Climate variability and ecosystem dynamics of remote alpine and arctic lakes: the MOLAR project

This paper introduces the results of an integrated project designed to compare high resolution analysis of proxy records of climate change in the sediments of seven mountain lakes across Europe with reconstructed instrumental records of climate change over the last 200 years. Palaeolimnological methods used include radiometric dating (²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs), mineral magnetics, dry weight, loss-on-ignition, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, pigments, diatoms, chrysophyte cysts, cladocera and chironomids. Changes in fossil assemblages were summarised using principal components analysis. The stratigraphic data were compared with the instrumental record using linear regression techniques. The dated sediment records for each proxy from each site were treated as the response variables and the various attributes of the instrumental climate record as the predictor variables. The predictor variables were generated for each site for the period 1781 to 1997 using temperature reconstructions based on meteorological records. To harmonise the climatic predictors and the response variables, the climatic variables were smoothed along time with a LOESS regression. The results of the various analyses at the seven sites are presented in the following papers. A synthesis of the project and the relative performance of the different proxy methods are discussed in the final paper.     

Speleological characteristics of alpine karst in Slovenia,northwestern Yugoslavia

A short introduction to Slovene alpine karst, i.e. surface, geological base, hypsometric divisions, orography, and climate conditions is presented first. According to previous data there are three types of alpine karst in Slovenia: high-mountainous karst, doline karst, and karst on conglomerate and alluvial surface. The article then gives a general view of the caverns in the Slovene Alps; altogether there are over 1000 registered and explored caverns. Different numeric data are added, together with mean values. Types of caverns are compared between them and with different types of alpine land.     

Reconstructing air temperature at eleven remote alpine and arctic lakes in Europe from 1781 to 1997 AD

Pristine and sensitive environments, such as remote alpine and arctic lakes, are particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. However, these remote environments do not have sufficiently long instrumental climate records to support studies on contemporary climate change. The issue of the scarcity of instrumental climate data at remote regions is addressed by reconstructing monthly mean air temperatures from 1781 to 1997 AD at eleven remote alpine and arctic lakes in Europe, as part of the MOuntain LAke Research (MOLAR) project. Stepwise multiple regression is applied to establish linear transfer functions of temperatures between each of eleven upland records and twenty homogenised long lowland records. Twelve monthly transfer functions are obtained for each lake. The skill of these transfer functions is found to range typically between 60 and 99%. The lower skill values generally correspond to winter months. The temperature reconstructions obtained using the transfer functions need to be corrected with vertical temperature gradients. Air-temperature lapse rates were obtained for each lake region by spatial interpolation of radiosonde air-temperature data (1990–1997). The resulting reconstructions at each lake were checked using air-temperature data (1996–1997) from automatic weather stations installed at the lakes during the MOLAR project. We estimate the typical reconstruction errors to be about 1.3 °C for low-sun months and about 0.98 °C for high-sun months. Trend analyses on the reconstructed annual mean air temperatures at the lakes show two distinct types of trends for the 19th and 20th centuries. During the period 1801–1900, the western European lakes show no significant trend whereas annual mean air temperatures at the eastern European lakes decrease significantly. The period 1901–1997 presents a warming trend at all but the Fennoscandian lakes. Our results are in good agreement with previous studies on the spatial distribution and magnitude of temperature change in Europe. Principal component analysis performed on the reconstructed annual mean air temperature reveals two different regimes of trends for the past two centuries. It also allows a regional clustering of the inter-annual variability of air temperature at the lakes to be identified.     

