USING UPLAND FOREST IN SHIMENTAI NATURE RESERVE,CHINA*

ABSTRACT. The Shimentai Nature Reserve in Yingde County, Guangdong Province, China, established recently in a subtropical upland forest area, has served for ages as an essential and customary source of livelihood for local people. Assessment of forest usage indicates heavy reliance by villagers on its diversified biotic resources. This forest dependence, associated with socioeconomic factors such as distance from village, ethnic origin, out‐migration of rural youngsters, and a local tradition of conservation, is unlikely to decline in the near future. The reserve management recognizes the need to address the livelihood issues of local people and to win local support. A pragmatic adherence to provincial and higher‐level policies that exclude forest‐tapping activities could lead to more people‐versus‐park conflicts, which would dilute fundamental conservation objectives. A more enlightened and localized approach that nurtures a synergy between limited forest use and conservation while helping to develop new income sources could furnish workable alternatives.     

SPRING ICE-JAM FLOODING OF THE PEACE-ATHABASCA DELTA: EVIDENCE OF A CLIMATIC OSCILLATION

A historic record of spring ice-jam floods of the Peace-Athabasca Delta was analyzed for the years 1826–1995. The temporal pattern of flooding is non-random. The likelihood of a flood following a flood, or a non-flood following a non-flood, is greater than expected by chance. Probability analysis of flood occurrence reveals that the period 1860–1880 was a time of unusually few floods, and the period 1915–1950 was a time of unusually frequent floods. The long-term flood frequency is 1 flood in 6.25 years. Changes in flood frequency over the record reveal a pattern of oscillation described by a sine-based model that is correlated with the long-term (Gleissberg) cycle of solar activity. Monte Carlo simulation was used to test a Bennett Dam Model and a Cyclic Model. The Bennett Dam Model is unlikely to have generated the observed flood history (p=0.04). The observed flood history shows a better fit to the Cyclic Model (p=0.65). No correlations between floods and ENSO cold or warm events was detected. The most recent wet period began about 1900 and ended in the early 1960's prior to completion of the W. A. C. Bennett Dam in British Columbia. As independent corroboration of climatically-driven changes in flood frequency we present three additional lines of evidence. The pattern of annual muskrat returns (95 year record) reveals both 10 year cycles and long-term patterns that agree well with the observed flood cycle. The annual area burned in Wood Buffalo National Park is inversely related to flood occurrence. Incised channels and dendritic drainage patterns in the bed of Lake Mamawi provide probable evidence of a previous dry period in the delta. Climatic change or oscillation likely underlies the drying trend observed in recent decades in the Peace-Athabasca Delta.     

Diagenesis of Barremian-Aptian platform carbonates (the Urgonian Limestone Formation of SE France): near-surface and shallow-burial diagenesis

The diagenesis of carbonate platform sediments is controlled by the original facies and mineralogy, climate, sea-level changes and burial history; these controls are clearly seen in the diagenesis of the Urgonian platform carbonates of SE France. Early diagenesis in the Urgonian platform included the precipitation of marine cements, dissolution of rudist shells and minor karstification. Diagenetic features produced during this phase were controlled by several falls in relative sea-level during the Barremian to mid-Aptian punctuating platform sedimentation, the original mineralogy of the sediment and the prevailing semi-arid/arid climate in the region at this time. Following a relative sea-level rise and further sedimentation, progressive burial of the platform led to minor compaction, followed by precipitation of coarse, equant, zoned to non-luminescent, calcite cement. This cement was cut by later stylolites, suggesting a relatively shallow-burial origin. Stable isotope (mean values - 7.94%δ¹⁸O and 0.36%δ¹³C) and trace element (mean values of Fe 334 ppm, Mn 92 ppm and Sr 213 ppm) data suggest that these cements precipitated from meteoric fluids at temperatures slightly elevated relative to depositional temperatures. A variable thickness of replacive dolomite which occurs preferentially within the shelf-margin facies of the lower part of the Urgonian post-dates mechanical fracturing and chemical compaction, but pre-dates the main phase of stylolitization. It is probable that the dolomitizing fluid was sourced by the early compaction-driven release of connate fluids held within the underlying muddy units. The burial history of these rocks suggests that calcite cementation and dolomitization took place at relatively shallow burial depths (1–1.5 km). The overall diagenetic history of the Urgonian Limestone Formation is a reflection of the pre-conditioning of the platform limestones by climate, sea level, tectonics and the shallow burial depths experienced by the platform during the later Mesozoic.     

