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Ecosystem services (ESs) provided by the major basins of Central Asia are critical to human well-being and have attracted the attention of the international community. The identification of conservation priorities is of great significance for the maintenance and protection of key ESs. In this study, we quantified the spatiotemporal changes of net primary productivity (NPP), soil conservation (SC), water yield (WY) and habitat quality (HQ) in the major basins of Central Asia from 1995 to 2015. In addition, a GIS-based ordered weighted averaging (OWA) multi-criterion valuation method was adopted to identify potential conservation areas under 11 scenarios. Conservation priorities were determined by comparing the conservation efficiency under each scenario. Then, a broad range of indicators were considered to distinguish the driving factors affecting ESs in conservation priorities. The results show that the average conservation efficiency in the Issyk-Kul Basin was the highest, followed by the Am Darya Basin, Ili-Balkhash Basin and Syr Darya Basin. We observed that the conservation efficiency of the four ESs declined continuously in the Ili-Balkhash Basin from 1995 to 2015, while it changed steadily in the other three basins. Correlation analysis indicated that natural factors (e.g., precipitation and topography) were the main driving factors of WY, SR and NPP in conservation priorities, while HQ was more affected by socio-economic factors (e.g., population density and both cropland and urban percentages). The identification of conservation priorities and their driving factors plays an important role in ensuring the ecological security of the lower reaches, regulating the regional water balance and stabilizing the climate pattern.
Jiangyue Li; Xi Chen; Alishir Kurban; Tim Van de Voorde; Philippe De Maeyer; Chi Zhang. Identification of conservation priorities in the major basins of Central Asia: Using an integrated GIS-based ordered weighted averaging approach. Journal of Environmental Management 2021, 298, 113442 .
AMA StyleJiangyue Li, Xi Chen, Alishir Kurban, Tim Van de Voorde, Philippe De Maeyer, Chi Zhang. Identification of conservation priorities in the major basins of Central Asia: Using an integrated GIS-based ordered weighted averaging approach. Journal of Environmental Management. 2021; 298 ():113442.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJiangyue Li; Xi Chen; Alishir Kurban; Tim Van de Voorde; Philippe De Maeyer; Chi Zhang. 2021. "Identification of conservation priorities in the major basins of Central Asia: Using an integrated GIS-based ordered weighted averaging approach." Journal of Environmental Management 298, no. : 113442.
Natural changes and human disturbance have far-reaching influences on ecosystem services (ESs) in arid alpine basins. In this paper, the Issyk-Kul Basin (IKB) is taken as a case study to systematically quantify 5 ES distributions and determine ES hotspots/coldspots. We used Spearman correlation analysis to explore trade-offs and synergies between ESs. Then, ES bundles and socioecological drivers of ESs were identified by utilizing K-means clustering and redundancy analysis (RDA). The results revealed that the water yield (WY) and soil retention (SR) in the IKB increased significantly from 1992 to 2015, but food production (FP) and habitat quality (HQ) exhibited decreasing trends. Correlation analysis indicated a synergistic relationship between SR and WY/NPP (R = 0.34/R = 0.68; p < 0.001), and a trade-off relationship between FP and HQ (r = −0.35; p < 0.01). Based on cluster analysis, three ES bundles were identified, including the “Agriculture bundle”, “Soil & vegetation bundle” and “Habit quality bundle”. Redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that WY and SR were mainly affected by natural factors (i.e., precipitation, slope and vegetation coverage), while FP and HQ were more sensitive to human factors (i.e., population density, percentage of cropland and percentage of urban). Our findings promote a better understanding of the complex relationship between ESs, and provide a reference for developing win-win management strategies for socioeconomic development and ecological protection in alpine basins.
Jiangyue Li; Chi Zhang. Exploring the relationship between key ecosystem services and socioecological drivers in alpine basins: A case of Issyk-Kul Basin in Central Asia. Global Ecology and Conservation 2021, 29, e01729 .
AMA StyleJiangyue Li, Chi Zhang. Exploring the relationship between key ecosystem services and socioecological drivers in alpine basins: A case of Issyk-Kul Basin in Central Asia. Global Ecology and Conservation. 2021; 29 ():e01729.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJiangyue Li; Chi Zhang. 2021. "Exploring the relationship between key ecosystem services and socioecological drivers in alpine basins: A case of Issyk-Kul Basin in Central Asia." Global Ecology and Conservation 29, no. : e01729.
Phytotoxic chemicals produced by alien invasive plants exert inhibitory effects on native species to facilitate their invasiveness. The allelopathic process of invaders has been hypothesized as the “Novel Weapon Hypothesis”. However, this hypothesis has been controversial for decades due to lack of molecular evidence, and the underlying mechanism of allelopathy still remains ambiguous. Herein, we explore the allelopathic mechanisms of Eupatorium adenophorum, a world-widely spread noxious weed, by the methods of laboratory bioassay and metabolomics analyses in the recipient plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. The bioassay revealed significant phytotoxicity of E. adenophorum extracts. A total of 234 metabolites in A. thaliana were detected by Gas Chromatographic−Mass Spectrometric analysis. There were 48, 99 and 94 impacted metabolites in A. thaliana treated by 50, 25 and 12.5% aqueous extracts compared to control. When mapping all the impacted metabolites to the biological pathways in the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) database, we found mineral absorption, ABC transporters, amino acid biosynthesis, metabolic pathways and biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites were mainly impacted. Synthesized with partial least-squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) results of metabolic profiles in A. thaliana, we found that citrate cycle was suppressed, metabolism of amino acids was disordered and phosphate absorption was inhibited. Subsequent investigation demonstrated that the phosphorus content in A. thaliana tissues exposed in allelopathic extracts was much lower, indicating inhibition of phosphate uptake. Our study revealed by metabolomics approaches that E. adenophorum is an allelopathic species.
