Water content and land use history controlling soil CO2 respiration and carbon stock in savanna soil and groundnut fields in semi-arid Senegal

Decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) regulates the partitioning between soil C-stock and release of CO₂ to the atmosphere and is vital for soil fertility. Agricultural expansion followed by decreasing amounts of SOC and soil fertility is a problem mainly seen in tropical agro-ecosystems where fertilizers are in short supply. This paper focuses on factors influencing temporal trends in soil respiration measured as CO₂ effluxes in grass savanna compared with groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) fields in the semi-arid part of Senegal in West Africa. Based on laboratory experiments, soil CO₂ production has been expressed as a function of temperature and soil water content by fit equations. Field measurements included soil CO₂ effluxes, soil temperatures and water contents. Effluxes in grass savanna and groundnut fields during the dry season were negligible, while effluxes during the rainy season were about 3–8 μmol CO₂ m^?2 s^?1, decreasing to less than 1 μmol by the end of the growing season. Annual soil CO₂ production was simulated to be in the range of 31–38 mol C m^?2. Furthermore, a controlled water addition experiment revealed the importance of rain during the dry season for the overall turnover of soil organic matter.     

A Regional Scale Investigation of Climatological Tropical Convection and Precipitation in the Amazon Basin

This study constructs a regional scale climatology of tropical convection and precipitation from more than 15 years of monthly outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and precipitation data on 2.5°× 2.5° latitude-longitude grid to examine the spatial and temporal patterns and variability of convection and precipitation in the Amazon Basin. A linear regression analysis also detects if any trends exist in the two datasets. The region of study extends from 15°N to 25°S and 30° to 80°W that encompass the Amazon Basin and surrounding fringe areas for the period from January 1979 through December 1995 for the OLR data and up to 1996 for the precipitation dataset. The basin-average mean monthly and seasonal climatology serve as a ‘baseline’ reference for comparison with the full time series of basin-average monthly OLR and precipitation to illustrate the interannual variability and identify anomalous periods of wet and dry conditions. A linear trend analysis of OLR data found small negative values across the Amazon Basin indicating a slight increase in convective activity over the period of study. The analysis of the precipitation time series, however, shows no coincidental increase in precipitation as would be expected with an increase in convective activity. Portions of Rondônia and Mato Grosso, areas that have undergone extensive deforestation, illustrate no trend in precipitation as suggested by GCM simulation results. The only area featuring any large change in precipitation occurs in a small area in the northwestern region of South America where a large positive trend in precipitation exists.     

Air Quality,Climate, and Policy: A Case Study of Ozone Pollution in Tucson,Arizona

This article addresses the need to better understand the complex interactions between climate, human activities, vegetation responses, and surface ozone so that more informed air-quality policy recommendations can be made. The impacts of intraseasonal climate variations on ozone levels in Tucson, Arizona from April through September of 1995 to 1998 are determined by relating variations in ozone levels to variations in atmospheric conditions and emissions of ozone's precursor chemicals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x), and by determining month-specific atmospheric conditions that are conducive to elevated ozone levels. Results show that the transport of ozone and its precursor chemicals within the Tucson area causes the highest ozone levels to be measured at a downwind monitor. The highest ozone levels occur in August, due in part to the presence of the North American monsoon. Atmospheric conditions conducive to elevated ozone concentrations differ substantially between the arid foresummer (May and June) and the core monsoon months ( July and August). Transport of pollution from Phoenix may have a substantial impact on elevated ozone concentrations during April, May, and June, while El Paso/Ciudad Juarez –derived pollution may contribute significantly to elevated ozone concentrations in August and September. Two broad policy implications derive from this work. Regional pollutant transport, both within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Mexico, is a potential issue that needs to be examined more intensively in future studies. In addition, spatiotemporal variations in sensitivities of ozone production require the adoption of both NO_x and VOC control measures to reduce ozone levels in the Tucson area.     

Diversity of filamentous fungi isolated from the soil in the semiarid area,Pernambuco, Brazil

The Caatinga (dryland) biome of Brazil is experiencing accentuated desertification due to deforestation and inappropriate uses of its natural resources. Studies examining the diversity of filamentous fungi in Caatinga soils are still scarce and the present work was designed to isolate and identify the soil fungi of this biome in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. Soil samples were taken at five random sites during the dry and rainy seasons from the soil surface and at depths of 20 cm. A total of 85 species of filamentous fungi were identified, including species of anamorphic fungi (71 species), Zygomycota (8) and Ascomycota (6). The most abundant genera were Aspergillus (28) and Penicillium (18). No significant differences were observed in the numbers of colony forming units in samples taken during either the rainy or dry seasons, or from surface or subsurface soils. Most of the fungi species isolated from caatinga soils were classified as rare. Our results indicate that anamorphic fungi dominate the soil mycobiota in the Brazilian semiarid region, with species of Aspergillus and Penicillium being most common.     

Disruption rates for one vulnerable soil in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument,Arizona, USA

Rates of soil disruption from hikers and vehicle traffic are poorly known, particularly for arid landscapes. We conducted an experiment in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (ORPI) in western Arizona, USA, on an air-dry very fine sandy loam that is considered to be vulnerable to disruption. We created variable-pass tracks using hikers, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), and a four-wheel drive vehicle (4WD) and measured changes in cross-track topography, penetration depth, and bulk density. Hikers (one pass = 5 hikers) increased bulk density and altered penetration depth but caused minimal surface disruption up to 100 passes; a minimum of 10 passes were required to overcome surface strength of this dry soil. Both ATV and 4WD traffic significantly disrupted the soil with one pass, creating deep ruts with increasing passes that rendered the 4WD trail impassable after 20 passes. Despite considerable soil loosening (dilation), bulk density increased in the vehicle trails, and lateral displacement created berms of loosened soil. This soil type, when dry, can sustain up to 10 passes of hikers but only one vehicle pass before significant soil disruption occurs; greater disruption is expected when soils are wet. Bulk density increased logarithmically with applied pressure from hikers, ATV, and 4WD.     

