Wind Characteristics of Mesquite Streets in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA

Past research has shown that the most important areas for active sand movement in the northern part of the Chihuahuan Desert are mesquite-dominated desert ecosystems possessing sandy soil texture. The most active sand movement in the mesquite-dominated ecosystems has been shown to take place on elongated bare soil patches referred to as “streets”. Aerodynamic properties of mesquite streets eroded by wind should be included in explaining how mesquite streets are more emissive sand sources than surrounding desert land. To understand the effects of wind properties, we measured them at two flat mesquite sites having highly similar soil textures but very different configurations of mesquite. The differences in wind properties at the two sites were caused by differences of size, orientation, and porosity of the mesquite, along with the presence of mesquite coppice dunes (sand dunes stabilized by mesquites growing in the dune and on its surface) found only at one of the two sites. Wind direction, u_* (friction velocity), z₀ (aerodynamic roughness height) and D (zero plane displacement height) were estimated for 15-m tower and 3-m mast data. These aerodynamic data allowed us to distinguish five categories with differing potentials for sediment transport. Sediment transport for the five categories varied from unrestricted, free transport to virtually no transport caused by vegetation protection from wind forces. In addition, “steering” of winds below the level of the tops of mesquite bushes and coppice dunes allowed longer parallel wind durations and increased wind erosion for streets that aligned roughly SW–NE. U.S. Government right to retain a non-exclusive royalty-free licence in and to any copyright is acknowledged.     

宁夏东北部典型荒漠草原植物群落与土壤养分特征

以宁夏东北部荒漠草原为研究区,采用野外样方调查、采样和室内植物鉴定、土壤样品测定等方法,探析研究区内植物群落物种组成与土壤养分特征,以及植物多样性指数与土壤养分的相关关系,以期为中国荒漠治理、生物资源保护与可持续性利用提供依据。结果显示:(1)研究区植物共86种,隶属61属21科,其中禾本科(18种)、豆科(16种)、菊科(13种)和藜科(11种)植物占总物种数的67.44%;(2)研究区土壤总体上呈碱性,pH值平均为8.81,全氮、全磷、有机质的质量分数(0-10 cm土层)分别为0.07-0.54、0.16-0.51、0.51-6.24 g·kg^-1;(3)研究区植物多样性指数中的Margalef丰富度指数和Shannon-Wiener多样性指数与土壤pH值呈显著负相关,与其他土壤养分的相关关系未达到显著水平,其他植物多样性指数与土壤养分的关系均未达到显著水平。研究表明,宁夏东北部荒漠草原植物种类少,禾本科、豆科植物优势明显,土壤养分条件差,土壤全氮、全磷、有机质对植物多样性指数的影响不大。     

Effects of Human Trampling on Populations of Soil Fauna in the McMurdo Dry Valleys,Antarctica

Abstract: Antarctic ecosystems are often considered nearly pristine because levels of anthropogenic disturbance are extremely low there. Nevertheless, over recent decades there has been a rapid increase in the number of people, researchers and tourists, visiting Antarctica. We evaluated, over 10 years, the direct impact of foot traffic on the abundance of soil animals and soil properties in Taylor Valley within the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. We compared soils from minimally disturbed areas with soils from nearby paths that received intermediate and high levels of human foot traffic (i.e., up to approximately 80 passes per year). The nematodes Scottnema lindsayae and Eudorylaimus sp. were the most commonly found animal species, whereas rotifers and tardigrades were found only occasionally. On the highly trampled footpaths, abundance of S. lindsayae and Eudorylaimus sp. was up to 52 and 76% lower, respectively, than in untrampled areas. Moreover, reduction in S. lindsayae abundance was more pronounced after 10 years than 2 years and in the surface soil than in the deeper soil, presumably because of the longer period of disturbance and the greater level of physical disturbance experienced by the surface soil. The ratio of living to dead Eudorylaimus sp. also declined with increased trampling intensity, which is indicative of increased mortality or reduced fecundity. At one site there was evidence that high levels of trampling reduced soil CO₂ fluxes, which is related to total biological activity in the soil. Our results show that even low levels of human traffic can significantly affect soil biota in this ecosystem and may alter ecosystem processes, such as carbon cycling. Consequently, management and conservation plans for Antarctic soils should consider the high sensitivity of soil fauna to physical disturbance as human presence in this ecosystem increases.     

