Effects of Freeze–thaw Cycles on Soil Mechanical and Physical Properties in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Extreme freeze-thaw action occurs on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau due to its unique climate resulting from high elevation and cold temperature.This action causes damage to the surface soil structure, as soil erosion in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is dominated by freeze-thaw erosion.In this research,freezing–thawing process of the soil samples collected from the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau was carried out by laboratory experiments to determinate the volume variation of soil as well as physical and mechanical properties, such as porosity, granularity and uniaxial compressive strength, after the soil experiences various freeze–thaw cycles.Results show that cohesion and uniaxial compressive strength decreased as the volume and porosity of the soil increased after experiencing various freeze–thaw cycles, especially in the first six freeze–thaw cycles.Consequently, the physical and mechanical properties of the soil were altered.However, granularity and internal friction angle did not vary significantly with an increase in the freeze–thaw cycle.The structural damage among soil particles due to frozen water expansion was the major cause of changes in soil mechanical behavior in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.

Evapotranspiration and Soil Moisture Balance for Vegetative Restoration in a Gully Catchment on the Loess Plateau, China

Evapotranspiration, soil moisture balance and the dynamics in a gully catchment of the Loess Plateau in China were determined with 6 land use treatments including natural grassland, shrubs (Caragana microphylla), two woodlands (Prunus armeniaca var. ansu and Pmus tabulaeformis), cultivated fallow, and farmland (Triticum aestivum L.) in order to obtain a better understanding of soil moisture balance principles and to improve vegetation restoration efficiency for ecological rebuilding on the plateau. Average runoff from cultivated fallow was very high, reaching 10.3% of the seasonal rainfall. Evapotranspiration under T. aestivum was not significantly different from natural grasslands. Compared with natural grass, evapotranspiration was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in 2002 and there was an increase in soil moisture depleted in the 1-3 m soil under P. armeniaca, P. tabulaeformis and C. microphylla. During the two years of the study the average soil moisture (0-100 cm soil profile) of T. aestivum was generally the highest, with P. armeniaca, P. tabulaeformis and C. microphylla usually the lowest. Thus, according to the soil moisture balance principle for this area the planned reforestation project was not ecologically reasonable. Reducing human disturbance and restoration with grass could be more effective.

An Indicator System for Assessing Soil Erosion in the Loess Plateau Gully Regions:A Case Study in the Wangdonggou Watershed,China

The Wangdonggou Watershed on the Loess Plateau in China was selected as the study area to develop a model for soil erosion assessments. Using the data collected at 20 sampling sites all tentatively selected indicators were assessed against their corresponding erosion intensity through a correlation analysis. Eight highly correlated indicators were then chosen for the soil erosion assessment. In addition, threshold limits to delineate the class size for these indicators and weights to rank them were determined. Next, a grading model incorporating the selected indicators class rating and their associated weights was developed and verified by an on site evaluation of the soil erosion intensity in the study area. Results of the verification showed that the overall accuracy of the indicator system for assessing soil erosion in the Loess Plateau gully regions could reach 85%.

Effect of Vegetation Changes on Soil Erosion on the Loess Plateau

Vegetation is one of the key factors affecting soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. The effects of vegetation destruction and vegetation restoration on soil erosion were quantified using data from long-term field runoff plots established on the eastern slope of the Ziwuling secondary forest region, China and a field survey. The results showed that before the secondary vegetation restoration period (before about 1866-1872), soil erosion in the Ziwuling region of the Loess Plateau was similar to the current erosion conditions in neighboring regions, where the soil erosion rate now is 8000 to 10000 t km-2 year-1. After the secondary vegetation restoration, soil erosion was very low; influences of rainfall and slope gradient on soil erosion were small; the vegetation effect on soil erosion was predominant; shallow gully and gully erosion ceased; and sediment deposition occurred in shallow gully and gully channels. In modern times when human activities destroyed secondary forests, soil erosion increased markedly, and erosion rates in the deforested lands reached 10000 to 24000 t km-2 year-1, which was 797 to 1682 times greater than those in the forested land prior to deforestation. Rainfall intensity and landform greatly affected the soil erosion process after deforestation. These results showed that accelerated erosion caused by vegetation destruction played a key role in soil degradation and eco-environmental deterioration in deforested regions.

