Hurricane effects on subtropical pine rocklands of the Florida Keys     

Sonali Saha  Keith Bradley  Michael S. Ross  Phillip Hughes  Thomas Wilmers  Pablo L. Ruiz  Chris Bergh 《Climatic change》2011,107(1-2):169-184

We investigate the effects of Hurricane Wilma??s storm surge (23?C24 October 2005) on the dominant tree Pinus elliottii var densa (South Florida slash pine) and rare plant species in subtropical pine rocklands of the Lower Florida Keys. We examine the role of elevation on species abundance in 1995 (Hurricane Betsy in 1965), 2005 (Hurricane Georges in 1998), and 2008 (Hurricane Wilma in 2005) to investigate if hurricanes influence abundance by eliminating plants at lower elevation on Big Pine Key, the largest island in the Lower Florida Keys. We compare densities before and after Hurricane Wilma over the 2005?C2008 sampling period and examine the role of elevation on changes in pine and rare species densities three years after Hurricane Wilma. We use elevation to assess the impact of hurricanes because elevation determined whether a location was influenced by storm surge (maximum surge of 2 m) in the Lower Florida Keys, where pine rocklands occur at a maximum elevation of 3 m. In 1995 (30 years after a major storm), elevation did not explain the abundance of South Florida slash pine or Chamaecrista lineata, but explained significant variation in abundance of Chamaesyce deltoidea. The latter two species are rare herbaceous plants restricted to pine rocklands. In 2008, 3 years after Hurricane Wilma, the positive relationship between elevation and abundance was strongest for South Florida slash pine, C. deltoidea, and C. lineata. Effects of Hurricane Wilma were not significant for rare species with wider distribution, occurring in plant communities adjacent to pine rocklands and in disturbed rocklands. Our results suggest that hurricanes drive population dynamics of South Florida slash pine and rare species that occur exclusively in pine rocklands at higher elevations. Rare species restricted to pine rocklands showed dramatic declines after Hurricane Wilma and were eliminated at elevations <0.5 m. Widely distributed rare species did not show significant changes in density after Hurricane Wilma. Abundance increased with elevation for South Florida slash pine and C. lineata after the hurricane. In an environment influenced by sea level rise, concrete plans to conserve pine ecosystems are warranted. Results from this study will help define conservation strategies by strengthening predictive understanding of plant responses to disturbance in the backdrop of sea level rise.  相似文献   

Response of hydrological cycle to recent climate changes in the Tibetan Plateau   总被引：14，自引：0，他引：14  

Kun Yang  Baisheng Ye  Degang Zhou  Bingyi Wu  Thomas Foken  Jun Qin  Zhaoye Zhou 《Climatic change》2011,109(3-4):517-534

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) surfaces have been experiencing an overall rapid warming and wetting while wind speed and solar radiation have been declining in the last three decades. This study investigated how climate changes influenced the hydrological cycle on the TP during 1984??2006. To facilitate the analysis, a land surface model was used to simulate surface water budget at all CMA (China Meteorological Administration) stations on the TP. The simulated results were first validated against observed ground temperature and observation-derived heat flux on the western TP and observed discharge trends on the eastern TP. The response of evaporation and runoff to the climate changes was then analyzed. Major finding are as follows. (1) Surface water balance has been changed in recent decades. Observed precipitation shows insignificant increasing trends in central TP and decreasing trends along the TP periphery while evaporation shows overall increasing trends, leading to decreased discharge at major TP water resource areas (semi-humid and humid zones in the eastern and southern TP). (2) At the annual scale, evaporation is water-limited in dry areas and energy-limited (radiation and air temperature) in wet areas; these constraints can be interpreted by the Budyko-curve. Evaporation in autumns and winters was strongly controlled by soil water storage in summers, weakening the dependence of evaporation on precipitation at seasonal scales. (3) There is a complementary effect between the simulated actual evaporation and potential evaporation, but this complementary relationship may deviate from Bouchet??s hypothesis when vapor pressure deficit (or air temperature) is too low, which suppresses the power of vapor transfer.  相似文献   

Dispersion of a Point-Source Release of a Passive Scalar Through an Urban-Like Array for Different Wind Directions   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

S. Branford  O. Coceal  T. G. Thomas  S. E. Belcher 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》2011,139(3):367-394

