Black Carbon (BC), as a driver of environmental change, could significantly impact the snow by accelerating melting and decreasing albedo. Systematic documentation of BC studies is crucial for a better understanding of its spatial and temporal trends. This study reviewed the BC studies in the ice core and remote lake sediments and their sources in the northern hemisphere. The literature surveyed points to around 2.9 to 3.7 times increase of BC in the European Alps and up to a three-fold increase of BC in the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau (HTP) after the onset of industrialization in Europe and Asia, respectively. BC concentration from Greenland ice core showed seven times increase with an interrupted trend after 1950's. South Asian emissions were dominant in the HTP along with a contribution from the Middle East, whereas Western European and local emissions were responsible for the change in BC concentration in the European Alps. In the Arctic, contributions from North America, Europe and Asia persisted. Similarly, a historical reconstruction of lake sediments records demonstrates the effects of emissions from long-range transport, sediment focusing, local anthropogenic activities, precipitation and total input of flux on the BC concentration.

As a linkage between plants and soil, litter decomposition and its effect on nutrient recirculation have an important ecological significance as they contribute to soil structure improvement and the restoration of degraded ecosystems. Fragile ecosystems in arid regions (both hot and cold) are depleted in soil organic matter, and as a result of various factors their circulation of material and energy is slower. Here we discuss how litter decomposition is necessary to maintain the stability of fragile ecosystems. We reviewed research on litter decomposition carried out in arid regions. Our objective in this review is to outline how litter decomposition, and the subsequent buildup of organic matter in soil, is a key process determining the stability of fragile ecosystems. Our review shows that existing studies have focused on the influence of single ecological factors on litter decomposition and nutrient cycling, and highlights how the exploration of interactions among factors determining litter decomposition is still lacking. This interaction is a key aspect, since in the real world, decomposition and nutrient return to soil of litter products is affected by multiple factors. We propose a network setup on a cross-regional scale using standardized methods (e.g., the tea bag method) to understand litter decomposition and nutrient return in fragile ecosystems. Such a unique network could contribute to establish predictive models suitable for litter decomposition and nutrient return in these areas, and thus could provide theoretical and practical support for regional ecological protection and high-quality development.

Land surface actual evapotranspiration is an important process that influences the Earth's energy and water cycles and determines the water and heat transfer in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system. Meanwhile, the cryosphere's hydrological process is receiving extensive attention, and its water problem needs to be understood from multiple perspectives. As the main part of the Chinese cryosphere, the Tibetan Plateau faces significant climate and environmental change. There are active interaction and pronounced feedback between the environment and ET_a in the cryosphere. This article mainly focuses on the research progress of ET_a in the Tibetan Plateau. It first reviews the ET_a process, characteristics, and impact factors of typical underlying surfaces in the Tibetan Plateau (alpine meadows, alpine steppes, alpine wetlands, alpine forests, lakes). Then it compares the temporal and spatial variations of ET_a at different scales. In addition, considering the current greening of cryosphere vegetation due to climate change, it discusses the relationship between vegetation greening and transpiration to help clarify how vegetation activities are related to the regional water cycle and surface energy budget.

Fossil Taiwania was discovered from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Lingyuan City, western Liaoning Province, Northeast China. It is identified as a new species, Taiwania lingyuanensis sp. nov.. The present specimen is preserved as impressions with well defined leaf shoots system and reproductive structures. Leaves are dimorphic, spirally and imbricately arranged. They are scale-like on the main and cone-bearing branchlets, and subulate to falcate-subulate on the juvenile or sterile shoots. The seed cones are singly elliptic, ovate or elongate-ovate and terminally borne on ultimate shoots, bearing 22–24 scale-bracts complexes imbricately and helically arranged around the cone axis, the bracts are broad-ovate, rhomboidal or hexagonal with entire margins. Both the leafy shoots morphology and reproductive structures are similar to extant Taiwania. Furthermore, geological distribution and molecular biological evidences support that Taiwania is probably originated from the eastern Asia at least in the Early Cretaceous and widely distributed in the North Hemisphere thereafter.

Light-absorbing impurities on glaciers are important factors that influence glacial surface albedo and accelerate glacier melt. In this study, the quantity of light-absorbing impurities on Keqikaer Glacier in western Tien Shan, Central Asia, was measured. We found that the average concentrations of black carbon was 2,180 ng/g, with a range from 250 ng/g to more than 10,000 ng/g. The average concentrations of organic carbon and mineral dust were 1,738 ng/g and 194 μg/g, respectively. Based on simulations performed with the Snow Ice Aerosol Radiative model simulations, black carbon and dust are responsible for approximately 64% and 9%, respectively, of the albedo reduction, and are associated with instantaneous radiative forcing of 323.18 W/m² (ranging from 142.16 to 619.25 W/m²) and 24.05 W/m² (ranging from 0.15 to 69.77 W/m²), respectively. For different scenarios, the albedo and radiative forcing effect of black carbon is considerably greater than that of dust. The estimated radiative forcing at Keqikaer Glacier is higher than most similar values estimated by previous studies on the Tibetan Plateau, perhaps as a result of black carbon enrichment by melt scavenging. Light-absorbing impurities deposited on Keqikaer Glacier appear to mainly originate from central Asia, Siberia, western China (including the Taklimakan Desert) and parts of South Asia in summer, and from the Middle East and Central Asia in winter. A footprint analysis indicates that a large fraction (>60%) of the black carbon contributions on Keqikaer Glacier comes from anthropogenic sources. These results provide a scientific basis for regional mitigation efforts to reduce black carbon.

