Ecological and hydrologic evolution history in the sensitive zone of both East Asian summer monsoon and Westerly since the Last Glacial Maximum

The Qilian Mountains,located in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,is a sensitive zone of both East Asian summer monsoon(EASM)and westerly winds(WW).The evolution history and driving mechanism of the ecosystem and hydrologic cycle in this region on long-term timescales have not yet been clarified.In this study,we comprehensively study the hydrologic and ecological evolution history in the sensitive zone since the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM)by integrating surface sediments,paleoclimate records,TraCE-21ka transient simulations,and PMIP3-CMIP5 multi-model simulation.Results show that hydrologic and ecological proxies from surface sediments are significantly different from west to east and mainly divided into three sections:the monsoonaffected region in the eastern Qilian Mountains,the intersection region in the central Qilian Mountains,and the westerly-affected region in the western Qilian Mountains.Meanwhile,paleo-ecological and paleohydrologic reconstructions from the surroundings uncover a synchronous climate evolution that the EASM mainly controls the eastern Qilian Mountains and penetrates the central Qilian Mountains in monsoon intensity maximum,while the WW dominates the central and western Qilian Mountains on both glacial-interglacial and millennial timescales.The simulation results further bear out the glacial humid climate in the central and western Qilian Mountains caused by the enhanced WW,and the humidity maximum in the eastern Qilian Mountains controlled by the strong mid-Holocene monsoon.In general,east-west differences in climate pattern and response for the EASM and the WW are integrally stable on both short-term and long-term timescales.

Inter-and intra-specific phenotypic variation of ecological stoichiometric traits in a mixed-oak secondary forest in China

Ecological stoichiometry provides a framework for the balance and flow of elements between organisms and ecosystems.Elemental phenotypes have an important influence on the environmental adaptation and ecological evolution of plants.There have been few reports on inter-and intra-specific phenotypic variations of ecological stoichiometric traits for congeneric species in a mixed forest although such variations are well-documented at the species level at global,regional and local scales.In this study,total carbon(TC),nitrogen(TN),phosphorus(TP)and potassium(TK)were measured in leaves and the elemental phenotypes were statistically analyzed in four species of oaks—Quercus fabri,Q.serrata var.glandulifera,Q.acutissima and Q.variabilis—in a mixed-oak secondary forest in Yushan,Jiangsu,China.The average element concentrations in the four oak species were not relatively higher than previously reported for oaks from world and Chinese flora.Ecological stoichiometry traits were correlated with tree height and diameter at breast height,indicating that phosphorous and potassium were positively correlated with tree size,while carbon was negatively correlated,especially the relationship between oak growth and total carbon or total phosphorus was obvious,and the study concluded that this was because plant growth depended on phosphorus storage and had opposite effects on leaf carbon accumulation.Based on tree plasticity index and the coefficient of variation,there was medium variation in element concentrations.The plasticity index of total carbon levels was the lowest,and that of potassium the highest.Principal component analysis and cluster analysis showed that the intra-specific variation among the four oak species was higher than inter-specific variation.From the perspective of nutrient supply and ecological adaptation,this study creates a foundation for the management of secondary oak forest stands.

Sea level change and environmental evolution of coastal lakes in Vestfold Hills, Antarctica

Ecological and palaeoecological studies were carried out in a series of lakes in the Vestfold Hills (68°38′S, 78°06′E) on eastern Antarctic continent. Dynamics types of the lakes in environmental geomorphology and physic chemistry, as well as features of biological community structures in different lakes were analyzed. Marine macro and micro fossils collected from the terraces and beaches surrounding these lakes and determined in 14 C radiocarbon ages to be the Late Pleistocene, were used as evidences to show the evolutionary processes of the lakes after sea level changes and transgressions since 18000 a B.P.. Basic modals of evolution for the lakes given in the paper could be regarded as not only explaining the history of environmental and ecological changes in VH lakes, and also reflecting of local environmental evolution in Antarctic region and global climate changes from past to present time.