Changes of photosynthetic capacity of some plant species under very high CO2 concentrations in Biosphere 2

Conclusions The initial slope of A/ light curve became steep under high CO₂ (700 μmol · mol^-1) compared with that under low CO₂ (350 μmol · mol^-1) for the C₃ species growing in very high CO₂(>2 200 μmol · mol^-1) for a long period. The light compensation points remained unchanged, but the light saturation points were found increased. The ϕ_m,_app and A_max of the C₃ species increased respectively by 79 % and 80 %, while those of C₄ species decreased by 10% and 14%, respectively. The shape of A/light curve of C₄ species did not change. Such results indicated that C₃ species increased the capacity of photosynthesis, while C₄ did not change, otherwise it decreased a little. This work only compared the changes of capacity in photosynthesis of some species under different CO₂ levels in Biosphere 2. We need further investigation on the effects of high CO₂ on the same species outside Biosphere 2, in order to fully undertand the effects and mechanism of response of plants to the elevated CO₂.     

亚高山红桦根及根际土壤生化特性对升高温度和CO2的响应

通过川西亚高山野外大型控制实验,研究了红桦不同密度下的根系生物量、根际土壤微生物数量和根际土壤酶活性对短期升高温度（ET,相对室外平均升温2.4±0.4 ℃）、升高大气CO2浓度（EC,平均增加15.5±1.0 μmol·L^-1）及交互作用（ETC,生长室相对室外平均升温2.2±0.5　℃并CO₂浓度平均增加15.8±1.2　μmol·L^-1）的响应.初步结果表明：升高大气温度或CO₂浓度均能够显著促进红桦低密度和高密度下单株根系生物量;升高温度和CO₂浓度及二者共同升高对微生物类群和数量影响不同,升高温度细菌、真菌数量以及低密度下放线菌数量显著增加,而高密度下放线菌数量显著下降;升高CO₂浓度下高密度时细菌和真菌数量增加而低密度下均显著下降;升高温度（ET）显著抑制高、低密度下红桦根际土壤多酚氧化酶活性,升高CO₂（EC）根际土壤过氧化氢酶活性在2种密度条件下均不同程度升高,土壤脲酶和多酚氧化酶活性则降低;ETC条件下,根际土壤多酚氧化酶和过氧化氢酶在2种密度下均表现出不同程度的降低,但脲酶活性在高、低密度条件下对ETC表现出不同的响应结果.     

Features of major greenhouse gases in loess, Shanxi Province, China

According to the investigations of five loess sections in Shanxi Province, China, it was found that the concentrations of the major greenhouse gases CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O in loess-paleosol sequences are generally high, even sometimes may be several times or scores of times higher than their atmospheric concentrations respectively. Although the CO₂ concentration in the same loess section shows poor regularity among different layers, it increases slowly from north to south in space. The CH₄ concentration in the layers under Malan Loess is much higher than that in the atmosphere, although it is not high in Malan Loess. Most of the δ¹³C values of CO₂ in loess are -11.14‰—15.48‰ (relative to PDB standard). Analysis of carbon isotopic compositions of CO₂ indicates that the main source of CO₂ in loess section is decomposition of ‘stable’ organic matters by microbes. The δ¹³C_g of CO₂ is a little heavier than organic source for exchanging carbon isotope with carbonate in loess. The abundant carbonate in loess not only makes the loess a huge carbon reservior but also adjusts     

δ13C difference between plants and soil organic matter along the eastern slope of Mount Gongga

Carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C) of plants, litter and soil organic matter (0–5 cm, 5–10 cm and 10–20 cm) on the eastern slope of Mount Gongga were measured. The results show that δ¹³C values of plants, litter and soil organic matter all decrease first and then increase with altitude, i.e δ¹³C values gradually decrease from 1200 to 2100 m a.s.l., and increase from 2100 to 4500 m a.s.l. The δ¹³C altitudinal variations are related to the distribution of C₃ and C₄ plants on the eastern slope of Mount Gongga, because C₄ plants are observed to grow only below 2100 m, while C3 plants occur at all altitudes. There are significantly positive correla-tions among δ¹³C of vegetation, δ¹³C of litter and δ¹³C of soil organic matter, and litter, 0–5 cm, 5–10 cm and 10–20 cm soil or-ganic matter are 0.56‰, 2.87‰, 3.04‰ and 3.49‰ greater in δ¹³C than vegetation, respectively. Considering the influences of rising concentration of atmospheric CO₂ and decreasing δ¹³C of atmospheric CO₂ since the industry revolution on δ¹³C of plants, 1.57‰ is proposed to be the smallest correction value for reconstruction of paleovegetation using δ¹³C of soil organic matter.     

