半干旱典型草原区退耕地土壤结构特征及其对入渗的影响

坡地土壤降雨入渗、径流和侵蚀过程与土壤结构密切相关。试验样地为宁夏固原云雾山自然保护区的坡耕地、退耕6a、退耕11a(前8a放牧,后3a禁牧)和退耕16a坡地,室内测定土壤结构指标,野外采用基于径流-入流-产流方法的新型降雨仪器在17、43和56mm/h雨强下观测坡地土壤的入渗性能,分析土壤结构特征对入渗的影响。对土壤结构的稳定性指标、孔隙性指标和分形维数指标进行分析,结果表明,随着退耕年限的延长,土壤团聚体稳定性增强,土壤结构孔隙状况得到明显改善。模拟降雨结果显示,随着雨强的增大,退耕地的土壤入渗率增加,但坡耕地反而降低。退耕11a样地受放牧牲畜践踏影响,入渗性能最差。通过逐步回归分析可知,在17mm/h和56mm/h雨强下,影响土壤稳定入渗率的土壤结构因子主要是容重和有机碳含量,而在43mm/h雨强下主要是毛管孔隙度和非毛管孔隙度。土壤有机碳含量和孔隙状况的差异致使土壤结构特征不同,从而对入渗性能和过程产生明显的影响。

黄土高原半干旱区苜蓿草地土壤干燥化特征与粮草轮作土壤水分恢复效应

实地测定了黄土高原半干旱区固原不同生长年限苜蓿草地和连作8a苜蓿草地翻耕轮作不同年限粮食作物后深层土壤水分特征,分析了苜蓿草地土壤干燥化特征和粮草轮作对土壤水分的恢复效应。结果表明:(1)苜蓿连作1a、5a、8a和12a等4类苜蓿草地0~1000cm土层平均土壤湿度值为6.6%,平均土壤水分过耗量702.8mm,平均土壤干燥化速率147.1 mm/a,达到强烈干燥化程度,苜蓿连作5a土壤干层深度超过1000cm,苜蓿连作8a土壤干层深度超过1360cm,苜蓿草地合理利用年限为7a。(2)连作8a苜蓿草地翻耕并轮作4~7a和25a粮食作物等5类粮田0~1000cm土层土壤湿度介于6.74%~11.95%,土壤贮水量恢复值介于210.6~887.3mm,平均土壤水分恢复速率为80.8mm/a。轮作6a后粮田土壤干层轻度恢复程度以上深度达到1000cm。通过粮草轮作使苜蓿草地土壤湿度恢复到当地土壤稳定湿度需要13a以上。黄土高原半干旱区适宜的粮草轮作模式为:7a苜蓿→13a粮食作物。

轮作和施肥对半干旱区作物地上部生物量与土壤有机碳的影响

了解轮作与施肥对土壤有机碳的影响是建立持续发展措施的关键。【方法】以长期定位试验(1984～2002)中的10个典型处理为基础,分析了地上部生物量和耕层(0～20cm)土壤有机碳变化,探讨半干旱区轮作和施肥对0～20cm土层有机碳的影响,10个典型处理分别为休闲(F);冬小麦连作体系中的3个施肥处理:不施肥(W/W+CK)、化肥(W/W+NP)、化肥有机肥(W/W+NP-FYM);冬小麦-冬小麦+糜子-豌豆轮作体系中的3个施肥处理:不施肥(W/WM/P+CK)、化肥(W/WM/P+NP)、化肥有机肥(W/WM/P+NP-FYM)处理;1个冬小麦—冬小麦-红豆草轮作处理(W/W/S+NP);人工苜蓿中2个施肥处理:不施肥(A/A+CK)和化肥有机肥处理(A/A+NP-FYM)。【结果】冬小麦连作体系(W/W)中,不施肥处理(W/W+CK)的地上部生物量平均为3.3t·ha-1,化肥处理(W/W+NP)和化肥有机肥处理(W/W+NP-FYM)依次为7.5和11.2t·ha-1;冬小麦-冬小麦+糜子-豌豆轮作(W/WM/P)体系中,不施肥处理(W/WM/P+CK)地上部生物量平均3.1t·ha-1,W/WM...

