Institute of Soil and Water Conservation

Abstract. Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions andtheir redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biospherein a changing climate is critical to better understand the global carboncycle, support the development of climate policies, and project futureclimate change. Here we describe and synthesize data sets and methodologies toquantify the five major components of the global carbon budget and theiruncertainties. Fossil CO2 emissions (EFOS) are based on energystatistics and cement production data, while emissions from land-use change(ELUC), mainly deforestation, are based on land use and land-use changedata and bookkeeping models. Atmospheric CO2 concentration is measureddirectly, and its growth rate (GATM) is computed from the annualchanges in concentration. The ocean CO2 sink (SOCEAN) is estimatedwith global ocean biogeochemistry models and observation-baseddata products. The terrestrial CO2 sink (SLAND) is estimated withdynamic global vegetation models. The resulting carbon budget imbalance(BIM), the difference between the estimated total emissions and theestimated changes in the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere, is ameasure of imperfect data and understanding of the contemporary carboncycle. All uncertainties are reported as ±1σ. For the year 2021, EFOS increased by 5.1 % relative to 2020, withfossil emissions at 10.1 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1 (9.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1 when the cement carbonation sink is included), and ELUC was 1.1 ± 0.7 GtC yr−1, for a total anthropogenic CO2 emission(including the cement carbonation sink) of 10.9 ± 0.8 GtC yr−1(40.0 ± 2.9 GtCO2). Also, for 2021, GATM was 5.2 ± 0.2 GtC yr−1 (2.5 ± 0.1 ppm yr−1), SOCEAN was 2.9 ± 0.4 GtC yr−1, and SLAND was 3.5 ± 0.9 GtC yr−1, with aBIM of −0.6 GtC yr−1 (i.e. the total estimated sources were too low orsinks were too high). The global atmospheric CO2 concentration averaged over2021 reached 414.71 ± 0.1 ppm. Preliminary data for 2022 suggest anincrease in EFOS relative to 2021 of +1.0 % (0.1 % to 1.9 %)globally and atmospheric CO2 concentration reaching 417.2 ppm, morethan 50 % above pre-industrial levels (around 278 ppm). Overall, the meanand trend in the components of the global carbon budget are consistentlyestimated over the period 1959–2021, but discrepancies of up to 1 GtC yr−1 persist for the representation of annual to semi-decadalvariability in CO2 fluxes. Comparison of estimates from multipleapproaches and observations shows (1) a persistent large uncertainty in theestimate of land-use change emissions, (2) a low agreement between thedifferent methods on the magnitude of the land CO2 flux in the northernextratropics, and (3) a discrepancy between the different methods on thestrength of the ocean sink over the last decade. This living data updatedocuments changes in the methods and data sets used in this new globalcarbon budget and the progress in understanding of the global carbon cyclecompared with previous publications of this data set. The data presented inthis work are available at https://doi.org/10.18160/GCP-2022 (Friedlingstein et al., 2022b).

Abstract. High-spatial-resolution and long-term climate data are highly desirable for understanding climate-related natural processes. China covers a large area with a low density of weather stations in some (e.g., mountainous) regions. This study describes a 0.5′ (∼ 1 km) dataset of monthly air temperatures at 2 m (minimum, maximum, and mean proxy monthly temperatures, TMPs) and precipitation (PRE) for China in the period of 1901–2017. The dataset was spatially downscaled from the 30′ Climatic Research Unit (CRU) time series dataset with the climatology dataset of WorldClim using delta spatial downscaling and evaluated using observations collected in 1951–2016 by 496 weather stations across China. Prior to downscaling, we evaluated the performances of the WorldClim data with different spatial resolutions and the 30′ original CRU dataset using the observations, revealing that their qualities were overall satisfactory. Specifically, WorldClim data exhibited better performance at higher spatial resolution, while the 30′ original CRU dataset had low biases and high performances. Bicubic, bilinear, and nearest-neighbor interpolation methods employed in downscaling processes were compared, and bilinear interpolation was found to exhibit the best performance to generate the downscaled dataset. Compared with the evaluations of the 30′ original CRU dataset, the mean absolute error of the new dataset (i.e., of the 0.5′ dataset downscaled by bilinear interpolation) decreased by 35.4 %–48.7 % for TMPs and by 25.7 % for PRE. The root-mean-square error decreased by 32.4 %–44.9 % for TMPs and by 25.8 % for PRE. The Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients increased by 9.6 %–13.8 % for TMPs and by 31.6 % for PRE, and correlation coefficients increased by 0.2 %–0.4 % for TMPs and by 5.0 % for PRE. The new dataset could provide detailed climatology data and annual trends of all climatic variables across China, and the results could be evaluated well using observations at the station. Although the new dataset was not evaluated before 1950 owing to data unavailability, the quality of the new dataset in the period of 1901–2017 depended on the quality of the original CRU and WorldClim datasets. Therefore, the new dataset was reliable, as the downscaling procedure further improved the quality and spatial resolution of the CRU dataset and was concluded to be useful for investigations related to climate change across China. The dataset presented in this article has been published in the Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3114194 for precipitation (Peng, 2019a) and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3185722 for air temperatures at 2 m (Peng, 2019b) and includes 156 NetCDF files compressed in zip format and one user guidance text file.

