Integrating diverse methods to understand climate-land interactions in East Africa

The questions of how land use change affects climate, and how climate change affects land use, require examination of societal and environmental systems across space at multiple scales, from the global climate to regional vegetative dynamics to local decision making by farmers and herders. It also requires an analysis of causal linkages and feedback loops between systems. These questions and the conceptual approach of the research design of the Climate-Land Interaction Project (CLIP) are rooted in the classical human-environment research tradition in Geography.This paper discusses a methodological framework to quantify the two-way interactions between land use and regional climate systems, using ongoing work by a team of multi-disciplinary scientists examining climate-land dynamics at multiple scales in East Africa. East Africa is a region that is undergoing rapid land use change, where changes in climate would have serious consequences for people’s livelihoods, and requiring new coping and land use strategies. The research involves exploration of linkages between two important foci of global change research, namely, land use/land cover (LULC) and climate change. These linkages are examined through modeling agricultural systems, land use driving forces and patterns, the physical properties of land cover, and the regional climate. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are being used to illustrate a diverse pluralism in scientific discovery.     

Models of natural and human dynamics in forest landscapes: Cross-site and cross-cultural synthesis

We synthesize the study of coupled natural and human systems across sites and cultures through a process of simplification and abstraction based on multiple dimensions of human-nature connectedness: satisfaction of basic needs, psycho-cultural connectedness and regulation of use of natural resources. We thus provide both a place-based and general understanding of value-driven anthropogenic environmental change and response. Two questions guide this research: what are the crucial stakeholder values that drive land use decisions and thus land cover change? And how can knowledge of these values be used to make decisions and policies that sustain both the human and natural systems in a place? To explore these questions we build simulation models of four study sites, two in the State of Texas, United States, and two in Venezuela. All include protected areas, though they differ in the specifics of vegetation and land use. In the Texas sites, relatively affluent individuals are legally converting forests to residential, commercial, and industrial uses, while in Venezuela landless settlers are extra-legally converting forests for purposes of subsistence agriculture. Contemporary modeling techniques now facilitate simulations of stakeholder and ecosystem dynamics revealing emergent patterns. Such coupled human and natural systems are currently recognized as a form of biocomplexity. Our modeling framework is flexible enough to allow adaptation to each of the study sites, capturing the essential features of the respective natural and anthropogenic land use changes and stakeholder reactions. The interactions between human stakeholders are simulated using multi-agent models that act on forest landscape models, and receive feedback of the effects of these actions on ecological habitats and hydrological response. The multi-agent models employ a formal logic-based method for the Venezuelan sites and a decision analysis approach using multi-attribute utility functions for the Texas sites, differing more in style and emphasis than in substance. Our natural-systems models are generic and can be tailored according to site-specific conditions. Similar models of tree growth and patch transitions are used for all the study sites and the differing responses to environmental variables are specified for each local species and terrain conditions.     

Coupled and complex: Human-environment interaction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA

Complexity theory has received considerable attention over the past decade from a wide variety of disciplines. Some who write on this topic suggest that complexity theory will lead to a unifying understanding of complex phenomena; others dismiss it as a passing and disruptive fad. We suggest that for the analysis of coupled natural/human systems, the truth emerges from the middle ground. As an approach focused as much on the connections among system elements as the elements themselves, we argue that complexity theory provides a useful conceptual framework for the study of coupled natural/human systems. It is, if nothing else, a framework that leads us to ask interesting questions about, for example, sustainability, resilience, threshold events, and predictability.In this paper we attempt to demystify the ongoing discussions on complexity theory by linking its evocative and overloaded terminology to real-world processes. We illustrate how a shift in focus from system elements to connections among elements can lead to meaningful insight into human-environment interactions that might otherwise be overlooked. We ground our discussion in ongoing interdisciplinary research surrounding Yellowstone National Park’s northern elk winter range; a tightly coupled natural/human system that has been the center of debate, conflict, and compromise for more than 135 years.     

