The Ecohydrology Research Group (ERG) and China University of Geosciences (CUG) are coordinating the International Research Partnership on Cold Regions Ecohydrogeology (COREH), which includes partners from Canada, China, Sweden, France and Russia. One important goal of COREH is to establish a critical zone observatory (CZO) in the black soil region of NE China. A joint field trip with participants from the partner institutes took place on April 28-29 to explore potential research sites in Heilongjiang Province. ERG participants included Philippe Van Cappellen, Fereidoun Rezanezhad, Christina Smeaton and Kunfu Pi. Logistical support was provided by the Heilongjiang Institute of Geological Survey (HIGS).
On April 28, two field stations of the Institute of Geography and Agroecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) were visited: the Hailun Water and Soil Conservation and Monitoring Station and the Hailun National Experimental Station of Agroecosystems. This was followed by a visit to the Hailun Zhayin River Watershed where CUG has initiated research on ground and surface water quality. On April 29, the participants had the opportunity to visit the Wudalianchi Geo-Park and Biological Reserve before returning to Harbin. The next two days were devoted to presentations and a workshop at HIGS. Significant progress was made on drafting a joint review paper on black soils, an effort coordinated by Kunfu, and on focusing the research activities of COREH. Soil samples collected at the Hailun National Experimental station of Agroecosystems were prepared to be sent off to the Swedish Agricultural University and University of Waterloo. On May 3, the ERG members returned home.