Tidal Freshwater Wetlands: Variation and Changes

Tidal freshwater wetlands (TFW) are situated in the upper estuary in a zone bordered upstream by the nontidal river and downstream by the oligohaline region. Here, discharge of freshwater from the river and the daily tidal pulse from the sea combine to create conditions where TFW develop. TFW are often located where human population density is high, which has led to wetland degradation or destruction. Globally, TFW are largely restricted to the temperate zone where the magnitude of annual river discharge prevents saline waters from penetrating too far inland. The constant input of river water delivers high loads of sediments, dissolved nutrients, and other suspended matter leading to high sedimentation rates and high nutrient levels. Prominent biogeochemical processes include the transformation of nitrogen by bacteria and immobilization of phosphate. A diverse, characteristic vegetation community develops which supports a rich fauna. Biotic diversity is highest in the high marsh areas and decreases in the lower levels where tidal inundation is greatest. Benthic fauna is rather poor in diversity but high in biomass compared to other regions of the estuary. Global climate change is a threat for this system directly by sea level rise, which will cause brackish water to intrude into the fresh system, and indirectly during droughts, which reduce river discharge. Salinity will affect the presence of flora and fauna and facilitates sulfate reduction of organic matter in the soil. Increased decomposition of organic matter following saltwater intrusion can result in a lowering of wetland surface elevation. The papers assembled in this issue focus on how these tidal freshwater wetlands have changed over recent time and how they may respond to new impacts in the future.     

新疆博斯腾流域湿地遥感监测及时空变化过程

博斯腾流域是新疆最大的湖泊湿地分布区。湿地作为干旱区的一种特殊景观类型,在流域生态环境和水循环中发挥了重要的作用,其产生和消失、扩大和萎缩对区域生态环境将产生重要的影响。以Landsat系列数据为主要数据源,完成了博斯腾流域的3期遥感制图(1990、2000、2010年),分析了博斯腾流域湿地分布现状,探讨了区域湿地的时空变化过程和动态变化特征。结果表明:新疆博斯腾流域的湿地面积总体上一直在萎缩,1990-2010年总面积减少了16.24%;但是减少趋势相对变缓,且不同类型的湿地变化过程有所不同。其中:1990-2000年河流湿地和湖泊湿地表现为增加趋势,芦苇沼泽湿地表现为减少趋势;2000-2010年河流湿地、芦苇沼泽和湖泊湿地面积都表现为萎缩。在变化动态特征上,流域河流、湖泊湿地最近20a呈现倒"V"型波动,而芦苇沼泽湿地则持续下降。通过湿地变化与区域生态环境因子耦合分析表明,在近期内人类活动是造成区域湿地萎缩的主要因素。     

A political ecology of scaling: Struggles over power,land and authority

This paper integrates insights from political ecology with a politics of scaling to discuss the construction and transformation of scalar topographies as part of the politics and power dynamics of natural resource management. The paper details two case studies from Community Based Natural Resource Management in the forest and wildlife sectors of Tanzania to: (1) analyse the devolution of power from the state to the local level; and (2) investigate the constant renegotiations and scalar transformations by actors across multiple levels in attempts to manipulate the governance system. The paper highlights the sociospatial aspects of the struggles and politics of natural resource management, and emphasises that whilst these processes of scalar negotiation and struggle are distinct between the two examples, they both revolve around the same political struggle over power. This indicates an important structuration element of power and scale as they are shaped by both the structural configuration of power within each sector alongside the agency of different actors across multiple levels.     

