Tamarix and Diorhabda Leaf Beetle Interactions: Implications for Tamarix Water Use and Riparian Habitat

Tamarix leaf beetles (Diorhabda carinulata) have been widely released on western United States rivers to control introduced shrubs in the genus Tamarix, with the goals of saving water through removal of an assumed high water‐use plant, and of improving habitat value by removing a competitor of native riparian trees. We review recent studies addressing three questions: (1) to what extent are Tamarix weakened or killed by recurrent cycles of defoliation; (2) can significant water salvage be expected from defoliation; and (3) what are the effects of defoliation on riparian ecology, particularly on avian habit? Defoliation has been patchy at many sites, and shrubs at some sites recover each year even after multiple years of defoliation. Tamarix evapotranspiration (ET) is much lower than originally assumed in estimates of potential water savings, and are the same or lower than possible replacement plants. There is concern that the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax trailli extimus) will be negatively affected by defoliation because the birds build nests early in the season when Tamarix is still green, but are still on their nests during the period of summer defoliation. Affected river systems will require continued monitoring and development of adaptive management practices to maintain or enhance riparian habitat values. Multiplatform remote sensing methods are playing an essential role in monitoring defoliation and rates of ET on affected river systems.     

Assessing Calibration Uncertainty and Automation for Estimating Evapotranspiration from Agricultural Areas Using METRIC

Agricultural irrigation accounts for a large fraction of the total water use in the western United States. The Mapping Evapotranspiration at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration (METRIC) remote sensing energy balance model is being used to estimate historical agricultural water use in western Nevada to evaluate basin‐wide water budgets. Each METRIC evapotranspiration (ET) estimate must be calibrated by a trained user, which requires some iterative time investment and results in variation in ET estimates between users. An automated calibration algorithm for the METRIC model was designed to generate ET estimates comparable to those from trained users by mimicking the manual calibration process. Automated calibration allows for rapid generation of METRIC ET estimates with minimal manual intervention, as well as uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of the model. The variation in ET estimates generated by the automated calibration algorithm was found to be similar to the variation in manual ET estimates. Results indicate that uncertainty was highest for fields with low ET levels and lowest for fields with high ET levels, with a seasonal mean uncertainty of approximately 5% for all fields. In addition, in a blind comparison, automated daily and seasonal ET estimates compared well with flux tower measurement ET data at multiple sites. Automated methods can generate first‐order ET estimates that are similar to time intensive manual efforts with less time investment.     

Operational Evapotranspiration Mapping Using Remote Sensing and Weather Datasets: A New Parameterization for the SSEB Approach

The increasing availability of multi‐scale remotely sensed data and global weather datasets is allowing the estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) at multiple scales. We present a simple but robust method that uses remotely sensed thermal data and model‐assimilated weather fields to produce ET for the contiguous United States (CONUS) at monthly and seasonal time scales. The method is based on the Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) model, which is now parameterized for operational applications, renamed as SSEBop. The innovative aspect of the SSEBop is that it uses predefined boundary conditions that are unique to each pixel for the “hot” and “cold” reference conditions. The SSEBop model was used for computing ET for 12 years (2000‐2011) using the MODIS and Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) data streams. SSEBop ET results compared reasonably well with monthly eddy covariance ET data explaining 64% of the observed variability across diverse ecosystems in the CONUS during 2005. Twelve annual ET anomalies (2000‐2011) depicted the spatial extent and severity of the commonly known drought years in the CONUS. More research is required to improve the representation of the predefined boundary conditions in complex terrain at small spatial scales. SSEBop model was found to be a promising approach to conduct water use studies in the CONUS, with a similar opportunity in other parts of the world. The approach can also be applied with other thermal sensors such as Landsat.     

Managing Forests for Increased Regional Water Yield in the Southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain

With growing populations fueling increased groundwater abstraction and forecasts of greater water scarcity in the southeastern United States, identifying land management strategies that enhance water availability will be vital to maintaining hydrologic resources and protecting natural systems. Management of forested uplands for lower basal area, currently a priority for habitat improvement on public lands, may also increase water yield through decreased evapotranspiration (ET). To explore this hypothesis, we synthesized studies of precipitation and ET in coastal plain pine stands to develop a statistical model of water yield as a function of management strategy, stand structure, and ecosystem water use. This model allowed us to estimate changes in water yield in response to varying management strategies across spatial scales from the individual stand to a regional watershed. Results suggest that slash pine stands managed at lower basal areas can have up to 64% more cumulative water yield over a 25‐year rotation compared to systems managed for high‐density timber production, with the greatest increases in stands also managed for recurrent understory fire. Although there are important uncertainties in the magnitude of additional water yield and its final destination (i.e., surface water bodies vs. groundwater), this analysis highlights the potential for management activities on public and private timber lands to partially offset increasing demand on surface and groundwater resources.     

