Article
Engineering, Civil
Yu Liu, Di Wang, Zeng Cui, Shixiong Li, Runjie Li, Jesus Rodrigo-Comino, Manuel Lopez-Vicente, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: Meadow patches are evidence of degradation caused by the fragmentation and disappearance of mattic epipedons. This study investigates how the loss of mattic epipedons affects soil erosion processes in alpine regions through simulated rainfall experiments. The findings highlight the importance of maintaining runoff and reducing sediment through the presence of mattic epipedons.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Qian Qian, Junbang Wang, Xiujuan Zhang, Shaoqiang Wang, Yingnian Li, Qinxue Wang, Alan E. Watson, Xinquan Zhao
Summary: This paper assesses the possibility of achieving established targets for the proportion of cultivated to available grassland in the Three-River Headwaters Region in China. It finds that in order to reach income targets in 2025, 5% of grasslands need to be cultivated, but achieving income targets in 2035 will become very difficult.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dawen Qian, Yangong Du, Qian Li, Xiaowei Guo, Bo Fan, Guangmin Cao
Summary: This study investigates the impact of degradation on the spatial patterns and ecosystem services of alpine shrub-meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It found that degradation leads to fragmentation and patchiness in the meadow, resulting in a decrease in ecosystem services. The spatial patterns of the meadow layer are more closely related to its ecosystem services than the shrub layer.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Huilong Lin, Yuting Zhao
Summary: The source park of the Yellow River, located on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, has been experiencing degradation and desertification, leading to soil erosion. This study used Cs-137 element tracing technique and machine learning algorithms to analyze the mechanism and factors influencing soil erosion in the park. The results identified the distribution pattern of soil erosion and showed the severity of erosion in different areas. Additionally, the economic impact of soil erosion was also assessed.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhenchao Zhang, Yiran Zhao, Hao Lin, Yanpeng Li, Jinmin Fu, Yingxin Wang, Juan Sun, Yanhua Zhao
Summary: This meta-analysis investigated the effects of grazing intensity on plant characteristics and soil properties in alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau based on 52 peer-reviewed literatures. The results demonstrated that moderate grazing can increase plant richness and diversity, while heavy grazing can lead to grassland degradation. Therefore, moderate grazing is a sustainable agricultural practice on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yu Qin, Bo Huang, Wei Zhang, Yanhong Yu, Shuhua Yi, Yi Sun
Summary: The burrowing activity of pikas can significantly affect vegetation species composition on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau by increasing species richness and providing a new habitat for vegetation invasion. However, the impact on soil nutrition and moisture levels is less compared to adjacent vegetation patches.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiaoyi Wang, Xingcheng He, Megan Price, Qianyun He, Pei Zhang, Jianghong Ran, Yongjie Wu
Summary: Grassland ecosystems are important for maintaining biodiversity and providing resources, but human activities have significantly affected their structure and function. In this study, we investigated the epigeic arthropod community in alpine grassland in the Zoige wetlands of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. We found that grassland degradation and livestock feces had different effects on the taxonomic richness, abundance, and feeding groups of the arthropod community. Seasonal variations and temperature also played a significant role in shaping the community.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fei Peng, Chimin Lai, Chengyang Li, Chen Ji, Pengfei Zhang, Jianbo Sun, Xiaojie Chen, Quangang You, Xian Xue
Summary: This study conducted a clipping experiment on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to investigate the compensatory growth and conditions for the occurrence of over-compensatory at alpine meadows with different degradation status. The results showed that competition for light and reduction of soil nitrogen are the limiting factors for plant growth after clipping at non-degraded, slightly degraded, and heavily degraded alpine meadows. Additionally, it was found that over-compensatory growth occurred mainly due to the performance of forbs at moderately degraded alpine meadow.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhenchao Zhang, Tianyu Zhan, Yanpeng Li, Yi Wang, Ting Yu, Juan Sun
Summary: Grassland degradation leads to a decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, with a larger reduction in alpine meadows compared to alpine steppes. The variation in SOC stock is positively correlated with belowground biomass in both alpine meadows and steppes, and with aboveground biomass only in alpine steppes. The relationship between change rates in SOC stock and initial SOC stock and mean annual precipitation is negative during lightly and moderately degraded stages, but becomes nonsignificant during heavily degraded stage. These findings have implications for sustainable management practices of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Danghui Xu, Wenbo Mou, Xiejun Wang, Ruiying Zhang, Tianpeng Gao, Dexiecuo Ai, Jianli Yuan, Renyi Zhang, Xiangwen Fang
