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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The interaction between the cryosphere and atmosphere is an essential and extremely sensitive mutual action process on the earth. Due to global warming and the cryospheric melting, more and more attention has been paid to the interaction process between the cryosphere and atmosphere, especially the feedback of the cryosphere change to the atmosphere. A comprehensive review of the studies on the interaction between the cryosphere and atmosphere is conducted from two aspects: (1) effects of climate change on the cryosphere or responses of the cryosphere to climate change; and (2) feedback of the cryosphere change to the climate. The response of the cryosphere to climate change is lagging. Such a lagging and cumulative effect of temperature rise within the cryosphere have resulted in a rapid change in the cryosphere in the 21st century, and its impacts have become more significant. The feedback from cryosphere change on the climate are omnifarious. Among them, the effects of sea ice loss and snow cover change, especially the Arctic sea ice loss and the Northern Hemisphere snow cover change, are the most prominent. The Arctic amplification (AA) associated with sea ice feedback is disturbing , and the feedback generated by the effect of temperature rise on snow properties in the Northern Hemisphere is also of great concern. There are growing evidence of the impact of the Arctic cryosphere melting on mid-latitude weather and climate. Weakened storm troughs, steered jet stream and amplified planetary waves associated with energy propagation become the key to explaining the links between Arctic cryosphere change and atmospheric circulation. There is still a great deal of uncertainty about how cryosphere change affects the weather and climate through different atmospheric circulation processes at different spatial and temporal scales due to observation and simulation problems.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) has powerful dynamics and thermal effects, which makes the interaction between its land and atmosphere significantly affect climate and environment in the regional or global area. By retrospecting the latest research progress in the simulation of land-surface processes (LSPs) over the past 20 years, this study discusses both the simulation ability of land-surface models (LSMs) and the modification of parameterization schemes from two perspectives, the models' applicability and improved parameterization schemes. Our review suggests that different LSMs can well capture the spatiotemporal variations of the physical quantities of LSPs; but none of them can be fully applied to the plateau, meaning that all need to be revised according to the characteristics specific to the TP. Avoiding the unstable iterative computation and determining the freeze?thaw critical temperature according to the thermodynamic equilibrium equation, the unreasonable freeze?thaw parameterization scheme can be improved. Due to the complex underlying surface of the TP, no parameterization scheme of roughness length can well simulate the various characteristics of the turbulent flux over the TP at different temporal scales. The uniform soil thermodynamic and hydraulic parameterization scheme is unreasonable when it is applied to the plateau, as a result of the strong soil heterogeneity. There is little research on the snow-cover process so far, and the improved scheme has no advantage over the original one due to the lack of some related physical processes. The constant interaction among subprocesses of LSPs makes the improvement of a multiparameterization scheme yield better simulation results. According to the review of existing research, adding high-quality observation stations, developing a parameterization scheme suitable for the special LSPs of the TP, and adjusting the model structures can be helpful to the simulation of LSPs on the TP.

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.

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.

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.

Timely removal of the flower is a key agricultural measure to ensure the concentrated supply of nutrients for the growth of underground bulbs and to increase the yield of lilies. Removing flowers and returning them to the field is one of the traditional ways of treatment, and field litter is formed at this time. Previous study showed that the decomposition of litter changes the soil properties. In order to study the effects of lily litter decomposition on soil physical and chemical properties and microbial structure, three treatments were set up in reference to the Decomposition Bag Method: control (CK), Lanzhou lily flower treatment (LZF), and Zhongbai No.1 flower treatment (ZBF). The effects of lily decomposition on soil physical and chemical properties and microbial community composition were studied in order to provide a scientific basis and theoretical guidance for the planting process of Lanzhou lily. The results show that the decomposition of lily flowers significantly increased the contents of soil organic matter, soil total nitrogen, soil total phosphorus and soil available potassium, and decreased soil pH. RDA shows that soil available nutrients and pH were the driving factors for the change of the soil microbial community. A short-term change of soil microenvironment caused by the decomposed lily flower is beneficial to growing the Lanzhou lily. However, under the correlation analysis of environmental factors, the long-term effects of returning the Lanzhou lily flower to the field, such as the trend of soil acidification, need to be further studied.

