Response to climate change of different tree species and NDVI variation since 1923 in the middle arid region of Ningxia, China

The normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） is used extensively to describe vegetation cover and ecological environ- ment change. The purpose of this study was to contrast the response of different tree species growing in the same habitat to climate change and retrieve past NDVI using tree-ring width data from tree cores collected from the transitional zone of Pinus tabulaeformis and Picea crassifolia in the Luoshan Mountains in the middle arid region of Ningxia. Correlation analysis indi- cated that radial growth ofP tabulaeJbrmis is more sensitive to precipitation and temperature change than that ofP crassifolia. Natural factors such as water availability and heat at this elevation are more suited to the growth ofP crassifolia, and are more advantageous to its renewal and succession. P. crassifolia is probably the better of the two species for protecting the forest ecosystem and conserving water in the Luoshan desertification area. Ring width of P. crassifolia correlates significantly with average NDVI for April-May （r =0.641, p 〈0.01）, and both of them are influenced positively by precipitation in April-May. The reconstructed NDVI for 1923-2007 shows the relatively low vegetation cover occurred in the 1920s-1930s, the 1960s-1970s, and the early 21 st century. The reconstructed NDVI better reflected the drought climate in the study area.     

Perceptions of climate change in China: The research and policy connection

Global climate change has evolved from a scientific problem into an economic and political problem oI worlOwloe rater- est. National perspectives play a crucial role in addressing climate change. Mutual understanding of perspectives is nec- essary to result in rational policies and a consensus among stakeholders with divergent interests. Conceptual frameworks for understanding the problem of climate change in China, the largest developing country and the largest greenhouse gas emitter, are of great significance to national and international efforts to address the problems of climate change. Chinese perceptions of climate change as a sustainable development problem have recently been in tension with an emerging Western perspective that frames climate change as a security issue. This paper explores Chinese perceptions of climate change as expressed in recent governmental policy statements, public opinion surveys, and academic scholarship with a focus on publications in Chinese-language journals, often unfamiliar in the West. It looks at the relationship between Chinese research and policy and finds that the Chinese policy frame of climate change as a sustainable development problem draws from the body of domestic research and is reflective of the perspectives and multidisciplinary approach of Chinese researchers in areas of climate change.     

POSSIBLE INFLUENCE OF FEBRUARY-APRIL ARCTIC OSCILLATION ON THE ITCZ ACTIVITY OF WESTERN-CENTRAL PACIFIC

The daily patterns and activity of Intertropical Convergence Zone(ITCZ) in the Western-Central Pacific Ocean are analyzed using NOAA interpolated Outgoing Longwave Radiation dataset during the period from 1979 to 2008, and the relationships between ITCZ patterns and Arctic Oscillation(AO) is investigated in this paper. In accordance with the central activity region the daily ITCZ can be divided into six patterns—north, south, equator, double, full and weak pattern, respectively. The statistic result shows that the north(accounting for 30.98% of the total observations), south(31.11%) and weak(24.05%) ITCZ patterns are the most active daily patterns within a 30-year period, while the other three ITCZ patterns occur infrequently. Results show that the February-April AO index has a significant positive(negative) correlation with the frequency of the north(weak) ITCZ pattern from March-May to August-October, with the strongest correlation in April-June(March-May). At the same time, the lower tropospheric atmosphere circulation(850-hPa wind field) and SST anomalies corresponding to the AO change significantly in the tropical Pacific. When AO is in the positive phase, there is an anomalous westerly from the equator to 15°N and warmer SST in the critical north ITCZ active region, while there is an anomalous easterly and insignificant change of SST from the equator to 15°S. The wind and SST anomalies share the same characteristics of the equatorial asymmetry and thus enlarge the gradient between the south and north of equator, which would help reinforce convection in the north of equator and result in more frequent occurrence of the northern type of ITCZ.     

