Please wait a minute...

Current issue

2020, 12 (3) Online: 30 June 2020 Previous issue
  • A modified numerical model for moisture-salt transport in unsaturated sandy soil under evaporation
  • Wei Wen,YuanMing Lai,ZheMin You
  • DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2020.00125
  • 2020, Vol.12 (3): 125–133 Abstract ( 680) HTML ( 39) PDF (4133 KB) ( 325 )
  • Soil salinization, caused by salt migration and accumulation underneath the soil surface, will corrode structures. To analyze the moisture-salt migration and salt precipitation in soil under evaporation conditions, a mathematical model consisting of a series of theoretical equations is briefly presented. The filling effect of precipitated salts on tortuosity factor and evaporation rate are taken into account in relevant equations. Besides, a transition equation to link the solute transport equation before and after salt precipitation is proposed. Meanwhile, a new relative humidity equation deduced from Pitzer ions model is used to modify the vapor transport flux equation. The results show that the calculated values are in good agreement with the published experimental data, especially for the simulation of volume water content and evaporation rate of Toyoura sand, which confirm the reliability and applicability of the proposed model.

  • Numerical simulations on cutting of frozen soil using HJC Model
  • WenQiang Zhang,YongHong Niu
  • DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2020.00134
  • 2020, Vol.12 (3): 134–143 Abstract ( 617) HTML ( 28) PDF (4939 KB) ( 645 )
  • Numerical simulation is known as an effective method for mechanical properties during frozen soil excavation. In order to reveal the development of cutting force, effective stress and cutting fragments in frozen silt during the cutting process, we introduce an explicit finite element program LS-DYNA to establish a two-dimensional numerical model of the frozen soil cut. We also use the Holmquist-Johnson-Cook (HJC) damage constitutive model for simulating the variation of soil mechanical properties according to the strong dependence between the cutting tool and frozen silt during the process with different cutting depths, angles and velocities. Meanwhile, a series of experimental results are acquired of frozen silt cutting to prove the application of the HJC model during simulation of cutting force variations. The result shows that the cutting force and fragment size are strongly influenced by cutting depths and cutting velocities increased, and the maximum effective stress at points where the tool contacts frozen soil during the cutting process. In addition, when the cutting angle is 52°, the cutting force is the smallest, and the cutting angle is optimum. Thus, the prediction of frozen soil mechanical properties on the cutting process by this model is conducive to selecting machinery equipment in the field.

  • Mapping the dynamic degree of aeolian desertification in the Shiyang River Basin from 1975 to 2010
  • Jie Liao,Tao Wang,ShaoXiu Ma,Jian Guo
  • DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2020.00144
  • 2020, Vol.12 (3): 144–153 Abstract ( 294) HTML ( 23) PDF (5783 KB) ( 380 )
  • The Shiyang River Basin is an area of China that is severly affected by aeolian desertification. Thus, we established an aeolian desertified land classification system for visual interpretation, which classified the Aeolian Desertified Land (ADL) into Slight (SL), Moderate (M), Severe (S) and Extremely Severe (ES) according to the severity. Imagery of Landsat series (acquired in 1975, 1990, 2000 and 2010) were employed to monitor the status, trend and spatial pattern of aeolian desertification, especially to map the overall spatial pattern of ADL dynamics by proposing a new Dynamic Index (DI) in the Shiyang River Basin from 1975 to 2010. The results show a generally decreasing trend from 1975 to 2010. However, the ES ADL kept increasing throughout the whole study period. Moreover, the area of ADLs with different severity increased with increasing severity, this S and ES ADLs dominated characteristics of aeolian desertification was contrary to those sandy lands in eastern China where was dominated by SL and M ADLs. Among the three sub-periods of 1975-1990, 1990-2000 and 2000-2010, the first two were the restoration stage, while the last one was the expansion stage of aeolian desertification. Moreover, all these new ADLs occurred in Minqin County during 2000-2010, indicating a detrimental increase of aeolian desertification in Minqin, and the concentration of ADLs toward the lower reaches of the Shiyang River Basin. The DI works well to identify areas with desertification changes no matter the sub-periods. Moreover, DI results disclosed a stable status of aeolian desertification, and the DI decreased with increasing ADL severity. These results indicate that it will be difficult to control the expansion of aeolian desertification in Minqin County over an extended period of time. Thus, we suggest effective and long-lasting aeolian desertification control programs in the Shiyang River Basin, especially in Minqin, and SL and M ADLs should have priority in facilitating a quick reversal of aeolian desertification.

