Australian geography seen from afar: through a glass darkly

Having been invited to contribute an external view of Australian geography, I concluded that such a task was impossible—that geographers elsewhere do not have a general view of Australian geography. I maintain that this is neither surprising nor significant, setting the argument within the context of a discipline fragmented along four major cleavage lines. Because of these cleavages, most geographers (like most other academics) work in small intellectual communities which are necessarily ‘parochial’: as a consequence, the discipline is characterised by a series of parts that do not make a coherent whole.     

长江口3个不同生态系的浮游植物群落

初步研究表明 ,长江口及邻近海域存在 3个不同的生态系 ,与以盐度划分的水团 (长江河口水、长江冲淡水、外海水 )基本一致 ,每个生态系包含 1个浮游植物群落。 1997～ 2 0 0 0年的 7个航次调查中共鉴定出浮游植物 393种 ,其中大部分为硅藻。长江口的浮游植物基本可归为 5个类群 :淡水类群、河口半咸水类群、近岸低盐性类群、外海高盐类群、海洋广布性类群。它们自西向东在 3个生态系中有明显的分布格局 ,并且随着长江径流量的变化而摆动和变化。根据栖息水域的盐度浮游植物可分为 3个群落 :河口群落、冲淡水低盐群落、外海高盐群落。     

Adaptive Strategies at the Ecosystem Level: Examples from Two Benthic Marine Systems

Abstract. Adaptive strategies on the ecosystem level are demonstrated using the properties of systems (community biomass, trophic level energy transfer). Development of stabilizing storages versus rapid turnover and energy transfer through the grazing food chain versus detritus food chain are shown to be adaptive processes leading towards an optimal performance of the system. A model of incorporation and processing of information in ecosystems is proposed which contains the essential features of evolution. The persistence of "interspecific altruism" is discussed.     

ISLANDS AS PLACES OF BEING AND BELONGING*

ABSTRACT. Islands, traditionally important units of research and analysis in ethnographic research, have come to be viewed as a problematic unit of analysis, as anthropologists have realized the close integration of island societies within the wider world. This article argues that islands are still useful and fruitful foci of research, if their particular character is explored from an islandic point of view. Through life‐story interviews conducted in three large, dispersed families of Caribbean origin, the article demonstrates that islands may be usefully conceptualized as sociocultural constructs that constitute important anchoring points as well as sources of identification for migrants and their descendants.     

低覆盖度不同配置灌丛内风流结构与防风效果的风洞实验

 低覆盖度灌木群丛是干旱、半干旱区广泛分布且具有重要意义的植被，也是人工修复沙地应遵从的植被。通过风洞试验模拟了覆盖度在20%左右的三种水平配置格局的灌木群丛内风流结构与防风固沙效果。结果表明：①水平配置格局不同，低覆盖度灌木群丛的防风效果差异显著，行带式模式具有非常显著的阻碍和降低风速的作用（风速降低36%~43%）;等株行距模式次之，风速降低7%~28%;随机不均匀配置模式内局部有风速抬升现象，② 行带式模式内形成规整的随灌丛带波动的流场结构，而随机不均匀配置模式内形成由多个风影区和风速加速区组合的非常复杂的流场结构，等株行距模式居于二者之间。③ 带间宽度在56 cm和64 cm时的防风效果较带宽为32 cm和40 cm好。说明覆盖度降低到11%~13%，行带式模式的防风效果仍然不会降低。④两行一带配置均表现防风效果优于单行配置，且随试验风速的增大防风效果更好。     

PROPRIETARY RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT. Proprietary residential communities constitute a major component in the evolving geography of urban America. In many metropolitan regions, proprietary residential communities or common‐interest developments, and associated forms of urban management, have emerged as the dominant form of residential development. Critical discourse on these communities and their residential community/homeowner associations has focused principally on the negative consequences for urban social and political life. It is argued here that many critical assessments are grounded in an idealistic view of contemporary society and an outdated conceptualization of citizenship. This article is intended to reenergize debate on these developments through a realist interpretation of the benefits and disbenefits of a form of residential development destined to exercise a major influence on the sociospatial structure of U.S. metropolitan areas in the early twenty‐first century.     

Rural Restructuring and the Changing Geography of Competitive Sport

The geography of sport has received relatively little attention from those interested in processes of rural social and economic change. This is despite the important role that sport plays in the structure of rural communities and regions. In addition to the obvious health benefits associated with physical activity, sport contributes to community identity and provides opportunities for social interaction. There is, however, considerable evidence to suggest that processes of restructuring are having direct impacts on sport in rural areas. Drawing on a case study from rural Western Australia, this paper argues that economic adjustment in the farming and business sectors, service withdrawal, and population decline are just some of the changes undermining the viability of sporting clubs in rural areas. We suggest that while sporting clubs have tended to be resilient in the face of restructuring, it is also clear that one of the outcomes is a changing geography of sport in declining rural areas.     

Plant functional types and climate along a precipitation gradient in temperate grasslands, north-east China and south-east Mongolia

Using data from three field surveys along a precipitation gradient of temperate grasslands in north-east China (the Northeast China Transect, NECT) and south-east Mongolia, the spatial distribution of six plant functional types (PFTs): C₃ species, C₄ species, grasses, shrubs, forbs and succulents and their relationships with climate were analysed. The spatial distribution of different PFTs varies in different regions and in different grassland types of the study area. The species richness in each PFT also has different relationships with climate (significantly or not). Generally, the number of C₃ species, C₄ species, grasses and forbs have positive relationships with precipitation and aridity. Shrubs have negative relationship with precipitation and aridity. Succulents were found to have no relationship with precipitation and aridity. Shrubs, grasses and forbs have stronger relationships with precipitation than C₃ and C₄ species. The relationships between C₃ species, forbs and aridity are more significant than with precipitation. On a regional basis, the combined effect of precipitation and temperature, the aridity, is more significantly correlated with the distribution of C₃ species and forbs, which are more dominant in the study area, than with C₄ species, grasses and succulents.