Pastoralists’ perceptions and realities of vegetation change and browse consumption in the northern Kalahari, Namibia     

M. Katjiua  D. Ward   《Journal of Arid Environments》2007,69(4):716-730

Pastoral production around artificial watering points in semi-arid environments affects the density and composition of plant communities. In the Kalahari desert of southwestern Africa, bush encroachment is often regarded as the major form of land degradation resulting from pastoral production around watering points. We investigated the OvaHerero pastoralists’ perceptions of the extent of vegetation change since the establishment of artificial watering points in the northern Kalahari desert of Namibia, and related this to ecological data on vegetation change. We determined the utility of woody vegetation to pastoralists’ livelihoods in terms of provision of construction material, fuel wood and browse. We quantified local knowledge of cattle browse consumption and correlated this with field data. We also assessed the purposes for which major livestock types were used. Our results showed that: (1) pastoral knowledge of bush encroachment and browse consumption was consistent with concurrently collected field data, (2) the current level of bush encroachment was perceived to be beneficial for pastoral production, and (3) cattle played an important role in the production of milk and milk by-products for domestic use, and served as a source of cash income, while sheep and goats were primarily kept for meat consumption. This result contrasts with historical studies that mainly portray cattle as a symbol of social status among OvaHerero pastoralists.  相似文献   

The effect of single vegetation elements on wind speed and sediment transport in the Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso   总被引：6，自引：0，他引：6  

J. K. Leenders  J. H. van Boxel  G. Sterk 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2007,32(10):1454-1474

Soil loss caused by wind erosion is a widespread phenomenon in the Sahelian zone of West Africa. According to Sahelian farmers, scattered vegetation standing in amongst the crop has the potential for a wind erosion control strategy. This study was conducted to study the effect of single vegetation elements on the pattern of average wind speed and sediment transport. This was done by two experiments that were carried out during the rainy seasons of 2002 and 2003 in north Burkina Faso, West Africa. Wind speeds were measured using three sonic anemometers, at a sampling frequency of 16 Hz. Sediment transport was determined by calculating the mass fluxes from 17 MWAC catchers. In this study, a shrub was defined as a vegetation element with branches until ground and a tree as a vegetation element with a distinctive trunk below a canopy. Behind shrubs wind speed near the soil surface was reduced up to approximately seven times the height of the shrub. The observed reduction in wind speed in the area where wind speed was reduced was 15 per cent on average. At the sides of the shrub, wind speed was increased, by on average 6 per cent. As the area of increase in wind speed is one‐third of the area of decrease in wind speed, the net effect of a shrub is a reduction in wind speed. A similar pattern was visible for the pattern of sediment transport around a shrub. Downwind of a shrub, sediment transport was diminished up to seven times the height of the shrub. Probably most of this material was trapped by the shrub. Trees showed a local increase of wind around the trunk, which is expected to relate to an increase in sediment transport around the trunk. Mass flux measurements of sediment transport were not made, but visual observations in the field substantiate this. Behind the canopy of a tree, a tree acts similarly to a shrub regarding its effects on average wind speed, but as a tree is generally a larger obstacle than a shrub the extent of this effect is larger than for shrubs. Thus, whereas shrubs are more effective than trees regarding their direct effect on soil loss by trapping sand particles near the soil surface, trees are more effective in affecting soil loss indirectly by reducing the wind speed downwind more effectively than shrubs. Therefore, to reduce soil loss in an area, the presence of both trees and shrubs is crucial. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Energy Balance Of A Sparse Coniferous High-Latitude Forest Under Winter Conditions   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Sven-Erik Gryning  Ekaterina Batchvarova  H. A. R. De Bruin 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》2001,99(3):465-488

