Spatiotemporal variations of Chinese Loess Plateau vegetation cover during 1981-2006 have been investigated using GIMMS and SPOT VGT NDVI data and the cause of vegetation cover changes has been analyzed, considering t...Spatiotemporal variations of Chinese Loess Plateau vegetation cover during 1981-2006 have been investigated using GIMMS and SPOT VGT NDVI data and the cause of vegetation cover changes has been analyzed, considering the climate changes and human activities. Vegetation cover changes on the Loess Plateau have experienced four stages as follows: (1) vegetation cover showed a continued increasing phase during 1981―1989; (2) vegetation cover changes came into a relative steady phase with small fluctuations during 1990―1998; (3) vegetation cover declined rapidly during 1999―2001; and (4) vegetation cover increased rapidly during 2002―2006. The vegetation cover changes of the Loess Plateau show a notable spatial difference. The vegetation cover has obviously increased in the Inner Mongolia and Ningxia plain along the Yellow River and the ecological rehabilitated region of Ordos Plateau, however the vegetation cover evidently decreased in the hilly and gully areas of Loess Plateau, Liupan Mountains region and the northern hillside of Qinling Mountains. The response of NDVI to climate changes varied with different vegetation types. NDVI of sandy land vegetation, grassland and cultivated land show a significant increasing trend, but forest shows a decreasing trend. The results obtained in this study show that the spatiotemporal variations of vegetation cover are the outcome of climate changes and human activities. Temperature is a control factor of the seasonal change of vegetation growth. The increased temperature makes soil drier and unfavors vegetation growth in summer, but it favors vegetation growth in spring and autumn because of a longer growing period. There is a significant correlation between vegetation cover and precipitation and thus, the change in precipitation is an important factor for vegetation variation. The improved agricultural production has resulted in an increase of NDVI in the farmland, and the implementation of large-scale vegetation construction has led to some beneficial effect in ecology展开更多
Arid and semi-arid areas comprise about 30% of the earth＇s surface. Changes in climate and climate variability will likely have a significant impact on these regions. The Loess Plateau over Northwest China is a speci...Arid and semi-arid areas comprise about 30% of the earth＇s surface. Changes in climate and climate variability will likely have a significant impact on these regions. The Loess Plateau over Northwest China is a special semi-arid land surface and part of a dust aerosol source. To improve understanding and capture the direct evidence of the impact of human activity on the semi-arid climate over the Loess Plateau, the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University （SACOL） was established in 2005. SACOL consists of a large set of instruments and focuses on： （1） monitoring of long term tendencies in semiarid climate changes; （2） monitoring of the aerosol effect on the water cycle; （3） studies of interaction between land surface and the atmosphere; （4） improving the land surface and climate models; and （5） validation of space-borne observations. This paper presents a description of SACOL objectives, measurements, and sampling strategies. Preliminary observation results are also reviewed in this paper.展开更多
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...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.展开更多
The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of plant species diversity and functional composition (the identity of the plant functional groups) on ecosystem stability of Stipa, communities in the Inner M...The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of plant species diversity and functional composition (the identity of the plant functional groups) on ecosystem stability of Stipa, communities in the Inner Mongolia Plateau. The research work was based on a 12-year study (from 1984 to 1995) of species abundance, diversity, and primary productivity of four Stipa communities, i.e. S. baicalensis Roshev., S. grandis P. Smirn., S, krylovii Roshev., and S. klemenzii Roshev. respectively. The Shnnon-Wiener index was used as a measurement of plant diversity, while functional composition was used to differentiate the functional groups that were included in the communities. The plant species of four Stipa communities were classified into functional groups based on the differences in life forms and ecological groups, which influence their performance in resource requirements, seasonality of growth, tolerance to water stress, and life history. Plant species were classified into five functional groups based on their differences in life form, shrubs and half shrubs, perennial bunch grasses, perennial rhizome grasses, forbs, annuals and biennials. Based on their differences in water requirement these species were classified into four functional groups: xerads, intermediate xerads, intermediate mesophytes, and mesophytes. The results showed: 1) Plant species diversity stabilized ecosystem processes. Shannon-Wiener index were 2.401 4, 2.172 0, 1.624 8, 0.354 3 from S. baicalensis community to S. grandis, S. krylovii and S. klemenzii community, respectively. The dynamics of the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) for a 12-year's period showed a reverse pattern, the coefficients of variation of the four communities were 21.94%, 20.63%, 29.21% and 39.72% respectively. 2) The Life form functional group component of diversity was a greater determinant of the ecosystem processes than the species component of diversity. The effects of perennial bunch grasses, perennial rhizome grasses and forbs on community stability w展开更多
