Re-interpreting the biochronology of the La Celia and Los Gargantones mammal sites (Late Miocene,Murcia, Spain)

The biochronological age of the small-mammal populations of Los Gargantones 1, 2 and La Celia (upper Miocene, La Celia sub-basin, Murcia, Spain) is re-interpreted. The presence in Los Gargantones of Occitanomys adroveri, Parapodemus barbarae, Parapodemus cf. gaudryi, Huerzelerimys turoliensis, Atlantoxerus cf. adroveri, and Alilepus evidences a correlation to MN12 (∼7.5–7 Ma) rather than to MN11 (∼9–7.5 Ma), as inferred previously. The assemblage corresponds to that of the more eastern, near-coast sites of Crevillente 8 and 15, situated in the Alicante area. The stratigraphically highest site of La Celia contains Hispanomys adroveri, a species also indicative of MN12. The presence of Castromys cf. littoralis together with an advanced O. adroveri points to a slightly younger age than that of Los Gargantones, approaching that of MN13 sites. The assemblage best matches that of Crevillente 17. Other species described in this paper are Prolagus crusafonti, Prolagus sp., Parasorex cf. ibericus, Panelimnoecus cf. repenningi, and Blarinella aut Petenyia sp. indet.     

黄土高原紫草科植物

报道了黄土高原紫草科植物23属51种7变种的名称,分布,生境和用途。     

黄土高原土壤水分-有机碳-微生物耦合作用研究进展

黄土高原植被恢复后土壤水分、有机碳和微生物群落发生了非同步性演变。土壤微生物是各种生命活动的载体,在土壤水-碳耦合过程中参与了一系列的氧化与还原反应,因此,土壤微生物在水-碳耦合关键过程中起着重要的调节作用,三者存在着密切的耦合关系。尽管关于植被恢复后土壤水分和有机碳变化的研究已开展较多,但是由于土壤微生物活动和群落结构复杂性和易变性,这给土壤微生物介导的水-碳耦合研究带来了相当大的困难。迄今为止,黄土高原植被恢复后土壤水、碳、微生物三者之间的耦合关系缺乏总体性的融合,大多数研究只能假设各个生物化学过程是相对独立的,对土壤水、碳、微生物耦合的认知仍存在局限性。由此,首先对黄土高原植被恢复进程、土壤水分过程和有机碳变化分别进行了综述,结合已有的理论和证据进一步概括了黄土高原土壤有机碳、微生物群落对降水格局的响应。最后整合植被、土壤和微生物界面等关键生态过程,总结了黄土高原土壤水-碳-微生物耦合界面过程,采用HYDRUS-2D模型(水文过程模型)和ORCHIDEE模型(生态系统碳模型),并融入土壤微生物种群生长动态,基于稳定碳、水同位素技术和DNA探针技术,初步构建了黄土高原土壤水-碳-微...     

Political ecology and environmental management in the Loess Plateau,China

This paper explores the changing political ecology of soil and water management—the articulation of physical and political-economic processes—in the Loess Plateau of north-central China. Market-oriented reforms and the shift from collective to household farming have created a diverse array of tenure, management, and financing arrangements. In the process relationships between farm households, the collective, and the state have been altered, with profound implications for land use and sustainability. The paper reviews the political ecology approach and its relevance to environmental management in China. An outline of the physical and economic context of soil erosion in the Loess Plateau is followed by examination of the impact of reform on rural environmental management. Local innovations in the organization of environmental management are highlighted. The conclusion comments on the utility of the regional political ecology approach and suggests some critical issues for further research.     

