Matter fluxes in mountain oases of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman

Since 1970 when Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said took over power from this father, agriculture in Oman has undergone major transformations as a consequence of rapid population and economic growth. In this process groundwater extraction has dramatically increased to meet domestic and agricultural needs. Recently, the agro-ecosystem of ancient mountain oases of Oman have received greater attention as interest has grown to understand the causes of their often millennia old sustainable productivity. Particularly little is known about the carbon (C) and nutrient turnover in these intensive landuse systems. This is partly due to the difficulties to measure such processes in the often remote fields. To fill the existing gap of knowledge, field studies were conducted in five oases at different altitudes of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, the highest agricultural area in Oman, to determine C and nutrient fluxes as well as nutrient use efficiencies for two different cropping systems as affected by temperature, irrigation, and manure quality. The results of this study indicated that water scarcity as a result of low precipitation and an increase in urban water consumption is a major threat to the sustainability of agriculture in these oases. Optimizing the use of irrigation water is a major challenge for agriculture in these oases, particularly given ever increasing competition for this most limiting resource. Traditionally, farmers of these oases adapt to variation of irrigation water supply by minimizing the growing area of annual crops, leaving these areas uncultivated through drought seasons (Luedeling and Buerkert 2008). In this study, a remarkable reduction in annual crop area was observed in 2009 for all oases. Our results suggested that water scarcity as a result of low precipitation and the increase in urban water consumption cause such changes in land use. The data also underline the intensive C and nutrient turnover in the man-made irrigated agroecosystems and confirmed the importance of the large manure quantities applied continuously to the terraces as a key factor responsible for sustainable soil productivity. To trace the fate of C and plant nutrients that are released from the large amount of manure applied by oasis farmers, more detailed studies under controlled conditions, using isotope signatures, would be needed.

Effects of changing water availability on land use in irrigated mountain oases of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, northern Oman

In Oman, during the last three decades, agricultural water use and groundwater extraction has dramatically increased to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and major changes in lifestyle. This has triggered agricultural land-use changes which have been poorly investigated. In view of this our study aimed at analysing patterns of shortterm land-use changes (2007-2009) in the five irrigated mountain oases of Ash Sharayjah, Al’Ayn, Al’Aqr, Qasha’ and Masayrat ar Ruwajah situated in the northern Oman Hajar mountains of Al Jabal Al Akhdar where competitive uses of irrigation water are particularly apparent. Comprehensive GIS-based field surveys were conducted over three years to record changes in terrace use in these five oases where farmers have traditionally adapted to rain-derived variations of irrigation water supply, e.g. by leaving agricultural terraces of annual crops uncultivated in drought years. Results show that the area occupied with field crops decreased in the dry years of 2008 and 2009 for all oases. In Ash Sharayjah, terrace areas grown with field crops declined from 4.7 ha (32.4 % of total terrace area) in 2007 to 3.1 ha (21.6 %) in 2008 and 3.0 ha (20.5 %) in 2009. Similarly, the area proportion of field crops shrunk in Al’Ayn, Qasha’ and Masayrat from 35.2, 36.3 and 49.6 % in 2007 to 19.8, 8.5 and 41.3 % in 2009, respectively. In Al’Aqr, the area of field crops slightly increased from 0.3 ha (17.0 %) in 2007 to 0.7 (39.1 %) in 2008, and decreased to 0.5 ha (28.8 %) in 2009. During the same period annual dry matter yields of the cash crop garlic in Ash Sharayjah increased from 16.3 t ha-1 in 2007 to 19.8 t ha-1 in 2008 and 18.3 t ha-1 in 2009, while the same crop yielded only 0.4, 1.6 and 1.1 t ha-1 in Masayrat. In 2009, the total estimated agricultural area of the new town of Sayh Qatanah above the five oases was around 13.5 ha. Our results suggest that scarcity of irrigation water as a result of low precipitation and increased irrigation and home water consumption in the new urban settlements above the five oases have led to major shifts in the land-use pattern and increasingly threaten the centuries-long tradition and drought-resilience of agriculture in the oases of the studied watershed.

