Satellite based long-term assessment of rangeland condition in semi-arid areas: An example from Botswana

A methodology was devised for comparison of generalised range condition over time, irrespective of the nature of original imagery used. It was applied for range condition change mapping throughout Botswana through 1984-2000. Results showed that range degradation was most widespread during the 1980s drought when 25% of the country was affected, decreased to 6.5% in 1994 and increased to 9.8% in 2000. This suggests that these semi-arid rangelands are fairly resilient and can withstand “normal” droughts even under conditions of heavy grazing pressure. However, degradation that persists during normal or above average rainfall years is related to increasing livestock and other pressures on rangelands and may represent areas with severe range recovery problems. This application meets some requirements of a semi-arid developing country looking to improve range condition monitoring over relatively remote areas.     

循环荷载下饱和粘土强度等效计算探讨

饱和粘土在不排水循环荷载作用下强度会发生衰减,建立在粘土地基上的建筑物和填土道路在地震过程中有时会遭受破坏。本文在超固结粘土不排水强度计算的基础上,引入循环荷载作用损伤因子,提出循环荷载作用下饱和粘土强度计算方法以及参数的确定方法。同时,分析了循环荷载作用下再固结系数对粘土强度增长的影响。通过试验验证,所提出的方法是合理的。该方法为循环荷载作用下粘土地基的强度和稳定性预测提供有效的途径。     

Changes in intensity of wind erosion at different stages of degradation development in grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China

Overgrazing by increasing numbers of livestock in the Horqin Sandy Land of Inner Mongolia, China, has led to extensive degradation of the region's sandy steppes. Degraded grasslands are generally classified into four main types: fixed (least degradation), semi-fixed (light degradation), semi-shifting (moderate degradation) and shifting (severe degradation) sandy lands, representing four stages of degradation development. An experiment was conducted in the Horqin Sandy Land to investigate changes in intensity of wind erosion at different stages of degradation development in sandy grasslands and determine the extent to which surface wind erosion was affected by surface-related soil and vegetation factors through their effects on surface roughness length and wind regimes. Daily wind erosion rate was monitored at four sites of degraded grassland over an erosive period from 1 April to 10 June in 2001. Soil and vegetation properties for these sites were also measured twice: one in mid-April prior to the establishment of vegetation and again in mid-June after the establishment of vegetation. Relationships between surface roughness length and soil and vegetation variables were examined at each of the two stages of vegetation development. This study shows striking differences in the intensity of surface wind erosion among sites. The daily wind erosion rate in the fixed sandy land was, on average, only about 1/5 of the rate in the semi-fixed sandy land, 1/14 of the rate in the semi-shifting sandy land and 1/47 of the rate in the shifting sandy land suggesting a much higher resistance of the fixed sandy land to wind erosion compared to other sites. Differences in rate of wind erosion between sites were attributed to between-site differences in soil and vegetation properties that exerted significant effects on wind regimes by altering surface roughness length. At the pre-establishment stage of vegetation, surface roughness length was determined by a combination of litter amount on the ground, soil surface hardness and soil moisture content, with litter amount explaining the greatest proportion of the variation. At the post-establishment stage of vegetation, the development of the surface roughness effects was mainly governed by vegetation characteristics (vegetation cover in particular), while the effects of soil surface hardness and soil moisture on surface roughness length are likely to be masked by vegetation effects. The findings suggest that better management practices of restoring vegetation in degraded grasslands are required to reduce soil erosion losses and achieve a sustainable livestock production in the Horqin Sandy Land, an ecologically fragile sandy land ecosystem.     