黄土高原典型草原地上生物量估测模型

为了寻求有效的草地地上生物量估测方法和精确估测黄土高原典型草原草原地上生物量。于2014年8月中旬,在黄土高原典型草原草原地上生物量达到最大值,分别从单株水平和种群水平进行野外调查。以株高(H)和盖度(C)的复合因子(C×H)为自变量,通过回归分析,建立地上生物量估测模型,采用留一法对其精确性进行评估;并通过校正系数以及群落总生物量估测值和实测值比较单株水平和种群水平所建模型的精确性。结果表明:黄土高原典型草原草地,无论在单株水平还是种群水平,线性和幂函数对该区域生物量的拟合效果更好。估测模型检验结果表明,在单株水平各个物种的生物量估测值与实测值相关性较好,均达到了显著水平(P0.05),其r值均大于0.6,总相对误差RS均小于10%,平均相对误差绝对值RMA(average absolute value of relative error)均小于30%,总生物量的实测值与估测值比较接近,校正系数均接近1;而在种群水平上,虽然各物种的生物量估测值与实测值相关性均达到了显著水平(P0.05),但多数物种平均相对误差绝对值RMA大于30%,总相对误差RS(total relative error)均大于10%,总生物量的估测值均大于实测值,校正系数均偏离了1,说明在黄土高原典型草原通过单株水平建立的物种生物量估测模型的精度优于种群水平建立的物种生物量估测模型的精度。     

黄土高原多年生草本根部年轮特征

多年生草本年轮资料是反映草本物种生长状态的重要指标,已被应用于草本物种年际生长动态特征、生活史策略及气候响应敏感性研究当中,然而这方面研究在黄土高原还未引起足够的重视。在黄土高原不同地点采集了16种多年生草本物种的根部年轮样品,通过根部解剖结构识别年轮结构,并分析了这些物种的年轮宽度和导管大小随年龄的变化趋势特征。研究结果表明调查样品中共有14个草本物种(87.5%)具有清晰可识别的年轮结构,平均年龄为7年左右;草本年轮宽度随年龄均有不断减小的趋势,这主要是由于随年龄不断增强的水分胁迫导致的。自然草本物种导管直径(导水能力)随年龄有不断变大的趋势,生长具有可持续性;人工草本物种导水能力随年龄有不断减弱趋势,生长趋于衰退;而分布于黄土高原北缘至半荒漠地区的二色补血草导水能力则随年龄有先上升后下降的趋势,表现出输水效率和安全的权衡策略。本研究阐述了黄土高原多年生草本的年轮学价值和对胁迫生境条件下的生活史策略,能为黄土高原草地植被的生态恢复提供科学依据。     

Neogene biochronology of Antarctic diatoms: A comparison between two quantitative approaches,CONOP and UAgraph

A quantitative biochronological study by Cody et al. (2008) integrates comprehensive diatom biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and tephrostratigraphy from 32 Neogene sections around the Southern Ocean and Antarctic continental margin. A recent method, known as Constrained Optimization (CONOP), which can be viewed as a multidimensional version of graphic correlation, is applied to that very interesting database.The goal of the present paper is to discuss some theoretical aspects of quantitative biochronology and to compare the constrained optimization with the deterministic method called Unitary Associations (UAM), a graph theoretical model. We illustrate the fact that the UAM is an extremely powerful and unique theory allowing an in-depth analysis of the internal conflicting inter-taxon stratigraphic relationships, inherent to any complex biostratigraphical database.     

Evapotranspiration over the Grassland Field in the Liudaogou Basin of the Loess Plateau,China

Severe desertification on the Loess Plateau of China since the 17th century as a result of improper land use has caused critical soil erosion and water shortages in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. To prevent further soil erosion, it is very important to cover the bare land surface with natural vegetation. Evapotranspiration (ET) over the grassland (Stipa bungeana) in Shenmu County of the Loess Plateau during the growing season is estimated to be about 1 mm day^–1, and the ratio of ET to reference Evapotranspiration (ET/ET₀) is below 0.3. Evaporation from the bare soil surface simulated by a three-layer soil model is less than ET; that is, ET is 1.5 times greater than evaporation from the soil surface during the growing season.This study examines the relationships among the surface resistance r_s in the Penman–Monteith equation, solar radiation, vapor-pressure deficit, temperature, wind speed, and soil water content. Surface resistance (r_s) is strongly affected by the vapor-pressure deficit and soil water content.     

