Population decline of tsessebe antelope (Damaliscus lunatus lunatus) on a mixed cattle and wildlife ranch in Zimbabwe

The estimated number of tsessebes on a cattle and wildlife ranch in Zimbabwe decreased during 1995-1999 from 2209 to 435 animals. Existing records of rainfall, cattle management, wildlife numbers, captures, hunting and predation were analysed and, together with a demographic model and limited fieldwork, used to identify the probable cause of this decline. There was no convincing evidence that cheetah predation, excessive legal or illegal offtakes, a food shortage as a direct consequence of the 1994/1995 drought, or interspecific competition with wild herbivores were likely causes. After the 1991/1992 drought, tsessebe number was negatively correlated with cattle biomass, suggesting that cattle and tsessebe have competed for food since then. Two factors probably caused a long-lasting reduction in the dry-season availability of green grass leaf (the preferred food of tsessebe). First, drought and heavy grazing pressure by cattle may have shifted sward composition away from leafy grasses and towards grass species with small, wiry leaves. Secondly, while shrub encroachment has been occurring for decades, the 1991/1992 drought probably encouraged the establishment of another cohort of bushes, which now compete with grasses for soil moisture, reducing the water available for grass growth during the dry season. The competition between tsessebe and cattle was masked by significant cattle destocking during 1992-1995, but became apparent after 1995 when cattle numbers were increased. This competition was exaggerated by a general decline, since 1994, in rainfall during September-October, which further reduced the late dry season supply of green grass.     

Differences in the reproductive success and survival of the rufous treecreeper (Climacteris rufa) between a fragmented and unfragmented landscape

The rufous treecreeper (Climacteris rufa) has declined in abundance in the agricultural regions of southwestern Australia. The patterns of decline are well documented, but the processes that threaten population persistence are poorly understood. I compared the reproductive success and survival of the treecreeper between three sites in an unfragmented landscape and four remnant categories (large, small, grazed and ungrazed) in a fragmented, agricultural landscape. Nest success and annual productivity were significantly higher in the unfragmented landscape, but varied between sites and remnant categories within landscapes. Nest success was lowest in grazed remnants and annual productivity was positively associated with territory size in the fragmented landscape. Fledgling survival rates did not differ between landscapes, but there was a trend for juvenile survival rates to be higher in the unfragmented landscape. I used artificial nests to compare relative predation rates between landscapes, and provisioning rates and prey biomass brought to nestlings to assess differences in food availability. There were no landscape differences in predation rates, but provisioning rates to nestlings and total prey biomass were significantly lower in the fragmented landscape. Mean habitat quality was also lower in the fragmented landscape, although it differed between remnant categories. Reduced reproductive success, juvenile survival, food availability and habitat quality may threaten the viability of the rufous treecreeper population living in the fragmented landscape. Limiting the modification of remaining habitat (e.g. removing stock grazing) and improving habitat quality are required to assist in the conservation of this species.     

Dynamics of a declining amphibian metapopulation: Survival, dispersal and the impact of climate

Climate can interact with population dynamics in complex ways. In this study we describe how climatic factors influenced the dynamics of an amphibian metapopulation over 12 years through interactions with survival, recruitment and dispersal. Low annual survival of great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) was related to mild winters and heavy rainfall, which impacted the metapopulation at the regional level. Consequently, survival varied between years but not between subpopulations. Despite this regional effect, the four subpopulations were largely asynchronous in their dynamics. Three out of the four subpopulations suffered reproductive failure in most years, and recruitment to the metapopulation relied on one source. Variation in recruitment and juvenile dispersal was therefore probably driving asynchrony in population dynamics. At least one subpopulation went extinct over the 12 year period. These trends are consistent with simulations of the system, which predicted that two subpopulations had an extinction risk of >50% if adult survival fell below 30% in combination with low juvenile survival. Intermittent recruitment may therefore only result in population persistence if compensated for by relatively high adult survival. Mild winters may consequently reduce the viability of amphibian metapopulations. In the face of climate change, conservation actions may be needed at the local scale to compensate for reduced adult survival. These would need to include management to enhance recruitment, connectivity and dispersal.     

