Influence of CO_2 Doubling on Water Transport Process at Root/Soil Interface of Pinus sylvestris var. sylvestriformis Seedlings

Water transport at the root/soil interface of 1 year old Pinus sylvestris Linn. var. sylvestriformis (Takenouchi) Cheng et C. D. Chu seedlings under CO 2 doubling was studied by measuring soil electric conductance to survey soil water profiles and comparing it with root distribution surveyed by soil coring and root harvesting in Changbai Mountain in 1999. The results were: (1) The profiles of soil water content were adjusted by root activity. The water content of the soil layer with abundant roots was higher. (2) When CO 2 concentration was doubled, water transport was more active at the root/soil interface and the roots were distributed into deeper layer. It was shown in this work that the method of measuring electric conductance is an inexpensive, non_destructive and relatively sensitive way for underground water transport process.

A nonlinear interface structural damage model between ice crystal and frozen clay soil

The shear properties of ice-frozen soil interface are important when studying the constitutive model of frozen soil and slope stability in cold regions. In this research, a series of cryogenic direct shear tests for ice-frozen clay soil interface were conducted. Based on experimental results, a nonlinear interface structural damage model is proposed to describe the shear properties of ice-frozen clay soil interface. Firstly, the cementation and friction structural properties of frozen soil materials were analyzed, and a structural parameter of the ice-frozen clay soil interface is proposed based on the cryogenic direct shear test results. Secondly, a structural coefficient ratio is proposed to describe the structural development degree of ice-frozen clay soil interface under load, which is able to normalize the shear stress of ice-frozen clay soil interface,and the normalized data can be described by the Duncan-Chang model. Finally, the tangent stiffness of ice-frozen clay soil interface is calculated, which can be applied to the mechanics analysis of frozen soil. Also, the shear stress of ice-frozen clay soil interface calculated by the proposed model is compared with test results.

Attenuation of rock blasting induced ground vibration in rock-soil interface

Blasting has been widely used in mining and construction industries for rock breaking.This paper presents the results of a series of field tests conducted to investigate the ground wave propagation through mixed geological media.The tests were conducted at a site in the northwestern part of Singapore composed of residual soil and granitic rock.The field test aims to provide measurement data to better understand the stress wave propagation in soil/rock and along their interface.Triaxial accelerometers were used for the free field vibration monitoring.The measured results are presented and discussed,and empirical formulae for predicting peak particle velocity (PPV) attenuation along the ground surface and in soil/rock were derived from the measured data.Also,the ground vibration attenuation across the soil-rock interface was carefully examined,and it was found that the PPV of ground vibration was decreased by 37.2% when it travels from rock to soil in the vertical direction.

Anchorage properties at the interface between soil and roots with branches

Roots play an important role in stabilizing and strengthening soil. This article aims to study the mechanical properties of the interface between soil and roots with branches, using the pullout test method in the laboratory. The mechanical properties of the soil-root with branches interface is determined through the pullout-force and root-slippage curve （F-S curve）. The results of investigating 24 Pinus tabulaeformis single roots and 55 P. tabulaeformis roots with branches demonstrated three kinds of pullout test failures： breakage failure on branching root, breakage failure on branching node, and pullout failure. The branch angle had a remarkable effect on the failure mode of the roots with branches： the maximum pullout force increased with the sum of the branch diameters and the branch angle. The peak slippage and the initial force had a positive correlation with the sum of the branch diameter. The sig- nificance test of correlation between branch angle and the initial force, however, showed they had no correlation. Branch angle and branch root diameter affect the anchorage properties between root system and soil. Therefore, it is important to investigate the anchorage mechanics of the roots with branches to understand the mechanism of root reinforcement and anchorage.

Probit Analysis of Carbamate-Pesticide-Toxicity at Soil-Water Interface to N_2-Fixing Cyanobacterium Cylindrospermum sp.

