Attribution analysis for water yield service based on the geographical detector method: A case study of the Hengduan Mountain region

Ecosystem services, which include water yield services, have been incorporated into decision processes of regional land use planning and sustainable development. Spatial pattern characteristics and identification of factors that influence water yield are the basis for decision making. However, there are limited studies on the driving mechanisms that affect the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services. In this study, we used the Hengduan Mountain region in southwest China, with obvious spatial heterogeneity, as the research site. The water yield module in the In VEST software was used to simulate the spatial distribution of water yield. Also, quantitative attribution analysis was conducted for various geomorphological and climatic zones in the Hengduan Mountain region by using the geographical detector method. Influencing factors, such as climate, topography, soil, vegetation type, and land use type and pattern, were taken into consideration for this analysis. Four key findings were obtained. First, water yield spatial heterogeneity is influenced most by climate-related factors, where precipitation and evapotranspiration are the dominant factors. Second, the relative importance of each impact factor to the water yield heterogeneity differs significantly by geomorphological and climatic zones. In flat areas, the influence of evapotranspiration is higher than that of precipitation. As relief increases, the importance of precipitation increases and eventually, it becomes the most influential factor. Evapotranspiration is the most influential factor in a plateau climate zone, while in the mid-subtropical zone, precipitation is the main controlling factor. Third, land use type is also an important driving force in flat areas. Thus, more attention should be paid to urbanization and land use planning, which involves land use changes, to mitigate the impact on water yield spatial pattern. The fourth finding was that a risk detector showed that Primarosol and Anthropogenic soil areas, shrub areas, and areas with slope 5° and 25°–35° should be recognized as water yield important zones, while the corresponding elevation values are different among different geomorphological and climatic zones. Therefore, the spatial heterogeneity and influencing factors in different zones should be fully con-sidered while planning the maintenance and protection of water yield services in the Hengduan Mountain region.     

贵州猫跳河流域土地利用变化和土壤侵蚀(英文)

Due to the extremely poor soil cover, a low soil-forming rate, and inappropriate intensive land use, soil erosion is a serious problem in Guizhou Province, which is located in the centre of the karst areas of Southwest China. In order to bring soil erosion under control and restore environment, the Chinese Government has initiated a serious of ecological rehabilitation projects such as the Grain-for-Green Programme and Natural Forest Protection Program and brought about tremendous influences on land-use change and soil erosion in Guizhou Province. This paper explored the relationship between land use and soil erosion in the Maotiao River watershed, a typical agricultural area with severe soil erosion in central Guizhou Province. In this study, we analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamic change of land-use type in Maotiao River watershed from 1973 to 2007 using Landsat MSS image in 1973, Landsat TM data in 1990 and 2007. Soil erosion change characteristics from 1973 to 2007, and soil loss among different land-use types were examined by integrating the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with a GIS environment. The results indicate that changes in land use within the watershed have significantly affected soil erosion. From 1973 to 1990, dry farmland and rocky desertified land significantly increased. In contrast, shrubby land, other forestland and grassland significantly decreased, which caused accelerated soil erosion in the study area. This trend was reversed from 1990 to 2007 with an increased area of land-use types for ecological use owing to the implementation of environmental protection programs. Soil erosion also significantly varied among land-use types. Erosion was most serious in dry farmland and the lightest in paddy field. Dry farmland with a gradient of 6°-25° was the major contributor to soil erosion, and conservation practices should be taken in these areas. The results of this study provide useful information for decision makers and planners to take sustainable land use management and soil conservation measures in the area.     