Holocene δ¹⁸O records from various archives (ice cores, cave stalagmites, and peat sediments) from the Xinjiang region of northwestern China, in arid central Asia (ACA), are all derived ultimately from local precipitation δ¹⁸O (δ¹⁸O_p). Nevertheless, they have been proposed as indicators of different climatic parameters, such as wetness and temperature changes. This article summarizes previously reported records of moisture sources for the Xinjiang region and the results of modern observations conducted at an ice core site and a peat site in the Altai Mountains. The findings are used to propose that the overall positive trends in Holocene δ¹⁸O records from the various archives from the Xinjiang region primarily reflect the Holocene's long-term warming trend. It is concluded that more site-specific modern observations are needed to further elucidate the environmental significance of Holocene δ¹⁸O records from this region, especially for the separation of different seasonal temperature signals present within δ¹⁸O records.

Ecophysiological responses to drought stress of Populus euphratica in Alashan Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station were investigated. Results show that under mild and moderate drought stress, stomatal length, aperture, area and density is likely to decrease in the early days, but afterwards this is likely to recovery with treatment over the passage of treatment time. Under severe drought stress, these properties appear to decline continuously. However, after 45 days of drought-stress treatment, the decline is not as noticeable as before, indicating that Populus euphratica could possibly reduce water evaporation by shutting down the stoma, leading to an improvement in its water use efficiency with better survival under drought stress conditions. The leaf area first decreases, and then increases under mild and moderate drought stress conditions, with the average values under different degree of stress found to be approximately 129.52, 120.08, 116.63 and 107.28 cm², respectively. Under moderate stress conditions, the leaf water potential appears to show a continuous decline where the average values under different degree of stress are found to be -1.27, -1.85, -4.29 and -4.80 MPa, respectively. In terms of proline content, the results demonstrate that this factor appears to increase significantly under moderate and severe drought stress conditions. Especially under severe drought stress condition, the content is found to be more than 700 μg/g. Ranging over average values of 14.64 and 15.90 nmol/g under moderate and severe drought stress, respectively, Malondialdehyde content is found to increase quite rapidly under moderate and severe drought stress conditions at first, which then appears to decrease gradually with the treatment over time.

Ice documentation and response to prominent warming, especially after the 1990s, is further investigated because it is concerned whether ice records have absence. A δ¹⁸O series of a Laohugou (LHG) shallow ice core (20.12 m) in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau was reconstructed covering the period of 1960-2006. The ice core δ¹⁸O record had significant positive correlations with the warm season (May-September) air temperatures at adjacent meteorological stations and the 500 hPa temperatures in boreal China, indicating that the δ¹⁸O record could be considered a credible proxy of regional temperature. A clear, cold temperature event in 1967 and rapid warming after the 1990s were captured in the LHG δ¹⁸O series, revealing that it could record extreme air-temperature events on both regional and global scales. The LHG δ¹⁸O variations had evident positive correlations with both the summer surface outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) in the Mongolia region and the summer meridional wind at 500 hPa in the LHG region during 1960-2006, suggesting that the increased OLR in the Mongolia region might have intensified the Mongolia Low and expanded the pressure gradient to the LHG region (the Shulehe High), which would have pushed the westerlies further north and suppressed southward incursions of cold air into the LHG region, and thus augmented the temperature rise. The regional atmospheric circulation difference (1985-2006 minus 1960-1984) suggested that the anticyclone in the Mongolia region might have developed the easterly wind, which transported warmer air from the east toward the LHG region and weakened the cold penetration of the westerlies, resulting in the temperature rise since the middle 1980s.

The original landform along the China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline (CRCOP, line 2) was disturbed during installation of pavement for the pipeline. Forest and vegetation coverage is dense, and runoff develops along the pipe. Since the operation of the CRCOP (line 2) began in 2018, ponding has appeared on both sides of the pipeline. If there is no drainage, ponding can hardly dissipate, due to the low permeability of the permafrost layer. With the supply of surface flow and the transportation of oil at positive temperatures, ponding promotes an increase in temperature and changes the boundary thermal conditions of the pipeline. Meanwhile, when the ponding freezes and thaws, frost heave threatens operational safety of the pipeline. Furthermore, the ponding can affect the thermal condition of line 1. In this paper, the distribution of ponding along the CRCOP was obtained by field investigation. The type and cause of ponding were summarized, and the catchment and stream order were extracted by the Digital Elevation Model (DEM). According to the statistical results in attributes for topographic factors, it is known that ponding along the pipeline is relative to elevation, slope, aspect, and the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI). Water easily accumulates at altitudes of 300-450 m, slopes within 3°-5°, aspect in the northeast or south, TWI within 13-16, flow direction in north-east-south, and flow length within 90-150 km. This paper proposes a theoretical basis for the cause and characteristics of ponding along the pipeline.

In cold regions, the widened subgrade could produce uneven frost heave that is detrimental to the pavement. This study investigates the differential frost heave characteristics in a widened subgrade. The field monitoring system mainly consists of temperature, moisture, and displacement sensors and distributed optical fiber cables for strain measurement. The monitoring results show that the cooling period in the subgrade is longer than the warming period. Water content in the subgrade changes significantly within 0-2 m below the subgrade surface but stabilizes within 2-5 m. The maximum frost heave occurs from February to March. In comparison, the existing subgrade has a longer freezing period and larger heave value, caused by the higher density and water content inside. Water in the existing subgrade migrates into the new one after widening, leading to frost heave reduction in the existing subgrade. Simultaneously, the traffic loads result in the consolidation of the new subgrade, thus reducing the heave value in the second year. In the third year, the water supply from the existing subgrade facilitates the frost heave in the new subgrade. The tensile strain distributions obtained by the distributed optical fiber cables show that the maximum differential frost heave occurs at the joint between the existing and new subgrades. The differential frost heave gradually stabilizes after three years. Finally, an improved frost heave prediction model is developed based on the segregation potential concept and monitoring results.

