Table of Content

11 March 2014, Volume 31 Issue 2 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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Spatial Distribution of Brackish Groundwater and Its Formation Causes in the Minqin Oasis in Lower Reaches of the Shiyang River WANG Xu-Hu, XU Xian-Ying, CHAI Cheng-Wu, ZHANG Yuan-Yuan 2014, 31 (2):  193-200.  Abstract ( 1525 )   PDF (2182KB) ( 925 )   Brackish groundwater is one of the important water resources in arid and semiarid areas. During the period from September to October 2011, 71 groundwater samples were collected in the irrigated area dowstream from the Hongyashan Reservoir in Minqin County, Gansu Province, and the traditional statistical methods and geographic information software were used to research the spatial distribution of brackish groundwater in the Minqin Oasis. The result showed that brackish groundwater (＞1 g•L-1) in the Minqin Oasis was distributed in an area of 781.59 km2, in which the proportion of areas with brackish groundwater (1-3 g•L-1) was 27.6%, and these areas were distributed in Quanshan District and some parts of south Lake District. The proportions of areas with salt water (3-10 g•L-1) and brine (10-50 g•L-1) accounted for 55% and 17.4% respectively, and these areas were mainly located in Lake District. With increasing groundwater salinity, the chemical type of brackish groundwater changed gradually from SO2-4-Cl--Mg2+-Ca2+ (brackish groundwater) in Quanshan District to SO2-4-Cl--Mg2+-Na+ (K+) (brine) in Lake District. Climatic and geological conditions and human activities were the main factors of forming brackish groundwater. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Spatiotemporal Change of Water Budget in Gansu Province in Recent 51 Years YAO Yu-Long, LIU Pu-Xing, ZHUO Ma-Lan-Cao 2014, 31 (2):  201-208.  Abstract ( 1128 )   PDF (2386KB) ( 1028 )   Based on the daily data from 27 meteorological stations in Gansu Province during the period from 1960 to 2010, the values of evapotranspiration were calculated by applying PenmanMonteith model, and then the climate water budget was obtained by subtracting evapotranspiration from precipitation during the same period. Spatiotemporal water budget over Gansu Province was analyzed using the MannKendall abrupt test, wavelet analysis and GIS spatial interpolation means. The correlation coefficients and linear regression analysis were used to discuss the dominant factors affecting water budget. The results showed that, during the period from 1960 to 2010, the multiyear average water budget over Gansu Province varied in a range from -194 mm to -1 293 mm, it was decreased by 6.48 mm every decade, and the water loss was spatially increased from the southeast to the northwest. Water loss was gradually increased from the 1960s, decreased in the 1970s, increased continuously after the 1980s, and reached the maximum value in the first 10 years of 21 century. Average seasonal water loss was in an order of summer>spring>autumn>winter. MK abrupt test indicated that a sharp change and sensitive period of water budget occurred around 2008. Morlet wavelet analysis revealed that there were the obvious 4.87year and 4.52year periods of average water deficit over Gansu Province, which was mainly affected by the atmospheric circulation. Precipitation, sunshine duration and average humidity were the dominant factors affecting water loss. Related Articles | Metrics

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Spatial Variability of Soil Nutrients at Different Sampling Scales in Farmland in the Yellow River Irrigated Area in Ningxia WANG You-Qi, BAI Yi-Ru, ZHAN Xiu-Li 2014, 31 (2):  209-215.  Abstract ( 1128 )   PDF (1467KB) ( 977 )   The study on spatial variability of soil nutrients in farmland plays an important role in controlling the regional agricultural nonpoint source pollution and implementing the precision agriculture. Topsoil samples (0-20 cm) were collected from 223 sites in farmland at two scales of sampling grid (1 m×1 m and 10 m×10 m) in the Yellow River Irrigated Area in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. The objectives of this study were to investigate the spatial variability of total nitrogen content (TN), total phosphorus content (TP) and pH value at the two sampling scales using the conventional and geostatistical means. The conventional statistical analyses showed that the coefficient of variability ([WTBX]CV[WTBZ]) of pH value was 0.02 and in a slight spatial variability, which indicated that the scale effect was not obvious. With the decrease of the sampling scales, the [WTBX]CV[WTBZ] value of TN decreased but that of TP increased. The effects of scales were significant for TP and TN. Geostatistical analyses showed that there was a moderate or high spatial correlation between TP and TN at the two sampling scales, and their spatial distribution was jointly affected by structural and random factors. There was a weak spatial correlation of pH value at the 1 m×1 m scale due to the effects of random factors, such as irrigation and fertilization. There was a certain anisotropic effect of TN, TP and pH value at the 2 scales, and also a high spatial variability northeastward. The crossvalidation showed that the average error of Kriging interpolation was close to 0, and the error of mean square root was close to 1. The interpolation figures could be used to accurately reflect the spatial distribution of soil nutrients. The research results indicated that there was a certain scale effect and also an anisotropy effect for soil nutrients in the Yellow River Irrigated Area. Related Articles | Metrics

