Influences of subsurface heterogeneity and vegetation cover on soil moisture, surface temperature and evapotranspiration at hillslope scales

Physical processes are at the root of determining hydrologic response at all scales. Here, the physical mechanisms linking (1) subsurface heterogeneities to soil moisture and (2) resulting land-surface energy feedbacks to the atmosphere, are examined at the hillslope scale using a fully coupled surface-subsurface-land-surface model, ParFlow. A hillslope with a heterogeneous subsurface and uniform topography was modeled numerically using summer atmospheric conditions and a single precipitation event under controlled boundary conditions in order to isolate the contribution of hydraulic conductivity to land-surface hydrological processes and energy interactions. Patterns of subsurface hydraulic conductivity are shown to govern soil-moisture distribution at the hillslope scale following precipitation. This variability in soil moisture is closely linked to the variability in land-surface energy feedbacks. The role that vegetation plays in subsurface soil moisture and land energy communications is also examined. Results show that hillslope soil moisture variation is first established by patterns in vertical hydraulic conductivity, while later on in the dry-down period, vegetation exerts greater control on the land-surface energy fluxes and controls the rate of hillslope dry down. Furthermore, as compared to bare-soil simulations, grass-cover simulations show an increase in near-surface soil moisture despite water up-take along the rooting depth.     

青藏高原坡面冻土土壤水分空间变异特性

为深入揭示坡面冻土水分运移规律及其主要影响因子,以青藏高原巴颜喀拉山北坡为例,结合冻融变化过程,研究不同地形条件冻土土壤水分空间变异特征,利用分类回归树模型（CART）和典范对应分析（CCA）识别影响坡面冻土土壤水分空间异质性的主控因子及其相互作用关系。研究结果表明:①受坡面地形与冻融过程影响,冻结期坡面冻土土壤水分侧向流动减弱,以垂直迁移为主,上坡位含量高于下坡位,反之,融化期上坡位含量则低于下坡位。②影响坡面冻土土壤水分的主要环境因子为高程、土壤质地、土壤温度和植被覆盖度,但在不同冻融阶段下其影响因子存在差异,在冻结状态下主要因子为高程、土壤质地和土壤温度,其相对贡献率分别达到19.97%、19.45%和9.56%;在融化阶段下主要因子为高程、植被覆盖度和土壤质地,其相对贡献率分别为37.4%、14.9%和10.7%。③ 0~20 cm浅层深度上影响坡面冻土土壤水分的主要因素为坡度、高程和植被覆盖度,其相关系数分别高达0.941 2、0.903 9和0.563 1;中下层深度上其主要影响因素较为复杂。     

青藏高原西大滩多年冻土活动层土壤性状与地表植被的关系

以青藏高原多年冻土区北界的西大滩为研究基点, 选取多年冻土不同退化阶段的两个样地, 对植被分布特征、 冻土活动层和土壤特性等进行调查监测, 同时分析不同活动层状态下土壤水热、 养分和地表植被特征变化及相互间的作用关系. 结果表明: 西大滩地区的植被以浅根系植物为主, 0~10 cm的表层土壤中地下生物量约占地下生物总量的63%和62.2%之多. 在气候条件基本一致的情况下, 多年冻土的存在情况及活动层土壤水热状况对植被生态系统的演变起决定性作用. 高地表植被覆盖下的冻土土壤水热调节能力强, 有助于延缓冻土退化过程. 西大滩土壤全氮、 碱解氮、 速效钾与有机质含量密切相关, 含量随冻土退化明显减少, 且随土层深度的变化曲线表现为相同的趋势. 土壤表层养分和速效养分受冻土退化程度的影响较大.     

瞬变电磁法(TEM)在多年冻土区的应用研究

多年冻土的上下限是在多年冻土区从事冻土研究、工程设计施工、气候水文生态模式等方面非常重要的参数,它可以通过破坏环境的有损方法(坑探和钻孔)或无损的物探方法来获取.结合少量的坑探和钻孔资料,应用瞬变电磁法(TEM)对青海省兴海县温泉地区多年冻土进行探测.基本查清了本地区多年冻土分布特征、上下限深度和多年冻土层的厚度,获取...     