The dispersion of a point-source release of a passive scalar in a regular array of cubical, urban-like, obstacles is investigated by means of direct numerical simulations. The simulations are conducted under conditions of neutral stability and fully rough turbulent flow, at a roughness Reynolds number of Re _τ  = 500. The Navier–Stokes and scalar equations are integrated assuming a constant rate release from a point source close to the ground within the array. We focus on short-range dispersion, when most of the material is still within the building canopy. Mean and fluctuating concentrations are computed for three different pressure gradient directions (0°, 30°, 45°). The results agree well with available experimental data measured in a water channel for a flow angle of 0°. Profiles of mean concentration and the three-dimensional structure of the dispersion pattern are compared for the different forcing angles. A number of processes affecting the plume structure are identified and discussed, including: (i) advection or channelling of scalar down ‘streets’, (ii) lateral dispersion by turbulent fluctuations and topological dispersion induced by dividing streamlines around buildings, (iii) skewing of the plume due to flow turning with height, (iv) detrainment by turbulent dispersion or mean recirculation, (v) entrainment and release of scalar in building wakes, giving rise to ‘secondary sources’, (vi) plume meandering due to unsteady turbulent fluctuations. Finally, results on relative concentration fluctuations are presented and compared with the literature for point source dispersion over flat terrain and urban arrays.  相似文献   

Vertical and Horizontal Transport of Energy and Matter by Coherent Motions in a Tall Spruce Canopy   总被引：2，自引：2，他引：0  

Andrei Serafimovich  Christoph Thomas  Thomas Foken 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》2011,140(3):429-451

In the framework of the EGER (ExchanGE processes in mountainous Regions) project, the contribution of coherent structures to vertical and horizontal transports in a tall spruce canopy is investigated. The combination of measurements done in both the vertical and horizontal directions allows us to investigate coherent structures, their temporal scales, their role in flux transport, vertical coupling between the sub-canopy, canopy and air above the canopy, and horizontal coupling in the sub-canopy layer. The temporal scales of coherent structures detected with the horizontally distributed systems in the sub-canopy layer are larger than the temporal scales of coherent structures detected with the vertically distributed systems. The flux contribution of coherent structures to the momentum and sensible heat transport is found to be dominant in the canopy layer. Carbon dioxide and latent heat transport by coherent structures increase with height and reach a maximum at the canopy height. The flux contribution of the ejection decreases with increasing height and becomes dominant above the canopy level. The flux fraction transported during the sweep increases with height and becomes the dominant exchange process at the upper canopy level. The determined exchange regimes indicate consistent decoupling between the sub-canopy, canopy and air above the canopy during evening, nighttime and morning hours, whereas the coupled states and coupled by sweep states between layers are observed mostly during the daytime. Furthermore, the horizontal transport of sensible heat by coherent structures is investigated, and the heterogeneity of the contribution of coherent events to the flux transport is demonstrated. A scheme to determine the horizontal coupling by coherent structures in the sub-canopy layer is proposed, and it is shown that the sub-canopy layer is horizontally coupled mainly in the wind direction. The vertical coupling in most cases is observed together with streamwise horizontal coupling, whereas the cross-stream direction is decoupled.  相似文献   

The Stanford Climate Change Behavior Survey (SCCBS): assessing greenhouse gas emissions-related behaviors in individuals and populations     

K. Carrie Armel  Katy Yan  Annika Todd  Thomas N. Robinson 《Climatic change》2011,109(3-4):671-694

Many individual-level behaviors are associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reliable and valid assessment instruments are needed to (1) identify behaviors and populations to target with emissions-reduction programs and policies, (2) evaluate the effectiveness of such programs, (3) link self-reported and objective measures of GHG emissions to establish the impact of specific behaviors, and (4) estimate frequencies of behaviors and their changes over time to aid policy makers in understanding energy consumption trends. The self-administered Stanford Climate Change Behavior Survey (SCCBS) is shown to be a reliable and valid instrument that can be used for these purposes in college students, and we anticipate that it will also be useful for assessing these behaviors in other adolescent or adult populations in developed countries. Questions included behaviors likely to be within the control of most individuals and did not include behaviors specific to home owners (e.g. appliance purchases). Ten indices were identified: Energy Use, No-, Low-, and High-GHG Transportation, Waste, Food Packaging, High- and Low-GHG Food, Food Purchasing, and GHG Credits use. A Total GHG Behavior score was calculated. Test–retest reliabilities of individual items ranged from .64 to .91. Internal consistency reliabilities for each of the indices ranged from .51 to .89. Most indices were statistically significantly correlated with one another. Correlational validity of the SCCBS was demonstrated with statistically significant associations between behavior scores and perceived importance of environmental sustainability and membership in an environmental organization. The use of the SCCBS to identify potential target sub-populations and behaviors was demonstrated.  相似文献   