Summary: Grassland degeneration significantly decreases net CO2 uptake, gross primary productivity, ecosystem respiration, plant respiration, and heterotrophic respiration. Degradation also alters the carbon balance of the ecosystem, further impacting carbon-climate feedbacks.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Zeng Cui, Yi-Fan Liu, Yu Liu, Pedro A. M. Leite, Jianjun Shi, Zhi-Hua Shi, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: The study found that the coverage of mattic epipedon affects surface runoff, evapotranspiration, and soil water storage in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region, with higher coverage of alpine meadows being more effective at maintaining surface runoff and improving soil water conservation.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jianshuang Wu, Meng Li, Xianzhou Zhang, Sebastian Fiedler, Qingzhu Gao, Yuting Zhou, Wenfang Cao, Waseem Hassan, Mihai Ciprian Margarint, Paolo Tarolli, Britta Tietjen
Summary: Alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are sensitive to climate change and human activities, with climate warming and overgrazing leading to degradation. Research has shown that climate and human factors may have opposite effects on grasslands, likely regulated by plant community assembly and species functional traits.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Huijin Shi, Shengjing Jiang, Jianghui Bian, Jin-Sheng He
Summary: The alpine grassland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is facing shrub encroachment, which can be exacerbated by livestock exclusion policies. The encroachment is caused by the competitive advantage gained by shrubs through plant-plant interactions and the improvement of deep soil resources.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Qi-peng Zhang, Ru-yao Fang, Cui-yan Deng, Hong-juan Zhao, Meng -Han Shen, Qian Wang
Summary: Slope aspect has a significant impact on the characteristics of plant communities and soil physical and chemical properties in alpine meadows. There are significant differences in plant functional groups and plant diversity among different slope aspects. The physical and chemical properties of the soil vary with the slope aspect and are significantly correlated with plant functional groups and plant diversity.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Hao Shen, Shikui Dong, Shuai Li, Hanzhong Zheng, Qiyun Wang, Junxiang Liu, Jiannan Xiao, Hui Zuo, Ran Zhang, Xiuchun Yang
Summary: This study found that the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on ungrazed and grazed grassland vary. In ungrazed grassland, N deposition significantly affects soil C, soil N, soil P, soil C:N, soil N:P, and soil C:P. In grazed grassland, only soil N, soil P, soil C:N, and soil N:P are significantly affected by N deposition. Soil C and soil N:P in grazed grassland are not sensitive to N deposition. Livestock grazing may weaken the effects of N deposition on soil C:N:P stoichiometry.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhenchao Zhang, Yi-Fan Liu, Zeng Cui, Ze Huang, Yu Liu, Pedro A. M. Leite, Jingxue Zhao, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: This study examined the effects of shrub encroachment on the structure and functioning of alpine meadows' plant communities. The results showed that increasing levels of shrub encroachment led to a decline in overall coverage, density, biomass, species richness, and diversity of meadow community. Shrub encroachment also had a strong effect on nonrandom herb species extinction and colonization.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Khabat Khosravi, Ali Golkarian, Rahim Barzegar, Mohammad T. Aalami, Salim Heddam, Ebrahim Omidvar, Saskia D. Keesstra, Manuel Lopez-Vicente
Summary: In this study, machine learning models coupled with resampling algorithms were developed and tested for soil temperature forecasting. The BA-KStar model performed the best for the 5 cm soil depth, while the DA-KStar model outperformed the others for the 50 cm soil depth. All hybrid models showed higher prediction capabilities compared to the linear regression model.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yi-Fan Liu, Zeng Cui, Ze Huang, Manuel Lopez-Vicente, Jingxue Zhao, Luming Ding, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: This study examined the impact of shrub encroachment on soil pH in alpine meadows. The results showed that intensification of shrub encroachment increased soil water content and capillary moisture capacity, leading to an increase in soil pH. These findings are important for understanding the redistribution of soil salinity in alpine meadows and predicting changes in alpine meadow communities in response to future climate change and human activities.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zhenni Wu, Jantiene E. M. Baartman, Joao Pedro Nunes, Manuel Lopez-Vicente
Summary: Hydrological and sediment dynamics on the Chinese Loess Plateau have undergone significant changes over the past six decades, primarily due to large-scale land use changes and water regulation actions. Understanding the mechanism of sediment transport change and its effects is crucial for ensuring food and environmental security. This study utilizes the aggregated index of sediment connectivity (AIC) to evaluate the monthly and annual sediment connectivity in the Wei River Basin at both the basin and sub-basin scales. The results show that AIC has a positive correlation with sediment yield in the Wei and Jing sub-basins, with the Jing sub-basin having the highest sediment connectivity and the Beiluo sub-basin having the lowest. Additionally, rainfall is found to be the most influential factor on sediment connectivity. This study provides valuable insights for regional ecological construction and environmental catchment management.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yi-Fan Liu, Hui Fang, Ze Huang, Pedro A. M. Leite, Yu Liu, Manuel Lopez-Vicente, Jingxue Zhao, Zhi-Hua Shi, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: Shrub encroachment is causing changes to alpine meadow ecosystems, including reduction in herbaceous plant density and species richness, decrease in herbaceous root biomass, and weakening of soil strength. These findings highlight the importance of shrub encroachment in increasing soil erosion risk in hillside alpine meadows under climate changes.
