The resilience and sustainability of local wetland management institutions in Illubabor and Western Wellega,Ethiopia

Local community based institutions that coordinate the management of natural resources have been linked to socioecological resilience, adaptation and sustainability within rural livelihood systems throughout the developing world. The resilience and sustainability of related local institutions, however, is influenced by their relationship with external actors and institutions, particularly in facilitating, supporting or hindering local institutional arrangements. From this standpoint, this paper examines the case of local community based institutions involved in wetland management in western Ethiopia. Drawing upon the findings of participatory fieldwork undertaken in eight wetland‐using communities of Illubabor and Western Wellega zones in Oromia Region it is argued that although local institutions do play a key role in coordinating wetland management and sustaining the benefits from wetlands, the sustainability and resilience of the institutions themselves is threatened by a range of factors. Despite their grassroots nature, their effectiveness is influenced by their reliance on local government backstopping that appears to have diminished in recent years, as well as a perceived lack of local government support for collective action over individual rights.     

Improved Resolution of Ambient Flow through Fractured Rock with Temperature Logs

In contaminant hydrogeology, investigations at fractured rock sites are typically undertaken to improve understanding of the fracture networks and associated groundwater flow that govern past and/or future contaminant transport. Conventional hydrogeologic, geophysical, and hydrophysical techniques used to develop a conceptual model are often implemented in open boreholes under conditions of cross-connected flow. A new approach using high-resolution temperature (±0.001°C) profiles measured within static water columns of boreholes sealed using continuous, water-inflated, flexible liners (FLUTe™) identifies hydraulically active fractures under ambient (natural) groundwater flow conditions. The value of this approach is assessed by comparisons of temperature profiles from holes (100 to 200 m deep) with and without liners at four contaminated sites with distinctly different hydrogeologic conditions. The results from the lined holes consistently show many more hydraulically active fractures than the open-hole profiles, in which the influence of vertical flow through the borehole between a few fractures masks important intermediary flow zones. Temperature measurements in temporarily sealed boreholes not only improve the sensitivity and accuracy of identifying hydraulically active fractures under ambient conditions but also offer new insights regarding previously unresolvable flow distributions in fractured rock systems, while leaving the borehole available for other forms of testing and monitoring device installation.     

Vertical migration ofcentropages typicus (copepoda) in Chesapeake Bay,with some thoughts on migration studies

Centropages typicus was collected at two hour intervals over a diel cycle at a station near the Chesapeake Bay mouth. The species migrated upward at dusk and downward at dawn. Neither light, temperature, salinity, nor density appeared to cue the migration. Attention is drawn to the need for information on the extent and regularity of migration by individual organisms, and how the lack of such information may lead to poor interpretations of migration data.     

Principal Components Analysis of Rainfall and Associated Synoptic Models of the Southwest Monsoon over India

Summary  The summer monsoon circulation shows various spatial and temporal oscillations and often a combination of systems produces an integrated effect. In this study phases of the southwest (SW) monsoon have been identified in an objective manner with the help of T-mode principal component analysis (PCA) of weekly rainfall anomalies. Mean composite charts have been prepared utilising all available upper air data (1977–1986) for each category of the SW monsoon epochs identified by the PCA. These sets of charts have been constructed for both the strong and weak phases associated with the first four significant principal components (PCs). A well defined east-west oriented trough system, extending from about 28° N Latitude/65° E Longitude to 20° N Latitude/90° E Longitude, in the lower levels, has been the main feature associated with the strong phase of the monsoon corresponding to PC I. The trough in the lower levels is more marked in the eastern half compared to the western half in both the sets of charts associated with strong phases of the monsoon related to the PC II and PC III. With PC II, the position of the troughs in the lower levels is further north of its location in PC III. The east-west trough system associated with the strong phase of PC IV has a large southward tilt with height. The charts corresponding to the weak phases of these PCs have synoptic features, such as the position of the trough close to the foothills of the Himalayas, and the shifting of middle and upper tropospheric anticyclones to the south. The study suggests an objective method of interpretation of principal components by utilising synoptic data. In addition, synoptic models and data sets corresponding to different phases of the monsoon can also be prepared in an objective manner by such PCA. Received July 18, 1997 Revised April 30, 1999     

