Eolian Deposition and Soil Fertility in a Prehistoric Agricultural Complex in Central Arizona,USA     

Dana K. Nakase  Anthony S. Hartshorn  Katherine A. Spielmann  Sharon J. Hall 《Geoarchaeology》2014,29(2):79-97

Prehistoric farmers in arid and semiarid ecosystems commonly used rock alignments to concentrate water and sediments on their fields. Previous research has emphasized the importance of runoff from organic matter‐rich uplands as a mechanism for soil nutrient replenishment. However, eolian inputs to these dryland ecosystems might also contribute substantially to mineral‐derived nutrient pools. We explored the relative importance of eolian deposition, prehistoric agriculture, and the presence of rock alignments on soil properties in a semiarid grassland in Arizona. Subsurface soils behind natural rock alignments are finer in texture than soils unbound by rock alignments, while subsurface soils behind agricultural rock alignments coarsen relative to unbound soils. Neither rock alignments nor estimated crop yields had detectable effects on mineral‐derived nutrient pools. In contrast, eolian deposition is an important source of soil mass and nutrients to modern soils. While dust deposition likely reduced soil heterogeneity across this landscape, it could have also contributed to the sustainability of prehistoric agriculture.  相似文献   

Quiescent Reconnection Rate Between Emerging Active Regions and Preexisting Field,with Associated Heating: NOAA AR 11112     

Lucas A. Tarr  Dana W. Longcope  David E. McKenzie  Keiji Yoshimura 《Solar physics》2014,289(9):3331-3349

When magnetic flux emerges from beneath the photosphere, it displaces the preexisting field in the corona, and a current sheet generally forms at the boundary between the old and new magnetic domains. Reconnection in the current sheet relaxes this highly stressed configuration to a lower energy state. This scenario is most familiar and most often studied in flares, where the flux transfer is rapid. We present here a study of steady, quiescent flux transfer occurring at a rate three orders of magnitude lower than that in a large flare. In particular, we quantify the reconnection rate and the related energy release that occurred as the new polarity emerged to form NOAA Active Region 11112 (SOL16 October 2010T00:00:00L205C117) within a region of preexisting flux. A bright, low-lying kernel of coronal loops above the emerging polarity, observed with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the X-ray Telescope onboard Hinode, originally showed magnetic connectivity only between regions of newly emerged flux when overlaid on magnetograms from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. Over the course of several days, this bright kernel advanced into the preexisting flux. The advancement of an easily visible boundary into the old flux regions allows measuring the rate of reconnection between old and new magnetic domains. We compare the reconnection rate with the inferred heating of the coronal plasma. To our knowledge, this is the first measurement of steady, quiescent heating related to reconnection. We determined that the newly emerged flux reconnects at a fairly steady rate of 0.38×10¹⁶ Mx?s^?1 over two days, while the radiated power varies between (2?–?8)×10²⁵ erg?s^?1 over the same time. We found that as much as 40 % of the total emerged flux at any given time may have reconnected. The total amounts of transferred flux (～?1×10²¹ Mx) and radiated energy (～?7.2×10³⁰ ergs) are comparable to that of a large M- or small X-class flare, but are stretched out over 45 hours.  相似文献   

Invasive species and climate change: an agronomic perspective   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Lewis H. Ziska  Dana M. Blumenthal  G. Brett Runion  E. Raymond Hunt Jr  Hilda Diaz-Soltero 《Climatic change》2011,105(1-2):13-42

In the current review we wish to draw attention to an additional aspect of invasive species and climate change, that of agricultural productivity and food security. We recognize that at present, such a review remains, in part, speculative, and more illustrative than definitive. However, recent events on the global stage, particularly in regard to the number of food riots that occurred during 2008, even at a time of record harvests, have prompted additional interest in those factors, including invasive species, which could, through climatic uncertainty, alter food production. To that end, as agricultural scientists, we wish to begin an initial evaluation of key questions related to food production and climate change including: how vulnerable is agriculture to invasive species?; are current pest management strategies sufficient to control invasive outbreaks in the future?; what are the knowledge gaps?; can we provide initial recommendations for scientists, land managers and policy makers in regard to available resources? Our overall goals are to begin a synthesis of potential impacts on productivity, to identify seminal research areas that can be addressed in future research, and to provide the scientific basis to allow agronomists and land managers to formulate mitigation and adaptation options regarding invasive species and climate change as a means to maintain food security.  相似文献   

Experimental constraints on the origins of primitive potassic lavas from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt     

Stephanie L. Weaver  Paul J. Wallace  A. Dana Johnston 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》2013,166(3):825-843

