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    Climate and Environmental Change
  • Climate and Environmental Change
    LI Yuecong, XU Qinghai, ZHANG Liyan, WANG Xueli, CAO Xianyong,YANG Xiaolan
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    53 pollen traps and surface samples were collected in order to detect the characteristics of pollen assemblages and their relationships with vegetation and climate in 16 forest communities located in 10 mountains in northern China. The results show that 72% of the pollen taxa (80 taxa) are the same between the traps and the surface samples. The dominant taxa in the plant communities are consistent with the main pollen taxa in the pollen assemblages at the same sites. In Pinus plant communities, both Pinus pollen influx and concentration are higher, indicating the high pollen productivity and good pollen preservation ability of Pinus. In Picea and Abies plant communities, Picea and Abies have lower pollen influxes but higher concentrations, suggesting their low pollen productivities but better pollen preservation abilities. In Betula and Quercus plant communities, Betula and Quercus have higher pollen influxes but lower concentrations, revealing their high pollen productivities but poor pollen preservation abilities. The study of relationships between pollen and vegetation with discriminant analysis shows that pollen assemblages from both trap and surface samples can reflect the characteristics of different communities and distinguish different ecological areas, but surface samples can reflect the dominant components of communities much better than the traps. The study on correlations between pollen assemblages and climate with DCCA reveals that significant correlations exist between pollen assemblages and mean temperature of the coldest month (r = 0.84 for trap samples, r = 0.72 for surface samples), and then annual mean precipitation (r = 0.73 for trap samples, r = 0.71 for surface samples).

  • Climate and Environmental Change
    PAN Tao, WU Shaohong, DAI Erfu, LIU Yujie, DOU Yue
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    35 surface soil samples and 28 profile soil samples were collected in Longitudinal Range-Gorge Region, Southwest China. The distribution of pollen and spores and their relationship with the environment are analyzed. The results show that there are significant differences in pollen and spores taxa, amounts, dominant taxa and florae between the eastern and western flanks of the Ailao Mountain. There are more pollen and spores taxa, a greater amount and complexity on the western flank of the mountain than those on the eastern flank, while the dominant taxa are more centralized and prominent on the eastern flank of the Ailao Mountain. As for the plant florae distribution, there are significant differences in the number of taxa and composition between the eastern and the western flanks. The analysis of profile pollen and spores assemblage shows that its trends of variation are basically in accordance with the surface pollen and spores, which are also indicators of the environmental differences between the two flanks of the mountain. These significant spatial differences of pollen and spores are very close to the regional topography and climate difference. The mountain running perpendicular to the moisture-laden air flow serves as a barrier and the monsoon circulations the east and the west of the mountain result in different energy-moisture characteristics. We conclude that the main patterns of the pollen and spores can be attributed to the environmental differences.

  • Climate and Environmental Change
    LI Lan, ZHU Cheng, LIN Liugen, ZHAO Quanhong, SHI Gongyue,ZHENG Chaogui, FAN Chao
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    Based on archaeological excavations, 217 samples were collected from the Luotuodun Site. Of them 63 samples from the section plane of the site layer were used for identification analysis of foraminifera, plant debris and seed fossils, and four samples were used for 14C dating and relevant analysis. Through many kinds of experiments, we have drawn some conclusions. Firstly, benthic foraminifera, such as Ammonia compressiuscula and Ammonia cff. sobrina, are found in the 10th layer, indicating that between 7500 and 5400 BC, i.e. before the emergence of the Majiabang Culture, Luotuodun Site and its nearby regions had ever experienced a marine transgression event. Secondly, we have found 450 plant fossils in this site, such as Polygonum sp., Scripus sp., Najas sp., Physalis sp., which indicated lacustrine or swamp environment.

  • Climate and Environmental Change
    ZHA Xiaochun, HUANG Chunchang, PANG Jiangli
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    Palaeoflood hydrological study is a frontal subject of global change study. Using sedimentology, geomorphology and OSL dating methods, the typical palaeoflood slackwater deposits were studied in the Qishuihe River valley. The results showed that five flooding episodes with 21 palaeoflood events occurred during 4300–4250 a B.P., 4250–4190 a B.P., 4190–4100 a B.P., 4100–4000 a B.P. and 3100–3010 a B.P., respectively, during the Holocene period. The palaeoflood peak discharges were calculated with hydrological models. With a combination of the gauged flood, historical flood and palaeoflood hydrological data, the archives of flood events were extended to over 10,000 years in the Qishuihe River valley, and the flood frequency–peak discharge relationship curve was established accurately. These research results played important roles in mitigating flood hazard, hydraulic engineering and also the development of water resources in the semiarid Weihe River basin.

