Origin and terminology for gilgai in Australia

The names given to soil micro-relief forms are reviewed and a rational classification is proposed. The term gilgai should be confined to surface features, and a new term, mukkara, is proposed for the associated sub-soil features. By analogy with geological structures, it is suggested that gilgai/mukkara are piercement structures resulting from differential surface loading.     

Spatial modelling of dryland salinization potential in Victoria,Australia

The goal of the project discussed in this paper is to produce small-scale maps of dryland salinization potential for Victoria, Australia; maps which putatively identify areas where salinization effects might be expected to worsen or where effects have yet to become evident. This paper assumes: (a) that current stream salinity levels can be modelled empirically using a relationship reported by Greig and Devonshire (1981), and (b) that a subset of these levels are indicative at an early stage of the maximum long-term severity (meaning extensiveness) of proximate dryland salinization should water-tables rise. This paper uses computer induction to relate modelled stream salinity to observed salinization and hence to dryland salinization potential.     

Environmental, landscape and social predictors of native grassland loss in western Victoria, Australia

Understanding the causes, processes and ecological consequences of land use change is a conservation priority in fragmented, human dominated landscapes but is often difficult due to insufficient environmental and social data or data at different spatial scales. We assessed changes in the extent of relictual native grasslands in western Victoria, Australia, by comparing native grasslands recorded by targeted vegetation surveys in the 1980s and early 1990s, with those present in 2004. Of the 880 ha of native grassland recorded by the earlier surveys, approximately 225 ha were destroyed by 2004. The area of grassland on road reserves was reduced by 169 ha (36%), with 67 ha (32%) and 18 ha (14%) lost from private property and Crown land, respectively. However, due to incomplete surveys in 1984, the area of private native grassland destroyed is likely to have been severely underestimated. Bayesian logistic regression models determined that social factors had a greater influence on the probability of native grassland destruction than environmental variables (i.e. soil type, distance to stream). The conservation ranking of native grassland patches and the fire brigade area the patch was located in were found to be particularly important. These results highlight the destructive effect of altering roadside fire prevention techniques from controlled burning to herbicide spraying, but suggest that this change is due to a complex interaction of social, economic and cultural factors.     

The soil condition of adjacent bio-dynamic and conventionally managed dairy pastures in Victoria, Australia

Abstract. Physical and chemical properties were compared during 1992 in adjacent bio-dynamic and conventionally managed Haploxeralfs under improved, summer-irrigated pastures in the Goulburn Valley of N.E. Victoria. Intensive dairy production has been practised on both the farms since the early 1950s, and aspects of the bio-dynamic method have been practised on one farm for the past 18 years. Particle-size analysis showed that the soil profiles of each field are derived from similar parent materials. The bio-dynamic soil had greater macro-porosity to a depth of at least 420 mm, lesser soil strength at 60, 120 and 200 mm, smaller dry bulk density values between 120 and 200 mm and larger organic matter content in the upper 50 mm. Volumetric soil water content measured along three transects to a depth of 1.4 m in the summer showed that the bio-dynamic field was drier at depths greater than 200 mm. After heavy rains during the winter, the conventionally managed soil had an air-filled porosity unfavourable for plant roots (2%) at 200 mm depth, whereas the bio-dynamic soil was marginal for root growth (7%). The more favourable physical and chemical properties in the bio-dynamic soil may be attributed to less grazing pressure, longer intervals between irrigations, use of the bio-dynamic horn-manure preparation, intermittent compost applications, less tractor traffic and the encouragement of taller pasture growth.     

Seasonal Changes in Arsenic Concentrations and Hydrogeochemistry of Canadian Creek, Ballarat (Victoria, Australia)

A 10-month study of surface waters in Canadian Creek (Ballarat, Victoria, Australia) showed the significant influence of historic gold mining waste material. The investigation focussed on the hydrogeochemistry of the surface waters and soils in order to: (1) document the levels and seasonal trends in major, minor and trace elements in the creek, (2) identify the process by which As is released from the soil/waste mining material to surface waters. For most dissolved major and trace elements (Na, Ca, Mg, K, and As) in surface waters, the concentrations decreased with the increasing rainfall and flow conditions except for Al and Fe. Two sites selected along the creek (< 1 km apart) allowed evaluation of the possibility that mining waste material is contributing to the elevated As concentrations (up to 145 μg/l) in downstream surface water. Arsenic concentration varied more than 28 fold seasonally and was highest in autumn and lowest in spring. Elevated concentrations of As (up to 1946 mg/kg) at the downstream site indicated the presence of a source of As concentration in both surface and subsurface soils. Oxidation of arsenic sulphides under aerobic conditions with redox fluctuations (7 to 201 mV) could cause elevated As levels in the creek. Significant statistical correlations among the major cations (Ca, Na and Mg) point to a common source(s) resulting in neutral to slightly alkaline (pH ～ 6.5 to 7.8) surface water. Fe and Al secondary phases under oxidising conditions are a significant controlling mechanism for the mobilization of As in highly contaminated soils (> 1500 mg/kg) in the study area. The large As adsorption capacity of Fe and Al could be limiting extreme mobilization into the water. Rainfall with relatively low pH is possibly causing mobilisation of Al, Fe and As from highly alkaline soils (pH ≈ 9.0) into the nearby creek.     

