This paper discusses land-use changes in the interlock area of farming and pasturing (IAFP) in northern China. It presents detailed analyses of land-use features in the IAFP, which are controlled by the macro geomorph...This paper discusses land-use changes in the interlock area of farming and pasturing (IAFP) in northern China. It presents detailed analyses of land-use features in the IAFP, which are controlled by the macro geomorphic units and geophysical conditions-constraints or advantages. Additionally, it selects some indicators, according to the availability in acquiring and processing their quantitative data, to analyze the canonical correlations between the typical conversion of grassland and geophysical conditions. The preliminary study indicates that the physical conditions are of great advantages to the development of grassland. There exists significant correlation between land use change and some geophysical conditions.展开更多
In mid-June,the vast,rolling meadow steppe grasslands of Bayanwenduer Sumu in Ar Horqin Banner,Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,once again stretched into the horizon like green waves with herds of cattle and sheep sca...In mid-June,the vast,rolling meadow steppe grasslands of Bayanwenduer Sumu in Ar Horqin Banner,Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,once again stretched into the horizon like green waves with herds of cattle and sheep scattered across them like pearls in a green ocean.This flock was driven by herders on horseback,motorcycles,and agricultural vehicles,leading the animals to summer pastures in one of the most important migrations of the year.展开更多
The abandonment of rural activities in the Mediterranean mid-mountains has led to the activation of revegetation processes,as well as the subsequent implementation of various management measures to mitigate the associ...The abandonment of rural activities in the Mediterranean mid-mountains has led to the activation of revegetation processes,as well as the subsequent implementation of various management measures to mitigate the associated ecosystem disservices.Focusing on soil environment and its growing importance in a climate change scenario,it is of great interest to study how land management and landscape changes can affect,not only the soil carbon storage process,but also its dynamics.A study was conducted in La Rioja(Iberian System,Spain),comparing three post-abandonment management strategies:secondary succession,forest management,and shrub clearing and extensive grazing.These strategies were analysed in two types of soil environments(acid and alkaline)and for two depth ranges(0–20 cm and 20–40 cm).Laboratory analyses were performed on aggregate stability and soil organic carbon fractionation with regard to three aggregate sizes(<2 mm,2–5 mm,>5 mm)and three density fractions(free labile,occluded,and heavy fraction).The results showed that:1)SOC content in aggregates<2 mm(relative to total SOC)increases with shrub clearing and grazing strategy in acid environments;2)aggregate stability benefits from the implementation of afforestation in acid environments and from all three study strategies in alkaline ones;3)in acid environments,the percentage of labile fractions(free and occluded)in afforested sites is significantly higher compared with shrubland,while in alkaline environments,recalcitrant SOC is significantly higher in shrub clearing sites.Thus,land management should be focused on SOC storage after land abandonment in Mediterranean mountainous environments.展开更多
Over the last century,the Mediterranean basin has been widely affected by the abandonment of farming activities,leading to a natural succession towards forested ecosystems.This process is resulting in a carbon(C)stock...Over the last century,the Mediterranean basin has been widely affected by the abandonment of farming activities,leading to a natural succession towards forested ecosystems.This process is resulting in a carbon(C)stock increase at an ecosystem level,often assessed through the measurement of aboveground biomass,while the contribution of soil organic carbon(SOC)remains unclear.We investigated C changes caused by secondary succession on previously grazed areas in central Italy,specifically focusing on the SOC pool.The natural succession is described through a chronosequence approach over four successional stages:pastures,shrublands,young and mature forests.Eight replicates per stage were studied,and C stock was estimated in the mineral soil down to a 30-cm depth,and in all other ecosystem C pools:aboveground and belowground biomass,deadwood and litter.In the mature forests,SOC stock was significantly higher(p<0.05)than in pastures by 40±8 Mg ha^(-1),corresponding to 28%of the total ecosystem C stock gain.The same trend was observed for aboveground biomass,the pool that increased the most(62±23 Mg ha^(-1)),with a 43%contribution to total ecosystem gain.Our results point to a substantial contribution of SOC to overall C stock during secondary succession in Mediterranean ecosystems.展开更多
The results of the 2022-2025 study conducted for the vulnerability assessment of pastures and for the development of improvement measures on the degraded land sections in the arid and semi-arid provinces of the Caucas...The results of the 2022-2025 study conducted for the vulnerability assessment of pastures and for the development of improvement measures on the degraded land sections in the arid and semi-arid provinces of the Caucasus under the global climate change conditions are introduced in the current article.The main goal of our scientific work is to study and assess the current ecological and resource state of natural phytocenoses,pastures and hayfields in the arid and semi-arid landscapes under climate change.The paper presents the results of determining the areas and levels of degradation of the natural biogeocenoses and biogeocenoses of the pastures and hayfields in the mountain and highland landscapes.The results were obtained using remote sensing,field and laboratory studies and analyses.The conducted studies have revealed that along 34,174.5 ha pasture and 1342.0 meadows areas of the pastures at the Areni,Yeghegis,Yeghegnadzor and Vayq consolidated administrative territories situated in the arid and semi-arid zones of the Vayots Dzor Region high degradation was recorded in about 6508 hectares of pasture and 407 hectares of meadows areas,which is related to irregular and uncontrolled economic mismanagement of the local population and global climate change.To improve the ecological condition,accessibility and quality of ecosystem services of the pastures,hayfields and natural meadows,comprehensive restoration bioecological and agrotechnical measures have been proposed.They are aimed at improving the air,water and nutrient regimes of soils,at their bioprotection,as well as at the general increase in area and at improving the economic characteristics of the vegetation cover.Such measures on the ecosystem basis are appropriate in the context of enriching the qualitative composition of plants with useful ecological and economic bioecological characteristics,taking into account the characteristics of landscapes,weather and climatic conditions,and agricultural opportunities.展开更多
The presence of a thatch layer in established pastures could reduce the contact between broiler litter and soil, thus increasing the potential for surface runoff contamination with litter P. We conducted a laboratory ...The presence of a thatch layer in established pastures could reduce the contact between broiler litter and soil, thus increasing the potential for surface runoff contamination with litter P. We conducted a laboratory study to evaluate the effect of a thatch layer on the dynamics of water-soluble P in undisturbed cores taken from a pasture. Cores with and without a thatch layer received a surface application of broiler litter (5 thm-2) and were incubated at 25 oC for 56 d. The result showed that on the soil surface the contents of water soluble-P (39 kghm-2) of the cores with the thatch layer was higher than that (20 kghm-2) of the cores without the thatch layer. Therefore on well-established pastures fertilized with broiler litter, the presence of a thatch layer might lead to high concentrations of water-soluble P on the soil surface.展开更多
The vulnerable eco-area is one of the important research targets in the field of sustainable development. It is the requirement of building a well-off society in an all-round way that we should study more on the vulne...The vulnerable eco-area is one of the important research targets in the field of sustainable development. It is the requirement of building a well-off society in an all-round way that we should study more on the vulnerable eco-areas, deal with the relationship between environmental protection and economic development, speed up the economic development in these areas and increase the living standard of the local people. This paper puts forward the countermeasures of environment---economy coordination, on the basis of the recognition of eco-environment features and social economic conditions in the vulnerable eco-areas of China, in view of the progress in sustainable development studies of the vulnerable ones, taking the transitional areas of farming and pasturing in northeast China as an example to study the regional environment vulnerability.展开更多