Human caused mortality in the endangered Scandinavian wolverine population

The wolverine is a relatively long lived mustelid species with low average annual reproduction which in theory makes them sensitive to changes in survival rates. In a multi-year study we monitored 211 radio-marked wolverines to estimate age-specific survival rates and mortality causes in an endangered population. Our data suggests that poaching forms a substantial part of wolverine population dynamics in northern Scandinavia causing up to 60% of adult mortality. Average annual adult survival rate was 0.91. Male and female survival rates did not differ. Twenty-five adult wolverines were confirmed to have died during the study. Fifty-two percent of confirmed adult mortality was human caused. The most important cause of adult mortality was poaching (9). Annual adult survival was lower (0.86) when 15 adult resident wolverines that were assumed to have died due to poaching were included in the analyses. Natural mortality among subadults and adults was less frequent in our study population compared to North American wolverine populations. Adult survival was significantly lower during the snow season (December-May) than during the snow-free season (June-November), while natural mortality was more evenly distributed between seasons. We explain this by the frequency of poaching which is higher during snow season. Our results underline the need to frame the underlying human dimension factors behind poaching to facilitate conservation and management of endangered populations.     

Hydrological responses to precipitation variation and diverse human activities in a mountainous tributary of the lower Xijiang,China

Hydrological regimes of river systems have been changing under the impacts of both climate variation and human activities in the global context. The Luodingjiang River, a mountainous tributary of the lower Xijiang in South China, was chosen to investigate the hydrological responses to the precipitation variation and diverse human activities (land use change, water diversion, reservoir construction, and in-channel damming) in this study. Two non-parametric statistical methods, Mann–Kendall and Pettitt test, were employed to detect the long-term changes in the time series of water discharge and sediment load (1959–2002) at the annual, monthly and seasonal scales. Significant increasing changes were detected in the water discharge time series in the dry season. To the contrary, significant decreasing changes were detected in the annual sediment load and sediment load time series in the wet-season. The impacts of precipitation variation and human activities on water discharge and sediment load were discerned and quantified using double mass curve and linear regression methods. By taking the period 1959–1968 as the reference period, the contribution of human activities to the increasing trend of dry-season water discharge in the period 1969–2002 was estimated to be 80%. Because the change of sediment load during the period 1969–2002 was not monotonic with an abrupt change around 1986, the contribution estimations were made for the two periods before and after 1986 respectively. For the period 1969–1985, human activities, particularly deforestation during the period 1981–1985, contributed 43% to the increasing change of sediment load and for the period 1986–2002, the impact of human activities dominated the decreasing change of sediment load with the contribution slightly higher than 100% because of the opposite role of precipitation variation. The operation of reservoirs and hydropower stations is considered to be responsible for the observed increasing trends of water discharge in the dry-season and decreasing trends of sediment load after 1986, and for the latter, reforestation program in the catchment is another contributing factor. The distinct seasonal changing patterns of both water discharge and sediment load in this study highlight the importance of involving monthly or seasonal time series in the change detection in hydrological data.     

Decline and likely extinction of a northern Australian native rodent, the Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat Conilurus penicillatus

Contemporary fire patterns are considered the most likely cause for regional population decline amongst small to medium mammals in northern tropical Australia. Here we assess the extinction risk faced by a vulnerable north Australian native rodent, the Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat Conilurus penicillatus in relation to fire frequency. This species has recently suffered a significant contraction in range. We provide the first quantitative evidence to demonstrate the immediate threat destructive wildfires and regular annual fire pose to the long-term population persistence of C. penicillatus. We show that late-dry season fires cause a reduction in both juvenile and adult survival probabilities. However, abundance declined at the unburnt as well as a frequently burnt site, suggesting that fire exclusion alone does not guarantee the species’ long-term persistence. Our model projections indicate that the remaining populations of C. penicillatus on the Northern Territory mainland risk extirpation within the next ten years. Conservation requires decisive management action to ameliorate extensive and destructive fires. A multi-faceted management plan needs to focus on restoring a fire management regime which generates a fine-scale mosaic of burnt and unburnt habitat, and the release of captive bred animals into fenced reserves free of exotic predators.     

