Effects of agriculture,climate, and policy on NDVI change in a semi-arid river basin of the Chinese Loess Plateau

In 1999, the Grain for Green Project was implemented by the Chinese government. Since then, the vegetation of Zuli River Basin, a semi-arid river basin of the Chinese Loess Plateau, has been greatly changed. Clearly understanding the impact of natural and artificial factors on vegetation change is important for policy making and ecosystem management. In this study, spatio-temporal variations in vegetation cover in Chinese Zuli River Basin during 1999–2016 were investigated using Landsat normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. Analyses of several indicators, including changes in NDVI in different slopes and land use changes and the relationships between climatic factors and NDVI change, were presented to quantitatively evaluate the effects of agriculture, climate, and policy on NDVI change. The NDVI in the Zuli River Basin increased during the study period, and the main contributors to this change were forest in 1999–2011, cropland, abandoned farmland, and grassland in 2009–2016, and land with slopes ≤ 15°. Land with slope > 15°, where the “Project” was implemented, slightly contributed to the increase in regional NDVI. In 1999–2011, the project (?98.16%) combined with climate change (?68.18%) showed negative effects on the increase in NDVI in the Zuli River Basin, but agriculture (22.28%) played a positive role in increasing this index. In 2009–2016 and 1999–2016, the project (38.45% and 35.25%, respectively), the project combined with climate change (49.83% and 46.30%, respectively), agriculture (18.61% and 23.30%, respectively), promoted increases in NDVI in the basin.     

Mass balanced based LCA of a common carp-lettuce aquaponics system

An aquaponics system (AS) is an integrated system that combines a recirculating aquaculture system and a hydroponics system (HS). It is designed to recover nutrients released from fish and transfer them to plants to provide a system more environmentally-friendly than the two systems working separately. As a result, several AS are under development, but little information is available about their overall performances. The aim of this study was to assess nutrient-use efficiency and environmental impacts of an AS, specifically a common carp-lettuce AS located in a greenhouse. Nutrient budgets of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were calculated and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed for the AS and for a lettuce Individual Hydroponics System (IHS), similar to the HS of the AS, operating in the greenhouse at the same time. The experiment was performed over a 52-day cycle, which corresponds to the growing time required to harvest marketable lettuce. The nutrient budgets were well balanced, with 24.6% of the N unaccounted-for, most likely due to N2 gas emission, and 6.6% of the P unaccounted-for, most likely due to having underestimated the quantity of sediment. At the beginning of the experiment, N represented 55.9%, 37.1% and 0.1% of the total N input in the formulated feed, stocked fish and lettuce seedlings, respectively. At the end of the experiment, N represented 47.6% and 0.4% of the total N input in the harvested fish and lettuce, respectively. At the beginning of the experiment, P represented 56.94%, 40.20% and 0.03% of the total P input in the formulated feed, stocked fish and lettuce seedlings, respectively. At the end of the experiment, P represented 51.52% and 0.42% of the total P input in the harvested fish and lettuce, respectively. LCA clearly indicated two environmental impact hotspots: the origin of nutrients and energy use. One kg of lettuce growth in the AS clearly had lower environmental impacts than that in the IHS for climate change, acidification, eutrophication, land competition and cumulative energy demand; however, a decrease in water dependence was not observed. The indicator for net primary production use highlighted the dependence of the AS on natural resources, especially fish meal and fish oil. Compared to the use of chemical nutrients in the IHS, the use of nutrients from formulated feed in the AS decreased climate change impact but increased the use of natural resources.     

青藏高原草地降水利用效率时空动态及对气候变化的响应

本研究利用CASA(Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach)模型模拟了2000—2013年青藏高原草地净植被生产力(Net Primary Production，NPP)，结合实测数据、气象数据和土地覆被数据计算了草地降水利用效率（PUE），探究其时空分布特征，以及不同草地类型PUE及其对气候变化的响应。结果表明：青藏高原草地PUE在研究年限内呈现波动增加趋势，增加速率为每年0.0035 g·m^-2·mm^-1，14 a的平均值为0.38 g·m^-2·mm^-1。PUE的空间分布具有明显的异质性，呈现东部高、中西部低的基本格局。PUE分布在0.2～0.4 g·m^-2·mm^-1之间的比例最大，占青藏高原总面积的55.63%，呈减少趋势的区域主要分布在青藏高原的北部和西部，以及东部的边界地区，呈增加趋势的地区集中在研究区的中部和南部。研究年限内PUE的变异系数分布在0.07～0.85之间，变化稳定的区域所占面积最大，为总面积的43.43%，主要分布在唐古拉山脉和横断山脉附近。不同草地类型间PUE均值存在差异，具体表现为：草甸（1.06 g·m^-2·mm^-1）>坡面草地（0.80 g·m^-2·mm^-1）>平原草地（0.30 g·m^-2·mm^-1）>高山与亚高山草甸（0.29 g·m^-2·mm^-1）>荒漠草地（0.23 g·m^-2·mm^-1）>高山与亚高山草地（0.094 g·m^-2·mm^-1）。总体上，青藏高原草地PUE与降水成负相关关系，而与气温呈正相关，PUE的变化对降水响应更加敏感。     

Dietary Photoprotective Compounds Ameliorate UV Tolerance in Shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) through Induction of Antioxidant Activity

