Eroding battlefields: Land degradation in Java reconsidered

Land degradation has been a major political issue in Java for decades. Its causes have generally been framed by narratives focussing on farmers’ unsustainable cultivation practices. This paper causally links land degradation with struggles over natural resources in Central Java. It presents a case study that was part of a research project combining remote sensing and political ecology to explore land use/cover change and its drivers in the catchment of the Segara Anakan lagoon. Historically rooted land conflicts have turned the land into a political battlefield, with soil erosion being the direct outcome of the political struggles. Starting from an analysis of environmental changes using satellite images and historical maps, the research explored a history of violent displacements in the frame of a series of brutal insurgencies and counterinsurgencies in the 1950/60s. In these struggles over national political power, entire villages were erased, and peasants’ land was appropriated by the state. This political history is ‘inscribed’ in today’s landscape. The contested land comprises some of the most erosion-prone sites in the entire catchment of the lagoon. The landscape of erosion is a landscape of conflict and a symbol of historical violence and injustice. In line with our research in other parts of the catchment, the case study presented here challenges dominant political discourses about the nature of upland degradation in Java. It provides insight into still unresolved and underexplored chapters of Indonesian history and presents a strong plea for combining land use change science and (historical) political ecology.     

腾冲新生代火山区CO2气体释放通量及其成因

许多研究结果表明,休眠期火山主要通过喷气孔、温泉以及土壤微渗漏三种方式向大气圈释放温室气体。腾冲是我国重要的新生代火山区之一,同时也是主要的水热活动区,但是关于温室气体释放通量的研究却鲜有报道。本文首次估算了该地区土壤微渗漏和温泉水的CO2释放通量,并根据气体成分的分析结果探讨了这些温室气体的来源。2012~2013年连续两年使用密闭气室法现场测量了土壤微渗漏CO2通量,结果表明,马站、热海-黄瓜箐和五合-蒲川-团田三个地区通量较高,其中,热海-黄瓜箐地区平均通量最高,马站次之,五合-蒲川-团田地区最低。较高的土壤微渗漏CO2释放地区同前人推断的岩浆囊的分布在空间上具有较好的一致性;三个地区气体的3He/4He比值较高,三端元模拟结果表明,它们均有较高含量的幔源He释放;根据气体CO2/3He与δ13CCO,CO2模拟计算,CO2主要来源于碳酸盐矿物的脱碳作用和岩浆脱气。由此推断2的释放同深部的岩浆囊具有重要的成因联系,它为碳酸盐矿物的脱碳作用提供了主要的热源,同时也是重要的物质来源。根据土壤微渗漏CO2平均通量及火山、地热异常区的分布面积估算出三个地区土壤微渗漏CO2的释放通量分别为1.8×106t/a(马站),3.2×106t/a(热海-黄瓜箐)和2.0×106t/a(五合-蒲川-团田)。腾冲新生代火山区每年通过土壤微渗漏向大气圈释放CO2的量至少可达7.0×106t,为意大利Etna火山区释放CO2通量(1.4×107t/a)的二分之一。通过水岩相互作用计算温泉水中CO2气体的释放通量为4.9×104t/a。腾冲温泉气泡及温泉水向大气圈释放CO2气体的总通量为5.3×104t/a,远高于意大利Vulcano火山区温泉释放的CO2总通量(3.7×103t/a)。     

海水酸化和Cu2+暴露对虫黄藻Cladocopium goreaui营养同化和能量分配的影响

近年来,全球气候变化和人类活动导致的环境胁迫加剧了珊瑚礁白化事件的发生;其中,海水酸化和Cu2+污染已成为部分礁区面临的主要胁迫因子。本研究设置两个pH水平（pH 8.1和pH 7.6）和两个Cu2+水平（4.25 μg/L和16.47 μg/L）的暴露实验,以探讨海水酸化和Cu2+污染短期暴露对虫黄藻Cladocopium goreaui营养同化、能量消耗和能量分配的影响。结果发现,短期海水酸化暴露能够增加虫黄藻的营养同化（糖类和蛋白质含量增加）,同时显著减少了虫黄藻的能量消耗,进而增加了虫黄藻细胞内的能量分配比例;然而,单独Cu2+暴露显著增加了虫黄藻的能量消耗,进而降低了虫黄藻细胞内的能量分配比例;此外,与单独Cu2+暴露相比,海水酸化和Cu2+复合暴露促进了虫黄藻的营养同化和能量分配。综上,本研究表明,礁区海水酸化和Cu2+污染能够对虫黄藻的营养代谢和能量分配带来负面影响,长期持续暴露可能会对其生长和繁殖构成潜在威胁。     

河北抚宁海湾扇贝养殖区浮游植物与水质因子的相关研究

为研究抚宁海湾扇贝养殖区浮游植物变化特征,探讨水质因子对浮游植物的影响,2020年5月—11月,每月测定该海域的主要水质因子,统计浮游植物。结果表明:共鉴定浮游植物69种,优势种33种;浮游植物密度(8.3~267.9)×10⁴cell/L,5月份最高;生物多样性指数为0.458~3.747,均匀度指数0.099~0.796,丰富度指数0.933~4.755。海水水温范围11.8~26.8℃,盐度28.8~34.0,活性硅酸盐(SiO₃^2–-Si)含量0.025~0.627mg/L,硝酸盐氮(NO₃^–-N)浓度0.057~0.284mg/L,均呈“上升-下降”趋势;pH范围为7.867~8.190,化学需氧量(COD)为0.260~1.415mg/L,活性磷酸盐(PO₄^3–-P)0.003~0.006mg/L,变化趋势为“下降—上升”;对优势种与水质因子的分析表明,影响该海域浮游植物变化的主要环境因子为活性硅酸盐、盐度、活性磷酸盐和硝酸盐氮;裸藻门与活性磷酸盐、盐度呈正相关,与活性硅酸盐、硝酸盐氮呈负相关;甲藻门与活性硅酸盐呈正相关,与活性磷酸盐、硝酸盐氮呈负相关;隐藻门与活性硅酸盐、盐度成正相关,与硝酸盐氮呈负相关。     

