Structural and nutritional heterogeneity of riparian vegetation in Patagonia (Argentina) in relation to seasonal grazing by sheep

Riparian meadows of southern Patagonia are temporally and spatially heterogeneous habitats. They are thought to play a key role in regulating the dynamics of arid grazed steppes of the region. We conducted a 2-year study with sheep to determine the influence of two grazing conditions (deferment and spring grazing) on structural and nutritional parameters of three vegetation types apparently associated with a soil moisture gradient in a riparian meadow in southern Santa Cruz (Argentina). Spring deferment allowed forage accumulation in very moist and intermediate vegetation types by the beginning of the summer and had no detrimental impact on forage quality. Deferment had no effect on biomass accumulation of the drier vegetation type at our study site. Structural attributes of the vegetation appeared to affect spatial grazing patterns of sheep. Soil-related patchiness, rather than sheep grazing, appeared to control vegetation structure and nutritional value. The proportion of more mesic plant communities in riparian habitats of Patagonia could determine the outcome of plant–animal interactions in these systems. Practical recommendations of grazing capacity in paddocks, or more theoretical considerations of ecosystem dynamics of the Patagonian steppes need to explicitly consider the internal patchiness of riparian habitats.     

模糊理论在公路边坡稳定性分析中的应用

边坡工程是一个复杂的系统工程。边坡的稳定与否直接关系到其防护工作的程度。因此,如何有效、合理地判断边坡的稳定性对整个工程的经济与社会效益极为重要。影响边坡稳定的因素众多,判断其稳定与否应考虑各因素的综合效果。论文运用模糊理论中的多因素综合评判模型对某高速公路边坡的稳定性进行研究。通过全面考虑影响因素,建立相应的评判因素集及单因素评判矩阵,运用专家评判法和判断矩阵法确定出各因素的权重。最后通过多层次模糊评判得到该边坡的稳定性评判结果。研究证明,该法在边坡稳定性分析评判中是切实可行的。     

粗差发现和定位能力与相关系数的关系

根据粗差判断方程中的判断矩阵和两个统计检验量之间相关系数的函数式,论证了两种不同的研究方法所确定的粗差不能定位的数学模型实际上是相等的。通过算例,不仅说明两种研究方法对观测量不能定位粗差的判断是一致的,而且使用判断矩阵研究观测量的粗差发现和定位能力会更加方便简单。     

Predicting grain protein content of winter wheat using remote sensing data based on nitrogen status and water stress

Advanced site-specific knowledge of grain protein content of winter wheat from remote sensing data would provide opportunities to manage grain harvest differently, and to maximize output by adjusting input in fields. In this study, remote sensing data were utilized to predict grain protein content. Firstly, the leaf nitrogen content at winter wheat anthesis stage was proved to be significantly correlated with grain protein content (R² = 0.36), and spectral indices significantly correlated to leaf nitrogen content at anthesis stage were potential indicators for grain protein content. The vegetation index, VI_green, derived from the canopy spectral reflectance at green and red bands, was significantly correlated to the leaf nitrogen content at anthesis stage, and also highly significantly correlated to the final grain protein content (R² = 0.46). Secondly, the external conditions, such as irrigation, fertilization and temperature, had important influence on grain quality. Water stress at grain filling stage can increase grain protein content, and leaf water content is closely related to irrigation levels, therefore, the spectral indices correlated to leaf water content can be potential indicators for grain protein content. The spectral reflectance of TM channel 5 derived from canopy spectra or image data at grain filling stage was all significantly correlated to grain protein content (R² = 0.31 and 0.37, respectively). Finally, not only this study proved the feasibility of using remote sensing data to predict grain protein content, but it also provided a tentative prediction of the grain protein content in Beijing area using the reflectance image of TM channel 5.     

Soluble organic compounds in fog and cloud droplets: what have we learned over the past few years?

