LUCC and Accompanied Soil Degradation in China from 1960''s to 1990''s

This paper tries to qualitatively analyze land use and cover changes (LUCC) and accompanied soil degradation in China, the data of World Atlas of Agriculture in 1969, Land Cover Data of Asia in 1992 and Global Assessment of Human Induced Soil Degradation in 1992, etc. have been used. From 1960' s to 1990's, the area of forestland had increased, arable land and paddy as well as grassland had significantly decreased in China. The major type of soil degradation is due to water erosion, which is widely distributed especially in Loess Plateau and in Southeast and Southwest China, this happened in forestland, grassland and arable land and mainly resulted from deforestation. The secondary type is wind erosion, which is mainly distributed in Northwest China, it happened in arable land and grassland and was caused by overgrazing. Chemical deterioration is distributed in North and Northwest China, which happened in paddy, arable land and grassland. Physical deterioration only concentrated in local area in North China, it happened in arable and paddy. Chemical and physical deteriora-tion mainly resulted from unreasonable activity. Because of different human activities, different LUCC and different natural conditions, the types and strength of soil degradation can be different.     

An example of the effects of anthropogenic changes on natural environment in the Apulian karst (southern Italy)

This paper examines a case study regarding a site in the Murge karst (Apulia, southern Italy) where, in the course of time, anthropogenic activity has caused significant damage to the natural landscape and environment, also in terms of loss of human lives. The study site comprises the city of Bari and the neighbouring towns, belonging to the same catchment basin, which is characterised by a low-relief karst very rich in natural cavities and dry valleys, the latter locally called lame. From the second half of the 1500s until today, in the whole area, short rainfall storms (lasting less than 6 h) with disastrous and mortal consequences have been recorded many times. In the last decades, human activities, such as urbanization, stone clearing for agricultural purposes, quarrying and deforestation induced severe changes in the karst landscape causing the modification of the surficial and underground drainage. In particular, an examination is made of the factors causing the complete destruction of the “di Maso” Park on the night between 22 and 23 October 2005, in consequence of a high-intensity rainfall (152.6 mm in a 6-h period) accompanied by flash flooding. Finally, the need for a better understanding of natural processes and patterns in karst areas, and the interactions with human activities through to the development of environmental management systems ensuring further steps towards sustainable development is remarked.     

THE EVALUATION OF ECO－ENVIRONMENTAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TO HUMAN ACTIVITY IN YULIN REGION

ＴＨＥＥＶＡＬＵＡＴＩＯＮＯＦＥＣＯ－ＥＮＶＩＲＯＮＭＥＮＴＡＬＳＵＳＣＥＰＴＩＢＩＬＩＴＹＴＯＨＵＭＡＮＡＣＴＩＶＩＴＹＩＮＹＵＬＩＮＲＥＧＩＯＮ陈利顶，傅伯杰ＴＨＥＥＶＡＬＵＡＴＩＯＮＯＦＥＣＯ－ＥＮＶＩＲＯＮＭＥＮＴＡＬＳＵＳＣＥＰＴＩＢＩＬＩ...     

Testing technologies and strategies for exploration in Australian Mars analogues: A review

Australia is an ideal testing ground in preparation for the robotic and human exploration of Mars. Numerous sites with landforms or processes analogous to those on Mars are present and the deserts of central Australia provide a range of locations for free-ranging Mars analogue mission simulations. The latest developments in testing technologies and strategies for exploration in Australian Mars analogues are reviewed. These include trials of analogue space suits based on mechanical counter pressure technology and the development of an analogue, crewed, pressurized rover for long-range exploration. Field science activities and instrumentation testing relevant to robotic and future crewed missions are discussed. Australian-led human factors research undertaken during expeditions to Mars analogue research stations and expeditions to Antarctica are also reviewed. Education and public outreach activities related to Mars analogue research in Australia are also detailed.     

