The Cosmolian program for simulating aeolian dynamics and its application to central Australia

The wide spatial coverage of sand dunes in continental interiors makes the understanding of their activity and accumulation history valuable for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and the interpretation of landscape evolution. Nevertheless, the study of aeolian landscape development at the million-year timescale is hampered by the complex interaction of factors determining dune migration and the inherently self-destructive nature of their chronostratigraphy, thus limiting the applicability of traditional dating methods. This study presents a standalone program that simulates aeolian transport based on luminescence-derived chronologies coupled with numerical modelling of the accumulation of cosmogenic nuclides. This integrative approach to modelling the history of aeolian landforms reveals phases of emergence of aeolian sand into the landscape, and provides a data-based scheme that facilitates the morphodynamical study of aeolian processes over multiple timescales and up to several millions of years. The application of the program for reanalysing previously reported data from the Australian Simpson Desert reveals multiple pulses of sand dispersion into central Australia at 3.8–3.4, 2.9–2.5 and 1.5–1 Ma, corresponding to pronounced changes in climatic conditions and landscape deformation events. The synchronicity of the results with the established environmental framework that would promote the production and aeolian distribution of sand exemplifies the applicability of process-based modelling in constructing a timeframe of key landscape evolution events in arid environments by studying aeolian deposits. The dependence of the parameters used to determine environmental settings on sand transportation patterns additionally makes the program a powerful tool to further investigate the triggers and mechanisms of aeolian processes.     

The role of fire on soil mounds and surface roughness in the Mojave Desert

A fundamental question in arid land management centers on understanding the long‐term effects of fire on desert ecosystems. To assess the effects of fire on surface topography, soil roughness, and vegetation, we used terrestrial (ground‐based) LiDAR to quantify the differences between burned and unburned surfaces by creating a series of high‐resolution vegetation structure and bare‐earth surface models for six sample plots in the Grand Canyon‐Parashant National Monument, Arizona. We find that 11 years following prescribed burns, mound volumes, plant heights, and soil‐surface roughness were significantly lower on burned relative to unburned plots. Results also suggest a linkage between vegetation and soil mounds, either through accretion or erosion mechanisms such as wind and/or water erosion. The biogeomorphic implications of fire‐induced changes are significant. Reduced plant cover and altered soil surfaces from fire likely influence seed residence times, inhibit seed germination and plant establishment, and affect other ecohydrological processes. Published in 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

巴丹吉林沙漠与腾格里沙漠连接带沙丘移动规律北大核心CSCD

巴丹吉林沙漠与腾格里沙漠分别为中国面积第二、第三大流动性沙漠,对两大沙漠连接带新月形沙丘的动态监测可以揭示该地区沙丘形成演化规律,为沙漠连接带风沙地貌发育研究提供科学支撑。通过Google Earth高清历史影像对巴丹吉林沙漠与腾格里沙漠连接带的新月形沙丘带进行监测,分析了两大沙漠交界处沙丘的移动速率和形态变化。结果表明:巴丹吉林沙漠与腾格里沙漠连接带沙丘移动速率范围5.88-19.55 m·a^(-1),平均移动速率10.03 m·a^(-1);移动方向范围109°-135°,平均移动方向122°。风况为沙丘移动提供动力条件,合成输沙方向与沙丘移动方向吻合。受NW、WNW方向输沙影响,新月形沙丘南翼在移动速率增加的同时长度不断伸长,显著区别于北翼。沙丘移动受控于沙丘本身形态,沙丘各形态参数(迎风坡长度、高度、宽度、周长、底面积)与移动速率呈现显著负相关关系(P<0.01)。植被覆盖以及沙丘密度的差异导致了研究区沙丘移动速率的差异。沙丘移动前后,形态参数变化具有复杂性,而沙源丰富度差异以及丘间地灌丛沙包对沙丘形态的改变,是沙丘形态变化复杂性的主要原因。两大沙漠连接带年输沙通量170-521 t·m^(-1),均值为301 t·m^(-1)。     

风化及其它类荒漠漆表面层对高光谱分辨率遥感的影响（一）

由地表风化产生的表面覆被层的矿物质，其质地或与它的基岩矿物相似，或十分不同，虽然这类表面层的厚度仅有几微米到几毫米，但它们却完全控制了地面的反射光谱。与此相似，有些由风吹送的尘埃、胶结物或其它附着物在表面形成的外层也是影响遥感反射光谱的重要因素。这种由胶结物形成的表层往往是深色（甚至黑色）的，因为它们通常出现在干旱区，故常称为“荒漠漆”（“ｄｅｓｅｒｔｖａｒｎｉｓｈ”）。尽管这些暗色对我们的眼睛并无特别之处，但这类表面层（通常为粘土）在短波红外区（ＳＷＩＲ）具有低反射率的吸收特征，并能据此推断它们的矿物成分。因此，为了要在遥感图象和地面的实际“地质状况”之间建立联系，必须对裸露岩石表面特征具有良好的了解。由于不可能在野外总能找到“新鲜”的岩石表面，因此，人们必需能将“岩石内部”物质的光谱和它“上、下表面”的光谱区分开。本部分以美国加里福尼亚东部Ｗｈｉｔｅ－Ｉｎｙｏ山区高海拔地区早古生代白云质碳酸盐的风化表面为例，研究其岩石表面风化特征与海拔高度的关系。     

Floral ecology and insect visitation in riparian Tamarix sp. (saltcedar)

Climate change projections for semiarid and arid North America include reductions in stream discharge that could adversely affect riparian plant species dependent on stream-derived ground water. In order to better understand this potential impact, we used a space-for-time substitution to test the hypotheses that increasing depth-to-groundwater (DGW) is inversely related to Tamarix sp. (saltcedar) flower abundance (F) and nectar production per flower (N). We also assessed whether DGW affected the richness or abundance of insects visiting flowers. We examined Tamarix floral attributes and insect visitation patterns during 2010 and 2011 at three locations along a deep DWG gradient (3.2–4.1 m) on a floodplain terrace adjacent to Las Vegas Wash, an effluent-dominated Mojave Desert stream. Flower abundance and insect visitation patterns differed between years, but no effect from DGW on either F or N was detected. An eruption of a novel non-native herbivore, the splendid tamarisk weevil (Coniatus splendidulus), likely reduced flower production in 2011.     

