Article
Environmental Sciences
Wuhui Jia, Lihe Yin, Maosheng Zhang, Kun Yu, Luchen Wang, Fusheng Hu
Summary: Groundwater evapotranspiration (ETG) estimation is important for groundwater management in semi-arid areas. This study in the northeastern Mu Us sandy region found significant spatial variation in ETG, with different vegetation areas showing varying sensitivity to water table depth.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lushuang Liang, Qingzheng Wang, Qingyu Guan, Qinqin Du, Yunfan Sun, Fei Ni, Songjian Lv, Yuxin Shan
Summary: Assessing vegetation restoration prospects (VRPs) is crucial for ecological restoration projects, especially in cold and arid mountainous areas. This study focused on the Qilian Mountains and analyzed the relationship between vegetation trend persistence and VRPs. A VRPs assessment framework was constructed, and environmental factors influencing vegetation restoration were identified. The results showed significant vegetation improvement in the Qilian Mountains, with specific environmental elements such as terrain niche index, drought index, and soil types influencing VRPs. The study provides a new framework for assessing VRPs and offers guidance for ecosystem restoration planning worldwide.
Article
Environmental Studies
Xiongyi Zhang, Jia Ning
Summary: The Three Rivers Headwaters Region in the Tibetan Plateau is an important ecological security barrier for China and Southeast Asia, known for its biodiversity. This study investigated the vegetation changes in the region using a comprehensive vegetation index based on leaf area, vegetation cover, and productivity. The results showed an overall increasing trend in vegetation, with variations in different areas. Climate, land use changes, and altitude were found to impact vegetation changes.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jiyou Yuan, Zhiyun Ouyang, Hua Zheng, Yirong Su
Summary: The study showed that total ecosystem carbon storage in FG, UG, and MG significantly increased over time, outperforming the control group. These three grassland restoration methods are expected to make significant contributions to global ecosystem carbon sequestration after more than 20 years. The ranking of total ecosystem carbon storage content is FG> MG> UG> CK. Soil carbon storage in the 0-30 cm and 0-50 cm depth ranges accounted for 41.81-60.13% and 59.42-80.80% of the total soil pool, respectively, across all treatments.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Xiangjin Shen, Binhui Liu, Mark Henderson, Lei Wang, Ming Jiang, Xianguo Lu
Summary: Changes in vegetation activity and phenology have significant impacts on climate, especially in temperate grasslands. The increasing vegetation activity and extended growing seasons in the temperate grasslands of China contribute to regional warming, highlighting the importance of considering these factors in climate models.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xueer Kang, Tingxi Liu, Lina Hao, Limin Duan, Guanli Wang, Vijay P. Singh, Miaomiao Zhang, Rong Wu, Kuo Ma
Summary: Understanding the relationship between plant-soil carbon dynamics and the environment is crucial for managing arid and semi-arid ecosystems. This study evaluated the changes in plant-soil organic carbon content and stable carbon isotope ratios in different ecosystems and found that vegetation restoration can significantly increase soil organic carbon content and promote its interaction with soil nitrogen and water.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Meng Kou, Juying Jiao
Summary: This study investigated the changes in vegetation and soil properties over time in natural and artificial vegetation types. It found that natural vegetation improved both plant community and soil properties, while artificial vegetation only improved soil nutrients but caused soil desiccation which is difficult to recover.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Caixia Liu, Fulai Liu, Mathias N. Andersen, Gongming Wang, Kun Wu, Quanlin Zhao, Zhengfang Ye
Summary: This study conducted a column experiment to simulate the infiltration process of wastewater in desert soil and evaluated its effects on soil, drainage, and plant properties. The results showed that wastewater significantly improved plant growth, but improper treatment of wastewater could lead to contamination of soil and groundwater.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Renhui Miao, Yinzhan Liu, Liqi Wu, Dong Wang, Yanchun Liu, Yuan Miao, Zhongling Yang, Meixia Guo, Jun Ma
Summary: Grazing exclusion is an important policy in China for recovering degraded grasslands, but its effects on sand dune ecosystems vary by topographic location. Long-term grazing exclusion leads to increased plant density, cover, species richness, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen across different areas in sand dune systems.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wenda Huang, Yuanzheng He, Huaihai Wang, Xin Zhao, Yuanzhong Zhu
Summary: This study examined the relationship between above- and belowground biodiversity and its driving factors in a degraded grassland ecosystem. The levels of species diversity, genetic diversity, and soil microbial diversity in restored grassland were measured. The results showed that herb dominated in restoration grassland types and plant species richness was significantly higher in non-grazing restoration plots. Genetic diversity was higher in chloroplast DNA than nuclear DNA in recovering sandy grassland plots. The study also found positive correlations between species diversity and genetic diversity, and a negative correlation between soil microbial diversity and genetic diversity. Overall, long-term ecological restoration had positive effects on various aspects of biodiversity and was influenced by biological and abiotic factors.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yuting Yang, Yongming Fan, Can Mujue Basang, Jinxin Lu, Cheng Zheng, Zhongming Wen
Summary: By measuring the aboveground biomass and soil water content of natural and artificial vegetation in different regions of the Loess Plateau, it was found that artificial vegetation consumed more soil water than natural vegetation in the steppe and forest-steppe zone, but did not overconsume soil water in the forest zone. The artificial vegetation in the steppe zone was seriously overloaded, and it is recommended to stop further expansion in this area. The competition intensity between aboveground biomass and soil water was the highest in the steppe zone and the lowest in the forest zone.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Rongrong Qiao, Chunyuan Dong, Shuxin Ji, Xueli Chang
Summary: The study conducted a correlation analysis of vegetation and land surface temperature in Horqin Sandy Land from May to August 2017, revealing that vegetation coverage increased over time while land surface temperature exhibited an initial rise followed by a decline. Landscape patterns encompassing vegetation coverage and land surface temperature showed a strong coupling correlation.
Article
Environmental Studies
Oimahmad Rahmonov, Sylwia Skreczko, Malgorzata Rahmonov
Summary: This research focused on the succession process of vegetation and soil in an area of inland sands, revealing the dominance of Salix arenaria and Koeleria glauca in initial phytomass production. It also examined the variations in soil properties and nutrients beneath different dominant plant species, reflecting different stages of succession.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xueping Chen, Xueyong Zhao, Yanming Zhao, Ruixiong Wang, Jiannan Lu, Haiyan Zhuang, Liya Bai
Summary: Surface water dynamics are influenced by climate change and human activity in semi-arid regions. The study on Horqin Sandy Land in northern China revealed a significant decrease in surface water area and number of water bodies from 1985 to 2020. Climate factors played a major role in pre-change period, while human activity became increasingly important in the post-change period.
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shichang Kang, Qianggong Zhang, Yulan Zhang, Wanqin Guo, Zhenming Ji, Miaogen Shen, Shijin Wang, Xin Wang, Lekhendra Tripathee, Yongqin Liu, Tanguang Gao, Guobao Xu, Yufang Gao, Susan Kaspari, Xi Luo, Paul Mayewski
Summary: This study comprehensively synthesized the climate and environmental changes in the Mt. Everest region, including temperature, precipitation, glaciers, water quality, and vegetation phenology. The findings reveal a clear warming trend in the region, with shrinking glaciers and expanding glacial lakes as a result of climate change. The study also highlights the significant impact of human activities on river and lake water quality in this remote region.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