The expansion of inland Asia deserts has considerably influenced the environmental, social and economic activities in Asia. Aridification of inland Asia, especially timing of the initiation of Asian desertification, i...The expansion of inland Asia deserts has considerably influenced the environmental, social and economic activities in Asia. Aridification of inland Asia, especially timing of the initiation of Asian desertification, is a contentious topic in paleoclimatology. Late Cenozoic eolian loess-red clay sequences on the Chinese Loess Plateau, which possess abundant paleoclimatic and paleo-environmental information, can be regarded as an indicator of inland Asia desertification. Here we present a detailed magnetostratigraphic investigation of a new red clay sequence about 654 m in Zhuanglang located at the western Chinese Loess Plateau. Sedimentological, geochemical, mineralogical, and quartz morphological lines of evidence show that the red clay is of eolian origin. Magnetostratigraphic correlations indicate that this core sequence spans from 25.6 to 4.8 Ma, and typical eolian red clay appears as early as 25 Ma. This extends the lower limit of the red clay on the Chinese Loess Plateau from the previously thought early Miocene back into the late Oligocene. This new red clay record further implies that the inland Asia desertification was initiated at least by the late Oligocene. This sequence provides a unique high-resolution geological record for understanding the inland Asia desertification process since the late Oligocene.展开更多
Species dynamics in terms of both plant biological traits, ecological strategies and species richness as well as soil chemical variables during a secondary succession in abandoned fields on the Loess Plateau along a t...Species dynamics in terms of both plant biological traits, ecological strategies and species richness as well as soil chemical variables during a secondary succession in abandoned fields on the Loess Plateau along a temporal sere from 3 a to 149 a were studied. The results indicated that (I) Soil total C and N increased while soil pH, total K and Na decreased with years since abandonment. No noticeable trend was found in the case of soil P along the successional sere. On the other hand, total CaO of the surface layer (0 - 10 cm) decreased, but that of the two deeper layer, (20 - 30 cm, 40 - 50 cm) increased with years since abandonment. Soil C, N, K and P decreased, while Na, CaO and soil pH increased with increasing soil depth. (2) Species richness peaked at both mid-stage of the successional sere and the intermediate portion of soil chemical variables gradient. (3) An ideal dominant species in the early successional stage were annuals with stable seed pool, CR-life strategy, S-regeneration strategy, and strong competitive ability on relatively poor soil, while perennials capable of intensive lateral spread and colonal ability, requiring high nutrient supply, and having Clife strategy would be the dominant species in the subsequent stages. Plant traits, such as perennial-life history, C-, CR-, SC-, SR-, S- and R-life strategies, W-, S-, Bs- VBs- and V-regeneration strategies, were over- represented throughout the whole sere among the other species. (4) Some traits, such as C-, SC-life strategies, ability of clonality, perennial-life history, well-developed lateral spread ability, V- and VBs-regeneration strategies, seed animal. dispersal mode, flowering time of autumn, fruit types of legumen and nut, were more or less correlated with increased soil total C, N and K, while S-, SR-, R-, CR-life strategies, annual-, biannual-life history, non-clonal ability, S-regeneration strategy, poor lateral spread ability, and fruit types of utricle, capsule were associated with increased soil total Na, CaO and pH. The results展开更多
Major progress, problems, and challenges of recent investigation of the Tibetan Plateau uplift processes and resulting environmental changes are reviewed and summarized briefly, which especially covers the National Ti...Major progress, problems, and challenges of recent investigation of the Tibetan Plateau uplift processes and resulting environmental changes are reviewed and summarized briefly, which especially covers the National Tibetan Research Projects of the Chinese Eighth (1992-1996) and Ninth (1997-2001) 'Five-Year Projects'. The Tibetan Plateau uplift is a complicated multiple cyclic process. The Gangdise and Himalayas began to uplift in the展开更多
Waterlogging is one of the major water issues in most cities of China and directly restricts their urbanization processes.The construction of Sponge City is an effective approach to solving the urban water issues,part...Waterlogging is one of the major water issues in most cities of China and directly restricts their urbanization processes.The construction of Sponge City is an effective approach to solving the urban water issues,particularly for the waterlogging.In this study,both the urban issues emerged at the stage of rapid urbanization in China and the demands as well as problems of Sponge City construction related with the water issues were investigated,and the opportunities and challenges for the Sponge City construction in the future were also proposed.It was found that the current stormwater management focused on the construction of gray infrastructures(e.g.,drainage network and water tank) based on the fast discharge idea,which was costly and hard to catch up with the rapid expansion of city and its impervious surface,while green infrastructures(e.g.,river,lake and wetland)were ignored.Moreover,the current construction of Sponge City was still limited to low impacted development(LID) approach which was concentrated on source control measures without consideration of the critical functions of surrounding landscapes(i.e.,mountain,river,wetland,forest,farmland and lake),while application of the integrated urban water system approach and its supported technologies including municipal engineering,urban hydrology,environmental science,social science and ecoscape were relatively weak and needed to be improved.Besides,the lack of special Sponge City plan and demonstration area was also a considerable problem.In this paper,some perspectives on Good Sponge City Construction were proposed such as the point that idea of urban plan and construction should conform to the integral and systematic view of sustainable urban development.Therefore,both the basic theoretical research and the basic infrastructure construction such as monitoring system,drainage facility and demonstration area should be strengthened,meanwhile,the reformation and innovation in the urban water management system and the education system should also be urgently pe展开更多
