The use of plant water relations to characterize tree species and sites in the drylands of northern Ethiopia

Water relations of four tree species were studied in four sites in the drylands of northern Ethiopia. Predawn water potentials were significantly higher at all sites as compared to midday measurements for Acacia etbaica and Boswellia papyrifera. In contrast, Lannea fruticosa revealed this significant difference only once, while Terminalia brownii at only two of the four sites. An analysis of variance showed that A. etbaica has a wider tolerance range as compared to the other species. There was no significant difference among the four sites in terms of predawn, midday and diurnal ranges of water potential. The study revealed that A. etbaica and B. papyrifera are performing better as compared to T. brownii and L. fruticosa under the current climatic conditions. Understanding the physiological basis of survival, productivity, ability to cope with low moisture availability, and growth potential of indigenous species in the drylands is essential for the utilization and promotion of these and other species.     

A dynamic,process-based,user-oriented model of forest effects on water yield

The effects of afforestation on water yield from catchments are reviewed. In the light of research findings and an assessment of the method currently used in South Africa to determine reductions of water production associated with afforestation, the ACRU agrohydrological model is adapted to account for changes in critical land use related processes as a forest grows in time by incorporation of a dynamic land use information file. First tests with this model on a catchment at Cathedral Peak in the Natal Drakensberg, which was afforested in 1951, indicate that forest hydrological effects can be modelled successfully with a dynamic land use file. Further model development is outlined.     

章古台固沙造林技术与效益评价

章古台从1955年开始引种樟子松进行育苗造林试验,至60年代初期引种造林成功后,又于70年代后期在内蒙古敖汉旗扩大引种造林,获得成功。近年樟子松人工林出现了生长减缓现象,主要是由于造林选地不适和经营不善所引起的。樟子松扩大引种造林的技术关键是采取乔灌草型,等宽隔带式造林模式,降水量不低于300~350mm,土壤含水率不低于2.0%~2.5%。土壤类型为生草风沙土、栗钙土型风沙土和黑土型风沙土,pH值为6.8~8.3。造林时间比正常拖后至4月8日~20日之间,2a生苗造林深度以25~35cm为宜,苗木根长以25cm左右为佳,苗木运输前应沾泥浆进行包装。植苗时放在苗木罐中以防根系风干,剔除不合格苗木,造林时铲除干土层或干草皮。对松树幼株进行埋土越冬处理。     

The policy discourse on negative emissions,land-based technologies,and the Global South

Negative emissions are increasingly seen as a policy option to limit climate change. However, the most readily available technologies that could deliver negative emissions require, if deployed at scale, large amounts of land, with huge risks for livelihoods and the environment. This land is often assumed to be in the Global South. This article analyzes the nascent policy discourse on negative emissions by assessing 116 policy documents by 97 organizations with a focus on land-based technologies (afforestation and reforestation, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, biochar, soil carbon sequestration). We conclude that this policy discourse is largely centered in the Global North (mostly in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany), with only five organizations directly linked to the Global South. 61% of the organizations in our sample, however, somehow refer to the Global South in their contributions, with nongovernmental organizations being most strongly focused on the role of the Global South and in particular the risks for vulnerable countries. While the earlier policy discourse on negative emissions was linked to a more general “geoengineering” discourse, this link has loosened in the last years. Overall, in the documents that we studied, negative emissions technologies seem to become more accepted, and parts of the discourse shift towards deployment. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage seems more often associated with risks if compared to other land-based negative emissions technologies, especially with a view to the Global South.     

The response of flow duration curves to afforestation

The hydrologic effect of replacing pasture or other short crops with trees is reasonably well understood on a mean annual basis. The impact on flow regime, as described by the annual flow duration curve (FDC) is less certain. A method to assess the impact of plantation establishment on FDCs was developed. The starting point for the analyses was the assumption that rainfall and vegetation age are the principal drivers of evapotranspiration. A key objective was to remove the variability in the rainfall signal, leaving changes in streamflow solely attributable to the evapotranspiration of the plantation. A method was developed to (1) fit a model to the observed annual time series of FDC percentiles; i.e. 10th percentile for each year of record with annual rainfall and plantation age as parameters, (2) replace the annual rainfall variation with the long term mean to obtain climate adjusted FDCs, and (3) quantify changes in FDC percentiles as plantations age. Data from 10 catchments from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand were used. The model was able to represent flow variation for the majority of percentiles at eight of the 10 catchments, particularly for the 10–50th percentiles. The adjusted FDCs revealed variable patterns in flow reductions with two types of responses (groups) being identified. Group 1 catchments show a substantial increase in the number of zero flow days, with low flows being more affected than high flows. Group 2 catchments show a more uniform reduction in flows across all percentiles. The differences may be partly explained by storage characteristics. The modelled flow reductions were in accord with published results of paired catchment experiments. An additional analysis was performed to characterise the impact of afforestation on the number of zero flow days (N_zero) for the catchments in group 1. This model performed particularly well, and when adjusted for climate, indicated a significant increase in N_zero. The zero flow day method could be used to determine change in the occurrence of any given flow in response to afforestation. The methods used in this study proved satisfactory in removing the rainfall variability, and have added useful insight into the hydrologic impacts of plantation establishment. This approach provides a methodology for understanding catchment response to afforestation, where paired catchment data is not available.