Effects of length and application rate of rice straw mulch on surface runoff and soil loss under laboratory simulated rainfall

Forest land affected by deforestation yields high soil and water losses.Suitable management practices need to be found that can reduce these losses and achieve ecological and hydrological sustainability of the deforested areas.Mulch has been found to be effective in reducing soil losses;straw mulch is easy to apply,contributes soil organic matter,and is efficient since the day of application.However,the complex effects of rice straw mulch with different application rates and lengths on surface runoff and soil loss have not been clarified in depth.The current paper evaluates the efficiency of rice straw mulch in reducing the hydrological response of a silty clay loam soil under high intensity and low frequency rainfall events(tap water with total depth of 49 mm and intensity of 98 mm/h)simulated in the laboratory.Surface runoff and soil loss at three lengths of the straw(10,30,and 200 mm)and three application rates(1,2,and 3 Mg/ha)were measured in 50 cm(width)×100 cm(length)×10 cm(depth)plots with disturbed soil samples(aggregate soil size<4 mm)collected in a deforested area.Bare soil was used as control experiment.Runoff volume and erosion were significantly(at p<0.05)lower in mulched soils compared to control plots.These reductions were ascribed to the water absorption capacity of the rice straw and the protection cover of the mulch layer.The minimum runoff was observed for a mulch layer of3 Mg/ha of straw with a length of 200 mm.The lowest soil losses were found with straw length of10 mm.The models developed predict runoff and erosion based on simple linear functions of mulch application rate and length,and can be used for a suitable hydrological management of soil.It is concluded that,thanks to rice straw mulch used as an organic soil conditioner,soil erosion and surface runoff are significantly(at p<0.05)reduced,and the mulch protection contributes to reduce the risk of soil degradation.Further research is,however,needed to analyze the upscaling of the hydrological effects of mulching from the plot to the hillslope scale.     

Spatiotemporal modeling of relative risk of dengue disease in Colombia

Spatiotemporal modeling of relative risk of dengue disease provides useful risk maps for surveillance and forecasting. The objective of the study was to generate smoothed estimates of relative risk applying hierarchical Bayesian spatiotemporal models, including covariates derived from satellite images containing land surface temperature (LST) and normalized difference vegetation index, for the period January 2009–December 2015, in a medium–sized Colombian city. Our models are based on the spatiotemporal interaction modeling framework of relative risk, where the interaction effects are unstructured, temporal, spatial or inseparable, at a small spatial and temporal scales. We fitted the models using Markov chain MonteCarlo Simulations, selecting the best model using leave-one-out cross-validation and widely applicable information criteria. Our best model was the inseparable spatiotemporal interaction-effects plus LST with constant coefficient model. We found a weak, positive association between LST and cases of dengue. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses of our spatiotemporal models given the spatial and temporal resolution selected in the study.     

Understanding the dynamics and contamination of an urban aquifer system using groundwater age (14C, 3H,CFCs) and chemistry

The quality of the groundwater supplying drinking water to the Guadalajara metropolitan area has deteriorated due to both endogenic and exogenic processes. Previous studies of this complex neotectonic volcanic environment suggest that the sources of contamination here are underground fluids derived from an active volcanic center and surface wastewater derived from regional land‐use intensification. This study uses isotopic, gaseous, and chemical signatures to more comprehensively characterize this groundwater flow and its contamination paths. Groundwater is mainly recharged at the La Primavera Caldera to the west and is discharged into the Santiago River to the east. The exception to this trend is the Toluquilla area, where groundwater most likely represents rainfall originating from outside the basin limits. Evaporation affects groundwater in these areas, especially waters that have been affected by recycling below urban areas in the Atejamac area and by intensive agricultural activity in the Toluquilla area. Additionally, we present evidence that groundwater flow through alluvial sediments and tuffs in deeper wells mixes with a lower aquifer unit in basaltic‐andesitic rocks, which are in contact with hydrothermal fluids. Groundwater ages range from postbomb in the western and northwestern regions of the study area (i.e., the Atemajac aquifer unit) to Late Pleistocene in the southern and southeastern regions (i.e., the Toluquilla aquifer unit). Recently recharged water records little mixing and is located mostly in or near the La Primavera volcanic system. As groundwater undergoes gravitational flow towards discharge areas, it mixes with older water components. Chloride and sodium concentrations above natural background levels are primarily related to volcanic activity, nitrate is associated with human activities, and sulfate originates from both anthropogenic sources and water–rock interactions. Nitrate originating from land‐use activities (such as sewers, septic tanks, landfills, and agricultural fields) that is introduced into the deeper part of the groundwater system is expected to travel with the groundwater to the discharge areas because oxidizing conditions will prevent microbial reduction. See Supplementary Information.     