中国山区农村土地利用转型及其对土地整治的政策启示（英文）

The cultivation of mountainous land results in water loss and soil erosion. With rapid urbanization and industrialization in China, labor emigration relieves the cultivation of mountainous areas in regions with high poverty and leads to a significant land use transition. This research built an analysis framework for "land use transition – driving mechanism – effects –responses" for mountainous areas of China undergoing land use transition and then proposed the direction of mountainous land consolidation. The results showed that the turning point of land use morphology was the core of rural land use transition in mountainous areas. The expansion of cropland and the contraction of forestland have transitioned to the abandonment of cropland and the expansion of forestland; this transition was the main characteristic of the dominant land use change. Land marginalization and land ecological functional recovery were the main characteristics of the recessive land use transition in mountainous areas. Socioeconomic factors were the primary driving forces during land use transition in mountainous areas, with labor emigration being the most direct force. The rising costs of farming and the challenging living conditions causing labor emigration were fundamental driving forces. Rural land use transition in mountainous areas reduced the vulnerability of the ecological function of land ecosystems. The advantages and disadvantages of the socioeconomic effects should focus on rural development of mountainous areas as well as the livelihood of farmers; this should be further supported by empirical and quantitative research. Rural land use transition of mountainous areas improves natural restoration and is related to socioeconomic development. Rural land consolidation of mountainous areas should conform to land use transition,with the goal of shifting from the increase of cultivated land to the synergies of ecological and environmental protection.     

西藏冻融侵蚀的分级和评价

Freeze-thaw erosion is the third largest soil erosion type after water erosion and wind erosion. Restricted by many factors, few researches on freeze-thaw erosion have so far been done at home and abroad, especially those on the assessment method of freeze-thaw erosion. Based on the comprehensive analysis of impact factors of free-thaw erosion, this paper chooses six indexes, including the annual temperature range, annual precipitation, slope, aspect, vegetation and soil, to build the model for relative classification of freeze-thaw erosion using weighted and additive methods, and realizes the relative classification of the freeze-thaw erosion in Tibet with the support of GIS software. Then a synthetic assessment of freeze-thaw erosion in Tibet has been carried out according to the relative classification result. The result shows that the distribution of freeze-thaw eroded area is very extensive in Tibet, accounting for 55.3% of the total local land area; the spatial differentiation of freeze-thaw erosion with different intensities is obvious; and the difference in distribution among different regions is also obvious.     

东北黑土漫岗区长坡面坡耕地侵蚀产沙沿程变化

Characteristics of soil erosion change along a long slope in the gentle hilly areas in black soil region in Northeast China are discussed. A simplified slope model based on seg-ments was used to analyze the runoff data and soil erosion data observed between 2003 and 2004 over 10 field plots with different slope length in Heshan Farm,Heilongjiang Province. We found that soil erosion rate over long slopes in the black soil region changed alternatively along the slope and creates alternative zones of intensive erosion and week erosion.The exact place of each zone is different for different rainfall conditions. In a year with less and mild precipitation,rill cannot happen within the top 50 m,while in a year with large and inten-sive precipitation,rill can be formed starting even at 15 m from the top of the slope.     

陕北地区退耕还林还草工程土壤保护效应的时空特征

This paper looks at the Green for Grain Project in northern Shaanxi Province.Based on remote sensing monitoring data,this study analyzes the locations of arable land in northern Shaanxi in the years 2000,2010 and 2013 as well as spatio-temporal changes over that period,and then incorporates data on the distribution of terraced fields to improve the input parameters of a RUSLE model and simulate and generate raster data on soil erosion for northern Shaanxi at different stages with a accuracy verification.Finally,combined with the dataset of farmland change,compared and analyzed the characteristics of soil erosion change in the converted farmland to forest(grassland)and the unconverted farmland in northern Shaanxi,so as to determine the project’s impact on soil erosion over time across the region.The results show that between 2000 and 2010,the soil erosion modulus of repurposed farmland in northern Shaanxi decreased 22.7 t/ha,equivalent to 47.08%of the soil erosion modulus of repurposed farmland in 2000.In the same period,the soil erosion modulus of non-repurposed farmland fell 10.99 t/ha,equivalent to 28.6%of the soil erosion modulus of non-repurposed farmland in 2000.The soil erosion modulus for all types of land in northern Shaanxi decreased by an average of 14.51 t/ha between 2000 and 2010,equivalent to 41.87%of the soil erosion modulus for the entire region in 2000.This suggests that the Green for Grain Project effectively reduced the soil erosion modulus,thus helping to protect the soil.In particular,arable land that was turned into forest and grassland reduced erosion most noticeably and contributed most to soil conservation.Nevertheless,in the period 2010 to 2013,which was a period of consolidation of the Green for Grain Project,the soil erosion modulus and change in volume of soil erosion in northern Shaanxi were significantly lower than in the previous decade.     

