Statistical analysis of soil variability in a humid forest landscape of Central Cameroon

The quantitative evaluation of key factors of soil variability together with the spatial pattern of underlying variables are important steps in understanding the functioning of soilscapes. Fifteen physical and chemical variables describing 24 pedons were used to elucidate processes of soil differentiation in a humid forest environment in Southern Cameroon. Landscape positions delineated on the basis of remote-sensed imageries included flat convex summits (FCS), linear valley slopes (LVS), colluvial inland valleys (CIV), and alluvial floodplain. Ordination by principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in a three-factor model, which efficiently summarized the dataset explaining 81.4% of total soil variance (TSV). The pedogenetic factor of ferralitization emerged as the main factor accounting for 43.7% of TSV. Identified underlying processes included basic cation leaching, solum acidification, and in situ clay build up. Cation exchange properties as influenced by organic constituents and soil available P were the second and third most important factors associated with 26.7 and 11.4% of TSV respectively. Organic constituents and related biological processes had strong control on nutrient availability and cation-exchange properties, while soil available phosphorus (AP) showed a strong dependence on potential acidity and organic matter mineralization status. The analysis of variance highlighted significant differences for most soil properties across landscape position and soil depth except for organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus. All the soils, however, have low pH, low basic cation saturation, and correlatively high exchangeable Al irrespective of their position in the landscape.     

钾肥需求模拟研究

旨在模拟预测中国钾肥需求,为钾肥市场参与者和决策者提供基本的数据和理论支持。运用主成份分析法和多元回归计量经济模型模拟我国钾肥需求。首先,运用主成份分析法对钾肥需求影响因子进行降维处理;其次,采用多元统计非线性回归计量经济学模型模拟钾肥需求。结果表明:(1)钾肥需求与人均耕地、受灾面积、钾肥价格呈负相关关系;(2)钾肥需求与耕地、粮食用地、农产品价格存正相关关系;(3)钾肥需求预测可由较易得的人均耕地、耕地、粮食用地、受灾面积、农产品价格和钾肥价格数据代入模型模拟获得,且模拟数据与现实数据吻合较好;(4)此方法可较广泛运用,不需大量的野外试验和较大的工作量,且无空间跨度差异;(5)政府行为对钾肥需求有着极大的影响作用,政府应发挥其积极性,制定出一套有序的制度安排,以弥补市场本身潜在的问题,引导市场机制不断完善。     

Influence of the intermediate principal stress and principal stress direction on the mechanical behavior of cohesionless soils using the discrete element method

In this paper, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) is employed to numerically explore the response of hollow cylinder specimens of granular soils under complex stress paths. Two series of numerical tests are conducted to clarify the effects of the principal stress direction α and the intermediate principal stress through the b-value on the mechanical response of granular materials. The effects of α and b-value on the non-coaxiality of the principal stress and the principal plastic strain increment directions are investigated. It is observed that b-value and α significantly affect the non-coaxial behavior of granular materials. Finally, the results are discussed and compared with those obtained from physical laboratory tests.     

Numerical investigation of the opening effect on the mechanical behaviours in rocks under uniaxial loading using hybrid continuum-discrete element method

Openings including their size, shape and distribution in rock play a significant role in the performance of rock related structures. The well-established knowledge in this area can contribute to the engineering practices, for example, underground space design, planning and optimisation in Civil and Mining Engineering and wellbore stability in Drilling Engineering, among others. Thus, understanding the failure mechanism of rock with openings is theoretically and practically meaningful. Laboratory testing on rock or rock-like materials with openings have been studied extensively in the literature, which, however, primarily focuses on the cracks/fractures. In this paper, a comprehensive numerical study on the effect of non-banded openings, i.e., circular, rectangular, and triangular opening, on the rock mechanical behaviour is performed using a hybrid continuum-discrete element method. It is revealed that the proposed simulation method can reproduce reasonably the crack initiation and propagation, and predict well the change of the mechanical behaviour due to the openings. In addition, the influence of the opening shape and opening ratio (=area of opening/specimen area) on the mechanical behaviour is also investigated.     

Identification of coastal water quality by statistical analysis methods in Daya Bay, South China Sea

In this paper, cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA) and the fuzzy logic approach were employed to evaluate the trophic status of water quality for 12 monitoring stations in Daya Bay in 2003. CA grouped the four seasons into four groups (winter, spring, summer and autumn) and the sampling sites into two groups (cluster DA: S1, S2, S4-S7, S9 and S12 and cluster DB: S3, S8, S10 and S11). PCA identified the temporal and spatial characteristics of trophic status in Daya Bay. Cluster DB, with higher concentrations of TP and DIN, is located in the western and northern parts of Daya Bay. Cluster DA, with the low Secchi, is located in the southern and eastern parts of Daya Bay. The fuzzy logic approach revealed more information about the temporal and spatial patterns of the trophic status of water quality. Chlorophyll a, TP and Secchi may be major factors for deteriorating water quality.     