The impact of introduced predators, light-induced mortality of fledglings and poaching on the dynamics of the Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) population from the Azores, northeastern subtropical Atlantic

Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) is a procellariiform seabird which breeds in the Mediterranean and the north-eastern subtropical Atlantic, and which is considered “Vulnerable” in Europe due to recent declines at some localities. In the Azores archipelago (Atlantic), the introduction of mammalian predators by man has led to petrels being extirpated from the main islands, except for Cory’s shearwater. Currently, the Azorean population of Cory’s shearwaters represents 65% of the species’ world population. However, its dynamics remains unknown, although: (1) numbers might have declined by 43% between 1996 and 2001, (2) on the main islands, the young suffer mortality from introduced mammals, poachers, and urban lights upon fledging, and (3) at sea, the level of fishery mortality remains unknown.To fill this gap, we conducted a 7-year demographic survey on a mammal-free islet in the Azores to determine adult survival rate using capture-mark-recapture of the breeders and to estimate fecundity. We also assessed urban mortality using the data from the rescue campaigns annually conducted in the archipelago. Urban mortality concerned about 6% of fledglings, but its importance greatly varied among islands. When rescue campaigns occur, the rate might drop below 0.5%. Overall, our simulations concerning the next 100 years do not allow excluding a decrease in Cory’s shearwater numbers in the Azores without rescue campaigns (by 87% under the least favourable scenario). Rescue campaigns should only slow down the decline unless, simultaneously, lower competition for nests compared to Vila islet allows adults to breed almost every year on the main islands and juvenile survival exceeds a threshold value. Since adult survival rate was high (>0.93), an eventual decline of the Azorean population of Cory’s shearwaters would probably not result from fishery mortality of adults, but rather from poor fledgling productivity and perhaps also from low survival during the first year at sea.     

Seasonal resource availability and use by an endangered tropical mycophagous marsupial

This study highlights the importance of considering how seasonality of rainfall affects availability of resources and consequently species distributions within tropical ecosystems. The endangered northern bettong, Bettongia tropica Wakefield is thought to be restricted to habitats where seasonal availability of hypogeous fungi, their principal food resource, remains high. To test this hypothesis fungal abundance was quantified in the early wet, late wet, early dry and late dry seasons within known bettong habitat. A relationship was found between precipitation and fungal availability, with the abundance of hypogeous fungi being significantly lower in the late dry season. Fungal availability correlated strongly with the seasonal rainfall pattern determined from 74-year monthly means. This contrasts with a previous study where mycophagy, measured by faecal analysis, remained high across seasons presumably because of aseasonal rainfall during that study period. Alloteropsis semialata R.Br. (cockatoo grass) use by bettongs increased significantly during the period of low fungal availability. This suggests that the importance of cockatoo grass as an alternative food resource during annual and extended dry periods has previously been underestimated. With the frequency and intensity of drought expected to increase with global climate change, these findings have significant implications for bettong management. The important and possibly equivalent dependence of B. tropica on both hypogeous fungi and A. semialata helps to explain their habitat preference and identifies this species as a true ecotonal specialist.     

黄土高原昕水河流域径流变化及其对环境要素的响应

以黄土高原昕水河流域为对象,采用有序聚类等数理统计方法,诊断了近60 a来实测径流的变化及其阶段性特征,在此基础上,分析了不同阶段实测径流与气候要素之间的响应关系,初步揭示了径流演变的驱动机制。结果表明:近60 a来昕水河流域实测径流量以1965年和1979年为分割点总体呈现阶段性减少趋势,其中,21世纪以来减少尤其明显。不同阶段的年降水、径流关系有一定差异,相比而言,汛期（6—10月份）的月降水量与径流量具有相对较好的相关关系,非汛期（11—5月份）的月降水径流关系点群散乱。积雪及融雪对河川径流量的影响存在±5℃阈值,当气温介于该阈值区间,气温变化对河川径流影响较大。昕水河流域汛期产流受高强度降水支配,非汛期径流量以地下径流和融雪径流为主。人类活动对河川径流的影响有增大趋势。     

