The impact of dredge-fill on Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows: regression and patterns of recovery

Posidonia oceanica meadows can be severely damaged by dredge-fill operations. We report on the construction of gas pipelines that occurred between 1981 and 1993 in SW Sicily, Italy. A large portion of the meadow was mechanically removed, and the excavated trench was filled with a mosaic of substrates, ranging from sand to consolidated rock debris. Meadow loss and recovery were quantified over 7 years after the end of operations. We recorded an overall loss of 81.20 ha of meadow. Substrate strongly affected recovery as the percent cover by P. oceanica consistently increased on calcareous rubble, reaching values of 44.37 ± 3.05% in shallow sites after 7 years, whereas no significant increase occurred on other substrates. As in the Mediterranean Sea exploitation of coastal areas continues to grow with consequent impacts on P. oceanica meadows, this case study illustrates how artificial rubble-like materials could be employed to support the restoration of damaged meadows.     

Effects of plant roots on the soil erosion rate under simulated rainfall with high kinetic energy

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effects of herbaceous plant roots on interrill erosion using two herbaceous species: clover (Trifolium repens) and oats (Avena sativa). We developed a simple rainfall simulator with relatively high normalized kinetic energy (KE; 23.2 J m^?2 mm^?1). Under simulated rainfall, we measured eroded soil for 42 boxes with various amounts of aboveground and belowground biomass. Aboveground vegetation had a significant effect on the soil erosion rate (SER). We found a clear negative relationship between the percent vegetation cover (c) and the SER. In contrast, plant roots showed no effects on the SER. The SER was not significantly different between the boxes with and without plant roots under similar c conditions. Thus, plant roots could have less of an effect on the SER under higher KE conditions.

Editor M.C. Acreman Associate editor N. Verhoest     

Permafrost‐thaw‐induced land‐cover change in the Canadian subarctic: implications for water resources

Climate warming and human disturbance in north‐western Canada have been accompanied by degradation of permafrost, which introduces considerable uncertainty to the future availability of northern freshwater resources. This study demonstrates the rate and spatial pattern of permafrost loss in a region that typifies the southern boundary of permafrost. Remote‐sensing analysis of a 1·0 km² area indicates that permafrost occupied 0·70 km² in 1947 and decreased with time to 0·43 km² by 2008. Ground‐based measurements demonstrate the importance of horizontal heat flows in thawing discontinuous permafrost, and show that such thaw produces dramatic land‐cover changes that can alter basin runoff production in this region. A major challenge to northern water resources management in the twenty‐first century therefore lies in predicting stream flows dynamically in the context of widely occurring permafrost thaw. The need for appropriate water resource planning, mitigation, and adaptation strategies is explained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Concentrated flow erosion rates reduced through biological geotextiles

Soil erosion by concentrated flow can cause serious environmental damage. Erosion‐control geotextiles have considerable potential for reducing concentrated flow erosion. However, limited data are available on the erosion‐reducing potential of geotextiles. In this study, the effectiveness of three biological geotextiles in reducing soil losses during concentrated flow is investigated. Hereto, runoff was simulated in a concentrated flow flume, filled with an erodible sandy loam on three slope gradients (13·5, 27·0 and 41·5%). Treatments included three biological geotextiles (borassus, buriti and bamboo) and one bare soil surface. Darcy–Weisbach friction coefficients ranged from 0·01 to 2·84. The highest values are observed for borassus covered soil surfaces, followed by buriti, bamboo and bare soil, respectively. The friction coefficients are linearly correlated with geotextile thickness. For the specific experimental conditions of this study, borassus geotextiles reduced soil detachment rate on average to 56%, buriti geotextiles to 59% and bamboo geotextiles to 66% of the soil detachment rate for bare soil surfaces. Total flow shear stress was the hydraulic parameter best predicting soil detachment rate for bare and geotextile covered surfaces (R² = 0·75–0·84, p <0·001, n = 12–15). The highest resistance against soil detachment was observed for the borassus covered soil surfaces, followed by buriti, bamboo and bare soil surfaces, respectively. Overall, biological geotextiles are less effective in controlling concentrated flow erosion compared with interrill erosion. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

