Monitoring plant response to phenanthrene using the red edge of canopy hyperspectral reflectance.

To investigate the mechanisms and potential for the remote sensing of phenanthrene-induced vegetation stress, we measured field canopy spectra, and associated plant and soil parameters in the field controlled experiment in the Yellow River Delta of China. Two widely distributed plant communities, separately dominated by reed (Phragmites australis) and glaucous seepweed (Suaeda salsa), were treated with different doses of phenanthrene. The canopy spectral changes of plant community resulted from the decreases of biomass and foliar projective coverage, while leaf photosynthetic pigment concentrations showed no significance difference among treatments.

Effects of added organic matter and water on soil carbon sequestration in an arid region.

It is generally predicted that global warming will stimulate primary production and lead to more carbon (C) inputs to soil. However, many studies have found that soil C does not necessarily increase with increased plant litter input. Precipitation has increased in arid central Asia, and is predicted to increase more, so we tested the effects of adding fresh organic matter (FOM) and water on soil C sequestration in an arid region in northwest China.

Soil TPH concentration estimation using vegetation indices in an oil polluted area of eastern China.

Assessing oil pollution using traditional field-based methods over large areas is difficult and expensive. Remote sensing technologies with good spatial and temporal coverage might provide an alternative for monitoring oil pollution by recording the spectral signals of plants growing in polluted soils. Total petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations of soils and the hyperspectral canopy reflectance were measured in wetlands dominated by reeds (Phragmites australis) around oil wells that have been producing oil for approximately 10 years in the Yellow River Delta, eastern China to evaluate the potential of vegetation indices and red edge parameters to estimate soil oil pollution.

Soil respiration in different agricultural and natural ecosystems in an arid region.

The variation of different ecosystems on the terrestrial carbon balance is predicted to be large. We investigated a typical arid region with widespread saline/alkaline soils, and evaluated soil respiration of different agricultural and natural ecosystems. Soil respiration for five ecosystems together with soil temperature, soil moisture, soil pH, soil electric conductivity and soil organic carbon content were investigated in the field.

Responses to air temperature and soil moisture of growth of four dominant species on sand dunes of central Inner Mongolia.

Little attention has been paid to how four dominant shrub species distributed in semi-arid areas respond to the combined effects of temperature and water supply. Seedlings of four species were grown in a glasshouse for eight weeks at air temperatures of 12.5/22.

Effects of burial in sand and water supply regime on seedling emergence of six species.

Background And Aims: Air seeding has long been regarded as a quick and successful measure for vegetation rehabilitation in China. However, seedling emergence of often-used species including Agriophyllum squarrosum, Artemisia sphaerocephala, Artemisia ordosica, Hedysarum fruticosum, Caragana korshinskii and Medicago sativa is low. Experiments were conducted under controlled conditions to study the effects of sowing depth and water supply on seedling emergence, in order to understand the requirements for increasing seedling emergence.