The Bear Brook Watershed in Maine: Multi-decadal whole-watershed experimental acidification

The Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM) is a long-term research site established to study the response of forest ecosystem function to environmental disturbances of chronic acidic deposition and ecosystem nitrogen enrichment. Starting in 1989, the West Bear (treated) watershed received bimonthly applications of ammonium sulfate [(NH₄)₂SO₄] fertilizer from above the canopy, whereas East Bear (reference) received ambient deposition. The treatments were stopped in 2016, marking the beginning of the recovery phase. Research at the site has focused on soils, streams, and vegetation. Here, we describe data collected over three decades at the BBWM—input and stream output nutrient fluxes, quantitative soil pits and soil chemistry, and soil temperature and moisture.     

青州市表层土壤元素地球化学组合特征研究

聚类分析和因子分析可以获得土壤元素地球化学组合特征及其差异性。对青州市表层土壤样品数据进行分析研究,通过聚类分析,绘制表层土壤元素聚类谱系图,将23种元素或指标分为5个元素组合簇群及2个单元素簇,研究各元素间的组合特征,探讨其相关性、聚集性及其指示意义;通过因子分析,找出有代表性的因子,用其代表变量,绘制典型因子得分等值线图,并从中分析不同元素组合的区域分布基于何种因素,用11个代表性因子的分布特征就基本可以代表青州市表层土壤23项原始变量的分布特征,并对F1,F2,F3主因子进行了地质解释。聚类分析与因子分析相结合,利于表层土壤中元素的共生组合特征及其差异性研究,利于对研究区表层土壤异常进行归纳总结。     

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.     

Evaluating soil water routing approaches in watershed-scale,ecohydrologic modelling

Soil water dynamics are central in linking and regulating natural cycles in ecohydrology, however, mathematical representation of soil water processes in models is challenging given the complexity of these interactions. To assess the impacts of soil water simulation approaches on various model outputs, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool was modified to accommodate an alternative soil water percolation method and tested at two geographically and climatically distinct, instrumented watersheds in the United States. Soil water was evaluated at the site scale via measured observations, and hydrologic and biophysical outputs were analysed at the watershed scale. Results demonstrated an improved Kling–Gupta Efficiency of up to 0.3 and a reduction in percent bias from 5 to 25% at the site scale, when soil water percolation was changed from a threshold, bucket-based approach to an alternative approach based on variable hydraulic conductivity. The primary difference between the approaches was attributed to the ability to simulate soil water content above field capacity for successive days; however, regardless of the approach, a lack of site-specific characterization of soil properties by the soils database at the site scale was found to severely limit the analysis. Differences in approach led to a regime shift in percolation from a few, high magnitude events to frequent, low magnitude events. At the watershed scale, the variable hydraulic conductivity-based approach reduced average annual percolation by 20–50 mm, directly impacting the water balance and subsequently biophysical predictions. For instance, annual denitrification increased by 14–24 kg/ha for the new approach. Overall, the study demonstrates the need for continued efforts to enhance soil water model representation for improving biophysical process simulations.     

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.

     

印度尼西亚北苏拉威西蓝碧海峡浮游动物种类组成及分布

Based on oceanographic survey data in June 2012 in the Lembeh Strait, the zooplankton ecological characteristics such as species composition, individual abundance, dominant species and distribution were analyzed. The results showed that 183 species(including 4 sp.) had been recognized, most of them belonged to copepoda.Cnidaria followed with 43 species(including 1 sp.) were identified. The average abundance of zooplankton was(150.47±58.91) ind./m~3. As to the horizontal distribution, the abundance of the zooplankton was higher in the southern waters than in the northern waters. The dominant species in the study area were Lensia subtiloides,Sagitta enflata, Lucifer intermedius, Oikopleura rufescens, Diphyes chamissoni, Creseis acicula, Subeucalanus subcrassus, Temora discaudata, Aglaura hemistoma, Doliolum denticulatum, Canthocalanus pauper, Oikopleura longicauda and Nanomia bijuga. Zooplankton biodiversity indexes were higher in study area than previous study in the other regions. The findings from this study provide important baseline information for future research and monitoring programs.     

