Spatial-temporal Variation Characteristics of Water Quality in the Lower Reaches of the Nenjiang River

As an important river in the western part of Jilin Province,the lower reach of the Nenjiang River is an important wetland water source conservation area in Jilin Province.Within the watershed,it governs the Momoge Wetland,the Xianghai Wetland,and the Danjiang Wetland in Jilin Province.The main problem in the lower reaches of the Nenjiang River is the uneven distribution of water resources in time and space,and the intensification of land salinization.Zhenlai County and Da an City in the Nenjiang River Basin have sufficient surface water resources,with surface water as the drinking water source.Baicheng City and Tongyu County have scarce surface water resources,and both use groundwater as their domestic water source.The main polluted section in the basin is the Xianghai Reservoir,and the annual water quality evaluation is Class V.However,the water quality of the Tao er River,the main stream of the Nenjiang River,is significantly better than that of the Xianghai Reservoir.In order to better study the water environmental pollution situation in the Nenjiang River basin,monitoring data from five sections of non seasonal rivers in the basin from 2012 to 2021 were selected for studying water quality.This in-depth exploration of the water pollution status and river water quality change trends in the Nenjiang River basin is of great significance for future rural development,agricultural pattern transformation,and the promotion of water ecological civilization construction.

Natural variation of GmFNSII-2 contributes to drought resistance by modulating enzyme activity in soybean

As an essential crop that provides vegetable oil and protein,soybean(Glycine max(L.)Merr.)is widely planted all over the world.However,the scarcity of water resources worldwide has seriously impacted on the quality and yield of soybean.To address this,exploring excellent genes for improving drought resistance in soybean is crucial.In this study,we identified natural variations of GmFNSII-2(flavone synthase II)significantly affect the drought resistance of soybeans.Through sequence analysis of GmFNSII-2 in 632 cultivated and 44 wild soybeans nine haplotypes were identified.The full-length allele GmFNSII-2^(C),but not the truncated allele GmFNSII-2^(A) possessing a nonsense nucleotide variation,increased enzyme activity.Further research found that GmDREB3,known to increase soybean drought resistance,bound to the promoter region of GmFNSII-2^(C).GmDREB3 positively regulated the expression of GmFNSII-2^(C),increased flavone synthase abundance and improved the drought resistance.Furthermore,a singlebase mutation in the GmFNSII-2^(C) promoter generated an additional drought response element(CCCCT),which had stronger interaction strength with GmDREB3 and increased its transcriptional activity under drought conditions.The frequency of drought-resistant soybean varieties with Hap 1(Pro:GmFNSII-2^(C))has increased,suggesting that this haplotype may be selected during soybean breeding.In summary,GmFNSII-2^(C) could be used for molecular breeding of drought-tolerant soybean.

Spatial-temporal variations and driving factors of soil organic carbon in forest ecosystems of Northeast China

Forest soil carbon is a major carbon pool of terrestrial ecosystems,and accurate estimation of soil organic carbon(SOC)stocks in forest ecosystems is rather challenging.This study compared the prediction performance of three empirical model approaches namely,regression kriging(RK),multiple stepwise regression(MSR),random forest(RF),and boosted regression trees(BRT)to predict SOC stocks in Northeast China for 1990 and 2015.Furthermore,the spatial variation of SOC stocks and the main controlling environmental factors during the past 25 years were identified.A total of 82(in 1990)and 157(in 2015)topsoil(0–20 cm)samples with 12 environmental factors(soil property,climate,topography and biology)were selected for model construction.Randomly selected80%of the soil sample data were used to train the models and the other 20%data for model verification using mean absolute error,root mean square error,coefficient of determination and Lin's consistency correlation coefficient indices.We found BRT model as the best prediction model and it could explain 67%and 60%spatial variation of SOC stocks,in 1990,and 2015,respectively.Predicted maps of all models in both periods showed similar spatial distribution characteristics,with the lower SOC in northeast and higher SOC in southwest.Mean annual temperature and elevation were the key environmental factors influencing the spatial variation of SOC stock in both periods.SOC stocks were mainly stored under Cambosols,Gleyosols and Isohumosols,accounting for 95.6%(1990)and 95.9%(2015).Overall,SOC stocks increased by 471 Tg C during the past 25 years.Our study found that the BRT model employing common environmental factors was the most robust method for forest topsoil SOC stocks inventories.The spatial resolution of BRT model enabled us to pinpoint in which areas of Northeast China that new forest tree planting would be most effective for enhancing forest C stocks.Overall,our approach is likely to be useful in forestry management and ecological restoration at and beyond the regional scale.