1923年,美国第一本,也是世界第一本草原管理学方面的教材——RANGE AND PASTURE MANAGEMENT(《草原与放牧地管理学》)出版。本文通过对该书的作者、内容(前言、正文和索引)、对美国草原管理学教育和教材的重要影响、对我国草原管理学同...1923年,美国第一本,也是世界第一本草原管理学方面的教材——RANGE AND PASTURE MANAGEMENT(《草原与放牧地管理学》)出版。本文通过对该书的作者、内容(前言、正文和索引)、对美国草原管理学教育和教材的重要影响、对我国草原管理学同类教材建设的意义进行介绍和论述,以纪念该书出版100周年。展开更多
Northeast China as one of important agricultural production bases is an area under reclamation and returning cultivated land to forests or pastures. Therefore, it is of great practical significance in guaranteeing the...Northeast China as one of important agricultural production bases is an area under reclamation and returning cultivated land to forests or pastures. Therefore, it is of great practical significance in guaranteeing the sustainable development and national food security to study the spatial and temporal variation of cultivated land in Northeast China under future climate scenarios. In this study, based on data of land use, natural environment and social-economy, dynamics of land system（DLS） model was used to to simulate the spatial distribution and changing trends of cultivated land in the typical areas of reclamation and returning cultivated land to forest or pastures in Northeast China during 2010-2030 under land use planning scenario and representative concentration pathways（RCPs） scenarios quantitatively.The results showed that the area of cultivated land had an overall decreasing trend under the land use planning scenario, but the area of upland field increased slightly from 2000 to 2010 and then declined greatly, while the area of paddy field continuously declined from 2000 to 2030. Under the Asia-Pacific Integrated model（AIM）scenario, the total area of cultivated land had a tendency to increase considerably,with the upland field expanding more obviously and the paddy field declining slightly.In addition, the cultivated land showed a greater decreasing trend under the model for energy supply strategy alternatives and their general environmental impact（MESSAGE） scenario compared to the land use planning scenario. Moreover, analysis on the conversion between different land use types indicated that the reclamation and returning cultivated land to forests or pastures was likely to continue under future scenarios, but the frequency of occurrence could decrease as the time goes by. The conclusions can provide significant decision-making information for the rational agricultural planning and cultivated land protection in Northeast China to adapt to the climate change.展开更多
Zoige Wetland is one of the largest plateau wetlands in the world. This paper provides a dynamic analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of the wetland in Zoige, Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, supported by ERDAS8....Zoige Wetland is one of the largest plateau wetlands in the world. This paper provides a dynamic analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of the wetland in Zoige, Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, supported by ERDAS8.7 and ArcGIS9.0. It is the first comparative analysis of a system of rapidly changing wetland with landscape patterns in Zoige, using 3 classified landsat Thematic Mapper images of 1977, 1994 and 2001. The classified images were used to generate wetland distributing maps, and shape index （S）, diversity index （H）, dominance index （D）, evenness index （E）, fragmentation index （F） and fractal dimension （Fd） were calculated and analyzed spatiotemporally across pure grazing area in Zoige for each landscape type and in different periods （before 1977, during 1977-1994 and 1994-2001）, as well as the driving forces of natural and anthropogenic. The study shows that for a comprehensive understanding of the shapes and trajectories of the shrinking and desertificated land expansion of the wetland, a spatiotemporal landscape metrics analysis in different periods is an improvement than only with landscape changing rates. This type of analysis can also be used to infer underlying social, economic, and political processes that drive the observed wetland forms. The results indicate that wetland patterns can be changed over relatively short periods of time. The total area of lake reduced by 164.86 km^2, grassland extended by 141.74 km^2, semi-marsh extended by 105.94 km^2, marsh reduced by 86.00 km^2 the number of landscape patches reduced by 56, and their average area decreased by 2.68 km^2, the successions within lake, marsh, semi-marsh and grassland were found obviously. S decreased stepwise： D and F increased but H decreased： The changing rate after 1994 was 2.3 to 2.9 times greater than that before. The change of the wetland landscape patterns resulted in the interaction between socio-ceenomic and natural forces of positive and negative aspects; and natural factors affected as assistant aspect. Some important human activities in this period led to the change of the landscape patterns in this region directly. Some measurements made by government and NGO delayed the converting process partly.展开更多
Large quantities of mussel shells （66000-94000 t year^-1）, an alkaline material that can be used as a soil amendment, are generated as waste in Galicia, NW Spain. A field trial was carried out by planting different ...Large quantities of mussel shells （66000-94000 t year^-1）, an alkaline material that can be used as a soil amendment, are generated as waste in Galicia, NW Spain. A field trial was carried out by planting different pasture species in a Haplic Umbrisol using a randomized block design with four blocks and six treatments （not amended control or soil amended with lime, finely ground shell, coarsely ground shell, finely ground calcined shell or coarsely ground calcined shell） to compare the effects of lime and mussel shells additions on a soil with a low cation exchange capacity and high AI saturation. The trial was established in March 2007, and samples of plants and soil were collected when plots were harvested in summer 2008 （separating the bulk and rhizosphere soil）. The soils were analyzed for pH, total C, total N, available P, exchangeable cations, effective cation exchange capacity and available micronutrients. Dry matter yield was measured in all plots and plants were analyzed for nutrients. Application of mussel shells and the commercial lime resulted in an increase in pH and exchangeable Ca and a decrease in exchangeable Al and Al were most noticeable in the rhizosphere. The amendment of Ca in the plant. saturation. The stability of pH over time was high. These effects also had a positive effect on dry matter yield and concentration展开更多
In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in climate change, pasture degradation and its driving forces, and innovations in nomadic pastoralism on the Tibetan Plateau. However, little is known of indigeno...In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in climate change, pasture degradation and its driving forces, and innovations in nomadic pastoralism on the Tibetan Plateau. However, little is known of indigenous strategies of adaptation to pasture degradation, which limits the effectiveness of adaptation strategies planned by local government. This paper analyzes nomads＇ strategies of adaptation to pasture degradation on the basis of a field survey of three townships of Dalag County in the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. Pastures there have evidently degraded, with pastures in Wasai mainly in a state of slight or medium degradation and those in Manzhang and Jianshe in a state of medium or severe degradation. With the degradation of pasture, the grazing time is reduced, which af- fects the livelihoods of nomads. Although the Four-Package Project has commenced in this region, there is still severe fodder shortage in winter and spring. The traditional hay storage strategy does not work because of pasture degradation, and few nomads establish fenced and artificial pastures. Therefore, nomads have employed other strategies, such as renting pasture, providing supplementary feed, and diversifying their livelihoods. Local strategies taken by nomads can provide valuable insights into ecological restoration and livelihood improvement in the region and suggest changes to means promoted by local government. It is necessary to seek new means that combine the best aspects of nomadic pastoralism with modern stockbreeding technologies to help nomads adapt to pasture degeneration and improve their livelihoods.展开更多