黄土高原半干旱区集流灌草立体配置与水分调控

该区干旱与水土流失并存 ,降雨量时空分配不均 ,且水热并不同步 (在春夏 ,植物常因缺水而枯死 ) ,致使生态环境建设中恢复植被的难度大。为此 ,采用工程整地措施与灌草立体配置模式 ,发展集流灌草植被 ,调蓄土壤水分 ,促进灌草植被的快速恢复。结果表明 ,在水平阶营造柠条和披碱草 ,在生长初期 0～ 50 0 cm土层含水量可分为 3个明显的层次 ;在生长的第 4年随着灌草根系深扎 ,土壤水分过耗 ,出现明显的干土层 ,分布深度在 1 2 0～ 2 0 0 cm,厚度为 1 0 0 cm。在第 8年干土层扩大到 1 0 0～ 30 0 cm,厚度为 2 0 0 cm。第 1 4年土壤含水量有所回升 ,但幅度不大 ,同第 8年相比 ,仅提高 1 .5～ 2 .0个百分点。水平阶的柠条灌木林随着生长时间的延续 ,其水分贮量变化是否增加 ,仍有待继续研究。该区 0～ 50 0 cm多年土壤贮水量 ,在生长初期 ( 4月份 ) ,1 5年生柠条480 .1 5mm,1 2年生沙棘、山桃分别为 41 4.6mm和 385.4mm,在生长末期 ( 1 0月 ) ,柠条 498.31mm,沙棘 42 3.31 mm,山桃 ...

黄土丘陵半干旱区不同类型植被水保生态效益研究

通过研究表明 ,不同类型植被减少径流和泥沙的功效不同 ,东坡不同类型植被小区径流深由大到小的顺序为 :荒坡 >沙棘 (平茬 ) >沙棘 +小叶杨 >农地 ,北坡为油松 >油松 +沙棘 >沙棘林 ;东坡产沙量由大到小的顺序为农地 >荒坡 >沙棘 (平茬 ) >沙棘 +小叶杨 ,北坡为油松 >油松 +沙棘 >沙棘。不同类型植被在生长季的土壤水分平均值均很低 ,其变化范围在6 .33%～ 9.6 0 % ;沙棘林地土壤形成利用性干层

黄土高原土壤水分与水土保持措施相互作用

土壤水是重要的生态水源和水文要素之一 ,黄土高原位于干旱半干旱地区 ,降水量的年际变化大和季节分配极不均匀 ,土壤水资源对植物生长发育的影响尤为重要。同时 ,土壤水的数量及其分布也受人类活动影响。水土保持措施是黄土高原人类改造下垫面过程之一 ,这种改造会影响土壤水分的静态分布和动态过程。水土保持坡面工程措施能有效地提高土壤含水率。深根系人工林草植被使土壤含水率降低 ,甚至造成利用性土壤干层 ,影响人工植被的永续发展。尽管天然植被也有较高的生产力水平 ,但并未引起土壤水分状况的恶化 ,这是黄土高原植被营造及规划中值得注意和进一步研究的问题

黄土高原生物气候分区与该区生态系统的恢复

根据不同的生物气候状况 ,可将黄土高原分成五个生物气候区 :暖温带湿润半湿润森林区、暖温带半湿润半干旱森林草原区、中温带半干旱典型草原区、中温带干旱半干旱荒漠草原区以及中温带干旱草原化荒漠区。紧密结合上述生物气候区域特征 ,将生态学的有关原理引入到该区的治理与生态恢复中 ,提出了治理黄土高原的新模式 :正确实施生物措施 ,人工模拟天然生态系统。该区的生态恢复应从系统的角度考虑 ,并严格遵守生态学的有关规律在不同的生物气候区构建与该区大环境一致的不同的生态系统 ,改变过去那种在黄土高原全面造林而又成效不佳的做法

