TRANSIENT RESPONSE FUNCTIONS FOR CONJUNCTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN,IDAHO1

ABSTRACT: Increasing demands on western water are causing a mounting need for the conjunctive management of surface water and ground water resources. Under western water law, the senior water rights holder has priority over the junior water rights holder in times of water shortage. Water managers have been reluctant to conjunctively manage surface water and ground water resources because of the difficulty of quantification of the impacts to surface water resources from ground water stresses. Impacts from ground water use can take years to propagate through an aquifer system. Prediction of the degree of impact to surface water resources over time and the spatial distribution of impacts is very difficult. Response functions mathematically describe the relationship between a unit ground water stress applied at a specific location and stream depletion or aquifer water level change elsewhere in the system. Response functions can be used to help quantify the spatial and temporal impacts to surface water resources caused by ground water pumping. This paper describes the theory of response functions and presents an application of transient response functions in the Snake River Plain, Idaho. Transient response functions can be used to facilitate the conjunctive management of surface and ground water not only in the eastern Snake River Plain basin, but also in similar basins throughout the western United States.     

Toward a psychological and cultural model of downsizing

Organizational downsizing is often counterproductive and applied irrespective of past financial performance. The popularity of this tactic leads to the question of whether an executive's propensity to downsize is linked to characteristics such as uncertainty avoidance and risk tolerance, which can be examined at either an individual or societal level. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detecting the signal of atmospheric N deposition in recent national-scale vegetation change across Britain

Model estimates of NO_y and NH_x deposition across Britain for 1996 (5 km square resolution) were applied as explanatory variables to account for national-scale, fine-grained changes in plant species composition between 1990 and 1998. Plant species data were recorded from up to 27 fixed plots located within a stratified random sample of 596 1 km². The response variable was a cover-weighted Ellenberg fertility score for each plot. Analyses were carried out separately for woodlands, semi-natural grasslands and heaths/bogs. Most of the variation in the botanical response variable occurred between plots within squares and so could not be explained by the model deposition data. NH_x deposition estimates accounted for significant, but small components of between 1 km² variation in the change in Ellenberg score in grasslands (5.6%) and heath/bogs (9.8%) but not woodlands. NO_y deposition estimates were not significantly associated with vegetation change. Linear models provided the best fit and the slope of the relationship was lower for heath/bogs than grasslands. Further signal attribution at sub-kilometre square scales requires the development of fine-grained models of N deposition that can be generalised across regional sampling domains.     

Tillage erosion and its effect on soil properties and crop yield in Denmark

Tillage erosion had been identified as a major process of soil redistribution on sloping arable land. The objectives of our study were to investigate the extent of tillage erosion and its effect on soil quality and productivity under Danish conditions. Soil samples were collected to a 0.45-m depth on a regular grid from a 1.9-ha site and analyzed for 137Cs inventories, as a measure of soil redistribution, soil texture, soil organic carbon (SOC) contents, and phosphorus (P) contents. Grain yield was determined at the same sampling points. Substantial soil redistribution had occurred during the past decades, mainly due to tillage. Average tillage erosion rates of 2.7 kg m(-2) yr(-1) occurred on the shoulderslopes, while deposition amounted to 1.2 kg m(-2) yr(-1) on foot- and toeslopes. The pattern of soil redistribution could not be explained by water erosion. Soil organic carbon and P contents in soil profiles increased from the shoulder- toward the toeslopes. Tillage translocation rates were strongly correlated with SOC contents, A-horizon depth, and P contents. Thus, tillage erosion had led to truncated soils on shoulderslopes and deep, colluvial soils on the foot- and toeslopes, substantially affecting within-field variability of soil properties. We concluded that tillage erosion has important implications for SOC dynamics on hummocky land and increases the risk for nutrient losses by overland flow and leaching. Despite the occurrence of deep soils across the study area, evidence suggested that crop productivity was affected by tillage-induced soil redistribution. However, tillage erosion effects on crop yield were confounded by topography-yield relationships.     

A multi-objective optimisation approach to water management

The management of river basins is complex especially when decisions about environmental flows are considered in addition to those concerning urban and agricultural water demand. The solution to these complex decision problems requires the use of mathematical techniques that are formulated to take into account conflicting objectives. Many optimization models exist for water management systems but there is a knowledge gap in linking bio-economic objectives with the optimum use of all water resources under conflicting demands. The efficient operation and management of a network of nodes comprising storages, canals, river reaches and irrigation districts under environmental flow constraints is challenging. Minimization of risks associated with agricultural production requires accounting for uncertainty involved with climate, environmental policy and markets. Markets and economic criteria determine what crops farmers would like to grow with subsequent effect on water resources and the environment. Due to conflicts between multiple goal requirements and the competing water demands of different sectors, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework was developed to analyze production targets under physical, biological, economic and environmental constraints. This approach is described by analyzing the conflicts that may arise between profitability, variable costs of production and pumping of groundwater for a hypothetical irrigation area.     