Land use influences soil fungal community composition across central Victoria,south-eastern Australia

Current theory expects that fungi, on the one hand, are spatially ubiquitous but, on the other, are more susceptible than bacteria to disturbance such as land use change due to dispersal limitations. This study examined the relative importance of location and land use effects in determining soil fungal community composition in south-eastern Australia. We use terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP; primer pair ITS1-F–ITS4) and multivariate statistical methods (NMDS ordinations, ANOSIM tests) to compare relative similarities of soil fungal communities from nine sites encompassing three locations (ca 50–200 km apart) and four land uses (native eucalypt forest, Pinus radiata plantation, Eucalyptus globulus plantation, and unimproved pasture). Location effects were generally weak (e.g. ANOSIM test statistic R ≤ 0.49) and were, in part, attributed to minor differences in soil texture. By contrast, we found clear and consistent evidence of land use effects on soil fungal community composition (R ≤ 0.95). That is, soils from sites of the same land use grouped together in NMDS ordinations of fungal composition despite geographic separations of up to ca 175 km (native eucalypt forests) and 215 km (P. radiata plantations). In addition, different land uses from the same location were clearly separate in NMDS ordinations, despite, in one case, being just 180 m apart and having similar land use histories (i.e. P. radiata versus E. globulus plantation both established on pasture in the previous decade). Given negligible management of all sites beyond the early establishment phase, we attribute much of the land use effects to changes in dominant plant species based on consistent evidence elsewhere of strong specificity in pine and eucalypt mycorrhizal associations. In addition, weak to moderate correlations between soil fungal community composition and soil chemical variables (e.g. Spearman rank correlation coefficients for individual variables of 0.08–0.32), indicated a minor contributing role of vegetation-mediated changes in litter and soil chemistry. Our data provide evidence of considerable plasticity in soil fungal community composition over time spans as short as 6–11 years. This suggests that – at least within geographic zones characterised by more-or-less contiguous forest cover – soil fungal community composition depends most on availability of suitable habitat because dispersal propagules are readily available for colonisation after land use change.     

Effects of rotation, stubble retention and cultivation on take-all and eyespot of wheat in northeastern Victoria, Australia

The effects of different rotations and methods of seed-bed preparation on take-all (Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici) (Ggt) and eyespot (Tapesia yallundae; anomorph Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides) of wheat (Triticum aestivum) were investigated in 1984–1986 in a long-term field experiment (established in 1981), on a fine sandy-clay loam in northeastern Victoria. One treatment, representing the conventional practice, involved burning stubble from the preceding crop followed by four passes with a scarifier in the autumn before sowing wheat each year. Other treatments were direct drilled each year (sown without prior cultivation) and included two stubble treatments (retained or burnt) in either continuously cropped wheat or in lupin (Lupinus angustifolius)-wheat rotations.

High levels of take-all and eyespot developed in the continuously cropped wheat (up to 79% and 66% plants affected, respectively). On the other hand, the incidence of plants with either disease was very low or negligible in wheat that was preceded by lupins. In continuous wheat the incidence of plants with Ggt lesions were up to two times higher in the conventionally cultivated treatment (14% 74% and 79% plants affected in 1984, 1985 and 1986, respectively) than in direct drilled treatment (5%, 36% and 39% plants affected, respectively). Generally, the incidence of plants with Ggt lesions and the severity of root symptoms in direct drilled wheat did not differ significantly between the two stubble treatments.

