Considerations for preserve design based on the distribution of rare plants in Great Smoky Mountains National Park,USA

Park design principles are proposed on the basis of consideration and analysis of rare plant species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Rare species richness can be used as a simple measure of preservation success. A semilogartihmic species-area model for the Smokies was used in this analysis. Species richness would increase logarathmically with expansion of the national park area. An analysis of the relationship between species richness and the distribution of geologic and topographic features in the national park was also reported. An asymptotic relation was documented for the accumulation of newly recorded rare and endangered vascular plant species in the Smokies region up to 1978. Several multiple regression linear models predicted rare vascular plant species richness in Great Smoky Mountains National Park from area and topographic variates.Preserve design criteria can be based upon species-area, environmental gradient, and natural features distribution patterns for the specific taxa and biogeographic region under consideration. In addition, natural history characteristics for particular vulnerable species must be assessed. Rather than concentrating on the preservation of undocumented immigration and extinction processes, preserve design should be directed towards protecting geographic components and gradient patterns characteristic of a region.     

OPEN CHANNEL INTERPOLATION OF CROSS SECTIONAL PROPERTIES1

ABSTRACT: This paper confirms the use of interpolated data to refine water surface profiles. Sources of error within these computations are due to truncation error, inaccuracies in geometric data, and improper modeling. Confirmation includes the development of an equation that models the effect of data measurement error on the computed water surface profile. A review of interpolation procedures includes a proposed method based upon geometric properties.     

HYDROLOGIC MODELING WITH REMOTELY SENSED DATABASES1

ABSTRACT: An integrated remotely sensed database was used as the basis for a hydrologic and sediment transport modeling effort for an agricultural area of western Puerto Rico. Classified spectral images of airborne radiance data provided ground cover information and were used in conjunction with topographic and soils data to guide model construction and provide input to the water balance and sediment yield simulations. Runoff and sediment discharge from hydrologically homogeneous regions were routed through the drainage network and combined at the basin outlet. The model was used to simulate four years of observed sediment discharge from the basin. Relative contributions to the total sediment yield of forested and agricultural areas were determined and compared.     

Tree Leaf Biomarkers for Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on tree N cycling and identify potential biomarkers forNdeposition. Between April and October 2002 extensive fieldwork was undertaken at Mardley Heath in Hertfordshire. This woodland, located adjacent to the A1(M) motorway, is exposed to high levels of atmospheric nitrogen oxides from the traffic. Measurements of ¹⁵N, in vivo nitrate reductase (NR) activity, tissue, xylem and surface nitrate concentrations as well as N concentration and growth were made along a 700-m transect at 90° to the motorway. The ¹⁵N data show that oxidised N from the road traffic is taken up by nearby trees and is incorporated into plant tissues. Our measurements of NR activities suggest elevated rates close to the motorway. However, xylem sap, leaf tissue and leaf surface nitrate concentrations showed no differences between the roadside location and the most distant sampling point from the motorway. Taken together the ¹⁵N and nitrate reductase data suggest uptake and assimilation of N through the foliage.We conclude that for this lowland deciduouswoodland, tissue, xylem and surface measurements of nitrate are unreliable biomarkers for N deposition whereas ¹⁵N, growth measurements and integrated seasonal NR might be useful. The results also point to the benefit of roadside tree planting to screen pollution from motor vehicles.     

Vegetation stress detection through chlorophyll a + b estimation and fluorescence effects on hyperspectral imagery

