Restoration and rational use of degraded saline reed wetlands: A case study in western Songnen Plain, China

The protection, restoration and sustainable use are key issues of all the wetlands worldwide. Ecological, agronomic, and engineering techniques have been integrated in the development of a structurally sound, ecologically beneficial engineering restoration method for restoring and utilizing a degraded saline wetland in the western Songnen Plain of China. Hydrological restoration was performed by developing a system of biannual irrigation and drainage using civil engineering measures to bring wetlands into contact with river water and improve the irrigation and drainage system in the wetlands. Agronomic measures such as plowing the reed fields, reed rhizome transplantation, and fertilization were used to restore the reed vegetation. Biological measures, including the release of crab and fish fry and natural proliferation, were used to restore the aquatic communities. The results of the restoration were clear and positive. By the year 2009, the reed yield had increased by 20.9 times. Remarkable ecological benefits occurred simultaneously. Vegetation primary-production capacity increased, local climate regulation and water purification enhanced, and biodiversity increased. This demonstration of engineering techniques illustrates the basic route for the restoration of degraded wetlands, that the biodiversity should be reconstructed by the comprehensive application of engineering, biological, and agronomic measures based on habitat restoration under the guidance of process-oriented strategies. The complex ecological system including reeds, fish and crabs is based on the biological principles of coexistence and material recycling and provides a reasonable ecological engineering model suitable for the sustainable utilization of degraded saline reed wetlands.     

Dynamics of saline-alkali land and its ecological regionalization in western Songnen Plain,China

As the important reserve land resources for food production,saline-alkali land should play a significant role to ensure the national food security in the context of global food crisis. The western Songnen Plain is one of main distribution regions of saline-alkali land in China,with great potential in agricultural development. In this study,the extent,transformation,spatial distribution and temporal change of saline-alkali land in the western Songnen Plain during 1954–2005 were investigated by using remote sensing and GIS spatial analysis methods. Saline-alkali land change was detected from a temporal series of topographic maps in 1954,satellite images of Landsat MSS in 1976,Landsat TM/ETM in 1988,2000 and 2005 through artificial visual interpretation. The results indicated a significant expansion in saline-alkali land area and aggravation in salinization. The area of saline-alkali land had increased from 401.48×103 ha in 1954 to 1 097.45×103 ha in 2005. While the ratio of light,moderate and serious salinized land areas changed from 6.72︰2.92︰1.00 to 1.25︰1.06︰1.00 in the study period. Grassland,cropland,swampland and water body were the major land use and land cover types from which saline-alkali land transformed. And the secondary salinization occured mainly in Da′an City,Tongyu County,Changling County,Daqing City,Dorbod Mongolian Autonomous County and Zhaoyuan County. Finally,seven large ecoregions and 14 corresponding sub-ecoregions were delineated out based on spatio-temopral dynamic characteristics of saline-alkali land and geo-relational environmental attributes. According to the results,measures of amelioration and ways of development of saline-alkali land in the western Songnen Plain were put forward.     

Valuation of lake and marsh wetlands ecosystem services in China

Wetlands are highly productive natural ecosystems, providing valuable goods and services. There is growing interest in transferring ecosystem service value from the existing wetlands studied to other wetlands ecosystems at a large geographic scale. The benefit transfer method uses the known values from wetlands to predict the value of other wetland sites. This methodology requires only limited time and resources. The present study calculated the value of the ecological services provided by lake and marsh wetlands in China in terms of biodiversity indices, water quality indices and economic indices. Basic data on wetlands were obtained through remote sensing images. The results show that: 1) The total ecosystem service value of the lake and marsh wetlands in 2008 was calculated to be 8.1841 × 1010 United States Dollars(USD), with the marsh and lake wetlands contributing 5.6329 × 1010 and 2.5512 × 1010 USD, respectively. Values of marsh ecosystem service were concentrated in Heilongjiang Province(2.5516 × 1010 USD), Qinghai Province(1.2014 × 1010 USD), and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(1.1884 × 1010 USD). The value of the lakes were concentrated in Tibet Autonomous Region(6.223 × 109 USD), Heilongjiang(5.810 × 109 USD), and Qinghai(5.500 × 109 USD). 2) Waste treatment and climate regulation services contributed to 26.29% and 24.74% respectively, of the total ecosystem service value of the marsh wetlands. Hydrological regulation and waste treatment contributed to 41.39% and 32.75%, respectively, of the total ecosystem service value of the lake wetlands. 3) The total ecological service value of the lake and marsh wetlands was 54.64% of the total service value of natural grassland ecosystems and 30.34% of the total service value of forests ecosystems in China.     