Rainfall provides essential water resource for vegetation growth and acts as driving force for hydrologic process,bedrock weathering and nutrient cycle in the steep hilly catchment.But the effects of rainfall features...Rainfall provides essential water resource for vegetation growth and acts as driving force for hydrologic process,bedrock weathering and nutrient cycle in the steep hilly catchment.But the effects of rainfall features,vegetation types,topography,and also their interactions on soil water movement and soil moisture dynamics are inadequately quantified.During the coupled wet and dry periods of the year 2018 to 2019,time-series soil moisture was monitored with 5-min interval resolution in a hilly catchment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area in China.Three hillslopes covered with evergreen forest(EG),secondary deciduous forest mixed with shrubs(SDFS)and deforested pasture(DP)were selected,and two monitoring sites with five detected depths were established at upslope and downslope position,respectively.Several parameters expressing soil moisture response to rainfall event were evaluated,including wetting depth,cumulative rainfall amount and lag time before initial response,maximum increase of soil water storage,and transform ratio of rainwater to soil water.The results indicated that rainfall amount is the dominant rainfall variable controlling soil moisture response to rainfall event.No soil moisture response occurred when rainfall amounts was<8 mm,and all the deepest monitoring sensors detected soil moisture increase when total rainfall amounts was>30 mm.In the wet period,the cumulative rainfall amount to trigger surface soil moisture response in EG-up site was significantly higher than in other five sites.However,no significant difference in cumulative rainfall amount to trigger soil moisture response was observed among all study sites in dry period.Vegetation canopy interception reduced the transform ratio of rainwater to soil water,with a higher reduction in vegetation growth period than in other period.Also,interception of vegetation canopy resulted in a larger accumulated rainfall amount and a longer lag time for initiating soil moisture response to rainfall.Generally,average cumulative rainfall amount for initiating soil moisture response during dry period of all sites(3.5-5.6 mm)were less than during wet period(5.7-19.7 mm).Forests captured more infiltration water compared with deforested pasture,showing the larger increments of both soil water storage for the whole soil profile and volumetric soil water content at 10 cm depth on two forest slopes.Topography dominated soil subsurface flow,proven by the evidences that less rainfall amount and less time was needed to trigger soil moisture response and also larger accumulated soil water storage increment in downslope site than in corresponding upslope site during heavy rainfall events.展开更多
Surface coal mines prior to 1950 in the USA were generally left without any reclamation.As government regulations advanced since then,mine operators were required to backfill the area and plant grasses or trees.After ...Surface coal mines prior to 1950 in the USA were generally left without any reclamation.As government regulations advanced since then,mine operators were required to backfill the area and plant grasses or trees.After the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act(SMCRA)was passed in 1977 in the USA,mine operators were required to conduct pre-mining analyses of the site and to designate a land use that could be achieved after mining.Successful reclamation,as needed to satisfy today’s societal demands,requires engineering,design,and purposeful reconstruction of the full mining disturbance,not just its surface,and control of waters leaving the mine site.Effective reclamation on modern American coal mines is fully integrated with the mining operation.A suitable and effective postmining land use that is sustainable for future generations is crucial to the long-term success and profitability of the mining business and to the future economic benefits of the landowner.Accepted post-mining land uses in the USA are:(1)prime farmland,(2)hay land and pasture,(3)biofuel crops,(4)forestry,(5)wildlife habitat,and(6)building site development.Policies and regulations for each post-mining land use were developed and practices to achieve successful and sustainable land uses were established.Post-mining conditions should provide ecosystem services and produce lands capable of supporting societal needs in the future.展开更多
Addition of biochar produced through thermal decomposition of biomass has been seen as a strategy to improve soils and to sequester carbon （C）, but wide scale implementation of the technology requires to devise inno...Addition of biochar produced through thermal decomposition of biomass has been seen as a strategy to improve soils and to sequester carbon （C）, but wide scale implementation of the technology requires to devise innovative profitable solutions. To develop biochar utilisation with an integrated system approach, an innovative program was implemented in 2012 on a 53-ha farm in Western Australia to determine the costs and benefits of integrating biochar with animal husbandry and improvement of pastures. Biochar was mixed with molasses and fed directly to cows. The dung-biochar mixture was incorporated into the soft profile by dung beetles. We studied the changes in soil properties over 3 years. Biochar extracted from fresh dung and from the soil to a depth of 40 cm was characterised. A preliminary financial analysis of the costs and benefits of this integrated approach was also undertaken. The preliminary investigation results suggested that this strategy was effective in improving soil properties and increasing returns to the farmer. It was also concluded that the biochar adsorbed nutrients from the cow＇s gut and from the dung. Dung beetles could transport this nutrient-rich biochar into the soil profile. There was little evidence that the recalcitrant component of the biochar was reduced through reactions inside the gut or on/in the soil. Further research is required to quantify the long-term impact of integrating biochar and dung beetles into the rearing of cows.展开更多
The implementation of pasture contracting policies in the Tibetan Plateau has been of widespread concern in the scientific community and related government departments. Studying the effects of the implementation of pa...The implementation of pasture contracting policies in the Tibetan Plateau has been of widespread concern in the scientific community and related government departments. Studying the effects of the implementation of pasture contracting policies will help us understand herders' attitudes toward those policies and to amend existing policies effectively.This paper analyzes 135 herder families' grazing management behavior using participatory rural appraisal(PRA), quantitative analysis and a Logistic regression model in three townships of Nagqu County in remote areas of the Tibetan Plateau, China. The results show that the herders have become settled and are no longer nomadic, so the settlement project has basically been completed and the policy of contracting for grazing rights is being gradually implemented in Nagqu County. Since the grazing rights and pastures were under contract, group-based management has been widely accepted in this area, which helps the herders deal with constraints, such as limited pasture area, a small grazing radius, controlled family animal husbandry and an uneven distribution of water. The herders that have more family members available for labor, higher proportion of family members with good health, and higher income from animal husbandry tend to choose household-based management.Herders tend to choose group-based management when higher quality winter pastures are available.展开更多
Vast grasslands are found in the walnut-fruit forest region of southern Kyrgyzstan,Middle Asia.Located above the worldwide unique walnutfruit forests and used for grazing,they play a pivotal role in the mixed mountain...Vast grasslands are found in the walnut-fruit forest region of southern Kyrgyzstan,Middle Asia.Located above the worldwide unique walnutfruit forests and used for grazing,they play a pivotal role in the mixed mountain agriculture of local farmers.Accordingly,these pastures are subject to an increasing utilization pressure reflecting the changing political and social conditions in the transformation process from a Soviet republic to an independent state.A first detailed analysis of mountain pasture vegetation in the Ferghana Range answers the following questions:What are the main plant community types among Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures? What are the main environmental gradients that shape their species composition? Which phytogeographical distribution types are predominant? How does grazing affect community composition and species richness in these grasslands? Species composition was classified by cluster analysis;underlying environmental gradients were explored using DCA.A dataset of 395 relevés was used for classification,and a subset of 79 relevés was used in a DCA to analyze the correlation between vegetation,environment,and grazing impact.The investigated pastures were classified into four distinctive plant communities.The site factors altitude,heat load,inclination and grazing impact were found to be the major determinants of the vegetation pattern.A significant overlap between floristic composition and structural and spatial properties was shown.The majority of the species pool consisted of Middle Asian endemics and Eurosiberian species.However,disturbance-tolerant species played a significant role with respect to species composition and coverage of the herbaceous layer in vast areas of southern Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures.In general,an intense grazing impact is clearly reflected by both species composition and structural variables of plant communities.The highly diverse and unique ecosystem is modified by an increasing utilization pressure.In order to maintain vital processes and functioning of this valuable ecosystem-in both economical and ecological terms-,it is indispensable to adopt appropriate pasture management strategies.展开更多
