Biomass and nutrient allocation strategies in a desert ecosystem in the Hexi Corridor, northwest China

2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Zhang ◽  
YongZhong Su ◽  
Rong Yang
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5274
Author(s):  
Xinyang Yu ◽  
Younggu Her ◽  
Xicun Zhu ◽  
Changhe Lu ◽  
Xuefei Li

Development of a high-accuracy method to extract arable land using effective data sources is crucial to detect and monitor arable land dynamics, servicing land protection and sustainable development. In this study, a new arable land extraction index (ALEI) based on spectral analysis was proposed, examined by ground truth data, and then applied to the Hexi Corridor in northwest China. The arable land and its change patterns during 1990–2020 were extracted and identified using 40 Landsat TM/OLI images acquired in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. The results demonstrated that the proposed method can distinguish arable land areas accurately, with the User’s (Producer’s) accuracy and overall accuracy (kappa coefficient) exceeding 0.90 (0.88) and 0.89 (0.87), respectively. The mean relative error calculated using field survey data obtained in 2012 and 2020 was 0.169 and 0.191, respectively, indicating the feasibility of the ALEI method in arable land extracting. The study found that arable land area in the Hexi Corridor was 13217.58 km2 in 2020, significantly increased by 25.33% compared to that in 1990. At 10-year intervals, the arable land experienced different change patterns. The study results indicate that ALEI index is a promising tool used to effectively extract arable land in the arid area.


2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-chun Xiao ◽  
Jin-xiu Li ◽  
Hong-lang Xiao ◽  
Fa-min Liu

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 3354
Author(s):  
Zhihua Zhang ◽  
Qiudong Zhao ◽  
Shiqiang Zhang

The observed precipitation was suggestive of abundant precipitation in upstream Qilian mountains and low precipitation in the downstream oasis and desert in an endorheic basin. However, precipitation in mountains generated from the recycled moisture over oasis and desert areas has rarely been studied. The climatological patterns of water vapor from 1980 to 2017 in the Qilian Mountain Region (QMR) and Hexi Corridor Region (HCR) were investigated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim reanalysis dataset and the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application, Version 2 reanalysis dataset. The results suggest that the precipitable water content decreases from the adjacent to the mountain areas. There are two channels that transport water vapor from the HCR to the QMR in the low troposphere (surface—600 hPa), suggesting that parts of recycled moisture generated from evapotranspiration over the oasis and desert of the HCR is transported to the QMR, contributing to the abundant precipitation in the QMR. This indicates that the transport mechanism is probably because of the “cold and wet island effect” of the cryosphere in QMR. This is likely one of the essential mechanisms of the water cycle in endorheic river basins, which has rarely been reported.


2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 1281-1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongyong Zhang ◽  
Wenzhi Zhao ◽  
Jianhua He ◽  
Li Fu

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. T525-T545
Author(s):  
Yaxiong Sun ◽  
Wenlong Ding ◽  
Yang Gu ◽  
Gang Zhao ◽  
Siyu Shi ◽  
...  

Redbeds with a large thickness in the lower Cretaceous record abundant geologic information in the Minle Basin. We have conducted the paleoweathering conditions, provenance, and tectonic settings based on mineralogy and geochemistry. Our results indicate that mudstone samples are characterized by abundant illite with negligible amounts of K-feldspars and analcime. The lower part of the lower Cretaceous is rich in quartz, whereas the upper part is dominated by dolomite and analcime. We suggest that this is caused by the decreasing input of the clastic influx during the middle-late early Cretaceous. High index of compositional variation values (average 1.33) indicate first-cycle sediment supply, suggesting an overall compositional immaturity and short-distance transportation. These characteristics are consistent with an active regional extension tectonic setting. The [Formula: see text] system ([Formula: see text];[Formula: see text];[Formula: see text]) and Th/U versus Th consistently reveal that the lower Cretaceous experienced a positive gradient in chemical weathering from young to old formations. Although the patterns of trace elements in three formations of the lower Cretaceous are different, those of the rare earth elements (REEs) tend to be consistent. The significant enrichment of light REEs, heavy REEs fractionation, and distinctive negative Eu anomalies suggest derivation from an old, upper continental crust composed of predominantly felsic sediments. This interpretation is supported by several discrimination diagrams such as titanium dioxide-nickel ([Formula: see text]), which shows the characteristics of immature recycled sediments. A few sensitive elements, ratios, and normalized REE patterns indicate a provenance of an active continental margin and a continental island arc (CIA). The La-Th-Sc, Th-Co-Zr/10, and Th-Sc-Zr/10 discrimination plots further confirm the CIA signature. Thus, we conclude that the early Cretaceous redbeds in the Minle Basin, Hexi Corridor, were deposited in a dustpan-shaped half-graben basin in a CIA setting when northwest China was influenced by intense regional extension.


Author(s):  
Liu Liu ◽  
Zezhong Guo ◽  
Guanhua Huang ◽  
Ruotong Wang

As the second largest inland river basin situated in the middle of the Hexi Corridor, Northwest China, the Heihe River basin (HRB) has been facing a severe water shortage problem, which seriously restricts its green and sustainable development. The evaluation of climate change impact on water productivity inferred by crop yield and actual evapotranspiration is of significant importance for water-saving in agricultural regions. In this study, the multi-model projections of climate change under the three Representative Concentration Pathways emission scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5) were used to drive an agro-hydrological model to evaluate the crop water productivity in the middle irrigated oases of the HRB from 2021–2050. Compared with the water productivity simulation based on field experiments during 2012–2015, the projected water productivity in the two typical agricultural areas (Gaotai and Ganzhou) both exhibited an increasing trend in the future 30 years, which was mainly attributed to the significant decrease of the crop water consumption. The water productivity in the Gaotai area under the three RCP scenarios during 2021–2050 increased by 9.2%, 14.3%, and 11.8%, while the water productivity increased by 15.4%, 21.6%, and 19.9% in the Ganzhou area, respectively. The findings can provide useful information on the Hexi Corridor and the Belt and Road to policy-makers and stakeholders for sustainable development of the water-ecosystem-economy system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Bie ◽  
Yaowen Xie

Abstract The oasis, a special landscape with the integration of nature and humanity in the arid region, has undergone an enormous transformation during the past decades. To gain a better understanding of the tradeoff between economic growth and oases stability in the arid land, we took the oases in the Hexi Corridor as a case to explore the constraints of oases development and the driving factors of oases expansion. The dynamic changes and spatial distribution patterns underwent by the oases were examined using multispectral remote sensing imagery. The constraints of oasis development in arid land were investigated by the grid-transformed model, as well as the index system of driving forces was analyzed using the grey incidence model based on the data from statistics yearbooks. The oasis area in the Hexi Corridor had tremendous changes expanded 40% from 1986 to 2015, the stable oasis area was 9062 km2, while the maximum area reached 16,374 km2. The constraints for oases of topography, hydrology and heat condition are as follow: The elevation of oasis ranged from 1000 to 1800 m, peaked in 1500 m; the slope of oasis distribution was flatter than 3 degrees; the aspect of oases on slope land concentrated in northeast and north, accounting for more than 60%. The main driving forces of oasis spatial expansion in the arid region were population, water resource, economy, policies, and other factors. These results are expected to (1) improve the rationality of oasis development, and (2) promote the sustainable planning and management of oases in the arid land.


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