Effects of Poplar Plantations on the Physical and Chemical Properties of Soils: A Case Study in the North China Plain

In recent years, large areas of farmland in the North China Plain have been converted into short-rotation poplar plantations. To analyze the impacts of poplar plantations on soil, 22 soil samples were collected and assayed from the soil profiles of a corn field and a poplar plantation. The results showed that the average soil moisture content of the soil profile in the poplar field was 2.6 percent lower than that of the arable land. The maximum difference in soil moisture content was found in the upper 0-10 cm of topsoil. Soil organic matter and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the cornfield were significantly higher than in the poplar field. Higher nutrient content in the corn field may result from higher fertilizer inputs and the practice of returning straw to the cropped field. The analysis also showed no significant increase in soil organic matter content in deeper soil layers of the poplar field, which means that the conditions are not favorable for the formation of soil organic matter, or that soil organic matter needs a longer time to develop. Elements such as magnesium, iron, manganese and copper in both the corn field and the poplar field had a tendency to accumulate with increasing soil depth. Magnesium, iron, manganese and copper in the 0-80 cm soil layer of the poplar field were higher than those of the cornfield, but the situation was reversed at depths greater than 80 cm. It is concluded that poplar trees consume a large amount of soil moisture and soil nutrients. Local governments should prevent the development of new plantations of fast-growing trees in farmland and help farmers to recover their farmland from forestry plantations.     

Modelling sustainable urban growth in a rapidly urbanising region using a fuzzy-constrained cellular automata approach

This article presents an application of a fuzzy-constrained cellular automata model to simulate the spatio-temporal processes of urban growth in the rapidly growing Gold Coast City in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Urban growth has been captured in the model as a continuous process in space and over time, which has been affected by a set of primary and secondary transition rules. The primary transition rules deal with the propensity of a local area for development and the impact of its neighbouring cells on such development, while the secondary transition rules reflect the influences of environmental and institutional factors on urban growth. Application of the model demonstrates its re-applicability to different regions and the effectiveness of the cellular automata technique in studying urban dynamics. It also provides tools to explore sustainable urban growth options under different socio-environmental and planning control factors. A sustainable urban future of the region is achievable if development is managed to maintain a balance amongst ecological conservation, economic growth and the contemporary Australian lifestyle.     

Restructuring of Hog Farming in North Carolina: Explosion and Implosion

Over the past six years hog farming in North Carolina has undergone a significant restructuring. For most of this century raising hogs was a casual farm activity found throughout the state. During the past decade hog farming has been transformed along industrial-corporate lines. In the process, the swine population has expanded rapidly (exploded) and simultaneously collapsed in geographical bounds (imploded). This paper examines the linkage between the development of the industrial-corporate hog farming regime, the rapid growth in hog populations, and the geographical concentration of hog production in a newly emerging high-density hog production district in the south central area of the Coastal Plain region.     

Late Quaternary paleoenvironments of an ephemeral wetland in North Dakota,USA: relative interactions of ground-water hydrology and climate change

This study of fossils (pollen, plant macrofossils, stomata and fish) and sediments (lithostratigraphy and geochemistry) from the Wendel site in North Dakota, USA, emphasizes the importance of considering ground-water hydrology when deciphering paleoclimate signals from lakes in postglacial landscapes. The Wendel site was a paleolake from about 11,500 ¹⁴C yr BP to 11,100 ¹⁴C yr BP. Afterwards, the lake-level lowered until it became a prairie marsh by 9,300 ¹⁴C yr BP and finally, at 8,500 ¹⁴C yr BP, an ephemeral wetland as it is today. Meanwhile, the vegetation changed from a white spruce parkland (11,500 to 10,500 ¹⁴C yr BP) to deciduous parkland, followed by grassland at 9,300 ¹⁴C yr BP. The pattern and timing of these aquatic and terrestrial changes are similar to coeval kettle lake records from adjacent uplands, providing a regional aridity signal. However, two local sources of ground water were identified from the fossil and geochemical data, which mediated atmospheric inputs to the Wendel basin. First, the paleolake received water from the melting of stagnant ice buried under local till for about 900 years after glacier recession. Later, Holocene droughts probably caused the lower-elevation Wendel site to capture the ground water of up-gradient lakes.     