Toxicity-data of two carbamate insecticides, carbaryl and carbofuran, and three fungicides, ziram, zineb and mancozeb with rice-field N2-fixing cyanobacterium Cylindrospermum sp., obtained by in vitro growth and at soil-water interface, were analyzed by the probit method. Growth enhancing concentration, no-observed effective concentration, minimum inhibitory concentration, the highest permissive concentration and lethal concentration100 （LCloo） were determined experimentally. The LC^o values of carbaryl, carbofuran, ziram, zineb and mancozeb in N2-fixing liquid medium were 56.2, 588.8, 0.07, 4.2 and 3.4 IJg/mL, respectively, whereas the corresponding LCloo values were 100.0, 1500.0, 0.17, 25.0 and 9.0 IJg/mL, respectively. The LC50 values of these pesticides in succession in N2-fixing agar medium were 44.7, 239.9, 0.07, 1.8 and 2.3 IJg/mL, respectively, whereas the corresponding LC100 values were 100.0, 600.0, 0.17, 10.0 and 7.0 IJg/mL, respectively. Similar results with nitrate supplemented liquid and agar media indicated that nitrate supplementation had toxicity reducing effect. The LCso and LC^oo values of toxicity in the N2-fixing liquid medium at soil-water interface were 91.2 and 200.0 IJg/mL for carbaryl, 2 317 and 6 000 pg/mL for carbofuran, 0.15 and 0.50 pg/mL for ziram, 16.4 and 50.0 pg/mL for zineb, and 7.2 and 25.0 pg/mL for mancozeb, respectively. Each LC^oo value at soil- water interface with a pesticide was significantly higher than its corresponding LCloo value at liquid/agar media. It can be concluded that, under the N2-fixing conditions, the cyanobacterium tolerated higher levels of each pesticide at soil-water interface.

A study on dynamic shear strength on frozen soil-concrete interface

Using newly developed dynamic shearing devices, the dynamic sheafing strength of frozen soil-conerete interface was studied experimentally. By placing concrete blocks in the lower half of the shear box and frozen soil sample in the upper part, a series of dynamic shear tests on their interfaces were carried out. The obtained results are summarized and the main influencing factors are revealed.

Friction Characteristics at the Pipe-Soil Interface

-In order to analyze the stability of pipelines on the sea bed, the friction characteristics at the pipe-soil interface were examined by means of special direct shear tests. High density polythene was used as the surface of the pipe, which is a widely-utilized material for the outer cover of the pipe to prevent sea water corrosion. Sands of different gradings were tested. The reconstituted soft clay taken from the Bohai area was consolidated to different degrees of consolidation by the vacuum preloading technique, and tested.

Constitutive model of disturbed soil-structure interface within mining subsidence areas

The characteristics of a disturbed soil-structure interface were studied based on the variation regularities of the disturbed soil within its mining subsidence area using direct shear tests.The effects of the initial moisture content on the shear strength parameters of the soil-structure interfaces were analyzed.The results indicate that the cohesion of the interface initially increased and then decreased as the initial moisture content increased.In addition,the friction angle of the interface decreased as the initial moisture content increased.A constitutive model of the disturbed soil-structure interface,a rigid-plastic model based on the initial void ratio and saturability(VSRP) model,was established based on the results.In order to validate this model,a finite element analysis of DRS-1 direct shear tests was conducted.The finite element model calculations coincided with the results of the DRS-1 direct shear tests.The proposed model also reflected the nonlinear features of the soil-structure interface.

Spatial and temporal variation of soil moisture near the interface of high/low stands

In order to explore the spatial variability of soil moisture near the interface of high/low stands, an experiment was conducted at Luancheng Experimental Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hebei, China from May to June, 1996. By analyzing the observed soil moisture data, it shows that there exists an obvious turning point of soil moisture pattern from one side of the interface to another. The effect of drier soil closer to the interface in winter wheat field is obvious, which is mainly due to the better ventilation condition near the interface in winter wheat filed than in alfalfa field. The irrigation in large scale is one of the most important factors to control the spatial pattern of soil moisture while the small scale human disturbing activity, such as the stealing event occurred during our observation, does not change the spatial pattern of soil moisture obviously. Latent heat, calculated by Bowen ratio method based on our observed micrometeorological data, is shown larger in alfalfa than that in winter wheat both at earring stage from May 8 to 10 and mature stage from June 11 to 14. This fact, together with the larger ground temperature and a little bit larger wind velocity in lower layer, explains that the soil is drier in alfalfa than in winter wheat from May 8 to 10. While for the period from June 11 to 14, irrigation's effect changes the natural interrelationship of soil moisture with meteorology and ground temperature.

Investigation of Correlation between the Temperature on Air-Snow and Snow-Ice Interfaces and the Atmospheric Air Temperature

Solution of the practical problems of the ice engineering requires the data about the strength of the ice cover that depends upon its temperature. In most cases, the snow lies on the ice cover and the ice temperature differs from the atmospheric air temperature. To reveal the correlation of the air temperature with temperature on interfaces air-snow and snow-ice, the known in the thermophysics solution of the problem of the heat transfer through the multilayer plate was applied. Derived solution connects the temperature of air and temperature on the snow-ice interface and satisfactory correlates with data of the field measurements of the temperature within snow layer and ice cover and ice thickness on the Heilongjiang （Amur） River. Results of investigation are recommended for the ice temperature evaluation in engineering practice.