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Riparian Zone of Lower Reaches of the Bortala River BI La-Li-Yi-Ming, WANG Yong-Hui, HAI Mi-Ti-?Yi-Mi-Ti 2014, 31 (2):  216-221.  Abstract ( 1489 )   PDF (1615KB) ( 1165 )   The determination and statistical analysis of contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, and pH value in the riparian zone of lower reaches of the Bortaqla River in Xinjiang were carried out. The results were as follows: ① The study area was characterized by that there was a strong variation of soil organic matter content in topsoil and soil layer of 80 cm in depth, but a moderate one in soil layers of 20 cm, 40 cm and 60 cm; ② Organic matter content in the study area varied in a big range from 0.03% to 4.19%, it was decreased from topsoil to deep soil layer; vertically, there was a weak positive or negative correlation of soil organic matter content between soil layer of 60 cm and other soil layers of 0-10 cm, 20 cm, 40 cm and 80 cm in depth, and the correlation of soil organic matter content among soil layers of topsoil, 80 cm, 20 cm and 40 cm in depth was extremely significant; ③ There was a negative correlation of soil organic matter content with pH value and available K, a positive one with available P, and an extremely significant positive one with total nitrogen ([WTBX]R[WTBZ]=0.934); ④ The grading of soil nutrient content revealed that the average contents of soil organic matter and available P were 0.44% and 1.99 mg•kg-1 only, the average contents of the total nitrogen and available K were 0.07% and 39.78 mg•kg-1 only, respectively, and the average pH value was 7.47. Related Articles | Metrics

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Effect of Initial Soil Salt Content on Infiltration of Soil Water REN Chang-Jiang, BAI Dan, ZHOU Wen, TIAN Ji-Yang, CHENG Peng, LIANG Wei 2014, 31 (2):  222-225.  Abstract ( 1313 )   PDF (964KB) ( 1035 )   It has a great significance to study the effect of initial soil salt content on the infiltration of soil water for improving salinealkaline soil. A onedimensional vertical leaching experiment was carried out under different initial soil sodium chloride contents (3.6, 4.5, 5.3, 5.7 g•kg-1 and 9.0 g•kg-1) in laboratory. According the experiment data, the quantitative relationships between the wetting front, cumulative infiltration and time and the soil salt content were developed using the multiple regression analysis. The regression correlation coefficients were 0.992 and 0.922, and the fitting results of the regression model were good. According to the cumulative infiltration, the quantitative relationships between the infiltration rate and time and soil salt content were obtained. The analyzed result showed that the effect of initial soil salt content on the infiltration of soil water was higher than that of time. The higher the initial soil salt content was, the lower the values of wetting front, cumulative infiltration and infiltration rate would be. Related Articles | Metrics

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Quantitative Retrieval of Soil Salt Content in the Songnen Plain Based on HJ1A-HSI Images MA Chi 2014, 31 (2):  226-230.  Abstract ( 1102 )   PDF (1463KB) ( 875 )   The hyperspectral remote sensing technology possesses a huge potential in studying soil components because of its high spectral resolution, strong waveband continuity and rich data. The HSI (Hyperspectral imager) was independently developed by Chinaand carried on the resources and environmental satellite, and it has many characteristics, such as the wide spectrum with “integrated image and spectrum” (0.45-0.95 μm), long return cycle (96 hours) and detectability of fine spectrum (5 μm). However, its data application is still in exploration in China. Taking the HSI hyperspectral remote sensing image as a data source and combining with the test results of salt ions in soil, [WTBX]EC[WTBZ] and pH of field soil samples were analyzed so as to reveal the spectral features of salt ions in HSI data by using the geographic information system (GIS) and partial least square regression (PLSR), a PLSR model of soil salt content was developed based on the hyperspectral data, and a retrieval experiment on the main parameters of soil salt content in the Songnen plain was accomplished. The research result indicated that PLSR could be used to decrease the dimension of spectral data and increase the analysis efficiency under the premise of guaranteeing the maximum information amount. The prediction model developed using PLSR could be used to achieve a good retrieval accuracy of total salt content, [WTBX]EC[WTBZ] value, Na++K+, Cl- and HCO-3, and their determination coefficients reached 0.799, 0.879, 0.772, 0.791 and 0.694 respectively. In the quantitative retrieval of soil salt content, the HSI image was applied as a new data source to provide an important guidance in acquiring the values of soil salt content and prevent soil salinization in the Songnen Plain accurately, quantitatively and quickly. Related Articles | Metrics

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Organic Phosphorus Components in Different Aggregates of Brown Desert Soil Cultivated for 10-14 Years NU 尔A-Si-Ya-·Yi-Ma-Mu, AI Ke-Bai-尔·Yi-La-Hong- , YI Bu-La-Yi-Mu-Jiang-·Rou-Zi, MEI Re-Gu-Li-·Ai-Ne 2014, 31 (2):  231-236.  Abstract ( 1057 )   PDF (1756KB) ( 850 )   In this paper, the distribution regularities of different organic phosphorus components of aggregates in brown desert soil cultivated for 10-14 years in three counties in south Xinjiang were researched. The drysievetest was used to grade the soil aggregates, BowmanCole method was used to grade the organic phosphorus rating, and improvement method was used to measure the organic phosphorus components in different aggregates. The results revealed that the organic phosphorus components decreased with the increase of particle size of brown desert soil cultivated for 10-14 years in three counties in south Xinjiang. The organic phosphorous was in an order of highstable organic phosphorus>activity organic phosphorus>moderately active organic phosphorus>moderately stable organic phosphorus. However, the variation of organic phosphorus was different from different land use patterns. Highly stable organic phosphorus was dominant in the total organic phosphorus in brown desert soil cultivated for 10-14 years in the three counties in south Xinjiang, and its proportion accounted for over 50%. The difference of organic phosphorus components among different aggregates was significant. Related Articles | Metrics

