The Major Soils of a Village in Northern Burkina Faso

Krogh, Lars: The Major Soils of a Village in Northern Burkina Faso. Geografisk Tidsskrift 93:90–100. Copenhagen 1993.

In the Oudalan Province of Sahelian Northern Burkina Faso soil investigations have been carried out in order to evaluate the sustainability of millet production with emphasis on the dynamics of soil fertility. Some results of pedological investigations carried out in 1990 are included. Three commonly occurring soil types in a village territory are examined and their genesis and fertility discussed. Analyses show that the soils are inherently low in organic matter. The level of macro-nutrients is low, soil structure is weak or unfavourable: all probably due to a combination of natural and human factors. Crop yields are generally low and cannot be raised without more intensive cultivation.     

不同经济水平牧户草场植被特征比较

以内蒙古荒漠草原家庭牧场为研究尺度,比较分析了不同经济水平牧户草场的植物群落特征,结果表明:主要植物种群的高度、盖度、密度、地上生物量、重要值及群落多样性指数均呈现出不同程度的趋同性.从社会学角度分析表明,牧区牧户的经济收入与饲养牲畜头数呈高度正相关.不同经济水平牧户草畜平衡的调整和适应能力不同,低经济水平牧户一般牲畜头数少,草场相对可使用面积大,经营意识薄弱,草场经常被有意或无意占用;中等经济水平牧户扩大饲养规模的愿望最为强烈,并积极通过围封、租借草场等方式来保护自家草场和扩大牲畜数量;高经济水平牧户则普遍采取常年租借草场、走场、购买饲草料等措施,减缓对自己草场放牧压力,同时保持畜饲养规模的维持和扩大.牧户存在调整适应行为,并会基于自己的“草畜平衡标准”,根据经济条件、草场面积、牲畜数量和对草场状况、放牧超载及效益的认知,适时通过草场流转和输入外部资源等方式,转移放牧压力,致使不同牧户草场生态状况趋于一致.     

Historical aspects of soil erosion in the Mejerda catchment,Tunisia

Abstract

Agricultural use and related water erosion may lead to significant changes in the sedimentological and hydrological characteristics of watersheds, and therefore negative consequences for rural development. This research aimed to put present-day soil erosion of the important Mejerda catchment into a historical context. The catchment of Wadi Mejerda in northern Tunisia has experienced soil erosion due to weather and human impacts for thousands of years. We used historical texts and results from archaeological research that go back to 1000 BC, as well as data collected during the last century. Soil erosion from different types of agricultural landscape management was analysed together with information on the soils' production potential, the hydrographic network and flood frequency. The results showed that water erosion has increased the hydrographic network by 65 km and increased the deltaic plain by as much as 15 km²/century. However, soil productivity has decreased significantly. Moreover, due to in channel sedimentation and river choking, the number of flooding occurrences has multiplied over the last century. Finally, it is shown that water erosion follows a specific cycle of degradation throughout the watershed. These findings should be considered for better water and soil management in the context of semi-arid areas.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Citation Jebari, S., Berndtsson, R., Lebdi, F., and Bahri, A., 2012. Historical aspects of soil erosion in the Mejerda catchment. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (5), 901–912.     

The aboveground biomass of desert steppe and its spatiotemporal variation in western Inner Mongolia

A precise understanding of the aboveground biomass of desert steppe and its spatio-temporal variation is important to understand how arid ecosystems respond to climate change and to ensure that scarce grassland resources are used rationally. On the basis of 756 ground survey quadrats sampled in western Inner Mongolia steppe in 2005–2011 and remote sensing data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)—the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) dataset for the period of 2001–2011—we developed a statistical model to estimate the aboveground biomass of the desert steppe and further explored the relationships between aboveground biomass and climate factors. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the aboveground biomass of the steppe in the research area was 5.27 Tg (1 Tg=10¹² g) on average over 11 years; between 2001 and 2011, the aboveground biomass of the western Inner Mongolia steppe exhibited fluctuations, with no significant trend over time; (2) the aboveground biomass of the steppe in the research area exhibits distinct spatial variation and generally decreases gradually from southeast to northwest; and (3) the important factor causing interannual variations in aboveground biomass is precipitation during the period from January to July, but we did not find a significant relationship between the aboveground biomass and the corresponding temperature changes. The precipitation in this period is also an important factor influencing the spatial distribution of aboveground biomass (R²=0.39, P<0.001), while the temperature might be a minor factor (R²=0.12, P<0.01). The uncertainties in our estimate are primarily due to uncertainty in converting the fresh grass yield estimates to dry weight, underestimates of the biomass of shrubs, and error in remote sensing dataset.     

