Seasonal agricultural land use patterns in China's Pearl River Delta from multi-date landsat images

Landsat images of the Pearl River delta region of SE China were interpreted manually in combination with other data sources to identify, measure and to map agricultural land use in a 25,775 km² study area during three growing seasons of 1978. Areal measurements for different land uses were compiled. Paddy lands, which accounted for 6,340 km², were evaluated and classified on the basis of quality, yield and production. Rice production for the study area was then estimated at 5.9 million metric tons based on average yields for the different grades of paddy land.     

Large-area rice yield forecasting using satellite imageries

Ability to make large-area yield prediction before harvest is important in many aspects of agricultural decision-making. In this study, canopy reflectance band ratios (NIR/RED, NIR/GRN) of paddy rice (Oryza sativa L.) at booting stage, from field measurements conducted from 1999 to 2005, were correlated with the corresponding yield data to derive regression-type yield prediction models for the first and second season crop, respectively. These yield models were then validated with ground truth measurements conducted in 2007 and 2008 at eight sites, of different soil properties, climatic conditions, and various treatments in cultivars planted and N application rates, using surface reflectance retrieved from atmospherically corrected SPOT imageries. These validation tests indicated that root mean square error of predicting grain yields per unit area by the proposed models were less than 0.7 T ha⁻¹ for both cropping seasons. Since village is the basic unit for national rice yield census statistics in Taiwan, the yield models were further used to forecast average regional yields for 14 selected villages and compared with officially reported data. Results indicate that the average yield per unit area at village scale can be forecasted with a root mean square error of 1.1 T ha⁻¹ provided no damaging weather occurred during the final month before actual harvest. The methodology can be applied to other optical sensors with similar spectral bands in the visible/near-infrared and to different geographical regions provided that the relation between yield and spectral index is established.     

Trophic structure and functioning in a eutrophic and poorly flushed lagoon in southwestern Taiwan

Tapong Bay, a eutrophic and poorly flushed tropical lagoon, supports intensive oyster culture. Using the Ecopath approach and network analysis, a mass-balanced trophic model was constructed to analyze the structure and matter flows within the food web. The lagoon model is comprised of 18 compartments with the highest trophic level of 3.2 for piscivorous fish. The high pedigree index (0.82) reveals the model to be of high quality. The most-prominent living compartment in terms of matter flow and biomass in the lagoon is cultured oysters and bivalves, respectively. The mixed trophic impacts indicate that phytoplankton and periphyton are the most-influential living compartments in the lagoon. Comparative analyses with the eutrophic and well-flushed Chiku Lagoon and non-eutrophic tropical lagoons show that high nutrient loadings might stimulate the growth and accumulation of phytoplankton and periphyton and therefore support high fishery yields. However, net primary production, total biomass, fishery yields per unit area, and mean transfer efficiency of Tapong Bay were remarkably lower than those of Chiku Lagoon. The lower transfer efficiency likely results from the low mortality of cultured oysters and invasive bivalves from predation or the lower density of benthic feeders constrained by the hypoxic bottom water as a result of poor flushing. This might therefore result in a great proportion of flows to detritus. However, the hypoxic bottom water might further reduce the recycling of the entering detritus back into the food web. In contrast to many estuaries and tropical lagoons, poor flushing of this eutrophic tropical lagoon might induce a shift from detritivory to herbivory in the food web.     

Assessing optical earth observation systems for mapping and monitoring temporary ponds in arid areas

Remote sensing methods for locating and monitoring temporary ponds over large areas in arid lands were tested on a study site in Northern Senegal. Three main results are presented, validated with field data and intended to highlight different spectral, spatial and temporal characteristics of the methods: (1) Among several water indices tested, two Middle Infrared-based indices (MNDWI—Modified Normalized Difference Water Index and NDWI₁—Normalized Difference Water Index) are found to be most efficient; (2) an objective method is given prescribing the necessary sensor spatial resolution in terms of minimal detected pond area; and (3) the potential of multi-temporal MODIS imagery for tracking the filling phases of small ponds is illustrated. These results should assist in epidemiological studies of vector-borne diseases that develop around these ponds, but also more generally for land and water management and preservation of threatened ecosystems in arid areas.     

