From 1992 to 2015, ecological environment has been threatened by the changes of cropland around the world. In order to evaluate the impact of cropland changes on ecosystem, we calculated the response of terrestrial ecosystem service values (TESVs) variation to cropland conversion based on land-use data from European Space Agency (ESA). The results showed that cropland changes were responsible for an absolute loss of $166.82 billion, equivalent to 1.17% of global TESVs in 1992. Among the different regions, the impact of cropland changes on TESVs was significant in South America and Africa but not obvious in Oceania, Asia and Europe. Cropland expansion from tropical forest was the main reason for decreases in TESVs globally, especially in South America, Africa and Asia. The effect of wetland converted to cropland was notable in North America and Europe while grassland converted to cropland played an important role in Oceania, Africa and Asia. In Europe, the force of urban expansion cannot be ignored as well. The conversion of cropland to tropical or temperate forest partly compensated for the loss of TESVs globally, especially in Asia.
Based on the data of relative soil moisture in 653 agricultural meteorological stations during the period of 1993?2013 in China, the characteristics and regularity of spatial and temporal variation of relative soil moisture in China’s farmland were analyzed and discussed using geostatistical methods. The results showed that the relative soil moisture of China’s farmland has shown a fluctuant increasing trend since 1993. The relative soil moisture of China’s farmland is more than 60% in general, its distribution area has been expanded northward and westward with the summer monsoon since mid-April and began to shrink eastward and southward in late October. The value of relative soil moisture increases with the increase of soil depth. On an interannual scale, the relative soil moisture of farmland increased fastest in summer and autumn, and its variation range decreased with the increase of soil depth. The relative soil moisture was positively correlated with precipitation, and negatively correlated with potential evaporation and temperature. The correlation between relative soil moisture and various meteorological factors weakened as soil depth increased. The meteorological factors have a great influence on relative soil moisture of dry land in spring, summer and autumn and they also have a greater impact on relative soil moisture of paddy fields in winter.
Spatio-temporal changes in the differentiation characteristics of eight consecutive phenological periods and their corresponding lengths were quantitatively analyzed based on long-term phenological observation data from 114 agro-meteorological stations in four maize growing zones in China. Results showed that average air temperature and growing degree-days (GDD) during maize growing seasons showed an increasing trend from 1981 to 2010, while precipitation and sunshine duration showed a decreasing trend. Maize phenology has significantly changed under climate change: spring maize phenology was mainly advanced, especially in northwest and southwest maize zones, while summer and spring-summer maize phenology was delayed. The delay trend observed for summer maize in the northwest maize zone was more pronounced than in the Huang-Huai spring-summer maize zone. Variations in maize phenology changed the corresponding growth stages length: the vegetative growth period (days from sowing date to tasseling date) was generally shortened in spring, summer, and spring-summer maize, although to different degrees, while the reproductive growth period (days from tasseling date to mature date) showed an extension trend. The entire growth period (days from sowing date to mature date) of spring maize was extended, but the entire growth periods of summer and spring-summer maize were shortened.
The concepts of regional resources and environmental carrying capacity are important aspects of both academic inquiry and government policy. Although notable results have been achieved in terms of evaluating both these variables, most researchers have utilized a traditional analytical method that incorporates the “pressure-state-response” model. A new approach is proposed in this study for the comprehensive evaluation of regional resources and environmental carrying capacity; applying a “pressure-support”, “destructiveness-resilience”, and “degradation-promotion” (“PS-DR-DP”) hexagon interaction theoretical model, we divided carrying capacity into these three pairs of interactive forces which correspond with resource supporting ability, environmental capacity, and risk-disaster resisting ability, respectively. Negative carrying capacity load in this context was defined to include pressure, destructiveness, and degradation, while support, resilience, and promotion comprised positive attributes. The status of regional carrying capacity was then determined via the ratio between positive and negative contribution values, expressed in terms of changes in both hexagonal shape and area that result from interactive forces. In order to test our “PS-DR-DP” theory-based model, we carried out a further empirical study on Beijing over the period between 2010 and 2015. Analytical results also revealed that the city is now close to attaining a perfect state for both resources and environmental carrying capacity; the latter state in Beijing increased from 1.0143 to 1.1411 between 2010 and 2015, an improved carrying capacity despite the fact that population increased by two million. The average contribution value also reached 0.7025 in 2015, indicating that the city approached an optimal loading threshold at this time but still had space for additional carrying capacity. The findings of our analysis provide theoretical support to enable the city of Beijing to control population levels below 23 million by 2020.