Physical principles applied to remote sensing data are key to successfully quantifying vegetation physiological condition from the study of the light interaction with the canopy under observation. We used the fluorescence-reflectance-transmittance (FRT) and PROSPECT leaf models to simulate reflectance as a function of leaf biochemical and fluorescence variables. A series of laboratory measurements of spectral reflectance at leaf and canopy levels and a modeling study were conducted, demonstrating that effects of chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) can be detected by remote sensing. The coupled FRT and PROSPECT model enabled CF and chlorophyll a + b (Ca + b) content to be estimated by inversion. Laboratory measurements of leaf reflectance (r) and transmittance (t) from leaves with constant Ca + b allowed the study of CF effects on specific fluorescence-sensitive indices calculated in the Photosystem I (PS-I) and Photosystem II (PS-II) optical region, such as the curvature index [CUR; (R675.R690)/R2(683)]. Dark-adapted and steady-state fluorescence measurements, such as the ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence (Fv/Fm), steady state maximal fluorescence (F'm), steady state fluorescence (Ft), and the effective quantum yield (delta F/F'm) are accurately estimated by inverting the FRT-PROSPECT model. A double peak in the derivative reflectance (DR) was related to increased CF and Ca + b concentration. These results were consistent with imagery collected with a compact airborne spectrographic imager (CASI) sensor from sites of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall) of high and low stress conditions, showing a double peak on canopy derivative reflectance in the red-edge spectral region. We developed a derivative chlorophyll index (DCI; calculated as D705/D722), a function of the combined effects of CF and Ca + b content, and used it to detect vegetation stress.     

Alfalfa rapidly remediates excess inorganic nitrogen at a fertilizer spill site

By 19%, standard remediation techniques had significantly reduced the concentration of nitrate nitrogen (NO3- -N) in local ground water at the site of a 1989 anhydrous ammonia spill, but NO3- -N concentrations in portions of the site still exceeded the public drinking water standard. Our objective was to determine whether local soil and ground water quality could be improved with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). A 3-yr study was conducted in replicated plots (24 by 30 m) located hydrologically upgradient of the ground water under the spill site. Three alfalfa entries ['Agate', Ineffective Agate (a non-N2-fixing elite germplasm similar to Agate), and MWNC-4 (an experimental germplasm)] were seeded in the spring of 1996. Corn (Zea mays L.) or wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was seeded adjacent to the alfalfa each year. Crops were irrigated with N-containing ground water to meet water demand. During the 3-yr period, about 540 kg of inorganic N was removed from the aquifer through irrigation of 4.9 million L water. Cumulative N removal from the site over 3 yr was 972 kg N ha(-1) in Ineffective Agate alfalfa hay, compared with 287 kg N ha(-1) for the annual cereal grain. Soil solution NO3- concentrations were reduced to low and stable levels by alfalfa, but were more variable under the annual crops. Ground water quality improved, as evidenced by irrigation water N concentration. We do not know how much N was removed by the N2-fixing alfalfas, but it appears that either fixing or non-N2-fixing alfalfa will effectively remove inorganic N from N-affected sites.     

Demonstrating Floodplain Uncertainty Using Flood Probability Maps1

Abstract: The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps depict the 100‐year recurrence interval floodplain boundary as a single line. However, because of natural variability and model uncertainty, no floodplain extents can be accurately defined by a single line. This article presents a new approach to floodplain mapping that takes advantage of accepted methodologies in hydrologic and hydraulic analysis while including the effects of uncertainty. In this approach, the extents of computed floodplain boundaries are defined as a continuous map of flood probabilities, rather than as a single line. Engineers and planners can use these flood probability maps for viewing the uncertainty of a floodplain boundary at any recurrence interval. Such a flood probability map is a useful tool for visualizing the uncertainty of a floodplain boundary and represents greater honesty in engineering technologies that are used for flood mapping. While institutional barriers may prevent adoption of such definitions for use in graduated flood insurance rates (as most other insurance industries use to account for relative risks), the methods open the door technically to such a reality.     

THE IMPACT OF HIGH INTEREST RATES ON OPTIMUM MULTIPLE OBJECTIVE DESIGN OF SURFACE RUNOFF URBAN DRAINAGE SYSTEMS1

ABSTRACT. This research examines the impact of high rates of interest upon the least cost system design for urban drainage systems when water quality is a critical parameter. Results of examination of twelve alternative system designs in a case study watershed indicate the least cost study design is highly sensitive to the rate of interest, but not sensitive to the water quality parameters. When the high rates of interest currently prevalent are introduced into the model those systems which contain open channel collection components are selected as the least cost system. At low rates of interest pipeline collection components are selected as the least cost system. Holding pond components of system design are cost effective at several levels of water quality. They are neutral to the rate of interest so they are incorporated in least cost systems at all the levels of interest rates. The results of the study indicate that at the current high rates of interest open channel collection systems and holding ponds are cost effective system components to achieve selected levels of water quality in urban drainage system design.