Reeds are widely distributed in drought and high salt conditions of northwestern China.Leaf epidermal micromorphology,anatomy,chloroplast ultrastructure and physio-chemical characteristics due to long-term adaptation in the natural habitats of common reed (Phragmites communis Trin.) contrasted considerably among three different ecotypes:dune reed (DR),Gobi salt reed (GSR) and swamp reed (SR).The main objective of the present study is to determine the adapting characteristics of morphology,anatomy and physiological responses of thin roots in DR,GSR and SR.The results show that root length density was higher in SR and few root hairs were observed in DR.Cross-section anatomical features show that each ecotype has an endodermis and exodermis,while cortex thickness and proportion of root cortical aerenchyma and stele in root structure varied among the three ecotypes.The stele and xylem share a larger area in DR compared to GSR and SR.GSR has a large proportion of the cortex with radialized distribution of aerenchyma cells spacing,and the cortex has a peripheral,mechanically stiff ring in the exodermis.SEM and TEM microscope images show that GSR has a sclerenchyma ring with high lignification in the exodermis.The physio-chemical parameters show that GSR had a higher level of stress tolerance than DR.These findings indicate that developed water-absorbing tissues were largely distributed in the root structure of DR,and a main framework with supporting function spacing with aerenchyma was dominant in GSR in the long term adaptation to their natural habitats,respectively.

In recent years, land use and land cover have under gone tremendous change on the Loess Plateau, leading to temporal and spatial variation over many ecological factors, such as carbon storage. Based on four series of land-use data from remote-sensing imaging, spatiotemporal changes of land-use types and volume changes were analyzed. Combined with carbon-stock-assessment modules of the InVEST (integrated valuation ecosystem services and tradeoffs) model, the carbon-storage change was estimated and analyzed at the subcounty and subbasin scales. The results show that (1) cultivated land and grassland area decreased, while woodland and urban land area increased in northern Shaanxi; (2) the average carbon storage in Huangling County and the Beiluo River Basin is the largest, while that of Yuyang County and the Xinshui River Basin is the minimum, and that of Wuqi County showed the greatest growth; (3) carbon storage in the study area showed a definite decrease in 2000, but in general has increased from 1995 to 2010; (4) carbon-storage figures of subbasins and counties are all restricted by the natural status and land-use landscape of the whole study area. From the results, it can be seen that the effect of ecological policies is remarkable. This study has important implications for the rational planning of land use, adjustment of the ecosystem carbon cycle, and related policies.

The soil-freezing characteristic curve (SFCC), which represents the relationship between unfrozen water content and sub-freezing temperature (or suction at ice-water interface) in a freezing soil, can be used for understanding the transportation of heat, water, and solute in frozen soils. In this paper, the soil freezing process and the similarity between the SFCC of saturated frozen soil and soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) of unfrozen unsaturated soil are reviewed. Based on similar characteristics between SWCC and SFCC, a conceptual SFCC is drawn for illustrating the main features of soil freezing and thawing processes. Various SFCC expressions from the literature are summarized. Four widely used expressions (i.e., power relationship, exponential relationship, van Genuchten 1980 equation and Fredlund and Xing 1994 equation) are evaluated using published experimental data on four different soils (i.e., sandy loam, silt, clay, and saline silt). Results show that the exponential relationship and van Genuchten (1980) equation are more suitable for sandy soils. The simple power relationship can be used to reasonably best-fit the SFCC for soils with different particle sizes; however, it exhibits limitations when fitting the saline silt data. The Fredlund and Xing (1994) equation is suitable for fitting the SFCCs for all soils studied in this paper.

The genetic diversity of Artemisia halodendron (Asteraceae), a constructive and dominant species in Horqin Sandy Land, was investigated to examine the genetic relationships with different hydrothermal regions in Horqin Sandy Land. We sequenced chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) fragments (trnL-F) of 243 plants from 10 populations across the Horqin Sandy Land. The analyses of cpDNA variation identified seven haplotypes. A low level of haplotype diversity (H_d=0.706) and nucleotide diversity (π=0.0013) was detected. Haplotypes clustered into two tentative clades. Low genetic differentiation among regions was consistently indicated by hierarchical analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA). Across the sampled populations, the haplotype distributions were differentiated with hydrothermal gradients.

The colonization and development of biological soil crusts (BSCs) are rarely discussed when investigating vegetation restoration with difference arrangement and structure of anthropogenically damaged areas in semi-arid regions. The present study analyzes the relationships among coverage, height and density of woody vegetation and coverage and thickness of BSCs on the surface mine dumpsite in Heidaigou, China. Results showed that PR (Prunus sibirica L.), PT (Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.) and PPr (P. tabulaeformis Carr., P. sibirica L.) types had the highest coverage of total BSCs, which were 76.8%, 75.9% and 78.9%, respectively and PR showed the thickest BSCs of 4.41 mm. There was a significant correlation between coverage and thickness of BSCs and coverage and height of woody vegetation as a unimodal curve. Our findings suggest that a single woody plant species and low level coverage and height (no more than 30% and 300 cm, respectively) of woody plants may be able to create suitable conditions for facilitating BSCs restoration on the surface of mine dumpsites. The effects of vegetation arrangement and structure on BSCs colonization and development should be considered in reconstructing and managing woody vegetation in disturbed environments, such as surface mine dumpsites in semi-arid areas.