地幔橄榄岩中橄榄石的指示意义

橄榄石是地幔橄榄岩和辉石岩的主要组成矿物,但也经常以斑晶和捕虏晶的形式出现在玄武质岩石中。结合近年来在地幔橄榄岩的主要元素(如Mg和Fe)组成特征以及Li、Mg和Fe稳定同位素地球化学方面的研究成果,重点对橄榄石的地球化学特征与华北克拉通岩石圈地幔演化过程之间的联系进行了讨论,旨在加深对华北克拉通岩石圈地幔演化过程的理解。现有研究表明:地幔橄榄岩中橄榄石的矿物学特征、元素和同位素地球化学组成能够很好地指示岩石圈地幔的特征及其演化过程,因而具有重要的意义。对于克拉通地区的地幔橄榄岩来说,橄榄石的Mg#通常可以指示岩石圈地幔的属性,古老、难熔的地幔橄榄岩中的橄榄石一般具有较高的Mg#(>92),而新生的岩石圈地幔橄榄岩中的橄榄石则具有较低的Mg#(<91)。因此,地幔橄榄岩中橄榄石的Mg#在一定程度上具有年龄意义。橄榄岩中橄榄石的Li、Mg和Fe同位素组成也可以明确指示岩石圈地幔的属性及其所经历的演化过程,正常地幔的δ7Li、δ26Mg和δ57Fe组成相对均一,如果上述同位素组成偏离正常地幔值,则说明岩石圈地幔经历了熔体/流体的交代作用。华北克拉通地区地幔橄榄岩捕虏体中橄榄石的Li、Mg和Fe同位素组成研究表明:该区的岩石圈地幔经历了多个阶段、不同来源的熔体/流体的改造过程。     

强震孕育与断层形变异常形态及时空分布特征

分析了华北北部20世纪70年代初以来的断层形变资料。结果表明：震前断层活动存在明显的阶段性特征；短临阶段断层形变异常主要形态有两种：一种是在α、β相后的γ相短临异常，这种异常一般在近源区出现；另一种是较大幅度的突跳型短临异常，这种异常一般在远源区出现，这些都是断层形变前兆由中期过渡到短期的明显标志；断层形变短临异常有从外围向震中迁移的特征；唐山地震前出现γ相短临异常的比例高于大同和张北地震，主要表现为在中期趋势积累背景上的反向；3次强震前α、β、γ相异常场地的分布具构造控制特征；强震前场地断层异常活动存在象限性分布特征，且与震源机制解的结果基本一致。     

河南省华北型石炭—二叠纪地层多重划分与对比

河南省华北型石炭—二叠纪岩石地层可分为本溪组、太原组、山西组、石盒子组和孙家沟组,石盒子组又可分为小风口段、云盖山段和平顶山段。年代地层可分为１２个阶,生物地层可分为１０个连续组合带。岩石、生物及年代地层的对比表明,本溪组、太原组向南穿时,反映海侵由北向南;山西组上部和石盒子组向北穿时,揭示海水由南向北回泛。早二叠世前海水向南流注入北秦岭海槽,晚二叠世北秦岭褶皱,导致北秦岭海槽闭合,华北陆块南缘抬升、水体北流,成为内陆盆地。     

A Study on Sequence Stratigraphy of Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic in Southern North China Platform

INTRODUCTIONThestrataofMesoprotCrozoicandNeoproterozoicaredevelopedcompletelyinthesouthpartoftheNorthetnaplatformandconsistofthreesystems,inasCendingorder,Jixiaulan,QingbaikouanandSlman.BasedonadetailedinvestigationontheolltcropandthecomprehenSiveanalysis,wediscussthecharaCterofsequencestratigraphyandthecorrelationoftheMemo--Neoproterozoicinthearea.FnThRrsor~unCrsANDPARA~unCrsMeSO--NooprotffezoicRadonalfortigraphyThesouthernpartofNorthChinaplatformherereferstotheareasincluding…