Physical variables, nutrient status and primary productivity of Kyoga Basin lakes of Lemwa, Omunuo, Gawa, Adois and Owapet

The review report on Kyoga basin lakes (NAFIRRI 2007) described Kyoga basin lakes as important natural resource for the communities within the basin and the surrounding areas. Fisheries of the basin provide a source of protein, income, and employment to generally poor communities in the area. The lakes also generate revenue to the local Governments within the catchment. This indicates that the fisheries of Kyoga basin lakes are a key instrument in poverty eradication and food security. The lakes also act as a source of water for domestic, agricultural and transport purposes. Some of the Kyoga small lakes harbour fish species, which have disappeared from the main lakes Victoria and Kyoga and are therefore important for biodiversity conservation

Comparison of the HSPF and HBV-INCA models: Crossing the Atlantic divide

Observation shows that the watershed-scale models in common use in the United States (US) differ from those used in the European Union (EU). The question arises whether the difference in model use is due to familiarity or necessity. Do conditions in each continent require the use of unique watershed-scale models, or are models sufficiently customizable that independent development of models that serve the same purpose (e.g., continuous/event- based, lumped/distributed, field-Awatershed-scale) is unnecessary? This paper explores this question through the application of two continuous, semi-distributed, watershed-scale models (HSPF and HBV-INCA) to a rural catchment in southern England. The Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) model is in wide use in the United States. The Integrated Catchments (INCA) model has been used extensively in Europe, and particularly in England. The results of simulation from both models are presented herein. Both models performed adequately according to the criteria set for them. This suggests that there was not a necessity to have alternative, yet similar, models. This partially supports a general conclusion that resources should be devoted towards training in the use of existing models rather than development of new models that serve a similar purpose to existing models. A further comparison of water quality predictions from both models may alter this conclusion.

Studies on morphometry and hydrology of Gandhisagar Reservoir with special reference to its fisheries

Gandhisagar, the second largest reservoir of India is located in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh at latitude 24°44'N and longitude 75°33'E at an altitude of 403.56m MSL in orientation from NE to SE. It has an extensive water spread area of 66000 ha at full reservoir level with a maximum and mean depth of 49.52 and 11.73 m respectively. The maximum length and width of the reservoir are 112 and 16km having a total shore line of 442km. Details of catchment area, bathymetry, standard hydrological data giving water level relation of the basin to water spread area, volume and fish production and the bottom topographical details of 11 experimental fishing stations and 6 fish landing centres are discussed.

Geographic and economic setting of Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria, besides being the second largest in the world after Lake Superior, is the largest tropical lake. Its waters are shared by Kenya (6% of the surface area), Uganda (43%), and Tanzania (51%). Before dramatic structural and functional changes manifested in the lake's ecosystem especially in the 1980s, fish life flourished in the lake's entire water column at all times of the year. Currently, the situation is much more different from what it was in the past. The exponential increase in the introduced Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) stocks, siltation, wetland degradation and eutrophication have characterised the lake ecosystem. The two exotic species and the small native cyprinid (Rastrineobola argentea) form the basis of the commercial fishery that was once dominated by two native tilapiines (Oreochromis esculentus and Oreochromis variabilis) and five other large-bodied endemic fishes. Severe deoxygenation observed at shallow depths (Ochumba 1990; Hecky et al., 1994) indicates that a large volume of the lake is unable to sustain fish life. The Lake Victoria catchment is one of the most densely populated areas in East Africa, encompassing a population of about 30 million people. Widespread poverty resulting from high inflation rates, lack of opportunities and general unemployment have characterised the lakeside communities over much of the last two decades. The biophysical environment in which Lake Victoria exists makes the lake particularly susceptible to changes that occur as a result of human modification to the watershed or the lake itself, thus rendering benefits from the lake unsustainable.

Nutrient status and thermal stratification in Lake Victoria

Worldwide, human activity in the watershed has been found to induce lake responses at various levels, including at population and ecosystem scale. Recently, Carignan and Steedman (2000) reported on disruptions of biogeochemical cycles in temperate lakes following watershed deforestation and lor wildfire and Carignan et al., (2000 a, b) concluded that water quality and aquatic biota are strongly influenced by disturbances in the watershed. Similarly, Lake Victoria is no exception as people in its catchment have exploited it for the last hundred years or more, but have now begun to understand the extent to which they have thrown the lake into disorder and how their increasing activity in the watershed have driven some environmental changes within and around the lake.