The active-layer soils overlying the permafrost are the most thermodynamically active zone of rock or soil and play important roles in the earth-atmosphere energy system. The processes of thawing and freezing and their associated complex hydrothermal coupling can significantly affect variation in mean annual temperatures and the formation of ground ice in permafrost regions. Using soil-temperature and -moisture data obtained from the active layer between September 2011 and October 2014 in the permafrost region of the Nanweng'he River in the Da Xing'anling Mountains, the freeze-thaw characteristics of the permafrost were studied. Based on analysis of ground-temperature variation and hydrothermal transport characteristics, the thawing and freezing processes of the active layer were divided into three stages: (1) autumn-winter freezing, (2) winter freeze-up, and (3) spring-summer thawing. Variations in the soil temperature and moisture were analyzed during each stage of the freeze-thaw process, and the effects of the soil moisture and ground vegetation on the freeze-thaw are discussed in this paper. The study's results show that thawing in the active layer was unidirectional, while the ground freezing was bidirectional (upward from the bottom of the active layer and downward from the ground surface). During the annual freeze-thaw cycle, the migration of soil moisture had different characteristics at different stages. In general, during a freezing-thawing cycle, the soil-water molecules migrate downward, i.e., soil moisture transports from the entire active layer to the upper limit of the permafrost. In the meantime, freeze-thaw in the active layer can be significantly affected by the soil-moisture content and vegetation.

Transport structures built throughout the period from 1960 to 1980 in permafrost regions based on the principle of permafrost preservation are subject to deformations. In many cases, the reason is a gradual change in temperature and their subgrade condition within the active zone due to the structures' technogenic impact. Design solutions for the fifty-year-old structures fail to ensure in all cases their reliable operation at the present time. The greatest danger to the reliable operation of railway lines in cold regions is uneven deformations of bridges, which are barrier places. Therefore, the solution to this problem is urgent especially due to the necessity of increase carrying capacity. The purpose of this study is to increase reliability of bridge operation in cold regions through strengthening the subgrade by reinforcement with injection of solidifying solutions. The problem of uneven deformations due to permafrost degradation is considered using the example of a railway bridge located in the northern line of the Krasnoyarsk railway. Deformations of the bridge abutments began immediately after the construction was completed and the bridge was open for traffic-since 1977. Permafrost degradation was developing more actively straight under the abutments due to higher thermal conductivity of the piles concrete. Notably, thawing intensity of frozen soils under the bridge abutments is uneven due to its orientation to the cardinal points. The analysis of archive materials and results of the geodetic survey made it possible to systematize the features of augmenting deformations of each abutment over time. The engineering-geological survey with drilling wells near the abutments ensured determination of soil characteristics, both in the frozen and thawed states. Thermometric wells were arranged to measure temperatures. The analysis and systematization of the data obtained allowed us to develop geotechnical models for each abutment of the bridge. The peculiarity of these models is allowance for changes in the strength and deformation characteristics of the soil calculated layers depending on changes in temperature and the soil condition. Thus, different calculated geological elements with the corresponding strength and deformation characteristics were identified in the soil layers of the same origin. The analysis of the systematized geodetic data allowed us to confirm adequacy of the developed geotechnical models. Studies carried out using geotechnical models made it possible to predict improvement of physical and mechanical characteristics of the subgrade to prevent further growth deformations of the bridge abutments. The method of reinforcement by injection is proposed. Injecting a solution under pressure leads to strengthening of weakened thawed soils and improving their physical and mechanical properties. This research theoretically substantiates and develops the geotechnical models of the reinforced pier footing of bridge abutments by injection of solidifying solutions. The models take into account the reinforcement parameters and elements for the case in question. The influence of reinforcement on the change in physical and mechanical properties of the soil mass is determined.

Spatial heterogeneity is an inherent characteristic of natural forest landscapes, therefore estimation of structural variability, including the collection and analyzing of field measurements, is a growing challenge for monitoring wildlife habitat diversity and ecosystem sustainability. In this study, we investigated the combined influence of plot shape and size on the accuracy of assessment of conventional and rare structural features in two young-growth spruce-dominated forests in northwestern China. We used a series of inventory schemes and analytical approaches. Our data showed that options for sampling protocols, especially the selection of plot size considered in structural attributes measurement, dramatically affect the minimum number of plots required to meet a certain accuracy criteria. The degree of influence of plot shape is related to survey objectives; thus, effects of plot shape differ for evaluations of the "mean" or "representative" stand structural conditions from that for the range of habitat (in extreme values). Results of Monte Carlo simulations suggested that plot sizes <0.1 ha could be the most efficient way to sample for conventional characteristics (features with relative constancy within a site, such as stem density). Also, 0.25 ha or even larger plots may have a greater likelihood of capturing rare structural attributes (features possessing high randomness and spatial heterogeneity, such as volume of coarse woody debris) in our forest type. These findings have important implications for advisable sampling protocol (plot size and shape) to adequately capture information on forest habitat structure and diversity; such efforts must be based on a clear definition of which types are structural attributes to measure.

Ultrasonic detection technology is of great significance in the detection and evaluation of physical and mechanical properties of frozen soil, but wave propagation characteristics in frozen soil are unclear. Based on the three-phase composition of frozen saturated soil and the mixture theory, considering Bishop's effective stress formula, the wave propagation equations are establish for frozen saturated soil. In wave propagation, an entropy inequality was introduced to describe the coupling of different phases. The analytic expressions of propagation velocity and attenuation law of waves in frozen soil are obtained, and wave propagation characteristics in frozen saturated soil are discussed. Results show that four types of waves (i.e., P1, P2, P3 and S) are found in frozen saturated soil and all four wave types are dissipative waves, in which the attenuation of P3 is the maximum. The velocity of four waves increases sharply at the excitation frequency range of 10³-10⁹ Hz, but the wave velocity at high-frequency and low-frequency is almost constant. When volume ice content increases, the wave propagation velocity of P1 and S decreases dramatically, and the velocity of P2 increases gradually, but P3 velocity increases first and then decreases to zero with increasing saturation. The attenuation coefficients of P1 and S waves begins to increase gradually when the volume ice content is about 0.4, P2 increases first and then decreases with an increase of volume ice content and P3 increases with the volume ice content and decreases rapidly from extreme to zero.

