Forested peatlands are widespread in boreal regions of Canada, and these ecosystems, which are major terrestrial carbon sinks, are undergoing significant transformations linked to climate change, fires and human activities. This study targets millennial‐scale vegetation dynamics and related hydrological variability in forested peatlands of the Clay Belt south of James Bay, eastern Canada, using palaeoecological data. Changes in peatland vegetation communities were reconstructed using plant macrofossil analyses, and variations in water‐table depths were inferred using testate amoeba analyses. High‐resolution analyses of macroscopic charcoal >0.5 mm were used to reconstruct local fire history. Our data showed two successional pathways towards the development of present‐day forested peatlands influenced by autogenic processes such as vertical peat growth and related drying, and allogenic factors such as the occurrence of local fires. The oldest documented peatland initiated in a wet rich fen around 8000 cal. a BP shortly after land emergence and transformed into a drier forested bog rapidly after peat inception that persisted over millennia. In the second site, peat started to accumulate from ~5200 cal. a BP over a mesic coniferous forest that shifted into a wet forested peatland following a fire that partially consumed the organic layer ~4600 cal. a BP. The charcoal records show that fires rarely occurred in these peatlands, but they have favoured the process of forest paludification and influenced successional trajectories over millennia. The macrofossil data suggest that Picea mariana (black spruce) persisted on the peatlands throughout their development, although there were periods of more open canopy due to local fires in some cases. This study brings new understanding on the natural variability of boreal forested peatlands which may help predict their response to future changes in climate, fire regimes and anthropogenic disturbances. 相似文献
Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Analytic data on anomalies of the tree-ring structure of Siberian larch on the transect, passing through the Russian part of the Altai-Sayan Mountain... 相似文献
Floods are natural processes that constitute a hazard to society when associated to improper land use. Anthropic activities in floodplains are a factor of vulnerability that converts a natural hazard into a threat factor, eventually leading to disaster. Nowadays, natural and social complex processes demand integrated assessments in order to improve their understanding, helping decision making over sustainable use of territory, as well as integrating society’s activity in ecosystems and potentials, restrictions and benefits that society obtain from them. In this context, the objective of this work was to build a composite vulnerability model for a floodplain under urban influence, using an integrated assessment approach. This model was based on three dimensions; threat, fragility and an ecosystem services provision. These dimensions were calculated using both primary and secondary information, and weights by specialists. Main results show that the area presents high vulnerability with an increasing gradient towards high and urbanized areas, associated with an important number and relevant ecosystem services. Also, a spatial heterogeneity of the three dimensions emerged, making evident this area’s complexity and the need of integrated assessments to approach it. The composite vulnerability model proposed presents an elevated potential for natural and social processes analysis in floodplains, which is crucial for these territory management. Moreover, these integrated dimensions could contribute to decision making in different levels, as well as generating important supplies for environmental management and land planning.
Empirical evidence has shown that particle breakage affects the mechanical behaviour of granular materials. The source of this mechanism takes place at the particle scale, and the main consequence on the macromechanical behaviour is increasing compressibility. Due to the inverse correlation between particle size and particle crushing strength, coarse rockfill materials are particularly vulnerable to mechanical degradation due to particle breakage. However, such coarse materials do not fit in standard laboratory devices, and the alternative of large sample testing is usually unavailable or too expensive. Alternatively, recent works have proposed multi-scale approaches using the discrete element method (DEM) to carry out numerical testing of coarse crushable materials, although few studies have focused on size effects. This article presents the application of a DEM bonded-cell model to study particle size-strength correlation on angular rock aggregates. Each particle is modelled by a cluster of perfectly rigid polyhedral cells with Mohr–Coulomb contact law. Constant cell density within particles implies that the presence of potential fragmentation planes increases with size. Therefore, particle strength decreases with size. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis was carried out through 1477 particle crushing simulations in a given particle size. Based on published experimental data on calcareous rock aggregates, part of the simulations were used for calibration, and 97 additional simulations of a coarser size fraction were performed for validation. The results show a good agreement with the empirical data in terms of size effect and data scatter through Weibull statistics.
This study has focused on the processes of soil degradation and chemical element concentration
in tea-growing regions of Rwanda, Africa. Soil degradation accelerated by erosion is caused not only
by topography but also by human activities. This soil degradation involves both the physical loss and
reduction in the amount of topsoil associated with nutrient decline. Soil samples were collected from
eleven tropical zones in Rwanda and from variable depth within each collecting site. Of these, Samples
from three locations in each zone were analyzed in the laboratory, with the result that the pH of all soil
samples is shown to be less than 5 (pH < 5) with a general average of 4.4. The elements such as iron (Fe),
copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) are present in high concentration levels. In contrast calcium
(Ca) and sodium (Na) are present at low-level concentrations and carbon (C) was found in minimal concentrations. In addition, elements derived from fertilizers, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and
potassium (K) which is also from minerals such as feldspar, are also present in low-level concentrations.
The results indicate that the soil in certain Rwandan tea plantations is acidic and that this level of pH may
help explain, in addition to natural factors, the deficiency of some elements such as Ca, Mg, P and N. The
use of chemical fertilizers, land use system and the location of fields relative to household plots are also
considered to help explain why tea plantation soils are typically degraded. 相似文献
The oldest crystalline complexes of the Early Caledonian superterrane of Central Asia were formed in the Early Precambrian. They are exposed in the basement of microcontinents, which represent old cratonic fragments. Among the latters are the crystalline complexes of the Tarbagatai block previously ascribed to the Dzabkhan microcontinent. It was shown that the crystalline complexes of the Tarbagatai block have a heterogeneous structure, consisting of the Early Precambrian and later Riphean lithotectonic complexes. Structurally, the Early Precambrian complexes are made up of tectonic sheets of gneisses, migmatites, and gneiss granites of the Ider Complex that are cut by gabbroanorthosite massif. The Riphean Jargalant Complex comprises alternating hornblende crystalline schists and biotite (sometimes sillimanite-bearing) gneisses with marble horizons. The upper age boundary of the Riphean Complex is determined by the subautochthonous granitoids with age about 810 Ma. The presence of the Riphean high-grade rocks indicates that structures with newly formed crust were formed in the paleooceanic framing of the Early Precambrian blocks of the Rodinia supercontinent by the Mid-Late Riphean. Divergence that began at that time within old Rodinian cratons and caused rifting and subsequent break-up of the supercontinent was presumably changed by convergence in the paleooceanic area. 相似文献
