Seasonal and interannual variation in water vapor and energy exchange over a typical steppe in Inner Mongolia, China

In this study, we conducted eddy covariance (EC) measurements of water vapor exchange over a typical steppe in a semi-arid area of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, China. Measurement sites were located within a 25-year-old enclosure with a relatively low leaf area index (similar to 1. 5 m(2) m(-2)) and dominated by Leymus chinensis. Energy balance closure was (H + LE) = 17.09 + 0.69 x (Rn - G) (W/m(2); r(2) = 0.95, n = 6596). Precipitation during the two growing seasons of the study period was similar to the long-term average. The peak evapotranspiration in 2004 was 4 mm d(-1), and 3.5 mm d(-1) in 2003. The maximum latent heat flux was higher than the sensible heat flux, and the sensible heat flux dominated the energy budget at midday during the entire growing season in 2003; latent heat flux was the main consumption component for net radiation during the 2004 growing season. During periods of frozen soil in 2003 and 2004, the sensible heat flux was the primary consumption component for net radiation. The soil heat flux component was similar in 2003 and 2004. The decoupling coefficient (between 0.5 and 0.1) indicates that evapotranspiration was strongly controlled by saturation water vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in this grassland. The results of this research suggest that energy exchange and evapotranspiration were controlled by the phenology of the vegetation and soil water content. In addition, the amount and frequency of rainfall significantly affect energy exchange and evapotranspiration upon the Inner Mongolia plateau. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Energy exchange between the atmosphere and a meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

To reveal the potential contribution of grassland ecosystems to climate change, we examined the energy exchange over an alpine Kobresia meadow on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The annual pattern of energy exchange showed a clear distinction between periods of frozen soil with the daily mean soil temperature at 5 cm (T-s5 ≤ 0 ° C) and non-frozen soil (T-s5 > 0 ° C). More than 80% of net radiation was converted to sensible heat (H) during the frozen soil period, but H varied considerably with the change in vegetation during the non-frozen soil period. Three different sub-periods were further distinguished for the later period: (1) the pre-growth period with Bowen ratio (β) > 1 was characterized by a high β of 3.0 in average and the rapid increase of net radiation associated with the increases of H, latent heat (LE) and soil heat; (2) during the Growth period when β ≤ 1, the LE was high but H fluxes was low with β changing between 0.3 and 0.4; (3) the post-growth period with average β of 3.6 when H increased again and reached a second maximum around early October. The seasonal pattern suggests that the phenology of the vegetation and the soil water content were the major factors affecting the energy partitioning in the alpine meadow ecosystem. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variation of active constituents of an important Tibet folk medicine Swertia mussotii Franch. (Gentianaceae) between artificially cultivated and naturally distributed

Concentrations of seven phytochemical constituents (swertiamarin, mangiferin, swertisin, oleanolic acid, 1,5,8-trihydroxy-3methoxyxanthone, 1,8-dihydroxy-3,7-dimethoxyxanthone and 1,8-dihydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyxanthone) of "ZangYinChen" (Swertia mussotii, a herb used in Tibetan folk medicine) were determined and compared in plants collected from naturally distributed high-altitude populations and counterparts that had been artificially cultivated at low altitudes. Levels of mangiferin, the most abundant active compound in this herb, were significantly lower in cultivated samples and showed a negative correlation with altitude. The other constituents were neither positively nor negatively correlated with cultivation at low altitude. Concentrations of all of the constituents varied substantially with growth stage and were highest at the bud stage in the cultivars, but there were no distinct differences between flowering and fruiting stages in this respect. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.