Cutting of Phragmites australis as a lake restoration technique: Productivity calculation and nutrient removal in Wuliangsuhai Lake, northern China

Reed is one of the most frequent and dominant species in wetlands all over the world, with common reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.) as the most widely distributed species. In many wetlands, P. australis plays a highly ambivalent role. On the one hand, in many wetlands it purifies wastewater, provides habitat for numerous species, and is a potentially valuable raw material, while on the other hand it is an invasive species which expands aggressively, prevents fishing, blocks ditches and waterways, and builds monospecies stands. This paper uses the eutrophic reed-swamp of Wuliangsuhai Lake in Inner Mongolia, northern China, as a case to present the multiple benefits of regular reed cutting. The reed area and aboveground biomass production are calculated based on field data. Combined with data about water and reed nutrient content, the impact of reed cutting on the lake nutrient budget (N and P) is investigated. Currently, at this lake around 100,000 tons of reed are harvested in winter annually, removing 16% and 8% of the total nitrogen and phosphorus influx, respectively. Harvesting all available winter reed could increase the nutrient removal rates to 48% and 24%, respectively. We also consider the effects of summer harvesting, in which reed biomass removal could overcompensate for the nutrient influx but could potentially reduce reed regrowth.     

Rijkswaterstaat's interest in HF radar

In this paper an explanation is given of Rijkswaterstaat's need for hydrological and meteorological information. The present means to gather this information are described together with their limitations. Future developments in the field of HF narrow-beam groundwave radar systems are indicated and some recommendations are given for the design of an operational HF radar system for Rijkswaterstaat (RWS).     

Amplitude Response of a LCR Gravimeter with Feedback at Periods of Microseisms and Earthquake Waves

The amplitude response of a LCR gravimeter with the SRW-E feedback was determined on a vertical vibrating platform. The ink-pen recorder was connected parallel with the digital voltmeter input to obtain an analog response of the gravimeter to the harmonic motion of the base with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 10 m and periods excited in an interval of 4 - 10 s as by the ground motion of meteorological microseisms, and in the interval 10 -100 s as by surface waves of distant strong earthquakes. In the first interval, an unexpected maximum of the amplitude response was observed with the double amplitude of apparent 6,5 Gal (6.5 × 10 _–8 m/s ² ) at a period of 4.8 s, and a baseline shift with the amplitude of–64Gal was observed at the same period. The value of this direct component cannot be separated from the effect of the Earth's gravity field. In the second interval, the amplitude response of the gravimeter displayed one expected maximum at a period of 40 s with the double amplitude of 8.1Gal. At the usual level of microseisms with a peak-to-peak amplitude of up to 2 m the fluctuation of the gravimeter on the direct baseline shifted by –4.9 Gal was estimated at 1 Gal. With typical Rayleigh surface waves with periods of 20 s and double amplitudes of up to 100 m, the fluctuation reached 67 Gal.     

The discovery of the Younger Dryas,and comments on the current meaning and usage of the term

The Younger Dryas (YD) cold event was discovered in Denmark by Hartz and Mithers in 1904 and the term coined by Hartz in 1912. It was identified as a lacustrine clay bed containing plant macrofossils of an Arctic flora, including Dryas octopetala, and lying between Allerød and Holocene gyttjas containing a warmer flora with birch trees. The YD is unique in the sense that it is the largest and most abrupt climate change on Earth since the Last Glacial Maximum and thus within the reach of radiocarbon dating. Yet, I consider it is part of a regular Dansgaard-Oeschger event. The term has been used for a climate event and for lithostratigraphical, biostratigraphical and several other stratigraphical units. I prefer using it as a geochronological and chronostratigraphical unit, i.e. that the YD represents a specific period of geological time and the rocks and sediments formed during this period. In the type area of southern Scandinavia, the YD chron represents the age and duration of the cold event.     

Tidal deformations of viscoelastic body

Summary The tidal deformations of a viscoelastic body are studied using the simple Kelvin-Voigt model. Expressions for the phase lag and amplitude change of the displacement vector are derived. The energy dissipation rate is calculated for the main disturbing bodies and for diurnal and semidiurnal tidal waves.

