Modelling the sustainability and productivity of pastoral systems in the communal areas of Namaqualand     

F.D. Richardson  B.D. Hahn  M.T. Hoffman   《Journal of Arid Environments》2007,70(4):701-714

We investigated the effects of rainfall and the number of animals on changes in vegetation and on the output of milk and meat from the communal areas of Namaqualand. Previously published short- and long-term models link processes that range from the levels of tissue (in, for example, the mammary gland), to the milk yields of individual animals, to the growth and survival of their young and to long-term changes in plant species populations at the ecosystem level. These models have been used to study how different factors and management strategies affect livestock productivity and vegetation composition on a 20,000 ha rangeland in Namaqualand. First, the inter-relations between rainfall, stocking rate and productivity were studied using the short-term model. This model shows that in addition to total rainfall and stocking rate, the timing of rainfall within a year also influences doe live weight and survival to the end of the year. When the long-term model is run, using recorded rainfall, predictions of small stock numbers agree closely with livestock data recorded over the same 30-year period. One thousand replicates of 100-year runs of the long-term model were then used to study the probable impact of different upper limits to stock numbers on animal performance. Off take (sales and slaughterings) are maximal when stock numbers are limited to 2000 adults. Animal numbers increase marginally as the limit is increased above this level, but the variability between years in numbers increases. Secondly, the long-term model was used to study the long-term effects of the stocking rate strategies on rangeland condition. The model predicts that although these effects are variable, when moderately degraded range is stocked with an upper limit at the recommended level it is unable to recover to less degraded states over 100 years. Thirdly, the model was used to examine the effects of reduction in stock numbers and slaughtering of kids in a drought year on goat numbers during the subsequent 5 years. Finally, the model predicts that a 10% reduction in mean annual rainfall will lead to a 35% reduction in animal numbers over 200 years.  相似文献   

同位素指示的巴丹吉林沙漠南缘地下水补给来源   总被引：14，自引：0，他引：14  

马金珠  黄天明  丁贞玉  W. M. Edmunds 《地球科学进展》2007,22(9):922-930

通过恢复巴丹吉林沙漠及其周边地区大气降水氚值，并结合区域稳定同位素组合特征，揭示了区域地下水氚年龄的多解性与地下水稳定同位素的温度效应。恢复的1963年核试验期氚高峰值达到2 100 TU，进入90年代平均为60 TU。1960年以来降水补给的地下水氚值都应大于15 TU，而1963年的高峰氚衰变至今应在200 TU左右。地下水实测氚值较低，表明由现代少量降水补给的地下水与大量的古水进行了混合。影响降水中δ18O和δ2H分布的主要影响因子是月平均空气温度，对δ18O与δ2H的影响权重分别占到59.9%和57.0%。巴丹吉林沙漠及其周边地区地下水较低的稳定同位素组成表明，其补给主要是晚更新世较冷环境下形成的，来源于东南部的雅布赖山区，部分浅层地下水接受现代降水与河流的补给。   相似文献   

腾格里沙漠东南缘白刺灌丛地土壤性状的特征   总被引：7，自引：0，他引：7  

贾晓红  李新荣  陈应武 《干旱区地理》2007,30(4):57-564

腾格里沙漠东南缘白刺灌丛地土壤颗粒组成中仍以细沙粒(0.25～0.05 mm)含量占主要成分(80%～99%),除固定沙堆土0～5 cm土壤粉沙粒含量高于堆间低地外,沙堆土不同深度粉沙粒含量(0.05～0.002 mm)均低于堆间低地;沙堆不同部位的土壤含水量有一致的变化趋势且差异不大,沙堆0～60 cm土层含水量低于堆间低地,60 cm以下的土壤含水量不仅高于0～60 cm,并且高于堆间低地。发育于草甸盐土上的堆间低地20 cm以下水分含量变化基本保持在较高的水平,发育于盐化半固定风沙土上的堆间低地水分含量在20 cm以下呈急剧降低趋势。白刺沙堆上土壤剖面土壤水分含量的这种变化和堆间低地20 cm处较高的含水层,将会为灌丛植物在年内气候干旱期的生命维持提供着重要水源保证。土壤容重白刺沙堆大于堆间低地,土壤剖面堆间低地的容重基本无变异,而沙堆上因为植物发育土壤容重有不同程度的差异。表征土壤肥力和保肥能力的阳离子代换量均是堆间低地大于沙堆上。堆间低地和沙堆上土壤全氮、有机质、电导率含量和pH值差异因白刺沙堆发育的生境不同而不同,处于半固定沙地生境的白刺沙堆并未形成灌丛的"沃岛效应",处于固定沙地生境的白刺沙堆有弱"沃岛效应"。因此,白刺沙堆地表物质的固定是该植物种生长的生境产生"沃岛效应"的前提。  相似文献   

