Ecological responses to variation in seasonal snow cover

Seasonal snow is among the most important factors governing the ecology of many terrestrial ecosystems, but rising global temperatures are changing snow regimes and driving widespread declines in the depth and duration of snow cover. Loss of the insulating snow layer will fundamentally change the environment. Understanding how individuals, populations, and communities respond to different snow conditions is thus essential for predicting and managing future ecosystem change. We synthesized 365 studies that examined ecological responses to variation in winter snow conditions. This research encompasses a broad range of methods (experimental manipulations, measurement of natural snow gradients, and long-term monitoring), locations (35 countries), study organisms (plants, mammals, arthropods, birds, fish, lichen, and fungi), and response measures. Earlier snowmelt was consistently associated with advanced spring phenology in plants, mammals, and arthropods. Reduced snow depth often increased mortality or physical injury in plants, although there were few clear effects on animals. Neither snow depth nor snowmelt timing had clear or consistent directional effects on body size of animals or biomass of plants. However, because 96% of studies were from the northern hemisphere, the generality of these trends across ecosystems and localities is also unclear. We identified substantial research gaps for several taxonomic groups and response types; research on wintertime responses was notably scarce. Future research should prioritize examination of the mechanisms underlying responses to changing snow conditions and the consequences of those responses for seasonally snow-covered ecosystems.     

下蜀黄土参数化粒度端元分析及其物源示踪

下蜀黄土的物源问题对于理解亚热带东亚季风区干旱化过程至关重要.目前采用的物源示踪方法存在一定的局限性,对下蜀黄土物源的认识也存在争议.粒度端元分析可定量分解出沉积物中不同动力过程和来源的粒度组分,具有解析风尘沉积物源的较好潜力.本文应用参数化粒度端元分析方法,对镇江大港和九江马垱两个下蜀黄土剖面的物源组分进行了研究.结...     

人类活动对轨道尺度全球季风区降水影响的模拟研究【封面文章】

目前，人类活动导致的温室气体增加是全球气候变化的主要驱动因素之一，但其在轨道尺度上对未来气候影响的研究却很少。利用海-陆-气耦合模式，对早全新世（距今10 ka前）、现代和未来10 ka后的气候进行了一系列敏感性数值试验，主要探讨了在轨道尺度上自然强迫和人为温室气体对全球季风区气候变化的可能影响。模拟结果表明：在自然强迫驱动下，未来10 ka后的地球气候与早全新世类似，北半球的地表温度和降水将高于工业革命前的水平，而南半球则相反。在人类活动驱动下，未来10 ka后全球地表温度将显著增加，除北美季风区外，所有季风区雨季的降水都将增加。受人类活动的影响，与工业革命前相比，极端降水和大气有效降水也将增加。在自然强迫下，雨季大气有效降水的增加主要是由于动力作用引起的大气环流增强，而人类活动引起的现代和未来10 ka后大气有效降水的增加主要是由于热力作用引起的大气水汽增加所致。