Species composition, distribution patterns and ecological functions of biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert

As one of the most important biological factors that maintain the stability of the largest fixed and semi-fixed desert in China,the Gurbantunggut Desert,the biological soil crusts (BSCs) develop well and play critical ecological roles in the desert ecosystem. In this paper,we briefly summarize our research findings since 2002 including species composition,distribution pattern and ecological functions of BSCs in the desert. Our results indicate abundant species diversity of BSCs in the Gurbantunggut Desert in comparison to other deserts in China. At the scales of sand dune or whole desert,the distribution patterns of BSCs are location-specific. The existence of BSCs in this desert could:(1) accelerate the formation of desert soil and the weathering of minerals; (2) accumulate organic matter in surface soil through related species in soil crusts; (3) enhance the abilities of sand surface to resist wind erosion; (4) influence seed germination of vascular plants; and (5) enhance the production of dew deposition on sandy soil surface.     

A field investigation of wind erosion in the farming–pastoral ecotone of northern China using a portable wind tunnel: a case study in Yanchi County

The farming–pastoral ecotone in northern China is an extremely fragile ecological zone where wind erosion of cropland and rangeland is easy to occur. In this study, using a portable wind tunnel as a wind simulator, we conducted field simulated wind erosion experiments combined with laboratory analysis to investigate wind erosion of soils in trampled rangeland, non-tilled cropland and tilled cropland in Yanchi County, China. The results showed that compared with rangeland, the cropland had a higher soil water holding capacity and lower soil bulk density. The wind erosion rate of trampled rangeland was much higher than those of non-tilled cropland and tilled cropland. For cropland, the wind erosion rate of the soil after tilling was surprisingly less than that of the soil before tilling. With increasing of wind speed, the volume mean diameter of the eroded sediment collected by the trough in the wind tunnel generally increased while the clay and silt content decreased for all soils. The temporal variation in wind erosion of the trampled rangeland indicated that particle entrainment and dust emission decreased exponentially with erosion time through the successive wind erosion events due to the exhaustion of erodible particles.     

Effect of coir geotextile and geocell on ephemeral gully erosion in the Mollisol region of Northeast China

The unique geomorphological features and farming methods in the Mollisol region of Northeast China increase water catchment flow and aggravate the erosion of ephemeral gully(EG).Vegetation suffers from rain erosion and damage during the growth stage, which brings serious problems to the restoration of grass in the early stage. Therefore, effects of coir geotextile and geocell on EG erosion under four confluence intensities were researched in this study. Results of the simulated water discharge e...     

Combined effects of snow depth and nitrogen addition on ephemeral growth at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert, China

Water and nitrogen(N) inputs are considered as the two main limiting factors affecting plant growth.Changes in these inputs are expected to alter the structure and composition of the plant community,thereby influencing biodiversity and ecosystem function.Snowfall is a form of precipitation in winter,and snow melting can recharge soil water and result in a flourish of ephemerals during springtime in the Gurbantunggut Desert,ChinaA bi-factor experiment was designed and deployed during the snow-covering season from 2009 to 2010.The experiment aimed to explore the effects of different snow-covering depths and N addition levels on ephemerals.Findings indicated that deeper snow cover led to the increases in water content in topsoil as well as density and coverage of ephemeral plants in the same N treatment;by contrast,N addition sharply decreased the density of ephemerals in the same snow treatment.Meanwhile,N addition exhibited a different effect on the growth of ephemeral plants:in the 50% snow treatment,N addition limited the growth of ephemeral plants,showing that the height and the aboveground biomass of the ephemeral plants were lower than in those without N addition;while with the increases in snow depth(100% and 150% snow treatments),N addition benefited the growth of the dominant individual plants.Species richness was not significantly affected by snow in the same N treatment.However,N addition significantly decreased the species richness in the same snow-covering depth.The primary productivity of ephemerals in the N addition increased with the increase of snow depth.These variations indicated that the effect of N on the growth of ephemerals was restricted by water supply.With plenty of water(100% and 150% snow treatments),N addition contributed to the growth of ephemeral plants;while with less water(50% snow treatment),N addition restricted the growth of ephemeral plants.     