Local provenance in rehabilitation of degraded landscapes: a case study from the Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment, Australia

Throughout Australia thousands of volunteers are engaged in Landcare projects that should help rehabilitate degraded landscapes. Many of these projects involve tree planting, but their seed is not necessarily of local provenance. Based on a survey of 85 Landcare groups working in the Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment, data were collected about Landcare groups' knowledge of their seed source, understanding of local provenance and the ecosystem in which they were planting trees and the source of funding for their projects. The findings from the study indicate that about one in five (21%) of the groups surveyed that introduced plant material were not aware of local provenance issues. Indirect indications were that a large number of Landcare groups state-wide may be doing more harm than good to the landscape while trying to rehabilitate it. The data also showed that one in seven (13%) of the groups funded by the Australian Government through the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) had limited awareness of local provenance issues. With millions of dollars being spent on 'works on the ground', it would be prudent to allocate some funds to document and monitor current Landcare activities, so that the environmental outcomes can be quantified and more effective Landcare policies can be developed in the future.     

Joint inversion of temperature,vitrinite reflectance and fission tracks in apatite with examples from the eastern North Sea area

As sediment accumulation indicates basin subsidence, erosion often is understood as tectonic uplift, but the amplitude and timing may be difficult to determine because the sedimentary record is missing. Quantification of erosion therefore requires indirect evidence, for example thermal indicators such as temperature, vitrinite reflectance and fission tracks in apatite. However, as always, the types and quality of data and the choice of models are important to the results. For example, considering only the thermal evolution of the sedimentary section discards the thermal time constant of the lithosphere and essentially ignores the temporal continuity of the thermal structure. Furthermore, the types and density of thermal indicators determine the solution space of deposition and erosion, the quantification of which calls for the use of inverse methods, which can only be successful when all models are mutually consistent. Here, we use integrated basin modelling and Markov Chain Monte Carlo inversion of four deep boreholes to show that the erosional pattern along the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone (STZ) in the eastern North Sea is consistent with a tectonic model of tectonic inversion based on compression and relaxation of an elastic plate. Three wells in close proximity SW of the STZ have different data and exhibit characteristic differences in erosion estimates but are consistent with the formation of a thick chalk sequence, followed by minor Cenozoic erosion during relaxation inversion. The well on the inversion ridge requires ca. 1.7 km Jurassic-Early Cretaceous sedimentation followed by Late Cretaceous–Palaeocene erosion during inversion. No well demands thick Cenozoic sedimentation followed by equivalent significant Neogene exhumation. When data are of high quality and models are consistent, the thermal indicator method yields significant results with important tectonic and geodynamic implications.     

The impact of the Laacher See Volcano (11 000 yr B.P.) on terrestrial vegetation and diatoms

Late-glacial lake sediments containing the Laacher See Tephra (LST, 11 000 yr B.P.) have been analyzed for their pollen and diatom content at three sites at varying distances from the volcano and on different bedrock geologies. The aim was to test the null hypothesis that this major volcanic eruption had no effect on terrestrial pollen or aquatic diatom assemblages. The pollen spectra at all sites show a short-lived increase in grass pollen following the LST. Partial redundancy analysis and associated Monte Carlo permutation tests suggest, however, that the LST had no statistically significant effect at two sites but it had a statistically significant impact on the pollen assemblages at the site nearest (60 km) to the volcano.The diatom assemblages at the three sites changed individualistically after the LST deposition, with increases inAchnanthes minutissima at one site, an expansion ofAulacoseira species at another, and an increase ofAsterionella formosa andFragilaria brevistriata at the third site. Partial redundancy analysis and associated permutation tests suggest a statistically significant change in diatoms in relation to the LST and associated changes in sediment lithology at the one site situated on acidic bedrock. No significant impacts were found at the sites on volcanic or calcareous rocks. Due to the interaction between tephra and sediment lithology, it is not possible to conclude if the statistically significant diatom changes were a direct result of the LST deposition or an indirect result of lithological changes following LST deposition.This is the first paper in a series of papers published in this issue on high-resolution paleolimnology. These papers were presented at the Sixth International Paeolimnology Symposium held 19–21 April, 1993 at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Dr A. F. Lotter and Dr. M. Sturm served as guest editors for these papers.