ABSTRACT As one of the best‐known areas in the world, the Loess Plateau, has long been suffering from serious soil erosion. The present paper reviewed the historical variation of climate, vegetation cover, and environment changes in order to understand the causes of severe soil erosion. Documentary evidence indicated that climate changes and vegetation cover were the dominant natural factors influencing the soil erosion rates during the Holocene. Intensive human activities consisting of warfare, population growth, deforestation, and soil and water conservation measures were responsible for the changes of soil erosion during the anthropogenic period. Spatial and temporal changes of specific sediment yields presented significant decrease within the last several decades, which resulted from decreasing rainfall, large scale soil and water conservation measures, agricultural irrigation, and reservoir construction. Different phase of soil conservation measures demonstrated the development of policies and techniques on soil erosion control. Effective strategies of soil and water conservation, consisting of terracing, afforestation, natural rehabilitation, and check‐dams construction, were carried out on the Loess Plateau during the past six decades. The progress of soil conservation measures confirmed that the check‐dams systems might be suitable for Loess hilly Plateau, and natural vegetation rehabilitation is the best way for soil erosion control and should be implemented in other regions with emphasis of improving the quality of conservation measures based on natural rehabilitation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Leaf size varies by over a 100,000-fold among species worldwide. Although 19th-century plant geographers noted that the wet tropics harbor plants with exceptionally large leaves, the latitudinal gradient of leaf size has not been well quantified nor the key climatic drivers convincingly identified. Here, we characterize worldwide patterns in leaf size. Large-leaved species predominate in wet, hot, sunny environments; small-leaved species typify hot, sunny environments only in arid conditions; small leaves are also found in high latitudes and elevations. By modeling the balance of leaf energy inputs and outputs, we show that daytime and nighttime leaf-to-air temperature differences are key to geographic gradients in leaf size. This knowledge can enrich "next-generation" vegetation models in which leaf temperature and water use during photosynthesis play key roles.

Water is vital for plant growth and development. Water-deficit stress, permanent or temporary, limits the growth and the distribution of natural vegetation and the performance of cultivated plants more than any other environmental factors do. Although research and practices aimed at improving water-stress resistance and water-use efficiency have been carried out for many years, the mechanism involved is still not clear. Further understanding and manipulating plant-water relations and water-stress tolerance at the scale of physiology and molecular biology can significantly improve plant productivity and environmental quality. Currently, post-genomics and metabolomics are very important to explore anti-drought gene resource in different life forms, but modern agricultural sustainable development must be combined with plant physiological measures in the field, on the basis of which post-genomics and metabolomics will have further a practical prospect. In this review, we discussed the anatomical changes and drought-tolerance strategies under drought condition in higher plants.

