Re‐establishment of soil water repellency after destruction by intense burning in a Mediterranean heathland (SW Spain)

Soil water repellency has been conventionally considered as a fire‐induced effect, but an increasing number of studies have suggested that natural background repellency occurs in many soil types, and many of them have suggested that water repellency can be re‐established over time after being destroyed. An experimental fire was conducted to study changes of the soil surface during the first 18 months following intense burning. The main objectives of this paper are as follows: (1) to investigate in situ water repellency changes at three soil depths (0, 2 and 4 cm) immediately after burning; (2) to evaluate the medium‐term evolution of water repellency under field conditions; and (3) to outline the main hydrological consequences of these changes. Also, different water repellency tests (water drop penetration time, ethanol percentage test (EPT) and contact angle (CA) between water drops and the soil surface) were carried out for comparison purposes. Field experiments showed that soil water repellency was partly destroyed after intense burning. Changes were relatively strong at the soil surface, but diminished progressively with depth. Levels of water repellency were practically re‐established 18 months after burning. This suggests that water repellency in the studied area is not necessarily a consequence of fire, but can instead be a natural attribute. Finally, although limited in time, destruction of soil water repellency has important consequences for runoff flow generation and soil loss rates, and, indirectly, for water quality. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Holocene record of climate change,fire ecology and human activity from montane Flat Top Bog,Maui

A sediment core from a high-elevation bog on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands contains evidence for drier conditions between 9.4–5.8 kyr BP, followed by a wetter interval between 5.8–2.2 kyr BP, and a variable late Holocene. These precipitation changes may be a reflection of vertical displacements of the upper boundary of the mid-Pacific Trade Wind Inversion (TWI) cloud layer. Fires, probably volcanically ignited, occurred in the forests prior to human arrival. Polynesian activity in this high-elevation, remote site was apparently limited, with no pollen, charcoal, or sedimentological evidence for local anthropogenic disturbance. After European contact, grass fires increased and introduced plant species invaded the site. Values for Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in sediments throughout the Holocene indicate low trace-metal deposition from atmospheric particulates at the site, even in the twentieth century.This paper is one of a series of papers guest edited by Dr. Mark Brenner on tropical paleolimnology     

Use of GIS in Optimizing Timber Thinning Strategies in the Eastern Sierra Nevada*

This paper demonstrates the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to develop timber thinning strategies on the Kyburz Planning Area of the Tahoe National Forest in northeastern California. The primary criteria used in an assessment of selective thinning potential were forest health and fire hazard ratings. By eliminating environmentally sensitive, economically unfeasible, or low fire hazard areas from consideration, the use of GIS reduced the area that was considered appropriate for thinning by approximately 58%. GIS offers considerable potential for improving resource management strategies.     

小试金光谱法同时测定地质样品中超痕量铂钯金

用小试金光谱法同时测定地质样品中低至0·x×10~(-9)级Pt、Pd和Au,包括先用小试金熔炼和灰吹预富集10g样品中的Pt、Pd和Au于1mg的银合粒中,然后把银合粒装入石墨电极同锇-锑合金(ω(Os)=0.06)一起激发,以发射光谱法同时测定它们的含量。小试金法类同经典火试金,但采用纯化过的2PbCO_3·Pb(OH)_2(Pt、Pd和Au的含量皆<0.05 ×10~(-9)代替商品PbO,并且用50ml高铝坩埚在950℃进行熔炼。方法的检出限是Pt0.2×10~(-9),Pd和Au均为0.1×10~(-9)。对于3×10~(-9)的含量,全过程的相对标准偏差(％)是Pt15,Pd11,Au9。此法快速、简便,适用于地质物料的分析。     

梧州市森林火险气象预报

使用１９８０－１９９１年森林火灾及相应的气象资料，分析了森林火灾与有关气象要素的相关性。在此基础上，计算了森林火险天气预报指标，建立了预报模式，开展了森林火险天气等级预报。经试用效果较好。     

Fire and cyclone damage to woody vegetation on the north coast of the Northern Territory,Australia

