Elemental compositions of lichens from Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, China: Origin, road effect and species difference.

To assess the response of lichen elemental compositions to road traffic and species difference in the context of high dust input and anthropogenic emissions, two foliose epiphytic lichens (Phaeophyscia hirtuosa, PHh; Candelaria fibrosa, CAf) were sampled near a road adjacent to Dolon Nor Town (Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, China). Twenty elements (Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Sr, Ti, V and Zn) in lichen and surface soil samples were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The results demonstrate that lichen elemental compositions are highly influenced by both their natural environment and anthropogenic input. Windblown dust associated with sand dunes and degraded/desertified steppes represents the predominant source of lichen elements. Road traffic can enhance the lichen elemental burden by increasing the number of soil particles. Anthropogenic emissions from the town and road traffic have also led to the enrichment of Cd and Zn in lichens. PHh was higher than CAf in concentrations of 14 terrigenous metals. Both lichens are applicable to biomonitoring of atmospheric element deposition and, in most cases, yield comparable results.

Long-term growth of temperate broadleaved forests no longer benefits soil C accumulation.

It is widely recognized that the long-term growth of forests benefits biomass carbon (C) sequestration, but it is not known whether the long-term growth of forests would also benefit soil C sequestration. We selected 79 representative soil profiles and investigated the influence of the forest stand age on the soil C dynamics of three soil layers (0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm) in temperate broadleaved forests in East China. The results suggest that the soil C density in temperature broadleaved forests significantly changes with the stand age, following a convex parabolic curve. At an early stand age, the soil C density usually increases, reaching its peak value at a pre-mature stand age (approximately 50 years old). At later stand ages, the soil C density usually decreases. Therefore, our results reveal a turning point in the soil C density at a pre-mature stand age. The long-term growth of temperate broadleaved forests after pre-mature stand age no longer benefits soil C accumulation, probably promotes topsoil C loss. In addition, we found that the soil C density in the upper soil layer usually changes with the forest stand development more significantly than that in deeper soil layers.

Lichen elemental composition distinguishes anthropogenic emissions from dust storm inputs and differs among species: Evidence from Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China.

To test the applicability of lichens in the biomonitoring of atmospheric elemental deposition in a typical steppe zone of Inner Mongolia, China, six foliose lichens (Physcia aipolia, PA; P. tribacia, PT; Xanthoria elegans, XE; X. mandschurica, XM; Xanthoparmelia camtschadalis, XPC; and Xp. tinctina, XPT) were sampled from the Xilin River Basin, Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China. Twenty-five elements (Al, Ba, Cd, Ce, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Tb, Th, Ti, Tl, V and Zn) in the lichens were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results show that Cd, Pb and Zn were mainly atmospheric in origin, whereas the other elements were predominantly of crustal origin. Compared with other studies, our data were higher in crustal element concentrations and lower in atmospheric element concentrations, matching with the frequent, severe dust storms and road traffic in the area. The elemental concentrations in lichens are both species- and element-specific, highlighting the importance of species selection for biomonitoring air pollution using lichens. We recommend PT, XE, XM and XPT for monitoring atmospheric deposition of crustal elements; XPC and XPT for Cd and Pb; PA for Cd and Zn; and PT for Cd.

Use of the lichen Xanthoria mandschurica in monitoring atmospheric elemental deposition in the Taihang Mountains, Hebei, China.

Air pollution is a major concern in China. Lichens are a useful biomonitor for atmospheric elemental deposition but have rarely been used in North China. The aim of this study was to investigate the atmospheric depositions of 30 trace elements (Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Tb, Th, Ti, Tl, V and Zn) in a region of the Taihang Mountains, Hebei Province, China using lichens as biomonitors. Epilithic foliose lichen Xanthoria mandschurica was sampled from 21 sites and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results show that 1) eight elements (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, P, Pb, Sb and Zn) are of atmospheric origin and are highly influenced by the atmospheric transportation from the North China Plain, as well as local mining activities, while 2) the remaining 22 elements are primarily of crustal origin, the concentration of which has been enhanced by local mining and quarrying activities. These results clearly validate the applicability of lichens in biomonitoring of atmospheric elemental deposition and demonstrate the spatial pattern for air pollution in the region.

