Responses of water yield and dissolved inorganic carbon export to forest recovery in the Houzhai karst basin,southwest China

Karst terrain (carbonate rocks) covers a vast land of 0.446 million km² in southwest China. Water yield and carbonate rocks weathering in this region have been receiving increased attention due to a large‐scale forest recovery. Using both hydrological measurements and forest inventories from 1986 to 2007 in the Houzhai karst basin (HKB), we analyzed the responses of water yield and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) export to forest recovery in southwest China. With implementation of both the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) and the Conversion of Farmland to Forests Program (CFFP), the fraction of forest area in HKB was increased from near zero to 18.9% during the study period, but the ratio of total water yield (surface and underground) to precipitation varied very little over the annual period, neither in wet season nor in dry season. By contrast, the concentration of DIC in water, especially in the surface water had a pronounced increase during the study period, with an increase of 0.53 and 0.25 g C m^?3 yr^?1 for surface water and underground water, respectively. As a result, total annual DIC export at mean annual rainfall significantly increased from the low to high forest area stage. This increase was largely driven by surface water during the wet season, presumably being related to biological activity. It was concluded that forest recovery in HKB had no significant effect on water yield, but resulted in more carbon dioxide (CO₂) dissolved in karst water accompanying with carbon uptake by forests. Our results suggested that implementations of both NFCP and CFFP had no shifted water yield regimes in southwest China; instead, they might have alleviated global climate change by increasing carbon uptake through combined biological processes and carbonate rocks weathering. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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。