Land-Air Interaction over Arid/Semi-arid Areas in China and Its Impact on the East Asian Summer Monsoon. Part I:Calibration of the Land Surface Model (BATS)Using Multicriteria Methods

To improve the land surface simulation in the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, the observational data from two field experiments in Dunhuang and Tongyu are used to optimize the parameters in the land surface model, BATS, through calibration with the multicriteria method. Sensitivity analysis to the parameters in Dunhuang and Tongyu indicates that different parameters need to be calibrated in two sites with different environmental and climate regimes. Comparison of observed sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, and ground surface temperature with the simulated ones shows the simulations with the optimized parameters have been substantially improved. Especially, the holistic simulations with the calibration of the parameter values are much closer to the observations in the arid region （Dunhuang）, and the energy partition with the calibrated parameters can also be simulated well in the semi-arid region （Tongyu）. Whole results demonstrate that the parameter calibration of the land surface model is important when the model is to be used to investigate the land-air interaction.

Impact of climate change and human activities on the spatiotemporal dynamics of surface water area in Gansu Province, China

Understanding the dynamics of surface water area and their drivers is crucial for human survival and ecosystem stability in inland arid and semi-arid areas.This study took Gansu Province,China,a typical area with complex terrain and variable climate,as the research subject.Based on Google Earth Engine,we used Landsat data and the Open-surface Water Detection Method with Enhanced Impurity Control method to monitor the spatiotemporal dynamics of surface water area in Gansu Province from 1985 to 2022,and quantitatively analyzed the main causes of regional differences in surface water area.The findings revealed that surface water area in Gansu Province expanded by 406.88 km2 from 1985 to 2022.Seasonal surface water area exhibited significant fluctuations,while permanent surface water area showed a steady increase.Notably,terrestrial water storage exhibited a trend of first decreasing and then increasing,correlated with the dynamics of surface water area.Climate change and human activities jointly affected surface hydrological processes,with the impact of climate change being slightly higher than that of human activities.Spatially,climate change affected the'source'of surface water to a greater extent,while human activities tended to affect the'destination'of surface water.Challenges of surface water resources faced by inland arid and semi-arid areas like Gansu Province are multifaceted.Therefore,we summarized the surface hydrology patterns typical in inland arid and semi-arid areas and tailored surface water'supply-demand'balance strategies.The study not only sheds light on the dynamics of surface water area in Gansu Province,but also offers valuable insights for ecological protection and surface water resource management in inland arid and semi-arid areas facing water scarcity.

The Source of Groundwater Recharge Based on Entropy Theory in the Arid Areas of North China

Objective Any natural system is constantly exchanging material, energy and information with the environment, and all tkese processes follow the basic law of thermodynamics, with no exception of groundwater recharge and discharge process. On the basis of the principle of the first law of thermodynamics, the reverse geochemical simulation method is widely used in the study of groundwater recharge, runoff and drainage process. However, some studies only consider the material conservation in theprocess, but ignore the probability of the transformation.

LAND DEGRADATION AND ITS MANAGEMENT IN THE ARID AND SEMI ARID AREAS OF CHINA

hina is a large country with varied physical environments. Some of them are quite fragile and susceptible to land degradation, such as the arid and semiarid areas, as well as the slopeland of extensive mountain and hilly areas. Therefore, human actions play a significant role in desertification processes. It was estimated that there are 3,327,000 km 2 of desertified areas in China, in which 1,533,000 km 2 are desert, gobi and sandy desertified areas. Most of them are in arid, semiarid and dry sub humid areas in northern China. Soil salinization is another kind of land desertification. It was estimated that about one fifth of the 66,700 km 2 of farmlands have been affected by soil salinization to certain extent. Grassland degradation is also serious in China. The main problems are the reduction of bio mass, decline of preferred species and soil erosion induced by overgrazing. In Inner Mongolia the area of degraded grasslands occupies 43.8 percent of the total available area of the grasslands. The productivity of grasslands in Tibet has decreased by 20 - 50 percent [21]. Soil and water erosion is more serious in China. Based on remote sensing general survey initiated by Ministry of Water Resources in 1992, the total soil eroded area is 3,670,000 km 2, occupying 38.2 percent of the total territorial area, in which 1,790,000 km 2 is water eroded area and 1,880,000 km 2 is wind eroded area.