Impact factors of soil wind erosion in the center of Taklimakan Desert

The development and progress of soil wind erosion are influenced by the factors of climate,terrain,soil and vegetation,etc. This paper,taking Tazhong region,a town in the centre of the Taklimakan Desert,as an example and using comparative and quantitative methods,discussed the effects of climate,surface roughness(including vegetation cover) and surface soil properties on soil wind erosion. The results showed that the climate factor index C of annual wind erosion is 28.3,while the maximum of C is 13.9 in summer and it is only 0.7 in winter. The value of C has a very good exponential relationship with the wind speed. In Tazhong region,the surface roughness height is relatively small with a mean of 6.32 × 10-5 m,which is in favor of soil wind erosion. The wind erosion is further enhanced by its sandy soil types,soil particle size,lacking of vegetation and low soil moisture content. The present situation of soil wind erosion is the result of concurrent effects of climate,vegetation and surface soil properties.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improved plant growth and nutrient acquisition of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta under variable soil water conditions

Desert ephemeral plants play an important role in desert ecosystem.Soil water availability is considered as the major restrictive factor limiting the growth of ephemeral plants.Moreover,arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AM fungi) are widely reported to improve the growth of desert ephemerals.The present study aimed to test the hypothesis of that AM fungi could alleviate drought stress of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta,and AM fungal functions reduced with the improvement of soil water content.A pot experiment was carried out with three levels of soil water contents(4.5%,9.0%,and 15.8%(w/w)),and three AM inoculation treatments(Glomus mosseae,Glomus etunicatum and non-inoculation).The results indicate that mycorrhizal colonization rate decreased with the increase of soil water availability.Inoculation improved plant growth and N,P and K acquisition in both shoots and roots regardless water treatments.When comparing the two fungi,plants inoculated with G.mosseae performed better than those inoculated with G.etunicatum in terms of plant growth and nutrient acquisition.These results showed that ameliorative soil water did not suppress arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal functions in improving growth and nutrient acquisition of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta.     

Spatial distribution of soil moisture,salinity and organic matter in Manas River watershed,Xinjiang,China

With the classical statistical and geostatistical methods,the study of the spatial distribution and its influence factors of soil water,salinity and organic matter was carried out for 0-70 cm soil layers in Manas River watershed.The results showed that the soil moisture data from all soil layers exhibited a normal distribution,with average values of 14.08%-21.55%.Geostatistical analysis revealed that the content of soil moisture had a moderate spatial autocorrelation with the ratios of nugget/sill ranging from 0.500 to 0.718,which implies that the spatial pattern of soil moisture is influenced by the combined effects of structural factors and random factors.Remarkable spatial distributions with stripped and mottled features were found for soil moisture in all different soil layers.The landform and crop planting had a relatively big influence on the spatial distribution of soil moisture;total soil salinity was high in east but low in west,and non-salinized soil and lightly salinized soil appeared at the northwest and southwest of the study area.Under the effect of reservoir leakage,the heavily salinized soils are widely distributed in the middle of the study area.The areas of the non-salinized and lightly salinized soils decreased gradually with soil depth increment,which is contrary to the case for saline soils that reached a maximum of 245.67 km2 at the layer of 50-70 cm.The types of soil salinization in Manas River watershed were classified into four classes:the sulfate,chloride-sulfate,sulfate-chloride and chloride.The sulfate salinized soil is most widely distributed in the surface layer.The areas of chloride-sulfate,sulfate-chloride,and chloride salinized soils increased gradually along with the increment of soil depth;the variation range of the average values of soil organic matter content was between 7.48%-11.33%.The ratios of nugget/sill reduced gradually from 0.698 to 0.299 with soil depth increment,which shows that the content of soil organic matter has a moderate spatial autocorrelation.The soil organic matter in all soil layers met normal distribution after logarithmic transformation.The spatial distribution patterns of soil organic matter and soil moisture were similar;the areas with high organic matter contents were mainly distributed in the south of the study area,with the lowest contents in the middle.     

