Vegetation influences on water yields from grassland and shrubland ecosystems in the Chihuahuan Desert

This study examines runoff generated under simulated rainfall on Summerford bajada in the Jornada Basin, New Mexico, USA. Forty‐five simulation experiments were conducted on 1 m² and 2 m² runoff plots on grassland, degraded grassland, shrub and intershrub environments located in grassland and shrubland communities. Average hydrographs generated for each environment show that runoff originates earlier on the vegetated plots than on the unvegetated plots. This early generation of runoff is attributed to soil infiltration rates being overwhelmed by the rapid concentration of water at the base of plants by stemflow. Hydrographs from the degraded grassland and intershrub plots rise continuously throughout the 30 min simulation events indicating that these plots do not achieve equilibrium runoff. This continuously rising form is attributed to the progressive development of raindrop‐induced surface seals. Most grassland and shrub plots level out after the initial early rise indicating equilibrium runoff is achieved. Some shrub plots, however, display a decline in discharge after the early rise. The delayed infiltration of water into macropores beneath shrubs with vegetation in their understories is proposed to explain this declining form. Water yields predicted at the community level indicate that the shrubland sheds 150 per cent more water for a given storm event than the grassland. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

西苕溪流域不同土地类型下氮元素输移过程

以西苕溪流域为研究对象,选择最有代表性的5种土地类型,模拟天然大暴雨,通过3次重复实验研究不同形态氮素随暴雨径流及径流沉积物的迁移过程,估算氮素在流域内不同土地利用/土地覆被条件下的损失率。研究结果表明,在相同的降雨条件下,氮素的流失速率和流失量随土地利用/土地覆被类型的不同表现出明显差异,地表径流水相总氮的流失量桑林最大,水田最小。水相不同形态的氮素流失量亦有所不同,悬浮颗粒态氮占地表径流水相总氮的70 %~90 %,水相溶解态氮的流失量以松林为最高,竹林、桑林和水田接近而且较低,不同类型的水相溶解态氮也随土地利用类型的不同表现出各自的特征。各土地类型单位面积、表层10 cm土壤氮素流失高达4.66~9.40 g·m-2,其中随径流沉积物相迁移的氮素占绝大部分(90 % 以上)。估算出的各土地利用类型总氮流失速率,地表径流水相为2.68~14.48 mg·m-2·min-1,径流沉积物相高达100.01~172.67 mg·m-2·min-1。     

人类活动对塔里木河年径流影响量的估算

塔里木河流域与环境的研究，一直是近年来新疆环境演化和可持续发展研究的热点问题。大规模的区域开发活动对该流域生态环境产生了根本性的影响，区域整体生态环境趋于恶化。本文通过对年径流量累积曲线和年径流量的相关分析，估算出人类活动对塔里木河各河段的年径流量变化及其对生态环境造成的影响。     

湘北红壤坡地雨水过程的水土流失及其影响

模拟主要利用方式构建的垫面为主导因子,采用径流场实测方法,通过4a(1998～2001年)实地观测试验,剖析不同下垫面对雨水地表径流及其过程的影响。研究表明:降雨(时间分布及其强度)是影响地表径流特征的主导因素;年降雨量与地表径流量和系统水土流失量呈正相关。不同垫面地表径流产量有显著性差异;雨水径流过程的土壤和养分流失有相似的表现。在假定雨水年份的基础上,应用不同雨水年份出现概率指标,推算出:湘北红壤坡地现今利用状况下,雨水产地表径流过程的年均水土流失量及其养分(有机质、N、P、K)损失量;和可最大开发利用时,可能带来的水土流失与养分损失。提出"利用坡地集雨利用优势,构建与单元生态系统水循环平衡相适应的坡地农林复合生态系统,通过水平衡生态建设来维系生态系统的水分平衡"观点。     

气候变化对洮河流域水资源的影响

过去40多年来，洮河流域主要产流区甘南高原的气候和生态环境发生了显著变化，通过对引洮工程的引水区——流域上游40多年的实测水文气象数据的统计分析发现，降水和径流总体下降趋势非常明显，20世纪80年代至90年代降水径流减少更多，达35％；而气温则呈上升趋势，但上升幅度没有降水径流的下降幅度大。由于气候升温变暖、草原载畜过量以及过度砍伐森林，导致气候干旱化、山区水土流失加剧、草原植被退化和沙漠化，这一切都将对未来引洮工程发挥效益产生不利影响。     

