Total N,total P and organic matters content in floodplain soils of Xianghai Nature Reserve

Soil sediment samples of 10 layers with a spacing of 10 cm each were collected in different floodplain zones adjacent to Huolin River in the Xianghai Nature Reserve, and contents of total N, total P and organic matters were analyzed. The results showed that contents of total N, total P and organic matters were generally decreasing with the increase of distance from sample locations to the river channel, and contents of the three items were generally higher in the upper soil layer than that in the lower soil layer. The content variations displayed how flooding functions influenced nutrient matter content variations in floodplain soils since the flood inundation frequencies of the sample locations varied. The correlation analysis displayed that there were remarkable relativities between total N, total P and organic matters within definite spatial distance from the Huolin River channel.     

Potential promoted productivity and spatial patterns of medium- and low-yield cropland land in China

With a continuously increasing population and better food consumption levels, improving the efficiency of arable land use and increasing its productivity have become fundamental strategies to meet the growing food security needs in China. A spatial distribution map of medium- and low-yield cropland is necessary to implement plans for cropland improvement. In this study, we developed a new method to identify high-, medium-, and low-yield cropland from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data at a spatial resolution of 500 m. The method could be used to reflect the regional heterogeneity of cropland productivity because the classification standard was based on the regionalization of cropping systems in China. The results showed that the proportion of high-, medium-, and low-yield cropland in China was 21%, 39%, and 40%, respectively. About 75% of the low-yield cropland was located in hilly and mountainous areas, and about 53% of the high-yield cropland was located in plain areas. The five provinces with the largest area of high-yield cropland were all located in the Huang-Huai-Hai region, and the area amounted to 42% of the national high-yield cropland area. Meanwhile, the proportion of high-yield cropland was lower than 15% in Heilongjiang, Sichuan, and Inner Mongolia, which had the largest area allocated to cropland in China. If all the medium-yield cropland could be improved to the productive level of high-yield cropland and the low-yield cropland could be improved to the level of medium-yield cropland, the total productivity of the land would increase 19% and 24%, respectively.     

Morphometric and geological conditions for sediment accumulation in the Udava River,Outer Carpathians,Slovakia

The accumulation of sediment in river channels is a phenomenon that is not only influenced by the channel morphology, but also by the physical and geographical characteristics and the endogenous and exogenous processes taking place in the catchment. This paper presents an analysis of the impact the changes in lithological conditions have on the morphological and morphometric parameters of the Udava River channel and their relation to the channel accumulation forms representative of the river’s longitudinal profile as well as of its planform. Results document when accumulation forms occur and what is their spatial distribution within the longitudinal and cross-sectional river profiles. More resistant structures created sections with a lower degree of sedimentation, while in depression segments the degree of sedimentation was higher. With the increase in longitudinal slope, the impact of channel width on the average channel bar size increased. Also a difference in the accumulation was observed between the left and right bank which could be possibly explained by the impact of Coriolis force.     

Methods for extraction of microorganism DNA from glacier surface snow

In order to thoroughly investigate the diversity of glacier microorganisms, four DNA extraction methods with different lysis patterns were tested and two screened methods (the Bosshard-Bano method and the Zhou method) were optimized for the most effective form of the filter membrane (cut vs. uncut), the DNA extraction method, and the precipitation method. The two optimized methods were then compared with the commercial Mo-Bio DNA extraction kit, and the results showed that the kit was generally suitable for extraction of microorganism DNA from glacier surface snow. Procedurally, it was found that a modified Bosshard- Bano method (i.e., cutting the filter membrane into pieces, using a specific lysis pattern [lysozyme (5 mg/mL)-protease K (1 mg/mL)-CTAB (1%)-SDS (1%)], performing the extraction only once by chloroform-isoamyl alcohol (24:1), and conducting DNA precipitation by pure ethanol) was also an effective and less expensive method for extraction of microorganism DNA from glacier surface snow.     

近20年中国北方13省的耕地变化与驱动力

利用 1983年1月至1999年12月长时间序列NOAA/AVHRR NDVI 数据和2001年逐旬SPOT/VGT 数据,获取了中国北方13省1980s初期、1990s初期、1990s末期和2000s初期地表土地覆盖特征,阐述了中国北方13省的耕地变化过程,并重点讨论了人类活动对耕地变化特征的影响和耕地变化的驱动力。发现：(1) 裸地、耕地等弱生态用地面积持续增加,而林地和草地等生态功能用地和混合功能用地持续减少是我国北方1983~1999年土地利用/覆盖变化的主要特征,这在一定程度上影响着区域生态系统的调节功能。但在2000s初期,这种状况有所改观,表明国家自20世纪末期开始实施的退耕还林还草等一系列生态环境建设措施在一定程度上开始发挥作用;(2) 从1983~2001年,中国北方13省的耕地重心整体上表现出向西南方向偏移的趋势。此外,地形和交通状况对耕地的空间变化过程影响明显,区域耕地面积主要集中在海拔较低、坡度较小的平原和丘陵地带,耕地利用强度一般随着距交通干线距离的增加而减少;(3) 人们生活收入水平以及农业产量变化与耕地变化关系密切,其中人们生活收入水平与耕地面积成负相关,而农业产量与耕地面积呈正相关,表明经济的发展以及人们生活水平提高导致的非农用地量增加以及农业用地内部的结构调整是中国北方13省耕地变化的重要原因。     