The incidence of eyespot in direct drilled wheat was exacerbated by the retention of wheat stubble on the uncultivated plots (3%, 46% and 66% plants affected in 1984, 1985, and 1986, respectively) but was reduced by burning the stubble (4%, 19% and 33% plants affected in 1984, 1985, 1986, respectively). However, cultivating soil after burning stubble resulted in more plants with eyespot (14%, 39% and 46% plants affected in 1984, 1985 and 1986, respectively) than did burning stubble alone, and in one year the incidence of affected plants in the cultivated treatment was as high as in wheat direct drilled into stubble. The incidence of eyespot was positively correlated (r=0.85, 0.84 and 0.61 in 1984, 1985 and 1986, respectively) with the incidence of lodged tillers. The incidence of lodging was, generally, highest each year in wheat sown directly into wheat stubble and was reduced by burning wheat stubble or by cropping wheat after lupins.

Wojnowicia graminis was frequently isolated, as was Tapesia yallundae, from eyespot lesions suggesting that perhaps not all symptoms of lodging in Victoria can be attributed to Tapesia yallundae.     

Lessons about extinction and translocation: models for eastern barred bandicoots (Perameles gunnii) at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia

In 1998 the protected population of Perameles gunnii (eastern barred bandicoot) at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia became functionally extinct following removals of individuals for translocation between 1994 and 1996. Population viability analysis and data collected whilst the population was in decline are used to explore the impact that these removals had on the decline of the P. gunnii population at Woodlands. Due to some ambiguities in the life history of P. gunnii at Woodlands, two structurally different population models were used. Explicitly including the removal of animals in the analysis indicates that there may be at least a three-fold increase in the risk of quasiextinction due to removals. In some scenarios, over 17% of the trajectories decrease to a level less than or equal to 10 females within the observed time period of the collapse of the population, that is by April 1998. The modelling approach identified a number of critical factors in the decline of the population, such as variation in survival rates. By representing the life history strategy using two alternate models, quantitative statements about the impact that removals had on the population decline at Woodlands are made. While removals probably contributed to the collapse of the population, removals were not the sole cause of population decline. The real reasons for decline remain unknown; however, it is likely to be closely linked to habitat decline, difficult environmental conditions and predation. If P. gunnii are reintroduced to Woodlands again, then the models presented here may help to develop management strategies to establish a self sustaining population, as well as exploring translocations options.     

Sodium,calcium and magnesium ratios in soils of NW Victoria,Australia may restrict root growth and crop production

Fifty-six sites throughout the Wimmera region of Victoria were sampled to 1 m depth, and 1:5 extracts analysed for pH, conductivity and cation content. The relationship between conductivity measured in saturated extracts and 1:5 extracts at five sites was used to calculate cation concentrations expected if saturated extracts had been prepared. Soils were generally alkaline and cations at depth were dominated by sodium. The ratio of sodium to calcium varied from <2.6 (10% of samples) to >85.5 (10%) to a maximum of 247.1. It exceeded 12.8 in 40% of samples, and exceeded 45.6 in 20% of samples, levels which are likely to reduce root growth and ability of roots to exclude sodium. Higher ratios were associated with depth, pH and conductivity. The ratio of magnesium to calcium exceeded 1 in 80% of samples, 2 in 55% of samples, 3 in 30% of samples and the maximum measured was a ratio of 7.6, suggesting plant growth may be reduced. The issues of extrapolating from experiments in solution culture to soil, and errors likely in using 1:5 extracts are discussed.     

Properties and regimes of vertisols with gilgai microtopography (a review)

Data on the morphology and spatial distribution of slickensides and cracks, particle-size distribution, the organic carbon content, the content and forms of carbonate concentrations, and physical and physicochemical properties of Vertisols with the gilgai microtopography are systematized. Relatively scarce information on the functioning regimes of gilgai soil complexes (their temperature and moisture conditions, redox potential, vertical and horizontal deformations, and soil density changes) is discussed. Common properties of gilgai soils are the clayey texture of their profiles and the high portion of smectitic minerals specifying the high shrink–swell capacity of the soil material. The most important specificity of soils with the gilgai microtopography is a significant horizontal differentiation of the soil profiles with alternation of bowl-shaped morphostructures with a thick dark layer without carbonates in microlows and diapiric morphostructures composed of the rising material of the lower layers with diverse carbonate concentrations on microhighs. Data on the spatial distribution of soil properties within the gilgai microcatenas can be applied in the studies of the genesis and evolution stages of the gilgai soil complexes.     

Responses of ureolytic and nitrifying microbes to urease and nitrification inhibitors in selected agricultural soils in Victoria,Australia

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Urease inhibitors (UIs) such as N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and nitrification inhibitors (NIs) such as 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) have been...     

