和西部藻类结皮功能基因产生显著分化。三个区域微生物功能基因中还原型三羧酸循环是自养生物固碳主要途径,而卡尔文循环是光合生物固碳的主要途径,其中rpiA和rbcS基因更易受到降水影响。鞘脂单胞菌属、念珠藻属和伪枝藻属在参与固碳过程中表现出的差异,可能是导致固碳功能基因产生分化的原因之一。氮循环主要途径以硝酸盐还原为主,大部分氮素通过硝酸盐同化作用被土壤微生物转化为铵盐,少量氮素被反硝化为一氧化二氮和一氧化氮流失。沙漠藻类结皮固氮作用较弱,仅有念珠藻属和伪枝藻属参与,且存在nifH、nifD、nifK三个功能基因。这些固氮功能基因更易受到土壤中硝态氮含量的影响。硝化过程仅注释到氨单加氧酶或甲烷单加氧酶编码pmoABC-amoABC基因,而hao和nxrA、nxrB基因均未注释获得。

古尔班通古特沙漠生物土壤结皮下土壤有机碳垂直分布特征及影响因素

为了探究沙漠不同生物土壤结皮类型覆盖下土壤有机碳(SOC)垂直分布特征及与土壤理化因素的关系,解析影响因素,以古尔班通古特沙漠腹地藻类、藓类生物土壤结皮和裸沙三种不同地被覆盖类型为研究对象,通过野外采集不同类型结皮样品及其下层0—2 cm、2—5 cm、5—10 cm、10—20 cm、20—30 cm、30—50 cm、50—70 cm以及70—100 cm土层土壤(裸沙对照),测定不同土层的SOC含量及土壤理化指标,开展相关研究。结果表明:(1)不同地被类型下0—100 cm SOC含量随着土壤深度增加呈减小的趋势,在10—30 cm土层存在SOC含量升高的现象,藓类、藻类和裸沙三种地被类型0—100 cm土层SOC含量范围分别在:1.61—2.70、1.41—2.56、1.21—1.92 g/kg;(2)不同地被类型下同一土层SOC含量在0—5 cm土层存在显著差异,5—100 cm土层SOC整体无显著差异,同层SOC含量均表现为:藓类>藻类>裸沙对照;(3)Pearson法分析结果表明不同地被覆盖下SOC含量与养分(全氮、全磷)呈现正相关关系,与pH和电导率(EC)呈现负相关关系。通过结构方程模型结果表明,土壤养分和粒径(砂粒占比)是影响垂直分布的主要因子,其中粒径是裸沙和藻类的最主要影响因子,藓类最重要的影响因子是养分(全磷)。生物土壤结皮的发育会逐步提高土壤碳的积累,改变SOC的垂直分布特征,对SOC的影响主要集中在5 cm以上土层,土壤理化特征对垂直分布特征具有调控作用。

古尔班通古特沙漠土壤物理参数时间变化特征及其影响因子研究

以古尔班通古特沙漠为研究靶区,利用2020年克拉美丽陆-气相互作用观测试验站连续观测数据,分析古尔班通古特沙漠土壤温湿度、土壤热通量、土壤盐分及导热率等主要土壤参数变化特征及影响因子。结果表明:(1)古尔班通古特沙漠土壤温度年日均值变化呈倒“U”型,季节变化明显,总体表现为夏季>春季>秋季>冬季,浅层土壤温度的变化幅度大于深层,湿度变化特征为春、夏季高,秋、冬季低,通常表现为随土壤深度增加土壤湿度逐渐升高;土壤热通量变化总体表现为春、夏季高,秋、冬季低,日变化幅度春、夏、秋、冬季依次递减。(2)古尔班通古特沙漠土壤导热率年均值为0.832 W·m^(-1)·K-1,导热率与降水呈显著的正相关,土壤温湿度、土壤盐分是影响沙漠区土壤导热率的主要因子。在冻土条件下,土壤导热率平均为0.634 W·m^(-1)·K-1,并随土壤湿度增加而增加,冻土时导热随湿度增加的速率约为非冻土时的2.5倍;在降水条件下,土壤含水量<0.06 m^(3)·m^(-3)时,土壤导热率呈现缓慢增加趋势,土壤含水量>0.06 m^(3)·m^(-3)时随湿度上升而迅速增加;在融雪时期,土壤含水量<0.11 m^(3)·m^(-3)时土壤导热率随湿度上升缓慢增加,土壤含水量>0.11 m^(3)·m^(-3)时土壤导热率迅速上升。