The role of urban growth,climate change,and their interplay in altering runoff extremes

Changes in climate and urban growth are the most influential factors affecting hydrological characteristics in urban and extra‐urban contexts. The assessment of the impacts of these changes on the extreme rainfall–runoff events may have important implications on urban and extra‐urban management policies against severe events, such as floods, and on the design of hydraulic infrastructures. Understanding the effects of the interaction between climate change and urban growth on the generation of runoff extremes is the main aim of this paper. We carried out a synthetic experiment on a river catchment of 64 km² to generate hourly runoff time series under different hypothetical scenarios. We imposed a growth of the percentage of urban coverage within the basin (from 1.5% to 25%), a rise in mean temperature of 2.6 °C, and an alternatively increase/decrease in mean annual precipitation of 25%; changes in mean annual precipitation were imposed following different schemes, either changing rainstorm frequency or rainstorm intensity. The modelling framework consists of a physically based distributed hydrological model, which simulates fast and slow mechanisms of runoff generation directly connected with the impervious areas, a land‐use change model, and a weather generator. The results indicate that the peaks over threshold and the hourly annual peaks, used as hydrological indicators, are very sensitive to the rainstorm intensity. Moreover, the effects of climate changes dominate on those of urban growth determining an exacerbation of the fast runoff component in extreme events and a reduction of the slow and deep runoff component, thus limiting changes in the overall runoff.     

A 1D P-wave velocity model of the Gargano promontory (south-eastern Italy)

We investigate the elastic properties of the crust in the Gargano promontory, located in the northern part of the Apulia region (Southeastern Italy). Starting on April, 2013, a local-scale seismic network, composed of 12 short-period (1 Hz) seismic stations, was deployed on the Gargano promontory. Starting on October, 2013, the network was integrated with the recordings of nine seismic stations managed by the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). The network recorded more than 1200 seismic events in about 15 months of data acquisition, with more than 700 small magnitude events localized in the Gargano promontory and surrounding areas. A Wadati-modified method allowed us to infer V_P/V_S = 1.73 for the area. A subset of about 400 events having a relatively smaller azimuthal gap (<200°) was selected to calibrate a 1D P-wave velocity model of the area, using the VELEST inversion code. The preferred model was obtained from the average of ten velocity models, each of them representing the inversion result from given initial velocity models, calibrated on previous geological and geophysical studies in the area. The results obtained under the assumption that V_P could decrease with depth are unstable, with very different depths of the top of low-velocity layers. Therefore, the velocity model was obtained from the average of the results obtained under the assumption that V_P cannot decrease with depth. A strong reduction of both RMS (about 58%) and errors on the location of the events was obtained with respect to the starting model. The final velocity model shows a strong velocity gradient in the upper 5 km of the crust and a small increase (from 6.7 to 7 km) at 30 km of depth. The epicenters of relocated events do not show clear correlations with the surface projection of known seismic faults. A cluster of the epicenters of the relocated events intersects almost perpendicularly the Candelaro fault trace at the surface.     

A B‐Spline Framework for Smooth Derivative Computation in Well Test Analysis Using Diagnostic Plots

In the oil and gas industry, well test analysis using derivative plots, has been the core technique in examining reservoir and well behavior over the last three decades. Recently, diagnostics plots have gained recognition in the field of hydrogeology; however, this tool is still underused by groundwater professionals. The foremost drawback is that the derivative function must be computed from noisy field measurements, usually based on finite‐difference schemes, which complicates the analysis. We propose a B‐spline framework for smooth derivative computation, referred to as Constrained Quartic B‐Splines with Free Knots. The approach presents the following novelties in relation to methodological precedents: (1) the use of automatic equality derivative constraints, (2) a knot removal strategy and (3) the introduction of a Boolean shape parameter that defines the number of initial knots to choose. These can lead to evaluate both simple (manually recorded drawdown measurements) and complex (transducer measured records) datasets. Furthermore, we propose an additional shape preserving smoothing preprocess procedure, as a simple, fast and robust method to deal with extremely noisy signals. Our framework was tested in four pumping tests by comparing the spline derivative with regards to the Bourdet algorithm, and we found that the latter is rather noisy (even for large differentiation intervals) and the second derivative response is basically unreadable. In contrast, the spline first and second derivative led to smoother responses, which are more suitable for interpretation. We concluded that the proposed framework is a welcome contribution to evaluate reliable aquifer tests using derivative‐diagnostic plots.     

