The use of urban organic wastes in the control of erosion in a semiarid Mediterranean soil

Abstract. A two year field experiment was carried out in a semiarid Mediterranean area in order to evaluate, the effect on soil erosion of adding different urban organic wastes: a stabilized municipal waste (compost), an unstabilized municipal waste, and an aerobic sewage sludge. All the treatments significantly reduced soil erosion, compared to the control soil. The soil amended with compost was the most effective treatment, reducing soil loss by 94% and runoff by 54%.     

Measuring versus estimating net radiation and soil heat flux: Impact on Penman–Monteith reference ET estimates in semiarid regions

The standardized ASCE Penman–Monteith and FAO-56 equations were used to estimate reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) using estimated and measured net radiation (R_n) and soil heat flux (G), based on hourly and daily meteorological data. The estimates were evaluated against lysimeter measurements. The results indicate that using measured or estimated values of R_n and G can have significant effect on the accuracy of the ET₀ estimations, especially when calculations were made on an hourly basis. The FAO-56 version performed very well during the irrigation season on a daily basis. The use of measured R_n and G did not improve ET₀ estimation on a daily basis, therefore, the use of estimated R_n and G appears to be dependable when calculations are based on 24-h weather data. When daily ET₀ was calculated from hourly estimations, the results were different depending on the version used. The ASCE version was more accurate, especially when R_n and G were measured. Therefore, measurement of R_n and G may have potential to improve estimation only when daily ET₀ is calculated from hourly estimations. The PM FAO-56 version was always a little less accurate than the ASCE version. For hourly calculations, using a constant surface resistance (as in FAO-56 version), the PM method underpredicted for high evaporative demand and vice versa. The ASCE version performed better than PM FAO-56 version when R_n and G were measured and estimated. Therefore, ASCE version tended to provide quite accurate values of hourly ET₀, even using estimated values of R_n and G. As conclusion, the methods proposed by FAO-56 for estimating R_n and G tended to produce accurate estimates for daily and hourly ET₀ under semiarid conditions and can be used with some degree of confidence for estimating ET₀. In addition, results suggest that the ASCE standardized equation on an hourly basis improved the accuracy of ET₀ estimation with respect to the FAO-56 version.     

运用SWRRB模型研究西班牙Teba流域水量和沉积物量: Ⅰ. 模型输入及模拟实验

Water yield and sediment yield in the Teba catchment, Spain, were simulated using SWRRB (Simulator for Water Resources in Rural Basins) model. The model is composed of 198 mathematical equations. About 120 items (variables) were input for the simulation, including meteorological and climatic factors, hydrologic factors, topographic factors, parent materials, soils, vegetation, human activities, etc. The simulated results involved surface runoff, subsurface runoff, sediment, peak flow, evapotranspiration, soil water, total biomass, etc. Careful and thorough input data preparation and repeated simulation experiments are the key to get the accurate results. In this work the simulation accuracy for annual water yield prediction reached to 83.68%.     

嵌套子集:引入土壤多样性研究的讨论

嵌套子集指在任何特定集合中出现的物种趋向于在更大的集合中也出现,即局部丰富的物种一般分布比较广泛,而局部稀少的物种则分布较窄。本文对嵌套性研究中的有关问题做一评述,并以西班牙的一个研究为范例讨论可以看出,通过数据(土壤类型和土壤集合)试验得出的规律性和生态学上的观点竟非常相似。研究采用了土壤数据集和在计量生态学应用的方法,包括嵌套计算程序(Nested Calcu lator Program)。结果表明:嵌套性在生物群落、土被或土链结构中的性质有相似之处,即地学系统中普遍存在着嵌套性。此方法用于土壤多样性的分析,在有计划的保护生物及土壤资源方面具有现实意义。     

Soil erosion and redistribution on cultivated and uncultivated land near las bardenas in the central Ebro river Basin,Spain

The semiarid regions of Spain, including the central part of the Ebro River basin, are under threat due to desertification. Severe erosion, as a result of poor land management, has led to degradation of the soil resource, and there is a clear need for quantitative erosion rate data to evaluate the problem. This study aimed to examine the potential for using caesium-137 to identify the patterns and rates of soil erosion and redistribution within this semiarid environment. Samples for the determination of caesium-137 were collected from uncultivated slopes and cultivated valley floor sites near the head and outlet of a small representative basin in the Las Bardenas area. The measured patterns of caesium-137 mobilization, redistribution and export provide a semiquantitative indication of the variation in erosion within the study site. Calibration of the caesium-137 measurements, taking account of the differing behaviour of radiocaesium on cultivated and uncultivated land, allows estimation of the actual rates of erosion and deposition involved. The results show (1) the erosion rates on the cultivated land (1.6–2.5 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹) are typically more than five times those seen on the uncultivated land (0.2–0.4 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹), and (2) erosion on the uncultivated land is significantly less severe at the head of the basin than at the outlet. Study of the vegetation cover suggests that lower growing shrubs and grasses may be more effective in reducing erosion in this environment than trees.     

Prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) in pig faeces from slaughterhouses in Spain

A study to estimate the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in faecal samples from pigs at slaughterhouses in Spain was carried out between November 1998 and January 1999 with 900 samples taken from four abattoirs representing 9.7% of all pig slaughtered in 1998. Using a selective enrichment broth with vancomycin (8 μg/ml), 64 samples (7.1%; 95% CI: 5.5, 9.0%) had E. faecium vancomycin-resistant strains that showed minimal inhibitory concentrations of 256 μg/ml (62 strains) and 512 μg/ml (two strains). Results by farm showed that 43 of the 240 pig farms represented in the sampling had at least one faecal sample with vancomycin-resistant E. faecium.     

Habitat loss, Fragmentation, and Alteration – Quantifying the Impactof Land-use Changes on a Spanish Dehesa Landscape by Use of Aerial Photography and GIS

Mediterranean agroforestry landscapes, dehesas, experience significant structural changes that affect their ability to support habitats for a rich biodiversity. The goal of this study is to provide quantitative information on loss, fragmentation, and alteration of holm oak (Quercus ilex) stands over a 42-year period, based on two sites in the lowlands of Cáceres province, Spain. Aerial photography and orthoimages from 1956, 1984, and 1998 were processed in a geographic information system (GIS). Important changes in demography and land-use were rural depopulation, abandonment of traditional agricultural activities, and a sharp increase in livestock stocking levels. These were related to intensification and extensification of land-uses determined by national and EU agricultural policies. Results of the land cover analysis indicated that dehesas suffered an annual 0.27% and 0.04% decrease in cover in the two sites. From 1984 loss rate had markedly accelerated (0.83% and 0.30%). Most dehesas were lost by shrub encroachment or conversion to open grassland. Fragmentation through roads increased by 28% and 45%, while rural buildings decreased by 17% and 50% from 1956 to 1998. Mean tree density decreased from 1956 to 1984, but a recovery was found since 1984. Significant factors determining stand densities in most time points were altitude (related with different land-uses and geological substrates), ownership, and proximity to villages. This suggests that stand structure is controlled both by human interventions and ecological settings. The findings support the view that opposite trends of land abandonment and intensification of land-uses arise in most northern Mediterranean countries as an effect of the EU Common Agricultural Policy.