Oxygen Isotope Evidence for Chemical Interaction of Ki lauea Historical Magmas with Basement Rocks

Klauea historical summit lavas have a wide range in matrix ¹⁸O_VSMOWvalues (4·9–5·6) with lower values in rockserupted following a major summit collapse or eruptive hiatus.In contrast, ¹⁸O values for olivines in most of these lavasare nearly constant (5·1 ± 0·1). The disequilibriumbetween matrix and olivine ¹⁸O values in many samples indicatesthat the lower matrix values were acquired by the magma afterolivine growth, probably just before or during eruption. BothMauna Loa and Klauea basement rocks are the likely sources ofthe contamination, based on O, Pb and Sr isotope data. However,the extent of crustal contamination of Klauea historical magmasis probably minor (< 12%, depending on the assumed contaminant)and it is superimposed on a longer-term, cyclic geochemicalvariation that reflects source heterogeneity. Klauea's heterogeneoussource, which is well represented by the historical summit lavas,probably has magma ¹⁸O values within the normal mid-ocean ridgebasalt mantle range (5·4–5·8) based on thenew olivine ¹⁸O values. KEY WORDS: Hawaii; Klauea; basalt; oxygen isotopes; crustal contamination     

Background concentrations of elements in surface soils and their changes as affected by agriculture use in the desert-oasis ecotone in the middle of Heihe River Basin,North-west China

The concentrations of twenty four chemical elements in the surface layer of natural desert soils and the cultivated farmland soils were measured at a desert-oasis ecotone in the middle of Heihe river basin, north-west China. Background values were estimated for (a) major elements (Si 335.3 g kg^− 1, Al 49.4 g kg^− 1, Fe 19.1 g kg^− 1, Ca 29.4 g kg^− 1, Mg 8.9 g kg^− 1, K 20.1 g kg^− 1, Na 17.5 g kg^− 1 and P 0.338 g kg^− 1), (b) heavy metals and non-metals (Cr 55.8 mg kg^− 1, Mn 404.8 mg kg^− 1, Ni 17.7 mg kg^− 1, Cu 5.1 mg kg^− 1, Zn 33.7 mg kg^− 1, Pb 15.5 mg kg^− 1 and As 5.2 mg kg^− 1) and (c) other trace elements (Ti 2.0 mg kg^− 1, V 55.3 mg kg^− 1, Co 5.7 mg kg^− 1, Rb 82.4 mg kg^− 1, Sr 232.9 mg kg^− 1, Y 14.7 mg kg^− 1, Zr 194.9 mg kg^− 1, Nb 7.8 mg kg^− 1 and Ba 720.6 mg kg^− 1). After natural desert soil was cultivated for agricultural use, significant changes in element concentrations occurred under tillage, irrigation and fertilisation management. Compared to natural soil, the for the levels of Si, K, Na, Sr, Zr and Ba decreased, and no changes were observed for Rb, while the values of the other 17 elements increase in agricultural soil from 1.2 to 3.5 times. However, their absolute concentrations are still low, suggesting that the arable soil in this region remains comparatively a clean soil. The increased silt, clay and organic carbon content, under long-term irrigation, enriched the fine-grained materials, and application of fertilisers and manure contributed to the accumulation of most elements in arable soil. The accumulation of elements in agricultural soil increased with increasing cultivation years and extent of soil development.     

Pervasive wetland flooding in the glacial drift prairie of North Dakota (USA)

This article describes a unique flood hazard, produced by the dramatic expansion of wetlands in Nelson County, located within the North American Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. There has been an unprecedented increase in the number, average size, and permanence of prairie wetlands, and a significant increase in the size of a closed lake (Stump Lake) due to a decade-long wet spell that began in 1993 following a prolonged drying trend. Base-line land cover information from the 1992 USGS National Land Cover Characterization dataset, and a Landsat TM scene acquired 9 July 2001 are used to assess the growth of the closed lake and wetland pond surface areas, and to analyze the type and area of various land cover classes inundated between 1992 and 2001. The open water profile in Nelson County changed from one marked by relatively comparable coverage of closed lake and wetland pond areas in 1992, to one in which wetland open water accounted for the vast majority of total open water in 2001. The bulk of the wetland pond area expansion occurred by displacing existing wetland vegetation and agricultural cropland. Producers responded to the flood hazard by filing Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) claims and enrolling cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal land retirement program. Land taken out of agricultural production has had an enormous impact upon the agricultural sector that forms the economic base of the rural economy. In 2001 the land taken out of production due to CRP enrollment and preventive planting claims represented nearly 42% of Nelson County’s 205.2 K ha base agricultural land. The patterns obtained from this detailed study of Nelson County are likely to be the representative of the more publicized flood disaster occurring within the Devils Lake Basin of North Dakota.     