Trend, seasonal and diurnal variations of atmospheric CO2 in Beijing

The concentration of atmospheric CO₂ in Beijing increased rapidly at a mean growth rate of 3.7% · a⁻¹ from 1993 to 1995. After displaying a peak of (409.7±25.9) μmol · mol⁻¹ in 1995, it decreased slowly. Both the almost stable anthropogenic CO₂ source and increasing biotic CO₂ sink contribute to the drop of CO₂ concentration from 1995 to 2000. The seasonal variation of CO₂ concentration exhibits a clear cycle with a maximum in winter, averaging (426.8±20.6) μmol · mol⁻¹, and a minimum in summer, averaging (369.1±6.1) μmol·mol⁻¹. The seasonal variation of CO₂ concentration is mainly controlled by phenology. The mean diurnal variation of atmospheric CO₂ concentration for a year in Beijing is highly clear: daily maximum CO₂ concentration usually occurs at night, but daily minimum CO₂ concentration does in the daytime, with a mean diurnal difference more than 34.7 μmol·mol⁻¹. It has been revealed that the interannual variations of atmospheric CO₂ concentration in winter and autumn regulated the interannual trend of atmospheric CO₂, whereas the interannual variation of CO₂ concentration in summer affected the general tendency of atmospheric CO₂ in a less degree.     

CO2的温室效应饱和度分析及其大气体积分数预测模型

通过精确的LBLRTM逐线积分模式建立CO_2体积分数变化模型,分析了CO_2的温室效应饱和度,并对未来地表温升的变化趋势进行了预测.结果表明,目前CO_2的持续排放只能使其在680cm~(-1)强吸收带中心达到饱和,而在未来相当长一段时间内,其仍将通过该吸收带的翼区以及1 000cm~(-1),1 350cm~(-1)与1 900cm~(-1)等弱吸收带对地表红外辐射表现出强烈的吸收,CO_2的温室效应还远未达到饱和;如果按照当前CO_22.2(mL/·m~(-3))/a的年排放速率,CO_2的大气体积分数将会持续增加,从而造成地表温度不断升高,到2056年,地表温升将会达到2K.     

Effect of elevated CO2 on CH4 emission

Global CH₄ emission may increase under CO₂ enrichment condition, which is projected for the future. CO₂ enrichment could affect CH₄ emission in two ways: (i) Photosynthesis of plants that also include plants in rice paddies and natural wetlands will be stimulated under CO₂ enrichment condition. CH₄ emission rate may be increased due to the accumulation of more plant biomass, root exudes and soil organic matters. (ii) Combined with other global warming forces, CO₂ enrichment may bring a change of atmospheric temperature and precipitation around the world. CH₄ emission will also be changed with the variation of the area and distribution of rice paddies and natural wetlands.     

Impact of technology advances on China’s CO2 emission reduction

Global warming tends to be the major characteristics of the dramatic global climate change. To deal with these changes, the impact of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission on Chinese future economic and social development has to be assessed. In this paper, a Regional Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (RICE), which is well known and accepted widely, has been used for Chinese economic assessment of climate change after introduction, assimilation and verification. Based on a sensitivity analysis of technical parameters in the RICE model and constrained targets proposed for energy saving and emissions reduction technological advance programs of China from 2000 to 2050, the economic impact of the programs is examined. The results indicate that when technology advances, Chinese CO₂ emission, climate loss, and the growth rate of atmospheric CO₂ concentration and temperature will all decrease. It is assumed that in 2010, the CO₂ emission is 20% lower than in 2005, CO₂emission in 2050 would only double the level in 2000, the accumulative CO₂ emission would be decreased by 12.4 GtC, and the atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature in 2050 would reduce by 35 GtC and 0.04°C respectively from 2000 to 2050. The accumulative climate loss from 2000 to 2050 will drop down by 4.6 billion dollar, which only accounts for 6% of the global total benefits. However, the economic benefit the developed countries will obtain is 10 times that for China under such a technological advance scenario. The decrease of the CO₂ emission control rate is 1% in cooperation policy while 4.6% in non-cooperation policy, which would relieve China’s burden in the control of CO₂ total emission and thereby benefit China in participation of the international cooperation for CO₂ emission reduction.     