中国中、东部典型样区不同发展水平下土壤与土地利用多样性的对比分析(英文)

Two typical provincial capitals (Nanjing and Zhengzhou) and two counties (Rugao and Yuanyang) in east (Jiangsu Province) and central (Henan Province) China were chosen respectively as the developed and less developed comparative cases for pedodiversity and land use diversity correlative analysis by borrowing the recently better developed pedodiversity methodology. Land use classification was worked out using remote sensing images in three different periods (1986-1988, 2000-2001 and 2004-2006) for these studied case areas before the calculation of the constituent diversity index and spatial distribution diversity index modified after Shannon entropy in 2 km×2 km grid scale of the soil and land use pattern were conducted and then a connection index was proposed to evaluate the relationship between soil and land use diversity. Results show that during the years from 1986 to 2006, the composition and spatial distribution of regional land use pattern had changed greatly. The agricultural land area of all the studied case areas decreased obviously in which Nanjing has the highest decrement of 895.98 km 2 mainly into urban use while the other land use type area changes show the same trend. The connection index of four typical soil family types and typical urban land use types, i.e., urban construction land, transportation land and industrial and mining area all increased in this period. In the studied case areas, there is the highest soil constituent diversity in Zhengzhou at 0.779 while the simplest soil constituent diversity in Rugao at 0.582. Meanwhile we have higher land use diversity in the more urbanized Jiangsu Province than Henan Province, Nanjing is ranking the first that has been getting higher and higher in the three periods at 0.366 in 1986-1988, 0.483 in 2000-2001 and 0.545 in 2004-2006. Finally, the connection index figures to evaluate the relationship between soil and land use diversity of the studied areas were compared to show the similar phenomenon that this figure grows fastest in Nanjing followed by Zhengzhou and other places.     

A quantitative morphometric comparison of cockpit and doline karst landforms

This study presented a quantitative comparison of cockpit and doline karst by examining the numbers and characteristics of typical types of landform entities that are developed in Guilin（Guangxi, China）, La Alianza（PR, USA）, Avalton（KY, USA）, and Oolitic（IN, USA）. Five types of landform entities were defined： isolated hill（IH）, clustered hills（CHs）, isolated sinkhole（IS）, clustered sinkholes（CSs）, and clustered hills with sinkholes（CHSs）. An algorithm was developed to automatically identify these types of landform entities by examining the contour lines on topographic maps of two cockpit karst areas（Guilin and La Alianza） and two doline karst areas（Oolitic and Avalton）. Within each specific study area, the CHSs is the least developed type yet with a larger size and higher relief. The IH and IS entities are smaller in size, lower in relief, and outnumber their clustered counterparts. The total numbers of these types of entities are quite different in cockpit and doline karst areas. Doline karst is characterized by more negative（IS and CSs） than positive（IH and IHs） landforms and vice versa for cockpit karst. For example, the Guilin study area has 1192 positive landform entities in total, which occupy 9.81% of the total study area. It has only 622 negative landform entities occupying only 3.91% of the total study area. By contrast, the doline karst in Oolitic has 130 negative while only 10 positive landform entities. The positive and negative landforms in Oolitic occupy 12.68% and 2.61% of the total study area, respectively. Furthermore, average relief and slope of the landform entities are much higher and steeper in the cockpit karst than the doline karst areas. For instance, the average slope of CHs in Alvaton is 3.90 degrees while it is 19.78 degrees in La Alianza. The average relief of CSs is 4.07 m and 34.29 m in Oolitic and Guilin respectively. Such a difference within a specific area or between the cockpit and doline karst may reveal different controls on     