Comparative analysis of annual rings of perennial forbs in the Loess Plateau,China

Although recent studies have demonstrated that annual growth rings are present among perennial forbs species at high northern latitudes, little is known about whether there are demarcated growth rings of perennial forbs in the Loess Plateau of China where plant growth is strongly limited by dry climate conditions and severe soil erosion. In this study, we collected the main roots of 11 perennial forbs species along the precipitation gradient in the Loess Plateau, and analyzed the growth rings in the secondary root xylem. We found that ten species showed distinct annual growth rings, and the anatomical patterns, including vessel size and density, varied considerably among different families. Our results suggest, for forbs species in the Loess Plateau, that vessel diameter in the root xylem was strongly correlated with growth rate of the forb’s roots. Ring widths of the forbs showed a significant declining trend, reflecting the deteriorating signal of growth condition with age. In comparison to other families, forb species of Fabaceae usually have the evidently larger vessels that link directly to higher hydraulic capacity and growth rate. In terms of annual ring width patterns, this study provides an applicable approach to detecting effects of limited climatic conditions and life history strategies on herbaceous vegetation in the Loess Plateau.     

植被建设对黄土高原土壤水分的影响

为明确自退耕还林以来,黄土高原地区不同植被建设对土壤水分的影响。以Web of Science核心合集中黄土高原土壤水分研究的相关文献为对象,通过CiteSpace生成文献中的关键词并绘制关键词聚类图谱,分析植被建设对黄土高原水分的研究热点及前沿;同时以植被建设对黄土高原土壤水分影响的文献为基础,通过Meta分析量化了不同条件下(海拔,降雨、坡度等)植被建设对黄土高原土壤水分的影响程度。分析Web of Science核心合集中黄土高原土壤水分相关文献共232篇,结果显示近20 a黄土高原土壤水分研究主要包括4个方面的内容:(1)植被建设引起的土壤水分下降问题,(2)土壤水分时空变异特征,(3)土壤水分时空变异的影响因素,(4)遥感和水文模型模拟土壤水分四个方面。同时使用Meta分析了已发表的黄土高原植被建设对土壤水分影响文章103篇,结果表明:黄土高原植被建设大量消耗该区域土壤水分,乔木、灌木及草本植物对土壤水分的结合效应值(ES)依次为-1.893、-1.661、-1.239。植被建设对土壤水分的影响程度随年均降雨量的增大而减小,不同降雨区间的ES值为-0.864(≥500 mm)、-1.423(400-500 mm)、-1.534(<400 mm);在不同海拔区间,植被建设对土壤水分的消耗程度随海拔高度的增加而增加;在3个坡度范围,植被建设对土壤水分消耗程度以<15°最大,>25°次之,15-25°最小。总体而言,植被建设对土壤水分的消耗随着生长年限的增长而加剧,而灌木植被中柠条出现差异,其不同生长年限的效应值为-1.983(>30 a),-1.642(<20 a),-1.107(20-30 a)。由于黄土高原处于干旱与半干旱地区,大面积植被恢复加剧土壤水分消耗,影响到植被生长及其功能的可持续性。因此,应选择适宜植被并给予适当管理(修枝、稀植等措施)以提高土壤水分利用效率,使该地区土壤水分状况得到改善。     

黄土高原不同人工林叶片-凋落叶-土壤生态化学计量特征

为探究“退耕还林(牧)”工程对陕西省子午岭林区的影响,分析3种典型的人工林(刺槐林、油松林和侧柏林)叶片-凋落叶-土壤的C、N、P含量及其生态化学计量特征.结果表明: 3种人工林不同组分中C、N、P含量大小均为叶片>凋落叶>土壤,刺槐林叶片N、P含量显著高于油松林和侧柏林.刺槐林、油松林和侧柏林叶片N∶P分别为12.2、5.4和6.1,油松和侧柏较刺槐林存在N亏损,C∶N和C∶P大小均为凋落叶>叶片>土壤,N∶P为叶片>凋落叶>土壤.油松林叶片C∶N与凋落叶C∶N间存在显著正相关关系.刺槐叶片在生长周期内吸收利用的N和P存在比例关系,且其凋落叶在元素再吸收后N和P的残留量也存在比例关系.与油松和侧柏相比,刺槐是黄土高原南部森林带最适宜的造林树种.     