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     

Aeolian processes on sandy desertification of an alpine meadow: A wind tunnel experiment

In recent years,the desertification of alpine meadows has become a serious ecological problem and has gradually become a threat to regional economic activities in Maqu County.To reveal the mechanism for sandy desertification of alpine meadows,we conducted wind tunnel experiments on aeolian processes over sandy alpine meadows.Results show that the sandflux profile of mix-sized sediment decays exponentially with increasing height.However,the profile pattern of a group of uniform-sized particles depends on the experimental wind speeds.The profile pattern of all the groups studied can be expressed by exponential decay functions when the wind speed is less than or equal to 16 m/s.while that for all the groups studied can be expressed by a Gaussian distribution function when the wind speed is above 16 m/s.The average saltation heights of mixed sands at wind speeds of 12 m/s,16 m/s,20 m/s,and 24 m/s were 2.74,4.19,5.28,and 6.12 cm,respectively.The mean grain size basically first decreases and then increases with increasing height under different wind speeds.The sorting improves with increasing wind speed,while the kurtosis and skewness show relationships with only the characteristics of the parent soil.     

A review of snow manipulation experiments in Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems

Snow cover is one of the most important factors controlling microclimate and plant growing conditions for Arctic and alpine ecosystems. Climate change is altering snowfall regimes, which in turn influences snow cover and ultimately tundra plant communities. The interest in winter climate change and the number of experiments exploring the responses of alpine and Arctic ecosystems to changes in snow cover have been growing in recent years, but their outcomes are difficult to summarize because of the large variability in manipulation approaches, extents and measured response variables. In this review, we (1) compile the ecological publications on snow manipulation experiments, (2) classify the studies according to the climate scenarios they simulate and response variables they measure, (3) discuss the methods applied to manipulate snow cover, and (4) analyse and generalize the response in phenology, productivity and community composition by means of a meta-analysis. This meta-analysis shows that flowering phenology responded strongly to changes in the timing of snowmelt. The least responsive group of species were graminoids; however, they did show a decrease in productivity and abundance with experimentally increased snow covers. The species group with the greatest phenological response to snowmelt changes were the dwarf shrubs. Their abundance also increased in most long-term snow fence experiments, whereas species richness generally declined. We conclude that snow manipulation experiments can improve our understanding of recently observed ecosystem changes, and are an important component of climate change research.     

Future directions for Australian manufacturing: a review symposium

The Australian Manufacturing Council (AMC) was established, along with 11 industry councils, by the Hawke administration to advise the Commonwealth government on manufacturing and to provide a forum for consultations between business, unions and government. The AMC adopted a work program in 1984 which would lead to the preparation of a long‐term strategy for industrial restructuring in Australia. Nine of the 11 industry councils subsequently completed strategy reports which included policy recommendations for their branches of manufacturing. In late 1986 the AMC published a report on Future Directions for Australian Manufacturing Industry: A Broad Strategy Framework (Australia. Australian Manufacturing Council 1986a). This document draws together common themes identified in the various strategy reports and addresses some broader economic issues relevant to manufacturing as a whole. Because of the importance of the matters explored and the prominence given to the tripartite nature of the AMC (involving business, unions and government), Australian Geographer commissioned reviews of Future Directions . . . from four industrial geographers.     

Isotope hydrograph separation in alpine catchments: a review

Isotope hydrograph separation (IHS) is a basic tool in applied hydrology. Its application has expanded to surface water and groundwater interaction, and eco-hydrological processes from runoff generation processes. This paper reviews the progress made in IHS for alpine catchments, with emphasis on its significance in reflecting the impact of global change on water resources. Also, the principle of IHS and its uncertainties are explained in detail. The mechanism of variation of stable isotopes in snow-melt water is discussed, and then methods are presented to improve the separation during snow-melt such as volume weighted average method (VWA), current melt-water method (CMW) and runoff-corrected event water approach (RunCE), with their advantages and disadvantages explained. New approaches may extend the applications of IHS, for example, large basin studies combined with GIS, and develop new theories of runoff generation combined with other parameters such as deuterium excess and DOC     

基于DEM-NDVI的高山植被带定量刻划

根据不同高山植被类型具有不同归一化植被指数响应的特点,通过对NDVI的分析来定量刻划高山植被带的海拔分布。首先,利用DEM、NDVI构建DEM-NDVI散点分布图;然后,结合地面调查资料与WorldView-2高分遥感影像对DEM-NDVI散点分布图进行统计回归分析;最后,利用分析结果定量刻划高山植被垂直分带结构。将该方法应用于四川卧龙大熊猫保护区的卧龙关沟,结果表明：① NDVI随海拔升高而呈“Z”字形变化;② DEM-NDVI散点图比样本点DEM-NDVI分布图能更完全地表达高山植被NDVI随高程变化的特征;③ 卧龙关沟东北坡高山植被带海拔高度为3255~4415 m,西南坡高山植被带海拔高度为3193~4473 m,与地面调查得到的区域代表植被的分布高度基本一致。     