Variations in Soil Temperature at BJ Site on the Central Tibetan Plateau

The temporal and spatial variation in soil temperature play a significant role in energy and water cycle between land surface and atmosphere on the Tibetan Plateau.Based on the observed soil temperature data(hourly data from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005)obtained by GAME-Tibet,the diurnal,seasonal and interannual variations in soil temperature at BJ site(31.37°N,91.90°E;4509 m a.s.l.)near Naqu in the central Tibetan Plateau were analyzed.Results showed that the average diurnal variation in soil temperature at 4 and 20 cm depth can be described as sinusoidal curve,which is consistent with the variation of solar radiation. However,the average diurnal variation in soil temperature under 60 cm was very weak.The average diurnal amplitude in soil temperature decreased by the exponential decay function with the increase of soil depth(R2=0.92,p<0.01).It is demonstrated that the average diurnal maximum soil temperature decreased by the exponential decay function with the increase of soil depth(R2=0.78,p<0.01).In contrast, the average diurnal minimum soil temperature increased by the exponential grow function with increasing of soil depth(R2=0.86,p<0.01).There were a linear negative correlation between the average annual maximum Ts and soil depth(R2=0.96, p<0.01),a logarithmic function relationship between the average annual minimum soil temperature and soil depth(R2=0.92,p<0.01).The average seasonal amplitude in soil temperature followed the exponential decay function with the increase of soil depth(R2=0.98,p<0.01).The mean annual soil temperature in each layer indicated a warming trend prominently.During the study period,the mean annual soil temperature at 4,20,40,60,80,100,130, 160,200 and 250 cm depth increased by 0.034,0.041, 0.061,0.056,0.062,0.050,0.057,0.051,0.047 and 0.042°C/a,respectively.

Soil Taxonomy and Distribution Characteristics of the Permafrost Region in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Understanding the soil taxonomy and distribution characteristics of the permafrost region in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP) is very important. On the basis of extensive field surveys and experimental analysis, this study carries out soil taxonomic classification of the permafrost region in the QTP. According to Chinese Soil Taxonomy, the soil of the permafrost region in the QTP can be divided into 6 Orders(Histosols, Aridosols, Gleyosols, Isohumosols, Cambosols, Primosols), 11 Suborders, 19 Groups and 24 Subgroups. Cambosols are the dominant soil type in the permafrost region, followed by Aridosols. From the east to the west of the permafrost region in the QTP, the soil type gradually changes from Cambosols to Aridosols, showing a meridional zonality. The eastern region is dominated by Cambosols, with no obvious latitudinal zonality. From the south to the northwest of the western region, the dominance of Aridosols and Cambosols gradually transited to Aridosols, presenting a latitudinal zonality. The soil in the western region shows a poor vertical zonality, while the distribution of suborders of Cambosols in the eastern region shows a more obvious vertical zonality. The result indicates that precipitation and vegetation are the main factors that influence the zonal distribution of soil. The permafrost in the east has some effect on the vertical soil zonality, but the effect is weakened in the west.

Anomaly feature of seasonal frozen soil variationson the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The seasonal frozen soil on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has strong response to climate change, and its freezing-thawing process also affects East Asia climate. In this paper, the freezing soil maximum depth of 46 stations covering 1961–1999 on the plateau is analyzed by rotated experience orthogonal function (REOF). The results show that there are four main frozen anomaly regions on the plateau, i.e., the northeastern, southeastern and southern parts of the plateau and Qaidam Basin. The freezing soil depths of the annual anomaly regions in the above representative stations show that there are different changing trends. The main trend, except for the Qaidam Basin, has been decreasing since the 1980s, a sign of the climate warming. Compared with the 1980s, on the average, the maximum soil depth decreased by about 0.02 m, 0.05 m and 0.14 m in the northeastern, southeastern and southern parts of the plateau, but increased by about 0.57 m in the Qaidam Basin during the 1990s. It means there are different responses to climate system in the above areas. The spectrum analysis reveals different change cycles: in higher frequency there is an about 2-year long cycle in Qaidam Basin and southern part of the plateau in the four representative areas whereas in lower frequency there is an about 14-year long cycle in all the four representative areas due to the combined influence of different soil textures and solutes in four areas.