Environmental driving factors affecting plant biomass in natural grassland in the Loess Plateau,China

Plant biomass is a key parameter for estimating terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) stocks, which varies greatly as a result of specific environmental conditions. Here, we tested environmental driving factors affecting plant biomass in natural grassland in the Loess Plateau, China. We found that above-ground biomass (AGB) and below-ground biomass (BGB) had a similar change trend in the order of Stipa bungeana > Leymus secalinus > Artemisia sacrorum > Artemisia scoparia, whereas shoot ratio (R/S) displayed an opposite change trend. There was a significantly positive linear relationship between the AGB and BGB, regardless of plant species (p < 0.05). Furthermore, more than 50% of the AGB were found in 20–50 cm of plant height in Compositae plants (A. sacrorum, A. scoparia), whereas over 60% of the AGB were found in 20–80 cm of plant height in Gramineae plants (S. bungeana, L. secalinus). For each plant species, more than 75% of the BGB was distributed in 0–10 cm soil depth, and 20% was distributed in 10–20 cm soil depth, while less than 5% was distributed in 20–40 cm soil depth. Further, AGB and BGB were highly affected by environmental driving factors (soil properties, plant traits, topographic properties), which were identified by the structural equation model (SEM) and the generalized additive models (GAMs). In addition, AGB was directly affected by plant traits, and BGB was directly affected by soil properties, and soil properties associated with plant traits that affected AGB and BGB through interactive effects were 9.12% and 3.59%, respectively. However, topographic properties had a weak influence on ABG and BGB (as revealed by the lowest total pathway effect). Besides, soil organic carbon (SOC), soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and plant height had a higher relative contribution to AGB and BGB. Our results indicate that environmental driving factors affect plant biomass in natural grassland in the Loess Plateau.     

黄土高原-青藏高原过渡带农户生产系统的碳平衡

黄土高原-青藏高原过渡带是我国农业生产方式变化最剧烈、碳平衡效应最敏感的区域之一.本文分析了海拔梯度上通渭-渭源-夏河样带农业系统的碳平衡.结果表明: 随海拔增加,单位面积作物的碳排放、碳固定和碳汇能力逐渐降低,户均家畜碳排放与碳固定、碳源能力递增,综合生产系统由碳汇渐变为碳源,户均碳排放上升,碳固定变化趋势与之相反.黄土高原-青藏高原过渡带的农户占比随碳平衡的变化可用Logistic方程拟合,随海拔升高,在通渭、渭源与夏河3个区域农户占比50.0%拐点处,作物系统的碳排放和碳固定分别为1491、857、376 kg CE·household^-1和6187、3872、778 kg CE·household^-1,家畜系统碳排放和碳固定分别为2218、3725、49511 kg CE·household^-1和138、230、2706 kg CE·household^-1,综合系统碳排放和碳固定分别为3615、4583、49918 kg CE·household^-1和6289、4113、3819 kg CE·household^-1,这些是区域碳平衡调控的关键点.     