Cenozoic sediments in the foreland basin--Jiuquan Basin in west Hexi Corridor recorded tectonic uplift information of the Qilian Mountains. High resolution paleomagnetic dating of the Laojunmiao (LJM) section across t...Cenozoic sediments in the foreland basin--Jiuquan Basin in west Hexi Corridor recorded tectonic uplift information of the Qilian Mountains. High resolution paleomagnetic dating of the Laojunmiao (LJM) section across the central LJM anticline in the southern Jiuquan Basin reveals ages of the Getanggou Member, Niugetao Member in the Shulehe Formation, the Yumen Conglomerate, Jiuquan Conglomerate and Gobi Formation at >13-8.3 Ma, 8.3-4.9 Ma, 3.66-0.93 Ma, 0.84-0.14 Ma and 0.14-0 Ma, respectively. Sedimentary evolution study suggests that the Qilian Mountains should begin to rise gradually since ～8-6.6 Ma, accompanied by sedimentary environments changing from lacustrine mudstones-sandstones to alluvial conglomerates. Rapid uplift of the Qilian Mountains began at ～3.66 Ma, followed by a series of stepwise or intermittent intensive uplifts at about <1.8-1.23 Ma, 0.93-0.84 Ma and 0.14 Ma, which finally resulted in the present high Qilian Mountains.展开更多
By combining living trees and archaeological wood, the annual mean temperatures were reconstructed based on ring-width indices of the mid-eastern Tibetan Plateau for the past 2485 years. The climate variations reveale...By combining living trees and archaeological wood, the annual mean temperatures were reconstructed based on ring-width indices of the mid-eastern Tibetan Plateau for the past 2485 years. The climate variations revealed by the reconstruction indicate that there were four periods to have average tem- peratures similar to or even higher than that mean of 1970 to 2000 AD. A particularly notable rapid shift from cold to warm, we call it the "Eastern Jin Event", occurred from 348 AD to 413 AD. Calculation re- sults show that the temperature variations over the mid-eastern Tibetan Plateau are not only repre- sentative for large parts of north-central China, but also closely correspond to those of the entire Northern Hemisphere over long time scales. During the last 2485 years, the downfall of most major dynasties in China coincides with intervals of low temperature. Compared with the temperature records in other regions of China during the last 1000 years, this reconstruction from the Tibetan Plateau shows a significant warming trend after the 1950s.展开更多
Through analyzing the yearly average data obtained from 123 regular meteorological observatories located in the Tibetan Plateau (T-P), this article studies the characteristics of climate change in T-P in the last 40 y...Through analyzing the yearly average data obtained from 123 regular meteorological observatories located in the Tibetan Plateau (T-P), this article studies the characteristics of climate change in T-P in the last 40 years. Prom the distribution of the linear trend, it can be concluded that the southeastern part of T-P becomes warmer and wetter, with an obvious increase of rainfall. The same characteristics are found in the southwestern part of T-P, but the shift is smaller. In the middle of T-P, temperature and humidity obviously increase with the center of the increase in Bangoin-Amdo. The south of the Tarim Basin also exhibits the same tendency. The reason for this area being humid is that it gets less sunshine and milder wind. The northeastern part of T-P turns warmer and drier. Qaidam Basin and its western and southern areas are the center of this shift, in which the living environment is deteriorating. Analyzing the characteristics of the regional average time series, it can be found that in the mid-1970s, a significant sudden change occurred to annual rainfall, yearly average snow-accumulation days and surface pressure in the eastern part of T-P. In the mid-1980s, another evident climatic jump happened to yearly average temperature, total cloud amount, surface pressure, relative humidity, and sunshine duration in the same area. That is, in the mid 1980s, the plateau experienced a climatic jump that is featured by the increase of temperature, snow-accumulation days, relative humidity, surface pressure, and by the decrease of sunshine duration and total cloud amount. The sudden climatic change of temperature in T-P is later than that of the global-mean temperature. Prom this paper it can be seen that in the middle of the 1980s, a climatic jump from warm-dry to warm-wet occurred in T-P.展开更多
Studies of the geomorphology and stratigraphy in the upper reaches of the Yellow River during the late Cenozoic demonstrate that the period of 30 - 3.4 Ma is characterized by a relatively stable tectonic setting, a pe...Studies of the geomorphology and stratigraphy in the upper reaches of the Yellow River during the late Cenozoic demonstrate that the period of 30 - 3.4 Ma is characterized by a relatively stable tectonic setting, a persistently hot climate and a wide distribution of inland basins. This long-term stable environment resulted in a planation surface, the main surface on the Qinghai-Xizang (Qingzang) Plateau, on which red earth crust and karst arc formed. Since 3.4 Ma, the Qingzang Plateau was 'uplifted as a whole massif, accompanied by the dissection and disintegration of the main surface, termination of deposition and deformation of stratigraphy in red basins, increasing relief and commencing accumulation of inland molasse formation mainly of conglomerate. Subsequent strong uplift of the Qingzang Plateau at 2.5 Ma and 1.7-1.66 Ma led to cormation of the basic geomorphological configuration of the Qingzang Plateau and occurrence of the Yellow River. These three strong uplifts of the Qingzang Plateau between 3.4 Ma and 1.7 -1.66 Ma was, therefore, named the Qingzang movement and divided correspondingly into three phases A. B and C. After the appearance of the Yellow River, the Qingzang Plateau continued uplifting intermittently, resulting in 8 valley terraces dated to 1.63. 1.5, 1.2. 0.8, 0.6, 0.15. 0.05. and 0.01 Ma. which also record the whole process of headward erosion of the Yellow River.展开更多