黄土高原半干旱区退化灌草植被的恢复与重建

针对黄土高原半干旱区灌草植被退化严重的关键问题 ,进行了长期的定位研究 ,提出了灌草植被封育、改良、立体配置等快速恢复与重建的技术体系。试验结果表明 :主要草地群落本氏针茅、百里香适宜封育期为 3～ 5a ,产草量可提高 5 1～ 7 5倍。大针茅适宜封育期为 5a ,产草量可提高 1 5～ 5 0倍 ;改良草地最佳组合荒山穴播为本氏针茅 +杂类草、达乌里胡枝子 +本氏针茅群落 ,产草量提高 6 1～ 6 4倍。撂荒地开沟种植为本氏针茅 +冷蒿、本氏针茅 +红豆草、本氏针茅 +达乌里胡枝子群落 ,产草量提高 4 6～ 4 8倍。荒山隔带耕翻种植为芨芨草、本氏针茅 +紫花苜蓿、本氏针茅 +老芒麦、达乌里胡枝子 +本氏针茅群落 ,产草量提高4 5～ 6 5倍 ;灌草立体配置结合工程整地措施 ,建立了以柠条 +芨芨草、沙棘 +草木樨和山桃 +芨芨草为主的集流灌草配置模式 ,现已形成可更新的稳定的灌草群落类型。该体系的组装配套与试验、示范、推广为黄土高原农牧交错区灌草植被的快速恢复提供了重要的科学依据。

Grassland degradation in the

Supported by MSS images in the mid and late 1970s, TM images in the early 1990s and TM/ETM images in 2004, grassland degradation in the "Three-River Headwaters" region (TRH region) was interpreted through analysis on IRS images in two time series, then the spatial and temporal characteristics of grassland degradation in the TRH region were analyzed since the 1970s. The results showed that grassland degradation in the TRH region was a continuous change process which had large affected area and long time scale, and rapidly strengthen phenomenon did not exist in the 1990s as a whole. Grassland degradation pattern in the TRH region took shape initially in the mid and late 1970s. Since the 1970s, this degradation process has taken place continuously, obviously characterizing different rules in different regions. In humid and semi-humid meadow region, grassland firstly fragmentized, then vegetation coverage decreased continuously, and finally "black-soil-patch" degraded grassland was formed. But in semi-arid and and steppe region, the vegetation coverage decreased continuously, and finally desertification was formed. Because grassland degradation had obviously regional differences in the TRH region, it could be regionalized into 7 zones, and each zone had different characteristics in type, grade, scale and time process of grassland degradation.

Estimation of wind erosion rates by using Cs-137 tracing technique: A case study in Tariat-Xilin Gol transect, Mongolian Plateau

Wind erosion is one of the major environmental problems in semi-arid and arid regions. Here we established the Tariat-Xilin Gol transect from northwest to southeast across the Mongolian Plateau, and selected seven sampling sites along the transect. We then estimated the soil wind erosion rates by using the Cs-137 tracing technique and examined their spatial dynamics. Our results showed that the Cs-137 inventories of sampling sites ranged from 265.63 +/- 44.91 to 1279.54 +/- 166.53 Bq.m(-2), and the wind erosion rates varied from 64.58 to 419.63 t.km(-2).a(-1) accordingly. In the Mongolia section of the transect (from Tariat to Sainshand), the wind erosion rate increased gradually with vegetation type and climatic regimes; the wind erosion process was controlled by physical factors such as annual precipitation and vegetation coverage, etc., and the impact of human activities was negligible. While in the China section of the transect (Inner Mongolia), the wind erosion rates of Xilin Hot and Zhengxiangbai Banner were thrice as much as those of Bayannur of Mongolia, although these three sites were all dominated by typical steppe. Besides the physical factors, higher population density and livestock carrying level should be responsible for the higher wind erosion rates in these two regions of Inner Mongolia.

Using the RBFN model and GIS technique to assess wind erosion hazard of inner Mongolia, China

Soil wind erosion is the primary process and the main driving force for land desertification and sand-dust storms in and and semi-arid areas of Northern China. While many researchers have studied this issue, this study quantified the various indicators of soil wind erosion, using the GIS technology to extract the spatial data and to construct a RBFN (Radial Basis Function Network) model for Inner Mongolia. By calibrating sample data of the different levels of wind erosion hazard, the model parameters were established, and then the assessment of wind erosion hazard. Results show that in the southern parts of Inner Mongolia wind erosion hazards are very severe, counties in the middle regions of Inner Mongolia vary from moderate to severe, and in eastern are slight. Comparison of the results with other research shows conformity with actual conditions, proving the reasonability and applicability of the RBFN model. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Alteration mineral mapping using masking and Crosta technique for mineral exploration in mid-vegetated areas: a case study in Areletuobie, Xinjiang (China)

Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM)+ data have been successfully employed in the field of mineral exploration to identify key minerals over arid and semi-arid terrains. However, redundant vegetation and cloud may seriously interfere with the discrimination of the minerals with diagnostic features. Therefore, in this study, we use masking technique to eliminate the negative influence of vegetation and cloud and Crosta technique to identify the diagnostic features of hydroxyl-minerals, carbonate-minerals and iron oxides. Then the anomalies were endowed with special colours and overlapped with the remote-sensing and geochemical data, overlaying images as remote-sensing anomalies. The mineral exploration work was carried through by synthetic analysis of the remote-sensing images, geochemical data and structures. Finally, areas with high correlation between the occurrence of hydrothermal alteration and presence of main faults and geochemical anomalies were considered as mineral exploration targets worthy of further detailed exploration programmes.

Altitudinal differences in the leaf fitness of juvenile and mature alpine spruce trees (Picea crassifolia)

In many plant species, leaf morphology varies with altitude, an effect that has been attributed to temperature. It remains uncertain whether such a trend applies equally to juvenile and mature trees across altitudinal gradients in semi-arid mountain regions. We examined altitude-related differences in a variety of needle characteristics of juvenile (2-m tall) and mature (5-m tall) alpine spruce (Picea crassifolia Kom.) trees growing at altitudes between 2501 and 3450 m in the Qilian Mountains of northwest China. We found that stable carbon isotope composition (delta C-13), area- and mass-based leaf nitrogen concentration (N-a, N-m), number of stomata per gram of nitrogen (St/N), number of stomata per unit leaf mass (St/LM), projected leaf area per 100 needles (LA) and leaf mass per unit area (LMA) varied nonlinearly with altitude for both juvenile and mature trees, with a relationship reversal point at about 3 100 m. Stomatal density (SD) of juvenile trees remained unchanged with altitude, whereas SD and stomatal number per unit length (SNL) of mature spruce initially increased with altitude, but subsequently decreased. Although several measured indices were generally found to be higher in mature trees than in juvenile trees, N-m, leaf carbon concentration (C.), leaf water concentration. (LWC), St/N, LA and St/LM showed inconsistent differences between trees of different ages along the altitudinal gradient. In both juvenile and mature trees, VC correlated significantly with LMA, N-m, N-a, SNL, St/LM and St/N. Stomatal density, LWC and LA were only significantly correlated with delta C-13 in mature trees. These findings suggest that there are distinct ecophysiological differences between the needles of juvenile and mature trees that determine their response to changes in altitude in semi-arid mountainous regions. Variations in the fitness of forests of different ages may have important implications for modeling forest responses to changes in environmental conditions, such as predicted future temperature increases in high attitude areas associated with climate change.

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.

Defoliation, nitrogen, and competition: effects on plant growth and resource allocation of Cleistogenes squarrosa and Artemisia frigida

Two species, Artemisia frigida Willd. (C-3, semishrub, and dominant on overgrazed sites) and Cleistogenes squarrosa (Trin.) Keng (C-4, perennial bunchgrass, and dominant or codominant on moderately grazed sites) were studied to determine the effects of defoliation, nitrogen (N) availability, competition, and their interactions on growth, biomass, and N allocation in a greenhouse experiment. The main treatments were: two nitrogen levels (NO = 0 mg N pot(-1), N1 = 60 mg N pot(-1)), two defoliation intensities (removing 60% of total aboveground biomass and no defoliation), and three competitive replacement series (monocultures of each species and mixtures at 0.5:0.5). Our results were inconsistent with our hypothesis on the adaptive mechanisms of A. frigida regarding the interactive effects of herbivory, N, and competition in determining its dominant position on overgrazed sites. Cleistogenes squarrosa will be replaced by A. frigida on over-grazed sites, although C. squarrosa had higher tolerance to defoliation than did A. frigida. Total biomass and N yield and N-15 recovery of C. squarrosa in mixed culture were consistently lower than in monocultures, whereas those of A. frigida grown in mixtures were consistently higher than in monocultures, suggesting higher competitive ability of A. frigida. Our results suggest that interspecific competitive ability may be of equal or greater importance than herbivory tolerance in determining herbivore-induced species replacement in semi-arid Inner Mongolian steppe. In addition, the dominance of A. frigida on overgrazed sites has been attributed to its ability to shift plant-plant interactions through (lap colonization, root niche differentiation, and higher resistance to water stress.