In past decades, flux measurement in terrestrial ecosystem is a key method to obtain data about carbon cycling and budget of ecosystem. The eddy covariance technique has been regarded as an important revolution in flux measurement and research of terrestrial ecosystem in 20th century. Under the support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology through grants KZCX1-SW-01-01A and 2002CB412501, Chinese Terrestrial Ecosystem Flux Research (ChinaFLUX) was established based on Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) in 2002. Recently, the network measurement of the carbon, nitrogen, water and energy fluxes has become an integrated way of global change study.

Now, a series of studies have been centered on the coupling cycle of water, carbon and nitrogen based mainly on eddy covariance technique directed by Prof. Guirui Yu, Prof. Xiaomin Sun and Prof. Shenggong Li. The network measurements are mainly under the associated supports of the projects including the “Transect study on the response and acclimation of Chinese typical terrestrial ecosystems to global change (2006-2010)”, “CarboEastAsia: Capacity building among ChinaFLUX, JapanFlux and KoFlux to cope with climate change protocols by synthesizing measurement, theory and modeling in quantifying and understanding of carbon fluxes and storages in East Asia (2007-2010)”, and “The process and their coupling relationship of carbon and nitrogen fluxes in terrestrial ecosystem (2007-2009)”.

Recently, the stable isotope technique has become an important tool in the coupling cycles of water, carbon and nitrogen in ChinaFLUX. We have demonstrated the feasibility to simultaneously measure both D/H and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O in atmospheric water vapor using a tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer (TGA100A, Campbell Scientific inc., USA). Our laboratory tests showed that the 1-h precision (one standard deviation) was 1.1‰ for D/H and 0.07‰ for ¹⁸O/¹⁶O at the dewpoint temperature of 15°C. Now the isotope flux ratio experiment of D/H and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O of winter wheat ecosystem is done at Luancheng sites.

Related outputs had been published in Science in China Series D: Earth Science (2005, Supp I, 2006 Supp II) and Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2006, 137). Further outputs has also been published anywhere since 2007 by the research group directed by Prof. Guirui Yu, Prof. Xiaomin Sun and Prof. Shenggong Li. Part of our publications was listed in the flowing since 2007.

By Xuefa WEN (Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling)

Lists of publications

1) Yu Guitui, Sun Xiaomin (eds). Flux measurement and research of terrestrial ecosystem in China. 2008. Beijing, Science Press 1-676.

2) Yu GR, Song X, Wang QF, Liu YF, Guan DX, Yan JH, Sun XM, Zhang LM and Wen XF. (2008). Water use efficiency of forest ecosystems in eastern China and its relations to climatic variables. New Phytologist, 177: 927–937.

3) Li SG, Eugster W, Asanuma J, Kotani A, Davaa G, Oyunbaatar D, Sugita M. (2008). Response of gross ecosystem productivity, light use efficiency, and water use efficiency of Mongolian steppe to seasonal variations in soil moisture. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, G01019, doi:10.1029/2006JG000349.

4) Wen XF, Sun XM, Zhang SC, Yu GR, Steve S, Lee X. (2008). Continuous measurement of water vapor D/H and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O isotope ratios in the atmosphere, Journal of Hydrology, 349: 489-500.

5) Yu GR, Zhuang J, Nakayama K, Jin Y. (2007). Root water uptake and profile soil water as affected by vertical root distribution. Plant Ecology, 189: 15-30.

6) Zhao FH, Yu GR, Li SG, Ren CY, Sun XM, Mi N, Li J, Ouyang Z. (2007). Canopy water use efficiency of winter wheat in the North China Plain. Agricultural water management. 93: 99-108.

7) Li ZQ, Yu GR, Xiao XM, Li YN, Zhao XQ, Ren CY, Zhang LM, Fu YL. (2007). Modeling gross primary production of alpine ecosystems in the Tibetan Plateau using MODIS images and climate data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 107: 510-519.

8) Hu ZM, Fan JW, Zhong HP, Yu GR. (2007): Spatiotemporal dynamics of aboveground primary productivity along a precipitation gradient in Chinese temperate grassland，Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 50 :754-764.

9) Li SG, Romero-Saltos H, Tsujimura M, Sugimoto A, Sasaki L, Davaa G, Oyunbaatar D. (2007). Plant water sources in the cold semiarid ecosystem of the upper Kherlen River catchment in Mongolia: A stable isotope approach. Journal of Hydrology, 333: 109–117.

10) Li SG, Asanuma J, Kotani A, Davaa G, Oyunbaatar D. (2007). Evapotranspiration from a Mongolian steppe under grazing and its environmental constraints. Journal of Hydrology, 333: 133–143.

11) Li SG, Tsujimura M, Sugimoto A, Davaa G, Oyunbaatar D, Sugita M. (2007). Temporal variation of δ¹³C of larch leaves from a montane boreal forest in Mongolia. Trees-Structure and Function, 21: 479–490.