《CT理论与应用研究》杂志新刊标和地幔速度模型的说明

在《ＣＴ理论与应用研究》杂志１９９４~２００１年本杂志“刊标”的基础上,在其上方增加了象征三维体视学成像的三角形四面体的透视图;该刊标的右下侧为医学断面成像扫描仪(包括各种Ｘ－ＣＴ机与核磁共振ＭＲＩ扫描仪等);其左下侧为三维地幔速度模型和地球核的示意图,切出有两个地幔剖面,表示纵波速度二维变化的剖面。该速度剖面系根据赵大鹏教授的理论和计算方法,按照地球上的两个大圆弧做计算和绘制的彩色图,排在本期封４:第一大圆弧,从北极经西巴基斯坦(２８°Ｎ, ６４°Ｅ)到马尔代夫群岛(３°Ｎ,７３°Ｅ);第二大圆弧从马尔代夫群岛点(３°Ｎ,７３°Ｅ)连接巴布新几内亚之南点(１２°Ｓ,１５０°Ｅ),来计算两剖面速度分布并作图的结果,其具体分布参见封４的两条彩色剖面和相应的地理位置图。由于赵教授这篇论文[１]在中国国内只有很少数图书馆收藏,在Ｅｌｓｅｖｉｅｒ Ｓｃｉｅｎｃｅ的ＥＰＳＬ网站上一般人只能查到摘要,本刊对于该地幔速度模型的制作方法和所用数据资料,该模型的优越性和特征进行了叙述,他所用的地震事件数目,多达７１２８个;用于层析反演成像的震相到时数多到近一百万条。该速度如下的特点:在所采用的速度结构中,包含用几个复杂形状的地质速度界面,如莫霍面,以及下沉板块的分界     

Sensitivity of streamflow from a Himalayan catchment to plausible changes in land cover and climate

Global climate change will likely increase temperature and variation in precipitation in the Himalayas, modifying both supply of and demand for water. This study assesses combined impacts of land‐cover and climate changes on hydrological processes and a rainfall‐to‐streamflow buffer indicator of watershed function using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in Kejie watershed in the eastern Himalayas. The Hadley Centre Coupled Model Version 3 (HadCM3) was used for two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios (A2 and B2), for 2010–2099. Four land‐cover change scenarios increase forest, grassland, crops, or urban land use, respectively, reducing degraded land. The SWAT model predicted that downstream water resources will decrease in the short term but increase in the long term. Afforestation and expansion in cropland will probably increase actual evapotranspiration (ET) and reduce annual streamflow but will also, through increased infiltration, reduce the overland flow component of streamflow and increase groundwater release. An expansion in grassland will decrease actual ET, increase annual streamflow and groundwater release, while decreasing overland flow. Urbanization will result in increases in streamflow and overland flow and reductions in groundwater release and actual ET. Land‐cover change dominated over effects on streamflow of climate change in the short and middle terms. The predicted changes in buffer indicator for land‐use plus climate‐change scenarios reach up to 50% of the current (and future) range of inter‐annual variability. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of seasonal crop water consumption in a vineyard using Bowen ratio‐energy balance method

Information about seasonal crop water consumption is useful to develop the appropriate irrigation scheme. Measurements of energy balance components using the Bowen ratio method were made for a complete growing season at a vineyard in the arid region of northwest China. Vine in the experiment was furrow‐irrigated using a trellis system. The measured evapotranspiration was compared with estimates using the soil water balance method. It is shown that the Bowen ratio method provided accurate estimates of evapotranspiration from the vineyard and this requires that the Bowen ratio system is appropriately installed. The energy balance components showed typical diurnal pattern with peaks that occurred around the midday, except for the ground heat flux which delayed its peak by 2–3 h. The sensible heat flux was greater than the latent heat flux and followed the net radiation closely. The ratio of the latent heat flux to net radiation was low in the early growing season and increased over time. Under the limited irrigation experienced in the vineyard, the latent heat flux was controlled by available soil moisture and the total evapotranspiration in the growing season was 253 mm. The seasonal progression of the crop coefficient is similar to that reported in the literature, with the maximum occurring during the month of September. The crop coefficient can be estimated as a non‐linear function of day of year (DOY) and used to estimate evapotranspiration from vineyards in the region. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of potential evapotranspiration over the Yellow River basin: reference crop evaporation or Shuttleworth–Wallace?

Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is a key input to hydrological models. Its estimation has often been via the Penman–Monteith (P–M) equation, most recently in the form of an estimate of reference evapotranspiration (RET) as recommended by FAO‐56. In this paper the Shuttleworth–Wallace (S–W) model is implemented to estimate PET directly in a form that recognizes vegetation diversity and temporal change without reference to experimental measurements and without calibration. The threshold values of vegetation parameters are drawn from the literature based on the International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme land cover classification. The spatial and temporal variation of the LAI of vegetation is derived from the composite NOAA‐AVHRR normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) using a method based on the SiB2 model, and the Climate Research Unit database is used to provide the required meteorological data. All these data inputs are publicly and globally available. Consequently, the implementation of the S–W model developed in this study is applicable at the global scale, an essential requirement if it is to be applied in data‐poor or ungauged large basins. A comparison is made between the FAO‐56 method and the S–W model when applied to the Yellow River basin for the whole of the last century. The resulting estimates of RET and PET and their association with vegetation types and leaf area index (LAI) are examined over the whole basin both annual and monthly and at six specific points. The effect of NDVI on the PET estimate is further evaluated by replacing the monthly NDVI product with the 10‐day product. Multiple regression relationships between monthly PET, RET, LAI, and climatic variables are explored for categories of vegetation types. The estimated RET is a good climatic index that adequately reflects the temporal change and spatial distribution of climate over the basin, but the PET estimated using the S–W model not only reflects the changes in climate, but also the vegetation distribution and the development of vegetation in response to climate. Although good statistical relationships can be established between PET, RET and/or climatic variables, applying these relationships likely will result in large errors because of the strong non‐linearity and scatter between the PET and the LAI of vegetation. It is concluded that use of the implementation of the S–W model described in this study results in a physically sound estimate of PET that accounts for changing land surface conditions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The total operating characteristic to measure diagnostic ability for multiple thresholds

The relative operating characteristic (ROC) is a popular statistical method to measure the association between observed and diagnosed presence of a characteristic. The diagnosis of presence or absence depends on whether the value of an index variable is above a threshold. ROC considers multiple possible thresholds. Each threshold generates a two-by-two contingency table, which contains four central entries: hits, misses, false alarms, and correct rejections. ROC reveals for each threshold only two ratios, hits/(hits + misses) and false alarms/(false alarms + correct rejections). This article introduces the total operating characteristic (TOC), which shows the total information in the contingency table for each threshold. TOC maintains desirable properties of ROC, while TOC reveals strictly more information than ROC in a manner that makes TOC more useful than ROC. We illustrate the concepts with an application to land change science.     

Thermodynamic properties of snow cover on sea ice during the austral summer in Prydz Bay,East Antarctica

The thermodynamic properties of snow cover on sea ice play a key role in the ice-ocean-atmosphere system and have been a focus of recent scientific research. In this study, we investigated the thermodynamic properties of snow cover on sea ice in the Nella Fjord, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica(69°20′S, 76°07′E), near the Chinese Antarctic Zhongshan Station. Our observations were carried out during the 29th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition. We found that the vertical temperature profile of snow cover changed considerably in response to changes in air temperature and solar radiation during the summer. Associated with the changes in the temperature profile were fluctuations in the temperature gradient within the upper 10 cm of the snow cover. Results of previous research have shown that the thermal conductivity of snow is strongly correlated with snow density. To calculate the thermal conductivity in this study, we measured densities in three snow pits. The calculated thermal conductivity ranged from 0.258–0.569 W?m-1?K-1. We present these datasets to show how involved parameters changed, and to contribute to a better understanding of melting processes in the snow cover on sea ice.