---

am nuu ¶rt;auu n ma ua-ma. ¶rt; au ¶rt; ana¶rt;au a u uu anum¶rt; ma u. aumaa m ¶rt;uunauu uu ¶rt; u a a m u nm .

     

Sustainable landscape management in Slovenia: Environmental improvements for the Velenje coal mining community 1991–2000

The Velenje area (almost 200 km² with over 31,000 inhabitants) is based on the Šalek Valley, which became a leading area of industrialisation and urbanisation after the Second World War, with consequent pollution problems. Various industrial plants polluted the river Paka while more serious hazards arose through the coal mine which is a still causing landscape subsidence and the thermal power station in the neighbourhood of Šoštanj which is a major source of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution. In 1987 there was an ecological protest which marked the beginning of a sustainable development strategy for the community. During the past decade programmes have dealt with the degradation of air, soil and water to achieve cleaner air, a transformation in landuse and enhancement the river's formerly weak self-purifying capabilities. This article examines the changes in the valley since the attention of the authorities was drawn to the deterioration of living conditions. Despite the pressures of transition which have seen unemployment rising to over ten percent, significant environmental improvements have been made and the area stands as a model for the rest of the country. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Atmospheric boundary-layer structure observed during a haze event due to forest-fire smoke

During a haze event in Baltimore, U.S.A. from July 6 to 8, 2002, smoke from forest fires in the Québec region (Canada), degraded air quality and impacted upon local climate, decreasing solar radiation and air temperature. The smoke particles in and above the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) served as a tracer and provided a unique opportunity to investigate the ABL structure, especially entrainment. Elastic backscatter lidar measurements taken during the haze event distinctly reveal the downward sweeps (or wisps) of smoke-laden air from the free atmosphere into the ABL. Visualisations of mechanisms such as dry convection, the entrainment process, detrainment, coherent entrainment structures, and mixing inside the ABL, are presented. Thermals overshooting at the ABL top are shown to create disturbances in the form of gravity waves in the free atmosphere aloft, as evidenced by a corresponding ripple structure at the bottom of the smoke layer. Lidar data, aerosol ground-based measurements and supporting meteorological data are used to link free atmosphere, mixed-layer and ground-level aerosols. During the peak period of the haze event (July 7, 2002), the correlation between time series of elastic backscatter lidar data within the mixed layer and the scattering coefficient from a nephelometer at ground level was found to be high (R=0.96 for z =324 m, and R=0.89 for z=504 m). Ground-level aerosol concentration was at a maximum about 2 h after the smoke layer intersected with the growing ABL, confirming that the wisps do not initially reach the ground.     

Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River,The Netherlands

In the transformation from tidal systems to freshwater coastal landscapes, plants act as eco-engineering species that reduce hydrodynamics and trap sediment, but nature and timing of the mechanisms of land creation along estuaries remains unclear. This article focuses on the Old Rhine estuary (The Netherlands) to show the importance of vegetation in coastal landscape evolution, predominantly regarding tidal basin filling and overbank morphology. This estuary hosted the main outflow channel of the river Rhine between ca 6500 to 2000 cal bp , and was constrained by peat during most of its existence. This study reconstructs its geological evolution, by correlating newly integrated geological data and new field records to varying conditions. Numerical modelling was performed to test the inferred mechanisms. It was found that floodbasin vegetation and resulting organic accumulation strongly accelerated back-barrier infill, by minimizing tidal influence. After tidal and wave transport had already sufficiently filled the back-barrier basin, reed rapidly expanded from its edges under brackish conditions, as shown by diatom analysis and datings. Reed growth provided a positive infilling feedback by reducing tidal flow and tidal prism, accelerating basin infilling. New radiocarbon dates show that large-scale crevassing along the Old Rhine River – driven by tidal backwater effect – only started as nutrient-rich river water transformed the floodbasin into an Alder carr in a next phase of estuary evolution. Such less dense vegetation promotes crevassing as sediments are more easily transported into the floodbasin. As river discharge increased and estuary mouth infilling progressed, crevasse activity diminished around 3800 to 3000 cal bp , likely due to a reduced tidal backwater effect. The insights from this data-rich Holocene study showcase the dominant role that vegetation may have in the long-term evolution of coastal wetlands. It provides clues for effective use of vegetation in vulnerable wetland landscapes to steer sedimentation patterns to strategically adapt to rising water levels.