China's terrestrial ecosystems have functioned as important carbon sinks. However, previous estimates of carbon budgets have included large uncertainties owing to the limitations of sample size, multiple data sources, and inconsistent methodologies. In this study, we conducted an intensive field campaign involving 14,371 field plots to investigate all sectors of carbon stocks in China's forests, shrublands, grasslands, and croplands to better estimate the regional and national carbon pools and to explore the biogeographical patterns and potential drivers of these pools. The total carbon pool in these four ecosystems was 79.24 ± 2.42 Pg C, of which 82.9% was stored in soil (to a depth of 1 m), 16.5% in biomass, and 0.60% in litter. Forests, shrublands, grasslands, and croplands contained 30.83 ± 1.57 Pg C, 6.69 ± 0.32 Pg C, 25.40 ± 1.49 Pg C, and 16.32 ± 0.41 Pg C, respectively. When all terrestrial ecosystems are taken into account, the country's total carbon pool is 89.27 ± 1.05 Pg C. The carbon density of the forests, shrublands, and grasslands exhibited a strong correlation with climate: it decreased with increasing temperature but increased with increasing precipitation. Our analysis also suggests a significant sequestration potential of 1.9-3.4 Pg C in forest biomass in the next 10-20 years assuming no removals, mainly because of forest growth. Our results update the estimates of carbon pools in China's terrestrial ecosystems based on direct field measurements, and these estimates are essential to the validation and parameterization of carbon models in China and globally.

Significance China has launched six key ecological restoration projects since the late 1970s, but the contribution of these projects to terrestrial C sequestration remains unknown. In this study we examined the ecosystem C sink in the project area (∼16% of the country’s land area) and evaluated the project-induced C sequestration. The total annual C sink in the project area between 2001 and 2010 was estimated to be 132 Tg C per y, over half of which (74 Tg C per y, 56%) was caused by the implementation of the six projects. This finding indicates that the implementation of the ecological restoration projects in China has significantly increased ecosystem C sequestration across the country.

The establishment of either forest or grassland on degraded cropland has been proposed as an effective method for climate change mitigation because these land use types can increase soil carbon (C) stocks. This paper synthesized 135 recent publications (844 observations at 181 sites) focused on the conversion from cropland to grassland, shrubland or forest in China, better known as the 'Grain-for-Green' Program to determine which factors were driving changes to soil organic carbon (SOC). The results strongly indicate a positive impact of cropland conversion on soil C stocks. The temporal pattern for soil C stock changes in the 0-100 cm soil layer showed an initial decrease in soil C during the early stage (<5 years), and then an increase to net C gains (>5 years) coincident with vegetation restoration. The rates of soil C change were higher in the surface profile (0-20 cm) than in deeper soil (20-100 cm). Cropland converted to forest (arbor) had the additional benefit of a slower but more persistent C sequestration capacity than shrubland or grassland. Tree species played a significant role in determining the rate of change in soil C stocks (conifer < broadleaf, evergreen < deciduous forests). Restoration age was the main factor, not temperature and precipitation, affecting soil C stock change after cropland conversion with higher initial soil C stock sites having a negative effect on soil C accumulation. Soil C sequestration significantly increased with restoration age over the long-term, and therefore, the large scale of land-use change under the 'Grain-for-Green' Program will significantly increase China's C stocks.

Despite evidence from experimental grasslands that plant diversity increases biomass production and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, it remains unclear whether this is true in natural ecosystems, especially under climatic variations and human disturbances. Based on field observations from 6,098 forest, shrubland, and grassland sites across China and predictions from an integrative model combining multiple theories, we systematically examined the direct effects of climate, soils, and human impacts on SOC storage versus the indirect effects mediated by species richness (SR), aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), and belowground biomass (BB). We found that favorable climates (high temperature and precipitation) had a consistent negative effect on SOC storage in forests and shrublands, but not in grasslands. Climate favorability, particularly high precipitation, was associated with both higher SR and higher BB, which had consistent positive effects on SOC storage, thus offsetting the direct negative effect of favorable climate on SOC. The indirect effects of climate on SOC storage depended on the relationships of SR with ANPP and BB, which were consistently positive in all biome types. In addition, human disturbance and soil pH had both direct and indirect effects on SOC storage, with the indirect effects mediated by changes in SR, ANPP, and BB. High soil pH had a consistently negative effect on SOC storage. Our findings have important implications for improving global carbon cycling models and ecosystem management: Maintaining high levels of diversity can enhance soil carbon sequestration and help sustain the benefits of plant diversity and productivity.

