Residue management for reducing evaporation in relation to soil type and evaporativity1

Abstract. Usual residue-management options are to remove the residue, use it as mulch with or without undercutting or to incorporate it into the soil. While the role of surface mulch in evaporation has been widely studied, the information on the effect on evaporation of mulch with undercutting or residue incorporated into soil, particularly in relation to soil type and evaporativity (E_o) is lacking. We studied the effect of wheat straw used in various ways on the course of evaporation loss from soil columns with three soils at Ludhiana, India and one soil at Bushland, Texas, USA, under two E_o's Energy-limited evaporation rates under mulch (E_om) followed the soil-specific relation E_om/E_o= a e^(bRes+cEo), where Res is residue rate t/ha and a, b and c are constants; E_o, is expressed in mm/d. In an effort to model the total evaporation (CE) during the energy-limited stage ‘U’ was obtained from appropriate CE versus time curves and (CE-U) was regressed over (t - ti)^0.5 to obtain the slope ‘α’ (Ritchie 1972) for the soil-limited evaporation stage. The observed ‘U’ was independent of mulch rate and E_o but was strongly affected by soil type, Values of ‘α’ decreased with increase in mulch rate and decrease in E_o and coarseness of soil. The otherwise short lived benefit of evaporation reduction with mulch per se, which peaked after a few days was maintained when residue was mixed with soil at the stage when evaporation reduction reached a maximum; this benefit continued for several weeks. Cumulative evaporation values computed from ‘U’ and ‘α’ agreed closely with the observed values under straw mulch for loamy sand and clay loam soils and for ‘undercut’ and ‘residue mixed’ treatments on all soils regardless of E_o, and for all situations under small E_o. However, for sandy loam and silt loam soils under E_o of 10 mm/d, the modified square root of the time function of Jalota et al. (1988) gave a better fit.     

Predicting the spatial distribution of ground flora on large domains using a hierarchical Bayesian model

Accomodation of important sources of uncertainty in ecological models is essential to realistically predicting ecological processes. The purpose of this project is to develop a robust methodology for modeling natural processes on a landscape while accounting for the variability in a process by utilizing environmental and spatial random effects. A hierarchical Bayesian framework has allowed the simultaneous integration of these effects. This framework naturally assumes variables to be random and the posterior distribution of the model provides probabilistic information about the process. Two species in the genus Desmodium were used as examples to illustrate the utility of the model in Southeast Missouri, USA. In addition, two validation techniques were applied to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the predictions.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Relative importance of habitat area and isolation for bird occurrence patterns in a naturally patchy landscape

There is debate among ecologists about whether total habitat area or patch arrangement contributes most to population and/or community responses to fragmented or patchy landscapes. We tested the relative effects of patch area and isolation for predicting bird occurrence in a naturally patchy landscape in the Bear River Mountains of Northern Utah, USA. We selected focal patches (mountain meadows) ranging in elevation from 1,920 to 2,860 m and in size from 0.6 to 182 ha. Breeding birds were sampled in each focal meadow during the summers of 2003 and 2004 using variable-distance point transects. Logistic regression and likelihood-based model selection were used to determine the relationship between likelihood of occurrence of three bird species (Brewer’s sparrow, vesper sparrow, and white-crowned sparrow) and area, isolation, and proximity metrics. We used model weights and model-averaged confidence intervals to assess the importance of each predictor variable. Plots of area versus isolation were used to evaluate complex relationships between the variables. We found that meadow area was the most important variable for explaining occurrence for two species, and that isolation was the most important for the other. We also found that the absolute distance was more appropriate for evaluating isolation responses than was the species-specific proximity metric. Our findings add clarity to the debate between ecologists regarding the relative importance of area and isolation in species responses to patchy landscapes.     

Field measurement of the sheltering effect of vegetation on erodible land surfaces

Natural vegetation on erodible land surfaces, such as the loose sandy soils found in the southwestern United States and in Soviet Central Asia, absorbs part of the wind momentum flux (stress) and thus protects the erodible soil to a degree that depends on the geometry of plant distribution and profile. The sheltering effect of natural plants may be expressed as the ratio, R, of threshold friction velocity for the bare soil (determined in the laboratory or in specially prepared areas of bare soil in the field) to that for the naturally vegetated surface. We used new automated instrumentation to detect erosion thresholds in locations where erosion events are widely separated in time. Measured values of R were low for our most vegetated sites and nearer unity for the sparsely vegetated site.     