  • Climate and Environmental Change
    SHAO Quanqin, HUANG Lin, LIU Jiyuan, YANG Haijun, CHEN Zhuoqi
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    The authors developed a model to estimate annual tree growth based on tree-ring data (Abbr. TGTRing model) derived from the trunk at 0.5, 1.3 and 2.5 m height. This model was applied to estimate the annual biomass and carbon accumulation of a plantation in Qianyanzhou Red-Soil Hill Comprehensive Development Experimental Station of CAS in Taihe County, Jiangxi Province (Abbr. Qianyanzhou). The results showed that the inflexion points of the biomass and carbon accumulation curves occur at 17 and 18 years of age, respectively, in masson pine, whilst both inflexion points occurred at 15 years in slash pine and Chinese fir. The biomass and carbon accumulation in Chinese fir proved to be greater in the last 20 years than in the other species, with 171.697 t/hm2 and 92.29 tc/hm2, respectively. masson pine, with a biomass of 133.84 t/hm2 and a carbon accumulation of 73.92 tc/hm2 was the lowest whilst slash pine was intermediate with a biomass of 147.639 t/hm2 (unturpentined) and 135.743 t/hm2 (turpentined), and a carbon accumulation of 80.18 tc/hm2 (unturpentined) and 73.72 tc/hm2 (turpentined). In 2006, the total biomass and carbon storage of the tree stratum of masson pine in Qianyanzhou was 3324.43 t and 14,156.64 tc, respectively, whilst the values for Chinese fir were 1326.97 t and 713.27 tc. For slash pine the total biomass was 14,156.64 t (unturpentined) and 13,015.97 t (turpentined), and the total carbon storage was 7 688.21 tc (unturpentined) and 7068.78 tc (turpentined). Following the shaving of slash pine for resin, the total biomass was reduced by 1140.67 t and the total carbon storage fell by 619.43 tc.

  • Climate and Environmental Change
    WANG Zhiqiang, LIU Baoyuan, ZHANG Yan
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    Water stored in deep loess soil is one of the most important resources regulating vegetation growth in the semi-arid area of the Loess Plateau, but planted shrub and forest often disrupt the natural water cycle and in turn influence plant growth. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of main vegetation types on soil moisture and its inter- annual change. Soil moisture in 0–10 m depth of six vegetation types, i.e., crop, grass, planted shrub of caragana, planted forests of arborvitae, pine and the mixture of pine and arborvitae were measured in 2001, 2005 and 2006. Soil moisture in about 0–3 m of cropland and about 0–2 m of other vegetation types varied inter-annually dependent on annual precipitation, but was stable inter-annually below these depths. In 0–2 m, soil moisture of cropland was significantly greater than those of all other vegetation types, and there were no significant differences among other vegetation types. In 2–10 m, there was no significant moisture difference between cropland and grassland, but the soil moistures under both of them were significantly higher than those of planted shrub and forests. The planted shrub and forests had depleted soil moisture below 2 m to or near permanent wilting point, and there were no significant moisture differences among forest types. The soil moisture of caragana shrub was significantly lower than those of forests, but the absolute difference was very small. The results of this study implicated that the planted shrub and forests had depleted deep soil moisture to the lowest limits to which they could extract and they lived mainly on present year precipitation for transpiration.