To gain a better understanding of the global application of soil erosion prediction models, we comprehensively reviewed relevant peer-reviewed research literature on soil-erosion modelling published between 1994 and 2017. We aimed to identify (i) the processes and models most frequently addressed in the literature, (ii) the regions within which models are primarily applied, (iii) the regions which remain unaddressed and why, and (iv) how frequently studies are conducted to validate/evaluate model outcomes relative to measured data. To perform this task, we combined the collective knowledge of 67 soil-erosion scientists from 25 countries. The resulting database, named 'Global Applications of Soil Erosion Modelling Tracker (GASEMT)', includes 3030 individual modelling records from 126 countries, encompassing all continents (except Antarctica). Out of the 8471 articles identified as potentially relevant, we reviewed 1697 appropriate articles and systematically evaluated and transferred 42 relevant attributes into the database. This GASEMT database provides comprehensive insights into the state-of-the-art of soil- erosion models and model applications worldwide. This database intends to support the upcoming country-based United Nations global soil-erosion assessment in addition to helping to inform soil erosion research priorities by building a foundation for future targeted, in-depth analyses. GASEMT is an open-source database available to the entire user-community to develop research, rectify errors, and make future expansions.

However, the SOC change differed among the major agricultural regions: SOC increased in all major agronomic regions except in Northeast China. The SOC sequestration was largely attributed to increased organic inputs driven by economics and policy: while higher root biomass resulting from enhanced crop productivity by chemical fertilizers predominated before 2000, higher residue inputs following the large-scale implementation of crop straw/stover return policy took over thereafter. The SOC change was negatively related to N inputs in East China, suggesting that the excessive N inputs, plus the shallowness of plow layers, may constrain the future C sequestration in Chinese croplands. Our results indicate that cropland SOC sequestration can be achieved through effectively manipulating economic and policy incentives to farmers.

Abstract Maize is a sensitive crop to drought and heat stresses, particularly at the reproductive stages of development. The present study investigated the individual and interactive effects of drought (50% field capacity) and heat (38 °C/30 °C) stresses on morpho-physiological growth, yield, nutrient uptake and oxidative metabolism in two maize hybrids i.e., ‘Xida 889’ and ‘Xida 319’. The stress treatments were applied at tasseling stage for 15 days. Drought, heat and drought + heat stress caused oxidative stress by the over-production of ROS (O 2− , H 2 O 2 , OH − ) and enhanced malondialdehyde contents, which led to reduced photosynthetic components, nutrients uptake and yield attributes. The concurrent occurrence of drought and heat was more severe for maize growth than the single stress. However, both stresses induced the metabolites accumulation and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants to prevent the oxidative damage. The performance of Xida 899 was more prominent than the Xida 319. The greater tolerance of Xida 889 to heat and drought stresses was attributed to strong antioxidant defense system, higher osmolyte accumulation, and maintenance of photosynthetic pigments and nutrient balance compared with Xida 319.

The apple target recognition algorithm is one of the core technologies of the apple picking robot. However, most of the existing apple detection algorithms cannot distinguish between the apples that are occluded by tree branches and occluded by other apples. The apples, grasping end-effector and mechanical picking arm of the robot are very likely to be damaged if the algorithm is directly applied to the picking robot. Based on this practical problem, in order to automatically recognize the graspable and ungraspable apples in an apple tree image, a light-weight apple targets detection method was proposed for picking robot using improved YOLOv5s. Firstly, BottleneckCSP module was improved designed to BottleneckCSP-2 module which was used to replace the BottleneckCSP module in backbone architecture of original YOLOv5s network. Secondly, SE module, which belonged to the visual attention mechanism network, was inserted to the proposed improved backbone network. Thirdly, the bonding fusion mode of feature maps, which were inputs to the target detection layer of medium size in the original YOLOv5s network, were improved. Finally, the initial anchor box size of the original network was improved. The experimental results indicated that the graspable apples, which were unoccluded or only occluded by tree leaves, and the ungraspable apples, which were occluded by tree branches or occluded by other fruits, could be identified effectively using the proposed improved network model in this study. Specifically, the recognition recall, precision, mAP and F1 were 91.48%, 83.83%, 86.75% and 87.49%, respectively. The average recognition time was 0.015 s per image. Contrasted with original YOLOv5s, YOLOv3, YOLOv4 and EfficientDet-D0 model, the mAP of the proposed improved YOLOv5s model increased by 5.05%, 14.95%, 4.74% and 6.75% respectively, the size of the model compressed by 9.29%, 94.6%, 94.8% and 15.3% respectively. The average recognition speeds per image of the proposed improved YOLOv5s model were 2.53, 1.13 and 3.53 times of EfficientDet-D0, YOLOv4 and YOLOv3 and model, respectively. The proposed method can provide technical support for the real-time accurate detection of multiple fruit targets for the apple picking robot.

