Wetland vegetation biomass estimation and mapping from Landsat ETM data:a case study of Poyang Lake

Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China. This paper conducted a digital and rapid investigation of the lake’s wetland vegetation biomass using Landsat ETM data acquired on April 16, 2000. First, utilizing the false color composite derived from the ETM data as one of the main references, the authors designed a reasonable sampling route for field measurement of the biomass, and carried it out on April 18-28, 2000. Then after both the sampling data and the ETM data were geometrically corrected to an equal-area projection of Albers, linear relationships among the sampling data and some transformed data derived from the ETM data and the ETM 4 were calculated. The results show that the sampling data is best relative to the band 4 data with a high correlation coefficient of 0.86, followed by the DVI and NDVI data with 0.83 and 0.80 respectively. Therefore, a linear regression model, which was based on the field data and band 4 data, was used to estimate the total biomass of entire Poyang Lake, and then the map of the biomass distribution was compiled.     

Promoting social justice and conserving montane forest environments: a case study of Nepal's community forestry programme

This paper analyses participatory forest policy and the ways it has influenced the relationships between people as it relates to the forest resource management. This case study was conducted in the middle hills of Nepal, and information was collected through direct observation, individual interviews, group discussion and secondary information analysis. It substantiates a few examples of how the community forestry programme can be used as a means to promote the participation of the women, the poor and dalit (untouchables) in forest resource management, as well as enhancing social justice and improving the forest resources in their locality. However, it also demonstrates that though the community forestry programme has a positive impact, it faces several constraints and challenges. The local Forest User Group is controlled by a few élites making the poor and disadvantaged vulnerable to further marginalization. The results of the case study strongly indicate that community forestry processes must address the political, economic and social needs of the forest users, and also provide a neutral platform on which the poor can present their cases.     

多维植被信息系统及其应用前景

3S(地理信息系统GIS、遥感RS、全球定位系统GPS)及其相关技术的发展，使得植被信息系统的构建和应用成为可能。早期的植被图没有涉及到高度维和时间维，其应用受到很大的限制。因此有必要建立一种基于时空的多维植被信息系统，它的组成包括地理信息系统GIS、数据处理模块DPM、数据存取模块DAM、植被分析模块VAM和交互显示模块IDM，可用于植被的时空分析、三维景观显示、植被—地形—气候关系研究以及植被综合管理等方面，特别适合于山地植被的研究。多维植被信息系统具备立体直观的用户友好界面和强大的时空数据处理能力，并可通过数据库和网络进行资源共享，使植被研究和管理自动化、无纸化，其应用前景广阔。     

青藏公路铁路沿线生态系统特征及道路修建对其影响

根据2001—08和2002—08月野外调查数据及2001年1：100万中国植被图、1996年1：400万青藏高原植被区划图和2000年青藏铁路沿线自然保护区分布及功能区界调整图，以青藏公路铁路沿线植被生态系统为研究对象，运用ARCVIEW和ARC／INFO软件研究青藏公路铁路建设对沿线生态系统结构的影响，结论如下：①青藏公路铁路南北跨越9个纬度，东西跨越12个经度，共穿越青东祁连山地草原地带、柴达木山地荒漠地带、青南高寒草甸草原地带、羌塘高寒草原地带、果洛那曲高寒灌丛草甸地带和藏南山地灌丛草原地带6个自然区，对植被类型的统计结果显示了地带性。②青藏公路铁路的建设对生态系统产生直接的切割，使景观更加破碎。③青藏公路铁路的建设直接破坏沿线植被生态系统(主要为50m缓冲区内)，年损失总净初级生产量为30504．62t，损失总生物量432919．25～1436104．3t／a。损失总净初级生产量占1km缓冲区年净初级生产量535005．07～535740．11t／a的百分比为5．70％，占10km缓冲区年净初级生产量3408950．45～3810480．92t／a的0．80～0．89％；损失生物量占1km缓冲区生物总量7502971．85～25488342．71t／a的5．70％，占10km缓冲区总生物量43615065．35～164150665．37t／a的0．80％～0．89％。     

高山增水效应及其水资源意义

根据高山上云、雾、雨、雪、径流等水资源丰富现象，分析了高山冰川、植被、地形等与汽-水作用关系，提出高山增水效应概念和高山区水资源开发与保护的新思路。高大山体及其造成的垂向对流、高山冰川和高山植被共同作用形成了高山增水效应，并形成良性增水系统。山体愈高大，增水效应愈明显。对内陆干旱地区开发利用更多的高山水资源具有意义。     

Fire Severity,Water Repellency Characteristics and Hydrogeomorphological Changes Following the Christmas 2001 Sydney Forest Fires