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Spatial Distribution and Sources of Heavy Metals in Soil Samples Collected from the Riparian Area of the Fenghe River YANG Yang, ZHOU Zheng-Chao, ZHANG Fu-Ping, WANG Huan-Huan, WANG Ruo-Dan 2014, 31 (2):  237-243.  Abstract ( 1175 )   PDF (2688KB) ( 939 )   Soils in the riparian area of river are ecologically the main components of stream system, and they act as a part of maintaining the normal status of aquatic habitats. With the rapid industrialization and urbanization, however, excessive sewage sludge or solid wastes containing heavy metals was discharged into river by various human activities, such as mining, smelting, waste incineration, fossil fuel combustion and transportation, which interferes the natural growth of aquatic flora and fauna, causes the deterioration of water quality, and impairs human health through a contaminated food chain, especially in drinking water source area. But few studies on soils in riparian area of river have been carried out, therefore, the research in this aspect will contribute to a better understanding of heavy metal pollution, and affect stream system and environmental protection of aquatic habitats. The concentrations of Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn, Ni and V in topsoil samples collected from the riparian area from the headwaters to the estuary of the Fenghe River in Shaanxi Province were measured with Xray fluorescence spectroscopy. GIS mapping and multivariate analysis were used to analyze the spatial distribution, accumulation, potential risk and sources of heavy metals in the study area. The results showed that a significant spatial accumulation of heavy metals except Cu in soils were found at midstream and downstream. The geometrical mean concentrations of Co, Cr, Mn, Pb and V in soils were 21.5, 92.1, 611.1, 32.9 mg•kg-1 and 75.4 mg•kg-1 respectively, all of them exceeded the corresponding background values in Shaanxi. The Environmental Quality Standard (GB15618-1995, Grade Ⅰ) was taken as a reference of soils, the over-limit ratios of heavy metals in the soil samples were 100% for Co, 75% for Cr, 19% for Cu, 63% for Mn, 25% for Pb, 6% for Ni and 25% for V, that means the soils were mainly polluted by Co and Cr. The Nemero Index showed that the pollution of soils was slight. The Geoaccumulation Index displayed that the contamination of Cu was accumulated in the headwaters and at the midstream, and that of Co, Cr, Pb and Ni at the midstream and downstream of the Fenghe River. Factor analysis and correlation coefficient analysis were used to identify the main sources of heavy metals in soils. The results illustrated that Co, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn and Ni derived mainly from industry sources, traffic and garbage, and Mn and V from natural sources. It is very necessary to prevent and remediate the polluted soil to reduce soil contamination by heavy metals and to focus on the potential risk of heavy metals in soils in the riparian area of the Fenghe River for water safety and human health. Related Articles | Metrics

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Variation of Winter Cold/Warm Events and General Circulation Anomaly over Inner Mongolia in Recent 50 Years YOU Li, DAI Xin-Gang, GU Yue, CHEN Ting-Zhi, LI Hai-Ying, DING Xiao-Hua 2014, 31 (2):  244-249.  Abstract ( 1085 )   PDF (2899KB) ( 676 )   Based on the data of average air temperature in winter and every month in November, December, January and February at 100 meteorological stations in Inner Mongolia during the period of 1961-2010, the equiprobability grade method was employed to discriminate the thresholds of cold/warm events at these stations, and the events were divided into strong and weak cases. The definition methods and grading standards of cold/warm events at these stations in west, east and whole Inner Mongolia were determined in terms of the relative proportion method. The results of the variation of winter cold/warm events were described. The response of general circulation anomalies to winter cold/warm events was investigated. The results showed that only the strong cold events occurred during the period of 1961-1987, but many strong warm events occurred during the period of 1988-2010. The strong cold events occurred occasionally since 2000. During the strong cold events, the enhanced Asia Polar Vortex moved remarkably southward due to the anomaly of northward movement of Urals and Okhotsk blocking highs in midupper troposphere, and the Siberia high on the ground was much stronger than the normal cases. During the strong warm events, the weaken Asia Polar Vortex moved remarkably northwestward. The Siberia high on the ground and the Urals and Okhotsk blocking highs in midupper troposphere were much weaker than the normal cases.. Related Articles | Metrics

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Influences of Drought, Flood and Zonal Circulation Anomaly over East Yunnan Province in Spring in Recent 53 Years MIAO Chun-Sheng, ZHAO Wen-Ning, WANG Jian-Hong, ZHU Yong, WU Qiong 2014, 31 (2):  250-260.  Abstract ( 1128 )   PDF (6310KB) ( 1051 )   The characteristics of drought and flood over east Yunnan Province, China in spring in recent 53 years were analyzed. Yunnan was divided into three rainfall climate regions by REOF method based on the data of rainfall in spring, and the location and area range of the eastern region was determined. The index of PDSI was chosen to describe drought and flood in east Yunnan after compared with other two kinds of drought index only based on rainfall. By applying Morlet Wavelet Method, it was found that there was an obvious 14 years fluctuation period of drought and flood in east Yunnan in recent 53 years, and the time series could be divided into three periods: drought period from 1958 to 1980, flood period from 1981 to 2000, and another drought period after 2000. The synthetic analysis on drought and flood over east Yunnan showed that there were two parallel zonal waves in the circulation background anomaly fields of geoheight, zonal wind and air temperature. In flood years, the highlatitude wave was positive but the midlatitude one was negative for geoheight anomaly field at 500 hPa, which revealed that the low systems over Yunnan were active. For zonal wind anomaly field at 500 hPa, the highmid latitude wave was minus and the midlow latitude one was plus, which revealed that the south branch trough over the south of the Qinghai-Tibetan was strong at both velocity and transferred moisture amount. For the temperature anomaly field at 700 hPa, the highlatitude wave was positive and the midlatitude one was negative, which showed that the temperature over Yunnan was lower than normal and formed a temperature front with warmhumid air mass of subtropic high over lowlatitude ocean. It was benefit to the generation of front precipitation in east Yunnan. In drought years, properties of all the factors were opposite to those in flood years for the two parallel zonal waves at anomaly fields. It needs to be emphasized that a southward refraction occurred when the upstream zonal wind was blocked by the southwest boundary of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Strong wind in flood years and weak wind in drought years affected directly by the intensity of the south branch trough, and the upstream wind intensity and the south branch trough intensity were proportional. The key precipitation system over east Yunnan in spring was the Kunming quasistationary front. Within the background anomaly waves, the front showed that its occurring frequency and duration were higher and longer in flood years than those in drought years. Related Articles | Metrics

