scholarly journals Timing of Drought Affected the Growth, Physiology, and Mortality of Mongolian Pine Saplings

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1491
Author(s):  
Hui Qian ◽  
Ai-Mei Dong ◽  
Marja Roitto ◽  
Di-Ying Xiang ◽  
Gang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soluble Sugars ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Growth Physiology ◽  
Diameter Increment ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Root And Shoot Growth ◽  
The Face

Background and Objectives: More frequent and severe droughts are occurring due to climate change in northern China. In addition to intensity and duration, the timing of droughts may be decisive for its impacts on tree growth, mortality, and the whole forest ecosystem. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of drought occurring in the early- and mid-growing season on the growth and physiology of Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv.) saplings. Materials and Methods: Four-year-old container saplings that were about to sprout were exposed to three treatments: (i) regular irrigation throughout the growing season (CTRL), (ii) no irrigation in the early growing season (weeks 1–5) followed by regular irrigation (EGD), (iii) no irrigation in the mid growing season (weeks 5–10), and regular irrigation in the early and late growing season (MGD). We measured the root and shoot growth, sapling mortality, and the physiological changes in the roots and needles periodically. Results: Drought in the mid growing season was more harmful than in the early growing season in terms of chlorophyll fluorescence, electrolyte leakage of needles, needle length, stem diameter increment, and sapling mortality. The high mortality in the mid growing season might be attributed to the joint effect of drought and high temperature. Drought in the early growing season decreased root growth, and the starch and soluble sugars in roots as much as the drought in the mid growing season. Abscisic acid concentration increased in fine roots, but decreased in old needles after drought. Conclusions: Special attention should be paid on forest sites susceptible to drought during afforestation in the face of ongoing climate change.

scholarly journals Farming in the time of pandemic: Small farms demonstrate flexibility, innovation, and hope

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Nora White
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food System ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Small Farmers ◽  
Small Farms ◽  
Community Assets ◽  
Safety Concerns ◽  
Community Resiliency ◽  
The Face

The COVID-19 pandemic affected small farmers in the 2020 growing season as they navigated how to maintain their businesses while meeting health and safety concerns. Through interviews with Ellis Creek Farm and Riverbend Ranch, two small farms in Thurston County, Washington, I explore the impacts of the pandemic, the need for flexibility, and the unique challenges and adaptations these farms employed early in the pandemic to stay afloat. These stories are valuable community assets because hearing directly from farmers about their experiences, challenges, and plans is a way to gain insight and learn. In the face of crises such as a pandemic or climate change, a changed food system that includes small farms is necessary for community resiliency.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Thermal Growing Season Indices for the Northern China during 1961–2015

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Linli Cui ◽  
Jun Shi ◽  
Yue Ma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Important Influence ◽  
Vegetation Phenology ◽  
Selection Of

Vegetation phenology is one of the most direct and sensitive indicators of terrestrial ecosystem in response to climate change. Based on daily mean air temperature at 877 meteorological stations over northern China from 1961 to 2015, the correlations and differences for different definitions of the growing season parameters (start, end, and length of the growing season) were investigated, and results show that higher correlations of 0.81–0.93 are found when indices which do not consider frost are compared with those of the same length which include the frost criteria, and lower correlations of 0.63–0.79 are observed when the length of indices is different and one of the indices includes the frost criteria or EI 3 (10 d < 5°C) is included. Lower correlations and larger differences are generally observed in the eastern and northwestern parts while higher correlation and smaller difference appeared in the northeastern and southwestern parts of northern China; thus the applicability comparison and selection of different definitions have important influence on the identifying and counting of the timing and length of the growing season in the eastern and northwestern regions of northern China.

scholarly journals Climate Change Impacts on Winter Wheat Yield in Northern China

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiu Geng ◽  
Fang Wang ◽  
Wei Ren ◽  
Zhixin Hao
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Winter Wheat Yield ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Exploring the impacts of climate change on agriculture is one of important topics with respect to climate change. We quantitatively examined the impacts of climate change on winter wheat yield in Northern China using the Cobb–Douglas production function. Utilizing time-series data of agricultural production and meteorological observations from 1981 to 2016, the impacts of climatic factors on wheat production were assessed. It was found that the contribution of climatic factors to winter wheat yield per unit area (WYPA) was 0.762–1.921% in absolute terms. Growing season average temperature (GSAT) had a negative impact on WYPA for the period of 1981–2016. A 1% increase in GSAT could lead to a loss of 0.109% of WYPA when the other factors were constant. While growing season precipitation (GSP) had a positive impact on WYPA, as a 1% increase in GSP could result in 0.186% increase in WYPA, other factors kept constant. Then, the impacts on WYPA for the period 2021–2050 under two different emissions scenarios RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 were forecasted. For the whole study area, GSAT is projected to increase 1.37°C under RCP4.5 and 1.54°C under RCP8.5 for the period 2021–2050, which will lower the average WYPA by 1.75% and 1.97%, respectively. GSP is tended to increase by 17.31% under RCP4.5 and 22.22% under RCP8.5 and will give a rise of 3.22% and 4.13% in WYPA. The comprehensive effect of GSAT and GSP will increase WYPA by 1.47% under RCP4.5 and 2.16% under RCP8.5.

