Patterns,magnitude,and controlling factors of hydraulic redistribution of soil water by Tamarix ramosissima roots

Tamarix spp. （Saltcedar） is a facultative phreatophyte that can tolerate drought when groundwater is not accessed. In addition to deep water uptake, hydraulic redistribution （HR） is another factor contributing to the drought tolerance of Tarnarix spp. In this study, data on soil volumetric moisture content （0）, lateral root sap flow, and relevant climate variables were used to investigate the patterns, magnitude, and controlling factors of HR of soil water by roots of Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. in an extremely arid land in Northwest China. Results showed evident diurnal fluctuations in 0 at the depths of 30 and 50 cm, indicating ＂hydraulic lift＂ （HL）. 0 increased remarkably at 10 and 140 cm but decreased at 30 and 50 cm and slightly changed at 80 cm after rainfall, suggesting a possible ＂hydraulic descent＂ （HD）. However, no direct evidence was observed in the negative flow of lateral roots, supporting HR （including HL and HD） of T. ramosissima. The HR pathway unlikely occurred via lateral roots; instead, HR possibly occurred through adventitious roots with a diameter of 2-5 mm and a length of 60-100 cm. HR at depths of 20-60 cm ranged from 0.01-1.77 mm/d with an average of 0.43 mm/d, which accounted for an average of 22% of the estimated seasonal total water depletion at 0-160 cm during the growing season. The climate factors, particularly vapor pressure deficit and soil water potential gradient, accounted for at least 33% and 45% of HR variations with depths and years, respectively. In summary, T. ramosissima can be added to the wide list of existing species involved in HR. High levels of HR may represent a considerable fraction of daily soil water depletion and substantially improve plant water status. HR could vary tremendously in terms of years and depths, and this variation could be attributed to climate factors and soil water potential gradient.

Using the concept of ecological groundwater level to evaluate shallow groundwater resources in hyperarid desert regions

This paper, based on the analysis and calculation of the groundwater resources in an arid region from 1980 to 2001, put forward the concept of ecological groundwater level threshold for either salinity control or the determination of ecological warning. The surveys suggest that soil moisture and soil salinity are the most important environmental factors in determining the distribution and changes in vegetation. The groundwater level threshold of ecological warning can be determined by using a network of groundwater depth observation sites that monitor the environmental moisture gradient as reflected by plant physiological characteristics. According to long-term field observations within the Ejin oases, the groundwater level threshold for salinity control varied between 0.5 m and 1.5 m, and the ecological warning threshold varied between 3.5 m and 4.0 m. The quantity of groundwater re- sources （renewable water resources, ecological water resources, and exploitable water resources） in arid areas can be calculated from regional groundwater level information, without localized hydrogeological data. The concept of groundwater level threshold of ecological warning was established according to water development and water re- sources supply, and available groundwater resources were calculated. The concept not only enriches and broadens the content of groundwater studies, but also helps in predicting the prospects for water resources development.

Changes of Temperature and Precipitation Extremes in Hengduan Mountains,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 1961-2008

Variations and trends in extreme climate events are more sensitive to climate change than the mean values,and so have received much attention.In this study,twelve indices of temperature extremes and 11 indices of precipitation extremes at 32 meteorological stations in Hengduan Mountains were examined for the period 1961-2008.The results reveal statistically significant increases in the temperature of the warmest and coldest nights and in the frequencies of extreme warm days and nights.Decreases of the diurnal temperature range and the numbers of frost days and ice days are statistically significant.Regional averages of growing season length also display the trends consistent and significant with warming.At a large proportion of the stations,patterns of temperature extremes are consistent with warming since 1961:warming trends in minimum temperature indices are greater than those relating to maximum temperature.As the center of the Shaluli Mountain,the warming magnitudes decrease from inner to outer.Changes in precipitation extremes is low:trends are difficult to detect against the larger inter-annual and decadal-scale variability of precipitation,and only the wet day precipitation and the regional trend in consecutive dry days are significant at the 0.05 level.It can be concluded that the variation of extreme precipitation events is not obvious in the Hengduan Mountains,however,the regional trends generally decrease from the south to the north.Overall,the spatial distribution of temporal changes of all extreme climate indices in the Hengduan Mountains illustrated here reflects the climatic complexity in mountainous regions.

Evapotranspiration of a Populus euphratica Oliv. forest and its controlling factors in the lower Heihe River Basin,Northwest China

Evapotranspiration(ET) within an ecosystem is crucial for the water-limited environment that currently lacks adequate quantification in the arid region of Northwest China, mainly covered by phreatophytes, such as the Populus euphratica Oliv. tree and the Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. shrub species. Accordingly, ET was measured for an entire year using eddy covariance(EC) in P. euphratica stands in the lower Heihe River Basin, Northwest China. During the growing season,the total ET was 850 mm, with a mean of 4.0 mm/d, which is obviously more than that observed at tree-level and standlevel scales, which was likely due to the different level of soil evaporation induced by irrigation via water conveyance.Factors associated with ET fall into either environmental or plant eco-physiological categories. Environmental factors account for at least 79% variation of ET, and the linear relationship between ET and the groundwater table(GWT) revealed the potential water use of P. euphratica forests under the non-water stress condition with the GWT less than 3 m deep.Plant eco-physiological parameters, specifically the leaf area index(LAI), have direct impact on the seasonal pattern of ET, which provides a valuable reference to the wide-area estimates of ET for riparian forests by using LAI. In conclusion,P. euphratica forests have high water use after water conveyance, which may be the result of long-term adapting to local climates and limited water availability.

