Linked Hydrologic and Climate Variations in British Columbia and Yukon

Climatic and hydrologic variations between the decades 1976–1985 and 1986–1995 are examined at 34 climate stations and 275 hydrology stations. The variations in climate are distributedacross a broad spatial area. Temperatures were generally warmerin the most recent decade, with many stations showing significantincreases during the spring and fall. No significant decreases intemperature were found. Significant increases in temperature weremore frequent in the south than in the northern portions of theregion. Significant changes in precipitation were also more prevalent in the south. In coastal areas, there were significantdecreases in precipitation during the dry season, and significantincreases during the wet season. In the BC interior, significantprecipitation decreases occurred during the fall, with significant increases during the winter and spring. In the norththere were few changes in precipitation. The hydrologic responsesto these variations in climate follow six distinctive patterns.The spatial distribution of these patterns suggests that indifferent ecozones, small variations in climate, particularlytemperature, elicit different hydrologic responses.     

Atmospheric deposition of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in urban and suburban areas of Korea

Bulk atmospheric samples (wet and dry) were collected monthly throughout a year at urban and suburban areas of Korea to assess the deposition flux and seasonal variations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The PCDDs/DFs deposition fluxes ranged from 1.0 to 3.7 ng TEQ/m²/year in the urban area and from 0.5 to 4.6 ng TEQ/m²/year in the suburban area. The deposition fluxes of PCDDs/DFs in this study were comparable to or lower than those previously reported at different locations. The atmospheric deposition fluxes of particles and PCDDs/DFs in winter tended to be higher than those in summer. However, monthly variations between particle and PCDDs/DFs deposition fluxes were small, and the correlation coefficients between the deposition fluxes of air particles and each homologue group of PCDDs/DFs varied according to the degree of chlorination of the homologue group. The deposition velocity of PCDDs/DFs in the urban area was estimated at 0.04 cm/s, which is a lower value than those found in other studies. The two most likely factors affecting the monthly variation of deposition fluxes are the ambient temperature and the amount of precipitation. In particular, the ambient temperature had an influence on the lower chlorinated homologues of PCDDs/DFs while precipitation had an influence on the higher chlorinated PCDDs/DFs. The PCDDs/DFs profiles in atmospheric deposition bulk samples showed a similar pattern at the urban and suburban sites. The possibility of the loading of PCDDs/DFs by Asian dust events could be partly confirmed by investigation of homologue profiles.     

Water quality monitoring—Some practical sampling frequency considerations

Water quality monitoring involves sampling a population, water quality, that is changing over time. Sample statistics (e.g., sample mean) computed from data collected by a monitoring network can be affected by three general factors: (1) random changes due to storms, rainfall, etc.; (2) seasonal changes in temperature, rainfall, etc.; and (3) serial correlation or duplication in information from sample to sample. (Closely spaced samples will tend to give similar information).In general, these effects have been noted, but their specific effects on water quality monitoring network design have not been well defined quantitatively. The purpose of this paper is to examine these effects with a specific data set and draw conclusions relative to sampling frequency determinations in network design.The design criterion adopted for this study of effects due to the above factors is the width of confidence intervals about annual sample geometric means of water quality variables. The data base for the study consisted of a daily record of 5 water quality variables at 9 monitoring stations in Illinois for a period of 1 year.Three general regions of frequencies were identified: (1) greater than approximately 30 samples per year where serial correlation plays a dominant role; (2) between approximately 10 and 30 samples per year where the effects of seasonal variation and serial correlation tended to cancel each other out; and (3) less than approximately 10 samples per year where seasonal variation plays a dominant role. In region 2, either seasonal variation and serial correlation should both be considered or both ignored. To consider only seasonal variation introduces more error than ignoring it. These results are network averages (over variables and stations) from one network, thus results for individual variables may deviate considerably from the average and from those for other networks.Financial support for this study was provided, in part, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, grant number R805759-01-0.     

山东省东平湖浮游动物与富营养化防治

根据1994年对东平湖6个采样点枯水期，丰水期，平水期浮游动物的调查，共获轮虫，枝角类，桡足类和原生动物66属100种，查明其数量和分布以及季节变化状况，确定了指示轻污带，β-中污带和α－－中污带的15个种及其分布，根据浮游统计结果。结果：其它方法，肯定了东平湖为中营养型一富营养型湖泊，按照综合防治富营养化原则，作者提出放养鲢鳙及搭配比较，以减少湖中着生藻类和浮游动物，防治富营养化，发展水产养殖业和旅游业，实现了可持续发展。     

1979-2014年中国地面风速的长期变化趋势

基于中国国家级地面气象站均一化风速月值数据集,采用线性回归等方法分析了1979-2014年中国2268个台站地面风速演变的时空特征。结果表明：中国地面风速总体呈显著下降趋势,年平均风速变化速率为-0.142 m/s/10 a;四个季节中春季平均风速下降趋势（-0.18 m/s/10 a）明显大于其他三个季节,其次依次为冬季（-0.135 m/s/10 a）、夏季（-0.13 m/s/10 a）及秋季（-0.129 m/s/10 a）;研究选取的台站中约82%的台站风速呈现下降趋势;划分的七个区域中,高原区和东北区风速下降趋势最明显,华北区下降趋势最小,但都通过了0.05显著性检验;中国地面风速在1980s下降趋势最显著（-0.235 m/s/10 a）,1990s下降趋势减缓（-0.112 m/s/10 a）,2000-2014年下降趋势最小,为-0.099 m/s/10 a;研究期间地面风速与地面气温呈显著负相关,表明近期中国气温变暖可能导致风速减弱。     