The types of lake in Songnen Plain and their regional character

The lake groups in the Songnen Plain are low plain lake groups, which are located in the temperate semihumid area in China. They are characterized by small area, shallow basin, thick density and various types. In the try for classifying comprehensively the lake groups, a classification system is developed based on three main factors, i.e. forming cause, water quantity and water quality. The most internal character can be concisely grasped through three principal indexes and three auxiliary indexes of three main factors. A sample of complicated changeable path is put forward for further analyzing and outlining these basic types, in the meantime, it’s linking up easily with the classification system of the single factor. According to the regional environment, the regional differences of the type composition and the principal types, the lake groups in the Songnen Plain can be divided into 6 sub-regions. Foundation item: Under the auspices of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(49671077). Biography: LU Jin-fu (1938–), male, professor. His research interest includes paleo-environment in the Quaternary.     

Diurnal and seasonal dynamics of soil respiration at temperate Leymus chinensis meadow steppes in western Songnen Plain,China

To evaluate the diurnal and seasonal variations in soil respiration(Rs) and understand the controlling factors, we measured carbon dioxide(CO2) fluxes and their environmental variables using a LI-6400 soil CO2 flux system at a temperate Leymus chinensis meadow steppe in the western Songnen Plain of China in the growing season(May–October) in 2011 and 2012. The diurnal patterns of soil respiration could be expressed as single peak curves, reaching to the maximum at 11:00–15:00 and falling to the minimum at 21:00–23:00(or before dawn). The time-window between 7:00 and 9:00 could be used as the optimal measuring time to represent the daily mean soil CO2 efflux. In the growing season, the daily value of soil CO2 efflux was moderate in late spring(1.06–2.51 μmol/(m2·s) in May), increased sharply and presented a peak in summer(2.95–3.94 μmol/(m2·s) in July), and then decreased in autumn(0.74–0.97 μmol/(m2·s) in October). Soil temperature(Ts) exerted dominant control on the diurnal and seasonal variations of soil respiration. The temperature sensitivity of soil respiration(Q10) exhibited a large seasonal variation, ranging from 1.35 to 3.32, and decreased with an increasing soil temperature. Rs gradually increased with increasing soil water content(Ws) and tended to decrease when Ws exceeded the optimum water content(27%) of Rs. The Ts and Ws had a confounding effect on Rs, and the two-variable equations could account for 72% of the variation in soil respiration(p 0.01).     

鲁西平原地热水的化学特征及开发利用

鲁西平原地热水资源较丰富,属中低温地热,埋藏分布广,温度适中,开采潜力大。通过对鲁西平原地热水的水化学和冷水、海水的水化学进行对比分析,研究地热水的形成及水化学特征,根据地热水的水化学特征对地热水进行有针对性地开发利用。     

CATASTROPHIC ECO-ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE SONGNEN PLAIN, NORTHEASTERN CHINA SINCE 1900S

Although the Songnen Plain in the northeastern China was developed relatively late in the temperate zone of the world, its eco-environment has changed greatly. This paper analyzes the changes of land cover and the rates and trends ofdesertification during the past 100 years in the Songnen Plain. According to the macroscopic analysis, we find that the eco-environment in the plain has reached to the threshold of catastrophic change since the 1950s. The Thorn Needle Catastrophic Model was used to determine and validate this conclusion. Human activities, including large-scale construction projects, such as huge dams and dikes, and excessive grazing were the primary factors contributing to regional eco-environmental catastrophe. And irrational reclamation of the wilderness also affected the eco-environmental change. The results reveal the complex human-land interactions.     