Classification of inorganic natural fine-grained soils in Korea based on modified plasticity chart

Classification of fine-grained soils is typically conducted using plasticity charts. The typically used plasticity chart proposed by Casagrande was questioned by Polidori proposing different classification criterion in separating clayey and silty soils. Using natural clayey and silty soils sampled from four different coastal sites in Korea, applicability of both Casagrande’s and Polidori’s plasticity charts was evaluated. Classification results of Korean natural soils based on the Casagrande’s and Polidori’s plasticity charts did not match well with those based on the soils’ behavior reported in the previous publication. The disagreement in classification of Korean natural fine-grained soils may result from disregard of considerable silt fraction effect on plastic and liquid limits for Polidori’s chart. Consequently, revised proposal of Polidori’s plasticity chart was tentatively made for further classification of fine-grained soils suitable for Korean natural soils by accounting the effect of silt fraction on soil classification.     

浙南近海虾类群落结构及其多样性分析

作者根据2015年11月(秋季)、2016年2月(冬季)、2016年5月(春季)和2016年8月(夏季)对浙南近海进行的渔业资源调查数据,用生物量作为虾类资源分布的数量指标,对该海域虾类的组成、数量分布以及季节变化进行分析。结果显示:该区域共鉴定出虾类30种,隶属于10科21属,以对虾科(Penaeidae)虾类最多,其次为管鞭虾科(Solenoceridae),长臂虾科(Palaemonida)位居第3位。按季节来看,秋季共鉴定虾类27种,各站位平均生物量为6.97 kg/km2,优势种为凹陷管鞭虾(Solenocera koelbeli)、中国毛虾(Acetes chinensis)和中华管鞭虾(Solenocera crassicornis)等3种;冬季鉴定出虾类25种,平均生物量为1.65 kg/km2,优势种为凹陷管鞭虾、扁足异对虾(Atypopenaeus stenodactylus)、日本鼓虾(Alpheus japonicus)、鲜明鼓虾(Alpheus digitalis)、中国毛虾、中华管鞭虾和周氏新对虾(Metapenaeus joyneri)等7种;春季20种,平均生物量为2.22 kg/km2,优势种为戴氏赤虾(Metapenaeopsis dalei)、东海红虾(Metapenaeopsis dalei)和中华管鞭虾等3种;夏季16种,平均生物量为10.36 kg/km2,优势种有鹰爪虾(Trachysalambria curvirostris)和中华管鞭虾等2种。Margalef丰富度指数(D)、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H′)和Pielou均匀度指数(J′)秋季均低于冬季。秋冬季受到浙闽沿岸流影响,温度、盐度相对较低,夏季受到台湾暖流外侧影响,温度、盐度相对较高,且各季节间由于瓯江、椒江、飞云江、鳌江等陆源性冲淡水的影响,盐度、温度变化相对较大,使得该区域的物种不得不适应一个跨度较大的温盐范围,广温广盐性种类为主。     

Properties of geogrid-reinforced marine slope due to the groundwater level changes

Evaluation of slope stability, especially in the absence of a proper bed such as marine soils, is one of the most important issues in geotechnical engineering. Using geogrid layers to enhance the strength and stability of embankments is regarded as a commendable stabilization method. On the other hand, groundwater level erratically fluctuates in coastal areas. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study the effects of groundwater level changes on stability of a geogrid-reinforced slope on loose marine soils in Qeshm Island, Iran. At first, geotechnical properties of the site were obtained by comprehensive series of geotechnical laboratory and in situ tests. Then, by simultaneous changes of groundwater level and several parameters such as embankment slope, loading, geogrid length, geogrid number, and tensile strength of geogrid, different characteristics such as embankment safety factor (SF), vertical and horizontal displacements at embankment top and embankment base were studied. It was observed that groundwater level had significant effects on behavior of the embankment. For most of the observations, by decreasing the groundwater level, the displacements decreased and consequently safety factor increased. Increasing the length, number, and tensile strength of geogrid led to the reduction of displacements and an increase in the safety factor.