Genetic variation in ZmSO contributes to ABA response and drought tolerance in maize seedlings

Water scarcity impairs maize growth and yield.Identification and deployment of superior droughttolerance alleles is desirable for the genetic improvement of stress tolerance in maize.Our previous study revealed that maize sulfite oxidase(SO) catalyzes the oxidation of sulfite to sulfate and may be involved in drought response.But it was unclear whether the natural variation in Zm SO is directly associated with the drought resistance of maize.In the present study,we showed that Zm SO was associated with drought tolerance in maize seedlings,using gene association analysis and a transgene approach.A 14-bp insertion variation,containing two ABA-responsive elements,in the promoter region of Zm SO conferred ABAinducible expression,leading to increased drought tolerance.Genetic selection of this favorable allele increased drought tolerance.This study has identified elite alleles associated with sulfur metabolism for improving maize drought resistance.

Spatial-temporal dynamics of desert vegetation and its responses to climatic variations over the last three decades:a case study of Hexi region in Northwest China

Analysis of spatial-temporal variations of desert vegetation under the background of climate changes can provide references for ecological restoration in arid and semi-arid areas. In this study, we used the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies （GIMMS） NDVI data from 1982 to 2006 and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （MODIS） NDVI data from 2000 to 2013 to reveal the dynamics of desert vegetation in Hexi region of Northwest China over the past three decades. We also used the annual temperature and precipitation data acquired from the Chinese meteorological stations to analyze the response of desert vegetation to climatic variations. The average value of NDVImax （the maximum NDVI during the growing season） for desert vegetation in Hexi region increased at the rate of 0.65x10-3/a （P〈0.05） from 1982 to 2013, and the significant increases of NDVImax mainly appeared in the typical desert vegetation areas. Vegetation was significantly improved in the lower reaches of Shule and Shiyang river basins, and the weighted mean center of desert vegetation mainly shifted toward the lower reaches of the two basins. Almost 95.32% of the total desert vegetation area showed positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation, indicating that precipitation is the key factor for desert vegetation growth in the entire study area. Moreover, the areas with non-significant positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation mainly located in the lower reaches of Shiyang and Shule river basins, this may be due to human activities. Only 7.64% of the desert vegetation showed significant positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation in the Shule River Basin （an extremely arid area）, indicating that precipitation is not the most important factor for vegetation growth in this basin, and further studies are needed to investigate the mechanism for this phenomenon.

Spatial-temporal Variation of Extreme Precipitation Events in Northwest China During 1961-2010

Using the daily precipitation data of 118 meteorological stations in Northwest China from January 1, 1961 to December 31,2010, we analyzed extreme precipitation events from prime precipitation data by applying R-language Climate Index （RClimDex）. The spatial-temporal change characteristics in the past 50 years have been examined using the method of trend analysis, Mann-Kendall and the spatial analysis module of Arcgis9.2. The results show that the spatial distribution of the indices for extreme precipitation in Northwest China is greatly influenced by geographic location, atmospheric circulation and topography, and the spatial difference of extreme precipitation events is very evident, while the indices reduce from the southeast to the northwest except Consecutive Dry Days （CDD）. In Xinjiang region, high values appear in Tianshan Mountains and decrease towards the south and north respectively. In the past 50 years, the temporal variation tendency of the indices for extreme precipitation in Northwest China has a great spatial distinction. It shows that the variation tendency is opposite between the east （decrease） and the west （increase）, and CDD has a decreasing tendency while other indices increase. For each region, it is found that the indices for extreme precipitation in Xinjiang and Qinghai Province shows an increasing trend, and it is remarkable in Tianshan Mountains, the north of Xinjiang and the northeast of Qinghai Province. The temporal variation tendency of the indices for extreme precipitation in Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu has a large spatial distinction. The stations which have an increasing tend are mainly found in the north of Ningxia, south of Shaanxi and Hexi Corridor of Gansu. However, the south of Ningxia, north of Shaanxi and Longnan of Gansu Province mainly present a decreasing trend. The temporal variation tendency of the indices for extreme precipitation in Inner Mongolia is not obvious. Overall, the east part of Northwest China has a dry tendency, while the west part has an opposite trend.