Simulation on slope uncertainty derived from DEMs at different resolution levels： a case study in the Loess Plateau

Slope is one of the crucial terrain variables in spatial analysis and land use planning, especially in the Loess Plateau area of China which is suffering from serious soil erosion. DEM based slope extracting method has been widely accepted and applied in practice. However slope accuracy derived from this method usually does not match with its popularity. A quantitative simulation to slope data uncertainty is important not only theoretically but also necessarily to applications. This paper focuses on how resolution and terrain complexity impact on the accuracy of mean slope extracted from DEMs of different resolutions in the Loess Plateau of China. Six typical geomorphologic areas are selected as test areas, representing different terrain types from smooth to rough. Their DEMs are produced from digitizing contours of 1:10,000 scale topographic maps. Field survey results show that 5 m should be the most suitable grid size for representing slope in the Loess Plateau area. Comparative and math-simulation methodology was employed for data processing and analysis. A linear correlativity between mean slope and DEM resolution was found at all test areas, but their regression coefficients related closely with the terrain complexity of the test areas. If taking stream channel density to represent terrain complexity, mean slope error could be regressed against DEM resolution (X) and stream channel density (S) at 8 resolution levels and expressed as(0.0015S2 0.031S-0.0325)X-0.0045S2-0.155S 0.1625, with a R2 value of over 0.98. Practical tests also show an effective result of this model in applications. The new development methodology applied in this study should be helpful to similar researches in spatial data uncertainty investigation.     

黄土高原多沙粗沙区流域坡面水保措施变化(英文)

To control soil erosion and restore the degraded environment in the Loess Plateau, a large number of measures related to soil and water conservation have been employed that have profoundly affected catchment properties. This study constructed three indicators to characterize changes to the catchment slope, proposed both a method for a regression analysis of adjacent images and a sequence model, and applied multisource remotely sensed images and GIS spatial clustering analysis technologies to extract thematic information and comprehensively analyze the catchment change characteristics. The results indicate that the catchment slope properties changed significantly. At catchment scale, the average values of ARC, DVC and ART were 6.43%, 25.57% and 4.30%, respectively. There were six clustering types of catchment slope property changes. The maximum and minimum of the average similarities of the clustering types were 0.992 and 0.935. Each slope control measures had a distinct effect on catchment slope; the dominating factor of each clustering type was identified as: Type 1: D-VC, Type 2: D-VCLU, Type 3: D-LUVC, Type 4: D-TAVC, Type 5: D-TAC and Type 6: D-MFC. Type 5 and Type 1 covered the largest areas, respectively occupying 37.28% and 31.01%. Catchment slope property changes also had distinct types that depended on their geomorphological conditions. These findings provide a useful basis from which to further study catchment slope hydrological and soil erosion processes.     

Small-scale vegetation dynamics in semi-arid steppe in Inner Mongolia

Small-scale vegetation dynamics were followed for ecotones and in uniform stands inArtemisia-dominated steppe vegetation under grazing and when recovering from heavy grazing. Species composition was followed annually for 5 years in 1 m²and 0·25 m²plots for (1) presence–absence; (2) density; and (3) biomass.More rapid vegetation dynamics, in terms of change of type of vegetation and distance moved in DCA species space between sampling occasions, were observed in smaller plots and in early seral stages, where species were few and alpha diversity low. Only the plots recently protected from grazing showed a directional vegetation change; those protected for more than 3 years and those under continued grazing showed, at this scale, non-directional dynamics.     