Primitive magmas in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) span a wide geochemical range that includes calc-alkaline basalt and basaltic andesite, potassic shoshonites, and intraplate alkaline basalts, indicating that the subarc mantle wedge is chemically heterogeneous. The aim of this study is to experimentally constrain the origins of potassic lavas that have erupted along the volcanic front in the TMVB. We used a piston-cylinder apparatus to determine the P–T–H₂O near-liquidus phase relations for two primitive potassic lavas: a hornblende trachybasalt (shoshonite) from Cerro La Pilita in the central TMVB and a high-K calc-alkaline basalt from Ayutla in the western TMVB. Experiments were conducted at mantle pressures (0.8–2.5 GPa) and temperatures (1,100–1,400 °C) with 1.5–6 wt% H₂O. Results show that both samples were last equilibrated with an olivine + clinopyroxene assemblage at upper mantle pressures. Integrating our results with trace element characteristics, we conclude that the potassic magmas formed by a complex, multistage process in which melts from the hottest part of the mantle wedge either reequilibrated with clinopyroxene-rich veins in the shallow upper mantle or caused melting of such veins by advective heating. We combine our results with previous experiments on TMVB lavas to provide an along-arc perspective of melt equilibration depths in the mantle wedge. The results suggest that although melts may initially form deep in the wedge, they commonly reequilibrate with heterogeneous mantle at shallower depths. Primitive, medium-K basaltic andesites in the TMVB form by reequilibration with harzburgite, which we infer to be a common lithology in the upper mantle, whereas some potassic magmas like the ones studied here form through reequilibration with or melting of veins of olivine + clinopyroxene ± phlogopite. Though somewhat rare at the volcanic front relative to the more abundant medium-K volcanic rocks, the potassic magmas are an important lava type for revealing mantle chemical heterogeneities.  相似文献   

Future changes of the terrestrial ecosystem based on a dynamic vegetation model driven with RCP8.5 climate projections from 19 GCMs     

Miao Yu  Guiling Wang  Dana Parr  Kazi Farzan Ahmed 《Climatic change》2014,127(2):257-271

Future changes of terrestrial ecosystems due to changes in atmospheric CO₂ concentration and climate are subject to a large degree of uncertainty, especially for vegetation in the Tropics. Here, we evaluate the natural vegetation response to projected future changes using an improved version of a dynamic vegetation model (CLM-CN-DV) driven with climate change projections from 19 global climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). The simulated equilibrium vegetation distribution under historical climate (1981–2000) has been compared with that under the projected future climate (2081–2100) scenario for Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) to qualitatively assess how natural potential vegetation might change in the future. With one outlier excluded, the ensemble average of vegetation changes corresponding to climates of 18 GCMs shows a poleward shift of forests in northern Eurasia and North America, which is consistent with findings from previous studies. It also shows a general “upgrade” of vegetation type in the Tropics and most of the temperate zones, in the form of deciduous trees and shrubs taking over C3 grass in Europe and broadleaf deciduous trees taking over C4 grasses in Central Africa and the Amazon. LAI and NPP are projected to increase in the high latitudes, southeastern Asia, southeastern North America, and Central Africa. This results from CO₂ fertilization, enhanced water use efficiency, and in the extra-tropics warming. However, both LAI and NPP are projected to decrease in the Amazon due to drought. The competing impacts of climate change and CO₂ fertilization lead to large uncertainties in the projection of future vegetation changes in the Tropics.  相似文献   

Forest disturbance enhanced the activity of epedaphic collembola in windthrown stands of the High Tatra mountains     

Veronika URBANOVICOVA  Dana MIKLISOVA  Lubomír KOVAC 《山地科学学报》2014,11(2):449-463

The study aimed to assess the response of ep- and hemiedaphic Collembola communities （activity, richness, community structure） to a disturbance, the subsequent management regime and to the season （summer, winter） in a High Tatra Mountainsspruce forest destroyed by a windstorm. Fire and clear-cut resulted in an initial increase in the activity of Collembola inhabiting open areas, opportunistic or generalist species, while forest specialists diminished in numbers or disappeared. Our results indicated that treatment with non-extracted fallen trees （NEX） provided a better chance for forest species to survive compared with their survival in open habitats of extracted （EXT） and wildfire （FIR） treatments. Great species’ potential of NEX treatment was indicated by Chao2 estimator and activity/species rarefaction curves. Communities of NEX treatment were more similar to the reference （REF） treatment, documented by ordination and cluster analyses. Thus, leaving fallen timber after a windthrow to natural process of succession is suitable for survival of forest species and maintenance of diversity in forests restoration than timber extraction. Community structure in wildfire （FIR） stands was the most dissimilar to the other treatments. Most of the species trapped in this treatment belonged to hemiedaphic life forms, while the activity of larger epedaphic species diminished. In contrast, the highest number of trapped Collembola in EXT treatment was connected with the larger-bodied epigeic species with fast dispersal ability. The trapping period affected both the number of individuals and species richness; Collembola activity and species diversity in the individual treatments were lower in winter compared with the summer period. Several species increased activity during the winter period, namelyFolsomia penicula, Friesea mirabilis, F. truncata,Hypogastrura socialisand Protaphorura aurantiaca.  相似文献   