Brood sex ratio adjustment in collared flycatchers (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ficedula albicollis</Emphasis>): results differ between populations

Recently, a number of studies have found adaptive brood sex ratio (BSR) manipulation in birds. The reason for such manipulations is thought to be the different reproductive value of male and female nestlings. Several studies have found that parental quality and food supply can affect BSR, however results are sometimes inconsistent between species and populations. We investigated BSR patterns in a Hungarian population of Collared Flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) and compared the results with those obtained in a previous study of the same species in Sweden. We found two significant differences. First, the male forehead patch size, a heritable, sexually selected trait, affected the brood sex ratio in the Swedish population, but not in our Hungarian study population. This difference might be a consequence of the different information content of the forehead patch size in the two populations. Second, a seasonal shift in BSR (more sons late in the season) was observed in the Hungarian, but not in the Swedish population.Communicated by J. Graves     

Delayed colonisation of arable fields by spring breeding ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in landscapes with a high availability of hibernation sites

The colonisation of winter barley fields by spring breeding carabids and its temporal modulation by the amount of potential hibernation sites was studied. Species richness of carabids was lower in landscapes with high length of boundaries and a high amount of non-cropped open habitats during early stages of the beetles’ colonisation of arable fields. Species number of beetles with high dispersal potential responded to this landscape features at coarse spatial scales whereas beetles with low dispersal potential responded to intermediate scales. However, the negative impact of potential hibernation sites on colonisation diminished in later sampling phases. The patterns observed may be explained by both overwintering in arable soils in less complex landscapes and delayed colonisation in more complex landscapes. The seasonal patterns of landscape control suggest a need to account for temporal dynamics in interactions between species or functional groups and landscape properties. A high temporal resolution is needed in studies that focus on ecosystem function and services in agricultural landscapes, as direction of effect (positive/negative) of management on animal communities may change across spatial scales and within short time periods.     

Trends in Vegetation Degradation in Relation to Land Tenure, Rainfall, and Population Changes in Peddie District, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Spatial and temporal variations in vegetation are examined in relation to land tenure, population increase, and rainfall variation in a part of Peddie district, Eastern Cape. Sequential aerial photographs between 1938 and 1988 are analyzed to determine trends in vegetation and population change in three different land-tenure units. The areal extent at each date of four distinct vegetation categories is determined using PC ARC/INFO GIS. Long-term annual rainfall trends for the area are analyzed and juxtaposed with vegetation changes. Extensive ground-truthing exercises are carried out to verify the present condition of vegetation condition in terms of cover and species composition. Differences in land-tenure systems are discerned as the dominant factor controlling variations in vegetation degradation. The study also reveals that neither population changes nor rainfall variations can explain the observed trends in vegetation degradation. Earlier injudicious land-use practices, sustained since the turn of the last century, may provide plausible explanations for the trends and present status of vegetation degradation in the area.     

龙凤山站大气CO2浓度2种筛分方法对比研究

针对黑龙江龙凤山区域本底站2009年1月~2011年12月大气CO2在线观测数据,研究基于地面风、日变化等大气本底/非本底数据筛分方法(SWDV)和稳健局部近似回归大气本底/非本底数据筛分方法(REBS)在龙凤山区域本底站的适用性.研究表明:2种筛分方法在春、秋和冬季都能很好反映龙凤山大气CO2浓度的趋势变化及局地源汇对观测CO2浓度的影响,对于高浓度的非本底数据都能够较好的识别,但在夏季使用REBS方法会影响筛分的准确性,不建议在龙凤山区域本底站使用REBS筛分方法.SWDV和REBS法筛分出的本底数据分别占总数据量的30.7%和 58.9%.2种方法均筛分为本底浓度和非本底浓度的数据分别占总数据量的21.5%和32.0%.二者筛分的本底季平均浓度在春季相差最小为(0.1±0.3)×10-6(摩尔比,下同),冬季和秋季次之,在夏季相差最大为(4.2±1.0)×10-6.典型个例分析表明,SWDV法会将白天一些受西南污染气流影响的CO2浓度误筛分为本底浓度,REBS法会将个别在静稳天气条件下受局地影响大的CO2观测值误筛分为本底浓度.夏季局地污染状况可能被植被强烈的光合作用抵消,CO2浓度变化不大,使得REBS误筛分为本底浓度,以及对于一些较低的CO2浓度值,REBS误筛分为非本底浓度,这些因素导致2种筛分方法在夏季本底浓度差别较大.     

基于PMF模型的北京市PM2.5来源的时空分布特征

2012年8月至2013年7月,对北京市定陵、车公庄、东四、石景山、通州、房山、亦庄和榆垡等8个站点的大气细颗粒物PM2.5进行了12个月次的同步采样观测,并测定了其中元素碳、有机碳、水溶性离子和无机元素的浓度水平.利用PMF模型对PM2.5的来源进行解析.结果表明,北京市PM2.5的主要来源为二次源、燃煤、地面扬尘、机动车排放、工业源和建筑尘等,年均贡献率分别为42%、19%、19%、10%、6%和4%.PM2.5的来源具有显著的季节变化,春季大风天气频繁、地面扬尘源为主要来源,而夏、秋、冬季均以二次源为主,尤其是夏季二次源贡献达56%,冬季燃煤源对PM2.5的贡献显著提升为25%.污染源贡献也存在一定空间差异,冬春季燃煤源对郊区点的贡献显著高于城区点,而二次污染源具有区域性污染特征.在区域性积累型重污染日,二次源对PM2.5的贡献均占主要地位,对气态前体物NOx、SO2和VOCs等的控制对PM2.5的减少至关重要.