We have recently set up a new procedure for characterising the water soluble organic compounds (WSOC) in fog water, for which information is still rather limited. Fog samples collected during the 1998–1999 fall–winter season in the Po Valley (Italy) were analysed following this procedure, which allows a quantitative determination of three main classes of organic compounds (neutral species, mono- and di-carboxylic acids, polycarboxylic acids), together accounting for ca. 85% of the total WSOC. This procedure also provides information on the main chemical characteristics of these three classes of compounds (functional groups, aliphatic vs. aromatic character, etc.). The enhanced chemical knowledge on fog/cloud chemical composition opens new scenarios as far as chemical and microphysical processes in clouds and fogs are concerned.     

金刚石工具富铁胎体掺杂稀土的研究

稀土的加入量、加入形态和在混料中的均匀弥散性直接影响热压富铁金刚石复合材料的性能。改进的稀土掺杂工艺，保证了稀土在胎体中的均匀弥散性；通过试验研究了稀土的加入量与富铁胎体的抗弯强度、抗冲击韧性和孔隙率的关系，从而确定了稀土的最优加入量。通过差热分析试验，认为稀土可以改变富铁胎体的热物理特性。     

因子计量图的新思路

R型因子分析中，因子计量从所有原始变量中将某一特定因子的有关信息集中起来，可被用来解释某一特定地质作用形成的样品在不同空间的分布等问题，由已知典型地质体的元素含量等地球化学指标计算出来的因子计量系数矩阵作为模型，用这个模型可以计算未知地质体的因子计量，这种方法，不仅可以节省每次加入新样品或舍去部分样品时所有因子计量图都需要重新做的繁重的工作量，而且更重要的是这种图的地球化学意义明确，使我们能够用已知的典型地质现象去预测未知地质观象提供了一条新的途径。     

四川省房屋建筑易损性研究

研究房屋建筑易损性特征是防震减灾工作必不可少的环节之一，本文通过对多年工作的系统总结，得出四川省不同地区的房屋建筑易损性矩阵，全省房屋建筑抗震性能总体水平不高，这是造成地震灾害加重的主要原因之一，随着经济发展实力的提高，适当提高全省房屋建筑抗震设防水平可大大减轻特别是中强地震所造成的经济损失。     

行播冬小麦热辐射方向性的影响因子

混合像元的热辐射方向性由于受到多种因素的影响而变得极为复杂。该文以行播冬小麦为例，建立矩阵模型，研究混合像元热辐射方向性问题。结果表明，混合像元热辐射方向性主要受到混合像元内部各组分在三维上分布的不均一、像元比辐射率的方向性以及由外界影响造成的各组分温度差异的影响。在这三个主要影响因子中，各组分的比辐射率是地物固有的特征，不随外界条件而发生变化。在同温条件下，像元热辐射方向性完全由像元比辐射率的方向性决定。而各组分温度虽然没有方向性，但可以通过组分空间分布对其产生调制作用。     

Economic assessment of production of flour from Prosopis alba and P. pallida pods for human food applications.

This paper presents a detailed cost accounting of the processes involved in the production of flours from the mesocarps of the fruits of Prosopis alba and P. pallida to be used in human foods. The flours from both species are similar and contain 7–8% protein, 0·8–2% fat, 26–32% total dietary fiber and 48–59% sucrose. The data were based on actual production rates in use at the Universidad de Piura pilot plant using simple machinery. Machinery hourly charges were based on equivalent rental costs in order to avoid interest charge calculations. As opposed to other analyses which only included processing costs delivered to the plant, our analysis ascribed value to the owner of the trees in order to provide incentives to plant and care for the trees. The sensitivity analyses showed that the most economically important factor was the conversion efficiency of pods into flour. When a 40% conversion efficiency, such as that which has been obtained in both Peru and Argentina was obtained, and by-product credits for high fiber containing fraction were assumed, the wholesale selling price with a 5% marketing cost and a 40% profit direct costs was estimated to be $0·66 kg⁻¹ for Peru (using a $0·40 h⁻¹ labor rate ) and $1·76 kg⁻¹ for Argentina (using a $1·5 h⁻¹ labor rate).