全球湿地的状况、未来情景与可持续管理对策

简要介绍了千年生态系统评估（MA）项目针对湿地与水编写的《生态系统与人类福祉：湿地与水综合报告》的核心内容。报告表明：①据估算,2000年全球的湿地面积大约为1.28×10⁹hm²,但是这一数据显著偏低,尤其是对新热带区的湿地以及有些特殊类型湿地的估算因数据源问题可能远低于实际面积;②根据MA构建的4种情景的分析结果,未来50年（2000—2050年）内,在对生态系统实行被动式管理的全球协同和实力秩序2种情景中,预计全球的湿地面积将会减少,而在对生态系统实行主动式管理的技术家园和适应组合2种情景中,预计全球的湿地面积将保持相对稳定;③湿地的丧失和退化会对人类福祉和减轻贫困产生极为不利的影响,尤其是对低收入国家湿地附近居民的影响更为严重。为了实现湿地的可持续管理,必须从经济、制度和管理以及相关驱动力方面采取积极对策,减轻湿地生态系统承受的各种压力,保育各项生态特征,增强其自恢复能力,减缓和扭转湿地的丧失和退化趋势。     

Emerald deposits and occurrences: A review

Emerald, the green gem variety of beryl, is the third most valuable gemstone (after diamond and ruby). Although it is difficult to obtain accurate statistics, Colombia supplies most (an estimated 60%, worth more than $500,000,000 per year) of the world's emeralds. However there is speculation that the emerald mines in Colombia are becoming depleted. Brazil currently accounts for approximately 10% of world emerald production. Emeralds have also been mined in Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, China, India, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, the United States, and Zimbabwe.Because it is difficult to obtain accurate analyses of beryllium, most published analyses of beryl are renormalized on the basis of 18 oxygen and 3 Be atoms per formula unit. The color of emerald is due to trace amounts of chromium and/or vanadium replacing aluminum at the Y site; in most cases the Cr content is much greater than that of V. To achieve charge balance, the substitution of divalent cations at the Y site is coupled with the substitution of a monovalent cation for a vacancy at a channel site.Beryl is relatively rare because there is very little Be in the upper continental crust. Unusual geologic and geochemical conditions are required for Be and Cr and/or V to meet. In the classic model, Be-bearing pegmatites interact with Cr-bearing ultramafic or mafic rocks. However in the Colombian deposits there is no evidence of magmatic activity and it has been demonstrated that circulation processes within the host black shales were sufficient to form emerald. In addition, researchers are recognizing that regional metamorphism and tectonometamorphic processes such as shear zone formation may play a significant role in certain emerald deposits.A number of genetic classification schemes have been proposed for emerald deposits. Most are ambiguous when it comes to understanding the mechanisms and conditions that lead to the formation of an emerald deposit. Studies of individual emerald deposits show that in most cases a combination of mechanisms (magmatic, hydrothermal, and metamorphic) were needed to bring Be into contact with the chromophores. This suggests the need for a more flexible classification scheme based on mode of formation. Stable isotopes can be used to estimate the contribution of each mechanism in the formation of a particular deposit. Such estimates could perhaps be more precisely defined using trace element data, which should reflect the mode of formation.Emerald may be identified in the field by color, hardness, and form. It will tend to show up in stream sediment samples but because its specific gravity is relatively low, it will not concentrate in the heavy mineral fraction. In Colombia, structural geology, the sodium content of stream sediment samples, and the lithium, sodium, and lead contents of soil samples have all been used to find emerald occurrences. Exploration for gem beryl could result in the discovery of new occurrences of non-gem beryl or other Be minerals that could become new sources of Be and Be oxide.Future efforts should go towards creating a comprehensive data base of emerald compositions (including trace elements), determination of the role of metamorphism in the formation of some emerald deposits, improved classification schemes, and more effective exploration guidelines.     

Tectonic slides: A review and reappraisal

Tectonic slides are faults that have been described and discussed in the Caledonides for over fifty years but which, possibly because of misunderstanding, have failed to find acceptance in structural schemes elsewhere. A review of the literature suggests, nevertheless, that they are a distinct class of fault common in certain terrains. Unlike the usual ‘brittle’ faults, slides occur in metamorphic conditions as an integral part of the more widespread fabric producing regional deformation that characterises metamorphic—orogenic belts. Because of their formation in such ‘ductile’ environments, slides are broadly concordant structures which are rarely associated with cataclasis. Since they also often lie along lithological contacts, they may be very difficult to detect at outcrop — despite the large displacements that may have taken place. Slides however may be recognised by (a) tectonic schist, and (b) their typical occurrence in planar zones of intensified regional deformation. They are often associated with major folds: either occurring in individual fold limbs or else cutting across the axial planes of fold pairs or groups of folds. Alternatively they may be unrelated to folds and may occur at simple lithological junctions or else separate rocks of widely different orogenic history, i.e. at tectonic fronts. Strain studies suggest that lithological contacts are important in initiating slides because of the different response of contrasting rock types to high strains.     