库姆塔格沙漠梭梭群落特征研究   总被引：4，自引：8，他引：4  

王继和  张锦春  袁宏波  廖空太  刘虎俊  张国中 《中国沙漠》2007,27(5):809-813

 在对库姆塔格沙漠植被调查的基础上，以天然梭梭为研究对象，从群落结构、分布和生长特性等方面研究了梭梭群落的结构特征及其自然生存规律。结果表明：沙漠南缘地带为梭梭群落的分布定居区。由于生境及地貌类型的不同，群落结构差异性较大。随着植被类型由东部山前荒漠草原向西部典型荒漠植被类型过渡，梭梭群落相对数量及相对盖度增大，由伴生种转化为建群种。水分是影响梭梭种群自然生长及更新的主导因素，成龄梭梭的生长差异性表现为河床梭梭优于滩地梭梭，沙地梭梭好于戈壁梭梭;小龄级梭梭幼苗主要分布在河床冲沟边缘附近，形成垂直河床的条带状定居格局;深居沙漠腹地的老龄梭梭已基本上衰败死亡，测定年代距公元1950年为(314±54)a。风沙作用使沙漠南移，梭梭出现衰败死亡与自然更新的演替过程。  相似文献   

Multi-scale heterogeneity of soil moisture following snow thawing in Haloxylon ammodendron shrubland     

LI Jun  ZHAO ChenYi  ZHU Hong  WANG Feng  WANG LiJuan  KOU SiYong 《中国科学D辑(英文版)》2007,50(Z1):49-55

Spatial variation of soil moisture after snow thawing in South Gurbantunggut was quantitatively studied using ANOVA and geostatistics at various scales. The results show that the soil moisture heterogeneity varies along with spatial scales. At the shrub individual scale, there is a gradient in soil moisture from shrub-canopied area to canopy margin and to the interspaces between shrubs. At the community scale, soil moisture is highly autocorrelated and the semivariogram is fitted as spherical model, with an 89.6% structural variance and a range of 4.02 m. In addition, Kringing map indicates that the soil moisture distribution pattern after snow thawing is highly consistent with the shrub patch pattern. At the typical inter-dune transect scale, soil moisture presents a pattern of high value at inter-dune depression and low value at dune, and this variation is fitted as Gaussian model with a structural variance of 95.8% and a range of 66.16 m. The range is comparable with the scale of topography zoning, suggesting that the topography pattern controls the pattern of snowmelt at this scale. The evidence indicates that the heterogeneity of soil moisture at various scales is controlled by various land surface processes after snow thawing. For Gurbantunggut Desert, the spatial heterogeneity of snowmelt at various scales is ecologically valuable, because it promotes the utilization efficiency of the snowmelt for the desert vegetation.  相似文献   

Effects of surface characteristics on infiltration patterns in an arid shrub desert   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

Xin‐Ping Wang  Xin‐Rong Li  Hong‐Lang Xiao  Ronny Berndtsson  Yan‐Xia Pan 《水文研究》2007,21(1):72-79

Precipitation is often the sole source of water replenishment in arid and semi‐arid areas and, thus, plays a pertinent role in sustaining desert ecosystems. Revegetation over 40 years using mainly Artemisia ordosica and Caragana korshinskii at Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station near Lanzhou, China, has established a dwarf‐shrub and microbiotic soil crust cover on the stabilized sand dunes. The redistribution of infiltrated moisture through percolation, root extraction, and evapotranspiration pathways was investigated. Three sets of time‐domain reflectometry (TDR) probes were inserted horizontally at 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 cm depths below the ground surface in a soil pit. The three sets of TDR probes were installed in dwarf‐shrub sites of A. ordosica and C. korshinskii community with and without a microbiotic soil crust cover, and an additional set was placed in a bare sand dune area that had neither vegetation nor a microbiotic soil crust present. Volumetric soil moisture content was recorded at hourly intervals and used in the assessment of infiltration for the different surface covers. Infiltration varied greatly, from 7·5 cm to more than 45 cm, depending upon rainfall quantity and soil surface conditions. In the shrub community area without microbiotic soil crust cover, infiltration increased due to preferential flow associated with root tunnels. The microbiotic soil crust cover had a significant negative influence on the infiltration for small rainfall events (～10 mm), restricting the infiltration depth to less than 20 cm and increasing soil moisture content just beneath the soil profile of 10 cm, whereas it was not as strong or clear for larger rainfall events (～60 mm). For small rainfall events, the wetting front depth for the three kinds of surface cover was as follows: shrub community without microbiotic soil crust > bare area > shrub community with microbiotic soil crust. In contrast, for large rainfall events, infiltration was similar in shrub communities with and without microbiotic soil crust cover, but significantly higher than measured in the bare area. Soil water extraction by roots associated with evapotranspiration restricted the wetting front penetration after 1 to 3 h of rainfall. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地复合沙垄的流场和上覆沙丘组合及动态特征   总被引：6，自引：4，他引：6  