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Change Trend of Natural Illuminance in Xinjiang HE Xing, QUAN Li, WANG Ai-Ying 2014, 31 (2):  261-266.  Abstract ( 1570 )   PDF (2154KB) ( 895 )   The total natural light illuminance values of 8 cities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China were obtained in this study based on the solar irradiance data and meteorological data of these cities in recent 50 years from 1961 to 2010. The luminous efficacy models were integrated in the data analysis. MannKendall test was adopted to analyze the overall and interannual change trends of total natural light illuminance values in these cities. Results showed that the overall change trends of total annual natural light illuminance values in Altay, Yining, Kashgar, Hotan, Urumqi, Turpan and Hami were extremely obvious, and the change trend in Ruoqiang was obvious. The change of total annual illuminance in Kashgar was the most significant and decreased by 2.4×108 lx•(10a)-1, and that in Ruoqiang was the lowest and decreased by 1.1×108 lx•(10a)-1. The interannual variation of total annual natural light illuminance in Kashgar was in a continuous decrease trend, that in Altay, Urumqi, Yining, Hami, Turpan and Hotan fluctuated at first and then decreased, that in Ruoqiang fluctuated at first and then decreased, but the decrease was not significant. Related Articles | Metrics

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Application of Dendrochronology in Studying Natural Hazards MU Ye-Sai-尔·Tu-Di, JI Li-Li-·A-Bu-Du-Wai-Li, JIANG Feng-Qing 2014, 31 (2):  267-273.  Abstract ( 2741 )   PDF (893KB) ( 1176 )   The occurring frequencies of floods, landslides, debris flows and other geological disaster events are increasing in recent years. As a result, the risk management and evaluation of geological disasters attract more and more attention. It is important to understand the geomorphic processes and the knowledge of disaster events occurred in the past for assessing natural hazards. It is a foundation of carrying out the disaster risk assessment and analysis to get the information of temporal and spatial distribution of historical disasters. Treering data are characterized by the accurate dating, strong continuity, high resolution and being easy to copy. Treering method can be used to precisely determine the time of occurred floods, landslides, debris flows and other geological disaster events. Compared with the historical record method and lichen measurement method, the treering method has the potential to get the information of spatial distribution, occurrence frequency and seasonality of disaster events occurred in the past. Related Articles | Metrics

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Historical Drought Disasters Occurred in the Tarim River Basin MU Sha-·Ru-Zi, LEI Xiao-Yun, BAI Yun-Gang, WANG Qin-Qin 2014, 31 (2):  274-278.  Abstract ( 1133 )   PDF (1018KB) ( 807 )   After carrying out the disposal of historical data of drought disasters occurred in the Tarim River Basin during the period of 1949-2010, the drought frequency, serious degree and period in the drainage basin were analyzed using the spectrum analysis and cycle analysis. The results showed that 59 times of drought disasters were totally recorded in the drainage basin from 1949 to 2010, in which the severe drought, serious drought, moderate drought and slight drought were 10 times, 25 times, 11 times and 13 times, and their proportions were 16.96%, 42.37%, 18.64%, 22.04%, respectively. The droughts over level Ⅲ occurred 35 times, and they occurred once every 1.75 years and accounted for 59.32% of the total drought disaster years. The drought disaster rate over 20% occurred in 14 years in the Tarim River Basin during the period of 1990-2010, the drought occurrence rate and drought disaster rate were the highest in 1993, and they were 37.5% and 17.3% respectively. The drought occurrence rate over 25% and drought disaster rate over 15% occurred in 3 years in 1993, 2001 and 2002 respectively, and they occurred once every 7 years. The average areas suffering from drought at different levels and occurred every 5 years were 2.65×105, 2.22×105, 3.23×105 hm2 and 3.53×105 hm2, and the average disaster areas were 1.22×105, 1.05×105, 1.78×105 hm2 and 2.31×105 hm2, respectively. There were the 2year, 3year, 6year and 13year quasiperiods of drought in the Tarim River Basin during the period of 1950-2010 years, especially the 2year and 3year ones were very significant, and their confidences were as high as 99% and 95% respectively. Related Articles | Metrics

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Spatiotemporal Change of Heat Resources at Temperature over 10 ℃ in Northeast China HU Yan-Yu, YAN Jun-Ping, XUE Ran-Yin, LI Min-Min 2014, 31 (2):  279-284.  Abstract ( 1168 )   PDF (1506KB) ( 957 )   Based on the climate data from 120 meteorological stations in east Inner Mongolia, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Beijing and Tianjin, the data of the initial day, final day and duration of stabile temperature over 10 ℃ were analyzed using the Kriging, anomaly analysis, wavelet analysis, [WTBX]etc.[WTBZ], the spatiotemporal change of accumulated temperature and the variation trend and range of air temperature in northeast China were researched. The results were as follows: ① The trend of climate change in northeast China was consistent with that of global climate change, and the warming extent was high; ② The Kriging was used to reveal that the areas sensitive to temperature change were located in northeast Hebei Province and east Heilongjiang Province; ③ The plot lines of initial day, final day and duration of temperature over 10 ℃shifted northward in varying degrees, temperature changed significantly in north Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, and the accumulated temperature increased markedly; ④ Temporally, the annual accumulated temperature increased markedly; ⑤ Extreme difference of accumulated temperature anomaly in recent 52 years was as high as 592 ℃, and climate change was significant; ⑥ In the whole study area, the growing season of crops prolonged gradually, which was advantageous for agricultural production. Related Articles | Metrics

