Ten‐year water table recovery after clearcutting and draining boreal forested wetlands of eastern Canada

In boreal forested wetlands, the observed increase in the water table level after clearcutting (watering‐up) is often a threat to sustained ecosystem productivity. Hydrologic recovery refers to the processes by which a water table progressively drops back to its initial level after the cut. In eastern Canada, drainage is used operationally after clearcutting wet sites in order to lower the water table level and accelerate hydrologic recovery. The objective of this study was to evaluate the duration of the watering‐up caused by timber harvesting and the extent to which drainage affected the water table recovery on five peatlands and three hydromorphic mineral sites located in the St. Lawrence Lowlands of Québec (Canada). The mixed wood stands studied are dominated by balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.), and red maple (Acer rubrum L). Results indicate that, 10 years after clearcutting, water table levels in undrained plots are still 5 to 7 cm higher than the pre‐cut levels. The slight recovery in water table level plateaued after the third year. Rainfall interception by vegetation was also monitored, and after 10 years had reached nearly 50% of the pre‐cut rate. The immediate water table drawdown following drainage mitigated watering‐up within 40 m of a ditch. The persistent watering‐up observed in this study should encourage using sylvicultural systems adapted to boreal forested wetlands in order to prevent productivity loss and stand conversion. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene vegetation and climate dynamics of the boreal alpine ecotone of northwestern Fennoscandia

Climate change with respect to summer temperature throughout the Holocene is inferred from oscillations in the local Pinus sylvestris, Alnus incana and Betula pubescens forest‐lines, as recorded by fossil pollen and plant macrofossils in lake sediments at four altitudinal levels. Mt Skrubben (848 m a.s.l.), in Dividalen, was deglaciated down to below 280 m a.s.l. during 10 800–10 300 cal. yr BP. Betula pubescens established 10100 cal. yr BP at 280 m a.s.l. and expanded up to near the summit during the next 700 years. Birch woodland prevailed on the mountain plateau until 3300 cal. yr BP. Local Pinus sylvestris stands are recorded up to 400 m a.s.l. at 8450 cal. yr BP and >548 m a.s.l. about 8160 cal. yr BP. Alnus incana expanded from 400 to nearly 790 m a.s.l. during the period 7900–7600 cal. yr BP. The maximum forest distribution lasted until ca. 6000 cal. yr BP. Marked climatic deteriorations caused lowering of the forest‐lines around 4600 and 3000 cal. yr BP. Reconstruction of the summer temperature indicated mean July temperatures at 400 m a.s.l. of 1.5–3°C above the present during the period of maximum forest expansion, whereas >3°C above the present temperature at 548 m a.s.l. This is in accordance with other regional temperature reconstructions from northern Europe. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Increasing annual runoff—broadleaf or coniferous forests?

According to widely held belief, annual evapotranspiration (ET) for broadleaf forests is less than that for coniferous forests, resulting in higher annual runoff for broadleaf forests. We processed 82 catchment runoff and 126 interception loss data from temperate regions and found that although the belief is valid under conditions of broadleaf deciduous forests and high winter precipitation (e.g. the United States), it is invalid under conditions of broadleaf evergreen forests (e.g. New Zealand) or low winter precipitation (e.g. Japan). Thus, forest management policies based on this belief should be reconsidered on the basis of our results for regions with broadleaf evergreen forests or low winter precipitation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A continuous Holocene beetle record from the site Stavsåkra,southern Sweden: implications for the last 10 600 years of forest and land use history

