艾比湖流域5种土壤类型的酶活性和理化性质

以艾比湖流域为研究区,研究了荒漠5种类型土壤（黑钙土、栗钙土、棕漠土、灰漠土和灰钙土）的4种酶（过氧化氢酶、磷酸酶、脲酶和蔗糖酶）活性和理化性质（0~15、15~30 cm和30~50 cm土层）,并分析土壤酶活性与理化性质间的相关关系。结果表明：① 黑钙土和栗钙土的土壤理化性质优于其他土壤类型;各类型土壤理化性质的垂直分布表现出一定的规律性,土壤含水率和总盐表现为递减,土壤pH、有机质、全氮和速效磷则表现为递增。② 不同土壤类型的土壤酶活性间存在分异,除黑钙土外,其他类型土壤的酶活性在土壤剖面上递减规律不明显。③ 土壤酶活性间存在不同程度的正相关关系。④ 干旱区土壤酶活性与土壤有机质和全氮呈极显著正相关,与土壤含水率呈显著或极显著正相关,个别土壤酶活性与土壤pH呈显著负相关,与总盐和速效磷相关性不显著。⑤ 不同土壤类型酶活性和理化性质间的相关性表现不一,影响不同土壤类型酶活性的主要理化因子也不同。     

Aggregate binding agents improve soil aggregate stability in Robinia pseudoacacia forests along a climatic gradient on the Loess Plateau,China

The distribution of binding agents(i.e.,soil organic carbon(SOC)and glomalin-related soil protein(GRSP))in soil aggregates was influenced by many factors,such as plant characteristics and soil properties.However,how these factors affect binding agents and soil aggregate stability along a climatic gradient remained unclear.We selected the Robinia pseudoacacia L.forests from semi-arid to semi-humid of the Loess Plateau,China to analyze the plant biomass,soil physical-chemical properties,SOC and GRSP distribution in different sized soil aggregates.We found that from semi-arid to semi-humid forests:(1)the proportion of macro-aggregates(>0.250 mm)significantly increased(P<0.05),whereas those of micro-aggregates(0.250–0.053 mm)and fine materials(<0.053 mm)decreased and soil aggregate stability was increased;(2)the contents of SOC and GRSP in macro-aggregates and micro-aggregates significantly increased,and those in fine materials decreased;(3)the contribution of SOC to soil aggregate stability was greater than those of total GRSP and easily extractable GRSP;(4)soil properties had greater influence on binding agents than plant biomass;and(5)soil aggregate stability was enhanced by increasing the contents of SOC and GRSP in macro-aggregates and soil property was the important part during this process.Climate change from semi-arid to semi-humid forests is important factor for soil structure formation because of its positive effect on soil aggregates.     

模拟增温及施氮对荒漠草原土壤呼吸的影响

以内蒙古高原四子王旗短花针茅建群的荒漠草原为研究对象,通过野外自然条件下进行的模拟增温和增施氮肥实验,研究了增温、施氮及增温+施氮情况下土壤呼吸强度的变化。三年的研究结果表明:1)增温对各年内土壤呼吸没有产生显著影响,但土壤呼吸有明显的季节变化,而且与增温显著相关(P<0.05)。2)施氮对荒漠草地的影响程度与自然条件有密切关系,其中降雨量多少是施氮对荒漠草地土壤呼吸影响程度的重要制约因素,降雨量越高氮素对土壤呼吸作用愈加明显。3)施氮显著增加了植物群落的地下生物量(P<0.05),土壤呼吸与地下生物量呈显著的正相关(P<0.001)。     

Major elements in the Holocene loess-paleosol sequence in the upper reaches of the Weihe River valley,China

Palaeohydrological investigations were carried out in the Guchuan Basin in the upper reaches of the Weihe River valley, China. A set of palaeoflood slackwater deposits(SWDs) was found interbedded in the Holocene loess-paleosol sequence at the Guchuanzhen site(GCZ). These palaeoflood SWDs were studied by field observations and laboratory analyses including concentrations of chemical elements and optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) dating. The results showed that the palaeoflood SWDs were the result of the secondary separations of the surface soil and weathered soil layers during the process of water transport and deposition, and without obvious weathering during soil development. These extraordinary flood events were dated back to 3,200-3,000 a B.P. with the OSL method and checked by archaeological dating of the human remains retrieved from the profile. These extraordinary flood events were therefore considered as regional expression of known climatic events and demonstrated the climatic instability in the Holocene. This result is important for understanding the effects of global climate change on the dynamics of river systems.     