Female biased mortality caused by anthropogenic nest loss contributes to population decline and adult sex ratio of a meadow bird

Meadow breeding birds such as the whinchat Saxicola rubetra have been declining due to increased farming intensity. In modern grassland management, the first mowing and the bird’s breeding cycle coincide, causing high nest destruction rates and low productivity of grassland bird populations. However, it is virtually unknown whether the mowing process directly affects adult survival by accidentally killing incubating females. We studied adult survival of an Alpine whinchat population during two breeding seasons using either colour-ringing or radio-tracking of 71 adults. Assessing territories, mowing phenology and nest destruction from 1988 to 2007 allowed changes in the factors associated with female mowing mortality to be estimated. Adult survival over 5-day-periods was Φ = 0.986, but during the period of mowing female survival was strongly reduced (Φ = 0.946). As a result, 80.6% of the males, but only 68.4% of the females survived the breeding season. Mowing undoubtedly killed two of 20 radio-tagged females when they were laying or incubating. In the 20-year period, an increasing proportion of nests were destroyed before the chicks hatched and this change was associated with an increased distortion of the adult sex ratio. Modelling the population growth rate showed that including the additional effect of mowing on female mortality resulted in a 1.7 times faster local population decline. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the extinction of whinchat populations in the lowlands of central Europe was caused not only by habitat degradation and low productivity, but also by increased man-made female mortality.     

近50年局地气候变化及其对共和盆地贵南县草地退化的影响

利用共和盆地贵南站1961—2007年温度、降水等气象资料,分析了共和盆地贵南县的气候变化趋势,探讨了气候变化对贵南县草地退化的影响。结果表明：共和盆地贵南地区气温年际变化呈上升趋势,倾向率为0．23℃／10a,增温速度大于全国增温速度;年降水量总体上呈不显著的增加趋势,倾向率为3．0mm／10a;草地潜在蒸散量呈显著上升趋势,蒸散量倾向率为22．23mm／10a;年大风、沙尘暴日数呈下降趋势。分析认为：气候变化是草原生态退化的自然诱发因素,温度显著升高,草地蒸散量增加,春季干旱事件增多,秋季降水量减少造成草地牧草生长期的变化和草地生产力的下降,导致贵南草地生态退化。     

From both sides: Dire demographic consequences of carnivorous mice and longlining for the Critically Endangered Tristan albatrosses on Gough Island

The IUCN recently uplisted the Tristan albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) to Critically Endangered. Here we present new data indicating negative population trends on Gough Island arising from low adult survival (∼91%, ascribed to accidental mortality on fishing gear) and low breeding success (averaging 32%, due to mouse predation). Fledgling production from 1979 to 2007 and numbers of incubating adults from 1956 to 2007 have both decreased by ∼1% p.a. Consecutive annual counts of incubating adults and a population model permit the first reliable estimates of the Tristan albatross population, presently 5400 breeding adults and 11,300 birds in all age- and stage-classes. Population models explore scenarios of likely demographic trends using combinations of hypothetical best-case estimates vs. observed estimates for two key parameters: adult survival and breeding success. These scenarios highlight the relative benefits to the species of eradicating mice or mitigating bycatch. The model scenario using observed estimates predicts annual growth rate at −2.85%. Adult survival rates have probably decreased in recent years, concomitant with increased longline fishing effort, which might explain the discrepancy between counts and modelled trends. Negative trends cannot be reversed by improving breeding success alone, and adult survival must exceed an improbable 97% to balance the current chick production. A worst-case scenario including a fixed number of adult deaths annually predicted a catastrophic 4.2% p.a. decrease and extinction in ∼30 years. Population growth was most sensitive to adult survival, but even using an adult survival estimate without fishery mortality, current breeding success is insufficient to maintain the population. These findings do not support the ‘compensatory mitigation of bycatch’ model (offsetting bycatch impacts by eradicating invasive species), and the impacts of both fishery mortality and mouse predation must be addressed to improve the conservation status of the Critically Endangered Tristan albatross.     