Applying Satellite Imagery to Triage Assessment of Ecosystem Health

Considerable evidence documents that certain changes in vegetation and soils result in irreversibly degraded rangeland ecosystems. We used Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery to develop calibration patterns of change in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) over the growing season for selected sites for which we had ground data and historical data characterizing these sites as irreversibly degraded. We used the NDVI curves for these training sites to classify and map the irreversibly degraded rangelands in southern New Mexico. We composited images into four year blocks: 1988–1991, 1989–1992, and 1990–1993. The overlap in pixels classified as irreversibly degraded ranged from 42.6% to 84.3% in year block comparisons. Quantitative data on vegetation composition and cover were collected at 13 sites within a small portion of the study area. Wide coverage reconnaissance of boundaries between vegetation types was also conducted for comparisons with year block maps. The year block 1988–1991 provided the most accurate delineation of degraded areas. The rangelands of southern New Mexico experienced above average precipitation from 1990–1993. The above average precipitation resulted in spatially variable productivity of ephemeral weedy plants on the training sites and degraded rangelands which resulted in much smaller areas classified as irreversibly degraded. We selected imagery for a single year, 1989, which was characterized by the absence of spring annual plant production in order to eliminate the confounding effect of reflectance from annual weeds. That image analysis classified more than 20% of the rangelands as irreversibly degraded because areas with shrub-grass mosaic were included in the degraded classification. The single year image included more than double the area classified as irreversibly degraded by the year blocks. AVHRR imagery can be used to make triage assessments of irreversibly degraded rangeland but such assessment requires understanding productivity patterns and variability across the landscapes of the region and careful selection of the years from which imagery is chosen.     

An integrated ecosystem service assessment in an artificial desert oasis of northwestern China

Spatially explicit integrated assessment of ecosystem services is a new and important research field in landscape ecology. The objective of this paper was to develop an integrated process-based modeling method to simulate changes in multiple ecosystem services in 2000–2009 at pixel and regional scales in the Zhangye oasis of northwestern China. Six ecosystem service indicators were selected and quantified using process-based models, including net primary production (NPP), grain production, net oxygen production (NOP), carbon sequestration (CS), water conservation, and soil conservation. Analytical results were as follows: (1) At the oasis scale, NPP, NOP, CS, water conservation, and soil conservation decreased from 2000 to 2009, whereas grain production increased. (2) At the pixel scale, the spatial changes in NPP were similar to those in NOP and CS, but changes in grain production showed the opposite pattern. Water conservation and soil conservation showed somewhat unintuitive spatial patterns. (3) The impact of land-use forms on ecosystem services showed that grazing and township construction both had negative impacts on all services, but that nature conservation and wetland development had positive impacts on all services. This research showed that the integrated modeling can be proposed as an environmental decision-making tool in similar case studies.     

青藏高原的隆起对中国沙漠与沙漠化时空格局的影响

本文指出,中国沙漠与沙漠化分布呈“V”型格局,而青藏高原的隆起对中国沙漠与沙漠化格局的形成具有决定性的作用。青藏高原的隆起为中国沙漠与沙漠化的形成创造了丰富的沙地基质,促进了我国东南季风的形成及其他相应的气候变化,气候的变化直接的影响了我国地质时期沙漠的形成,并且通过影响我国北方早期人类活动的集聚格局间接影响了我国历史时期沙漠化的发展。     

荒漠生态环境监测指标体系初探

讨论了建立荒漠生态环境监测指标体系应遵循的五个原则,并提出初步的荒漠生态环境监测指标体系,将指标体系分为三个部分:(1)荒漠环境指标;(2)荒漠生物指标;(3)社会经济指标.     

水氮控制对荒漠草原中小型土壤动物的影响

为了解模拟氮沉降和降雨变化对短花针茅荒漠草原中小型土壤动物的影响,本试验设计主区为自然降雨（CK）、增雨30%（W）和减雨30%（R）3个水分处理,副区为0（N0）,30（N30）,50（N50）和100（N100） kg/（hm²·a）4个氮素处理共12个处理.研究表明：在相同的水分处理中随着氮浓度的不断增高,表层土壤中中小型土壤动物的个体密度呈先上升后下降趋势.W-N30处理下中小型土壤动物个体密度高于其他处理（P<0.05）,类群数随着氮浓度升高呈下降趋势,减雨与过量施氮对表层土壤中中小型土壤动物个体密度具有抑制作用.短花针茅荒漠草原中小型土壤动物在土层中具有明显的表聚特性.另外,冗余分析（RDA）表明,研究区内中小型土壤动物的优势类群与常见类群受环境因子影响较显著,土壤pH值、温度、含水量、有机质和植物全C、全N、C/N对中小型土壤动物个体密度影响均较大,但短期内对类群数的影响不显著.当短花针茅荒漠草原面临全球变化时,随着氮沉降量逐渐增加,表层土壤中中小型土壤动物个体密度先逐渐增加,当达到不同水分条件下氮浓度阈值时,则对表层土壤中中小型土壤动物产生抑制作用.     

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.     

西南生态脆弱带土地资源可持续利用探讨--以贵州省为例

在介绍西南生态脆弱带现状的基础上，深入分析了贵州省生态环境和土地利用存在的问题及根源，有针对性地提出了实现该生态脆弱带土地资源可持续利用以改善生态环境的对策建议。