Vegetation patterns and species–environment relationships in the Gurbantunggut Desert of China

The Gurbantunggut Desert is the largest stable and semi-stable sand desert in China, yet few data exist on vegetation pattern and species-environment relationships for these diverse desert landscapes. The sand dunes of the survey area are mainly of the longitudinal form from north to south, but checkerboard-shaped and honeycomb-shaped forms are also present, with the height of 10–50 m. We measured vegetation and soil data on north–south transects and compared them with vegetation and soil data on east–west transects. Analysis revealed that the varying trend and strength of the species diversity, dominance and cover of the plant communities in the longitudinal and transverse directions across the landscape are significantly different. The results of CCA ordination show that the microhabitats of soil organic matter (OM), soil salts (TS), sorting index (σ), topsoil water-content (SM) and pH relate to the differences in vegetation observed as differences in species assemblage from salt-intolerant ephemerals, micro-subshrubs and subshrubs to salt-tolerant shrubs and micro-arbors. The terrain (alt.) and soil texture (the contents of Mz and φ1) affect the spatial differentiation of many species. However, this spatial differentiation is not so marked on transects running longitudinally with the landscape, in the same direction as the dunes. The species of the desert vegetation have formed three assemblages under the action of habitat gradients, relating to three sections running transversely across the landscape, at right angles to the direction of the dune crests. In the mid-east section of the study area the topography is higher, with sand-lands or dune-slopes with coarse particles. Here the dominant vegetation comprises shrubs and subshrubs of Seriphidium santolium and Ephedra distachya, with large numbers of ephemeral and ephemeroid plants of Senecio subdentatus, and Carex physodes in spring and summer. On the soil of the dune-slopes in the mid-west of the study area, with coarse particles and abundant TK, the plant assemblage of Haloxylon persicum, Soranthus meyeri and Agriophyllum squarrosum is developed. The species composition in the east marginal belt of the study area has similar characteristics to the mid-west section. There is no corresponding section in the north–south transects (except for the north and south margins). This is because the habitats of most plants are located in the middle of the microhabitat gradients in the north–south direction in the desert.     

三江源地区土壤侵蚀特点

三江源地区地域辽阔,土壤侵蚀复杂多样.近年来土壤侵蚀加剧,生态环境严重退化.以2000年土壤侵蚀调查的数据成果为基数.并与更新后的2005年数据成果比较,进行土壤侵蚀动态变化分析.对三江源地区不同类型土壤侵蚀区的土壤侵蚀现状做了较全面的分区评价.同时对作为典型区域的黄河源头区12个县的2000年1:10万Landsat 5 TIM假彩色合成影像,通过野外调查建它解译标志来分析该区植被覆盖状况,对该区典型区域的土壤侵蚀现状做了定量评价.根据评价结果,对三江源地区土壤侵蚀的发展趋势做了预测.     

The influence of geomorphological position and vegetation cover on the erosional and hydrological processes on a Mediterranean hillslope

Soil erosion and runoff rates are assumed to be highly dependent on slope position. However, little knowledge exists about the hydrogeomorphological processes at the pedon scale that support this idea. In order to assess the hydrological and erosional behaviour of soils at different slope positions, simulated rainfall experiments (55 mm was applied during one hour) were carried out on a south-facing slope with underlying limestone in south-east Spain. In the mean terms, the erosion rates (9 g m² hr⁻¹) and the runoff coefficients (12%) were very low at the scale of measurement (0·25 m²). The slope position does not affect erosion rates when the measurements are carried out under extreme dry conditions during summer. The low runoff rates found in summer under thunderstorms of high intensity (5 year return period) and the runon into surfaces with higher infiltration rates resulted in no detectable direct surface runoff (Hortonian) at the slope scale. This implies that erosion as a consequence of surface overland flow will only take place during events of high magnitude (55 mm hr⁻¹) and low frequency (>5 years). Vegetation is the most important factor determining the soil erosion and runoff rates within the slope. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical constraints to gully erosion research: time for a re‐evaluation of concepts and assumptions?

Gullies are conceptualized in the literature as essentially fluvial forms with dimensional boundaries arbitrarily defined between rills and river channels. This notion is incompatible with the existing variability of form and process, as mass movements frequently exert a fundamental control on gully initiation and expansion, to the point of features outgrowing their original contributing area. The inability of a conceptual framework to incorporate existing observations inevitably constrains methodologies and research results. In this commentary, several examples of published results are contrasted with the prevailing assumption of an essentially fluvial nature, with the purpose of encouraging discussion on the need for a revised conceptual framework in gully erosion research. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于三角网渐进式简化的等高线多尺度综合

提出了一种基于三角网渐进式简化的等高线多尺度综合方法,实验结果表明,其不仅可以较好地保留地形特征,而且可以完全避免等高线相交现象的产生.     

