Surface modelling of soil pH

In addition to classical methods, namely kriging, Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) and splines, which have been frequently used for interpolating the spatial patterns of soil properties, a relatively more accurate surface modelling technique is being developed in recent years, namely high accuracy surface modelling (HASM). It has been used in the numerical tests, DEM construction and the interpolation of climate and ecosystem changes. In this paper, HASM was applied to interpolate soil pH for assessing its feasibility of soil property interpolation in a red soil region of Jiangxi Province, China. Soil pH was measured on 150 samples of topsoil (0-20 cm) for the interpolation and comparing the performance of HASM, kriging. IDW and splines. The mean errors (MEs) of interpolations indicate little bias of interpolation for soil pH by the four techniques. HASM has less mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) than kriging, IDW and splines. HASM is still the most accurate one when we use the mean rank and the standard deviation of the ranks to avoid the outlier effects in assessing the prediction performance of the four methods. Therefore, HASM can be considered as an alternative and accurate method for interpolating soil properties. Further researches of HASM are needed to combine HASM with ancillary variables to improve the interpolation performance and develop a user-friendly algorithm that can be implemented in a GIS package. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of soil pH and organic matter on distribution of thorium fractions in soil contaminated by rare-earth industries

The labilities of thorium fractions including mobility and bioavailability vary significantly with soil properties. The effects of soil pH and soil organic matter on the distribution and transfer of thorium fractions defined by a sequential extraction procedure were investigated. Decrease of soil pH could enhance the phytoavailability and the potential availability of thorium in soil. Increase of organic matter reduced the phytoavailability of thorium, but enhanced the potential availability of it.

黄土沟壑区小流域土壤pH值的空间分布及条件模拟

土壤pH值是影响土壤养分有效性和化学物质在土壤中行为的主要因素,研究土壤pH值的空间分布特征对于土壤养分管理和土壤污染预测具有重要意义。该文用地统计学方法研究了环境因素复杂的黄土高原小流域土壤pH值空间分布特征。结果表明,黄土沟壑区小流域土壤pH值具有球形—指数套合模型的空间结构特征,其空间异质性主要来源于流域内土地利用和土壤侵蚀等随机因素。与有机质协同的Kriging法能较好地对土壤pH值进行估值,其估值范围小于实测数据,估值误差来源于复杂的环境因素。序贯高斯条件模拟的土壤pH值范围与实测数据接近,模拟的平均值低于实测数据,模拟误差来源于模拟过程中独特的Kriging算法及高斯特性。

Drivers of soil net nitrogen mineralization in the temperate grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China

Soil net nitrogen mineralization (NNM) of four grasslands across the elevation and precipitation gradients was studied in situ in the upper 0-10 cm soil layer using the resin-core technique in Xilin River basin, Inner Mongolia, China during the growing season of 2006. The primary objectives were to examine variations of NNM among grassland types and the main influencing factors. These grasslands included Stipa baicalensis (SB), Aneulolepidum Chinense (AC), Stipa grandis (SG), and Stipa krylovii (SK) grassland. The results showed that the seasonal variation patterns of NNM were similar among the four grasslands, the rates of NNM and nitrification were highest from June to August, and lowest in September and October during the growing season. The rates of NNM and nitrification were affected significantly by the incubation time, and they were positively correlated with soil organic carbon content, total soil nitrogen (TN) content, soil temperature, and soil water content, but the rates of NNM and nitrification were negatively correlated with available N, and weakly correlated with soil pH and C:N ratio. The sequences of the daily mean rates of NNM and nitrification in the four grasslands during the growing season were AC > SG > SB > SK, and TN content maybe the main affecting factors which can be attributed to the land use type.

Short-term effect of targeted placements of sheep excrement on grassland in inner mongolia on soil and plant parameters

Grazing animal excrement plays an important role in nutrient cycling and redistribution in grazing ecosystems, due to grazing in large areas and return in small areas. To elucidate the changes to the soil and pasture caused by sheep urine, fresh dung, and compost patches, a short- term field experiment using artificially placed pats was set up in the autumn of 2003 in the Inner Mongolian steppe. Urine application significantly increased soil pH during the first 32 days in soil layers at depths of both 0 - 5 cm and 5 - 15 cm. Rapid hydrolysis of urea gave large amounts of urine- nitrogen ( N) as ammonium ( NH4+) in soil extracts and was followed by apparent nitrification from day 2. Higher inorganic N content in the urine- treated soil was found throughout the experiment compared with the control. No significant effects of sheep excrement on soil microbial carbon ( C) and soil microbial N was found, but microbial activities significantly increased compared with the control after application of sheep excrement. Forty- six percent of dung- N and 27% of compost- N were transferred into vegetation after the experiment. The results from this study suggest that large amounts of nutrients have been lost from the returned excrement patches in the degraded grassland of Inner Mongolia, especially from sheep urine- N.