湿地水空间效应

地球水资源短缺问题日益严重,直接影响自然与经济社会可持续发展.陆地健康水循环和水资源的再生是基于合理的水调节空间.湿地是不可替代的水调节空间,因湿地特殊的水理性质和特有的生物地球化学作用,使湿地具有显著的调蓄地表径流和水体净化功能.人类活动大量破坏湿地,使湿地水空间效应明显下降,极大地削弱了湿地水调节功能.就流域生态、生产、生活用水的协调与保证而言,其合理的湿地配置是解决这一问题的重要基础之一.     

Permeable homes: A historical political ecology of insects and pesticides in US public housing

This paper traces changes in the political ecology of insects and chemicals in US public housing since Congress founded public housing in 1937. Drawing upon the literature of critical geographies of home, urban political ecology, and medical history, it argues that the constitution of “public” and “private” space within public housing was deeply entangled with pest control practices there. Prior to 1945, reformers treated the housing as a commons, in part compelled by the mobility of bedbugs and the pesticide used to combat them, both of which were seen as serious health threats. Managers were also motivated by social welfare ideologies, while residents eagerly assisted with communal control policies in order to achieve freedom from the health insults of bedbugs. Following 1945, however, new synthetic pesticides like DDT seemed to stay safely within one apartment unit, encouraging housing managers to abandon community-oriented pest control practices. Meanwhile, curtailed budgets, particularly after the Housing Act of 1949, left the infrastructure of public housing to decay, rendering units more physically permeable even as managers neglected the communities there. The new pesticides nearly eradicated bedbugs, but tenacious populations of German cockroaches blossomed thanks to the permeable buildings and synthetic pesticides. Residents grew increasingly resistant to pesticide use as they observed that cockroach populations went unabated. The paper serves as a case for applying political ecology frameworks to domestic spaces, and also argues that housing quality and domestic pesticide use are not merely private responsibilities but should be regarded as environmental justice issues.     

Tradeoffs in carbon commodification: A political ecology of common property forest governance

Carbon markets have gained traction worldwide as an ostensibly win–win solution to climate change, providing low-cost emission reductions in the Global North and sustainable development in the Global South. However, sustainable development and livelihood co-benefits have largely failed to materialize in a range of carbon offset projects, particularly those in forest communities. While some scholars explain this failure as an outcome of fundamental tradeoffs between market efficiency and sustainable development, others argue that institutions of common property land tenure can resolve tradeoffs and generate important co-benefits for local communities. Using a political ecology approach, integrating insights of Karl Polanyi and Noel Castree on the commodification of nature and evidence from a carbon forestry project in Chiapas, Mexico, this article grapples with the ways in which carbon market requirements shape forest governance within common property tenure arrangements. I argue that the centralization of forest governance and decision making into the hands of project implementers and brokers, the necessity for legible land rights and boundaries, and the technical requirements for measurement, calculation, and monitoring of carbon have reshaped forest governance in ways that have undermined the social and ecological benefits often associated with common property management schemes. This research therefore demonstrates that so-called tradeoffs between market efficiency and equitable sustainable development goals may not be inherent to carbon forestry and calls into question the reliance on disembedding market mechanisms for climate change mitigation in forest ecosystems. As such, this work has important implications for REDD+.     