China Steps Up Anti-poverty Effort in Arid Western Areas

China＇s State Council, or the cabinet, has decided to further extend a program that involves special funds for infrastructure and other projects in three particularly add and poor areas in the country＇s remote northwest. While extending the program from 2009 to 2015, the government also decided to raise the annual total funding from 200 million yuan （29.2 million U.S. dollars） to 300 million yuan.

IRRIGATING WARPED SOILS——ANTHROPOGENIC SOIL IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID REGIONS OF CHINA

The irrigating warped soils occur in the old irrigation areas of arid and semi-arid re-gions of China, and distributed from Zhangjiakou of Hebei province, through InnerMongolia Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Gansu province,Qinhai Province, down to Xinjiang Autonomous Region, including the arid subalpine rivervalleys in the western part of Tibet.

The Effect of Polyvinyl Acetate Polymer on Reducing Dust in Arid and Semiarid Areas

Because the large areas of Iran are on arid and semiarid belt of the world, it has many problems due to windstorms. Wind storms cause dust and haze due to a mass of fine sand or silt soil elevated in the atmosphere. It makes heart disease-cardiovascular and respiratory and so is detrimental for the children. These have plagued the residents and so lives of them are disrupted every so often. In this research, the subject soil stabilization using adherence of poly vinyl acetate polymer as a way to reduce the production of dust is defined for prone area. In this paper, the effect of poly vinyl acetate polymer on silt soil has been studied. In this study the samples were uncompacted particles of soil with different amount of water-solvated polymer (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 grams per meter squared) poured over them. These samples are kept in experimental environment for 7 days. After ensuring complete dryness, their stabilities are tested against wind flow with 20 m/s speed. Results showed that adding more polymers to soil would considerably increase its particles’ stabilities. This stability is due to positive reaction of polymer with soil particles. The effect of this stability is maintained during sample drying time in the lab and the soil maintains its characteristics during testing. The best results are obtained for 20 grams polymer per meter squared, where caused an increase in stability to about 15 times that of the soil without polymer.

BASIC IDEA OF TOURIST'S ITINERARIES IN THE ARID AREA OF CHINA——Discussion of the Methodology for Designing the Itineraries in the Arid Area

The aspect discussed in the present paper should ont be identified strictly with the natu-ral and geogrophical arid areas in the whole China, but only referred to the seven provincesas Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinhai, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. According to the real conditions of the development of tourism which was formedobjectively in the arid areas, it is necessary to consider comprehensively the influence by

Spatio-temporal pattern and changes of evapotranspiration in arid Central Asia and Xinjiang of China

Accurate inversion of land surface evapotranspiration （ET） in arid areas is of great significance for understanding global eco-hydrological process and exploring the spatio-temporal variation and ecological response of water resources. It is also important in the functional evaluation of regional water cycle and water balance, as well as the rational allocation and management of water resources. This study, based on model validation analysis at varied scales in fiwe Central Asian countries and China＇s Xinjiang, developed an appropriate approach for ET inversion in arid lands. The actual ET during growing seasons of the study area was defined, and the changes in water participating in evaporation in regional water cycle were then educed. The results show the simulation error of SEBS （Surface Energy Balance System） model under cloud amount consideration was 1.34% at 30-m spatial scale, 2.75% at 1-km spatial scale and 6,37% at 4-kin spatial scale. ET inversion for 1980-2007 applying SEBS model in the study area indicates： （1） the evaporation depth （May-September） by land types descends in the order of waters （660.24 ram） 〉 cultivated land （464.66 mm） 〉 woodland （388.44 mm） 〉 urbanized land （168.16 mm） 〉 grassland （160.48 mm） 〉 unused land （83.08 mm）; and （2） ET during the 2005 growing season in Xinjiang and Central Asia was 2,168.68x108 m3 （with an evaporation/precipitation ratio of 1.05） and 9,741.03x108 m3 （with an evaporation/precipitation ratio of 1.4）, respectively. The results unveiled the spatio-temporal variation rules of ET process in arid areas, providing a reference for further research on the water cycle and water balance in similar arid regions.