Both yield and quality of Lanzhou lily (Lilium davidii var. unicolor) are seriously affected by continuous cropping. We attempted to understand the effects of intercropping on the obstacles associated with continuous cropping of Lanzhou lily (Lilium davidii var. unicolor). The changes of rhizosphere microbial biomass and diversity in interplanting and monoculturing systems were studied by using the Illumina HiSeq sequencing technique. The contents and composition of lily root exudates were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC–MS). The intercropping results of Lanzhou lily showed: (1) There was no difference in the composition of the rhizosphere soil microbes at the phylum level, but the relative abundance of the microbes decreased; and the relative abundance of harmful fungi such as Fusarium sp. increased. The relative abundance of Pleosporales sp. and other beneficial bacteria were reduced. After OTU (operational taxonomic unit) clustering, there were some beneficial bacteria, such as Chaetomium sp., in the lily rhizosphere soil in the interplanting system that had not existed in the single-cropping system. We did not find harmful bacteria that had existed in the single-cropping systm in the rhizosphere soil of interplanting system. The above results indicated that the changes of relative abundance of soil fungi and bacteria in lily rhizosphere soil was not conducive to improving the ecological structure of rhizosphere soil microbes. At the same time, the microbial composition change is very complex—beneficial and yet inadequate at the same time. (2) Root exudates provide a matrix for the growth of microorganisms. Combined with the detection of root exudates, the decrease in the composition of the root exudates of the lily was probably the reason for the decrease of the relative abundance of microbes after intercropping. At the same time, the decrease of the relative content of phenolic compounds, which inhibit the growth of microorganisms, did not increase the relative content of rhizosphere soil microorganisms. Changes in amino acids and total sugars may be responsible for the growth of Fusarium sp.. The results showed that the intercropping pattern did not noticeably alleviate the obstacle to continuous cropping of Lanzhou lily, and the change of microbial biomass and diversity was even unfavorable. However, the emergence of some beneficial bacteria, the disappearance of harmful fungi, and other changes with intercropping are in favor of alleviation of obstacles to continuous cropping of Lanzhou lily.

The increasing intensity and frequency of sand-dust storms in China has led to greater prominence of associated environmental and health issues. Many studies have focused on the health effects of air particulate contaminants, but few formal investigations have studied the effects of sand-dust storms on human and animal health. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dust storms on rat lung by using high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and blood gas analysis through a wind tunnel simulating. We found that the rat lung damage effects can be detected by the HRCT imaging after exposure to sand-dust storm environments, but had no obvious result through blood gas analysis. Exposure durations positively correlated with the damage degree to lung tissue. These will provide some evidence for clinical diagnosis of non-occupational pneumoconiosis.

Determining an optimal sample size is a key step in designing field surveys, and is particularly important for detecting the spatial pattern of highly variable properties such as soil organic carbon (SOC). Based on 550 soil sampling points in the near-surface layer (0 to 20 cm) in a representative region of northern China’s agro-pastoral ecotone, we studied effects of four interpolation methods such as ordinary kriging (OK), universal kriging (UK), inverse distance weighting (IDW) and radial basis function (RBF) and random subsampling (50, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500) on the prediction accuracy of SOC estimation. When the Shannon's Diversity Index (SHDI) and Shannon's Evenness Index (SHEI) was 2.01 and 0.67, the OK method appeared to be a superior method, which had the smallest root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean error (ME) nearest to zero. On the contrary, the UK method performed poorly for the interpolation of SOC in the present study. The sample size of 200 had the most accurate prediction; 50 sampling points produced the worst prediction accuracy. Thus, we used 200 samples to estimate the study area's soil organic carbon density (SOCD) by the OK method. The total SOC storage to a depth of 20 cm in the study area was 117.94 Mt, and its mean SOCD was 2.40 kg/m². The SOCD kg/(C?m²) of different land use types were in the following order: woodland (3.29) > grassland (2.35) > cropland (2.19) > sandy land (1.55).

Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks are usually calculated with samples collected using core samplers. Although the calculation considers the effects of gravel in soil samples, other coarse fragments such as stones or boulders in soil may not be collected due to the restricted diameter of core samplers. This would cause an incorrect estimation of soil bulk density and ultimately SOC and TN stocks. In this study, we compared the relative volume of coarse fragment and bulk density of fine earth determined by large size soil sampler with three core samplers. We also investigated the uncertainties in estimation of SOC and TN stocks caused by this soil sampler procedure in three typical alpine grasslands on the northeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), China. Results show that (1) the relative volume and size of coarse fragment collected by large size sampler were significantly (p <0.05) higher and larger than those of core samplers, while bulk density of fine earth, SOC and TN stocks show opposite patterns in all grassland types; (2) SOC and TN stocks determined by core samplers were 17%-45% and 18%-46% higher than larger size sampler for three typical alpine grasslands; and (3) bulk density of fine earth, SOC and TN stocks exponentially decreased with the increasing of coarse fragment content. We concluded that core sampler methods significantly underestimated the volume occupied by coarse fragment but overestimated SOC and TN stocks. Thus, corrections should be made to the results from core samplers using large size samplers on regions with gravel and stone-rich soils in future studies.

Concrete durability has become a hot research field in civil engineering. Concrete structures suffer salt-erosion damage to different degrees in the semi-arid region of North China. The environmental condition is one of the important factors affecting the durability of concrete constructions. To realize fully the interaction between various environmental factors, this paper researched concrete durability in the salt environment under combined actions (immersing, freeze–thaw cycles, and wet–dry cycles). According to the laboratory test data, the concrete-durability degradation law under coupling-effect factors was investigated. The results show that concrete's compressive strength decreases with the increase of salt concentration and immersion time. No matter what the environmental conditions were, the compressive strength-loss ratio increased with the test time. The compressive strength-test results indicate that sodium sulfate has the strongest corrosive effect on concrete durability, followed by calcium chloride, with sodium chloride having the weakest corrosion. Compared with the other two environmental factors, the wet–dry cycle is the key factor affecting concrete durability. Therefore, in engineering practice, the influence of environment conditions on the strength and durability of concrete should be taken into full consideration, especially in the wet–dry environment with salt conditions.