The effects of land use and its patterns on soil properties in a small catchment of the Loess Plateau

Due to relatively strong human activities in the hilly area of Loess Plateau, the natural vegetation has been destroyed, and landscape pattern based on agricultural land matrix was land use mosaic composing of shrub land, grassland, woodland and orchard. This pattern has an important effect on soil moisture and soil nutrients. The Danangou catchment, a typical small catchment, was selected to study the effects of land use and its patterns on soil moisture and nutrients in this paper. The results are as follows: The comparisons of soil moisture among seven land uses for wet year and dry year were performed: (1) the average of soil moisture content for whole catchment was 12.11% in wet year, while it was 9.37% in dry year; (2) soil moisture among seven land uses was significantly different in dry year, but not in wet year; (3) from wet year to dry year, the profile type of soil moisture changed from decreasing type to fluctuation-type and from fluctuant type to increasing type; (4) the increasing trend in soil moisture from the top to foot of hillslope occurred in simple land use along slope, while complicated distribution of soil moisture was observed in multiple land uses along slope. The relationships between soil nutrients and land uses and landscape positions were analysed: (1) five nutrient contents of soil organic matter (SOM), total N (TN), available N (AN), total P (TP) and available P (AP) in hilly area were lower than that in other areas. SOM content was less than 1%, TN content less than 0.07%, and TP content between 0.05% and 0.06%; (2) SOM and TN contents in woodland, shrub land and grassland were significantly higher than that in fallow land and cropland, and higher level in soil fertility was found in crop-fruit intercropping land among croplands; (3) soil nutrient distribution and responses to landscape positions were variable depending on slope and the location of land use types.

Fractal Characteristics of Soil under Different Land-Use Patterns in the Arid and Semi-Arid Region of the Western Tibet Plateau, China

The fractal geometry to the study of soil structure, its dynamics, andphysical processes appears to be a useful tool in reaching a better understanding of systemperformance. This research was designed to apply fractal models for mass into computingD_p and D_avalues. As a result, the relationships among land use methods, fractal dimension and soil fertilityhave been discussed. The study conclusions include that (i) fractal dimension indicates not onlycharacteristics of soil texture but also effects of natural environment changes and human activitieson soil properties, (ii) soil fertility is best when D_p< 2.65 and D_a < 2.44, (iii) maximal valuesof D_p under all land use patterns are equal and appear in the range the depth of 15-20 cm inthestudy area, but maximal values of D_a are different and distribute in various profile depth.These results can provide an important support to understand soil properties in plateau soil-formingenvironment, and be helpful to conduct scientific soil tillage and management.

Fractions and Bioavailability of Soil Inorganic Phosphorus in the Loess Plateau of China under Different Vegetations

Plants play an important role in soil phosphorus nutrition. However, the effect of plants on phosphorus nutrition in soils of the Loess Plateau of China is not well understood. This study was conducted to reveal the relationships between plants and phosphorus＇ fractions and availability in the Loess Plateau of China. Twenty-two plant communities were surveyed and soil samples under different plant canopies were collected for the determination of soil properties and inorganic phosphorus fractionation. The results showed that Leguminosae and Lilaceae reduced pH and increased organic matter, cation exchange capacity, total and Olsen phosphorus in soils under their canopies, while Labiatae and Rosaceae increased pH and decreased organic matter, cation exchange capacity, total and Olsen phosphorus in soils under their canopies. The contents of Ca2P, CasP, AI-P and Fe-P were highly related with soil Oisen phosphorus. They were all higher in soils under Leguminosae and Lilaceae and lower in softs under Labiatae and Rosaceae. The results of this study indicate that Leguminosae and Lilaceae improved phosphorus nutrition in soils, yet Labiatae and Rosaceae impeded the improvement of phosphorus nutrition in soils under their canopies, which will be of more help to instruct vegetation restoration in the region and provide information for soil development.

Degradation induces changes in the soil C:N:P stoichiometry of alpine steppe on the Tibetan Plateau

Due to the Tibetan Plateau’s unique high altitude and low temperature climate conditions,the region’s alpine steppe ecosystem is highly fragile and is suffering from severe degradation under the stress of increasing population,overgrazing,and climate change.The soil stoichiometry,a crucial part of ecological stoichiometry,provides a fundamental approach for understanding ecosystem processes by examining the relative proportions and balance of the three elements.Understanding the impact of degradation on the soil stoichiometry is vital for conservation and management in the alpine steppe on the Tibetan Plateau.This study aims to examine the response of soil stoichiometry to degradation and explore the underlying biotic and abiotic mechanisms in the alpine steppe.We conducted a field survey in a sequent degraded alpine steppe with seven levels inNorthern Tibet.The plant species,aboveground biomass,and physical and chemical soil properties such as the moisture content,temperature,pH,compactness,total carbon(C),total nitrogen(N),and total phosphorus(P)were measured and recorded.The results showed that the contents of soil C/N,C/P,and N/P consistently decreased along intensifying degradation gradients.Using regression analysis and a structural equation model(SEM),we found that the C/N,C/P,and N/P ratios were positively affected by the soil compactness,soil moisture content and species richness of graminoids but negatively affected by soil pH and the proportion of aboveground biomass of forbs.The soil temperature had a negative effect on the C/N ratio but showed positive effect on the C/P and N/P ratios.The current study shows that degradation-induced changes in abiotic and biotic conditions such as soil warming and drying,which accelerated the soil organic carbon mineralization,as well as the increase in the proportion of forbs,whichwere difficult to decompose and input less organic carbon into soil,resulted in the decreases in soil C/N,C/P,and N/P contents to a great extent.Our results provide a sound basis for sustainable conservation and management of the alpine steppe.