Urban ecology and location theory: Dominance and territory

Woods left on good farmland in Ohio and neighboring states are likely to be beech-maple woods. There may well be a dozen or more tree species present, but the most obvious, because the most common, will be beeches and sugar maples … these trees exhibit the phenomenon of ecological dominance. There can be little doubt that the other plants of the wood are adapted to the presence of the abundant beeches and maples so that to describe them as dominants in this way is good use of language. The beeches and maples determine the micro climate, and even the soil, to which all the other living things must adapt - PAUL COLINVAUX.In the social reality, despite all change, the domination of man by man is still the historical continuum that links pre-technological and technological reason. However, the society which projects and undertakes the technological transformation of nature alters the base of domination by gradually replacing personal dependence … with dependence on the “objective order of things” (on economic laws, the market, etc…) … domination now generates a higher rationality — that of a society which sustains its hierarchic structure while exploiting ever more efficiently the natural and mental resources… - HERBERT MARCUSE     

Characteristics and origins of coal cleat: A review

Cleats are natural opening-mode fractures in coal beds. They account for most of the permeability and much of the porosity of coalbed gas reservoirs and can have a significant effect on the success of engineering procedures such as cavity stimulations. Because permeability and stimulation success are commonly limiting factors in gas well performance, knowledge of cleat characteristics and origins is essential for successful exploration and production. Although the coal–cleat literature spans at least 160 years, mining issues have been the principal focus, and quantitative data are almost exclusively limited to orientation and spacing information. Few data are available on apertures, heights, lengths, connectivity, and the relation of cleat formation to diagenesis, characteristics that are critical to permeability. Moreover, recent studies of cleat orientation patterns and fracture style suggest that new investigations of even these well-studied parameters can yield insight into coal permeability. More effective predictions of cleat patterns will come from advances in understanding cleat origins. Although cleat formation has been speculatively attributed to diagenetic and/or tectonic processes, a viable mechanical process for creating cleats has yet to be demonstrated. Progress in this area may come from recent developments in fracture mechanics and in coal geochemistry.     

A Landscape-Scale Assessment of Above- and Belowground Primary Production in Coastal Wetlands: Implications for Climate Change-Induced Community Shifts

Above- and belowground production in coastal wetlands are important contributors to carbon accumulation and ecosystem sustainability. As sea level rises, we can expect shifts to more salt-tolerant communities, which may alter these ecosystem functions and services. Although the direct influence of salinity on species-level primary production has been documented, we lack an understanding of the landscape-level response of coastal wetlands to increasing salinity. What are the indirect effects of sea-level rise, i.e., how does primary production vary across a landscape gradient of increasing salinity that incorporates changes in wetland type? This is the first study to measure both above- and belowground production in four wetland types that span an entire coastal gradient from fresh to saline wetlands. We hypothesized that increasing salinity would limit rates of primary production, and saline marshes would have lower rates of above- and belowground production than fresher marshes. However, along the Northern Gulf of Mexico Coast in Louisiana, USA, we found that aboveground production was highest in brackish marshes, compared with fresh, intermediate, and saline marshes, and belowground production was similar among all wetland types along the salinity gradient. Multiple regression analysis indicated that salinity was the only significant predictor of production, and its influence was dependent upon wetland type. We concluded that (1) salinity had a negative effect on production within wetland type, and this relationship was strongest in the fresh marsh (0–2 PSU) and (2) along the overall landscape gradient, production was maintained by mechanisms at the scale of wetland type, which were likely related to plant energetics. Regardless of wetland type, we found that belowground production was significantly greater than aboveground production. Additionally, inter-annual variation, associated with severe drought conditions, was observed exclusively for belowground production, which may be a more sensitive indicator of ecosystem health than aboveground production.     