  • Quantitatively estimate the components of natural runoff and identify the impacting factors in asnow-fed river basin of China
  • Jia Qin,JinKui Wu,TianDing Han,QiuDong Zhao
  • DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2020.00154
  • 2020, Vol.12 (3): 154–164 Abstract ( 257) HTML ( 21) PDF (6844 KB) ( 148 )
  • Snowmelt water is an essential runoff source of some alpine rivers in China. This study selected the Upper Burqin River (UBR), a typical snow-fed river, to quantitatively assess the runoff contributions of different components, as well as the causes of runoff variations under the background of cryosphere change and global warming. Based on the spatial-temporal distributions of snow and glaciers during a year, as well as the altitudinal variations of 0 °C isotherm, the high flow hydrographs in UBR was separated into two parts: seasonal snowmelt flood of lower altitudes (<3,000 m) and glacier-snow melt flow in high altitudes (3,000-4,296 m). The daily baseflow hydrograph of UBR was separated by the digital filtering technique. It is concluded that the contributions of snowmelt flow, glacier melt flow, and baseflow (includes rainfall runoff component) to total annual flow volumes are 27.2% (±2.7%), 8.5% (±1.7%), and 64.3% (±3.0%), respectively. The speed of air temperature rise in spring may be the controlling factor for monthly snowmelt flow distributions in the snow-fed river. The volume of snowmelt was determined by spring precipitation (SP) and previous winter's precipitation (PWP). The PWP changes can explain 43.7% of snowmelt changes during 1981-2010 in UBR, while snowmelt change in 1957-1980 is more impacted by SP. The determining factor of snowmelt variation was changed from SP to PAP during the recent decades. Precipitation in current year, excluding previous year's rainfall and snowfall, can only explain 32%-70% of the variability in total runoff.

  • A meta-analysis of the impacts of forest logging on soil CO2 efflux
  • LongFei Chen,YangZhou Xiang,ZhiBin He,Jun Du,PengFei Lin,Xi Zhu
  • DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2020.00165
  • 2020, Vol.12 (3): 165–179 Abstract ( 298) HTML ( 29) PDF (4619 KB) ( 707 )
  • Soil CO2 efflux, the second largest flux in a forest carbon budget, plays an important role in global carbon cycling. Forest logging is expected to have large effects on soil CO2 efflux and carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems. However, a comprehensive understanding of soil CO2 efflux dynamics in response to forest logging remains elusive due to large variability in results obtained across individual studies. Here, we used a meta-analysis approach to synthesize the results of 77 individual field studies to determine the impacts of forest logging on soil CO2 efflux. Our results reveal that forest logging significantly stimulated soil CO2 efflux of the growing season by 5.02%. However, averaged across all studies, non-significant effect was detected following forest logging. The large variation among forest logging impacts was best explained by forest type, logging type, and time since logging. Soil CO2 efflux in coniferous forests exhibited a significant increase (4.38%) due to forest logging, while mixed and hardwood forests showed no significant change. Logging type also had a significant effect on soil CO2 efflux, with thinning increasing soil CO2 efflux by 12.05%, while clear-cutting decreasing soil CO2 efflux by 8.63%. The time since logging also had variable effects, with higher soil CO2 efflux for 2 years after logging, and lower for 3-6 years after logging; when exceeded 6 years, soil CO2 efflux increased. As significantly negative impacts of forest logging were detected on fine root biomass, the general positive effects on soil CO2 efflux can be explained by the accelerated decomposition of organic matter as a result of elevated soil temperature and organic substrate quality. Our results demonstrate that forest logging had potentially negative effects on carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems.

  • Fast genetic mapping in barley: case studies of cuticle mutants using RNA-sequencing
  • XiaoFeng Li,Chao Li,Qin Zhou,GuoXiong Chen,PengShan Zhao
  • DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2020.00180
  • 2020, Vol.12 (3): 180–188 Abstract ( 503) HTML ( 18) PDF (2688 KB) ( 382 )
  • Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the earliest domesticated crop species and ranked as the fourth largest cereal production worldwide. Forward genetic studies in barley have greatly advanced plant genetics during the last century; however, most genes are identified by the conventional mapping method. Array genotyping and exome-capture sequencing have also been successfully used to target the causal mutation in barley populations, but these techniques are not widely adopted because of associated costs and partly due to the huge genome size of barley. This review summarizes three mapping cases of barley cuticle mutants in our laboratory with the help of RNA-sequencing. The causal mutations have been successfully identified for two of them and the target genes are located in the pericentromeric regions. Detailed information on the mapping-by-sequencing, mapping-and-sequencing, and RNA-sequencing assisted linkage mapping are presented and some limitations and challenges on the mapping assisted by RNA sequencing are also discussed. The alternative and elegant methods presented in this review may greatly accelerate forward genetics of barley mapping, especially for laboratories without large funding.