Impact of land-surface elevation and riparian evapotranspiration seasonality on groundwater budget in MODFLOW models

Riparian groundwater evapotranspiration (ETg) constitutes a major component of the water balance especially in many arid and semi-arid environments. Although spatial and temporal variability of riparian ETg are controlled by climate, vegetation and subsurface characteristics, depth to water table (DTWT) is often considered the major controlling factor. Relationships between ETg rates and DTWT, referred to as ETg curves, are implemented in MODFLOW ETg packages (EVT, ETS1 and RIP-ET) with different functional forms. Here, the sensitivity of the groundwater budget in MODFLOW groundwater models to ETg parameters (including ETg curves, land-surface elevation and ETg seasonality) are investigated. A MODFLOW model of the hypothetical Dry Alkaline Valley in the Southwestern USA is used to show how spatial representation of riparian vegetation and digital elevation model (DEM) processing methods impact the water budget when RIPGIS-NET (a GIS-based ETg program) is used with MODFLOW’s RIP-ET package, and results are compared with the EVT and ETS1 packages. Results show considerable impact on ETg and other groundwater budget components caused by spatial representation of riparian vegetation, vegetation type, fractional coverage areas and land-surface elevation. RIPGIS-NET enhances ETg estimation in MODFLOW by incorporating vegetation and land-surface parameters, providing a tool for ecohydrology studies, riparian ecosystem management and stream restoration.     

Spatial variability of soil moisture at typical alpine meadow and steppe sites in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau permafrost region

Permafrost degradation has the potential to significantly change soil moisture. The objective of this study was to assess the variability of soil moisture in a permafrost region using geostatistical techniques. The experiment was conducted in August 2008 in alpine steppe and meadow located in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau permafrost region. Four soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–30 and 30–40 cm) were analyzed using frequency domain reflectometry, and sampling made of 80 points in a 10 m × 10 m grid were sampled. Soil moisture was analyzed using classical statistics to appropriately describe central tendency and dispersion, and then using geostatistics to describe spatial variability. Classical statistical method indicated that soil moisture in the permafrost region had a normal distribution pattern. Mean surface soil moisture in alpine meadow was higher than that in alpine steppe. The semivariograms showed that soil moisture variability in alpine cold steppe was larger than that in alpine meadow, which decreased with depths. Nugget values in alpine steppe were low (0.1–4.5), in contrast to alpine cold meadow. Soil moisture in alpine steppe had highly structured spatial variability with more than 93.4% spatial heterogeneity, and the range decreased with depth. Soil moisture content in alpine cold meadow had a moderate spatial dependence with a range of 51.3–169.2 m, increasing with depth.     

The role of rainfall in the thermal-moisture dynamics of the active layer at Beiluhe of Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

The active layer in permafrost regions plays an important role in energy exchange between permafrost and atmosphere. Rainfall is one of the dominant factors affecting thermal-moisture dynamics of the active layer. To better understand the thermal-moisture dynamics and the interaction between rainfall and the active layer in-detail, in situ experiment was carried out and soil temperature, soil moisture and soil heat flux of the active layer were measured from 2007 to 2009. The observation data demonstrated that the volumetric soil water content of the active layer remained fairly constant during the winter and had a notable fluctuation resulted from evapotranspiration and rewetting from rainfall events in summer. The daily variation amplitude of soil temperature and soil heat flux in summer was bigger than that in winter. Soil moisture content increased and soil temperature decreased after rainfall. Rainfall in summer led to the change of surface energy balance and caused subsurface soil cooling. The convective heat transfer from water infiltration reduced the temperature gradient along depth and changed near-surface heat fluxes. The increase in rainfall may mitigate permafrost degradation on the Tibetan Plateau.     

长江上游沱沱河源区多年冻土发育特征

沱沱河流域是长江的发源地之一,其广泛分布的多年冻土对长江源区的产汇流过程、生态系统乃至于区域气候都有着重要影响,对该区域多年冻土分布和特征的调查和了解,可为研究江河源区多年冻土与气候、水文、生态的相互作用关系提供基础数据支撑。2020年10—11月,研究团队对沱沱河源区的多年冻土开展了为期50天的野外调查工作,并在不同下垫面类型、不同地貌部位和不同海拔高度共布设钻孔32个,总钻进深度1 200 m。该文是基于钻孔和探坑资料对沱沱河源区多年冻土特征和地下冰发育状况的初步总结。结果显示,沱沱河源区多年冻土在一定程度上受河流和地热影响形成了局部融区,其多年冻土下界大致在4 650~4 680 m之间;钻孔揭示的多年冻土上限平均埋藏深度为（2.47±0.98） m,部分地区存在融化夹层;受浅表层沉积物岩性和地热的影响,多年冻土下限埋藏深度相对较浅,平均为19.3 m,多年冻土相对较薄,平均厚度为15.0 m;多年冻土下限深度和多年冻土的厚度最大为75.0 m和72.7 m;地形地貌、沉积物特征和地热条件是影响多年冻土厚度存在较大空间差异的主要原因。研究区内地下冰主要分布于15.0 m深度以上范围内,同时也发现了处于萎缩状态的冰核丘与石质冻胀丘,这些现象也一定程度上与该研究区多年冻土退化过程有关。     