A typical sequence of fluvial terraces and aeolian deposits overlying these ter- races were multidisciplinary investigated. New evidences for uplift process of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in the past 14 m...A typical sequence of fluvial terraces and aeolian deposits overlying these ter- races were multidisciplinary investigated. New evidences for uplift process of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in the past 14 million years were obtained. At least 11 river terraces along Huangshui, the first-class tributary of Yellow River, at the Xining-Huzhu region are identi- fied. While the first one (T1) is classified as an accumulation terrace, the others are all basement river terraces, which consist of the Tertiary sandstone and siltstone bedrock, fluvial gravel and pebbles and the overlying aeolian loess-Red Clay deposit. Samples from the aeolian deposits were examined for paleomagnetic stratigraphic reconstruction (1030 samples), luminescence dating (16 samples), magnetic susceptibility and grain-size distribution (more than 4000 sam- ples). The luminescence dating and stratigraphic correlation suggest that terraces of Tll, T10, T8, T7, T3, T2, T1 were formed at 14, 11.3, 1.55, 1.2, 0.15, 0.07 and 0.01 million years ago, re- spectively. Sedimentological analysis and geomorphological observation indicate that formation and evolution of these terraces were mainly driven by tectonic uplift. Therefore, the terrace se- quence provides an ideal geological record, of the uplift process of the northeastern during the past 14 million years, and the timings of the terraces formation are regarded as the timings of tectonic uplift. The significant uplifting events took place at 14, 11.3, 1.2 and 0.15 mil- lion years ago, respectively. The fluvial incision at the Xining-Huzhu region is less than 100 m during a period of ~12 million years in the Miocene era (between the Tll and T9), while the Huangshui River had incised 432 m during the past 1.2 million years (from T7 to the present floodplain). The river incision process clearly demonstrates that accelerated rising of the north- eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the late Cenozoic, and provides new evidence of previous thoughts. There was a significant readjustment of the fl展开更多
Above-and belowground biomass allocation not only influences growth of individual plants,but also influences vegetation structures and functions,and consequently impacts soil carbon input as well as terrestrial ecosys...Above-and belowground biomass allocation not only influences growth of individual plants,but also influences vegetation structures and functions,and consequently impacts soil carbon input as well as terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling.However,due to sampling difficulties,a considerable amount of uncertainty remains about the root:shoot ratio(R/S),a key parameter for models of terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling.We investigated biomass allocation patterns across a broad spatial scale.We collected data on individual plant biomass and systematically sampled along a transect across the temperate grasslands in Inner Mongolia as well as in the alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.Our results indicated that the median of R/S for herbaceous species was 0.78 in China's grasslands as a whole.R/S was significantly higher in temperate grasslands than in alpine grasslands(0.84 vs.0.65).The slope of the allometric relationship between above-and belowground biomass was steeper for temperate grasslands than for alpine.Our results did not support the hypothesis that aboveground biomass scales isometrically with belowground biomass.The R/S in China's grasslands was not significantly correlated with mean annual temperature(MAT) or mean annual precipitation(MAP).Moreover,comparisons of our results with previous findings indicated a large difference between R/S data from individual plants and communities.This might be mainly caused by the underestimation of R/S at the individual level as a result of an inevitable loss of fine roots and the overestimation of R/S in community-level surveys due to grazing and difficulties in identifying dead roots.Our findings suggest that root biomass in grasslands tended to have been overestimated in previous reports of R/S.展开更多
Using the 1961–1995 monthly averaged meteorological data from 148 surface stations in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) and its surrounding areas, calculation of the 35-year atmospheric heat source/sink (<Qi>) a...Using the 1961–1995 monthly averaged meteorological data from 148 surface stations in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) and its surrounding areas, calculation of the 35-year atmospheric heat source/sink (<Qi>) and an analysis on its climatic features and relation to rainfall in China have been made. It is found that on the average, the atmospheric heat source over the QXP is the strongest in June (78 W / m2) and cold source is the strongest in December (?72 W/m2). The sensible heat of the surface increases remarkably over the southwest of the QXP, causing the obvious increase of <Qi> there in February and March, which makes a center of the atmospheric heat source appear over the north slope of the Himalayas. Afterwards, this center continues to intensify and experiences noticeable migration westwards twice, separately occurring in April and June. The time when the atmosphere over the east of the QXP becomes heat source and reaches strongest is one month later than that over the southwest of the QXP. In summer, the latent heat of condensation becomes a heating factor as important as the sensible heat and is also a main factor that makes the atmospheric heat source over the east of the QXP continue growing. On the interdecadal time scale, (Q1) of the QXP shows an abrupt change in 1977 and a remarkable increase after 1977. The atmospheric heat source of the spring over the QXP is a good indicator for the subsequent summer rainfall over the valleys of the Changjiang and Huaihe rivers and South China and North China. There is remarkable positive correlation between the QXP heat source of summer and the summer rainfall in the valleys of the Changjiang River.