Water is a key and limiting factor for ecosystem processes (carbon dioxide fixation, vegetation growth, respiration, etc.) and functions (NPP, Net Primary Productivity) in arid and semi-arid areas. As the main regulator, knowledge of plant water use patterns is essential in understanding the SPAC (Soil-Plant-Atmosphere-Continuum) cycle. The tree-planting project in the southern and northern mountains of Lanzhou city aims to improve the ecological environment and promote urban construction. In this study, we analyzed the water use strategies of the dominant plants C. korshinskii and R. soongorica in natural shrubs of southern and northern mountains of Lanzhou city using oxygen stable isotope techniques. The result showed that the flexible water uptake pattern of C. korshinskii and its faster response to precipitation pulse, compared with R. soongorica, might help it to make full use of water and nutrients and adapt to the dry environment. However, R. soongorica progressively switched to suck up deeper soil water and increased the water use proportion from 0.5% to 84.4% as the seasons changed, indicating a greater degree of ecological plasticity. The flexible water use strategies of C. korshinskii and R. soongorica in the same habitat reduced competition for water and nutrients and enhanced adaptability to arid environments. The work presented here provides insights into vegetation restoration and ecological management for the southern and northern mountains of Lanzhou city.

As a species for ecological restoration in northern China, Tamarix ramosissima plays an important role in river protection, flood control, regional climate regulation, and landscape construction with vegetation. Two sampling sites were selected in the hillside and floodplain habitats along the Lanzhou City, and the xylems of T. ramosissima and potential water sources were collected, respectively. The Bayesian mixture model (MixSIAR) and soil water excess (SW-excess) were applied to analyze the relationship on different water pools and the utilization ratios of T. ramosissima to potential water sources in two habitats. The results showed that the slope and intercept of local meteoric water line (LMWL) in two habitats were smaller compared with the global meteoric water line (GMWL), which indicated the existence of drier climate and strong evaporation in the study area, especially in the hillside habitat. Except for the three months in hillside, the SW-excess of T. ramosissima were negative, which indicated that xylems of T. ramosissima are more depleted in δ²H than the soil water line. In growing seasons, the main water source in hillside habitat was deep soil water (80~150 cm) and the utilization ratio was 63 ± 17% for T. ramosissima, while the main water source in floodplain habitat was shallow soil water (0~30 cm), with a utilization ratio of 42.6 ± 19.2%, and the water sources were different in diverse months. T. ramosissima has a certain adaptation mechanism and water-use strategies in two habitats, and also an altered water uptake pattern in acquiring the more stable water. This study will provide a theoretical basis for plant water management in ecological environment protection in the Loess Plateau.

Based on the monthly observation data of major surface meteorological observatories in Northwest China from 1960 to 2019, this paper uses the temperature and humidity index (THI), wind efficiency index (WEI), and clothing index (ICL) to construct a comprehensive climate comfort index evaluation model. This model was used to quantitatively evaluate the change characteristics of climate comfort in Northwest China against the background of climate warming. The results show that the overall climate comfort index in Northwest China is on the rise. In terms of space, an increase in the climate comfort index means an increase in the comfort zone, with the largest increase in the southeastern part of Gansu Province and the southern part of Shaanxi Province. The trend of change is that the increase in the north is greater than that in the south, and the higher the latitude, the greater the change. The space range of the comfort zone and the sub-comfort zone is generally expanding, and the climate is gradually becoming more comfortable. In terms of time, an increase in the climate comfort index means an increase in the climate comfort period, and the annual comfort index shows an increasing trend. The comfort period is mostly distributed in summer, with the most suitable cities in May and September, followed by June.

The stable isotopes (δD and δ¹⁸O) in soil water allow tracing of the flow and transportation of water in the soil. However, there are few studies on the use of soil water stable isotopes to explore the soil water in the floodplain, especially in determining the soil water source and infiltration mechanism. The Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR) was integrated with the line conditioned excess (lc-excess) of stable isotopes (δD and δ¹⁸O) in precipitation, soil water (0–150 cm), river water, and groundwater to determinate the source and recharge mechanisms of two different soil profile types in the floodplain of the upper Yellow River in Lanzhou, China. The results showed that soil water below 80 cm was affected by river water recharge, affecting soil water content and stable isotopic composition at S1 sampling points (profile parallel to river water); this effect was not observed at S2 (profile is higher than the river water) sampling points. The isotopic compositions of the soil water sources at the two sampling points (S1: δD = −77.41‰, δ¹⁸O = −11.01‰; S2: δD = −74.02‰, δ¹⁸O = −10.56‰) were depleted more than those in the long-term amount-weighted precipitation isotopes (δD = −56.30‰, δ¹⁸O = −8.17‰). The isotope signatures of soil water sources are similar to the isotope characteristics of some high-intensity precipitation events (≥30 mm/day), indicating that soil water originates from a fraction of the total precipitation. The piston flow (60%) and the preferential flow (40%) coexist, but soil moisture and rainfall intensity will affect the sequence of the two infiltration methods. This study provides insights for understanding the hydrological process of the upper Yellow River and evaluating groundwater quality and protecting the floodplain environment.

The stable isotopes (²H, ¹⁸O) of precipitation change due to the sub-cloud secondary evaporation during raindrop fall. The study of the temporal and spatial variation of sub-cloud secondary evaporation and its causes by using hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes is of great significance to the study of the regional water cycle process. Based on the hourly meteorological data of 648 meteorological stations in 17 provinces (cities) of the Yangtze River Basin from March 2018 to February 2019, we analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics of precipitation excess deuterium variation (Δd) in the region, based on the improved Stewart model. We discuss the various influence factors under different magnitude Δd value change and the impact factor of each partition sub-cloud secondary evaporation influence of the difference. The results show the following: (1) In terms of hourly variation, the sub-cloud secondary evaporation in the daytime is stronger than that at night. In terms of monthly variation, different regions of the study area have different characteristics; that is, the effect of sub-cloud secondary evaporation is more significant in summer and autumn in the northern subtropics and south temperate zones, and in spring and summer in the mid-subtropics and plateau climate zones. (2) There were significant spatial differences in the study area in different seasons, and the effect of sub-cloud secondary evaporation was the most significant in the plateau climate area throughout the year. (3) When the rainfall is 0–5 mm, the temperature is >30 °C, the vapor pressure is <3 hPa, the relative humidity is 50–60%, and the raindrop diameter is 0.5–1 mm; the sub-cloud secondary evaporation effect is the most obvious.