A series of saline soil-related problems, including salt expansion and collapse, frost heave and thaw settlement, threaten the safety of the road traffic and the built infrastructure in cold regions. This article presents a comprehensive review of the physical and mechanical properties, salt migration mechanisms of saline soil in cold environment, and the countermeasures in practice. It is organized as follows: (1) The basic physical characteristics; (2) The strength criteria and constitutive models; (3) Water and salt migration characteristics and mechanisms; and (4) Countermeasures of frost heave and salt expansion. The review provides a holistic perspective for recent progress in the strength characteristics, mechanisms of frost heave and salt expansion, engineering countermeasures of saline soil in cold regions. Future research is proposed on issues such as the effects of salt erosion on concrete and salt corrosion of metal under the joint action of evaporation and freeze-thaw cycles.

Natural disasters inflict severe damage on almost the entire spectrum of social and natural habitats. This ranges from housing and shelter, water, food, health, sanitation to information and communication networks, supply of power and energy, transportation infrastructure, and others. Nepal is a risk prone country for Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). GLOFs exist as major challenges as they repeatedly cause a heavy toll of life and property. During such a disaster, major challenges are indeed the protection of life, property and vital life-supporting infrastructure. Any delay or laxity in disaster relief can escalate the magnitude of distress for the victims. Thus, rather than trying to take curative measures, it is better to minimize the impacts of GLOF. These measures subsequently help in reducing the magnitude of death and casualties due to a GLOF event. This reduction of impact is often achieved by optimizing preventive measures. For applying necessary deterrent measures, it is essential to disseminate information about the danger beforehand. Early Warning System (EWS) is an important step for such information dissemination for GLOF disaster management and helps to anticipate the risk of disaster and disseminate information to lives at risk. It is impossible and impractical to reduce all GLOF risks, but it is possible to reduce several impacts of a GLOF through the implementation of the EWS. This paper presents the design and implementation of an EWS for monitoring potential outbursts of a glacier lake in the Dudh-Koshi Basin, Nepal.

Latitudinal permafrost in Northern Northeast (NNE) China is located in the southern margin of the Eurasian continent, and is very sensitive to climatic and environmental change. Numerical simulations indicate that air temperature in the permafrost regions of Northeast China has been on the rise since the 1950s, and will keep rising in the 21^st century, leading to extensive degradation of permafrost. Permafrost degradation in NNE China has its own characteristics, such as northward shifts in the shape of a "W" for the permafrost southern boundary (SLP), discontinuous permafrost degradation into island-like frozen soil, and gradually disappearing island permafrost. Permafrost degradation leads to deterioration of the ecological environment in cold regions. As a result, the belt of larch forests dominated by Larix gmelinii has shifted northwards and wetland areas with symbiotic relationships with permafrost have decreased significantly. With rapid retreat and thinning of permafrost and vegetation change, the CO₂ and CH₄ flux increases with mean air temperature from continuous to sporadic permafrost areas as a result of activity of methanogen enhancement, positively feeding back to climate warming. This paper reviews the features of permafrost degradation, the effects of permafrost degradation on wetland and forest ecosystem structure and function, and greenhouse gas emissions on latitudinal permafrost in NNE China. We also put forward critical questions about the aforementioned effects, including: (1) establish long-term permafrost observation systems to evaluate the distribution of permafrost and SLP change, in order to study the feedback of permafrost to climate change; (2) carry out research about the effects of permafrost degradation on the wetland ecosystem and the response of Xing'an larch to global change, and predict ecosystem dynamics in permafrost degradation based on long-term field observation; (3) focus intensively on the dynamics of greenhouse gas flux in permafrost degradation of Northeast China and the feedback of greenhouse gas emissions to climate change; (4) quantitative studies on the permafrost carbon feedback and vegetation carbon feedback due to permafrost change to climate multi-impact and estimate the balance of C in permafrost regions in the future.