李恒鹏  陈广庭  薛东前 《干旱区地理》2001,24(1):80-85

复合沙垄是最大的沙丘地貌类型之一，表现为简单沙丘类型的垂直叠加和水平连接，在沙垄的高大地形影响下，沙垄不同部位形成不同的风沙环境特征。以塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地/复合沙垄为例，通过野外实地观测研究其流场和上覆沙丘组合特征。研究结果表明，复合沙垄的流场可分为沙垄迎风坡气流加速区、沙垄背风坡气流转向减速区、垄间粗沙平地气流风速风向恢复区和气流风速稳定区。受沙垄流场和地形的控制，沙垄上覆新月形沙丘链，垄间地分有简单新月形沙丘、沙堆、沙片、侵蚀地、简单线形沙丘。上覆沙丘分布特征表现为：垄间地上覆新月形沙丘疏密度较小，沙垄迎风坡和沙垄背风坡上覆新月形沙丘疏密度较大，而且超过1，说明沙垄迎背风坡上覆沙丘有叠置现象。沙垄上覆沙丘高度自沙垄迎风坡底部到顶部增高，背风坡上覆沙丘高度自沙垄顶部到背风坡底部减小，上覆沙丘在自身形态、地形和流场的共同影响下，存在相对运动，表现为分布进一步集中，因此沙垄有增高的趋势。  相似文献   

Growth, ionic and osmotic relations of an Allenrolfea occidentalis population in an inland salt playa of the Great Basin Desert     

Bilquees Gul  Darrell J. Weber  M. Ajmal Khan 《Journal of Arid Environments》2001,48(4):445

Variation in growth, physiology and ionic relations patterns of Allenrolfea occidentalis, a perennial halophyte of dry habitats, was studied under field conditions from May 1996 to November 1997. An A. occidentalis community has a characteristic soil pH of 7·3–8·3. During the two years, the population was exposed to great variations in soil salinity, from 29 to 146 dS m⁻¹, and soil moisture, ranging from drought (9·2%) to wet (19%). The salt concentrations were significantly higher in the surface soil layers than in the subsurface layers. Seasonal changes in dry weight are directly related to soil salinity stress. Allenrolfea occidentalis had greater growth and biomass production under saline conditions. Na⁺and Cl⁻ions were accumulated in plant tissues in much greater amounts than K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺. Soil salinities were significantly reduced at the end of the growing season. Water potentials of the shoots decreased significantly with increasing salinity. The plant (F_v/F_mratio) was more affected by salinity and irradiation levels during the summer period.  相似文献   

绿洲演化与自然和人为因素的关系初探——以克里雅河下游地区为例   总被引：13，自引：0，他引：13  

杨小平 《地学前缘》2001,8(1):83-89

以位于塔里木盆地的克里雅河下游地区绿洲为例 ,论述了自然环境要素演变及人类活动对绿洲发育的重要作用。克里雅河下游地区的现代绿洲包括沿河岸分布的带状绿色走廊和河流终端干三角洲上的扇形牧业绿洲。依据对河流沉积物及古河道分析得出的结论是 ,在末次冰期晚期时 ,由于来自昆仑山的大量消融水的出现 ,克里雅河的绿色走廊横穿塔克拉玛干沙漠。类似的情况在距今约2 0 0 0年和小冰期时都出现过。这种大的变化是自然环境演变的结果。但是 ,近百年来特别是近 5 0年克里雅河下游牧业绿洲的严重退化是中游地区集中发展农业绿洲而增加引水量及下游地区过度砍伐所造成的。  相似文献   

Lateral migration,thermoluminescence chronology and colour variation of longitudinal dunes near Birdsville in the Simpson Desert,central Australia     

G. C. Nanson  X. Y. Chen  D. M. Price 《地球表面变化过程与地形》1992,17(8):807-819

The longitudinal dunes of the Simpson Desert, in the vicinity of Birdsville, have been reworked largely during the Holocene from dunes deposited up to 80000 years ago or earlier. The widespread asymmetry of these roughly northward-trending dunes, with steeper eastern faces and more gentle western faces, supports wind-rose data showing sand-transporting winds from the southwest obliquely intersecting the dunes. While this suggests a change in the wind pattern since the dune field was oriented, it does not indicate that the dunes are necessarily shifting leeward (eastward) as a consequence. It is hypothesized that the direction of migration is controlled by the extent to which the dunes are vegetated. Relatively well-vegetated dunes can accrete sand on their gentle stoss slopes and erode on their lee slopes causing them to shift westward and hence obliquely into the wind, a condition that probably prevails in wetter regions and during episodes of relatively humid climate. In contrast, in very dry areas or during arid phases, sand can move unimpeded up a sparsely vegetated stoss face and over the crest to form an avalanche or slip face on the lee side, thereby causing the dunes to shift eastward. Despite evidence that longitudinal dune crests can shift laterally to some extent, the dunes in the western part of the Simpson Desert have not migrated, either westward or eastward, more than 100m or so from their Pleistocene cores. Aeolian transport and partial or complete removal of iron cutans from around quartz grains results in dunes of widely varying colour yet of similar age.  相似文献