Xunzhi Zhu; Yangmin Yi; Ling Huang; Chi Zhang; Hua Shao. Metabolomics Reveals the Allelopathic Potential of the Invasive Plant Eupatorium adenophorum. Plants 2021, 10, 1473 .
AMA StyleXunzhi Zhu, Yangmin Yi, Ling Huang, Chi Zhang, Hua Shao. Metabolomics Reveals the Allelopathic Potential of the Invasive Plant Eupatorium adenophorum. Plants. 2021; 10 (7):1473.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXunzhi Zhu; Yangmin Yi; Ling Huang; Chi Zhang; Hua Shao. 2021. "Metabolomics Reveals the Allelopathic Potential of the Invasive Plant Eupatorium adenophorum." Plants 10, no. 7: 1473.
Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are a class of lipophilic chemicals widely used as plasticizers and additives to improve various products’ mechanical extensibility and flexibility. At present, synthesized PAEs, which are considered to cause potential hazards to ecosystem functioning and public health, have been easily detected in the atmosphere, water, soil, and sediments; PAEs are also frequently discovered in plant and microorganism sources, suggesting the possibility that they might be biosynthesized in nature. In this review, we summarize that PAEs have not only been identified in the organic solvent extracts, root exudates, and essential oils of a large number of different plant species, but also isolated and purified from various algae, bacteria, and fungi. Dominant PAEs identified from natural sources generally include di-n-butyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, diisooctyl phthalate, etc. Further studies reveal that PAEs can be biosynthesized by at least several algae. PAEs are reported to possess allelopathic, antimicrobial, insecticidal, and other biological activities, which might enhance the competitiveness of plants, algae, and microorganisms to better accommodate biotic and abiotic stress. These findings suggest that PAEs should not be treated solely as a “human-made pollutant” simply because they have been extensively synthesized and utilized; on the other hand, synthesized PAEs entering the ecosystem might disrupt the metabolic process of certain plant, algal, and microbial communities. Therefore, further studies are required to elucidate the relevant mechanisms and ecological consequences.
Ling Huang; Xunzhi Zhu; Shixing Zhou; Zhenrui Cheng; Kai Shi; Chi Zhang; Hua Shao. Phthalic Acid Esters: Natural Sources and Biological Activities. Toxins 2021, 13, 495 .
AMA StyleLing Huang, Xunzhi Zhu, Shixing Zhou, Zhenrui Cheng, Kai Shi, Chi Zhang, Hua Shao. Phthalic Acid Esters: Natural Sources and Biological Activities. Toxins. 2021; 13 (7):495.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLing Huang; Xunzhi Zhu; Shixing Zhou; Zhenrui Cheng; Kai Shi; Chi Zhang; Hua Shao. 2021. "Phthalic Acid Esters: Natural Sources and Biological Activities." Toxins 13, no. 7: 495.
Global climate change and human activities are expected to have far-reaching implications for the associations between ecosystem services (ESs), especially in arid regions. Here, Central Asia (CA) was taken as a case study to describe the complex relationship among key ESs under the combined effects of future climate change and socioeconomic development. We propose a new framework that integrates the future land-use simulation (FLUS) model and integrated valuation of ESs and trade-offs (InVEST) model. A four-model ensemble mean from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) was chosen to project future (2021–2100) variations in water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), carbon storage (CS) and habitat quality (HQ). Spearman correlation was adopted to analyze the trade-offs and synergies between multiple ESs. Results showed that cropland degradation (−4.11% to −19.93%) and urban (+33.14% to +127.96%) and forestland (+5.31% to +25.52%) expansion will be the main forms of future land-use change in CA. Compared with the reference period (1995–2015), four ESs will exhibit different decreasing trends across CA under the three scenarios. We observed that the risk of soil erosion will increase in the mountainous areas of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; cropland degradation and urban expansion would lead to a sharp reduction of CS and HQ in the Amu Darya Basin, Syr Darya Basin and southern Turkmenistan, especially in SSP245 scenario. We found that the weak pairwise correlations between HQ, SC and CS will be strengthened (R = 0.22–0.58; p < 0.05) in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, whereas the significant positive correlation (R = 0.47–0.60; p < 0.01) between WY and SC will be weakened. An important information/recommendation provided by this study is that different management strategies should be designed in accordance with the major interactions among water, soil, carbon and biodiversity services.
Jiangyue Li; Xi Chen; Alishir Kurban; Tim Van de Voorde; Philippe De Maeyer; Chi Zhang. Coupled SSPs-RCPs scenarios to project the future dynamic variations of water-soil-carbon-biodiversity services in Central Asia. Ecological Indicators 2021, 129, 107936 .
AMA StyleJiangyue Li, Xi Chen, Alishir Kurban, Tim Van de Voorde, Philippe De Maeyer, Chi Zhang. Coupled SSPs-RCPs scenarios to project the future dynamic variations of water-soil-carbon-biodiversity services in Central Asia. Ecological Indicators. 2021; 129 ():107936.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJiangyue Li; Xi Chen; Alishir Kurban; Tim Van de Voorde; Philippe De Maeyer; Chi Zhang. 2021. "Coupled SSPs-RCPs scenarios to project the future dynamic variations of water-soil-carbon-biodiversity services in Central Asia." Ecological Indicators 129, no. : 107936.
