Evaluation of actual evapotranspiration measured by large-scale weighing lysimeters in a humid alpine meadow,northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The accurate estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) is essential for assessing water availability and requirements of regional-scale terrestrial ecosystems, and for understanding the hydrological cycle in alpine ecosystems. In this study, two large-scale weighing lysimeters were employed to estimate the magnitude and dynamics of actual evapotranspiration in a humid alpine Kobresia meadow from January 2018 to December 2019 on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). The results showed that daily ET_a averaged 2.24 ± 0.10 mm day ⁻¹ throughout the study period, with values of 3.89 ± 0.14 and 0.81 ± 0.06 mm day⁻¹ during the growing season and non-growing season, respectively. The cumulative ET_a during the study period was 937.39 mm, exceeding precipitation (684.20 mm) received at the site during the same period by 37%, suggesting that almost all precipitation in the lysimeters was returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration. Furthermore, the cumulative ET_a (805.04 mm) was almost equal to the maximum potential evapotranspiration estimated by the FAO-56 reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) (801.94 mm) during the growing season, but the cumulative ET_a (132.25 mm) was 113.72% less than the minimum equilibrium ET_eq) (282.86 mm) during the non-growing season due to the limited surface moisture in frozen soil. The crop coefficient (K_c) also showed a distinct seasonal pattern, with a monthly average of 1.01 during the growing season. Structural equation model (SEM) and boosted regression tree (BRT) show that net radiation and air temperature were the most important factors affecting daily ET_a during the whole study period and growing season, but that non-growing season ET_a was dominated by soil water content and net radiation. The daily K_c was dominated by net radiation. Furthermore, both ET_a and K_c were also affected by aboveground biomass.     

Understanding the peak growing season ecosystem water-use efficiency at four boreal fens in the Athabasca oil sands region

Ecosystem water-use efficiency (WUE), a ratio between gross ecosystem production (GEP) and water loss through evapotranspiration (ET) can be helpful for the assessment of coupled peatland carbon and water cycles under anthropogenic changes in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) where extensive oil sands development has been occurring since the 1960's. As such, this study assessed multiyear peak growing season variability of WUE at four fens (poor treed, poor open, treed moderate-rich, open saline) near Fort McMurray using the eddy covariance technique combined with a set of environmental variables. Freshwater fens were characterized by WUE values within the range reported from other boreal wetlands while a saline fen had significantly lower values of WUE. Negative correlation (R_s < −0.55, p < 0.05) between WUE and net radiation was observed. Moisture conditions were responsible for interannual differences in WUE, whereby increasing WUE under wetter conditions was observed. However, such a pattern was offset by decreased air temperature (T_air) resulting in moisture oversupply. This study also revealed a negative effect of wildfire on WUE due to a prominent decline in GEP and a moderate decrease in ET. WUE can be useful for monitoring the functioning of natural and constructed fens, but a better understanding of WUE variability under a wide range of climatic conditions with respect to differences in vegetation is required.     

Climate sensitivity of water use by riparian woodlands at landscape scales

Semi-arid riparian woodlands face threats from increasing extractive water demand and climate change in dryland landscapes worldwide. Improved landscape-scale understanding of riparian woodland water use (evapotranspiration, ET) and its sensitivity to climate variables is needed to strategically manage water resources, as well as to create successful ecosystem conservation and restoration plans for potential climate futures. In this work, we assess the spatial and temporal variability of Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)-Willow (Salix gooddingii) riparian gallery woodland ET and its relationships to vegetation structure and climate variables for 80 km of the San Pedro River corridor in southeastern Arizona, USA, between 2014 and 2019. We use a novel combination of publicly available remote sensing, climate and hydrological datasets: cloud-based Landsat thermal remote sensing data products for ET (Google Earth Engine EEFlux), Landsat multispectral imagery and field data-based calibrations to vegetation structure (leaf-area index, LAI), and open-source climate and hydrological data. We show that at landscape scales, daily ET rates (6–10 mm day⁻¹) and growing season ET totals (400–1,400 mm) matched rates of published field data, and modelled reach-scale average LAI (0.80–1.70) matched lower ranges of published field data. Over 6 years, the spatial variability of total growing season ET (CV = 0.18) exceeded that of temporal variability (CV = 0.10), indicating the importance of reach-scale vegetation and hydrological conditions for controlling ET dynamics. Responses of ET to climate differed between perennial and intermittent-flow stream reaches. At perennial-flow reaches, ET correlated significantly with temperature, whilst at intermittent-flow sites ET correlated significantly with rainfall and stream discharge. Amongst reaches studied in detail, we found positive but differing logarithmic relationships between LAI and ET. By documenting patterns of high spatial variability of ET at basin scales, these results underscore the importance of accurately accounting for differences in woodland vegetation structure and hydrological conditions for assessing water-use requirements. Results also suggest that the climate sensitivity of ET may be used as a remote indicator of subsurface water resources relative to vegetation demand, and an indicator for informing conservation management priorities.     