Diurnal and seasonal dynamics of soil respiration in a Platycladus orientalis forest stand on the semiarid Loess Plateau, China

Forest ecosystems on China's Loess Plateau are receiving increasing attention because of their special importance in carbon fixation and conservation of soil and water in the region.Soil respiration was investigated in Platycladus orientalis forest stands of the region at diurnal and seasonal scales.The daily and seasonal average values of soil respiration were 2.53μmol·m^(-2)·s^(-1)and 3.78μmol·m^(-2)·s^(-1),respectively.On a diurnal and seasonal scale,the variations of soil respiration in the P.orientalis forest show a one-peak pattern.The diurnal dynamics of soil respiration were mainly driven by soil temperature.However,the relationship between soil respiration and soil temperature was not significant,mainly because of the hysteresis effect of soil respiration on soil temperature.Soil moisture plays another dominant role in the ecosystem carbon balance,but was not affected by soil temperature in P.orientalis forest on the semiarid Loess Plateau.

Characteristics of GLDAS soil-moisture data on the Tibet Plateau

In this paper, the applicability of soil-moisture(SM) datasets of GLDAS(Global Land Data Assimilation System) in an alpine region(Tibet Plateau, TP) is investigated. The relations and discrepancies between the GLDAS-NOAH SM(0~10cm) and the observations are compared; the possible reasons for errors over the TP are explored. The results show that GLDAS SM biases mainly show up in errors of values in the nonfrozen period(April to October) and changes of SM along with the temperature, especially during the freezing-thawing process in the frozen period(November to March). The biases of GLDAS SM in the nonfrozen period are mainly caused by the GLDAS precipitation-forcing data. The errors of GLDAS SM in the frozen period are speculated to be induced by the freeze-thaw parameterization scheme in the land-surface model.

Diurnal and seasonal dynamics of soil respiration in desert shrubland of Artemisia Ordosica on Ordos Plateau of Inner Mongolia, China

The diurnal and seasonal dynamics of soil respiration in the A. ordosica shrubland on Ordos Plateau were investigated in the growing season （May-October） of 2006 and their environmental driving factors were also analyzed, Results indicated that diurnal dynamics of soil respiration rate and its temperature dependence showed some discrepancy in two different growth stages （the vegetative growth stage and the reproductive growth stage）. During the vegetative growth stage, the diurnal variation of soil respiration was slight and not correlated with the daily temperature change, but during the reproductive growth stage, the daily respiration variation was relatively large and significantly correlated with the diurnal variation of air and soil temperature. In the growing season, the peak value of soil respiration occurred at July and August because of the better soil water-heat conditions and their optimal deployment in this period. In the shrubland ecosystem, precipitation was the switch of soil respiration pulses and can greatly increase soil respiration rates after soil rewetting. Moreover, the soil respiration rates in the growing season and the air temperature and soil surface water content were closely correlated （p〈0.05） each other. The stepwise regression model indicated that the variation of soil surface moisture accounted for 41.9% of the variation in soil respiration （p〈0.05）.

Effects of artificially cultivated biological soil crusts on soil nutrients and biological activities in the Loess Plateau

