Vegetation evolution on the central Chinese Loess Plateau since late Quaternary evidenced by elemental carbon isotopic composition

There are many controversial issues in loess studies such as natural vegetation types on the Chinese Loess Plateau during the historical periods and the spatial and temporal evolution of C3/C4 plants. Elemental carbon isotopic composition （δ^13Cec） in the loess section may offer new evidence for these problems. Elemental carbon （EC） is produced by incomplete combustion of vegetation, and its carbon isotopic composition has a very small difference from that of the formal vegetation, then δ^13Cec can be used as a record to recover the changes of vegetation. Elemental carbon was extracted by applying the oxidation method from the Ioess-paleosol sequence in the central Chinese Loess Plateau, and its car- bon isotope composition was analyzed by the isotope mass spectrometer. The results showed that the vegetation in this region was a mixed type of C3 and C4 plants, dominated with C3 plants in most of the time. Since late Quaternary, C3/C4 plants may not follow a simple glacial-interglacial cycle mode on the Chinese Loess Plateau, but showing fluctuations. C3 plants increased gradually in L4 period, and more C3 plants occurred during $3 period, and C4 plants increased again during L3-- L2 periods, after that, Cs plants dominated again during S1 --S0 periods. During periods of paleosol development, C3 plants were abundant in S3 and S1, and there were more Ca plants in S2 and SO. During periods of loess sedimen- tation, there were more C3 plants in L4 and L1, and there were more C4 plants in L3 and L2. On the orbital timescale, the vegetation variations revealed by δ^13Cec record are consistent with the results of pollen data and also similar to the results obtained by organic carbon isotopic composition since the last glacial period.     

Distribution of C4 plants along the Northeast China transect and its correlation to the environmental factors

The distribution of C₄ plants and the C₄/C₃ ratio along Northeast China transect (NECT) have been studied. A model to quantify their relation with environmental factors has been set up. The ratio of the number of C₄ plants to that of C₃ plants along NECT shows two low and two high trends from east to west, and their distribution is mainly decided by annual average temperature and precipitation.     

Extension of drylands in northern China around 250 kaBP linked with the uplift of the southeast margin of Tibetan Plateau

Study on two loess sections, one located at Wuwei near the Tengger Desert in northwestern China, another located near Ganzi at the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau in southwest China, reveals a coeval drying step occurred at ~250 kaBP. It is expressed by the increase in eolian grain-size at Wuwei, and by a drastic extension of C4 plants and a decrease of loess chemical weathering intensity at Ganzi. Examination of the available eolian data indicates that the event has also been clearly documented in the loess sections near the deserts in northern China, and in the eolian records from the North Pacific. On the contrary, the signal is rather weak for the central and southern Loess Plateau regions as well as for Central Asia, where the climates are influenced by the southeast Asian monsoon and the westerlies, respectively. Since the climate at Ganzi is under strong control of the southwest Asian monsoon, we interpret this drying ste p as a result of decreased influence of the southwest summer monsoon. This decre ase in monsoon moisture is attributable to the uplift of the Hengduan Mountains, the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau at～250 ka ago.     

Comparison of the carbon isotope composition of total organic carbon and long-chain <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-alkanes from surface soils in eastern China and their significance

Surface soil samples collected over a high spatial resolution in eastern China were analyzed for carbon isotope composition （δ^13C） of total organic carbon （TOC） and higher plant-derived long-chain n-alkanes, with the latter reported as weighted mean values. The two sets of δ^13C values are significantly correlated and show similar trends in spatial variation. The spatial distribution of δ^13C shows less negative values in the mid-latitudes between 31°N and 40°N and more negative ones at higher and lower latitudes. This is consistent with previously reported carbon isotope data from surface soil phytoliths in the same region and suggests that the mid-latitude area provides relatively favorable growing condi- tions for C4 plants. Furthermore, δ^13C values of both TOC and long-chain n-alkanes from 12 surface soil samples collected from a small grassland in north China displayed similar carbon isotope values and the difference between paired δ^13C of a soil samples remains relatively constant. Our data demonstrate that in eastern China, soil δ^13C composition of both TOC and long-chain n-alkanes is effective indicators of C3/C4 ratios of the prevailing vegetation. This work suggests that -22‰ and -32‰ are good es- timated end members for the weighted mean δ^13C values of long-chain n-alkanes （C27, C29 and C31 n-alkanes） from soils under dominant C4 or C3 vegetation, allowing us to reconstruct paleovegetation trends.     