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Herdsmen’ Perception and Adaptation to Climate Change in Northern Slope of the Tianshan Mountains at Household Pasture Scale LI Xi-Liang, HOU Xiang-Yang, DING Yong, YIN Yan-Ting, LIU Zhi-Ying, YUN Xiang-Jun, WANG Hai- 2014, 31 (2):  285-293.  Abstract ( 1104 )   PDF (2622KB) ( 773 )   Based on the “perceptionadaptation” framework formed in the research on adaptation to climate change at the household pasture scale, the herdsmen’perception and adaptation to climate change and extreme weather events in northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains were researched using questionnaires method. The results were as follows:① Climate change trended significantly to warmingwetting pattern during the period from 1980 to 2009, but most herdsmen thought that precipitation was decreased, which contradicted to the meteorological data. Comparatively, they had an accurate judgment about temperature; ② Annual and autumn precipitation had the most powerful explanation for herdsmen’s perception, snowfall in January had that to drought years and snow disasters, and herdsmen’s perception to extreme climate events was more sensitive in recent years; ③ There was a significant correlation between herdsmen’s perception intensity to the years with extreme climate events and the livestock loss. Therefore, livestock loss in disasters was an important factor affecting herdsmen’s perception; ④ Forage purchase and livestock selling were the main measures of herdsmen to adapt climate change. In general, the measure of protecting livestock was taken more commonly than that of decreasing livestock. It was considered that herdsmen’s perception to climate change was an important information basis for adapting measures. The essence of herdsmen’s adaption to climate change was to take the some measures and balance the pasture resources and livestock production in compound familial pasture system. Related Articles | Metrics

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Multiple scale Patterns in Understory Species Diversity of Pine Plantations in the Loess Plateau WANG Shi-Xiong, WANG Xiao-An- , GUO Hua- , FAN Wei-Yi 2014, 31 (2):  294-301.  Abstract ( 1034 )   PDF (1743KB) ( 1141 )   It is currently a topic of active consideration to understand how and why the diversity change at different spatial scales.Such knowledge is critical because the regional diversity (γ) can be generated in different ways to quantify the scaledependent patterns of species diversity and strengthen the conservation and management.In this paper, the species diversity (species richness and Shannon diversity) patterns of [WTBX]Pinus tabulaeformis[WTBZ] plantations in the central Loess Plateau in northwest China were analyzed to determine the relative contributions of α and β diversity to γ diversity by additive partitioning across three different nested spatial scales ([WTBX]i.e.[WTBZ], subplot, plot and site scales).The nonrandom ecological processes which differentiate disproportionately the regional diversity were also examined by analyzing the relationships between environmental factors/spatial variables and species composition using canonical variation partitioning (RDA and partial RDA).The study did reveal a significant role of spatial scales in assessing species diversity restoration function of plantations.Species diversity of both herb and shrub layers displayed the significant nonrandom patterns at all the scales.Species richness increased with the spatial scales, and the contribution of beta richness at the site scale was the highest.While the Shannon diversity displayed a distinct opposite trend compared with the species richness patterns, and the highest contribution to γ diversity was from α at the finest scale ([WTBX]i.e.[WTBZ], subplot scale).The spatial distribution of diversity in [WTBX]P.tabulaeformis[WTBZ] plantations was simultaneously driven by environmental filter and dispersal limitation.However, the relative contribution of these two processes varied with different layers.The spatial process (spatial structured environmental factors and purely spatial variables) was dominant in herb layer, while the environmental filter, including spatial structured environmental factors and purely environmental factors, was dominant in shrub layer.In herb layer, the altitude, slope position, soil organic matter content and soil available potassium content were the main environmental factors; in shrub layer, the altitude, slope aspect, soil available nitrogen content, available potassium content and available phosphorus content were the significantly contributing environmental variables.In conclusion, larger scales drive the overall species richness patterns, while finer scales determine the Shannon diversity patterns, which may be explained by distribution patterns of the common and rare species.These results suggest that the pine plantation alters the plant species composition considerably after a longterm succession and should not be considered as the “green deserts”.High beta diversity at the site scale demonstrates the importance of this scale in preserving biodiversity.However, different measures should be applied to protect the species in different layers with different species traits. Related Articles | Metrics

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Relationship between Lowtemperature Germination and Antioxidant Enzyme Systems of Anabasis elatior Seeds LI Shu-Juan, YAN Cheng, WEI Yan, MOU Shu-Yong 2014, 31 (2):  302-306.  Abstract ( 1482 )   PDF (1835KB) ( 885 )   Anabasis elatior[WTBZ] is a viviparous subshrub that primarily occurs in the Junggar Desert. Vivipary occurs only in early spring. In order to understand how the physiological property of [WTBX]A. elatior[WTBZ] adapts the low temperature, the MDA, antioxidant enzyme POD, CAT and SOD activities during imbibition and germination of [WTBX]A. elatior[WTBZ] seeds were selected as the physiological indicators to study the physiological response under chilling stress. Moreover, a comparative study between laboratory control and natural environment was conducted to determine the change of activities of antioxidative enzyme POD, CAT and SOD during seed germination under chilling condition. The main results showed that the absolute absorbed water of seeds was stabilized at 5 ℃ after imbibition for 6 hours. MDA content of [WTBX]A. elatior[WTBZ] seeds was maintained in a range from 0.02 to 0.04 μmol•g-1. A stable change of POD activity was remained. CAT and SOD activities were increased after 4 hours imbibition. Compared with the imbibition stage, MDA content of seedlings was declined sharply to a very low level (0.002-0.004 μmol•g-1). POD activity was also significantly deceased. SOD activity was low at the early germination stage. Subsequently, SOD activity was gradually increased to the maximum. CAT activity was markedly increased at the first three growth stages (0-3 cm length) of seedlings, then decreased. The activities of antioxidant enzymes of seedlings in natural environment were higher than those at 5 ℃ in laboratory. The results revealed that both rapid water absorption and synergistic effects of three antioxidant enzymes provided a guarantee to form viviparous seedlings, and also a significance to revealing the propagation approach of desert viviparous shrubs. Related Articles | Metrics