Permafrost degradation and subsurface-flow changes caused by surface warming trends

Change dynamics of permafrost thaw, and associated changes in subsurface flow and seepage into surface water, are analysed for different warming trends in soil temperature at the ground surface with a three-phase two-component flow system coupled to heat transport. Changes in annual, seasonal and extreme flows are analysed for three warming-temperature trends, representing simplified climate-change scenarios. The results support previous studies of reduced temporal variability of groundwater flow across all investigated trends. Decreased intra-annual flow variability may thus serve as an early indicator of permafrost degradation before longer-term changes in mean flows are notable. This is advantageous since hydrological data are considerably easier to obtain, may be available in longer time series, and generally reflect larger-scale conditions than direct permafrost observations. The results further show that permafrost degradation first leads to increasing water discharge, which then decreases as the permafrost degradation progresses further to total thaw. The most pronounced changes occur for minimum annual flows. The configuration considered represents subsurface discharge from a generic heterogeneous soil-type domain.     

Mapping vertical profile of discontinuous permafrost with ground penetrating radar at Nalaikh depression,Mongolia

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has become an important geophysical tool which can provide a wealth of interpretive information about the vertical profile of discontinuous permafrost. A GPR investigation was conducted in October 2006 at the Nalaikh site at the southern boundary of the Siberian discontinuous permafrost region in Mongolia. GPR data were collected along four 100-m-long profiles to identify the location of the permafrost body, which included an in situ drilling borehole and analysis of temperature observations and soil water content measurements from boreholes. The GPR interpretation results indicated that the thickness of discontinuous permafrost at the study site was only 1.9–3.0 m and the permafrost is vulnerable to climate change. The soil temperature and soil water content data demonstrate the precision of GPR image interpretation. This case demonstrated that GPR is well suited for mapping the internal structure of discontinuous permafrost with relatively low soil water content.     

青藏高原改则地区多年冻土特征

改则地区地处青藏高原腹地, 气候寒冷干燥, 位于青藏高原大片连续多年冻土南界附近. 2010年"青藏高原多年冻土本底调查"项目在改则地区采用坑探、物探和钻探等多种方法对区域内多年冻土开展了大规模野外考察工作. 根据现场钻探资料和后来的地温观测资料, 并结合坑探和物探资料对改则地区多年冻土特征进行分析, 结果显示: 改则地区多年冻土上限深度在2.6~8.5 m之间, 部分地区存在融化夹层; 多年冻土含冰量在12%~35%之间, 主要为多冰冻土, 而且一般仅在上限附近发育有高含冰量多年冻土; 多年冻土温度普遍较高, 在-1.5~0℃之间; 多年下限深度一般小于60 m, 部分地区甚至在10 m左右; 多年冻土分布的下界海拔高度约为4 700 m, 海拔5 100 m以上区域普遍发育有多年冻土; 区域内多年冻土特征受局地因素影响明显, 特别是与坡向、植被覆盖、岩性和含水量等关系密切; 现场记录资料和后来的测温资料都显示改则地区部分多年冻土正处于退化状态.     

Simulation of subsurface heat and water dynamics, and runoff generation in mountainous permafrost conditions, in the Upper Kolyma River basin, Russia

The Hydrograph model (a distributed process-based model) was applied to the simulation of soil freeze-thaw and runoff processes, to assess the viability of the model approach and the influence of specific environmental factors in a permafrost environment. Three mountainous permafrost watersheds were studied, at the Kolyma Water Balance Station in north-eastern Russia. The watersheds include rocky talus, mountainous tundra and moist larch-forest landscape regimes, and they were modelled at daily time-steps for the period 1971–1984. Simulated results of soil freeze-thaw depth and runoff showed reasonable agreement with observed values. This study reveals and mathematically describes the dependence of surface and subsurface flow on thawing depth and landscape characteristics. Process analysis and modelling in permafrost regions, including ungauged basins, is suggested, with observable properties of landscapes being used as model parameters, combined with an appropriate level of physically based conceptualization.     