A Modified Model for Soil–Structure Interface Considering Random Damage of Mesoscopic Contact Elements

The interaction between soil and marine structures like submarine pipeline/pipe pile/suction caisson is a complicated geotechnical mechanism process.In this study,the interface is discretized into multiple mesoscopic contact elements that are damaged randomly throughout the shearing process due to the natural heterogeneity.The evolution equation of damage variable is developed based on the Weibull function,which is able to cover a rather wide range of distribution shapes by only two parameters,making it applicable for varying scenarios.Accordingly,a statistical damage model is established by incorporating Mohr–Coulomb strength criterion,in which the interfacial residual strength is considered whereby the strain softening behavior can be described.A concept of“semi-softening”characteristic point on shear stress–displacement curve is proposed for effectively modeling the evolution of strain softening.Finally,a series of ring shear tests of the interfaces between fine sea sand and smooth/rough steel surfaces are conducted.The predicted results using the proposed model are compared with experimental data of this study as well as some results from existing literature,indicating that the model has a good performance in modeling the progressive failure and strain softening behavior for various types of soil–structure interfaces.

The Influence of Seasonal Snow on Soil Thermal and Water Dynamics under Different Vegetation Covers in a Permafrost Region

Seasonal snow is one of the most important influences on the development and distribution of permafrost and the hydrothermal regime in surface soil. Alpine meadow, which constitutes the main land type in permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was selected to study the influence of seasonal snow on the temperature and moisture in active soil layers under different vegetation coverage. Monitoring sites for soil moisture and temperature were constructed to observe the hydrothermal processes in active soil layers under different vegetation cover with seasonal snow cover variation for three years from 2010 to 2012. Differences in soil temperature and moisture in areas of diverse vegetation coverage with varying levels of snow cover were analyzed using active soil layer water and temperature indices. The results indicated that snow cover greatly influenced the hydrothermal dynamics of the active soil layer in alpine meadows. In the snow manipulation experiment with a snow depth greater than 15 cm, the snow cover postponed both the freeze-fall and thawrise onset times of soil temperature and moisture in alpine LC(lower vegetation coverage) meadows and of soil moisture in alpine HC(higher vegetation coverage) meadows; however, the opposite response occurred for soil temperatures of alpine HC meadows,where the entire melting period was extended by advancing the thaw-rise and delaying the freeze-fall onset time of the soil temperature. Snow cover resulted in a decreased amplitude and rate of variation in soil temperature, for both alpine HC meadows and alpine LC meadows, whereas the distinct influence of snow cover on the amplitude and rate of soil moisture variation occurred at different soil layers with different vegetation coverages. Snow cover increased the soil moisture of alpine grasslands during thawing periods. The results confirmed that the annual hydrothermal dynamics of active layers in permafrost were subject to the synergistic actions of both snow cover and vegetation coverage.

Understanding the Soil Temperature Variability at Different Depths:Effects of Surface Air Temperature,Snow Cover,and the Soil Memory

The soil temperature(ST)is closely related to the surface air temperature(AT),but their coupling may be affected by other factors.In this study,significant effects of the AT on the underlying ST were found,and the time taken to propagate downward to 320 cm can be up to 10 months.Besides the AT,the ST is also affected by memory effects-namely,its prior thermal conditions.At deeper depth(i.e.,320 cm),the effects of the AT from a particular season may be exceeded by the soil memory effects from the last season.At shallower layers(i.e.,<80 cm),the effects of the AT may be blocked by the snow cover,resulting in a poorly synchronous correlation between the AT and the ST.In northeastern China,this snow cover blockage mainly occurs in winter and then vanishes in the subsequent spring.Due to the thermal insulation effect of the snow cover,the winter ST at layers above 80 cm in northeastern China were found to continue to increase even during the recent global warming hiatus period.These findings may be instructive for better understanding ST variations,as well as land−atmosphere interactions.

CAS-LSM Datasets for the CMIP6 Land Surface Snow and Soil Moisture Model Intercomparison Project

The datasets of the five Land-offline Model Intercomparison Project(LMIP)experiments using the Chinese Academy of Sciences Land Surface Model(CAS-LSM)of CAS Flexible Global-Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model Grid-point version 3(CAS FGOALS-g3)are presented in this study.These experiments were forced by five global meteorological forcing datasets,which contributed to the framework of the Land Surface Snow and Soil Moisture Model Intercomparison Project(LS3MIP)of CMIP6.These datasets have been released on the Earth System Grid Federation node.In this paper,the basic descriptions of the CAS-LSM and the five LMIP experiments are shown.The performance of the soil moisture,snow,and land-atmosphere energy fluxes was preliminarily validated using satellite-based observations.Results show that their mean states,spatial patterns,and seasonal variations can be reproduced well by the five LMIP simulations.It suggests that these datasets can be used to investigate the evolutionary mechanisms of the global water and energy cycles during the past century.

