Coping with water scarcity in Kashafroud G-WADI Basin,Iran: climate change or growing demands?     

Sedigheh Torabi Palatkaleh  Niloofar Sadeghi  Kobra Estiri  Meisam Ashouri 《寒旱区科学》2013,5(1):0096-0108

This paper assesses the various factors contributing to climate change in the region of the Kashafroud G-WADI Basin in Iran; quantifies the local impacts of climate change, especially local water scarcity; and simulates and discusses several proposed methods to combat these impacts. Hydrologic and climatic data are statistically analyzed and VENSIM modeling is used for various simulations of water resources in the basin. Results show that the natural climate changes affecting Kashafroud Basin include increased temperature, less rainfall, more frequent droughts, and changes in rainfall patterns, all of which are local symptoms of climate change in recent years. However, the most important challenge in the basin is the overexploitation of surface and groundwater resources to meet the growing water demands, especially domestic needs. Changes in land use, reallocation of water uses, groundwater depletion, and degradation of the quality of surface waters have all contributed to significant changes in the environmental features of this basin, and are the main reason why water demands now exceed the renewal capacity of the basin. Proposed response measures include reallocation of resources among different uses, inter-basin water transfers, drawing water from six small dams on the Kashafroud River, reducing groundwater extraction, and replacing groundwater extraction for agriculture by reuse of urban wastewater. This study concludes that although changes in global climatic parameters have altered environmental features in the basin, local factors, such as water utilization beyond the renewable capacity of the basin, are more significant in worsening the impacts of climate change.  相似文献   

南瓮河湿地森林火灾预防管理对策分析     

吴炳岩  殷纪秋  何立忠  刘志强 《湿地科学与管理》2013,(2):55-56

针对南瓮河湿地森林火灾发生的特点,科学分析了南瓮河湿地森林火灾影响因素,在总结多年森林防火工作经验的基础上,提出森林防火必须准确把握火灾发生规律,不断提高火灾防范能力,建立健全防火长效治本机制,从根本上减少或避免特大森林火灾发生。  相似文献   

Unfolding relations between land cover and farm management: high nature value assessment in complex silvo-pastoral systems     

Mara Almeida  Carlos Guerra  Teresa Pinto-Correia 《Geografisk tidskrift / udgivet af Bestyrelsen for Det Kongelige danske geografiske selskab》2013,113(2):97-108

The high nature value (HNV) concept, proposed by the European Environment Agency, recognizes that specific farming systems support high biodiversity levels, mainly as a result of extensive management practices. The Portuguese montado is one of the most significant HNV systems in southern Europe. However, considering the great complexity characterizing these systems both in land management and in landscape structure, a specific context-oriented methodology to assess which montado areas are likely to be classified as HNV farmland is needed. In this sense, the aim of this study is to explore a methodological approach which makes it possible to assess land management pressures through land cover information on these complex silvo-pastoral systems. The proposed methodology was tested through a local case study in a montado area in southern Portugal, assessing the relation between management practices and a vegetation cover index. Results show that in similar montado areas different land management strategies varying in stocking density, but also in type of grazing animals and shrub control practices, configure different vegetation cycles. These results indicate there is a way to develop a straightforward methodology to assess the HNV value of Mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems based on land cover indicators. These would make it possible to assess the HNV of montado areas with direct and objective information and independent of farmer’s surveys or other farm-based data.  相似文献   

Sustaining Rocky Mountain Landscapes: Science,Policy, and Management for the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem     

Lynn M. Resler 《The Professional geographer》2013,65(3):432-434

In this commentary, we wish to draw from Kathryn's experience in Askole to complicate the argument we developed in favor of an autoethnographic sensibility in the earlier article in this issue (Butz and Besio 2004 ButzDavid KathrynBesio 2004 The value of autoethnography for field research in transcultural settings. The Professional Geographer 56 3 350 60 [Google Scholar]). Just as we used David's first-person singular voice in much of that article, we use Kathryn's voice here to reflect the central influence of her research circumstances on the points that we make. We will return to the first-person plural voice in the commentary's conclusion where we attempt to synthesize the lessons of our two sets of research experiences.  相似文献   

A Review of “The Tsunami of 2004 in Sri Lanka: Impacts and Policy in the Shadow of Civil War”     