scholarly journals Phenology Response to Climatic Dynamic across China’s Grasslands from 1985 to 2010

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Wang ◽  
Tiancai Zhou ◽  
Peihao Peng
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Plant Phenology ◽  
Meadow Steppe ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Alpine Steppe

Because the dynamics of phenology in response to climate change may be diverse in different grasslands, quantifying how climate change influences plant growth in different grasslands across northern China should be particularly informative. In this study, we explored the spatiotemporal variation of the phenology (start of the growing season [SOS], peak of the growing season [POS], end of the growing season [EOS], and length of the growing season [LOS]) across China’s grasslands using a dataset of the GIMMS3g normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, 1985–2010), and determined the effects of the annual mean temperature (AMT) and annual mean precipitation (AMP) on the significantly changed phenology. We found that the SOS, POS, and EOS advanced at the rates of 0.54 days/year, 0.64 days/year, and 0.65 days/year, respectively; the LOS was shortened at a rate of 0.62 days/year across China’s grasslands. Additionally, the AMT combined with the AMP explained the different rates (ER) for the significantly dynamic SOS in the meadow steppe (R2 = 0.26, p = 0.007, ER = 12.65%) and typical steppe (R2 = 0.28, p = 0.005, ER = 32.52%); the EOS in the alpine steppe (R2 = 0.16, p < 0.05, ER = 6.22%); and the LOS in the alpine (R2 = 0.20, p < 0.05, ER = 6.06%), meadow (R2 = 0.18, p < 0.05, ER = 16.69%) and typical (R2 = 0.18, p < 0.05, ER = 19.58%) steppes. Our findings demonstrated that the plant phenology in different grasslands presented discrepant dynamic patterns, highlighting the fact that climate change has played an important role in the variation of the plant phenology across China’s grasslands, and suggested that the variation and relationships between the climatic factors and phenology in different grasslands should be explored further in the future.

scholarly journals Precipitation Gradient Drives Divergent Relationship between Non-Structural Carbohydrates and Water Availability in Pinus tabulaeformis of Northern China

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Bingyan Hao ◽  
Henrik Hartmann ◽  
Yuanqiao Li ◽  
Hongyan Liu ◽  
Fangzhong Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Availability ◽  
Soluble Sugars ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Pinus Tabulaeformis ◽  
Precipitation Gradient ◽  
Coarse Roots ◽  
Structural Carbohydrate ◽  
Pinus Tabulaeformis Carr ◽  
Water Limitations

Seasonal non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) dynamics in different organs can indicate the strategies trees use to cope with water stress; however, these dynamics remain poorly understood along a large precipitation gradient. In this study, we hypothesized that the correlation between water availability and NSC concentrations in different organs might be strengthened by decreasing precipitation in Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. forests in temperate China. Our results show that the concentrations of soluble sugars were lower in stems and coarse roots, and starch was higher in branches in the early growing season at drier sites. Throughout the growing season, the concentrations of soluble sugars increased in drier sites, especially for leaves, and remained stable in wetter sites, while starch concentrations were relatively stable in branches and stems at all sites. The NSC concentrations, mainly starch, decreased in coarse roots along the growing season at drier sites. Trees have a faster growth rate with an earlier cessation in active stem growth at drier sites. Interestingly, we also found a divergent relationship between NSCs in different organs and mean growing season water availability, and a stronger correlation was observed in drier sites. These results show that pine forests in arid and semi-arid regions of northern China exhibit different physiological responses to water availability, improving our understanding of the adaptive mechanisms of trees to water limitations in a warmer and drier climate.

Climate change: making decisions in the face of deep uncertainty

Nature ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 580 (7804) ◽  
pp. 456-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Lawrence ◽  
Marjolijn Haasnoot ◽  
Robert Lempert
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Deep Uncertainty ◽  
The Face

Restoring whitebark pine ecosystems in the face of climate change

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Keane ◽  
Lisa M. Holsinger ◽  
Mary F. Mahalovich ◽  
Diana F. Tomback
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
The Face

Water scarcity and sustainability in the arid area of North America: Insights gained from a cross border perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Yáñez-Arancibia ◽  
John W. Day
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North America ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Arid Area ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Sharp Focus ◽  
The Face

The arid border region that encompasses the American Southwest and the Mexican northwest is an area where the nexus of water scarcity and climate change in the face of growing human demands for water, emerging energy scarcity, and economic change comes into sharp focus.

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