Modelling the effect of changing precipitation inputs on deep soil water utilization

Forests in the Southeastern United States are predicted to experience future changes in seasonal patterns of precipitation inputs as well as more variable precipitation events. These climate change‐induced alterations could increase drought and lower soil water availability. Drought could alter rooting patterns and increase the importance of deep roots that access subsurface water resources. To address plant response to drought in both deep rooting and soil water utilization as well as soil drainage, we utilize a throughfall reduction experiment in a loblolly pine plantation of the Southeastern United States to calibrate and validate a hydrological model. The model was accurately calibrated against field measured soil moisture data under ambient rainfall and validated using 30% throughfall reduction data. Using this model, we then tested these scenarios: (a) evenly reduced precipitation; (b) less precipitation in summer, more in winter; (c) same total amount of precipitation with less frequent but heavier storms; and (d) shallower rooting depth under the above 3 scenarios. When less precipitation was received, drainage decreased proportionally much faster than evapotranspiration implying plants will acquire water first to the detriment of drainage. When precipitation was reduced by more than 30%, plants relied on stored soil water to satisfy evapotranspiration suggesting 30% may be a threshold that if sustained over the long term would deplete plant available soil water. Under the third scenario, evapotranspiration and drainage decreased, whereas surface run‐off increased. Changes in root biomass measured before and 4 years after the throughfall reduction experiment were not detected among treatments. Model simulations, however, indicated gains in evapotranspiration with deeper roots under evenly reduced precipitation and seasonal precipitation redistribution scenarios but not when precipitation frequency was adjusted. Deep soil and deep rooting can provide an important buffer capacity when precipitation alone cannot satisfy the evapotranspirational demand of forests. How this buffering capacity will persist in the face of changing precipitation inputs, however, will depend less on seasonal redistribution than on the magnitude of reductions and changes in rainfall frequency.     

Revisiting Sustainable Development of Dry Valleys in Hengduan Mountains Region

Dry valleys are a striking geographic landscape in Hengduan Mountains Region and are characterized by low rainfall, desert type of vegetation and fragile environment. Past efforts and resources have been concentrated mainly on rehabilitation of degraded ecosystem and fragile environment, particularly reforestation, while socio-economic development has been largely overlooked. Despite successes in pocket areas, the overall trend of unsustainability and environmental deterioration are continuing. It is important to understand that uplift of the Tibetan Plateau is the root cause of development of dry valleys, and development and formation of dry valleys is a natural process. Human intervention has played a secondary role in development of dry valleys and degradation of dry valleys though human intervention in many cases has speeded up environmental degradation of the dry valleys. It is important to understand that dry valleys are climatic enclaves and an integrated approach that combines rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and socio-economic development should be adopted if the overall goal of sustainable development of dry valleys is to be achieved. Promotion of niche-based cash crops, rural energy including hydropower, solar energy, biogas and fuelwood plantation is recommended as the priority activities.     

浅论经济增长与物价水平的关系

从交易方程出发，初步分析了经济增长与物价水平的关系，得到了一些有益的结果。     

蜕壳素对凡纳滨对虾生长及表观消化率的影响

研究了外源性蜕皮激素对凡纳滨对虾生长和表观消化率的影响 ,实验时在基础饲料中分别添加 0 .1%、0 .2 %、0 .4 %的两种市售蜕壳素产品 ,制成 6种外源性脱壳素配合饲料 ,不添加的基础饲料作为对照组 ,试验在 2 6 0L玻璃钢循环水养殖系统中 ,每个剂量组设 3个重复 ,8周生长试验结果表明 :市售蜕壳素产品能有效地促进对虾生长 ,试验结束时 ,试验组虾体增重分别较对照组增加 16 .8%、7.5 2 %、5 .9%、11.4 %、2 9.0 7%、16 .5 3% ,但是凡纳滨对虾对饲料粗蛋白的表观消化率没有明显地提高 ,凡纳滨对虾对脂肪的表观消化率较低。推算凡纳滨对虾饲料中最佳蜕皮酮添加量为 6 0mg/kg。     

企鹅珍珠贝人工苗生长的初步观察

为了解企鹅珍珠贝生长规律，观察了壳高2.5～5.0mm的出池幼苗，按月测量其生长参数和成活率，以及环境因子。结果表明，企鹅珍珠贝生长最快的月份为7～11月和次年4～6月，壳长，壳高和壳宽月均增加量分别为3.8～13.0mm、4.7～11.2mm、2.3～3.8mm，月成活率97.8%～98.6%。企鹅珍珠贝生长最慢月份是11月至次年3月。     

Survival,growth and shell deformities of copper- and cadmium-exposed mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) in brackish water

Mussels, Mytilus edulis L., were exposed to elevated concentrations of copper or cadmium in the laboratory, then placed in cages in the sea (salinity 7‰). One year later maximum lengths of the mussels were measured and shells screened for deformities. Growth was 0·6 cm year^?1 in the control cages and retarded in cages of exposed mussels. A total of 63% of cadmium-exposed and 46% of copper-exposed mussels had shell deformities. In the control cages 26% were deformed while in a natural population only 3% were deformed. The proportion of deformities to growth was inversely related. Low concentrations showed their injuriousness in this long-term test, probably due to the closing of the valves during exposure to high concentrations.     

