Evaluating the Patterns of Maize Development in the Hetao Irrigation Region Using the Sentinel-1 GRD SAR Bipolar Descriptor.

Assessing maize yield is critical, as it is directly influenced by the crop's growth conditions. Therefore, real-time monitoring of maize growth is necessary. Regular monitoring of maize growth indicators is essential for optimizing irrigation management and evaluating agricultural yield.

Mineralization characteristics of soil organic carbon under different herbaceous plant mosaics in semi-arid grasslands.

We aimed to explore the mineralization characteristics of soil organic carbon(SOC) under different plant species in semi-arid grassland and provide basic soil carbon cycling data. Leymus chinensis, Stipa krylovii Roshev, Artemisia frigida, and Agrophorn cristam (L.) Gaertn were selected as the plant species.

Mowing increased community stability in semiarid grasslands more than either fencing or grazing.

A substantial body of empirical evidence suggests that anthropogenic disturbance can affect the structure and function of grassland ecosystems. Despite this, few studies have elucidated the mechanisms through which grazing and mowing, the two most widespread land management practices, affect the stability of natural grassland communities. In this study, we draw upon 9 years of field data from natural grasslands in northern China to investigate the effects of gazing and mowing on community stability, specifically focusing on community aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and dominance, which are two major biodiversity mechanisms known to characterize community fluctuations.

High stocking rates effects in continuous season long grazing reduces the contribution of microbial necromass to soil organic carbon in a semi-arid grassland in Inner Mongolia.

Livestock grazing strongly influences the accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) in grasslands. However, whether the changes occurring in SOC content under different intensities of continuous summer long grazing are associated with the changes in microbially-derived necromass C remains unclear. Here, we established a sheep grazing experiment in northern China in 2004 with four different stocking rates.

Study on Modeling and Evaluating Alfalfa Yield and Optimal Water Use Efficiency in the Agro-Pastoral Ecotone of Northern China.

The agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China is the main production area of agriculture and animal husbandry, in which agricultural development relies entirely on groundwater. Due to the increasing water consumption of groundwater year by year, groundwater resources are becoming increasingly scarce. The substantial water demand and low germination rate in the first year are the main characteristics of alfalfa ( L.

Comparison of plant diversity-carbon storage relationships along altitudinal gradients in temperate forests and shrublands.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) is critical for the implementation of productive and resilient ecosystem management. However, the differences in BEF relationships along altitudinal gradients between forests and shrublands are poorly understood, impeding the ability to manage terrestrial ecosystems and promote their carbon sinks. Using data from 37962 trees of 115 temperate forest and 134 shrubland plots of Taihang Mountains Priority Reserve, we analyzed the effects of species diversity, structural diversity, climate factors and soil moisture on carbon storage along altitudinal gradients in temperate forests and shrublands.

Estimation of surface soil moisture by combining a structural equation model and an artificial neural network (SEM-ANN).

Soil moisture is an important variable of the environment that directly affects hydrological, ecological, and climatic processes. However, owing to the influence of soil type, soil structure, topography, vegetation, and human activities, the distribution of soil water content is spatially heterogeneous. It is difficult to accurately monitor the distribution of soil moisture over large areas.

Responses of grassland productivity to mowing intensity and precipitation variability in a temperate steppe.

Mowing for hay is an important land use in grasslands that is affected by precipitation variability, due to the water-limited nature of these ecosystems. Past land use and precipitation conditions can have legacy effects on ecosystem functions, potentially altering responses to both mowing and precipitation. Nonetheless, it is still unclear how natural variation in precipitation will affect plant responses to changes in mowing intensity.

Biodiversity and soil pH regulate the recovery of ecosystem multifunctionality during secondary succession of abandoned croplands in northern China.

The 'Grain-for-Green' program in China provides a valuable opportunity to investigate whether spontaneous restoration can reverse the deterioration of grassland ecosystem functions. Previous studies have focused on individual ecosystem functions, but the response of and mechanisms driving variation in ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) during restoration are poorly understood. Here, we quantified EMF using productivity, nutrient cycling, and water regulation functions along abandoned croplands in a recovery chronosequence (5, 15 and 20 years) and in natural grasslands in the desert steppe and typical steppe.

Assessment of the spatiotemporal characteristics of vegetation water use efficiency in response to drought in Inner Mongolia, China.

Ecosystem water use efficiency (eWUE) can be used to obtain a better comprehension of the ecosystem water-carbon cycle. This study aimed to characterize the regional-scale responses and adaptations of different vegetation categories to drought changes and the spatiotemporal characteristics of WUE and associated drought factors for nine vegetation categories in Inner Mongolia, China, from 2000 to 2020. This study estimated drought, the association between drought and eWUE among varying vegetation categories, and the differences in eWUE between the drought stage and the post-drought stage by analyzing the spatiotemporal variations in eWUE of different vegetation categories based on MODIS ET (evapotranspiration), GPP (gross primary productivity), and temperature vegetation drought index data.