Assessing changes in nutrient status in the Richmond River estuary,Australia, using paleolimnological methods

Eutrophication from nutrient over-enrichment is a serious problem for the coastal zone and the estuarine environment globally. Australian estuaries are generally oligotrophic, but assessing whether they are becoming more eutrophic over time is inhibited by a lack of long-term monitoring data. The Richmond River, Australia, provided an ideal example of an estuary under anthropogenic pressure where the use of paleoecological techniques may potentially be used to reconstruct changes in nutrient status over time. Five cores were extracted from depositional areas in the Richmond River, and subjected to paleo-magnetic profiling and loss-on-ignition testing to ensure the core of greatest integrity was selected for further analytical work. Results from diatom and stable isotope analyses combined with ²¹⁰Pb and AMS ¹⁴C dating show a strong indication that the total phosphorus levels in the Richmond River have fluctuated since 1940. Evidence also suggests that these fluctuations are most likely a function of climate. This study has successfully applied paleolimnological techniques to the estuarine environment to produce information that can be used by environmental managers to aid decision making in relation to nutrient control for the Richmond River. Further work using paleolimnological techniques should be aimed at the extraction of a core containing diatoms that pre-date European settlement and include analyses of specific lipids and fatty acid biomarkers.     

Morphological responses of an estuarine intertidal mudflat to constructions since 1978 to 2005: The Seine estuary (France)

Since 1834 the Seine estuary (France) has been the site of numerous construction projects with the aim to accommodate and secure boat traffic. Since 1978, the increasing of the activities of Le Havre port, located at the mouth of the estuary, has accelerated the construction work rate. Several dykes, a bridge, and new port facilities have been constructed in rapid succession, modifying considerably the hydrodynamic conditions which sustain a partially vegetated sandy–muddy tidal flat located in the North bank of the estuary between the new port of Le Havre and the Normandy bridge achieved in 1995.The present study deals with the morphological evolution of this zone from 1978 to 2005. The use of a low altitude remote sensing technique combined with traditional methods of ground survey and probes allow to demonstrate the impact of human activities on sedimentary and vegetation dynamics. The Northern mudflat of the estuary is the most affected by these human activities, which surface have reduced of 62% during the last 27 years with an intensified local erosion during the last 27 months corresponding to a loss 1 250 000 m³ of fine-grained sediment. At the same time, the general sanding up in the channel of the zone has caused a loss of more than 31% of the tidal prism, more than three quarters of which occurred during the last three years. Results also establish that the response times of the sedimentary or topographic readjustment to an installation depend on the extent and the nature of the construction. In fact, the sedimentary readjustments to an installation can be delayed by up to 10 years in the case of the Seine estuary. This delay is explained by a rapid succession of construction works which may occult the effect of a single installation. Except in the case of a dyke built perpendicular to ebb and flood currents, the impacts of these installations reach a hydro-sedimentary equilibrium on the level between 1 and 7 years after their completion.     

The importance of high-resolution monitoring in erosion and deposition dynamics studies: examples from estuarine and fluvial systems