Sediment dynamics and temporal variation of runoff in the Yom River,Thailand

The Yom River is one of the four major sediment sources to the Chao Phraya River in Thailand. Human activities and changes in climate over the past six decades may have affected the discharge and sediment load to some extent. In the current study, the river discharge and sediment characteristics in the mainstream of the Yom River were investigated using the field observation data from 2011 to 2013 and the historical river flow and sediment data from 1954 to 2014 at six hydrological stations operated by the Royal Irrigation Department of Thailand (RID). The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and double mass curve were used to analyze the sediment dynamics and temporal changes in the discharge of the Yom River. The results revealed that the sediment was mainly transported in suspension, and the bed-to-suspended sediment loads ratio varied between 0 and 0.05. The daily suspended sediment load (SSL) in the upper and middle basins had a strong correlation with the daily discharge and could be represented by power equations with coefficients of determination higher than 0.8. The daily suspended sediment load in the lower basin did not directly depend on the corresponding discharge because of the reduction in river slope and water diversion by irrigation projects. It also appeared that the river discharges and sediment loads were mainly influenced by climate variation (floods and droughts). Moreover, the average sediment transport of the upper, middle, and lower reaches were 0.57, 0.71, and 0.35 million t/y, respectively. The sediment load in the lower basin decreased more than 50% as a result of changes in the river gradient (from mountainous to floodplain areas). The results from sediment analysis also indicated that the construction of the Mae Yom Barrage, the longest diversion dam in Thailand, and land-use changes did not significantly affect the sediment load along the Yom River.     

Polycyclic musks in green-lipped mussels (Perna viridis) from Hong Kong

Six polycyclic musk compounds [Cashmeran (DPMI), Celestolide (ADBI), Phantolide (AHMI), Traseolide (ATII), Tonalide (AHTN), and Galaxolide (HHCB)] were analysed in marine green-lipped mussels (Perna viridis) from Hong Kong. ADBI, HHCB and AHTN were detected in almost all samples, while AHMI, ATII and DPMI were not detected. Concentrations of ADBI, HHCB and AHTN in mussels ranged from below detection limit–0.0743 (mean: 0.0246), 0.247–6.08 (mean: 1.15) and 0.0591–0.738 (mean: 0.190) mg/kg lipid weight, respectively. Mussels from two sampling sites in central Victoria Harbour contained the highest total polycyclic musk levels, suggesting that these waters are heavily influenced by domestic sewage. Concentrations of HHCB and AHTN detected in the mussel samples were the second highest and the highest levels, respectively, compared to global concentrations. A preliminary risk assessment indicated that HHCB and AHTN in mussels pose little or no threat to the health of shellfish consumers. Nevertheless, more comprehensive studies are required to further assess the ecological and human health risks associated with polycyclic musks.     

Testing the accuracy of OSL and pIR IRSL dating of young geoarchaeological sediments in coastal Peru

Luminescence dating of late Quaternary sediments in Peru is challenging, especially on the Peruvian coast. Earlier studies have shown that quartz grains often exhibit a thermally unstable, medium signal that caused the underestimation of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) ages. InfraRed Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL) dating has shown to produce more reliable ages, depending, amongst other factors, on the age model (Central or Minimum Age Model), and the IRSL signal. IRSL dating of geoarchaeological sediments has, however, hardly been carried out, let along validated, against an independent age dataset. This dating approach is, nonetheless, the only promising way to date the geological substrate in which many of Peru's archaeological sites are buried. Peru contains some of the oldest and most important archaeological heritage sites, yet not much is known of the environmental context in which many of its early civilizations prospered. A better understanding of which luminescence method works best could therefore help in a better understanding of the geological-stratigraphical context of many of Peru's sites.To investigate this matter more fully, we compared the luminescence dating results of seven sediment samples from the top layer of the Lima alluvial fan and from geoarchaeological layers of the Maranga Complex (San Miguel, Lima), with an independent dataset of sixteen ¹⁴C ages. Our results showed that the quartz OSL ages always underestimated the expected ages due to a signal dominated by medium and slow components, and that the post-IR IRSL₂₂₅ (pIR IRSL₂₂₅) and IRSL₅₀ ages of K-feldspars, on basis of the Central Age Model (CAM), always overestimated the expected ages. The Minimum Age Model (MAM) on the other hand, correctly predicted the expected ages for the early Holocene, Lima alluvial fan sediments using the pIR IRSL₂₂₅ signal of K-feldspars, and the late Holocene, geoarchaeological ages using the IRSL₅₀ signal.     