Carbon isotopic composition,turnover and origins of soil CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> in a monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest in the Dinghushan Biosphere Reservoir,South China

Carbon isotopic compositions of soil CO2 in rainy season (July) from two natural soil profiles (DHLS & DHS) in the monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest in the Dinghushan Biosphere Reservoir (DBR), South China, are presented. Turnover and origins of soil CO₂ are preliminarily discussed in this paper. Results show that the content of soil CO2 varies between 6120 and 18718 ppmv, and increases with increasing depth until 75 cm, and then it declines. In DHLS, soil CO₂ δ¹³C ranges from −24.71‰ to −24.03‰, showing a significant inverse correlation (R²＝0.91) with the soil CO₂ content in the same layer. According to a model related to soil CO₂ δ¹³C, the soil CO₂ is mainly derived from the root respiration (>80%) in DHLS. While in DHS, where soil CO₂ ? 13C ranges from −25.19‰ to −22.82‰, soil CO₂ is primarily originated from the decomposition of organic matter (51%–94%), excluding the surface layer (20 cm, 90%). Radiocarbon data suggest that the carbon in soil CO₂ is modern carbon in both DHLS and DHS. Differences in ¹⁴C ages between the “oldest” and “youngest” soil CO₂ in DHLS and DHS are 8 months and 14 months, respectively, indicating that soil CO₂ in DHLS has a faster turnover rate than that in DHS. The ¹⁴C values of soil CO₂, which range between 100.0‰ and 107.2‰ and between 102.5‰ and 112.1‰ in DHLS and DHS, respectively, are obviously higher than those of current atmospheric CO₂ and SOC in the same layer, suggesting that soil CO₂ is likely an important reservoir for Bomb-¹⁴C in the atmosphere.     

The Siberian Traps and the End-Permian mass extinction: a critical review

The association between the Siberian Traps, the largest continental flood basalt province, and the largest-known mass extinction event at the end of the Permian period, has been strengthened by recently-published high-precision ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates from widespread localities across the Siberian province^[1]. We argue that the impact of the volcanism was amplified by the prevailing late Permian environmental conditions―in particular, the hothouse climate, with sluggish oceanic circulation, that was leading to widespread oceanic anoxia. Volcanism released large masses of sulphate aerosols and carbon dioxide, the former triggering short-duration volcanic winters, the latter leading to long-term warming. Whilst the mass of CO₂ released from individual eruptions was small compared with the total mass of carbon in the atmosphere-ocean system, the long ‘mean lifetime’ of atmospheric CO₂, compared with the eruption flux and duration, meant that significant accumulation could occur over periods of 105 years. Compromise of the carbon sequestration systems (by curtailment of photosynthesis, destruction of biomass, and warming and acidification of the oceans) probably led to rapid atmospheric CO₂ build-up, warming, and shallow-water anoxia, leading ultimately to mass extinction.     

广东韩江流域化学风化作用及大气CO2消耗的分析

岩石的风化作用与碳循环有着极为密切的联系。韩江流域处于湿热地区,是广东省除珠江流域以外的第二大流域。对韩江水系进行了系统采样、测试分析显示,河水水化学组成以HCO3-和Ca2+为主,其次是SO24-和Na+。Gibbs图分析表明,韩江流域河水离子成分主要来源于岩石的风化释放;相关分析和因子分析则表明,蒸发盐岩、碳酸盐岩、硅酸盐岩风化过程对河水离子的贡献率分别为33.4%、27.7%和为10.5%。大气中的CO2通过参与岩石的化学风化过程对河水中溶解质的贡献率为20.2%。韩江流域河水中HCO3-有50.2%来自大气CO2,由此估算韩江流域岩石化学风化对大气CO2的消耗量为73.33×108mol/a。在主要支流中,由大到小的顺序是汀江、石窟河、宁江、五华河和梅潭河,分别为28.08×108,13.26×108,10.22×108,5.17×108和2.90×108mol/a。韩江流域岩石化学风化对大气CO2的消耗率为252.2×103mol/(km2·a)。各主要支流中岩石化学风化对大气CO2消耗率最高的是宁江,为718.55×103mol/(km2·a),其次是石窟河360.14×103mol/(km2·a),再依次递减的是五华河282.04×103 mol/(km2·a),汀江237.73×103 mol/(km2·a),梅潭河181.18×103mol/(km2·a);韩江流域的平均化学风化率为54.11 t/(km2·a),各主要支流由高到低依次为,宁江最高140.5 t/(km2·a),石窟河71.2 t/(km2·a),汀江52.39 t/(km2·a),五华河51.02 t/(km2·a),梅潭河38.04 t/(km2·a)。     

Pedogenic carbonate isotope record of vegetational evolution since late Miocene in Loess Plateau