塔里木河干流流域区域开发与环境对策

区域开发的设计,目的在于实现资源开发和环境建设的协调发展。塔河流域具有光热资源丰富、土地资源开发潜力大、石油资源开发前景广阔等区域开发优势,同时存在水土资源不平衡、社会经济发展缓慢、科学技术水平落后、交通条件差、生态环境问题严重等区域开发的限制性因素。从塔河流域资源优势出发,针对当前区域开发的限制性因素,按照新疆经济发展对塔河流域的要求,选择“优势资源转换开发模式”为塔河流域开发战略模式。解决塔河流域生态环境问题,首先要使现有生态环境不再继续恶化,最低限度保护现有植被面积不再减少,即维护现有天然胡杨林29.8万公顷、天然灌木林111.33万公顷、天然草地90.38万公顷,在此基础上,恢复和改善下游绿色走廊的植被,约3.96万公顷。如果完成以上指标,必须确保生态用水,特别是下游段的生态用水,加强天然植被的抚育更新,并制定相应的政策、法规等。     

REGIONAL APPLICATION OF AN APPROXIMATE STREAMFLOW PARTITIONING METHOD1

ABSTRACT: The approximate streamflow partitioning method which uses daily rainfall and streamfiow data was applied in Coastal Plain, Coastal Flatwoods, and Southern Piedmont physiographic regions for estimation of the surface and subsurface flow components of total streainflow. Sizes of the watersheds ranged from 9.6 km² to 1,030 km. Although the streamflow partitioning method was developed and tested on the Coastal Plain physiographic region, results indicate that the procedure can be applied to other physiographic regions where available data are limited to daily values. The effect of channelization on the partitioned flow components in the Coastal Plain and Coastal Flatwoods physiographic areas was also examined. While channelization was found to decrease the storm-time base, it had no significant effect on the relative percentages of the partitioned flow components.     

USE OF TOPOLOGICAL INFORMATION IN HYDROGRAPH ESTIMATION1

ABSTRACT: Discharge hydrographs computed from the theory of linear flow through topologically random channel networks are compared to actual discharge hydrographs for basins in semiarid regions of central Wyoming. The basins drained by the channel networks range in size from 0.69 to 10.8 square miles. Topological information consisting of stream-network magnitude and link -length distribution parameters are used in calibrating celerity values that ensure that the peak discharge and excess rainfall volume of the resulting computed hydrographs match the peak discharge and excess-rainfall volume of the actual hydrographs. Results indicate that, for a given peak discharge and excess-rainfall volume in a basin, the sensitivity of the calibrated celerity values to excess-rainfall duration is small if the ratio of excess-rainfall volume to peak discharge is at least 1.75 times the excess-rainfall duration.     

黄河沿岸地带水资源约束下的产业结构优化与调整研究

20世纪90年代以来，黄河多年持续断流，已经严重影响到沿岸地带社会经济发展和人民生活，限制了沿岸地带经济潜力的发挥。特别是对黄河下游地区工农业生产造成巨大危害。本文分析了黄河沿岸地带产业结构等社会经济要素与水资源短缺的矛盾，提出应化调整大耗水型的产业结构，大力发展与生活环境友好的生态农业、生态工业，生态旅游等生态产业，并建立有利于水资源节约利用的社会经济体系。     

淮南矿业集团谢桥煤矿矿井水资源化利用

随着淮南矿业集团谢桥煤矿的发展,矿区生产和生活用水量日趋紧张,解决缺水问题的有效途径是合理开发利用矿井水资源。在此论述了煤矿矿井水资源化的必要性,给出了矿井水处理工艺流程、主要建（构）筑物、主要设备等,说明了开发利用矿井水资源具有良好的社会、环境和经济效益。     

酸性矿井水运移的动力学预测模型及模型参数分析

分析了酸性矿井水在含水层中运移的规律,充分考虑了地下水密度变化对浓度分布的影响,提出了酸性矿井水迁移转化的动力学环境预测耦合模型,采用Galerkin有限元方法和Picard迭代法相结合对耦合模型进行了离散,并对酸性矿井水迁移问题进行了模拟分析,通过室内土柱实验求得了基本参数,探讨了模型参数的变化对酸性矿井水运移的影响,为定量研究土壤中酸性矿井水在土壤-水环境中分配与去向提供理论依据。