Modelling the effect of changing precipitation inputs on deep soil water utilization

Forests in the Southeastern United States are predicted to experience future changes in seasonal patterns of precipitation inputs as well as more variable precipitation events. These climate change‐induced alterations could increase drought and lower soil water availability. Drought could alter rooting patterns and increase the importance of deep roots that access subsurface water resources. To address plant response to drought in both deep rooting and soil water utilization as well as soil drainage, we utilize a throughfall reduction experiment in a loblolly pine plantation of the Southeastern United States to calibrate and validate a hydrological model. The model was accurately calibrated against field measured soil moisture data under ambient rainfall and validated using 30% throughfall reduction data. Using this model, we then tested these scenarios: (a) evenly reduced precipitation; (b) less precipitation in summer, more in winter; (c) same total amount of precipitation with less frequent but heavier storms; and (d) shallower rooting depth under the above 3 scenarios. When less precipitation was received, drainage decreased proportionally much faster than evapotranspiration implying plants will acquire water first to the detriment of drainage. When precipitation was reduced by more than 30%, plants relied on stored soil water to satisfy evapotranspiration suggesting 30% may be a threshold that if sustained over the long term would deplete plant available soil water. Under the third scenario, evapotranspiration and drainage decreased, whereas surface run‐off increased. Changes in root biomass measured before and 4 years after the throughfall reduction experiment were not detected among treatments. Model simulations, however, indicated gains in evapotranspiration with deeper roots under evenly reduced precipitation and seasonal precipitation redistribution scenarios but not when precipitation frequency was adjusted. Deep soil and deep rooting can provide an important buffer capacity when precipitation alone cannot satisfy the evapotranspirational demand of forests. How this buffering capacity will persist in the face of changing precipitation inputs, however, will depend less on seasonal redistribution than on the magnitude of reductions and changes in rainfall frequency.     

长江经济带城市土地利用效率的影响因素及其空间溢出效应研究

在人多地少的基本国情下,提高城市土地利用效率是促进区域可持续发展和建设生态文明的内在要求。本文在对2009-2016年长江经济带108个地级及以上城市土地利用效率的研究基础上,采用空间相关性研究方法分析了时空分布格局,通过构建空间杜宾模型(SDM)对其空间溢出效应进行分析。研究结果表明:1)2009-2016年长江经济带城市土地利用效率整体呈现稳定上升趋势;基本呈现以上海、南京、武汉等不同城市群中心城市向外逐步降低的“中心-外围”的分布格局。2)通过构建空间杜宾模型分析发现,经济发展水平、产业结构有显著为正的直接效应和溢出效应;土地市场化水平有显著为正的溢出效应;城市固定资产投资对城市土地利用效率具有正的直接效应和负的溢出效应;政府财政支出水平则对城市土地利用效率的直接效应和溢出效应均不明显。3)不同影响因素对经济带上中下游城市土地利用效率的空间效应存在一定差异性。     

Spatial patch structure and adaptive strategy for desert shrub of Reaumuria soongorica in arid ecosystem of the Heihe River Basin

In many arid ecosystems, vegetation frequently occurs in high-cover patches interspersed in a matrix of low plant cover. However, theoretical explanations for shrub patch pattern dynamics along climate gradients remain unclear on a large scale. This context aimed to assess the variance of the Reaumuria soongorica patch structure along the precipitation gradient and the factors that affect patch structure formation in the middle and lower Heihe River Basin (HRB). Field investigations on vegetation patterns and heterogeneity in soil properties were conducted during 2014 and 2015. The results showed that patch height, size and plant-to-patch distance were smaller in high precipitation habitats than in low precipitation sites. Climate, soil and vegetation explained 82.5% of the variance in patch structure. Spatially, R. soongorica shifted from a clumped to a random pattern on the landscape towards the MAP gradient, and heterogeneity in the surface soil properties (the ratio of biological soil crust (BSC) to bare gravels (BG)) determined the R. soongorica population distribution pattern in the middle and lower HRB. A conceptual model, which integrated water availability and plant facilitation and competition effects, was revealed that R. soongorica changed from a flexible water use strategy in high precipitation regions to a consistent water use strategy in low precipitation areas. Our study provides a comprehensive quantification of the variance in shrub patch structure along a precipitation gradient and may improve our understanding of vegetation pattern dynamics in the Gobi Desert under future climate change.

     

基于SPEI的渭河流域干旱时空变化特征分析

以标准化降水蒸散指数（SPEI）作为评估指标，基于渭河流域28个气象站点1961—2017年实测降水量和气温数据，采用Mann-Kendall（M-K）趋势检验、经验正交函数以及小波变换等方法分析渭河流域干旱时空变化特征，并研究渭河流域干旱与6种大尺度气候因子之间的相关关系，进一步探讨主要气候因子对流域干旱时空分布特征的潜在影响。研究表明：渭河流域在1961—2017年间整体呈现出变旱的趋势。通过经验正交函数分解，渭河流域干旱分布场主要有3种典型模态类型，分别为全局型、西北—东南反向分布型以及东—西反向分布型；同时，大尺度气候因子南方涛动指数SOI与流域干旱分布场具有更好的相关关系，对该区域内干旱变化有较强的影响。     

Post-earthquake economic resilience and recovery efficiency in the border areas of the Tibetan Plateau: A case study of areas affected by the Wenchuan Ms 8.0 Earthquake in Sichuan,China in 2008

Journal of Geographical Sciences - The border areas of the Tibetan Plateau and the neighboring mountainous areas have a high incidence of earthquakes with a magnitude greater than Ms 5.0, as well...