Forest operations,tree species composition and decline in rainfall explain runoff changes in the Nacimiento experimental catchments,south central Chile

Few long-term studies have explored how intensively managed short rotation forest plantations interact with climate variability. We examine how prolonged severe drought and forest operations affect runoff in 11 experimental catchments on private corporate forest land near Nacimiento in south central Chile over the period 2008–2019. The catchments (7.7–414 ha) contain forest plantations of exotic fast-growing species (Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus spp.) at various stages of growth in a Mediterranean climate (mean long-term annual rainfall = 1381 mm). Since 2010, a drought, unprecedented in recent history, has reduced rainfall at Nacimiento by 20%, relative to the long-term mean. Pre-drought runoff ratios were <0.2 under 8-year-old Eucalyptus; >0.4 under 21-year-old Radiata pine and >0.8 where herbicide treatments had controlled vegetation for 2 years in 38% of the catchment area. Early in the study period, clearcutting of Radiata pine (85%–95% of catchment area) increased streamflow by 150 mm as compared with the year before harvest, while clearcutting and partial cuts of Eucalyptus did not increase streamflow. During 2008–2019, the combination of emerging drought and forestry treatments (replanting with Eucalyptus after clearcutting of Radiata pine and Eucalyptus) reduced streamflow by 400–500 mm, and regeneration of previously herbicide-treated vegetation combined with growth of Eucalyptus plantations reduced streamflow by 1125 mm (87% of mean annual precipitation 2010–2019). These results from one of the most comprehensive forest catchment studies in the world on private industrial forest land indicate that multiple decades of forest management have reduced deep soil moisture reservoirs. This effect has been exacerbated by drought and conversion from Radiata pine to Eucalyptus, apparently largely eliminating subsurface supply to streamflow. The findings reveal tradeoffs between wood production and water supply, provide lessons for adapting forest management to the projected future drier climate in Chile, and underscore the need for continued experimental work in managed forest plantations.     

Water quality data for Fall Creek,New York,USA: 1972–1995

The 33 086 ha mixed land use Fall Creek watershed in upstate New York is part of the Great Lakes drainage system. Results from more than 3500 water samples are available in a data set that compiles flow data and measurements of various water quality analytes collected between 1972 and 1995 in all seasons and under all flow regimes in Fall Creek and its tributaries. Data is freely accessible at https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/8148 and includes measurements of suspended solids, pH, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chloride, nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), sulphate sulphur (SO4-S), phosphorus (P) fractions molybdate reactive P (MRP) and total dissolved P (TDP), percent P in sediment, and ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N). Methods, sub-watershed areas, and coordinates for sampling sites are also included. The work represented in this data set has made important scientific contributions to understanding of hydrological and biogeochemical processes that influence loading in mixed use watersheds and that have an impact on algal productivity in receiving water bodies. In addition, the work has been foundational for important regulatory and management decisions in the region.     

Assessment of alternative adsorption models and global sensitivity analysis to characterize hexavalent chromium loss from soil to surface runoff

We investigate our ability to assess transfer of hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), from the soil to surface runoff by considering the effect of coupling diverse adsorption models with a two‐layer solute transfer model. Our analyses are grounded on a set of two experiments associated with soils characterized by diverse particle size distributions. Our study is motivated by the observation that Cr(VI) is receiving much attention for the assessment of environmental risks due to its high solubility, mobility, and toxicological significance. Adsorption of Cr(VI) is considered to be at equilibrium in the mixing layer under our experimental conditions. Four adsorption models, that is, the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and linear models, constitute our set of alternative (competing) mathematical formulations. Experimental results reveal that the soil samples characterized by the finest grain sizes are associated with the highest release of Cr(VI) to runoff. We compare the relative abilities of the four models to interpret experimental results through maximum likelihood model calibration and four model identification criteria (i.e., the Akaike information criteria [AIC and AIC_C] and the Bayesian and Kashyap information criteria). Our study results enable us to rank the tested models on the basis of a set of posterior weights assigned to each of them. A classical variance‐based global sensitivity analysis is then performed to assess the relative importance of the uncertain parameters associated with each of the models considered, within subregions of the parameter space. In this context, the modelling strategy resulting from coupling the Langmuir isotherm with a two‐layer solute transfer model is then evaluated as the most skilful for the overall interpretation of both sets of experiments. Our results document that (a) the depth of the mixing layer is the most influential factor for all models tested, with the exception of the Freundlich isotherm, and (b) the total sensitivity of the adsorption parameters varies in time, with a trend to increase as time progresses for all of the models. These results suggest that adsorption has a significant effect on the uncertainty associated with the release of Cr(VI) from the soil to the surface runoff component.     