黑河流域土地利用变化对土壤有机碳和全氮储量的影响——元分析（英文）

Land use and cover change(LUCC) is an important indicator of the human-earth system under climate/environmental change,which also serves as a key impact factor of carbon balance,and a major source/sink of soil carbon cycles.The Heihe River Basin(HRB) is known as a typical ecologically fragile area in the arid/semi-arid regions of northwestern China,which makes it more sensitive to the LUCC.However,its sensitivity varies in a broad range of controlling factors,such as soil layers,LUCCs and calculation methods(e.g.the fixed depth method,FD,and the equivalent mass method,ESM).In this study,we performed a meta-analysis to assess the response of soil organic carbon(SOC) and total nitrogen(TN) storage to the LUCC as well as method bias based on 383 sets of SOC data and 148 sets of TN data from the HRB.We first evaluated the calculation methods and found that based on the FD method,the LUCC caused SOC and TN storage to decrease by 17.39% and 14.27%,respectively;while the losses estimated using the ESM method were 19.31% and 18.52%,respectively.The deviations between two methods were mainly due to the fact that the FD method ignores the heterogeneity of soil bulk density(BD),which may underestimate the results subsequently.We then analyzed the response of SOC and TN storage to various types of the LUCC.In particular,when woodland and grassland were converted into cultivated land or other land types,SOC and TN suffered from heavy losses,while other LUCCs had minor influences.Finally,we showed that increasing the depth of the soil layers would reduce the losses of SOC and TN storage.In summary,we identified a series of controlling factors(e.g.soil layer,the LUCC and calculation method) to evaluate the impact of the LUCC on SOC and TN storage in the HRB,which should be considered in future research.     

珠江三角洲软土微结构的定量研究

对用不同长度的PVC管在珠海和广州两地采得的淤泥样柱施于一定荷载，然后在扫描电镜下研究软土受压后在样柱垂深方向上的微结构变化，并将样品的微结构照片扫描，在计算机内进行量化处理。结果表明，样品的孔隙分布分维差随着离施压点距离的增加而逐渐减小，从而得到两者的关系方程。据此，可了解在一定荷载下应力在软土层中向下的衰减趋势。文章还对软土的天然含水量和围压对压缩变形的影响作了初步的讨论。     

Probabilistic impedance of foundation: Impact of the seismic design on uncertain soils

In the linear seismic design of buildings, the (deterministic) substructure method is a customary and efficient approach. However, the existence of spatial variability in the parameters of the mechanical model of the soil, as well as parametric errors, calls for the use of probabilistic approaches in order to provide a reliable design of the structure. The construction of probabilistic models of the soil impedance matrix provides a natural path to such approaches within the context of the substructure method. Two main techniques are described in this paper: a parametric one, typically using the stochastic finite element method, and a nonparametric one, which was introduced more recently. The latter is explored more specifically, and the possibilities it offers in terms of seismic design are presented. In particular, it is shown that it allows for the estimation of quantiles of the quantities of interest, rather than confidence intervals, which lead to highly conservative design. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

饱和软土压缩曲线的“反常”现象

饱和软土压缩试验时,经常出现压缩曲线“反常”、压缩系数“倒大”的现象。它是土的原始结构发生破坏前后的不同压缩性的客观反映。饱和软土的结构力很微弱,唯质量好的原状土才能见到这种“反常”。应从成孔、取样、测试及资料整理等多个环节保证其工程意义。     

Anabranching in mixed bedrock-alluvial rivers: the example of the Orange River above Augrabies Falls, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Anabranching is characteristic of a number of rivers in diverse environmental settings worldwide, but has only infrequently been described from bedrock-influenced rivers. A prime example of a mixed bedrock-alluvial anabranching river is provided by a 150-km long reach of the Orange River above Augrabies Falls, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Here, the perennial Orange flows through arid terrain consisting mainly of Precambrian granites and gneisses, and the river has preferentially eroded bedrock joints, fractures and foliations to form multiple channels which divide around numerous, large (up to 15 km long and 2 km wide), stable islands formed of alluvium and/or bedrock. Significant local variations in channel-bed gradient occur along the river, which strongly control anabranching style through an influence on local sediment budgets. In relatively long (>10 km), lower gradient reaches (<0.0013) within the anabranching reach, sediment supply exceeds local transport capacity, bedrock usually only crops out in channel beds, and channels divide around alluvial islands which are formed by accretion in the lee of bedrock outcrop or at the junction with ephemeral tributaries. Riparian vegetation probably plays a key role in the survival and growth of these islands by increasing flow roughness, inducing deposition, and stabilising the sediments. Less commonly, channels may form by eroding into once-continuous island or floodplain surfaces. In shorter (<10 km), higher gradient reaches (>0.0013) within the anabranching reach, local transport capacity exceeds sediment supply, bedrock crops out extensively, and channels flow over an irregular bedrock pavement or divide around rocky islands. Channel incision into bedrock probably occurs mainly by abrasion, with the general absence of boulder bedforms suggesting that hydraulic plucking is relatively unimportant in this setting. Mixed bedrock-alluvial anabranching also occurs in a number of other rivers worldwide, and appears to be a stable and often long-lived river pattern adjusted to a number of factors commonly acting in combination: (1) jointed/fractured granitoid rock outcrop; (2) erosion-resistant banks and islands; (3) locally variable channel-bed gradients; (4) variable flow regimes.