Water is the most important factor limiting the growth of sand-binding vegetation (SBV) in desert ecosystems. This study explored the water sources and water use strategies of SBV under a natural precipitation gradient. Six typical SBV species were selected, comprising three tree species, Pinus sylvestris, Haloxylon ammodendron and Populus euphratica, and three shrub species, Artemesia ordosica, Caragana korshinshii and Tmarix ramosissima. The stable isotope values (δD, δ18O) of xylem water and potential water sources (precipitation, soil water, and groundwater) of these species under a precipitation gradient in the sandy regions of northern China were measured. In addition, the relative contributions of the different potential water sources to water use by SBV were analyzed using the MixSIAR model. The results indicated that the Local Meteoric Water Lines (LMWLs) of the six SBV species were located on the right side of the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), with the degree of deviation gradually increasing with a decrease in precipitation. The results showed that T. ramosissima, H. ammodendron and P. euphratica mainly used groundwater (GW), whereas P. sylvestris, A. ordosica and C. korshinshii mainly used soil water. Among those species using soil water, P. sylvestris and A. ordosica mainly used shallow soil water (20–80 cm). P. sylvestris and C. korshinshii showed the highest soil water utilization rate of 14%, whereas P. euphratica showed the lowest soil water utilization rate of 2%. The different SBV species showed significantly different soil water utilization rates due to the influence of plant root distribution (p < 0.001). Among the six SBV species, trees showed a higher GW utilization rate compared to shrubs at 65.74% and 47.29%, respectively, whereas shrubs showed a higher deep soil water utilization rate (140–200 cm) compared to trees at 65.74% and 47.29%, respectively. The precipitation utilization rates amongst the six SBV species were highest in spring, followed by autumn and summer. The utilization of GW by SBV will be intensified in the future due to climate change. However, the stability of T. ramosissima may pose a threat due to its low utilization rate of GW.
Xiaofei Ma; Jianting Zhu; Yong Wang; Wei Yan; Chengyi Zhao. Variations in water use strategies of sand-binding vegetation along a precipitation gradient in sandy regions, northern China. Journal of Hydrology 2021, 600, 126539 .
AMA StyleXiaofei Ma, Jianting Zhu, Yong Wang, Wei Yan, Chengyi Zhao. Variations in water use strategies of sand-binding vegetation along a precipitation gradient in sandy regions, northern China. Journal of Hydrology. 2021; 600 ():126539.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXiaofei Ma; Jianting Zhu; Yong Wang; Wei Yan; Chengyi Zhao. 2021. "Variations in water use strategies of sand-binding vegetation along a precipitation gradient in sandy regions, northern China." Journal of Hydrology 600, no. : 126539.
Rapid cropland reformation is occurring in the cold region of China (hereafter referred to as Cold China), affecting national crop structure production. In addition, different agricultural systems, including state and private farms, exist in Cold China. To date, the different effects of cropland reformation on grain production in state and private farms are lacking. Focusing on this issue and using synergistic methodology, results revealed that the transformation from upland crops to paddy field was principal land change across Cold China from 1990 to 2015. This transformation increased grain production by 434.0 × 104 t, accounting for over 14.0% of the total grain production increase in Cold China (i.e., from 748.0 × 104 t in 1990–3785.1 × 104 t in 2015) in the study period, showing positive feedback on grain security. Between two agricultural systems, more intensive transformation area (10993.3 km2 vs. 4673.5 km2) and a larger contribution to grain production increase (11.1% vs. 3.2%) occurred on state compared with private farms. Crop structure also evolved differently in the two agricultural systems. Dominant crop changed from soybean (1990–2000) to rice paddy (2000–2015) on state farms but from soybean (1990–2005) to corn (2005–2015) on private farms, indicating state farms focused on human dietary supply and private farms mainly served industrial needs. This study showed cropland reformation in response to global food trade increased grain production in Cold China. State farms were more efficient in such reformation; more market-oriented policies should be designed to encourage the reformation on private farms. This study provided a new reference for other regions/countries’ investigation on cropland and food structural security in different agricultural systems.
Tao Pan; Chi Zhang; Wenhui Kuang; Geping Luo; Guoming Du; Philippe DeMaeyer; Zherui Yin. A large-scale shift of cropland structure profoundly affects grain production in the cold region of China. Journal of Cleaner Production 2021, 307, 127300 .
AMA StyleTao Pan, Chi Zhang, Wenhui Kuang, Geping Luo, Guoming Du, Philippe DeMaeyer, Zherui Yin. A large-scale shift of cropland structure profoundly affects grain production in the cold region of China. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021; 307 ():127300.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTao Pan; Chi Zhang; Wenhui Kuang; Geping Luo; Guoming Du; Philippe DeMaeyer; Zherui Yin. 2021. "A large-scale shift of cropland structure profoundly affects grain production in the cold region of China." Journal of Cleaner Production 307, no. : 127300.
Climate change (CC) and land-use change (LUC) have far-reaching influences on ecosystem services (ESs), which are key to human well-being. This study aimed to develop a novel hypothetical framework for not only determining the dynamic changes in ESs at the basin level but also providing robust operating rules for distinguishing the relative contributions of CC and LUC to ESs. In this study, with the Ili-Balkhash Basin (IBB) in Central Asia as the study area, the spatiotemporal changes in climate, land use and four typical ESs (i.e., water yield (WY), soil retention (SR), carbon storage (CS) and habitat quality (HQ) from 1992 to 2014 were quantified. Three comparative experiments (i.e., only CC, only LUC and CC & LUC) were designed to explore the relative contributions of CC and LUC to the four ESs. The results showed that the changes in WY (89.92%–92.42%), SC (86.45%–90.59%) and CS (70.07%–81.19%) in the CC simulation were more significant than those in the LUC simulation, whereas HQ was more affected by LUC (81.82%–97.93%) than CC. The correlation analysis revealed that precipitation (PPT) is the main driver of changes in WY (R = 0.53–0.97), SR (R = 0.26–0.57) and CS (R = 0.67–0.74) in the IBB. Furthermore, the degradation of HQ was attributed to the conversion of grassland to cropland (+13.57 × 103 km2) and urban expansion (+140 km2) from 1992 to 2014. Our findings indicate that current land-use policies should consider the relative influences of CC and LUC to balance the trade-offs among ESs.
Jiangyue Li; Chi Zhang; Shihua Zhu. Relative contributions of climate and land-use change to ecosystem services in arid inland basins. Journal of Cleaner Production 2021, 298, 126844 .
