Meadow Restoration Increases Baseflow and Groundwater Storage in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California

In mountains of the western United States, channel incision has drawn down the water table across thousands of square kilometers of meadow floodplain. Here climate change is resulting in earlier melt and reduced snowpack and water resource managers are responding by investing in meadow restoration to increase springtime storage and summer flows. The record‐setting California drought (2012–2015) provided an opportunity to evaluate this strategy under the warmer and drier conditions expected to impact mountain water supplies. In 2012, 0.1 km² of meadow floodplain was reconnected by filling an incised channel through Indian Valley in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Despite sustained drought conditions after restoration, summer baseflow from the meadow increased 5–12 times. Before restoration, the total summer outflow from the meadow was 5% more than the total summer inflow. After restoration, total summer outflow from the meadow was between 35% and 95% more than total summer inflow. In the worst year of the drought (2015), when inflow to the meadow ceased for at least one month, summer baseflow was at least five times greater than before restoration. Groundwater levels also rose at four out of five sites near the stream channel. Filling the incised channel and reconnecting the meadow floodplain increased water availability and streamflow, despite unprecedented drought conditions.     

Reservoir Sedimentation Rates in the Little Washita River Experimental Watershed,Oklahoma: Measurement and Controlling Factors

Forty‐five flood control reservoirs, authorized in the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act 1954, were installed by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) between 1969 and 1982 in the Little Washita River Experimental Watershed (LWREW), located in central Oklahoma. Over time, these reservoirs have lost sediment and flood storage capacity due to sedimentation, with rates dependent on upstream land use and climate variability. In this study, sedimentation rates for 12 reservoirs representing three major land use categories within LWREW were measured based on bathymetric surveys that used acoustic profiling system. Physiographic and climate attributes of drainage area of surveyed reservoirs were extracted from publicly available data sources including topographic maps, digital elevation models, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service soils, and weather station databases. Correlation, principal component analysis, and stepwise regression were utilized to analyze the relationship between normalized reservoir sedimentation rates (ReSRa) and the drainage area characteristics to determine the major variables controlling sedimentation within the LWREW. Percent of drainage area with extreme slopes, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and maximum daily rainfall event recorded in spring explained most of the variability in ReSRa. It was also found that percent reduction in reservoir surface area can be used as a surrogate for estimating ReSRa. The implications of the results are discussed.     

From disaster management to adaptive governance? Governance challenges to achieving resilient food systems in Australia

Building resilient food systems in the context of climate change and increased natural disasters depends on governance being more ‘adaptive’. Through a case study of events surrounding the extensive flooding that occurred in Queensland, Australia, in 2011, this paper examines how governance settings and processes affected food system actors’ engagement with three aspects of adaptive governance – responsibility, participation and collaboration – as those actors sought to ensure food availability and access during the crisis. We found that, despite the existence of formal governance instruments committed to disaster management, food security and resilience at local, state and national levels, responsibilities for ensuring food supply during a disaster were not clearly articulated. Responsibility was largely assumed by supermarkets, who in turn increased the influence of retailer–government coalitions. The participation of non-supermarket food system actors in governance was low, and there was limited collaboration between local, and other, levels of governance. The policy challenge is to ensure that responsibility, participation and collaboration become a stronger foci for adaptive governance during and after a disaster such as flooding.     

Transformation of rural communities: lessons from a local self-initiative for building resilience in the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is vulnerable to negative impacts from climate change, where people’s livelihoods and their well-being are threatened, especially the viability of isolated communities. Realising the increasing risks from climate change on communities, government, in partnership with aid-donor partners, has invested millions of dollars in climate change projects, through mitigation and adaptation strategies. As a form of adaptation, the government invests in programmes aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable communities through landscape and seascape projects across the rural communities. Focusing on the “transformation concept” as a long-term adaptation strategy and enlargement of climate engineering and ecological resilience concepts, the paper discusses why building resilience from transformation of rural communities, as well as from landscape and seascape projects, would benefit communities and relevant authorities. This paper describes the findings of a study on two rural villages, Keigold and Mondo, from Ranogha Islands, Western Province, in Solomon Islands, where 80% of households decided to relocate from their old village “Mondo” to their new home “Keigold” after an earthquake in 2007, as part of a self-initiative. The reallocation process can be seen as a case of pro-active community transformation that provides valuable lessons to other rural communities that may be forced to move due to impacts from natural catastrophes, including those explained by climate change risks. Lessons from this experience suggest that policy-makers and non-government organisations should consider and empower local transformation initiatives as a way to building long-term adaptation to climate change.     

50年来我国自然灾害变化对粮食产量的影响

根据我国近50年的粮食产量统计资料,分析了各个年代主要粮食作物产量与影响和促进粮食产量的因素(耕地资源、化肥施入量、农机动力、农用水资源、自然灾害)之间的关系,结果表明,自然灾害对我国粮食产量的影响极大,要确保我国粮食生产的安全,不仅需要有外部资源及投入,而且在粮食生产过程中要积极进行防灾减灾.     