Measurements carried out in Northern Finland on radiation and turbulent fluxes over a sparse, sub-arctic boreal forest with snow covered ground were analysed. The measurements represent late winter conditions characterised by low solar elevation angles. During the experiment (12–24 March 1997) day and night were about equally long. At low solar elevation angles the forest shades most of the snow surface. Therefore an important part of the radiation never reaches the snow surface but is absorbed by the forest. The sensible heat flux above the forest was fairly large, reaching more than 100 W m^-2. The measurements of sensible heat flux within and above the forest revealed that the sensible heat flux from the snow surface is negligible and the sensible heat flux above the forest stems from warming of the trees. A simple model for the surface energy balance of a sparse forest is presented. The model treats the diffuse and direct shortwave (solar) radiation separately. It introduces a factor that accounts for the shading of the ground at low solar elevation angles, and a parameter that deals with the partial transparency of the forest.Input to the model are the direct and diffuse incoming shortwave radiation.Measurements of the global radiation (direct plus diffuse incoming shortwaveradiation) above the forest revealed a considerable attenuation of the globalradiation at low solar elevation. A relation for the atmospheric turbidity asfunction of the solar elevation angle is suggested. The global radiation wassimulated for a three month period. For conditions with a cloud cover of lessthan 7 oktas good agreement between model predictions and measurementswere found. For cloud cover 7 and 8 oktas a considerable spread can beobserved. To apply the proposed energy balance model, the global radiationmust be separated into its diffuse and direct components. We propose a simpleempirical relationship between diffuse shortwave and global radiation asfunction of cloud cover.  相似文献   

On the meridional circulation and balance of momentum in the Southern Ocean of POP     

Dirk Olbers  Vladimir O. Ivchenko 《Ocean Dynamics》2001,52(2):79-93

 The circulation of the Southern Ocean is studied in the eddy-resolving model POP (Parallel Ocean Program) by an analysis of zonally integrated balances. The TEM formalism (Transformed Eulerian Mean) is extended to include topography and continental boundaries, thus deviations from a zonally integrated state involve transient and standing eddies. The meridional circulation is presented in terms of the Eulerian, eddy-induced, and residual streamfunctions. It is shown that the splitting of the meridional circulation into Ekman and geostrophic transports and the component induced by subgrid and Reynolds stresses is identical to a particular form of the zonally integrated balance of zonal momentum. In this balance, the eddy-induced streamfunctions represent the interfacial form stresses by transient and standing eddies and the residual streamfunction represents the acceleration of the zonal current by density fluxes in a zonally integrated frame. The latter acceleration term is directly related to the surface flux of density and interior fluxes due to the resolved and unresolved eddies. The eddy-induced circulation is extremely vigorous in POP. In the upper ocean a shallow circulation, reversed in comparison to the Deacon cell and mainly due to standing eddies, appears to the north of Drake Passage latitudes, and in the Drake Passage belt of latitudes a deep-reaching cell is induced by transient eddies. In the resulting residual circulation the Deacon cell is largely cancelled and the residual advection of the zonal mean potential density is balanced by diapycnal eddy and subgrid fluxes which are strong in the upper few hundred meters but small in the ocean interior. The balance of zonal momentum is consistent with other eddy-resolving models; a new aspect is the clear identification of density effects in the zonally integrated balance. We show that the wind stress and the stress induced by the residual circulation drive the eastward current, whereas both eddy species result in a braking. Finally, we extend the Johnson–Bryden model of zonal transport to incorporate all relevant terms from the zonal momentum balance. It is shown that wind stress and induction by the residual circulation carry an eastward transport while bottom form stress and the stress induced by standing eddies yield westward components of transport. Received: 26 June 2001 / Accepted: 2 November 2001  相似文献   

Power-laws and applications to earthquake populations     

A. Rahulji Parsa  Gurajada Suryanarayana Murty 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》1996,147(3):455-466

In this paper we study the rooted tree model applying the concepts of probability to obtain results of importance in understanding power-law distributions in pure populations and also in an ensemble of pure populations. The well-known Gutenberg-Richter relation, which is an empirical relation providing the number of earthquakes whose magnitude exceeds a given value, is shown to be an asymptotic form of survivor function of earthquake magnitudes. The implications of this model are briefly discussed in relation to other branches of sciences where power-law distributions are encountered.  相似文献   

南极普里兹湾外海大磷虾分布与现存量          下载免费PDF全文

陈雪忠  徐震夷  陈冠镇 《极地研究》1996,8(3):49-56

本文根据１９９１／１９９２、１９９２／１９９３年度在普里兹湾外海调查的资料，进行了大磷虾水平、垂直分布的研究和资源现存量的估算。结果表明，６３°～６７°Ｓ、６８°Ｅ沿线是大磷虾群分布较密集的海区，在调查海域内大磷虾群主要分布在７０ｍ以上的水层中。１９９１／１９９２，在１５０５３３．９ｋｍ２调查海域内的大磷虾资源现存量为１．６９９×１０６ｔ；１９９２／１９９３，在１２５７４０．７ｋｍ２调查海域内的大磷虾资源现存量为４．０４３×１０６ｔ。  相似文献   