Timing of breeding in free-ranging Ethiopian hedgehogs,Paraechinus aethiopicus,from Qatar

There is little information pertaining to the breeding behaviour and reproductive biology of free-ranging hedgehog populations outside of Europe. We monitored the seasonal changes in courtship behaviour and the presence of new young animals from a free-ranging Ethiopian hedgehog population in Qatar between 2010 and 2012. Based on frequencies of courtship behaviour and deduced frequencies of successful mating, the mating season of the Ethiopian hedgehog is believed to start in January and continue through until July with a clear peak during the February/March period. We propose the existence of two mating peaks, one in February/March and the second in June, suggesting that free-ranging Ethiopian hedgehogs breed more than twice a year in Qatar. Successful mating in late winter/early spring may be more important for the increasing the inclusive fitness of the parents based on the number of young individuals that survive beyond one month of age.     

Variability in reproductive effort of a keystone species: age and height of branch establishment

Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro, Cactaceae) is a protected and keystone species in the Sonoran Desert upon which nearly all of the ecosystem’s fauna rely. Little is known about its branching habits, which are particularly important as branching is directly related to seed production. This study assessed the ages and heights of plants when branching commenced under four different environmental regimes. Significant variations were observed in the onset of branching across the populations by both age (78–139?years) and height (4.4–5.5?m), likely related to the interplay between summer precipitation (and thus growth rate) and winter precipitation, which increases branching in any given individual. In all four populations, branches developed from areoles that are themselves reproductive (past or present); i.e., the lower areoles that pre-date the start of reproduction do not appear to contribute to branch production. Further, unlike the wide range of ages at the start of branching, the delay between the start of fruiting and the production of branches appears to be relatively consistent across populations, hovering around a 30-year time lag. Of greatest concern is the advanced age (around 140?years) at which branching begins at the most marginal, arid site, which is around the same time that old-age mortality may set in for the species (generally), dramatically diminishing reproductive output in an already marginal population. If this keystone species declines in this already arid to hyper-arid environment, it would have dramatic and irreversible consequences for the fauna and the ecosystem in this region.     

Climatic Change and Desert Vegetation Distribution: Assessing Thirty Years of Change in Southern Nevada's Mojave Desert

A major theme in physical geography and biogeography is understanding how vegetation changes across geographic gradients during climate change. We assess shifts in distributions of fifteen Mojave Desert plant species based on a 2008 resurvey of 103 vegetation transects that were established in 1979. We model changes in species distributions using Maximum Entropy (Maxent) with environmental and climate variables to predict probability of species’ occurrences. Climate during the ten-year period preceding the 2008 vegetation survey was 1.5°C warmer and 3 cm per year of precipitation drier than the ten years preceding 1979. Species inhabiting the highest elevations and strongly correlated with precipitation displayed areal reductions from 1979 through 2008.     

古尔班通古特沙漠树枝状沙丘土壤水分时空变异特征

认识沙漠土壤水分的时空变异性,是揭示沙漠生态系统生态-水文格局的基础。利用中子土壤水分仪的实测数据,对古尔班通古特沙漠树枝状沙丘土壤水分时空变异进行了系统分析。研究表明:① 沙丘不同部位土壤水分随时间具有一致性变化规律,上层土壤和下层土壤的变化趋势有所不同。0~1 m土层坡顶>坡中>坡脚,1~2 m土层坡脚>坡中>坡顶。② 土壤水分具有明显的季节变化和分层变化特征。春季是古尔班通古特沙漠土壤水分最丰富、变化最迅速的时期;0~40 cm、40~140 cm、140~200 cm土层土壤水分变异系数分别为13.56%、5.35%和0.80%,与不同土层水分来源和消耗以及植物根系分布相对应;不同土层土壤水分的变异强度要大于不同部位土壤水分的变异强度。③ 植被和地形对土壤水分的空间分异作用明显,沙丘坡脚处以及荒漠灌木梭梭根区始终存在土壤水分相对富集区。     

古尔班通古特沙漠与绿洲交错带土地利用变化对土壤特性的影响

对比研究了古尔班通古特沙漠与绿洲交错带8种土地利用类型的土壤特性变化. 结果表明: 不同土地利用类型的土壤粉砂含量差异性显著(P<0.05). 人类活动干扰的时间越长、 强度越大, 粉砂和极细砂含量越高, 而细砂反之. 在人类活动干扰前期(≤5 a), 土壤养分与干扰时间成反比, 而后(＞5 a)与时间成正比. 不同土地利用类型的土壤养分分为4个等级: 1级为盐碱地, 为最高等级; 2级为生态防护林地、 荒草地和天然灌木林地; 3级为10 a农田地、 5 a菜园地和3 a农田地; 4级为5 a农田地, 为最低等级. 人类活动使得土壤盐分由原来的(盐碱土)上层高、 下层低转为上层低、 下层高. 而且盐分与干扰时间成反比. 土地利用变化的过程中, 土壤盐分与Cl^-、 SO₄^2-、 Ca²⁺、 Mg²⁺、 K⁺和Na⁺离子均成正比, 而与HCO₃^-离子成反比. 5 a农田地土壤退化指数(-30.58%)最高, 是其他土地利用类型的1.5~3.9倍.