AMA StyleJiangyue Li, Chi Zhang, Shihua Zhu. Relative contributions of climate and land-use change to ecosystem services in arid inland basins. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021; 298 ():126844.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJiangyue Li; Chi Zhang; Shihua Zhu. 2021. "Relative contributions of climate and land-use change to ecosystem services in arid inland basins." Journal of Cleaner Production 298, no. : 126844.
The chemical profile and allelopathic effect of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by a dominant shrub Serphidium kaschgaricum (Krasch.) Poljak. growing in northwestern China was investigated for the first time. Serphidium kaschgaricu was found to release volatile compounds into the surroundings to affect other plants’ growth, with its VOCs suppressing root elongation of Amaranthus retroflexus L. and Poa annua L. by 65.47% and 60.37% at 10 g/1.5 L treatment, respectively. Meanwhile, volatile oils produced by stems, leaves, flowers and flowering shoots exhibited phytotoxic activity against A. retroflexus and P. annua. At 0.5 mg/mL, stem, leaf and flower oils significantly reduced seedling growth of the receiver plants, and 1.5 mg/mL oils nearly completely prohibited seed germination of both species. GC/MS analysis revealed that among the total 37 identified compounds in the oils, 19 of them were common, with eucalyptol (43.00%, 36.66%, 19.52%, and 38.68% in stem, leaf, flower and flowering shoot oils, respectively) and camphor (21.55%, 24.91%, 21.64%, and 23.35%, respectively) consistently being the dominant constituents in all oils. Eucalyptol, camphor and their mixture exhibited much weaker phytotoxicity compared with the volatile oils, implying that less abundant compounds in the volatile oil might contribute significantly to the oils’ activity. Our results suggested that S. kaschgaricum was capable of synthesizing and releasing allelopathic volatile compounds into the surroundings to affect neighboring plants’ growth, which might improve its competitiveness thus facilitate the establishment of dominance.
Shixing Zhou; Toshmatov Zokir; Yu Mei; Lijing Lei; Kai Shi; Ting Zou; Chi Zhang; Hua Shao. Allelopathic Effect of Serphidium kaschgaricum (Krasch.) Poljak. Volatiles on Selected Species. Plants 2021, 10, 495 .
AMA StyleShixing Zhou, Toshmatov Zokir, Yu Mei, Lijing Lei, Kai Shi, Ting Zou, Chi Zhang, Hua Shao. Allelopathic Effect of Serphidium kaschgaricum (Krasch.) Poljak. Volatiles on Selected Species. Plants. 2021; 10 (3):495.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShixing Zhou; Toshmatov Zokir; Yu Mei; Lijing Lei; Kai Shi; Ting Zou; Chi Zhang; Hua Shao. 2021. "Allelopathic Effect of Serphidium kaschgaricum (Krasch.) Poljak. Volatiles on Selected Species." Plants 10, no. 3: 495.
With rapid urbanization, retrieving livability information of human settlements in time is essential for urban planning and governance. However, livability assessments are often limited by data availability and data update cycle, and this problem is more serious when making an assessment at finer spatial scales (e.g., community level). Here we aim to develop a reliable and dynamic model for community-level livability assessment taking Linyi city in Shandong Province, China as a case study. First, we constructed a hierarchical index system for livability assessment, and derived data for each index and community from remotely sensed data or Internet-based geospatial data. Next, we calculated the livability scores for all communities and assessed their uncertainties using Monte Carlo simulations. The results showed that the mean livability score of all communities was 59. The old urban and newly developed districts of our study area had the best livability, and got a livability score of 62 and 58 respectively, while industrial districts had the poorest conditions with an average livability score of 48. Results by dimension showed that the old urban district had better conditions of living amenity and travel convenience, but poorer conditions of environmental health and comfort. The newly developed districts were the opposite. We conclude that our model is effective and extendible for rapidly assessing community-level livability, which provides detailed and useful information of human settlements for sustainable urban planning and governance.
Likai Zhu; Yuanyuan Guo; Chi Zhang; Jijun Meng; Lei Ju; Yuansuo Zhang; Wenxue Tang. Assessing Community-Level Livability Using Combined Remote Sensing and Internet-Based Big Geospatial Data. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 4026 .
AMA StyleLikai Zhu, Yuanyuan Guo, Chi Zhang, Jijun Meng, Lei Ju, Yuansuo Zhang, Wenxue Tang. Assessing Community-Level Livability Using Combined Remote Sensing and Internet-Based Big Geospatial Data. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12 (24):4026.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLikai Zhu; Yuanyuan Guo; Chi Zhang; Jijun Meng; Lei Ju; Yuansuo Zhang; Wenxue Tang. 2020. "Assessing Community-Level Livability Using Combined Remote Sensing and Internet-Based Big Geospatial Data." Remote Sensing 12, no. 24: 4026.
As a key service for regulating ecosystems, soil conservation (SC) plays a critical role in preventing regional land degradation. However, there are few studies on SC services in Central Asia, and there is a lack of quantitative assessments of long-term time series. Meanwhile, future climate change is also expected to exacerbate the uncertainty in SC assessments in Central Asia. Based on this, we modified the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model applicable to the Central Asia region through the localizing parameters. This study represents the first comprehensive assessment to investigate the SC in the four major basins (FMB) in Central Asia (Amu Darya Basin, ADB; Syr Darya Basin, SDB; Ili River Basin, IRB; and Tarim River Basin, TRB) in the current period (1996–2015) and in the future (with global warming of 1.5 °C (GW_1.5 °C) and 2.0 °C (GW_2.0 °C)). The results indicate that the current and future SC in Central Asia generally show increasing trends, but these trends slow with increasing temperature. Compared with the current value, the future SC in Central Asia is 4.7% and 7.9% lower under GW_1.5 °C and GW_2.0 °C, respectively. The future SC in the FMB decreases under global warming of 2.0 °C (GW_2.0 °C), with the decreases in the basins exhibiting the following order: TRB (-15.1%) > SDB (-8.6%) > ADB (-4.6%) > IRB (-3.3%). With increasing elevation, the SC in Central Asia increases and then decreases. Moreover, under GW_1.5 °C and GW_2.0 °C, the areas with the most concentrated SC extend from the areas at elevations of 1500–3500 m to areas at higher elevations. Temperature and precipitation had a synergistic effect on SC in Central Asia. Among the FMB, the TRB is most sensitive to climate variability. As the temperature increases by 16.9% and the precipitation increases by 30.0%, the SC in the TRB decreases by 7.0% (20.3 t km−2). The SC in the TRB should be prioritized in the FMB in Central Asia under GW_1.5 °C and GW_2.0 °C. The present study fills the gaps in the study of SC services in Central Asia and improves the simulation and risk assessment of SC in arid regions.