Hyporheic zone (HZ) influences hydraulic and biogeochemical processes in and alongside streams, therefore, investigating the controlling geographic factors is beneficial for understanding the hydrological processes in HZ. Slack water pool (SWP) is an essential micro-topographic structure that has an impact on surface water and groundwater interactions in the HZ during and after high flows. However, only a few studies investigate HZ surface water and groundwater exchange in the SWP. This study used the thermal method to estimate the HZ water exchange in the SWP in a segment of the Weihe River in China during the winter season. The findings show that on the flow-direction parallel to the stream, river recharge dominates the HZ water exchange, while on the opposing flow-direction bank groundwater discharge dominates the water exchange. The water exchange in the opposing flow-direction bank is about 1.6 times of that in the flow-direction bank. The HZ water exchange is not only controlled by flow velocity but also the location and shape of the SWP. Great water exchange amount corresponds to the shape with more deformation. The maximum water exchange within the SWP is close to the river bank where the edge is relatively high. This study provides some guidelines for water resources management during flooding events.
The Interconnected River System Network (IRSN) plays a crucial role in water resource allocation, water ecological restoration and water quality improvement. It has become a key part of the urban lake management. An evaluation methodology system for IRSN project can provide important guidance for the selection of different water diversion schemes. However, few if any comprehensive evaluation systems have been developed to evaluate the hydrodynamics and water quality of connected lakes. This study developed a comprehensive evaluation system based on multi-indexes including aspects of water hydrodynamics, water quality and socioeconomics. A two-dimensional (2-D) mathematical hydrodynamics and water quality model was built, using NH3-N, TN and TP as water quality index. The IRSN project in Tangxun Lake group was used as a testbed here, and five water diversion schemes were simulated and evaluated. Results showed that the IRSN project can improve the water fluidity and the water quality obviously after a short time of water diversion, while the improvement rates decreased gradually as the water diversion went on. Among these five schemes, Scheme V showed the most noticeable improvement in hydrodynamics and water quality, and brought the most economic benefits. This comprehensive evaluation method can provide useful reference for the implementation of other similar IRSN projects.
The Luonan Basin is a key region of early human settlement in Central China with more than 300 discovered Paleolithic sites. Artifact layer 1 of the Liuwan site was dated to approximately 0.6 million years (Ma) based on correlation with the well-dated loess-paleosol sequence of the central Chinese Loess Plateau. This study reassessed the age of the Liuwan artifact layer via an absolute dating method, namely, 26Al/10Be burial dating. We determined the burial age of artifact layer 1, which was most likely at least 0.60 ± 0.12 Ma (1?), using three simple burial ages. The new burial age confirmed the previous estimated age and provided a considerably accurate age range. Therefore, we suggest the use of the 26Al/10Be burial dating method in thin loess-covered Paleolithic sites around the Qinling Mountain Range is helpful to understand the early human behavior.
The longitudinal profiles of main streams of ten kongdui basins within Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China were characterized in this study by analyzing a series of quantitative indexes that are relevant to tectonic activity and river action, and by establishing a series of multiple regression models. The results reveal that all longitudinal profiles are concave in shape, with a range of concavity between 1.1 and 3.1, increasing from west to east. Data also show that the concavity of the profiles is significantly negatively correlated with profile length, altitude difference, average altitude, drainage area and sediment load of the basins. Analysis reveals that kongdui basins have suffered from moderate-to-weak tectonic activity over time, again characterized by a west-to-east weakening trend. Stream power also varies along the main channels of the ten kongdui basins; average values in each case fall between 0.8 W/m and 8.4 W/m, generally higher within the middle reaches. This decreasing trend in stream power within the lower reaches of kongdui basins might provide one key explanation for sedimentation there. Data also show that the average stream power in western and central basins tends to be higher than that in eastern examples, even though both the highest and the lowest values are seen within two middle ones. This analysis shows that the longitudinal profile concavity values are mainly controlled by tectonic activity and that the effect of river action is insignificant.