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40671019)the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research of Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Spatiotemporal variations of Chinese Loess Plateau vegetation cover during 1981-2006 have been investigated using GIMMS and SPOT VGT NDVI data and the cause of vegetation cover changes has been analyzed, considering the climate changes and human activities. Vegetation cover changes on the Loess Plateau have experienced four stages as follows: (1) vegetation cover showed a continued increasing phase during 1981―1989; (2) vegetation cover changes came into a relative steady phase with small fluctuations during 1990―1998; (3) vegetation cover declined rapidly during 1999―2001; and (4) vegetation cover increased rapidly during 2002―2006. The vegetation cover changes of the Loess Plateau show a notable spatial difference. The vegetation cover has obviously increased in the Inner Mongolia and Ningxia plain along the Yellow River and the ecological rehabilitated region of Ordos Plateau, however the vegetation cover evidently decreased in the hilly and gully areas of Loess Plateau, Liupan Mountains region and the northern hillside of Qinling Mountains. The response of NDVI to climate changes varied with different vegetation types. NDVI of sandy land vegetation, grassland and cultivated land show a significant increasing trend, but forest shows a decreasing trend. The results obtained in this study show that the spatiotemporal variations of vegetation cover are the outcome of climate changes and human activities. Temperature is a control factor of the seasonal change of vegetation growth. The increased temperature makes soil drier and unfavors vegetation growth in summer, but it favors vegetation growth in spring and autumn because of a longer growing period. There is a significant correlation between vegetation cover and precipitation and thus, the change in precipitation is an important factor for vegetation variation. The improved agricultural production has resulted in an increase of NDVI in the farmland, and the implementation of large-scale vegetation construction has led to some beneficial effect in ecology
基金SACOL was sponsored by Lanzhou University through 985 Programthe National Basic Research Program of China under Grant No. 2006CB400501the National Natural Science Founda- tion of China under Grant Nos. 40633017 and 40725015
文摘Arid and semi-arid areas comprise about 30% of the earth＇s surface. Changes in climate and climate variability will likely have a significant impact on these regions. The Loess Plateau over Northwest China is a special semi-arid land surface and part of a dust aerosol source. To improve understanding and capture the direct evidence of the impact of human activity on the semi-arid climate over the Loess Plateau, the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University （SACOL） was established in 2005. SACOL consists of a large set of instruments and focuses on： （1） monitoring of long term tendencies in semiarid climate changes; （2） monitoring of the aerosol effect on the water cycle; （3） studies of interaction between land surface and the atmosphere; （4） improving the land surface and climate models; and （5） validation of space-borne observations. This paper presents a description of SACOL objectives, measurements, and sampling strategies. Preliminary observation results are also reviewed in this paper.
基金Project supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX3-SW-422) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 9032001 and 40335050).
文摘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.
文摘The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of plant species diversity and functional composition (the identity of the plant functional groups) on ecosystem stability of Stipa, communities in the Inner Mongolia Plateau. The research work was based on a 12-year study (from 1984 to 1995) of species abundance, diversity, and primary productivity of four Stipa communities, i.e. S. baicalensis Roshev., S. grandis P. Smirn., S, krylovii Roshev., and S. klemenzii Roshev. respectively. The Shnnon-Wiener index was used as a measurement of plant diversity, while functional composition was used to differentiate the functional groups that were included in the communities. The plant species of four Stipa communities were classified into functional groups based on the differences in life forms and ecological groups, which influence their performance in resource requirements, seasonality of growth, tolerance to water stress, and life history. Plant species were classified into five functional groups based on their differences in life form, shrubs and half shrubs, perennial bunch grasses, perennial rhizome grasses, forbs, annuals and biennials. Based on their differences in water requirement these species were classified into four functional groups: xerads, intermediate xerads, intermediate mesophytes, and mesophytes. The results showed: 1) Plant species diversity stabilized ecosystem processes. Shannon-Wiener index were 2.401 4, 2.172 0, 1.624 8, 0.354 3 from S. baicalensis community to S. grandis, S. krylovii and S. klemenzii community, respectively. The dynamics of the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) for a 12-year's period showed a reverse pattern, the coefficients of variation of the four communities were 21.94%, 20.63%, 29.21% and 39.72% respectively. 2) The Life form functional group component of diversity was a greater determinant of the ecosystem processes than the species component of diversity. The effects of perennial bunch grasses, perennial rhizome grasses and forbs on community stability w
基金supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grants Nos. 2010CB833400, 2004CB720200)Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-Q09-04)+1 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 41072142, 40921120406 and 40772116)State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG)
文摘The expansion of inland Asia deserts has considerably influenced the environmental, social and economic activities in Asia. Aridification of inland Asia, especially timing of the initiation of Asian desertification, is a contentious topic in paleoclimatology. Late Cenozoic eolian loess-red clay sequences on the Chinese Loess Plateau, which possess abundant paleoclimatic and paleo-environmental information, can be regarded as an indicator of inland Asia desertification. Here we present a detailed magnetostratigraphic investigation of a new red clay sequence about 654 m in Zhuanglang located at the western Chinese Loess Plateau. Sedimentological, geochemical, mineralogical, and quartz morphological lines of evidence show that the red clay is of eolian origin. Magnetostratigraphic correlations indicate that this core sequence spans from 25.6 to 4.8 Ma, and typical eolian red clay appears as early as 25 Ma. This extends the lower limit of the red clay on the Chinese Loess Plateau from the previously thought early Miocene back into the late Oligocene. This new red clay record further implies that the inland Asia desertification was initiated at least by the late Oligocene. This sequence provides a unique high-resolution geological record for understanding the inland Asia desertification process since the late Oligocene.