The impact of upstream water abstractions on reservoir yield: the case of the Orós Reservoir in Brazil

Abstract

Water abstraction for irrigation upstream of a reservoir and its impact on reservoir yield and reliability are studied. Water demand and availability are strongly related in semi-arid environments where the irrigation sector is responsible for a large part of consumptive water use. Variations in water abstractions for irrigation depend on irrigation requirements per hectare and the size of the irrigated area. The Orós Reservoir in semi-arid Northeast Brazil has been taken as a case study. The results show that water abstracttion for irrigation is of significant importance for reservoir yield and reliability. Yield—reliability simulations for the study area show that taking into account upstream water abstraction for a reservoir yield of 20.0 m³/s results in a water-scarcity probability of 10% on an annual basis (90% reliability). This is only 5% if up-stream abstraction for irrigation is ignored. This study shows that observed land-use changes in the study area do have a significant impact on reservoir yield reliability. The variability of upstream water abstraction was found to be of low importance for reservoir yield and reliability.     

Announcements

Abstract

This paper investigates for a 25-year period the sediment distribution in a semi-arid Brazilian basin (2 × 10⁴ km²) with a network containing more than 4000 surface reservoirs. The methodology is based on rating curves and fitted parameters derived from field data. The results showed that suspended load corresponded to 70% of the total sediment yield (148 t km^-2 year^-1). The relatively low contribution of the suspended load (compared with other semi-arid regions) was attributed to the impact of the numerous upstream reservoirs, which retained 235 t km^-2 year^-1. The micro (<1 hm³), small (1–10 hm³), medium-sized (10–50 hm³), and large or strategic (>50 hm³) reservoirs responded to, respectively, 5, 17, 30 and 48% of the total sediment retention by the reservoir network. This indicates that retention in the non-strategic reservoirs has a positive impact on water availability, since siltation of the strategic reservoirs would be expected to more than double if only such reservoirs existed.

Citation Lima Neto, I. E., Wiegand, M. C. &; de Araújo, J. C. (2011) Sediment redistribution due to a dense reservoir network in a large semi-arid Brazilian basin. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(2), 319–333.     

论北半球三大温带草原农垦与沙漠化的关系

我国东北西部和内蒙中东部,与北哈萨克斯坦、美国中西部大平原为北半球温带三大肥沃草原。雨量在300~ 400mm之间,地形平坦,气候适宜于畜牧业,实为天然的殷实草原。文章根据调查材料和文献提供了有关这三大草场大规模农垦旱作以致变成沙荒、沙漠化土地和尘源的一些信息。     

半干旱地区地表水平衡的特征和模拟

作者分析了我国半干旱区草原典型地区的水量平衡的特点。由于地处东亚季风区和西风带的过渡带,降水主要集中在夏季,且多短时间对流性降水,其中绝大部分消耗于蒸发,地表径流很少,土壤比较干燥。冬季积雪, 春季融雪集中,能产生较强的径流,这与夏季降水形成的径流构成双峰型特征,在我国半干旱区较为典型。由于这些特点,在地表水量平衡的计算和模拟中,蒸发的估算十分重要,为此在植被-大气相互作用模式 (AVIM) 中对水文过程作了改进,模式中包含了大气-植被-土壤间的能量和水分传输过程,特别是半干旱区地表蒸发和植被的蒸腾过程作了比较细致的处理,考虑了蓄满和超渗两种产流机制,同时采用了一个简化的雪盖模型。以此模型模拟了内蒙古半干旱草原上锡林河流域的地表水文过程。计算结果显示,半干旱区地表水平衡,蒸发大而径流小及产流的春夏双峰型特征都能很好地模拟。这些过程的参数化方案也适用于非干旱区。     

The influence of climate change on maize production in the semi-humid–semi-arid areas of Kenya

The effect of climate change on maize production in the semi-humid and semi-arid, agro-climatic zones III-IV of Kenya was evaluated using two General Circulation Models (GCMs): the Canadian Climate Center Model (CCCM) and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), as well as the CERES-Maize model. Long-term climate data was obtained from three meteorological stations situated in eastern, central and western regions of Kenya, while maize data was obtained from six sites within the regions. The climate scenarios were projected to the year 2030. Temperature increases of 2·29 and 2·89°C are predicted by the CCCM and GFDL, respectively. Rainfall levels are predicted to remain unchanged, but there are thought to be shifts in distribution. It is predicted that the short-rains season (October–January) will experience some increased rainfall, while the long-rains season (April–July) will show a decrease. Maize yields are predicted to decrease in zone III areas, while an increase is predicted in zone IV areas. However, the predicted changes in yields are low since they all fall below 500 kg ha⁻¹, except the Homa Bay site. Thus, to counter the adverse effects of climate change on maize production, it may be necessary to use early maturing cultivars, practice early planting, and in eastern Kenya, shift to growing maize during the short-rains season.