2010年来黄土高原景观生态研究进展

严重的水土流失以及不合理的土地利用加剧了黄土高原土地资源的退化,导致该地区生态环境脆弱、生态系统服务不断下降。针对黄土高原地区存在的问题,我国学者基于景观生态学原理和方法,围绕"景观格局演变-驱动机制-水土流失过程-生态系统服务"的框架开展了大量研究,取得了一系列研究成果。通过梳理和总结2010年以来黄土高原地区景观生态学研究的现状和特点,指出了目前研究中存在的问题和不足,突出表现在区域比较研究、景观格局与生态过程耦合研究、生态服务权衡方法和模型构建等方面比较缺乏。建议未来黄土高原的景观生态学研究应加强区域尺度上的综合研究和不同地区之间的比较研究,深化景观格局演变的形成机理;进一步开展景观格局与过程的定量识别方法学研究,开发格局-过程耦合模型;加强生态系统过程与服务研究,同时开展相应的实证性研究,研发适宜的生态服务权衡模型,进而深入探讨区域生态系统服务的权衡机制。     

Relationships between vegetation and climate on the Loess Plateau in China

The Loess Plateau is one of the most environmentally sensitive regions in China. This study addresses the relationships between vegetation and climate of this area quantitatively at a large-scale, in order to determine the factors that control vegetation distribution. The Loess Plateau, located at 101°01′–155°10′ E and 34°02′–40°40′ N, covers an area of 52 million hectares. Vegetation data were collected from the vegetation map (1:500,000) and the Landsat Thematic Mapper scenes of the Loess Plateau. The Loess Plateau was divided into small districts of 30′ latitude by 30′ longitude on the vegetation map. In each district, areas with different vegetation were measured and used as vegetation data. The climatic data were average values of county meteorological records in each district in the past 25 years. GIS, TWINSPAN and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were employed for analysis. 257 small districts were clustered into 7 groups using TWINSPAN, representing 7 vegetation regions or subregions. The first three CCA axes had significant correlations with climate. The first CCA axis represented the variation of vegetation and climate along the latitude gradient, while the second CCA axis the variation along the longitude gradient. The distribution pattern of 171 vegetation formations on the CCA plot is identical to that of vegetation regions (districts). The spatial distribution of vegetation is closely related to climate variables on the Loess Plateau. Water variables and temperature are important in both latitude and longitude gradients, while the sunshine hours, accumulated temperature and wind speed are more important than water variables and temperature in longitude gradients.     

Analysis of Precipitation Characteristics during 1957-2012 in the Semi-Arid Loess Plateau,China

Precipitation is the only water supply and most important factor affecting vegetation growth on the slopes of semi-arid Loess Plateau of China. Based on precipitation data from 7 synoptic stations in the study area over the period 1957–2012, the trends of precipitation and standardized precipitation index (SPI) were analyzed by using linear regression, Mann−Kendall, and Spearman’s Rho tests at the 5% significance level. The results show that (1) the precipitation fluctuation of monthly precipitation was intense (coefficients of variation> 100%), and the drier years were recorded as 1965 and 1995 at all stations. (2) The significant change trend of different stations varied on different time scales: the Changwu station had a significant decreasing trend in April (−0.488 mm/year) and November (−0.249 mm/year), while Luochuan station was in April (−0.457 mm/year); Changwu station displayed a significant increasing trends in winter (0.220 mm/year) and a significant decreasing trends in spring (−0.770 mm/year). The significant decreasing trends in annual precipitation were detected at the Suide (−2.034 mm/year) and Yan’an (–2.129 mm/year) stations. (3) The SPI−12 series analysis suggests that the drought degree of Yulin and Changwu was the lowest and that of Hengshan was the highest among the 7 synoptic stations.     

Multivariate control of root biomass in a semi-arid grassland on the Loess Plateau,China

Aim

Root biomass has long been under-represented in biodiversity–ecosystem functioning studies, despite its dominance in biomass in many arid and semi-arid ecosystems. We aimed to explore the multivariate control over root biomass by plant diversity, together with other biotic and abiotic factors and to evaluate the relative importance of these factors.

Methods

Above- and below-ground traits of 13 communities and soil properties were measured in semi-arid grasslands on the Loess Plateau, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the relative importance of the community and soil characteristics, emphasizing the direct and indirect effects of plant diversity on root biomass.