Toxic metal enrichment characteristics and sources of arid urban surface soil in Yinchuan City, China

To investigate the environmental quality of the urban surface soil in Yinchuan City, the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region （Ningxia）, China, we sampled surface soil and measured the concentrations of 8 toxic metals （Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Co, Bi, Ni and V） using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The enrichment characteristics and sources of these toxic metals in the soil were analyzed by the enrichment factor （EF） and multivariate statistical analysis. The results showed that the mean concentrations of these toxic metals in the soil samples were 25.0, 109.1, 16.8, 26.0, 37.2, 2.7, 25.3 and 59.9 mg/kg for Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Co, Bi, Ni and V, respectively, which were 1.2, 1.8, 0.8, 0.4, 3.2, 8.7, 0.7 and 0.8 times of the corresponding background values of Ningxia soil, respectively. The variations of Pb, Zn, Co, Bi and Ni concentrations in the surface soil of Yinchuan were larger than those of the other metals. Our results also showed that the toxic metals investigated in the soil had different enrichment levels. Both Co and Bi were significantly enriched, whereas Cr was only moderately enriched in the soil. There was a deficiency or minimal enrichment of the other toxic metals in the soil. Source analysis results based on the concentration, enrichment characteristics and multivariate statistical analysis indicated that Cr, V and Ni originated from a combination of fossil fuel combustion, traffic pollution and natural occurrence. Pb, Cu and Zn were predominantly derived from natural and traffic sources, while Co and Bi primarily originated from construction sources.

Revisit of event-based rainfall characteristics at Shapotou area in northern China

Distribution of rainfall event sizes and interval lengths between events are important characteristics of arid and semi-arid climates. Understanding their importance will contribute to our ability to understand ecosystem dynamics in these regions. Rainfall event timing and magnitude are important drivers of ecosystem processes and are instrumental in creating land-scape heterogeneity in arid and semi-arid regions. Rainfall event characteristics were analyzed using an automatic tip-ping-bucket rain-gauge record across the entire summer monsoon season from 2008 to 2015 at the arid desert area of Shapotou in the Tengger Desert, China. Changing the minimum inter-event time （MIT） from 30 min to 24 h alters the number of rainfall events from 64 to 25 for the event depth larger than 0.1 mm. The mean rainfall intensity declined from 0.95 mm/h to 0.53 mm/h, and the geometric mean event duration rose from 0.55 h to 4.4 h. The number of rainfall events, mean rainfall intensity, and geometric mean event duration differed under different criteria of individual rainfall depths, except that for an individual rainfall depth of 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 mm. The aforementioned features differed only at the lowest range of the mean rainfall intensity and depth for MIT=3 and 6 h. These findings suggest that identification of event-based rainfall in this specific arid region can be better achieved by setting the MIT at six hours. The wide variation in rainfall event properties indicate the need for paying more attention to the proper selection and reporting of event criteria in studies that adopt event-based data analysis. This is especially true in quantifying effective rainfall for soil water replenishment in terms of rainfall depth and intensity with infrequent rainfall events.

加气对西北旱区膜下滴灌棉花光合及水分利用效率的影响

为探明西北旱区滴灌棉花适宜的加气灌溉模式,试验以不加气灌溉为对照(CK),设置5个加气灌溉处理:苗期加气(AS)、蕾期加气(AB)、花铃期加气(AF)、蕾期加气+花铃期加气(ABF)、苗期加气+蕾期加气+花铃期加气(AW);研究了不同生育期加气灌溉对西北旱区棉花光合作用及水分利用效率的影响.结果表明,与CK相比,所有加气处理的光合特性及地上部生物量都显著提高,其中处理AW较CK的净光合速率显著增加22.68%,蒸腾速率显著增加41.19%,气孔导度显著增加33.42%,胞间CO 2浓度显著降低16.22%;花铃期加气灌溉使西北旱区棉花地上部茎、叶、蕾/铃干物质累积量分别显著增加29.26%,11.15%和33.41%.不同生育期加气灌溉下,棉花光合特性、地上部生物量以及产量最优的处理为AW和AF,且差异不具有统计学意义;但是处理AF的水分利用效率最高,为1.51 kg/m 3,显著高于处理AW.因此,从高效节水增产的角度考虑,在棉花花铃期进行加气(AF)可作为西北旱区膜下滴灌棉花的最佳加气灌溉模式.