Erosion and deposition processes lie at the centre of geomorphological explanation, but progress in understanding has been limited by a lack of appropriate high-resolution monitoring methodologies which permit detection of erosion and deposition dynamics. This paper presents a case for monitoring erosion and deposition at high temporal resolutions, and uses hypothetical approaches supported by example erosion and deposition events and analyses drawn from estuarine and fluvial systems. The paper first presents testable hypotheses to demonstrate the complexity of possible event combinations, sequences and juxtapositions for the erosion driving forces which underpin the need for high-resolution monitoring. Second, it summarises recent improvements to the Photo-Electronic Erosion Pin (PEEP) automatic erosion and deposition monitoring system, including the novel concept of Thermal Consonance Timing (TCT), which is particularly promising because it helps to define the timing of nocturnal events and through the entire hydrograph. Third, example results are discussed from high-resolution monitoring of bank erosion at a tidal site at Burringham on the River Trent in northern England. Tidal banks are revealed to be much more dynamic than previous conventional monitoring has indicated. A key result is that, because the high-resolution approach allows erosional and depositional activity to be assigned to specific periods of tidal inundation, it becomes possible for the first time routinely to produce ‘event-based’ erosion (36 mm h⁻¹) and deposition rates (4.5 and 8.4 mm h⁻¹). Such rate determinations are potentially very useful in the field validation of sedimentological and geomorphological models, including grain settling and resuspension theory. Fourth, through a longer term of aggregated daily data, a striking 2-week cycle of deposition and erosion emerges which correlates most strongly with spring-neap tidal cycling, but is moderated by wind stress effects. Sediment was deposited on the bank relatively quickly, over 4–5 days, but then removed by erosion rather slowly, over 9–10 days. Fifth, the dangers of low-resolution monitoring are illustrated by comparing the daily PEEP data set with a series resampled at a lower (14-day) frequency, to simulate the information generated by conventional resurvey methodologies. The low-frequency series failed adequately to represent the cyclicity, mean, range, variability and trend of bank elevation changes, and without this dynamics information, rate and process definition is very difficult, largely because of self-concealing activity. Sixth, a useful advance is illustrated by the fluvial erosion sequence for the River Wharfe (N. England). This shows how TCT can generate rare and important results with the definition of the precise time of an erosion event within the hydrograph: bank retreat here occurred very quickly, after initial inundation, and within 4 h of the flow peak-information which can be used to define thresholds for entrainment (e.g. critical shear stresses). Such high-resolution monitoring helps to unravel some of the erosional effects of complex sequences, combinations and juxtapositions of similar or different forcing events. Finally, high-resolution approaches have been adopted worldwide for fluvial, estuarine, mudflat and canal systems, but considerable potential exists for their development and use in these and other contexts (e.g. gully, hillslope, beach and dune environments), to improve understanding and modelling of geomorphological processes more widely.     

The sustainability of Australian agricultural production systems: a realistic objective or simply a desirable aim?

Whilst the term sustainability has undergone considerable transformation from its original intended meaning, in the context of agriculture it is considered to have relevance to four aspects of the activity; the maintenance of production, financial returns, employment opportunities, and the stability of the ecosystem. This article's appraisal of market trends suggests that the key issue of substantially improved financial returns for Australian agriculturalists is at present unlikely for some enterprises. What is particularly discouraging is that downward trends have persisted, despite the many efficiency gains in agriculture. Further gains from technological developments and trade liberalisation will be limited for many agricultural sectors. Whilst initiatives to reduce land degradation have achieved a high public profile, greater effectiveness can be achieved in this area. There is some scope for significant improvements in the overall performance of agriculture, but the most achievable gains will probably be confined to those specific enterprises that can use geography to greatest advantage.     

Defining reference conditions and restoration targets for lake ecosystems using palaeolimnology: a synthesis

The potential of palaeolimnological methods for establishing reference conditions and restoration targets for lakes has been recognised for some time, and has received renewed interest in recent years with the introduction of the EU Water Framework Directive. This paper considers some of the issues associated with the role of lake sediments in establishing reference conditions and defining recovery targets. We discuss the problem of attributing variation in the sediment record to human activity rather than to natural causes or random variability, and the need for the concepts of pristine and reference conditions to be differentiated. We address the question of expressing quantitatively the degree of change that has taken place between the reference and the present day and the problem of accounting for changes that may have taken place between the reference and the present, such as climate change, that may limit the use of the reference condition as a restoration target. Finally we consider the use of past habitat structure and inferred ecological functioning as targets for restoration, and the potential role that multi-proxy palaeoecological studies can play in defining such targets.     

