Vegetation change of ecotone in west of Northeast China plain using time-series remote sensing data

Multi-temporal series of satellite SPOT-VEGETATION normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) data from 1998 to 2007 were used for analyzing vegetation change of the ecotone in the west of the Northeast China Plain. The yearly and monthly maximal values,anomalies and change rates of NDVI and NDWI were calculated to reveal the interannual and seasonal changes in vegetation cover and vegetation water content. Linear regression method was adopted to characterize the trends in vegetation change. The yearly maximal NDVI decreased from 0.41 in 1998 to 0.37 in 2007,implying the decreasing trend of vegetation activity. There was a significant decrease of maximal NDVI in spring and summer over the study period,while an increase trend was observed in autumn. The vegetation-improved regions and vegetation-degraded regions occupied 17.03% and 20.30% of the study area,respectively. The maximal NDWI over growing season dropped by 0.027 in 1998–2007,and about 15.15% of the study area showed a decreasing trend of water content. Vegetation water stress in autumn was better than that in spring. Vegetation cover and water content variations were sensitive to annual precipitation,autumn precipitation and summer temperature. The vegetation degradation trend in this ecotone might be induced by the warm-drying climate especially continuous spring and summer drought in the recent ten years.     

中国西北地区植被NDVI的时空变化及其影响因子分析

利用GIMMS/NDVI数据分析了中国西北地区1982-2006年植被NDVI时空变化特征及其影响因子。近25年来,中国西北地区年均植被NDVI增速为0.5%/10a,并存在明显的空间差异。天山、阿尔泰山、祁连山、青海的中东部等地区植被NDVI显著增加;青海南部地区、陕西和宁夏交界地区、甘肃部分地区,以及新疆部分地区的植被NDVI下降。从不同植被类型看:林地、草地和耕地的年均NDVI都在提高。研究表明:中国西北地区植被NDVI变化是各种自然和人为因素综合作用的结果。植被NDVI与气温、降水的年际变化整体上都呈弱的正相关。但与其年内变化则都呈显著的线性关系,当月均温量超过20℃时,植被NDVI呈下降趋势;当月降水量在0¹00mm期间,植被NDVI随降水线性增长,当月降水量超过100mm之后,不再有明显的增长趋势。农业生产水平提高和植被生态建设等人类活动对西北地区植被NDVI增加有重要影响。     

Fluvial seed dispersal of riparian trees: transport and depositional processes

Fluvial seed dispersal considers both the transport and deposition of seeds where channel geomorphic structures, hydrology and seed dispersal traits contribute to transport times and depositional locations. This study examines the influence of stream flow patterns on fluvial seed dispersal of buoyant white alder (Alnus rhombifolia) seeds by applying a one‐dimensional transport model. Conceptually, the model separates the stream into two components: (i) the main channel where the seeds are transported downstream; and (ii) the transient storage zone where seeds are temporarily detained or deposited on the river bank. Transport processes are characterized by an advection–dispersion equation which is coupled to a transient storage model using an exponential decay term. The model parameters: longitudinal dispersion (D_L), exchange coefficient (α), main channel area (A) and storage zone (A_s) are estimated based on field experiments conducted in a confined, bedrock‐gravel bed river with pool‐riffle morphology located in coastal northern California. The riparian zone is inhabited by Alnus rhombifolia that disperse buoyant seeds in mid‐spring coinciding with the end of the wet, Mediterranean season. Artificial seeds, with similar traits of buoyancy and density to alder seeds, were used to quantify transport times and depositional locations. Preferential deposition resulted in stream reaches with larger A_s, high A_s/A ratios, and faster exchange coefficients corresponding to divergent stream flow (back‐eddies, re‐circulating flow, flow expansions) caused by geomorphic structures such as the ends of bar/riffle features and bends in the stream. The results demonstrate the importance of transient storage for seed transport and depositional processes. Morphological features that increase a channel's complexity create complex flow structures that detain seeds and provide a greater opportunity for deposition to occur. The model provides a simplification of river hydraulics to represent dispersal dynamics and lends itself to further understanding of hydrochory processes and associated population structure. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distinct patterns of interaction between vegetation and morphodynamics