Toward a Synthesis: Lessons from Thirteen Cropland Watershed-Scale Studies     

Brad R. Woods  A. E. Luloff  Deanna Osmond  Dana Hoag 《社会与自然资源》2014,27(4):341-357

To integrate lessons from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture–Conservation Effects Assessment Project (NIFA CEAP) program, key informant (KI) interviews were conducted in all 13 project areas. The purpose of these interviews was to supplement technical information about watersheds, their contaminants, modeling, economics, and key findings. We interviewed a wide range of people to develop a systematic look at individual project results, synthesize meanings, and derive principles useful in guiding future watershed management. Findings revealed common themes, which tended to align with KI categories, regardless of location. For instance, farmers and ranchers often understood water quality problems as well as federal and state personnel and university employees do. Conservation adoption by farmers was related to perceived need, cost, and convenience of the practice, as well as practice specifics and individual situations. Possible implications of these findings are advanced.  相似文献   

DEM Extraction in Urban Areas Using High-Resolution TerraSAR-X Imagery     

Umut Gunes Sefercik  Naci Yastikli  Iulia Dana 《Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing》2014,42(2):279-290

Three-dimensional (3D) spatial information is crucial for improving the quality of human life through urban planning and management, and it is widely utilized due to its rapid, periodic and inexpensive acquisition. In this context, extraction of digital surface and elevation models (DSM and DEM) is a significant research topic for space-borne optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing. The DSMs include visible features on the earth’s surface such as vegetation, forest and elevated man-made objects, while DEMs contain only the bare ground. In this paper, using TerraSAR-X (TSX) high resolution Spotlight (HS) images, high-resolution interferometric DEM generation in a part of Istanbul urban area is aimed. This is not an easy task because of SAR imaging problems in complex geometry of urban settlements. The interferometric processing steps for DSM generation were discussed including critical parameters and thresholds to improve the quality of the final product and a 3 m gridded DSM was generated. The DSM-DEM conversion was performed by filtering and the quality of generated DEM was verified against a reference DEM from stereo photogrammetry with 3 m original grid spacing. The achieved root mean square error of height differences (RMSZ) varies from 7.09 to 8.11 m, depending on the terrain slope. The differential DEM, illustrates the height differences between generated DEM and the reference DEM, was generated to show the correlation between height differences and the coherence map. Finally, a perspective view of test area was created draping extracted DEM and a high-resolution IKONOS panchromatic image.  相似文献   

Investigating Grazing Intensity and Range Condition of Grasslands in Northeastern Kansas Using Landsat Thematic Mapper Data     

Dana L. Peterson  Kevin P. Price  Edward A. Martinko 《国际地球制图》2013,28(4):15-26

Abstract

Grazing changes plant species composition of grassland ecosystems by selective removal and trampling. Grazing also alters soil physical and biogeochemical properties and can dramatically change hydrologic processes that can impact water budgets and quality. For these reasons, practical means are needed to assess grazing management practices and its impacts upon the land. This study examines whether a grazing intensity and range condition gradient can be detected in spectral reflectance characteristics of grasslands in northeastern Kansas. Multitemporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and field data collected concurrent with the TM overpasses, were used in the analysis. Correlation analysis was used to examine relationships between spectral data and biophysical data. Next, the study sites within each grassland type were classified into three spectrally similar clusters. Grazing intensity, range condition, and biophysical characteristics were summarized for each spectral cluster and compared.

The results suggest that NDVI may be used as a surrogate for living biomass for both grassland types and may be useful for predicting grazing intensity in native warm season grasslands. And while there appeared to be relationships between total living and non‐living cover, and TM NIR and MIR bands, there were no direct relationships between spectral characteristics and grazing intensity or range condition.  相似文献   

Propagating radial waves of travel cost in a grid     

Dana Tomlin 《International journal of geographical information science》2013,27(9):1391-1413

To calculate the minimum cost of travel to each location within a geographical area from a specified set of locations, most geographic information systems represent that area as a rectangular grid of discrete cells, each indicating the cost of traversing that cell's particular location. These increments of cost are then accumulated by proceeding from cell to adjacent cell in a manner that resembles the propagation of waves. Because this propagation is limited to the eight directions associated with each cell's eight neighbors, however, it is often misdirected, and travel costs are therefore often overestimated. This article discusses the context, precedent, design, implementation, performance, and implications of a new algorithm that eliminates such problems in a straightforward manner. It does so by retaining the octangular propagation mechanism of earlier algorithms while keeping track of the particular locations at which propagated waves of accumulating travel cost either refract or diffract. The approach also holds promise for significant improvement in areas ranging from dispersion modeling and shape analysis to interpolation and the delineation of cost-minimizing paths.  相似文献