Xiaofei Ma; Jianting Zhu; Wei Yan; Chengyi Zhao. Assessment of soil conservation services of four river basins in Central Asia under global warming scenarios. Geoderma 2020, 375, 114533 .
AMA StyleXiaofei Ma, Jianting Zhu, Wei Yan, Chengyi Zhao. Assessment of soil conservation services of four river basins in Central Asia under global warming scenarios. Geoderma. 2020; 375 ():114533.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXiaofei Ma; Jianting Zhu; Wei Yan; Chengyi Zhao. 2020. "Assessment of soil conservation services of four river basins in Central Asia under global warming scenarios." Geoderma 375, no. : 114533.
In Central Asia (CA), climate change influences soil ecosystem services (ESs) that are essential for the sustainable management of natural resources and development of social economies. Based on the Revised Universal Soil Equation (RUSLE), Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) and Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA), we simulated the three key ESs, including soil conservation (SC), sand fixation (SF) and net primary productivity (NPP), in CA for two future periods (2030s and 2050s) using a climate projection for two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios: RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5. Based on the Inter-sectoral Impact Model Inter-comparison Project (ISIMIP2b) climate model, a consensus was found using the two RCP scenarios, and it indicated that an increase in temperature (average: 1.48 °C–3.59 °C) and increase in rainfall (average: 5.07 mm–33.79 mm) would occur among the four climatic subregions under future climate changes. The SC and SF were projected to increase by 4.85%–29.14% and 35.14%–161.25% under RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5, respectively. The results indicated that the non-phreatophyte shrubland distributed in the central arid desert shrub area would decrease by 5.2 g C/m2–15.94 g C/m2. Correlation analysis indicated a positive relationship between the difference in SC and NPP (R = 0.54–0.64), except in the humid and cold forest-meadow area in Tianshan, where negative correlations existed between the difference in SF and NPP (R = −0.07 to −0.58)/SC (R = −0.21 to −0.48) from 1986 to 2060. Climatic changes are the major drivers of ecosystem service fluctuations. A correlation analysis showed that the decrease in precipitation significantly hindered SC (R = 0.37–0.69) and NPP (R = 0.45–0.74), while the increases in wind speed (R = 0.45–0.85) and temperature (R = 0.29–0.69) exerted obvious positive influences on SF. Our research results show that risks of vegetation degradation will occur in the middle arid desert shrub area, and ecological restoration projects (e.g. ecological reserve) should be established to improve soil ESs efficiency.
Jiangyue Li; Hongxing Chen; Chi Zhang. Impacts of climate change on key soil ecosystem services and interactions in Central Asia. Ecological Indicators 2020, 116, 106490 .
AMA StyleJiangyue Li, Hongxing Chen, Chi Zhang. Impacts of climate change on key soil ecosystem services and interactions in Central Asia. Ecological Indicators. 2020; 116 ():106490.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJiangyue Li; Hongxing Chen; Chi Zhang. 2020. "Impacts of climate change on key soil ecosystem services and interactions in Central Asia." Ecological Indicators 116, no. : 106490.
The recent acute evolution of cropland structure in Cold China could lead to rapid rice paddy expansion, potentially altering land-surface thermal processes and influencing climate. To address the issue, this study investigated the changes in cropland type, land-surface temperature (LST) and heat fluxes in the agricultural region of Cold China during 2000–2015 based on time-series of land-use data and MODIS LST product, using the split-window algorithms (SWA) model and the pixel component arranging and component algorithm (PCACA). The investigation revealed large-scale land transformation from rain-fed farmland to paddy field in Cold China during 2000–2015. Compared to the rain-fed farmland, lower LST was observed in paddy field throughout crop growing seasons, with the highest LST threshold found in June (7.17 ± 1.05 °C) and the lowest value found in August (1.04 ± 0.35 °C). The cooling effect of paddy-field ranged from 0.59 ± 0.06 °C, 0.77 ± 0.07 °C, and 1.08 ± 0.08 °C for the low-, medium-, and high-density paddies, respectively. Compared to other months, stronger cooling effect was found in May and June. Further analysis showed the conversion of a rain-fed farmland to paddy field reduced the sensible heat flux and soil heat flux by 52.94 W/m2 and 15.26 W/m2, respectively, while increased the latent heat flux and net radiation by 115.66 W/m2 and 47.34 W/m2, respectively. The findings from this study indicated the changes in cropland structure and management regime (e.g., irrigation) could profoundly modify land-surface thermal processes and local/regional climate, interfering the signals from global warming. Therefore, instrumental climate data that collected from areas experienced large-scale conversion between rain-fed and paddy farmland should be carefully screened and corrected to prevent land-use induced biases.
Tao Pan; Chi Zhang; Wenhui Kuang; Geping Luo; Guoming Du; Zherui Yin. Large-scale rain-fed to paddy farmland conversion modified land-surface thermal properties in Cold China. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 722, 137917 .