Changes in sediment discharge in a sediment-rich region of the Yellow River from 1955 to 2010： implications for further soil erosion control

The well-documented decrease in the discharge of sediment into the Yellow River has attracted considerable attention in recent years. The present study analyzed the spatial and temporal variation of sediment yield based on data from 46 hydrological stations in the sediment-rich region of the Yellow River from 1955 to 2010. The results showed that since 1970 sediment yield in the region has clearly decreased at different rates in the 45 sub-areas controlled by hydrological stations. The decrease in sediment yield was closely related to the intensity and extent of soil erosion control measures and rainstorms that occurred in different periods and sub-areas. The average sediment delivery modulus(SDM) in the study area decreased from 7,767.4 t/(km2?a) in 1951–1969 to 980.5 t/(km2?a) in 2000–2010. Our study suggested that 65.5% of the study area with the SDM below 1,000 t/(km2?a) is still necessary to control soil deterioration caused by erosion, and soil erosion control measures should be further strengthened in the areas with the SDM above 1,000 t/(km2?a).     

Vertical root distribution and root cohesion of typical tree species on the Loess Plateau,China

Black locust(Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and Chinese pine(Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.) are two woody plants that are widely planted on the Loess Plateau for controlling soil erosion and land desertification. In this study, we conducted an excavation experiment in 2008 to investigate the overall vertical root distribution characteristics of black locust and Chinese pine. We also performed triaxial compression tests to evaluate the root cohesion(additional soil cohesion increased by roots) of black locust. Two types of root distribution, namely, vertical root(VR) and horizontal root(HR), were used as samples and tested under four soil water content(SWC) conditions(12.7%, 15.0%, 18.0% and 20.0%, respectively). Results showed that the root lengths of the two species were mainly concentrated in the root diameter of 5–20 mm. A comparison of root distribution between the two species indicated that the root length of black locust was significantly greater than that of Chinese pine in nearly all root diameters, although the black locust used in the comparison was 10 years younger than the Chinese pine. Root biomass was also significantly greater in black locust than in Chinese pine, particularly in the root diameters of 3–5 and 5–10 mm. These two species were both found to be deep-rooted. The triaxial compression tests showed that root cohesion was greater in the VR samples than in the HR samples. SWC was negatively related to both soil shear strength and root cohesion. These results could provide useful information on the architectural characteristics of woody root system and expand the knowledge on shallow slope stabilization and soil erosion control by plant roots on the Loess Plateau.     

Lithic soils in the semi-arid region of Brazil: edaphic characterization and susceptibility to erosion

Soils(Leptosols or Epileptic Regosols)with lithic contact at a depth of 50 cm occupy almost 20%of the Brazilian semi-arid region.These lithic soils are susceptible to erosion due to faster saturation of water-holding capacity during rainfall,which accelerates the beginning of runoff.However,erosion traits of lithic soils in the semi-arid region of Brazil are less studied.The aim of this study was to characterize the soil and landscape attributes in areas with Neossolos Litólicos(Entisols)in the Caatinga biome to identify region of high susceptibility to erosion.Results showed that the soils were characterized by a sandy texture,soil structure with poor development and low content of organic carbon.These attributes increase susceptibility to erosion and reduce water storage capacity,especially in the states of Cearáand Sergipe.In these states,the content of rock fragments in the soil reaches 790 g/kg.High contents of silt and fine sand,high silt/clay ratio,predominance of Leptosols and strong rainfall erosivity were observed in Piauíand northwestern Ceará.A very high degree of water erosion was observed in the states of Pernambuco and Paraíba.Despite the low degree of erosion observed in the state of Bahia,it is highly susceptible to erosion due to the predominance of very shallow soils,rugged relief and high values of rainfall erosivity.Lower vulnerability was observed in the state of Alagoas because of its more smoothed relief,greater effective soil depth,thicker A horizon of soil and lower rainfall erosivity.In general,the characteristics that intensify the susceptibility to erosion in the Caatinga biome are those soil structures with poor development or without aggregation,low contents of organic carbon,high contents of silt and fine sand,high values of silt/clay ratio and rugged relief in some regions.This study collected information contributing to a better characterization of soils with lithic contact in the semi-arid region of Brazil.In addition,regions with a higher susceptibility to erosion were identified,revealing insights that could help develop strategies for environmental risk mitigation.     

