ALBERT

Description: The function of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) depends on the availability of ammonia substrate and the supply of oxygen. The interactions and evolutions of AOA and AOB communities along ecological gradients of substrate availability in complex environment have been much debated, but rarely tested. In this study, two ecosystems of maize and rice crops under different fertilization regimes were selected to investigate the community diversification of soil AOA and AOB in response to long-term field fertilization and flooding management in an acid soil. Real-time quantitative PCR of amoA genes demonstrated that the abundance of AOA was significantly stimulated after conversion of upland to paddy soils, while slight decline of AOB populations was observed. DGGE fingerprints of amoA genes further revealed remarkable changes in community compositions of AOA in paddy soil when compared to upland soil. Sequencing analysis revealed that upland soil was dominated by AOA within the soil group 1.1b lineage, while the marine group 1.1a lineage predominated AOA communities in paddy soils. Irrespective of upland and paddy soils, long-term field fertilizations led to higher abundance of amoA genes of AOA and AOB than control treatment that received no fertilization, whereas archaeal amoA gene abundances outnumbered their bacterial counterpart in all samples. Phylogenetic analyses of amoA genes showed that Nitrosospira cluster 3-like AOB dominated bacterial ammonia oxidizers in both paddy and upland soils, regardless of fertilization treatments. The results of this study suggest that the marine group 1.1a AOA could be better adapted to low-oxygen environment than AOA ecotypes of the soil group 1.1b lineage, and implicate that long-term flooding as the dominant selective force driving the community diversification of AOA populations in the acid soil tested.

Description: Evapotranspiration (ET) was estimated from 1981–2005 over Wushen County located in the Mu Us Sandland, China, by applying the Advection-Aridity model, which is based on the complementary relationship hypothesis. We used National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and meteorological data. Our results show that the estimated daily ET was about 4.5% higher than measurements using an Eddy Covariance (EC) system after forcing energy balance closure over an alfalfa field from 22 July 2004 to 23 August 2004. At a regional scale, the estimated monthly ET was about 8.7% lower than measurements using the EC system after forcing energy balance closure over an alfalfa field in August 2004. These results were about 3.0% higher than ET measurements by microlysimeter over sand dunes during June 1988. From 1981 to 2005, the average annual ET and precipitation levels were 287 mm and 336 mm, respectively, in Wushen County. The average annual ET varied from 230 mm in western parts of Wushen County to 350 mm in eastern parts of the county. Both inter-annual and seasonal variations in ET were substantial in Wushen County. The annual ET was 200–400 mm from 1981–2005, and the seasonal pattern of ET showed a single peak distribution. The cumulative ET during the June–September 2004 period was 250 mm, which was 87% of the total annual ET. The annual ET, precipitation, and the maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVImax) showed positive correlations temporally and spatially.

Description: Evapotranspiration (ET) in Wushen County, located in the Mu Us Sandland of China, was estimated by Advection-Aridity Model based on the complementary relationship hypothesis with reflectance data of NOAA/AVHRR and MODIS, meteorological data etc. from 1981 to 2003. The results have showed that the estimated monthly ET was about 18.9% lower than measurements of Eddy Covariance (EC) system after forcing energy balance closure over forest and grassland, and about 18.7% lower than measurements by microlysimeter over sand dune. From 1981 to 2003, annual ET in Wushen County was between 200 and 310 mm with an average of 252 mm, increasing from west to east spatially. The inter-annual relative variability of ET was between 10% and 24%, decreased from northwest to southeast spatially. Both the inter-annual and seasonal variations of ET were great. Maximum and minimum annual ET could reach 340 mm and 200 mm respectively. The seasonal pattern of ET showed a single peak normal distribution. The cumulative ET during the period (June, July, August and September) was 223 mm, which was 88% of the total annual ET. The relationships between annual ET, precipitation and Normalized Deviation of Vegetation Index (NDVI) showed positive correlations temporally and spatially.