Tracer measurements in groyne fields for the quantification of mean hydraulic residence times and of the exchange with the stream     

Hans‐Peter Kozerski  Ren Schwartz  Thomas Hintze 《洁净——土壤、空气、水》2006,34(3):188-200

Tracer experiments were carried out in groyne fields (GF) of the river Elbe near Havelberg (Germany) in order to estimate the hydraulic connectivity with the river channel. The characteristic times of the five groyne fields, which were estimated from the exponentially declining tracer curves in 43 runs, ranged between 15 min and 69 min and did not correlate with the water level. Methodological investigations show that single point injection and two measurements (in the outflowing water and in the dominant region) are sufficient to provide robust in‐situ tracer curves. Using simplified mathematical simulations with connected stirred tanks, the conditions are investigated for the development of breaks in tracer curves and for the occurrence of significant errors in the estimation of intrinsic residence times. It was shown that an initial uniform dye distribution is not mandatory for the estimation during steady states. In special cases, point injections are more advisable. Moreover, the mean hydraulic residence time was found to be not equivalent to the estimated characteristic time. In fact, it is mostly overestimated by tracer experiments. The degree of overestimation depends on mixing and the volumetric proportions between the different parts of the GF and can be calculated from measured dye concentration differences. For example, an overestimation of 32% was calculated for a groyne field with a commonly found circulation flow pattern.  相似文献   

Trees as riparian engineers: the Tagliamento river,Italy     

Angela Gurnell  Geoffrey Petts 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2006,31(12):1558-1574

Pristine river corridors were characterized by island and floodplain development driven by the inter‐play of flows, sediments and woody vegetation. Here we explore these relationships within topographically controlled settings within the upper, middle and lower reaches of a large, semi‐natural alpine to mediterranean river. These reaches have expanding or contracting valley floors within which we show that there are more or less predictable patterns of stream power and rates of vegetation growth, reflecting water availability during dry periods and also the availability of sand and finer sediment. We relate these to the pattern of island distribution that is repeated within the three reaches and is indicative of the engineering role of riparian trees. Islands are shown to develop within thresholds defined by stream power, rates of woody vegetation growth and rates of sedimentation, and to develop most quickly where riparian species include those capable of sprouting from driftwood. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

用几何光学方法计算雨滴散射光偏振度     

张后发 《气象科技》2006,34(2):194-196

在几何光学范畴内得出雨滴散射光平行与垂直振动强度和偏振度表达式,计算了波长为0.5847μm的雨滴散射光偏振分布。结果表明:散射角在55°~75°范围内,为明显的折射式偏振区,偏振度在0.2~0.3之间;散射角为82°~100°时,是强反射式偏振区,偏振度在0.8以上,最高达0.95;散射角100°~142°时,偏振度变化迅速,形成了尖锐的凹点,其偏振度与相应方向虹、霓的偏振度接近。用几何光学方法计算雨滴散射光偏振度,不影响计算精度,运算量明显减小。  相似文献   

“醉汉林”作为滑坡和边坡变形特征标志的意义——以陕西陇县地区为例     

李东林吴树仁  张春山刘鑫 《地质通报》2007,26(5):613-619

“醉汉林”一般被当做滑坡存在的一种标志。在陕西宝鸡地区进行地质灾害详细调查的过程中,发现变形边坡也有“醉汉林”分布。对陕西陇县郭家庄变形边坡“醉汉林”的树木倾斜角与边坡的倾角进行了测量,并结合几何学分析,认为树木倾斜角反映了边坡倾角的变化,并得出边坡倾角不断变陡是该地区边坡变形的一种主要方式的结论。研究结果表明,“醉汉林”有着多样而具体的指示意义:“醉汉林”记录了边坡变形的历史,可以作为区分滑坡与变形边坡的标志,“醉汉林”可以指示滑坡及边坡的状态,还可以判断滑坡剪出口是否存在。  相似文献