Revaluation of the natural-resource potential of Ukraine

We provide a rationale for the technique of revaluating the natural-resource potential which is built upon the natural crop yield of Ukrainian lands obtained, with the observance of rotation cropping and by implementing the complex of mechanical tillage operations without fertilizer application. An assessment is made of Ukraine’s natural-resource potential within the context of three physical-geographical countries, four zones, three subzones, and 14 krais.     

Influence of livestock on the regeneration of fodder trees along ephemeral rivers of Namibia

Faidherbia albida and Acacia erioloba (Mimosoideae) are important fodder trees for livestock and wildlife along the westward flowing ephemeral rivers of the Namib Desert. Together with other, mainly woody vegetation, F. albida and A. erioloba line these rivers and present a linear oasis in a resource poor environment. For centuries nomadic to semi-nomadic inhabitants seasonally utilised the resources of these ephemeral rivers to survive in the otherwise harsh desert environment. In the past decades, more permanent settlements were established along these rivers, with small stock subsistence farmers making a living from the available resources. Livestock (mainly goats) usually moves freely around, feeding on the available vegetation.This study investigated the influence of free moving animals on the regeneration and recruitment of F. albida and A. erioloba along the Kuiseb ephemeral river. It was found that a large numbers of recently emerged seedlings were removed soon after germination. In addition, tree densities of adult versus juvenile individuals differed in areas with large numbers of livestock. The overall height increase and health of juvenile plants were influenced negatively by browsing livestock. In general, browsing pressure differed spatially and was higher close to the main water channel.     

Surface energy and water vapor fluxes observed in a desert plantation in central Iran

Summertime observations of surface radiation budget, energy balance and atmospheric surface layer meteorology were made on an arid valley floor planted with Haloxylon aphyllum to combat desertification in central Iran. The surface microclimate is characterized and compared with other arid regions and the role of ‘desert greening’ on surface fluxes is considered. A high surface albedo (0.265) and large longwave radiation loss produced relatively low net radiation. Energy partitioning was dominated by sensible and ground heat fluxes with opposing diurnal asymmetry governed by strong diurnal variability in eddy diffusivity. The Bowen ratio was 2.53, which fell inside the range of other vegetated arid surfaces. Surface temperature gradients were strong both in the atmospheric surface layer and in the substrate, with consistent lapse conditions by day and inversions at night. The wind regime included a moderate daytime regional wind which displayed Coriolis turning and weaker nocturnal slope flows. Actual evapotranspiration (1 mm dy⁻¹) was only a small fraction of potential evapotranspiration. The diurnal pattern of AET indicates strong stomatal control. The desert greening effect of Haloxylon plantations provided atmospheric water and reduced sensible heat flux by up to 40%.     

Do free-ranging domestic goats show ‘landscapes of fear’? Patch use in response to habitat features and predator cues

One factor that influences foraging is predation risk. As a result, herbivores may not use landscapes uniformly due to spatial differences in perceived predation risk. Wild herbivores forage across these ‘landscapes of fear’; however, the extent to which domestic herbivores consider them is generally unknown. Using a grid of artificial food patches and measuring giving up densities (GUDs), we mapped landscapes of fear of free-ranging domestic goats on three substrates. In the first experiment, we related GUDs to landscape variables. Goats preferred feeding in open ground with firm substrate compared to a sandy riverbed or a rocky hillside. We suggest that differences relate to escape potential and the occurrence of ambush sites. Landscape variables that influenced feeding effort were patch visibility and plants next to a patch. In a second experiment, we increased predation risk by adding predator dung and urine into the habitats. In response, feeding effort declined across all three habitats. Furthermore, goats only responded to patch visibility and not plants next to the patches. Better sightlines increase predator detection and allow individuals to see group members. Our results indicate that predation risk influences the extent to which free-ranging domestic herbivores utilise landscapes.     

Progress in isotope paleohydrology using lake sediment cellulose

Recent advances in sample preparation techniques and mass spectrometry have fostered more routine oxygen isotope analysis of aquatic cellulose in lake sediment cores, a proxy for lake water oxygen isotope history. These methodological developments have significantly increased the feasibility of incorporating this approach into high-resolution, multi-site, and multi-proxy studies, which are frequently necessary to answer complex hydrological, hydroecological and hydroclimatic questions requiring a paleoenvironmental perspective. Direct translation of lake sediment aquatic cellulose oxygen isotope composition into lake water oxygen isotope composition offers appreciable opportunity for quantitative paleohydrological reconstructions, as evidenced by studies conducted over the past 15 years that span Holocene and pre-historical timescales.     