Worldwide examination of glacier change is based on detailed observations from only a small number of glaciers. The ground-based detailed individual glacier monitoring is of strong need and extremely important in both regional and global scales. A long-term integrated multi-level monitoring has been carried out on Urumqi Glacier No. 1 (UG1) at the headwaters of the Urumqi River in the eastern Tianshan Mountains of Central Asia since 1959 by the Tianshan Glaciological Station, Chinese Acamedey of Sciences (CAS), and the glaciological datasets promise to be the best in China. The boundaries of all glacier zones moved up, resulting in a shrunk accumulation area. The stratigraphy features of the snowpack on the glacier were found to be significantly altered by climate warming. Mass balances of UG1 show accelerated mass loss since 1960, which were attributed to three mechanisms. The glacier has been contracting at an accelerated rate since 1962, resulting in a total reduction of 0.37 km² or 19.3% from 1962 to 2018. Glacier runoff measured at the UG1 hydrometeorological station demonstrates a significant increase from 1959 to 2018 with a large interannual fluctuation, which is inversely correlated with the glacier's mass balance. This study analyzes on the changes in glacier zones, mass balance, area and length, and streamflow in the nival glacial catchment over the past 60 years. It provides critical insight into the processes and mechanisms of glacier recession in response to climate change. The results are not only representative of those glaciers in the Tianshan mountains, but also for the continental-type throughout the world. The direct observation data form an essential basis for evaluating mountain glacier changes and the impact of glacier shrinkage on water resources in the interior drainage rivers within the vast arid and semi-arid land in northwestern China as well as Central Asia.

This work presents a reference system overview to improve the efficiency of biological improvement of saline-alkali soil developed during the last thirty years, ranging from connotation, general methods and species, soil desalination, soil structure, soil organic content, microbial flora, enzyme activity, yield and economic benefits. The reference system presented is divided into three main groups: suitable varieties, suitable cultivation measures, and a comprehensive evaluation system. There has been a lot of research on biological improvement of saline alkali soil, but these studies are very fragmented and lack a comprehensive standard system. Also, there is a lack of practical significance, particularly with regard to optimal species, densities and times of sowing for particular regions. On the other hand, the corresponding cultivation measure is very important. Therefore, a reference system plays an important role to the effect of biological improvement of saline alkali soil.

Mu Us Sandy Land (MUSL) of China, as a typical eco-fragile and farming-pastoral transitional region, shows great vulnerability to disturbances from cultivation activity. In this region, the conflict between cultivation activity and environmental protection has not attracted great importance until the implementation of China's Grain-for-Green Policy (CGGP) since 2000. Here, using Landsat5 TM/Landsat7 ETM+ images from 1990, 2000, and 2010, we monitor the cultivation activity and land-use/cover changes (LUCC) resulting from cultivation activity in the MUSL region. Based on the data from images, we developed a series of databases of cultivated activity-induced LUCC and use them to discuss comparatively the spatio-temporal evolution trends of cultivation activity before and after CGGP implementation. These results provide evidence for managers to evaluate the implementation effectiveness of governmental policy and the influence of cultivation activity on the ecological environment of the MUSL region.

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is one of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs) might strongly influence the emission of soil N₂O on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). However, there is a lack of in situ research on the characteristics of soil N₂O concentration and flux in response to variations in soil properties caused by FTCs. Here, we report the effect of FTC-induced changes in soil properties on the soil N₂O concentration and flux in the permafrost region of the higher reaches of the Shule River Basin on the northeastern margin of the QTP. We measured chemical properties of the topsoil, activities of soil microorganisms, and air temperature (AT), as well as soil N₂O concentration and flux, over an annual cycle from July 31, 2011, to July 30, 2012. The results showed that soil N₂O concentration was significantly affected by soil temperature (ST), soil moisture (SM), soil salinity (SS), soil polyphenol oxidase (SPO), soil alkaline phosphatase (SAP), and soil culturable actinomycetes (SCA), ranked as SM> SS> ST> SPO> SAP> SCA, whereas ST significantly increased soil N₂O flux, compared with SS. Overall, our study indicated that the soil N₂O concentration and flux in permafrost zone FTCs were strongly affected by soil properties, especially soil moisture, soil salinity, and soil temperature.

This paper studied the basic properties of saline soil at different depths of a sampling site in Da'an, China, through field reconnaissance and laboratory analysis. A series of experiments which comprised the analyses of grain size distribution, mineral composition, soil physical properties, soluble salt concent, pH, organic content and cation exchange capacity were conducted. Through these experiments, the distribution rule of each property and their causes are discussed. These results could provide a fundamental base for the study of moisture migration.

