A coastal conservation programme for the chennai sea shore, India —A case study

The Chennai coast, an integral part of the east coast of India, extends over ca. 35 km. Over the past 120 yr the coastline has witnessed both man-made and natural disturbances which led to the destruction of the beach front. The construction of Madras harbour in 1876, was the prime cause of the degradation of this very sensitive coastal region. Continued growth of Madras harbour has helped in the natural formation of the wide ‘Marina Beach’, south of the harbour. But the shoreline north of the harbour suffered the consequences of harbour development activities. The north shore receded by ca. 500 m over the past 120 yr and received attention from the authorities in the past few decades because of the growing awareness of the conservation value of the coast. This paper highlights the effects of Madras harbour development on the adjoining coast and on the shortterm mitigation measures planned and executed by the Government agencies to protect the fragile coastline. In spite of sincere efforts to protect the coastline, the destruction continues unabated due to various reasons. This paper analyses the facts and suggests a long-term solution to protect the coastline and to regain the past glory. Feasible and cost effective permanent measures are identified, construction methods suggested and the advantages that the community can derive from the longterm solutions are discussed.     

Design and Testing of a Turbulence Probe for Harsh Flows

The force of wind on the ground created by turbulent eddies is commonly used to describe the horizontal flux of material during wind erosion. Here we present the Murdoch Turbulence Probe, an instrument for use in both clean and eroding flows which uses pressure differences to measure the three components of wind velocity. Correlation techniques calculate the forces near the ground and turbulence statistics in nearly real time, including turbulent velocity fluctuations from less than 0.1 Hz to 200 Hz, mean flow velocities, Reynolds stresses as well as the integral length and time scales. In the portable wind-tunnel used by Agriculture Western Australia, turbulence statistics were recorded over stable surfaces and in blowing sand from the initiation of erosion up to the time the sand supply was exhausted. Estimates of the friction velocity derived from the turbulence probe were compared with estimates obtained from the wind speed profile measured with a rake of pitot and static tubes. The Murdoch Turbulence Probe appears to work well in sandblasting conditions. Relative turbulence intensities ranged from 0.11 to 0.2 and are in close agreement with values in the literature. The ratio of the turbulence to the friction velocity (3 to 3.2) is at the high end of the reported range. The Reynolds stress measurements agree closely with predictions of the threshold friction velocities of the sand and estimates from the wind speed profile with a von Kármán constant of about 0.3, lower than the commonly accepted value of 0.4. We suggest that the wind-tunnel profile represents the `outer layer' of the boundary-layer that may best be described by a `Wake Law' or `Defect Law'. At about 54 mm above the surface, the friction velocity decreases from 0.64 m/s to 0.39 m/s and the mean velocity increases from 9.6 m/s to 11.6 m/s as the supply of sand is depleted. In addition to the friction velocity, other scales may be necessary to characterise the overriding effect of the wind and in extending wind-tunnel results to the field.     

珠江三角洲地区人类活动造成的水土流失及其危害

以广州市为例,重点分析人类活动造成的水土流失现状与危害。广州市的水土流失类型可分为自然侵蚀和人为侵蚀,其中自然侵蚀主要有面蚀、沟蚀两种形式,在广州市范围面积分布相对较广,但侵蚀强度内并不严重;而人为侵蚀突出,侵蚀类型和强度也更为复杂多样。人为侵蚀的成因主要有采石取土、交通道路建设、开发区建设以及坡耕地。人为侵蚀已经成为广州市水土流失灾害的主要表现形式。     

桉树人工林地力衰退防治研究──改全垦为带垦

主要讨论了桉树造林整地方式──全垦与带垦对桉树生长的影响,以及对土壤侵蚀、土壤养分和土壤物理性质的影响．研究结果表明,改全垦为带垦对防止桉树人工林地力衰退有积极作用．     

江南丘陵山区农业规模化对水土流失的影响研究综述

农业规模经营是实现农业现代化的重要路径。为了探讨丘陵山区农业规模化发展对于水土流失的影响机理。通过文献综述法梳理相关研究,分析现有研究存在的不足,并提出研究展望。综观前人的研究可以得知:(1)农业规模经营的效益、政策与推动机制等状况;(2)丘陵山区水土流失的影响因素乃为自然因素与人为因素交互作用的结果,以及农业活动对水土流失的影响;(3)水土流失的调查、监测与影响因素的评估方法及仿真模拟。最后,提出5点研究展望:(1)构建丘陵山区水土流失驱动力模型;(2)建立丘陵山区农业规模化对水土流失的影响评估指标体系;(3)甄别影响程度及其时空差异;(4)丘陵山区农业规模化的水土流失效应模拟反演;(5)提出丘陵山区水土资源可持续利用的农业规模化政策建议。以期对我国丘陵山区发展适度农业规模化与可持续发展研究提供科学参考。     