区域性极端骤发干旱与传统干旱事件形成过程的对比

2009/2010年云贵地区（YGR）和2013年夏季中南地区（CSC）发生了近几十年以来最严重的干旱事件。文中对比了两次干旱事件的发展速度,基于水分收支原理,诊断影响干旱发展的物理过程。结果显示,CSC干旱发展前,温度升高,蒸散发增加,土壤湿度减少,高温和降水减少对干旱有触发作用;而YGR的降水减少使干旱开始发展。CSC干旱事件发展迅速,YGR干旱事件发展缓慢,同时前者干旱的维持和恢复时间也短于后者,这些差异与蒸散发过程强弱有关。CSC干旱事件发展阶段,蒸散发过程强,平均为4.7 mm/d,8 d时间,土壤湿度从45%减少到20%,促使干旱快速形成（典型骤发干旱）。YGR干旱发展阶段,蒸散发过程弱,平均为1.7 mm/d,土壤湿度从45%减少到20%历时2个多月（传统干旱）。蒸散发的强弱主要与区域大气柱的水汽净辐散有关。CSC干旱发展阶段,其大气柱水汽净辐散达每天3.1 kg/m²,增强了陆气水分交换,使蒸散发远大于降水,土壤湿度快速下降,加快干旱发展速度。YGR的区域大气柱水汽净辐散为每天1.1 kg/m²,只有CSC的1/3,使干旱发展缓慢。两个干旱事件的大气柱水汽净辐散主要发生在经向方向,即由区域北界相对较强的经向水汽输送引起。     

Caesium-137 in Southeast Asia: Is there enough left for soil erosion and sediment redistribution studies?

Low reference inventories of the fallout radionuclide ¹³⁷Cs in low latitudes may limit its present and future application for studies of soil erosion and sediment redistribution in Southeast Asia. ¹³⁷Cs reference inventories and concentrations in surface materials measured in nine and five areas, respectively, across Southeast Asia are here reported and reviewed. The compiled reference inventories decrease from north to south. Three global estimates of ¹³⁷Cs total fallout are also reviewed and compared to the measured data while taking into account factors that affect the fallout estimates and the reference inventory. The results are presented as a schematic regional distribution map of ¹³⁷Cs reference inventories for the year 2012. A relationship between a reference inventory and topsoil concentration is also provided. The measured ¹³⁷Cs concentrations suggest that a minimum detectable activity (MDA) less than 0.5 Bq/kg is required for detection of ¹³⁷Cs activity in topsoils in the lowest reference inventory areas. This sensitivity should allow, at present, ¹³⁷Cs to be a useful tool for analysis of soil erosion in Southeast Asia, should also be a useful chronometer, and will be a useful tracer at least where the reference inventory is more than 500–600 Bq/m². This level of MDA has been demonstrated in previous studies to be achievable by gamma-ray spectrometry using non-destructive sample treatment. As the nuclide decays, sufficient will remain to be useful until the middle of this century in most areas in Peninsular Malaysia and southern maritime Southeast Asia, and a few decades more in the rest of the region.     

Analytical solutions for consolidation aided by vertical drains

Soil disturbance caused during the installation of vertical drains reduces the in situ hydraulic conductivity of soft deposits in the immediate vicinity of the drains, resulting in a slower rate of consolidation than would be expected in the absence of disturbance. Experimental investigations have revealed the existence of two distinct zones, a smear zone and a transition zone, within the disturbed zone around the vertical drain. The degree of change in the hydraulic conductivity in the smear and transition zones is difficult to assess without performing of laboratory tests. Based on the available literature, four different profiles of hydraulic conductivity versus distance from the vertical drain were identified. Closed-form solutions for the rate of consolidation for each of these four hydraulic conductivity profiles were developed. It is found that different variations of the hydraulic conductivity profiles in the disturbed zone result in different rates of consolidation.     

On the mechanics of dynamic penetration tests

This paper describes a numerical model developed to simulate the wave propagation in an elastic media that is applied to in situ dynamic penetration test devices currently used for site characterization. In the model, dynamic equilibrium equations are solved by finite difference analysis in the time domain to produce the discretization of a penetration system – including hammer, rod, penetrometer (or sampler) and soil. In standard penetration tests numerical simulations are shown to agree well with energy measurements derived from force and acceleration signals produced by the impact of a hammer. A parametric study allowed the identification of the relevant factors affecting penetration by demonstrating that the energy effectively delivered to the soil is a function of hammer height of fall and weight of both hammer and rods, as well as the permanent penetration of the penetrometer into the ground produced by a single stroke. Based on these evidences, an approach is suggested to compare results from different dynamic penetration tests without the need to rely on empirical correlations, which is achieved by demonstrating that different equipments should yield the same normalized energy once the influence of both the hammer and rod potential energies are properly considered.