Micromorphology, submicroscopy and microprobe study of carbonate pedofeatures in a Vertisol gilgai soil complex, South Russia

Carbonate nodules and soft masses were studied in a gilgai soil complex in the North Caucasus, South Russia. Microrelief with an amplitude about 30 cm resulted in a wetter environment with stronger leaching in the microlow and a drier pedoenvironment with carbonate accumulation in the microhigh. Various macroforms of carbonate nodules and soft masses were identified in soil pits and sampled for micromorphology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and microprobe analyses to better characterize them and elucidate their pedogenesis. Common and unique attributes were described for carbonate pedofeatures depending on loci in gilgai soil complex. The most probable hypothesis for their formation is as follows. Nodules represent early pedogenic products that were initiated before gilgai formation. Modern hydrology resulted in variability of dissolution/recrystallization of the nodules along the gilgai microtopography. The variability in degree of impregnation, aggregation into pellets, and presence of hard nodular cores reflects several generations of soft masses.     

Cenozoic sediments,soils and climates at whyalla,South Australia

A stratigraphic sequence of Cenozoic sediments and soils occurs in the Whyalla area (South Australia). During formation of the oldest soil layer, in pre-Cenozoic rocks, quartzites and sandstones were little altered but the less resistant rocks were strongly weathered to great depths. The resulting deep soil was destroyed in most places during an ensuing period of erosion, but competent water transportation removed most of the detritus. By the end of this erosional period the major features of the present topography had evolved.     

Thresholds in landscape parameters: occurrence of the white-browed treecreeper Climacteris affinis in Victoria, Australia

The concept of critical thresholds of habitat loss has recently received considerable attention in conservation biology and landscape ecology, yet empirical examples of thresholds are scarce. Threatened species management could benefit from recognition of thresholds because conditions under which populations are at risk can be specified. In this study, 56 woodland patches in north-west Victoria were surveyed for the white-browed treecreeper Climacteris affinis, a threatened insectivorous bird of the semi-arid zone of southern Australia. Comparisons with historic records indicate the species’ range is contracting in Victoria. Using logistic regression and hierarchical partitioning, two models of patch occupancy were developed. Tree species composition was an important factor in both models, confirming the treecreepers’ affinity for belah Casuarina pauper and slender cypress-pine Callitris gracilis-buloke Allocasuarina luehmannii woodlands in north-west Victoria. The first model emphasized the importance of demographic isolation: probability of patch occupancy decreased with distance to the nearest occupied patch. A threshold response in demographic isolation was apparent. In agricultural landscapes, most suitable woodland patches within 3 km of an occupied patch were occupied, whereas patches beyond the threshold were vacant. The threshold distance increased to a minimum of 8 km in a matrix of native vegetation, suggesting landscape context affects the response of white-browed treecreepers to habitat fragmentation. Demographic isolation is a quasi-dependent variable and therefore a second model was developed using surrogate variables for demographic isolation. A positive relationship with the proportion of woodland cover in the landscape (100 km²) emerged as the pre-eminent explanatory factor. Depending on woodland quality, a threshold of patch occupancy was apparent at levels of woodland cover between 15 and 25%. However, belah and slender cypress-pine-buloke woodlands now cover only 10% of their original extent in the region. These results highlight the inter-dependence of patch isolation with the amount and quality of habitat in the landscape and the implications this has for maintaining functional connectivity. The retention (or restoration) of suitable habitat is the critical issue for conservation of the white-browed treecreeper, but in landscapes below the threshold of habitat cover, viability of local populations may be influenced by the configuration and quality of remaining habitat.     

糙米机械破碎力学特性试验与分析

为了研究糙米机械破碎力学特性及其与籽粒结构特性的关系。采用物性测试仪对糙米的锥刺、三点弯曲、剪切、挤压4种机械破碎力学特性进行测试与分析,并对糙米和精米的破碎力学特性(三点弯曲)进行了比较。结果表明:糙米的断裂是由于内部胚乳组织不均匀,在外力作用下首先形成内部裂纹,裂纹尖端处的应力集中又进一步促进裂纹扩展,最终导致籽粒断裂;厚度为(1.0±0.5)mm的不同样品锥刺破碎力在10N左右,各样品籽粒内部的结合力相差较小,籽粒的断裂主要与厚度及胚乳特性有关,其中三点弯曲力更能反映籽粒的破碎特性,糙米的糠层对籽粒有一定的保护作用,糙米力学特性比精米好。该文为糙米储藏加工技术参数的确定提供依据。     

Modelling habitat suitability of the swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) in the coastal heathlands of southern Victoria, Australia