文摘Species dynamics in terms of both plant biological traits, ecological strategies and species richness as well as soil chemical variables during a secondary succession in abandoned fields on the Loess Plateau along a temporal sere from 3 a to 149 a were studied. The results indicated that (I) Soil total C and N increased while soil pH, total K and Na decreased with years since abandonment. No noticeable trend was found in the case of soil P along the successional sere. On the other hand, total CaO of the surface layer (0 - 10 cm) decreased, but that of the two deeper layer, (20 - 30 cm, 40 - 50 cm) increased with years since abandonment. Soil C, N, K and P decreased, while Na, CaO and soil pH increased with increasing soil depth. (2) Species richness peaked at both mid-stage of the successional sere and the intermediate portion of soil chemical variables gradient. (3) An ideal dominant species in the early successional stage were annuals with stable seed pool, CR-life strategy, S-regeneration strategy, and strong competitive ability on relatively poor soil, while perennials capable of intensive lateral spread and colonal ability, requiring high nutrient supply, and having Clife strategy would be the dominant species in the subsequent stages. Plant traits, such as perennial-life history, C-, CR-, SC-, SR-, S- and R-life strategies, W-, S-, Bs- VBs- and V-regeneration strategies, were over- represented throughout the whole sere among the other species. (4) Some traits, such as C-, SC-life strategies, ability of clonality, perennial-life history, well-developed lateral spread ability, V- and VBs-regeneration strategies, seed animal. dispersal mode, flowering time of autumn, fruit types of legumen and nut, were more or less correlated with increased soil total C, N and K, while S-, SR-, R-, CR-life strategies, annual-, biannual-life history, non-clonal ability, S-regeneration strategy, poor lateral spread ability, and fruit types of utricle, capsule were associated with increased soil total Na, CaO and pH. The results
文摘Major progress, problems, and challenges of recent investigation of the Tibetan Plateau uplift processes and resulting environmental changes are reviewed and summarized briefly, which especially covers the National Tibetan Research Projects of the Chinese Eighth (1992-1996) and Ninth (1997-2001) 'Five-Year Projects'. The Tibetan Plateau uplift is a complicated multiple cyclic process. The Gangdise and Himalayas began to uplift in the
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41571028)Key Programs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KFZD-SW-301)
文摘Waterlogging is one of the major water issues in most cities of China and directly restricts their urbanization processes.The construction of Sponge City is an effective approach to solving the urban water issues,particularly for the waterlogging.In this study,both the urban issues emerged at the stage of rapid urbanization in China and the demands as well as problems of Sponge City construction related with the water issues were investigated,and the opportunities and challenges for the Sponge City construction in the future were also proposed.It was found that the current stormwater management focused on the construction of gray infrastructures(e.g.,drainage network and water tank) based on the fast discharge idea,which was costly and hard to catch up with the rapid expansion of city and its impervious surface,while green infrastructures(e.g.,river,lake and wetland)were ignored.Moreover,the current construction of Sponge City was still limited to low impacted development(LID) approach which was concentrated on source control measures without consideration of the critical functions of surrounding landscapes(i.e.,mountain,river,wetland,forest,farmland and lake),while application of the integrated urban water system approach and its supported technologies including municipal engineering,urban hydrology,environmental science,social science and ecoscape were relatively weak and needed to be improved.Besides,the lack of special Sponge City plan and demonstration area was also a considerable problem.In this paper,some perspectives on Good Sponge City Construction were proposed such as the point that idea of urban plan and construction should conform to the integral and systematic view of sustainable urban development.Therefore,both the basic theoretical research and the basic infrastructure construction such as monitoring system,drainage facility and demonstration area should be strengthened,meanwhile,the reformation and innovation in the urban water management system and the education system should also be urgently pe
基金the NSFC(Grant No.40334038,40121303)the National Key Project for Basic Research on the Tibetan Plateau(Grant No.G1998040809)CAS"Hundred Talents Project"(Grant No.Ren-Jiao-Zi[2000]02821.
