Spatio-temporal variation of water conservation and its impact factors on the southern slope of Qilian Mountains

The ecology of Qilian Mountains has been seriously threatened by uncontrolled grazing and wasteland reclamation. This study examined the ecological changes on the southern slope of Qilian Mountains in China from the perspective of water conservation by classifying different clusters of water conservation functional areas to efficiently use limited human resources to tackle the water conservation protection problem. In this study, we used Integrate Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs(InVEST) model to estimate water conservation and analyzed the factors that influence the function. The results of this study include:(1) from 2000 to 2015, the water conservation of the southern slope of Qilian Mountains generally showed an increasing trend, and the total water conservation in 2015 increased by 42.18% compared with that in 2000.(2) Rainfall, fractional vegetation cover(FVC), and evapotranspiration have the most significant influence on the water conservation of the study area. Among them, water conservation is positively correlated with rainfall and FVC(P<0.05) and negatively correlated with evapotranspiration(P<0.05).(3) The importance level of water conservation functional areas gradually increases from northwest to southeast, and the region surrounding Menyuan Hui Autonomous County in the southeast of the southern slope of Qilian Mountains is the core water conservation functional area. And(4) the study area was divided into five clusters(Cluster Ⅰ–Cluster Ⅴ) of water conservation, with the areas of Clusters Ⅰ through Ⅴ accounting for 0.58%, 13.74%, 41.23%, 32.43%, and 12.01% of the whole study area, respectively.

Temporal and spatial responses of ecological resilience to climate change and human activities in the economic belt on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, China

In the Anthropocene era,human activities have become increasingly complex and diversified.The natural ecosystems need higher ecological resilience to ensure regional sustainable development due to rapid urbanization and industrialization as well as other intensified human activities,especially in arid and semi-arid areas.In the study,we chose the economic belt on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains(EBNSTM)in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China as a case study.By collecting geographic data and statistical data from 2010 and 2020,we constructed an ecological resilience assessment model based on the ecosystem habitat quality(EHQ),ecosystem landscape stability(ELS),and ecosystem service value(ESV).Further,we analyzed the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of ecological resilience in the EBNSTM from 2010 to 2020 by spatial autocorrelation analysis,and explored its responses to climate change and human activities using the geographically weighted regression(GWR)model.The results showed that the ecological resilience of the EBNSTM was at a low level and increased from 0.2732 to 0.2773 during 2010–2020.The spatial autocorrelation analysis of ecological resilience exhibited a spatial heterogeneity characteristic of"high in the western region and low in the eastern region",and the spatial clustering trend was enhanced during the study period.Desert,Gobi and rapidly urbanized areas showed low level of ecological resilience,and oasis and mountain areas exhibited high level of ecological resilience.Climate factors had an important impact on ecological resilience.Specifically,average annual temperature and annual precipitation were the key climate factors that improved ecological resilience,while average annual evapotranspiration was the main factor that blocked ecological resilience.Among the human activity factors,the distance from the main road showed a negative correlation with ecological resilience.Both night light index and PM2.5 concentration were negatively correlated with ecological resilience in the areas with better ecological conditions,whereas in the areas with poorer ecological conditions,the correlations were positive.The research findings could provide a scientific reference for protecting the ecological environment and promoting the harmony and stability of the human-land relationship in arid and semi-arid areas.

Evolution of economic linkage network of the cities and counties on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains,China