碳酸岩岩浆与地壳反应综述

碳酸岩是地表出露较少的地幔来源的岩石,其地幔交代作用已被广泛研究,而碳酸岩岩浆与地壳的反应过程却研究较少,目前已在中国草滩和丰镇地区、德国Kaiserstuhl地区、俄罗斯Petyayan-Vara地区和澳大利亚Nolans Bore矿床等各地被报道。碳酸岩岩浆与地壳反应的特征是可能形成大量富铁云母、辉石、榍石、钡冰长石等硅酸盐矿物并造成C-O和Sr-Nd同位素体系的扰动。实验岩石学研究发现碳酸岩岩浆在地幔与橄榄岩反应形成异剥橄榄岩,对应的在中下地壳反应形成反夕卡岩。碳酸岩岩浆与围岩的反应会造成局部Si的富集促使REE在早期岩浆阶段进入磷灰石,从而抑制稀土成矿。深部地壳的碳酸岩-硅酸岩反应在相同构造背景下通常不像浅部热液系统容易出露地表,并且其反应产物容易被误认为是夕卡岩矿物组合。因此,更多的高温高压实验研究以及对硅酸盐流体来源不是很清楚的高温夕卡岩矿物组合进行重新评估,将是揭示地壳深部反夕卡岩过程,特别是相关成矿作用的关键。     

Frost creep and gelifluction features: A review

Frost creep and gelifluction are the cold-climate representatives of mass-wasting processes that occur in a broad range of environments. Neither process requires permafrost, and frost creep can be inhibited by its presence at shallow depth. Acting in various combinations, frost creep and gelifluction produce distinctive lobate and terrace-like landforms, which are easy to recognize while fresh and active, but difficult to distinguish from mudflow lobes, earthslides, and similar deposits after they have been modified by other processes. Large frost creep and gelifluction features are currently active in many tundra environments that experience only deep seasonal freezing; thus they are not generally considered to be indicators of permafrost. Most radio-carbon-dated lobes and terraces, however, seem to have originated at times when permafrost was more widespread than it is today. This is true in the Colorado Front Range, where the formation of lobes and terraces appears to have been initiated by rapid melting of ice-enriched permafrost during the warming phases of frost-heave cycles that were centuries or millennia in duration. There is growing evidence that lobes and terraces developed in many parts of the world between about 3000 and 2500 BP; the climatic significance of their formation during this interval is open to several interpretations. Long-term average rates of frontal advance, calculated for deposits in Colorado, Australia, Greenland, Yukon Territory, Alaska, Scotland, and Norway, range from 0.6 to 3.5 mm per calendar year, significantly slower than maximum rates of movement measured on the surfaces of active lobes and terraces in comparable environments; the features are clearly not as effective at transporting debris as was previously supposed. Variations in past rates of downslope soil movement, estimated from close-interval dating of buried humus horizons or plant remains overrun by the advancing fronts of lobes and terraces, provide a sensitive record of climatic change. The dated humus layers are also suitable for detailed pollen analyses and soil chronosequence studies.     

蒸发岩沉积特征及环境综述

蒸发岩是由于蒸发作用从卤水中化学作用沉淀出来的一种含盐岩类,明显受控于沉积环境。蒸发岩是重要战略资源和优质的储层之一,中国的矿床和石油学界都在致力于寻找大型蒸发岩矿床。近几十年来国内外学者都对不同类型的蒸发岩做了地区性的研究,提供了丰富的实际资料,对蒸发岩成矿沉积环境理论也有相应的修正和补充,但是蒸发岩分类繁多,成因复杂,国内对蒸发岩岩相及其常见组合所对应的环境综合解释并未具体着墨。通过梳理国内外有关蒸发岩文献、应用Miall构架单元理论,从结构、构造整理了29种碳酸型、37种硫酸型、11种氯化物型以及13种混合蒸发盐型岩相与其对应的沉积环境与岩相组合。蒸发沉积环境按海相和陆相划分,亚相细分为萨布哈、潮上带、潮间带—潮下带和半深海—深海环境,以及陆内萨布哈（包括干盐湖）、滨湖、浅湖和半深湖—深湖,对每一个亚相出现的常见蒸发岩组合进行了概述,这对中国进一步寻找大型蒸发岩矿床具有重要的借鉴意义。     