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Effect of Super Absorbent Polymer Coating on Seed Germination and Seeding Growth of Caragana microphylla LI Jia-Guo, LANG Si-Rui, WANG Xiao-Feng 2014, 31 (2):  307-312.  Abstract ( 1193 )   PDF (1604KB) ( 936 )   Five kinds of SAPs (A, B, C, D and E, 10% of seed weight) were used to coat [WTBX]Caragana microphylla[WTBZ] seeds, and 50 mL water was supplied every three days. Effects of five kinds of SAPs on seed germination and seedling growth of [WTBX]C. microphylla[WTBZ] under drought were studied. The results showed that the seed germination rate of [WTBX]C. microphylla[WTBZ] was affected significantly by water conditions, and the water absorbent capacities of different SAPs were significantly different. SAPs could be used to significantly improve the seed germination rate, germination potential, germination index, vigor index and seedling growth, and there was a positive correlation between the improving degree and the water absorbent capacity of SAPs. After coating [WTBX]C. microphylla[WTBZ] seeds with SAPs, the electrolytic leakage, MDA content, H2O2 content, proline content and POD activity of germinating seeds were significantly lower than those of control groups. The results of comprehensive test revealed that the effect of seed coating with the five kinds of SAPs was in an order of D>E>B>A>C. Related Articles | Metrics

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Effects of Lithium Concentration Treatments on Growth of Apocynum Seedling and Its Lithium Accumulation REN Jing, TIAN Chang-Yan- 2014, 31 (2):  313-316.  Abstract ( 1231 )   PDF (1114KB) ( 895 )   Apocynum and lithium have similar efficacies for human body, and a certain amount of lithium concentrates in Apocynum .The lithium content of Apocynum affects its efficacies. In this paper, [WTBX]Apocynum hedersonii[WTBZ] and [WTBX]A. [WTBX]lancifolium[WTBZ] were chosen as the experimental materials for the pot experiments, the effects of different lithium concentrations on the seedling growth and lithium accumulation of [WTBX]Apocynum[WTBZ] were analyzed. Additionally, the maximum lithium accumulations of two [WTBX]Apocynum[WTBZ] species were also discussed. The results showed that lithium was not the necessary element for the growth of [WTBX]Apocynum[WTBZ], the main reason was that high lithium concentration had a restraining influence, which was increasingly apparent with the increase of lithium concentration. The lithium content of leaf was higher than that of root and stem, the leaf of [WTBX]A. lancifolium [WTBZ]had stronger lithiumresistance than that of [WTBX]A. hedersonii.[WTBZ] In different treatments, the lithium accumulation of leaf reached the maximum in the treatment with the lithium concentration of 100 mg•kg-1, but its increment was limited. The lithium accumulation of leaf in the treatment of 25 mg•kg-1 was lower than that in the treatment of 100 mg•kg-1, but the former was still higher than that the controlled group and had smaller restrictions. Therefore, it is suitable for planting [WTBX]Apocynum[WTBZ] that the lithium concentration should be lower than 25 mg•kg-1 based on the effects of different lithium concentrations on the production of [WTBX]Apocynum[WTBZ] and its medicinal effects. Related Articles | Metrics

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Effects of Microbial Organic Fertilizer on Chlorophyll Fluorescence Parameters Variation of Lycium chinense CHEN Na, WANG You-Ke, LI Jie, YANG Juan, LI Xiao-Gang 2014, 31 (2):  317-321.  Abstract ( 1118 )   PDF (1324KB) ( 878 )   Four treatments of different fertilizing amounts of a humic acid biochemical compound fertilizer (1 kg, 2 kg, 3 kg and 4 kg per plant respectively) were designed in this study, and the variations of chlorophyll fluorescence power curve, photoresponse curve, photochemical quenching ([WTBX]qP[WTBZ]) and nonphotochemical quenching ([WTBX]NPQ[WTBZ]) were measured. The purposes of the study were to analyze and evaluate the effects of different treatments on the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of[WTBX] Lycium chinense[WTBZ]. The result indicated that the humic acid biochemical compound fertilizer could be used to significantly increase the maximal fluorescence ([WTBX]Fm[WTBZ]), PSⅡ maximal photochemical efficiency ([WTBX]Fv/Fm[WTBZ]), PSⅡ potential activity ([WTBX]Fv/Fo[WTBZ]), apparent rate of electron transfer ([WTBX]ETR[WTBZ]), actual photochemical quantum yield and photochemical quenching coefficient ([WTBX]qP[WTBZ]), thus the nonphotochemical quenching ([WTBX]NPQ[WTBZ]) was reduced. Accordingly, the lamina light energy utilization of [WTBX]L. chinense[WTBZ] was improved, and the photosynthetic productivity was increased. In addition, the improving amplitude of applying 3 kg fertilizer per plant was the highest. Related Articles | Metrics