[Effects of future climate change on climatic suitability of rubber plantation in China].

Global warming may seriously affect the climatic suitability distribution of rubber plantation in China. Five main climate factors affecting rubber planting were mean temperature of the coldest month, mean extremely minimum temperature, the number of monthly, mean temperature ≥18 °C, annual mean temperature and annual mean precipitation. Climatic suitability areas of rubber plantation in 1981-2010, 2041-2060, 2061-2080 were analyzed by the maximum entropy model based on the five main climate factors and the climate data of 1981-2010 and RCP4.5 scenario data. The results showed that under the background of the future climate change, the climatic suitability area of rubber plantation would have a trend of expansion to the north in 2041-2060, 2061-2080. The climatic suitability areas of rubber plantation in 2041-2060 and 2061-2080 increased more obviously than in 1981-2010. The suitable area and optimum area would increase, while the less suitable area would decrease. The climatic suitability might change in some areas, such as the total suitable area would decrease in Yunnan Province, and the suitability grade in both Jinghong and Mengna would change from optimum area to suitable area. However, the optimum area of rubber plantation would increase significantly in Hainan Island and Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong Province, and a new less suitable area of rubber planting would appear in Taiwan Island due to the climate change.

Spatial variations of heavy metals in the soils of vegetable-growing land along urban-rural gradient of Nanjing, China.

China has experienced rapid urbanization in recent years. The acceleration of urbanization has created wealth and opportunity as well as intensified ecological and environmental problems, especially soil pollution. Our study concentrated on the variation of heavy metal content due to urbanization in the vegetable-growing soil. Laws and other causes of the spatial-temporal variation in heavy metal content of vegetable-growing soils were analyzed for the period of urbanization in Nanjing (the capital of Jiangsu province in China). The levels of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Hg in samples of vegetable-growing soil were detected. The transverse, vertical spatio-temporal variation of heavy metals in soil was analyzed on the base of field investigations and laboratory analysis. The results show that: (1) in soil used for vegetable production, the levels of heavy metals decreased gradually from urban to rural areas; the levels of the main heavy metals in urban areas are significantly higher than suburban and rural areas; (2) the means of the levels of heavy metals, calculated by subtracting the sublayer (15-30 cm) from the toplayer (0-15 cm), are all above zero and large in absolute value in urban areas, but in suburban and rural areas, the means are all above or below zero and small in absolute value. The causes of spatial and temporal variation were analyzed as follows: one cause was associated with mellowness of the soil and the length of time the soil had been used for vegetable production; the other cause was associated with population density and industrial intensity decreasing along the urban to rural gradient (i.e., urbanization levels can explain the distribution of heavy metals in soil to some extent). Land uses should be planned on the basis of heavy metal pollution in soil, especially in urban and suburban regions. Heavily polluted soils have to be expected from food production. Further investigation should be done to determine whether and what kind of agricultural production could be established near urban centers.

[Impact of moss soil crust on vegetation indexes interpretation].