文摘Cenozoic sediments in the foreland basin--Jiuquan Basin in west Hexi Corridor recorded tectonic uplift information of the Qilian Mountains. High resolution paleomagnetic dating of the Laojunmiao (LJM) section across the central LJM anticline in the southern Jiuquan Basin reveals ages of the Getanggou Member, Niugetao Member in the Shulehe Formation, the Yumen Conglomerate, Jiuquan Conglomerate and Gobi Formation at >13-8.3 Ma, 8.3-4.9 Ma, 3.66-0.93 Ma, 0.84-0.14 Ma and 0.14-0 Ma, respectively. Sedimentary evolution study suggests that the Qilian Mountains should begin to rise gradually since ～8-6.6 Ma, accompanied by sedimentary environments changing from lacustrine mudstones-sandstones to alluvial conglomerates. Rapid uplift of the Qilian Mountains began at ～3.66 Ma, followed by a series of stepwise or intermittent intensive uplifts at about <1.8-1.23 Ma, 0.93-0.84 Ma and 0.14 Ma, which finally resulted in the present high Qilian Mountains.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40525004, 40599420, 40890051)National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2007BAC30B00, 2004CB720200, 2006CB400503)the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA, Grant to Hans W. Linderholm)
文摘By combining living trees and archaeological wood, the annual mean temperatures were reconstructed based on ring-width indices of the mid-eastern Tibetan Plateau for the past 2485 years. The climate variations revealed by the reconstruction indicate that there were four periods to have average tem- peratures similar to or even higher than that mean of 1970 to 2000 AD. A particularly notable rapid shift from cold to warm, we call it the "Eastern Jin Event", occurred from 348 AD to 413 AD. Calculation re- sults show that the temperature variations over the mid-eastern Tibetan Plateau are not only repre- sentative for large parts of north-central China, but also closely correspond to those of the entire Northern Hemisphere over long time scales. During the last 2485 years, the downfall of most major dynasties in China coincides with intervals of low temperature. Compared with the temperature records in other regions of China during the last 1000 years, this reconstruction from the Tibetan Plateau shows a significant warming trend after the 1950s.
文摘Through analyzing the yearly average data obtained from 123 regular meteorological observatories located in the Tibetan Plateau (T-P), this article studies the characteristics of climate change in T-P in the last 40 years. Prom the distribution of the linear trend, it can be concluded that the southeastern part of T-P becomes warmer and wetter, with an obvious increase of rainfall. The same characteristics are found in the southwestern part of T-P, but the shift is smaller. In the middle of T-P, temperature and humidity obviously increase with the center of the increase in Bangoin-Amdo. The south of the Tarim Basin also exhibits the same tendency. The reason for this area being humid is that it gets less sunshine and milder wind. The northeastern part of T-P turns warmer and drier. Qaidam Basin and its western and southern areas are the center of this shift, in which the living environment is deteriorating. Analyzing the characteristics of the regional average time series, it can be found that in the mid-1970s, a significant sudden change occurred to annual rainfall, yearly average snow-accumulation days and surface pressure in the eastern part of T-P. In the mid-1980s, another evident climatic jump happened to yearly average temperature, total cloud amount, surface pressure, relative humidity, and sunshine duration in the same area. That is, in the mid 1980s, the plateau experienced a climatic jump that is featured by the increase of temperature, snow-accumulation days, relative humidity, surface pressure, and by the decrease of sunshine duration and total cloud amount. The sudden climatic change of temperature in T-P is later than that of the global-mean temperature. Prom this paper it can be seen that in the middle of the 1980s, a climatic jump from warm-dry to warm-wet occurred in T-P.
基金Project supported by the State Eighth Five-Year Project on Studies of Formation and Evolution of the Qingzang Plateau, Environmental Change and Ecological System.
文摘Studies of the geomorphology and stratigraphy in the upper reaches of the Yellow River during the late Cenozoic demonstrate that the period of 30 - 3.4 Ma is characterized by a relatively stable tectonic setting, a persistently hot climate and a wide distribution of inland basins. This long-term stable environment resulted in a planation surface, the main surface on the Qinghai-Xizang (Qingzang) Plateau, on which red earth crust and karst arc formed. Since 3.4 Ma, the Qingzang Plateau was 'uplifted as a whole massif, accompanied by the dissection and disintegration of the main surface, termination of deposition and deformation of stratigraphy in red basins, increasing relief and commencing accumulation of inland molasse formation mainly of conglomerate. Subsequent strong uplift of the Qingzang Plateau at 2.5 Ma and 1.7-1.66 Ma led to cormation of the basic geomorphological configuration of the Qingzang Plateau and occurrence of the Yellow River. These three strong uplifts of the Qingzang Plateau between 3.4 Ma and 1.7 -1.66 Ma was, therefore, named the Qingzang movement and divided correspondingly into three phases A. B and C. After the appearance of the Yellow River, the Qingzang Plateau continued uplifting intermittently, resulting in 8 valley terraces dated to 1.63. 1.5, 1.2. 0.8, 0.6, 0.15. 0.05. and 0.01 Ma. which also record the whole process of headward erosion of the Yellow River.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.40325007 and 90102017) the Outstanding Overseas Chinese Scholars Fund of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (Grant No.2003-01-07).
