Despite the extensive research conducted on plant-soil-water interactions, the understanding of the role of plant water sources in different plant successional stages remains limited. In this study, we employed a combination of water isotopes (delta 2H and delta 18O) and leaf delta 13C to investigate water use patterns and leaf water use efficiency (WUE) during the growing season (May to September 2021) in Hailuogou glacier forefronts in China. Our findings revealed that surface soil water and soil nutrient gradually increased during primary succession. Dominant plant species exhibited a preference for upper soil water uptake during the peak leaf out period (June to August), while they relied more on lower soil water sources during the post-leaf out period (May) or senescence (September to October). Furthermore, plants in late successional stages showed higher rates of water uptake from uppermost soil layers. Notably, there was a significant positive correlation between the percentage of water uptake by plants and available soil water content in middle and late stages. Additionally, our results indicated a gradual decrease in WUE with progression through succession, with shallow soil moisture utilization negatively impacting overall WUE across all succession stages. Path analysis further highlighted that surface soil moisture (0- 20 cm) and middle layer nutrient availability (20- 50 cm) played crucial roles in determining WUE. Overall, this researchemphasizes the critical influence of water source selection on plant succession dynamics while elucidating un- derlying mechanisms linking succession with plant water consumption.

As climate change intensifies, soil water flow, heat transfer, and solute transport in the active, unfrozen zones within permafrost and seasonally frozen ground exhibit progressively more complex interactions that are difficult to elucidate with measurements alone. For example, frozen conditions impede water flow and solute transport in soil, while heat and mass transfer are significantly affected by high thermal inertia generated from water-ice phase change during the freeze-thaw cycle. To assist in understanding these subsurface processes, the current study presents a coupled two-dimensional model, which examines heat conduction-convection with water-ice phase change, soil water (liquid water and vapor) and groundwater flow, advective-dispersive solute transport with sorption, and soil deformation (frost heave and thaw settlement) in variably saturated soils subjected to freeze-thaw actions. This coupled multiphysics problem is numerically solved using the finite element method. The model's performance is first verified by comparison to a well-documented freezing test on unsaturated soil in a laboratory environment obtained from the literature. Then based on the proposed model, we quantify the impacts of freeze-thaw cycles on the distribution of temperature, water content, displacement history, and solute concentration in three distinct soil types, including sand, silt and clay textures. The influence of fluctuations in the air temperature, groundwater level, hydraulic conductivity, and solute transport parameters was also comparatively studied. The results show that (a) there is a significant bidirectional exchange between groundwater in the saturated zone and soil water in the vadose zone during freeze-thaw periods, and its magnitude increases with the combined influence of higher hydraulic conductivity and higher capillarity; (b) the rapid dewatering ahead of the freezing front causes local volume shrinkage within the non-frozen region when the freezing front propagates downward during the freezing stage and this volume shrinkage reduces the impact of frost heave due to ice formation. This gradually recovers when the thawed water replenishes the water loss zone during the thawing stage; and (c) the profiles of soil moisture, temperature, displacement, and solute concentration during freeze-thaw cycles are sensitive to the changes in amplitude and freeze-thaw period of the sinusoidal varying air temperature near the ground surface, hydraulic conductivity of soil texture, and the initial groundwater levels. Our modeling framework and simulation results highlight the need to account for coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical behaviors to better understand soil water and groundwater dynamics during freeze-thaw cycles and further help explain the observed changes in water cycles and landscape evolution in cold regions.