乌鲁木齐河流域不同水体中的氧稳定同位素

The variations of the stable oxygen isotope in different water mediums in Urumqi River Basin, China, are analyzed. The stable oxygen isotope in precipitation has marked temperature effect either under synoptic or seasonal scale at the head of Urumqi River. The linear regression equations of δ^18O against temperature are δ^18O=-0.94T-12.38 and δ^18O=1.29T-13.05 under the two time scales, respectively. The relatively large δ^18O/temperature slopes show the strong sensitivity of δ^18O in precipitation to temperature variation at the head of Urumqi River. According to the analyses on the δ^18O in precipitation sampled at three stations with different altitudes along Urumqi River, altitude effect is notable in the drainage basin. The δ^18O/altitude gradients have distinct differences: the gradient from Urumqi to Yuejinqiao is merely -0.054‰/hm, but -0.192‰/hm from Yuejinqiao to Daxigou, almost increasing by 2.6 times over the former. No altitude effect is found in surface firn the east branch of Glacier No. 1 at the head of Urumqi River, showing that precipitation in the glacier is from the cloud cluster with the same condensation level. Influenced by strong ablation and evaporation, the δ^18O in surface firn increases with increasing altitude sometimes. Survey has found that the δ^18O in meltwater at the terminus of Glacier No. 1 and in stream water at Total Control have the similar change trend with the former all smaller than the latter, which displays the different runoff recharges, and all mirror the regime of temperature in the same term basicallv.     

Post-wildfire erosion response in two geologic terrains in the western USA

Volumes of eroded sediment after wildfires vary substantially throughout different geologic terrains across the western United States. These volumes are difficult to compare because they represent the response to rainstorms and runoff with different characteristics. However, by measuring the erosion response as the erodibility efficiency of water to detach and transport sediment on hillslopes and in channels, the erosion response from different geologic terrains can be compared. Specifically, the erodibility efficiency is the percentage of the total available stream power expended to detach, remobilize, or transport a mass of sediment. Erodibility efficiencies were calculated for the (i) initial detachment, and for the (ii) remobilization and transport of sediment on the hillslopes and in the channels after wildfire in two different geological terrains.The initial detachment efficiencies for the main channel and tributary channel in the granitic terrain were 10 ± 9% and 5 ± 4% and were similar to those for the volcanic terrain, which were 5 ± 5% and 1 ± 1%. No initial detachment efficiency could be measured for the hillslopes in the granitic terrain because hillslope measurements were started after the first major rainstorm. The initial detachment efficiency in the volcanic terrain was 1.3 ± 0.41%. The average remobilization and transport efficiencies associated with flash floods in the channels also were similar in the granitic (0.18 ± 0.57%) and volcanic (0.11 ± 0.41%) terrains. On the hillslope the remobilization and transport efficiency was greater in the volcanic terrain (2.4%) than in the granitic terrain (0.65%). However, this may reflect the reduced sediment availability after the first major rainstorm (30-min maximum rainfall intensity  90 mm h^− 1) in the granitic terrain, while easily erodible fine colluvium remained on the hillslope after the first rainstorm (30-min maximum rainfall intensity = 7.2 mm h^− 1) in the volcanic terrain. The erosion response in channels and on hillslopes of the granitic and volcanic terrains was similar when compared using erodibility efficiencies.     

Dendrochronology in Jordan

Dendrochronology is a valuable tool for the study of past climate and increases our knowledge of climate variability beyond the short period covered by instrumental data. Two annual tree-ring width chronologies were developed for northern Jordan (Pinus halepensis and Quercus aegilops), one chronology for Carmel Mountain, Israel (Pinus halepensis), and one chronology for southern Jordan (Juniperus phoenicia). The results of our study show that the northern site chronologies are significantly correlated, but the northern and southern sites are not. A relatively high correlation was shown between October–April precipitation and a Pinus halepensis chronology, and between October–May precipitation and Quercus aegilops, both in the north. October–May precipitation was reconstructed for the time span AD 1600 to 1995 from the Juniperus phoenicia tree-ring chronology. The longest reconstructed drought, defined as consecutive years below a threshold of 80% of the 1946–1995 mean observed October–May precipitation, was 4 years, compared with 3 years for the 1946–95 instrumental data.     

