Impact of Sand Dune Stabilization Structures on Soil and Yield of Millet in the Semi-Arid Region of NW Nigeria

The low-rainfall ecologies of the northern fringes of Nigeria are prone to desertification and sand dune activities that are phenomenal and extensive. Stabilization structures put in place by various governmental and non-governmental agencies to check desertification in northwestern Nigeria were evaluated with respect to efficiency, impact on soil development and yield of millet. The study focused on the active and stabilized sand dune formations in NW Nigeria. Various stabilization techniques were identified within Gidan Kaura (the study site) and results were compared with an unstabilized sand dune (control site). Results obtained indicated that the sand dunes within the study area are still active despite the numerous stabilization structures, some of which were established over 15 years ago. Shelterbelts were the most effective techniques in sand dune stabilization and soil development when properly sited across wind direction. Shelterbelts recorded significantly higher levels of pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, exchangeable bases and micronutrients except for copper, when compared with all other treatments. The least effective of all the structures was mechanical fencing, probably due to the inadequate quantity of plant residues used in its construction. The impact of the various structures on the physical and chemical soil properties was evaluated for surface soils as were the structures on the yield of millet in stabilized dunes and non-dune areas. The results are discussed in depth in this paper.     

场地液化危害的概率分析

为使场地液化危害程度的估计建立在以概率论为基础的可靠性分析之上,本文提出二种估计场地液化危害程度的概率方法,二种方法分别采用不同的途径处理地震和岩土的不确定性,不仅分析了一点液化的概率,而且提供了估计整个土层住状液化概率的方法,文中最后通过算例简要讨论了液化概率分析结果的工程应用。     

TCE recovery mechanisms using micellar and alcohol solutions: phase diagrams and sand column experiments

Forty-one phase diagrams and fifteen sand column experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficiency of three types of washing solutions to recover trichloroethylene (TCE) at residual saturation and to identify the recovery mechanisms involved. This study demonstrates that: (1) an alcohol and a surfactant combination is more efficient than an alcohol used alone in water; (2) the prediction of the dominant recovery mechanism from the tie line slopes in phase diagram is accurate and can be reproduced in sand column experiments; and (3) TCE recovery efficiency in sand column experiments is generally well represented by the position of the miscibility curve in phase diagrams in the low concentration range. However, the miscibility curve alone is not sufficient to exactly predict the TCE recovery mechanisms involved. Tie line slopes and the critical tie line have to be taken into consideration to select the active matter as well as its concentration and to predict the dominant recovery mechanism in sand column experiments. The sand column experiments quantified the recovery efficiency of each solution and identified the proportion of the recovery mechanisms (mobilisation vs. solubilisation). Washing solutions with an active matter concentration above the critical tie line caused dominating mobilisation. Mobilisation was also dominant when the active matter of the washing solution partitioned into the organic phase and the active matter concentration was below the critical tie line. Solubilisation and emulsification were dominant for washing solutions containing active matter, which principally partitioned into the aqueous phase and an active matter concentration below the critical tie line.     

Assessment of coastal erosion susceptibility at the national scale: The Italian case

To improve the present national and local sustainable planning capability for the coastal zone a GI application for the Italian Coastal Susceptibility Assessment was planned within an institutional agreement between ENEA and the Land Defence Service of the Italian Ministry of Environment. Taking into account previous European actions a suitable methodology to assess, in a quantitative way, the susceptibility of beaches to be eroded has been set up. The methodology balances the coastline trend as evaluated for a defined time period with the present coastal areas morphology and land use, this in order to derive a value that expresses the evolutionary process in terms of probability of the loss of goods within the ‘Homogeneous Coastal Tracts’. The trend in the movement of the sea-land line has been used asgeo-indicator of a complex dynamic balance that refers both to marine and inland systems, and a vector GI application was built and locally applied in southern Italian coastal areas. The present shoreline position and some other information describing the intrinsic beach morphologies, and having significance for the coastal erosion hazard assessment, have been derived from the national 1∶10.000 ortho-images of the National Cartographic Reference System provided by the Italian Ministry of Environment. The illustrated GI application— CoSTAT—keeps the nominal scale of all data collected or produced. In this analysis the coastal dune presence is analysed as factor limiting coastal erosion susceptibility. Applying a matrix calculation a quantitative evaluation of erosion susceptibility degree was achieved and plans were made to develop new information for a suitable use of Italian coastal areas. The work describes the methodology, the conceptual frame-work and the results of a local application.     

