Dating of small gully formation and establishing erosion rates in old gullies under forest by means of anatomical changes in exposed tree roots (Southern Poland)

Small gullies occur in forested gully systems on the undulating loess plateau in southern Poland. The old gully hillslopes are mainly covered with 200-year old beech trees in contrast with the surface of the summit plateau, which is cultivated agricultural land. Beech roots are exposed in the gullies through erosion. Wood vessels in the root tree rings divide into early wood and late wood and, after the roots are exposed, start to make fewer vessels. These anatomical changes in root tree rings allow us to date erosion episodes.Small gullies form in a different manner on the valley floor and on hillslopes. In valley bottoms, erosion features are often formed at some distance from one another, and in time small gullies combine to form a single, longer one. Depending on local conditions, such as the hillslope profile, hillslopes may exhibit headward erosion or may be eroded downwards. Hilllope gullies may be transformed into side valleys as a result of gradual widening and deepening.Dating the exposure of roots indicates that small gullies had already formed in the valley system by 1949. Intensive gully erosion was recorded between 1984 and 2002, during intense precipitation in 1984 and, of particular note, during the extraordinary flood of 1997 which affected all of Central Europe. The mean rate of small gully erosion in the old gully system studied is 0.63 m/year. On hillslopes the mean gully erosion rate is 0.21–0.52 m/year, and on the valley bottoms 0.18–1.98 m/year. High bottom erosion rates resulted from the emergence of long gullies during the erosion episodes in 1984 and 1997. Sheet flow in valley floors intensifies at times of heavy rainfall which causes long gullies to form.Taking into account the fact that conditions favoured erosion, the rate at which the old gullies under forest were transformed should be considered slow. New side gullies form slowly within the valley and it appears that if erosion progressed at the rate observed, new side valleys would take a few hundred years to form.     

Macro- and trace-element concentrations in leaves and roots of Phragmites australis in a volcanic lake in Southern Italy

Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, N, Ni, Pb, S, V and Zn concentrations were determined during a whole seasonal cycle in leaves and in water and sediment roots of the aquatic macrophyte Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel from three sites in the Lake Averno (Naples, Italy), a volcanic lake contaminated by trace elements. At the beginning of the research, elemental analysis was also performed on lake sediments, that showed different trace-element concentrations depending on the sites.     

Below-ground relationships of soil texture, roots and hydraulic conductivity in two-phase mosaic vegetation in South-east Spain

Results led to the development of a conceptual model, which describes that the presence of deep larger diameter roots in shrub areas form large open channels at deeper soil depths, facilitating deep-water percolation, while presence of thin shallow roots in grass areas form small open channels at shallow depths, causing water to remain within shallow depths. Over time these roots systems will alter their environment and facilitate storage and uptake of water and nutrient availability. The difference in rooting depth will decrease the competition for water between the shrub areas and grass areas and cause differences in water distribution and availability.     

非结构糖在柠条(Caragana korshinskii K.)再生生长和持续生存中的作用

 柠条在地上组织破坏后从根颈处萌蘖出大量的一年生枝，根系储存的碳水化合物将供应地上生长。但连续刈割后根系储存物质如何变化，储存物质在柠条生长和维持存活中的作用仍须研究。本文在不同时间段内对柠条新萌蘖枝进行连续去除（处理1：对照，3月28日刈割1次后不再处理；处理2：从萌芽到6月9日，每3 d去除一次新萌发枝；处理3：从萌芽到6月24日，每3 d去除一次新萌发枝；处理4：从萌芽到7月15，每3 d去除一次新萌发枝）。结果表明：处理3和4在7月非结构糖含量显著高于处理1和2，说明处理1和2将根系储存的非结构糖用于地上生物量的恢复。连续刈割处理（处理3和4）导致柠条根系非结构糖含量持续下降，这主要是由根系呼吸作用引起。秋末对当年生枝统计结果表明，各处理之间当年生枝数/刈割枝在各处理间差异不显著，说明柠条对外界的破坏具有极强的忍耐能力。     

藕节辫状河发育和演变过程的试验研究

利用室内概化模型试验,研究了"藕节"辫状河的发育和演变过程。从初始顺直小河开始,以黄河花园口水文站枯水期和洪水期流量为背景,概化试验入口水沙条件,成功塑造了具有典型藕节的辫状小河。模型小河的试验发现:① 原顺直河道交错边滩的发育对辫状河道"藕节"的形成起到关键作用;② 结合自然河流和试验小河,"藕节"河段形态特征系数I与河道稳定性参数θ呈较好的非线性关联性,说明辫状河道除了沙粒阻力和床面形态阻力,也可以采取断面形态一收一放的"河势形态阻力"方式消耗,制衡部分水流能量;③ 流量过程是控制河段形态特征的决定因素之一,大洪水不仅破坏了原交错边滩的特点,也使"藕节"形态遭到破坏;但在中小流量下,河段保持了较好的"藕节"驻点、"藕身"收放的特点。本研究对黄河下游收放相间的"藕节"河段防洪起到借鉴作用。     

