Potential sensitivity of mires to drought,acidification and mobilisation of heavy metals: the sediment s/(Ca + Mg) ratio as diagnostic tool

In recent decades sulphate concentrations in the ground water in many parts of The Netherlands have increased dramatically resulting in increased production of iron-(di)sulphides in sediments of ecosystems fed by this water. A sediment survey was carried out to study the potential sensitivity of wetlands to drought and subsequent acidification as a consequence of iron-(di)sulphide oxidation. Dessication led to severe acidification and mobilisation of heavy metals when the sediment S/(Ca + Mg) ratio exceeded 2/ 3. A total of 47% of the investigated locations contained S/(Ca + Mg) ratios higher than 2/3 and in 100, 75 and 50% of the locations mobilisation of Zn, Cd and Ni exceeded the Dutch signal value for ground water. Consistent with the sediment survey, lime addition experiments confirmed that increasing the buffer capacity, down to a S/(Ca + Mg) ratio 2/3, led to a drastic inhibition of the acidification and heavy metal percolation from dredged sediments. The performance of the same processes under drained field conditions demonstrates the relevance of these processes during dry summers.     

强火山爆发与我国华北地区夏季旱涝的关系

本文根据我国１４７０～１９９０年旱涝型和旱涝等级指数资料，研究了１５世纪以来世界８个区域强火山爆发与我国华北旱涝的统计关系，发现火山爆发后１～２ａ内华北地区夏季以偏旱为主。     

干旱半干旱地区的干旱指数分析

利用降水距平百分率建立了干旱指数方程，可用于于旱半干旱地区的干旱监测，并对１９８９年北疆的干旱和乌鲁木齐历年的干湿期进行了计算和分析，取得了较好的结果。     

全球不同区域火山爆发与中国夏季旱涝的关系

根据近500年来火山活动和中国旱涝资料,研究了中国旱涝型和各主要地区旱涝指数与不同火山区和不同季节火山爆发的统计关系,探讨了1991年江淮洪涝与该年6月火山爆发的可能联系。发现不同区域火山爆发对中国不同地区的旱涝影响不同,有的甚至截然相反。由统计检验表明,分区研究比不分区研究其信度明显提高。     

山东省近600年旱涝霜雹数据库和超长期预报系统研究

干旱、洪涝、霜冻、冰雹是山东省最主要的气象灾害,具有频率高、范围广、灾情重等特征。通过对历史资料的整理、编码和输入,建立了山东省近600年旱涝霜雹数据库、近40年降水数据库和预报因子数据库,并编制了数据管理和分析软件包,在国际著名的SAS统计分析系统基础上,建立了山东省旱涝霜雹超长期预报系统。本文简要论述灾害数据库和预报系统建立的技术方法及系统应用的初步结果。     

华北异常干旱气候事件及其对农业影响评估模式的研究

分析了华北地区旱灾的特点;采用降水量距平百分率和干旱指数分别确定了单站及区域于旱等级标准,并对近３７ａ这一地区各年主要干旱事件强度（等级）进行了评定,最后建立了干旱受灾面积和成灾面积评估模式。     

Drought adaptation in rural eastern Oklahoma in the 1930s: lessons for climate change adaptation research

In the mid-1930s, eastern Oklahoma, USA, suffered an unusually harsh mixture of droughts and extreme rainfall events that led to widespread crop failure over several years. These climatic conditions coincided with low commodity prices, agricultural restructuring and general economic collapse, creating tremendous hardship in rural and agriculturally dependent areas. Using a previously developed typology of agricultural adaptation, this paper reports empirical research conducted to identify the ways by which the rural population of Sequoyah County adapted to such conditions. Particular attention is given to categorizing the scale at which adaptation occurred, the actors involved and the constraints to implementation. The findings identify successes and opportunities missed by public policy makers, and suggest possible entry points for developing adaptation strategies for current and future, analogous situations that may arise as a result of climate change.     

