Problems of agriculture in Slovenia with special reference to Cirkovce

The transition in the Slovenian countryside is examined through a case study of Cirkovce, a local centre for the central southern section of the Dravsko polje plain where natural and socio-geographical factors underpin a mixed rural-urban structure. Farming is intensive, but a high percentage of people are now employed outside agriculture; a situation which is reflected clearly in the appearance of the settlement. The process of rural depopulation, balanced by the growth of employment in industry and services, is reflected in a secondary knot of settlement around Cirkovce's railway station. Agriculture is still very significant but there needs to be some consolidation of landholding to create larger units suitable for market production and food processing. But the village must also improve its range of functions and provide a better environment for the non-agricultural population which will become increasing important for its future development. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The October 4th, 1983 — Magnitude 4 earthquake in Phlegraean Fields: Macroseismic survey

On Oct. 4th, 1983 the area of Phlegraean Fields, near Naples (Southern Italy) was shaked by an earthquake of magnitude (M _L) 4.0 that caused some damage in the town of Pozzuoli and its surroundings. This seismic event was the largest one recorded during the recent (1982–84) inflation episode occurred in the Phlegraean volcanic area, and a detailed macroseismic reconstruction of the event was carried out.Failing macroseismic data on other earthquakes occurred in Phlegraean Fields, the attenuation law of the intensity as a function of the distance as obtained for the Oct. 4th earthquake was compared with those obtained for other volcanic areas in central Italy —i.e., Tolfa, Monte Amiata — in order to check the reliability of the results obtained for Phlegraean Fields.The Blake's model of the earthquake of Oct. 4th, 1983 does not agree with the experimental data because isoseismals contain areas larger than those shown by the model. This result has been interpreted as an effect of energy focusing due to a reflecting layer 6–8 km deep.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phragmites</Emphasis> and environmental management: A question of values

For a common, widespread, and familiar plant,Phragmites australis engenders an enormous level of scientific controversy and emotional conflict. In parts of the world,Phragmites is an important component of healthy ecosystems and an integral (if now minor) contributor to human economies. In other places it is an invading, unfriendly, and ugly weed. To some scientists and environmentalists,Phragmites is an indicator of and key factor in landscape degradation and habitat deterioration. To others, it is a valiant remnant of nature, providing a relatively rich ecology where there might otherwise be only barren and eroding ground. Our review of the literature leads us to conclude thatPhragmites is simply a biological entity. It is not inherently good or bad, since its evolution, biology, and ecology do not give it a value. The controversy overPhragmites, its role in the ecosystem, and the need for and intensity of management efforts are all artifacts of human perspectives. Effective, consistent management decisions (for either control or enhancement ofPhragmites) can only be made on the basis of site-specific scientific findings, a consideration of technologies with their needed level-of-effort, and explicit exposition of the human values driving the management options. We present a simple decision model to illustrate the interaction of these management components forPhragmites in the environment.     

The ALICE instrument and the measured cosmic ray elemental abundances

A Large Isotopic Composition Experiment (ALICE) is a balloon-borne spectrometer which can determine the elemental and isotopic composition of galactic cosmic rays with energies near 1 GeV/nucleon. ALICE was flown from Prince Albert, Canada in August 1987, and remained at float altitude (120000 feet) for 14.7 hours. In this paper, we describe the experimental methods and analysis which will be used for subsequent isotopic analysis. We obtained very precise charge resolution over the entire designed range: 0.10 and 0.16 charge units at neon and iron, respectively. Results on the galactic cosmic ray abundances and absolute fluxes of the elements from neon through nickel are reported.     

Export fluxes of biogenic matter in the presence and absence of seasonal sea ice cover in the Chukchi Sea

Drifting sediment traps were deployed at 9 stations in May-June (ice-covered conditions) and July-August (ice-free conditions) 2004 in the Chukchi Sea to investigate the variability in export fluxes of biogenic matter in the presence and absence of sea ice cover. Measurements of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate nitrogen (PN), phytoplankton, zooplankton fecal pellets, and the stable carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) of the sinking material were performed along Barrow Canyon (BC) and a parallel shelf-to-basin transect from East Hanna Shoal (EHS) to the Canada Basin. POC export fluxes were similarly high in the presence (378±106 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) and in the absence of ice cover (442±203 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) at the BC stations, while fluxes were significantly higher in the absence (129±98 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) than in the presence of ice cover (44±29 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) at the EHS stations. The C/N ratios and δ¹³C values of sinking organic particles indicated that POC export fluxes on the Chukchi continental shelf were mostly composed of freshly produced labile material, except at the EHS stations under ice cover where the exported matter was mostly composed of refractory material probably advected into the EHS region. Chl-a fluxes were higher under ice cover than in ice-free water, however, relatively low daily loss rates of Chl-a and similar phytoplankton carbon fluxes in ice-covered and ice-free water suggest the retention of phytoplankton in the upper water column. An increase in fecal pellet carbon fluxes in ice-free water reflected higher grazing pressure in the absence of ice cover. Elevated daily loss rates of POC at the BC stations confirmed other indications that Barrow Canyon is an important area of carbon export to the basin and/or benthos. These results support the conclusion that there are large spatial and temporal variations in export fluxes of biogenic matter on the Chukchi continental shelf, although export fluxes may be similar in the presence and in the absence of ice cover in highly productive regions.     