The exchanges between cities and counties in the northern slope economic belt of Tianshan Mountains(NSEBTM)are increasingly frequent and the economic linkages are increasingly close,but the spatial distribution of economic development and linkages among the cities and counties within NSEBTM is uneven.Therefore,it is of great significance to study the evolution of spatial-temporal pattern of the economic linkage network of cities and counties on NSEBTM to promote the coordinated and integrated development of the regional economy on NSEBTM.In this study,we used the modified gravity model and social network analysis method to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of the economic linkage network structure of cities and counties on NSEBTM in 2000,2010,and 2020.The results showed that the comprehensive development quality level of cities and counties on NSEBTM increased from 2000 to 2020,its growth rate also increased,and its gap between cities and counties continued expanding.Both the spatial distribution patterns of the comprehensive development quality level of cities and counties on NSEBTM in 2000 and 2010 were presented as“high in the middle and low at both ends”,while the spatial distribution pattern of 2020 was exhibited as“high value and low value staggered”.The total amount of external economic linkages of cities and counties on NSEBTM showed an obvious upward trend,and its gap between cities and counties continued expanding,presenting a pattern of“a strong middle section and weak ends”.The direction of economic linkages of NSEBTM existed obvious central orientation and geographical proximity.The density of economic linkage network of NSEBTM increased from 2000 to 2020,and the structure of economic linkage network changed from single-core structure centered with Urumqi City to multicore structure centered with Urumqi City,Karamay City,Shihezi City,and Changji City,shifting from unbalanced development to balanced development.In the future,we should accelerate the construction of urban agglomeration on NSEBTM,cultivate a modern Urumqi metropolitan area,improve comprehensive development quality of the cities and counties at the eastern and western ends,strengthen the intensity of economic linkages between cities and counties,optimize the economic linkage network,and promote the coordinated and integrated development of regional economy.

Sustainable land-use patterns for arid lands: A case study in the northern slope areas of the Tianshan Mountains

Sustainable land use patterns are ecological and economic prerequisites of regional sustainable development. This is especially true for arid lands, where the environment is wholly fragile thanks to extremely limited precipitation, and where human activities have greatly transformed natural desert system by clearing natural vegetation, expanding oases and even building dams on inland rivers. However, the current studies on land use patterns are still characterized by field investigations and case studies, with almost no solid scientific basis. This paper holds that land types and their combination patterns are the principal basis for designing sustainable land use patterns, and that GIS and RS-based large-scale land type mapping and the study of their spatial combination structures should be coordinated with the demand of social development. The existing environmental problems induced by irrational land use mostly result from their deviation from the natural properties of land types. Taking the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains （NSTM） as an example and considering land type patterns as the basis of land use patterns, this paper improves the vertical oa- sis-and-mid-mountain two-belts development model and the sustainable mountain land use model for arid lands put forward in recent years; and in terms of oases patterns, it outlines oasis development models, including intensive land use pattern in alluvial-diluvial fans, moderate agricultural development pattern in alluvial plains, and ecological land use pattern in river-end oases.

An analysis of oasis stability in arid areas:a case study in the northern slope areas of the Tianshan Mountains

This paper discusses oasis stability at regional scale with a case study in the northern slope areas of the Tianshan Mountains (NSTM). The results showed certain significant aspects. (1) As long as water resources in the oasis keep stable and their utilization efficiency can be maintained or gradually increased, the primary productivity could be continuously increased and the natural primary productivity keeped relatively stable. In this case, it is considered that the oasis is stable and its sustainable development can be achieved at regional scale. (2) Considering the availability of water resources in the oases, the oases on the alluvial-diluvial fans are highly stable. In the alluvial plain downstream of the groundwater overflowing zones the oases are moderately stable and in the lacustrine deltas or dry lacustrine deltas the oases are lowly stable. (3) Enlargement of oases and the increase of water resources and vegetation coverage in the oasis will certainly enhance the 'cold-island effect' of the oasis and increase the stability of oases.

Response of ecosystem service value to land use/cover change in the northern slope economic belt of the Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China

Land use/cover change(LUCC)is becoming more and more frequent and extensive as a result of human activities,and is expected to have a major impact on human welfare by altering ecosystem service value(ESV).In this study,we utilized remote sensing images and statistical data to explore the spatial-temporal changes of land use/cover types and ESV in the northern slope economic belt of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China from 1975 to 2018.During the study period,LUCC in the study region varied significantly.Except grassland and unused land,all the other land use/cover types(cultivated land,forestland,waterbody,and construction land)increased in areas.From 1975 to 2018,the spatial-temporal variations in ESV were also pronounced.The total ESV decreased by 4.00×10^(8) CNY,which was primarily due to the reductions in the areas of grassland and unused land.Waterbody had a much higher ESV than the other land use/cover types.Ultimately,understanding the impact of LUCC on ESV and the interactions among ESV of different land use/cover types will help improve existing land use policies and provide scientific basis for developing new conservation strategies for ecologically fragile areas.