An ecosystem approach for determining environmental water allocations in Australian dryland river systems: the role of geomorphology

The allocation of water for environmental purposes is a key management issue in many dryland regions. Many different methods have been developed for determining environmental water requirements but these are not directly applicable to dryland rivers because of inherent flow and habitat variability. An ecosystem approach for determining environmental water allocations in dryland regions is presented in this paper. This four-step process involves (1) a hierarchical characterisation of the river system, to assess what mesohabitats are present and where they are located; (2) the determination of flows that would inundate these habitats and perform other key ecological processes; (3) hydrological analyses in which the key hydrological signatures of the river are identified and the impact of water resource development on these is determined; and (4) the derivation of a water management decision tree that enables managers to allocate water to consumptive users during individual flood pulses (events). It is recommended that the flood pulse should be the focus for environmental flow management in dryland regions. If rivers are indeed nested hierarchies, then a change in hydrological behaviour at the scale of a flood pulse will, with time, extend throughout the hydrological hierarchy. Current environmental flow management strategies in dryland river systems are essentially focused at the flow regime and history scale; this is inappropriate given the inherent flow variability of these systems. The ecosystem approach is outlined for the Condamine-Balonne River, a large dryland system in Australia.     

The Cap and Water Trading in Australian Murray-Darling Basin for Wetlands Protection:The Possible Lessons for China

As the consequence of climate change, water that is received in Australian Murray-Darling Basin wetlands is declining and agricultural water demands are increasing. In order to keep the water use balance between environment protection including wetland protection and irrigation water use, the Australian government adopted a series of reforms in Murray-Darling Basin to address the environmental water shortage problem and encourage irrigators to use water more efficiently and plant high economic value crop. The water trading and cap are two major reforms in this process.In order to match up the environmental water demand such as wetland water use, based on the seasonal rainfall, dam level and environmental water demand, the cap system seasonally allocate how much water the irrigators can access as per water licenses. As the cap dramatically reduced the water access for irrigators, the water trading is aiming to use limited agricultural water more efficiently. The water trading scheme separate the water use right from the land property right and allow Australian farmers to trade their water licenses in the market. Water trading encouraged farmers who plant low value crops such as wheat and canola transfer their water entitles to farmers who plant high value crops such as grape. In the drought seasons, The Australian government can purchase the water licenses from irrigators to increase the environmental flows.This Australian water management system represents the most complicated and effective environmental and agricultural water use management in this world. There are possible many lessons that will help China to better manage the water use for wetland protection and farming practices.     

淮河中游新石器时代遗址出土石器的演变所反映的人地关系——以双墩和尉迟寺遗址为例

本文以淮河中游新石器早期的双墩遗址和中晚期的尉迟寺遗址的出土石器为主线,辅以其他遗存和遗址地层剖面的环境磁学、元素地球化学证据,探讨了石器工具的演变所反映的人地关系。研究表明:双墩古人最主要的生产活动是砍伐树木和狩猎,而尉迟寺则是谷物生产和狩猎。双墩古人使用投掷和其他多种狩猎方式,在猎物充足的全新世大暖期获取了大量的肉食资源。尉迟寺时期狩猎水平虽有所提高,但剧烈波动的气候和迅速增加的人口,使猎获量下降。双墩时期人们砍伐的树木较为细小,木料之间的结合以捆绑为主。而尉迟寺时期人们砍伐的树木比较粗大,木器和房屋已使用卯榫结构。双墩时期已有了水稻种植,但采集农业占有较大比重。尉迟寺时期的农业以种植为主,采集农业为有益的补充,该时期的出土石器和农业类型与环境演变有明显的相关性。     

The late Quaternary evolution of the Negro River, Amazon, Brazil: Implications for island and floodplain formation in large anabranching tropical systems