In recent years, predictive habitat distribution models, derived by combining multivariate statistical analyses with Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, have been recognised for their utility in conservation planning. The size and spatial arrangement of suitable habitat can influence the long-term persistence of some faunal species. In southwestern Victoria, Australia, populations of the rare swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) are threatened by further fragmentation of suitable habitat. In the current study, a spatially explicit habitat suitability model was developed for A. minimus that incorporated a measure of vegetation structure. Models were generated using logistic regression with species presence or absence as the dependent variable and landscape variables, extracted from both GIS data layers and multi-spectral digital imagery, as the predictors. The most parsimonious model, based on the Akaike Information Criterion, was spatially extrapolated in the GIS. Probability of species presence was used as an index of habitat suitability. A negative association between A. minimus presence and both elevation and habitat complexity was evidenced, suggesting a preference for relatively low altitudes and a vegetation structure of low vertical complexity. The predictive performance of the selected model was shown to be high (91%), indicating a good fit of the model to the data. The proportion of the study area predicted as suitable habitat for A. minimus (Probability of occurrence ?0.5) was 11.7%. Habitat suitability maps not only provide baseline information about the spatial arrangement of potentially suitable habitat for a species, but they also help to refine the search for other populations, making them an important conservation tool.     

Terrestrial ecosystem processes of Victoria Land, Antarctica

Terrestrial environments of Victoria Land, Antarctica are ideal systems to test hypotheses about the sensitivity of ecosystem processes to climate variability, and the relationships between soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning because of their high sensitivity to climate change and their limited diversity. This region is also considered among the most pristine of ecosystems, and therefore may serve as an indicator for detecting the response of other ecosystems to global environmental change. Rates and controls over key ecosystem processes remain poorly documented over much of Victoria Land, but it is generally held that the distribution and functioning of soil communities are most limited by the availability of liquid water and organic carbon. Here we review examples of ecosystem processes from several sites in North and South Victoria Land and develop a regional synthesis accounting for variation in the availability of soil resources (i.e. liquid water, organic matter, inorganic nutrients). Variation in soil microclimate, organic matter, moisture and salinity encountered over gradients of coastal to interior sites, latitude, and soil chronosequences are the primary controls over the structure of soil communities and their functioning. Imbalanced stoichiometric nutrient ratios frequently encountered in Victoria Land ecosystems also contribute to limited distribution of soil biota, and where they occur these elemental imbalances indicate lower biological activity and little biotic control over bulk element ratios in soils. Priorities and future directions of Victoria Land soil and ecosystem research are also discussed.     

Modelling soil salinity across a gilgai landscape by inversion of EM38 and EM31 data

The soil in arid and semi‐arid areas is often markedly saline, which can severely limit agricultural productivity. Increasingly, geophysical methods are being implemented to map the levels and areal extent of soil salinity. One of the most effective methods is electromagnetic (EM) induction with instruments designed to measure apparent soil electrical conductivity (EC_a). This study describes the generation of electromagnetic conductivity images (EMCIs) by inverting EC_a data obtained with the EM38 and EM31 devices along two closely‐spaced transects by the EM inversion approach in the EM4Soil package. The EM38 EC_a data are shown to be a more effective predictor of soil EC_e. Calibration equations based on calculated true electrical conductivity (σ) and measured electrical conductivity of a saturated soil‐paste extract (EC_e) provide reliable estimates of EC_a. The patterns of σ in a test of the method in soil developed over thick alluvium on a clay plain in central New South Wales, Australia, compare favourably with existing pedological mapping; the mounds and depressions of gilgai were strongly differentiated from the more sandy alluvial sediments that characterize prior stream channels. The overall approach is potentially useful for generating a single calibration equation that can be used to predict EC_e at various depths in the soil. Improvements in EMCI modelling can also be sought by joint inversion of EM with other geophysical datasets.     

不同成熟度芡实的力学性能试验分析

随着芡实种植和消费量的增大,芡实生产的机械化要求逐渐成为芡实发展的瓶颈,其中芡实破壳机械设备的研制成为芡实产后加工过程中的一个关键问题。为给芡实破壳机械设计提供依据,对不同成熟程度芡实进行了压缩和剪切试验,分析芡实的成熟程度及受力方向对其力学性能的影响。试验结果表明,芡实在压缩和剪切试验中破裂所产生的受力载荷—变形曲线是相似的,但裂纹的产生部位和扩展方式不同;芡实破裂时的破壳力、变形量、应变能及应变能密度都随其成熟度的增加而增大;理论上垂直于芡实脐眼方向进行剪切破壳加工相对较容易。试验结果为芡实破壳机械设备的研发提供了参数依据。