Regulation of peatland evaporation following wildfire; the complex control of soil tension under dynamic evaporation demand

The capability of peatland ecosystems to regulate evapotranspiration (ET) following wildfire is a key control on the resilience of their globally important carbon stocks under future climatic conditions. Evaporation dominates post-fire ET, with canopy and sub-canopy removal restricting transpiration and increasing evaporation potential. Therefore, in order to project the hydrology and associated stability of peatlands to a diverse range of post-fire weather conditions and future climates the regulation of evaporation must be accurately parameterised in peatland ecohydrological models. To achieve this, we measure the surface resistance (r_s) to evaporation over the growing season one year post-fire within four zones of a boreal peatland that burned to differing depths, relating r_s to near surface soil tensions. We show that the magnitude and temporal variability in r_s varies with burn severity. At the peatland scale, r_s and near-surface tension correlates non-linearly. However, at the point scale no relationship was evident between temporal variations in r_s and near-surface tension across all burn severities; in part due to the limited fluctuation in near-surface tensions and the precision of r_s measurements. Where automated measurements enabled averaging of errors, the relationship between near-surface tension and r_s switched between periods of strong and weak correlation within a burned peat hummock. This relationship, when strong, deviated from that obtained under steady state laboratory conditions; increases in r_s were more sensitive to fluctuations in near-surface tension under dynamic field conditions. Calculating soil vapour densities directly from near-surface tensions is shown to require calibration between peat types and provides little if any benefit beyond the derivation of empirical relationships between r_s and measured soil tension. Thus, we demonstrate important spatiotemporal fluctuations in post-fire r_s that will be key to regulating post-fire peatland hydrology, but highlight the complex challenges in effectively parameterising this important underlying control of near-surface tensions within hydrological simulations.     

Scientists' warning on extreme wildfire risks to water supply

2020 is the year of wildfire records. California experienced its three largest fires early in its fire season. The Pantanal, the largest wetland on the planet, burned over 20% of its surface. More than 18 million hectares of forest and bushland burned during the 2019–2020 fire season in Australia, killing 33 people, destroying nearly 2500 homes, and endangering many endemic species. The direct cost of damages is being counted in dozens of billion dollars, but the indirect costs on water-related ecosystem services and benefits could be equally expensive, with impacts lasting for decades. In Australia, the extreme precipitation (“200 mm day −1 in several location”) that interrupted the catastrophic wildfire season triggered a series of watershed effects from headwaters to areas downstream. The increased runoff and erosion from burned areas disrupted water supplies in several locations. These post-fire watershed hazards via source water contamination, flash floods, and mudslides can represent substantial, systemic long-term risks to drinking water production, aquatic life, and socio-economic activity. Scenarios similar to the recent event in Australia are now predicted to unfold in the Western USA. This is a new reality that societies will have to live with as uncharted fire activity, water crises, and widespread human footprint collide all-around of the world. Therefore, we advocate for a more proactive approach to wildfire-watershed risk governance in an effort to advance and protect water security. We also argue that there is no easy solution to reducing this risk and that investments in both green (i.e., natural) and grey (i.e., built) infrastructure will be necessary. Further, we propose strategies to combine modern data analytics with existing tools for use by water and land managers worldwide to leverage several decades worth of data and knowledge on post-fire hydrology.     

The role of fire on soil mounds and surface roughness in the Mojave Desert

A fundamental question in arid land management centers on understanding the long‐term effects of fire on desert ecosystems. To assess the effects of fire on surface topography, soil roughness, and vegetation, we used terrestrial (ground‐based) LiDAR to quantify the differences between burned and unburned surfaces by creating a series of high‐resolution vegetation structure and bare‐earth surface models for six sample plots in the Grand Canyon‐Parashant National Monument, Arizona. We find that 11 years following prescribed burns, mound volumes, plant heights, and soil‐surface roughness were significantly lower on burned relative to unburned plots. Results also suggest a linkage between vegetation and soil mounds, either through accretion or erosion mechanisms such as wind and/or water erosion. The biogeomorphic implications of fire‐induced changes are significant. Reduced plant cover and altered soil surfaces from fire likely influence seed residence times, inhibit seed germination and plant establishment, and affect other ecohydrological processes. Published in 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