美国森林资源监测技术对我国森林资源一体化监测体系建设的启示

分析总结目前我国森林资源监测工作存在的问题, 提出一体化监测体系的概念和建设的必要性; 从抽样技术、调查内容和方法等方面介绍美国森林资源综合监测体系的特点和优势, 并与我国的森林资源监测体系进行对比分析, 为我国森林资源一体化监测体系建设提供参考与借鉴。     

美国食品工业近10年的发展状况研究

主要研究了美国食品工业近10年的发展状况,包括美国食品工业总量、主要食品工业产品产量,不同规模企业分布在过去10年中的变迁,并着重探讨了研究开发投入对于食品工业发展的影响,试图从美国食品工业发展历程中提炼出行业发展特点,为我国食品工业未来发展提供可能的借鉴。     

欧、美中华绒螯蟹源于中国长江水系中华绒螯蟹的遗传证据

用包括Z2和Opp17两个10碱基随机引物在内的10个引物,对来自荷兰斯科克莱（Skodely)、美国加州圣何塞（San Jose)的中华绒螯蟹群体与中国长江水系中华绒螯蟹群体进行RAPD遗传比较分析。结果发现：（1）中华绒螯蟹群体特有的Z2引物扩增的700bp标记带（Z2^700bp）,在荷兰与美国2个中华绒螯蟹群体中同时出现,而不出现日本绒螯蟹南流江种群中特有的880bp标记带（Z2^880bp）,表明欧洲、美国中华绒螯蟹与中国中华绒螯蟹为同种Eriocheir sinensis,而非日本绒螯蟹Eriocheir japonicus;（2）Opp17引物扩增的947bp片段在中国长江、荷兰及美国3个中华绒螯蟹群体内的出现频率均达100%。结合Z2引物扩增结果,欧洲与美国中华绒螯蟹群体极可能是从中国长江水系中华绒螯蟹引入繁衍的。     

Placing the pieces: Reconstructing the original property mosaic in a warrant and patent watershed

Recent research shows that land use history is an important determinant of current ecosystem function. In the United States, characterization of land use change following European settlement requires reconstruction of the original property mosaic. However, this task is difficult in unsystematically surveyed areas east of the Appalachian Mountains. The Gwynns Falls watershed (Baltimore, MD) was originally surveyed in the 1600-1700s under a system of warrants and patents (commonly known as ‘metes and bounds’). A method for the reconstruction and mapping of warrant and patent properties is presented and used to map the original property mosaic in the Gwynns Falls watershed. Using the mapped mosaic, the persistence of properties and property lines in the current Gwynns Falls landscape is considered. The results of this research indicate that as in agricultural areas, the original property lines in the Gwynns Falls watershed are persistent. At the same time, the results suggest that the property mosaic in heavily urbanized/suburbanized areas is generally ‘reset.’ Further, trends in surveying technique, parcel size, and settlement patterns cause property line density and property shape complexity to increase in the less urbanized upper watershed. The persistence of original patterns may be damping expression of heterogeneity gradients in this urban landscape. This spatial pattern of complexity in the original mosaic is directly opposite of hypothesized patterns of landscape heterogeneity arising from urbanization. The technique reported here and the resulting observations are important for landscape pattern studies in areas settled under unsystematic survey systems, especially the heavily urbanized areas of the eastern United States. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

美国加州园林漫游散记

加利福尼亚州位于美国西部,受自然和社会因素影响,园林植物种类丰富,以常绿植物种类为主,亦有不少落叶种类。园林绿地类型多样,包括公共绿地、道路绿化带、建筑物周围绿地以及众多壮丽的植物公园和典雅的私家花园。加州全民绿化和环保意识较高,值得国人借鉴。     

美国湿地保护的法律体系借鉴

我国现存湿地有约40%的面积面临着严重退化的威胁,近50年来,因为人为活动丧失了至少40%以上的自然湿地。面积急剧减少、生物多样性下降、水资源的不合理利用、生物资源的过度开发以及污染的日益加剧等,导致湿地生态综合服务功能急剧下降甚至丧失,湿地资源亟待保护与恢复。美国在发展过程中也经历了对湿地的不合理利用和破坏过程,在不断总结经验的基础上,美国建立了湿地保护完整的法律体系,使湿地得到有效保护。本文对美国湿地保护管理有关的主要法律进行了介绍,对我国建立湿地保护的法律体系提出了建议。