Spatial-temporal characters of Antarctic sea ice variation

Using sea ice concentration dataset covering the period of 1968-2002 obtained from the Hadley Center of UK, this paper investigates characters of Antarctic sea ice variations .The finding demonstrates that the change of mean sea-ice extent is almost consistent with that of sea-ice area, so sea-ice extent can be chosen to go on this research. The maximum and the minimum of Antarctic sea ice appear in September and February respectively. The maximum and the maximal variation of sea ice appear in Weddell Sea and Ross Sea, while the minimum and the minimal variation of sea-ice appear in Antarctic Peninsula. In recent 35 years, as a whole, Antarctic sea ice decreased distinctly. Moreover, there are 5 subdivision characteristic regions considering their different variations. Hereinto, the sea-ice extent of Weddell Sea and Ross Sea regions extends and area increases, while the sea-ice extent of the other three regions contracts and area decreases. They are all of obvious 2-4 years and 5-7 years significant oscillation periods. It is of significance for further understanding the sea-ice-air interaction in Antarctica region and discussing the relationship between sea-ice variation and atmospheric circulation.

Seasonal variations of leaf traits and drought adaptation strategies of four common woody species in South Texas, USA

Understanding physiological responses and drought adaptation strategies of woody plant leaf traits in sub-humid to semi-arid regions is of vital importance to understand the interplay between ecological processes and plant resource-allocation strategies of different tree species.Seasonal variations of leaf morphological traits,stoichiometric traits and their relationships of two drought tolerant woody species,live oak(Quercus virginiana)and honey mesquite(Prosopis glandulosa)and two less drought tolerant species,sugarberry(Celtis laevigata)and white ash(Fraxinus americana)were analyzed in a sub-humid to semi-arid area of south Texas,USA.Our findings demonstrate that for the two drought tolerant species,the leguminous P.glandulosa had the highest specific leaf area,leaf N,P,and lowest leaf area and dry mass,indicating that P.glandulosa adapts to an arid habitat by decreasing leaf area,thus reducing water loss,reflecting a resource acquisition strategy.While the evergreen species Q.virginiana exhibited higher leaf dry mass,leaf dry matter content,C content,C:N,C:P and N:P ratios,adapts to an arid habitat through increased leaf thickness and thus reduced water loss,reflecting a resource conservation strategy in south Texas.For the two less drought tolerant deciduous species,the variations of leaf traits in C.laevigata and F.americana varied between Q.virginiana and P.glandulosa,reflecting a trade-off between rapid plant growth and nutrient maintenance in a semi-arid environment.

Detection of Allelic Variation in Chinese Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Germplasm with Drought ToleranceUsing SSR Markers

Allelic variation in two domestic wheat landraces, Pingyaobaimai and Mazhamai, two cornerstone breeding materials and their derived cultivars with drought tolerance was detected by SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers. The clustering of 25 accessions showed that the similarity between Pingyaobaimai and Yandal817, the latter was developed from the former, was 0.71, the highest one of all accessions, but the similarities were very low between these two accessions and other accessions including their derived cultivars. A similar situation was revealed between Mazhamai and its derived cultivars. Pingyaobaimai and its three derived cultivars shared three alleles at loci Xgwm526, Xgwm538 and Xgwm126 on chromosome arms 2BL, 4BL and 5AL, respectively. There were six shared alleles in Mazhamai and its derived cultivars, in order of Xgwm157, Xgwm126, Xgwm212, Xgwm626, Xgwm471 and Xgwm44 on chromosome arms 2DL, 5AL, 5DL, 6BL, 7AS and 7DC, respectively. Only one shared allele was detected between the pedigrees of Pingyaobaimai and Mazhamai. The difference of shared alleles in two cornerstone breeding materials and their derived cultivars revealed the diversity in Chinese wheat germplasm with drought tolerance and the complication in genetic basis of drought tolerance in wheat.