Testing of the Modified Streambank Erosion and Instream Phosphorus Routines for the SWAT Model

In some watersheds, streambanks are a source of two major pollutants, phosphorus (P) and sediment. P originating from both uplands and streambanks can be transported and stored indefinitely on floodplains, streambanks, and in closed depressions near the stream. The objectives of this study were to (1) test the modified streambank erosion and instream P routines for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in the Barren Fork Creek watershed in northeast Oklahoma, (2) predict P in the watershed with and without streambank‐derived P, and (3) determine the significance of streambank erosion P relative to overland P sources. Measured streambank and channel parameters were incorporated into a flow‐calibrated SWAT model and used to estimate streambank erosion and P for the Barren Fork Creek using modified streambank erosion and instream P routines. The predicted reach‐weighted streambank erosion was 40 kg/m vs. the measured 42 kg/m. Streambank erosion contributed 47% of the total P to the Barren Fork Creek and improved P predictions compared to observed data, especially during the high‐flow events. Of the total P entering the stream system, approximately 65% was removed via the watershed outlet and 35% was stored in the floodplain and stream system. This study successfully applied the SWAT model's modified streambank erosion and instream P routines and demonstrated that streambank‐derived P can improve P modeling at the watershed scale. Editor's note: This paper is part of the featured series on SWAT Applications for Emerging Hydrologic and Water Quality Challenges. See the February 2017 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

Evaluating the BANCS Streambank Erosion Framework on the Northern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain

The Bank Assessment of Nonpoint source Consequences of Sediment (BANCS) framework allows river scientists to predict annual sediment yield from eroding streambanks within a hydrophysiographic region. BANCS involves field data collection and the calibration of an empirical model incorporating a bank erodibility hazard index (BEHI) and near‐bank shear stress (NBS) estimate. Here we evaluate the applicability of BANCS to the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal plain, a region that has not been previously studied in this context. Erosion rates averaged over two years expressed the highest variability of any existing BANCS study. As a result, four standard BANCS models did not yield statistically significant correlations to measured erosion rates. Modifications to two widely used NBS estimates improved their correlations (r² = 0.31 and r² = 0.33), but further grouping of the data by BEHI weakened these correlations. The high variability in measured erosion rates is partly due to the regional hydrologic and climatic characteristics of the Gulf coastal plains, which include large, infrequent precipitation events. Other sources of variability include variations in bank vegetation and the complex hydro‐ and morphodynamics of meandering, sand bed channels. We discuss directions for future research in developing a streambank erosion model for this and similar regions.     

基于GIS的四川岷江上游杂谷脑流域农林复合景观格局优化

随着景观格局、生态过程与生态功能关系研究的深入,景观格局优化成为景观生态学研究中的前沿问题。景观格局优化的方法和判别准则随研究区的特点而异,从方法上进行景观格局优化探讨,在遥感和地理信息系统技术支持下建立了包括景观分类图(1974和2000年)、温度、降雨、地形图、土壤类型图等数据的空间数据库,利用地理信息系统强大的空间数据管理和空间分析与运算能力,以土地综合利用和土壤侵蚀为判别准则,引入了潜在土壤侵蚀强度这一概念,在地理信息系统环境中运用空间模拟和土地利用优先级规定,对岷江上游杂谷脑流域进行景观优化。结果显示优化后的景观格局显著改善土壤侵蚀问题     

紫色土坡面跌坑贯穿发生细沟的水动力过程

跌坑是坡面土壤特性和薄层水流动力的耦合作用形成,而跌坑对坡面漫流的集中导致了水流流速、流深和切应力的变化,进一步塑造了侵蚀坡面形态导致跌坑贯穿发生细沟;目前关于跌坑与水动力耦合作用的研究相对较少。采用人工模拟降雨试验方法,分析了跌坑对径流特征的影响,定义了径流集中度〖WTBX〗Kc〖WTBZ〗,回归调查了径流集中后切应力与跌坑贯穿下切速率的关系。结果表明：紫色土曼宁糙度系数随雨强增大而减小,漫流区坡面曼宁糙度系数变化介于0014～0026,沟道曼宁糙度系数变化介于0008～0015;薄层水流流速和流深顺坡增大,在跌坑处集中后流速剧增,雨强越大流速越大、流深越小;径流切应力顺坡增大,跌坑集中薄层水流而切应力剧增导致跌坑贯穿;试验紫色土可蚀性参数〖WTBX〗Ke〖WTBZ〗为0144 s/m,跌坑贯穿的临界切应力为248 Pa。     

小学环境教育的探索实践

环境保护是中国的一项基本国策,在中小学开展环境教育,是贯彻这一基本国策的一项战略任务。文中介绍了小学环境教育的目的,阐述了如何构建小学环境教育体系,对小学环境教育的实施方法和手段提出了观点。