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Balancing human demands for water with environmental requirements to maintain functioning ecosystems requires the quantification of ecological water requirements. In arid regions, high spatial variability of vegetation cover and different water consumption of plant species make it different to estimate reasonable ecological water requirements. We developed a simple and practical approach that estimates the vegetation water requirements (VWRs) of desert riparian ecosystems. This model is species-specific and spatially-explicit; it considers the water consumption characteristics required by different species and highlights the impacts that high vegetation cover spatial variability has in arid regions on evapotranspiration. The model was parameterized based on the observation of the water consumption of two typical desert riparian species, Populus euphratica and Tamarix spp., in the lower basin of the Tarim River in northwestern China. Comparisons between the modeling results and measured data for two mature Populus and Tamarix stands indicate that the model is reasonable predictive. A case study in the lower basin of the Tarim River demonstrated the model’s practicality and transferability. This model could run based on near real-time or forest weather data and spatial vegetation patterns, and provides a continuous estimation of the temporal and spatial variations of the VWR. Particularly, this model forecasts VWRs under different vegetation spatial distribution and coverage scenarios, and evaluates the impacts and consequences of different management actions. This model can serve as a useful tool for management agencies interested in improving their decisions to allocate river water between human activities and natural ecosystems in arid regions.

Evapotranspiration (ET) and its controlling mechanism over the desert riparian forests in arid regions are the important scientific basis for the water resources managements of the lower reaches of the inland rivers of China. Nearly three years of continuous measurements of surface ET, soil water content at different depths and groundwater table over a typical Tamarix spp. stand and a typical Populus euphratica stand were conducted in the lower reach of the Tarim River. The ET seasonal trends in the growing season were controlled by plant phenology, and ET in non-growing season was weak. The diurnal variations of ET resulting from the comprehensive effects of all atmospheric factors were significantly related with reference ET. The spatial pattern of ET was determined by vegetation LAI, more vegetation coverage, more ET amount. Groundwater is the water source of surface ET, and the soil water in shallow layers hardly took part in the water exchange in the groundwater-soil-plant-air system. The temporal processes of ET over the Tamarix stand and the Populus stand were similar, but the water consumption of the well-grown Populus euphratica was higher than that of the well-grown Tamarix spp. Further analysis indicates that plant transpiration accounts for most of the surface ET, with soil evaporation weak and negligible; groundwater table is a crucial factor influencing ET over the desert riparian forests, groundwater influences the processes and amounts of ET by controlling the growth and spatial distribution of desert riparian forests; quantifying the water stress of desert riparian forests using groundwater table is more appropriate, rather than soil water content. Based on the understanding of ET and water movements in the groundwater-soil-plant-air system, a generalized framework expressing the water cycling and its key controlling mechanism in the lower reaches of the inland rivers of China is described, and a simple model to estimate water requirements of the desert riparian forests is presented.

Global climate change has significant impacts on agricultural production. Future climate change will bring important influences to the food security. The CERES-Wheat model was used to simulate the winter wheat growing process and production in Panzhuang Irrigation District (PID) during 2011–2040 under B2 climate scenario based on the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) assumptions with the result of RCMs (Regional Climate Models) projections by PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies) system introduced to China from the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research. The CERES-Wheat model was calibrated and validated with independent field-measured growth data in 2002–2003 and 2007–2008 growing season under current climatic conditions at Yucheng Comprehensive Experimental Station (YCES), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The results show that a significant impact of climate change on crop growth and yield was noted in the PID study area. Average temperature at Yucheng Station rose by 0.86°C for 1961–2008 in general. Under the B2 climate scenario, average temperature rose by 0.55°C for 2011–2040 compared with the baseline period (1998–2008), which drastically shortened the growth period of winter-wheat. However, as the temperature keep increasing after 2030, the top-weight and yield of the winter wheat will turn to decrease. The simulated evapotranspiration shows an increasing trend, although it is not very significant, during 2011–2040. Water use efficiency will increase during 2011–2031, but decrease during 2031–2040. The results indicate that climate change enhances agricultural production in the short-term, whereas continuous increase in temperature limits crop production in the long-term.

The influence of near ground atmosphere CH4 concentration, soil water content, soil Eh, plants, soil temperature, and pH on CH4 uptake flux of Leymus chinensis steppe during rapid growth season was studied using field in-situ measurement in Xilin River basin of Inner Mongolia, China. The results showed that CH4 uptake flux was positively correlated with near ground atmosphere CH4 concentration and soil Eh but negatively correlated with soil water content. Precipitation may decrease the CH4 flux by increasing the soil water content. The average fluxes of three treatments during the observation period were 1.52 (natural conditions, 1.51 (aboveground plants were excluded), and 2.00 mg m−2 d−1 (all plants were removed), respectively. The difference between the CH4 flux of natural condition treatment and that of removing aboveground plants treatment is small, whereas the flux of removing all plants treatment is larger than the other two treatments. This means that the contribution of aboveground plants to CH4 uptake flux is smaller than that of roots or roots-removing process. CH4 uptake flux is not sensitive to soil temperature and the narrow-ranged soil pH (6.36–7.86). The Leymus chinensis steppe acts as a sink for CH4, and thus more studies should be focused on its affecting factors and related mechanisms.