荒漠-湿地生态系统区盐渍土特征及空间变异性

敦煌西湖国家级自然保护区地处西北极端干旱区,具有特殊的荒漠-湿地生态系统。土壤盐渍化问题突出且研究程度很低,保护区内的哈拉齐一带甚至为研究空白区。在对保护区进行详细调查以及采样测试的基础上,采用传统统计学与地统计学相结合的方法对0～120 cm深度内的土壤盐分特征及空间变异性进行了研究,填补了该区域的研究空白。研究结果表明:保护区内的土壤含盐量总体呈现随深度增加而降低的趋势,具有明显的表聚性特征;土壤盐渍化类型为中盐土和重盐土,化学类型为硫酸盐—氯化物型以及氯化物—硫酸盐型;土壤含盐量总体表现为中等变异性;受结构性因素主导,土壤含盐量总体呈现出中-强空间相关性;表层土壤含盐量具有明显的空间分布变化规律,总体呈现出西南低,东北高的特征。影响保护区表层土壤含盐量空间变化的自然因素包括极端干旱气候、地下水位埋深、与河流距离、地势条件以及土壤质地类型。研究结果可为该类型区域的土壤盐渍化防治及生态环境保护提供科学依据和参考。     

物探技术在多年冻土探测方面的应用

在青藏高原东部温泉地区对多年冻土厚度探测进行了试验研究,总结出一套可行的用于探测0～100 m范围内多年冻土分布及厚度的探测方法:选用探地雷达及瞬变电磁测深法分别对冻土上限及冻土下限进行探测,探地雷达分辨率高,能够有效解决地下0～5 m范围内多年冻土是否存在及上限埋深情况,而瞬变电磁测深法能有效解决地下5～100 m范围内的多年冻土下限埋深情况。     

基于地貌分类对祁连山大通河源区多年冻土地下冰储量估算

多年冻土地下冰作为一种特殊的存在形式, 对高原生态、 冻土环境以及冻土工程建设等都有深刻影响, 但是目前对于青藏高原地下冰储量的研究很少。以祁连山中东部大通河源区为例, 基于源区地貌分类、 冻土分布等研究, 利用源区多年冻土钻孔数据和公路地质勘测资料, 在水平和垂直两个方向上估算了多年冻土层地下冰储量。计算表明： 大通河源区多年冻土层2.5~10.0 m深度范围内地下冰总储量为（11.70±7.24） km³, 单位体积含冰量为（0.396±0.245） m³。其中冰缘作用丘陵和冰缘湖沼平原等地貌区含冰量较高, 而冰缘作用台地、 冲积洪积平原则含冰量较低。在垂向上多年冻土上限附近含冰量最高, 并随深度增大而缓慢减小。随着未来气候变暖、 多年冻土退化以及环境变化, 准确把握多年冻土区地下冰储量和分布特点对生态、 水文地质、 地质灾害预估、 冻土工程建设具有深远意义。     

Permafrost and groundwater on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and in northeast China

The areal extent of permafrost in China has been reduced by about 18.6 % during the last 30 years. Due to the combined influences of climate warming and human activities, permafrost has been degrading extensively, with marked spatiotemporal variability. Distribution and thermal regimes of permafrost and seasonal freeze-thaw processes are closely related to groundwater dynamics. Permafrost degradation and changes in frost action have extensively affected cold-regions hydrogeology. Progress on some research programs on groundwater and permafrost in two regions of China are summarized. On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and in mountainous northwest China, permafrost is particularly sensitive to climate change, and the permafrost hydrogeologic environment is vulnerable due to the arid climate, lower soil-moisture content, and sparse vegetative coverage, although anthropogenic activities have limited impact. In northeast China, permafrost is thermally more stable due to the moist climate and more organic soils, but the presence or preservation of permafrost is largely dependent on favorable surface coverage. Extensive and increasing human activities in some regions have considerably accelerated the degradation of permafrost, further complicating groundwater dynamics. In summary, permafrost degradation has markedly changed the cold-regions hydrogeology in China, and has led to a series of hydrological, ecological, and environmental problems of wide concern.     