Hyperspectral sensors provide the potential for direct estimation of pasture feed quality attributes. However, remote sensing retrieval of digestibility and fibre (lignin and cellulose) content of vegetation has prove...Hyperspectral sensors provide the potential for direct estimation of pasture feed quality attributes. However, remote sensing retrieval of digestibility and fibre (lignin and cellulose) content of vegetation has proven to be challenging since tissue optical properties may not be propagated to the canopy level in mixed cover types. In this study, partial least squares regression on spectra from HyMap and Hyperion imagery were used to construct predictive models for estimation of crude protein, digestibility, lignin and cellulose concentration in temperate pastures. HyMap and Hyperion imagery and field spectra were collected over four pasture sites in southern Victoria, Australia. Co-incident field samples were analyzed with wet chemistry methods for crude protein, lignin and cellulose concentration, and digestibility was calculated from fiber determinations. Spectral data were subset based on sites and time of year of collection. Reflectance spectra were extracted from the hyperspectral imagery and collated for analysis. Six different transformations including derivatives and continuum removal were applied to the spectra to enhance absorption features sensitive to the quality attributes. The transformed reflectance spectra were then subjected to partial least squares regression, with full cross-validation “leave-one-out” technique, against the quality attributes to assess effects of the spectral transformations and post-atmospheric smoothing techniques to construct predictive models. Model performance between spectrometers, subsets and attributes were assessed using a coefficient of variation (CV), —the interquantile (IQ) range of the attribute values divided by the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) from the models. The predictive models with the highest CVs were obtained for digestibility for all spectra types, with HyMap the highest. However, models with slightly lower CVs were obtained for crude protein, lignin and cellulose. The spectral regions for diagnostic wavelengths fell within the chlorophyll well, red edge, and 2000-2300 nm ligno-cellulose-protein regions, with some wavelengths selected between the 1600 and 1800 nm region sensitive to nitrogen, protein, lignin and cellulose. The digestibility models with the highest CV’s had confidence intervals corresponding to ±5% digestibility, which constitutes approximately 30% of the measured range. The cellulose and lignin models with the highest CV’s also had similar confidence intervals but the slopes of the prediction lines were substantially less than 1:1 indicating reduced sensitivity. The predictive relationships established here could be applied to categorizing pasture quality into range classes and to determine whether pastures are above or below for example threshold values for livestock productivity benchmarks.展开更多
The Changtang Plateau(CTP)in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China is one of the top-10 uninhabited areas with the most important ecological value in the world.It is of great academic and practical significance to carry out ...The Changtang Plateau(CTP)in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China is one of the top-10 uninhabited areas with the most important ecological value in the world.It is of great academic and practical significance to carry out research on human settlements in the marginal zones of the uninhabited areas to promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature on the CTP.Using high-definition remote-sensing images to visually interpret and identify settlement-patch data,combined with field investigations,this study explores the spatial characteristics of human settlements in Shuanghu and Nyima counties and their responses to natural and socioeconomic conditions in the hinterland of the CTP.Findings reveal that the scale of human settlements on the CTP is extremely small,and density is very sparse.Settlements on the CTP primarily consist of several households,with some containing more than a dozen households,or are sub-village scale.Socioeconomic development is low and socioeconomic factors have a weak influence on the settlement layout on the CTP.Natural factors are the core elements affecting the layout of human settlements on the CTP.Settlements tend to occur on low mountains,gentle slopes,and areas with high average annual temperatures.Careful settlement site selection can help to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.To meet the needs of grazing,settlement layouts must typically have a high-quality grassland orientation.Riverbanks are key settlement areas,and settlement sites are often far away from alpine salt lakes.The characteristics of settlements on the CTP and their responses to environmental conditions significantly differ from those of human settlements in low-altitude inland areas.展开更多
An important indicator of the rangeland health, associated with land degradation, is the ability of semi-natural rangelands to provide forage of sufficient quality for livestock production. In Qilian Mountains(Gansu P...An important indicator of the rangeland health, associated with land degradation, is the ability of semi-natural rangelands to provide forage of sufficient quality for livestock production. In Qilian Mountains(Gansu Province, NW China) biomass production and forage quality are dependent on the seasonality of precipitation and temperature; most of the precipitation falls during summer season, when sheep, goats and yaks graze mountain rangelands. To sustain the rangelands and to improve the management strategies, the assessment of the forage quality should be implemented. The purpose of this research was to study the response of biomass, forage quality and macronutrient content different levels of grazing intensity in Qilian rangelands. We sampled aboveground biomass in the growing seasons in 2012 and 2013 within spring/autumn or summer grazing regimes in two altitudinal zones below and above 3000 m a.s.l.(montane-subalpine and subalpine-alpine respectively). In order to estimate forage quality, biomass was sampled in 1 m × 1 m plots, assigned to the center of 10 ×10 m sites, fromwhich we collected different indicator parameters of rangeland health. Mineral and fiber content of forage biomass was estimated under different levels of grazing intensity with regard to the growing period. It was found that an increase in grazing intensity led to a decrease in dry matter weight. No linearity was observed in the relationship between nutritive value and grazing intensity. The highest fiber content(59.20 %) was found in plots mostly disturbed by grazing. The highest protein(16.30 %) and the lowest fiber(51.30 %) contents were associated with slightly grazing intensity. Concentrations of the mineral elements, such as Zn, P, K and S varied significantly and showed maximum values under low grazing intensity.展开更多
基金Sub-global project of UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Programkey project of international collaboration funded by the Ministry of Science and TechnologyThe Knowledge Innovation Project of CAS, No.KZCX02-308
文摘This paper discusses land-use changes in the interlock area of farming and pasturing (IAFP) in northern China. It presents detailed analyses of land-use features in the IAFP, which are controlled by the macro geomorphic units and geophysical conditions-constraints or advantages. Additionally, it selects some indicators, according to the availability in acquiring and processing their quantitative data, to analyze the canonical correlations between the typical conversion of grassland and geophysical conditions. The preliminary study indicates that the physical conditions are of great advantages to the development of grassland. There exists significant correlation between land use change and some geophysical conditions.