三聚氰胺热解产物的特性分析

以有机物三聚氰胺为初始原料, 在真空条件下使其热解（1 000 K）. 采用X射线衍射（XRD）、 透射电子显微镜（TEM）、 X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、 化学元素分析（EA）和傅里叶红外光谱(FT-IR) 分析样品的形貌、 成分和结构. 结果表明, 在真空条件下, 三聚氰胺全部分解, 分解产物为片层石墨相C₃N₄.      

Relationship between climatic conditions and the relative abundance of modern C3 and C4 plants in three regions around the North Pacific

Using −24‰ and −14‰ as the endpoints of stable carbon isotopic composition of total organic carbon (δ¹³C_TOC) of surface soil under pure C₃ and C₄ vegetation, and surface soil δ¹³C_TOC data from eastern China, Australia and the Great Plains of North Amer- ica, we estimate the relative abundance of C₃/C₄ plants (i.e., the ratio of C₃ or C₄ biomass to local primary production) in modern vegetation for each region. The relative abundance of modern C₃/C₄ vegetation from each region is compared to the corresponding climatic parameters (mean annual temperature and precipitation) to explore the relationship between relative C₄ abundance and climate. The results indicate that temperature controls the growth of C₄ plants. However, even where temperature is high enough for the growth of C₄ plants, they will only dominate the landscape when precipitation declines as temperatures increase. Our results are consistent with those of other investigations of the geographic distribution of modern C₄ plant species. Therefore, our results provide an important reference for interpretation of past C₃/C₄ relative abundance records in these three regions.     

A tropical paleosol at high elevation in the Yulong Mountains and its implication on the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau

A paleosol dated for about 500–700 kaBP and developed on a glacial deposit at ～3 000 m a.s.l. in the Yulong Mountains is studied using soil chemical, morphological and mineralogical methods. The analytical results indicate that this soil was formed under tropical and humid conditions and can be classified as red soil, which cannot be formed in the present alpine environment at the studied site. This implies that the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau has experienced intense uplift since the formation of the paleosol. According to the necessary conditions for the formation of the modern red soil in China, we estimate that the uplift height of the Plateau since 500–700 kaBP would have exceeded 800 m.     

Carbon isotopic record of foraminifers in surface sediments from the South China Sea and its significance

Since the 1990s, the papers and data involved withthe South China Sea (SCS) have been emerging in largenumbers in the world as people pay more attention to thepaleoceanography of the SCS. There have been more than100 cores mentioned in papers containing p…     

Origin of middle Miocene leucogranites and rhyolites on the Tibetan Plateau: Constraints on the timing of crustal thickening and uplift of its northern boundary

Leucogranites play a significant role in understanding crustal thickening, melting within continental collisional belts, and plateau uplift. Field investigations show that Miocene igneous rocks from the Hoh Xil Lake area mainly consist of two-mica leucogranites and rhyolites. We studied the Bukadaban two-mica leucogranites and the Kekao Lake, Malanshan and Hudongliang rhyolites by zircon U-Pb, muscovite and sanidine 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, and whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic analysis. Results yielded crystallization and cooling ages for the Bukadaban leucogranites of 9.7±0.2 and 6.88±0.19 Ma, respectively. Extrusive ages of the Kekao Lake and Malanshan rhyolites are 14.5±0.8 and 9.37±0.30 Ma, respectively. All rocks are enriched in SiO2 (70.99%-73.59%), Al2O3 (14.39%-15.25%) and K2O (3.78%-5.50%) but depleted in Fe2O3 (0.58%-1.56%), MgO (0.11%- 0.44%) and CaO (0.59%-1.19%). The rocks are strongly peraluminous (A/CNK=1.11?1.21) S-type granites characterized by negative Eu anomalies (δ Eu=0.18-0.39). In also considering their Sr-Nd isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sri=0.7124 to 0.7143; δ Nd (9 Ma) =-5.5 to -7.1), we propose that these igneous rocks were generated through dehydration melting of muscovite in the thickened middle or lower crust of northern Tibet. Melting was probably triggered by localized E-W stretching decompression in the horse tails of Kunlun sinistral strike-slip faults. Reactivation of the Kunlun strike-slip faults, accompanied by emplacement of leucogranite and eruption of rhyolite in the Hoh Xil Lake area, indicates that large-scale crustal shortening and thickening in northern Tibet mainly occurred before 15 Ma. In addition, these findings suggest that the northern Tibetan Plateau attained its present elevation (~5000 m) at least 15 Ma ago.     