An evaluation of Guided Regularized Random Forest for classification and regression tasks in remote sensing

New Earth observation missions and technologies are delivering large amounts of data. Processing this data requires developing and evaluating novel dimensionality reduction approaches to identify the most informative features for classification and regression tasks. Here we present an exhaustive evaluation of Guided Regularized Random Forest (GRRF), a feature selection method based on Random Forest. GRRF does not require fixing a priori the number of features to be selected or setting a threshold of the feature importance. Moreover, the use of regularization ensures that features selected by GRRF are non-redundant and representative. Our experiments based on various kinds of remote sensing images, show that GRRF selected features provides similar results to those obtained when using all the available features. However, the comparison between GRRF and standard random forest features shows substantial differences: in classification, the mean overall accuracy increases by almost 6% and, in regression, the decrease in RMSE almost reaches 2%. These results demonstrate the potential of GRRF for remote sensing image classification and regression. Especially in the context of increasingly large geodatabases that challenge the application of traditional methods.     

Developing constitutive models from EPR‐based self‐learning finite element analysis

A constitutive model that captures the material behavior under a wide range of loading conditions is essential for simulating complex boundary value problems. In recent years, some attempts have been made to develop constitutive models for finite element analysis using self‐learning simulation (SelfSim). Self‐learning simulation is an inverse analysis technique that extracts material behavior from some boundary measurements (eg, load and displacement). In the heart of the self‐learning framework is a neural network which is used to train and develop a constitutive model that represents the material behavior. It is generally known that neural networks suffer from a number of drawbacks. This paper utilizes evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR) in the framework of SelfSim within an automation process which is coded in Matlab environment. EPR is a hybrid data mining technique that uses a combination of a genetic algorithm and the least square method to search for mathematical equations to represent the behavior of a system. Two strategies of material modeling have been considered in the SelfSim‐based finite element analysis. These include a total stress‐strain strategy applied to analysis of a truss structure using synthetic measurement data and an incremental stress‐strain strategy applied to simulation of triaxial tests using experimental data. The results show that effective and accurate constitutive models can be developed from the proposed EPR‐based self‐learning finite element method. The EPR‐based self‐learning FEM can provide accurate predictions to engineering problems. The main advantages of using EPR over neural network are highlighted.     

基于噪声谱比法的内蒙古西部地区台站场地响应研究

利用内蒙古西部12个台站的地脉动噪声数据，采用噪声谱比法研究台站的场地响应情况。分析表明，台站场地响应按曲线形态可分为3类，且可能受地形地貌、局部构造和台基状况等条件影响。对比分析噪声谱比法与Moya方法的场地响应结果发现，场地响应曲线形态基本一致，只有极少数台站存在明显差异。结果表明，内蒙古西部区域大部分台站的台基状况总体较好，场地响应曲线较为平坦，无明显频率放大点。     

黑龙江哈尔滨白渔泡国家湿地公园沼泽、林地和农田土壤物理、化学和生物性质差异

为了揭示黑龙江哈尔滨白渔泡国家湿地公园沼泽、林地和农田土壤物理、化学和生物性质的差异,于2018年7月25日~8月2日,在湿地公园内,在天然芦苇(Phragmites australis)沼泽、林地、旱田和水田中设置采样地,采集不同深度(0~10 cm、10~20 cm和20~30 cm)的土壤样品,测定土壤样品的物理、化学和生物指标。研究结果表明,白渔泡国家湿地公园不同采样地土壤指标存在差异;与天然芦苇沼泽土壤相比,其它采样地土壤的含水量明显偏低,土壤全氮、全磷、碱解氮和有机质含量都明显偏小,水田土壤速效磷含量偏大;天然芦苇沼泽土壤脲酶、硝酸还原酶、纤维素酶、蛋白酶和β-葡萄糖苷酶活性都高于林地和农田土壤,水田0~10 cm和10~20 cm深度土壤的硝酸还原酶活性显著高于旱田和林地;与天然芦苇沼泽土壤相比,旱田土壤小于0.25 mm的小团聚体含量偏大,而其它采样地土壤的各粒级团聚体的比例变化较小,水田土壤团聚体平均重量直径比天然芦苇沼泽和旱田土壤低。     