Anticlockwise P-T Path and Zircon U-Pb Dating of HP Mafic Granulites in Yushugou Granulite-Peridotite Complex, Southern Tianshan Mountains, China

The Yushugou HP granulite-peridotite complex is located at east of northern margin of southern Tianshan mountains,China,which consists of granulite unit and peridotite unit mainly.Because of the rare association of

New Ar-Ar Isotopic Ages of the Southern Tianshan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan and their Geological Implications

Objective The Late Paleozoic Southern Tianshan Ocean is usually considered to be the last-closed ocean in the Tianshan Orogeny. However, there is still no consensus if this is indeed the case. Blueschist, eclogite and ophiolite are present in the Atbashi Range, Kyrgyzstan, which are believed to be the relics of the Southern Tianshan Ocean. New data obtained through Ar-Ar isotopic analysis in this research provide reliable chronological restrictions for this problem.

Zircon U-Pb Dating of Yushugou Terrain of High-Pressure Granulite Facies in Southern Tianshan Mountain and Its Geological Significance

The Yushugou terrain of high\|pressure granulite facies in southern Tianshan Mountain is composed mainly of an ophiolite suite. Most selected zircons are round or elliptical in shape, and some are of tetragonal prism with round edges. The granulometric analyses show that they are well sorted in sedimentation. ZrO\-2/HfO\-2 ratios in zircons range from 45 to 57. These characters, together with the petrologic and geochemical characters of plagioclase\|garnet\|orthopyroxenite bearing zircons, indicate that the protolith of plagioclase\|garnet\|orthopyroxenite may be derived mainly from volcanic base surge sedimentary debris in oceanic islands and from clays formed by seafloor weathering. Zircons are simply of pyroclastic debris. The ophiolite formation age of (440±18) Ma and the first\|stage metamorphic age (amphibolite or granulite facies) of (364±5) Ma were obtained with a method of multiple grains in different groups and a method of concordia plot. These ages provide important information on the temporal and spatial occurrence of southern Paleozoic Tianshan Ocean, the subduction rate of the oceanic crust and the formation mechanism of ophiolite of granulite facies.

Sensitivity of mountain runoff to climate change for Urumqi and Kaidu rivers originating from the Tianshan Mountains

The mountain watersheds of Kaidu River and Urumqi River, which separately originate from the south and north-side of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, are selected as the study area. The characteristics and trends on variation of temperature, precipitation and runoff, and the correlativity between temperature, precipitation, and runoffwere analyzed based on the past 40 years of observational data from the correlative hydrological and weather stations in the study areas. Various weather scene combinations are assumed and the response models of runoff to climate change are established in order to evaluate the sensitivity of runoff to climate change in the study areas based on the foregoing analysis, Results show that all variations of temperature, precipitation, and runoff overall present an oscillating and increasing trend since the 1960s and this increase are quite evident after 1990. There is a markedly positive correlation between mountain runoff, temperature, and precipitation while there are obvious regional differences of responding degree to precipitation and temperature between mountain runoff of Ummqi River and Kaidu River Basins Also, mountain runoff of Urumqi River Basin is more sensitive to precipitation change than that of Kaidu River Basin, and mountain runoff of Kaidu River Basin is more sensitive to temperature change than that of Ummqi River Basin.

Study on Snow Line in the Tianshan Mountains Based on MODIS Image

Using MOD10A1,temperature and precipitation of 21 meteorological observatories and HJ-1 / CCD data from July to September during 2002- 2013,this paper takes the Tianshan Mountains as the study area to analyze the space distribution characteristics of snow line and its influencing factors. The results show that the snowline distribution of southern and northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains is that it is high in the south and east but low in north and west; the snowline of southern slope is sparse and there is a small spatial gradient change; the snow line is dense in the middle of northern slope,and the spatial gradient change is not large. Through the analysis of the whole study area,it is found that the correlation coefficient between snow line altitude and temperature is 0. 159,and the partial correlation coefficient between them is- 0. 212; the correlation coefficient between snow line altitude and precipitation is- 0. 668,and the partial correlation coefficient between them is- 0. 676. Precipitation is the dominant factor that affects the distribution of snow line of southern and northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains.