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on bioaccumulation of UV‐absorbing compounds acquired through the diet, in larvae and postlarvae of Pleoticus muelleri, and to assess tissue antioxidant activity, survival, and development. Mysis stage I were exposed to two artificial radiation treatments: M‐PAR (photosynthetically active radiation, range = 400–700 nm) and M‐PAR + UVR (280–700 nm). The experimental larvae received a mixed dietary treatment of Artemia persimilis and the microalga Pavlova lutheri, reared under two radiation regimes: PAR (D‐PAR) and PAR + UVR (D‐PAR + UVR). Shrimp from all treatments reached 8 d postlarval stage (PL8), except those under M‐PAR + UVR treatment fed the D‐PAR‐cultured algae, which had 0% survival. Larvae in M‐PAR + UVR and M‐PAR treatments fed with D‐PAR + UVR diet presented the highest survival rates (70 and 75%, respectively), with 37 and 41% increase in PL size. UV‐absorbing compounds were detected in microalgae and PL subject to PAR + UVR treatments. Antioxidant activity, quantified by measuring the free‐radical 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl in homogenates of PL8, decayed drastically under radiation treatment M‐PAR + UVR fed with algae of the D‐PAR + UVR treatment. It is concluded that the bioaccumulation of UV‐absorbing compounds and the highest antioxidant activity in PL could improve the biochemical and photophysiological responses of shrimp under UVR stress.     

Hydrological and water cycle processes of inland river basins in the arid region of Northwest China

The increasing shortage in water resources is a key factor affecting sustainable socio-economic development in the arid region of Northwest China(ARNC). Water shortages also affect the stability of the region's oasis ecosystem. This paper summarizes the hydrological processes and water cycle of inland river basins in the ARNC, focusing on the following aspects: the spatial-temporal features of water resources(including air water vapor resources, runoff, and glacial meltwater) and their driving forces; the characteristics of streamflow composition in the inland river basins; the characteristics and main controlling factors of baseflow in the inland rivers; and anticipated future changes in hydrological processes and water resources. The results indicate that:(1) although the runoff in most inland rivers in the ARNC showed a significant increasing trend, both the glaciated area and glacial ice reserves have been reduced in the mountains;(2) snow melt and glacier melt are extremely important hydrological processes in the ARNC, especially in the Kunlun and Tianshan mountains;(3) baseflow in the inland rivers of the ARNC is the result of climate change and human activities, with the main driving factors being the reduction in forest area and the over-exploitation and utilization of groundwater in the river basins; and(4) the contradictions among water resources, ecology and economy will further increase in the future. The findings of this study might also help strengthen the ecological, economic and social sustainable development in the study region.     

Abrupt temperature change and a warming hiatus from 1951 to 2014 in Inner Mongolia,China

An abrupt temperature change and a warming hiatus have strongly influenced the global climate.This study focused on these changes in Inner Mongolia, China. This study used the central clustering method, Mann-Kendall mutation test and other methods to explore the abrupt temperature change and warming hiatus in three different temperature zones of the study region based on average annual data series.Among the temperature metrics investigated, average minimum temperature(Tnav) shifted the earliest,followed by average temperature(Tnv) and average maximum temperature(Txav). The latest change was observed in summer(1990 s), whereas the earliest was observed in winter(1970 s). Before and after the abrupt temperature change, Tnav fluctuated considerably, whereas there was only a slight change in Txav.Before and after the abrupt temperature change, the winter temperature changed more dramatically than the summer temperature. Before the abrupt temperature change, Tnav in the central region(0.322°C/10 a)and west region(0.48°C/10 a) contributed the most to the increasing temperatures. After the abrupt temperature change, Tnav in winter in the central region(0.519°C/10 a) and in autumn in the west region(0.729°C/10 a) contributed the most to the temperature increases. Overall, in the years in which temperature shifts occurred early, a warming hiatus also appeared early. The three temperature metrics in spring(1991)in the east region were the first to exhibit a warming hiatus. In the east region, Txav displayed the lowest rate of increase(0.412°C/a) in the period after the abrupt temperature change and before the warming hiatus,and the highest rate of increase after the warming hiatus.     

近60年河北省冬小麦干旱风险时空规律

干旱是造成作物减产的主要自然灾害,开展作物干旱成因机制和时空特征研究,对于稳定区域粮食生产有重要意义。本研究基于河北省内18个国家标准气象站点1958—2016年的长时间序列观测资料,采用水分亏缺指数(CWDI)作为干旱评价指标,分析了近60年来河北省冬小麦的干旱风险时空格局;通过CWDI对不同气象因子的敏感性分析,进一步探究了冬小麦干旱的成因机制。研究表明,冬小麦生育期需水量和干旱风险呈先增后减再增加的特征,在拔节–抽穗阶段的干旱风险最高,其次是抽穗-成熟阶段。冬小麦全生育期间干旱等级以重旱和特旱为主,特别在其产量形成的关键生长中后期,河北省东南部黑龙港地区面临较高的旱灾风险。冬小麦干旱受降水、气温、湿度等多种因素的影响,其中影响最大的是降水;气温是影响冬小麦生育后期干旱程度的关键因子,伴随近几十年气候变化冬小麦生长期内温度明显升高,将增加冬小麦生长期的耗水量和灌溉需求。本研究揭示了气候变化影响下河北省冬小麦干旱风险的时空演变规律,识别出了干旱灾害的高风险区和关键生育期阶段,可为优化冬小麦灌溉管理和农田防灾减灾提供参考依据。