Pradyumna P. Karan 《The Professional geographer》2013,65(4):560-561

Abstract

Zionist geographers in Israel were highly involved in institutionalizing Israel's national identity. In search for interpretative schemes, they were highly committed both to Western paradigms and to Zionist narratives. Until the 1970s, organicist models of regional geography were popular despite contradictions between the use of tragic and comic narratives in Western models and the need to adopt romantic narratives for Zionist purposes. The emergence of historical geography in the 1950s helped to solve these contradictions by adopting a contextual mode of explanation in which the national story has been described in terms of a unique one and as an example for the power of Zionist civilization to transform bewildered nature. During the last two decades, new forms of criticism have emerged that changed the discourse from a particularistic story of nation building to a more general story of colonization and territorial control.  相似文献   

Groupers on the Edge: Shelf Edge Spawning Habitat in and Around Marine Reserves of the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico     

Felicia C. Coleman  Kathryn M. Scanlon  Christopher C. Koenig 《The Professional geographer》2013,65(4):456-474

The northeastern Gulf of Mexico contains some of the most diverse and productive marine habitat in the United States. Much of this habitat, located on the shelf edge in depths of 50 to 120 m, supports spawning for many economically important species, including groupers. Here, we couple acoustic surveys with georeferenced videography to describe the primary spatial and geologic features of spawning aggregation sites for four economically important species: gag (Mycteroperca microlepis), scamp (M. phenax), red grouper (Epinephelus morio), and red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), with notes on fish distribution and abundance and spawning activities. We provide information on movement patterns of reef fish determined using acoustic telemetry. Finally, we discuss the possible coupling of geomorphology with hydrographic features to influence the overall productivity of the region and the importance of spatial fishery management in sustaining that productivity.  相似文献   

Spatial dimensions of New Zealand's environmental management   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Jeffrey McNeill  Christine Cheyne  Rachel Summers 《New Zealand geographer》2013,69(2):136-149

New Zealand's regional council boundaries drawn as part of the 1989 local government reforms privilege integrated catchment management. This privilege is now challenged by calls to both fragment and amalgamate councils and centralise decision‐making but with little analytic assessment of the spatial differentiation to support them. The spatial underpinnings of these calls were explored using a case study that assessed the spatial dimensions of environment management. Analysis of the Land Environments and River Environment Classification databases and councils' planning documents highlights challenges local governments face in applying integrated natural resource management within single purpose jurisdictions and implications for wider sustainable development policy.  相似文献   

Function of Soils for Human Societies and Environment     

Nathan Scholl 《The Professional geographer》2013,65(2):286-287

This study assessed the spatial distribution of vulnerability to extreme heat in 1990 and 2000 within metropolitan Phoenix based on an index of seven equally weighted measures of physical exposure and adaptive capacity. These measures were derived from spatially interpolated climate, normalized differential vegetation index, and U.S. Census data. From resulting vulnerability maps, we also analyzed population groups living in areas of high heat vulnerability. Results revealed that landscapes of heat vulnerability changed substantially in response to variations in physical and socioeconomic factors, with significant alterations to spatial distribution of vulnerability especially between eastern and western sectors of Phoenix. These changes worked to the detriment of Phoenix's Hispanic population and the elderly concentrated in urban-fringe retirement communities.  相似文献   

A Review of “Managing the Infosphere: Governance,Technology, and Cultural Practice in Motion”     

Clayton Rosati 《The Professional geographer》2013,65(3):408-410

The antiquated and undemocratic rules operating in the United Nations Security Council do not reflect and serve today’s integrated global society, nor does the institution adequately represent the diversity of member states. Despite General Assembly discussions that have lasted a quarter-century, no result has materialized on the expansion issue. The author concludes that regional rivalries, the veto, the onerous Charter amendment process, and the failure to devise a truly representative model are responsible for the lack of progress. A model with eighteen rotating seats, based on population, area, and regional position, and four elected seats deserves consideration as an alternative. Key Words: metageography, political geography, population and area ratings, United Nations Security Council.  相似文献   

The Production of Investment Returns in Spatially Extensive Financial Markets     

Gordon L. Clark  Ashby H. B. Monk 《The Professional geographer》2013,65(4):595-607

Investment returns are produced by combining financial assets with human capital, the decision-making protocols of investment houses, and the electronic infrastructure that supports the flow of information about investment. At the center of the production process stand senior managers; their power and authority in the production process is fundamental to the performance of investment organizations. This article provides a model of the production of investment returns in financial centers and spatially extensive financial markets. We begin with Coase's theory of the firm but go beyond models of the firm that represent commodity-producing industries. Having substantiated the model of investment management, it is applied to institutions that seek investment returns in geographically extensive financial markets. Operating in financial markets at a distance from home jurisdictions is an increasingly important aspect of investment management. Given recent turmoil in global financial markets, financial houses have sought higher rates of return from markets in which they have little direct experience. At issue is how different types of financial organizations (large and small, growing and declining) produce investment returns in this new environment.  相似文献