Present Limnological Conditions and Recent (ca. 340 yr) Palaeolimnology of a Tropical Lake in the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas, Eastern Mexico

The Sierra de Los Tuxtlas is a recently active volcanic field, with eruptions in 1664 and 1792. It holds one of the reserves of tropical evergreen forest in Mexico, as well as several maar lakes. One of them, Lago Verde, was chosen for a three-fold study (1) on its present limnological conditions, (2) on the algal community living in the water column and preserved in the surface sediments; and (3) on its recent history (ca. 340 yr). The palaeolimnological study was based on multiproxy analyses on core material dated by ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁴C. Lago Verde is a small, shallow lake with dilute, slightly alkaline water (CO₃²⁻ + HCO₃⁻ > Cl⁻ > SO₄²⁻, Na⁺ + K⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺). It is turbid, eutrophic, with high phosphorus levels. It is a warm polymictic lake, with thermal and oxygen stratification establishing by midday during the warm months. The lake does not stratify in winter. Diatoms dominate the phytoplankton community in the cold ‘nortes’ season, Cyanobacteria in summer, and Chlorophyta in autumn. Cyanobacteria (Chroococcales) are not well preserved in the surface sediments while Chlorophyta are better preserved. Sedimentary diatoms are well preserved, dominated by the three most abundant species in the water column: Achnanthidium minutissimum, Fragilaria capucina and Aulacoseira granulata. The base of the studied sequences is constrained by the historic eruption of 1664. The period from 1664 to 1963 is characterised by a meso-eutrophic lake. Tropical Forest vegetation reaches maximum values between ca. 1800 and 1963. Between ca. 1785 and 1885 the lake was slightly shallower than in the rest of the 1664–1963 period, probably recording climatic variability. An early pulse of anthropogenic disturbance was recorded by ca. 1921 and after ca. 1963 intense forest clearance and high erosion rates led to a more turbid, more productive, nutrient-rich lake. The highest anthropogenic impact was reached by ca. 1988; afterwards the lake and its basin reached a new balance, with the establishment of the present modern conditions.     

土壤呼吸主要影响因素的研究进展

影响土壤呼吸的因子有很多，在不同时间空间的不同生态系统其影响因子各不相同。综述了土壤呼吸主要影响因子的研究进展，主要从土壤温度、土壤湿度、降水、土壤C/N等非生物因子，植被类型、生物量、叶面积指数、植被凋落物等生物因子以及人类活动等方面阐述对土壤呼吸产生的影响。在此基础上对土壤呼吸的Q10值、关键影响因子及各种生态环境因子的综合影响进行了讨论。从众多研究中发现土壤温度、湿度是影响土壤呼吸的主要因子，建立土壤温度及湿度影响下的土壤呼吸模型更有助于对土壤呼吸进行定量的描述。但是在土壤温度及湿度过高或过低的情况下会出现较大的误差，为了尽量减少土壤呼吸的误差，给出了如下建议：①加强土壤呼吸和生态系统自动碳通量的结合研究；②加强对不同生物和非生物生态环境因子的同步测定，特别重视生物因子对非生物因子的调节和影响；③加强典型物候期和不同季节典型天气土壤呼吸的测定；④加强模拟试验研究和模式研究。总之，土壤呼吸是一个比较复杂的过程，虽然有规律可循，但是，很多时候由于因子间交互作用而表现偏离，对其准确估算需要找出关键因子，并综合分析其它因子的影响。     

Angels of memory: photography and haunting in Guatemala City

This article explores the relationship between historical memory, urban space, and photography by way of a case study: the place-specific public art of the Guatemalan photographer and human rights activist, Daniel Hernández-Salazar. As one of a growing number of Latin American artists committed to combating the “institutionalized forgetfulness” of human rights violations throughout the hemisphere, Hernández-Salazar deploys geographically-rich photographic installations to help his society remember its difficult past. The installations, known as Street Angel, are like ghosts haunting the graves of the murdered, fortresses of the powerful, bastions of the complicit. By shedding light on these ghostly angels, this article reveals the important role of photography, as a crucial vehicle of memory, in bearing witness to the unimaginable horrors that consumed much of the twentieth century, as well as that technology’s limitations. It also shows how remembrances of those atrocities depend on urban space for their grounding, articulation, and maintenance. Finally, by probing the artistic impulse and political sensibility that created Guatemala City’s angels of memory, it makes the case that, in the combustible political climate of post-war Central America, the work of remembering the past is not an antiquarian exercise: the labor of memory is a fundamental component of building a just society.