A study of climate change and anthropogenic impacts in West Africa

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: During the last decades ecological conditions in West Africa have dramatically changed. Very evident is the climate change, which has resulted in a southward shift of the climate zones, e.g. a spread of the desert (Sahara) into the Sahelian zone. After the drought period of the early 1970s and 1980s, livestock density increased resulting in an intensification of grazing pressure. This anthropogenous phenomenon leads to similar landscape changes as those caused by the climate. Only very few investigations exist on vegetation dynamics, climate changes and land use changes for the Sudanian zone. The paper presents data on changes of precipitation, of land use, of the geographical range of species, and of the composition of the flora, which have to be regarded as proofs of the sahelisation of large areas of the Sudanian zone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Area of investigation: Burkina Faso. Precipitation data analysis: precipitation data from 67 stations; time series analysis and geo-statistical spatial interpolation. Analysis of land use change: Landsat satellite MSS and ETM+ data, acquired for two different dates between 1972 and 2001 analyzed by the software ERDAS/IMAGINE version 8.6 and ArcView 3.2 with the Spatial Analyst extension. Intensive ground truthing (160 training areas). Inventory of the flora: based on the data of the Herbarium Senckenbergianum (FR) in Frankfurt, Germany, and of the herbarium of the university of Ouagadougou (OUA), Burkina Faso, as well as on various investigations on the vegetation of Burkina Faso carried out in the years 1990 to 2005 by the team of the senior author. Life form analysis of the flora: based on the inventory of permanent plots. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Precipitation: Remarkable latitudinal shift of isohyets towards the South translates to a general reduction of average rainfall in great parts of the country. The last decade (1990-1999) shows some improvement, however, the more humid conditions of the 1950's and 1960's are not yet established again. Landcover change: In the study region the extent of arable fields and young fallows increased during the last 30 years from 580 km(2) in 1972 to 2870 km(2) in 2001. This means an average land cover conversion rate of 0.9% per year for the 6 departments considered. Change of the distribution of Sahelian and Sudanian species: Several species, mentioned in older literature as strictly Sahelian, today also occur in the Sudanian zone. Parallel to the spread of former strictly Sahelian species into the Sudanian zone, some former Sahelo-Sudanian species have withdrawn from the Sahel. Changes of the life form spectra of the flora: Considering their life form spectra, the flora of heavily grazed and of protected areas in the Sudanian zone show great differences. On areas intensively grazed the percentage of therophytes is evidently higher than on protected areas. Just the opposite is true for the phanerophytes. Their percentage is higher on the protected area than on the grazed zones. At the first glance, it is obvious to link the changes in flora and vegetation with the climate changes that have occurred during the last five decades (decrease of annual precipitation). However, not only climatic conditions have changed, but also population has increased, the percentage of land intensively used for agriculture and pasturing has increased and the time for soil regeneration today is much shorter than it was some decades ago. Thus, the landscape of the Sudanian zone has become a more Sahelian character. A comparison of the flora of an intensively used area of the Sudanian zone with that of a protected area shows a remarkable change in the life form spectra. The spectrum of the intensively used area is almost identical with that of the typical Sahelian flora. This comparison shows that the anthropogenic influence plays a greater role in the sahelisation of the Sudanian zone than the climate change. CONCLUSION: Climate change and anthropogenic influence both, lead to a sahelisation of landscape and flora. Thus in many parts of the Sudanian zone of West Africa sahelisation phenomena will remain and even increase independently from the reestablishment of the more humid climate conditions of the 1950ies. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: In order to maintain some parts of the characteristic Sudanian landscape with its characteristic flora and vegetation, the number and size of protected areas should be augmented. For all protected areas it has to be ensured, that protection is reality, i.e. respected an understood by local people, not only fiction. As long as the enlargement of intensively used areas continues the sahelisation of flora, vegetation and landscape will continue too.     

燃烧氧化—非分散性红外吸收法测定海水中的碳

采用日本岛津公司ＴＯＣ－５０００分析仪，用燃烧氧化－非分用性红外吸法测定海水中的总有机碳，无机碳的含量，实验相对标准偏差小于２．１２％，ＴＯＣ方法回收率为９９．９％－１０６％。准确度和精度都很高，且由于过程快速简便，氧化率高，方法实性强。     

Turbulence Perturbations in the Neutrally Stratified Surface Layer due to the Interaction of a Katabatic Flow with a Steep Ridge