The Rio Negro has responded significantly in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene to lagged environmental changes largely associated with activity during the last glacial in the Amazon basin. On the basis of geological structure, the Rio Negro can be divided into six distinct reaches that each reflects very marked differential processes and geomorphological styles. No deposits of the Upper Pleniglacial were recognized in the field. The oldest recognizable Late Pleistocene alluvial unit is the Upper Terrace of Middle Pleniglacial age (ca. 65–25 ka) (reach I), tentatively correlated with the oldest terrace identified on the left bank of reach III. At that time, the river was mainly an aggradational bed load system carrying abundant quartz sand, a product of more seasonal conditions in the upper catchment. The late glacial (14–10 ka) is represented by a lower finer-grained terrace along the upper basin (reach I), which was recognized in the Tiquié, Curicuriarí, and Vaupes rivers. At that time, the river carried abundant suspended load as a response to climatic changes associated with deglaciation.Since about 14 ka, the river has behaved as a progradational system, infilling in downstream series a sequence of structurally controlled sedimentary basins or ‘compartments,’ creating alluvial floodplains and associated anabranching channel systems. Reach II was the first to be filled, then reach III, both accumulating mainly sand. Fine deposits increase downstream in reach III and become predominant in some anabranch islands of the distal reach. The lowermost reaches of the Negro (V and VI) have been greatly affected by a rising base level and associated backwater effect from aggradation of the Amazon during late glacial and recent times. Reach V has acted almost entirely as a fine sediment trap. The remarkable Anavilhanas archipelago is the product of Holocene deposition in the upper part of this sedimentary basin; however, suspended sediment load declined about 1.5 ka, prior to the lower part of this basin becoming infilled.The progradational behavior of the Rio Negro, filling tectonic basins as successive sediment traps with sand in the upper basins and fines in the downstream ones, illustrates how a large river system responses to profound changes in Late Quaternary base level and sediment supply. The most stable equilibrium conditions have been achieved in the Holocene in reaches IIb and IIIa, where an anabranching channel and erosional–relictual island system relatively efficiently convey water and sediment downstream. Reaches IIIb and V never achieved equilibrium conditions during the Holocene, characterised as they are today with incomplete floodplains and open water.     

The investment-worth model: Concepts and methods for estimation of model parameters

A holistic investiment methodology defined as the investiment-worth model is developed to evaluate the risks and rewards of capital investments. The model demonstrates that the investment worth of a mining project is not the same for all firms in the industry. The attractiveness of a project varies with economic and risk-related characteristics of a firm.     

农业文化遗产地旅游社区潜力研究——以浙江省青田县为例

社区是农业文化遗产传承的载体,也是其保护的重要主体,社区参与对于农业文化遗产保护和可持续利用具有重要作用。本文以农业文化遗产地动态保护和适应性管理的主要方式——旅游为切人点,探讨农业文化遗产地旅游发展社区参与潜力及其空间分布特征。研究表明：（1）结构方程模型和“态度一行为”矩阵是科学评价农业文化遗产地旅游社区潜力的新方...     

The Mai Maikden sedimentary sequence: a reference point for the environmental evolution of the Highlands of Northern Ethiopia

This paper presents a geomorphologic–stratigraphic analysis of a travertine dammed lacustrine–swampy sedimentary sequence, composed of clay, peaty layers and phytoclastic travertine sands, deeply incised by the Mai Maikden river, on the Highlands of Tigray (Northern Ethiopia). Radiocarbon datings of peaty deposits allow us to establish that the travertine dams have developed at least between 7310±90 yr B.P. and 5160±80 yr B.P. In the upper part of the sequence, palaeochannels filled with travertine and limestone coarse gravels and blocks, indicate the activation of concentrated erosion on the surrounding slopes. Later, both the travertine dam and the lacustrine–swampy deposits were buried by alluvial and colluvial sediments, still mixed with large amounts of organic matter, testifying to generalized slope erosion processes. The end of travertine deposition may be connected with a progressive reduction of vegetation cover and the subsequent decrease of CO₂ in groundwater. The occurrence of the latter phenomena may be related to the onset of drier climatic conditions even though the finding of a large prehistoric settlement in the area, also indicates some influence of human impact.     

A Method for Assessing the Planimetric Accuracy of Historical Maps: The Case of the Colorado-Green River System*

The position of linear elements on historical maps can be digitized and numerically compared with similar features on modern maps. This allows for the evaluation of amounts and rates of improvement in cartographic accuracy and of the primary sources used for the generation of subsequent maps. A case study of the Colorado-Green River system illustrates the method and documents the pace of improvement in the cartographic depiction of the river system as a function primarily of the historical pressures of westward expansion.     