Abstract Terrestrial ecosystems play a significant role in the global carbon cycle and offset a large fraction of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. The terrestrial carbon sink is increasing, yet the mechanisms responsible for its enhancement, and implications for the growth rate of atmospheric CO 2 , remain unclear. Here using global carbon budget estimates, ground, atmospheric and satellite observations, and multiple global vegetation models, we report a recent pause in the growth rate of atmospheric CO 2 , and a decline in the fraction of anthropogenic emissions that remain in the atmosphere, despite increasing anthropogenic emissions. We attribute the observed decline to increases in the terrestrial sink during the past decade, associated with the effects of rising atmospheric CO 2 on vegetation and the slowdown in the rate of warming on global respiration. The pause in the atmospheric CO 2 growth rate provides further evidence of the roles of CO 2 fertilization and warming-induced respiration, and highlights the need to protect both existing carbon stocks and regions, where the sink is growing rapidly.

Abstract The effects of electrolyte concentration and soil sodicity on the infiltration rate and extent of crust formation of a calcareous and a noncalcareous soil were studied using a rain simulator. The infiltration rate was more sensitive to the sodicity of the soil and to the electrolyte concentration of the applied water than was the permeability of the underlying soil. The mechanical impact of the raindrops and the relative freedom for particle movement at the soil surface may account for the greater sensitivity of the infiltration rate. These observations suggest that crust formation is due to two mechanisms: (i) a physical dispersion of soil aggregates caused by the impact action of the raindrops, and (ii) a chemical dispersion which depends on the soil exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) and the electrolyte concentration of the applied water.

To control the severe soil erosion in the Loess Plateau, China, a great number of soil conservation measures including terracing, afforestation, and construction of sediment‐trapping dams have been implemented since the 1950s. These measures have resulted in large‐scale land use and land cover change. It is important to evaluate the impacts of these soil conservation measures on streamflow as streamflow is an important determinant on catchment sediment yield and obviously is related to water security in the region. In this study, data from 11 catchments in the Loess Plateau were analyzed to investigate the responses of streamflow to the land use/cover changes. The nonparametric Mann‐Kendall test and the Pettitt test were used to identify trends and change points in the streamflow records. All 11 catchments had significant negative trend in annual streamflow of −0.13 to −1.58 mm a −1 . Change points in streamflow occurred between 1971 and 1985. A method was employed to evaluate the impacts of climate variability and land use/cover changes on mean annual streamflow on the basis of precipitation and potential evaporation. It was estimated that the land use/cover changes accounted for over 50% of the reduction in mean annual streamflow in 8 out of the 11 catchments. However, climate (i.e., precipitation and potential evaporation) played a more important role in reducing the streamflow in the three remaining catchments. Among the soil conservation measures, construction of sediment‐trapping dams and reservoirs, with associated irrigation water extractions from the latter, appeared to be the main cause of the reduced streamflow.

