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.

In order to study the mechanical properties and energy evolution of low-temperature concrete during uniaxial compression, a uniaxial compression test was performed on concrete. In addition, the evolution laws of compressive strength, deformation modulus and total energy, elastic potential energy, dissipated energy and peak energy of concrete in the process of deformation and failure are analyzed. The effects of age and temperature on low-temperature concrete is analyzed from the perspective of energy. Test results show that temperature improves the strength and deformation of concrete to varying degrees. When cured for 28 days, the compressive strength and deformation modulus of concrete at -20 ℃ is increased by 17.98% and 21.45% respectively, compared with the compressive strength and deformation modulus at room temperature of 20 ℃. At the point of failure of the concrete under uniaxial compression, the total damage energy and the dissipation energy both increase, while the developed elastic strain energy increases and then decreases. Increase in curing duration tends to increase the total destruction energy of concrete, peak point elastic strain energy, peak point dissipation energy, and peak point total energy. Whereas increase in curing durations, has shown to decrease the total destruction energy of concrete, the peak point elastic strain energy, peak point dissipation energy, and peak point total energy. The peak point strain energy reflects the ability of low-temperature concrete to reasonably resist damage. By using the principle of energy analysis to study the deformation process of concrete, it provides research methods and ideas for the deformation analysis of this type of material under load.

High temperature rutting is a typical highway damage in Xinjiang, China, and its trigger process usually has a close relationship with characteristics of road temperature distribution. A numerical model of earth-atmosphere coupling heat transfer on a typical section of the Beijing-Xinjiang Expressway (G7) from Wutong Daquan to Yiwu was established in this work. Spatiotemporal characteristics of pavement structure layer temperature distribution, frequency and duration times of road surface high temperature from May 1 to September 30 are statistically studied. The effects of wind speed, weather and air temperature on asphalt layer and pavement temperature are analyzed. The results show that: (1) Spatial and temporal temperature distribution characteristics of pavement structural layers are greatly affected by the coupled earth-atmosphere heat transfer process. Surface temperature increases along the airflow direction and daily temperature variation of the pavement structure layer decreases with an increase of depth. (2) G7 expressway will face the challenge of high rutting damage. The proportion of temperature higher than 50 °C for pavement surface and asphalt upper layer both exceeds 50% and high temperature of road lasts for more than six hours in numerous days. (3) High temperatures of asphalt pavement are usually associated with low ambient wind speeds, while the wind flow has little cooling effect when the road surface temperature is relative high. Weather conditions have a significant impact on temperature of the road surface. The probability of high temperature in sunny days is obviously higher than other weather conditions. (4) Pavement temperature rises as air temperature rises. When air temperature is higher than 30 °C, the proportion of pavement daily maximum temperature over softening point reaches up to 78%.

Bacteria constitute a large proportion of the biodiversity in soils and control many important processes in terrestrial ecosystems. However, our understanding of the interactions between soil bacteria and environmental factors remains limited, especially in sensitive and fragile ecosystems. In this study, geographic patterns of bacterial diversity across four sandy grasslands along a 1,600 km north-south transect in northern China were characterized by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Then, we analyzed the driving factors behind the patterns in bacterial diversity. The results show that of the 21 phyla detected, the most abundant were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and Firmicutes (average relative abundance >5%). Soil bacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) numbers (richness) and Faith's phylogenetic diversity (diversity) were highest in the Otindag Sandy Land and lowest in the Mu Us Sandy Land. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) was the most influential factor driving bacterial richness and diversity. The bacterial communities differed significantly among the four sandy grasslands, and the bacterial community structure was significantly affected by environmental factors and geographic distance. Of the environmental variables examined, climatic factors (mean annual temperature and precipitation) and edaphic properties (pH and EC) explained the highest proportion of the variation in bacterial community structure. Biotic factors such as plant species richness and aboveground biomass exhibited weak but significant associations with bacterial richness and diversity. Our findings revealed the important role of climate and salinity factors in controlling bacterial richness and diversity; understanding these roles is critical for predicting the impacts of climate change and promoting sustainable management strategies for ecosystem services in these sandy lands.

CO₂ released by soil serves as an important link between terrestrial ecosystems and atmospheric CO₂, whose small changes may significantly affect the global carbon cycle. In order to reveal the spatio-temporal variations of CO₂ concentrations in deep loess, this paper takes Qingliangsi Gully watershed in northwestern Shanxi Province, China as an example to systematically study soil CO₂ concentration and its spatio-temporal variations and carbon sink significance under different watershed locations and different land use types. Results show that: (1) The release potential of the loess soil is larger in the depth range of 2 m, which is much more likely to be the CO₂ release area. (2) Grassland and forest are more advantageous in terms of soil microbial activity and soil carbon reserve compared with farmland. In addition, the change of land use type from farmland to grassland can increase soil organic carbon reserve, which is of far-reaching significance to the global carbon cycle. This is especially true in an area like the Loess Plateau with densely covered hills, gullies, and serious soil erosion in an area of 64×10⁴ km². (3) In the study area, the diurnal concentration of soil CO₂ at different depths shows a weak "high-low-high-low" trend from 08:00 to 07:00 next day; and in deep soil it has a lag time compared with the daily change of temperature, generally about 4-12 h, which may be caused largely by the more compact loess structure. It is worth pointing out that the Loess Plateau in China, with a thickness of the loess of tens to hundreds of meters, has the most abundant soil resources in the world, and also stores a large amount of terrestrial soil carbon, which carries the hope of promoting the research of global carbon cycle.

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.