Analysis of drought tolerance and genetic and epigenetic variations in a somatic hybrid between Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. and I. triloba L.

The somatic hybrid KT1 was previously obtained from protoplast fusion between sweetpotato （Ipomoea batatas （L.） Lam.） cv. Kokei No. 14 and its wild relative I. triloba L. However, its genetic and epigenetic variations have not been investigated. This study showed that KT1 exhibited significantly higher drought tolerance compared to the cultivated parent Kokei No. 14. The content of proline and activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD） and photosynthesis were significantly increased, while malonaldehyde （MDA） content was significantly decreased compared to Kokei No. 14 under drought stress. KT1 also showed higher expression level of well-known drought stress-responsive genes compared to Kokei No. 14 under drought stress. Amplified fragment length polymorphism （AFLP） and methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism （MSAP） analyses indicated that KT1 had AFLP and MSAP band patterns consisting of both parent specific bands and changed bands. Fur- ther analysis demonstrated that in KT1. the proportions of Kokei No. 14 specific genome components and methylation sites were much greater than those of I. triloba. KT1 had the same chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes as Kokei No. 14. These results will aid in developing the useful genes ofI. triloba and understanding the evolution and phylogeny of the cultivated sweetpotato.

Seasonal variations in glacier velocity in the High Mountain Asia region during 2015–2020

Velocity is an important component of glacier dynamics and directly reflects the response of glaciers to climate change.As a result,an accurate determination of seasonal variation in glacier velocity is very important in understanding the annual variation in glacier dynamics.However,few studies of glacier velocity in the High Mountain Asia(HMA)region were done.Along these lines,in this work,based on Sentinel-1 glacier velocity data,the distribution of glacier velocity in the HMA region was plotted and their seasonal variations during 2015-2020 were systematically analysed.The average glacier velocity in the HMA region was 0.053 m/d,and was positively correlated with the glacier area and slope.Glaciers in the Karakoram Mountains had the fastest average flow velocity(0.060 m/d),where the glaciers exhibited the largest average area and average slope.Moreover,glaciers in the GangdisêMountains had the slowest velocity(0.022 m/d)and the smallest average glacier area.The glacier flows were the fastest in spring(0.058 m/d),followed by summer(0.050 m/d),autumn(0.041 m/d),and winter(0.040 m/d).In addition,the glacier flows were the maximum in May,being 1.4 times of the annual average velocity.In some areas,such as the Qilian,Altun,Tibetan Interior,Eastern Kunlun,and Western Kunlun mountains,the peak glacier velocities appeared in June and July.The glacier velocity in the HMA region decreased in midsummer and reached the minimum in December when it was 75%of the annual average.These results highlight the role of meltwater in the seasonal variation in glacier flows in late spring and early summer.The seasonal velocity variation of lake-terminating glaciers was similar to that of land-terminating ones,but the former flowed faster.The velocity difference close to the mass balance line between the lake-and land-terminating glaciers was obviously greater in spring than in other seasons.In summer,the difference between the lake-and land-terminating glaciers at a normalized distance of 0.05-0.40 from the terminus was significantly greater than those of other seasons.The velocity difference between the lake-and land-terminating glaciers is closely related to the variable of ice thickness,and also to the frictional force of the terminal base reduced by proglacial lakes.Thus,it can be concluded that in addition to the variation of the glacier thickness and viscosity,the variation of glacier water input also plays a key role in the seasonal variation of glacier velocity.