Dynamic interaction between river morphodynamics and vegetation affects river channel patterns and populations of riparian species. A range of numerical models exists to investigate the interaction between vegetation and morphodynamics. However, many of these models oversimplify either the morphodynamics or the vegetation dynamics, which hampers the development of predictive models for river management. We have developed a model coupling advanced morphodynamics and dynamic vegetation, which is innovative because it includes dynamic ecological processes and progressing vegetation characteristics as opposed to commonly used static vegetation without growth and mortality. Our objective is to understand and quantify the effects of vegetation‐type dependent settling, growth and mortality on the river pattern and morphodynamics of a meandering river. We compared several dynamic vegetation scenarios with different functional trait sets to reference scenarios without vegetation and with static vegetation without growth and mortality. We find distinct differences in morphodynamics and river morphology. The default dynamic vegetation scenario, based on two Salicaceae species, shows an active meandering behaviour, while the static vegetation scenario develops into a static, vegetation‐dominated state. The diverse vegetation patterns in the dynamic scenario reduce lateral migration, increase meander migration rate and create a smoother floodplain compared to the static scenario. Dynamic vegetation results in typical vegetation patterns, vegetation age distribution and river patterns as observed in the field. We show a quantitative interaction between vegetation and morphodynamics, where increasing vegetation cover decreases sediment transport rates. Furthermore, differences in vegetation colonization, density and survival create distinct patterns in river morphology, showing that vegetation properties and dynamics drive the formation of different river morphologies. Our model demonstrates the high sensitivity of channel morphodynamics to various species traits, an understanding which is required for floodplain and stream restoration and more realistic modelling of long‐term river development. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrological response of an afforested catchment in a Mediterranean humid mountain area: a comparative study with a natural forest

The effects of afforestation on water resources are still controversial. The aim of this paper is to (i) analyse the hydrological response of an afforested area in the Central Pyrenees and (ii) compare the hydrological response of an afforested area with the response observed in a natural undisturbed forest. The Araguás catchment was cultivated until the 1950s, and then afforested with pines in an effort to control the active degradation processes. The hydrological response was variable and complex, because the discharge was generated by a combination of distinct runoff processes. The hydrological response showed that (i) afforestation produced moderate peak discharges, stormflows and recession limbs, and long rising limbs; (ii) no one single variable was able to explain the hydrological response: rainfall volume and intensity did not explain the hydrological response and antecedent rainfall and initial discharge (indicating antecedent moisture conditions) did play an important role; (iii) seasonal differences were observed suggesting different runoff generating processes; and (iv) the effect of forest cover on peak discharges became less important as the size of the hydrological event increased. The stormflow coefficient showed a clear seasonal pattern with an alternation between a wet period, when the catchment was hydrologically responsive, and a dry summer period when the catchment rarely responded to any event, and two transitional periods (wetting and drying). Compared with a natural forest, the afforested area recorded greater flows and peak discharges, faster response times and shorter recession limbs. Afforestation reduces the water yield and the number of floods compared with non‐vegetated areas and abandoned lands. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

高分辨率影像城市植被自动提取算法

近十几年来,随着城市化进程加剧,准确获取城市植被的分布信息,是城市气候和地表能量平衡研究的重要内容。高空间分辨率遥感影像数据,为精确获取和动态监测城市植被提供了重要资料。本研究利用资源三号数据对长江三角洲地区城市植被进行光谱特征分析与提取,提出一种城市植被的自动化信息提取算法—分离面法（Hyperplanes for Plant Extraction Methodology,HPEM）。结果表明：在假彩色反射率空间,植被与NDVI值低的背景有很好的分离性,而在真彩色反射率空间,植被与NDVI值高的背景有很好的分离性;HPEM能很好地避免NDVI最佳阈值法中将建筑物误分为植被的问题,其精度明显优于NDVI最佳阈值法,Kappa系数从0.85提高到0.90,总的错分与漏分误差从21.15%降低到14.18%。可见,本文的HPEM方法能有效提高城市植被信息自动提取的精度。     