时间尺度对草地水土保持效应定量研究的影响

时间尺度效应的定量分析有利于进一步理解植被的水土保持机理。基于福建省长汀县河田镇草覆和裸土侵蚀试验小区2007—2010年的观测数据,分析了次降雨、月、季和年时间尺度下降雨、植被、保水和保土效应这4类参数的变化特征,并建立保水（土）效应RE（SE）的估算模型以探讨诸因素的联系,其中RE（SE）为草覆小区与裸土对照小区的径流深度（土壤流失量）的比值。结果表明:4类参数在各时间尺度呈现不同的量值及变化特性,RE和SE因消除了同类因子的影响在各时间尺度之间及其内部均相对稳定。在次降雨尺度RE较低（< 0.3）区间及月尺度下,降雨和植被的耦合作用导致了较好的保水效应,而在RE略高（0.3～0.4）和较高（> 0.7）区间以及年尺度,降雨因子主导了研究小区的保水效应（R² > 0.78）。从保土效应来看,在次降雨和年尺度主要受降雨或/和植被的影响,绿草叶面积指数能较好地表征研究小区草地的保土正效应（SE < 1,R² > 0.55）,而最大30 min雨强可精确表征研究小区草地的保土负效应（SE > 1,R² > 0.79）。无论保水或保土效应,其估算模型在月和季两个中等时间尺度均存在较大的不确定性（R² ≈0.4）。可见在不同的时间尺度,影响草地水土保持效应的诸要素呈现不同的变化和耦合特征,显示时间尺度在植被水土保持研究中的重要性。     

不同时间尺度反坡台阶红壤坡耕地土壤水分动态变化规律

为研究反坡台阶对红壤坡耕地土壤水分不同时间尺度变化以及土壤干湿变化的影响,在2016—2017年对布设反坡台阶坡耕地和原状坡耕地0～100 cm深度土壤水分状况进行了持续监测,计算了土壤相对含水率和增墒率。结果表明,反坡台阶对土壤水分的增加作用在枯水年更为显著(P0.05)。坡耕地旱季各土层土壤含水率变化相对不明显,基本上呈现出随着土层深度逐渐增加的规律;7月、9月和11月则呈现出明显的S状的规律;坡耕地布设反坡台阶后,各个时段各个土层土壤含水率均有了明显的提高,尤其是在5月土壤补水期和11月土壤失水期对土壤水分的增加效果更加明显。坡耕地土壤逐日含水率变异程度随着土层深度增加而逐渐减小;反坡台阶处理坡耕地和原状坡耕地5、20和40cm处土壤逐日含水率与降雨量呈现极显著的相关关系(P0.01),60cm处土壤逐日含水率与降雨量达显著相关(P0.05),而80、100 cm深度土壤逐日含水率与降雨量之间相关关系不显著。反坡台阶对坡耕地5、20、40、60、80、100 cm处土壤平均增墒率分别达到15.22%、15.25%、16.91%、15.60%、16.50%和16.17%,而其对不同深度土壤增墒率在年内均呈现出不同的变化规律。坡耕地布设反坡台阶,显著增加了土壤含水率,增加了土壤湿润期的持续时间,并且能显著提高坡耕地降雨利用率,这对于解决坡耕地的生态水文型干旱问题,提高山区坡耕地农业生产力具有重要意义。     

Impacts of the nitrogen application on productivity and nutrients concentrations of the corn-Congo grass intercropping system in the dry season