半干旱黄土区沟间地浅沟分布特征

浅沟侵蚀是半干旱黄土区坡面土壤侵蚀的重要方式。基于陕北吴起县2004年SPOT影像,提取各小流域的浅沟分布,并结合吴起县境内35个小流域土地利用调查数据,分析沟缘线以上土地利用、坡度与浅沟分布的相关性。结果表明浅沟密度依次为：丘陵区旱地〈林地〈草地;各土地利用类型的浅沟密度存在显著差异。同时,在各类土地利用类型上浅沟密...     

黄土坡面侵蚀方式演变过程中汇水坡长的侵蚀产沙作用分析

利用由位于坡面上部的供水装置和坡面下部的试验土槽组成的试验装置系统,通过模拟降雨试验,研究了不同降雨强度(50、75和100 mm/h)和不同坡度(15°、20°和25°)条件下坡面侵蚀方式演变过程中汇水坡长对侵蚀产沙的作用.结果表明,黄土坡面片蚀-细沟侵蚀-切沟侵蚀方式演变过程中汇水坡长对侵蚀产沙具有重要作用,且受降雨强度、坡度和侵蚀方式演变过程的综合影响.汇水坡长增加,使坡面片蚀-细沟侵蚀-切沟侵蚀发育速度明显加快,侵蚀产沙量明显增加.在坡面侵蚀不同发育阶段,汇水坡长对坡面侵蚀的产沙作用也不尽相同.当坡面以切沟侵蚀为主时,汇水坡长对坡面侵蚀产沙的作用最大,其次是以细沟侵蚀为主时.而以坡面片蚀为主时,汇水坡长对坡面侵蚀产沙的作用最小.通过对坡面侵蚀产沙量与汇水坡长的相关分析表明,它们呈正线性关系.     

Planar morphology and controlling factors of the gullies in the Yuanmou Dry-hot Valley based on field investigation

The plane form of a gully can provide a basis for evaluating the gully volume and erosion rate, acting process, and evolutionary stage. For describing the planar characteristics of a permanent gully and understanding their controlling factors, this study, utilizing a total station and GPS RTK, measured the shoulder lines and channel curves of 112 gullies in six sites of the Yuanmou Dry-hot Valley and then mapped them by Arc GIS software and calculated nine parameters. The results showed that the channel lengths range from 10.88 to 249.11 m; the widths range from 6.20 to 40.99 m; the perimeters range from 54.11 to 541.67 m; the gully areas range from 153.02 to 6,930.30 m2; the left-side areas range from 92.93 to 4,027.20 m2; and the right-side areas range from 63.65 to 3,539.77 m2. The slightly sinuous and straight gullies account for 73.21% of the total gullies; the quantity of the right skewed gullies is 8.93% greater than that of the left skewed ones based on the symmetry ratio; the shape ratios range from 1.12 to 1.40 and the morphology ratios from 0.038 to 1.294; the fractal dimension is 1.192. Gullies in different sites have diverse planar characteristics. Except for the symmetry index, which was close to a negatively skewed distribution, all of the other parameters had the characteristic of positively skewed distribution. The gully area is related to the length and width, but the gully length has a weak correlation with the width. The evolutionary stage, topographic conditions, strata, soil properties, and piping erosion played very important roles in the gully planar morphology. This study could provide useful information for controlling gully erosion and safeguarding human habitation and engineering buildings.     

常用新型除草剂防除直播晚稻抗药性稗草药效现状及治理对策

[目的]比较常用新型除草剂防除直播晚稻抗药性稗草的效果.[方法]选择常用新型茎叶除草剂及组合用药,在播后苗前实施了封闭控草的直播晚稻田间稻苗3叶期,进行茎叶喷施防除抗药性稗草示范试验.[结果]参试药剂对稗草具有很高的株防效、鲜重防效,但药后田间残存稗草仍能对水稻造成危害:10％口恶唑酰草胺EC 100～130 mL/6...     

