Spatial patterns and environmental factors influencing leaf carbon content in the forests and shrublands of China

Leaf carbon content (LCC) is widely used as an important parameter in estimating ecosystem carbon (C) storage, as well as for investigating the adaptation strategies of vegetation to their environment at a large scale. In this study, we used a dataset collected from forests (5119 plots) and shrublands (2564 plots) in China, 2011–2015. The plots were sampled following a consistent protocol, and we used the data to explore the spatial patterns of LCC at three scales: plot scale, eco-region scale (n = 24), and eco-region scale (n = 8). The average LCC of forests and shrublands combined was 45.3%, with the LCC of forests (45.5%) being slightly higher than that of shrublands (44.9%). Forest LCC ranged from 40.2% to 51.2% throughout the 24 eco-regions, while that of shrublands ranged from 35% to 50.1%. Forest LCC decreased with increasing latitude and longitude, whereas shrubland LCC decreased with increasing latitude, but increased with increasing longitude. The LCC increased, to some extent, with increasing temperature and precipitation. These results demonstrate the spatial patterns of LCC in the forests and shrublands at different scales based on field-measured data, providing a reference (or standard) for estimating carbon storage in vegetation at a regional scale.     

1980s-2010s内蒙古草地表层土壤有机碳储量及其变化(英文)

Soil carbon sequestration and potential has been a focal issue in global carbon research. Under the background of global change, the estimation of the size as well as its change of soil organic carbon(SOC) storage is of great importance. Based on soil data from the second national soil survey and field survey during 2011–2012, by using the regression method between sampling soil data and remote sensing data, this paper aimed to investigate spatial distribution and changes of topsoil(0–20 cm) organic carbon storage in grasslands of Inner Mongolia between the 1980 s and 2010 s. The results showed that:(1) the SOC storage in grasslands of Inner Mongolia between the 1980 s and 2010 s was estimated to be 2.05 and 2.17 Pg C, with an average density of 3.48 and 3.69 kg C·m–2, respectively. The SOC storage was mainly distributed in the typical steppe and meadow steppe, which accounted for over 98% of the total SOC storage. The spatial distribution showed a decreased trend from the meadow steppe, typical steppe to the desert steppe, corresponding to the temperature and precipitation gradient.(2) SOC changes during 1982–2012 were estimated to be 0.12 Pg C, at 7.00 g C·m–2·yr–1, which didn't show a significant change, indicating that SOC storage in grasslands of Inner Mongolia remained relatively stable over this period. However, topsoil organic carbon showed different trends of carbon source/sink during the past three decades. Meadow steppe and typical steppe had sequestered 0.15 and 0.03 Pg C, respectively, served as a carbon sink; while desert steppe lost 0.06 Pg C, served as a carbon source. It appears that SOC storage in grassland ecosystem may respond differently to climate change, related to vegetation type, regional climate type and grazing intensity. These results might give advice to decision makers on adopting suitable countermeasures for sustainable grassland utilization and protection.     

黄河源区土地沙漠化及其对土壤碳库的影响研究

沙漠化过程不仅影响着区域社会经济稳定、可持续发展,而且对地球表层物质循环和能量转换过程产生重要的影响。因此,沙漠化对草地生态系统土壤碳库汇效应有重要的影响。结合黄河源区沙漠化过程的定量研究,探讨土地沙漠化过程对高寒草甸生态系统土壤碳库的影响。研究结果表明,从1990—2000年黄河源区沙漠化不仅表现为面积的扩展,而且表现为沙漠化程度的加重,沙漠化扩展和程度加重面积达1 067.69 km²。根据野外实测土壤剖面样品的理化分析测试确定的不同沙漠化土地的土壤有机碳密度,结合沙漠化土地的变化,获得从1990—2000年黄河源区沙漠化导致土壤有机碳流失量达4.11×10⁶ t,每年从土壤中流失的有机碳平均为0.41×10⁶ t。认为自然与人为因素导致的青藏高原高寒草甸生态系统的退化,不仅影响了高原区域可持续发展,而且将由碳汇转变为碳源并对全球气候的变化产生重大的影响。     

中国湿地土壤碳库保护与气候变化问题

中国湿地分布广, 类型丰富, 但存在着垦殖率高、碳密度较低、围垦损失严重等问题。估计我国湿地土壤碳库达8～10 Pg, 占全国陆地土壤总有机碳库的约1/10～1/8, 过去50 a间的损失可能达1.5 Pg。围垦和过度放牧是我国湿地土壤退化和碳库损失的主要驱动因子。目前,湿地土壤碳库保护面临严峻的挑战,从应对气候变化和保护人类生存环境的战略高度切实加强湿地资源保护,可以为增强陆地生态系统碳汇、探寻温室气体减排的潜在途径提供技术支持。     