Isotopic analyses for paleovegetational evolution have been carried out on samples of the pedogenic carbonate nodules in the Red Clay-Loess sequence at Lingtai (35°N), the Loess Plateau. Stable carbon isotopic composition indicates that ( i ) C4 plants might be present at least by7.0 Ma; ( ii ) C4 plants expanded gradually between ～4.0 and ～3.2 Ma, and their biomass fraction was up to 50% ; and (Ⅲ ) the biomass of C4 vegetation since ～2.0 Ma seems to have been decreased to the level (about 20%) before 4.0 Ma. C4 plant expansion at Lingtai cannot be fully understood with the "global C4 expansion" model because it occurred much later up to 3.0 Ma than in Pakistan, which indicates that some changes in the regional climatic system may also contribute to C3/C4 shift except changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and temperature. The latitudinal zone for C3/C4 transition seems to move southwards slightly in East Asia, compared with the case in North America where 37°N癗 is the ideal boundary for the C4 expansion.     

Sea surface temperature and subtropical front movement in the South Tasman Sea during the last 800 ka

Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude westerlies contribute to the ventilation of the deep Southern Ocean (SO), and drive changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the global climate. As the westerlies control directly oceanic fronts, the movement of the subtropical front (STF) reflects the westerlies migration. Thus it is important to understand the relationships between STF movement and the weaterlies, ventilation of the deep SO, ice volume and atmospheric CO₂. To this end, we use two new high-resolution records from early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 20 (~800 ka) of sea surface temperature (SST) based on Uk’ 37 paleo-thermometer and benthic oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸OB) at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1170B in the southern Tasman Sea (STS), to construct linkages between the marine records and atmospheric proxies from Antarctic ice-cores. During the last 800 ka, the average SST (10.2°C) at Site 1170B is 1.8°C lower than today (annual average 12°C). The highest average SST of 11.6°C occurred during MIS 1, and the lowest average SST of 7.8°C occurred during MIS 2. The warmest and coldest records of 14.7°C and 6.2°C occurred in the MIS 5 and MIS 2, respectively. In the glacial-interglacial cycles of the last 800 ka, variability of reconstructed SST shows that the STF moved northward or southward more than 3° of latitude compared with its present location. In the warmest stage MIS 5, the STF shifted to its southernmost location of ~49°S. In contrast, in the coldest stage MIS 2, the STF moved to its northernmost location of ~43°S. In response to orbital cycles, the westerlies movement led ice volume and atmospheric CO₂ changes, but it was in phase with change in Antarctic atmospheric temperature. Ice volume only preceded atmospheric CO₂ only a little at the 23-ka precession band, lagged the atmospheric CO₂ at the 100-ka eccentricity band, and was in phase with atmospheric CO₂ at the 40-ka obliquity band.     

Combining sap flow meas- urement-based canopy stomatal conductance and ^13C discrimination to estimate forest carbon assimilation

The available methods for studying C uptake of forest and their problems in practices are reviewed, and a new approach to combining sap flow and ^13C techniques is proposed in this paper. This approach, obtained through strict mathematic derivation, combines sap flow measurement-based canopy stomatal conductance and ^13C discrimination to estimate instantaneous carbon assimilation rate of a forest. Namely the mean canopy stomatal conductance （gc） acquired from accurate measurement of sap flux density is integrated with the relationship between ^13C discrimination （A） and G/Ca （intercellular/ambient CO2 concentrations） and with that between Anet （net photosynthetic rate） and gco2 （stomatal conductance for CO2） so that a new relation between forest C uptake and A as well as gc is established. It is a new method of such kind for studying the C exchange between forest and atmosphere based on experimental ecology.     

Mechanisms of peroxynitrite-induced [Ca2+]i increase in single neuronal cell

The mechanism of peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻)-induced [ca²⁺]_i increase in single MN9D cell (Dopaminergic neuroblastoma cell line) was studied by using Fura-2 microfluorometric technique. The results show that ONOO⁻ caused a rapid increase of [Ca²⁺]_i when ONOO₋ was puffed to the cell. Removing Ca²⁺ from the bath or using calcium channel antagonist (CdCl₂, Nifedipine) greatly inhibited the [Ca²⁺]_i increase induced by ONOO⁻¹, suggesting that the opening of L-Ca²⁺ channel makes a great contribution to the [Ca²⁺]_i increase. The effect of sulfhydryl reductive agent (DTT) on ONOO⁻-induced [Ca²⁺]_i increase suggests that ONOO⁻-activating L-Ca²⁺ channel is partly related to its oxidative speciality.     