Investigating natural drivers of vegetation coverage variation using MODIS imagery in Qinghai,China

The climatically sensitive Qinghai province of China has been recognized as a hotspot for studies on the feedbacks of terrestrial ecosystems to global climate change. Thus, investigating vegetation coverage and its natural drivers in Qinghai is an important focus of ecosystem research. On the basis of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) Enhanced Vegetation Index(EVI) time series data, we estimated the vegetation coverage in this region using the dimidiate pixel model. Trend analyses, correlations between meteorological parameters, changes in vegetation coverage, and the temporal and spatial relationships between soil texture and vegetation coverage were used to investigate the possible drivers of vegetation coverage variations. The results indicated that the reduction of vegetation coverage slowed down in the period from 2000 to 2012. Annual mean temperature was the main climatic driver of the total extremely low and low vegetation coverage areas in Qinghai, followed by the precipitation anomalies. The extremely low and low vegetation coverage areas were mainly distributed in regions with a mean annual relative air humidity of <40% and the spatial distributions of these two area types differentiated along the 200-mm rainfall contours. The total extremely low and low vegetation coverage areas were mainly characterized by sandy clay loam soil, followed by loamy sand and sandy soil. Regions with sandy loam or loam soil have the greatest risk of vegetation coverage reductions. Knowledge of vegetation coverage variation and its natural drivers in the ecologically fragile region of Qinghai can provide scientific support for managing environmental change and desertification.     

阿尔泰山西北部垂直带谱中土壤有机氮素分布

阿尔泰山西北部垂直带谱中的土壤有机氮素,同土壤腐殖质一样表现为非连续性的特征转化系列。在干旱气候带,土壤的全氮量随海拔升高到黑钙土增加至10倍。土壤中酸不溶态氮相对含量也持续增加,而氨基酸和氨基糖态氮含量下降。胡敏酸中酸不溶态氮和氨基酸态氮也表现出类似的变化趋势。冷一湿气候带中土壤胡敏酸的未鉴定态氮相对含量明显地多于干旱气候带,而干旱气候带中土壤胡敏酸的酸不溶态氮量显著地高于冷—湿气候带。土壤和其胡敏酸中氮素形态分布,与垂直带谱中土壤的腐殖质化过程紧密相关,随腐殖质化度的增加,酸不溶态氮相对含量提高,而氨基酸态氮和氨基糖态氮量下降。胡敏酸中氨基糖态氮含量甚微。     

Effects of long-term warming on the aboveground biomass and species diversity in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China