AMA StyleTao Pan, Chi Zhang, Wenhui Kuang, Geping Luo, Guoming Du, Zherui Yin. Large-scale rain-fed to paddy farmland conversion modified land-surface thermal properties in Cold China. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 722 ():137917.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTao Pan; Chi Zhang; Wenhui Kuang; Geping Luo; Guoming Du; Zherui Yin. 2020. "Large-scale rain-fed to paddy farmland conversion modified land-surface thermal properties in Cold China." Science of The Total Environment 722, no. : 137917.
The arid ecosystem is fragile and sensitive to the changes in climate and CO2 concentration. Exploring the responses of the arid ecosystem to the changes under different representative concentration pathways (RCPs) is of particular significance for the sustainable development of the ecosystem. In this study, the dynamics of net primary productivity (NPP), evapotranspiration (ET), and water use efficiency (WUE) for arid ecosystems in Tianshan North Slope are explored by running the arid ecosystem model at 25 km resolution under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5. The climate in Tianshan North Slope presents a wet-warming trend during 2006–2055 under each RCP scenario with temporal and spatial heterogeneity. In response to the changes in climate and CO2, the regional annual NPP and ET increased during 2006–2055 by a respectively maximum rate of 2.15 g C m−2 year−1 and 0.52 mm year−1 under RCP8.5. Both the NPP and ET share a similar temporal and spatial heterogeneity with climate change. Different vegetation types respond differently to the changes under different RCP scenarios with increasing WUE. Under each RCP, the non-phreatophyte, phreatophyte, and grass are more sensitive to the changes than in the others, and the broadleaf forest and cropland are less sensitive to the changes.
Peng Cai; Chaofan Li; Geping Luo; Chi Zhang; Friday Uchenna Ochege; Steven Caluwaerts; Lesley De Cruz; Rozemien De Troch; Sara Top; Piet Termonia; Philippe De Maeyer. The Responses of the Ecosystems in the Tianshan North Slope under Multiple Representative Concentration Pathway Scenarios in the Middle of the 21st Century. Sustainability 2020, 12, 427 .
AMA StylePeng Cai, Chaofan Li, Geping Luo, Chi Zhang, Friday Uchenna Ochege, Steven Caluwaerts, Lesley De Cruz, Rozemien De Troch, Sara Top, Piet Termonia, Philippe De Maeyer. The Responses of the Ecosystems in the Tianshan North Slope under Multiple Representative Concentration Pathway Scenarios in the Middle of the 21st Century. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (1):427.
Chicago/Turabian StylePeng Cai; Chaofan Li; Geping Luo; Chi Zhang; Friday Uchenna Ochege; Steven Caluwaerts; Lesley De Cruz; Rozemien De Troch; Sara Top; Piet Termonia; Philippe De Maeyer. 2020. "The Responses of the Ecosystems in the Tianshan North Slope under Multiple Representative Concentration Pathway Scenarios in the Middle of the 21st Century." Sustainability 12, no. 1: 427.
Empirical evidence suggests that variations in climate affect the net primary productivity (NPP) across sandy areas over time. However, little is known about the relative impacts of climate change on NPP with global warming of 1.5 and 2.0 °C (GW_1.5 °C_2.0 °C) relative to pre-industrial levels. Here, we used a new set of climate simulations from four Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISI-MIP 2b) datasets, modified the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford approach (CASA) model and assessed the spatio-temporal variation in NPP in sandy areas of northern China (SAONC). Compared with the reference period (RP, 1986–2005), the NPP variation under four emission scenarios showed clear rising trends and increased most significantly under RCP8.5 with an annual average increase of 2.34 g C/m2. The estimated annual NPP under global warming of 1.5 °C (GW_1.5 °C) increased by 14.17, 10.72, 8.57, and 26.68% in different emission scenarios, and under global warming of 2.0 °C (GW_2.0 °C) it increased by 20.87, 24.01, 29.31, and 39.94%, respectively. In terms of seasonal change, the NPP value under the four emission scenarios changed most significantly in the summer relative to RP, exhibiting a growth of 16.48%. Temperature changes (p > 0.614) had a greater impact on NPP growth than precipitation (p > 0.017), but solar radiation showed a certain negative impact in the middle- and low-latitude regions. NPP showed an increasing trend that changed from the southeast to the central and western regions at GW_1.5 to GW_2.0 °C. NPP was consistent with the spatial change in climate factors and had a promoting role in high latitudes in SAONC, but it was characterized by a certain inhibitory effect at middle and low latitudes in SAONC. The uncertainty of NPP under the four models ranged from 16.29 to 26.52%. Our findings suggest that the impact of GW_1.5 °C is relatively high compared with the current conditions, whereas GW_2.0 °C implies significantly lower projected NPP growth in all areas.
Xiaofei Ma; Tianci Huo; Chengyi Zhao; Wei Yan; Xun Zhang. Projection of Net Primary Productivity under Global Warming Scenarios of 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C in Northern China Sandy Areas. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 71 .
AMA StyleXiaofei Ma, Tianci Huo, Chengyi Zhao, Wei Yan, Xun Zhang. Projection of Net Primary Productivity under Global Warming Scenarios of 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C in Northern China Sandy Areas. Atmosphere. 2020; 11 (1):71.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXiaofei Ma; Tianci Huo; Chengyi Zhao; Wei Yan; Xun Zhang. 2020. "Projection of Net Primary Productivity under Global Warming Scenarios of 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C in Northern China Sandy Areas." Atmosphere 11, no. 1: 71.