Beetle remains from a small bog in southern Sweden contribute information concerning the forest history of the study area. The study shows that beetles are valuable indicators of woodland structures such as openness, field vegetation, presence of dead wood and disturbance factors such as climate change, fire regimes, grazing and land use. The early Holocene, ca. 8600–6450 cal. BC, was characterised by open, pine‐dominated woodlands maintained by fire and grazing disturbances. The changes in the wetland fauna, between 8600 and 7500 cal. BC, correlate well with low lake levels in southern Sweden. During the mid Holocene, ca. 6450–2400 cal. BC, the woodlands were relatively dense, with few openings in the canopy. Around 4200 cal. BC, there was a shift to a dominance of deciduous trees. Fire and grazing pressures were particularly low. Numbers of aquatic and hygrophilic beetles indicate dry conditions between ca. 5000 and 3000 cal. BC. During the late Holocene, ca. 2400 cal. BC to present, the woodlands opened up mainly through increased land use. The main disturbance factors were fire and grazing. The beetles indicate the formation of heather‐dominated heathland around 800 cal. BC. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article was published online on 23 December 2008. An error was subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected (5 August 2009).     

福建永安喀斯特石林形成年代及发育过程

根据对永安石林地区地质、水文地质条件的分析,利用不平衡铀系法,对区内不同高程位置的钙华沉积物岩样进行年龄测定,确定了永安石林形成年代在中更新世以来约25万年。并结合永安地区地质构造历史及闽江流域发育演化过程,分析得出永安石林主要是在第四纪以后大湖盆地处于剥蚀环境下,伴随地壳间歇性抬升运动,石炭纪、二叠纪石灰岩上覆岩层逐渐被风化剥蚀后形成的。     

利用无人机高光谱影像的红树林群落物种分类

近年来红树林群落中物种结构简单、功能退化等环境问题日趋严重,为了及时准确掌握红树林群落的物种空间格局与分布,本文首先基于深圳福田红树林自然保护区无人机高光谱影像,利用归一化差值植被指数和归一化潮间红树林指数提取植被区域;然后在植被区域根据最佳指数法选取信息量大、波段相关性小的波段组合,分别采用基于像素支持向量机分类方法和面向对象影像分类方法对红树林物种进行分类。试验结果表明,基于像素支持向量机分类方法的总体精度为81.03%;利用面向对象影像分类方法的总体精度为85.58%。面向对象影像分类方法能有效去除椒盐噪声,充分利用对象光谱、形状及纹理信息,提供更准确的红树林分布信息。     

顾及GF-3影像纹理特征的洪涝范围提取方法

洪涝灾害给社会、经济造成巨大损失,及时、快速监测洪涝范围在抗灾救灾中具有重要意义。合成孔径雷达(SAR)由于其主动式微波成像的机理,可为全天时、全天候、大范围洪涝灾害监测提供支持。本文首先以高分三号(GF-3)卫星影像为数据源,基于灰度共生矩阵(GLCM)、局部二值模式(LBP)等6种纹理描述方法提取138个SAR影像纹理特征;然后利用随机森林(RF)指标重要性评估功能,筛选出重要性得分较高的纹理特征进行水体信息提取;最后结合数学形态学对初始水体提取结果进行后处理,评估安徽巢湖附近区域洪涝灾害。试验表明,本文方法的水体提取精度优于传统阈值法(Otsu)及分类算法(KNN和SVM),可有效提取洪涝灾害的影响范围,为选取合适的SAR影像纹理特征进行洪涝范围快速监测提供参考。     

基于随机森林模型的岸线不透水面提取方法研究

以南京长江沿岸保护区域为研究对象,利用2016年和2019年两期Sentinel-2影像构造多种遥感指数;再利用随机森林模型进行不透水面信息提取。结果表明,2016年的总体精度为88.25%,Kappa系数为0.76;2019年的总体精度为90.51%,Kappa系数为0.80,说明该方法具有较好的精度,能准确反映不透水面的空间分布。结合提取结果进行时空变化分析发现,2016-2019年南京长江沿线不透水面整体呈减少趋势,总面积减少2.784 km²,年均减少0.928 km²,其中大部分是由工矿用地转化为绿地以及港口码头消失导致的。长江沿线的不透水面提取和变化检测分析有助于全面、细致和真实地监测河道岸线情况,对于南京市开展长江岸线研究以及开发长江岸线资源和可持续利用具有举足轻重的意义。