Permafrost degradation alters the flow rate, direction, and storage capacity of soil moisture, affecting ecohydrological effects and climate systems, and posing a potential threat to natural and human systems. The most widely distributed permafrost regions are coastal, high-latitudes and high-altitudes (mainly by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau). Past studies have demonstrated that permafrost degradation in these regions lacks sorting out regional driving factors, assessing cascading effects on the hydrological environment and monitoring methods. To address this, we reviewed the historical research situation and major topics of permafrost degradation from 1990 to 2022. We analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamics and driving mechanism of permafrost degradation. Then, we comprehensively discussed the effects of permafrost degradation on the soil physical structure and hydraulic properties, soil microorganisms and local vegetation, soil evapotranspiration and stream runoff, and integrated ecohydrological effects. Permafrost field site data were then collected from existing findings and methods for direct or indirect monitoring of permafrost changes at different scales. These results revealed that the research on the hydrological effects of permafrost change was mainly centered on the soil. In addition, regional environmental factors driving permafrost degradation were inconsistent mainly in coastal regions influenced by sea level, high-latitude regions influenced by lightning and wildfire, and high-altitude regions influenced by topography. Permafrost degradation promoted horizontal and/or vertical hydrological connectivity, threatening the succession of high latitude vegetation communities and the transition from high altitude grassland to desert ecosystems, causing regional water imbalances would mitigate or amplify the ability of integrated ecohydrological benefits to cope with climate warming. The never-monitored permafrost area was 1.55x106 km2, but the limitations of using data for the same period remained a challenging task for soil moisture monitoring. Finally, future research should enhance the observation of driving factors at the monitoring site and combine remote sensing data, model simulations or numerical simulations, and isotope tracers to predict the future degradation state of deep permafrost effectively. It is expected that this review will guide further quantifying the driving mechanisms of permafrost degradation and the resulting cascading effects.

Soil water content (SWC) and soil temperature (ST) are important indicators of environmental change in permafrost regions. In this study, we conducted soil sampling at 89 locations in the Three Rivers Headwaters Region (TRHR) to investigate the individual and synergistic effects of environmental factors on SWC and ST. We used multivariable regression and random forest modelling to analyse the data. The results show that SWC and ST were higher in the southeast TRHR than in the northwest and higher in surface layers than deeper soil layers. The most important factors affecting SWC in the 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm soil layers were soil bulk density and precipitation, while bulk density was the most important factor in the 40-60 cm layer, and soil bulk density and steppe vegetation were the most important factors in the 60-80 cm layer. For ST, altitude, temperature and slope gradient were the drivers in the 0-20 cm surface layer, while altitude and temperature were the most critical drivers in the 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm and 60-80 cm layers. Overall, bulk density and altitude were the key environmental factors influencing SWC and ST values, respectively. The outcomes of this study provide valuable insights into the environmental factors that impact the SWC and ST in permafrost regions, which can guide decision-making processes for sustainable soil management in the context of climate change.

To explore the effects of mattic epipedon (ME) on soil moisture and hydraulic properties in the alpine meadow of three-river source region, the soil moisture, water infiltration, evapotranspiration, soil bulk density and soil water holding capacity of original vegetation (OV), light degradation (LD), moderate degradation (MD) and severe degradation (SD) was conducted in this study, respectively. The results showed that: (1) the alpine meadow degradation reduced the soil moisture in the shallow layer (0-10 cm) and had no significant effects on the soil moisture in the deep layer (20-30 cm). (2) The effects of alpine meadow degradation on infiltration was depend on the presence of ME or not, when the ME existed on the land surface (from OV treatment to MD treatment), the alpine meadow degradation had no significant effects on infiltration. Once the ME disappeared on the land surface (from MD treatment to SD treatment), the alpine meadow degradation mainly increased the infiltration. (3) With the aggravation of alpine meadow degradation, the daily evapotranspiration first decreased and then significantly increased when the gravimetric soil water content at 0-5 cm in SD treatment (GWC5) was exceeded 19.5%, the daily evapotranspiration gradually decreased when GWC5 ranged from 9.3% to 19.5%, and had no significant changes on the evapotranspiration when GWC5 was less than 9.3%. Considering the characteristics of precipitation in alpine meadow, it was concluded that the alpine meadow degradation accelerated the evapotranspiration during the plant-growing season. (4) The effect of alpine meadow degradation on soil bulk density and saturated water capacity was concentrated at 0-10 cm. With the aggravation of alpine meadow degradation, the bulk density at 0-10 cm was first stable and then significantly increased and the saturated water capacity at 0-10 cm was first gradually increased and then significantly decreased. Our results suggested that the ME is vital for water conservation of alpine meadow and the protection of ME should be emphasized to promote the sustainable development of the ecosystem and the water supply of water towers in China.