Vegetation indexes were the most common and the most important parameters to characterizing large-scale terrestrial ecosystems. It is vital to get precise vegetation indexes for running land surface process models and computation of NPP change, moisture and heat fluxes over surface. Biological soil crusts (BSC) are widely distributed in arid and semi-arid, polar and sub-polar regions. The spectral characteristics of dry and wet BSCs were quite different, which could produce much higher vegetation indexes value for the wet BSC than for the dry BSC as reported. But no research was reported about whether the BSC would impact on regional vegetation indexes and how much dry and wet BSC had impact on regional vegetation indexes. In the present paper, the most common vegetation index NDVI were used to analyze how the moss soil crusts (MSC) dry and wet changes affect regional NDVI values. It was showed that 100% coverage of the wet MSC have a much higher NDVI value (0.657) than the dry MSC NDVI value (0.320), with increased 0.337. Dry and wet MSC NDVI value reached significant difference between the levels of 0.000. In the study area, MSC, which had the average coverage of 12.25%, would have a great contribution to the composition of vegetation index. Linear mixed model was employed to analyze how the NDVI would change in regional scale as wet MSC become dry MSC inversion. The impact of wet moss crust than the dry moss crust in the study area can make the regional NDVI increasing by 0.04 (14.3%). Due to the MSC existence and rainfall variation in arid and semi-arid zones, it was bound to result in NDVI change instability in a short time in the region. For the wet MSC's spectral reflectance curve is similar to those of the higher plants, misinterpretation of the vegetation dynamics could be more severe due to the "maximum value composite" (MVC) technique used to compose the global vegetation maps in the study of vegetation dynamics. The researches would be useful for detecting and mapping MSC from remote sensing imagery. It also is to the advantage to employing vegetation index wisely.

[Climatic potential productivity of winter wheat and summer maize in Huanghuaihai Plain in 2011-2050].

Based on the daily data under B2 climate scenario (2011-2050) and baseline climate condition (1961-1990) extracted from the regional climate model PRECIS, and by using the Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) model, a prediction was conducted on the possible spatiotemporal changes of the climatic potential productivity of the two crops in the Huanghuaihai Plain in 2011-2050. Under baseline climate condition, the climatic potential productivities of winter wheat and summer maize presented a regional differentiation, i.e., higher in southeast and lower in northwest regions, and higher along coast and lower in inland at the same latitudes, and fluctuated within the ranges of 3893-11000 kg x hm(-2) and 5908-12000 kg x hm(-2), respectively. Under B2 climate scenario, the climatic potential productivity of winter wheat and summer maize would have a greater inter-annual change, due to the different matching degrees of light, temperature and water during the growth periods of the crops. The climatic potential productivity of winter wheat in 2011-2030 and summer maize in 2021-2040 would have an obvious increase, with great potential for development. Under the conditions of maintaining the present production, the climatic potential productivity of winter wheat in 2011-2050 would present an overall regional differentiation of reverse change in southeast and northwest regions and the same change in coastal and inland areas, whereas the climatic potential productivity of summer maize in 2011-2050 would have little regional differentiation.

[Progress in spectral characteristics of biological soil crust of arid or semiarid region].

The Biological Soil Crusts (BSC) (also known as organic or microphytic crust) can be formed by different combinations of microphytic communities including mosses, lichens, liverworts, algae, fungi, cyanobacteria (= blue-green algae or Cyanophyta), as well as bacteria. Large areas of sand fields in arid and semi-arid regions are covered by BSC. Remote sensing distinction should be made between physical and biogenical crust formations. It was reviewed the advances of domestic and overseas studies of BSC spectral characteristics, as well as spectral reflectance measurement in situ of our workgruop. When the BSC is wet, it turns green, a notable change in the reflectance curve occurs. The wet BSC's spectral reflectance curve is similar to those of the higher plants and therefore may lead to misinterpretation of the vegetation dynamics and to overestimation of ecosystem productivity. This spectral feature produces a much higher NDVI value for the wet moss BSC than for the dry moss BSC (0.65 vs. 0.30 units, respectively), a higher NDVI value for the wet algae BSC than for the dry algae BSC (0.30 vs. 0.15 units, respectively). The "maximum value composite" (MVC) technique is used to eliminate the effect of clouds and haze from vegetation maps. Misinterpretation of the vegetation dynamics could be more severe due to the MVC technique used to compose the global vegetation maps in the study of vegetation dynamics. But relatively limited research has been conducted to investigate the spectral characteristics of BSC change with different moisture conditions and under different seasons. More research works could be considered in spectral characteristics of BSC. The researches would be useful for detecing and mapping BSC, from remote sensing imagery. It also is to the advantage to employ Vegetation Index wisely.