差分主成分分析法在辽河三角洲景观变化中的应用

差分主成分分析法是应用遥感数据检测景观变化的一种新方法。为了提高检测精度,我们利用TM卫星遥感数据,改进了主成分分析法和图像差值法,提出了差分主成分分析法。并以辽河三角洲地区为例,对该方法进行了验证。研究结果表明：(1) 与传统的检测法-分类后比较法相比,差分主成分分析法具有较高的检测精度,总检测精度为0.89,Kappa指数为0.82;(2) 在1984~2000年的16年间,辽河三角洲地区有近22%的景观发生了变化,主要包括芦苇湿地的减少、水稻田的增加以及城镇用地的增加。     

The palaeolimnological record from lake Cullulleraine,lower Murray River (south-east Australia): implications for understanding riverine histories

Australia’s largest river system, the Murray-Darling Basin, is the focus of scientific and political attention, due mainly to the competing issues of economic productivity versus environmental flows. Central to this dialogue is the need to know about the Basin’s natural condition and the degree to which the system has deviated from this pre-disturbance, baseline status. This study examines the patterns of ecological change in Lake Cullulleraine, a permanently connected artificial wetland adjacent to Lock Nine on the Murray River, south-east Australia. A 43-cm sediment core was collected in January 1998 and diatoms were analysed at 1-cm intervals for use as aquatic ecological indicators. The sediment core was dated using ²¹⁰Pb. Changes in the diatom community have occurred since the time of lake formation in 1926, particularly shifts between Aulacoseira subborealis, Staurosira construens var. venter, Aulacoseira granulata, Staurosirella pinnata and Pseudostaurosira brevistriata. An electrical conductivity (EC) transfer function was applied to the fossil diatom assemblages and inferred EC values were compared to long-term, historical EC data from the River. Despite the presence of good analogues between fossil and modern diatom assemblages, inferred EC did not reflect measured EC accurately. In recent decades, patterns in the two data sets were reversed. Despite clear changes in the fossil record, quantitative palaeo-environmental interpretation was limited because the dominant taxa occupy broad ecological niches. Despite these limitations, changes in the Lake Cullulleraine record, particularly in the planktonic taxa, can be interpreted in terms of landscape change. Furthermore, because of the good chronology from the site, the record may be useful for dating changes observed in sites with poor chronological control.     

建设经济带是经济发展布局的最佳选择——长江经济带经济发展的巨大潜力

自1984年, “点-轴开发”理论和中国国土开发、经济布局的“T”字型宏观战略提出以来,“T”字型空间结构战略在20世纪80~90年代得到大规模实施。海岸经济带和长江经济带2个一级重点经济带构成“T”字型,长江经济带将内地2个最发达的核心地区（成渝地区和武汉地区）与海岸经济带联系起来,其腹地几乎包括半个中国,其范围内资源丰富,农业、经济和技术基础雄厚,已经形成世界上最大的以水运为主的、包括铁路、高速公路、管道以及超高压输电等组成的具有超大能力的综合运输通道,其巨大的发展潜力是除海岸经济带以外的其他经济带所不能比拟的。“点-轴开发”理论和中国国土开发、经济布局的“T”字型宏观战略（海岸带和长江沿线作为全国的一级发展轴线）已经得到国内诸多知名学者和有关部门领导的认同,符合中国国土开发和经济布局合理化的要求,以海岸地带和长江沿岸作为今后几十年中国国土开发和经济布局的一级轴线的战略将是长期的。     

补偿标准参照的比较:机会成本与环境收益——以石羊河流域生态补偿为例

流域生态补偿是当前生态经济研究的热点问题。在简要说明流域内生态系统服务与流域生态补偿的关系之后,从理论上分析了流域生态补偿标准的环境收益参照——机会成本变为环境收益,并以石羊河流域生态恢复目标为例开展实证,在考虑补偿总预算约束下,比较采用两种补偿标准参照生态补偿机制运行的效果。结果表明:采用环境收益代替机会成本作为补偿标准参照,对于提高农户参与生态补偿的积极性、保护生态系统服务行为的约束性作用明显;引入以机会成本与环境收益比值确定的优先补偿指标,在生态补偿资金预算约束下替代机制对完成既定生态恢复目标有显著促进作用。