A data envelopment analysis of agricultural technical efficiency of Northwest Arid Areas in China

Severe resource shortage and waste of resource in agricultural production make it necessary to assess efficiency to increase productivity with high efficiency and ensure sustainable agricultural development. This paper adopted an input-oriented data envelopment analysis(DEA) method with the assumption of variable returns to scale to evaluate agricultural production efficiency of 100 major irrigation districts in Northwest China in 2010.Major findings of this paper were as follows: firstly, the average value of total technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency of those irrigation districts in Northwest China were 0.770, 0.825 and 0.931,respectively; secondly, 30% of irrigation districts were technically efficient, while 42% and 32% of them showed pure technical and scale efficiency respectively. Among inefficient decision-making units, total technical efficiency score varied from 0.313 to 0.966, showing significant geographical differences, but geographical differences of pure technical efficiency was more consistent with that of total technical efficiency; thirdly, input redundancy was evident. Inputs of agricultural population, irrigation area,green water, blue water, consumption of fertilizer and agricultural machinery could be reduced by 34.88%,40.19%, 43.85%, 47.10%, 41.53% and 42.21% respectively without reducing agricultural outputs. Furthermore,irrigation area, green water and blue water had relatively high slack movement though Northwest China which is short of water resources. Based on these results, this paper drew the following conclusions: First, there is huge potential for Northwest China to improve its agricultural production efficiency, and agro-technology not input scale had greater influence on improvement. Second, farmers needed proper guidance in order to reduce agricultural inputs and it is time to centralize agricultural management for overall agricultural inputs regulation and control.

Change features of time-series climate variables from 1962 to 2016 in Inner Mongolia,China

Detecting change features of climate variables in arid/semi-arid areas is essential for understanding related climate change patterns and the driving and evolution mechanism between climate and arid/semi-arid ecosystems.This paper takes Inner Mongolia of China,a unique arid/semi-arid ecosystem,as the study area.We first detected trend features of climate variables using the linear trend analysis method and then detected their trend-shift features using the breaks for additive seasonal and trend method based on the time-series of monthly precipitation and monthly mean temperature datasets from 1962 to 2016.We analyzed the different change features of precipitation and temperature on a regional scale and in different ecological zones to discover the spatial heterogeneity of change features.The results showed that Inner Mongolia has become warmer-wetter during the past 54 years.The regional annual mean temperature increased 0.4°C per decade with a change rate of 56.2%.The regional annual precipitation increased 0.07 mm per decade with a slightly change rate of about 1.7%,but the trend was not statistically significant.The warmer trend was contributed by the same positive trend in each season,while the wetter trend was contributed by the negative trend of the summer precipitation and the positive trend of the other three seasons.The regional monthly precipitation series had a trend-shift pattern with a structural breakpoint in the year 1999,while the regional monthly mean temperature series showed an increasing trend without a periodical trend-shift.After the year 2000,the warmer-wetter trend of the climate in Inner Mongolia was accelerated.The late 20th century was a key period,because the acceleration of the wetter trend in some local zones(I and II)and the alleviation of the warmer trend in some local zones(Ⅶ,Ⅷand IX)occurred simultaneously.Moreover,the change features had a strong spatial heterogeneity,the southeastern and southwestern of Inner Mongolia went through a warmer-drier trend compared with the other areas.The spatio-temporal heterogeneity of the climate change features is a necessary background for various types of research,such as regional climate change,the evolution of arid/semi-arid ecosystems,and the interaction mechanisms between climate and arid/semi-arid ecosystems based on earth-system models in Inner Mongolia.

Responses of desertification to variations in wind activity over the past five decades in arid and semiarid areas in China

There have been significant variations in wind activity over the past five decades in arid and semiarid areas in China.High wind activity occurred from the 1960s to the 1970s,but wind activity has de-creased continuously from the 1980s to the present;as a result,the potential sand transport during the latter period was only 20%-50% of the values during the 1960s and 1970s.Phases of high wind activ-ity were highly consistent with the trends in desertification over the past five decades in arid and semiarid areas in China,but spring precipitation was also a significant factor:rapid desertification during the 1960s and 1970s was due to high wind activity,generally combining with low spring pre-cipitation;subsequent rehabilitation since the 1980s has resulted from the combined effects of low wind activity and higher spring precipitation.Therefore,although modern desertification and rehabili-tation processes are being more or less affected by human activities,both processes appear to be more strongly controlled by climate change.