Palaeotrophic reconstruction and climatic forcing of mega‐Lake Eyre in late Quaternary Central Australia: a review

Webb, S. 2009: Palaeotrophic reconstruction and climatic forcing of mega‐Lake Eyre in late Quaternary Central Australia: a review. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00120.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Extreme Quaternary climatic variation in Australia brought radical environmental changes to various parts of the continent. In this article, I discuss these changes in terms of mega‐lake development in Central Australia, and in particular the southern Lake Eyre Basin (SLEB). The formation of these features, together with the fossil record of the region, throws light on the palaeoclimatic and palaeobiological relationships of megafauna and other animal groups, and the trophic development required to support them. Australian continental drying during the late Quaternary has been noted by many workers, but this process was punctuated by strong pluvial episodes of decreasing strength from MIS 5e. Mega‐lake development during MIS 5 resulted from unusual monsoonal and evaporative patterns at that time. However, the climatic forcing behind mega‐lake formation and the rate of lake growth is not well understood, although species composition in SLEB aquatic fossil fauna assemblages attests to the size and development of these lakes and indicates their long‐term persistence. The degree of trophic development and the maintenance of broad, well‐bedded aquatic and terrestrial ecological frameworks and biotic variety support that conclusion. The fossil record contributes to our understanding of mega‐lake and palaeoriverine trophic complexity, the speed and duration of lake‐fill and the intensity and persistence of the supporting intracontinental moisture balance. Although other more remote mega‐lakes formed in Central Australia, they were not populated by complex trophic systems or megafauna populations. This discrepancy between the various geographic areas sheds light on the biogeography and population distribution of megafauna, thus helping form a better picture of the reasons behind the final extinction of relict populations of this group in MIS 4.     

Local climatic drivers of changes in phenology at a boreal-temperate ecotone in eastern North America

Ecosystems in biogeographical transition zones, or ecotones, tend to be highly sensitive to climate and can provide early indications of future change. To evaluate recent climatic changes and their impacts in a boreal-temperate ecotone in eastern North America, we analyzed ice phenology records (1975?C2007) for five lakes in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State. We observed rapidly decreasing trends of up to 21?days less ice cover, mostly due to later freeze-up and partially due to earlier break-up. To evaluate the local drivers of these lake ice changes, we modeled ice phenology based on local climate data, derived climatic predictors from the models, and evaluated trends in those predictors to determine which were responsible for observed changes in lake ice. November and December temperature and snow depth consistently predicted ice-in, and recent trends of warming and decreasing snow during these months were consistent with later ice formation. March and April temperature and snow depth consistently predicted ice-out, but the absence of trends in snow depth during these months, despite concurrent warming, resulted in much weaker trends for ice-out. Recent rates of warming in the Adirondacks are among the highest regionally, although with a different seasonality of changes (early winter > late winter) that is consistent with other lake ice records in the surrounding area. Projected future declines in snow cover could create positive feedbacks and accelerate current rates of ice loss due to warming. Climate sensitivity was greatest for the larger lakes in our study, including Wolf Lake, considered one of the most ecologically intact ??wilderness lakes?? in eastern North America. Our study provides further evidence of climate sensitivity of the boreal-temperate ecotone of eastern North America and points to emergent conservation challenges posed by climate change in legally protected yet vulnerable landscapes like the Adirondack Park.     

Variability of tree transpiration across three zones in a southeastern U.S. Piedmont watershed

Quantifying the spatial variability of species-specific tree transpiration across hillslopes is important for estimating watershed-scale evapotranspiration (ET) and predicting spatial drought effects on vegetation. The objectives of this study are to (1) assess sap flux density (J_s) and tree-level transpiration (T_s) across three contrasting zones a (riparian buffer, mid-hillslope and upland-hillslope, (2) determine how species-specific J_s responds to vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and (3) estimate watershed-level transpiration (T_w) using T_s derived from each zone. During 2015 and 2016, we measured J_s in eight tree species in the three topographic zones in a small 12-ha forested watershed in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina. In the dry year of 2015, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) J_s rates were significantly higher in the riparian buffer when compared to the other two zones. In contrast, J_s rates in tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) and red maple (Acer rubrum) were significantly lower in the buffer than in the mid-hillslope. Daily T_s varied by zone and ranged from 10 to 93 L/day in the dry year and from 9 to 122 L/day in the wet year (2016). J_s responded nonlinearly to VPD in all species and zones. Annual T_w was 447, 377 and 340 mm based on scaled-J_s data for the buffer, mid-hillslope and upland-hillslope, respectively. We conclude that large spatial variability in J_s and scaled T_w was driven by differences in soil moisture at each zone and forest composition. Consequently, spatial heterogeneity of vegetation and soil moisture must be considered when accurately quantifying watershed level ET.     

Stromatoporoids: a beginner's guide

Stromatoporoids are an important group of fossil sponges that form some of the largest reef complexes in the fossil record and are valuable in palaeoecological and facies analysis. They are frequently large and easily studies in the field and in hand specimen. Using their growth forms it is possible to determine some features of sediment deposition rates and changes in their growth direction during life show episodes of turbulence that affected the sea bed. This article intriduces them, and gives practical help to interpret thier growth forms in quaries and cliffs where you may see them on fieldwork. You will realized just how absorbing these fossil sponges can be.