Studies on the Northern Early Summer Teleconnection Patterns, Their Interannual Variations and Relation to Drought / Flood in China

By using the one-point correlation method, calculations have been made of the northern early summer 500 hPa teleconnection patterns. Seven teleconnection patterns are revealed, namely, the Western Atlantic (WA), the Eastern Atlantic (EA), the Eurasian (EU), the Bengal / Northern Pacific (BNP), the Western Pacific (WP), the East Asian / Pacific (EAP), and the Huanghe / East Asian (HEA) patterns. Their centers are determined and their yearly intensity indices (1951-1990) are calculated. On this basis the relationship between their interannual variations and the drought / flood in China is examined. It is noted that the EU, HEA and EAP wave trains are closely related to the drought / flood in China. The HEA and EAP patterns strongly influence the precipitation in eastern China. For example, the fierce floods experienced in 1991 early summer over China are related to the weak EAP and strong HEA patterns.

Spatial-temporal difference between nitrate in groundwater and nitrogen in soil based on geostatistical analysis

The study of temporal and spatial variations of nitrate in groundwater under different soil nitrogen environments is helpful to the security of groundwater resources in agricultural areas.In this paper,based on 320 groups of soil and groundwater samples collected at the same time,geostatistical analysis and multiple regression analysis were comprehensively used to conduct the evaluation of nitrogen contents in both groundwater and soil.From May to August,as the nitrification of groundwater is dominant,the average concentration of nitrate nitrogen is 34.80 mg/L;The variation of soil ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen is moderate from May to July,and the variation coefficient decreased sharply and then increased in August.There is a high correlation between the nitrate nitrogen in groundwater and soil in July,and there is a high correlation between the nitrate nitrogen in groundwater and ammonium nitrogen in soil in August and nitrate nitrogen in soil in July.From May to August,the area of low groundwater nitrate nitrogen in 0-5 mg/L and 5-10 mg/L decreased from 10.97%to 0,and the proportion of high-value area(greater than 70 mg/L)increased from 21.19%to 27.29%.Nitrate nitrogen is the main factor affecting the quality of groundwater.The correlation analysis of nitrate nitrogen in groundwater,nitrate nitrogen in soil and ammonium nitrogen shows that they have a certain period of delay.The areas with high concentration of nitrate in groundwater are mainly concentrated in the western part of the study area,which has a high consistency with the high value areas of soil nitrate distribution from July to August,and a high difference with the spatial position of soil ammonia nitrogen distribution in August.

VARIATION AND CAUSES OF PERSISTENT DROUGHT EVENTS IN GUANGDONG PROVINCE

Variation characteristics of persistent drought events in Guangdong province are analyzed using 45-year(1961-2005) and 86-station observational precipitation data of Guangdong,and the causes of drought events are discussed from different angles(e.g.,atmospheric circulation,sea surface temperature) on the basis of global coverage datasets of sea surface temperature and atmospheric elements.It is found that the occurrence frequency of persistent drought events in Guangdong province is once every 26 months on average,and autumn-winter or winter-spring persistent drought events take up the majority.The persistent drought events possess large scale spatial characteristics.While the 1960s is the most frequent and strongest decade of drought events in the latter half of the 20th century,the occurrence is more frequent and the intensity is stronger in the first five years of the 21st century(2001-2005).This reflects the response of regional extreme climatic events in Guangdong to global climatic change.The atmospheric circulation,sea surface temperature,etc,appear to have different abnormal characteristics when drought events happen in different seasons.The results of this paper provide some good reference information for the drought forecast,especially for the dynamic interpretation of climatic model products.