Article
Ecology
Yi-Fan Liu, Hui Fang, Pedro A. M. Leite, Yu Liu, Jingxue Zhao, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: Degradation of hillside alpine meadow ecosystems leads to fragmentation of the mattic epipedon (ME) and alters soil infiltrability. ME fragmentation reduces plant biomass and root biomass, and decreases soil compressive strength and total soil porosity. However, non-capillary porosity and aggregate stability slightly increase with fragmentation. Importantly, soil infiltration rates greatly increase as a result of ME fragmentation. Overall, ME fragmentation improves soil infiltrability and has drastic effects on water provisioning function in hillside alpine meadows.
Article
Soil Science
Manuel Lopez-Vicente, Laura Pereira-Rodriguez, Rosane da Silva-Dias, Xiana Raposo-Diaz, Gao-Lin Wu, Antonio Paz-Gonzalez
Summary: This study evaluated the changes in soil water content and temperature in a rainfed organic vineyard and identified stable patterns. The study found that the inter-row areas had higher moisture and lower temperature compared to the rows, and the 15 cm depth showed the most stable conditions.
Article
Soil Science
Wei-Feng Liu, Ze Huang, Zhengxiong Guo, Manuel Lopez-Vicente, Zhanjun Wang, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: Quick water seepage in sandy soils is a major challenge for ecological restoration in arid areas. This study evaluated the effectiveness of inserting Pisha sandstone layers at different depths within the sandy soil to block water leakage. The results demonstrated that the inserted sandstone layers significantly reduced soil water infiltration rates and increased soil water content at various depths. This study provides a new solution for addressing the problem of fast water leakage in sandy land.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Yulei Ma, Yifan Liu, Manuel Lopez-Vicente, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: This study examined the effects of shifts in vegetation composition on soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) in alpine grasslands. The results showed that the shift from normal alpine meadows to shrub meadows or severely degraded meadows altered the soil and meadow properties, leading to reduced Ks and field moisture capacity. The dominant factors affecting Ks varied depending on the type of shift, including meadow cover, root mass density, clay content, and total porosity. This study contributes to understanding the ecohydrological processes in alpine meadow ecosystems in response to climate change and overgrazing.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Yu Liu, Di Wang, Zeng Cui, Shixiong Li, Runjie Li, Jesus Rodrigo-Comino, Manuel Lopez-Vicente, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: Meadow patches are evidence of degradation caused by the fragmentation and disappearance of mattic epipedons. This study investigates how the loss of mattic epipedons affects soil erosion processes in alpine regions through simulated rainfall experiments. The findings highlight the importance of maintaining runoff and reducing sediment through the presence of mattic epipedons.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Manuel Lopez-Vicente, Seigo Fujiwara, Yuichi Onda, Shohei Kozuka, Yoshifumi Wakiyama, Hiroaki Kato
Summary: In this study, the processes of soil erosion at a plot in Fukushima prefecture, Japan were explored using the UAV-SfM method and RFID tag data. Comparison of accuracy between UAV-SfM and TLS measurements and integration of the UAV-SfM method and RFID tag locations were conducted to assess sediment transport. The results showed short transport distances with rill erosion based on RFID tag data, while the UAV-SfM surveys showed an increase in sediment connectivity over the study period, explaining the largest sediment discharge, especially of fine soil particles.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
