Palynological evidence for Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous) vegetation change in the Sydney Coalfield,eastern Canada

The palynology of clastic samples from seven stratigraphical levels in the late Moscovian Sydney Mines Formation, exposed along the shore at Bras d'Or, Nova Scotia, has been investigated. Most of the samples were from roof shales of major coals; the one sample that was not yielded a much higher proportion of pollen derived from extra‐basinal vegetation. The four stratigraphically lower roof shale samples yielded essentially similar palynological spectra, with 39 ± 4% lycophytes, 9 ± 4% sphenophylls, 23 ± 4% tree‐ferns, 12 ± 4% other ferns and 5 ± 3% cordaites. The palynology of the upper part of the investigated succession suggests a shift in vegetation towards one favouring more marattialean tree‐ferns, cordaites and conifers, and fewer lycophytes. This correlates with changes in drainage patterns as the alluvial plain migrated seawards and thus changed water tables. No evidence was found to suggest significant climate change at this time. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unfolding relations between land cover and farm management: high nature value assessment in complex silvo-pastoral systems

The high nature value (HNV) concept, proposed by the European Environment Agency, recognizes that specific farming systems support high biodiversity levels, mainly as a result of extensive management practices. The Portuguese montado is one of the most significant HNV systems in southern Europe. However, considering the great complexity characterizing these systems both in land management and in landscape structure, a specific context-oriented methodology to assess which montado areas are likely to be classified as HNV farmland is needed. In this sense, the aim of this study is to explore a methodological approach which makes it possible to assess land management pressures through land cover information on these complex silvo-pastoral systems. The proposed methodology was tested through a local case study in a montado area in southern Portugal, assessing the relation between management practices and a vegetation cover index. Results show that in similar montado areas different land management strategies varying in stocking density, but also in type of grazing animals and shrub control practices, configure different vegetation cycles. These results indicate there is a way to develop a straightforward methodology to assess the HNV value of Mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems based on land cover indicators. These would make it possible to assess the HNV of montado areas with direct and objective information and independent of farmer’s surveys or other farm-based data.     

Continuous record of environmental changes in Chukotka during the last 350 thousand years

The comprehensive study of the upper 1283 cm of sediment from Lake El’gygytgyn, which formed nearly 4 Ma ago following a meteorite impact in northern Chukotka, yielded the first continuous record of the extreme changes in the Beringian climate and vegetation from the middle Middle Pleistocene to recent time (equivalent of marine isotope stages of 1–7 and the upper part of isotope stage 8). During this period, the climate was warmer than at present between 8600 and 10 7000 ¹⁴C years and during the Late Pleistocene (isotope substage 5e, 116–128 ka ago). In 2003, the German-Russian-USA expedition continued studying sediments of Lake El’gygytgyn to obtain new evidence of the change in the vegetation cover in the Middle Pleistocene and the first information on the Middle Pleistocene interglacial (isotope stage 9; 297–347 ka ago). Pollen spectra characterizing the Middle Pleistocene interglacial are similar to spectra of the early stage of the Early Pleistocene interglacial and the climatic optimum in the Pleistocene to Holocene transitional period. The climatic history of Lake El’gygytgyn is basic for stratigraphic interpretations and correlations in the eastern sector of the Arctic. These data also expand our understanding of climatic changes that are studied within the framework of the “Pole-Equator-Pole Paleoclimate,” “Past Global Changes,” and other international projects.     

不同石漠化等级的孢粉组合特征及其生态指示意义——以花江实验区为例

以贵州省关岭县南部北盘江试验示范为例,分析了不同等级石漠化土地上的表土孢粉组合特征,揭示了孢粉组合特征与石漠化等级的相互关系.结果显示:石漠化地区的孢粉组合具有鲜明的特征,乔木与灌木合占16.1%,草本与蕨类植物合占58.9%,这反映了石漠化地区以草蕨类植物为主的植被状况;孢粉组合与石漠化等级呈良好的相关性,草蕨类植物随石漠化等级的升高比重由41%增加到77.6%,种类由14种增加到27种,乔木花粉所占比重由6.9%降到2.6%,植物种类不变;孢粉组合反映出三出凤尾蕨等蕨类植物对岩溶石漠化生态环境的适应性和代表性.     

Impacts of domestic sewage effluent on phytoplankton from Bedford Basin, eastern Canada

The impact of domestic sewage effluent (SE) on the dynamics of phytoplankton assemblages from Bedford Basin was evaluated in the laboratory. Phytoplankton production and chlorophyll a increased proportionally with SE enrichment. Phytoplankton species composition also changed. The potentially harmful diatoms, Pseudonitzschia spp., present initially in small numbers (600 cells 1⁻¹) in Bedford Basin seawater, and became dominant (3–5×10⁶ cells 1⁻¹) when the seawater was enriched with 0.5–5% untreated SE. With higher proportions of SE, other harmful species such as Fragilaria spp. and Euglena spp. became dominant (7−15×10⁶ and 2.2×10⁴ cells 1⁻¹, respectively). Treatment of SE with UV light or activated charcoal seems to favour growth of benign species, such as Chaetoceros socialis, Skeletonema costatum and Thalassiosira spp., but not harmful species such as Pseudonitzschia spp. Further research on UV treatment of domestic sewage is recommended.     