Very high-frequency and seasonal cave atmosphere PCO2 variability: Implications for stalagmite growth and oxygen isotope-based paleoclimate records

Cave air P_CO2 at two Irish sites varied dramatically on daily to seasonal timescales, potentially affecting the timing of calcite deposition and consequently climate proxy records derived from stalagmites collected at the same sites. Temperature-dependent biochemical processes in the soil control CO₂ production, resulting in high summer P_CO2 values and low winter values at both sites. Large Large-amplitude, high-frequency variations superimposed on this seasonal cycle reflect cave air circulation. Here we model stalagmite growth rates, which are controlled partly by CO₂ degassing rates from drip water, by considering both the seasonal and high-frequency cave air P_CO2 variations. Modeled hourly growth rates for stalagmite CC-Bil from Crag Cave in SW Ireland reach maxima in late December (0.063 μm h^− 1) and minima in late June/early July (0.033 μm h^− 1). For well-mixed ‘diffuse flow’ cave drips such as those that feed CC-Bil, high summer cave air P_CO2 depresses summer calcite deposition, while low winter P_CO2 promotes degassing and enhances deposition rates. In stalagmites fed by well-mixed drips lacking seasonal variations in δ¹⁸O, integrated annual stalagmite calcite δ¹⁸O is unaffected; however, seasonality in cave air P_CO2 may influence non-conservative geochemical climate proxies (e.g., δ¹³C, Sr/Ca). Stalagmites fed by ‘seasonal’ drips whose hydrochemical properties vary in response to seasonality may have higher growth rates in summer because soil air P_CO2 may increase relative to cave air P_CO2 due to higher soil temperatures. This in turn may bias stalagmite calcite δ¹⁸O records towards isotopically heavier summer drip water δ¹⁸O values, resulting in elevated calcite δ¹⁸O values compared to the ‘equilibrium’ values predicted by calcite–water isotope fractionation equations. Interpretations of stalagmite-based paleoclimate proxies should therefore consider the consequences of cave air P_CO2 variability and the resulting intra-annual variability in calcite deposition rates.     

Natural oligotrophy vs. pollution-induced eutrophy on the SE Mediterranean shallow shelf (Israel): Environmental parameters and benthic foraminifera

The eastern Mediterranean is naturally highly oligotrophic, but urbanization along the Levant coast has led to raised organic and nutrient loads. This study tracks living foraminiferal assemblages at two sites near an activated sewage sludge outfall from 11/2003 to 5/2004. Oligotrophic site PL29 shows seasonal variations in O_2, chlorophyll a, and organic carbon, and has an abundant, diverse benthic foraminiferal assemblage living at various in-sediment depths. At eutrophic site PL3, ∼16 years of sludge injection favor a depleted assemblage primarily of opportunist foraminifera. This site shows less seasonality, is subjected to organic matter overload, O₂-stress, and periodic anoxia, foraminifera are less abundant and diverse, and live at shallower depths. The assemblages at both sites represent a common pool of species, with Ammonia tepida highly dominant. Benthic foraminifera were therefore found to be sensitive to trophic trajectories, respond on sub-seasonal time-scales, and track injection and dispersal of organic loads on the shelf.     

Volatile emissions and gas geochemistry of Hot Spring Basin,Yellowstone National Park,USA

We characterize and quantify volatile emissions at Hot Spring Basin (HSB), a large acid-sulfate region that lies just outside the northeastern edge of the 640 ka Yellowstone Caldera. Relative to other thermal areas in Yellowstone, HSB gases are rich in He and H₂, and mildly enriched in CH₄ and H₂S. Gas compositions are consistent with boiling directly off a deep geothermal liquid at depth as it migrates toward the surface. This fluid, and the gases evolved from it, carries geochemical signatures of magmatic volatiles and water–rock reactions with multiple crustal sources, including limestones or quartz-rich sediments with low K/U (or ^40?Ar/^4?He). Variations in gas chemistry across the region reflect reservoir heterogeneity and variable degrees of boiling. Gas-geothermometer temperatures approach 300 °C and suggest that the reservoir feeding HSB is one of the hottest at Yellowstone. Diffuse CO₂ flux in the western basin of HSB, as measured by accumulation-chamber methods, is similar in magnitude to other acid-sulfate areas of Yellowstone and is well correlated to shallow soil temperatures. The extrapolation of diffuse CO₂ fluxes across all the thermal/altered area suggests that 410 ± 140 t d^− 1 CO₂ are emitted at HSB (vent emissions not included). Diffuse fluxes of H₂S were measured in Yellowstone for the first time and likely exceed 2.4 t d^− 1 at HSB. Comparing estimates of the total estimated diffuse H₂S emission to the amount of sulfur as SO₄²⁻ in streams indicates ~ 50% of the original H₂S in the gas emission is lost into shallow groundwater, precipitated as native sulfur, or vented through fumaroles. We estimate the heat output of HSB as ~ 140–370 MW using CO₂ as a tracer for steam condensate, but not including the contribution from fumaroles and hydrothermal vents. Overall, the diffuse heat and volatile fluxes of HSB are as great as some active volcanoes, but they are a small fraction (1–3% for CO₂, 2–8% for heat) of that estimated for the entire Yellowstone system.     