Impacts of snow cover and frozen soil in the Tibetan Plateau on summer precipitation in China

This paper presents an analysis of the mechanisms and impacts of snow cover and frozen soil in the Tibetan Plateau on the sum- mer precipitation in China, using RegCM3 version 3.1 model simulations. Comparisons of simulations vs. observations show that RegCM3 well captures these impacts. Results indicate that in a more-snow year with deep frozen soil there will be more precipita- tion in the Yangtze River Basin and central Northwest China, western Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, but less precipitation in Northeast China, North China, South China, and most of Southwest China. In a less-snow year with deep frozen soil, however, there will be more precipitation in Northeast China, North China, and southern South China, but less precipitation in the Yangtze River Basin and in northern South China. Such differences may be attributed to different combination patterns of melting snow and thawing frozen soil on the Plateau, which may change soil moisture as well as cause differences in energy absorption in the phase change processes of snow cover and frozen soil. These factors may produce more surface sensible heat in more-snow years when the fi＇ozen soil is deep than when the frozen soil is shallow. The higher surface sensible heat may lead to a stronger updraft over the Plateau, eventually contributing to a stronger South Asia High and West Pacific Subtropical High. Due to different values of the wind fields at 850 hPa, a convergence zone will form over the Yangtze River Basin, which may produce more summer pre- cipitation in the basin area but less precipitation in North China and South China. However, because soil moisture depends on ice content, in less-snow years with deep frozen soil, the soil moisture will be higher. The combination of higher frozen soil moisture with latent heat absorption in the phase change process may generate less surface sensible heat and consequently a weaker updraft motion over the Plateau. As a result, both the South Asia High and the West Pacific Subtropical High will be weaker, hence caus- ing more summer precipitation in northern China but less in southem China.

Snow gliding and loading under two different forest stands: a case study in the north-western Italian Alps

The presence of a thick snowpack could interfere with forest stability, especially on steep slopes with potential damages for young and old stands. The study of snow gliding in forests is rather complex be- cause this phenomenon could be influenced not only by forest features, but also by snow/soil interface characteristics, site morphology, meteoro- logical conditions and snow physical properties. Our starting hypothesis is that different forest stands have an influence on the snowpack evolu- tion and on the temperature and moisture at the snow/soil interface, which subsequently could affect snow gliding processes and snow forces. The aim of this work is therefore to analyse the snowpack evolution and snow gliding movements under different forest covers, in order to deter- mine the snow forces acting on single trees.

Combined effects of snow depth and nitrogen addition on ephemeral growth at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert,China

Water and nitrogen （N） inputs are considered as the two main limiting factors affecting plant growth.Changes in these inputs are expected to alter the structure and composition of the plant community,thereby influencing biodiversity and ecosystem function.Snowfall is a form of precipitation in winter,and snow melting can recharge soil water and result in a flourish of ephemerals during springtime in the Gurbantunggut Desert,China.A bi-factor experiment was designed and deployed during the snow-covering season from 2009 to 2010.The experiment aimed to explore the effects of different snow-covering depths and N addition levels on ephemerals.Findings indicated that deeper snow cover led to the increases in water content in topsoil as well as density and coverage of ephemeral plants in the same N treatment; by contrast,N addition sharply decreased the density of ephemerals in the same snow treatment.Meanwhile,N addition exhibited a different effect on the growth of ephemeral plants：in the 50％ snow treatment,N addition limited the growth of ephemeral plants,showing that the height and the aboveground biomass of the ephemeral plants were lower than in those without N addition; while with the increases in snow depth （100％ and 150％ snow treatments）,N addition benefited the growth of the dominant individual plants.Species richness was not significantly affected by snow in the same N treatment.However,N addition significantly decreased the species richness in the same snow-covering depth.The primary productivity of ephemerals in the N addition increased with the increase of snow depth.These variations indicated that the effect of N on the growth of ephemerals was restricted by water supply.With plenty of water （100％ and 150％ snow treatments）,N addition contributed to the growth of ephemeral plants; while with less water （50％ snow treatment）,N addition restricted the growth of ephemeral plants.