基于数据挖掘分析许芝银治疗阴虚火旺型甲状腺功能亢进症的用药规律

目的：运用数据挖掘技术分析许芝银教授辨治阴虚火旺型甲状腺功能亢进症的临床用药规律。方法：收集整理2018年1月1日至2020年6月30日江苏省中医院许教授门诊诊治的阴虚火旺型甲状腺功能亢进症患者病案资料,构建临床用药数据库,运用数据挖掘方法,对其临证用药规律进行总结分析。结果：共收集到许教授治疗阴虚火旺型甲状腺功能亢进症的有效验方642首,涉及药物133味,累计用药频数9180次。获得高频药物（使用频次≥120次）24味,使用频次排前6位的药物依次是赤芍、牡丹皮、白芍、甘草、丹参、麦冬;药物药性以温、寒、平为主,药味以甘、苦、辛为多,归经多属肝、肺、脾经,药物分类以补虚药、清热药为主。高频药物系统聚类聚为6类,药物二项关联分析显示核心药对6对,三项关联度最强的核心药物组合4组。结论：许教授临证围绕阴虚火旺型甲状腺功能亢进症的病因病机,从消瘿散结、清热泻火、养阴益气入手,提出瘿肿宜消散、纳亢宜清泻、多汗宜固表、目突宜明目、手颤宜息风、心悸宜宁神六法,同时兼顾扶正祛邪,攻补兼施,用药平和,疗效肯定。     

呼伦贝尔草原火时空格局及特征分析

以Fire_CCI51为主要数据源,应用GIS空间分析技术对呼伦贝尔地区2001—2019年草原火的时空分布进行了研究,结果发现：呼伦贝尔草原火时间上具有年际波动较大、循环周期不定和春、秋两季双峰式集中的特点;空间上集中分布在东部森林草原、边境线附近,呈现出东多西少、北多南少的格局。利用相关分析方法对主要气象因子（平均降水量、最高气温、最小相对湿度、最大风速）与草原火之间的关系进行了深入分析,发现气象因子与草原火之间不存在显著相关;通过对呼伦贝尔市1981—2015年的草原起火原因统计数据分析发现,人类活动是导致草原火发生的主要因素。应用空间分析方法对边境线20 km缓冲区内的草原火进行了提取,发现境外过火面积远高于境内而且俄罗斯的过火面积远高于蒙古和中国。     

Anthropogenic origin of a change in the fire-climate relationship in northern China after ~2000 yr BP: Evidence from a 15,500-year black carbon record from Dali Lake

There are debates regarding whether a wet and warm climate or a dry and cold climate dominated Holocene fire activity in northern China on the millennial timescale, and when human activities overtook climate change as the dominant control on fire occurrence in the region. Here we present a high-resolution fire history for the past ~15,500 years from a sediment core in Dali Lake, located in the foothills of the Greater Hinggan Mountains, one of the areas of highest fire risk in China. The results demonstrate that fire activity was rare during the last deglaciation (~15,500-11,700 yr BP), gradually increased at the beginning of the Holocene, and reached its highest level during ~9000-5000 yr BP, after which there was a decreasing trend. However, after ~2000 yr BP this decreasing trend ended, and the most prominent feature is a peak in fire activity during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). Overall, fire activity corresponded well to changes in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation on the millennial timescale during ~15,500-2000 yr BP, but this relationship changed after ~2000 yr BP. We propose that fire activity in northern China on the millennial timescale during ~15,500-2000 yr BP was dominated by the biofuels reserve under the control of the EASM precipitation. In contrast, with the intensification of human activities after ~2000 yr BP, human activity caused a ~62%-73% increase in fire activity, which altered the fire-climate relationship that had previously prevailed in northern China. Our results indicate that a wet-warm climate (increased EASM intensity), rather than a dry-cold climate, was the dominant control on fire activity in northern China during 15,500-2000 yr BP on the millennial timescale, but that human activities played an important role in fire occurrence after ~2000 yr BP.     