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN SALINE—ALKALI SOIL AREA OF SONGNEN PLAIN, NORTHEAST CHINA NORTHEAST CHINA

There is great potential for agriculture in saline-alkali soil area in Songnen Plain, Northeast China. Butthe sustainable crop production in this area has been restricted by a few of main factors, such as less precipitation, higherevaporation and frequent drought, high salinity and alkalinity, high exchangeable sodium content and poor infiltration ofthe soil, and insufficiency and low availability in nutrition. It is also considered that there are a few of favorable condi-tions for agricultural development in this region, such as sufficient light and heat resources, rich ground water resources,plenty of manure produced by livestock, and so on. At the same time, scientific management and measurements havebeen employed; rational irrigation and drainage system has been established; reclamation, amendment and fertilization ofsoil, and suitable strategies of cropping practices have been made for the sustainable development of agriculture. Great progress has been made during 1996- 2000.     

Comprehensive evaluation on agricultural environment in western China

Introduction Western China is vast in area with different landforms and ecosystems, and its environment is deteriorated with different agricultural productivities. The northwestern region is very drought for lack of rainfall, and desertification there is serious with difficulty in vegetation restoration, while in the southwestern region the land is fragile, vegetation is degraded and water and soil loss serious. Even worse, for the lack of effective management, new environmental problems deriv…     

Land use/cover changes and environmental consequences in Songnen Plain, Northeast China

The Songnen Plain in Northeast China, one of the key national bases of agricultural production, went through remarkable land use/cover changes in recent years. This study aimed to explore the long-term land use/cover changes and the effects of these changes on the environment. The Landsat-based analysis showed that, during 1986–2000, cropland, built-up land and barren land had increased, among which cropland had the largest increase of 9,198km² with an increase rate of 7.5%. Woodland, grassland, water body and swampland had decreased correspondingly, among which grassland had the most dramatic decrease of 6,127km² with a decrease rate of 25.6%. The transition matrix results revealed that grassland, woodland and swampland were the three main land use types converted to cropland. Climate warming created the potential environment for the conversion of grassland and swampland into cropland. Land resources policy made by central and provincial governments of China affected the pattern and intensity of land use. Land use/cover changes accompanied by climatic variation brought out a series of environmental consequences, such as sand desertification of land, land salinization and alkalinization, grassland degradation, and more frequent floods. Under this circumstance, optimized land use structure and restoration measures are needed.     

博兴县浅层地下水水化学演化分析研究

通过对比分析博兴县20多年来的浅层地下水水质监测资料,研究总结了该区浅层地下水水化学类型及主要水化学组分的动态演化特征。结果表明,该区大部分地段浅层地下水水化学类型较为稳定,7个长期监测点中仅有2个监测点阳离子或阴离子类型呈现出明显改变,有4个监测点部分水化学组分含量呈现出上升趋势,造成这些变化的原因主要与南部地下水降落漏斗的形成导致北部咸水向南部补给有关。     

Division and correlation of Yixian Formation in western Liaoning,China

The Yixian Formation is a series of volcanic-sedimentary rocks in Biepiao area of Liaoning Province.It is mainly composed of basic and intermediate-basic volcanic lava,pyroclasts and terrestrial sedimentary rocks.Based on the regularity of volcanic activity,the Yixian Formation was divided by the present authors into four members in ascending order:the first member is of basal conglomerate,basic and intermediate-basic volcanic rocks;the second member is of lake phrase sedimentary rocks,or in another word,precious fossil-rich sedimentary beds;the third is of basic volcanic rocks;and the fourth is of upper conglomerate.Field mapping and comprehensive study also indicate that there are abundant vertebrate fossils (mainly of Psittacosaurus) in the first member of the Yixian Formation,and the Jehol Biota (including Sinosauropterxy,Confuciusorns sanctus,Archaefructus,etc.) is yielded in the second member of Yixian Formation.From west to east,the volcanic activity of Yixian Formation changed regularly from early to late,and from basic and intermediate-basic to acid (alkali).     