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was implemented in a small forested watershed of the Soan River Basin in northern Pakistan through application of the sequential uncertainty fitting (SUFI-2) method to investigate the associated uncertainty in runoff and sediment load estimation. The model was calibrated for a 10-year period (1991-2000) with an initial 4-year warm-up period (1987-1990), and was validated for the subsequent 10-year period (2001-2010). The model evaluation indices R² (the coefficient of determination), NS (the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency), and PBIAS (percent bias) for stream flows simulation indicated that there was a good agreement between the measured and simulated flows. To assess the uncertainty in the model outputs, p-factor (a 95% prediction uncertainty, 95PPU) and r-factors (average wideness width of the 95PPU band divided by the standard deviation of the observed values) were taken into account. The 95PPU band bracketed 72% of the observed data during the calibration and 67% during the validation. The r-factor was 0.81 during the calibration and 0.68 during the validation. For monthly sediment yield, the model evaluation coefficients (R² and NS) for the calibration were computed as 0.81 and 0.79, respectively; for validation, they were 0.78 and 0.74, respectively. Meanwhile, the 95PPU covered more than 60% of the observed sediment data during calibration and validation. Moreover, improved model prediction and parameter estimation were observed with the increased number of iterations. However, the model performance became worse after the fourth iterations due to an unreasonable parameter estimation. Overall results indicated the applicability of the SWAT model with moderate levels of uncertainty during the calibration and high levels during the validation. Thus, this calibrated SWAT model can be used for assessment of water balance components, climate change studies, and land use management practices.

Based on an investigation of four published batches listing 3,140 national intangible cultural heritage (ICH) projects in China and using GIS and some quantitative analysis methods, the spatial structure was investigated and the characteristics and distribution discussed. The distribution of ICHs in China is agglomerative and spatially dependent. From the view of ICH type, each type is distributed in different places, for different reasons, with history being the most important one we found. Nationwide, high-density cores are located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta region. High densities of ICH are concentrated in flat, water-rich regions where broad-leaved forests dominate plains and low mountain areas—areas that have fertile soil, pleasant weather, a long history of culture, ethnic agglomeration, and development. This paper suggests that development of the ICH should be based on discovering unknown items, to break the existing pattern of strong cohesion and high density, and to seek a balanced development of the whole.

Based on the engineering background of the contact channel between Shangyang and Gushan of Fuzhou Metro Line 2 undercrossing the existing tunnel line, the freezing temperature field of the contact channel, the displacement field of the existing tunnel line and the contact channel with different net distances and horizontal angles are analyzed by ANSYS finite element software and field measurement method. The obtained results indicate that during the freezing period, the temperature drops at different measuring holes are almost the same. The temperature near the bottom freezing tube drops faster than that far from the tube. It is found that the bilateral freezing technique improves the formation of the freezing wall in the intersection area. In this case, the intersection time of the cross-section is 7 days faster than that of the adjacent ordinary section. The change curve of the displacement of the surface uplift in different freezing periods with the distance from the center of the channel is "M" shaped. The maximum uplift displacement at 12 m from channel center is 25 mm. The vertical displacement of the measuring point located above the central axis of the connecting channel is large. The farther the point from the central axis, the smaller the corresponding vertical displacement. When the horizontal angle between the existing tunnel and the connecting channel is less than 60°, the existing vertical displacement of the tunnel changes rapidly with the horizontal angle, reaching 0.17 mm/°. Meanwhile, when the net distance is less than 6.1 m, the change rate of the vertical displacement of the tunnel is up to 2.4 mm/m.

As one of the five components of Earth's climatic system, the cryosphere has been undergoing rapid shrinking due to global warming. Studies on the formation, evolution, distribution and dynamics of cryospheric components and their interactions with the human system are of increasing importance to society. In recent decades, the mass loss of glaciers, including the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, has accelerated. The extent of sea ice and snow cover has been shrinking, and permafrost has been degrading. The main sustainable development goals in cryospheric regions have been impacted. The shrinking of the cryosphere results in sea-level rise, which is currently affecting, or is soon expected to affect, 17 coastal megacities and some small island countries. In East Asia, South Asia and North America, climate anomalies are closely related to the extent of Arctic sea ice and snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere. Increasing freshwater melting from the ice sheets and sea ice may be one reason for the slowdown in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in the Arctic and Southern Oceans. The foundations of ports and infrastructure in the circum-Arctic permafrost regions suffer from the consequences of permafrost degradation. In high plateaus and mountainous regions, the cryosphere's shrinking has led to fluctuations in river runoff, caused water shortages and increased flooding risks in certain areas. These changes in cryospheric components have shown significant heterogeneity at different temporal and spatial scales. Our results suggest that the quantitative evaluation of future changes in the cryosphere still needs to be improved by enhancing existing observations and model simulations. Theoretical and methodological innovations are required to strengthen social economies' resilience to the impact of cryospheric change.