Ecosystems in high-altitude regions are more sensitive and respond more rapidly than other ecosystems to global climate warming.The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)of China is an ecologically fragile zone that is sensitive to global climate warming.It is of great importance to study the changes in aboveground biomass and species diversity of alpine meadows on the QTP under predicted future climate warming.In this study,we selected an alpine meadow on the QTP as the study object and used infrared radiators as the warming device for a simulation experiment over eight years(2011-2018).We then analyzed the dynamic changes in aboveground biomass and species diversity of the alpine meadow at different time scales,including an early stage of warming(2011-2013)and a late stage of warming(2016-2018),in order to explore the response of alpine meadows to short-term(three years)and long-term warming(eight years).The results showed that the short-term warming increased air temperature by 0.31℃and decreased relative humidity by 2.54%,resulting in the air being warmer and drier.The long-term warming increased air temperature and relative humidity by 0.19℃and 1.47%,respectively,and the air tended to be warmer and wetter.The short-term warming increased soil temperature by 2.44℃and decreased soil moisture by 12.47%,whereas the long-term warming increased soil temperature by 1.76℃and decreased soil moisture by 9.90%.This caused the shallow soil layer to become warmer and drier under both short-term and long-term warming.Furthermore,the degree of soil drought was alleviated with increased warming duration.Under the long-term warming,the importance value and aboveground biomass of plants in different families changed.The importance values of grasses and sedges decreased by 47.56%and 3.67%,respectively,while the importance value of weeds increased by 1.37%.Aboveground biomass of grasses decreased by 36.55%,while those of sedges and weeds increased by 8.09%and 15.24%,respectively.The increase in temperature had a non-significant effect on species diversity.The species diversity indices increased at the early stage of warming and decreased at the late stage of warming,but none of them reached significant levels(P>0.05).Species diversity had no significant correlation with soil temperature and soil moisture under both short-term and long-term warming.Soil temperature and aboveground biomass were positively correlated in the control plots(P=0.014),but negatively correlated under the long-term warming(P=0.013).Therefore,eight years of warming aggravated drought in the shallow soil layer,which is beneficial for the growth of weeds but not for the growth of grasses.Warming changed the structure of alpine meadow communities and had a certain impact on the community species diversity.Our studies have great significance for the protection and effective utilization of alpine vegetation,as well as for the prevention of grassland degradation or desertification in high-altitude regions.     

我国高原土壤资源的特点及合理利用

本文根据１９８７－１９９０年对昆仑山区的实地考察资料，阐述了我国高原土壤形成环境及高原土壤资源的特点，进而提出了合理利用建议。并侧重列示了在这次考察中首次发现的石膏寒漠土、龟裂土及碱土的主要理化性质。     

宁夏引黄灌区盐化土壤微生物区系及其指示意义

为了有效防治土壤盐渍化的进一步发展,采用平板稀释法和常规土壤化学性质测定方法,对宁夏惠农不同程度盐渍化土壤微生物区系及其动态变化,土壤化学性质、养分含量及其与土壤微生物的相关关系进行了研究。结果表明：在盐渍化土壤区域,随着盐渍化程度的增加,土壤pH和碱化度以轻度盐渍化土壤最高,且20～40 cm土层高于0～20 cm。不同程度盐渍化土壤养分含量、细菌、真菌和放线菌数量均表现为随着盐渍化程度的加重,而呈现逐渐降低的趋势,即轻度＞中度＞重度,且0～20 cm土层显著高于20～40 cm。细菌、真菌和放线菌数量在不同采样时间上表现为6月＞8月＞9月。土壤微生物区系与土壤养分含量之间相关关系明显,细菌、真菌、放线菌数量除与土壤全钾含量之间没有达到显著水平外,与土壤有机质、全氮、全磷、碱解氮、有效磷、速效钾含量之间均达到显著或极显著正相关关系（P<0.05或P<0.01）。因此,土壤微生物区系可以作为评价盐化土壤质量恢复及演变过程的生物指标。     

Attribution of explanatory factors for change in soil organic carbon density in the native grasslands of Inner Mongolia,China

The variation in soil organic carbon density(SOCD) has been widely documented at various spatial and temporal scales. However, an accurate method for examining the attribution of explanatory factors for change in SOCD is still lacking. This study aims to attribute and quantify the key climatic factors, anthropogenic activities, and soil properties associated with SOCD change in the native grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China, by comparing data between the 1960s and the 2010s. In 2007 and 2011, we resampled 142 soil profiles which were originally sampled during 1963–1964 in the native grasslands of Inner Mongolia. SOCD was determined in A horizon(eluvial horizon) of the soil. We selected the explanatory factors based on a random forest method, and explored the relationships between SOCD change and each of the explanatory factors using a linear mixed model. Our results indicated that the change in SOCD varied from the east to the west of Inner Mongolia, and SOCD was 18% lower in the 2010s than in the 1960s. The lower SOCD in the 2010s may primarily be attributed to the increasing in mean annual water surface evaporation, which explained approximately 10% and 50% of the total variation and explainable variation in the change in SOCD, respectively. The sand content of the soil is also a significant explanatory factor for the decrease in SOCD, which explained about 4% and 21% of the total variation and explainable variation in the change in SOCD, respectively. Furthermore, the collection of quantitative information on grazing frequency and duration may also help to improve our understanding of the anthropogenic factors that govern the change in SOCD.     