Challenge of vegetation greening on water resources sustainability: Insights from a modeling‐based analysis in Northwest China

Forest restoration policies are often implemented without the assessment of their full environmental impact. In this study, we investigated the challenges of vegetation greening resulted from forest restoration on water resource sustainability, using a model‐based simulation in northwestern China. Four different vegetation scenarios and 25 future climate scenarios were employed using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model. Results suggest that (a) the mean annual evapotranspiration changes from only 7.2% in the barren case to 100% in the forest case; however, it produced a 35.2% reduction in average annual streamflow and a 157% increase in soil water storage. The upstream vegetation greening caused the enhancement of water retention, while also creating great challenges for future downstream water resource sustainability; (b) seasonal effect was significant in that 100% forest case increased evapotranspiration (+40%) but it also reduced the streamflow (?73%) compared to the barren case in growing season, which may exacerbate spring and summer drought; (c) changes of evapotranspiration and streamflow were only 0.3% and ?0.9% at T + 3.9 °C when compared to the historic scenario in barren cases, while for all forest cases, variations were 3% and ?21.8%, respectively; (d) vegetation greening induced more remarkable changes in hydrological components than those resulting from climate change. Our “what if” research provides new insights for promoting sustainable management of water resources and ecosystems in mountainous water source areas.     

荒漠生态系统健康评价的探索

生态系统健康是生态系统可持续的基础,也是人类环境健康与可持续发展的基础。荒漠生态系统是荒漠区的典型生态系统,是荒漠区人类环境和社会发展的基础。本文在生态系统健康分析的基础上,对荒漠生态系统健康的定义、特征、指标和标准及评价方法进行了一些定性探索,对我国荒漠生态系统的健康状况做了简要评价。     

基于RS与GIS的金沙江干热河谷区退化生态系统评价——以云南省元谋县为例

文章以元谋县为例,研究干热河谷退化生态系统评价。在对植被指数、斑块分维数、沟谷密度、坡度、水热分带、载畜量、人口密度等因子分析的基础上,通过建立遥感和地理信息数据库进行综合定量评价。评价结果表明,元谋干热河谷生态环境退化较严重,就地形垂直分带而言,坝周低丘陵区生态环境退化最严重;就不同土地景观类型而言,旱地、林地、草地生态系统退化较严重。文章还对元谋干热河谷生态系统退化主要原因、空间分布规律及其恢复重建途径进行研究与探索。     

东北松嫩平原生态系统服务价值损失的的估算

1IntroductionEcosystems around the globe create and maintain an environment suitable for the continuation of human life. Ecosystems supply goods such as timber, pharmaceuticals, and seafood, and so provide services including purification of air and water,…     

森林生态系统健康评价指标在中国的应用

1IntroductionDuring recent two decades, the idea of "health" as an appropriate paradigm to assess the condition of ecosystems, is watchword of contemporary ecosystem management. The phrase "forest ecosystem health" has been used with increasing frequency in the context of forestry and natural resource management. Many scientists give the definitions from socio-economic and ecological perspectives (Rapport, 1992; USDA Forest Service, 1993; O'Laughlin, 1996; Allen, 2001). Forest health is a …     

湖南土壤生态系统对酸沉降的相对敏感性区划

以成土母质、土壤酸碱度、土壤类型、植被类型和湿度类型等5个生境因子为基础,建立湖南土壤生态系统对酸沉降的相对敏感性评价指标体系;利用地理信息系统(GIS)工具进行湖南土壤生态系统对酸沉降的相对敏感性区划,结果表明,湖南省可以划分为极敏感区、敏感区、中等敏感区、不敏感区和极不敏感区等5个酸相对敏感性分区,分别占湖南省总面积的2.15%、30.02%、55.01%、10.56%和2.26%.     

洞庭湖区湿地恢复的生态补偿效应评估

洞庭湖是我国最大的淡水湖泊湿地景观生态系统之一,湿地资源丰富。但由于人类不同历史时期的围垦和不合理的开发利用,导致湖泊湿地生态系统严重退化,湿地面积大为减少。随着洞庭湖区按照国家“退田还湖,移民建镇”的整体战略部署,以及“4350”工程的实施,湖泊面积、湿地资源将会得以恢复。然而,退田还湖中移民农户为保护与恢复湿地,牺牲了部分利益,成为受损方。洞庭湖区湖泊湿地的退田还湖工程是恢复长江生态功能系统工程中一个很重要的子系统,工程能否顺利实施的关键在于退田还湖农民在其中损失的利益能否得到补偿,及其为生态恢复所作的贡献能否得到承认。作者在实地调查和试验的基础上,依据环境经济学原理和方法,对洞庭湖湿地恢复引起的湖区农户收益减少和一系列的湿地生态服务功能的恢复表现,进行了价值评估,由此得出湿地恢复应对湖区移民农户的生态补偿值。以湿地恢复的生态补偿评估为基础,探讨了评估方法与建立补偿机制重要性,以期实现“以人为本”的战略目标,也为顺利进行退田还湖的后期工作,广泛调动广大群众生态建设的积极性,为合理建立生态补偿机制提供参考。