Monsoon circulation is an important carrier of water vapor transport, and it impacts the precipitation of the monsoonal regions through the constraints and controls of large-scale water vapor transport and distributions as well as the water vapor balance. An overall research on stable Hydrogen and Oxygen isotopes in precipitation over Eastern Monsoon China could benefit a comprehensive understanding of the monsoonal precipitation mechanism. Seventeen field stations of the Chinese Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (CHNIP) have been selected to collect monthly composite precipitation samples during the years 2005–2006. Components of δD and δ18O have been analyzed to achieve the spatiotemporal distributions. The established Local Meteoric Water Line δD=7.46δ18O+0.90 based on the 274 obtained monthly samples could be treated as isotope input functions across the region, due to basically reflecting the specific regional meteorological conditions over Eastern Monsoon China. The δ-value depleted from coastal to inner area. In Southern China and Northeastern China there were typical periodic patterns of δ18O. Different dominant affecting metrological factors have been raised with different regions. From south to north, the temperature effect of δ18O enhanced, while the amount effect changed from existing at an all-year-scale in Southern China to being only remarkable during the main rainy seasons in North China and Northeastern China. Main geographical controls varied from altitude in Southern China and North China to latitude in Northeastern China. Furthermore, δ18O had an implication of advance and retreat of the monsoon as well as rainfall belt transfer. δ18O was also a tracer for the movement path of typhoon and tropical storms.

Summer monsoons (South Asian monsoon, South China Sea monsoon and Subtropical monsoon) are prominent features of summertime climate over southern China. Different monsoons carry different inflow moisture into China and control the temporal and spatial distributions of precipitation. Analyses of meteorological data, particularly wind, temperature and pressure anomalies are traditional methods of characterizing moisture sources and transport patterns. Here, we try to utilize the evidence from stable isotopes signatures to trace summer monsoons over southern China. Based on seven CHNIP (Chinese Network of Isotopes in Precipitation) observatory stations located in southern China, monthly composite precipitation samples have been collected and analyzed for the composition of δ18O during July, 2005. The results indicated that the spatial distributions of δ18O in precipitation could properly portray the moisture sources together with their transport pathways. Moreover, the amount effect, altitude effect, temperature effect and the correlation between δ18O vs. relative humidity were discussed.

At present, using Eddy Covariance (EC) method to estimate the “true value” of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystem arrests more attention. However, one issue is how to solve the uncertainty of observations (especially the nighttime CO2 flux data) appearing in post-processing CO2 flux data. The ratio of effective and reliable nighttime EC CO2 flux data to all nighttime data is relatively low (commonly, less than 50%) for all the long-term and continuous observation stations in the world. Thus, the processing method of nighttime CO2 flux data and its effect analysis on estimating CO2 flux annual sums are very important. In this paper, the authors analyze and discuss the reasons for underestimating nighttime CO2 flux using EC method, and introduce the general theory and method for processing nighttime CO2 flux data. By analyzing the relationship between nighttime CO2 flux and air fraction velocity u*, we present an alternate method, Average Values Test (AVT), to determine the thresholds of fraction velocity (u*c) for screening the effective nighttime CO2 flux data. Meanwhile, taking the data observed in Yucheng and Changbai Mountains stations for an example, we analyze and discuss the effects of different methods or parameters on nighttime CO2 flux estimations. Finally, based on the data of part ChinaFLUX stations and related literatures, empirical models of nighttime respiration at different sites in ChinaFLUX are summarized.

Roughness length and zero-plane displacement over three typical surfaces were calculated iteratively by least-square method, which are Yucheng Experimental Station for agriculture surfaces, Qianyanzhou Experimental Station for complex and undulant surfaces, and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station for forest surfaces. On the basis of roughness length dynamic, the effects of roughness length dynamic on fluxes were analyzed with SEBS model. The results indicate that, aerodynamic roughness length changes with vegetation conditions (such as vegetation height, LAI), wind speed, friction velocity and some other factors. In Yucheng and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station, aerodynamic roughness length over the fetch of flux tower changes with vegetation height and LAI obviously, that is, with the increase of LAI, roughness length increases to the peak value firstly, and then decreases. In Qianyanzhou Experimental Station, LAI changes slightly, so the relationship between roughness length and LAI is not obvious. The aerodynamic roughness length of Yucheng and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station changes slightly with wind direction, while aerodynamic roughness length of Qianyanzhou Experimental Station changes obviously with wind direction. The reason for that is the terrain in Yucheng and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station is relatively flat, while in Qianyanzhou Experimental Station the terrain is very undulant and heterogeneous. With the increase of wind speed, aerodynamic roughness length of Yucheng Experimental Station changes slightly, while it decreases obviously in Qianyanzhou Experimental Station and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station. Roughness length dynamic takes great effects on fluxes calculation, and the effects are analyzed by SEBS model. By comparing 1 day averaged roughness length in Yucheng Experimental Station and 5 day averaged roughness length of Qianyanzhou and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station with roughness length parameter chosen by the model, the effects of roughness length dynamic on flux calculation is analyzed. The maximum effect of roughness length dynamic on sensible heat flux is 2.726%, 33.802% and 18.105%, in Yucheng, Qianyanzhou, and Changbai Mountains experimental stations, respectively.