Evolution of the East Asian monsoon and its response to uplift of the Tibetan Plateau since 1.8 Ma recorded by major elements in sediments of the South China Sea

Evolution of the East Asian monsoon and its response to uplift of the Tibetan Plateau has been investigated in the study of global change. Core sediment samples drilled in the South China Sea during ODP Leg184 are the best materials for studying long-term variability of the East Asian monsoon. R-mode factor analysis of major elements in the fine grain-sized carbonate-free sediments (<4 μm) of the upper 185 mcd splice of ODP Site 1146 drilled during Leg184 in the South China Sea shows that Ti, TFe2O3, MgO, K2O, P, CaO, and Al2O3 are representative of a terrestrial factor. The variation in the terrestrial factor score is subject to chemical erosion in the source region and thus indicates the evolution of the East Asian summer monsoon. The terrestrial factor score has three stepwise decreases at ~1.3 Ma, ~0.9 Ma, and ~0.6 Ma, indicating the phased weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon is related to wholly stepwise, quick uplifts of the Tibetan Plateau since 1.8 Ma. The periodic fluctuation of the terrestrial factor score since ~0.6 Ma indicates that the glacial-interglacial cycles have been the main force driving the evolution of the East Asian monsoon. As in the case of Chinese loess, the long-term evolution of the East Asian monsoon recorded in sediments of the South China Sea reflects a coupled effect of the glacial-interglacial cycle and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.     

Theoretical study on the lithium bond interaction of furan homologues C4H4Y （Y=O,S） with LiCH3 via DFT and MP2

The optimizations geometries and interaction energy corrected by BSSE of the complexes between C4H4Y （Y=O, S） and CHiLi have been calculated at the B3LYP/6-311＋＋G^＊＊ and MP2/6-311＋＋G^＊＊ levels. Three complexes were obtained. Abnormally, the calculations showed that all the C10--Li14 bond lengths increased obviously but the blue-shift of C10-Li14 stretching frequency occurred after formed complexes. The calculated binding energy with basis set super-position error （BSSE） and zero-point vibrational energy corrections of complexes I-III is -45.757, -35.700 and -39.107 kJ·mol^-1, respectively. The analyses on the combining interaction with the atom-in-molecules theory （AIM） also showed that a relatively strong lithium bond interaction presented in furan homologues C4H4Y-LiCH3 systems. Natural bond orbital theory （NBO） analysis has been performed, and the results revealed that the complex I is formed with n-σ type lithium bond interaction between C4H40 and LiCH3, complex II is formed with TT-s type lithium bond interaction between C4H4O and LiCH3, and complex III is formed with TT-s and n-s type lithium bond interactions between C4H4S and LiCH3, respectively.     

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.     

粉煤灰对阿利特-硫铝酸盐水泥凝结时间及水化研究

通过在阿利特-硫铝酸盐水泥中添加粉煤灰,利用XRD、水化热和SEM来研究粉煤灰对该体系水化过程的影响.结果表明:粉煤灰对该体系有一定缓凝作用;并且随着掺量增加,作用越明显.粉煤灰主要影响水泥早期强度,对后期影响不大;当掺量≥30％时,对后期也有影响.火山灰反应在3d时不太明显,一般在28 d时较容易观察到.     