Human activities and interests within and around lakes of the Victoria and Kyoga basin and their consequences to sustainable fish production

Of all the great lakes, Lake Victoria has the highest population concentration on its fringes. This has resulted into serious human impacts on the ecosystem through intense agricultural activities (cultivation, livestock and over fishing), sporadic settlements, urbanization and industrial establishments. The consequences have been loss of animals and plant life, deforestation and general land degradation, pollution, loss of water quality and clean air. Aquatic life has become endangered and less guaranteeing to continued fish production. Awareness workshops and general talks have been done to a few selected communities by the lakes landing sites and in the catchment area to mitigate the deteriorating environmental conditions. Naturally the situation calls for reversal to the increasing stress of the ecosystem. As a result, every water body surveyed put forward some mitigation suggestions

Drain groups in liquefiable soil

One of the major concerns for engineers in seismically active regions is the prevention of damage caused by earthquake-induced soil liquefaction. Vertical drains can aid dissipation of excess pore pressures both during and after earthquakes. Drain systems are designed using standard design charts based around the concept of a unit cell, assuming each drain is surrounded by more drains. It is unclear how predictable drain performance is outside that unit cell concept, for example, drains at the edge of a group. Centrifuge testing is a logical method of performing controlled experiments to establish the efficacy of vertical drains. Centrifuge testing is used to identify the effect of drains dealing with very different catchment areas. The importance of this is further highlighted by the results of a test where the same drains have been modified so that each should behave as a unit cell. It is shown that drains with large catchment areas perform more poorly than unit cells, and also have a knock-on detrimental effect on other drains. Copyright © 2011, IGI Global.

Model development & application for inland navigational canals

Several agencies in the United Kingdom have interest in the water quality of old navigational canals that have fallen into disuse after the decline of commercial canal transportation. The interested agencies desired a model to predict the water quantity and quality of inland navigational canals in order to evaluate management options to address the issues in the natural streams to which they discharge. Inland navigational canals have unique drivers of their hydrology and water quality compared to either natural streams, irrigation canals, or larger navigational canals connected to seas or oceans. Water in an inland canal is typically sourced from a reservoir and artificially pumped to a summit reach; its movement downhill is controlled by the activity of boats and overflow weirs. Stagnant impoundments between locks, which might normally be expected to result in a decrease in the concentration of sediment-associated pollutants, actually have surprisingly high levels of sediment due to boat traffic. Algal growth in the stagnant reach can be high. This paper describes a canal model developed to simulate hydrology and water quality in inland navigational canals. This model was successfully applied to the Kennet and Avon Canal to predict hydrology, sediment generation and transport, and algal growth and transport. The model is responsive to external influences such as sunlight, temperature, nutrient concentrations, boat traffic, and runoff from the contributing catchment area.

Sediment sources and the flood record from Wanghu lake, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River

A sediment core was collected from the centre of Wanghu Lake, in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River. The recent part of the core was dated using a combination of Pb-210 and spheroidal carbonaceous particle (SCP) techniques. Extrapolating this chronology dated the laminated section of the core, between 723 and 881 mm, to the first half of the 18th century and this section was selected for detailed study. The thicknesses of the laminae were measured using reflecting and polarizing microscopes whilst geochemistry was determined by an electron probe. The thickness of the dark layers was found to be positively correlated with titanium concentrations, and negatively correlated with aluminium and potassium concentrations. The thickness of the light layers was found to be negatively correlated with the concentrations of titanium. It is concluded that the dark layers were deposited from the Fushui River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, under periods of normal flow whilst the light Layers were mainly deposited from the Yangtze River itself during flood periods. Documentary evidence for floods occurring in the take catchment corresponded with thick laminations of high titanium concentration. Further, two of the three thickest, light laminations with low titanium concentrations were found to be synchronous with recorded flood dates of the main Yangtze River in its Middle Reaches, but one was synchronous with a local drought. These data suggest that the Lake sediment provides an archive of the relative water levels of the Yangtze and Wanghu including floods of both the main Yangtze River and the local hydrological regime. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

黄土丘陵沟壑区纸坊沟小流域农业生态安全态势变化的驱动力分析

以黄土丘陵沟壑区纸坊沟小流域为研究对象,利用1985—2006年调查和监测资料,综合现有研究成果,将主成分分析和通径分析方法相结合,分析可能影响农业生态安全态势变化的各因子,探讨农业生态安全态势变化的驱动力。结果表明:自然条件是影响黄土丘陵沟壑区纸坊沟小流域农业生态安全态势变化的基础,人文社会经济条件是其变化的主要驱动力,具体可归纳为经济发展、人口压力、流域产业结构调整和农业科技进步4类因子;此外,国家和区域的相关政策、农业产业链与资源量相关度对农业生态安全也有一定影响。

黄土丘陵区县南沟流域生态恢复的生态经济耦合评价

探索一套简单、易于操作的小尺度生态经济耦合效应指标体系及其评价方法模型。【方法】基于生态经济协调理论,在继承传统指标的基础上,引用了2个创新性指标——能值可持续性指数(ESI)和生态压力指数(EFPI),应用模糊综合评价方法对县南沟流域生态恢复的生态经济耦合进行评价。【结果】县南沟"农-经济林果型"生态恢复模式的生态经济处于基本协调状态。【结论】"农-经济林果型"模式有效地改善了流域生态条件,促进了经济发展,产生了生态经济耦合效应。