Biological soil crusts （BSCs） play an important role in the early succession of vegetation restoration in the Loess Plateau, China. To evaluate the effects of artificially cultivated BSCs on the soil surface micro-envir- onment, we obtained natural moss crusts and moss-lichen crusts from the Loess Plateau of Shaanxi province, and subsequently inoculated and cultivated on horizontal and sloping surfaces of loess soil in a greenhouse. The chemical and biological properties of the subsoil under cultivated BSCs were determined after 10 weeks of cul- tivation. The results indicated that BSCs coverage was more than 65% after 10 weeks of cultivation. Moss crust coverage reached 40% after 5 weeks of cultivation. Compared with the control, soil organic matter and available nitrogen contents in moss crust with the horizontal treatments increased by 100.87% and 48.23%, respectively; increased by 67.56% and 52.17% with the sloping treatments, respectively; they also increased in moss-lichen crust with horizontal and sloping treatments, but there was no significant difference. Available phosphorus in cultivated BSCs was reduced, soil pH was lower and cationic exchange capacity was higher in cultivated BSCs than in the control. Alkaline phosphatase, urease and invertase activities were increased in artificially cultivated BSCs, and alkaline phosphatase activity in all cultivated BSCs was obviously higher than that in the control. Numbers of soil bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes were increased in the formation process of cultivated BSCs. These results indicate that BSCs could be formed rapidly in short-term cultivation and improve the mi- cro-environment of soil surface, which provides a scientific reference for vegetation restoration and ecological reconstruction in the Loess Plateau. China.

Soil erosion and management on the Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau is well known to the world for its intense soil erosion. The root cause for river sedimentation of Yellow River (Huanghe) and its resultant “hanging river” in certain section is soil and water loss on the Loess Plateau. The Loess Plateau has a long cultivation history, hence population growth, vegetation degeneration and plugging constitute the chief reason for serious soil and water loss on Loess Plateau. This paper analyses several successful cases and failures in soil conservation, presents practical soil conservation technique and related benefit analysis, and discusses some effective methods adopted in China in soil erosion control, research directions and future perspectives on Loess Plateau.

Spatial Distribution of Soil Erosion Sensitivity on the Tibet Plateau

The Tibet Plateau, occupying the main part of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and having an average altitude of 4 500 m, has geomorphological features that are unique in the world, with soil erosion being one of the main ecological problems. Thus the main objectives of the present research were to set up an efficient and simple way of evaluating spatial distribution of soil erosion sensitivity in the Tibet Plateau as well as the responses of soil erosion to changes of natural environmental conditions, and to indicate key regions where soil erosion should be preferentially controlled. Based on the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), the study applied geographic information system (GIS) technology to develop a methodological reference framework, from which soil erosion sensitivity could be evaluated. The impact of precipitation, soil, topography and vegetation on soil erosion was divided into classes of extreme sensitivity, high sensitivity, medium sensitivity, low sensitivity and no sensitivity. With the aid of GIS, the resultant map from overlaying various factors showed that soil erosion sensitivity had great discrepancy in different parts of the region. In the southeastern part of the Tibet Plateau there were mainly three classes of sensitivity, namely, extreme, high and medium sensitivity. However, the other two classes, low and no sensitivity, were dominant in the northwestern part.

Effects of Temperature,Soil Moisture,Soil Type and Their Interactions on Soil Carbon Mineralization in Zoigê Alpine Wetland,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Wetland stores substantial amount of carbon and may contribute greatly to global climate change debate. However, few researches have focused on the effects of global climate change on carbon mineralization in Zoigê al-pine wetland, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is one of the most important peatlands in China. Through incubation ex-periment, this paper studied the effects of temperature, soil moisture, soil type (marsh soil and peat soil) and their in-teractions on CO2 and CH4 emission rates in Zoigê alpine wetland. Results show that when the temperature rises from 5℃ to 35℃, CO2 emission rates increase by 3.3-3.7 times and 2.4-2.6 times under non-inundation treatment, and by 2.2-2.3 times and 4.1-4.3 times under inundation treatment in marsh soil and peat soil, respectively. Compared with non-inundation treatment, CO2 emission rates decrease by 6%-44%, 20%-60% in marsh soil and peat soil, respec-tively, under inundation treatment. CO2 emission rate is significantly affected by the combined effects of the tempera-ture and soil type (p < 0.001), and soil moisture and soil type (p < 0.001), and CH4 emission rate was significantly af-fected by the interaction of the temperature and soil moisture (p < 0.001). Q10 values for CO2 emission rate are higher at the range of 5℃-25℃ than 25℃-35℃, indicating that carbon mineralization is more sensitive at low temperature in Zoigê alpine wetland.

A policy and technical measures for controlling soil and water loss in the Loess Plateau of China

Loess Plateau is the most serious region of soil and water loss in China and the world. The sediment carried into the Yellow River amounts to 1.6 billion tons every year. This paper reviews the factors and reasons for erosion in this area, and puts forward a comprehensive controlling policy on the basis of the principles of ecology and practise of Chinese scientists for 40 years. In conformity with the policy, a number of technical measures for controlling soil and water loss are suggested.