Characteristics of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen under various grassland types along a transect in a mountain-basin system in Xinjiang,China

Soil organic carbon(SOC) and soil total nitrogen(STN) in arid regions are important components of global C and the N cycles, and their response to climate change will have important implications for both ecosystem processes and global climate feedbacks. Grassland ecosystems of Funyun County in the southern foot of the Altay Mountains are characterized by complex topography, suggesting large variability in the spatial distribution of SOC and STN. However, there has been little investigation of SOC and STN on grasslands in arid regions with a mountain-basin structure. Therefore, we investigated the characteristics of SOC and STN in different grassland types in a mountain-basin system at the southern foot of the Altai Mountains, north of the Junggar Basin in China, and explored their potential influencing factors and relationships with meteorological factors and soil properties. We found that the concentrations and storages of SOC and STN varied significantly with grassland type, and showed a decreasing trend along a decreasing elevation gradient in alpine meadow, mountain meadow, temperate typical steppe, temperate steppe desert, and temperate steppe desert. In addition, the SOC and STN concentrations decreased with depth, except in the temperate desert steppe. According to Pearson's correlation values and redundancy analysis, the mean annual precipitation, soil moisture content and soil available N concentration were significantly positively correlated with the SOC and STN concentrations. In contrast, the mean annual temperature, p H, and soil bulk density were significantly and negatively correlated with the SOC and STN concentrations. The mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature were the primary factors related to the SOC and STN concentrations. The distributions of the SOC and STN concentrations were highly regulated by the elevation-induced differences in meteorological factors. Mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature together explained 97.85% and 98.38% of the overall variations in the SOC and STN concentrations, respectively, at soil depth of 0–40 cm, with precipitation making the greatest contribution. Our results provide a basis for estimating and predicting SOC and STN concentrations in grasslands in arid regions with a mountain-basin structure.     

张掖地区近35年来气温和降水的变化

利用张掖地区6个气象站1970~2004年月平均气温、月平均最高、最低气温、月降水资料,采用气候倾向率、滑动平均、Mann-Kendall、小波分析等方法对张掖地区近35年的气候变化特征进行分析。结果表明:(1)1970~2004年张掖地区的气温呈现出明显的上升趋势,其中民乐站增幅最高,临泽站增幅最低,平均气温倾向率为0.491℃/10a,且冬季气温增长更为显著;(2)近35年张掖地区的变暖与西北地区同步,但明显早于中国及全球,且升温幅度更大;(3)近35年张掖地区的降水总体呈微弱下降趋势,但显著性不高,对比分析1970~1986年和1987~2004年两个时期降水量,后一个时期夏、秋季降水量减少,而,冬、春季降水量增加其中春季增幅较大;(4)分析认为,张掖地区目前仍处于气温上升,降水量减少的暖干条件,即气候的未转型区。     

Ground-active arthropod responses to rainfall-induced dune microhabitats in a desertified steppe ecosystem,China

