Prediction of topsoil properties at field-scale by using C-band SAR data

Designing and validating digital soil mapping (DSM) techniques can facilitate precision agriculture implementation. This study generates and validates a technique for the spatial prediction of soil properties based on C-band radar data. To this end, (i) we focused on working at farm-field scale and conditions, a fact scarcely reported; (ii) we validated the usefulness of Random Forest regression (RF) to predict soil properties based on C-band radar data; (iii) we validated the prediction accuracy of C-band radar data according to the coverage condition (for example: crop or fallow); and (iv) we aimed to find spatial relationship between soil apparent electrical conductivity and C-band radar. The experiment was conducted on two agricultural fields in the southern Argentine Pampas. Fifty one Sentinel 1 Level-1 GRD (Grid) products of C-band frequency (5.36 GHz) were processed. VH and VV polarizations and the dual polarization SAR vegetation index (DPSVI) were estimated. Soil information was obtained through regular-grid sample scheme and apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) measurements. Soil properties predicted were: texture, effective soil depth, ECa at 0-0.3m depth and ECa at 0-0.9m depth. The effect of water, vegetation and soil on the depolarization from SAR backscattering was analyzed. Complementary, spatial predictions of all soil properties from ordinary cokriging and Conditioned Latin hypercube sampling (cLHS) were evaluated using six different soil sample sizes: 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and the total of the grid sampling scheme. The results demonstrate that the prediction accuracy of C-band SAR data for most of the soil properties evaluated varies considerably and is closely dependent on the coverage type and weather dynamics. The polarizations with high prediction accuracy of all soil properties showed low values of σ_VV^o and σ_VH^o, while those with low prediction accuracy showed high values of σ_VV^o and low values of σ_VH^o. The spatial patterns among maps of all soil properties using all samples and all sample sizes were similar. In conditions when summer crops demand large amount of water and there is soil water deficit backscattering showed higher prediction accuracy for most soil properties. During the fallow season, the prediction accuracy decreased and the spatial prediction accuracy was closely dependent on the number of validation samples. The findings of this study corroborates that DSM techniques at field scale can be achieved by using C-band SAR data. Extrapolation y applicability of this study to other areas remain to be tested.     

农业地质及其开发利用

农业是人类基本生活资料的主要来源，是国民经济发展的基础，制约着其他产业部门发展的速度和规律。中国是农业大国，但却不是农业强国，农业地质主要研究与农业有关的岩石，地貌，地球化学，水资源等地质条件，农业地质与农业生产息息相关，并为农业生产的良好发展提供依据。     

Stable isotopic analysis on ancient human bones in Jiahu site

Palaeodietary analysis is one of important topics in bioarchaeology field and has been paid great at- tention to by Chinese archaeometrists recently. Ancient human bones in Jiahu Site were analyzed by means of stable isotopes of C, N and O. 13 human bones were excluded from 28 bones for dietary re- construction due to their unusual collagen contents, C and N contents, and C/N atomic ratios espe- cially. δ 13C (-20.37±0.53‰) in collagen of remaining samples showed that C3 food were consumed mainly, which is consistent of the archaeological findings that rice was the staple in Jiahu. According to the difference of δ 15N and δ 13C values in bone collagen, the samples can be classified into four clusters. The changes of δ 15N values in bone collagen and δ 13C values in hydroxylapatite through whole cultural phases indicated the transition from hunting to gathering and fishing to rice agriculture and animal domestication ultimately. Meanwhile, the δ 18O change in hydroxylapatite showed that pa- laeoclimate was relatively constant during Jiahu culture.     

Differences in preferential flow with antecedent moisture conditions and soil texture: Implications for subsurface P transport

Preferential flowpaths transport phosphorus (P) to agricultural tile drains. However, if and to what extent this may vary with soil texture, moisture conditions, and P placement is poorly understood. This study investigated (a) interactions between soil texture, antecedent moisture conditions, and the relative contributions of matrix and preferential flow and (b) associated P distributions through the soil profile when fertilizers were applied to the surface or subsurface. Brilliant blue dye was used to stain subsurface flowpaths in clay and silt loam plots during simulated rainfall events under wet and dry conditions. Fertilizer P was applied to the surface or via subsurface placement to plots of different soil texture and moisture condition. Photographs of dye stains were analysed to classify the flow patterns as matrix dominated or macropore dominated, and soils within plots were analysed for their water‐extractable P (WEP) content. Preferential flow occurred under all soil texture and moisture conditions. Dye penetrated deeper into clay soils via macropores and had lower interaction with the soil matrix, compared with silt loam soil. Moisture conditions influenced preferential flowpaths in clay, with dry clay having deeper infiltration (92 ± 7.6 cm) and less dye–matrix interaction than wet clay (77 ± 4.7 cm). Depth of staining did not differ between wet (56 ± 7.2 cm) and dry (50 ± 6.6 cm) silt loam, nor did dominant flowpaths. WEP distribution in the top 10 cm of the soil profile differed with fertilizer placement, but no differences in soil WEP were observed at depth. These results demonstrate that large rainfall events following drought conditions in clay soil may be prone to rapid P transport to tile drains due to increased preferential flow, whereas flow in silt loams is less affected by antecedent moisture. Subsurface placement of fertilizer may minimize the risk of subsurface P transport, particularily in clay.     