广东省水稻产量关键影响气候因子识别与气候影响估算

农业是受气候变化影响最显著的国民经济行业,农业生产不仅关乎一个国家粮食供给安全,也为其他产业部门提供基础原材料,因此在全球气候变化的大背景下研究气候变化对农业产量的影响是评估气候变化影响经济的重要方面,受到学界普遍关注.以极端气候多发的水稻主产区之一广东省为例,基于作物生产函数模型并引入月度气候因子变量,综合测度农用物...     

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Reliability of Water and Hydropower Supply from a Multipurpose Dam in South Korea

Future climate change is a source of growing concerns for the supply of energy and resources, and it may have significant impacts on industry and the economy. Major effects are likely to arise from changes to the freshwater resources system, due to the connection of energy generation to these water systems. Using future climate data downscaled by a stochastic weather generator, this study investigates the potential impacts of climate change on long‐term reservoir operations at the Chungju multipurpose dam in South Korea, specifically considering the reliability of the supply of water and hydropower. A reservoir model, Hydrologic Engineering Center‐Reservoir System Simulation (HEC‐ResSim), was used to simulate the ability of the dam to supply water and hydropower under different conditions. The hydrologic model Soil and Water Assessment Tool was used to determine the HEC‐ResSim boundary conditions, including daily dam inflow from the 6,642 km² watershed into the 2.75 Gm³ capacity reservoir. Projections of the future climate indicate that temperature and precipitation during 2070‐2099 (2080s) show an increase of +4.1°C and 19.4%, respectively, based on the baseline (1990‐2009). The results from the models suggest that, in the 2080s, the average annual water supply and hydropower production would change by +19.8 to +56.5% and by +33.9 to 92.3%, respectively. Model simulations suggest that under the new climatic conditions, the reliability of water and hydropower supply would be generally improved, as a consequence of increased dam inflow.     

缓释肥侧条施肥技术对水稻产量和氮素利用效率的影响

利用田间小区试验,系统研究了基于缓释肥料的侧条施肥技术对水稻产量和氮素利用效率的影响。试验结果表明：与农民常规施肥处理（FP）比较,侧条施肥技术高缓释肥处理（HF）水稻氮素投入比农民常规施肥处理（FP）降低约40%,水稻产量没有显著降低,穗粒数比农民常规施肥处理增加了8.36%。侧条施肥技术显著提高了水稻地上部吸氮量和氮肥偏生产力,降低了氮素的表观损失量。侧条施肥各处理氮肥偏生产力在39.1～67.8之间,显著高于FP处理的23.7。FP处理氮素表观损失量高达174.2 kg＆#183;hm-2,侧条施肥各处理表观损失量在23.2～61.9 kg＆#183;hm-2之间。综合考虑水稻产量和环境因素,基于缓释肥料的侧条施肥技术是一种资源节约和环境友好的施肥技术。     

三北防护林工程区植被覆盖变化与影响因子分析

利用1982~2006年间GIMMS AVHRR NDVI植被覆盖数据和气象站点气候数据,分析了三北防护林工程区25a来植被覆盖的时空变化特征及其与气温、降水变化的相关性,并在此基础上通过采用残差分析法探讨了人类活动对研究区植被覆盖变化影响的空间格局.结果表明:研究区25a的年植被变化量增加幅度略大于减少幅度,植被覆盖整体呈缓慢上升趋势,其中Ⅰ区和Ⅳ区NDVI值上升最明显(P<0.001),Ⅱ区则呈微弱下降趋势,而四大建设区植被覆盖度有不同程度提高;研究区植被和气温、降水整体呈正相关关系,17.74%的地区植被与气温呈负相关,而6.84%的地区呈正相关,10.60%的地区植被与降水呈负相关,19.53%的地区则呈正相关,植被与降水正相关面积明显大于植被与气温正相关面积,说明降水是研究区植被生长的关键因子;研究区植被残差年际变化显著正相关面积大于显著负相关面积,人类活动对植被建设作用要强于破坏作用,三北防护林建设工程带来的生态效益正在呈现.     

黄河源地区藏族游牧对气候变化的适应性

以黄河源地区达日县为案例,在牧户调查的基础上,结合气象资料、 遥感和地面调查,分析了气候变暖背景下的草地退化过程和藏族游牧民的响应与适应行为。结果显示,研究地区1956-2009年期间年平均温度每10 a增加0.29℃,比青藏高原和全国增温作用更加明显;在气候变暖和放牧活动的共同影响下,1970年代-2000年期间,29.39%的草地出现退化;为应对草地退化后果,牧民通过提前转场放牧、 建造围栏、 调整畜群数量与结构等生产措施加以缓解,同时生活方式和思想观念也发生了相应变化。这表明,藏族游牧本质上具有适应气候变化的内在机制和属性,可以在一定范围内主动或被动地调整生产生活方式,经过适应性改造的藏族游牧业能够成为黄河源地区重要的气候变化适应模式。