Establishment of a diatom-total phosphorus transfer function for lakes on the Songnen Plain in northeast China

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - To understand the relationship between planktonic diatoms and environmental variables in the lakes on the Songnen Plain, northeast (NE) China, we investigated...     

Effects of Biochar Application on Soil Organic Carbon in Degraded Saline-sodic Wetlands of Songnen Plain,Northeast China

Biochar amendment is considered as an efficient practice for improving carbon storage in soils. However, to what extent that biochar application promotes organic carbon in saline-sodic soils remains poorly understood. By comparing soil organic carbon(SOC)contents change before and after biochar addition, we deciphered the driving factors or processes that control SOC change in response to biochar application. A limited increase in SOC was observed, about by 1.16%-12.80%, even when biochar was ap...     

Simulation study on purification efficiency for nitrogen in different types of wetlands in Sanjiang Plain,China

The purification law of nitrogen in Deyeuxia angustifolia,Carex lasiocarpa and Deyeuxia angustifo-lia-Carex lasiocarpa combined wetland systems in the Sanjiang Plain,China was studied by field simulation experi-ment.The results indicate that the removal rates of TN,NH4+-N and NO3--N in above three types of wetlands present an obvious logarithm growth trend along with the time.There are evident removal effects for NH4+-N and NO3--N in water bodies of wetlands after the 30th day of experiment,with the removal rates over 80.0%,but the removal rate of TN is slightly low,being 63.1%-74.3%.NO3--N is most quickly removed by the combined wetland,and NH4+-N by Deyeuxia angustifolia wetland.The removal speeds of TN by the three wetland systems are comparatively slow,of which the Deyeuxia angustifolia wetland is the fastest.In consideration of plant growth season,Deyeuxia angustifolia wetland has much more practical application value in purifying nitrogen.These results can provide references for the study on the purification function of wetlands and the control of non-point source pollution in Northeast China.     

Coordination of urbanization and water ecological environment in Shayinghe River Basin,China

During the rapid industrialization and urbanization of China,urban agglomeration in river basin areas raises the problems of over-use of water resources and pollution of the water environment.Related research in China has mainly focused on the conflicts among economic growth,urban expansion and water resource shortages within admin-istrative boundaries.However,water environments are much more dependent on their physical boundaries than their administrative boundaries.Consistent with the nature of water environment,this study aims at analyzing coordination relationships between urban development and water environment changes within physical river basin boundaries.We chose the Shayinghe River Basin,China,as our case study area which is facing serious challenges related to water en-vironment protection.Then we classified 35 county-level administrative units into upstream,midstream and down-stream regions based on their physical characteristics;analyzed the coordination degree of urban agglomeration using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method;and constructed cooperative models using the Linear Programming (LP function) to simulate four scenarios of the coordination relationship be-tween urban population increase and water environment protection based on existing water resources and water pollu-tion data.The results show that the present coordinative situation in Shayinghe River Basin is not sustainable.In gen-eral,more than 50% administrative units are in the bad coordinative situation.In particular,the downstream region is under worse condition than the upstream and midstream regions.Cooperative models in scenario analyses indicate that the population scale set in existing urban master plannings is not coordinated with the water environment protection.To reach the goal of regional sustainable development,the total population needs to be controlled such that it will re-main at 4.5×10 7 or below by 2020 given the capacity of water environment.     

COUPLING ANALYSES OF FRAGILE ECO-ENVIRONMENT IN THE WEST OF THE SONGNEN PLAIN

１ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＩｎｅｃｏｓｙｓｔｅｍｆｒａｇｉｌｅｅｃｏｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔｉｓｄｅｆｉｎｅｄａｓｔｈｅ“ｉｎｔｅｒｆａｃｅ＂ｂｅｔｗｅｅｎｔｗｏｏｒｍｏｒｅｓｙｓｔｅｍｓｏｆｍａｔｔｅｒｅｎｅｒｇｙｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｏｒｆｕｎｃｔｉｏｎａｎｄｔｈｅｔｒａｎｓｉｔｉｏｎｒｅｇｉｏｎｅｘｔｅｎｄｉｎｇｆｒｏｍｔｈｉｓｉｎｔｅｒｆａｃｅＮＩＵ１９８９．ＴｈｅｆｒａｇｉｌｅｅｃｏｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔｏｆｔｈｅＳｏｎｇｎｅｎＰｌａｉｎｉｓｓｉｔｕ-ａｔｅｄｏｎｓｕｃｈ…     