Northern Tibetan Plateau cooling and aridification linked to Cenozoic global cooling: Evidence from <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-alkane distributions of Paleogene sedimentary sequences in the Xining Basin

The Xining Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau holds the longest continuous Cenozoic stratigraphic record in China. The sequence record contains considerable information on the history of Tibetan uplift and associated climatic change. In particular, high resolution n-alkane biomarker proxy and pollen records have been obtained from the Paleogene sediments of the Xiejia section of the basin. A combination of the n-alkane and palynological records reveals that the paleoclimate in the Xining Basin experienced a long-term cooling trend from 50.2 to 28.2 Ma with a distinctive ecological event spanning 37.5 to 32.7 Ma. Since this ecological event, a vertical zonation of vegetation from lowland arid grasses, to middle-elevation subtropical broad-leaf plants, to high-elevation coniferous trees was established. We interpret that these changes in climate and vegetation were probably responses to a combination of long term global cooling since the Eocene climatic optimum and uplift of the surrounding mountains on the northern Tibetan Plateau in the early Cenozoic.     

ZnGa2Se4:V3+ 光谱的理论研究

应用区分t₂和e轨道共价性的差异(包含静电部分和晶场部分)并考虑了低对称场的能量矩阵, 在考虑和忽略静电参量B₀₀的条件下, 分别研究了t₂和e轨道共价性的差异对三元半导体ZnGa₂Se₄:V ³⁺能级以及低对称分裂的影响; 计算了ZnGa₂Se₄:V ³⁺晶体的能级的低对称分裂, 并与实验值进行比较. 计算结果与实验值符合很好. 研究发现: 在对ZnGa₂Se₄:V ³⁺晶体的光学性质进行理论研究时, 在能量矩阵的静电和晶场部分同时考虑t₂和e轨道共价性的差异是非常有必要的; 晶场参量B₀₀对ZnGa₂Se₂4:V ³⁺的能级有重要影响, 因此不能忽略.     

Relationship between luminescence and matrices in the system A12O3-B2O3-Ce2O3

The system Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-Ce₂O₃, with Al/B ratio varying from 4.5 to 2 and Ce/(Al+B) = 0.02, has been prepared at the temperature from 1 200 to 1 400°C. Relationship between luminescence and matrices in the system Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-Ce₂O₃ was investigated. It was found that some changes of the matrices occurred with Al/B ratio varying from 4.5 to 2. These results lead to a great change in luminescence properties, indicating variation of Ce-surroundings of crystal field. With the decrease of the ratio from 3 to 2, the excitation and emission peaks shift to shorter wavelengths. It was also found that a new type of rare earth luminescent materials was obtained with appropriate Al/B ratio.     

Research on C<Subscript>3</Subscript>N<Subscript>4</Subscript> superhard compound thin film and its application

By combination of DC reactive magnetron sputtering with multiple arcplating, the alternating C₃N₄/TiN compound film is deposited onto HSS. The core level binding energy and the contents of carbon and nitrogen are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectrum. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that compound thin film contains hard crystalline phases of α-C₃N₄ and β-C₃N₄. The Knoop microhardness in the load range of 50, 5–54, 1 GPa is measured. According to acoustic emission scratch test, the critical load values for the coatings on HSS substrates are in the range of 40–80 N. The metal coated with C₃N₄/TiN compound films has a great improvement in the resistance against corrosion. Many tests show that such a coating has a very high wearability. Compared with the uncoated and TiN coated tools, the C₃N₄/TiN coated tools have a much longer cutting life. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19875037) Biography: Wu Da-we( (1941-), male, Professor, research direction; thin film and its application.     

广西柳州市主城区主要绿化植物叶片的全硫氮含量特征

通过测试,找出柳州市主城区吸收SO2、NO2能力强的植物,为今后城市生态修复和功能型园林绿化提供素材.以广西柳州市主城区内61种绿化植物为对象,采用HNO3-HClO4、H2SO4-H2O2消煮法,对其叶片的全硫、全氮含量进行测定.结果表明,所选61种绿化植物的全硫含量为0.024％-0.711％,全氮含量为0.007...