Estimación del hábitat del jabalí (Sus scrofa Linnaeus 1758) en el Parque Natural de la Serra de Mariola mediante Sistemas de Información Geográfica

El trabajo ha sido desarrollado en el Parque Natural de la Serra de Mariola, situado al Norte de la provincia de Alicante (SE de España). La superficie total del área de estudio es de 17.500 has. Se trata de una zona diversa formada por un área interior montañosa, con pequeñas cuencas dedicadas a la agricultura de secano. En este estudio se han obtenido datos acerca de las abundancias y la evolución de las poblaciones de jabalí desde los años 1980 a la actualidad. Toda esta información se incorporó a una base de datos SIG junto con otras capas de usos del suelo, estando todas ellas organizadas a nivel de cotos de caza (n=20). La mayor parte del Parque ha obtenido valores de idoneidad que oscilan entre valores medios a muy altos (80%), mientras que solamente una superficie reducida presenta valores bajos (14%) o muy bajos (6%). Por otro lado, el nivel de daños es menor en los cotos situados al sur del PN (40%) y en el resto de cotos el jabalí ocasiona daños, en ocasiones bastante (40%) o muy importantes (20%), sobre la vegetación silvestre, cultivos y sobre algunas especies animales.

Análisis de encuestas como herramienta de gestión sostenible de especies cinegéticas en agrosistemas del este de la provincia de Alicante (Marina Baja): estudio del caso del jabalí Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758

El trabajo ha sido desarrollado en un agrosistema tradicional del NE de la provincia de Alicante (SE España). La superficie total del área de estudio es de aproximadamente 59.000 ha. La zona presenta grandes contrastes, con un área interior de morfología montañosa, con pequeñas cuencas dedicadas a la agricultura de secano, mientras que la zona litoral se caracteriza por un relieve menos abrupto, con núcleos de población y explotaciones agrícolas de regadío. El estudio se basa en la información extraída a partir de encuestas realizadas a los gestores cinegéticos, obteniendo datos acerca de las abundancias y la evolución de las poblaciones de jabalí entre los años 1980 y la actualidad. Se construye una base de datos SIG con un total de 15 cotos de caza. La base de datos incluye las siguientes variables: usos del suelo a nivel de coto, abundancias y evolución temporal de la especie. Los resultados muestran que dos de los cotos presentan densidades de jabalí elevadas (15-25 ind/ha), dos cotos presentan densidades medias (10-15 ind/ha), cinco cotos muestran densidades bajas (5-10 ind/ha) y otros seis cotos densidades muy bajas (0-5 ind/ha). Los valores máximos se encuentran en cotos de interior y de montaña donde todavía se mantienen en activo cultivos de secano y se intercalan con cultivos abandonados y áreas naturales. También se observan densidades elevadas en el único coto de todos los analizados que se encuentra en la costa, donde la disponibilidad de hábitat es menor y, por lo tanto, hay una mayor concentración de individuos. Finalmente, el jabalí ha aumentado sus poblaciones desde la década de los años 1980 en la totalidad de los cotos estudiados.

Estudio de los hábitos de desplazamiento del jabalí (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758) mediante técnicas gps/gsm en un área de montaña mediterránea

Financiado en parte por el proyecto de investigación de la Conselleria de Educación y Ciencia GVA-Pre-2008-036 y el Instituto Alicantino de Cultura Juan Gil-Albert.

Kitāb Nawādir al-zamān fi waqāʼiʻ Jabal Lubnān / taʼlīf Iskandar Afandī Abkāriyūs : manuscript, 1877?

Text is a history of Lebanon in the early 20 century.

Kitāb ʼAk︠h︡bār ʼal-ʼaʻyān fī Jabal Lubnān /

Includes bibliographical references.

Anàlisi i diagnosi ambiental de la dinàmica del porc senglar (Sus scrofa) al Parc del Garraf

El Parc del Garraf (PG) és una zona on la dinàmica del porc senglar amb el medi té una alta importància, tot i que la densitat de població al PG d’aquest ungulat és de les menors de Catalunya. Els aspectes més rellevants de la relació porc senglar-medi són: la correlació que hi ha entre l’abandonament d’àrees de conreu i activitats forestals amb l’augment de la població de porc senglar, i l’afectació que per tant, provoca a les àrees de conreu que hi ha actualment, que es pot veure minvada aplicant bones mesures correctores. També la relació que té amb el margalló (Chamaerops humilis), que és positiva ajudant a la recuperació, conservació i a la dinàmica ecològica de l’espècie, així com amb el medi del PG en general, i, per últim, els impactes viaris a la xarxa viària del PG, tot i que no existeix cap TCCU (Tram de Concentració de Col·lisions amb Ungulats) dins els límits del PG. Referent a la caça, actualment és la única mesura viable de control de la població de porc senglar, tot i que no hi ha relleu generacional per a aquesta activitat.