Störungen durch flüchtige Substanzen bei der Messung des biologischen Sauerstoffverbrauches mit dem Sapromat

Interferences by Volatile Substances in Measuring the Biological Oxygen Consumption Using the Sapromat Aerobic microbial degradation processes can be well monitored by means of the oxygen consumption. There are special analyzers for these measurements, such as the Sapromat produced by Voith GmbH Heidenheim, Germany. Interference occurs during investigations with (or in the presence of) volatile components of low water solubility, which appear in dissolved state or as an additional phase. Thus, the Sapromat records an apparent oxygen consumption without the participation of microorganisms which is in the order of usual BOD₅-values or even above them and is attributable to physico-chemical reasons and the measuring system used. The present paper points out this phenomenon and investigates the reasons. These are demonstrated and discussed. The results emphasize the urgency of blanks in order to detect abiotic effects using the Sapromat.     

Inhibition Concentration of Phenolic Substances under Different Cultivation Conditions. Part II: Impact of Dissolved Oxygen Concentration and Temperature on Degradation Kinetics

The degradation behaviour of a phenolic waste-water from coking containing easily utilizable carbon sources (volatile fatty acids), substances with toxic effects (phenols and phenolic compounds), and non-biodegradable organic substances (humic-like substances) by an adapted activated sludge is investigated depending on dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) and temperature. In addition, the degradation of an acetate model water with the same population was investigated. The investigations were carried out in a special respiration fermenter system by recording oxygen consumption in DO-static experiments. The oxygen consumption curves were subjected to linear regression analysis, and the maximum oxygen consumption rates were used for further calculations. Evaluation of the degradation kinetics was carried out with non-linear regression analysis via commercial software utilizing the Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm and which tested various kinetic models to obtain the best curve fit. It is shown that the dependence of growth on DO in acetate model water is well represented by Monod kinetics but by contrast can only be described in phenolic wastewater with acceptable goodness by Hill kinetics, modified by a maintenance term. The kinetic constants calculated for the mesophilic range (37 °C) are for the model water as follows: maximum specific growth rate = 0.218 h^?1, half saturation constant with respect to oxygen = 0.297 g L^?1, and for the waste-water: maximum specific growth rate = 0.387 h^?1, half saturation constant with respect to oxygen = 0.013 gL^?1 and maintenance coefficient for oxygen = 0.107 g g^?1 h^?1. For the thermophilic range (55 °C), a higher growth rate but a significant lower yield coefficient are to be observed. The kinetic constants calculated are: maximum specific growth rate = 0.8 h^?1, half saturation constant with respect to oxygen = 0.14 gL^?1 and maintenance coefficient for oxygen = 0.3 g g^?1 h^?1. Therefore, it can be concluded that the toxic effect of the biodegradable phenols causes a maintenance metabolism which leads to higher oxygen demand. The diminution of the limiting DO and the increased maintenance metabolism confirm the assumption that a higher maintenance metabolism leads to increased sensitivity with respect to the cosubstrate oxygen. It can be concluded that the experimental and mathematical methods used permit the maintenance metabolism with respect to oxygen caused by toxic substrates and milieu influences to be accurately determined.     

An investigation of the relationship between uniaxial compressive strength and degradation for selected rock types

The relationship between uniaxial compressive strength and degradation was investigated for selected rock types, by using regression analyses to determine whether degradation was a useful predictor of compressive strength. In addition, the effects of aggregate particle size, number of hammer blows during the degradation test, engineering index properties, petrographic characteristics, and water saturation on the compressive strength-degradation relationship were evaluated. The results show that strong inverse relationships exist between compressive strength and degradation (measured on a 9.5-4.75-mm size aggregate) for sandstones and igneous/metamorphic rocks, but that no significant relationship exists for limestones/dolomites. The results also indicate a strong positive correlation between degradation and L.A. abrasion loss and can be used to establish a limit of allowable degradation for practical applications. Engineering index properties do not significantly affect the relationship between compressive strength and degradation but petrographic characteristics are important in explaining the strength and degradation behavior of the rocks studied. Water saturation decreases compressive strength and increases degradation to varying degrees.     