Studying the climatic and environmental changes on different time scales in inland arid regions of Asia can greatly improve our understanding of climatic influences for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the context of global change. Pollen, as a remnant of seed plants, is sensitive to environmental factors including precipitation, temperature and altitude, and is a classic proxy in environmental reconstruction. In the last two decades, great progress in the application of palynology to inland areas of Asia has highlighted the role of palynology in paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental research. The main progress is as follows. (1) On the tectonic time scale of the late Cenozoic, the palaeoclimatological sequence has been established on the basis of pollen percentage, concentration and taxon. Pollen data have revealed a continuous enhancement of drought in the inland arid region of Asia, in contrast to evidence acquired based on other proxies. (2) In the late Quaternary, an increase in herbaceous plants further supports the intensification of drought associated with global cooling. In more detail, the palynological record shows a glacial-interglacial pattern consistent with changes in global ice volume. (3) The Holocene pollen record has been established at a high resolution and across a wide range of inland areas. In general, it presents an arid grassland environment in the early Holocene, followed by the development of woody plants in the mid- to late-Holocene climate optimum. This pattern is related to moisture changes in areas dominated by the westerlies. There are also significant regional differences in the pattern and amplitude of vegetation response to the Holocene environment. (4) Modern pollen studies based on vegetation surveys, meteorological data and statistics show that topsoil palynology can better reflect regional vegetation types (e.g., grassland, meadow, desert). Drier climates yield higher pollen contents of drought-tolerant plants such as Chenopodioideae, Ephedra, and Nitriaria, while contents of Artemisia and Poaceae are greater under humid climates. Besides these achievements, problems remain in palynological research: for example, pollen extraction, identification, interpretation, and quantitative reconstruction. In the future, we encourage strengthened interdisciplinary cooperation to improve experimental methods and innovation. Firstly, we should strengthen palynological classification and improve the skill of identification; secondly, laboratory experiments are needed to better constrain pollen transport dynamics in water and air; thirdly, more rigorous mathematical principles will improve the reliability of reconstructions and deepen the knowledge of plant geography; and finally, new areas and methods in palynology should be explored, for example DNA, UV-B and isotopic analysis. It is expected that palynology will continue to develop, and we hope it will continue to play an important role in the study of past climatic and environmental changes.

Understanding the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem function is critical to promoting the sustainability of ecosystems and species conservation in natural ecosystems. We observed species composition, species richness and aboveground biomass, and simulated the competitive assemblages in a natural grassland ecosystem of China, aiming to test some assumptions and predictions about biodiversity–stability relationships. Our results show that aboveground productivity and temporal stability increased significantly with increasing species richness, and via a combination of overyielding, species asynchrony, and portfolio effects. Species interactions resulted in overyielding caused by trait-independent complementarity, and were not offset by a negative dominance effect and trait-dependent complementarity effect. Therefore, the mechanisms underlying the biodiversity effect shifted from the selection effect to the complementarity effect as diversity increased, and both effects were coexisted but the complementarity effect represent a mechanism that facilitates long term species coexistence in a natural grassland ecosystem of China.

Evapotranspiration (ET) within an ecosystem is crucial for the water-limited environment that currently lacks adequate quantification in the arid region of Northwest China, mainly covered by phreatophytes, such as the Populus euphratica Oliv. tree and the Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. shrub species. Accordingly, ET was measured for an entire year using eddy covariance (EC) in P. euphratica stands in the lower Heihe River Basin, Northwest China. During the growing season, the total ET was 850 mm, with a mean of 4.0 mm/d, which is obviously more than that observed at tree-level and standlevel scales, which was likely due to the different level of soil evaporation induced by irrigation via water conveyance. Factors associated with ET fall into either environmental or plant eco-physiological categories. Environmental factors account for at least 79% variation of ET, and the linear relationship between ET and the groundwater table (GWT) revealed the potential water use of P. euphratica forests under the non-water stress condition with the GWT less than 3 m deep. Plant eco-physiological parameters, specifically the leaf area index (LAI), have direct impact on the seasonal pattern of ET, which provides a valuable reference to the wide-area estimates of ET for riparian forests by using LAI. In conclusion, P.euphratica forests have high water use after water conveyance, which may be the result of long-term adapting to local climates and limited water availability.

Calling upon all nongovernmental sectors of the society is important to cope with the ecological crisis brought about by rapid development. Enterprises are the active agent of socialist market economic activities and possess a prominent position in the ecological civilization construction of the new age. Making use of the active agent role of enterprises and stimulating the green development of enterprises are essential to realizing the dream of a beautiful China. This paper discusses the development and management experiences of a typical ecological industrialization model, that of the Elion Resources Group in Inner Mongolia. Existing problems are disclosed, and feasible suggestions are given: (1) accelerate the registration of lands to protect legitimate rights and interests, (2) perfect the land-use administration system and make it cover all national land space, (3) perfect the natural resources management system, and (4) compile balance sheets of natural resources and strengthen accountabilities.

In this study, in-situ soil moisture measurements are used to evaluate the accuracy of three AMSR-E soil moisture products from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) and VUA (Vrije University Amsterdam and NASA) over Maqu County, Source Area of the Yellow River (SAYR), China. Results show that the VUA soil moisture product performs the best among the three AMSR-E soil moisture products in the study area, with a minimum RMSE (root mean square error) of 0.08 (0.10) m³/m³ and smallest absolute error of 0.07 (0.08) m³/m³ at the grassland area with ascending (descending) data. Therefore, the VUA soil moisture product is used to describe the spatial variation of soil moisture during the 2010 growing season over SAYR. The VUA soil moisture product shows that soil moisture presents a declining trend from east south (0.42 m³/m³) to west north (0.23 m³/m³), with good agreement with a general precipitation distribution. The center of SAYR presents extreme wetness (0.60 m³/m³) during the whole study period, especially in July, while the head of SAYR presents a high level soil moisture (0.23 m³/m³) in July, August and September.

Based on observational data obtained from 1961 to 2011 in the Tarim River Basin, China, we investigated the chaotic dynamics of temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and evaporation. The main findings are as follow: (1) The four data series have significant chaotic and fractal behaviors, which are the result of the evolution of a nonlinear chaotic dynamic system. The climatic process in the Tarim River Basin also has deterministic and stochastic characteristics. (2) To describe the temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and evaporation dynamics, at least three independent variables at daily scale are required; in terms of complexity, their order is evaporation > temperature > precipitation > relative humidity. (3) Their respective largest Lyapunov exponent λ ₁ shows the order of their degree of complexity is relative humidity > temperature > precipitation ≈ evaporation; the maximum time scales for which the four systems can be predicted are 17 days, 17 days, 16 days, and 16 days, if calculated separately. (4) The Kolmogorov entropy K illustrates that the complexity of the nonlinear precipitation system is much greater than that of the other three systems. Both temperature and evaporation systems exhibit weaker chaotic behavior, their predictability is better, and the degree of complexity is less than that of the other two factors.