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.

It is feasible to study the mechanical characteristics of coarse-grained soil by simulated granular materials such as glass beads. In this paper, 3 mm diameter glass beads are used to conduct drained and undrained triaxial tests under the condition of different confining pressures to explore their strength, deformation and critical state characteristics. Specifically, the influence of drainage and confining pressure on the stick-slip phenomenon of glass beads is reported. The experimental findings from triaxial tests show that the stress-strain relationship of glass beads softens when the confining pressure is high. Under the undrained condition, the initial modulus increases with the increase in the confining pressure. In contrast, it is not significantly affected by the confining pressure under the drained condition. It is quite evident that the glass beads hardly contract during the shearing process, and their stress path is approximately a segmented straight line. The slope of the critical state line under the undrained condition is greater than that under the drained condition, and the friction angle of the glass beads under the undrained and drained conditions is calculated to be 28.1° and 29.5°, respectively. The phenomenon of stick-slip has been depicted for the different test conditions, and the stick-slip amplitude linearly increases with the confining pressure, especially in the undrained condition. It is also found that the maximum energy released from the phenomenon of stick-slip increases linearly with the confining pressure.

Despite the enormous applications of photosynthesis in global carbon budget and food security, photosynthesis research has not been adequately explored as a research focus in Nigeria. Previous works on C₃ and C₄ plants in Nigeria were mainly on the use of anatomical characteristics to delimit plant species into their respective pathways, with no attention being paid to its applications. In this review, past and present knowledge gaps in this area of study are elucidated. Information used in this review were sourced from referred research articles and books in reputable journals. The results revealed that C₃ and C₄ plants are distributed among 21 genera and 11 families in Nigeria. In addition there is dearth of informatio such that only three genera have been classified based on diverse photosynthetic pathways with no information found on the physiological and biochemical characterization of these genera. Moreover, further research is also suggested for tackling new challenges in the area of food productivity and climate change.

Based on Landsat MSS/TM/OLI remote sensing images, glaciers vector data in the Qaidam Basin were extracted for 1977, 2002, and 2018, and their spatial-temporal variations were analyzed. Results show that there were 2,050 glaciers covering an area of 1,693.54±40.96 km² and having an ice volume of 108.65±2.43 km³ in the Qaidam Basin in 2018. Glaciers with areas <1.0 km² accounted for the largest number, while glaciers with areas of 1.0-5.0 km² accounted for the most glacierized area. In the past 50 years, the number of glaciers decreased by 177, and the glacier area and volume reduced by 338.08 km² (-8.12 km²/a) and 19.92 km³ (-0.48 km³/a), respectively. Retreat altitudes of glaciers were concentrated at 4,900-5,600 m, 4,700-5,200 m, and 5,000-5,600 m and reduced areas accounted for 95.53%, 77.80%, and 69.19% in the Kunlun, Qilian, and Altun mountains, respectively. The area of north-oriented glaciers decreased the most (-125.43 km²), but the west- and east-oriented glaciers retreated at the fastest rate (i.e., -27.11% and -27.10%). All glaciers showed a decreasing trend in sub-regions of the Qaidam Basin from 1977 to 2018. The decreasing trend was accelerated gradually from northwest to southeast in the northern part of the basin, while glacier change was the smallest in the middle section and gradually accelerated towards both ends of the basin's southern part. The temperature had continued to rise, and the precipitation had increased slowly in the Qaidam Basin during the past 50 years. The continuous rise in air temperature was the main reason for the retreat of glaciers.

