Human Modification of the Geomorphically Unstable Salt River in Metropolitan Phoenix

In‐stream gravel mining, massive bridge piers, and channelization have all contributed to the geomorphic instability of the Lower Salt River channel in Arizona. Dam closure, changing dam operating rules, and the frequent modification of the channel bed have decreased our ability to predict the Salt River hydrology. Engineering practice has adapted to this situation and to a public that is increasingly intolerant of service disruptions by constructing larger bridges and extending levees. Building these larger structures may be counterproductive; future construction should not constrict the channel and should re‐establish a braided river to decrease the energy available to the system.     

Water discharge changes of the Changjiang River downstream Datong during dry season

Based on hydrometric data and extensive investigations on water-extracting projects, this paper presents a preliminary study on water discharge changes between Datong and Xuliujing during dry season. The natural hydrological processes and human factors that influence the water discharge are analyzed with the help of GIS method. The investigations indicate that the water-extracting projects downstream from Datong to Xuliujing had amounted to 64 in number by the end of 2000, with a water-extracting capacity up to 4,626 m3/s averaged in a tidal cycle. The water extraction from the Changjiang River has become the most important factor influencing the water discharge downstream Datong during dry season. The potential magnitude in water discharge changes are estimated based on historical records of water extraction and a water balance model. The computational results were calibrated with the actual data. The future trend in changes of water discharge into the sea during dry season was discussed by taking into consideration of newly built hydro-engineering projects. The water extraction downstream Datong in dry season before 2000 had a great influence on discharges into the sea in the extremely dry year like 1978-1979. It produced a net decrease of more than 490 m3/s in monthly mean discharges from the Changjiang into the sea. It is expected that the water extraction will continually increase in the coming decades, especially in dry years, when the net decrease in monthly mean water discharge will increase to more than 1000 m3/s and will give a far-reaching effect on the changes of water discharge from the Changjiang into the sea.     

科尔沁沙地巴克窑地区近150年的环境演变*

在沉积和花粉分析的基础上,对科尔沁沙地东南部巴克窑地区过去150年的植被和环境演变进行了重建。巴克窑等湖泡的诞生时间是在上个世纪前期,约1837年前后。这个时间也正是科尔沁沙地东南部地区首次大规模人口移入和垦荒年代。突然增加的人类活动导致了沙丘植被的迅速破坏,而植被减少和沙丘活化引起区域水文循环的重新调整,即原来通过植物蒸腾作用输出的水量明显减弱,致使地下潜水位上升,形成一系列湖泡。以后,沙地系统的演化主要是在人类活动、气候和系统内部反馈机制的共同作用下完成的。     

The palaeolimnology of Lake Fidler, a meromictic lake in south-west Tasmania and the significance of recent human impact

Three meromictic lakes in the World Heritage Area of south-west Tasmania possess unusual microbiological communities. Their meromixis is maintained by periodic incursions of brackish water from the nearby Gordon River which, in its lower reaches, is a salt-wedge estuary. In 1977 the construction of a dam in the middle reaches of the river restricted penetration of the salt-wedge and meromixis rapidly declined in all three lakes. A palaeolimnological study was carried out on one of the lakes, Lake Fidler, firstly to determine the history of meromixis and its associated microbiological communities, and secondly to assess whether the recent and rapid decline of meromixis is inconsistent with natural rates of development of the Gordon River meromictic lakes. One part of this study included the analysis of the stratigraphy of fossil diatoms from a 17-metre sediment core dating back 8000 yrs. Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Analog Matching were used to compare diatom species assemblages in core samples with diatom samples from a reference dataset consisting of a selection of lake and river sites in the lower Gordon River valley. Five distinct stratigraphic zones were identified in the core. These zones indicated specific stages in the development of the Gordon River lakes from river backwaters to ectogenically-maintained meromictic lakes which will, finally, become terrestrialised by encroaching rainforest. The onset of a stratified water column was identified by the emergence of a dominant freshwater algal flora which suggested that the lake had developed a mixolimnion and become meromictic ca. 2070 ± 50 ¹⁴C yrs ago. In the context of this long history of meromixis, the rapid demise in meromictic stability following construction of the dam is judged to be inconsistent with natural rates of development. The palaeolimnological studies, of which this paper is one part, prompt recommendations for a management strategy to prevent the further decay of these meromictic lakes in the World Heritage Area.     

