Feature of Dust Particles in the Spring Free Troposphere over Dunhuang in Northwestern China: Electron Microscopic Experiments on Individual Particles Collected with a Balloon-borne Impactor

Free tropospheric aerosol particles were collected using a balloon-borne particle impactor in August of 2002 and March of 2003 at Dunhuang in northwestern China (40°00′N, 94°30′E), and the morphology and elemental composition of the aerosol particles were analyzed in order to understand the mixing state of coarse dust particles (diameter >1 μm) over the desert areas in the Asian continent in spring. Electron microscopic experiments on the particles revealed that dust particles were major constituents of coarse mode particles in the free troposphere over the Taklamakan Desert in spring and summer. Si-rich or Ca-rich particles are major components of dust particles collected in the free troposphere over dunhuang and the values of [number of Ca-rich particles]/[number of Si-rich particles] differs markedly between spring and summer, being about 0.3 in the spring of 2003 and about 1.0 in the summer of 2002 at heights 3–5 km above sea level. It is likely that the condition of the ground surface and the strength of vertical mixing in source areas of Asian dust are potential factors causing the difference in the chemical types of dust particles. Comparison of the elemental compositions of these particles with those of particles collected over Japan strongly suggests that these particles were chemically modified during their long-range transport in the free troposphere. Analysis of wind systems shows that both the predominating westerly wind in the free troposphere and the surface wind strongly controlled by the geographical structure of the Tarim Basin are important in the long-range transport of KOSA particles originating in the Taklamakan Desert.     

Utility of laboratory streams for ecosystem toxicity studies

Laboratory stream microcosms have been used to study transport, fate, and effects of toxic substances in stream ecosystems. Several general concerns exist in utilizing laboratory streams in this way. We summarize some of the most important and difficult of these problems and endeavor to provide theoretical understanding, evaluation, and empirical approaches necessary for making laboratory stream ecosystem studies more useful in solving problems of toxic substance behavior in natural stream ecosystems. Well-designed laboratory streams and other microcosms are complex dynamic systems that can contribute to our understanding of the behavior of toxic substances. But such systems are far too complex and dynamic to be employed as bioassay, monitoring, or predictive tools, as individual organisms have been.     

The impact of off-road vehicles on a desert ecosystem

The effects of operating a 4-wheel drive truck in a 9-ha area of the Mojave Desert were evaluated. A truck was driven over the same 0.9-km track 21 times between November 1973 and May 1974. The vehicle was also driven randomly around the area (1.3 to 3.4 km) 17 times between December 1973 and May 1974.Spring densities of annual plants in ruts of the regular track (8/m²) were less than those in control areas (46–112/m²), but densities in randomly driven plots (39/m²) did not differ significantly from controls. Severity of damage to shrubs was directly related to intensity of driving in the area. About 58% of shrubs growing in the regular track sustained estimated damage ranging from 81 to 100%. In randomly driven areas only 6% of shrubs were damaged to this extent, while about 61 % sustained damage from 0 to 20%.Numbers and kinds of rodents in control and driven areas were similar before and after the experiment. More young rodents were trapped in the experimental plot than in the control area during July 1974, and this may have been promoted by basal sprouting of new growth by damaged shrubs. Estimates of numbers of side-blotched lizards indicated similar densities before, during, and after the experiment. Counts of whiptail lizards in control and experimental areas were the same after the experiment, but counts of gridiron-tailed lizards were much lower in the driven area.     

Blue water scarcity in the Black Sea catchment: Identifying key actors in the water-ecosystem-energy-food nexus

Large-scale water scarcity indicators have been widely used to map and inform decision makers and the public about the use of river flows, a vital and limited renewable resource. However, spatiotemporal interrelations among users and administrative entities are still lacking in most large-scale studies. Water scarcity and interrelations are at the core of the water-ecosystem-energy-food nexus. In this paper, we balance water availability in the Black Sea catchment with requirements and consumptive use of key water users, i.e., municipalities, power plants, manufacturing, irrigation and livestock breeding, accounting for evaporation from major reservoirs as well as environmental flow requirements. We use graph theory to highlight interrelations between users and countries along the hydrological network. The results show that water scarcity occurs mainly in the summer due to higher demand for irrigation and reservoir evaporation in conjunction with relatively lower water resources, and in the fall-winter period due to lower water resources and the relatively high demand for preserving ecosystems and from sectors other than irrigation. Cooling power plants and the demands of urban areas cause scarcity in many isolated locations in the winter and, to a far greater spatial extent, in the summer with the demands for irrigation. Interrelations in water scarcity-prone areas are mainly between relatively small, intra-national rivers, for which the underlying national and regional governments act as key players in mitigating water scarcity within the catchment. However, many interrelations exist for larger rivers, highlighting the need for international cooperation that could be achieved through a water-ecosystem-energy-food nexus.     