Ecological response to the climate change on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang

The Tianshan Mountains is a high and huge mountain body lying across the central part of Xinjiang, China, and is also the main area where the runoff forms in Xinjiang. In this paper, a set of RS-based study methods is put forward for deriving the information about the natural change of the ecology in arid areas, and the relationship between the climate change trend and the corresponding ecological response on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains since recent 40 years is analyzed from the scales of the land cover ecosystems and landscapes based on the observed data of climate, hydrology, modern glaciers and lakes on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains since recent 40 years and the satellite RS data since recent 10 years by using the RS and GIS technologies. The results are as follows: (1) The overall trend of climate change on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains since recent 40 years is that both air temperature and precipitation are increased, especially the increase amplitudes of air tempera-ture, precipitation and annual runoff volume are high since the decade of the 1990s; (2) the in-tegrated indexes of the vegetation in all the geographical divisions on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains are obviously increased since recent 10 years, especially in the artificial oases and the foothill belts, such a change trend is advantageous for improving the vegetation ecology; and (3) the vegetation ecology in the arid areas is extremely sensitive to the climate change, the vegetation coverage and the biomass on the northern slope of the Tianshan Moun-tains are continuously increased because of the climate change since recent 10 years, their in-crease amplitudes in the plains and during the late stage are obviously higher than that in the mountainous regions and during the early stage.

348-YEAR PRECIPITATION RECONSTRUCTION FROM TREE-RINGS FOR THE NORTH SLOPE OF THE MIDDLE TIANSHAN MOUNTAINS

Correlation census shows that the correlation between the tree-ring chronologies in the Urumqi River Basin and precipitation during July in the last year to February in the concurrent year is significant,and the best single correlation coefficient is 0.74,with significance level of 0.0001. Using two residual chronologies collected from west Baiyanggou and Boerqingou,precipitation for 348 years can be reconstructed in the North Slope of middle Tianshan Mountains,its explained variance is 62%.According to much verification from independent precipitation data,historical climate records,glacier and other data.it shows that the reconstructed precipitation series of 348 years is reliable.Analysis of precipitation features indicates that there were three wet periods occurring during 1671(?)—1692,1716—1794 and 1825—1866 and three dry periods during 1693 —1715,1795—1824 and 1867—1969.Two wet periods,during 1716—1794 and 1825—1866, correspond to the times of the second and the third glacial terminal moraine formation,which is in front of No.1 glacier in Urumqi River source.According to computation,corresponding annual precipitation amounts are 59mm and 30mm more than now.The reconstructed precipitation series has a significant drying trend from 1716 to 1969.and has better representativeness to the precipitation of Urumqi and Changji Prefecture on the North Slope of Tianshan Mountains.

Spatio-temporal correlation between human activity intensity and land surface temperature on the north slope of Tianshan Mountains

