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Selected AbstractsShear wave velocity model of the Santiago de Chile basin derived from ambient noise measurements: a comparison of proxies for seismic site conditions and amplificationGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2010Marco Pilz SUMMARY We determined a high-resolution 3-D S -wave velocity model for a 26 km × 12 km area in the northern part of the basin of Santiago de Chile. To reach this goal, we used microtremor recordings at 125 sites for deriving the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratios that we inverted to retrieve local S -wave velocity profiles. In the inversion procedure, we used additional geological and geophysical constraints and values of the thickness of the sedimentary cover already determined by gravimetric measurements, which were found to vary substantially over short distances in the investigated area. The resulting model was derived by interpolation with a kriging technique between the single S -wave velocity profiles and shows locally good agreement with the few existing velocity profile data, but allows the entire area, as well as deeper parts of the basin, to be represented in greater detail. The wealth of available data allowed us to check if any correlation between the S -wave velocity in the uppermost 30 m (v30S) and the slope of topography, a new technique recently proposed by Wald and Allen, exists on a local scale. We observed that while one lithology might provide a greater scatter in the velocity values for the investigated area, almost no correlation between topographic gradient and calculated v30S exists, whereas a better link is found between v30S and the local geology. Finally, we compared the v30S distribution with the MSK intensities for the 1985 Valparaiso event, pointing out that high intensities are found where the expected v30S values are low and over a thick sedimentary cover. Although this evidence cannot be generalized for all possible earthquakes, it indicates the influence of site effects modifying the ground motion when earthquakes occur well outside of the Santiago basin. [source] EFFECTS OF PRESCRIPTIVE RIPARIAN BUFFERS ON LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA, USA,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 3 2002JoAnn M. Hanowski ABSTRACT: Forest buffers adjacent to water bodies are widely prescribed in forest management to protect ecological functions of riparian systems. To date, buffers have been applied on the landscape uniformly without quantifying their effectiveness or the effects they have on landscape characteristics. Our objective was to quantify landscape characteristics (amount of edge and interior forest) when buffers were applied to water bodies in a 100 by 100 km area of northern Minnesota. We used a Landsat classified image in a geographic information system platform to apply two buffer widths ,28.5 m and 57 m , to water bodies, including nonforested wetlands, intermittent or perennial streams, and lakes. A total of 107,141 ha (18.3 percent) of the forest area was adjacent to and within 28.5 m of these water bodies, while 201,457 ha of forest was within 57 m, representing 34.4 percent of the total forest area. Imposing a 28.5 m buffer on water bodies increased the amount of edge and interior forest in the study area. When water bodies were buffered with a 57 m forest strip, we found a slight increase in forest edge from the current condition, and this buffer width resulted in the largest amount of interior forest. Interior forest increased with the 57 m buffer due to the density of water bodies in this region; adjacent water bodies coalesced when buffers were applied and formed isolated forest islands that contained forest interior habitat. Instead of wholesale application of set width riparian buffers, we suggest that ecological conditions of riparian areas be evaluated on a site level and that areas that currently provide important riparian conditions be maintained on the landscape with appropriate management practices. [source] Spatial patterns in pond invertebrate communities: separating environmental and distance effectsAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 6 2005Robert A. Briers Abstract 1.The nature and extent of spatial pattern in communities has important implications for their dynamics and conservation. Previous studies of pond ecosystems, over relatively small spatial scales, have found little evidence of spatial autocorrelation of community composition. Patterns in community composition over greater spatial distances have not been documented. 2.Here, data on macroinvertebrate communities and physico-chemical characteristics of 102 ponds over a 60 × 60 km area of Oxfordshire, UK, were used to examine evidence for spatial autocorrelation in community composition and to separate the effects of environmental similarity and physical distance on community similarity. 3.Overall similarity between communities was low, but showed significant positive spatial autocorrelation. There was evidence for both environmental and physical distance effects on spatial autocorrelation of community similarity. Community similarity was negatively related to differences in environmental conditions, but effects were only significant for large environmental differences. 4.When environmental effects were accounted for, there was significant positive spatial autocorrelation of community composition over inter-site distances of up to 13 km. These results suggest that interactions between pond sites, potentially through dispersal, are evident over larger spatial scales than has previously been appreciated, and emphasize the need to consider spatial issues when developing strategies for pond conservation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of Climate Change and Shifts in Forest Composition on Forest Net Primary ProductionJOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 11 2008Jyh-Min Chiang Abstract Forests are dynamic in both structure and species composition, and these dynamics are strongly influenced by climate. However, the net effects of future tree species composition on net primary production (NPP) are not well understood. The objective of this work was to model the potential range shifts of tree species (DISTRIB Model) and predict their impacts on NPP (PnET-II Model) that will be associated with alterations in species composition. We selected four 200 × 200 km areas in Wisconsin, Maine, Arkansas, and the Ohio-West Virginia area, representing focal areas of potential species range shifts. PnET-II model simulations were carried out assuming that all forests achieved steady state, of which the species compositions were predicted by DISTRIB model with no migration limitation. The total NPP under the current climate ranged from 552 to 908 g C/m2 per year. The effects of potential species redistributions on NPP were moderate (,12% to +8%) compared with the influence of future climatic changes (,60% to +25%). The direction and magnitude of climate change effects on NPP were largely dependent on the degree of warming and water balance. Thus, the magnitude of future climate change can affect the feedback system between the atmosphere and biosphere. [source] | ||||||||||