不同林龄植被培肥改良土壤效益研究

在黄土丘陵沟壑区森林植被能够明显改善生态环境 ,防止土地退化 ,提高土壤中有机质、速效氮和速效钾的含量 ,降低土壤pH和容重 ;快速显著地增加土体中 >0 .2 5mm水稳性团聚体和 >5 0 μm微团粒的数量 ,使土壤结构改善 ,协调供应养分和水分的能力提高 ;能促进黏粒形成 ,坚实度增加 ,土壤的抗蚀性和抗冲性提高 ,有效地减少水土流失。植被对土壤的培肥改良是一种正向持续反馈机制 ,时间越长 ,效益越显著

Effect of long-term grazing on soil organic carbon content in semiarid steppes in Inner Mongolia

To clarify the response of soil organic carbon (SOC) content to season-long grazing in the semiarid typical steppes of Inner Mongolia, we examined the aboveground biomass and SOC in both grazing (G-site) and no grazing (NG-site) sites in two typical steppes dominated by Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis, as well as one seriously degraded L. chinensis grassland dominated by Artemisia frigida. The NG-sites had been fenced for 20 years in L. chinensis and S. grandis grasslands and for 10 years in A. frigida grassland. Above-ground biomass at G-sites was 21-35% of that at NG-sites in L. chinensis and S. grandis grasslands. The SOC, however, showed no significant difference between G-site and NG-site in both grasslands. In the NG-sites, aboveground biomass was significantly lower in A. frigida grassland than in the other two grasslands. The SOC in A. frigida grassland was about 70% of that in L. chinensis grassland. In A. frigida grassland, aboveground biomass in the G-site was 68-82% of that in the NG-site, whereas SOC was significantly lower in the G-site than in the NG-site. Grazing elevated the surface soil pH in L. chinensis and A. frigida communities. A spatial heterogeneity in SOC and pH in the topsoil was not detected the G-site within the minimal sampling distance of 10 m. The results suggested that compensatory growth may account for the relative stability of SOC in G-sites in typical steppes. The SOC was sensitive to heavy grazing and difficult to recover after a significant decline caused by overgrazing in semiarid steppes.

资源异质性环境中植物克隆生长的描述与模拟

植物克隆生长型主要由遗传结构决定，不同的克隆植物具有不同的克隆生长型，同时植物的克隆生长型又依具体生境和个体发育阶段不同而变化。Harper认为植物构件的结构由分枝角度、节间长度和芽的成活率决定。大量的研究表明克隆植物生长型主要由3个形态参数决定：节间长度、分枝角度和分枝强度。 植物的生境条件无论在时间还是空间上都是异质性的，即使在很小的尺度上这种异质性也是存在的。在这种具有异质性的生境条件下几乎所有植物都有表型可塑性。植物的表型可塑性是指植物在不同的环境因子条件下，在形态、生物量、生理等方面产生的一系列不同。表现型可塑性是植物种群克服环境异质性的重要途径，也是克隆植物实现觅养行为的途径。克隆植物的觅养行为是通过根茎或匍匐茎的长度和分枝强度的变化以及生物量的分配来实现其迁移和对生境的选择，从而将分株安置在各种微环境中。 克隆植物构型的可塑性可使它在土壤水分斑块性分布的环境中通过克隆生长，调整对不同斑块的土壤水分获取对策。在一田间实验中，匍匐茎草本蛇莓（Duchesnea indica Focke）经历了不同土壤水分水平（土壤最大含水量的40%、60%、80%、100%等）处理，以研究土壤水分对蛇莓克隆构型的影响。结果表明：间隔子长度、分株密度、分枝角度和分枝强度呈二次曲线变化，土壤含水为最大含水量的80%为最适生境。 克隆植物构型的可塑性可使它在养分斑块性分布的环境中通过克隆生长调整相应于对不同斑块的养分获取对策。在一田间实验中，蛇莓经历了不同土壤养分水平（高、中、低和对照）处理，以研究土壤养分对蛇莓克隆构型的影响。结果表明：随着土壤养分水平的增加，间隔子的长度、分枝角度均逐渐降低，分枝强度和分株密度增加。 克隆植物构型的可塑性可使它在不同光强的环境中通过克隆生长，调整其对不同光强的资源获取对策。在控制性光资源异质性生境（模拟浓密林荫、稀疏林荫、农田间套作、裸地等）下，研究和模拟了光资源的时空异质性和蛇莓的克隆可塑性变化。结果表明：随着光照强度的增加，间隔子长度的长度逐渐降低，分枝角度、分株强度呈二次曲线变化。 克隆植物构型的可塑性可使它在不同海拔的环境中通过克隆生长，调整其对不同海拔的资源获取对策。在一海拔高度实验中，匍匐茎草本蛇莓经历了不同海拔(400 m、800 m、1200 m和1600 m)处理，以研究不同海拔对蛇莓克隆构型的影响。结果表明：随着海拔的增加，间隔子长度、分株密度、分枝角度和分枝强度呈二次曲线变化。 从克隆植物生长环境（小气候）定量分析了克隆植物生长必需资源如水分、养分、光强、海拔等的变化特性。具体描述和分析了异质环境尺度的大小和等级数。在前人研究成果的基础上，验证了克隆植物生长必需资源分布异质性的数学模型并建立相应的运算模块。在不同水分、养分、光强和海拔等异质性生境中，蛇莓克隆构型相关特征的可塑性变化可用动态Logistic模型进行模拟和预测，拟合效果较好。结合植物对环境异质性的利用对策，对所揭示的蛇莓克隆构型可塑性进行了讨论。 用分形技术描述了蛇莓在资源斑块性分布的生境中，通过克隆生长调整相应于对不同斑块的资源获取对策。植物克隆构型的形态特征在一定尺度范围内具有自相似特征。蛇莓克隆构型的分形维数直接反映了在异质性生境中蛇莓克隆生长的差异。蛇莓克隆生长越发达分形维数越高。相对小的分形维数，反映出蛇莓克隆生长相对较弱。基于计算机图像技术和分形理论，建立了植物克隆生长分形度量的计算机模型，实现了对植物克隆生长过程的计算机模拟。模拟的蛇莓克隆生长形态与实际生长不仅具有相近的分形维数，而且形态也非常相似。利用克隆生长模型的预测能力克服实验生态学难以逾越的某些研究盲点，其研究成果将对克隆植物利用资源异质性的生态对策研究具有重要的指导意义。