The formation of protective dune ridge along the Southeast Baltic Sea coast: historical and social aspects

This paper is based on literature-based studies, as well as material collected by the author over more than 30 years on the shores of the Southeast Baltic Sea. In order to protect roads running along the shoreline from East Prussia to Königsberg, local shore reinforcement works commenced in the fifteenth century, although some individual attempts had been made before. In 1684, M. Ch. Hartknoch theoretically substantiated the necessity for, and methods of, shore reinforcement. The state of the shores deteriorated considerably during the Seven Years War (1756–1763), when woodlands growing along the shores were completely destroyed; hence, nearly 100 km length of the coast of the Kur?i? Nerija (Curonian) sand spit was left without any vegetation. Aeolian sand buried as many as fourteen settlements. This situation forced the authorities to organise maintenance of the coast and the dunes at the governmental level, and to start the formation of an uninterrupted dune ridge. The second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century are notable for the extensive construction of new ports. Along the shores running from the Sambian Peninsula to the Gulf of Riga, eight port engineering structures had been constructed with the intervals of approximately 26 km between the ports of Klaip?da and Liepaja, and every 13 km between Palanga and Pape. Shore management measures were being implemented simultaneously, thus ensuring the functioning of the above-mentioned coastal protection structures and the reduction of impacts upon the shores. In the second half of the twentieth century, ports were dredged and developed significantly. Their entrance channels reduced the long-shore sediment transport. Moreover, total sand reserves in the shore zone also diminished. The processes of erosion of the beaches and the dune ridge made it necessary to actively reinforce the shore. A number of countries passed legal acts governing the protection and use of the shore zone. At the turn of the twenty-first century, the incompatibility of such priorities in human activities as sea transport and recreation with nature protection has become evident. The conflict of interests in the Kur?i? Nerija National Park, the port of Klaip?da, and the resort of Palanga serve as good examples of such incompatibility. The conclusion that can be drawn that in twenty-first century is that the priorities in general coastal management should be as follows: harmonisation of interests among the states and individual fields of activities, as well as measures aimed at neutralisation of negative natural trends (higher frequency of storms, global rise of water level, etc.). The protective beach dune ridge will further play the role of efficient means for reducing shore erosion.     

Hydrogeomorphic Reference Condition and Its Relationship with Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Southeastern U.S. Sand Hills Streams

Defining stream reference conditions is integral to providing benchmarks to ecological perturbation. We quantified channel geometry, hydrologic and environmental variables, and macroinvertebrates in 62 low‐gradient, SE United States (U.S.) Sand Hills (Level IV ecoregion) sand‐bed streams. To identify hydrogeomorphic reference condition (HGM), we clustered channel geometry deviation from expectations given watershed area (Aws), resulting in two HGM groups discriminated by area at the top of bank (Atob) residuals <0.6 m² and >0.6 m² predicted to be HGM reference/nonreference streams, respectively. Two independent partial least squares discriminate analyses used (1) hydrologic/environmental variables and (2) macroinvertebrate mean trait values (mT) on 10 reference/nonreference stream pairs of similar Aws for classification validation. Nonreference streams had flashier hydrographs and altered flow magnitudes, lower organic matter, coarser substrate, higher pH/specific conductivity compared with reference streams. Macroinvertebrate assemblages corresponded to HGM groupings, with mT indicative of multivoltinism, collector‐gatherer functional feeding groups, fast current‐preference taxa, and lower Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera richness and biotic integrity in nonreference streams. HGM classifications in Sand Hills, sand‐bed streams were determined from channel geometry. This easily implemented classification is indicative of contemporary hydrologic disturbance resulting in contrasting macroinvertebrate assemblages.     

GEOLOGICAL AND CLIMATIC CONTROLS ON STREAMFLOWS IN THE NEBRASKA SAND HILLS1

ABSTRACT: This paper presents hydrological characteristics of the streamflow of the Dismal, Middle Loup, North Loup, and Cedar Rivers in the Nebraska Sand Hills and their relation to climate and ground water variation. Time series of streamflow, precipitation, temperature, and ground water levels from 1976 to 1998 were used to analyze trends and fluctuations of streamflow and to determine relationships among streamflow, climate, and the ground water system. An increase of precipitation and a decrease of maximum temperature over the period resulted in higher ground water levels and increased streamflow in the region. The high permeability of the soil and the thick unsaturated zone enhance precipitation recharge, limit surface runoff, and prevent ground water losses through evapotranspiration. Thus, an abundance of ground water is stored, supplying more than 86 percent of streamflow in the four rivers. Streamflow is generally more constant in the Sand Hills than elsewhere in the region. The four rivers present different hydrologic characteristics because of the spatial heterogeneity in hydrogeologic conditions. Streamflow of the Dismal and Middle Rivers, which are less sensitive to climatic variation, is much steadier than that of the North Loup and Cedar Rivers.     