Results

Significant indirect effects of plant species richness on root biomass were found, although no direct correlation was detected between them. In the indirect pathways, plant species richness showed a positive effect on soil total nitrogen, but a significant negative influence on soil total carbon. Soil total nitrogen and plant diversity had the largest and smallest total effect respectively on root biomass in the model.

Conclusions

Plant species richness was not the strongest determinant of root biomass but had a significant indirect effect, mediated through soil total carbon and nitrogen. This study suggests that greater plant species richness, through a positive influence on soil total nitrogen, may indirectly promote root carbon stock.     

A comparison of soil qualities of different revegetation types in the Loess Plateau, China

Serious soil erosion has resulted in widespread land degradation in the Loess Plateau of China. In the past two decades, great efforts have been made to restore degraded soil such as reconverting croplands into forestlands or grasslands. A comparison of soil qualities of different revegetation types has important implications in soil reclamation. Our study investigated the effect of different revegetation types on the physicochemical and microbial soil properties in the Loess Plateau, with the aim of determining which revegetation type has the best capacity for soil recovery. The vegetation types included two shrublands (Caragana korshinskii and Hippophae rhamnoides), two grasslands (Astragalus adsurgens and Panicum virgatum), and two species from croplands that were abandoned for natural recovery (Artemisia capillaries and Heteropappus altaicus). Among the plants studied, H. altaicus and A. capillaries had the highest values of soil organic C, total N, total P, available N, available P, moisture content, microbial biomass C (MBC), substrate-induced respiration, saccharase, urease, catalase, and peroxidase. Soil sampled from the A. adsurgens plot had the highest bulk density and microbial biomass N, and soil from the H. rhamnoides plot had the highest metabolic quotient (basal respiration/MBC). The soil quality index, which was obtained based on the available N, metabolic quotient, MBC, urease, polyphenol oxidase, and bulk density, shows that the abandoned cropland for natural recovery had the highest soil quality, followed by grassland, and then shrubland. Vegetation types affect the physicochemical and microbial properties of soils in arid climatic conditions. Abandoned cropland for natural recovery has the best capacity for improving soil quality in the Loess Plateau among all studied revegetation types. Our study suggests that in the Loess Plateau, natural recovery is the best choice for soil revegetation of sloping croplands.     

黄土高原草地净初级生产力时空动态及其影响因素

利用光能利用效率模型(Carnegie-Ames-Stanford approach,CASA)模拟2000-2015年黄土高原草地净初级生产力(NPP),分析黄土高原草地NPP的时空动态、NPP变化稳定性和持续性特征,从植被类型、地形因素、气候变化和人类活动4个方面探讨黄土高原草地NPP的影响因素.结果表明:黄土高原草地NPP的平均值为202.93 g C·m^-2·a^-1,其年际变化特征呈现显著增加的趋势,平均年增加速率为2.43 g C·m^-2·a^-1;分布具有明显的空间异质性,大体呈南高北低的状态.黄土高原草地NPP呈增加趋势的区域占总草地面积的91.2%,主要分布在陕西省的大部分地区、甘肃陇东及陇中地区和青海等地.草地NPP变化较为稳定的区域主要集中在鄂尔多斯的南部地区、陕北地区和甘肃等地.大部分地区草地NPP未来的变化趋势与过去一致,且陕西省的大部分地区以及甘肃省的陇中及陇东地区的草地NPP将呈现持续显著增加的趋势.坡面草地的平均NPP值最高,为703.37 g C·m^-2·a^-1;而高山亚高山草地NPP平均值最低,为57.28 g C·m^-2·a^-1.高海拔地区的草地NPP较高,而平原及丘陵地带草地NPP相对较低.研究期间黄土高原降水量的增加对草地NPP的增加具有明显的促进作用;人类活动诸如过度放牧状况的改善以及退耕还草等政策的实施对黄土高原草地NPP的增加也具有重要作用.