  • Climate and Environmental Change
    FANG Chuanglin, LIU Xiaoli
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    A better understanding of the regional disparity and imbalance characteristics of China’s urbanization development is the important premise for constituting correct policy and strategy and promoting the healthy and sustainable development of urbanization in the 21st century. The regional differences of China’s urbanization level have close relations with natural conditions of landform and climate etc., the urbanization level reduces with the elevation of topography and decrease of precipitation. According to the statistical data set of urbanization in 1950–2006, the temporal change course of inter-provincial disparity of Chinese urbanization level since the founding of New China in 1949 was studied, and then the inter- regional and intra-regional disparities of urbanization development were analyzed by the Theil index and its nested decomposition method, to grasp the dynamic change of spatial disparities of China’s urbanization level on the whole. Using the imbalance index model, the imbalance status of urban population distribution relative to total population, grain output, total agricultural output value, gross output value of industry, tertiary industrial output value as well as gross regional product was discussed, to hold the balance characteristics of urbanization development relative to the regional development conditions from the macroscopic scales.

  • Climate and Environmental Change
    DUAN Xuejun, YU Xiaogan, Josef Nipper
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    In the era of economic globalization, the concept of Economic Polarized Area comes into being as an effective vehicle to agglomerate the economic elements and sustain the economic lifeline of the region. Based on the region’s specific development mode and construction form the concept is working in such a way that it will contribute to guide the economic development of the country and will play an important role in competing with other regions or countries in the world. Due to the high speed development of the last 30 years, the Yangtze Delta Region starts to show the features of Economic Polarized Area. But, compared with other world-class Economic Polarized Areas, the economic strength and the ability of the Yangtze Delta Region to drive the country’s economic development is still very low and the competitive power is still very limited. Expanding the boundaries of the Economic Polarized Area of the Yangtze Delta may extend the economic hinterland of the core area of the Yangtze Delta Region, will lighten the pressures from the limited resource and promote the rationalization of the industrial structure in the Yangtze Delta Region’s core area. With regard to the reasonable boundaries of the Yangtze Delta Region, there are different opinions and controversial arguments in political and academic circles. Starting from the idea of increasing the competitive power and improving the economic strength of the Yangtze Delta Region, the paper firstly is discussing the requirements to become a world-class Economic Polarized Area. In a second step an analysis of functional complementation and economic collaboration between the cities of an “extended” Yangtze Delta Region has been carried out by in particular considering the feasibility of integrating these “newly included” cities. The final result of the study is, that the Region should be expanded from the number of 16 cities to 37 cities, and the appended cities should be divided up into two categories: Wenzhou, Jinhua, Yancheng, Huaian, Maanshan, Wuhu, Tongling, Chaohu, Hefei, Chuzhou, Xuancheng should be taken as Preferred Extending Area, and Suqian, Xuzhou, Lianyungang, Lishui, Quzhou, Chizhou, Anqing, Bengbu, Huangshan, Suzhou (Anhui Province) should be taken as Retained Qualification Area.

  • Climate and Environmental Change
    DAI Junhu, GE Quansheng, XIAO Shufang, WANG Mengmai,WU Wenxiang, CUI Haiting
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    More than 240 items of historical records containing climatic information were retrieved from official historical books, local chronicles, annals and regional meteorological disaster yearbooks. By using moisture index and flood/drought (F/D) index obtained from the above information, the historical climate change, namely wet-dry conditions in borderland of Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (BSGN, mainly included Ningxialu, Hezhoulu, Gongchanglu, Fengyuanlu and Yan’anlu in the Yuan Dynasty) was studied. The results showed that the climate of the region was generally dry and the ratio between drought and flood disasters was 85/38 during the period of 1208–1369. According to the frequencies of drought-flood disasters, the whole period could be divided into three phases. (1) 1208–1240: drought dominated the phase with occasional flood disasters. (2) 1240–1320: long-time drought disasters and extreme drought events happened frequently. (3) 1320–1369: drought disasters were less severe when flood and drought disasters happened alternately. Besides, the reconstructed wet-dry change curve revealed obvious transition and periodicity in the Mongol–Yuan Period. The transitions occurred in 1230 and 1325. The wet-dry change revealed 10- and 23-year quasi-periods which were consistent with solar cycles, indicating that solar activity had affected the wet-dry conditions of the study region in the Mongol–Yuan Period. The reconstructed results were consistent with two other study results reconstructed from natural evidences, and were similar to another study results from historical documents. All the above results showed that the climate in BSGN was characterized by long-time dry condition with frequent severe drought disasters during 1258 to 1308. Thus, these aspects of climatic changes might have profound impacts on local vegetation and socio-economic system.