Sandy desertification change and its driving forces in western Jilin Province, North China

This paper investigates the sandy desertification change between 1986 and 2000 in the western Jilin province, North China. Land use and land cover data were obtained from Landsat TM data by using a supervised classification approach. We summarized the total area of desertified land by each county, as well as the area for each of the four categories of desertified land. The changes of different types of land use and land cover between 1986 and 2000 were calculated and analyzed. Taking Tongyu and Qianan as examples, both human and natural driving forces of the sandy desertification were analyzed. Our analyses indicate that the material sources and windy, warm and dry climate are the immanent causes of potential land desertification, while the irrational human activities, such as deforestation, reclaiming and grazing in the grassland, are the external causes of potential land desertification. However, rational human activities, such as planting trees and restoring grassland can reverse the land desertification process. Furthermore, the countermeasures and suggestions for the sustainable development in ecotone between agriculture and animal husbandry in North China are put forward.     

Select indicators and prioritize solutions for desertification and drought in Binh Thuan,Vietnam

The link between climate change and desertification is an important global problem for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The coastal provinces in Southern Centre Vietnam are strongly influenced by desertification, which is further exacerbated by climate change. The Delphi method was used to select sustainability indicators and then a method of an analytical hierarchy process was applied to prioritize sustainable solutions in Binh Thuan experts to elicit the causes and effects of desertification. According to the panel of 23 experts, 27 cause (e.g. rainfall and sunshine duration) and 22 effect (e.g. rice and agriculture) indicators were of particular importance to desertification and drought in the province. The highest priorities for cause are given to emigration, followed by income from industry and water supply for household use. The highest priorities for effect in the area are given to socioeconomic criteria, and in particular to the sub-criteria resettlement due to development projects, building hydropower reservoirs, and implementing irrigation schemes. The system of indicators provides useful information for the future studies. This study provides a means to uncover the most important criteria perceived as major contributors to desertification and as such enables policy-makers to prioritize solutions for Binh Thuan (Vietnam) by 2015 and a vision in 2020.     

普定县岩溶洼地的景观格局分析

岩溶洼地是我国西南地区典型的岩溶地貌类型之一,是国家进行环境治理和扶贫的重点区域。采用GIS与景观格局指数分析相结合的方法,对贵州省普定县岩溶洼地景观空间格局进行研究。依据各洼地斑块的面积大小,将洼地分成大型、中型和小型洼地3类。选取斑块数、斑块密度、面积周长分维数、平均临近指数、蔓延度指数、连接度指数、聚集度指数、散布与并列指数、Shannon多样性指数等9类景观格局指数,从整体景观水平和斑块类型水平这两个方面对岩溶洼地景观格局进行了分析。研究结果表明:普定县的洼地集中分布在南部和西北部;从总体景观水平上来看,景观受干扰的程度较大,结构比较复杂,类型比较丰富,异质性较强,整体景观分布较为离散,但各景观类型分布较为聚集;从斑块类型水平上来看,洼地景观类型相比非洼地景观类型、小型洼地景观类型相比大型洼地景观类型均呈现出斑块数多、破碎化程度高、聚集度略低、受自然条件制约程度高的特点。     

Instream sensor results suggest soil–plant processes produce three distinct seasonal patterns of nitrate concentrations in the Ohio River Basin

The Ohio River Basin (ORB) is responsible for 35% of total nitrate loading to the Gulf of Mexico yet controls on nitrate timing require investigation. We used a set of submersible ultraviolet nitrate analyzers located at 13 stations across the ORB to examine nitrate loading and seasonality. Observed nitrate concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 2.8 mg L⁻¹ N in the Ohio River's mainstem. The Ohio River experiences a greater than fivefold increase in annual nitrate load from the upper basin to the river's junction with the Mississippi River (74–415 Gg year⁻¹). The nitrate load increase corresponds with the greater drainage area, a 50% increase in average annual nitrate concentration, and a shift in land cover across the drainage area from 5% cropland in the upper basin to 19% cropland at the Ohio River's junction with the Mississippi River. Time-series decomposition of nitrate concentration and nitrate load showed peaks centered in January and June for 85% of subbasin-year combinations and nitrate lows in summer and fall. Seasonal patterns of the terrestrial system, including winter dormancy, spring planting, and summer and fall growing-harvest seasons, are suggested to control nitrate timing in the Ohio River as opposed to controls by river discharge and internal cycling. The dormant season from December to March carries 51% of the ORB's nitrate load, and nitrate delivery is high across all subbasins analyzed, regardless of land cover. This season is characterized by soil nitrate leaching likely from mineralization of soil organic matter and release of legacy nitrogen. Nitrate experiences fast transit to the river owing to the ORB's mature karst geology in the south and tile drainage in the northwest. The planting season from April to June carries 26% of the ORB's nitrate and is a period of fertilizer delivery from upland corn and soybean agriculture to streams. The harvest season from July to November carries 22% of the ORB's nitrate and is a time of nitrate retention on the landscape. We discuss nutrient management in the ORB including fertilizer efficiency, cover crops, and nitrate retention using constructed measures.     