Iceland and the North Atlantic: A review

Iceland is a special volcanic island in an anomalous ocean basin. A review of the unusual features shows that among others topography and gravity are broadly positive, spreading has been and still is complex, seismicity is slightly diffuse and the chemistry of the basalts is different from that at normal ridges. In summary we observe a tendency of lithospheric dispersal and spreading in the North Atlantic and its surroundings. These observations together with what is known about Icelandic crust, heat flow, tectonic history, etc., point to a hot mantle upwelling beneath Iceland. The shape of the upwelling currents is not known. Although at present much speculation is possible, the authors prefers to think of a broad rising region uplifting the lithospheric plates such that they tend to slide away from Iceland more forcefully than is the case from normal spreading ridges.     

Origin and chronology of chondritic components: A review

Mineralogical observations, chemical and oxygen-isotope compositions, absolute ²⁰⁷Pb-²⁰⁶Pb ages and short-lived isotope systematics (⁷Be-⁷Li, ¹⁰Be-¹⁰B, ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg, ³⁶Cl-³⁶S, ⁴¹Ca-⁴¹K, ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr, ⁶⁰Fe-⁶⁰Ni, ¹⁸²Hf-¹⁸²W) of refractory inclusions [Ca,Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) and amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs)], chondrules and matrices from primitive (unmetamorphosed) chondrites are reviewed in an attempt to test (i) the x-wind model vs. the shock-wave model of the origin of chondritic components and (ii) irradiation vs. stellar origin of short-lived radionuclides. The data reviewed are consistent with an external, stellar origin for most short-lived radionuclides (⁷Be, ¹⁰Be, and ³⁶Cl are important exceptions) and a shock-wave model for chondrule formation, and provide a sound basis for early Solar System chronology. They are inconsistent with the x-wind model for the origin of chondritic components and a local, irradiation origin of ²⁶Al, ⁴¹Ca, and ⁵³Mn. ¹⁰Be is heterogeneously distributed among CAIs, indicating its formation by local irradiation and precluding its use for the early solar system chronology. ⁴¹Ca-⁴¹K, and ⁶⁰Fe-⁶⁰Ni systematics are important for understanding the astrophysical setting of Solar System formation and origin of short-lived radionuclides, but so far have limited implications for the chronology of chondritic components. The chronological significance of oxygen-isotope compositions of chondritic components is limited. The following general picture of formation of chondritic components is inferred. CAIs and AOAs were the first solids formed in the solar nebula ∼4567-4568 Myr ago, possibly within a period of <0.1 Myr, when the Sun was an infalling (class 0) and evolved (class I) protostar. They formed during multiple transient heating events in nebular region(s) with high ambient temperature (at or above condensation temperature of forsterite), either throughout the inner protoplanetary disk (1-4 AU) or in a localized region near the proto-Sun (<0.1 AU), and were subsequently dispersed throughout the disk. Most CAIs and AOAs formed in the presence of an ¹⁶O-rich (Δ¹⁷O ∼ −24 ± 2‰) nebular gas. The ²⁶Al-poor [(²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ < 1 × 10⁻⁵], ¹⁶O-rich (Δ¹⁷O ∼ −24 ± 2‰) CAIs - FUN (fractionation and unidentified nuclear effects) CAIs in CV chondrites, platy hibonite crystals (PLACs) in CM chondrites, pyroxene-hibonite spherules in CM and CO chondrites, and the majority of grossite- and hibonite-rich CAIs in CH chondrites—may have formed prior to injection and/or homogenization of ²⁶Al in the early Solar System. A small number of igneous CAIs in ordinary, enstatite and carbonaceous chondrites, and virtually all CAIs in CB chondrites are ¹⁶O-depleted (Δ¹⁷O > −10‰) and have (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ similar to those in chondrules (<1 × 10⁻⁵). These CAIs probably experienced melting during chondrule formation. Chondrules and most of the fine-grained matrix materials in primitive chondrites formed 1-4 Myr after CAIs, when the Sun was a classical (class II) and weak-lined T Tauri star (class III). These chondritic components formed during multiple transient heating events in regions with low ambient temperature (<1000 K) throughout the inner protoplanetary disk in the presence of ¹⁶O-poor (Δ¹⁷O > −5‰) nebular gas. The majority of chondrules within a chondrite group may have formed over a much shorter period of time (<0.5-1 Myr). Mineralogical and isotopic observations indicate that CAIs were present in the regions where chondrules formed and accreted (1-4 AU), indicating that CAIs were present in the disk as free-floating objects for at least 4 Myr. Many CAIs, however, were largely unaffected by chondrule melting, suggesting that chondrule-forming events experienced by a nebular region could have been small in scale and limited in number. Chondrules and metal grains in CB chondrites formed during a single-stage, highly-energetic event ∼4563 Myr ago, possibly from a gas-melt plume produced by collision between planetary embryos.     