城市片林与城市草坪细根生物量特征

细根在城市绿地地下碳过程中扮演着重要的角色．本研究采用土芯法和WinRHIZO根系分析软件对福建省福州市区内城市绿地的细根现存生物量进行研究。结果表明：1）城市片林的细根生物量在1．15～2．60t／hm^2之间,低于草坪的细根生物量（1．34～4．45t／hm^2）,总体上也低于多数亚热带天然森林的细根生物量．2）细根垂直分布总体规律是随深度的增加而减少,城市草坪上层细根生物量与下层细根生物量差异大于城市片林．城市草坪土壤中79％的细根集中于表层土壤（0—10cm）,10～40cm土层中的细根生物量仅占20％,而各城市片林中仅有50％左右的细根集中于土壤表层0～10cm,10～30cm深度的土层中的细根生物量占30％,40～60cm的土层都仍有20％的细根存在．3）采用细根长度、直径建立双因素模型,对城市绿地细根生物量均有较好的拟合结果,但城市片林的模型拟合效果（R^2〉0．85）优于城市草坪（R^2为0．59～0．79）．鉴于草坪具有可观的细根生物量,其对城市土壤地下碳过程有着不容忽视的作用,因此今后还需进一步引入其他变量优化其细根拟合模型．     

城市片林与城市草坪细根生物量特征

细根在城市绿地地下碳过程中扮演着重要的角色．本研究采用土芯法和WinRHIZO根系分析软件对福建省福州市区内城市绿地的细根现存生物量进行研究。结果表明：1）城市片林的细根生物量在1．15～2．60t／hm^2之间,低于草坪的细根生物量（1．34～4．45t／hm^2）,总体上也低于多数亚热带天然森林的细根生物量．2）细...     

地勘单位潜亏浅析

文章阐述地勘单位可能产生潜亏的各种表现、成因及解决的途径和办法。     

Slope Stabilisation by Perennial “Gramineae” in Southern Italy: Plant Growth and Temporal Performance

In the territory of Altomonte, a village located in Calabria, in the Southern part of Italy, a new thermoelectrical station is under construction. This work involved major earthworks which regarded new excavated slopes. In order to protect soil from erosion due to rainfall and runoff and also in order to prevent superficial soil instability, it was decided to plant four different species of perennial “gramineae” plants (Eragrass, Elygrass, Pangrass and Vetiver) characterised by deep roots. Works began in November 2002 and ended in May 2003, a period marked by very different climate and meteorological conditions, varying from exceptionally rainy and cold winter to warm and dry spring months. The paper describes the different stages of the project and the monitoring programme for the following months. The extension of the work and the use of four different kinds of vegetation made periodic inspections of the entire site appropriate. Two in situ investigations, respectively performed in August 2003 and in November 2003, are outlined. The aim of these surveys was to confirm the success of the work by verifying the growth of the plants and roots. The principal monitored parameters were the percentage of sprouted plants, the height of the foliage and the depth of roots. The investigations showed good results, keeping in mind the very difficult climatic conditions and the extreme poor fertility of the topsoil laid down upon the clay layer: in particular, high survival rate were measured over the entire area of the works and the root systems have developed sufficiently to grow through the upper topsoil layer (0.2–0.3 m) into the underlying clay layer. In March 2004, a sampling programme was undertaken on the same site. Direct shear tests were carried out in the laboratory in order to evaluate the increase in shear strength of the rooted soil mass. The research involved the recovery of three undisturbed samples of soil with roots for each of the four types of “gramineae” plants and three undisturbed samples constituted only of soil, from the surface to a depth of 1.0 m. The tests were performed in a large direct shear apparatus on 200 mm diameter samples. The test results allowed to evaluate the roots’ contribution of the different gramineous species and to underline the direct correlation between the increase in soil shear strength and the root tensile strengths. In particular, an increase in cohesion ranging between 2 kPa and 15 kPa was recorded, according to the different species: the maximum values of increase in shear strength were reached by Vetiver roots, which are also characterised by the highest tensile strength.