Research on the spatio-temporal correlation between the intensity of human activities and the temperature of earth surfaces is of great significance in many aspects,including fully understanding the causes and mechanisms of climate change,actively adapting to climate change,pursuing rational development,and protecting the ecological environment.Taking the north slope of Tianshan Mountains,located in the arid area of northwestern China and extremely sensitive to climate change,as the research area,this study retrieves the surface temperature of the mountain based on MODIS data,while characterizing the intensity of human activities thereby data on the night light,population distribution and land use.The evolution characteristics of human activity intensity and surface temperature in the study area from 2000 to 2018 were analyzed,and the spatio-temporal correlation between them was further explored.It is found that:(1)The average human activity intensity(0.11)in the research area has kept relatively low since this century,and the overall trend has been slowly rising in a stepwise manner(0.0024·a-1);in addition,the increase in human activity intensity has lagged behind that in construction land and population by 1-2 years.(2)The annual average surface temperature in the area is 7.18℃with a pronounced growth.The rate of change(0.02℃·a-1)is about 2.33 times that of the world.The striking boost in spring(0.068℃·a-1)contributes the most to the overall warming trend.Spatially,the surface temperature is low in the south and high in the north,due to the prominent influence of the underlying surface characteristics,such as elevation and vegetation coverage.(3)The intensity of human activity and the surface temperature are remarkably positively correlated in the human activity areas there,showing a strong distribution in the east section and a weak one in the west section.The expression of its spatial differentiation and correlation is comprehensively affected by such factors as scopes of human activities,manifestations,and land-use changes.Vegetation-related human interventions,such as agriculture and forestry planting,urban greening,and afforestation,can effectively reduce the surface warming caused by human activities.This study not only puts forward new ideas to finely portray the intensity of human activities but also offers a scientific reference for regional human-land coordination and overall development.

新疆中天山北坡断裂带不同海拔高度土壤温度分布特征

研究中天山断裂带从高山带到准噶尔盆地边缘整个过渡带的土壤温度分布特征有助于理解干旱区土壤环境特征,从而为土地利用、农业生产提供依据。本文选取新疆中天山断裂带海拔高度呈梯度分布的6个气象站2005年至2020年各层土壤温度的日观测数据,利用统计方法分析了不同地形、不同深度土壤温度随海拔高度的变化特征以及不同海拔高度土壤温度随深度的变化特征。分析表明:中天山北坡土壤温度变幅随海拔高度的降低而升高。不同地形的土壤最高温和最低温的年温差浅层大于深层,由浅至深年最高温度和年最低温度出现的时间逐渐推迟;年内中天山北坡不同海拔高度0~20 cm的土壤日平均温度曲线大致呈余弦函数曲线,320 cm深度的土壤温度基本呈正弦函数分布,较0~20 cm地温的最高和最低晚3个月左右。研究区土壤温度随海拔高度降低呈现先升高后降低的趋势。在海拔为3539~600 m高度范围,土壤温度随着海拔的升高而降低。在600~441 m高度范围,土壤温度随着海拔的下降而下降;0~20 cm为土壤温度变化的活跃层,40 cm深度的土壤温度可称之为过渡层,320 cm深度称为土壤温度的稳定层,80~160 cm称为土壤温度的次稳定层。

天山北坡西部雪岭云杉海拔梯度生态弹性变化

基于天山北坡西部温泉哈夏林区间隔100 m海拔高度采集的雪岭云杉梯度样本的断面积生长量资料,分析树木生态弹性变化。干旱事件是区域生态弹性最主要的干扰因子,高温事件也是干扰因子之一。干扰因子的强度会造成生态弹性梯度特征的变化。在极端干旱年份,哈夏林区梯度生态弹性特征最显著,即中高海拔为强抵抗力和弱恢复力,而低海拔则呈相反态势,并出现生长衰退现象。中旱事件时不同海拔均为强抵抗力和较强的恢复力,高温年份低海拔呈现弱抵抗力和弱恢复力。在发生持续干旱时,不同海拔高度的树木生长均受到遏制,但低海拔衰退强度大于高海拔区域,高海拔区域树木对干旱的适应能力要强于中低海拔。

不同牧压对天山北坡中段山地草甸植物群落特征及植物生活型的影响

【目的】研究天山北坡中段山地草甸植物群落特征在不同牧压条件下的变化,为建立合理放牧利用制度提供理论依据。【方法】通过对庙尔沟乡索尔巴斯陶夏、冬牧场的实际放牧强度和草场植被状况进行调查,选择重度(HG)、中度(MG)、轻度(LG)且具代表性地段的放牧场,设置3个不同牧压监测点,每个监测点设置3个重复。【结果】在不同牧压条件下,植物群落优势种略有差异,群落物种数随着放牧强度的增大而减少。随着牧压增大,禾本科、豆科等优良牧草的重要值下降,而杂类草及醉马草的重要值增大;不同牧压对植被生物量的影响最大,其次是植被的盖度和高度,对频度的影响较小,呈现出植被平均高度、总盖度和生物量随放牧强度增大而降低的趋势;不同放牧时期对山地草甸植被优势种和植物生活型有明显影响,在夏季放牧场中植株矮小、重要值很低的金露梅在冬季放牧场中却株型高大,重要值也极高。【结论】在不同牧压条件下,群落物种组成不同,HG、MG、LG物种数分别为26、22和33种,物种间数目相差明显。重度放牧降低了植物群落的高度、盖度和地上生物量,并增大了杂类草和醉马草的优势。随着放牧强度增大,植物的生活型和重要值发生了改变,这也是植物生长过程中适应环境变化的一种策略。