BORDER PORT MANZHOULh URBAN FUNCTION AND SPACE DEVELOPMENT

Manzhouli is the largest land port city on the Sino-Russia border, transit cargo through the land port amount-ed to 5.95 million tons, transit tourists were 304 500 in 2000. It stands at the joint place of China, Mongolia and Russi-a, faces to Siberia area of Russia, receives direct support from the Northeast China and Bohai Sea Rim Area, and possess-es priorities in geographical location, land port infrastructure, water resources, coal resources, tourist resources andgreat potentiality in economic cooperation with Russia. The future urban function is a key port on the First Eurasia Continen-tal Bridge. Manzhouli Port will keep its first place between China and Russia land transport, and it is forecasted that thetransit amount through Manzhouli Port will go up to 10 million tons in 2005 and 20 million tons in 2010. It will be construct-ed to be a trade center of the peripheral area extending to Russia and Mongolia, a key export-oriented processing industri-al zone supported by industries such as export processing industries, export agriculture, trade services, technology trad-ing and the other service industries. It keeps being a well-known touring city for trade, shopping, sightseeing, vocation,local food, recreation and cultural events. To build Manzhouli Export Processing Industry Zone will improve city econom-ic structure, and the main sectors are organic food processing, livestock products processing, garment and furniture indus-try. Moreover, Manzhouli Export Processing Industry Zone will eventually be upgraded to be a border free trade zone.The city functional transition will inevitably affect urban spatial restructure and its expansion. The city space transforma-tion will develop as such: one development axis of No. 301 highway paralleling with Bin - Zhou(Harbin - Manzhouli) rail-way which cuts through central part of Manzhouli City, and links Zhalainuocr District with central city; three urban unitsincluding central city, Zhalainuocr District and Manzhouli Interchange Trade Zone; cohesion with Aoerjin and Cuogangpastures; regional dual-nuclei structure of Hailaer City and Manhzouli City; and the Manzhouli-Zabaykalsk Free TradeZone.     

A STUDY ON LAND SYSTEM INNOVATIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SMALL TOWNS IN CHINA

The economic development in China and the rising of the living standard need to speed up the urbanisa-tion.The development of small towns is an important way to Chinese urbanization.Land use plays a very important role in the development of small towns.However there are many problems in the development of small towns,esp.in land use.The paper first discusses the land problems in the development of small towns.Such as much cultivated land lies idle,under-utilization and waste of land,increasing illegal use of land,unstable contractural relationship for land use.The relationship between the development of small towns and land use is also studied.Then the guidelines for the land system innovations of small towns are put forward.Namely the sustainability of social and economic development,the bal-ance between land reservation and land utilization,the provision of service to village ,agriculture and farmer,the manage-ment of land resource and land assets,the parsimonious andlegal use of land.The basic framework of land system innova-tions of small towns is put forward finally.It include the land replacement policy for small towns and the permanent tenan-cy of farmland,the overall plan for land uses and other plans in harmony,the establishment of a flexible system of land supplies,using land with payments ,the transfer of agricultural land and refining the land law related to the construction of small towns.     

THE POSITION AND ROLES OF PORTS AND RAILWAYS IN THE EURASIA LAND BRIDGE TRANSPORTATION IN NORTHEAST CHINA

This paper systematically analyzes and proves the favorable factors of utilizing the ports and the railways in Northeast China for the Asia-Europe land bridge transportation. It will be more beneficial to Dalian Port and HaDa (Harbin-Dalian) and Binzhou (Harbin-Manzhouli) railways in Northeast China to the Siberia railway in Russia than 1) to other ports and the corresponding railways in China, 2) to the Nakhodka Port in Russia and the corresponding railways and 3) to the Chongjin Port in North Korea and the corresponding railways. This paper also puts forward the reform measures to adopt the ports and the railways in the northeast region in China for the land bridge transportation and the problems in transportation policies and management systems.