ABSTRACT

The corn-grass intercropping system began to be used in the dry season, as it provides increased straw production for the no-tillage system. However, corn and grass are plants demanding in nitrogen. The corn cultivated in the dry season is called out-of-season corn in Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the productivity and nutrients concentrations of out-of-season corn and Congo-grass intercropped in the no-tillage system, as a function of the nitrogen rates applied in sidedressing. The treatments were four nitrogen rates, 0, 30, 60 and 90?kg?ha^?1. The experimental design was randomised complete blocks with four replicates. The experimental period corresponded to the harvests of 2015 and 2016. There were evaluated: corn grain yield, dry mass production and nutrient concentration in the shoots of the plants intercropped. The evaluations were carried out at the physiological maturity stage of the corn and at the time of desiccation of the grass. Nitrogen increased grain yield and dry mass production of the plants intercropped. Nitrogen maximised the magnesium concentration in out-of-season corn and the nitrogen, calcium, magnesium and sulphur concentrations in Congo grass. Excess nitrogen promoted reduction of the phosphorus in the Corn-Congo grass intercropping system in the dry season.     

A functional hypothesis of the threat of local extirpation of woody plant species by elephant in Africa

An hypothesis predicting which woody species selected by elephant are at risk of local extirpation is based on an understanding of elephant digestive physiology, foraging ecology, attributes of individual plants and populations, and historical changes in ecosystems. Elephant select items rich in cell solubles relative to availability for achieving maximum throughput per unit time on account of their large energy requirement, hindgut fermentation with limited cell wall digestion, high passage rate, and inefficient recycling of microbial protein. Accordingly, diet is predominantly green grass and herbs in the wet season, green browse in the late wet and dry seasons, and bark and roots following leaf fall. Increased consumption of woody material indicates nutritional stress. Bulls graze more than cows and impact woody plants more when grazing deteriorates.Species vulnerable to extirpation by elephant are those: whose attributes predispose adults to pollarding, uprooting or ringbarking; adults coppice poorly, hence mortality occurs; mortality is not compensated by regeneration and recruitment owing to the impact of elephant and other agents; species have a restricted distribution; and poor dispersal ability constrains recolonisation. Threat of their local extirpation has increased because of an increased probability of encounter with elephant attributed to artificial boundaries that have constrained movement, and proliferation of water points that has reduced spatial refuges for plants and weakened density-dependent regulation of elephant populations. Degradation of grasslands, wetlands and riparian areas has forced elephant to subsist on woody vegetation for a longer period of the annual cycle. A reduction in water points should increase local elephant density and attendant density-dependent effects of increased foraging distance, nutritional stress, calf and juvenile mortality, and predation, and reduce reproduction. Eliminating human predation after 4000 years in some parks has contributed to the problem. Mitigation of the threat of local extirpation should concentrate on configuration of boundaries, water provision, simulated predation, minimum reserve size, and not pursue non-definable notions of elephant carrying capacity.     

Comparing population growth rates using weighted bootstrapping: Guiding the conservation management of Petrogale xanthopus xanthopus (yellow-footed rock-wallaby)

In this study we compare estimates of the long-term mean stochastic population growth rates, E[r] for Petrogale xanthopus xanthopus (yellow-footed rock-wallaby), a threatened Australian species. In fluctuating environments such as semi-arid areas, herbivore populations respond directly to changes in the biomass of food resources. Biomass is generally correlated with rainfall, so it is often useful to model annual population growth rates of herbivores directly with rainfall. Models of this nature are referred to as numerical response models. The factors that are thought to threaten this species include competition from introduced herbivores and predation from foxes. Annual aerial survey data collected from 1997 to 2004 over approximately 600 km of transect line were analyzed in seven zones within South Australia. Using the Ivlev numerical response model, the annual population growth rates were found to correlate best with the rain that fell in the seven-month period immediately prior to the surveys. Not surprisingly, positive growth rates were found to be associated with higher rainfalls in this period, while negative growth rates were associated with lower rainfalls. We also used weighted bootstrapping to calculate confidence intervals around our estimates of long-term mean stochastic population growth rates, E[r]. The findings suggest that the estimates of E[r] are positive in areas where there is fox and herbivore management. However, we found no evidence that this species will decline in the absence of these treatments.     