Turbulence measurements were performed in Antarctica, on the Nansen Ice Sheet, dominated by westerly katabatic winds. The measurements were taken at two sites aligned with the katabatic wind fall-line. The measuring stations were located in the middle of a wide, flat iced area at a distance of 14 km from the base of a sloping surface and at the top of a steep ridge (Inexpressible Island). The aim was to investigate the perturbation of turbulence close to the ground generated by the interaction of the flow with the ridge. We present an analysis comparing the data measured at the upstream unperturbed station with those at the top of the obstacle. Moments and spectra of velocity components have been calculated for almost steady periods. The topography and roughness change produce a combined effect on the flow acceleration (of the opposite sign) and on the turbulent stresses (of the same sign). Spectra of velocity components measured at the top of the ridge and scaled by unperturbed quantities evidence an increment of energy in the high frequency subrange with respect to the up-stream flow. Moreover, the horizontal velocity components display a shift in turbulence maximum towards higher frequencies. The vertical velocity spectrum exhibits an energy increment at low frequencies with respect to the upstream spectrum.     

Lag Effects in the Impacts of Mass Coral Bleaching on Coral Reef Fish, Fisheries, and Ecosystems

Abstract:  Recent episodes of coral bleaching have led to wide-scale loss of reef corals and raised concerns over the effectiveness of existing conservation and management efforts. The 1998 bleaching event was most severe in the western Indian Ocean, where coral declined by up to 90% in some locations. Using fisheries-independent data, we assessed the long-term impacts of this event on fishery target species in the Seychelles, the overall size structure of the fish assemblage, and the effectiveness of two marine protected areas (MPAs) in protecting fish communities. The biomass of fished species above the size retained in fish traps changed little between 1994 and 2005, indicating no current effect on fishery yields. Biomass remained higher in MPAs, indicating they were effective in protecting fish stocks. Nevertheless, the size structure of the fish communities, as described with size-spectra analysis, changed in both fished areas and MPAs, with a decline in smaller fish (<30 cm) and an increase in larger fish (>45 cm). We believe this represents a time-lag response to a reduction in reef structural complexity brought about because fishes are being lost through natural mortality and fishing, and are not being replaced by juveniles. This effect is expected to be greater in terms of fisheries productivity and, because congruent patterns are observed for herbivores, suggests that MPAs do not offer coral reefs long-term resilience to bleaching events. Corallivores and planktivores declined strikingly in abundance, particularly in MPAs, and this decline was associated with a similar pattern of decline in their preferred corals. We suggest that climate-mediated disturbances, such as coral bleaching, be at the fore of conservation planning for coral reefs.     

红外光度法测定低浓度水样中的石油类和动植物油研究

文章对如何提高低浓度样品测量的准确度进行了探讨.在测量低浓度的水样时,在萃取过程中除了四氯化碳会对水样中的油份进行萃取,水对四氯化碳中的极性物质也进行反萃取,当样品中含油浓度很低时,由于四氯化碳含极性物质可能大于油分含量,从而出现负值.因此测定低浓度水样中的石油类和动植物油是一项精细的工作,在实际工作中应该尽量采取下文所述的方法避免这种情况,只有做好了测量的各个环节,才能保证测量结果的精确可靠.     

Clove as antioxidant additive in diesel–biodiesel fuel blends in diesel engines

Increased NOx emission from usage of biodiesel is a burning issue to be dealt with. Many techniques have been adopted to reduce NOx emissions from diesel engines. The present experimental study deals with the analysis of performance and emission characteristics of Cotton Seed oil biodiesel with the addition of natural antioxidant extract of clove. FTIR analysis characterized the antioxidant by the presence of hydroxyl groups denoted by the corresponding wave number. The oxidation stability of the test samples was determined in terms of induction period by means of Rancimat test. The induction periods of the test fuel samples B100, B20, B20+CL1000, and B20+CL2000 were found to be 2.20 h, 2.73 h, 10.19 h, and 11.12 h, respectively. Thus, the addition of Clove antioxidant increased the oxidation stability of the biodiesel. Results show that the addition of antioxidant to biodiesel blend has increased the Brake Thermal Efficiency to a maximum of 4.71% and decreased the Brake Specific Fuel Consumption to a maximum of 6.25% at full-load conditions compared to Cotton Seed biodiesel blend. The addition of Clove extract antioxidant at a concentration of 1000 ppm and 2000 ppm decreases the NOx emission by 23.03% and 26.7%, respectively, at full-load conditions. However, CO emissions increased by 1.12% and 4.49% with the addition of CL1000 and CL2000 to B20, respectively. Similarly, HC emissions increased by 4.19% and 7.35% by the addition of CL1000 and CL2000 to B20, respectively. The increases in smoke with the addition of CL1000 and CL2000 to B20 were 42.48% and 47.71%, respectively.     