Effects of commercial diazinon and imidacloprid on microbial urease activity in soil and sod

Diazinon [O,O-diethyl O-2-isopropyl-6-methyl(pyrimidine-4-yl) phosphorothioate] and imidacloprid [1-(1-[6-chloro-3-pyridinyl]methyl)-N-nitro-2-imidazolidinimine] are applied to lawns for insect control simultaneously with nitrogenous fertilizers such as urea, but their potential effect on urease activity and nitrogen availability in turfgrass management has not been evaluated. Urease activity in enzyme assays, washed cell assays, and soil slurries was examined as a function of insecticide concentration. Intact cores from field sites were used to assess the effect of insecticide application on urease activity in creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris Huds.) and bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) sod. Bacterial urease from Bacillus pasteurii and plant urease from jack bean [Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC.] were unaffected by the insecticides. Both insecticides inhibited the growth of Proteus vulgaris, a urease-producing bacterium, but only diazinon significantly reduced urease activity in washed cells; neither insecticide inhibited urease activity in sonicated cells. Neither diazinon nor imidacloprid inhibited urease activity in Woolper soil (fine, mixed, mesic Typic Argiudoll) slurries, but diazinon slightly inhibited urease activity in Maury soil (fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Paleudalf) slurries. Imidacloprid had no effect on urease activity in creeping bentgrass or bluegrass sod at up to 10 times the commercial application rate. Diazinon briefly, but significantly, reduced urease activity in bluegrass sod. Co-application of imidacloprid and urea appears to be benign with respect to urease activity in soil and sod. Diazinon, in contrast, appears to have a significant, short-term, inhibitory effect on the microbial urease-producing community, but that effect depends on soil type.     

香港区域发展策略性环境影响评价的实践探讨

香港区域发展的策略性环境影响评价(简称环评)从20世纪80年代起步,已形成包括行政规定和法例规定的制度框架,其策略性环评的实践范围也逐步从规划、计划向政策、策略扩展.从评价过程、评价方法、公众参与时段安排、决策出发点等方面分析了2个香港区域发展的策略性环评案例.结果表明,为使策略性环评取得预想的成果并有助于可持续发展,...     

城市燃气管网的地震紧急处置系统研究

燃气管网的地震破坏有时会导致火灾、爆炸等严重的次生灾害。城市中的燃气管网系统若能具备地震紧急处置功能,在地震来临时及时采取自动关闭燃气供应阀门等紧急处置措施,可以避免或减少此类次生灾害的发生。介绍了普遍用于燃气管网日常调度管理的SCADA系统的组成与工作原理,探讨了在SCADA系统中加入地震紧急处置功能的可行性,并基于ArcGIS地理软件,通过VBA二次开发编制了燃气管网的地震紧急处置模拟程序,为燃气管网地震紧急处置系统的实现提供了一定依据。     

福建省热带气旋暴雨型地质灾害特征分析

福建是受热带气旋影响较严重的省份,又是一个多山的省份,每年都有因热带气旋暴雨诱发滑坡等地质灾害造成巨大人员伤亡和经济损失的事例发生.通过分析福建省1990～2006年热带气旋暴雨诱发的地质灾害个例,发现热带气旋暴雨型地质灾害的规模和强度均比雨季暴雨诱发的地质灾害大;它的发生与热带气旋路径、过程雨量和当日雨量关系密切,地质灾害主要发生在强降水后的48 h内;热带气旋登陆前后,若有偏东急流、西南季风、冷空气、暖式切变等系统共同作用,对暴雨具有增幅作用,极易引发地质灾害.     

内蒙古典型草原土壤不同剖面深度CO_2通量格局及其驱动因子

土壤CO2的释放能够显著增加大气牛CO2的浓度,增强温室效应,从而对全球气候和环境变化产生重要影响.但是,不同的土壤层对CO2通量的贡献量有很大的差异.文章通过挖坑法结合红外气体分析法研究了内蒙古草原典犁针茅(Stipa krylovii)群落和羊草(Leymus chinensis)群落不同剖面深度土壤CO2通量格局以及影响CO2通量的驱动因素.结果表明,表层土壤移走后,土壤CO2通量的变化可分为瞬时、短期、长期三种格局.新剖面上最初的0～21 min内释放的CO2通量最均大于初始土壤表层CO2通量,而且两者比值随土壤深度增加而增大,也随土壤CO2生产能力增强而增大.2～4 d后,新剖面CO2通量持续下降至低于初始土壤表层CO2通量的水平.形成短期稳定状态.更长时间后,新剖面则逐渐表现出与初始土壤剖面表层相近的CO2通量特征.我们认为,(1)在新剖面形成时的CO2通量瞬时和短期格局主要受土壤中存留的原始CO2的浓度及其扩散过程控制,(2)长期格局则由资源水平和环境条件共同决定的土壤CO2生产能力主导.文章进一步揭示了建立包含垂直分层的SOC分解和CO2扩散过程的生态系统模型的必要性.