Estimation of the influence of snow grain size and black carbon on albedo is essential in obtaining the accurate albedo. In this paper, field measurement data, including snow grain size, snow depth and density was obtained. Black carbon samples were collected from the snow surface. A simultaneous observation using Analytical Spectral Devices was employed in the Qiyi Glacier located in the Qilian Mountain. Analytical Spectral Devices spectrum data were used to analyze spectral reflectance of snow for different grain size and black carbon content. The measurements were compared with the results obtained from the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation model, and the simulation was found to correlate well with the observed data. However, the simulated albedo was near to 0.98 times of the measured albedo, so the other factors were assumed to be constant using the corrected Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation model to estimate the influence of measured snow grain size and black carbon on albedo. Field measurements were controlled to fit the relationship between the snow grain size and black carbon in order to estimate the influence of these factors on the snow albedo.

Cryogenic block streams consist of a stream of rocks superficially resembling a stream deposit but lacking a matrix,usually occurring on a valley or gully floor or on slopes that are less steep than the maximum angle of repose of coarse sediments.They are usually formed on perennially frozen ground,but can also occur as relict landforms.There are three main active kinds forming today,viz.,Siberian and Tibetan dynamic rock streams and lag block streams.During their formation,the blocks in the active Siberian and Tibetan dynamic block streams move downslope at up to 1 m/a.They are forming today on the Tibetan Plateau and in the more arid parts of south-central Siberia,although the processes involved in the movement are different.In the case of the Tibetan type,individual blocks slide downslope over the substrate in winter on an icy coating in areas of minimal winter precipitation.The Siberian type develops in areas of 15-80 cm of winter snow cover and an MAAT (mean annual air temperature) of -4℃ to -17℃.The movement is due to creep of snow and ice and collapse of the blocks downslope during thawing.Lag block streams are formed by meltwater flowing over the surface of sediment consisting primarily of larger blocks with a limited amount of interstitial sediment.The erosion of the matrix is primarily in the spring in areas of higher winter precipitation on 10°-30° slopes.The blocks remain stationary,but the interstitial sediment is washed out by strong seasonal flows of meltwater or rain to form an alluvial fan.The boulders undergo weathering and become more rounded in the process.Lag block streams can also develop without the presence of permafrost in areas with cold climates or glaciers.Block streams also occur as relict deposits in older deposits under various climatic regimes that are unsuitable for their formation today.An example of relict lag block streams with subangular to subrounded blocks occurs in gullies on the forested mountainsides at Felsen in Germany,and is the original "felsenmeer".Similar examples occur near Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria.The"stone runs"in the Falkland Islands are examples of the more angular relict lag block streams.In both Tasmania and the Falkland Islands,they mask a more complex history,the underlying soils indicating periods of tropical and temperate soil formation resulting from weathering during and since the Tertiary Period.Block streams have also been reported from beneath cold-based glaciers in Sweden,and below till in Canada,and when exhumed,can continue to develop.

The behavior and fates of environmental pollutants within the cryosphere and the associated environmental impacts are of increasing concerns in the context of global warming. The Tibetan Plateau (TP), also known as the "Third Pole", represents one of the most important cryospheric regions in the world. Mercury (Hg) is recognized as a global pollutant. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of Hg concentration levels, pools and spatio-temporal distribution in cryospheric environments (e.g., glacier, permafrost), and its transfer and potential cycle in the TP cryospheric region. Transboundary transport of anthropogenic Hg from the surrounding heavily-polluted regions, such as South and Southeast Asia, provides significant sources of atmospheric Hg depositions onto the TP cryosphere. We concluded that the melting of the cryosphere on the TP represents an increasing source of Hg and brings a risk to the TP environment. In addition, global warming acts as an important catalyst accelerating the release of legacy Hg from the melting cryosphere, adversely impacting ecosystems and biological health. Furthermore, we emphasize on the remaining gaps and proposed issues needed to be addressed in future work, including enhancing our knowledge on some key release pathways and the related environmental effects of Hg in the cryospheric region, integrated observation and consideration of Hg distribution, migration and cycle processes at a key region, and uses of Hg isotopic technical and Hg models to improve the understanding of Hg cycling in the TP cryospheric region.