VARIATION OF PRECIPITATION DURING WINTER AS A CAUSE OF SUSTAINED DROUGHT IN GUANGDONG DURING THE PAST 50 YEARS

The variation characteristics of precipitation during the winter(between October and the following March,to be referred to as just"the winter"hereafter) in Guangdong province during the past 50 years(from 1957 to 2006) and the relationship with Pacific SST are studied using the methods of Empirical Orthogonal Function(EOF) analysis,wavelet analysis,and correlation analysis.The results show that The Guangdong precipitation during the winter exhibits quasi-periodic significant oscillations of 40 years and 2 years;rainfall is less from the end of the 1950s to the start of the 1970s and from the end of the 1990s to the present than from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s.The frequency of sustained drought is more than sustained flooding during the winter.The Guangdong precipitation during this time period is in significantly positive correlation to the equatorial central and eastern Pacific SST,but in a significantly negative correlation with the western and northern Pacific SST east of the Philippine Sea.61.5% of the sustained drought occurred in the phase of negative anomalies of the Nio3.4 index and 38.5% in the phase of positive ones.A composite analysis of atmospheric circulation is performed for the positive and negative phases of the Nio3.4 region associated with the sustained drought.The results showed that a weak polar vortex,a strong trough in Europe and a ridge near Balkhash Lake,active cold air and consistent northerly wind anomalies controlling Guangdong at low levels,an inactive westerly low disturbance in the low-mid latitude of the Asian continent,and a weak southern branch westerly trough,are all mutual causes for the sustained drought.

Variation and heritability of morphological and physiological traits among Leymus chinensis genotypes under different environmental conditions

Intraspecific trait variation and heritability in different environmental conditions not only suggest a potential for an evolutionary response but also have important ecological consequences at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. However, the contribution of quantitative trait variation within a grassland species to evolutionary responses or ecological consequences is seldom documented. Leymus chinensis is an important dominant species in semi-arid grasslands of China, which has seriously suffered from drought and high temperature stresses in recent decades. In the present study, we measured variation and heritability of 10 quantitative traits, namely the number of tillers, maximum shoot height, number of rhizomes, maximum rhizome length, rhizome mass, aboveground mass, root mass, maximum net photosynthetic rate(Pmax), specific leaf area(SLA), and leaf length to leaf width ratio(LL/LW), for 10 genotypes of L. chinensis under one non-stress(Ck) condition and three environmental stress conditions(i.e., drought(Dr), high temperature(Ht), and both drought and high temperature(DrHt)). Result indicated that(1) the interaction of genotype and environmental condition(G×E) was significant for 6 traits but not significant for the other 4 traits as shown by two-way analysis of variance(ANOVA), suggesting that different selection forces were placed for different traits on the factors dominating phenotypic responses to different environmental conditions. Moreover, these significant G×E effects on traits indicated significantly different phenotypic adaptive responses among L. chinensis genotypes to different environmental conditions. Additionally, individuals could be grouped according to environmental condition rather than genotype as shown by canonical discriminant analysis, indicating that environmental condition played a more important role in affecting phenotypic variation than genotype;(2) by one-way ANOVA, significant differences among L. chinensis genotypes were found in all 10 traits under Ck and Dr conditions, in 8 traits under Dr Ht condition and only in 4 traits under Ht condition; and(3) all 10 traits showed relatively low or non-measurable broad-sense heritability(H_2) under stress conditions. However, the lowest H_2 value for most traits did not occur under DrHt condition, which supported the hypothesis of 'unfavorable conditions have unpredictable effects' rather than 'unfavorable conditions decrease heritability'. Results from our experiment might aid to improve predictions on the potential impacts of climate changes on L. chinensis and eventually species conservation and ecosystem restoration.

Spatial distributions and interannual variations of snow cover over China in the last 40 years

By using the observational snow data of more than 700 weather stations,the interannual temporal and spatial characteristics of seasonal snow cover in China were analyzed.The results show that northern Xinjiang,northeastern China–Inner Mongolia,and the southwestern and southern portions of Tibetan Plateau are three regions in China with high seasonal snow cover and also an interannual anomaly of snow cover.According to the trend of both the snow depth and snow cover days,there are three changing patterns for the seasonal snow cover:The first type is that both snow depth and snow cover days simultaneously increase or decrease;this includes northern Xinjiang,middle and eastern Inner Mongolia,and so on.The second is that snow depth increases but snow cover days decrease;this type mainly locates in the eastern parts of the northeastern plain of China and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.The last type is that snow depth decreases but snow cover days increase at the same time such as that in middle parts of Tibetan Plateau.Snow cover in China appears to have been having a slow increasing trend during the last 40 years.On the decadal scale,snow depth and snow cover days slightly increased in the 1960s and then decreased in the 1970s;they again turn to increasing in the 1980s and persist into 1990s.