Wind Power in View: Energy Landscapes in a Crowded World

Books reviewed:

Rayner, John N. Dynamic Climatology: Basis in Mathematics and Physics

Blair, Alasdair and Hitchcock, David. Environment and Business

Black, Brian. Petrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom

Sharma, Martha B. and Elbow, Gary S. Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in Geography

Klemen?i?, Mladen (ed.) Atlas Europe

Kliot, Nurit and Newman, David Geopolitics at the End of the Twentieth Century: The Changing World Political Map

O’Sullivan, Patrick M. The Geography of War in the Post – Cold War World

Duany, Andres, Plater-Zyberk, Elizabeth, and Speck, Jeff. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream

Kayden, Jerold S. Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience

Borjas, George J. Heaven's Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy

Andreas, Peter. Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide

England, John. Retail Impact Assessment: A Guide to Best Practice

Outtes, Joel. O Recife: Gënese do Urbanismo, 1927 – 1943 (Recife: The Birth of Urbanism, 1927 –1943)

Njoh, Ambe J. Urban Planning, Housing, and Spatial Structures in Sub-Saharan Africa: Nature, Impact, and Development Implications of Exogenous Forces

Hanson, Philip and Bradshaw, Michael (eds.) Regional Economic Change in Russia

Pyne, Stephen J. Book Review Commentary: A response to Terence Young's review of Stephen J. Pyne's How the Canyon Became Grand     

Economic Change in Africa

Abstract

The Geographer at Work by Peter Gould Boston: Routledge &; Kegan Paul, 1985. x and 351 pp., figs., photos, maps, and index. $39.95 cloth; $16.95 paper.

Recollections of a Revolution: Geography as Spatial Science by Mark Billinge, Derek Gregory and Ron Martin, eds. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984. viii and 235 pp., figs., tables, refs., and index. $25.00 cloth.

The Role of Place in Literature by Leonard Lutwack Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1984. viii and 274 pp., refs., and index. $24.95 cloth.

The Essential Landscape: The New Mexico Photographic Survey with Essays by J.B. Jackson. by Steven A. Yates, ed. New Mexico: The University of New Mexico Press, 1985. vii and 147 pp., and photos. $45.00 cloth.

Latin America: Case Studies by Richard G. Boehm and Sent Visser, eds. NCGE Pacesetter Series. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, 1984. x and 300 pp., figs., tables, photos, maps, apps., refs., and index. $24.95 paper.     

Oxygen-18 in different waters in Urumqi River Basin

The variations of the stable oxygen isotope in different water mediums in Urumqi River Basin, China, are analyzed. The stable oxygen isotope in precipitation has marked temperature effect either under synoptic or seasonal scale at the head of Urumqi River. The linear regression equations of δ18O against temperature are δ18O=0.94T-12.38 and δ18O=1.29T-13.05 under the two time scales, respectively. The relatively large δ18O/temperature slopes show the strong sensitivity of δ18O in precipitation to temperature variation at the head of Urumqi River. According to the analyses on the δ18O in precipitation sampled at three stations with different altitudes along Urumqi River, altitude effect is notable in the drainage basin. The δ18O/altitude gradients have distinct differences: the gradient from Urumqi to Yuejinqiao is merely -0.054‰/hm, but -0.192‰/hm from Yuejinqiao to Daxigou, almost increasing by 2.6 times over the former. No altitude effect is found in surface firn in the east branch of Glacier No.1 at the head of Urumqi River, showing that precipitation in the glacier is from the cloud cluster with the same condensation level. Influenced by strong ablation and evaporation, the δ18O in surface firn increases with increasing altitude sometimes. Survey has found that the δ18O in meltwater at the terminus of Glacier No.1 and in stream water at Total Control have the similar change trend with the former all smaller than the latter, which displays the different runoff recharges, and all mirror the regime of temperature in the same term basically.     