巴丹吉林沙漠腹地夏季不同天气条件下陆-湖面辐射收支与能量分配特征对比

论文以巴丹吉林沙漠腹地陆面和湖面能量平衡系统的定位观测数据为基础,对比分析了夏季不同天气条件下两种典型下垫面的辐射收支和能量分配之异同,评价了典型晴天的辐射收支与能量分配对季节平均气候态的代表性。结果显示,按“晴天-多云-阴天-降水”的顺序,陆面与湖面的总辐射、反射短波辐射和净辐射之日均值呈逐渐减小趋势,大气逆辐射则逐渐增大。湖面长波辐射亦随这一天气变化顺序逐渐增大,暗示地下水携带的热量和局地平流作用对湖水表面温度皆有影响。非降水天气时,陆面感热通量占净辐射的主要部分。云和降水皆会直接影响陆面的能量分配,感热通量一般随云量的增加而减小,潜热通量则逐渐增大。湖面典型晴天的午后存在逆温现象,然降水天气时,湖面空气温度降低较快,破坏了湖面上空的逆温层,即感热通量皆为正值。湖面的潜热通量主要决定于风速,故其对天气变化响应不明显。在地下水携带的热量和局地平流共同作用下,湖面的感热通量和潜热通量之和大于湖面的净辐射。不同天气下陆面和湖面的波文比差异较大。陆面典型晴天的辐射收支和能量分配与季节平均气候态相差不大,湖面的典型晴天则不具有季节平均气候态的代表性。     

Understanding the functional principles of nature—Proposing another type of ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are usually interpreted as a free of charge “favour” provided to us and our society by nature. In other words, nature supplies us with a functionality that we would otherwise have to pay for. Our cost would be to provide resources either (1) to ensure the necessary inputs to drive our society, or (2) to assist in counteracting, absorbing or remediating unwanted effects that are results of our societal activities. Through ecosystem studies it has been found that a substantial part of the functionality of nature is laid out in all types of components—the compartments of the ecosystems together with the transactional interrelations (flows) and controls between them. Eventually, many so-called indicators have been proposed during the last decades. Such measures are dedicated to tell us about the quality side of ecosystem functionality, e.g. to tell us how well the system performs relatively to a theoretical maximum efficiency possible. As an additional hypothesis, such functions are thought to orient the systems and thus increase through time development, i.e. to be optimised under the given the constraints, through the evolution of the system. Recently is has been pointed out that natural and societal systems share the feature of being complex in their organisation. Meanwhile, it was remarked that societal systems in many ways evolved in opposite direction of how natural evolution would drive an ecosystem. Many philosophers of biology have stated that biological systems posses information and memory functions which improve their long-term capability to survive. This information is believed to be contained in the organisational structures of the system as much as in its gene pool. If we accept such arguments it means that studies of organisation and function of natural systems will provide us with another type of ecosystem services. This would namely give us information about in what direction to drive society in order to achieve a more sustainable system.     

Rapid vegetation regeneration in a seriously degraded Rhanterium epapposum community in northern Kuwait after 4 years of protection

A study was carried out in northern Kuwait to investigate vegetation recovery in sandy depressions in the Sabriya oilfield ('Sabriya-IN'), 4 years after it was completely protected from livestock grazing and other anthropogenic activities which have largely depleted the dwarf shrub vegetation. This vegetation was compared with that in seriously overgrazed depressions outside the oilfield ('Sabriya-OUT'), where negative influences persist, and with a sandy site in central Kuwait which has been protected for over 20 years ('Sulaibiya'). There has been a striking recovery of the dwarf shrub vegetation in Sabriya-IN during the 4 years, with cover values of shrubs as high as at Sulaibiya. Rhanterium epapposum has been the main species to benefit from protection. However, the shrubs have not regenerated from seed, but rather from underground stumps that have probably remained in the soil for decades. Cover values of the annual flora at Sabriya-IN were very similar to those at Sulaibiya, and they were significantly higher than at Sabriya-OUT. However, it appears that some species may have disappeared or become extremely rare at Sabriya-IN when compared with Sulaibiya, as Sabriya-IN and Sabriya-OUT are remarkably similar floristically. Despite the impressive regeneration of the dwarf shrub vegetation at Sabriya-IN, which contradicts the view that vegetation recovery is a slow process in desert ecosystems, it is important to consider what the natural vegetation was in this part of the world. It is suggested that the region was once dominated by an open Acacia woodland, in which perennial grasses comprised most of the ground layer, and that the current dwarf shrub vegetation is a response to decades, if not centuries, of moderate to heavy grazing.     