Coherent structures and flux contribution over an inhomogeneously irrigated cotton field     

Yu Zhang  Heping Liu  Thomas Foken  Quinton L. Williams  Matthias Mauder  Christoph Thomas 《Theoretical and Applied Climatology》2011,103(1-2):119-131

The turbulence data measured at two levels (i.e., 8.7 and 2.7?m) in the Energy Balance Experiment (EBEX), which was conducted in San Joaquin Valley in California during the period from July 20 to August 24, 2000, are used to study the characteristics of coherent structures over an irrigated cotton field. Patch-to-patch irrigation in the field generated the dry-to-wet horizontal advection and the oasis effects, leading to the development of a stably internal boundary layer (SIBL) in the late mornings or the early afternoons. The SIBL persisted in the rest of the afternoons. Under this circumstance, a near-neutral atmospheric surface layer (ASL) developed during the period with a stratification transition from the unstable to stable conditions during the daytime. Therefore, EBEX provides us with unique datasets to investigate the features of coherent structures that were generated over the patches upstream and passed by our site in the unstable ASL, the near-neutral ASL, and the SIBL. We use an objective detection technique and the conditional average method that is developed based on the wavelet analysis. Our data reveal some consistencies and inconsistencies in the characteristics of coherent structures as compared with previous studies. Ramp-like structures and sweep?Cejection cycles under the daytime SIBL have similar patterns to those under the nocturnal stable ASL. However, some features (i.e., intermittence) are different from those under the nocturnal stable ASL. Under the three stratifications, thermal and mechanical factors in the ASL perform differently in affecting the ramp intensity for different quantities (i.e., velocity components, temperature, and specific humidity), leading to coherent structures that modulate turbulence flow and alter turbulent transfer differently. It is also found that coherent structures contribute about 10?C20% to the total fluxes in our case with different flux contributions under three stratifications and with higher transporting efficiency in sensible heat flux than latent heat and momentum fluxes.  相似文献   

Balancing groundwater conservation and rural livelihoods under water and climate uncertainties: An integrated hydro-economic modeling framework     

Consuelo Varela-Ortega  Irene Blanco-Gutiérrez  Christopher H. Swartz  Thomas E. Downing 《Global Environmental Change》2011,21(2):604-619

In arid countries worldwide, social conflicts between irrigation-based human development and the conservation of aquatic ecosystems are widespread and attract many public debates. This research focuses on the analysis of water and agricultural policies aimed at conserving groundwater resources and maintaining rural livelihoods in a basin in Spain's central arid region. Intensive groundwater mining for irrigation has caused overexploitation of the basin's large aquifer, the degradation of reputed wetlands and has given rise to notable social conflicts over the years. With the aim of tackling the multifaceted socio-ecological interactions of complex water systems, the methodology used in this study consists in a novel integration into a common platform of an economic optimization model and a hydrology model WEAP (Water Evaluation And Planning system). This robust tool is used to analyze the spatial and temporal effects of different water and agricultural policies under different climate scenarios. It permits the prediction of different climate and policy outcomes across farm types (water stress impacts and adaptation), at basin's level (aquifer recovery), and along the policies’ implementation horizon (short and long run). Results show that the region's current quota-based water policies may contribute to reduce water consumption in the farms but will not be able to recover the aquifer and will inflict income losses to the rural communities. This situation would worsen in case of drought. Economies of scale and technology are evidenced as larger farms with cropping diversification and those equipped with modern irrigation will better adapt to water stress conditions. However, the long-term sustainability of the aquifer and the maintenance of rural livelihoods will be attained only if additional policy measures are put in place such as the control of illegal abstractions and the establishing of a water bank. Within the policy domain, the research contributes to the new sustainable development strategy of the EU by concluding that, in water-scarce regions, effective integration of water and agricultural policies is essential for achieving the water protection objectives of the EU policies. Therefore, the design and enforcement of well-balanced region-specific polices is a major task faced by policy makers for achieving successful water management that will ensure nature protection and human development at tolerable social costs. From a methodological perspective, this research initiative contributes to better address hydrological questions as well as economic and social issues in complex water and human systems. Its integrated vision provides a valuable illustration to inform water policy and management decisions within contexts of water-related conflicts worldwide.  相似文献   