黄土丘陵区县南沟流域生态恢复的生态经济耦合过程及可持续性分析

生态恢复不但是自然和技术过程,更重要的是经济过程,生态经济耦合是生态恢复成败及能否持续的关键。综合应用经济学、能值和生态足迹分析工具,系统研究了黄土丘陵区县南沟流域生态恢复过程中的生态经济系统演变过程及其特征,旨在探索生态可持续的经济社会发展机制。结果表明,2000～2005年流域产业结构及其多样性显著改善,生产力显著提高并跨越低水平进入高水平发展阶段,农民的生活状况已经由温饱逐步迈向小康水平。基于能值的生态经济耦合分析结果显示2002～2005年流域环境负载率(ELR)下降,持续性指数(ESI)增加。生态足迹结果显示流域2000年和2005年的生态盈余分别为0.03hm2和0.239hm2,新指标万元产值生态足迹(EFprod)分别为53.5hm2/万$和33.6hm2/万$,生态压力指数(EFPI)分别为0.980和0.838,流域处于弱可持续状态。上述结果显示生态恢复提高了流域资源利用和转换效率,环境负载率下降,人类经济活动对生态生产性有效空间的占用减少,可持续性提高。研究结果表明生态恢复是黄土丘陵区实现生态经济良性耦合、协调发展的基本途径。

黄土丘陵区延河流域潜在植被分布预测与制图

潜在植被的分布预测与制图对植被恢复规划具有重要的指导价值.利用广义相加模型(generalized additive model,GAM),结合GIS空间分析技术和环境梯度分层采样技术,为延河流域24个地带性物种建立了分布模型,并在考虑群落内部物种种间关系及其分布概率的基础上,对物种分布进行运算,模拟预测了延河流域37种植物群落的分布状况和延河流域的潜在植被分布.结果表明:研究区植被分布预测值与实际调查值间的差异不显著,预测的植被空间分布较好地反映了延河流域潜在的植被分布状况,表明该模型具有较好的预测能力,对于区域植被恢复的目标设定和恢复规划具有重要意义.

黄土丘陵区不同植被恢复模式对土壤酶活性的影响

为了解侵蚀环境下植被恢复对土壤酶活性的影响,以典型侵蚀环境黄土丘陵区纸坊沟流域生态恢复30a植被长期定位试验点为研究对象,选取坡耕地为参照,分析了植被恢复过程中土壤脲酶、磷酸酶、蔗糖酶、淀粉酶、纤维素酶、过氧化氢酶、多酚氧化酶及理化性质的演变特征。结果表明,黄土丘陵区的坡耕地由于不合理的人为干扰,土壤理化性质和酶活性较弱,通过植被恢复可以有效的改善土壤肥力,不同恢复模式对土壤酶活性和肥力的改善作用不同,恢复30a,脲酶活性增加33%～213%,磷酸酶活性增加275%～394%,蔗糖酶活性增加70%～210%,纤维素酶活性增加24%～48%,过氧化氢酶增加32%～96%,多酚氧化酶降低23%～29%,淀粉酶变化规律不同。不同植被恢复模式其生物特性不同,对土壤酶活性影响也不同。相关性分析说明磷酸酶、蔗糖酶、纤维素酶和多酚氧化酶与其它因子相关性相对较强,可以作为评价土壤质量的生物学指标。

黄土丘陵区封禁对侵蚀土壤微生物生物量的影响

采用时空互代法,以典型侵蚀环境纸坊沟流域不同封禁年限的狼牙刺群落和杂灌群落为研究对象,选取放牧地和天然次生林为参照,分析了生态恢复过程中土壤微生物生物量、呼吸强度、代谢商及理化性质的演变特征。结果表明,封禁后土壤理化性质明显改善;微生物生物量随封禁年限的延长变化显著,阳坡随封禁年限增加土壤微生物生物量逐渐增加,25 a后微生物生物量碳、氮、磷较封禁前分别增加252%、161%和174%,但显著低于天然侧柏林,仅为其39.0%、41.8%和53.7%;阴坡封禁前10年微生物生物量迅速增加,随后增加幅度减缓,呈波动式缓慢上升趋势;封禁25 a后微生物生物量碳、氮、磷分别增加108%、93%和102%,但明显低于天然杂灌丛群落和辽东栎林,仅为辽东栎林的54.4%、49.1%和40.1%。土壤呼吸强度在封禁5 a后增大明显,且随着年限增加逐渐上升,阳坡25 a时达到最大值,而阴坡15 a时达到最大值,随后开始有所下降,25 a后降至最低点,但仍显著高于放牧地,相同封禁年限的土壤呼吸强度阴坡明显高于阳坡。qCO2随着封禁进程逐渐降低,25 a后达到最低值。相关性分析显示微生物生物量碳、氮、磷、呼吸强度、qCO2与土壤养...