文摘In mid-June,the vast,rolling meadow steppe grasslands of Bayanwenduer Sumu in Ar Horqin Banner,Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,once again stretched into the horizon like green waves with herds of cattle and sheep scattered across them like pearls in a green ocean.This flock was driven by herders on horseback,motorcycles,and agricultural vehicles,leading the animals to summer pastures in one of the most important migrations of the year.
基金supported by the MANMOUNT project(PID2019-105983RB-100)funded by the MICINN-FEDER(MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)the 570 PRX21/00375 project funded by the Ministry of Universities of Spain from the“Salvador de Madariaga”programme+1 种基金The‘Geoenvironmental Processes and Global Change’(E02_23R)research group is financed by the Aragon Government and the European Social Fund(ESF-FSE)The first author is working with an FPI contract(PRE2020-094509)from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness associated to the MANMOUNT project.
文摘The abandonment of rural activities in the Mediterranean mid-mountains has led to the activation of revegetation processes,as well as the subsequent implementation of various management measures to mitigate the associated ecosystem disservices.Focusing on soil environment and its growing importance in a climate change scenario,it is of great interest to study how land management and landscape changes can affect,not only the soil carbon storage process,but also its dynamics.A study was conducted in La Rioja(Iberian System,Spain),comparing three post-abandonment management strategies:secondary succession,forest management,and shrub clearing and extensive grazing.These strategies were analysed in two types of soil environments(acid and alkaline)and for two depth ranges(0–20 cm and 20–40 cm).Laboratory analyses were performed on aggregate stability and soil organic carbon fractionation with regard to three aggregate sizes(<2 mm,2–5 mm,>5 mm)and three density fractions(free labile,occluded,and heavy fraction).The results showed that:1)SOC content in aggregates<2 mm(relative to total SOC)increases with shrub clearing and grazing strategy in acid environments;2)aggregate stability benefits from the implementation of afforestation in acid environments and from all three study strategies in alkaline ones;3)in acid environments,the percentage of labile fractions(free and occluded)in afforested sites is significantly higher compared with shrubland,while in alkaline environments,recalcitrant SOC is significantly higher in shrub clearing sites.Thus,land management should be focused on SOC storage after land abandonment in Mediterranean mountainous environments.
基金supported by the European Union-Next Generation EU,Mission 4 Component 2 CUP J83 C22000860007.
文摘Over the last century,the Mediterranean basin has been widely affected by the abandonment of farming activities,leading to a natural succession towards forested ecosystems.This process is resulting in a carbon(C)stock increase at an ecosystem level,often assessed through the measurement of aboveground biomass,while the contribution of soil organic carbon(SOC)remains unclear.We investigated C changes caused by secondary succession on previously grazed areas in central Italy,specifically focusing on the SOC pool.The natural succession is described through a chronosequence approach over four successional stages:pastures,shrublands,young and mature forests.Eight replicates per stage were studied,and C stock was estimated in the mineral soil down to a 30-cm depth,and in all other ecosystem C pools:aboveground and belowground biomass,deadwood and litter.In the mature forests,SOC stock was significantly higher(p<0.05)than in pastures by 40±8 Mg ha^(-1),corresponding to 28%of the total ecosystem C stock gain.The same trend was observed for aboveground biomass,the pool that increased the most(62±23 Mg ha^(-1)),with a 43%contribution to total ecosystem gain.Our results point to a substantial contribution of SOC to overall C stock during secondary succession in Mediterranean ecosystems.
基金the framework of the Project 21T-4C045 of the Higher Education and Science Committee(RA)。
文摘The results of the 2022-2025 study conducted for the vulnerability assessment of pastures and for the development of improvement measures on the degraded land sections in the arid and semi-arid provinces of the Caucasus under the global climate change conditions are introduced in the current article.The main goal of our scientific work is to study and assess the current ecological and resource state of natural phytocenoses,pastures and hayfields in the arid and semi-arid landscapes under climate change.The paper presents the results of determining the areas and levels of degradation of the natural biogeocenoses and biogeocenoses of the pastures and hayfields in the mountain and highland landscapes.The results were obtained using remote sensing,field and laboratory studies and analyses.The conducted studies have revealed that along 34,174.5 ha pasture and 1342.0 meadows areas of the pastures at the Areni,Yeghegis,Yeghegnadzor and Vayq consolidated administrative territories situated in the arid and semi-arid zones of the Vayots Dzor Region high degradation was recorded in about 6508 hectares of pasture and 407 hectares of meadows areas,which is related to irregular and uncontrolled economic mismanagement of the local population and global climate change.To improve the ecological condition,accessibility and quality of ecosystem services of the pastures,hayfields and natural meadows,comprehensive restoration bioecological and agrotechnical measures have been proposed.They are aimed at improving the air,water and nutrient regimes of soils,at their bioprotection,as well as at the general increase in area and at improving the economic characteristics of the vegetation cover.Such measures on the ecosystem basis are appropriate in the context of enriching the qualitative composition of plants with useful ecological and economic bioecological characteristics,taking into account the characteristics of landscapes,weather and climatic conditions,and agricultural opportunities.
文摘The presence of a thatch layer in established pastures could reduce the contact between broiler litter and soil, thus increasing the potential for surface runoff contamination with litter P. We conducted a laboratory study to evaluate the effect of a thatch layer on the dynamics of water-soluble P in undisturbed cores taken from a pasture. Cores with and without a thatch layer received a surface application of broiler litter (5 thm-2) and were incubated at 25 oC for 56 d. The result showed that on the soil surface the contents of water soluble-P (39 kghm-2) of the cores with the thatch layer was higher than that (20 kghm-2) of the cores without the thatch layer. Therefore on well-established pastures fertilized with broiler litter, the presence of a thatch layer might lead to high concentrations of water-soluble P on the soil surface.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (40271051).