Sampling strategy and climatic implications of tree-ring stable isotopes on the southeast Tibetan Plateau     

Chunming Shi  Valérie Masson-Delmotte  Camille Risi  Thomas Eglin  Michel Stievenard  Monique Pierre  Xiaochun Wang  Jing Gao  François-Marie Bréon  Qi-Bin Zhang  Valérie Daux 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2011,301(1-2):307-316

We explore the potential of tree-ring cellulose δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C records for reconstructing climate variability in the southeast Tibetan Plateau. Our sampling strategy was designed to investigate intra and inter-tree variability, and the effects of the age of tree on δ¹⁸O variation. We show that intra-tree δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O variability is negligible, and inter-tree coherence is sufficient to build robust tree-ring δ¹⁸O or δ¹³C chronologies based on only four trees. There is no evidence of an age effect regarding δ¹⁸O, in contrast with tree-ring width. In our warm and moist sampling site, young tree δ¹³C is not clearly correlated with monthly mean meteorological data. Tree-ring δ¹⁸O appears significantly anti-correlated with summer precipitation amount, regional cloud cover, and relative humidity. Simulations conducted with the ORCHIDEE land surface model confirm the observed contribution of relative humidity to tree cellulose δ¹⁸O, and explain the weak correlation of δ¹³C with climate by the non-linear integration linked with photosynthesis. Altogether, the tree-ring cellulose δ¹⁸O is shown to be a promising proxy to reconstruct regional summer moisture variability prior to the instrumental period.  相似文献   

Effects of seawater acidification on early development of the intertidal sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck 1816)     

Laure Moulin  Ana Isabel Catarino  Thomas Claessens  Philippe Dubois 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(1):48-54

The effect of pH ranging from 8.0 to 6.8 (total scale - pH_T) on fertilization, cleavage and larval development until pluteus stage was assessed in an intertidal temperate sea urchin. Gametes were obtained from adults collected in two contrasting tide pools, one showing a significant nocturnal pH decrease (lowest pH_T = 7.4) and another where pH was more stable (lowest pH_T = 7.8). The highest pH_T at which significant effects on fertilization and cleavage were recorded was 7.6. On the contrary, larval development was only affected below pH_T 7.4, a value equal or lower than that reported for several subtidal species. This suggests that sea urchins inhabiting stressful intertidal environments produce offspring that may better resist future ocean acidification. Moreover, at pH_T 7.4, the fertilization rate of gametes whose progenitors came from the tide pool with higher pH decrease was significantly higher, indicating a possible acclimatization or adaptation of gametes to pH stress.  相似文献   

Phytoplankton dynamics and cyanobacterial dominance in Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria (Uganda) in relation to environmental conditions   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Sigrid Haande  Thomas RohrlackRonald P. Semyalo  Pål BrettumBente Edvardsen  Anne Lyche-SolheimKai Sørensen  Petter Larsson 《Limnologica》2011,41(1):20-29

Murchison Bay is a shallow embayment in the north-western part of Lake Victoria, strongly influenced by urban pollution from the Ugandan capital Kampala. Two stations, representing the semi-enclosed innermost part of the bay and the wider outer part of the bay, were sampled in the period from April 2003 to March 2004, in order to assess the phytoplankton community and the nutrient status in the bay. Murchison Bay was highly eutrophic with average concentrations (n=25) of total phosphorous >90 μg L⁻¹ and total nitrogen >1100 μg L⁻¹ in the inner part of the bay. The phytoplankton community was dominated by a variety of cyanobacterial species and diatoms. Cyanobacteria were dominant in the whole bay, whereas diatoms were more abundant in the outer part of the bay. Moreover, the proportion of N-fixing species like Anabaena sp. was higher in the outer part of the bay, whereas species like Microcystis sp. were more abundant in the inner part of the bay. The phytoplankton community, especially in the outer part of the bay, may be influenced by light limitation. Low NO₃-N concentrations in the bay may also indicate a possible N-limitation, thus favouring growth of N-fixing cyanobacteria. The open bay is, however, a complex system, and additional environmental factors and loss processes most likely affect the phytoplankton community.  相似文献