Nitrous oxide emissions following seasonal freeze-thaw events from arable soils in Northeast China

Seasonal soil freeze-thaw events may enhance soil nitrogen transformation and thus stimulate nitrous oxide （N2O） emissions in cold regions. However, the mechanisms of soil N2O emission during the freeze-thaw cycling in the field remain unclear. We evaluated N2O emissions and soil biotic and abiotic factors in maize and paddy fields over 20 months in Northeast China, and the structural equation model （SEM） was used to determine which factors affected N2O production during non-growing season. Our results verified that the seasonal freeze-thaw cycles mitigated the available soil nitrogen and carbon limitation during spring thawing period, but simultaneously increased the gaseous N2O-N losses at the annual time scale under field condition. The N2O-N cumulative losses during the non-growing season amounted to 0.71 and 0.55 kg N ha 1 for the paddy and maize fields, respectively, and contributed to 66 and 18% of the annual total. The highest emission rates （199.2- 257.4 μg m-2 h-1） were observed during soil thawing for both fields, but we did not observe an emission peak during soil freezing in early winter. Although the pulses of N2O emission in spring were short-lived （18 d）, it resulted in approximately 80% of the non-growing season N2O-N loss. The N2O burst during the spring thawing was triggered by the combined impact of high soil moisture, flush available nitrogen and carbon, and rapid recovery of microbial biomass. SEM analysis indicated that the soil moisture, available substrates including NH4＋ and dissolved organic carbon （DOC）, and microbial biomass nitrogen （MBN） explained 32, 36, 16 and 51% of the N2O flux variation, respectively, during the non-growing season. Our results suggested that N2O emission during the spring thawing make a vital contribution of the annual nitrogen budget, and the vast seasonally frozen and snow-covered croplands will have high potential to exert a positive feedback on climate change considering the sensitive response of nitrogen biogeochemical cycling to the freeze-thaw disturbance.

Expansive soil-structure interaction and its sensitive analysis

Several groups of direct shear tests of Nanning expansive soil samples were carded out by improved direct shear apparatus. The results of the characteristics of the ultimate shear stress and residual shear stress at the interface of expansive soil-structure are presented as follows： linear relation can approximately reflect changes between the both shear stress and the three factors： vertical load, water content and dry density, just different degrees from each other; increasing the vertical load from 25 kPa to 100 kPa （up by 300%） can cause the average increase of ultimate shear stress from 58% （for samples with 1.61 g/cm^3） to 80% （for samples with 1.76 g/cm^3）, and an close average increase of 180% for the residual shear stress; increasing the water content from 14.1% to 20.8% （up by 47.5%） can cause the average decrease of the ultimate shear stress from 40% （for samples with 25 kPa） to 80% （for samples with 100 kPa）, and the average decrease from 25% （for samples with 25 kPa） to 30% （for samples with 100 kPa） for the residual shear stress; increasing the dry density from 1.61 g/cm^3 to 1.76 g/cm^3 （up by 9.3%） can cause the average increase of ultimate shear stress from 92% （for samples with 25 kPa） to 138% （for samples with 100 kPa）, and an average increase of 4% for the residual shear stress. Sensitive analysis was further made to explain reasons causing the differences of the both shear stress induced by the three factors.

An estimation method of soil wind erosion in Inner Mongolia of China based on geographic information system and remote sensing

Studies of wind erosion based on Geographic Information System（GIS） and Remote Sensing（RS） have not attracted sufficient attention because they are limited by natural and scientific factors.Few studies have been conducted to estimate the intensity of large-scale wind erosion in Inner Mongolia,China.In the present study,a new model based on five factors including the number of snow cover days,soil erodibility,aridity,vegetation index and wind field intensity was developed to quantitatively estimate the amount of wind erosion.The results showed that wind erosion widely existed in Inner Mongolia.It covers an area of approximately 90×104 km2,accounting for 80% of the study region.During 1985–2011,wind erosion has aggravated over the entire region of Inner Mongolia,which was indicated by enlarged zones of erosion at severe,intensive and mild levels.In Inner Mongolia,a distinct spatial differentiation of wind erosion intensity was noted.The distribution of change intensity exhibited a downward trend that decreased from severe increase in the southwest to mild decrease in the northeast of the region.Zones occupied by barren land or sparse vegetation showed the most severe erosion,followed by land occupied by open shrubbery.Grasslands would have the most dramatic potential for changes in the future because these areas showed the largest fluctuation range of change intensity.In addition,a significantly negative relation was noted between change intensity and land slope.The relation between soil type and change intensity differed with the content of Ca CO3 and the surface composition of sandy,loamy and clayey soils with particle sizes of 0–1 cm.The results have certain significance for understanding the mechanism and change process of wind erosion that has occurred during the study period.Therefore,the present study can provide a scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of wind erosion in Inner Mongolia.