In semi-arid areas of China, gravel and sand mulch is a farming technique with a long history. In this study, a sample survey was conducted on long term gravel sand mulch observational fields in the Northwest Loess Plateau to determine the effects of long term mulch on soil microbial and soil enzyme activities. We found that after long term gravel-sand mulch, compared with bare ground, soil organic matter, alkali nitrogen, conductivity decreased, while pH and soil moisture increased. Urease, saccharase and catalase decreased with increased mulch thickness, while alkaline phosphatase was reversed. The results of Illumina MiSeq sequencing shows that after gravel-sand mulch, the bacterial and fungal community structure was different from bare land, and the diversity was reduced. Compared with bare land, the bacteria Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria abundance increased with increased thickness, and Actinobacteria was opposite. Also, at the fungal genus level, Fusarium abundance was significantly reduced, and Remersonia was significantly increased, compared with bare land. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that soil environmental factors were important drivers of bacterial community changes. Overall, this study revealed some of the reasons for soil degradation after long term gravel-sand mulch. Therefore, it is recommended that the addition of exogenous soil nutrients after long term gravel-sand can help improve soil quality.

The building of railways on seasonally frozen ground is inevitable as China pursues economic development and the improvement of its citizens' living standards. However, railway construction in seasonally frozen soil areas is often faced with frost heave, leading to uneven subgrades which seriously threaten traffic safety. This article summarizes extant research results on frost heave mechanism, frost heave factors, and anti-frost measures of railway subgrades in seasonally frozen soil areas.

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.

Probable maximum precipitation (PMP) is widely used by hydrologists for appraisal of probable maximum flood (PMF) used for soil and water conservation structures, and design of dam spillways. A number of methods such as empirical, statistical and dynamic are used to estimate PMP, the most favored being statistical and hydro-meteorological. In this paper, PMP estimation in mountainous regions of Pakistan is studied using statistical as well as physically based hydro-meteorological approaches. Daily precipitation, dew point, wind speed and temperature data is processed to estimate PMP for a one-day duration. Maximum precipitation for different return periods is estimated by using statistical approaches such as Gumble and Log-Pearson type-III (LP-III) distribution. Goodness of fit (GOF) test, chi-square test, correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination were applied to Gumble and LP-III distributions. Results reveal that among statistical approaches, Gumble distribution performed the best result compared to LP-III distribution. Isohyetal maps of the study area at different return periods are produced by using the GIS tool, and PMP in mountainous regions varies from 150 to 320 mm at an average value of 230.83 mm. The ratio of PMP for one-day duration to highest observed rainfall (HOR) varied from 1.08 to 1.29 with an average value of 1.18. An appropriate frequency factor (K_m) is very important which is a function of mean for observed precipitation and PMP for 1-day duration, and K_m values varies from 2.54 to 4.68. The coefficient of variability (C_v) varies from minimum value of 28% to maximum value of 43.35%. It was concluded that the statistical approach gives higher results compared to moisture maximization (MM) approach. In the hydro-meteorological approach, moisture maximization (MM) and wind moisture maximization (WMM) techniques were applied and it was concluded that wind moisture maximization approach gives higher results of PMP as compared to moisture maximization approach as well as for Hershfield technique. Therefore, it is suggested that MM approach is the most favored in the study area for PMP estimation, which leads to acceptable results, compared to WMM and statistical approaches.