Different microhabitats along dune slope were found to affect the distribution of plant performances and soil properties in desertified ecosystems.However,the ground-active arthropod responses to rainfall-induced dune microhabitats were largely unknown in desertified regions.At dune top,midslope and bottom,ground-active arthropods were sampled by the method of pitfall traps in addition to the herbaceous and soil measurements during spring,summer and autumn from 2012 to 2013.Ground-active arthropod had a strong dynamics in time,seasonally and yearly in responses to rainfall-induced dune microhabitats and the variations were significant higher than those of soil and herbaceous properties.The abundance distribution of dominant taxa(i.e.Melolonthidae,Carabidae,Glaphyridae,Tenebrionidae and Formicidae families)among dune microhabitats was similar between seasons within the same year,whereas they differed markedly between two sampling years with varying rainfall patterns.A significant(P<0.05)difference in total abundance,taxa richness and Shannon index among dune microhabitats was found only in certain season time,particularly in 2013;however,no significant(P>0.05)differences were found among dune microhabitats when averaged on three sampling seasons within the year of either 2012 or 2013.In all,the taxonomical structure differed considerably from the community structure in ground-active arthropod response to rainfall-induced dune microhabitats.The spatial distribution of taxonomical groups among dune microhabitats was significantly affected by inter-annual rainfall changes,whereas that of community structure was affected by both intra-and inter-annual rainfall changes in desertified ecosystems.     

Simazine dynamics in a vineyard soil at Casablanca valley, Chile

Field dissipation, soil movement and laboratory leaching studies were performed to elucidate the effect of two rainfall amounts in the behaviour and environmental fate of simazine under climatic conditions at Casablanca Valley, Chile. Dissipation and soil movement were studied in a field vineyard with a sandy loam soil (Inceptisol; 74.08% sand; 14.87% silt and 11.04% clay). Simazine was applied to bare soil at 2.0 kg AI ha(-1), and its concentration was measured using immunoassay (ELISA) at 0, 10, 20, 40 and 90 days after application under two rainfall amounts, natural field conditions (39 mm) and modified conditions (39 + 180 mm). Simazine leaching was studied using soil core PVC lysimeters (0.9 m height; 0.22 m diameter). Field dissipation data were adjusted with a bi-exponential model. Half-life (DT(50)) values varied between 31.3 (+/-2.5) and 19.0 (+/-4.2) days under natural and modified conditions, respectively. Simazine K(d) varied from 0.42 to 2.15 (K(oc) 32.6-216.2) in the soil profile. Simazine was detected at a 90-cm soil depth in concentrations of 0.0085 (+/-0.0043) mg kg(-1) and 0.0321 (+/-0.001) mg kg(-1) under field and modified conditions, respectively. The maximum simazine leachate concentrations were 0.013 (+/-0.00084) mg litre(-1) (0.012% of total applied simazine) and 0.0084 (+/-0.00082) mg litre(-1) (0.11% of total applied simazine) for field and modified conditions respectively. These data indicate that water quantity has a significant effect on the DT(50) and the amount of simazine that moved through the soil profile, but not on the soil depth reached by this herbicide.     

全球气候暖干化对秦岭南北河流径流泥沙的影响研究

以秦岭南侧汉江和北侧渭河多年的径流泥沙观测资料，分析了全球气候暖干化对秦岭南北径流泥沙的变化。分析指出在80年代后，由于全球气候变化的影响，秦岭南北河流年均径流量均减少，与1935－1980年相比，汉江河流年均径流量减少1.9%，渭河河流年均径流量减少27.4%；同时汉江河流泥沙含量明显减少，但渭河河流泥沙含量呈增加趋势，是汉江河流泥沙含量133倍，表明了秦岭南北两侧在全球气候暖干化表现出明显的区域响应性。     

Effects of warming and clipping on plant and soil properties of an alpine meadow in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,China