Diurnal variation of soil CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> efflux and its optimal measuring time-window of temperate meadow steppes in western Songnen Plain,China

In order to study the diurnal variation of soil CO_2 efflux from temperate meadow steppes in Northeast China, and determine the best time for observation, a field experiment was conducted with a LI-6400 soil CO_2 flux system under five typical plant communities(Suaeda glauca(Sg), Chloris virgata(Cv), Puccinellia distans(Pd), Leymus chinensis(Lc) and Phragmites australis(Pa)) and an alkali-spot land(As) at the meadow steppe of western Songnen Plain. The results showed that the diurnal variation of soil CO_2 efflux exhibited a single peak curve in the growing season. Diurnal maximum soil respiration(Rs) often appeared between 11:00 and 13:00, while the minimum occurred at 21:00–23:00 or before dawn. Air temperature near the soil surface(Ta) and soil temperature at 10 cm depth(T10) exerted dominant control on the diurnal variations of soil respiration. The time-windows 7:00–9:00 could be used as the optimal measuring time to represent the daily mean soil CO_2 efflux at the Cv, Pd, Lc and Pa sites. The daily mean soil CO_2 efflux was close to the soil CO_2 efflux from 15:00 to 17:00 and the mean of 2 individual soil CO_2 efflux from 15:00 to 19:00 at the As and Sg sites, respectively. During nocturnal hours, negative soil CO_2 fluxes(CO_2 downwards into the soil) were frequently observed at the As and Sg sites, the magnitude of the negative CO_2 fluxes were 0.10–1.55 μmol/(m~2·s) and 0.10–0.69 μmol/(m~2·s)at the two sites. The results implied that alkaline soils could absorb CO_2 under natural condition, which might have significant implications to the global carbon budget accounting.     

EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURE RECLAMATION ON THE HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS IN THE SANJIANG PLAIN, CHINA

1 THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS The Sanjiang Plain is located in the northeast of Heilongjiang Province, China. Russia borders this region in the north and east. Its total area is 1.088×107ha. The area of plain occupies 61.21％of the total land area and that of hill and mountain amounts to 38.79％of the total land area. It is not only one of the most important regions with large area of fresh water wetlands and with varieties of rare migratory waterfowls, but a…     

豫北平原浅层地下水化学特征与成因机制

地下水的化学特征与成因机制对地下水演化、地下水资源的合理开采及质量评价具有重要意义。为查明豫北平原浅层地下水的水质特征及控制因素,采集了不同类型的浅层地下水和地表水样品,分别测试了水样阴、阳离子和氢氧同位素组成。结果表明:①地下水中总溶解性固体物质（total dissolved solids,简称TDS）质量浓度范围为316~6 948 mg/L,微咸和咸地下水呈条带状分布在沁河冲洪积平原中部,在三阳镇-修武县一带,水化学类型复杂,以HCO₃·SO₄-Na·Mg·Ca型和SO₄-Na·Mg型水为主。北部山前冲洪积扇和沁河北岸地下水为淡水,为HCO₃-Ca·Mg型水。②δ2H-δ18O关系说明地下水起源于大气降水,水化学组分受水岩相互作用控制,在补给区以碳酸盐岩溶滤作用为主,径流区发生硅酸盐岩的风化溶解以及阳离子交换作用,排泄区以蒸发浓缩、石膏溶解和阳离子交换作用为主。③地质和气候环境是造成地下水咸化的主要成因,且受到工农业污水渗漏的影响。研究成果可以为该区地下水资源的合理开采和有效管理提供依据。