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Phylogeny of Some Papaveraceae Plants in Xinjiang Based on DNA Barcoding Technology ZHANG Zhe, KONG Yan, LI Yan, WANG Xi-Yong, LIU Bin 2014, 31 (2):  322-328.  Abstract ( 1165 )   PDF (1527KB) ( 978 )   DNA sequencing technology was used to sequence the chloroplast rbcL gene and nuclear gene ITS of 5 species of 4 genus individuals in papaveraceae. The main purpose was to verify the feasibility and availability of the integrated gene sequence as a method to identify papaveraceae plants in Xinjiang. The analyzed results of ITSrbcL and sequences of 15 Xinjiang poppy plants revealed that the integrated gene fragment had many polymorphism sites, and the average intraspecific genetic distance was shorter than the average interspecific genetic distance. In addition, based on 4 ranunculus outgroups and 31 poppy plants, a cluster analysis was carried out, and it was revealed that most of the same genus individuals stayed together. So this fragment was feasible to identify the genus taxa of papaveraceae, and it had a certain reference value for classifying and identifying poppy plants. It was also found that the [WTBX]Glaucium squamigerum [WTBZ]and [WTBX]Dicranostigma iliensis[WTBZ] have a closer kinship than other plants of the same two genera, [WTBX]Roemeria refracta[WTBZ], a key protected plant in Xinjiang, has a close relation with Papaver, and rbcL is too conservative to do as an evolutionary gene marker in papaveraceae. Related Articles | Metrics

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Spatiotemporal Variation of Avian Communities in the Liupan Mountain Nature Reserve SUN Li-Xin, GONG Da-Jie, SUN Cheng-Xiang, YAN Li, LI Hong-Wei 2014, 31 (2):  329-335.  Abstract ( 1112 )   PDF (754KB) ( 905 )   The bird surveys were carried out with the methods of fixed sample plots and line transects in the Liupan Mountain Nature Reserve, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China during the period from May 2011 to May 2012. The bird community structure and its seasonal dynamic change in 4 typical habitats were investigated. In the survey area 88 bird species were recorded totally, including 49 residents, 29 summer migrants and 9 passing migrants. In which there were 20 palaearctic species and accounted for 22.73% of the total bird species, 6 oriental species and accounted for 7.82%, and also 62 dispersed bird species and accounted for 70.45%. The analyzed results revealed that the bird community diversity index was the highest in spring but the lowest in winter, the bird community structure in all the habitats was seasonal, the difference between the 4 habitats was significant, and the dominant species varied across the habitats and were seasonal. Totally, there were 29 bird species distributed in the arbors, 35 bird species in the farmlandvillages, 40 bird species in the bushes, and 43 bird species were investigated in the waters and marshes. Related Articles | Metrics

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Inventory of Metazoa Mitochondrial Gene Order Rearrangement KONG Yan, ZHANG Zhe, LI Yan, LIU Bin 2014, 31 (2):  336-341.  Abstract ( 1231 )   PDF (837KB) ( 1007 )   Typical Metazoa mitochondrion genome contains 37 genes: 2 for rRNA, 13 for protein coding genes and 22 for tRNA. Rearrangement of mitochondrial gene orders constitutes an ideal model for studying phylogenetic investigation. In this paper, we downloaded 2 511 Mmetazoa mitochondrion genomes from NCBI database, and selected their gene orders with perl scripts. The rearrangement of gene orders was summarized from five aspects, including the gene reverse, gene reversions, gene lost and duplicate, share clusters and transitions. The progresses of Metazoa mitochondrial gene order rearrangement in recent years were also reviewed. Many classical rearrangement patterns were proved in gene order comparisons among different species categories, and the relationships between phylogeny and mitochondrial gene order rearrangement were revealed. Related Articles | Metrics

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Community Structure of Macroinvertebrates and Assessment of Ecosystem Health in the Golmud River, Qinghai Province, China HE Feng-Zhi, CAI Qing-Hua, REN Ze, TAN Lu, DONG Xiao-Yu 2014, 31 (2):  342-347.  Abstract ( 1282 )   PDF (1387KB) ( 1062 )   Rivers provide numerous benefits to human beings, some of them are irreplaceable. However, rivers in many areas in the world are not safe for human beings or aquatic life because of the aging infrastructure and rapid pace of economic development. Macroinvertebrates are influenced by a wide range of environment factors, and the appropriate bioindicators of river ecosystem health and their diversity and community structure can be used to predict the river ecosystem health. An investigation was carried out in September 2011 to research the community structure and functional feeding groups of macroinvertebrates in the Golmud River. The results showed that aquatic insects were the main components of macroinvertebrates in the Golmud River. [WTBX]Baetis[WTBZ] spp., [WTBX]Amphinemura[WTBZ] spp., [WTBX]Limnodrilus[WTBZ] spp. and [WTBX]Orthocladius[WTBZ] spp. were the dominant taxa, and [WTBX]Baetis[WTBZ] spp. was the only taxon collected at all the sample sites. Both the average density and biomass in the Golmud River were very low due to the harsh habitats. There was a significant difference in community structure of macroinvertebrates among the sample sites, and their functional feeding groups were very similar. CollectorGatherer was the main components in the Golmud River, followed by shredder, predator and filtercollector, and scraper was not collected at all the sample sites. Based on the features of the Golmud River, a comprehensive assessment index was developed to evaluate the river ecosystem health. Among the sample sites, Golmud 5 was in “health”, and the rest sites were in “subhealth”. The overall river ecosystem was in “subhealth” because of the low vegetation coverage, riverbank erosion, increased autotrophic index and decreased macroinvertebrate diversity. Related Articles | Metrics