Review symposium: our common future: the world commission on environment and development

In 1983 the General Assembly of the United Nations called for the setting up of a World Commission on Environment and Development. The Commission's ambitious tasks were described by its Chairman, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway, as: (1) to propose long‐term environmental strategies for achieving sustainable developments by the year 2000 and beyond; (2) to recommend ways concern for the environment could be translated into greater cooperation among developing countries and between countries at different stages of economic and social development; (3) to consider ways and means by which the international community could deal more effectively with environmental concerns; and (4) to help define shared perceptions of long‐term environmental issues and the appropriate efforts needed to deal successfully with problems of protecting and enhancing the environment. The Commission's Report, Our common future,was published in 1987.     

青藏高原高寒草原区域碳估测

CASA(Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Biosphere)模型是一个表征陆地生态系统水、碳素和氮素通量随时间变化的生态系统过程模型。本研究采用MODIS遥感数据与CASA模型相结合的方法计算了青藏高原高寒草原生态系统植被净初级生产力(NPP)总量为20.57×10¹²g·a^-1的碳。同时根据五道梁实验点上得到的经验关系估算了青藏高原高寒草原生态系统区域上的土壤碳排放(Heterotrophic respiration)总量为8.07×10¹² g·a^-1,因此推算得高寒草原区域内净生态系统生产力(NEP)折算成碳为12.50×10¹² g·a^-1。     

Policy and practice in karst landscape protection: Bohol, the Philippines

The karst landscape in the interior of the Philippines' Bohol Province represents one of the world's premier kegelkarst (cone karst) environments. Government efforts to protect some of this karst, exemplified by the establishment of the Rajah Sikatuna National Park and the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument, have proven to be significant catalysts of social conflict. In Bohol there is a long history of traditional land tenure, which has recently been supplanted by a Westernized model. Protected area establishment is a response to deforestation, agricultural exploitation and uncontrolled quarrying. However, the imposition of protective legislation to prevent further degradation has disenfranchized and marginalized many local farmers and residents. The conflict between the obligation of the State to ensure environmental protection and the perceived property rights of landowners and farmers has provoked an escalation in civil unrest and armed conflict.     

高寒生态脆弱区农户的气候变化适应策略——以甘南高原为例

气候变化对生态脆弱区以自然资源为生计基础的农户产生了严重影响,急需寻求有效的适应策略。以地处青藏高原东缘的甘南高原为研究区,基于1963-2013年气象数据分析甘南高原气候变化趋势,采用入户调查数据分析了气候变化对农户生计的影响及农户采取的适应策略,并利用多元线性回归模型和多项logistic回归模型分析了影响农户适应策略选择的因素。结果显示：① 近50年甘南高原气温呈增加趋势,倾向率为0.23 ℃/10 a,降水呈减少趋势,倾向率为-5.21 mm/10a,63.45%的农户认为气候变化对其生计带来了严重影响;② 甘南高原农户的适应策略多样化指数为2.65,农户的人力资本、自然资本、金融资本及其对气候变化的严重性感知、适应效能感知及自我效能感知与适应策略多样化程度呈显著正相关;③ 甘南高原65.30%的农户采取各种组合型策略应对气候变化,尤以采取扩张+调整型组合策略的农户为多,农户的人力资本是影响其适应策略选择的最显著因素,社会资本与气候变化风险感知的影响次之,金融资本及气候变化适应效能感知的影响最弱。最后,提出提高农户适应气候变化能力的对策建议。     

Nocturnal hypothermia and its energetic significance for small birds living in the arctic and subarctic regions. A review