Influence of drought and municipal sewage effluents on the baseflow water chemistry of an upper piedmont river

The Reedy River in South Carolina is affected by the urban area of Greenville, the third most populous city in the state, and by the effluents from two large-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located on the river. Riverine water chemistry was characterized using grab samples collected annually under spring season baseflow conditions. During the 4-year time period associated with this study, climatic variations included two severe drought spring seasons (2001 and 2002), one above-normal precipitation spring season (2003), and one below-normal precipitation spring season (2004). The influence of drought and human activities on the baseflow chemistry of the river was evaluated by comparing concentrations of dissolved anions, total metals, and other important water chemistry parameters for these different years. Concentrations of copper and zinc, common non-point source contaminants related to urban activities, were not substantially elevated in the river within the urban area under baseflow conditions when compared with headwater and tributary samples. In contrast, nitrate concentrations increased from 1.2–1.6 mg/l up to 2.6–2.9 mg/l through the urban stream reach. Concentrations of other major anions (e.g., sulfate, nitrate) also increased along the reach, suggesting that the river receives continuous inputs of these species from within the urban area. The highest concentrations of major cations and anions typically were observed immediately downstream from the two WWTP effluent discharge locations. Attenuation of nitrate downstream from the WWTPs did not always track chloride changes, suggesting that nitrate concentrations were being controlled by biochemical processes in addition to physical processes. The relative trends in decreasing nitrate concentrations with downstream distance appeared to depend on drought versus non-drought conditions, with biological processes presumably serving as a more important control during non-drought spring seasons.     

Assessing drought-related ecological risk in the Florida Everglades

In the winter-spring of 2001, South Florida experienced one of the worst droughts in its recorded history. Out of a myriad of ecological concerns identified during this time, the potential for catastrophic peat fire and negative impacts to wading bird reproduction emerged as critical issues. Water managers attempted to strike a balance between the environment and protection of water supplies for agriculture and urban interests. It became evident, however, that a broad-scale, integrated way to portray and prioritise ecological stress was lacking in the Florida Everglades, despite this being considered a necessary tool for addressing issues of environmental protection. In order to provide a framework for evaluating various water management operations using real-time information, we developed GIS-based indices of peat-fire risk and wading bird habitat suitability. These indices, based on real physical, chemical, and biological data, describe two ecological conditions that help define the physical and biological integrity of the Everglades. In addition to providing continuous, updated assessments throughout the drought period, we incorporated predictive models of water levels to evaluate how various water management alternatives might exacerbate or alleviate ecological stress during this time.     

Agricultural productivity and environmental insecurity in the Usangu plain, Tanzania: policy implications for sustainability of agriculture

Sustainable agricultural development is a necessity for sustainable economic growth and social development in Africa. Sustainable agriculture largely depends on how effective natural and environmental resources are managed and utilized; it also depends on the security of continuous access to such resources. This research was aimed to look into trends in agricultural productivity, examine the persistence of the environmental insecurity, analyze the relationship between the two, and explore their links to the national development policies. The results are discussed in the context of relevance to national development policies and their implications on the sustainability of agriculture and rural livelihoods security. Literature survey, records collection from the stakeholders, village level participatory assessments (PAs), observations and questionnaire survey were tools used for data collection. The study shows significant (P < 0.01) declines in cereal crop yields, cattle milk yield and cattle calving rate, and increasing cattle mortality rate. Elements of environmental insecurity were found to account for decline in agricultural productivity; significant (P < 0.01) proportion (68%), of 266 households interviewed, reported land resources deterioration, declining soil fertility, and increasing drought frequencies as the causes of their low productivity. Declined fertilizer consumption and increasing variability in rainfall amount significantly (P < 0.01) accounted for 59% and 39%, respectively, of the variations observed in total annual production of rice and maize, which are major cereals in the study area. This study recommends measures to improve soil productivity such as improved fertilizer application and use of organic manures along with mineral fertilizers for maintaining soil productivity; education of farmers on sustainable use and management of land resources; and pro-poor rural policies in agricultural development and environmental governance. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.