Orogeny, migmatites and leucogranites: A review

The type ofP-T-t path and availability of fluid (H₂O-rich metamorphic volatile phase or melt) are important variables in metamorphism. Collisional orogens are characterized by clockwiseP-T evolution, which means that in the core, where temperatures exceed the wet solidus for common crustal rocks, melt may be present throughout a significant portion of the evolution. Field observations of eroded orogens show that lower crust is migmatitic, and geophysical observations have been interpreted to suggest the presence of melt in active orogens. A consequence of these results is that orogenic collapse in mature orogens may be controlled by a partially-molten layer that decouples weak crust from subducting lithosphere, and such a weak layer may enable exhumation of deeply buried crust. Migmatites provide a record of melt segregation in partially molten crustal materials and syn-anatectic deformation under natural conditions. Grain boundary flow and intra-and inter-grain fracture flow are the principal grain scale melt flow mechanisms. Field observations of migmatites in ancient orogens show that leucosomes occur oriented in the metamorphic fabrics or are located in dilational sites. These observations are interpreted to suggest that melt segregation and extraction are syntectonic processes, and that melt migration pathways commonly relate to rock fabrics and structures. Thus, leucosomes in depleted migmatites record the remnant permeability network, but evolution of permeability networks and amplification of anomalies are poorly understood. Deformation of partially molten rocks is accommodated by melt-enhanced granular flow, and volumetric strain is accommodated by melt loss. Melt segregation and extraction may be cyclic or continuous, depending on the level of applied differential stress and rate of melt pressure buildup. During clockwiseP-T evolution, H₂O is transferred from protolith to melt as rocks cross dehydration melting reactions, and H₂O may be evolved above the solidus at lowP by crossing supra-solidus decompression-dehydration reactions if micas are still present in the depleted protolith. H₂O dissolved in melt is transported through the crust to be exsolved on crystallization. This recycled H₂O may promote wet melting at supra-solidus conditions and retrogression at subsolidus conditions. The common growth of ‘late’ muscovite over sillimanite in migmatite may be the result of this process, and influx of exogenous H₂O may not be necessary. However, in general, metasomatism in the evolution of the crust remains a contentious issue. Processes in the lower-most crust may be inferred from studies of xenolith suites brought to the surface in lavas. Based on geochemical data, we can use statistical methods and modeling to evaluate whether migmatites are sources or feeder zones for granites, or simply segregated melt that was stagnant in residue, and to compare xenoliths of inferred lower crust with exposed deep crust. Upper-crustal granites are a necessary complement to melt-depleted granulites common in the lower crust, but the role of mafic magma in crustal melting remains uncertain. Plutons occur at various depths above and below the brittle-to-viscous transition in the crust and have a variety of 3-D shapes that may vary systematically with depth. The switch from ascent to emplacement may be caused by amplification of instabilities within (permeability, magma flow rate) or surrounding (strength or state of stress) the ascent column, or by the ascending magma intersecting some discontinuity in the crust that enables horizontal magma emplacement followed by thickening during pluton inflation. Feedback relations between rates of pluton filling, magma ascent and melt extraction maintain compatibility among these processes.