探测大气温湿廓线的35通道微波辐射计设计原理与特点

总结了自主研制的MWP967KV型地基35通道微波辐射计系统设计原理和主要特点。系统将K、V双频段宽带天线及接收机、宽带调谐本振、温湿压计以及电源模块紧凑集成为一台整机设备。对各传感器的测量输出实时进行一体化综合处理,采用BP神经网络实时反演大气温度、湿度廓线和汽、水总量。廓线的垂直覆盖范围为地表至顶空10km,共划分为58层。辐射计样机于2012年秋冬季节在北京地区开展了为期2个月的观测试验,利用这段时期内的69个探空资料样本对辐射计2个层次的实时观测输出都进行了对比检验,计算了水汽、氧气通道亮温和反演所得大气温湿廓线的平均偏差、均方差以及相关性。结果表明该系统能够满足实时气象监测的需求,达到国际先进水平。     

广海湾海浪要素的基本特征及典型台风过程的波浪分析

文中利用广海湾内长达49个月的实测海浪资料,对湾内海浪基本要素以及大浪过程与热带气旋活动的关系进行统计分析,并选取一个典型台风过程的波浪进行研究。结果表明:广海湾内波浪多以0~2级波高为主,出现频率达67%,3级波高次之,出现频率为32%,偶有4级波高出现;平均波高年变化幅度不大,但季节变化特征明显,最大波高的年变化和季节变化幅度均较大;大浪多出现在夏、秋季,与热带气旋活动密切相关;2008年9月强台风"黑格比"活动期间,测点观测到最大浪高达3.55m,形成5级以上大浪,台风浪波型经历了涌浪(有成熟的,也有未成熟的)-风浪-涌浪(未成熟的)的过程,符合一般台风浪波型的演变规律。     

移植操作胁迫对天鹅湖大叶藻存活、生长及光合色素含量的影响

2009年4月利用植株枚订移植法在山东荣成天鹅湖海域开展大叶藻植株移植,于5~10月监测移植大叶藻植株的存活率,并逐月采集自然和移植大叶藻植株,比较了植株生长、叶绿素含量和类胡萝卜素含量的变化,分析了移植操作胁迫对大叶藻存活、生长、叶绿素含量和类胡萝卜素含量的影响。结果显示,移植后1~2个月,移植植株的平均成活率较高,至移植后4个月,平均成活率降至57.8%,之后保持稳定。移植后6个月内,叶长移植植株均极显著低于自然植株;根长和茎节长在移植后1个月时移植植株显著低于自然植株,移植2个月后与自然植株无明显差异,甚至显著高于自然植株;叶绿素含量和类胡萝卜素含量在移植后1个月时移植植株显著低于自然植株,移植2个月后则与天然植株无明显不同,甚至显著高于自然植株,但10月份移植植株的叶绿素含量明显下降。结果表明,移植操作对大叶藻植株的地上部分产生了严重的胁迫作用和较长的胁迫时间,而移植植株的地下部分及叶片叶绿素和类胡萝卜素在经过短期胁迫后,能够通过自身的补偿机制分别实现快速生长和显著增加,从而利于植株的扎根、固着和提高植株的光合作用能力。     

Effects of Nitrogen Addition on Plant Functional Traits in Freshwater Wetland of Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

To clarify the responses of plant functional traits to nitrogen（N） enrichment, we investigated the whole-plant traits（plant height and aboveground biomass）, leaf morphological（specific leaf area（SLA） and leaf dry mass content（LDMC）） and chemical traits（leaf N concentration（LNC） and leaf phosphorus（P） concentration（LPC）） of Deyeuxia angustifolia and Glyceria spiculosa following seven consecutive years of N addition at four rates（0 g N/（m^2·yr）, 6 g N/（m^2·yr）, 12 g N/（m^2·yr） and 24 g N/（m^2·yr）） in a freshwater marsh in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. The results showed that, for both D. angustifolia and G. spiculosa, N addition generally increased plant height, leaf, stem and total aboveground biomass, but did not cause changes in SLA and LDMC. Moreover, increased N availability caused an increase in LNC, and did not affect LPC. Thus, N addition decreased leaf C∶N ratio, but caused an increase in leaf N∶P ratio, and did not affect leaf C∶P ratio. Our results suggest that, in the mid-term, elevated N loading does not alter leaf morphological traits, but causes substantial changes in whole-plant traits and leaf chemical traits in temperate freshwater wetlands. These may help to better understand the effects of N enrichment on plant functional traits and thus ecosystem structure and functioning in freshwater wetlands.     