Wind erosion is an important environmental issue in Central Asia (CA), which includes Xinjiang, China (XJ-China), and the five CA states of the former Soviet Union (CAS5). Future climate changes could accelerate wind erosion in arid and semiarid areas and negatively impact local soil health and productivity. Based on the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP2b) climate model, we simulated the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil wind erosion from 1986 to 2099 in CA using the revised wind erosion equation (RWEQ) model. Our analysis indicated that the annual soil wind erosion modulus during the prediction period (2006–2099) increased compared with that in the reference period (1986–2005), especially in the 2030s (18.71%) and 2050s (18.85%) under RCP4.5. Spring and winter soil wind erosion will be the major contributors to increased annual wind erosion. We predicted that spring soil wind erosion will increase by 10.34% (RCP4.5) to 10.71% (RCP8.5) and that winter soil wind erosion will increase by 23.32% (RCP4.5) to 33.74% (RCP8.5) in the late 21st century. Annual soil wind erosion will increase in the northwest of CA, but decrease in the Karakum Desert, Kyzylkum Desert and Taklimakan Desert. Soil wind erosion varies under different plant functional types. By the late 21st century, the soil wind erosion modulus in grassland, irrigated cropland and rainfed cropland will increase by 62 t/km2/a (RCP4.5) to 412 t/km2/a (RCP8.5), 27 t/km2/a (RCP4.5) to 88 t/km2/a (RCP8.5) and 141 t/km2/a (RCP4.5) to 237 t/km2/a (RCP8.5), respectively. Our study indicates high risks of soil wind erosion in northwestern CA, and ecological engineering measures such as nature based solutions including ecological barriers should be developed to prevent soil loss in central and western Kazakhstan, where future warming will bring severe stress.
Jiangyue Li; Xiaofei Ma; Chi Zhang. Predicting the spatiotemporal variation in soil wind erosion across Central Asia in response to climate change in the 21st century. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 709, 136060 .
AMA StyleJiangyue Li, Xiaofei Ma, Chi Zhang. Predicting the spatiotemporal variation in soil wind erosion across Central Asia in response to climate change in the 21st century. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 709 ():136060.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJiangyue Li; Xiaofei Ma; Chi Zhang. 2019. "Predicting the spatiotemporal variation in soil wind erosion across Central Asia in response to climate change in the 21st century." Science of The Total Environment 709, no. : 136060.
Progresses in climatological, ecological, and hydrological studies that focused on the Tianshan mountains area (known as “the water tower of Central Asia”) have been restricted by the availability of station observations as well as high resolution and quality dataset. With the aim to overcome some of these difficulties, the high‐resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model is run over the Tianshan mountains area driven by the ERA‐Interim reanalysis. Double nesting method was used with a horizontal resolution of 40 and 8 km covering the period 1980‐2018. A decade of simulation from 1980 to 1989, a period when most abundant station observations are available, is considered for validation. These downscaled results are compared against station observations and three widely used spatially interpolated products in order to investigate the added value of the dynamical downscaling approach. Results of these comparisons show that the WRF downscaled data outperform and add significant details to ERA‐Interim reanalysis. A remarkable improvement of the WRF simulation is found at reproducing the observed seasonal cycle of daily extreme temperatures and precipitation. Due to better representation of orography, WRF simulations are able to capture extreme precipitation events which are missing in the high‐quality interpolated products. Refining the resolution from 40 to 8 km further improves the model performance, particularly at depicting orographic enhancement of precipitation. The validated WRF model can be used in future climate projections studies, and this high‐resolution as well as high‐quality climatological dataset we present here is useful for impact and further downstream studies.
Shuying Chen; Rafiq Hamdi; Friday Uchenna Ochege; Haoyang Du; Xi Chen; Weikang Yang; Chi Zhang. Added Value of a Dynamical Downscaling Approach for Simulating Precipitation and Temperature Over Tianshan Mountains Area, Central Asia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 2019, 124, 11051 -11069.
AMA StyleShuying Chen, Rafiq Hamdi, Friday Uchenna Ochege, Haoyang Du, Xi Chen, Weikang Yang, Chi Zhang. Added Value of a Dynamical Downscaling Approach for Simulating Precipitation and Temperature Over Tianshan Mountains Area, Central Asia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 2019; 124 (21):11051-11069.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShuying Chen; Rafiq Hamdi; Friday Uchenna Ochege; Haoyang Du; Xi Chen; Weikang Yang; Chi Zhang. 2019. "Added Value of a Dynamical Downscaling Approach for Simulating Precipitation and Temperature Over Tianshan Mountains Area, Central Asia." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 124, no. 21: 11051-11069.
In recent years, the climate in the arid region of Northwest China has become warmer and wetter; however, glaciers in the north slope of the West Kunlun Mountains (NSWKM) show no obvious recession, and river flow is decreasing or stable. This contrasts with the prevalent response of glaciers to climate change, which is recession and initial increase in glacier discharge followed by decline as retreat continues. We comparatively analyzed multi-timescale variation in temperature–precipitation–snow cover-runoff in the Yarkant River Basin (YRK), Karakax River Basin (KRK), Yurungkax River Basin (YUK), and Keriya River Basin (KRY) in the NSWKM. The Mann–Kendall trend and the mutation–detection method were applied to data obtained from an observation station over the last 60 years (1957–2017) and MODIS snow data (2001–2016). NSWKM temperature and precipitation have continued to increase for nearly 60 years at a mean rate of 0.26 °C/decade and 5.50 mm/decade, respectively, with the most obvious trend (R2 > 0.82) attributed to the KRK and YUK. Regarding changes in the average snow-cover fraction (SCF): YUK (SCF = 44.14%) > YRK (SCF = 38.73%) > KRY (SCF = 33.42%) > KRK (SCF = 33.40%). Between them, the YRK and YUK had decreasing SCA values (slope < −15.39), while the KRK and KRY had increasing SCA values (slope > 1.87). In seasonal variation, the SCF of the three of the basins reaches the maximum value in spring, with the most significant performance in YUK (SCF = 26.4%), except for YRK where SCF in spring was lower than that in winter (−2.6%). The runoff depth of all river basins presented an increasing trend, with the greatest value appearing in the YRK (5.78 mm/decade), and the least value in the YUK (1.58 mm/decade). With the runoff response to climate change, temperature was the main influencing factor of annual and monthly (summer) runoff variations in the YRK, which is consistent with the runoff-generation rule of rivers in arid areas, which mainly rely on ice and snow melt for water supply. However, this rule was not consistent for the YUK and KRK, as it was disturbed by other factors (e.g., slope and slope direction) during runoff generation, resulting in disruptions of their relationship with runoff. This research promotes the study of the response of cold and arid alpine regions to global change and thus better serve regional water resources management.