重构土壤垂直剖面重金属Cd赋存形态及影响因素

针对矿业废弃地高背景值-历史矿业源相叠加区下土壤重金属Cd污染问题,以西南地区某历史硫磺矿业废弃地重构土壤为研究对象,采集剖面土壤共30个样品,分析测试土壤样品中镉(Cd)、铬(Cr)、镍(Ni)、砷(As)和汞(Hg),利用电镜扫描-能谱分析(SEM-EDS)和重金属形态连续提取的BCR方法,分析不同土层厚度下Cd的赋存形式,运用风险评价编码法(RAC)和次生相与原生相分布比值法(RSP)对其进行有效性评价,以及对不同理化性质下Cd各形态的变化规律进行了初步探讨.结果表明,研究区5种重金属中Cd全量的富集系数最高,达4以上;通过形貌特征可以发现,样品中存在较多的次棱角状、棱角状颗粒,不同深度下的能谱特征显示结果相似,均含有Cd、Fe、S和As等元素,Cd元素是以类质同象形式存在;对Cd进行潜在风险评价,RAC结果显示为中等风险及以下,RSP结果主要为重度污染;重金属全量是影响Cd各形态含量分布的最主要因素,其次pH、有机质和CEC,对垂直深度的土壤Cd赋存形态也表现出不同程度的影响.该研究结果可为进一步了解Cd在剖面土壤的活性、迁移规律、生物毒性和赋存形式提供科学依据.     

垃圾填埋场地下水溶解性有机物光谱特征

垃圾填埋为我国垃圾处理的最主要途径,填埋过程中渗滤液的泄漏将导致附近地下水污染.地下水中溶解性有机物(DOM)能示踪外来污染物的来源、形态和迁移转化过程,其组成、结构和分布的差异具有重要的环境指示意义.联合现代光谱技术及多元统计分析方法,研究了不同运行年限填埋场地下水中DOM来源、组成和分子结构特征,探究了不同年限地下水DOM动力学演化规律.结果表明,填埋场地下水DOM以微生物来源为主,其次为自生陆源.填埋前期阶段其微生物来源DOM较多,而在填埋后期微生物来源DOM减弱.填埋年限较短的填埋场地下水DOM主要为一些新生成腐殖化程度较低的易降解类色氨酸和类酪氨酸,其促进微生物活性,且各点位差异性较大,应提高预警措施.填埋时间相对较长的填埋场地下水有机质腐殖化率高,难降解的大分子物质累积,微生物活性减弱,填埋垃圾趋向稳定对地下水影响减弱.     

吸水性还原性材料对煤自燃影响的实验研究

为了解决吸水性盐和还原性材料仅依靠其单一特性抑制煤自燃而抑制效果并不理想的问题,提出了利用羟甲基磺酸钠的吸水性和还原性来抑制煤自燃。将原煤-20%羟甲基磺酸钠通过对比原煤、原煤-20%MgCl2和原煤-20%VC,利用程序升温实验和FTIR测试来研究其抑制煤自燃的效果。研究结果表明:3种溶液处理煤均在一定程度上抑制了煤自燃,其中,20%羟甲基磺酸钠溶液对抑制煤低温氧化的效果最好,经过其处理的煤样表观活化能最大,同时,依靠其还原性很好地保护了煤中的亚甲基和羟基不被破坏,抑制煤自燃效果明显优于20%MgCl2溶液和20%VC溶液。     

基于水面反射率光谱分类的太湖藻蓝蛋白浓度反演

藻蓝蛋白是蓝藻的标志性色素,利用遥感反演藻蓝蛋白浓度的时空分布对于蓝藻水华监测和预警具有重要意义.太湖水体光学特性时空差异较大,传统的藻蓝蛋白遥感反演方法在太湖各湖区各季节的适用性有限.因此,本文采用先分类再反演的策略,基于水面反射率光谱分类进行太湖藻蓝蛋白浓度反演建模.首先采用逐步迭代的K均值聚类方法实现光谱分类;然后分别利用每一类的训练样本光谱数据建立最适用于该类的藻蓝蛋白反演模型;最后利用每一类的检验样本光谱数据进行反演模型精度评价.为了对比,同时采用不分类的传统方法进行反演建模和精度评价.检验结果表明:基于不分类的传统建模方法得到的均方根误差RMSE=14.14μg·L-1,平均相对误差σ=59.1%,反演结果和实测数据可决系数为0.46;基于光谱分类的建模方法得到RMSE=8.47μg·L-1,σ=31.3%,反演结果和实测数据可决系数为0.87.因此,基于光谱分类的藻类蛋白反演方法有效地提高了反演精度,可以为其它水体的藻蓝蛋白浓度反演提供借鉴.