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Spatiotemporal Evolution of Planting Area and Planting Structure in the Irrigated Areas along the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia LI Ze-Ming, WEI Zhan-Min, BAI Yan-Ying, LI Jia-Bao, LIANG Tian-Yu 2014, 31 (2):  348-354.  Abstract ( 1339 )   PDF (3304KB) ( 828 )   In this Paper, the remote sensing image information in recent 30 years was extracted and interpreted for 4 main irrigated areas (the Hetao Irrigated Area, South Yellow River Irrigated Area, Dengkou Irrigated Area and Madihao Irrigated Area) along the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia, and the spatiotemporal evolution of their planting area and planting structure was analyzed based on the remote sensing means. The measured samples of the Hetao Irrigated Area in 7 years were used to verify the interpreted results, interpretation accuracy and the feasibility of the remote sensing means. The remote sensing interpretation showed that the total control area of the 4 irrigated areas was 17 845.55 km2 and 1.73% smaller than that of the official statistic result. The planting area and land use rate of the 4 irrigated areas were changed insignificantly and in a very low increase trend in recent 30 years. The planting structure of the 4 irrigated areas, however, was changed significantly and evolved from the singlewheat planting structure in the early years to the diversified planting structure of wheat, corn and sunflower afterwards in recent 30 years. Related Articles | Metrics

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Spatiotemporal Change of Oases and Their Landscape Response in Arid Areas in Northwest China SUN Peng, GONG Jie, GAO Yan-Jing, XIE Yu-Chu, QIAN Da-Wen 2014, 31 (2):  355-361.  Abstract ( 1165 )   PDF (2340KB) ( 759 )   In this paper, a case study on the spatiotemporal change of the oases and their landscape response in the Beidahe River Basin, a tributary of the Heihe River in an arid area in northwest China, was carried out on the basis of interpretation and analysis of multisource remote sensing images in 1973, 1980, 1990, 1999 and 2009, landscape indices by Frgastats (version 3.3) and related statistical methods. The research results were as follows: ① Both expansion and shrinkage of the oases in the Beidahe River Basin occurred periodically in recent 40 years, but oasis expansion was dominant. The oasis area was enlarged from 1 705.55 km2 in 1973 to 1 990.60 km2 in 2009, and the enlargement rate was 16.71%; ② The oases were changed with an imbalance way at both spatial and temporal scales in the study period. The rapidlychanged area was located mainly in the Jinta Oasis in the lower reaches. Oasis expansion was dominated by the oasisinternal “filling” and marginal “invasion”, and the oasis shrinkage occurred mainly in the fragile oasisdesert ecotone. The oases were gradually shrunk during the period of 1973-1990 and expanded during the period of 1990-2009, and their dynamic degrees were reached to the maximum values in recent 10 years; ③ Enlargement of the oases increased the instable development of oasis landscape, which was characterized by the instable change of oasis PD, NP and LPI in the lower reaches and the marginal zone of the oases in the Beidahe River Basin. The increase of oasis fragmentation and ecological fragility was disadvantageous for maintaining the ecosystem stability and sustainable development in arid area, which needs to be paid more attention in the future. Related Articles | Metrics

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Effect of Policy Factors on Land Use Decision of Local Households —A Case Study in Uxin Banner, Inner Mongolia, China ZHANG Jing, TONG Li-Ga, NIU Jian-Ming, DONG Jian-Jun, ZHANG Qing, ZHANG Xue-Feng 2014, 31 (2):  362-368.  Abstract ( 1255 )   PDF (1076KB) ( 739 )   It is essential that local knowledge is incorporated into decision making and policy analysis and formulation through the collection of information about land use strategies and their affecting factors at household level. In particular, policy decision of local land use often plays a critical role in land cover change and also in mitigating land degradation and promoting sustainable development in dryland regions. Our survey was carried out to understand the response of local land management for changing policies. Specifically, our questionnaire was designed to assess the response to the grazing prohibition policy and its effects on land use measures. The results suggested that: ① Households took the different land use measures in response to policy changes; ② Policy factors affected strongly the vegetation recovery because it restricted certain land use practices of farmers and herdsmen; ③ The age structure of households affected the land use decision, and the decision of young families was more active than that of senior families. Different land use types and environmental conditions of households should be considered when a land use policy is formulated. Furthermore, the improvement and management of natural resources and artificial rangelands should be subsidized, and the techniques of feeding sheep in pens should be provided to farmers and herdsmen. Related Articles | Metrics

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Comparison of Wind Prevention and Sand Blocking Effects of 4 Types of Sand Blocking Nylon Nets in the Central Taklimakan Desert HE Zhi-Hui, LI Sheng-Yu, WANG Hai-Feng, XU Xin-Wen, LEI Jia-Qiang, MA Xue-Xi, DING Yun-Fu, ZHANG Jian-Lin, LIU Yao-Zhong 2014, 31 (2):  369-374.  Abstract ( 1619 )   PDF (2562KB) ( 874 )   Sand blocking nylon nets are commonly knitted with uniform porosity, however, vertical sand flux was unevenly distributed. In this study, three types of sand blocking nylon nets with different structure were designed, [WTBX]i.e.[WTBZ], the wide tripped net with sparse upperporosity and dense lowerporosity (A), wide tripped net with dense upperporosity and sparse lowerporosity (B), and narrow tripped net with alternative dense and sparse porosity (C). They were settled on the interdune sand lowland in the hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert, and the net with uniform porosity was taken as the contrast (CK). The wind speed at different heights from ground surface and the deflation depth and deposition height on the ground around the nets were surveyed. The collected data were analyzed to understand the wind prevention and sand control effect of the nets. The results are as follows: ① The effective wind prevention range of the three types of nets (A, C and CK) was about 15H, but that of net B was about 6H only. The wind speed reduction rates at 3 heights (0.15 m, 0.3 m and 0.5 m) from 10H range were significantly different, and they were in an order of C>A>B>CK; ② The difference of deposited sand mass of the three types of nets (A, C and CK) was not so significant, but the deposited sand mass of net type B was lower than that of other three types of nets: ③ In conclusion, the wind prevention and sand control effect of net type C was the highest, that of net type B was the lowest, and there was no significant difference between net type A and CK. These results could provide a new idea for the optimal design of the structure of high sand barriers, and give some scientific basis for sand control engineering construction. Related Articles | Metrics