Effect of sub-cloud evaporation on the δ^18O of precipitation in Qilian Mountains and Hexi Corridor, China

The sub-cloud evaporation effect refers to the evaporation process for raindrops that fall from the cloud base to the ground, which is usually accompanied by depleted light isotopes and enriched heavy isotopes in the precipitation. Based on 461 event-based precipitation samples collected from 12 weather stations in the Qilian Mountains and the Hexi Corridor from May to August of 2013, our results indicated that sub-cloud evaporation has a great influence on the δ^18O of precipitation, especially in small-amount precipitation events. In May, June, July, and August the δ18O composition was enriched by 35%, 26%, 39%, and 41%, respectively, from the cloud base to the ground. This influence clearly strengthened with temperature rise, from the Qilian Mountains to the Hexi Corridor. When falling raindrops are evaporated by 1.0% in the Qilian Mountains and the Hexi Corridor, the composition of δ18O would be enriched by 1.2% and 2.6%, respectively. Temperature dominated the sub-cloud evaporation in the Qilian Mountains, whereas relative humidity controlled it in the Hexi Corridor. These results provide new proofs of the evolutional process of stable isotopes in precipitation in arid regions.

Non-growing season soil CO_2 efflux and its changes in an alpine meadow ecosystem of the Qilian Mountains,Northwest China

Most soil respiration measurements are conducted during the growing season.In tundra and boreal forest ecosystems,cumulative,non-growing season soil CO2 fluxes are reported to be a significant component of these systems＇ annual carbon budgets.However,little information exists on soil CO2 efflux during the non-growing season from alpine ecosystems.Therefore,comparing measurements of soil respiration taken annually versus during the growing season will improve the accuracy of estimating ecosystem carbon budgets,as well as predicting the response of soil CO2 efflux to climate changes.In this study,we measured soil CO2 efflux and its spatial and temporal changes for different altitudes during the non-growing season in an alpine meadow located in the Qilian Mountains,Northwest China.Field experiments on the soil CO2 efflux of alpine meadow from the Qilian Mountains were conducted along an elevation gradient from October 2010 to April 2011.We measured the soil CO2 efflux,and analyzed the effects of soil water content and soil temperature on this measure.The results show that soil CO2 efflux gradually decreased along the elevation gradient during the non-growing season.The daily variation of soil CO2 efflux appeared as a single-peak curve.The soil CO2 efflux was low at night,with the lowest value occurring between 02：00-06：00.Then,values started to rise rapidly between 07：00-08：30,and then descend again between 16：00-18：30.The peak soil CO2 efflux appeared from 11：00 to 16：00.The soil CO2 efflux values gradually decreased from October to February of the next year and started to increase in March.Non-growing season Q10 （the multiplier to the respiration rate for a 10℃ increase in temperature） was increased with raising altitude and average Q10 of the Qilian Mountains was generally higher than the average growing season Q10 of the Heihe River Basin.Seasonally,non-growing season soil CO2 efflux was relatively high in October and early spring and low in the winter.The soil CO2 efflux was positively correlated with soil temperature and soil water content.Our results indicate that in alpine ecosystems,soil CO2 efflux continues throughout the non-growing season,and soil respiration is an important component of annual soil CO2 efflux.

Comparable water use of two contrasting riparian forests in the lower Heihe River basin, Northwest China

Understanding forest ecosystem evapotranspiration（ET） is crucial for water-limited environments,particularly those that lack adequate quantified data such as the lower Heihe River basin of northwest China which is primarily dominated by Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.and Populus euphratica Oliv.forests.Accordingly,we selected the growing season for 2 years （2012 and 2014） of two such forests under similar meteorological conditions to compare ET using the eddy covariance（EC） technique.During the growing seasons,daily ET of T.ramosissima ranged from 0.3 to 8.0 mm day^（-1） with a mean of 3.6 mm day^（-1）,and daily ET of P.euphratica ranged from 0.9 to 7.9 mm day^（-1） with a mean of 4.6 mm day^（-1） for a total of 548 and 707 mm,respectively.The significantly higher ET of the P.euphratica stand was directly linked to high soil evaporation rates under sufficient water availability from irrigation.When the soil evaporation was disregarded,water use was comparable to two contrasting riparian forests,a P.euphratica forest with a total transpiration of 465 mm and a T.ramosissima forest with 473 mm.Regression analysis demonstrated that climate factors accounted for at least 80% of ET variation in both forest types.In conclusion,water use of the riparian forests was low and comparable in this arid region,that suggest the long-term plant adaptation to the local climate and conditions of water availability.