WorldView-2近红外光谱波段反演马尾松植被信息的比较研究

WorldView-2卫星自2009年发射至今,已为用户提供了大量高性能的影像产品。与众多高分辨率卫星影像不同,WorldView-2有2个近红外波段,即近红外1(Near-infrared1,NIR1)和近红外2(Near-infrared2,NIR2),但目前这2个波段在应用上的区别并不清楚。因此,本文以福建省长汀县河田地区的马尾松林为例,采用NIR1和NIR2这2个近红外波段分别构建了3种植被指数(NDVI、ARVI和NDMVI),以探索二者在植被信息反演方面的差异。结果表明,NIR1构建的植被指数在马尾松林提取精度上高于NIR2,并具有更丰富的植被信息量。经统计可知,NIR1所构建的植被指数信息量比NIR2分别大8.0%(NDVI)、12.3%(ARVI)和7.3%(NDMVI);在反演植被覆盖度方面,NIR1也比NIR2具有更高的精度,其模拟的植被覆盖度与实际植被覆盖度的拟合度更高,误差更小。NIR1和NIR2所表现出的差异是因为马尾松在这2个近红外波段的光谱反射不同,其反射在NIR1的波长范围内达到最强,而在NIR2的波长范围内则出现了小幅下降。     

Latitudinal variation of leaf morphological traits from species to communities along a forest transect in eastern China

Comprehensive information on geographic patterns of leaf morphological traits in Chinese forests is still scarce. To explore the spatial patterns of leaf traits, we investigated leaf area (LA), leaf thickness (LT), specific leaf area (SLA), and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) across 847 species from nine typical forests along the North-South Transect of Eastern China (NSTEC) between July and August 2013, and also calculated the community weighted means (CWM) of leaf traits by determining the relative dominance of each species. Our results showed that, for all species, the means (± SE) of LA, LT, SLA, and LDMC were 2860.01 ± 135.37 mm², 0.17 ± 0.003 mm, 20.15 ± 0.43 m² kg^–1, and 316.73 ± 3.81 mg g^–1, respectively. Furthermore, latitudinal variation in leaf traits differed at the species and community levels. Generally, at the species level, SLA increased and LDMC decreased as latitude increased, whereas no clear latitudinal trends among LA or LT were found, which could be the result of shifts in plant functional types. When scaling up to the community level, more significant spatial patterns of leaf traits were observed (R ² = 0.46–0.71), driven by climate and soil N content. These results provided synthetic data compilation and analyses to better parameterize complex ecological models in the future, and emphasized the importance of scaling-up when studying the biogeographic patterns of plant traits.     

基于微型无人机遥感的亚热带林冠物种识别

通过微型无人机平台搭载微单相机监测亚热带地区森林生态系统冠层,发现在低空飞行时（飞行高度100m）,仅能识别马尾松、湿地松和大叶相思3 个冠层树种;但在超低空飞行时（高度50 m）的影像分辨率较高,通过提取冠层的轮廓、纹理、结构、颜色等信息,能成功分辨出近20 种冠层物种,甚至可以识别出部分林隙中的林下物种。根据微型无人机遥感,可提取多种亚热带林冠信息,为森林保护或生态系统管理提供有效帮助。     

水泥粘结剂基材边坡绿化技术研究——现场试验研究

通过现场工程试验研究,进一步论证了水泥粘结基材替代化学粘结基材的岩质边坡绿化技术的可行性;同时提出了岩质边坡工程绿化应按"循序渐进"来进行植被恢复的理念.