青藏高原高寒沼泽化草甸群落生物量及地下CNP对积雪增加的响应

以青藏高原多年冻土区高寒沼泽化草甸为研究对象,采用雪栅栏诱导方式模拟积雪厚度增加,结合植物地上、地下根系以及土壤养分变化,分析了高寒沼泽化草甸对积雪厚度增加的响应。结果表明：积雪厚度增加后,0~20 cm浅层土壤温度和水分含量增加;植物群落高度和土壤表层0~10 cm根系生物量显著增加,植物群落组成和地上生物量没有变化;地下0~20 cm土壤碳（C）、氮（N）、磷（P）总储量降低,根系中C、N、P储量增加;土壤表层0~10 cm总N∶P比显著增加,但是有效磷含量在0~10 cm和10~20 cm土层均显著增加。可见,积雪厚度增加并不影响沼泽化草甸植物群落的组成和地上生物量,仅增加植被高度;增加土壤表层总N∶P比意味着积雪厚度增加可能会减轻沼泽化草甸土壤中氮限制,从而减缓沼泽化草甸的氮匮乏状况。结论可为高寒生态系统响应积雪变化研究提供样地尺度的观测数据,并为冰冻圈生态系统应对未来气候变化的模型估算提供数据支撑。     

不同深度冻土微生物数量特征及其与土壤理化性质的关系

分别以乌鲁木齐河源区不同层位深坑冻土样品为研究材料,利用荧光显微计数技术、寡营养恢复培养技术等研究了微生物数量特征及其与土壤理化参数的关联度.结果表明:可培养细菌数量与冻土深度、土壤含水量、总C和总N含量都成显著的正相关,与pH值呈显著负相关.而且,可培养细菌数及其在细胞总数中所占比值随冻土深度的增加而下降,表明深坑样...     

冻结季沱沱河源多年冻土区活动层土壤水分含量分析

活动层含水量是表征多年冻土区气候、水文和生态过程的关键参数。长期以来,由于受多年冻土区活动层水分实测样点数量稀少的限制,各类基于遥感反演、模式模拟乃至数据融合和同化等手段生产的土壤水分空间数据均存在着较大的误差。2020年10—11月在青藏高原腹地（沱沱河源区）测定了 1 072组活动层土壤含水量数据并进行分析,探讨了该时段该区域活动层土壤水分的空间差异,并与全球陆面数据同化系统数据产品（GLDAS-Noah）和欧洲中期天气预报中心发布的第五代再分析资料（ERA5-Land）进行了对比分析。结果表明,在该区域平均厚度为2.72 m的活动层内,土壤质量含水量（总含水量）约为14.0%,活动层土壤含水量与植被发育情况存在正相关关系。除高寒沼泽草甸类型外,高寒草甸与高寒草原类型的活动层含水量随深度的增加呈现出先减小后增大的变化趋势。不同坡位类型的活动层含水量呈上坡位>下坡位>中坡位>平坡位,阳坡水分高于阴坡且两者活动层剖面水分变化相似。多年冻土区浅表层0~350 cm深度范围内的土壤含水量大于区内融区同深度的土壤含水量,两者土壤剖面水分分布均呈现出先增大后减小再增大的特征。该区域的GLDAS-Noah同化水分产品与实测数据对比的误差在10%以内,比ERA5-Land再分析土壤水分数据更为准确,但两种数据产品对土壤剖面上的水分垂直分布情况描述均与实测数据有较大差异。该研究结果可以为数据同化系统的模式冻融参数化方案优化及遥感水分产品研发提供科学依据。     

马衔山多年冻土与季节冻土区土壤微生物量及酶活性的季节动态

为了研究马衔山多年冻土区和非多年冻土区土壤微生物碳氮、土壤酶活性的差异,选取多年冻土区、季节冻土区和交界区为对象,分析了0~30 cm土层微生物碳氮和转化酶、脲酶、中性磷酸酶、淀粉酶、过氧化氢酶、多酚氧化酶酶活性不同季节的变化特征。结果表明：全氮、总有机碳、微生物量碳氮与多数土壤酶之间呈显著相关关系。在不同区域,土壤微生物碳氮均在0~10 cm含量最高,10~20 cm次之,20~30 cm最低。土壤微生物碳氮在生长季表现为含量逐渐增加,但是多年冻土区与季节冻土区差异不大。土壤酶活性在深度方面表现与微生物碳氮含量变化一致。土壤酶并无的季节变化规律。在多年冻土区,转化酶、多酚氧化酶和磷酸酶活性明显高于非多年冻土区。本研究表明,尽管多年冻土区的植被和土壤总有机碳明显高于非多年冻土区,其土壤微生物碳氮含量相当,且一些土壤酶活性也相当。说明非多年冻土区土壤的生物地球化学相对强度较大。因此,多年冻土退化后可能会导致生态系统的退化。