Haplotypic Structure and Allelic Variation of rab17,an ABA-Responsive Gene,in a Mini Core Set of Chinese Diversified Maize Inbred Lines

Drought stress is one of the most important factors limiting maize production. Rab17 is an ABA-responsive gene and associated with drought tolerance. In order to identify haplotypic structure and mine allelic variants at tab17 locus, nucleotide diversity and linkage disequilibrium （LD） structure of rab17 were evaluated among a mini core set of Chinese diversified maize inbred lines. Totally, 19 SNP and 18 insertion/deletions （InDels） were identified, among which 81% were in non-coding regions and 19% in coding regions. The results showed that a high level of diversity appeared within 1 kb upstream of the rabl 7 locus, and declined quickly downstream of the gene region. Rapid decay of linkage disequilibrium of rabl 7 region with distance within 1 kb was detected. Functional markers which can be developed based on haplotype 14 are expected to have contribution to molecular breeding for drought tolerance.

Variations in aeolian landform patterns in the Gonghe Basin over the last 30 years

Wind erosion,or the transportation and deposition of sand into desert dunes and aeolian loess,is one of the most important aeolian activities.The progression of aeolian landforms expands arid and barren landscapes,leading to the degradation of adjacent areas.The Gonghe Basin,as a typical plateau with abundant sand sources,is highly sensitive to changes in the local climate conditions.In order to quantify the spatial-temporal variations in the aeolian landforms in the Gonghe Basin,we conducted field surveys and also analyzed twelve remote sensing(Landsat5 TM and Landsat8 OLI)images that sample the Gonghe Basin from 1989 to 2019.In the Gonghe Basin,we identified aeolian landforms such as climbing dunes on the windward slopes of the foothills,checkerboard dunes in the southeastern part of the basin,flat dunes,parabolic dunes and crescent dunes on the east and west sides of Longyangxia Reservoir,shrubby sandbanks on the valley slope in Shazhuyu,Tanggemu,and Indel,and sandy thickets at the bottom of the valley near the Dalian Sea,the Longyangxia Reservoir,and the tributaries of the Yellow River.From 1989 to 2005,the area of the aeolian regions expanded by 816.7 km2,with an annual conversion rate of 0.05%.From 2015 to 2019,the area of the aeolian regions shrunk by 2411.9 km2,with an annual conversion rate of−0.15%.The number and size of the fixed and semi-fixed dunes(e.g.the shrubby sandbanks on the valley slope and the sandy thickets at the bottom of the valley)were more stable than those of the mobile dunes(e.g.the checkerboard dunes,the flat dunes,the crescent dunes,the parabolic dunes,and the climbing dunes).The fixed and semi-fixed dunes were arranged in an irregular ring shape,and the location of the center of gravity of this ring did not change significantly from 1989 to 2019;in this time,the mobile dunes migrated to the northwest.

Investigating spatial and temporal variations of soil moisture content in an arid mining area using an improved thermal inertia model

Mining operations can usually lead to environmental deteriorations. Underground mining activities could cause an extensive decrease in groundwater level and thus a dramatic variation in soil moisture content（SMC）. In this study, the spatial and temporal variations of SMC from 2001 to 2015 at two spatial scales（i.e., the Shendong coal mining area and the Daliuta Coal Mine） were analyzed using an improved thermal inertia model with a long-term series of Landsat TM/OLI（TM=Thematic Mapper and OLI=Operational Land Imager） data. Our results show that at large spatial scale（the Shendong coal mining area）, underground mining activities had insignificant negative impacts on SMC and that at small spatial scale（the Daliuta Coal Mine）, underground mining activities had significant negative impacts on SMC. Trend analysis of SMC demonstrated that areas with decreasing trend of SMC were mainly distributed in the mined area, indicating that underground mining is a primary cause for the drying trend in the mining region in this arid environment.