Nighttime sap flow and its driving forces for Populus euphratica in a desert riparian forest, Northwest China

Nighttime sap flow is a potentially important factor that affects whole-plant water balance and water-use efficiency （WUE）. Its functions include predawn disequilibrium between plant and soil water potentials as well as between the increments of oxygen supply and nutrient uptake. However, main factors that drive nighttime sap flow remain unclear, and researches related to the relationship between nighttime sap flow velocity and environmental factors are limited. Accordingly, we investigated the variations in the nighttime sap flow of Populus euphratica in a desert riparian forest of an extremely arid region, Northwest China. Results indicated that P. euphratica sap flow occurred throughout the night during the growing season because of the partial stomata opening. Nighttime sap flow for the P. euphratica forest accounted for 31%-47% of its daily sap flow during the growing season. The high value of nighttime sap flow could be the result of high stomatal conductance and could have significant implications for water budgets. Throughout the whole growing season, nighttime sap flow velocity of P. euphratica was positively correlated with the vapor pressure deficit （VPD）, air temperature and soil water content. We found that VPD and soil water content were the main driving factors for nighttime sap flow of P. euphratica.

A paleo-hydrological simulation experiment and its verification in an inland basin

Hydrological circulation,as the most basic material cycle and active natural phenomenon on earth,exerts a significant in fluence on climate change.The mid-Holocene is an important period to better understand modern environmental change;however,little research has focused on its quantitative simulation of paleo-hydrological process.In this research,we first collected chronological evidence and sediment records from six Holocene sedimentary sections in the Shiyang River Ba sin to reconstruct the mid-Holocene environment and terminal paleo-lake area.Secondly,we comprehensively analyzed modern pollen combinations and their propagation characteristics in surface soil,air,river and lacustrine sediments in the Shiyang River Basin,and combined the pollen records,as well as quantitatively reconstructed the millennial-scale vegeta tion zones.Finally,based on the land-cover adjustment results during the mid-Holocene,we successfully used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT)model,a modern distributed hydrological watershed model,to simulate mid-Holocene runoff in the basin.Results show that the reconstructed climate in the basin was warmer and moister than that in recent times.Vegetation types in the mid-Holocene mainly consisted of sub-alpine shrub distributed between 2,550 m and 2,750 m,forest at an elevation of 2,550 2,750 m,steppe at an elevation of 1,550 2,150 m and desert steppe below 1,550 m.The up stream,midstream,downstream and average annual runoff of the mid-Holocene in the basin were 16.76×10^8 m^3,22.86×10^8 m^3,9.00×10^8 m^3 and 16.20×10^8 m^3 respectively,compared to 15.61×10^8 m^3 of modern annual runoff.Also,the area of terminal paleo-lake in the mid-Holocene was 628 km^2.Thus,this study provides a new quantitative method for paleo-hy drological simulation.

Temperature and precipitation changes in Extensive Hexi Region, China, 1960–2011

Global climate change has been evident in many places worldwide. This study provxdes a better understanding of the variability and changes in frequency, intensity, and duration of temperature, precipitation, and climate extremes in the Extensive Hexi Region, based on meteorological data from 26 stations. The analysis of average, maximum, and minimum temperatures revealed that statistically significant warming occurred from 1960 to 2011. All temperature extremes dis- played trends consistent with warming, with the exception of coldest-night temperature （TNn） and coldest-day tempera- ture （TXn）, which were particularly evident in high-altitude areas and at night. Amount of precipitation and number of rainy days slowly increased with no significant regional trends, mainly occurring in the Qilian Mountains and Hexi Cor- ridor. The significance of changes in precipitation extremes during 1960-2011 was high, hut the regional trends of max- imum 5-day precipitation （RX5day）, the average precipitation on wet days （SDII）, and consecutive wet days （CWD） were not significant. The variations in the studied parameters indicate an increase in both the extremity and strength of precip- itation events, particularly in higher-altitude regions. Furthermore, the contribution from very wet precipitation （R95） and extremely wet precipitation （R99） to total precipitation also increased between 1960 and 2011. The assessment of these changes in temperature and precipitation may help in developing better management practices for water resources. Future studies in the region should focus on the impact of these changes on runoffs and glaciers.

Changes of the hydrological cycle in two typical Chinese monsoonal temperate glacier basins,： A response to global warming？

Studying the response to warming of hydrological systems in Chin＇s temperate glacier region is essential in order to provide information required for sustainable develop- ment. The results indicated the warming climate has had an impact on the hydrological cycle. As the glacier area subject to melting has increased and the ablation seasor has become longer, the contribution of meltwater to annual river discharge has increased. The earlier onset of ablation at higher elevation glaciers has resulted in the period of minimum discharge occurring earlier in the year. Seasonal runoff variations are dominated by snow and glacier melt, and an increase of meltwater has resulted in changes of the annual water cycle in the Lijiang Basin and Hailuogou Basin. The increase amplitude of runoff in the downstream re- gion of the glacial area is much stronger than that of precipitation, resulting from the promi- nent increase of meltwater from glacier region in two basins. Continued observations in the glacierized basins should be undertaken in order to monitor changes, to reveal the relation- ships between climate, glaciers, hydrology and water supplies, and to assist in maintaining sustainable regional development.