| 1. |
- Yao, Tandong, et al.
(author)
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Recent Third Pole’s rapid warming accompanies cryospheric melt and water cycle intensification and interactions between monsoon and environment: multi-disciplinary approach with observation, modeling and analysis
- 2019
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society. - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; :March, s. 423-444
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Third Pole (TP) is experiencing rapid warming and is currently in its warmest period in the past 2,000 years. This paper reviews the latest development in multidisciplinary TP research associated with this warming. The rapid warming facilitates intense and broad glacier melt over most of the TP, although some glaciers in the northwest are advancing. By heating the atmosphere and reducing snow/ice albedo, aerosols also contribute to the glaciers melting. Glacier melt is accompanied by lake expansion and intensification of the water cycle over the TP. Precipitation has increased over the eastern and northwestern TP. Meanwhile, the TP is greening and most regions are experiencing advancing phenological trends, although over the southwest there is a spring phenological delay mainly in response to the recent decline in spring precipitation. Atmospheric and terrestrial thermal and dynamical processes over the TP affect the Asian monsoon at different scales. Recent evidence indicates substantial roles that mesoscale convective systems play in the TP’s precipitation as well as an association between soil moisture anomalies in the TP and the Indian monsoon. Moreover, an increase in geohazard events has been associated with recent environmental changes, some of which have had catastrophic consequences caused by glacial lake outbursts and landslides. Active debris flows are growing in both frequency of occurrences and spatial scale. Meanwhile, new types of disasters, such as the twin ice avalanches in Ali in 2016, are now appearing in the region. Adaptation and mitigation measures should be taken to help societies’ preparation for future environmental challenges. Some key issues for future TP studies are also discussed.
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| 2. |
- Zhang, Guoqing, et al.
(author)
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Extensive and drastically different alpine lake changes on Asia's high plateaus during the past four decades
- 2017
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In: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276. ; 44:1, s. 252-260
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Asia's high plateaus are sensitive to climate change and have been experiencing rapid warming over the past few decades. We found 99 new lakes and extensive lake expansion on the Tibetan Plateau during the last four decades, 1970–2013, due to increased precipitation and cryospheric contributions to its water balance. This contrasts with disappearing lakes and drastic shrinkage of lake areas on the adjacent Mongolian Plateau: 208 lakes disappeared and 75% of the remaining lakes have shrunk. We detected a statistically significant coincidental timing of lake area changes in both plateaus, associated with the climate regime shift that occurred during 1997/1998. This distinct change in 1997/1998 is thought to be driven by large-scale atmospheric circulation changes in response to climate warming. Our findings reveal that these two adjacent plateaus have been changing in opposite directions in response to climate change. These findings shed light on the complex role of the regional climate and water cycles, and provide useful information for ecological and water resource planning in these fragile landscapes.
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| 3. |
- Luo, Yonghai, et al.
(author)
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A Single Nucleotide Deletion in Gibberellin20-oxidase1 Causes Alpine Dwarfism in Arabidopsis
- 2015
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In: Plant Physiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0032-0889 .- 1532-2548. ; 168:3, s. 930-937
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alpine dwarfism is widely observed in alpine plant populations and often considered a high-altitude adaptation, yet its molecular basis and ecological relevance remain unclear. In this study, we used map-based cloning and field transplant experiments to investigate dwarfism in natural Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accessions collected from the Swiss Alps. A loss-of-function mutation due to a single nucleotide deletion in gibberellin20-oxidase1 (GA5) was identified as the cause of dwarfism in an alpine accession. The mutated allele, ga5-184, was found in two natural Arabidopsis populations collected from one geographic region at high altitude, but was different from all other reported ga5 null alleles, suggesting that this allele has evolved locally. In field transplant experiments, the dwarf accession with ga5-184 exhibited a fitness pattern consistent with adaptation to high altitude. Across a wider array of accessions from the Swiss Alps, plant height decreased with altitude of origin, but fitness patterns in the transplant experiments were variable and general altitudinal adaptation was not evident. In general, our study provides new insights into molecular basis and possible ecological roles of alpine dwarfism, and demonstrates the importance of the GA-signaling pathway for the generation of ecologically relevant variation in higher plants.
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| 4. |
- Yang, Weicai, et al.
(author)
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Exploring limiting factors for maize growth in Northeast China and potential coping strategies
- 2023
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In: Irrigation Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0342-7188 .- 1432-1319. ; 41, s. 321-335
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To investigate the factors (e.g., water, temperature, fertilizer) that limit maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield production in Northeast China (NEC), 3 years of field experiments involving different water, fertilizer, and film mulching (to represent temperature variation) treatments were conducted in 2017-2019. The results were analyzed together with historical meteorological data for the region from 1951 to 2019. Five water treatments were applied in 2017 and 2018, while three field management practices (plastic film mulching, biodegradable film mulching, and no mulching) and four nitrogen fertilizer treatments (0-200 kg ha(-1)) were applied in 2019. Among them, temperature proved to be an important limiting factor in crop production in the region because of crop failure caused by low temperatures and frost in autumn. Water and fertilization also influenced crop growth and production to a certain extent. Both plastic film mulching and biodegradable film mulching improved soil temperature and soil water storage (SWS), particularly during the early growth period. Cumulative soil thermal time (TTsoil) to 100 cm depth increased in the mulching compared with the no mulching treatment. Compared with no mulching, the film mulching also advanced the emergence (VE), sixth-leaf (V6), silking (R1), and milk (R3) stages, by 7, 7, 9, and 9 days, respectively. The improved soil temperature and water conditions and the advanced growth stage under film mulching treatments increased the rate of crop growth and biomass accumulation significantly, with which LAI, biomass, and plant height developed more rapidly than in the no mulching treatment. Film mulching also increased the final grain yield by 21.4-27.6% compared with no mulching. Therefore, film mulching, combined with supplemental irrigation and appropriate fertilization, could be an effective strategy to optimize crop management in Northeast China.
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