The interplay between foraging mode, habitat structure, and predator presence in antlions

Antlion larvae are sand-dwelling insect predators, which ambush small arthropod prey while buried in the sand. In some species, the larvae construct conical pits and are considered as sit-and-wait predators which seldom relocate while in other species, they ambush prey without a pit but change their ambush site much more frequently (i.e., sit-and-pursue predators). The ability of antlion larvae to evade some of their predators which hunt them on the sand surface is strongly constrained by the degree of sand stabilization or by sand depth. We studied the effect of predator presence, predator type (active predatory beetle vs. sit-and-pursue wolf spider), and sand depth (shallow vs. deep sand) on the behavioral response of the pit building Myrmeleon hyalinus larvae and the sit-and-pursue Lopezus fedtschenkoi larvae. Predator presence had a negative effect on both antlion species activity. The sit-and-wait M. hyalinus larvae showed reduced pit-building activity, whereas the sit-and-pursue L. fedtschenkoi larvae decreased relocation activity. The proportion of relocating M. hyalinus was negatively affected by sand depth, whereas L. fedtschenkoi was negatively affected also by the predator type. Specifically, the proportion of individual L. fedtschenkoi that relocated in deeper sand was lower when facing the active predator rather than the sit-and-pursue predator. The proportion of M. hyalinus which constructed pits decreased in the presence of a predator, but this pattern was stronger when exposed to the active predator. We suggest that these differences between the two antlion species are strongly linked to their distinct foraging modes and to the foraging mode of their predators. Reut Loria and Inon Scharf contributed equally to the paper.     

REMOTE MONITORING OF SELECTED GROUND‐WATER DOMINATED LAKES IN THE NEBRASKA SAND HILLS1

ABSTRACT: The Landsat‐Muitispectral Scanner (MSS) data were used to measure lake area fluctuations (1972–1989) for 130 ground‐water dominated lakes in the Western Lakes Region of the Nebraska Sand Hills. In general, the pattern shown in lake area hydrographs was similar to that for in‐situ lake elevations. In‐situ lake‐elevation data verify that remote monitoring of surface‐area fluctuations, even at relatively coarse spatial resolution, is not only practical and useful, but also it elucidates the hydrologic characteristics of groundwater‐dominated lakes of the Sand Hills. The apparent differences in behavior between lakes in the northern and southern portions of the study area may be related to both their location in the regional ground water system and the substantial local hydrologic complexity.     

Vegetation succession and lichen diversity on dry coastal calcium-poor dunes and the impact of management experiments

The negative impact of grass and moss encroachment on the botanical diversity of West European coastal dunes attracted increasing attention in the 1990s. This paper focuses on moss encroachment during primary succession in the xeroseries. Until the mid-1970s, vegetation types rich in species of the lichen generaCladonia andCladina were found on the fixed,Corynephorus canescens-dominated, so-called grey dunes all over the island of Terschelling, The Netherlands. In addition, species ofHypogymnia, Parmelia andUsnea, which usually grow on trees, occurred here terrestrially on moss carpets or bare sand. These vegetation types are still present on the Noordsvaarder, a nature reserve in the western part of the island. They occur on parts of seven dune ridges parallel to the coast and form a chronosequence in which age increases with distance from the sea. Our study found the highest lichen diversity on the second and third dune ridges in a stage of primary succession that can be assigned to theViolo-Corynephoretum. The changes from lichen-rich to moss-dominated stadia were significantly related to soil development and acidification in connection with the ageing of the dune soil. The superficial cutting of sods in moss-encroached vegetation appeared to be unsuccessful as a management technique for restoring the biodiversity of cryptogams. Our findings suggest that the best option for maintaining lichen vegetation in theViolo-Corynephoretum is the blow-in of sand with a subneutral or neutral pH from reactivated and natural blowouts or from foredunes, with increasing lime content respectively.