Effect of long-term chemical and organic fertilization on rice productivity,nutrient use-efficiency,and balance under a rice-fallow-rice system

Nutrient sources and management influence soil properties and crop productivity indicating that sustained crop production needs nutrient rate specific tuning after certain periods of time. We hypothesize that long-term use of organic and inorganic nutrient sources maintains soil fertility and improve crop production. Yield and nutrient use efficiencies have not been evaluated in Bangladesh from long-term fertilizer trials focusing on adaptation strategies for sustained food production. So, the objectives of the present investigation were to examine the effects of organic and inorganic amendments on yields and soil properties under a rice-fallow-rice system. The experiment was initiated in 1985 with 12 treatments under dry season irrigated rice culture at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur. The effects of organic and inorganic nutrient sources were evaluated under missing element techniques. The contributions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers to yields were more in the dry season but the role of P was negligible in the wet season. The omissions of N, P and K nutrients are not suitable management option for rice cultivation during dry and wet seasons, although P can be omitted in the wet season provided its full dose is applied in the dry season. The combined use of organic and inorganic nutrient sources are the best option for improving rice productivity and sustaining soil fertility in a rice-fallow-rice system in Bangladesh.     

Seasonal differences in the soil water balance under perennial and annual pastures on an acid Sodosol in southeastern Australia

Replacement of native deep‐rooted grasses by shallow‐rooted ones has resulted in greater losses of water and nitrogen by drainage. To counter this effect we have tested the hypothesis that liming, and the conversion of annual grass pastures to perennial grass pastures, could improve the sustainability of grazing systems in the high rainfall zone (> 600 mm per annum) in southeastern Australia, through better use of water and nitrogen. A field experiment consisting of sixteen 0.135 ha (30 m × 45 m) grazed paddocks representing four pasture combinations (annual pasture (mainly Lolium rigidum) without lime (AP–); annual pasture with lime (AP+); perennial pasture (mainly Phalaris aquatica) without lime (PP–), and perennial pasture with lime (PP+)) was carried out from 1994 to 1997 on an acid Sodosol (Aquic Hapludalf) in southern New South Wales, Australia. Measurements were made of surface runoff, subsurface flow (on top of the B horizon) and soil water content. The results showed that perennial grass pastures, especially PP+, extracted approximately 40 mm more soil water each year than the annual grass pastures. As a result, surface runoff, subsurface flow and deep drainage were at least 40 mm less from the perennial pastures. These measurements were further supported by a simulation of soil water deficit and deep drainage for AP– and PP+ paddocks, using 10 years' past meteorological records. Overall, the results suggested that well‐grown, phalaris‐based pastures could reduce recharge to groundwater and make pastoral systems more sustainable in the high rainfall zone.     

典型喀斯特峰丛洼地降雨特性及浅层地下水埋深变化特征

以桂西北典型喀斯特峰丛洼地连续6年(2006-2011年)的降雨资料和浅层地下水埋深的实测数据为基础,分析研究区降雨特性和浅层地下水的变化特征。结果表明:研究区虽然降雨丰富,但年际变化大且季节分布不均。除2008年为丰水年(1 979.8mm)、2011年为欠水年(1 127.3mm)外,其余年份均为平水年(1 302.7～1 510.1mm);降雨主要集中在4-9月(雨季),其占全年降雨量的比例表现为平水年(82.4%～85.1%)>丰水年(74.7%)>欠水年(65.9%);有效降雨次数、累计有效降雨量和最大日降雨量有随年降雨量增加而增加的趋势;60min雨强大于16mm/h的降雨和最大日降雨量的最大值分别为67.4mm/h和152.9mm,主要集中在5-8月;年内50%以上为无雨天气,其中,平均出现26次连续3d以上,5次连续10d以上的无雨天气,不同水文年差异不大,且多发生在旱季,年降雨量并未因无雨天数的增加而降低。雨季地下水埋深约为2m,旱季大于3m,呈中等变异,且雨季大于旱季;地下水埋深年内随降雨呈单峰型分布,但峰值维持时间短,前期降雨对地下水位的涨落有重要影响。