The Chinese carbon cycle data-assimilation system （Tan-Tracker）

In this study, the Chinese carbon cyle dataassimilation system Tan-Tracker is developed based on the atmospheric chemical transport model （GEOS-Chem） platform. Tan-Tracker is a dual-pass data-assimilation system in which both CO2 concentrations and CO2 fluxes are simultaneously assimilated from atmospheric observations. It has several advantages, including its advanced data-assimilation method, its highly efficient computing performance, and its simultaneous assimilation of CO2 concentrations and CO2 fluxes. Preliminary observing system simulation experiments demonstrate its robust performance with high assimilation precision, making full use of observations. The Tan-Tracker system can only assimilate in situ observations for the moment. In the future, we hope to extend Tan-Tracker with functions for using satellite measurements, which will form the quasioperational Chinese carbon cycle data-assimilation system.     

Ch4-rich fluid inclusions in the Yushigou mantle peridotite and their implications, North Qilian Mountains, China

Studies were carried out on the early phase of fluid inclusions which occur in residual olivines in harzburgite from the Yushigou ophiolitic mantle peridotite, the North Qilian Mountains. Components of these inclusions, analyzed by micro laser Raman spectroscopy, are dominantly CH, (70%–95%) with minor H₂, N₂, H₂S, CO₂,C₂H₄, C₂H₆, and C₃H₆ but there are no H₂O,CO and SO₂. The highly CH₄-rich fluid was probably derived from an ancient deep mantle. This discovery plays an important role in all-round understanding of the fluid property of the upper mantle, especially the ancient oceanic upper mantle.     

Electronic structures and infrared spectra of C120O2, C120OS and C120S2

Electronic structures and infrared spectra of C₁₂₀XY molecules (X, Y=O, S) and some of the corresponding ions are investigated using PM3 semi-empirical molecular orbital calculations with full optimization of geometrical structures. It is found that the energy penalty is about 30–42 kJ/mol due to introducing a double bond in the fivemembered ring except for C₁₂₀O₂ ⁻ and triplet C₁₂₀O₂ ²⁻. It is also found that the structures of neutral molecules and the corresponding ions are almost the same; for instance, the change of bond length is less than 0.001 nm. The change of frontier orbits from oxide to sulfide is little as well. The triplet states of C₁₂₀O₂ ²⁻ and C₁₂₀OS²⁻ are more stable than their singlet states, which means that C₁₂₀O₂ ²⁻ and C₁₂₀OS²⁻ follow the Hund’s rule. The vibration analysis showed that the infrared spectra of neutral C₁₂₀O₂ and C₁₂₀OS molecules are in good agreement with the experimental results. Compared with the neutral molecule, vibration frequencies of triplet C₁₂₀O₂ ²⁻ change little, but the vibration intensities are enhanced obviously.     

Relationship between stomatal density and the changes of atmospheric CO2 concentrations

The relationship between the stomatal density of five woody plants endemic to China, i. e.Eucommia ulmoides, Quercus liaotungensis, Q. glandulifera var.brevipetiolata, Cyclocarya paliurus andFicus heteromorpha, and the atmospheric CO₂ concentrations was studied by observations on leaves of the herbarium-stored specimms(1920s–1990s). The results showed that the stomatal density inEucommia ulmoides, Quercus liaotungensis andQ. glandulifera var.brevipetiolata decreased significantly in response to the elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, while inCyclocarya paliurus it decreased slightly and inFicus heteromorpha there were no responses.     

Investigation of the cross-reaction mechanism of C<Subscript>6</Subscript>H<Subscript>5</Subscript>F-HNO<Subscript>2</Subscript> aqueous solution irradiated at 355 nm by transient absorbance spectrum technique

The transient absorption spectrum technique was employed to investigate the cross-reaction mechanism of C6H5F-HNO2 aqueous solution irradiated at 355 nm. The characteristic and the kinetic parameters of transient species were also detected. Hydroxyl radical derived from the photolysis of HNO2 was added to monofluorobenzene with a second-order rate constant of （5.83±0.17）×10^9 L·mol^-1·s^-1 to form an adduct, C6H5F…OH, which was able to react with HNO2 as the main reaction pathway with a rate constant of （8.3±0.1）×10^7 L·mol^-1·s^-1. The C6F6…OH adduct can also be decayed by elimination of H2O to yield monofluorophenyl radical C6H4F-. By GC-MS technique, the final products were identified to be monofluorophenol, nitro-monofluorobenzene, nitro-monofluorophenol and para-fluorobiphenyl.