Based on salt-frost heave tests of sulfate saline soil under repeated freeze-thaw cycles, this paper discusses the mechanism of the salt-frost heave under long-term freeze-thaw cycles. The results show that the salt-frost heave can be restricted considerably by loads, and there is a critical load for the salt-frost heave cumulative effect. Under this load, peak values of salt-frost heave approach a constant, and the residual values become 0. There is no longer structure heave or cumulative effect of saline soil exposed to freeze-thaw cycles under the critical load. Taking cumulative effect into account in calculations of salt-frost heave, a salt-frost heave model under freeze-thaw cycles is developed.

The spatial distributions of lead, arsenic, and copper (Pb, As, and Cu, respectively) in surface snow along the transect from the Zhongshan Station to Dome A, East Antarctica, are presented. The mean concentrations of Pb, As, and Cu are 1.04±1.56 pg/g, 0.39±0.08 pg/g, and 11.2±14.4 pg/g, respectively. It is estimated that anthropogenic contributions are dominant for Pb, As, and Cu. Spatially, Pb concentrations show an exponentially decreasing trend from the coast inland, while a moderate decreasing trend is observed for Cu concentrations in the coastal area (below 2,000 m above sea level (a.s.l.)). In the intermediate area (2,000-3,000 m a.s.l.), the concentrations and enrichment factors of all these elements show high variability due to the complicated characteristics of climate and environment. On the inland plateau (above 3,000 m a.s.l.), the high concentrations of As and Pb are induced by high deposition efficiency, the existence of polar stratospheric precipitation, and the different fraction deposition to East Antarctica. The extremely high concentrations with maximum values of 9.59 pg/g and 69.9 pg/g for Pb and Cu, respectively, are suggested to result mainly from local human activities at the station. Our results suggest that source, transport pathway, and deposition pattern, rather than distance from the coast or altitude, lead to the spatial distributions of Pb, As, and Cu; and it is further confirmed by spatial variations of the three metals deposited over the whole continent of Antarctica.

Desert plants take on unique physiologically adaptive mechanisms in response to an adverse environment. In this study, we determined the concentrations of leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) fraction for dominant species of Artemisia ordosica, A. frigida, Calligonum mongolicum, and Oxytropis aciphylla in the Alxa Desert and discussed seasonal changes of their leaf N:P ratio and Ca fraction. The results showed that, from May to September, the N:P ratios of A. ordosica and C. mongolicum gradually and significantly increased, while those of A. frigida, and O. aciphylla had an increase trend that was not significant; the physiologically active Ca of A. ordosica and A. frigida increased significantly, while that of C. mongolicum and O. aciphylla decreased significantly. The physiologically inert calcium of C. mongolicum increased extremely significantly, while that of others was not significant. There was a significantly positive correlation between the N:P ratio and physiologically active Ca for A. ordosica, and the N:P ratio was significantly and negatively correlated with physiologically active Ca for O. aciphylla. These findings revealed that the physiological regulation mechanism was different for the plants either in earlier stage or later stage of plant-community succession.

Groundwater is a key factor controlling the growth of vegetation in desert riparian systems. It is important to recognise how groundwater changes affect the riparian forest ecosystem. This information will not only help us to understand the ecological and hydrological process of the riparian forest but also provide support for ecological recovery of riparian forests and water-resources management of arid inland river basins. This study aims to estimate the suitability of the Water Vegetation Energy and Solute Modelling (WAVES) model to simulate the Ejina Desert riparian forest ecosystem changes, China, to assess effects of groundwater-depth change on the canopy leaf area index (LAI) and water budgets, and to ascertain the suitable groundwater depth for preserving the stability and structure of desert riparian forest. Results demonstrated that the WAVES model can simulate changes to ecological and hydrological processes. The annual mean water consumption of a Tamarix chinensis riparian forest was less than that of a Populus euphratica riparian forest, and the canopy LAI of the desert riparian forest should increase as groundwater depth decreases. Groundwater changes could significantly influence water budgets for T. chinensis and P. euphratica riparian forests and show the positive and negative effects on vegetation growth and water budgets of riparian forests. Maintaining the annual mean groundwater depth at around 1.7?2.7 m is critical for healthy riparian forest growth. This study highlights the importance of considering groundwater-change impacts on desert riparian vegetation and water-balance applications in ecological restoration and efficient water-resource management in the Heihe River Basin.

High-precision measuring of glacier evolution remains a challenge as the available global and regional remote sensing techniques cannot satisfactorily capture the local-scale processes of most small- and medium-sized mountain glaciers. In this study, we use a high-precision local remote sensing technique, long-range terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), to measure the evolution of Urumqi Glacier No.1 at an annual scale. We found that the dense point clouds derived from the TLS survey can be used to reconstruct glacier surface terrain, with certain details, such as depressions, debris-covered areas, and supra-glacial drainages can be distinguished. The glacier experienced pronounced thickness thinning and continuous retreat over the last four mass-balance years (2015-2019). The mean surface slope of Urumqi Glacier No.1 gradually steepened, which may increase the removal of glacier mass. The glacier was deeply incised by two very prominent primary supra-glacial rivers, and those rivers presented a widening trend. Extensive networks of supra-glacial channels had a significant impact on accelerated glacier mass loss. High-precision measuring is of vital importance to understanding the annual evolution of this type of glacier.