文摘The vulnerable eco-area is one of the important research targets in the field of sustainable development. It is the requirement of building a well-off society in an all-round way that we should study more on the vulnerable eco-areas, deal with the relationship between environmental protection and economic development, speed up the economic development in these areas and increase the living standard of the local people. This paper puts forward the countermeasures of environment---economy coordination, on the basis of the recognition of eco-environment features and social economic conditions in the vulnerable eco-areas of China, in view of the progress in sustainable development studies of the vulnerable ones, taking the transitional areas of farming and pasturing in northeast China as an example to study the regional environment vulnerability.
文摘1923年,美国第一本,也是世界第一本草原管理学方面的教材——RANGE AND PASTURE MANAGEMENT(《草原与放牧地管理学》)出版。本文通过对该书的作者、内容(前言、正文和索引)、对美国草原管理学教育和教材的重要影响、对我国草原管理学同类教材建设的意义进行介绍和论述,以纪念该书出版100周年。
基金Supported by the Major Research Project of National Natural Science Foundation Committee(91325302)China Postdoctoral Foundation(2014M560110)Hebei Social Science Foundation(HB15GL087)~~
文摘Northeast China as one of important agricultural production bases is an area under reclamation and returning cultivated land to forests or pastures. Therefore, it is of great practical significance in guaranteeing the sustainable development and national food security to study the spatial and temporal variation of cultivated land in Northeast China under future climate scenarios. In this study, based on data of land use, natural environment and social-economy, dynamics of land system（DLS） model was used to to simulate the spatial distribution and changing trends of cultivated land in the typical areas of reclamation and returning cultivated land to forest or pastures in Northeast China during 2010-2030 under land use planning scenario and representative concentration pathways（RCPs） scenarios quantitatively.The results showed that the area of cultivated land had an overall decreasing trend under the land use planning scenario, but the area of upland field increased slightly from 2000 to 2010 and then declined greatly, while the area of paddy field continuously declined from 2000 to 2030. Under the Asia-Pacific Integrated model（AIM）scenario, the total area of cultivated land had a tendency to increase considerably,with the upland field expanding more obviously and the paddy field declining slightly.In addition, the cultivated land showed a greater decreasing trend under the model for energy supply strategy alternatives and their general environmental impact（MESSAGE） scenario compared to the land use planning scenario. Moreover, analysis on the conversion between different land use types indicated that the reclamation and returning cultivated land to forests or pastures was likely to continue under future scenarios, but the frequency of occurrence could decrease as the time goes by. The conclusions can provide significant decision-making information for the rational agricultural planning and cultivated land protection in Northeast China to adapt to the climate change.
基金supported by China Scholarship, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCXI-07, KSCX2-01-09)the Ministry of Science & Technology of China (2004BA606A-05)Sichuan provincial training foundation for Science & Technology leader ,Sichuan youth foundation.
文摘Zoige Wetland is one of the largest plateau wetlands in the world. This paper provides a dynamic analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of the wetland in Zoige, Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, supported by ERDAS8.7 and ArcGIS9.0. It is the first comparative analysis of a system of rapidly changing wetland with landscape patterns in Zoige, using 3 classified landsat Thematic Mapper images of 1977, 1994 and 2001. The classified images were used to generate wetland distributing maps, and shape index （S）, diversity index （H）, dominance index （D）, evenness index （E）, fragmentation index （F） and fractal dimension （Fd） were calculated and analyzed spatiotemporally across pure grazing area in Zoige for each landscape type and in different periods （before 1977, during 1977-1994 and 1994-2001）, as well as the driving forces of natural and anthropogenic. The study shows that for a comprehensive understanding of the shapes and trajectories of the shrinking and desertificated land expansion of the wetland, a spatiotemporal landscape metrics analysis in different periods is an improvement than only with landscape changing rates. This type of analysis can also be used to infer underlying social, economic, and political processes that drive the observed wetland forms. The results indicate that wetland patterns can be changed over relatively short periods of time. The total area of lake reduced by 164.86 km^2, grassland extended by 141.74 km^2, semi-marsh extended by 105.94 km^2, marsh reduced by 86.00 km^2 the number of landscape patches reduced by 56, and their average area decreased by 2.68 km^2, the successions within lake, marsh, semi-marsh and grassland were found obviously. S decreased stepwise： D and F increased but H decreased： The changing rate after 1994 was 2.3 to 2.9 times greater than that before. The change of the wetland landscape patterns resulted in the interaction between socio-ceenomic and natural forces of positive and negative aspects; and natural factors affected as assistant aspect. Some important human activities in this period led to the change of the landscape patterns in this region directly. Some measurements made by government and NGO delayed the converting process partly.