1961-2008年中国西南地区极端气候变化幅度的海拔效应(英文)

A total of 12 indices of temperature extremes and 11 indices of precipitation ex-tremes at 111 stations in southwestern China at altitudes of 285-4700 m were examined for the period 1961-2008. Significant correlations of temperature extremes and elevation in-cluded the trends of diurnal temperature range, frost days, ice days, cold night frequency and cold day frequency. Regional trends of growing season length, warm night frequency, coldest night and warmest night displayed a statistically significant positive correlation with altitude. These characteristics indicated the obvious warming with altitude. For precipitation extreme indices, only the trends of consecutive dry days, consecutive wet days, wet day precipitation and the number of heavy precipitation days had significant correlations with increasing alti-tude owing to the complex influence of atmospheric circulation. It also indicated the increased precipitation mainly at higher altitude areas, whereas the increase of extreme precipitation events mainly at lowers altitude. In addition, the clearly local influences are also crucial on climate extremes. The analysis revealed an enhanced sensitivity of climate extremes to ele-vation in southwestern China in the context of recent warming.     

Role of market agents in mitigating the climate change effects on food economy

Natural Hazards - Agriculture’s ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change is critical for agricultural households as well as the general public and policymakers. Economic agents can...     

Physicochemistry and Mineralogy of Storm Dust and Dust Sediment in Northern China

Dust sediments collected from 1995 to 1998 in Beijing, Dunhuang, Inner Mongolia, Kashi, the Kunlun Mountains, Lanzhou, Ningxia, the Taklimakan Desert, and Xi‘an, China, were characterized in terms of their physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties. Most aerosols and dust analysed ranged in texture from silty clay to clay loam. Their median particle diameters (Mds) generally ranged between 5 to 63μm,coinciding with those of loess from central China and the finest sand from northwestern China. The dust sediments were characterized by a predominance of SiO2 and Al2O3, followed by K2O. Their SiO2/Al2O3and K2O/SiO2 molar ratios ranged from 5.17 to 8.43 and from 0.009 to 0.0368, respectively. The mass concentration spectrum during a dust storm showed a single peak, rather than the triple peak generally observed under clear sky conditions. The dominant minerals were chlorite, illite, calcite, and dolomite.These physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties were consistent with those of aeolian soils and loess in western and central China. The results suggest that aerosols and fine-gained fractions of dust sediments collected in northern China are mainly composed of soil material transported from the arid and semiarid regions of China and Mongolia by prevailing winds. The rate of deposition and properties of dust falling on eastern China were strongly influenced by meteorological conditions, season, latitude, longitude, and altitude of the sampling sites.     

High-resolution satellite image segmentation using Hölder exponents

Texture in high-resolution satellite images requires substantial amendment in the conventional segmentation algorithms. A measure is proposed to compute the Hölder exponent (HE) to assess the roughness or smoothness around each pixel of the image. The localized singularity information is incorporated in computing the HE. An optimum window size is evaluated so that HE reacts to localized singularity. A two-step iterative procedure for clustering the transformed HE image is adapted to identify the range of HE, densely occupied in the kernel and to partition Hölder exponents into a cluster that matches with the range. Hölder exponent values (noise or not associated with the other cluster) are clubbed to a nearest possible cluster using the local maximum likelihood analysis.     

干涸尾闾湖盆区泥漠地表磨蚀释尘特征

沙粒的表面磨蚀效应是地表产尘、释尘的重要机制,针对干湖盆泥漠地表开展磨蚀释尘实验研究,对理解干湖盆地表风蚀过程及盐碱尘暴形成机理具有重要意义。对采自西居延海干涸湖盆泥漠地表土样进行室内磨蚀模拟实验,研究了不同粒级（细、中、粗）沙粒不同落沙角度（30°,45°,60°）的磨蚀效应。结果表明：（1）泥漠地表磨蚀实验中能够产生明显释尘效应的沙粒粒级阈值为中沙（0.25 mm<M_d<0.50 mm）;（2）磨蚀粒径粒级相同时,磨蚀角度会对泥漠地表磨蚀释尘速率产生影响,磨蚀量的角度排序为60°>30°>45°,但同一粒级3种角度下的磨蚀释尘率差异不显著。（3）磨蚀角度为45°时,计算了泥漠地表的质量磨蚀率与能量磨蚀率,其中中沙为0.04 g·kg^-1、0.43 g·J^-1,粗沙为0.08 g·kg^-1、0.74 g·J^-1,极粗沙为0.26 g·kg^-1、2.54 g·J^-1;在磨蚀沙粒粒级倍增而磨蚀角度不变情况下,泥漠地表磨蚀释尘率与能量磨蚀率未发生正比例线性增长变化。