Nocturnal hypothermia is demonstrated in a number of small northern birds. These birds utilize hypothermia rant among other energy-saving mechanisms and lower the body temperature by some 10°C. In most bird species hypothermia is utilized only in conjunction with a state of inanition. However, hypothermia has also been demonstrated in birds with satisfactory feeding conditions and body weight. For none of the small northern birds utilizing nocturnal hypothermia, is inanition necessary for the induction of a state of hypothermia. A seasonal effect on the hypothermic response has been demonstrated for two species of tits, the black-capped chickadee Parus atricapillus and the willow tit Parus montanus , and also for an Andean hummingbird. The depth of hypothermia achieved significantly and linearly was correlated with the ambient temperature for the same two species of tits. By the use of nocturnal hypothermia, birds living in temperate zones can save as much as 75% of their energetic costs, compared with their energy consumption at normal body temperature. The reduction in the nightly expenditure of energy is considerable also in small-sized arctic and subarctic birds that utilize nocturnal hypothermia. The saving of energetic costs may easily represent the margin between life and death for such small birds living under the combined stresses of hunger, cold and long nights.     

Suspended sediment transport and deposition in a high arctic meromictic lake

A study of sedimentary processes and sediment yields in a high arctic meromictic lake (Lake C2, Taconite Inlet, Northern Ellesemere Island, Canada) was undertaken from May 1990 through August 1992 to understand the links between climatic controls, hydrology, and the laminated sediment record preserved in the lake. Understanding the relationships between processes and the sediment record is critical for interpreting the climatic significance of the laminated sediments in a region where high resolution climate proxy records are quite limited.Sediment transport to Lake C2 is dominated by fluvial processes. During the early part of the melt season slushflows transport sediment to the lake surface. Subsequently, suspended sediment is delivered to the lake by the main inlet stream and distributed lakeward by a plume emanating the main inlet channel. Due to the strong density stratification of the water column the plume distributes sediment downlake by overflows and interflows in the epilimnion. In general, overflows are generated by lower discharge events whereas interflows penetrate to the halocline during high discharge with increased suspended sediment concentration.Sediment trap analysis demonstrates that suspended sediment transport and deposition responds to diurnal through annual changes in stream discharge. Seasonal and annual sediment trap yields agree with average accumulation rates determined from varve thickness measurements and cumulative suspended sediment discharge from the main inlet stream indicating a close link between climatological, hydrological, and sedimentological controls and varve deposition.This is the fourth in a series of papers published in this issue on the Taconite Inlet Lakes Project. These papers were collected by Dr R. S. Bradley.     

Algal-silica cycling and pigment diagenesis in recent alpine lake sediments: mechanisms and paleoecological implications

The quality and interpretability of the paleobiological record depends on the preservation of morphological and geochemical fossils. Siliceous microfossils and sedimentary pigments are often cornerstones in paleoecology, although the microbial and geochemical processes conducive to their preservation remain poorly constrained. We examined sediments from an alpine lake in Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada) where diatom frustules are completely dissolved within 50 years of deposition. Diatom dissolution, silica recycling, and diagenetic alteration of algal pigments were investigated, in conjunction with porewater geochemistry and microelectrode profiling of the sediment–water interface. Analysis of sediment trap material showed ~90% of biogenic silica (BSi) production is lost prior to burial. Silica flux calculations, based on dissolved silica (as H₄SiO₄) in pore-waters, show a further ~6% of total BSi is returned to the water column from the upper 4 cm of sediments, implying that only ~4% of total BSi is permanently archived in sediments. In situ sediment pH and O₂ profiles reveal that aerobic respiration by bacteria fully consumes oxygen by a depth of 4 mm into the sediment, with associated strong pH and redox gradients. During sedimentation and early diagenesis, diatoms undergo loss of extracellular polymeric substances that coat their frustules, promoting silica dissolution and leading to the loss of the microfossil record by a depth of 3.25 cm. Sedimentary pigments similarly undergo rapid degradation, but diatom-related carotenoids persist below the depth of silica dissolution. This work provides new insights on diagenetic processes in lakes, with broad implications for the interpretation of sedimentary proxies for algal production.