Resilience of stocking capacity to changing climate in arid to Mediterranean landscapes

Small livestock is an important resource for rural human populations in dry climates. How strongly will climate change affect the capacity of the rangeland? We used hierarchical modelling to scale quantitatively the growth of shrubs and annual plants, the main food of sheep and goats, to the landscape extent in the eastern Mediterranean region. Without grazing, productivity increased in a sigmoid way with mean annual precipitation. Grazing reduced productivity more strongly the drier the landscape. At a point just under the stocking capacity of the vegetation, productivity declined precipitously with more intense grazing due to a lack of seed production of annuals. We repeated simulations with precipitation patterns projected by two contrasting IPCC scenarios. Compared to results based on historic patterns, productivity and stocking capacity did not differ in most cases. Thus, grazing intensity remains the stronger impact on landscape productivity in this dry region even in the future.     

OPTIMIZATION OF WATER RESOURCES FOR IRRIGATION IN EAST JORDAN1

The paper describes an approach towards optimal allocation of surface and ground water resources to three agricultural areas in the Jordan Valley under conditions of scarce water supply. The optimizing model allocates water from three main rivers, each with reservoir storage, and from two ground water sources to three irrigation regions. Productivity of irrigation water, expressed as the net present value of the regional agricultural output, but allowing for crop water deficits, is first maximized using nonlinear programming. The allocation process then adopts techniques of linear programming to determine the least cost alternative based on the unit cost of water from each resource at each destination, as it varies with time.     

Economic and Ecological Transformation Processes in East German Water Management Regimes: The Role of Property Rights and Governance Structures

As in many fen land regions in East Germany, long-standing intensive arable farming—enabled by reclamation—has caused soil deterioration and high water runoff in the Schraden region. The more than ten years of economic and political transformation that followed the breakdown of the socialist regime has worsened the situation and even added new problems. The visible consequences are droughts in the summer, waterlogged plots in the spring, and worn-down water management facilities that operate in an uncoordinated or even unauthorized way. Given the local public-good character of some features of the fen land, the common-pool character of the ecosystems intermittently scarce resource water, and the conflicting interests of regional stakeholders, it is argued that the reallocation of property rights over reclamation systems, together with ineffective coordination mechanisms, have caused the physical and institutional failure of the water management system and so impeded appropriate land use. Note: This version was published online in June 2005 with the cover date of August 2004.     

粤东沿海地区的区域发展

在分析粤东沿海地区的概况、区域发展的优劣势条件基础上,结合粤东沿海地区的发展机遇,提出了区域发展的构思:扩大区域开放与协调、进行产业调整和升级、优化城镇体系和空间格局及人口发展对策.     

FORESTS AND OTHER FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH STREAMFLOWS IN EAST TEXAS1

Effects of proportion of watersheds in forest and watershed physiographic factors on mean annual streamflow (1965-76), median flow, and 12 flood flow characteristics were regionally analyzed for 19 unregulated streams in East Texas. Annual streamflow increased with decreasing proportion of forest area. Differences in annual streamflow between full forest cover and bare watersheds could be as much as 200 mm. Other things being equal, the minimum watershed area required to generate 0.142 cm (5 cfs), a criterion used by the U.S. Corps of Engineering in regulating dredge and fill activity for water pollution abatement in East Texas streams, is 70 km² (27 mi²). Of the 31 physio-climatic parameters analyzed, watershed area, percent forest area, shape index, spring precipitation, and annual temperature were the most significant in affecting streamflow characteristics in East Texas. Using 2-3 of these five variables, all of the 14 streamflow characteristics can be estimated with accuracy ranging from acceptable to excellent levels.     