中国荒漠化土地分布地域特征及其治理措施的评估

中国已存在的荒漠化土地面积111.7万km₂,占国土面积的11.6％,其中风力作用下的荒漠化土地占33.2％,水蚀作用下的占33.8％,物理及化学作用下的占33.0％。另外中国还分别有易受风力、水力作用和盐渍化影响的潜在荒漠化土地53.5万km₂、87.5万km₂和17.3万km₂,共计270.0万km₂,占国土面积28.1％。中国土地荒漠化是脆弱生态条件下,人口过快增长、人为不合理的经营活动如水资源利用不当、过度开垦、过度放牧、过度樵采及工矿建设所造成植被破坏、污染等所致。中国的荒漠化土地分布在不同的自然地带,其分布形式有如下两个特点：（1）荒漠化土地分布地区都是人类强度经济活动的地区;（2）荒漠化土地呈片状或斑点状断续分布,而不是大面积区域性连续分布。近几十年,中国土地荒漠化经过治理个别地区有所逆转,但总体上仍在发展中,如中国北方农牧交错地区土地沙质荒漠化每年仍以1.39％的速率递增。最后,针对中国土地荒漠化分布特征及发展趋势,对现有治理措施进行了评估,指出了土地荒漠化防治的对策及治理的基本途径。     

西南喀斯特流域土地利用对河流溶解无机碳及其同位素的影响

河流溶解无机碳(DIC)作为流域碳循环的重要部分一直备受关注,其稳定同位素(δ13CDIC)能够反映DIC来源和转化过程,而其受土地利用变化的影响的研究还较为缺乏.为了研究喀斯特河流水体DIC和δ13CDIC的影响因素,在典型喀斯特流域赤水河进行了河水样品采集与分析.赤水河流域上游主要分布碳酸盐岩而下游分布硅酸盐岩,且...     

西南岩溶山地坡地石漠化分类刍议

现行的西南岩溶山地石漠化程度分级标准过于简单,只能表征坡地的无植被覆盖的石质土地面积比例,不能反映石漠化前后地面物质组成和植被景观的变化。本文提出的石漠化分类,是土壤流失程度、石漠化程度和地面物质组成类型的叠加分类。这一分类较全面地反映了石漠化坡地的现今景观特征和石漠化前后的景观变化,可以更好地满足石漠化成因分析、石漠化治理规划编制和治理措施选择的需要。     

Relation Between Flow and Temporal Variations of Nitrate and Pesticides in Two Karst Springs in Northern Alabama1

Abstract: Two karst springs in the Mississippian Carbonate Aquifer of northern Alabama were sampled between March 1999 and March 2001 to characterize the variability in concentration of nitrate, pesticides, selected pesticide degradates, water temperature, and inorganic constituents. Water temperature and inorganic ion data for McGeehee Spring indicate that this spring represents a shallow flow system with a relatively short average ground‐water residence time. Water issuing from the larger of the two springs, Meridianville Spring, maintained a constant temperature, and inorganic ion data indicate that this water represents a deeper flow system having a longer average ground‐water residence time than McGeehee Spring. Although water‐quality data indicate differing short‐term responses to rainfall at the two springs, the seasonal variation of nitrate and pesticide concentrations generally is similar for the two springs. With the exception of pesticides detected at low concentrations, the coefficient of variation for most constituent concentrations was less than that of flow at both springs, with greater variability in concentration at McGeehee Spring. Degradates of the herbicides atrazine and fluometuron were detected at concentrations comparable to or greater than the parent pesticides. Decreases in concentration of the principal degradate of fluometuron from about July to November indicate that the degradation rate may decrease as fluometuron (demethylfluometuron) moves deeper into the soil after application. Data collected during the study show that from about November to March when recharge rates increase, nitrate and residual pesticides in the soil, unsaturated zone, and storage within the aquifer are transported to the spring discharges. Because of the increase in recharge, fluometuron loads discharged from the springs during the winter were comparable to loads discharged at the springs during the growing season.