Water is vital for plant growth, development and productivity. Permanent or temporary water deficit stress limits the growth and distribution of natural and artificial vegetation and the performance of cultivated plants (crops) more than any other environmental factor. Productive and sustainable agriculture necessitates growing plants (crops) in arid and semiarid regions with less input of precious resources such as fresh water. For a better understanding and rapid improvement of soil-water stress tolerance in these regions, especially in the water-wind eroded crossing region, it is very important to link physiological and biochemical studies to molecular work in genetically tractable model plants and important native plants, and further extending them to practical ecological restoration and efficient crop production. Although basic studies and practices aimed at improving soil water stress resistance and plant water use efficiency have been carried out for many years, the mechanisms involved at different scales are still not clear. Further understanding and manipulating soil-plant water relationships and soil-water stress tolerance at the scales of ecology, physiology and molecular biology can significantly improve plant productivity and environmental quality. Currently, post-genomics and metabolomics are very important in exploring anti-drought gene resources in various life forms, but modern agriculturally sustainable development must be combined with plant physiological measures in the field, on the basis of which post-genomics and metabolomics have further practical prospects. In this review, we discuss physiological and molecular insights and effects in basic plant metabolism, drought tolerance strategies under drought conditions in higher plants for sustainable agriculture and ecoenvironments in arid and semiarid areas of the world. We conclude that biological measures are the bases for the solutions to the issues relating to the different types of sustainable development.

Abstract Percolation of a one‐dimensional wetting front in homogeneous soil is known to be stable. On the other hand, in a layered soil whose upper layer is finer and less conductive than the coarser layer beneath, the wetting front becomes unstable and breaks into narrow wetting columns, or “fingers,” in which flow is three‐dimensional. The instability originates at the interface but takes some time to develop, hence the wetting fingers appear some distance below the interface. The fingers move downward at a velocity equal to the saturated conductivity divided by the saturated volumetric water content of the bottom layer. The fingers consist of a saturated inner core percolating downward surrounded by an unsaturated outer layer. Experimental results indicate that the width of the fingers is independent of the flow rate and of irregularities at the interface. The number of fingers per unit area of interface is directly proportional to the flow rate. Instability of the wetting front in layered soil following rain or irrigation makes it possible for smaller volumes of water to penetrate deeper than would have been possible had the wetting front remained stable.

Main antioxidants in higher plants include glutathione, ascorbate, tocopherol, proline, betaine, and others, which are also information-rich redox buffers and important redox signaling components that interact with biomembrane-related compartments. As an evolutionary consequence of aerobic life for higher plants, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are formed by partial reduction of molecular oxygen. The above enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in higher plants can protect their cells from oxidative damage by scavenging ROS. In addition to crucial roles in defense system and as enzyme cofactors, antioxidants influence higher plant growth and development by modifying processes from mitosis and cell elongation to senescence and death. Most importantly, they provide essential information on cellular redox state, and regulate gene expression associated with biotic and abiotic stress responses to optimize defense and survival. An overview of the literature is presented in terms of main antioxidants and redox signaling in plant cells. Special attention is given to ROS and ROS-antioxidant interaction as a metabolic interface for different types of signals derived from metabolism and from the changing environment, which regulates the appropriate induction of acclimation processes or, execution of cell death programs, which are the two essential directions for higher plants.

Empirical soil erosion models continue to play an important role in soil conservation planning and environmental evaluations around the world. The effect of hillslope length on soil loss, often termed the slope length factor , is one of the main and most variable components of any empirical model. In the most widely used model, the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), normalized soil loss, L , is expressed as a power function of slope length, λ, as , in which the slope exponent, m , is 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 for different, increasing slope gradients. In the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), the exponent, m , is defined as a continuous function of slope gradient and the expected ratio of rill to interrill erosion. When the slope gradient is 60% and the ratio of rill to interrill erosion is classified as moderate, the exponent m has the value of 0.71 in RUSLE, as compared with 0.5 for the USLE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between soil loss and slope length for slopes up to 60% in steepness. Soil loss data from natural runoff plots at three locations on the Loess Plateau in China and data from a previous study were used. The results indicated that the exponent, m , for the relationship between soil loss and the slope length for the combined data from the three stations in the Loess Plateau was For the data as a whole, the exponent did not increase as slope steepness increased from 20 to 60%. We also found that the value of m was greater for intense storms than for less intense storms. These experimental data indicate that the USLE exponent, , is more appropriate for steep slopes than is the RUSLE exponent, and that the slope length exponent varies as a function of rainfall intensity.