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Spring Period (spring + period)
Selected AbstractsThe responses of floodplain primary production to flood frequency and timingJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2001A.I. Robertson Summary 1,River regulation and abstraction have dramatically altered the natural flow regime of many rivers world-wide, but experimental investigations of the biological effects are infrequent. In the mid-region of the Murray River, Australia, river regulation has reduced the frequency and duration of spring floods and increased the frequency of summer floods. We used controlled floods (treatments: no floods, spring floods, summer floods and spring + summer floods) to determine how the growth of river red gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis trees, aquatic macrophytes and biofilms varied with the seasonal timing and frequency of flooding. 2,After 6 years of controlled flooding, above-ground net production of wood by river red gum trees was equal and greatest in plots receiving spring + summer floods and summer floods (mean 496 g m,2 year,1). Production was significantly lower in plots receiving spring floods or no controlled floods, which had similar rates of production (mean 330 g m,2 year,1). 3,During 2 years of measurement in wetlands created by flooding, production and species richness of aquatic macrophyte were both greater in spring than in summer floods. The history of flood frequency at any experimental site did not affect macrophyte production or species richness. The aquatic macrophyte community in shallow regions of wetlands differed significantly with the seasonal timing of floods, but not flood frequency. 4,The accumulation of chlorophyll a and total mass of biofilm on wood surfaces in wetlands created by flooding were greater in spring (mean chlorophyll a, 0·88 µg cm,2; mean mass, 0·066 mg cm,2) than in summer floods (mean chlorophyll a, 0·09 µg cm,2; mean mass, 0·034 mg cm,2). The history of flood frequency at any experimental site did not affect accumulation of either the autotrophic or heterotrophic components of biofilms. 5,Spring flooding, while not as beneficial for tree growth, is critical for the growth of wetland macrophytes, the maintenance of macrophyte species richness, and favours better development of autotrophic biofilms. Maintenance of both the timber harvest and wetland conservation values of these floodplains will require the return of more natural flood flows in the spring period. Restoration of floodplain rivers requires a thorough understanding of the relationships between ecological functions and the natural flow regime. [source] Recruitment and growth of two small-bodied resident fish species (Gobiidae and Atherinidae) in oligohaline, seasonally open lagoonsJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2010P. G. Close Spatio-temporal recruitment patterns, growth and survival of the Swan River goby Pseudogobius olorum and western hardyhead Leptatherina wallacei are described from two small, coastal lagoons on the south coast of Western Australia. In these lagoons, estuarine salinity dynamics were relatively stable over much of the autumn,spring period when freshwater inputs from rivers were reduced and there was no oceanic connection. Preflexion and flexion stages of both fish species contributed strongly to population size structure in downstream reaches, whereas upstream reaches were dominated by postflexion larvae and juvenile stages. Spawning of both species was protracted and largely asynchronous, although the episodic presence of stronger preflexion and flexion cohorts suggested some synchronized spawning had occurred. Comparison with estuarine conditions over this period provided evidence that synchronized spawning may be related to temperature and salinity variations from a combination of freshwater inputs and periods of marine exchange. Uninterrupted growth and the progression of cohorts through to juvenile stages were consistent with the generally stable estuarine conditions. Larval and juvenile stages of both species were also tolerant of abrupt changes in salinity and temperature, which occurred due to a non-seasonal oceanic connection. These findings were consistent with the euryhaline nature of adults of both species. [source] Seasonal to interannual variations of soil moisture measured in OklahomaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 15 2004Bradley G. Illston Abstract Agriculture is a $2 billion component of the state economy in Oklahoma. As a result, meteorological, climatological, and agricultural communities should benefit from an improved understanding of soil moisture conditions and how those conditions vary spatially and temporally. The Oklahoma Mesonet is an automated observing network that provides real-time hydrometeorological observations at 115 stations across Oklahoma. In 1996, sensors were installed at 60 Mesonet sites to provide near-real-time observations of soil moisture. This study focuses on 6 years of soil moisture data collected between 1997 and 2002 to analyse the annual cycle and temporal characteristics of soil moisture across Oklahoma. The statewide analysis of the annual cycle of soil moisture revealed four distinct soil moisture phases. In addition, the four statewide phases were also observed in each of the nine climate divisions across Oklahoma, although the temporal characteristics of each phase were unique for each division. Further analysis demonstrated that, at shallow soil depths (5 and 25 cm), the spatial variability of soil moisture across Oklahoma was most homogeneous during the winter and spring periods and most heterogeneous during the summer and autumn periods. Conversely, at greater depths (60 and 75 cm), soil moisture was most heterogeneous during the winter period and the most homogeneous during the late spring. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Preliminary reconstructions of spring precipitation in southwestern Turkey from tree-ring widthINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2003Ramzi Touchan Abstract Two reconstructions of spring (May,June) precipitation have been developed for southwestern Turkey. The first reconstruction (1776,1998) was developed from principal components of nine chronologies of Cedrus libani, Juniperus excelsa, Pinus brutia, and Pinus nigra. The second reconstruction (1339,1998) was derived from principal components of three J. excelsa chronologies. Calibration and verification statistics of both reconstructions indicate reasonably accurate reconstruction of spring precipitation for southwestern Turkey, and show clear evidence of multi-year to decadal variations in spring precipitation. The longest period of reconstructed spring drought, defined as consecutive years with less than 80% of normal May,June precipitation, was 4 years (1476,79). Only one drought event of this duration has occurred during the last six centuries. Monte Carlo analysis indicates a less than 33% probability that southwestern Turkey has experienced spring drought longer than 5 years in the past 660 years. Apart from the 1476,79 extended dry period, spring droughts of 3 years in length have only occurred from 1700 to the present. The longest reconstructed wet period, defined as consecutive years with more than 120% of normal May,June precipitation, was 4 years (1532,35). The absence of extended spring drought during the 16th and 17th centuries and the occurrence of extended wet spring periods during these centuries suggest a possible regime shift in climate. Preliminary analysis of links between large-scale climatic variation and these climate reconstructions shows that there is a relationship between extremes in spring precipitation and anomalous atmospheric circulation in the region. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] | ||||||||||