基金Supported by the Government of Spain(No.CTM2005-05922)
文摘Large quantities of mussel shells （66000-94000 t year^-1）, an alkaline material that can be used as a soil amendment, are generated as waste in Galicia, NW Spain. A field trial was carried out by planting different pasture species in a Haplic Umbrisol using a randomized block design with four blocks and six treatments （not amended control or soil amended with lime, finely ground shell, coarsely ground shell, finely ground calcined shell or coarsely ground calcined shell） to compare the effects of lime and mussel shells additions on a soil with a low cation exchange capacity and high AI saturation. The trial was established in March 2007, and samples of plants and soil were collected when plots were harvested in summer 2008 （separating the bulk and rhizosphere soil）. The soils were analyzed for pH, total C, total N, available P, exchangeable cations, effective cation exchange capacity and available micronutrients. Dry matter yield was measured in all plots and plants were analyzed for nutrients. Application of mussel shells and the commercial lime resulted in an increase in pH and exchangeable Ca and a decrease in exchangeable Al and Al were most noticeable in the rhizosphere. The amendment of Ca in the plant. saturation. The stability of pH over time was high. These effects also had a positive effect on dry matter yield and concentration
基金National Basic Research Program of China, No.2010CB951704 National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41071066
文摘In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in climate change, pasture degradation and its driving forces, and innovations in nomadic pastoralism on the Tibetan Plateau. However, little is known of indigenous strategies of adaptation to pasture degradation, which limits the effectiveness of adaptation strategies planned by local government. This paper analyzes nomads＇ strategies of adaptation to pasture degradation on the basis of a field survey of three townships of Dalag County in the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. Pastures there have evidently degraded, with pastures in Wasai mainly in a state of slight or medium degradation and those in Manzhang and Jianshe in a state of medium or severe degradation. With the degradation of pasture, the grazing time is reduced, which af- fects the livelihoods of nomads. Although the Four-Package Project has commenced in this region, there is still severe fodder shortage in winter and spring. The traditional hay storage strategy does not work because of pasture degradation, and few nomads establish fenced and artificial pastures. Therefore, nomads have employed other strategies, such as renting pasture, providing supplementary feed, and diversifying their livelihoods. Local strategies taken by nomads can provide valuable insights into ecological restoration and livelihood improvement in the region and suggest changes to means promoted by local government. It is necessary to seek new means that combine the best aspects of nomadic pastoralism with modern stockbreeding technologies to help nomads adapt to pasture degeneration and improve their livelihoods.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41771261,No.41601215Hubei Province Natural Science Foundation of China,No.2015CFA141,No.2016CFA027,No.2019CFB766Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,No.CCNUI8QN002,No.CCNUI9TS001。
文摘Rainfall provides essential water resource for vegetation growth and acts as driving force for hydrologic process,bedrock weathering and nutrient cycle in the steep hilly catchment.But the effects of rainfall features,vegetation types,topography,and also their interactions on soil water movement and soil moisture dynamics are inadequately quantified.During the coupled wet and dry periods of the year 2018 to 2019,time-series soil moisture was monitored with 5-min interval resolution in a hilly catchment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area in China.Three hillslopes covered with evergreen forest(EG),secondary deciduous forest mixed with shrubs(SDFS)and deforested pasture(DP)were selected,and two monitoring sites with five detected depths were established at upslope and downslope position,respectively.Several parameters expressing soil moisture response to rainfall event were evaluated,including wetting depth,cumulative rainfall amount and lag time before initial response,maximum increase of soil water storage,and transform ratio of rainwater to soil water.The results indicated that rainfall amount is the dominant rainfall variable controlling soil moisture response to rainfall event.No soil moisture response occurred when rainfall amounts was<8 mm,and all the deepest monitoring sensors detected soil moisture increase when total rainfall amounts was>30 mm.In the wet period,the cumulative rainfall amount to trigger surface soil moisture response in EG-up site was significantly higher than in other five sites.However,no significant difference in cumulative rainfall amount to trigger soil moisture response was observed among all study sites in dry period.Vegetation canopy interception reduced the transform ratio of rainwater to soil water,with a higher reduction in vegetation growth period than in other period.Also,interception of vegetation canopy resulted in a larger accumulated rainfall amount and a longer lag time for initiating soil moisture response to rainfall.Generally,average cumulative rainfall amount for initiating soil moisture response during dry period of all sites(3.5-5.6 mm)were less than during wet period(5.7-19.7 mm).Forests captured more infiltration water compared with deforested pasture,showing the larger increments of both soil water storage for the whole soil profile and volumetric soil water content at 10 cm depth on two forest slopes.Topography dominated soil subsurface flow,proven by the evidences that less rainfall amount and less time was needed to trigger soil moisture response and also larger accumulated soil water storage increment in downslope site than in corresponding upslope site during heavy rainfall events.
文摘Surface coal mines prior to 1950 in the USA were generally left without any reclamation.As government regulations advanced since then,mine operators were required to backfill the area and plant grasses or trees.After the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act(SMCRA)was passed in 1977 in the USA,mine operators were required to conduct pre-mining analyses of the site and to designate a land use that could be achieved after mining.Successful reclamation,as needed to satisfy today’s societal demands,requires engineering,design,and purposeful reconstruction of the full mining disturbance,not just its surface,and control of waters leaving the mine site.Effective reclamation on modern American coal mines is fully integrated with the mining operation.A suitable and effective postmining land use that is sustainable for future generations is crucial to the long-term success and profitability of the mining business and to the future economic benefits of the landowner.Accepted post-mining land uses in the USA are:(1)prime farmland,(2)hay land and pasture,(3)biofuel crops,(4)forestry,(5)wildlife habitat,and(6)building site development.Policies and regulations for each post-mining land use were developed and practices to achieve successful and sustainable land uses were established.Post-mining conditions should provide ecosystem services and produce lands capable of supporting societal needs in the future.
基金funded by the Linkage,Infrastructure,Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC) (No.LE120100104)supported by the ARC (No.LP120200418),Renewed Carbon Pty Ltd.of Australiathe Department of Agriculture,Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Futures Filling the Research Gap (No.RG134978)
文摘Addition of biochar produced through thermal decomposition of biomass has been seen as a strategy to improve soils and to sequester carbon （C）, but wide scale implementation of the technology requires to devise innovative profitable solutions. To develop biochar utilisation with an integrated system approach, an innovative program was implemented in 2012 on a 53-ha farm in Western Australia to determine the costs and benefits of integrating biochar with animal husbandry and improvement of pastures. Biochar was mixed with molasses and fed directly to cows. The dung-biochar mixture was incorporated into the soft profile by dung beetles. We studied the changes in soil properties over 3 years. Biochar extracted from fresh dung and from the soil to a depth of 40 cm was characterised. A preliminary financial analysis of the costs and benefits of this integrated approach was also undertaken. The preliminary investigation results suggested that this strategy was effective in improving soil properties and increasing returns to the farmer. It was also concluded that the biochar adsorbed nutrients from the cow＇s gut and from the dung. Dung beetles could transport this nutrient-rich biochar into the soil profile. There was little evidence that the recalcitrant component of the biochar was reduced through reactions inside the gut or on/in the soil. Further research is required to quantify the long-term impact of integrating biochar and dung beetles into the rearing of cows.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41071066)the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2010CB951704)the Dissertation Fellowship of the Peking University-Lincoln Institute Center for Urban Development and Land Policy
文摘The implementation of pasture contracting policies in the Tibetan Plateau has been of widespread concern in the scientific community and related government departments. Studying the effects of the implementation of pasture contracting policies will help us understand herders' attitudes toward those policies and to amend existing policies effectively.This paper analyzes 135 herder families' grazing management behavior using participatory rural appraisal(PRA), quantitative analysis and a Logistic regression model in three townships of Nagqu County in remote areas of the Tibetan Plateau, China. The results show that the herders have become settled and are no longer nomadic, so the settlement project has basically been completed and the policy of contracting for grazing rights is being gradually implemented in Nagqu County. Since the grazing rights and pastures were under contract, group-based management has been widely accepted in this area, which helps the herders deal with constraints, such as limited pasture area, a small grazing radius, controlled family animal husbandry and an uneven distribution of water. The herders that have more family members available for labor, higher proportion of family members with good health, and higher income from animal husbandry tend to choose household-based management.Herders tend to choose group-based management when higher quality winter pastures are available.
