Age-specific response to climate factors and extreme drought events in radial growth of Picea likiangensis.

The influence of tree age on the growth response of Picea likiangensis, a predominant timber species in southwestern China, to climatic factors has been under-researched. In this study, we examined the relationships between tree age and the response of P. likiangensis to climatic factors and extreme drought events using tree-ring samples procured from the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Applying space-for-time substitution to infer the growth response to climate may lead to overestimation of tree maladaptation: Evidence from the North American White Spruce Network.

Under climate change circumstances, increasing studies have reported the temporal instability of tree growth responses to climate, which poses a major challenge to linearly extrapolating past climate and future growth dynamics using tree-ring data. Space-for-time substitution (SFTS) is a potential solution to this problem that is widely used in the dendrochronology field to project past or future temporal growth response trajectories from contemporary spatial patterns. However, the projected accuracy of the SFTS in the climate effects on tree growth remains uncertain.

Leaf phosphorus content of Quercus wutaishanica increases with total soil potassium in the Loess Plateau.

Phosphorus (P) is arguably more limiting than nitrogen for forest ecosystems being free of disturbances for lengthy time periods. The elucidation of multivariate relationships between foliar P and its primary drivers for dominant species is an urgent issue and formidable challenge for ecologists. Our goal was to evaluate the effects of primary drivers on foliar P of Quercus wutaishanica, the dominant species in broadleaved deciduous forest at the Loess Plateau, China.

Determinants of the N content of Quercus wutaishanica leaves in the Loess Plateau: a structural equation modeling approach.

Most terrestrial ecosystems are nitrogen (N)-limited. The elucidation of the multivariate relationships among environmental drivers, leaf morphological traits, and foliar N of dominant species which are critical to the functioning of forests remains a critical challenge for ecologists. We sampled leaves of Quercus wutaishanica across a broad natural gradient in the Loess Plateau, China, and employed structural equation modelling to evaluate the causal pathways and the relative importance of drivers of the foliar N per unit area (Narea) and per unit mass (Nmass).

On the Relationship between Economic Development, Environmental Integrity and Well-Being: The Point of View of Herdsmen in Northern China Grassland.

Inner Mongolia is among the most important regions in terms of contribution to the socio-economic development of China. Furthermore, its grassland is a major ecological barrier for Northern China. The present study evaluates the changes in ecosystem services availability and human wellbeing based on a survey on864 herdsmen of the grassland and 20 governmental officials.

Radial growth of two dominant montane conifer tree species in response to climate change in North-Central China.

North-Central China is a region in which the air temperature has clearly increased for several decades. Picea meyeri and Larix principis-rupprechtii are the most dominant co-occurring tree species within the cold coniferous forest belt ranging vertically from 1800 m to 2800 m a.s.

Biomass and its allocation in relation to temperature, precipitation, and soil nutrients in Inner Mongolia grasslands, China.

Aim: Understanding and predicting ecosystem functioning such as biomass accumulation requires an accurate assessment of large-scale patterns of biomass distribution and partitioning in relation to climatic and soil environments.

Methods: We sampled above- and belowground biomass from 26 sites spanning 1500 km in Inner Mongolian grasslands, compared the difference in aboveground, belowground biomass and below-aboveground biomass ratio (AGB, BGB, and B/A, respectively) among meadow steppe, typical steppe, and desert steppe types. The relationships between AGB, BGB, B/A and climatic and soil environments were then examined.

Urban garbage disposal and management in China.

This paper, probing into the present situation of urban domestic garbage by analyzing its growing trend, compositional change and regional difference, reveals the problems existing in its disposal and management in China. Meanwhile, a questionnaire was conducted in five big cities around China for surveying urban residents' attitudes towards garbage disposal and management policies and measures. Results showed the output of urban domestic garbage in Chinese cities is ever increasing, and the recoverable materials and energy in garbage composition are also increasing.