Loess in the Tian Shan and its implications for the development of the Gurbantunggut Desert and drying of northern Xinjiang

Eolian loess is widely distributed on the various geomorphic surfaces between 700-2400 m a.s.l. on the northern slope of the Tian Shan. It is formed in a synchronous manner with dust transported from the Gurbantunggut Desert in the Junggar Basin. The thickest section of loess was found in the Shawan and Shihezi regions. Paleomagnetic and climatic proxy analyses of over 71 m of a loess-paleosol sequence on the highest terrace of the Qingshui He (River) in the Shawan show that the paleomagnetic Bruhues/Matuy-ama (B/M) boundary lies at the bottom of paleosol S8, at a depth of 69.5 m, and the bottom of the sequence was estimated to be -0.8 Ma. This implies that the extremely dry climatic conditions in the Junggar Basin and the initial Gurbantunggut Desert were present at least by 0.8 Ma. High-resolution grain size series demonstrate that this area and desert expansion experienced two dramatic periods of desert expansions that occurred at -0.65 Ma and 0.5 Ma, respectively; and the subsequent continuous

Respondence and feedback of modern sand deserts to climate change ——A case study in Gurbantunggut Desert

The research on the respondence and feedback of modern sand deserts to the climate change is an important component part in the studies on the global climate change. Deserts respond to the climate change, meanwhile, they affect the climate with their feedback of peculiar environment during the respondence. Many researches on desert climate have been carried out at home and abroad. However, there is little research on the respondence and feedback of modern fixed, semi-fixed and mobile deserts in arid areas to the climate change, in which the factor analysis as well as the parameter changing effects is especially the difficult problem all along. In this note, the parameters of the respondence and feedback of Gurbantunggut Desert to the climate change are measured and analyzed, some variable parameters of water-heat exchange are obtained, and a numerical model of desertification is developed according to a series of climate change of about 40 years and the variable relations of meteorological and physical

Responses of ephemeral plant germination and growth to water and heat conditions in the southern part of Gurbantunggut Desert

在 Gurbantunggut 沙漠的南部的部分的短暂植物系统地从 2002 ～ 2004 被监视，气象学的数据和土壤潮湿在一样的时期期间被分析。结果证明短暂植物萌芽和生长对水和热状况的变化敏感。超过 0 的每日的温度的时间 ?????????

Distribution of plant species and species-soil relationship in the east central Gurbantunggut Desert, China

The distribution of plant species and relationships between species and soil factors in the east central part of Gurbantunggut Desert was studied to provide more insight into the flora and determine differences in vegetation across various parts of the desert. Two-way Cluster Analysis showed that the vegetation in the area could be divided into three groups, the first group was dominated by the shrub species, Ephedra przewalskii and the grass species, Carex physodes mainly in areas of flat grounds and gentle slopes; the second group was dominated by C. physodes, Artemisia songorica and A. xerophytica mainly on the slope of sand dunes and the third group was dominated by the shrub species, Haloxylon persicum mainly on the top of sand dunes. There was no difference in plant density between Groups 1 and 2 but there was a significant decrease in Group 3. Soil water under vegetation Group 3 was much lower than that in the other two groups at all soil depths. The EC, organic matter, total P and soluble Na, Ca and Mg varied very similarly with soil water. Canonical corre- spondence analysis （CCA） satisfactorily assessed the species-soil relations in the area. The distribution of plant species was strongly correlated with the soil factors of water content, organic matter, EC and nutrients. The variations in species occurrence explained by the three CCA axes were about 70%, indicating that some explanatory site variables may exist outside our studied parameters. Soil texture is suggested to be included in future studies to improve the explanation of CCA.