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The dry and windy climate and low ground cover in spring in the black soil region of Northeast China make the soil strongly affected by wind erosion, which seriously threatens the food security and ecological security of this region. In this paper, based on the daily observation data of 124 meteorological stations in study area from 1961 to 2020, seasonal and monthly wind erosion climate factor (C) in spring (March to May) were calculated by using the method proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the wind erosion characterization in spring were systematically analyzed based on C by various statistical analysis methods. The results showed that in the past 60 years, spring wind erosion climate factor (CSp) and monthly C of the whole region and each province (region) all showed highly significant decreasing trend, but they began to show rebounded trend in the middle or late 2000s. CSp of the study area showed a significant upward trend since 2008 with an increase of 4.59 (10a)−1. The main contributors to this upward trend are the changes of C in March and in April. For the four provinces (regions), CSp in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and eastern Inner Mongolia all showed rebounded since 2008, 2011, 2008 and 2009, respectively. The rebounded trend of CSp in eastern Inner Mongolia was the most obvious with a tendency rate of 11.27 (10a)−1, and its mutation occurred after 1984. The rebound trend of CSp in Heilongjiang Province takes the second place, with a trend rate of 4.72 (10a)−1, but there's no obvious time mutation characteristics. The spatial characteristics of CSp and monthly C are similar, showing decreasing characteristics centered on the typical black soil belt of Northeast China. Compared with 1961–1990, in the period from 1991 to 2020, the proportion of high value areas (CSp>35, monthly C>10) has decreased to varying degrees, while the proportion of low value areas (CSp ≤10, monthly C ≤4) has increased. The trends of seasonal and monthly C in 82.2%∼87.7% of the stations show significant decreases at 95% confidence level. CSp is closely related to wind speed at 2m height, temperature difference, minimum temperature and precipitation in the same period, of which the correlation between CSp and wind speed is the strongest, indicating that the main control factor for CSp in the study area is wind speed, but the impact of the change of temperature and precipitation on CSp cannot be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dechlorane Plus (DP) is found widely in the environment. It is important to study DP enrichment and biomagnification in terrestrial ecosystems to improve our understanding of the possible effects of DP on the environment and human health. A total of 90 samples, including plant and animal tissues, were collected from Xilingol Prairie in Inner Mongolia, China. The DP concentrations in different species were assessed, and transmission of DP through food webs containing ectotherms and endotherms was assessed. The compound was detected in the biotic samples (plant; range 0.133–0.422 ng/g dry wt), in animal muscle (range: not dected–5.70 ng/g lipid wt), and in animal hair (range: not dected–2.03 ng/g dry wt), indicating that DP is present in remote environments such as Xilingol Prairie. These findings suggest that DP can undergo long‐distance transport in the environment. Biomagnification factors (ectotherms: range 0.146–88.0, endotherms: range 0.866–17.2) and anti‐DP/total DP concentration ratios (fanti values of 0.412–0.787) for the prairie animals were calculated. Ectotherms were found to selectively enrich syn‐DP, and stereoselective enrichment increased moving up the food web. Lower‐trophic‐level endotherms strongly stereoselectively enriched syn‐DP, and higher‐trophic‐level endotherms stereoselectively enriched anti‐DP. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:413–421. © 2020 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource partitioning may allow species coexistence. Sand dunes in the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China, consist of desert, shrub and grass habitats, providing an appropriate system for studies of spatial niche partitioning among small mammals. We collected data to verify the niche separation hypothesis that coexisting small mammals would separate into spatial niches, and the productivity hypothesis that the highest species richness and overlap were to be expected in the most productive and diverse shrub habitat of the north-facing slopes, in contrast with the less productive grass and desert habitats of sand dunes. We trapped small mammals on 44 sand dunes in the summer of 1984 using snap traps. We captured 12 species of small mammals among three types of habitats.Cricetulus barabensiswas a habitat generalist, present in all three types of habitats.Spermophilus dauricuswas present only in the grass habitat,Allactaga sibiricaandDipus sagittaonly in the desert habitat, andApodemus peninsulaeprimarily in the shrub habitat. The shrub habitat hosted the largest number of small mammal species among the three types of habitats, supporting the productivity hypothesis. Habitat separation is an important mechanism for structuring small mammal communities in Inner Mongolia grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]