Groundwater contributions of flow and nitrogen in a headwater agricultural watershed

Nonpoint sources of nitrogen (N) and other nutrients are a major source of water pollution within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and other basins around the world. Human activities associated with agricultural practices can account for a large percentage of N loadings delivered to streams and rivers. This work aims to improve understanding of N transport from groundwater to surface waters, quantifying the principal hydrological processes driving water and N fluxes into and out of a headwater agricultural stream reach. The study site is a 175-m stream reach in a heavily cultivated 40-ha watershed in east-central Pennsylvania. This subwatershed is underlain by fractured shale bedrock, and receives most of its baseflow from groundwater, either by diffuse matrix discharge through the streambed or by localized discharge through riparian seeps. Samples of stream, seep, and shallow groundwater were collected approximately monthly under steady hydrologic conditions in 2017. Calculated matrix flow from hydraulic head and conductivity measurements paired with differential stream gauging was used to solve for the riparian seep flux using a mass balance approach. Riparian seep fluxes ranged from 45 to 217 m³/d, transporting 0.6–4.2 kg N d⁻¹ of nitrate-N from the fractured bedrock aquifer to the stream. Hydrochemical data suggest that the stream is mainly disconnected from the underlying aquifer and that seeps supply essentially all water and N to the system. Seeps are likely sourced with N in nearby agricultural fields and accelerated through the system with shorter residence times than shallow groundwater. Water isotope data reinforced this notion. This study underscores the importance of agriculture as a source of N to ground and surface waters. Identifying source areas that are causing groundwater enrichment of N and seep areas where N discharges to streams is beneficial for developing N pollution mitigation strategies and implementing management practices that aim to reduce nutrient loads to the Chesapeake Bay.     

Cost of environmental flow during water scarcity in the arid Huasco River basin,northern Chile

Abstract

This investigation presents a new approach to estimate the costs resulting from the introduction of environmental flows in the arid Huasco River basin, located in the Atacama Region of Chile, one of the most sophisticated private water markets worldwide. The aim is to provide information to the water users, who hold the right to decide on water use, and thereby support the inclusion of environmental flows into decision-making. Costs are estimated by calculating the loss of agricultural productivity resulting from a trade-off between users and environmental flow requirements in times of water scarcity. Based on environmental flow requirements calculated by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and hydrological supply-and-demand modelling using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model, economic parameters of water productivity are calculated for the main economic sectors and then included in hydrological analysis. The study presents concrete costs that might be imposed on the water users during times of water scarcity, and confirms that there are significant variations in water productivity between different sectors.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor M. Acreman

Citation Wagnitz, P., Núñez, J., and Ribbe, L., 2014. Cost of environmental flow during water scarcity in the arid Huasco River basin, northern Chile. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 700–712.     

西南地区次级构造块体与分区强震预报

依据西南地区现今构造、活动断裂和历史地震活动特点以及西南地区断裂带间相互作用等，将西南地区划分为次级构造区或次级块体——即将西南地区划分为5个构造次级块体，川青甘块体、川西块体、滇中块体、滇西南块体、川东南块体；针对西南次级构造区或次级块体的现今强震活动特征和历史中强地震特点，将中强地震归属划分为5个地震预测跟踪区，探讨基于西南次级构造区或次级块体的分区强震预报。     

闽江下游白头山遗址稻旱混作农业的植硅体证据

稻作和旱作农业的起源与传播一直是植物考古和农业考古研究中的热点,闽江下游地区农业开始的时间及其发展过程对农业向南及向台湾传播的路径和时间研究至关重要,然而由于缺少详细的植物考古学工作,迄今为止关于该地区稻作和旱作农业开始的时间仍然是不清楚的。文章对闽江下游新发掘的闽侯县荆溪镇白头山遗址进行了系统的采样,通过考古学研究和¹⁴C测定确立了年代框架,对遗址进行了详细的植硅体分析。研究结果表明,白头山遗址主要包含闽江下游地区新石器时代晚期到末期的遗存（约5000~3000 cal.a B.P.）,该遗址中植硅体类型丰富,自昙石山下层文化时期至黄瓜山文化时期,均发现有水稻特征型植硅体,黍子稃壳植硅体首次出现于昙石山文化层,说明在距今5000年左右稻作农业已经传播到了闽江下游,距今4700年左右的昙石山文化时期地层中黍子的出现则说明旱作农业的传入,形成了稻旱混作的原始农业格局。结合闽江流域及台湾地区其他的植物考古学工作,认为闽江是稻旱农业向台湾及东南亚地区传播的重要通道,研究结果为深入了解闽江流域新石器时代农业的发生、发展及其结构特征提供新的认识,为稻旱混作农业南传的时间及路径提供了新的证据。

     

新疆农业可持续发展问题研究

新疆由于在水土开发过程中长期忽略了干旱区生态环境的脆弱性,绿洲农业建设在取得长足进展的同时,也积累了严重的生态环境问题,使得新疆农业可持续发展的面临首严峻的挑战。通过分析新疆干旱环境的背景及农业资源的特点,剖析了新疆农业持续 所面临的问题,进而提出相应的对策。     

发达和发展中国家持续农业发展的不同模式

不同的持续农业发展模式应该与该地区的社会经济自然条件紧密相关。本文主要介绍发达和发展中国家农业持续发展的各种不同的模式，通过比较。总结了三点启示。