Spatial patterning of water quality in Biscayne Bay, Florida as a function of land use and water management

An objective classification analysis was performed on a water quality data set from 25 sites collected monthly during 1994-2003. The water quality parameters measured included: TN, TON, DIN, NH4+, NO3-, NO2-, TP, SRP, TN:TP ratio, TOC, DO, CHL A, turbidity, salinity and temperature. Based on this spatial analysis, Biscayne Bay was divided into five zones having similar water quality characteristics. A robust nutrient gradient, driven mostly by dissolved inorganic nitrogen, from alongshore to offshore in the main Bay, was a large determinant in the spatial clustering. Two of these zones (Alongshore and Inshore) were heavily influenced by freshwater input from four canals which drain the South Dade agricultural area, Black Point Landfill, and sewage treatment plant. The North Bay zone, with high turbidity, phytoplankton biomass, total phosphorus, and low DO, was affected by runoff from five canals, the Munisport Landfill, and the urban landscape. The South Bay zone, an embayment surrounded by mangrove wetlands with little urban development, was high in dissolved organic constituents but low in inorganic nutrients. The Main Bay was the area most influenced by water exchange with the Atlantic Ocean and showed the lowest nutrient concentrations. The water quality in Biscayne Bay is therefore highly dependent of the land use and influence from the watershed.     

Drought projection based on a hybrid drought index using Artificial Neural Networks

The Tarim River Basin is a special endorheic arid drainage basin in Central Asia, characterized by limited rainfall and high evaporation as common in deserts, while water is supplied mainly by glacier and snow melt from the surrounding mountains. The existing drought indices can hardly capture the drought features in this region as droughts are caused by two dominant factors (meteorological and hydrological conditions). To overcome the problem, a new hybrid drought index (HDI), integrating the meteorological and hydrological drought regimes, was developed and tested in the basin in the work. The index succeeded in revealing the drought characteristics and the ensemble influence better than the single standardized precipitation index or the hydrological index. The Artificial Neural Network approach based on temperature and precipitation observations was set up to simulate the HDI change. The method enabled constructing scenarios of future droughts in the region using climate simulation of the GCMs under four RCP scenarios from the latest CMIP5 project. The simulations in the study have shown that the water budget patterns in the Tarim River Basin are more sensitive to temperature than to precipitation. Dominated by temperature rise causing an accelerating snow/glacier melt, the frequency of drought months is projected to decrease by about 14% in the next decades (until 2035). The drought duration is expected to be shortened to 3 months on average, with the severity alleviated. However, the region would still suffer more severe droughts with a high intensity in some years. The general decrease in drought frequency and intensity over the region in the future would be beneficial for water resources management and agriculture development in the oases. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Limestone Provenance in Roman Lime‐Volcanic Ash Mortars from the Villa dei Quintili,Rome

Roman mortars were collected from the Villa dei Quintili in Rome, an archaeological site consisting of numerous edifices from nine construction phases dating from the 2nd century A.D. to modern times. A multianalytical approach was used on 34 mortar samples to infer the evolution of production techniques over time and to identify the source area of calcareous raw materials used in the preparation of the lime. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with an energy‐dispersive system, and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were used to study the samples. The major and trace element data were compared with the compositions of two types of limestone samples (Calcare Massiccio and Calcare Maiolica) collected from the Cornicolani Mountains. The results suggest that the technological practices and the calcareous raw materials used for lime production remained unchanged over the time period considered (2nd century A.D. to 3rd century A.D.). The compositions of lime‐related particles in the mortars match those of Calcare Maiolica, which suggests its use as raw material for lime production. On the whole, the results are in agreement with data from existing literature regarding both the use by Roman builders of specific raw materials for the mortars’ production and the relative supply area.