西北干旱荒漠地区退耕还林还草工程综合效益评价

为对西北干旱荒漠地区新一轮退耕还林还草工程的实施提供科学指导,以吐鲁番市为研究区域,建立包含表征该区域特点的15个指标的综合效益评价指标体系,基于云模型与变异系数法组合确定指标权重,运用比重法无量纲化指标数据,采用加成综合法进行退耕工程综合效益评价分析,并通过灰色系统预测模型GM(1,1)对2021—2025年生态效益、经济效益、社会效益和政策响应指数进行了预测。结果表明:(1)在2004—2019年,综合效益指数逐年提高,新一轮退耕提升幅度是前一轮的两倍。(2)森林覆盖率提高、水土流失治理面积扩大、农民人均纯收入增加和人均林业产值增加,是生态效益和经济效益提高的主要因素。(3)退耕工程的实施促使产业结构和就业结构呈良性发展趋势。退耕所涉农户再退耕意愿的提升巩固了退耕成果,使其具有长效性。(4) 2021—2025年的生态效益、经济效益、社会效益和政策响应指数预测值均呈上升趋势,且经济效益指数>政策响应指数>生态效益指数>社会效益指数。依据预测结果,西北干旱荒漠地区在新一轮退耕工程的实施中应以生态建设为重点,加强生态补偿和乡村振兴战略的有效衔接,促进农业转移人口市民化,实现生态、经济、社会和政策响应间的协调发展。

干旱地区“代表性人口格网数据集”精度研究——以甘宁青地区为例

高精度的人口格网数据集在风险评价、灾害应急、生态环境保护、区域发展与规划等领域具有重要价值。输入数据精度和模型选择的不同导致其具有不同的特点与优势,因此评价代表性数据集的精度,分析数据集的适用条件意义重大。研究评估了世界人口(WorldPop)数据集和世界第四版网格化人口(GPWv4)数据集在中国西北干旱地区甘肃省、宁夏回族自治区和青海省的精度;以中国人口普查数据的最佳可用单位(乡镇行政区划)为研究单元,将WorldPop和GPWv4数据集与2020年第七次人口普查数据进行相关性分析,计算统计误差和相对误差的空间分布,定量地评价各个数据集的精度;通过目视估计定性地分析数据集的映射性能,最后讨论了数据集的误差来源。统计误差结果表明:WorldPop数据集的精度更高,其相关系数(r)、均方根误(RMSE)、平均绝对误差(MAE)和平均绝对百分比误差(MAPE)分别达到0.76、23016、0.73和0.60,而GPWv4数据集的上述统计结果分别为0.70、22297、0.75和0.58。同时,由相对误差的空间分布可知,WorldPop数据集准确估计的区域更多。目视估计结果表明:2种人口格网数据集的映射性能类似,都具有东部人口稠密、西部人口稀疏的特点。针对干旱地区人口格网数据集精度的评价研究,有利于分析数据集的误差来源,指导数据集的合理使用。在未来研究中,使用人类生活的辅助数据,生成干旱地区特有的人口分布模式,从而提高西北干旱区域人口数据集的精度。

我国西北干燥区地面气象站观测环境代表性思考

气候观测环境代表性和观测资料质量是开展大尺度气候变化监测和研究的前提。为了解我国干燥区气象观测环境变化和台站代表性,对河西走廊和北疆9个国家级气象站观测环境开展了调研。结合先前研究结果,从气候变化监测和研究的视角,提出了针对西北干燥区地面观测站代表性问题的几点思考。目前我国西北地区气象站地面观测,对于干燥区的城市和绿洲区域气候及其变化,具有较高的代表性,但对更广大的荒漠和半荒漠背景气候及其变化,代表性仍显不足。早期研究中指出的北疆等地区城镇站地面气温序列负向城市化影响,应与观测场周围局地甚至区域尺度绿洲扩大有直接联系,较难反映绿洲以外干燥区地带性气温变化。针对地面观测环境调研发现的问题及其思考,提出几点建议,希望对未来国家基准气候站网设计和建设提供一定参考。