Tree stem (>2 m tall) mortality was assessed following a late dry‐season wildfire across a seasonally flooded elevation gradient at Workshop Jungle, near Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. For all species combined, dead stems had significantly smaller diameter at breast height (dbh) than living stems. Assessment of tree‐stem damage following a tropical cyclone at Cobourg Peninsula, NT, revealed that damaged stems had significantly greater dbh than undamaged stems for all tree species sampled across a boundary between monsoon rainforest and savanna. A greater proportion of stems were damaged by the cyclone than by the fire (28 per cent as against 18 per cent), although there were considerable between‐community differences in the proportion of damaged stems at the two sites. The fire caused little impact (<10 per cent) on total basal area of three different forest communities on the elevation gradient at Workshop Jungle. The cyclone was found to cause >50 per cent damage to total basal area of three different communities on Cobourg Peninsula. It is suggested that the combination of a cyclone followed by an intense fire in storm debris could potentially destroy a monsoon rainforest through its impact on all tree‐size classes. This may explain why some monsoon rainforests rapidly contracted following Cyclone Tracy that destroyed the city of Darwin on Christmas Day, 1974.     

油气储运系统钢结构设备地震火灾效应研究

预防和减轻油气储运系统地震火灾危险性是防震减灾中的重要课题。本文论述了油气储运系统的地震火灾特征及防火要求，对钢结构的防火涂料在遭到破坏和平时情况下的抗火性能进行了对比分析，并应用有限元法对油气储运系统中典型钢结构设备在地震火灾荷载作用下的抗火性能进行了数值模拟。研究结果表明，防火涂料遭到强地震荷载破坏后，钢结构的抗火性能大大降低。     

内蒙古乌达地区地球物理场特征与地下煤火分布

以2004年内蒙古乌达地区1:5000大比例尺的直升机航空电磁、磁综合测量资料为基础,结合地面煤田地质、物探、遥感等资料,对内蒙古乌达地区的航空磁场特征、航空电磁场特征与地下煤火分布的关系进行了分析与研究,在综合分析的基础上,建立了该区的地下煤火划分标志,并对该区的地下煤火分布和燃烧状况进行了分析和圈定.     

Sandstone response to salt weathering following simulated fire damage: a comparison of the effects of furnace heating and fire

Fire has long been recognized as an agent of rock weathering. Our understanding of the impact of fire on stone comes either from early anecdotal evidence, or from more recent laboratory simulation studies, using furnaces to simulate the effects of fire. This paper suggests that knowledge derived from simulated heating experiments is based on the pre‐conceptions of the experiment designer – when using a furnace to simulate fire, the operator decides on the maximum temperature and the duration of the experiment. These are key factors in determining the response of the stone to fire, and if these are removed from real‐world observations then knowledge based on these simulations must be questioned. To explore the differences between heating sandstone in a furnace and a real fire, sample blocks of Peakmoor Sandstone were subjected to different stress histories in combination (lime rendering and removal, furnace heating or fire, frost and salt weathering). Block response to furnace heating and fire is discussed, with emphasis placed on the non‐uniformity of the fire and of block response to fire in contrast to the uniform response to surface heating in a furnace. Subsequent response to salt weathering (by a 10% solution of sodium chloride and magnesium sulphate) was then monitored by weight loss. Blocks that had experienced fire showed a more unpredictable response to salt weathering than those that had undergone furnace heating – spalling of corners and rapid catastrophic weight loss were evidenced in blocks that had been subjected to fire, after periods of relative quiescence. An important physical side‐effect of the fire was soot accumulation, which created a waxy, relatively impermeable layer on some blocks. This layer repelled water and hindered salt ingress, but eventually detached when salt, able to enter the substrate through more permeable areas, concentrated and crystallized behind it, resulting in rapid weight loss and accelerated decay. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

城市消防地理信息系统的设计与实现

城市消防地理信息系统是消防指挥决策系统的一个重要组成部分，本文着重介绍了城市消防地理信息系统的结构、主要功能和特点。