The temperature difference between an urban space and surrounding non-urban space is called the urban heat island effect (UHI). Global terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET) can consume 1.4803×1023 joules (J) of energy annually, which is about 21.74% of the total available solar energy at the top of atmosphere, whereas annual human energy use is 4.935×1020 J, about 0.33% of annual ET energy consumption. Vegetation ET has great potential to reduce urban and global temperatures. Our literature review suggests that vegetation and urban agricultural ET can reduce urban temperatures by 0.5 to 4.0°C. Green roofs (including urban agriculture) and water bodies have also been shown to be effective ways of reducing urban temperatures. The cooling effects on the ambient temperature and the roof surface temperature can be 0.24-4.0°C and 0.8-60.0°C, respectively. The temperature of a water body (including urban aquaculture) can be lower than the temperature of the surrounding built environment by between 2 and 6°C, and a water body with a 16 m2 surface area can cool up to 2 826 m3 of nearby space by 1°C. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the increase of evapotranspiration in cities, derived from vegetation, urban agriculture, and water body, can effectively mitigate the effect of urban heat islands.
Water used in agriculture consumes much energy, mainly due to pumping water for irrigation, but the water-energy nexus is always neglected in arid and semi-arid areas. Based on hydrological observation data, irrigation data and socio- economic data over the past 50 yr, this study has derived a detailed estimate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural water use in the Minqin Oasis. Results show that the decreasing water supply and increasing demand for agriculture has caused severe water deficits over the past 50 yr in this region. The groundwater energy use rate rose by 76% between 1961 and 2009 because of the serious decline in groundwater levels. An increase in pump lift by an average 1 m would cause GHG emission rates to rise by around 2%. Over the past 10 yr, the GHG emissions from groundwater accounted for 65-88% of the total emissions from agricultural water. GHG emissions for diverted water varied from 0.047 to 0.074 Mt CO 2 e as the water input increased. Long distance conveyance and high pump lifts need more electricity input than groundwater abstraction does. Government policies have had a favorable effect on total emissions by reducing water abstraction. But groundwater depletion, exacerbated by a growing population and an expansion in arable land, remains the principal energy-water nexus challenge in the region. In response to the increasing water-energy crisis, energy-saving irrigation technology, matching to cost efficiencies, and better coordination between different infrastructural agencies could be feasible ways of rendering the water and energy sectors more sustainable over the long term.
Soil enzyme activity plays an important role in the conversion of soil organic carbon into inorganic carbon,which is significant for the global carbon cycle.In this study,we investigated the soil enzyme activities of two ligninolytic enzymes(peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase)and five non-ligninolytic enzymes(α-1,4-glucosidase(AG);β-1,4-glucosidase(BG);N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase(NAG);β-D-cellobiosidase(CBH);andβ-xylosidase(BXYL))in four plant communities of the Sangong River basin in Fukang,North Xinjiang,China.The four typical plant communities were dominated by Haloxylon ammodendron,Reaumuria soongonica,Salsola passerina,and Tamarix rarmosissima,respectively,with saline soils of varied alkalinity.The results showed that the soil peroxidase activity decreased seasonally.The activities of the five non-ligninolytic enzymes decreased with increasing soil depths,while those of the two ligninolytic enzymes did not show such a trend.In the four plant communities,BG had the highest activity among the five non-ligninolytic enzymes,and the activities of the two ligninolytic enzymes were higher than those of the four non-ligninolytic ones(AG,NAG,CBH,and BXYL).The community of H.ammodendron displayed the highest activity with respect to the two ligninolytic enzymes in most cases,but no significant differences were found among the four plant communities.The geometric mean of soil enzyme activities of the four plant communities was validated through an independently performed principal component analysis(PCA),which indicated that different plant communities had different soil enzyme activities.The correlation analysis showed that soil polyphenol oxidase activity was significantly positively correlated with the activities of the five non-ligninolytic enzymes.The soil pH value was positively correlated with the activities of all soil enzymes except peroxidase.Soil microbial carbon content also showed a significant positive correlation(P<0.01)with the activities of all soil enzymes except polyphenol oxidase.The results sugg
Methane(CH4), carbon dioxide(CO2) and nitrous oxide(N2O) are known to be major greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. To identify the flux dynamics of these greenhouse gases is, therefore, of great significance. In this paper, we conducted a comparative study on an alpine grassland and alpine wetland at the Bayinbuluk Grassland Eco-system Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences. By using opaque, static, manual stainless steel chambers and gas chromatography, we measured the fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 from the grassland and wetland through an in situ monitoring study from May 2010 to October 2012. The mean flux rates of CH4, N2O and CO2 for the experimental alpine wetland in the growing season(from May to October) were estimated at 322.4 μg/(m2?h), 16.7 μg/(m2?h) and 76.7 mg/(m2?h), respectively; and the values for the alpine grassland were –88.2 μg/(m2?h), 12.7 μg/(m2?h), 57.3 mg/(m2?h), respectively. The gas fluxes showed large seasonal and annual variations, suggesting weak fluxes in the non-growing season. The relationships between these gas fluxes and environmental factors were analyzed for the two alpine ecosystems. The results showed that air temperature, precipitation, soil temperature and soil moisture can greatly influence the fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2, but the alpine grassland and alpine wetland showed different feedback mechanisms under the same climate and environmental conditions.
GuiXiang HEKaiHui LIXueJun LIUYanMing GONGYuKun HU
Ammonia (NH3) emission and redeposition play a major role in terrestrial nitrogen (N) cycles and can also cause environmental problems, such as changes in biodiversity, soil acidity, and eutrophication. Previous field grazing experiments showed inconsistent (positive, neutral, and negative) NH3 volatilization from soils in response to varying grazing intensities. However, it remains unclear whether, or to what extent, NH3 emissions from soil are affected by increasing grazing intensities in Inner Mongolian grasslands. Using a 5-year grazing experiment, we investigated the relationship between NH3 volatilization from soil and grazing pressure (0.0, 3.0, 6.0, and 9.0 sheep/hm2 ) from June to September of 2009 and 2010 via the vented-chamber method. The results show that soil NH3 volatilization was not significantly different at different grazing intensities in 2009, although it was higher at the highest stocking rate during 2010. There was no significant linear relationship between soil NH3 volatilization rates and soil NH4+-N, but soil NH3 volatilization rates were significantly related to soil water content and air temperature. Grazing intensities had no significant influence on soil NH3 volatilization. Soil NH3 emissions from June to September (grazing period), averaged over all grazing intensities, were 9.6±0.2 and 19.0±0.2 kg N/hm2 in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Moreover, linear equations describing monthly air temperature and precipitation showed a good fit to changes in soil NH3 emissions (r=0.506, P=0.014). Overall, grazing intensities had less influence than that of climatic factors on soil NH3 emissions. Our findings provide new insights into the effects of grazing on NH3 volatilization from soil in Inner Mongolian grasslands, and have important implications for understanding N cycles in grassland ecosystems and for estimating soil NH3 emissions on a regional scale.
YunHai ZHANGNianPeng HEGuangMing ZHANGJianHui HUANGQiBing WANGQingMin PANXingGuo HAN