The impact of internal waves on upper continental slopes: insights from the Mozambican margin (southwest Indian Ocean)

Evidences of sedimentation affected by oceanic circulation, such as nepheloid layers and contourites are often observed along continental slopes. However, the oceanographic processes controlling sedimentation along continental margins remain poorly understood. Multibeam bathymetry and high-resolution seismic reflection data revealed a contourite depositional system in the Mozambican upper continental slope composed of a contourite terrace (a surface with a gentle seaward slope dominated by erosion) and a plastered drift (a convex-shape sedimentary deposit). A continuous alongslope channel and a field of sand dunes (mainly migrating upslope), formed during Holocene, were identified in the contourite terrace at the present seafloor. Seismic reflection data of the water column show internal waves and boluses propagating in the pycnocline near the upper slope. The channel and the dunes are probably the result of the interaction of the observed internal waves with the seafloor under two different conditions. The alongslope channel is located in a zone where intense barotropic tidal currents may arrest internal solitary waves, generating a hydraulic jump and focused erosion. However, upslope migrating dunes may be formed by bottom currents induced by internal solitary waves of elevation propagating landwards in the pycnocline. These small-scale sedimentary features generated by internal waves are superimposed on large-scale contouritic deposits, such as plastered drifts and contourite terraces, which are related to geostrophic currents. These findings provide new insights into the oceanographic processes that control sedimentation along continental margins that will help interpretation of palaeoceanographic conditions from the sedimentary record. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Assessing the factors driving the changes in the spatio-temporal distribution of Hepatus pudibundus (Decapoda,Brachyura) over a 20-year interval in a region under the influence of El Niño (ENSO)

This study aimed to compare the spatio-temporal distribution of demographic groups of Hepatus pudibundus in the Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil, over a 20-year interval. Two 1-year samplings were conducted: the 1st period (P1) ran from September 1995 to August 1996 and the 2nd period (P2) ran from September 2016 to August 2017. Samples were taken from five stations that differed in depth (5, 10, and 15 m) and location (exposed area and sheltered area), aboard a shrimp fishing boat. Over the 20-year period, the percentage of fine sediment increased in all stations. In total, we captured 865 H. pudibundus individuals in the P1 and 4,222 in the P2. The higher abundance seen in the P2 may have been caused by the effects of an intense ENSO event in Ubatuba, as well as co-occurring protective actions against fisheries activities in the region. The spatial distribution also changed after 20 years: In the P1, H. pudibundus were more concentrated in the 15 m station and exposed area, but they shifted to the sheltered area in the P2. This change may be related to the increase of fine sediments in this area, and to the fact that it is naturally protected from fisheries. According to the correspondence analysis, the abundance of males and juveniles was correlated with spring and winter, respectively. In the P1, females were more abundant in spring, whereas in the P2 they were more abundant in summer, which may be explained by a higher nutrient availability to the larvae in the summer of the P2. Our comparisons over the 20-year interval revealed that the spatio-temporal distribution of H. pudibundus has changed and that the population is well established in Ubatuba Bay.     

Object-based image analysis supported by data mining to discriminate large areas of soybean

This research aimed to analyze the possibility to estimate and automatically map large areas of soybean cultivation through the use of MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images. Two major techniques were used: GEOgraphic-Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) and Data Mining (DM). In order to obtain the images, the segmentation algorithm implemented by Definiens Developer was used. A decision tree (DT) was created from a training set previously prepared. Time-series of images from the MODIS sensor aboard the Terra satellite were acquired in order to represent the wide variation of the vegetation pattern along the soybean crop cycle. The time-series data were used only for the CEI index. Furthermore, to compare the results obtained from GEOBIA, the slicing technique was used at the CEI level. After the training, the DT was applied to the vegetation indices generating the thematic map of the spatial distribution of soybean. In accordance with the error matrix and kappa parameter analysis, tests for statistical significance were created. Results indicate that the classification achieved by Kappa coefficients is 0.76. In short, the obtained results proved that combining vegetation indices and time-series data using GEOBIA return promising results for mapping soybean plantation on a regional scale.