Climate warming and livestock grazing are known to have great influences on alpine ecosystems like those of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau(QTP) in China. However, it is lacking of studies on the effects of warming and grazing on plant and soil properties in these alpine ecosystems. In this study, we reported the related research from manipulative experiment in 2010–2012 in the QTP. The aim of this study was to investigate the individual and combined effects of warming and clipping on plant and soil properties in the alpine meadow ecosystem. Infrared radiators were used to simulate climate warming starting in July 2010, while clipping was performed once in October 2011 to simulate the local livestock grazing. The experiment was designed as a randomized block consisting of five replications and four treatments: control(CK), warming(W), clipping(C) and warming+clipping combination(WC). The plant and soil properties were investigated in the growing season of the alpine meadow in 2012. The results showed that W and WC treatments significantly decreased relative humidity at 20-cm height above ground as well as significantly increases air temperature at the same height, surface temperature, and soil temperature at the depth of 0–30 cm. However, the C treatment did not significantly decrease soil moisture and soil temperature at the depth of 0–60 cm. Relative to CK, vegetation height and species number increased significantly in W and WC treatment, respectively, while vegetation aboveground biomass decreased significantly in C treatment in the early growing season. However, vegetation cover, species diversity, belowground biomass and soil properties at the depth of 0–30 cm did not differ significantly in W, C and WC treatments. Soil moisture increased at the depth of 40–100 cm in W and WC treatments, while belowground biomass, soil activated carbon, organic carbon and total nitrogen increased in the 30–50 cm soil layer in W, C and WC treatments. Although the initial responses of plant and soil properties to experimental warming and clipping were slow and weak, the drought induced by the downward shift of soil moisture in the upper soil layers may induce plant belowground biomass to transfer to the deeper soil layers. This movement would modify the distributions of soil activated carbon, organic carbon and total nitrogen. However, long-term data collection is needed to further explain this interesting phenomenon.     

Factors determining soil water heterogeneity on the Chinese Loess Plateau as based on an empirical mode decomposition method

Soil water is a critical resource, and as such is the focus of considerable physical research. Characterization of the distribution and spatial variability of soil water content(SWC) offers important agronomic and environmental information. Estimation of non-stationary and non-linear SWC distribution at different scales is a research challenge. Based on this context, we performed a case study on the Chinese Loess Plateau, with objectives of investigating spatial variability of SWC and soil properties(i.e., soil particle composition, organic matter and bulk density), and determining multi-scale correlations between SWC and soil properties. A total of 86 in situ sampling sites were selected and 516 soil samples(0–60 cm depth with an interval of 10 cm) were collected in May and June of 2019 along the Yangling-Wugong-Qianxian transect, with a length of 25.5 km, in a typical wheat-corn rotation region of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Classical statistics and empirical mode decomposition(EMD) method were applied to evaluate characteristics of the overall and scale-specific spatial variation of SWC, and to explore scale-specific correlations between SWC and soil properties. Results showed that the spatial variability of SWC along the Yangling-Wugong-Qianxian transect was medium to weak, with a variability coefficient range of 0.06–0.18, and it was gradually decreased as scale increased. We categorized the overall SWC for each soil layer under an intrinsic mode function(IMF) number based on the scale of occurrence, and found that the component IMF1 exhibited the largest contribution rates of 36.45%–56.70%. Additionally, by using EMD method, we categorized the general variation of SWC under different numbers of IMFs according to occurrence scale, and the results showed that the calculated scales among SWC for each soil layer increased in correspondence with higher IMF numbers. Approximately 78.00% of the total variance of SWC was extracted in IMF1 and IMF2. Generally, soil texture was the dominant control on SWC, and the influence of the three types of soil properties(soil particle composition, organic matter and bulk density) was more prominent at larger scales along the sampling transect. The influential factors of soil water spatial distribution can be identified and ranked on the basis of the decomposed signal from the current approach, thereby providing critical information for other researchers and natural resource managers.     