一株小麦赤霉病生防菌的鉴定及其生防机制初探

本研究通过平板对峙试验,自稻茬分离获得1株对禾谷镰刀菌具有良好抑菌活性的细菌hzq1601。经16S rDNA和gyrB基因序列比对结果表明,菌株hzq1601为解淀粉芽胞杆菌Bacillus amyloliquefaciens。菌株hzq1601与多菌灵相容性分析结果显示其可在1000 mg/L的多菌灵药液中正常存活。田间试验结果显示,10⁸ cfu/mL的hzq1601菌液分别与50%多菌灵可湿性粉剂80 g/667m²和70 g/667m²联合施用的防治效果为87.1%和81.0%,与单独施用50%多菌灵可湿性粉剂100 g/667m²处理的防治效果无显著性差异,但显著高于单独施用50%多菌灵可湿性粉剂80 g/667m²和70 g/667m²处理的防治效果,说明上述hzq1601菌液与50%多菌灵可湿性粉剂的2种组合对赤霉病的防治具有减药增效作用。对菌株hzq1601基因组的分析表明其基因组中存在13种次生代谢产物合成基因簇,显示其具有多方面的生防潜能。     

4种杀虫剂对稻纵卷叶螟和二化螟主害代防控效果试验

[目的]为明确不同杀虫剂对单季稻四(2)代、五(3)代稻纵卷叶螟兼治三代二化螟主害代的防控效果.[方法]对4种杀虫剂防治四(2)代、五(3)代稻纵卷叶螟主害代兼治三代二化螟的田间试验.[结果]每667 m 236％抑食肼·茚虫威SC 70 mL、6％阿维·氯苯酰SC 40 mL、5％甲氨基阿维菌素WG10 g 3种处理...     

一株多黏类芽胞杆菌 Paenibacillus polymyxa 菌株P1防治广东菜心根肿病的研究

芸薹根肿病是一种危害极大的世界性病害。对此病害的防治多采用化学药剂,但过多地使用化学农药,不仅会导致病原菌的抗药性和药剂防效的不稳定,还会造成环境污染和食品安全等问题。筛选生防菌株并将其开发成有效的生物农药,是防治根肿病并保持绿色农业可持续发展的新途径。本研究选用了多种生防菌对芸薹根肿菌Plasmodiophora brassicae Woron.的休眠孢子进行拮抗测试,筛选出一株能抑制P.brassicae休眠孢子萌发的多黏类芽胞杆菌Paenibacillus polymyxa菌株P1。通过液体发酵和剂型处理,将P1制成悬浮剂(P1-SC),用于室内生测和大田试验,测定其对广东菜心根肿病的防治效果。盆栽试验结果表明,对菜心根肿病的防治效果与所使用的P1-SC浓度呈正相关,当施用P1-SC中P1的浓度≥1×10~6 cfu/mL时,对菜心根肿病的防治效果(83.0%)与化学农药氟啶胺(500 mg/L)的防治效果(100.0%)没有显著性差异,但显著高于(P≤0.05)一种商品枯草芽孢杆菌(2×10~7 cfu/mL)的防治效果(29.8%)。2018年的大田试验结果表明,P1-SC处...     

Non-negligible factors in low-pressure sprinkler irrigation: droplet impact angle and shear stress

Droplet shear stress is considered as an important indicator that reflects soil erosion in sprinkler irrigation more accurately than kinetic energy, and the effect of droplet impact angle on the shear stress cannot be ignored. In this study, radial distribution of droplet impact angles, velocities, and shear stresses were investigated using a two-dimensional video disdrometer with three types of low-pressure sprinkler (Nelson D3000, R3000, and Komet KPT) under two operating pressures (103 and 138 kPa) and three nozzle diameters (3.97, 5.95, and 7.94 mm). Furthermore, the relationships among these characteristical parameters of droplet were analyzed, and their influencing factors were comprehensively evaluated. For various types of sprinkler, operating pressures, and nozzle diameters, the smaller impact angles and larger velocities of droplets were found to occur closer to the sprinkler, resulting in relatively low droplet shear stresses. The increase in distance from the sprinkler caused the droplet impact angle to decrease and velocity to increase, which contributed to a significant increase in the shear stress that reached the peak value at the end of the jet. Therefore, the end of the jet was the most prone to soil erosion in the radial direction, and the soil erosion in sprinkler irrigation could not only be attributed to the droplet kinetic energy, but also needed to be combined with the analysis of its shear stress. Through comparing the radial distributions of average droplet shear stresses among the three types of sprinklers, D3000 exhibited the largest value (26.94-3313.51 N/m²), followed by R3000 (33.34-2650.80 N/m²), and KPT (16.15-2485.69 N/m²). From the perspective of minimizing the risk of soil erosion, KPT sprinkler was more suitable for low-pressure sprinkler irrigation than D3000 and R3000 sprinklers. In addition to selecting the appropriate sprinkler type to reduce the droplet shear stress, a suitable sprinkler spacing could also provide acceptable results, because the distance from the sprinkler exhibited a highly significant (P<0.01) effect on the shear stress. This study results provide a new reference for the design of low-pressure sprinkler irrigation system.     