科尔沁沙地土地沙漠化的历史与现状

科尔沁沙地是我国自然条件相对较好的一个沙地，有着广阔的治理前景。回顾科尔沁沙地的历史变化，认为科尔沁沙地是一个全球气候变化大趋势下由人类生产活动过度而形成的沙漠化区域，在金代至清代之间由于人为活动强度减弱，曾经发生明显的沙漠化逆转。根据全国沙漠化普查所获得的资料，研究分析了科尔沁沙地土地沙漠化现状及其特点，结合土地沙漠化发生的历史过程，讨论了这一地区沙漠化的治理策略。     

Assessing natural and cultural influence on soil in remnant tropical woodlands

Rural Hong Kong contains culturally protected enclaves of remnant woodlands that provide sanctuary for vegetation, wildlife and soil. This study focuses on the influence of natural and cultural factors on soil properties in woodlands with different human activities. At each of the nine selected sites, two pits were dug to collect soil samples for analysis of 24 physical and chemical properties. Analyses of variance between soil attributes and site factors suggest the prominence of woodland size, and important contribution of topography, aspect and parent material. Soil indicators of human impacts and the tenacity of woodland soil towards anthropogenic disturbance were demonstrated.     

发展中国家食物安全研究的新进展

本文回顾了七十年代以来食物安全概念的演变历史，特别是介绍了森(Sen)的食物权利理论在这个历史过程中的作用，评价了当前的主要研究热点，展望了将来的几个研究趋势。指出食物安全的概念不能也不应该以单一的观点、方法和尺度来定义，食物安全的研究必须要更紧密地与更广泛的人文安全和环境变化的内容联系在一起，才能更深入地进行下去。     

Controlling factors of gullying in the Maracujá Catchment,southeastern Brazil

Hundreds of gullies (‘voçorocas’) of huge dimensions (up to 400–500 m long, 150 m wide and 50 m deep) are very common in the small Maracujá Catchment in southeastern Brazil. These erosional features, which occur with an uneven intensity throughout the area, started due to bad soil management practices at the beginning of European settlement, at the end of the 17th century, and nowadays are still evolving, but at a slower rate. As surface soils are usually very resistant to erosion, the outcrop of the more erodible basement saprolites seems to be an essential condition for their beginning. An analysis of well known erosion controlling factors was performed, aiming to explain the beginning and evolution of these gullies and to understand the reasons for their spatial distribution. Data shows that geology and, mainly, geomorphology are the main controlling factors, since gullies tend to be concentrated in basement rock areas with lower relief (domain 2) of Maracujá Catchment, mainly at the fringes of broad and flat interfluves. At the detailed scale (1:10 000), gullies are more common in amphitheatre‐like headwater hollows that frequently represent upper Quaternary gullies (paleogullies), which demonstrate the recurrence of channel erosion. So, gullies occur in areas of thicker saprolites (domain 2), in places with a natural concentration of surface and underground water (hollows). Saprolites of the preserved, non‐eroded hollows are usually pressurized (confined aquifer) due to a thick seal of Quaternary clay layer, in a similar configuration to the ones found in hollows of mass movement (mudflow) sites in southeastern Brazil. Therefore, the erosion of the resistant soils by human activities, such as road cuts and trenches (‘valos’), or their mobilization by mudflow movements, seem to be likely mechanisms of gullying initiation. Afterwards, gullies evolve by a combination of surface and underground processes, such as wash and tunnel erosion and falls and slumps of gully walls. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in the spatial scale of Beijing UHI and urban development

The seasonal and interannual variations of Beijing urban heat island (UHI) are investigated in this paper using the temperature data from 1960 to 2000 at 20 meteorological stations in the Beijing region, and then the relationship between the intensity and spatial scale of UHI and Beijing urbanization indices is analyzed and discussed. Main conclusions are the followings. First, Beijing UHI shows obvious seasonal variations, and it is strongest in winter, next in spring and autumn, and least in summer. The seasonal variation of the UHI mainly occurs in the urban area. The UHI intensity at the center of Beijing is more than 0.8℃ in winter, and only 0.5℃ in summer. Second, the intensity of Beijing HUI exhibits a clear interannual warming trend with its mean growth rate (MGR) being 0.3088℃/10 a. The MGR of HUI is largest in winter, next in spring and autumn, and least in summer, and the urban temperature increase makes a major contribution to the growth of HUI intensity. Third, since the Reform and Opening, the urbanization indices have grown several ten times or even one hundred times, the intensity of HUI has increased dramatically, and its spatial scale also expanded distinctively along with the expansion of urban architectural complexes. Fourth, the interannual variation of urbanization indices is very similar with that of HUI intensity, and their linear correlation coefficients are significant at a more than 0.001 confidence level.     

生态城市的内涵及建设策略

生态城市是通过倡导生态理念，采用生态技术，建立生态化产业体系，从而达到社会、经济、环境的可持续发展，实现自然生态平衡、人文生态和谐的城乡统一体。从可持续发展的角度出发，利用生态学和社会学的观点，论述生态城市的内涵，提出科学的城市规划、合理的城市评价指标体系、完善的城市管理制度是实现生态城市的前提，强调只有自然生态、人文生态两手抓才能真正实现经济、社会、环境全面发展。