Description: Using two methods of eddy correlation system and evaporation pan to measure respectively the aerodynamic resistance over bare soil surface and maize field, this paper analyses the diurnal variation of the aerodynamic resistance and its relationship with wind speed. Based on direct measurements by eddy correlation system, an evaluation of the aerodynamic resistance models is made. These models include Thom model, Verma-Ronsenberg model, Monteith-Hatfield model, XieXianqun model, Mahrt-Ek model, Choudhury-1 model and Choudhury-2 model. The results show that: the distribution of the aerodynamic resistance takes a "U" type in the daytime and inverse "V" type at night. The aerodynamic resistance is a power function of wind speed. The aerodynamic resistances measured by eddy correlation system are in agreement with those measured by evaporation pan, but big differences occur when the evaporation rate is very small at night or rainy day. Choudhury-1 model, XieXianqun model and Thom model give the better agreement with the measurements by eddy correlation system both over bare soil surface and the maize field, while Mahrt-Ek Model and Monteith-Hatfield model perform worse.

Description: Indigenous broadleaf plantations are increasingly being developed to substitute pure coniferous plantations to increase biodiversity and soil fertility in subtropical China. To assess how plantation types affect soil organic carbon (SOC) chemical composition, we used the solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with cross-polarization and magic-angle spinning (CPMAS-NMR) technique to analyze SOC and litter C chemical compositions in a coniferous (Pinus massoniana) and three broadleaf (Castanopsis hystrix, Michelia macclurei and Mytilaria laosensis) plantations in subtropical China. Soil microbial community composition and biomass were investigated with the phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and chloroform fumigation-extraction methods, respectively. The SOC chemical composition varied with plantation type, with 34% of the SOC found in the alkyl C fraction in the P. massoniana plantation compared to 〈 28% in the broadleaf plantations. The amount of total PLFAs, bacterial and particularly the gram-positive bacterial population size, and microbial C / N ratio were correlated with the alkyl C content and alkyl C / O-alkyl C ratio. However, the soil alkyl C content was not correlated with the recalcitrance of leaf litter or fine roots. We thus suggest that the stable SOC composition could be attributable to the contribution of microbial-derived C compounds, rather than leaf litter or fine root quality or a direct flux of C from recalcitrant litter materials to more stable SOC pools.

Description: The function of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) depends on the major energy-generating compounds (i.e., ammonia and oxygen). The diversification of AOA and AOB communities along ecological gradients of substrate availability in a complex environment have been much debated but rarely tested. In this study, two ecosystems of maize and rice crops under different fertilization regimes were selected to investigate the community diversification of soil AOA and AOB upon conversion of an upland field to a paddy field and long-term field fertilization in an acid soil. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction of ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes demonstrated that the abundance of AOA was significantly stimulated after conversion of upland to paddy soils for more than 100 yr, whereas a slight decline in AOB numbers was observed. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprints of amoA genes further revealed remarkable changes in the community compositions of AOA after conversion of aerobic upland to flooded paddy field. Sequencing analysis revealed that upland soil was dominated by AOA within the soil group 1.1b lineage, whereas the marine group 1.1a-associated lineage predominated in AOA communities in paddy soils. Irrespective of whether the soil was upland or paddy soil, long-term field fertilization led to increased abundance of amoA genes in AOA and AOB compared with control treatments (no fertilization), whereas archaeal amoA gene abundances outnumbered their bacterial counterparts in all samples. Phylogenetic analyses of amoA genes showed that Nitrosospira cluster-3-like AOB dominated bacterial ammonia oxidizers in both paddy and upland soils, regardless of fertilization treatment. The results of this study suggest that the marine group 1.1a-associated AOA will be better adapted to the flooded paddy field than AOA ecotypes of the soil group 1.1b lineage, and indicate that long-term flooding is the dominant selective force driving the community diversification of AOA populations in the acid soil tested.