Impacts of wind erosion and seasonal changes on soil carbon dioxide emission in southwestern Iran

Wind erosion is one of the main drivers of soil loss in the world, which affects 20 million hectare land of Iran. Besides the soil loss, wind erosion contributes to carbon dioxide emission from the soil into the atmosphere. The objective of this study is to evaluate monthly and seasonal changes in carbon dioxide emission in four classes i.e., low, moderate, severe and very severe soil erosion and the interactions between air temperature and wind erosion in relation to carbon dioxide emission in the Bordekhun region, Boushehr Province, southwestern Iran. Wind erosion intensities were evaluated using IRIFR (Iran Research Institute of Forests and Ranges) model, in which four classes of soil erosion were identified. Afterward, we measured carbon dioxide emission on a monthly basis and for a period of one year using alkali traps in each class of soil erosion. Data on emission levels and erosion classes were analyzed as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with twelve replications in each treatment. The highest rate of emission occurred in July (4.490 g CO₂/(m²?d)) in severely eroded lands and the least in January (0.086 g CO₂/(m²?d)) in low eroded lands. Therefore, it is resulted that increasing erosion intensity causes an increase in soil carbon dioxide emission rate at severe erosion intensity. Moreover, the maximum amount of carbon dioxide emission happened in summer and the minimum in winter. Soil carbon dioxide emission was just related to air temperature without any relationship with soil moisture content; since changes of soil moisture in the wet and dry seasons were not high enough to affect soil microorganisms and respiration in dry areas. In general, there are complex and multiple relationships between various factors associated with soil erosion and carbon dioxide emission. Global warming causes events that lead to more erosion, which in turn increases greenhouse gas emission, and rising greenhouse gases will cause more global warming. The result of this study demonstrated the synergistic effect of wind erosion and global climate warming towards carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere.     

黄土丘陵沟壑区陡坡微地形分布研究

水分是黄土丘陵沟壑区植被建设的主要限制因素,而陡坡的水分条件差,导致坡面上水分空间差异的微地形成为陡坡坡面植被恢复的关键因素。利用三维激光扫描全站仪实测陕西省吴起县合家沟流域的地形参数,以Arc GIS 9.2为平台,对切沟、浅沟、缓台、塌陷和陡坎5种微地形在陡坡坡面的分布情况进行了研究。结果表明：陡坡坡面微地形占坡面面积比例介于18%～30%,平均为23.13%;各类微地形占坡面面积比例平均值从大到小依次为切沟8.44%、缓台6.66%、浅沟5.00%、陡坎1.53%、塌陷1.52%;坡面坡向和坡面坡度是影响浅沟、切沟和塌陷占坡面面积比例的主要地形要素,陡坎占坡面面积比例主要受坡面坡度的影响,而坡面坡向与坡面坡度对缓台占坡面面积比例均没有明显的影响;不同坡向陡坡微地形占坡面面积比例大小顺序为：阳坡＞半阳坡＞半阴坡＞阴坡,塌陷、浅沟和切沟占坡面面积比例为阳坡和半阳坡大于半阴坡和阴坡;陡坎、浅沟和切沟占坡面面积比例随着坡度的增大而减小、塌陷占坡面面积比例随着坡度的增大而增大。