Identification of key climatic factors regulating the transport of pesticides in leaching and to tile drains

BACKGROUND: Key climatic factors influencing the transport of pesticides to drains and to depth were identified. Climatic characteristics such as the timing of rainfall in relation to pesticide application may be more critical than average annual temperature and rainfall. The fate of three pesticides was simulated in nine contrasting soil types for two seasons, five application dates and six synthetic weather data series using the MACRO model, and predicted cumulative pesticide loads were analysed using statistical methods. RESULTS: Classification trees and Pearson correlations indicated that simulated losses in excess of 75th percentile values (0.046 mg m(-2) for leaching, 0.042 mg m(-2) for drainage) generally occurred with large rainfall events following autumn application on clay soils, for both leaching and drainage scenarios. The amount and timing of winter rainfall were important factors, whatever the application period, and these interacted strongly with soil texture and pesticide mobility and persistence. Winter rainfall primarily influenced losses of less mobile and more persistent compounds, while short-term rainfall and temperature controlled leaching of the more mobile pesticides. CONCLUSIONS: Numerous climatic characteristics influenced pesticide loss, including the amount of precipitation as well as the timing of rainfall and extreme events in relation to application date. Information regarding the relative influence of the climatic characteristics evaluated here can support the development of a climatic zonation for European-scale risk assessment for pesticide fate.     

不同强度放牧对贝加尔针茅草原土壤微生物和土壤呼吸的影响

在一个生长季内,对贝加尔针茅草甸草原不同强度放牧地段(非牧段,轻牧段,中牧段和重牧段,以放牛为主)土壤呼吸作用强度与土壤微生物数量和部分土壤理化性状进行了测定和相关性分析。结果表明,不同强度放牧对土壤呼吸作用和土壤微生物数量均产生不同程度影响,即在非牧段,土壤呼吸作用和土壤微生物数量最强(多);其余各放牧段,随着放牧强度增加,土壤呼吸作用减弱,微生物数量增加,但在各放牧段间均未达到差异显著水平(p(0.05)。土壤呼吸强度与土壤温度和相对含水量间具有显著的相关性(p(0.05),与土壤微生物数量和土壤pH值之间相关性不显著(p(0.05)。说明在该草地放牧较重时首先对土壤物理环境造成不利影响,进而影响土壤微生物的呼吸作用,对微生物数量未产生实质性改变。     

Spatial distribution of water-active soil layer along the south-north transect in the Loess Plateau of China

Soil water is an important compositionof water recyclein the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. However, intense water exchange between soil-plant and soil-atmosphereinterfacesonly occurs in a certain layer of the soil profile. For deep insight into wateractive layer (WAL, defined as the soil layer with a coefficient of variation in soil water content>10% in a given time domain)inthe Loess Plateau of China,we measuredsoil water content (SWC)in the 0.0-5.0 m soil profile from 86 sampling sites along an approximately 860-kmlong south-north transect during the period 2013-2016. Moreover, a datasetcontainedfourclimatic factors (mean annual precipitation, mean annual evaporation, annual mean temperature and mean annual dryness index) andfivelocalfactors (altitude, slope gradient, land use, clay content and soil organic carbon)ofeachsampling sitewasobtained.Inthisstudy, three WAL indices (WAL-T (the thickness of WAL), WAL-CV (the mean coefficient of variation in SWC within WAL) and WAL-SWC (themean SWC within WAL)) were used to evaluate the characteristics of WAL. The results showed that with increasing latitude, WAL-T and WAL-CV increased firstly and then decreased. WAL-SWC showed an oppositedistribution pattern along the south-north transect compared with WAL-T and WAL-CV. Average WAL-T of the transect was 2.0 m, suggesting intense soil water exchange in the0.0-2.0 m soil layer in the study area. Soil water exchange was deeper and more intense in the middle region than in the southern and northern regions, with the values of WAL-CV and WAL-Tbeing27.3% and 4.3 m in the middle region, respectively. Both climatic (10.1%) and local (4.9%) factors influenced the indices of WAL, with climatic factors having a more dominant effect.Compared with multiple linear regressions, pedotransfer functions (PTFs) from artificial neural network can better estimate theWAL indices. PTFs developed byartificial neural network respectivelyexplained 86%, 81% and 64% of the total variations in WAL-T, WAL-SWC andWAL-CV. Knowledge of WAL iscrucial for understanding the regional water budgetandevaluatingthe stable soil water reserve, regional water characteristics and eco-hydrological processes in the Loess Plateau of China.