Stratigraphic architecture of Solander Basin records Southern Ocean currents and subduction initiation beneath southwest New Zealand

Solander Basin is characterized by subduction initiation at the Pacific‐Australia plate boundary, where high biological productivity is found at the northern edge of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Sedimentary architecture results from tectonic influences on accommodation space, sediment supply and ocean currents (via physiography); and climate influence on ocean currents and biological productivity. We present the first seismic‐stratigraphic analysis of Solander Basin based on high‐fold seismic‐reflection data (voyage MGL1803, SISIE). Solander Trough physiography formed by Eocene rifting, but basinal strata are mostly younger than ca. 17 Ma, when we infer Puysegur Ridge formed and sheltered Solander Basin from bottom currents, and mountain growth onshore increased sediment supply. Initial inversion on the Tauru Fault started at ca. 15 Ma, but reverse faulting from 12 to ca. 8 Ma on both the Tauru and Parara Faults was likely associated with reorganization and formation of the subduction thrust. The new seabed topography forced sediment pathways to become channelized at low points or antecedent gorges. Since 5 Ma, southern Puysegur Ridge and Fiordland mountains spread out towards the east and Solander Anticline grew in response to ongoing subduction and growth of a slab. Solander Basin had high sedimentation rates because (1) it is sheltered from bottom currents by Puysegur Ridge; and (2) it has a mountainous land area that supplies sediment to its northern end. Sedimentary architecture is asymmetric due to the Subtropical Front, which moves pelagic and hemi‐pelagic sediment, including dilute parts of gravity flows, eastward and accretes contourites to the shelf south of Stewart Island. Levees, scours, drifts and ridges of folded sediment characterize western Solander Basin, whereas hemi‐pelagic drape and secondary gravity flows are found east of the meandering axial Solander Channel. The high‐resolution record of climate and tectonics that Solander Basin contains may yield excellent sites for future scientific ocean drilling.     

Isotopic and Geochemical Constraints on the Origin and Evolution of the Columbia River Basalt

New major and trace element data on over 70 samples are combinedwith a wider knowledge of the regional stratigraphy, and ofthe tectonic evolution of the boundary between the ColumbiaPlateau and the northern margin of the Basin and Range province,to distinguish three subgroups within the Columbia River BasaltGroup (CRBG): the Picture Gorge Basalt; the main sequence ofColumbia River flood basalts, here named the Clarkston Basalt;and the Saddle Mountains Basalt. The subgroups are characterizedby different incompatible element and Sr-, Nd-, and Pb-isotoperatios, and they are interpreted in terms of different sourceregions mobilized under different tectonic conditions. The majordifferences between the subgroups are consistent with partialmelting processes in the upper mantle, and it is argued thatthey reflect previous partial melting episodes which resultedin source regions that were variably enriched and depleted inincompatible elements. The major variations within the PictureGorge and Clarkston Basalt subgroups include increases in theabundances of large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and increasesin the ratios of LILE/high field strength elements (HFSE) whichare interpreted as the addition of a lithospheric/subduction-relatedcomponent. The Picture Gorge Basalt has a depleted isotopic and chemicalsignature on which is superimposed an enrichment of LILE toproduce a trace element pattern similar to that of other 17–0-Mabasalts erupted south of the Olympic Wallowa Lineament. Thispattern is characteristic of volcanism associated with the Basinand Range extensional province, and others have attributed itto a source component derived from an enriched subcontinentallithospheric mantle (SCLM). Of the Clarkston Basalts, the Imnaha and Grande Ronde Basaltsform chemical and isotopic arrays which indicate mixing of componentsfrom two distinct source regions. One had high ratios of LILE/HFSEand light rare earth elements (LREE)/HFSE, and as these arenot common in oceanic basalts, this component is thought tohave been derived from the continental mantle lithosphere. Itsisotope ratios are more enriched (older?) than those of thePicture Gorge Basalt, and its Rb/Sr ratios are much higher thanthose in its source rocks, consistent with preferential mobilizationof LILE at the time of magmatism. The second component was derivedfrom an asthenospheric source similar to that of Hawaii basaltsand is most obviously attributed to mantle plume activity. Basaltsof the Eckler Mountain and Wanapum Formations (smaller, separateformations of the Clarkston Basalt as redefined in this paper)fit this mixing model less well and may represent mixing betweenmore than two components. Flows of the third CRBG subgroup,the Saddle Mountains Basalt, also carry a lithospheric geochemicalsignature and have long been recognized as having more radiogenicisotopic signatures than the other two subgroups. Thus, SaddleMountains flows appear to require a lithospheric source enrichedin LILE at an even earlier time, and we concur with other workersthat the isotopic and chemical evidence implies their derivationfrom subcontinental lithospheric mantle enriched at {small tilde}2000Ma. Within each subgroup, the chemical effects of partial melting,fractional crystallization, and magma mixing processes can allbe distinguished within particular flow sequences. In the ImnahaBasalt variable degrees of partial melting during the generationof the CRBG magmas, and gabbro fractionation within the lowercrust, played major roles in their evolution. In the GrandeRonde Basalt fractional crystallization appears to be restrictedto >10%. The chemical and isotopic data for each CRBG subgroup, and thedifferent sources which those data imply, can be accommodatedin a tectonic model which includes the passing of the Yellowstonehotspot south of the center of the CRBG eruption before significantBasin and Range extension had moved north of the Brothers Faultzone at 15 Ma.