Runoff generation is an important part of water retention service, and also plays an important role on soil and water retention. Under the background of the ecosystem degradation, which was caused by the vulnerable karst ecosystem combined with human activity, it is necessary to understand the spatial pattern and impact factors of runoff generation in the karst region. The typical karst peak-cluster depression basin was selected as the study area. And the calibrated and verified Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was the main techniques to simulate the runoff generation in the typical karst basin. Further, the spatial variability of total/surface/groundwater runoff was analyzed along with the methods of gradient analysis and local regression. Results indicated that the law of spatial difference was obvious, and the total runoff coefficients were 70.0%. The groundwater runoff was rich, about 2-3 times the surface runoff. Terrain is a significant factor contributing to macroscopic control effect on the runoff service, where the total and groundwater runoff increased significantly with the rising elevation and slope. The distribution characteristics of vegetation have great effects on surface runoff. There were spatial differences between the forest land in the upstream and orchard land in the downstream, in turn the surface runoff presented a turning point due to the influence of vegetation. Moreover, the results of spatial overlay analysis showed that the highest value of total and groundwater runoff was distributed in the forest land. It is not only owing to the stronger soil water retention capacity of forest ecosystem, and geologic feature of rapid infiltration in this region, but also reflected the combining effects on the land cover types and topographical features. Overall, this study will promote the development and innovation of ecosystem services fields in the karst region, and further provide a theoretical foundation for ecosystem restoration and reconstruction.
With basic information from 8353 archaeological sites, this study describes a holistic spatial-temporal distribution pattern of archaeological sites of the prehistoric culture sequence from 9.5 ka BP (ka BP = thousands of years before 0 BP, where “0 BP” is defined as the year AD 1950) to 2.3 ka BP in the region that extends from the Yanshan Mountains to the Liaohe River Plain (i.e., the Yan-Liao region) in northern China. Based on spatial statistics analysis - including the spatial density of the sites and Geographic Information System nearest-neighbour analysis, combined with a review of environmental and climatic data - this paper analyses cultural evolution, the spatial-temporal features of the archaeological sites and human activities against the backdrop of climatic and environmental changes in this region. The results reveal that prehistoric cultural evolution in the Yan-Liao region is extensively influenced by climatic and environmental changes. The Xinglongwa, Zhaobaogou and Fuhe cultures, which primarily developed during a habitable period from 8.5 ka BP to 6.0 ka BP with strong summer monsoons, have similar maximum density values, spatial patterns and subsistence strategies dominated by hunting-gathering. Significant changes occurred in the Hongshan and Lower Xiajiadian cultures, with a significant increase in numbers and densities of sites and a slump in average nearest-neighbour ratio when the environment began to deteriorate starting in 6.0 ka BP. Additionally, with the onset of a weak summer monsoon and the predominance of primitive agriculture, sites of these two cultures present a different type of concentric circle-shaped pattern in space. As the environment continuously deteriorated with increasing aridity and the spread of steppe, more sites were distributed towards the south, and primitive agriculture was replaced by livestock husbandry in the Upper Xiajiadian culture. The most densely populated areas of the studied cultures are centralized within a limited area. The Laohahe River and Jiaolaihe River basins formed the core area in which most archaeological sites were distributed during the strong summer monsoon period and the first few thousand years of the weak summer monsoon period.
The terrestrial hydrological process is an essential but weak link in global/regional climate models. In this paper, the development status, research hotspots and trends in coupled atmosphere-hydrology simulations are identified through a bibliometric analysis, and the challenges and opportunities in this field are reviewed and summarized. Most climate models adopt the one-dimensional (vertical) land surface parameterization, which does not include a detailed description of basin-scale hydrological processes, particularly the effects of human activities on the underlying surfaces. To understand the interaction mechanism between hydrological processes and climate change, a large number of studies focused on the climate feedback effects of hydrological processes at different spatio-temporal scales, mainly through the coupling of hydrological and climate models. The improvement of the parameterization of hydrological process and the development of large-scale hydrological model in land surface process model lay a foundation for terrestrial hydrological-climate coupling simulation, based on which, the study of terrestrial hydrological-climate coupling is evolving from the traditional unidirectional coupling research to the two-way coupling study of “climate-hydrology” feedback. However, studies of fully coupled atmosphere-hydrology simulations (also called atmosphere-hydrology two-way coupling) are far from mature. The main challenges associated with these studies are: improving the potential mismatch in hydrological models and climate models; improving the stability of coupled systems; developing an effective scale conversion scheme; perfecting the parameterization scheme; evaluating parameter uncertainties; developing effective methodology for model parameter transplanting; and improving the applicability of models and high/super-resolution simulation. Solving these problems and improving simulation accuracy are directions for future hydro-climate coupling simulation research.