Groundwater use by native plants in response to changes in precipitation in an intermountain basin

Many arid basins in western North America are likely to experience future changes in precipitation timing and amount. Where shallow water tables occur, plant acquisition of groundwater and soil water may be influenced by growing season precipitation. We conducted a rainfall manipulation experiment to investigate responses of four common native plant species to ambient, increased, and decreased summer monsoon rainfall. We measured plant xylem pressure potentials (Ψ) and stable oxygen isotope signatures (δ¹⁸O) to assess effects of altered precipitation on plant water relations and water acquisition patterns. Reduced rainfall decreased Ψ more in the grasses Sporobolus airoides and Distichlis spicata than the more deeply rooted shrubs Sarcobatus vermiculatus and Ericameria nauseosa. E. nauseosa had little response to natural or experimental differences in available soil water. Plant xylem water δ¹⁸O indicated that S. airoides and D. spicata are almost entirely dependent on rain-recharged soil water, while E. nauseosa is almost entirely groundwater-dependent. Sarcobatus vermiculatus used groundwater during dry periods, but utilized precipitation from soil layers after large rainfall events. Persistent changes in precipitation patterns could cause shifts in plant community composition that may alter basin-scale groundwater consumption by native plants, affecting water availability for human and ecosystem uses.     

Variability in biomarkers of different saline basins in China

42 samples (sediments and crude oils) from 5 different saline/hypersaline basins of China were examined using variety of geochemical techniques. A pronounced even over odd distribution ofn-alkanes is observed for the Ejinur, Jianghan samples. Abundance of isoprenoid alkanes, dominated by phytane (C₂₀ up to 20 per cent in EOM), and C₂₅ and C₃₀ components is another outstanding feature of these studied lacustrine hypersaline settings, indicating important contributuions from archaebacteria. Gammacerane is a major component of some Eocene Jiangham samples and Cretaceous Taian sediments. Absolute concentration of phytane and gammacerane appears to be linearly related to chlorine and residual (reduced) sulfur contents of sediments from Jianghan basin, suggesting sulfur incoporation might have played an important role in the enhacement of these biomarkers in the anoxic hypersaline, alkaline settings. Wide range of organic sulfur compounds in immature samples of Jianghan Basin reflects a significant pathway for sulfur incorporation under hypersaline, extremely anoxic/reducing conditions, although for some structures a direct origin from some sulfur archaebacteria can not be excluded. Brackish salt marsh sediment and oil from Lenghu depression contain abundant lupane, strong OEP inn-alkane series, and predominance of C₂₉ steranes, suggesting a markedly input from vascular higher plants. The marginal marine evaporate sediments from the hypersaline Triassic Yangtze Platform is unique for its predominant, complete series of isoprenoid alkanes up to C₃₆ (abundant) and C₄₀ (trace). These long-chain isoprenoids are probably derived from phytoplanktons in addition to archaebacteria. The marked difference in biomarker distributions from the various suites of samples support that application of these biomarkers to help effectively characterize different saline basins. The molecular variation is, however, not only due to their discrepancy in biological sources, but also the extension of sulfate reduction and the availability of metal ions during early diagenesis.     

Dieback affects forest structure in a dry Afromontane forest in northern Ethiopia

Forests are highly susceptible to dieback under ongoing climate warming. In degraded forests, dead standing trees, or snags, have become such prominent features that they should be taken into account when setting management interventions. This study investigated (1) the extent and spatial pattern of standing dead stems of Juniperus procera and Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata along an elevational gradient, and (2) the effect of dieback on forest stand structure. We quantified abundance, size, and spatial pattern of tree dieback in 57 plots (50 m × 50 m) established at 100 m intervals along five transects. The snag density and basal area (mean ± SE) of the two species combined were 147 ± 23 stems ha⁻¹ and 5.35 ± 0.81 m² ha⁻¹, respectively. The percentages of snags were extremely high for both J. procera (57 ± 7%) and O. europaea subsp. cuspidata (60 ± 5%), but showed a decreasing trend with increasing elevation suggesting that restoration is even more urgent at the lower elevations. Snags of the two species accounted for 31 and 45% of total stand density and basal area, respectively. Living stems exhibited truncated inverse-J-shaped diameter and height class distributions, indicating serious regeneration problems of these foundation species in the study area. In addition to direct interventions to assist recruitment of climax tree species, sites with high dieback would probably benefit from snag reduction to prevent fire incidents in the remaining dry Afromontane forests in northern Ethiopia.