Using the land transformation model to forecast vacant land

Growing or shrinking cities can experience increases in vacant land. As urban populations and boundaries fluctuate, holes can open in once tight urban areas. Many cities chase growth-oriented approaches to dealing with vacancies. It is critical to understand land-use alteration to accurately predict transformations of physical change in order to make better informed decisions about this phenomenon. This research utilizes the land transformation model (LTM), an artificial neural networking mechanism in Geographic Information Systems, to forecast vacant land. Variable influence on vacant land prediction and accuracy of the LTM is assessed by comparing input factors and patterns, using time-series data from 1990 to 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Results indicate that the LTM can be useful in simulating vacant land-use changes but more precise mechanisms are necessary to increase accuracy. This will allow for more proactive decisions to better regulate the process of urban decline and regeneration.     

Canopy Seed Banks as Time Capsules of Biodiversity in Pasture-Remnant Tree Crowns

Abstract: Tropical pastures present multiple barriers to tree regeneration and restoration. Relict trees serve as “regeneration foci” because they ameliorate the soil microclimate and serve as safe spots for dispersers. Here, we describe another mechanism by which remnant trees may facilitate pasture regeneration: the presence of seed banks in the canopy soil that accumulates from decomposing epiphytes within the crowns of mature remnant trees in tropical cloud forest pastures. We compared seed banks of canopy soils (histosols derived from fallen leaves, fruits, flower, and twigs of host trees and epiphytes, dead bryophytes, bark, detritus, dead animals, and microorganisms, and dust that accumulate on trunks and the upper surfaces of large branches) in pastures, canopy soils in primary forest trees, and soil on the forest floor in Monteverde, Costa Rica. There were 5211 epiphytic and terrestrial plant seeds in the three habitats. All habitats were dominated by seeds in a relatively small number of plant families, most of which were primarily woody, animal pollinated, and animal dispersed. The density of seeds on the forest floor was greater than seed density in either pasture‐canopy or forest‐canopy soils; the latter two did not differ. Eight species in 44 families and 61 genera from all of the habitats were tallied. There were 37 species in the pasture‐canopy soil, 33 in the forest‐canopy soil, and 57 on the forest floor. Eleven species were common to all habitats. The mean species richness in the pasture canopy was significantly higher than the forest canopy (F =83.38; p < 0.02). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed that the communities were distinct. Greenhouse experiments verified that many of these seeds were viable, with 29 taxa germinating (23 taxa in pruned mats [mimic of exposed conditions] and 16 taxa in control mats [intact conditions]) within 2 months of observation. Nearly half the species that germinated were characteristic of primary forests (primary forest samples, 19%; pasture samples, 29%). This supports the idea that canopy seed banks of pasture trees can function as time capsules by providing propagules that are removed in both space and time from the primary forest. Their presence may enhance the ability of pastures to regenerate more quickly, reinforcing the importance of trees in agricultural settings.     

Inner City regeneration: perspectives on the G.E.A.R. Project

Government responses to the problems of the inner city currently focus on comprehensive programmes of positive discrimination. The first and most extensive is the G.E.A.R. project in Glasgow. Regular monitoring of the effectiveness of such large‐scale initiatives is essential. If the physical and social aims of such policies are to be realised, assessments must utilise both objective and subjective indicators.     

微波消解石墨炉原子吸收法测定空气中的锰(铅)

本文介绍了用微波消解技术消解滤膜以测定空气中的锰（铅）的方法，与传统的稀硝酸浸出法、流酸-灰化法相比，微波消解更加简单、快速、节省、准确、沾污少、环境污染少，回收率高。     

微波消解法测定农药废水中的总磷

介绍了一种测定农药废水中总磷的新的预处理方法－微波消解法。其消解时间从传统法的40min缩短到8min，精确度和准确度与传统的消解法相比无显著性差异。     

微波技术在环境保护领域的应用

综述了当前微波技术在环境保护领域的应用和研究状况，着重介绍了微波技术在废气处理，废水处理，固体废弃物处理，环境监测等方面的应用，讨论了应用存在的一些问题，并展望了微波技术在环境保护领域的应用前景。     

Desertification Control and Management of Land Degradation in the Thar Desert of India

India has 2.34 million km² of hot desert called Thar located in the north-western part of Rajasthan between latitudes 23°3 and 30°12 North and longitudes 63°30 and 70°18 East. The Indian desert is spreading annually over 12000 ha of productive land degrading it and slowly advancing towards the national capital New Delhi at the rate of 0.5 km per year. The Indian desert is characterised by huge shifting sand dunes; high wind speed; scarce rainfall; and intense solar radiation. Tremendous efforts have been made since the 1960s to arrest desertification and for ecological restoration of the Thar desert. An Ambitious afforestation programme including stabilisation of shifting sand dunes and creation of micro-climates through tree-screens and shelter-belt plantation was launched by the forest department of Rajasthan. A huge canal, 649 km long was also introduced to the Thar desert for ecological restoration.     

污染治理中的微波诱导催化技术

归纳了微波诱导催化技术在大气羡染控制、水污染控制、固体废弃物处理与处置等污染治理中的应用状况及应用实例，阐述了微波诱导催化技术的基本原理，提出了微波诱导催化技术在实践应用环节中存在的问题及解决措施，展望了微波诱导催化技术在污染治理领域中的应用前景。     

微波消解法快速测定渗滤液化学需氧量

针对国标回流法测定化学需氧量消耗时间长,分析费用高等不足,研究了微波消解法测定垃圾渗滤液的试验方法.通过微波消解功率、消解时间、催化剂用量等试验,确定了微波消解测定渗滤液CODCr的最佳条件.该方法具有省时间、省试剂、准确度高等优点.     

ESTIMATION OF SOIL MOISTURE WITH API ALGORITHMS AND MICROWAVE EMISSION1

Large area soil moisture estimations are required to describe input to cloud prediction models, rainfall distribution models, and global crop yield models. Satellite mounted microwave sensor systems that as yet can only detect moisture at the surface have been suggested as a means of acquiring large area estimates. Relations previously discovered between microwave emission at the 1.55 cm wavelength and surface moisture as represented by an antecedent precipitation index were used to provide a pseudo infiltration estimation. Infiltration estimates based on surface wetness on a daily basis were then used to calculate the soil moisture in the surface 0–23 cm of the soil by use of a modified antecedent precipitation index. Reasonably good results were obtained (R²= 0.7162) when predicted soil moisture for the surface 23 cm was compared to measured moisture. Where the technique was modified to use only an estimate of surface moisture each three days an R² value of 0.7116 resulted for the same data set. Correlations between predicted and actual soil moisture fall off rapidly for repeat observations more than three days apart. The algorithms developed in this study may be used over relatively flat agricultural lands to provide improved estimates of soil moisture to a depth greater than the depth of penetration for the sensor.