Just Add Water and the Colorado River Still Reaches the Sea

A recent article in Environmental Management by All argued that flood flows in North America’s Colorado River do not reach the Gulf of California because they are captured and evaporated in Laguna Salada, a below sea-level lakebed near the mouth of the river. We refute this hypothesis by showing that (1) due to its limited area, the Laguna Salada could have evaporated less than 10% of the flood flows that have occurred since 1989; (2) low flow volumes preferentially flow to the Gulf rather than Laguna Salada; (3) All’s method for detecting water surface area in the Laguna Salada appears to be flawed because Landsat Thematic Mapper images of the lakebed show it to be dry when All’s analyses said it was flooded; (4) direct measurements of salinity at the mouth of the river and in the Upper Gulf of California during flood flows in 1993 and 1998 confirm that flood waters reach the sea; and (5) stable oxygen isotope signatures in clam shells and fish otoliths recorded the dilution of seawater with fresh water during the 1993 and 1998 flows. Furthermore, All’s conclusion that freshwater flows do not benefit the ecology of the marine zone is incorrect because the peer-reviewed literature shows that postlarval larval shrimp populations increase during floods, and the subsequent year’s shrimp harvest increases. Furthermore, freshwater flows increase the nursery area for Gulf corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus), an important commercial fish that requires estuarine habitats with salinities in the range of 26–38‰ during its natal stages. Although flood flows are now much diminished compared to the pre-dam era, they are still important to the remnant wetland and riparian habitats of the Colorado River delta and to organisms in the intertidal and marine zone. Only a small fraction of the flood flows are evaporated in Laguna Salada.     

Sand Fences in the Coastal Zone: Intended and Unintended Effects

Sand-trapping fences modify the character of the coastal landscape and change its spatial structure, image, and meaning. This paper examines the relationship between these changes and fence usage at the municipal level, where most decisions about fence deployment are made. Use of fences in 29 municipalities on the developed coast of New Jersey is examined over a 6-year period. Interviews with municipal officers indicate that wooden slat sand-trapping fences are used primarily to build dunes to provide protection against wave uprush and flooding, but they are also used to control pedestrian traffic and demarcate territory. These uses result in changes in landforms and habitats. An aerial video inventory of fences taken in 2002 indicates that 82% of the shoreline had fences and 72% had dunes. Single and double straight fence rows are the most commonly used. Fences are often built to accomplish a specific primary purpose, but they can cause many different and often unanticipated changes to the landscape. The effects of a sand fence change through time as the initial structure traps sand, creates a dune that is colonized by vegetation, and becomes integrated into the environment by increasing topographic variability and aesthetic and habitat value. Sand fences can be made more compatible with natural processes by not placing them in locations where sources of wind blown sand are restricted or in unnatural shore perpendicular orientations. Symbolic fences are less expensive, are easy to replace when damaged, are less visually intrusive, and can be used for controlling pedestrian access.     

The role of private rural properties for conserving native vegetation in Brazilian Southern Amazonia

Regional Environmental Change - The State of Mato Grosso in Brazil has undergone intensive land use changes over the past decades. Native ecosystems have been converted into agrosystems for the...     

昆明市东川区农业旱灾风险区识别研究

昆明市东川区是云南省农业旱灾危害较为严重的区域之一。利用2000-2007年东川区各乡镇历史灾情等数据资料,应用风险分析理论、效用理论、因子-成份分析方法等理论方法,在分别研究致灾风险度、承灾体易损性及地域人群对农业旱灾心理反响等基础上,构建了东川区农业旱灾风险评价模型。初步揭示出东川区农业旱灾风险度呈现出自南向北、自西向东逐渐增强的空间态势;识别出极高风险区、高风险区、中风险区和低风险区等4个农业旱灾风险区;发现东川区各地农业旱灾综合风险度、致灾风险度、承灾体易损度以及地域人群对旱灾的心理响应值等指数之间普遍存在着明显的正相关。     

华南地区大气传输过程中黑碳的湿清除比例及其来源的影响

黑碳(black carbon,BC)的湿清除对其大气寿命和环境气候效应的评估至关重要。本研究使用黑碳仪(Aethalometer,AE-33)在南岭地区对BC开展了三次观测,结合指数衰减方程评估了传输过程中累计降雨量(accumulated precipitation along the trajectory,APT)对华南地区BC传输效率的影响。此外,将BC来源区分为生物质燃烧源(biomass burning,BB)和化石燃料燃烧源(fossil fuel burning,FF),探讨了不同排放源BC湿清除比例(wet scavenging ratio,WSR)的差异。结果表明：基于指数衰减方程结果和W_SR的结果指出华南地区的BC受到湿清除的影响要明显大于日韩等偏远地区,可能反映了更高拟合的BC老化程度。A_PT在5—30 mm范围内的增加对BC的湿清除有显著的影响。不同来源BC的W_SR存在显著差异：BC_BB的W_SR(44%—62%)高于BC_FF(35...