Seismic images of a collision zone offshore NW Sabah/Borneo

Multichannel reflection seismic data from the southern South China Sea, refraction and gravity modelling were used to investigate the compressional sedimentary structures of the collision-prone continental margin off NW Borneo. An elongated imbricate deepwater fan, the toe Thrust Zone bounds the Northwest Borneo Trough to the southeast. The faults separating the individual imbricates cut through post-Early Miocene sediments and curve down to a carbonate platform at the top of the subsiding continental Dangerous Grounds platform that forms the major detachment surface. The age of deformation migrates outward toward the front of the wedge. We propose crustal shortening mechanisms as the main reason for the formation of the imbricate fan. At the location of the in the past defined Lower Tertiary Thrust Sheet tectonostratigraphic province a high velocity body was found but with a much smaller extend than the previously defined structure. The high velocity structure may be interpreted either as carbonates that limit the transfer of seismic energy into the sedimentary layers beneath or as Paleogene Crocker sediments dissected by remnants of a proto-South China Sea oceanic crust that were overthrust onto a southward migrating attenuated continental block of the Dangerous Grounds during plate convergence.     

LONG-TERM SOIL AND VEGETATION RECOVERY IN FIVE SEMIARID MONTANA GHOST TOWNS*

Five semiarid Montana ghost towns abandoned for more than 45 years were studied to understand better the nature of soil and vegetation recovery following severe human impacts. Discriminant analysis was used to interpret and classify variation among land-use intensity groups. Recovery at the five towns was strongly linked to the degree of the initial soil disturbance, vegetation type, and precipitation. Recovery of the vegetation to ambient conditions was far from complete in all but one town.     

History of a presently slightly acidic lake in northeastern Alberta,Canada as determined through analysis of the diatom record

The Holocene sedimentary diatom record from Otasan Lake, Alberta, has been analyzed to determine the development of this presently slightly acidic lake. The changes in the lake have been linked to the development of the Sphagnum-dominated catchment. Analysis of the stratigraphic data revealed four distinct zones. The lake record began ca. 8200 yrs BP with a benthic and alkaline diatom assemblage dominated by Ellerbeckia arenaria (Moore) Crawford. At ca. 7300 yrs BP planktonic species began to increase and dominate indicating increased water levels, decreased turbidity, and increased nutrient levels. Throughout the Holocene the peatland in the catchment encroached toward the modern lake margin and by ca. 5000 yrs BP lake acidity had changed sufficiently such that acidic diatom species dominated. Tabellaria flocculosa (Roth) Kütz.v. flocculosa Strain IIIp sensu Koppen dominated the record from ca. 5000 to ca. 3100 yrs BP. The lowest lake water pH was inferred for this zone. From ca. 3100 yrs BP to the present Fragilaria species, primarily F. construens v. venter (Ehr.) Hustedt, dominated the diatom assemblage. Diatom productivity and inferred pH were interpreted as stable. From correspondence analysis of the fossil samples, and from species assemblages, underlying gradients of pH, nutrient level, and water depth were inferred. The change from alkaline to slightly acidic conditions took place between ca. 8200 and ca. 5000 yrs BP. From ca. 3000 yrs BP to the present, lake water pH has remained fairly constant. Nutrient levels and water depth were inferred to have altered together. After ca. 8200 yrs BP, nutrients and water level began to increase until ca. 6000 yrs BP. Then, there was a gradual decline in these variables over the most acidic zone until ca. 3000 yrs BP, after which they, too, have remained fairly constant. Dominant Boreal Upland Vegetation was established by ca. 7200 yrs BP, and it was inferred that dominant climate patterns had been established at that time, but small changes in climate have occurred and the landscape in northeastern Alberta has only been stable for the last 3000 years.     

温度植被干旱指数(TVDI)在复杂山区干旱监测的应用研究

对地观测卫星(EOS)中分辨率成像光谱仪(MODIS)传感器因具有高时间分辨率、高光谱分辨率、适中的空间分辨率等特点,非常适合大范围、长时期、动态的干旱监测。本文选取云南省红河州地区为研究对象,利用MODIS植被指数和陆地表面温度产0品建立高原多山地区NDVI- T_s空间,并由此建立了复杂山区的温度植被干旱指数(TVDI)。利用该方法检测2006年3、4两个月的云南省红河地区的地表干旱情况,同时结合当地气象局信息和野外同步观测的表层土壤温度、湿度数据对该指标进行定量验证,结果表明,TVDI与土壤湿度显著相关,该方法可以用来对大区域干旱进行检测,能很好的用于山区的干旱预警与监测。     

内蒙古煤炭能源基地植被时空变化

利用Modis数据集250m分辨率植被指数数据分析了鄂尔多斯内蒙古能源基地植被的时空变化特征及其影响因子。研究表明：内蒙古能源基地的植被空间分布从东南至西北递减,其中东北部的准格尔旗、伊金霍洛旗及东胜区植被生长最好。内蒙古能源基地全区总体上植被指数NDVI值不高,植被指数值较低的地区占全区总面积的60％。时间演变上从2000～2008年整体上呈现变好的趋势。植被变好的区域可以占全区总面积的83．7％,植被变差的区域仅占1.39％,主要集中在东北部的准格尔旗、伊金霍洛旗、东胜区,以及局域地势低洼的沟谷地区及湖泊的周边区域。对其影响因子地形、地下水及降水的分析表明,大气降水是影响植被变化的最主要的因素。通过对鄂尔多斯盆地植被演变趋势及影响因子分析,能为能源基地的生态环境保护提供依据,促进人类,以及资源与环境的和谐发展。