Alpine vegetation plays an important role in the thermal stability of the permafrost under a warming climate, as it affects ground hydrothermal dynamics. The response of soil hydrothermal dynamics in the active layer to permafrost degradation under different alpine grassland types is unclear on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In this study, long-term soil temperature and soil water content in the active layer were monitored in situ from October 2010 to December 2018 at five sites in the Kaixinling permafrost region on the interior Qinghai-Tibet Plateau along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The sites included an alpine steppe (AS), three alpine meadows (AM) with different degrees of degraded vegetation, and an alpine swamp meadow (ASM). Based on field-monitored data, the variations in soil temperature, soil water content, and freeze-thaw processes were examined in the active layer. The response characteristics of the soil hydrothermal processes to climate change were analysed under the different alpine grasslands. The results showed that the duration of the thawing and freezing stages of the active layer of the AMs was shorter than that of the ASM and the AS. The average mean annual soil temperature (MAST) in the active layer of the AM ((-1.25 & PLUSMN; 0.50) & DEG;C) was lower than those in the AS ((-0.71 & PLUSMN; 0.39) & DEG;C) and ASM ((-0.45 & PLUSMN; 0.57) & DEG;C), while the AM had the highest rate of soil temperature increase ((0.2 & PLUSMN; 0.06) & DEG;C per year). The annual amplitude of ground temperature in the active layer increased with the transition direction of the alpine vegetation type from ASM to AM to AS. The small surface offset (SO) and thermal offset (TO) (absolute values) indicated that the ground thermal state of the AM was more unstable, as it was more sensitive to the increase in air temperature than the ASM or the AS. Soil properties controlled the distribution of soil water content within the active layer, but vegetation improved the shallow soil structure by producing more belowground phytomass, thus, enhancing soil water content in the 0-30 cm layer. The average soil water content at depths of 0-30 cm was directly proportional ( p < 0.05) to the phytomass. Soil water contents at depths of 0-30 cm in the ASM ((37.7 & PLUSMN; 5.3)%) and the AM ((40.8 & PLUSMN; 5.9)%) were significantly higher than those in the AS ((22.7 & PLUSMN; 3.2)%). These results provide valuable insight into the hydrothermal interactions between the degradation of permafrost and alpine vegetation under a warming climate.

Although many studies have found that global warming has caused permafrost to thaw, we still lack understanding of the mechanism relating permafrost thawing and ecosystem carbon budgets. To compare the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on the grassland ecosystem carbon budget between a permafrost area (PA) and a non-permafrost area (NPA), we established two carbon dioxide flux towers since 2015 to monitor the net ecosystem exchange by eddy covariance (EC) systems at the site of Nalaikh in PA and Hustai in NPA. The gross primary production (GPP), respiration by ecosystems (Reco), and net ecosystem production (NEP) from 2016 to 2019 were estimated using EddyPro 7 and ToviTM. The result showed that, at the PA and NPA sites, the annual GPP was 686.3 and 654.9 g C m- 2 y-1, Reco was 611.5 and 699.6 g C m- 2 y-1, and NEP was 73.8 and -45.5 g C m-2 y- 1, respectively, which implies that the grassland ecosystem was a carbon sink in the PA but a carbon source in the NPA. Then, the effect of the freeze-thaw cycles on the carbon budget was also analyzed. The NEP in the PA (35.3 g C m-2) was significantly larger than in the NPA (0.3 g C m-2) during the thawing period and, similarly, the NEP in the PA (121.7 g C m-2) was also larger than in the NPA (72.1 g C m-2) during the thawed period, implying significantly larger carbon absorption in the PA than in the NPA during both the thawing and thawed periods. Finally, correlation analysis results revealed that the soil water content (SWC) plays an important role in maintaining the ecosystem carbon budget. The degradation of permafrost might accelerate soil thawing and promote the transfer of soil water, and thus greatly affect the carbon budget of grassland ecosystems in Mongolia.