基金the joint project "The Impact of the Transformation Process on Human-Environmental Interactions in Southern Kyrgyzstan" supported by the Volkswagen Foundation
文摘Vast grasslands are found in the walnut-fruit forest region of southern Kyrgyzstan,Middle Asia.Located above the worldwide unique walnutfruit forests and used for grazing,they play a pivotal role in the mixed mountain agriculture of local farmers.Accordingly,these pastures are subject to an increasing utilization pressure reflecting the changing political and social conditions in the transformation process from a Soviet republic to an independent state.A first detailed analysis of mountain pasture vegetation in the Ferghana Range answers the following questions:What are the main plant community types among Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures? What are the main environmental gradients that shape their species composition? Which phytogeographical distribution types are predominant? How does grazing affect community composition and species richness in these grasslands? Species composition was classified by cluster analysis;underlying environmental gradients were explored using DCA.A dataset of 395 relevés was used for classification,and a subset of 79 relevés was used in a DCA to analyze the correlation between vegetation,environment,and grazing impact.The investigated pastures were classified into four distinctive plant communities.The site factors altitude,heat load,inclination and grazing impact were found to be the major determinants of the vegetation pattern.A significant overlap between floristic composition and structural and spatial properties was shown.The majority of the species pool consisted of Middle Asian endemics and Eurosiberian species.However,disturbance-tolerant species played a significant role with respect to species composition and coverage of the herbaceous layer in vast areas of southern Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures.In general,an intense grazing impact is clearly reflected by both species composition and structural variables of plant communities.The highly diverse and unique ecosystem is modified by an increasing utilization pressure.In order to maintain vital processes and functioning of this valuable ecosystem-in both economical and ecological terms-,it is indispensable to adopt appropriate pasture management strategies.
文摘Hyperspectral sensors provide the potential for direct estimation of pasture feed quality attributes. However, remote sensing retrieval of digestibility and fibre (lignin and cellulose) content of vegetation has proven to be challenging since tissue optical properties may not be propagated to the canopy level in mixed cover types. In this study, partial least squares regression on spectra from HyMap and Hyperion imagery were used to construct predictive models for estimation of crude protein, digestibility, lignin and cellulose concentration in temperate pastures. HyMap and Hyperion imagery and field spectra were collected over four pasture sites in southern Victoria, Australia. Co-incident field samples were analyzed with wet chemistry methods for crude protein, lignin and cellulose concentration, and digestibility was calculated from fiber determinations. Spectral data were subset based on sites and time of year of collection. Reflectance spectra were extracted from the hyperspectral imagery and collated for analysis. Six different transformations including derivatives and continuum removal were applied to the spectra to enhance absorption features sensitive to the quality attributes. The transformed reflectance spectra were then subjected to partial least squares regression, with full cross-validation “leave-one-out” technique, against the quality attributes to assess effects of the spectral transformations and post-atmospheric smoothing techniques to construct predictive models. Model performance between spectrometers, subsets and attributes were assessed using a coefficient of variation (CV), —the interquantile (IQ) range of the attribute values divided by the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) from the models. The predictive models with the highest CVs were obtained for digestibility for all spectra types, with HyMap the highest. However, models with slightly lower CVs were obtained for crude protein, lignin and cellulose. The spectral regions for diagnostic wavelengths fell within the chlorophyll well, red edge, and 2000-2300 nm ligno-cellulose-protein regions, with some wavelengths selected between the 1600 and 1800 nm region sensitive to nitrogen, protein, lignin and cellulose. The digestibility models with the highest CV’s had confidence intervals corresponding to ±5% digestibility, which constitutes approximately 30% of the measured range. The cellulose and lignin models with the highest CV’s also had similar confidence intervals but the slopes of the prediction lines were substantially less than 1:1 indicating reduced sensitivity. The predictive relationships established here could be applied to categorizing pasture quality into range classes and to determine whether pastures are above or below for example threshold values for livestock productivity benchmarks.
基金Under the auspices of the Second Comprehensive Scientific Investigation and Research Project of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(No.2019QZKK0406,2019QZKK1007)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42001139,42101170)+1 种基金the Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Leading Science and Technology Project(No.XDA20010102)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2020M670472,2020M680660)。
文摘The Changtang Plateau(CTP)in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China is one of the top-10 uninhabited areas with the most important ecological value in the world.It is of great academic and practical significance to carry out research on human settlements in the marginal zones of the uninhabited areas to promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature on the CTP.Using high-definition remote-sensing images to visually interpret and identify settlement-patch data,combined with field investigations,this study explores the spatial characteristics of human settlements in Shuanghu and Nyima counties and their responses to natural and socioeconomic conditions in the hinterland of the CTP.Findings reveal that the scale of human settlements on the CTP is extremely small,and density is very sparse.Settlements on the CTP primarily consist of several households,with some containing more than a dozen households,or are sub-village scale.Socioeconomic development is low and socioeconomic factors have a weak influence on the settlement layout on the CTP.Natural factors are the core elements affecting the layout of human settlements on the CTP.Settlements tend to occur on low mountains,gentle slopes,and areas with high average annual temperatures.Careful settlement site selection can help to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.To meet the needs of grazing,settlement layouts must typically have a high-quality grassland orientation.Riverbanks are key settlement areas,and settlement sites are often far away from alpine salt lakes.The characteristics of settlements on the CTP and their responses to environmental conditions significantly differ from those of human settlements in low-altitude inland areas.
基金the Robert Bosch Foundation (No.070610) for financial support of this joint international projectFinancial support of the PhD research project was provided by University of Hamburg’s Doctoral Funding Program (HmbNFG)merit scholarship program
文摘An important indicator of the rangeland health, associated with land degradation, is the ability of semi-natural rangelands to provide forage of sufficient quality for livestock production. In Qilian Mountains(Gansu Province, NW China) biomass production and forage quality are dependent on the seasonality of precipitation and temperature; most of the precipitation falls during summer season, when sheep, goats and yaks graze mountain rangelands. To sustain the rangelands and to improve the management strategies, the assessment of the forage quality should be implemented. The purpose of this research was to study the response of biomass, forage quality and macronutrient content different levels of grazing intensity in Qilian rangelands. We sampled aboveground biomass in the growing seasons in 2012 and 2013 within spring/autumn or summer grazing regimes in two altitudinal zones below and above 3000 m a.s.l.(montane-subalpine and subalpine-alpine respectively). In order to estimate forage quality, biomass was sampled in 1 m × 1 m plots, assigned to the center of 10 ×10 m sites, fromwhich we collected different indicator parameters of rangeland health. Mineral and fiber content of forage biomass was estimated under different levels of grazing intensity with regard to the growing period. It was found that an increase in grazing intensity led to a decrease in dry matter weight. No linearity was observed in the relationship between nutritive value and grazing intensity. The highest fiber content(59.20 %) was found in plots mostly disturbed by grazing. The highest protein(16.30 %) and the lowest fiber(51.30 %) contents were associated with slightly grazing intensity. Concentrations of the mineral elements, such as Zn, P, K and S varied significantly and showed maximum values under low grazing intensity.