Population succession and feeding of scyphomedusae, Aurelia aurita, in a eutrophic tropical lagoon in Taiwan

Seasonal dynamics and feeding of scyphomedusae, Aurelia aurita, were investigated monthly from 1999 to 2002 in relation to environmental conditions in Tapong Bay, a eutrophic tropical lagoon in southwestern Taiwan. Medusae appeared throughout the year but exhibited seasonal dynamics that were correlated with hydrographic features in the bay. Most ephyrae of A. aurita occurred mainly in the lower flushed and eutrophic inner bay, and during the cold, dry season between November and February. They grew to young medusae with a maximum abundance in spring (March–May), but their numbers abruptly decreased during the warm and rainy summer season in June–September. The remaining medusae then grew rapidly to a maximal size of 29 cm. Mature females spawned in the following autumn when precipitation decreased but zooplankton food was still abundant. These mature individuals decreased in size after spawning and in winter. Gut content analysis revealed that A. aurita fed mainly on copepods and copepod nauplii and less on bivalve larvae and fish eggs. Prey selectivity indices indicated that larger medusae selected positively for copepods while small size medusae preferred copepod nauplii. The overall feeding effect of A. aurita on the standing stock of zooplankton was significant (27%) in the bay. Our results suggest that tidal flow and dense oyster culture pens were the two most important factors influencing the spatial distribution pattern of A. aurita in the bay, while precipitation affected the population abundance seasonally; decreasing water temperature coincided with the mass release of ephyra in late autumn and winter.     

Dating palaeo‐seismic faulting in the Taiwan Mountain Belt

In‐situ ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar laser microprobe dating was carried out on the Hoping pseudotachylite from a mylonite‐fault zone in the metamorphosed basement complex of the active Taiwan Mountain Belt to determine the timing of the responsible earthquake(s). The dating results, distributed from 3.2 to 1.6 Ma with errors ranging from 0.2 to 1.1 Ma, were derived from a combination of two Ar isotopic system end‐members with inverse isochron ages of 1.55 ± 0.05 and 2.87 ± 0.07 Ma, respectively. Petrographical observations reveal fault melt containing ultracataclasites, therefore the older inverse isochron end‐member may be attributed to the relic wall rock Ar isotopic system contained in micro‐breccia. Without significant Ar loss expected, the ~1.6 Ma for the young end‐member defines the exact time of the pseudotachylite formation. Seismic faulting therefore occurred during basement rock exhumation in the Taiwanese hinterland.     

Experimental study of cohesive sediment consolidation and resuspension identifies approaches for coastal restoration: Lake Lery,Louisiana

The purpose of this study was to evaluate related processes of sediment consolidation and resuspension in a coastal basin and how these processes influence retention of fine sediment delivered by a river diversion. Sediment samples were collected from Lake Lery, a coastal receiving basin of the Caernarvon Diversion from the Mississippi River, Louisiana. Consolidation was tested for six initial sediment concentrations (14.0–105 kg m^–3) in a settling column over 15-day periods. Mud erodibility was tested at seven shear stress regimes (0.01–0.60 Pa) using a dual-core Gust erosion microcosm system, on cores containing suspensions that consolidated for 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Consolidation rates were found to be inversely and exponentially related to initial suspension concentration, over concentrations ranging from fluid mud (10–200 kg m^–3) to hydraulic dredge effluent. Consolidation is best predicted by a function consisting of two exponential terms and one asymptotic constant, describing rates of rapid initial and slower subsequent settling. Coupled resuspension and consolidation tests (concentrations of 20–21 kg m^–3) show that shear stresses generating the highest turbidity peaks increase from ≤0.30 Pa after 2 weeks of consolidation to ≥0.45 Pa after 4 weeks, and this strengthening cannot be attributed solely to increasing sediment concentration over time. Comparison of measured erosion shear stresses with bed shear stresses typical of coastal lakes and bays suggests that this degree of strengthening, if given time to occur, could increase the overall retention of fine sediments deposited on lake and bay floors.