文摘A typical sequence of fluvial terraces and aeolian deposits overlying these ter- races were multidisciplinary investigated. New evidences for uplift process of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in the past 14 million years were obtained. At least 11 river terraces along Huangshui, the first-class tributary of Yellow River, at the Xining-Huzhu region are identi- fied. While the first one (T1) is classified as an accumulation terrace, the others are all basement river terraces, which consist of the Tertiary sandstone and siltstone bedrock, fluvial gravel and pebbles and the overlying aeolian loess-Red Clay deposit. Samples from the aeolian deposits were examined for paleomagnetic stratigraphic reconstruction (1030 samples), luminescence dating (16 samples), magnetic susceptibility and grain-size distribution (more than 4000 sam- ples). The luminescence dating and stratigraphic correlation suggest that terraces of Tll, T10, T8, T7, T3, T2, T1 were formed at 14, 11.3, 1.55, 1.2, 0.15, 0.07 and 0.01 million years ago, re- spectively. Sedimentological analysis and geomorphological observation indicate that formation and evolution of these terraces were mainly driven by tectonic uplift. Therefore, the terrace se- quence provides an ideal geological record, of the uplift process of the northeastern during the past 14 million years, and the timings of the terraces formation are regarded as the timings of tectonic uplift. The significant uplifting events took place at 14, 11.3, 1.2 and 0.15 mil- lion years ago, respectively. The fluvial incision at the Xining-Huzhu region is less than 100 m during a period of ~12 million years in the Miocene era (between the Tll and T9), while the Huangshui River had incised 432 m during the past 1.2 million years (from T7 to the present floodplain). The river incision process clearly demonstrates that accelerated rising of the north- eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the late Cenozoic, and provides new evidence of previous thoughts. There was a significant readjustment of the fl
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30870381)the Key Project of Scientific and Technical Supporting Programs Funded by the Ministry of Science & Technology of China (Grant No. 2007BAC06B01)
文摘Above-and belowground biomass allocation not only influences growth of individual plants,but also influences vegetation structures and functions,and consequently impacts soil carbon input as well as terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling.However,due to sampling difficulties,a considerable amount of uncertainty remains about the root:shoot ratio(R/S),a key parameter for models of terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling.We investigated biomass allocation patterns across a broad spatial scale.We collected data on individual plant biomass and systematically sampled along a transect across the temperate grasslands in Inner Mongolia as well as in the alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.Our results indicated that the median of R/S for herbaceous species was 0.78 in China's grasslands as a whole.R/S was significantly higher in temperate grasslands than in alpine grasslands(0.84 vs.0.65).The slope of the allometric relationship between above-and belowground biomass was steeper for temperate grasslands than for alpine.Our results did not support the hypothesis that aboveground biomass scales isometrically with belowground biomass.The R/S in China's grasslands was not significantly correlated with mean annual temperature(MAT) or mean annual precipitation(MAP).Moreover,comparisons of our results with previous findings indicated a large difference between R/S data from individual plants and communities.This might be mainly caused by the underestimation of R/S at the individual level as a result of an inevitable loss of fine roots and the overestimation of R/S in community-level surveys due to grazing and difficulties in identifying dead roots.Our findings suggest that root biomass in grasslands tended to have been overestimated in previous reports of R/S.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40075018).
文摘Using the 1961–1995 monthly averaged meteorological data from 148 surface stations in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) and its surrounding areas, calculation of the 35-year atmospheric heat source/sink (<Qi>) and an analysis on its climatic features and relation to rainfall in China have been made. It is found that on the average, the atmospheric heat source over the QXP is the strongest in June (78 W / m2) and cold source is the strongest in December (?72 W/m2). The sensible heat of the surface increases remarkably over the southwest of the QXP, causing the obvious increase of <Qi> there in February and March, which makes a center of the atmospheric heat source appear over the north slope of the Himalayas. Afterwards, this center continues to intensify and experiences noticeable migration westwards twice, separately occurring in April and June. The time when the atmosphere over the east of the QXP becomes heat source and reaches strongest is one month later than that over the southwest of the QXP. In summer, the latent heat of condensation becomes a heating factor as important as the sensible heat and is also a main factor that makes the atmospheric heat source over the east of the QXP continue growing. On the interdecadal time scale, (Q1) of the QXP shows an abrupt change in 1977 and a remarkable increase after 1977. The atmospheric heat source of the spring over the QXP is a good indicator for the subsequent summer rainfall over the valleys of the Changjiang and Huaihe rivers and South China and North China. There is remarkable positive correlation between the QXP heat source of summer and the summer rainfall in the valleys of the Changjiang River.