东海特定海区沉积物-水界面附近P释放的实验研究

以采自长江口外东海表层沉积物为对象，对不同类型的沉积物在模拟海水环境中进行了释P实验。研究表明，在静态条件下，沉积物释P量的高点出现在摇晃后10min左右，大约3h后基本趋于平衡。释P动力学可用Elovich公式与双常数速率公式进行拟合。最大释P量与沉积物的组成密切相关，以粉砂、粘土为主的沉积物释P量高，而砂质为主者释P量低。在释P实验中，铁磷(Fe-P)最为活跃，释放比例最高，其次是吸附态磷(Ad-P)和有机态磷(OP)。它们均属于生物可获得P的范畴。实验结果表明，在合适的水动力条件下，沉积物中的P可以迅速释放到水体．并影响水体的营养状杰和初级生产力。     

Anthropogenic Calcium Particles Observed in Beijing and Qingdao, China

Analysis of individual particles collected at Beijing in northern China revealed that particles abundant in calcium (Ca) always constituted a large fraction of mineral particles in the urban atmosphere. The particles were characterized by cubic morphologies. The major mineral element in the particles was Ca and few or no other mineral elements were detected. A large number of the particles were in the range of diameter <1 μm, where common natural mineral particles were rarely detected. The contribution of the Ca particles to the volume of total mineral particles greatly exceeded that of other mineral particles during non-dust-storm periods and was comparable to that during dust-storm periods. Reagent film tests showed that particulate sulfate and nitrate formation on the Ca particles was similar to that on common mineral particles. These results indicate that a large portion of Ca in the atmospheric particulate matter in Beijing was from anthropogenic sources rather than from natural sources, and the anthropogenic Ca particles acted as a significant medium for the formation of sulfate and nitrate. Similar particles were also detected at Qingdao, a coastal city in northern China. Data of a dust storm event showed that Ca-abundant particles from East China arrived there and moved out of the continent, similarly to Asian dust storm particles, suggesting possible contributions of anthropogenic Ca even in Asian dust storm samples in the downstream areas. Therefore, Ca may not be a good indicator of Asian dust from natural sources. However, the Ca particles, due to their unique shapes and elemental compositions, may provide an indicator for the atmospheric dispersion of anthropogenic particulate matters in East Asia.     

东洞庭湖世界涉危鸟类多样性的分析研究

为了探讨湿地自然保护区综合措施的实施对鸟类多类性的影响,本文分析比较了东洞庭湖自1992年加入国际《湿地公约》后,在1992-1996年间世界濒危鸟类多样性的动态变化。自1992年加入国际《湿地公约》后,尽管对洞庭湖湿地及其内栖息的生物采取了诸多保护措施,但仍发现世界濒危鸟类多样性的值并未如人们所期望迅速有所回升,而是呈弱递减趋势。东洞庭湖湿地的世界濒危鸟类多样性大小状况为:1992-1993>1993-1994>1994-1995>1995-1996。因为湿地环境的客观改善勿容质疑,为此得出结论:鸟类多样性的恢复存在滞缓期。并且作者对退化湿地生态系统的恢复途径进行了讨论,提出合理化建议:(1)应该根据湿地演替的规律进行认为辅助演替。(2)保证湿地环境的稳定性,增加净生产力,使鸟类的基础饵料丰富充足。     

Characteristics of Cajander Larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix cajanderi</Emphasis> Mayr) on Dredging Waste Dumps in the Amur Region

Former dredging sites were studied in the taiga zone of the Amur region (in Khabarovsk Krai). The involvement of Larix cajanderi in plant succession on dredging waste dumps was revealed. Some morphological-anatomical parameters of L. cajanderi needles were compared in trees growing on the dumps and in adjacent open larch stands on waterlogged peaty soils.__________Translated from Ekologiya, No. 4, 2005, pp. 259–263.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Osipov, Burundukova.     

Global localism: Recentering the research agenda for biodiversity conservation

Global environmental crisis narratives about biodiversity loss promote conservation research on how human activities impact natural resources and link scientific findings to protectionist policies. This paper critiques how local knowledge, over space and through time, is constructed for these studies and integrated with ecological measures and qualitative interpretations of biodiversity conditions. As a case example, we describe how ethnoecological research at Mt. Kasigau, a biodiversity hot spot in Southeastern Kenya, changes ‘scientific’ views on human–resource relations. Species richness in woody plants and local knowledge about trees show resource continua on the mountain that question the designation of diverse undisturbed forests and degraded human‐utilized lands. Local narratives document spatially dynamic and adaptive relationships between the Kasigau Taita and their plant resources as they moved up and down the mountain in response to environmental conditions and extra local forces. We argue that greater ‘local learning’ about local places is important to hypothesizing and potentially guiding ‘global action’ for biodiversity conservation.