运输系统的区域效应研究

运输系统改进—运距缩短—产业布局调整这一空间过程对不同的区域可能具有完全不同的意义。本文通过对一个两区域—两部门经济模型的研究得出结论:当较落后的资源产区与经济中心之间的距离由于运输系统的改进而缩短时,资源产区的经济结构向单一化转变,初级产品的生产和输出在经济建设中逐渐占主导地位,加工工业逐渐萎缩,地方经济发展受到阻碍,而且这种变化是在距离的某一特定值处突然出现的,带有跃变的性质。这一研究结果表明,对区域运输系统的任何改进措施都应该慎而行之,以免造成与本来目标相悖的区域效应。     

Modelling the effect of low soil temperatures on transpiration by Scots pine

For ecosystem modelling of the Boreal forest it is important to include processes associated with low soil temperature during spring‐early summer, as these affect the tree water uptake. The COUP model, a physically based SVAT model, was tested with 2 years of soil and snow physical measurements and sap flow measurements in a 70‐year‐old Scots pine stand in the boreal zone of northern Sweden. During the first year the extent and duration of soil frost was manipulated in the field. The model was successful in reproducing the timing of the soil warming after the snowmelt and frost thaw. A delayed soil warming, into the growing season, severely reduced the transpiration. We demonstrated the potential for considerable overestimation of transpiration by the model if the reduction of the trees' capacity to transpire due to low soil temperatures is not taken into account. We also demonstrated that the accumulated effect of aboveground conditions could be included when simulating the relationship between soil temperature and tree water uptake. This improved the estimated transpiration for the control plot and when soil warming was delayed into the growing season. The study illustrates the need of including antecedent conditions on root growth in the model in order to catch these effects on transpiration. The COUP model is a promising tool for predicting transpiration in high‐latitude stands. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

REVIEWS OF GEOGRAPHIC SOFTWARE

Reviews of geographic software in this article: DEMO-GRAPHICS: WORLD POPULATIONS AND PROJECTIONS. ESP GAUSS. CEMODEL S. Damus LIMDEP. William H. Greene MICROSTAT 4.1 OTIS PCIPS. (Personal Computer Image Processing System) . H.J. Meyers and R. Bernstein. REGRESSION ANALYSIS OF TIME SERIES (RATS) SPSS/PC+ URBAN DATA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE (UDMS)     

Time scale of an early to mid-Paleozoic orogenic cycle of the long-lived Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Inner Mongolia of China: Implications for continental growth

We present a detailed, new time scale for an orogenic cycle (oceanic accretion–subduction–collision) that provides significant insights into Paleozoic continental growth processes in the southeastern segment of the long-lived Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). The most prominent tectonic feature in Inner Mongolia is the association of paired orogens. A southern orogen forms a typical arc-trench complex, in which a supra-subduction zone ophiolite records successive phases during its life cycle: birth (ca. 497–477 Ma), when the ocean floor of the ophiolite was formed; (2) youth (ca. 473–470 Ma), characterized by mantle wedge magmatism; (3) shortly after maturity (ca. 461–450 Ma), high-Mg adakite and adakite were produced by slab melting and subsequent interaction of the melt with the mantle wedge; (4) death, caused by subduction of a ridge crest (ca. 451–434 Ma) and by ridge collision with the ophiolite (ca. 428–423 Ma). The evolution of the magmatic arc exhibits three major coherent phases: arc volcanism (ca. 488–444 Ma); adakite plutonism (ca. 448–438 Ma) and collision (ca. 419–415 Ma) of the arc with a passive continental margin. The northern orogen, a product of ridge-trench interaction, evolved progressively from coeval generation of near-trench plutons (ca. 498–461 Ma) and juvenile arc crust (ca. 484–469 Ma), to ridge subduction (ca. 440–434 Ma), microcontinent accretion (ca. 430–420 Ma), and finally to forearc formation. The paired orogens followed a consistent progression from ocean floor subduction/arc formation (ca. 500–438 Ma), ridge subduction (ca. 451–434 Ma) to microcontinent accretion/collision (ca. 430–415 Ma); ridge subduction records the turning point that transformed oceanic lithosphere into continental crust. The recognition of this orogenic cycle followed by Permian–early Triassic terminal collision of the CAOB provides compelling evidence for episodic continental growth.