Leaching of nitrate (NO3 (-))-a reactive nitrogen form with impacts on ecosystem health-increases during the non-growing season (NGS) of agricultural soils under cold climates. Cover crops are effective at reducing NGS NO3 (-) leaching, but this benefit may be altered with less snow cover inducing more soil freezing under warmer winters. Our objective was to quantify the effect of winter warming on NO3 (-) leaching from cover crops for a loamy sand (LS) and a silt loam (SIL) soil. This research was conducted over 2 years in Ontario, Canada, using 18 high-precision weighing lysimeters designed to study ecosystem services from agricultural soils. Infra-red heaters were used to simulate warming in lysimeters under a wheat-corn-soybean rotation planted with a cover crop mixture with (+H) and without heating (-H). Nitrate leaching determination used NO3 (-) concentration at 90 cm (discrete sampling) and high temporal resolution drainage volume measurements. Data were analyzed for fall, overwinter, spring-thaw, post-planting, and total period (i.e., November 1 to June 30 of 2017/2018 and 2018/2019). Warming significantly affected soil temperature and soil water content-an effect that was similar for both years. As expected, experimental units under + H presented warmer soils at 5 and 10 cm, along with higher soil water content in liquid form than -H lysimeters, which translated into higher drainage values for + H than -H, especially during the overwinter period. NO3 (-) concentrations at 90 cm were only affected by winter heating for the LS soil. The drainage and NO3 (-) concentrations exhibited high spatial variation, which likely reduced the sensitivity to detect significant differences. Thus, although absolute differences in NO3 (-) leaching between LS vs. SIL and +H (LS) vs. -H (LS) were large, only a trend occurred for higher leaching in LS in 2018/2019. Our research demonstrated that soil heating can influence overwinter drainage (for LS and SIL soils) and NO3 (-) concentration at 90 cm in the LS soil-important NO3 (-) leaching controlling factors. However, contrary to our initial hypothesis, the heating regime adopted in our study did not promote colder soils during the winter. We suggest different heating regimes such as intermittent heating to simulate extreme weather freeze/thaw events as a future research topic.

Vegetation patch patterns, which are used as indicators of state, functionality, and catastrophic changes in the arid ecosystem, have received much attention. However, little is known about the controlling factors and indicators that underlie vegetation patch patterns in the alpine grassland ecosystem. Here, we firstly studied characteristics of vegetation patch patterns with aerial photography by using an unmanned aerial vehicle and evaluated the vegetation patch-size distribution with power law (PL) and truncated power law (TPL) models on the central part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). We then investigated the effects of environmental factors and biotic disturbances on vegetation patch patterns. The results showed that (1) there were four typical vegetation patch patterns, i.e. spot, stripe, sheet, and uniform patterns; (2) soil water content and air temperature were major environmental factors affecting vegetation patch patterns; (3) biotic disturbance of plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) affected vegetation patch patterns by changing the number, area, and connectivity of vegetation patches; and (4) vegetation patch-size distribution parameters were significantly related to soil hydrothermal variables (P < 0.01). We concluded that the development of alpine vegetation patch patterns was controlled by soil hydrothermal conditions and plateau pika's disturbance. We also proposed that gamma (TPL-PL) (difference between absolute values of slopes of TPL and PL curve fits) could serve as an effective indicator for monitoring alpine grassland conditions, and preventing patchiness was a critical task for the alpine ecosystem management and restoration.

The active layer thickness (ALT) in permafrost regions regulates hydrological cycles, water sustainability, and ecosystem functions in the cryosphere and is extremely sensitive to climate change. Previous studies often focused on the impacts of rising temperature on the ALT, while the roles of soil water content and soil granularity have rarely been investigated. Here, we incorporate alterations of soil water contents in soil thermal properties across various soil granularities and assess spatiotemporal ALT dynamics on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). The regional average ALT on the QTP is projected to be nearly 4 m by 2100. Our results indicate that soil wetting decelerates the active layer thickening in response to warming, while latent heat exerts stronger control on ALTs than thermal conductivity does. Under similar warming conditions, active layers thicken faster in coarse soils than in fine soils. An important ramification of this study is that neglecting soil wetting may cause overestimations of active layer thickening on the QTP.