Spatial heterogeneity of soil mineral oxide components in depression between karst hills,Southwest China

In karst regions,the spatial heterogeneity of soil mineral oxides and environmental variables is still not clear.We investigated the spatial heterogeneity of SiO2,Al2O3,Fe2O3,CaO,MgO,P2O5,K2O,and MnO contents in the soils of slope land,plantation forest,secondary forest,and primary forest,as well as their relationships with environmental variables in a karst region of Southwest China.Geostatistics,principal component analysis(PCA),and canonical correlation analysis(CCA)were applied to analyze the field data.The results show that SiO2was the predominant mineral in the soils(45.02%–67.33%),followed by Al2O3and Fe2O3.Most soil mineral oxide components had a strong spatial dependence,except for CaO,MgO,and P2O5in the plantation forest,MgO and P2O5in the secondary forest,and CaO in the slope land.Dimensionality reduction in PCA was not appropriate due to the strong spatial heterogeneity in the ecosystems.Soil mineral oxide components,the main factors in all ecosystems,had greater influences on vegetation than those of conventional soil properties.There were close relationships between soil mineral oxide components and vegetation,topography,and conventional soil properties.Mineral oxide components affected species diversity,organic matter and nitrogen levels.     

Effects of corridor networks on plant species composition and diversity in an intensive agriculture landscape

The development of modern agriculture has resulted in much homogenization of the landscape consisting of large patches of farmland,so small remnant non-crop habitats especially linear corridors play an important role in the conservation of species and the maintenance of ecosystem functions.However,little attention has been paid to the effects of corridors structural characteristics on the plant species restricted to such habitats.In this study,we selected three types of corridors including ditch,hedgerow and road,and ana-lyzed their structural characteristics.The plant species presented in these corridors were investigated,and the species diversity,abun-dance and frequency were estimated.Moreover,spatial arrangements of corridors were classified into different types to discuss whether there were significant effects of corridor network on plant distribution.The results show that three types of corridors have different ef-fects on plant species composition and diversity.The one-one combined corridor networks and total network associated by three corri-dors have more complex structural features than each single type of corridor.However,there is no strong correlation between the corri-dor networks with their plant species.We suggest that carrying out a pointed vegetation survey at corridor intersections to further test the relationships between structural features of corridor and plants is necessary.     

Denitrification potential of marsh soils in two natural saline-alkaline wetlands

Little information is available on denitrification potential of marsh soils in natural saline-alkaline wetlands. The denitrification potentials of an open wetland in the floodplain(Erbaifangzi wetland) and a closed wetland(Fulaowenpao wetland) in backwater areas in Jilin Province of Northeast China were monitored by an anaerobic incubation at 30℃ for 25 days. Our results showed that the relative denitrification index(RDI) increased gradually with incubation time, and showed a rapid increase in the first 5 days of incubation. The RDI values declined quickly from surface soils to subsurface soils and then kept a small change in deeper soils along soil profiles over the incubation time. Denitrification proceeded much faster in the top 20 cm soils of open wetland than in the closed wetland, whereas no significant differences in RDI values were observed in deeper soils between both wetlands. The RDIs were significantly negatively correlated with bulk density and sand content, while a significantly positive correlation with clay content, soil organic matter, total nitrogen and phosphorous. The maximum net NO–3-N loss through denitrification in 1 m depth were higher in the open wetland than the closed wetland with higher soil pH values. Future research should be focused on understanding the influencing mechanisms of soil alkalinity.