Fauna silvestre del Parc del Garraf. Afectacions al sector primari

El Parc del Garraf (PG) ha estat tradicionalment una important zona agrícola, encara que actualment és molt reduïda (representa el 3% del total de la superfície del parc) i està repartida entre unes poques masies. Aquesta activitat humana conviu amb la fauna silvestre de la zona, que en alimentar-se parcialment dels cultius (cereal, vinya, oliveres, arbres fruiters i hortalisses), hi causa diversos impactes. És el cas de diverses aus, com ara la garsa (Pica Pica) i el pardal (Passer domesticus), i també d’alguns mamífers com el porc senglar (Sus scrofa). Hem observat que l’impacte produït per les aus i el porc senglar (Sus scrofa) és molt petit, el que pot ser degut a dos motius principals: possiblement per una elevada producció de fruits salvatges, esdevenint aquest aliment suficient per a les aus; i la baixa densitat poblacional de porc senglar (Sus scrofa) al parc. Els impactes observats presenten una alta variabilitat i depenen de l’època de l’any en que ens trobem. Per tant, cal fer-ne un seguiment més acurat on s’impliquin administració i pagesos per a millorar el coneixement de l’impacte de la fauna salvatge.

Carbon and nitrogen emissions from stored manure and cropped fields in irrigated mountain oases of Oman

Little is known about gaseous carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) emissions from traditional terrace agriculture in irrigated high mountain agroecosystems of the subtropics. In an effort towards filling this knowledge gap measurements of carbon dioxide (CO_2), methane (CH_4), ammonia (NH_3) and dinitrous oxide (N_2O) were taken with a mobile photoacoustic infrared multi-gas monitor on manure-filled PE-fibre storage bags and on flood-irrigated untilled and tilled fields in three mountain oases of the northen Omani Al Jabal al Akhdar mountains. During typical 9-11 day irrigation cycles of March, August and September 2006 soil volumetric moisture contents of fields dominated by fodder wheat, barley, oats and pomegranate ranged from 46-23%. While manure incorporation after application effectively reduced gaseous N losses, prolonged storage of manure in heaps or in PE-fibre bags caused large losses of C and N. Given the large irrigation-related turnover of organic C, sustainable agricultural productivity of oasis agriculture in Oman seems to require the integration of livestock which allows for several applications of manure per year at individual rates of 20 t dry matter ha^−1.

Descoberta del massís de les Gavarres. 'Descubrimiento del macizo de las Gavarres'.

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Recharge Areas and Geochemical Evolution of Groundwater in an Alluvial Aquifer System in the Sultanate of Oman

A regional hydrogeochemical model was developed to evaluate the geochemical evolution of different groundwaters in an alluvial aquifer system in the Interior of Oman. In combination with environmental isotopes the model is able to extract qualitative and quantitative information about recharge, groundwater flow paths and hydraulic connections between different aquifers. The main source of water to the alluvial aquifer along the flow paths ofWadi Abyadh andWadi M’uaydin in the piedmont is groundwater from the high-altitude areas of the Jabal Akhdar and local infiltration along the wadi channels. In contrast, the piedmont alluvial aquifer alongWadi Halfayn is primarily replenished by lateral recharge from the ophiolite foothills to the east besides smaller contributions from the Jabal Akhdar and local infiltration. Further down gradient in the Southern Alluvial Plain aquifer a significant source of recharge is direct infiltration of rain and surface runoff, originating from a moisture source that approaches Oman from the south. The model shows that the main geochemical evolution of the alluvial groundwaters occurs along the flow path from the piedmont to the Southern Alluvial Plain, where dedolomitization is responsible for the observed changes in the chemical and carbon isotope composition in these waters.