Response of the soil water content of mobile dunes to precipitation patterns in Inner Mongolia,northern China

We analyzed the relationship between soil water content (SWC) dynamics in mobile dunes to a depth of 100 cm and precipitation patterns from June to July 2010 in the Horqin Sand Land. The precipitation was dominated by small events of 0.1–3.0 mm, which accounted for 52% of the total events. Precipitation >20 mm had the highest intensity, accounting for 50% of the total precipitation. SWC differed significantly among the soil layers: mean SWC was greatest from 80 to 100 cm and lowest from 40 to 60 cm. SWC from 0 to 100 cm was significantly affected by relative humidity, water barometric pressure and minimum temperature, and the SWC of 0–40 cm was obviously influenced by precipitation amount and wind velocity. Precipitation <5 mm did not replenish SWC, precipitation between 5 and 20 mm provided some replenishment to SWC from 0 to 40 cm, and precipitation >20 mm increased significantly SWC from 0 to 100 cm. In addition, precipitation intensity significantly affected the infiltration rate, with higher intensity leading to deeper and faster infiltration. At longer intervals between precipitation events, SWC in each soil layer decreased continuously over time; however, SWC from 0 to 80 cm changed little within the first 3 days, and SWC from 0 to 100 cm started to decrease greatly after 5 days.     

Environmental effects on distributions of culturable soil oligotrophic bacteria along an elevational gradient in the Chihuahuan Desert

Oligotrophic bacteria have been isolated from many habitats, yet environmental regulation of their distributions in soil has not been elucidated. To address the issue of environmental influence upon oligotrophic distributions, Chihuahuan Desert soils were sampled from five sites along an elevational and vegetational gradient within Big Bend National Park during January and August of 2002 and 2003. Soils were diluted and plated on oligotrophic media, and plates were incubated at 15, 25, 35, 45 and 60 °C. Additionally, measurements of soil organic matter, pH, moisture, extractable nitrate, extractable ammonium and microbial biomass carbon were collected for each sample to relate oligotrophic bacterial distributions to soil nutrient and edaphic characteristics. Analysis of variance indicated significant site, season, incubation-temperature and interaction effects on total oligotroph numbers. Canonical correspondence analysis and multiple regressions indicated that all soil-chemistry variables significantly influenced discrete morphologies of oligotrophs. Oligotroph distributions were most congruent with soil-chemistry variation in three sites, whereas oligotrophic diversity in two sites did not adhere closely to measured environmental variables. While vegetation type may structure oligotroph communities at the two mid-elevational sites, abiotic constraints are drivers in low-desert sites.     

极端降雨事件对不同类型生物土壤结皮覆盖土壤碳释放的影响

于2011年5-8月,选择腾格里沙漠东南缘人工固沙植被区藻类、藓类和混生结皮覆盖的土壤为对象,研究了极端降雨量(降雨量44.7 mm、强度0.04 mm,min-1)、极端降雨强度(降雨量8.3 mm、强度0.55 mm·min-1)及普通降雨(降雨量16.3 mm、强度0.02 mm·min-1)条件下的碳释放过程.碳释放量的测定采用Li-6400-09土壤呼吸室,降雨结束后立即开始观测,直到呼吸速率恢复到降雨前水平时停止观测.结果表明:极端降雨(降雨量和降雨强度)结束初期藻类和混生结皮覆盖土壤的呼吸速率受到明显抑制,藻类结皮覆盖土壤呼吸速率分别为0.12 μmol·m-2·s-1和0.41 μmol·m-2·s-1,混生结皮覆盖土壤呼吸速率分别为0.10 μmol·m-2·s-1和0.45μmol·m-2·s-1;而极端降雨对藓类结皮覆盖土壤的影响不明显,呼吸速率分别为0.83 μmol·m-2·s-1和1.69μmol·m-2·s-1.这说明处于演替高级阶段的藓类结皮能够很好地应对短期的极端降雨事件.     

单排微型桩加固碎石土滑坡物理模型试验

微型桩因其自身优势被广泛使用,但有关其抗滑机理的理论研究相对较少.首先对模型桩的力学特性进了标定试验,获得其弹塑性工作阶段的弹性模量,分别为0.69×104 MPa和0.04×104 MPa;再通过不同桩间距下单排微型桩加固碎石土滑坡室内模型试验,研究微型桩抗滑机理.试验结果表明:不同桩间距下单排微型桩桩后土压力主要集中在滑面以上1/3桩身范围内;桩间距较小,土拱效应越明显,微型桩抗滑失效的最大临界弯矩越大,微型桩能承受的滑坡推力越大,抗滑效果越好.     

Fuzzy information representation and processing in conventional GIS software: database design and application

Currently used methods for representing geographical information are inadequate because they do not tolerate imprecision. This leads to information loss and inaccuracy in analysis. Such expressive inadequacy is largely due to the underlying membership concept of classical set theory. To improve information processing in GIS research and application, an alternative membership concept is required. In this paper, we explore the inadequacy imposed upon geographical information representation by classical set theory and address the problems of information loss. A fuzzy relational data model is defined which is more representative for geographical information. A GIS database for agricultural land resource management is created by using the data model and a new technique for assessing land suitability is developed. The fuzzy representation largely facilitates data analysis in this GIS. The methods are tested with data from North Java, Indonesia using a vector-based GIS software package, Arc Info, and the analysis results are presented.