The Haerbin-Dalian Passenger Dedicated Line is the first high-speed railway constructed in the seasonally frozen ground regions of northeastern China. Frost heave diseases occurred in the first winter of its operation (between October 2012 and January 2013), and frost heave was observed mainly in the roadbed fills that were considered not susceptible to frost heave. This paper proposes applying two special pavements—black pavement and insulation-black pavement—to improve the thermal regime of the roadbed. Three numerical models of the roadbed temperature field were built based on the field conditions of the Changchun section (D3K692+840 to D3K692+860).The results show that: (1) Compared with cement pavement, black pavement and insulation-black pavement could reduce the freezing index at the roadbed surface by 37% and 64%, respectively, which could influence the maximum frozen depth; (2) the maximum frozen depths under the black pavement and insulation-black pavement were respectively 1.3-1.4 m and 1 m. Compared with cement pavement, they could reduce the maximum frozen depth by 0.4m and 0.7-0.8m, respectively, which would reduce the permitted amount of frost heave by 4 mm and 7-8 mm, which would meet the deformation limitestablished by the Code for Design on Special Subgrade of Railway; (3) the freezing periods of the black pavement and the insulation-black pavement were, respectively, approximatelyfour months and two months. Compared with cement pavement, they could reduce the freezing period by approximately 19 days and 40 days, respectively, and delay the initial freezing time by 9 days and 18 days; and (4) compared with cement pavement, black pavement and black-insulation pavement could reduce the frozen areas of roadbeds in the cold season, which suggeststhat these two special pavements could provide better thermal stability for roadbeds.

Taking advantage of heat absorbing and releasing capability of phase change material (PCM), Paraffin wax-based concrete was prepared to assess its automatic temperature control performance. The mechanical properties of PCM concrete with eight different Paraffin wax contents were tested by the cube compression test and four-point bending test. The more Paraffin wax incorporated, the greater loss of the compressive strength and bending strength. Based on the mechanical results, four contents of Paraffin wax were chosen for studying PCM concrete's thermal properties, including thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, specific heat capacity, thermal expansion coefficient and adiabatic temperature rise. When the Paraffin wax content increases from 10% to 20%, the thermal conductivity and the thermal diffusivity decrease from 7.31 kJ/(m·h·°C) to 7.10 kJ/(m·h·°C) and from 3.03×10^-3 m²/h to 2.44×10^-3 m²/h, respectively. Meanwhile the specific heat capacity and thermal expansion coefficient rise from 5.38×10^-1 kJ/(kg·°C) to 5.76×10^-1 kJ/(kg·°C) and from 9.63×10^-6/°C to 14.02×10^-6/°C, respectively. The adiabatic temperature rise is found to decrease with an increasing Paraffin wax content. Considering both the mechanical and thermal properties, 15% of Paraffin wax was elected for the mass concrete model test, and the model test results confirm the effect of Paraffin wax in automatic mass concrete temperature control.

Drought is a major production constraint for major fruits and vegetable crops in the tropics.This study was conducted to investigate the effect of limited water supply at three growth stages (vegetative,flowering and fruiting) on the accumulation of proline and soluble sugars in three pepper species.Seeds of the three pepper species,Capsicum chinense Jacq.,C.annuum L.and C.frutescens L.were raised in a nursery and the seedlings were transplanted into seventy two plastic pots arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates,25 days after planting.Four water treatments,200 mL of water supplied twice daily (W₁),once in every three days (W₂),once in every five days (W₃),and zero water supplied throughout growing period (W₀) were imposed at three vegetative,flowering,and fruiting growth stages.Data were collected on relative water content,free proline and total soluble sugar.Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and means were separated using Duncan's multiple range test.Results show that the concentration of proline and soluble sugar in leaves of the three pepper species were found to be remarkable at the different stages of growth in the stressed plants.

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.

The measurement of pile axial load is of great significance to determining pile foundation design parameters such as skin friction and end bearing capacity and analyzing load transfer mechanisms. Affected by the temperature and ice content of frozen ground, the interface contact relationship between pile foundation and frozen soil is complicated, making pile axial load measurements more uncertain than that in non-frozen ground. Therefore, it is necessary to gain an in-depth understanding of the current pile axial load test methods. Four methods are systematically reviewed: vibrating wire sensors, strain gauges, sliding micrometers, and optical fiber strain sensors. At the same time, the applicability of the four test methods in frozen soil regions is discussed in detail. The first two methods are mature and commonly used. The sliding micrometer is only suitable for short-term measurement. While the Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain gauge meets the monitoring requirements, the Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometer (BOTDR) needs further verification. This paper aims to provide a technical reference for selecting and applying different methods in the pile axial load test for the stability study and bearing capacity assessment of pile foundations in cold regions.