橄榄岩—熔体相互作用过程中Re-Os体系的变化趋势: 对华北新生代地幔橄榄岩Re-Os年龄含义的启示

橄榄岩的Re-Os同位素体系作为探讨岩石圈地幔形成年龄的重要手段已受到人们越来越多的重视。然而,Re-Os体系是否会受到橄榄岩的低温蚀变如蛇纹石化和地幔交代作用或橄榄岩—熔体相互作用的影响并不十分清楚。本文在总结国际上典型造山带橄榄岩剖面研究和地幔橄榄岩捕虏体研究的基础上,发现橄榄岩的Re-Os同位素体系基本不受蛇纹石化等低温蚀变作用的影响; 但橄榄岩—熔体相互作用会造成橄榄岩的Re-Os体系的变化即Re或Os的带入。当熔体/岩石比例较小时(≤1),橄榄岩—熔体相互作用会造成橄榄岩的Re含量显著增加,而放射成因的Os同位素即¹⁸⁷Os增量有限。但当熔体/岩石比例很大时(≥1),会造成¹⁸⁷Os同位素显著增加。同时,橄榄岩的Re含量与中等程度不相容主、微量元素如Al、Ti、Yb的正相关关系可以通过橄榄岩的两阶段演化模式来解释,即早期的部分熔融残留和后期的橄榄岩—熔体相互作用共同影响的结果。橄榄岩的Re含量与Cr含量的正相关关系进一步说明了这一问题。上述结果对华北东部岩石圈地幔的演化过程有重要的启示作用。因为华北东部古生代时期的确存在太古宙岩石圈地幔,然而新生代时期地幔橄榄岩捕虏体普遍具有元古宙而非太古宙的事实证明橄榄岩—熔体的相互作用的确广泛存在,从而造成岩石圈地幔橄榄岩变年轻。因此,新生代地幔捕虏体的Re-Os同位素年龄并不是岩石圈地幔的形成年龄,而是混合作用的结果。汉诺坝地幔橄榄岩的Re含量和Sr、Nd同位素组成符合橄榄岩—多元熔体相互作用的混合趋势,其橄榄岩的全岩Al₂O₃含量和橄榄石Fo的反相关性能够通过橄榄岩—熔体相互作用来解释。     

川东华蓥山二叠系／三叠系界线附近粘土层中粘土矿物的类型及成因

对川东华蓥山二叠系／三叠系界线附近粘土层中的粘土矿物进行野外采样和室内X射线衍射分析,结果表明,这些粘土矿物主要由规则混层伊利石-蒙脱石组成,其中1个样品可能舍有少量不规则混层绿泥石-蒙脱石等粘土矿物。总地看来．该界线粘土层中的规则混层伊利石-蒙脱石中伊利石层的含量自下而上呈现减少的趋势,平均含量约83％,所经历的最大古地温在125-150℃之间。这些粘土矿物的构成和特征与前人在华南其他地区相同层位取得的成果总体上具有较好的一致性．显示了该粘土层成因的相同性及所具有的等时意义。不同地区粘土矿物构成的差异性（如高岭石的存在与含量）可能与二叠系／三叠系界线不整合的存在与否或间断时间有关,规则混层伊利石-蒙脱石的混层比则与埋藏历史和沉积-沉积期后的流体介质有关。     

SO4^2-改性铁铝复合层柱粘土的制备及其催化性能研究

由共聚法制得的铁铝复合交联剂交换钠基蒙脱石层间的水合钠离子,再经SO42-改性处理制备了铁铝复合层柱粘土固体超强酸催化剂.利用xRD、FT-IR和BET法对催化剂的结构进行了表征.以乙酸正丁酯的合成反应为探针反应对催化剂的活性进行了测试.通过正交实验确定了铁铝复合交联粘土SO42-改性最佳工艺条件.研究了催化剂对探针反应的选择性及重复使用情况.结果表明:在由实验确定的最佳改性工艺条件下,乙酸的转化率达92.2%,反应中无副产物产生,催化剂具有较好的重复使用性能.