Sea transport of animal and vegetable oils and its environmental consequences

The increasing production––and therefore sea traffic––of vegetable oils has regularly led to spillages during the past 40 years. The accident of Allegra, on October,1st, 1997, in the English Channel gave rise to a spillage of 900 tonnes of palm nut oil. The drift of this solid vegetable oil was followed by aerial observations. Samples of oil were collected in order to analyse its chemical evolution. This study, associated with several bibliographic cases of pollution by non-petroleum oils, shows that drifting oils can mix with floating material to sink or form a crust. They can also be oxidized or disperse and/or be degraded by bacteria. They may also polymerise. The coating properties of vegetable oils act as crude oils to affect sea life, tourism and yachting. As a result, it is necessary to quickly collect the oil after a spillage, using usual equipment (booms and pumps).     

A study of oxic/anoxic effects on degradation of sterols at the simulated sediment–water interface of coastal sediments

Laboratory incubation experiments were conducted to determine the behavior of sterols at the sediment–water interface in oxic and anoxic sediments. Both plankton and 4- -cholesterol were used as tracers. Cholesterol was rapidly degraded at the sediment–water interface: 55% of -cholesterol was lost from sediments under anoxic conditions and 78% under oxic conditions over three and one-half months. About 3% of initially-added free radiolabel was incorporated into a bound pool that was released only by saponification of solvent-extracted sediment. Less than 1% of initially-added radiolabel remained in pore waters after three and one-half months. Rate constants for degradation of cholesterol in oxic and anoxic surficial sediments were estimated by tracking variations in radioactivity and sterol concentration as a function of time. We discuss our results in terms of factors affecting sterol degradation in coastal marine sediments, including molecular structure, sediment matrix effect, and redox conditions.     

Differences in the mode of incorporation and biogenicity of the principal aliphatic constituents of a Type I oil shale

Compound-specific stable carbon isotope (δ ) measurements on the aliphatic hydrocarbons released from an immature Tertiary oil shale (Göynük, Turkey) via hydropyrolysis, following solvent extraction and a milder hydrogenation treatment, have further highlighted that significant compositional differences may exist between the principal aliphatic constituents of the solvent extractable (bitumen) phase and the insoluble macromolecular network (kerogen) comprising the bulk of sedimentary organic matter. Whilst inputs from diverse sources; including algae, bacteria and terrestrial higher plants, were implied from analysis of solvent-extractable alkanes, the much larger quantities of kerogen-bound n-alkyl constituents released by hydropyrolysis had a uniform isotopic signature which could be assigned to (freshwater) algae. Remarkably, the aliphatics bound to the kerogen by relatively weak covalent bonds, liberated via catalytic hydrogenation, appeared to comprise mainly allochthonous higher plant-derived n-alkanes. These results provide further compelling evidence that the molecular constituents of bitumen and, indeed, of low-yield kerogen degradation products, are not necessarily reliable indicators of kerogen biogenicity, particularly for immature Type I source rocks. The isotopic uniformity of aliphatic n-hydrocarbons released by the high-conversion hydropyrolysis step for the ultralaminae-rich Göynük oil shale, lends further support to the theory that selective preservation of highly resistant aliphatic biomacromolecules is an important mechanism in kerogen formation, at least for alginite.     

海洋浮游植物分解和代谢产物中高分子有机物的紫外、红外和1H-核磁共振光谱特征

用GDX 102树脂从海洋浮游植物三角褐指藻(Phaeodactylum tricornutum)的分解产物和代谢产物中分离提取腐植类物质(DHS,EHS)及乙醇可溶物(DES,EES),用¹H-NMR,IR和UV光谱进行结构分析,并同海水中腐植质(HS)和乙醇可溶物(ES)做了比较。结果表明,DHS,EHS和HS都以高支链烷烃、碳水化合物和氨基酸结构为主要组分,另有少量芳烃和杂环化合物。它们的化学结构很相似,说明DHS和EHS是海水腐植质的重要来源。