Fates of dissolved and particulate materials from the Mississippi river immediately after discharge into the northern Gulf of Mexico,USA, during a period of low wind stress

In June 2003, we conducted a two-part field exercise to examine biogeochemical characteristics of water in the lower Mississippi river during the 4 days prior to discharge and in the Mississippi river plume over 2 days after discharge. Here we describe the fates of materials immediately after their discharge through Southwest Pass of the Mississippi delta into the northern Gulf of Mexico. Changes in surface water properties immediately after discharge were much larger and more rapid than changes prior to discharge. Total suspended matter (TSM) declined, probably due to sinking, dissolved macronutrients were rapidly diminished by mixing and biological uptake, and phytoplankton populations increased dramatically, and then declined. This decline appeared to begin at salinities of approximately 10 and was nearly complete by 15. A large increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) occurred over approximately the same salinity range. Weak winds (<2 m s⁻¹) during and preceding this cruise apparently led to the formation of an extensive but thin freshwater lens from the river. This lens spread widely without much mixing, and the bloom of phytoplankton that occurred between discharge and a salinity of 10 was probably a freshwater community seeded from the lower river. Phytoplankton bloomed for a period of about 1–2 days, then declined dramatically, apparently releasing large amounts of DOC. Macronutrients from the river were utilized by the river phytoplankton community in the extensive freshwater lens. This contrasted with the more typical situation in which river nutrients stimulate a marine phytoplankton bloom at salinities in the mid-20s. We concluded that the direct effects of dissolved and particulate bio-reactive materials discharged by the Mississippi river were spatially restricted at this time to low-salinity water, at least as surface phenomena. After being transported through the lower river essentially unaltered, these materials were biogeochemically processed within days and tens of km. More generally, the mixing rate of plume water with receiving oceanic water has profound effects on the food web structure and biogeochemical cycling in the plume.     

Hydrochemical behaviour of dissolved nitrogen and carbon in a headwater stream of the Canadian Shield: relevance of antecedent soil moisture conditions

This paper examines the impact of contrasting antecedent soil moisture conditions on the hydrochemical response, here the changes in dissolved nitrogen (NO₃^?, NH₄⁺ and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON)) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, of a first‐order stream during hydrological events. The study was performed in the Hermine, a 5 ha forested watershed of the Canadian Shield. It focused on a series of eight precipitation events (spring, summer and fall) sampled every 2 or 3 h and showing contrasted antecedent moisture conditions. The partition of the eight events between two groups (dry or wet) of antecedent moisture conditions was conducted using a principal component analysis (PCA). The partition was controlled (first axis explained 86% of the variability) by the antecedent streamflow, the streamflow to precipitation ratio Q/P and by the antecedent groundwater depth. The mean H⁺, NO₃^?, NH₄⁺, total dissolved nitrogen and DOC concentrations and electrical conductivity values in the stream were significantly higher following dry antecedent conditions than after wetter conditions had prevailed in the Hermine, although the temporal variability was high (17 to 138%). At the event scale, a significantly higher proportion of the changes in DON, NO₃^?, and DOC concentrations in the stream was explained by temporal variations in discharge compared with the seasonal and annual scales. Two of the key hydrochemical features of the dry events were the synchronous changes in DOC and flow and the frequent negative relationships between discharge and NO₃^?. The DON concentrations were much less responsive than DOC to changes in discharge, whereas NH was not in phase with streamflow. During wet events, the synchronicity between streamflow and DON or NO₃^? was higher than during dry events and discharge and NO₃^? were generally positively linked. Based on these observations, the hydrological behaviour of the Hermine is conceptually compatible with a two‐component model of shallow (DON and DOC rich; variable NO₃^?) and deep (DON and DOC poor; variable NO₃^?) subsurface flow. The high NO₃^? and DOC levels measured at the early stages of dry events reflected the contribution from NO₃^?‐rich groundwaters. The contribution of rapid surface flow on water‐repellent soil materials located close to the stream channel is hypothesized to explain the DOC levels. An understanding of the complex interactions between antecedent soil moisture conditions, the presence of soil nutrients available for leaching and the dynamics of soil water flow paths during storms is essential to explain the fluxes of dissolved nitrogen and carbon in streams of forested watersheds. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.