天山北坡经济带城乡聚落格局变化与影响因素分析

以天山北坡经济带城乡聚落为研究对象,采用景观格局指数、地理信息系统(GIS)空间分析、位序-规模法等分析1980-2020年间城乡聚落格局的变化,结合地理探测器从自然、区位及社会经济因素探究城乡聚落格局的影响因素。结果表明:1980-2020年间,城乡聚落数量、规模持续扩张且趋于集聚,前20 a扩张以耕地、草地为主,后20 a以未利用地为主;城乡聚落密度变化显著,高密度区主要集中在各绿洲呈现“多核集中分布”特征,中密度区沿高密度区周围扩张,低密度区沿绿洲边缘分布并在非绿洲区有扩张;首位聚落规模发展较好,趋于位序-规模曲线,中型聚落略微发育,小型聚落数量持续减少;交通等区位因素是天山北坡城乡聚落格局的首位影响因素,社会经济因素次之,自然地理因素影响较小,各影响因素差异显著。

Fluctuation of Picea timberline and paleoenvironment onthe northern slope of Tian-shan Mountains during the late Holocene

As a good indicator of Holocene climate, the fluctuation of alpine timberline is a synthetical result of impacts of many environmental factors dur-ing geological and historical periods and modern times. As the dominant tree species of mountainous conifer forests on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, the distribution of Picea schrenkiana and its population size are sensitive to climatic change. The typical natural profile of Huashuwozi and the nearby Xiaoxigou archaeologi-cal profile, located in Quanzijie Township, Jimusaer County in Xinjiang, were chosen to analyze and compare the relative high-resolution pollen records, and to measure 14C dating and SEM (scanning elec-tron microscope) microstructure for charcoal frag-ments contained in Xiaoxigou profile’s cultural layers. The results show that in these two profiles, the high percentages of Picea (more than 20% and 35%, re-spectively) appeared in the stratum of the same pe-riod (2000-1300 a BP), which corresponds to the charcoal fragment’s age of Picea schrenkiana con-tained in Xiaoxigou cultural layers. These results convincingly revealed that during the period of 2000-1300 a BP, the timberline for Picea schrenkiana on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang declined by about 330m compared with the present.

近30年天山北坡改进型遥感生态指数时空变化及其驱动因素

天山北坡是西北地区重要的生态功能区和重要经济带,受气候变化和人类活动的影响,脆弱的生态环境面临着巨大挑战,但目前对该地区生态环境质量时空变化、特征及驱动力的认识较少。为此,本文利用改进型遥感生态指数(ERSEI)、空间自相关分析、多元线性回归分析和地理加权分析方法揭示天山北坡1990、2000、2010和2020年4个时期生态环境质量时空变化、特征及其驱动因素。结果表明:(1)1990-2020年天山北坡ERSEI先大幅下降后逐渐恢复并持续上升,生态环境质量逐渐改善并趋于稳定,总体呈“东优西劣”的空间格局;(2)天山北坡生态环境对气候变化较为敏感,温度是ERSEI变化的最重要驱动因子;(3)不同驱动因素对ERSEI的影响存在显著的空间异质性,自然因素对局部ERSEI空间分异起主导作用,人为因素则对年际ERSEI变化产生重要影响。这表明气候变化和人类活动显著影响ERSEI变化,未来应科学规划各类经济活动,减缓气候变化效应,提升天山北坡生态安全和环境可持续性。