50a来洮河流域降水径流变化趋势分析

洮河流域 40多年水文实测资料分析表明 ,由于受气候变化及人类活动影响 ,流域降水和径流特征发生了明显变化 ,降水与径流总体呈下降趋势 ,其下降的线性斜率分别为 - 0 .86～ - 1.34mm·a-1和 - 1.5 7～ - 3.36m3·s-1·a-1;而气温呈缓慢上升趋势 ,其上升的线性斜率为 0 0 2℃·a-1.降水的减少和温度的升高已经导致甘南草原荒漠化 ,使许多湿地和湖泊干涸 ;径流的减少和温度增加在近2 0a来有进一步加剧的趋势 .     

Calibration of an oscillating nozzle‐type rainfall simulator

Nozzle‐type rainfall simulators are commonly used in hydrologic and soil erosion research. Simulated rainfall intensity, originating from the nozzle, increases as the distance between the point of measurement and the source is decreased. Hence, rainfall measured using rain gauges would systematically overestimate the rainfall received at the ground level. A simple model was developed to adjust rainfall measured anywhere under the simulator to plot‐wide average rainfall at the ground level. Nozzle height, plot width, gauge diameter and height, and gauge location are required to compute this adjustment factor. Results from 15 runs at different rain intensities and durations, and with different rain gauge layouts, showed that a simple average of measured rain would overestimate the plot‐wide rain by about 20 per cent. Using the adjustment factor to convert measured rainfall for individual gauges before averaging improved the estimate of plot‐wide rainfall considerably. For the 15 runs considered, overall discrepancy between actual and measured rain is reduced to less than 1 per cent with a standard error of 0·97 mm. This model can be easily tested in the ?eld by comparing rainfall depths of different sized gauges. With the adjustment factor they should all give very similar values. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short‐term erosion rates from a 7Be inventory balance

Detailed soil erosion studies bene?t from the ability to quantify the magnitude of erosion over time scales appropriate to the process. An inventory balance for ⁷Be was used to calculate sediment erosion in a 30·73 m² plot during a series of runoff‐producing thunderstorms occurring over three days at the Deep Loess Research Station in Treynor, Iowa, USA. The inventory balance included determination of the pre‐ and post‐storm ⁷Be inventories in the soil, the atmospheric in?ux of ⁷Be during the event, and pro?les of the ⁷Be activity in the soil following the atmospheric deposition. The erosion calculated in the plot using the ⁷Be inventory balance was 0·058 g cm^?2, which is 23 per cent of the annual average erosion determined using ¹³⁷Cs inventories. The calculated erosion from the mass balance is similar to the 0·059 g cm^?2 of erosion estimated from the amount of sediment collected at the outlet of the 6 ha ?eld during the study period and the delivery ratio (0·64). The inventory balance of ⁷Be provides a new means for evaluating soil erosion over the time period most relevant to quantifying the prediction of erosion from runoff. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using rainfall-runoff modeling to interpret lake level data

Using water balance computations, the behavior of different kinds of lakes is discussed. Simple analytical expressions relating water level to hydrological conditions and lake bathymetry are given. The importance of knowing the river basin area when analyzing lake levels is stressed. A conceptual rainfall-runoff model including lake routing is used to simulate runoff and lake levels and to compute quasi-steady state conditions and long-term transient situations. It is suggested that models can be used to construct curves relating lake levels to precipitation and lake evaporation. By comparing with paleo-lake levels, the annual precipitation related to these levels can be found, provided information is available about the seasonal distribution of the precipitation.     

Ibex diggings in the Negev Desert highlands of Israel as microhabitats for annual plants. Soil salinity, location and digging depth affecting variety and density of plant species

About 400 Nubian ibex (Capra ibex nubiana) dig many hundreds of temporary night beds, approximately 80 cm × 110 cm and 15 cm deep, on slopes near the edges of the cliffs bordering the Zin valley. The beds are used according to the wind direction and the size of the ibex group, which depends on the ibex social behaviour during the year.The diggings are gradually abandoned and become important microhabitats for seed accumulation and germination, seedling development and annual plant establishment. These are influenced by soil salinity, slope direction and angle, digging depth, and the time since the diggings were abandoned. A greater variety of plant species and plant density were found in these diggings than upslope from the diggings.