海南东北部地区地壳地震各向异性特征初步研究

基于海南省地震台网2000～2013年的区域地震波形数据,用剪切波分裂系统分析方法（SAM）获得了海南琼东北部地区“九五”数字台网中2个台站的剪切波分裂参数。结果表明,快剪切波偏振优势方向代表了原地最大主压应力方向。七星岭台NE方向的快剪切波偏振优势方向与区域水平主压应力场方向不一致,与NE走向的断裂一致,体现了局部构造和局部应力场的复杂性;青山岭NNE向的快剪切波偏振优势方向揭示了NNE走向断裂的构造意义。同时,本研究证实,位于活动断裂上或几条活动断裂交汇部位的台站的快剪切波偏振优势方向,与对所选用的小地震起控制作用的活动断裂走向一致,并且快剪切波偏振优势方向较为离散,反映了该区域复杂的断裂构造和应力分布特征。     

Ecosystem health assessment based on analysis of a land use database

Data resources and assessment frameworks are two keys to ecosystem health assessment (EHA). Application of the land use database together with the Pressure–State–Response (PSR) model in EHA provides better precision relative to traditional data resources and assessment frameworks for EHA at the county scale. The raw data are taken from The Anlu County Annals, The Soil Records of Anlu County, and The Statistical Yearbook of National Economy in Anlu County. The spatial and attribute data are partly extracted from the database of current land use in Anlu City using the MAPGIS platform. Based on the results from principal component analysis (PCA), a total of eleven indicators were selected to build an indicator system designed to assess the ecosystem health at the county scale. According to the PSR model, the scores from three indices (press index, state index, and response index) and a comprehensive assessment index (CAI) were calculated, and an assessment map was constructed. The results from the index scores and spatial analysis display a large range for the state of ecosystem health due to the evolution of natural ecosystems and human activities at the county scale. The precision of the current land use database (scale of 1:10,000) makes it a better candidate for evaluating ecosystem health than the traditional data resources. This study also demonstrates the numerous benefits of combining land use databases with GIS functions to assess ecosystem health at the county scale.     

An analysis of the chemical and microbiological quality of ground water from boreholes and shallow wells in Zimbabwe

Groundwater from boreholes and shallow wells is a major source of drinking water in most rural areas of Zimbabwe. The quality of groundwater has been taken for granted and the status and the potential threats to groundwater quality have not been investigated on a large scale in Zimbabwe. A borehole and shallow well water quality survey was undertaken between January, 2009 and February, 2010 to determine the chemical and microbial aspects of drinking water in three catchment areas. Groundwater quality physico-chemical indicators used in this study were nitrates, chloride, water hardness, conductivity, alkalinity, total dissolved solids, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, calcium, fluoride, sulphates, sodium and pH. The microbiological indicators were total coliforms, faecal coliforms and heterotrophs. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that most of the variation in ground water quality in all catchment areas is accounted for by Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), sodium, bicarbonate and magnesium. The principal dissolved constituents in ground water are in the form of electrically charged ions. Nitrate is a significant problem as the World Health Organization recommended levels were exceeded in 36%, 37% and 22% of the boreholes in the Manyame, Mazowe and Gwayi catchment areas respectively. The nitrate levels were particularly high in commercial farming areas. Iron and manganese also exceeded the recommended levels. The probable source of high iron levels is the underlying geology of the area which is dominated by dolerites. Dolerites weather to give soils rich in iron and other mafic minerals. The high level of manganese is probably due to the lithology of the rock as well as mining activity in some areas. Water hardness is a problem in all catchment areas, particularly in the Gwayi catchment area where a value of 2550 mg/l was recorded in one borehole. The problems with hard water use are discussed. Chloride levels exceeded the recommended levels in a few areas under irrigation. Most of the chloride is probably from agricultural activity particularly the application of potassium chloride. Fluoride levels were particularly elevated in the Gwayi catchment area and this is because of the geology of the area. There was no evidence of microbial contamination in all the boreholes sampled as the total coliform, faecal coliforms, heterotrophs count was nil. However, severe microbial contamination was found in the wells especially those in clay areas.