Xiaofei Ma; Wei Yan; Chengyi Zhao; Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz; Ma; Yan; Zhao. Snow-Cover Area and Runoff Variation under Climate Change in the West Kunlun Mountains. Water 2019, 11, 2246 .
AMA StyleXiaofei Ma, Wei Yan, Chengyi Zhao, Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz, Ma, Yan, Zhao. Snow-Cover Area and Runoff Variation under Climate Change in the West Kunlun Mountains. Water. 2019; 11 (11):2246.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXiaofei Ma; Wei Yan; Chengyi Zhao; Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz; Ma; Yan; Zhao. 2019. "Snow-Cover Area and Runoff Variation under Climate Change in the West Kunlun Mountains." Water 11, no. 11: 2246.
The present investigation studied the chemical composition of the essential oils extracted from Dracocephalum integrifolium Bunge growing in three different localities in northwest China and evaluated the phytotoxic, antimicrobial and insecticidal activities of the essential oils as well as their major constituents, i.e., sabinene and eucalyptol. GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of 21-24 compounds in the essential oils, representing 94.17-97.71% of the entire oils. Monoterpenes were the most abundant substances, accounting for 85.30-93.61% of the oils; among them, sabinene (7.35-14.0%) and eucalyptol (53.56-76.11%) were dominant in all three oils, which occupied 67.56-83.46% of the total oils. In general, phytotoxic bioassays indicated that the IC50 values of the oils and their major constituents were below 2 μL/mL (1.739-1.886 mg/mL) against Amaranthus retroflexus and Poa annua. Disc diffusion method demonstrated that the oils and their major constituents possessed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Candida albicans, with MIC values ranging from 5-40 μL/mL (4.347-37.712 mg/mL). The oils, sabinene and eucalyptol also exhibited significant pesticidal activity, with the mortality rates of Aphis pomi reaching 100% after exposing to 10 μL oil/petri dish (8.694-9.428 mg/petri dish) for 24 h. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the chemical composition, phytotoxic, antimicrobial and insecticidal activity of the essential oils extracted from D. integrifolium; it is noteworthy to mention that this is also the first report on the phytotoxicity of one of the major constituents, sabinene. Our results imply that D. integrifolium oils and sabinene have the potential value of being further exploited as natural pesticides.
Shixing Zhou; Caixia Wei; Chi Zhang; Caixia Han; Nigora Kuchkarova; Hua Shao. Chemical Composition, Phytotoxic, Antimicrobial and Insecticidal Activity of the Essential Oils of Dracocephalum integrifolium. Toxins 2019, 11, 598 .
AMA StyleShixing Zhou, Caixia Wei, Chi Zhang, Caixia Han, Nigora Kuchkarova, Hua Shao. Chemical Composition, Phytotoxic, Antimicrobial and Insecticidal Activity of the Essential Oils of Dracocephalum integrifolium. Toxins. 2019; 11 (10):598.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShixing Zhou; Caixia Wei; Chi Zhang; Caixia Han; Nigora Kuchkarova; Hua Shao. 2019. "Chemical Composition, Phytotoxic, Antimicrobial and Insecticidal Activity of the Essential Oils of Dracocephalum integrifolium." Toxins 11, no. 10: 598.
This article presents soil microbial carbon metabolism data under different detritus input and removal treatments (DIRT) in broadleaf and coniferous plantations in the Tashan Forests in Feixian County, Shandong Province, China (35°10'-36°00'N, 117°35'-118°20'E). The local annual air temperature is 13 °C, and the annual precipitation is 700 mm. The soil belongs to Phaeozems. The effects of DIRT on soil microbial carbon (C) metabolism in oak (Quercus variabilis Bl.) plantations and pine (Pinus thunbergii Parl.) plantations were assessed. There were five treatments for each plantation type, including: a control; doubling aboveground litter input; no aboveground litter input; no roots; and no detritus inputs. Soils were sampled after one year and nine months of DIRT. Soil microbial C metabolism was measured by EcoPlate™, which contained 31 different C substrates. The absorbance was measured with a micro-plate reader (Synergy H1, Biotek, Vermont, USA) at 590 nm every 12 h for 240 h. The data are based on 50 samples (two forest types × five C input treatments × five replicates); three replicates of the samples were taken. Interpretation of the data can be found in "Carbon input manipulations affecting microbial carbon metabolism in temperate forest soils - a comparative study between broadleaf and coniferous plantations" (Wang et al., 2019). The data can be used for studying the roles of aboveground and belowground inputs to soil C stabilization.
Yun Wang; Chi Zhang; GuangNa Zhang; Xinli Wang; Bo Liu; Lizhi Wang; Yuan Gao; Xingyun Zhao; Heping Mei. Data on soil microbial carbon source utilization under different carbon input treatments in broadleaf and coniferous plantations. Data in Brief 2019, 26, 104434 .
AMA StyleYun Wang, Chi Zhang, GuangNa Zhang, Xinli Wang, Bo Liu, Lizhi Wang, Yuan Gao, Xingyun Zhao, Heping Mei. Data on soil microbial carbon source utilization under different carbon input treatments in broadleaf and coniferous plantations. Data in Brief. 2019; 26 ():104434.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYun Wang; Chi Zhang; GuangNa Zhang; Xinli Wang; Bo Liu; Lizhi Wang; Yuan Gao; Xingyun Zhao; Heping Mei. 2019. "Data on soil microbial carbon source utilization under different carbon input treatments in broadleaf and coniferous plantations." Data in Brief 26, no. : 104434.