锍镍试金-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定硫铁矿中铂族元素

锍镍试金常用于富集常规地质样品中的铂族元素(PGEs);而用于富集硫铁矿中的PGEs鲜有报道。硫铁矿中硫和铁的含量较高,采用常规的试金配方不能得到较好的锍扣,影响下一步样品的溶解和过滤。本文对锍镍试金-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定硫铁矿中PGEs的流程进行改进。针对硫铁矿中硫和铁含量高的特点,在不减少称样量的情况下,调整常规锍镍试金中的试剂配方,获得了理想的锍扣和熔渣,使锍扣富集PGEs的能力达到最佳,且避免了由于反应时间过长而造成PGEs损失。同时利用硫化铁易剥落和粉化的特点,省去了锍扣的机械粉碎工序,简化了流程,避免了碎扣时的机械损失和样品间可能的交叉污染。结果表明,高含量的铁对PGEs的测定无显著影响。加标回收试验显示PGEs全流程回收率大于94%。按10 g取样量计算,方法检出限分别为Ru 0.018 ng/g,Rh 0.017ng/g,Pd 0.18 ng/g,Os 0.019 ng/g,Ir 0.013 ng/g,Pt 0.11 ng/g。实际样品分析和加标回收试验表明,改进后的锍镍试金-电感耦合等离子体质谱测定流程可以满足大多数硫铁矿中PGEs的测定要求。     

基于背景信息的MODIS林火自动提取算法

本文在火点提取算法中加入了背景信息,减少了伪火点,提高了火点提取算法的准确性和可靠性。通过选取江西省武宁县为实验区,应用MODIS数据进行了火点的提取,实现了从数据的处理到火点的自动提取。经实验验证后,发现改进后的算法火点提取精度较高,能很好地满足林火监测要求。     

Spatial pattern analysis of fire events in Central India – A case study

The impact of fires on environment can have adverse effects. To fully understand the synoptic behaviour of fire events, information on the spatial distributions and their pattern are highly important. In this study, we used 9-year (1997–2005) integrated fire count datasets derived from Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) satellite to geographically map the distribution of fire events in the Madhya Pradesh state, central India. We then used robust spatial metrics to test the spatial pattern of fire events against the hypothesis of complete spatial randomness (CSR). Specifically, we used the index of dispersion, Green's index, in addition to nearest neighbour statistic for testing CSR. Also, quantification of clustering is carried out using Ripley's K-function. To spatially map the fire events, we used Kernel density estimation that relies on bi-variate probability density functions. Results from using different spatial pattern metrics and nearest neighbour statistics suggested relatively high clustering of fire events in the study area. In addition, results from Ripley's K-function suggested the fire events to be clustered at a lag-distance of ～60 mile radius. By converting original fire ignition locations that are based on historical records to continuous density surfaces, the probability of fire events could be mapped effectively using kernel density estimation. As each fire event is the result of certain spatial process including biophysical and anthropogenic attributes, results from this study can provide useful information on fire management at a local district level. Also, the analysis presented in this study illustrates how spatial patterns in the point datasets can be quantified using different dispersion indices, clustering and density estimation techniques.     

STORAGE OF MINING-RELATED ZINC IN FLOODPLAIN SEDIMENTS,BLUE RIVER,WISCONSIN

This study investigates spatial patterns of sediment-associated zinc (Zn) storage in floodplain deposits and the potential reintroduction of these metal-contaminated sediments to the active channel by bank erosion. We estimate patterns of Zn mass storage by combining longitudinal trends in Zn concentrations with measurements of sediment mass storage in overbank and point-bar deposits. Overbank deposits are the largest contaminant sink, storing five times more Zn than the point-bar deposits. While Zn concentrations decrease downstream because of dilution effects, the total mass of Zn stored in floodplains is greatest in both the upstream reaches and in the wider lower valleys where low channel gradients promote rapid sedimentation. Zn storage is low in middle reaches where steep, narrow valleys with high stream power favor sediment transport over deposition. Overall, more than half of the Zn released by mining remains stored in floodplain deposits within the watershed. The remobilization of Zn from storage is more likely in the upstream and mid-basin reaches where high stream power increases rates of lateral channel migration. Channels in the lower valley lack the stream power to migrate laterally and remobilize the large Zn mass stored in overbank sediments. [Key words: floodplains, Zn contamination, mining, stream power, Wisconsin.]