Description: The NUADU (NeUtral Atom Detector Unit) experiment aboard TC-2 recorded, with high temporal and spatial resolution, 4π solid angle images of electrons (~50-125 keV) spiraling around geomagnetic field lines at high northern magnetic latitudes (L〉10), during its in-orbit commissioning phase (September 2004). The ambient magnetic field, as well as electrons in other energy ranges, were simultaneously measured by the TC-2 magnetometer (FGM), the plasma electron and current experiment (PEACE), the low energy ion detector (LEID) and the high energy electron detector (HEED). The NUADU data showed that up-flowing electron beams could form "ring-like" and "dumbbell-type" pitch angle distributions (PADs) in the region sampled. Changes in these pitch angle distributions due to transient magnetic variations are suggested to have been associated with electron acceleration along the geomagnetic field lines. A nested magnetic bottle configuration that formed due to the propagation towards the Earth of a magnetic pulse, is proposed to have been associated with this process.

Description: A method has been developed for extracting magnetospheric ion distributions from Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) measurements made by the NUADU instrument on the TC-2 spacecraft. Based on a constrained linear inversion, this iterative technique is suitable for use in the case of an ENA image measurement, featuring a sharply peaked spatial distribution. The method allows for magnetospheric ion distributions to be extracted from a low-count ENA image recorded over a short integration time (5 min). The technique is demonstrated through its application to a set of representative ENA images recorded in energy Channel~2 (hydrogen: 50–81 keV, oxygen: 138–185 keV) of the NUADU instrument during a geomagnetic storm. It is demonstrated that this inversion method provides a useful tool for extracting ion distribution information from ENA data that are characterized by high temporal and spatial resolution. The recovered ENA images obtained from inverted ion fluxes match most effectively the measurements made at maximum ENA intensity.

Description: In this study, a parameterization method based on MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data, AVHRR (Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer) data and in situ data is introduced and tested for estimating the regional evaporative fraction Λ over a heterogeneous landscape. As a case study, the algorithm was applied to the Tibetan Plateau (TP) area. Eight MODIS data images (17 January, 14 April, 23 July and 16 October in 2003; 30 January, 15 April, 1 August and 25 October in 2007) and four AVHRR data images (17 January, 14 April, 23 July and 16 October in 2003) were used in this study to compare winter, spring, summer and autumn values and for annual variation analysis. The results were validated using the "ground truth" measured at Tibetan Observation and Research Platform (TORP) and the CAMP/Tibet (CEOP (Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period) Asia-Australia Monsoon Project (CAMP) on the Tibetan Plateau) meteorological stations. The results show that the estimated evaporative fraction Λ in the four different seasons over the TP is in clear accordance with the land surface status. The Λ fractions show a wide range due to the strongly contrasting surface features found on the TP. Also, the estimated Λ values are in good agreement with "ground truth" measurements, and their absolute percentage difference (APD) is less than 10.0% at the validation sites. The AVHRR data were also in agreement with the MODIS data, with the latter usually displaying a higher level of accuracy. It was therefore concluded that the proposed algorithm was successful in retrieving the evaporative fraction Λ using MODIS, AVHRR and in situ data over the TP. MODIS data are the most accurate and should be used widely in evapotranspiration (ET) research in this region.

Description: Parameterizations of aerodynamic resistance to heat and water transfer have a significant impact on the accuracy of models of land – atmosphere interactions and of estimated surface fluxes using spectro-radiometric data collected from aircrafts and satellites. We have used measurements from an eddy correlation system to derive the aerodynamic resistance to heat transfer over a bare soil surface as well as over a maize canopy. Diurnal variations of aerodynamic resistance have been analyzed. The results showed that the diurnal variation of aerodynamic resistance during daytime (07:00 h–18:00 h) was significant for both the bare soil surface and the maize canopy although the range of variation was limited. Based on the measurements made by the eddy correlation system, a comprehensive evaluation of eight popularly used parameterization schemes of aerodynamic resistance was carried out. The roughness length for heat transfer is a crucial parameter in the estimation of aerodynamic resistance to heat transfer and can neither be taken as a constant nor be neglected. Comparing with the measurements, the parameterizations by Choudhury et al. (1986), Viney (1991), Yang et al. (2001) and the modified forms of Verma et al. (1976) and Mahrt and Ek (1984) by inclusion of roughness length for heat transfer gave good agreements with the measurements, while the parameterizations by Hatfield et al. (1983) and Xie (1988) showed larger errors even though the roughness length for heat transfer has been taken into account.