精准扶贫下社区发展基金(CDF)项目的多元管理与机制创新——基于内蒙古阿拉善盟的实证研究

内蒙古自治区阿拉善盟的荒漠生态系统是我国西北地区的一条重要生态防线,其生态环境直接影响到首都北京和华北地区的生态安全。精准扶贫是党和政府推动国家发展的重要战略目标。2015年11月-2017年1月,采用入户访问和半结构访谈的方式,对阿拉善盟开展社区发展基金项目的4个嘎查(村)的农户进行随机问卷调查。并分别在2005年、2008年、2015年对其中两个嘎查参与社区发展基金项目的15位农户的家庭收入和产业结构进行跟踪调查研究。结果表明:该区域将已有社区发展基金项目和政府精准扶贫重点项目相结合,实现了政府资本、社会资本(SEE)、民间资本(村民)的整合和统筹使用,提高了公共资金的使用效率;参加社区发展基金项目后,社区村民的收入结构和产业结构发生了大幅变化,促进了农业的转型升级,即提升了村民的自我管理能力,拓展了村民的收入来源,减轻了村民对区域自然资源的依赖程度,有利于村民的减贫和区域可持续发展。该区域集政府资本、社会资本(SEE)、民间资本(村民)等多方资金为一体的社区发展基金项目,为荒漠复合生态系统的建设和区域经济可持续发展提供了借鉴,是我国当前生态文明建设的有益尝试。     

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地沙尘气溶胶质量浓度的观测研究

对塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地塔中地区进行了长达6a的试验观测研究,获得了该地区沙尘气溶胶的基本特征:塔中地区浮尘、扬沙出现日数呈上升趋势,而沙尘暴日数呈下降趋势,沙尘天气出现的频率和强度是影响沙漠地区沙尘气溶胶浓度的主要因素.可吸入颗粒物(PM10)月平均质量浓度峰值区分布在春夏两个季节,3~5月是主峰值区域,7~8月是次峰值区,春季PM10平均浓度在1000mg/m3左右变化,夏季在400~900mg/m3之间,秋冬两季浓度较低基本上在200~400mg/m3之间变化.每年的3~9月是总悬浮颗粒物(TSP)质量浓度较高的月份,4~5月是主峰值区,7~8月为次峰值区;2005年TSP质量浓度最低,年平均值为1105.0mg/m3,2009年略高于2008年,年平均浓度为1878.0 mg/m3,2008年5月TSP平均质量浓度是全年最高值,浓度值达到7415.0mg/m3.沙尘天气过程中大气颗粒物浓度变化具有以下规律:晴天<浮尘天气<浮尘、扬沙天气<沙尘暴天气．风速大小直接影响大气中颗粒物浓度,风速越大颗粒物浓度越高.气温、相对湿度和气压是影响沙尘暴强度的重要因素,也间接影响大气中颗粒物浓度的变化.     

敦煌市鸣沙山月牙泉自然遗产保全的研究

鸣沙山月牙泉自然遗产是世界上罕见的奇特沙漠景观。随着当地旅游业的发展和地下水的不合理开采利用,使月牙泉呈现干涸的趋势,鸣沙山的生态景观受到严重破坏。为了保全这一自然遗产,通过实地考察和数据资料的比较分析研究,提出4个方面的措施:第一,合理开发利用祁连山雪山融水、“引哈济党”,解决区域的用水水源问题;第二,狭管效应、生物降解被(BiodegradableScreen)护岸、生态理念,改善月牙泉形成的地理环境;第三,建立绿色植被隔离带;第四,建立国家级沙漠公园。