Soil water repellency can enhance overland flow and erosion and may be altered by fire. The Christmas 2001 bushfires near Sydney allowed investigation of the relationship between fire severity, water repellency and hydrogeomorphological changes. For two sub-catchments with differences in fire severities in Nattai National Park, south-west of Sydney, this paper considers: (1) the links between fire severity based on SPOT image analysis and ground observation of fire severity and repellency; (2) the textural and organic/minerogenic characteristics of eroded sediment; and (3) erodibility, erosion and deposition of soils in both catchments. Ground surveys show that image analysis reflects well the degree of vegetation consumption by fire, but cannot adequately predict the degree of ground litter consumption, associated soil heating and repellency effects. Fire had varying effects on repellency, leaving it unchanged, destroying it or enhancing it, depending on the soil temperature reached. The main post-fire hydrogeomorphological changes have been widespread erosion and colluvial and alluvial deposition of topsoil in foot-slope locations and river systems, but only localised redistribution of the highly erodible, repellent sandy subsurface layer. The fire did not trigger major geomorphological change in the study area, but fires probably cause important topsoil and nutrient depletion and may also affect water quality.     

北山戈壁荒漠地区1：5万植物地球化学测量效果

北山戈壁荒漠景观区土壤垂直剖面不存在通常的A、B、C分层结构，且掺杂有大量风成沙。在公婆泉地区开展1：5万常规地球化学测量方法研究的同时，进行了植物地球化学测量试验研究。研究表明，两种方法的主要指示元素异常有很好对应性，红沙是我国西部干旱荒漠广大地区开展植物地球化学测量的一种良好采样对象。     

The importance of plant root characteristics in controlling concentrated flow erosion rates

While it has been demonstrated in numerous studies that the aboveground characteristics of the vegetation are of particular importance with respect to soil erosion control, this study argues the importance of separating the influence of vegetation on soil erosion rates into two parts: the impact of leaves and stems (aboveground biomass) and the influence of roots (belowground biomass). Although both plant parameters form inseparable constituents of the total plant organism, most studies attribute the impact of vegetation on soil erosion rates mainly to the characteristics of the aboveground biomass. This triggers the question whether the belowground biomass is of no or negligible importance with respect to soil erosion by concentrated flow. This study tried to answer this question by comparing cross‐sectional areas of concentrated flow channels (rills and ephemeral gullies) in the Belgian Loess Belt for different cereal and grass plant densities. The results of these measurements highlighted the fact that both an increase in shoot density as well as an increase in root density resulted in an exponential decrease of concentrated flow erosion rates. Since protection of the soil surface in the early plant growth stages is crucial with respect to the reduction of water erosion rates, increasing the plant root density in the topsoil could be a viable erosion control strategy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A statistical approach to evaluating distance metrics and analog assignments for pollen records

The modern analog technique typically uses a distance metric to determine the dissimilarity between fossil and modern biological assemblages. Despite this quantitative approach, interpretation of distance metrics is usually qualitative and rules for selection of analogs tend to be ad hoc. We present a statistical tool, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, which provides a framework for identifying analogs from distance metrics. If modern assemblages are placed into groups (e.g., biomes), this method can (1) evaluate the ability of different distance metrics to distinguish among groups, (2) objectively identify thresholds of the distance metric for determining analogs, and (3) compute a likelihood ratio and a Bayesian probability that a modern group is an analog for an unknown (fossil) assemblage. Applied to a set of 1689 modern pollen assemblages from eastern North America classified into eight biomes, ROC analysis confirmed that the squared-chord distance (SCD) outperforms most other distance metrics. The optimal threshold increased when more dissimilar biomes were compared. The probability of an analog vs no-analog result (a likelihood ratio) increased sharply when SCD decreased below the optimal threshold, indicating a nonlinear relationship between SCD and the probability of analog. Probabilities of analog computed for a postglacial pollen record at Tannersville Bog (Pennsylvania, USA) identified transitions between biomes and periods of no analog.     

The postglacial history of three Picea species in New England, USA

Given the difficulty of separating the three Picea species—P. glauca, P. mariana, and P. rubens (white, black, and red spruce)—in the pollen record, little is known about their unique histories in eastern North America following deglaciation. Here we report the first use of a classification tree analysis (CART) to distinguish pollen grains of these species. It was successfully applied to fossil pollen from eight sites in Maine and one in Massachusetts. We focused on the late glacial/early Holocene (14,000 to 8000 cal yr B.P.) and the late Holocene (1400 cal yr B.P. to present)—the two key periods since deglaciation when Picea has been abundant in the region. The result shows a shift from a Picea forest of P. glauca and P. mariana in the late glacial to a forest of P. rubens and P. mariana in the late Holocene. The small number of P. rubens grains identified from the late glacial/early Holocene samples (<5%) suggests that that species was either absent or rare at most of the sites. The occurrence and distribution of the three species do not reveal any geographic or temporal trend during late glacial time, but the data suggest that they were distributed in local patches on the landscape. The results of this study indicate that the recent population expansion of Picea (1000 to 500 cal yr B.P.) was likely the first time since deglaciation that P. rubens was abundant in the region.