Academic literature on the topic 'Wet-dry tropics'

Wet–dry tropical rivers are characterised by highly predictable, yet highly variable, seasonal flow regimes. The wet season is often regarded as an important period of ecosystem productivity, dispersal and connectivity, and also for freshwater-fish spawning and recruitment. However, few studies have examined fish spawning across hydrological seasons in these rivers. We conducted a pilot study to determine (1) the temporal occurrence (and hence spawning period), and (2) the suitability of standard sampling methods of young fish in the Daly River, Northern Territory, Australia. Fish spawned throughout the year, with spawning phenologies varying substantially among species. The highest diversity and abundance of young fish occurred during the wet season, although early life stages of a high number of species were also present in the dry-season and transition periods. A high number of species spawned all year round, whereas other species had very discrete spawning periods. Three of the four sampling methods tested were successful in catching early life stages and should be employed in future studies. The present study highlighted that all hydrological seasons in the wet–dry tropics are important for fish spawning, and has important implications for future research on the drivers of spawning patterns, and for predicting the effects of flow modifications on freshwater fishes of the wet–dry tropics.

Reforestation has been assumed as a natural solution to recover soil water content, thereby increasing freshwater supply. Mono-plantation of fast-growing species is the first step for performing reforestation to prevent frequent and heavy rain-induced landslide in tropics. However, fast-growing species may have negative hydraulic response to seasonal drought to maintain high growth rate and, thus, may make it difficult for reforestation in tropics to recover soil water content. We tested this hypothesis in a setting involving (a) a reforestation project, which mono-planted eight fast-growing tree species to successfully restore a 0.2-km2 extremely degraded tropical rainforest, and (b) its adjacent undisturbed tropical rainforest in Sanya City, Hainan, China. We found that, for maintaining invariably high growth rates across wet to dry seasons, the eight mono-planted fast-growing tree species had comparable transpiration rates and very high soil water uptake, which in turn led to a large (3 times) reduction in soil water content from the wet to dry seasons in this reforested area. Moreover, soil water content for the adjacent undisturbed tropical rainforest was much higher (1.5 to 5 times) than that for the reforested area in both wet and dry seasons. Thus, the invariably very high water demand from the wet to dry seasons for the mono-planted fast-growing species possesses difficulty in the recovery of soil water content. We suggest, in the next step, to mix many native-species along with the currently planted fast-growing nonnative species in this reforestation project to recover soil water content.

We investigated timing of reproduction in a wild population of northern brown bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus) in the Australian Wet Tropics. Almost all births occurred during the late dry season and early wet season, and most adult females (78–96%) were carrying pouch young during those times. Litter sizes ranged from 1 to 6 pouch young (mean = 3.1) and was not influenced by season. Adult males had significantly larger testes in the late dry and early wet seasons, corresponding with the peak in births. Daylength was the only environmental factor that predicted the presence of a litter; when daylength exceeded 12 h, more than 70% of captured females were carrying pouch young, and most (94%) births were estimated to have occurred on days with >12 h of daylight. Various environmental factors have been proposed as a cue for breeding in I. macrourus, with daylength though to be the primary cue initiating breeding in temperate Australia, but temperature and rainfall thought to be more important in the tropics. Our data suggest that in the Australian Wet Tropics, increasing daylength in the late dry season acts as the primary cue for breeding.

Chital deer (Axis axis) are an ungulate species introduced to northern Queensland, Australia, in an environment where land is managed for large scale cattle production. Rainfall and pasture growth are markedly seasonal and cattle experience a nutritional shortfall each year before monsoon rain. The presence of chital is perceived by land managers to reduce dry-season grass availability and this study sought to estimate the potential effect of free-living chital on regional cattle production. Diet overlap was greatest during the wet season when both ungulates principally consumed grass, and least during the dry season when chital diet comprised only ~50% grass. Using local estimates for energy values of wet and dry season grass, and the maintenance energy requirements of chital and cattle, we estimated the relative dry-matter seasonal grass intakes of both ungulates. The grass consumed annually by 100 chital could support an additional 25 cattle during the wet season and an additional 14 cattle during the dry season.

Because seasonality in tropical environments is driven by variation in rainfall, phytophagous tropical organisms are expected to exhibit mechanisms of escape in space and time that allow them to synchronize their breeding efforts with suitably wet periods of the year. This hypothesis was addressed by studying the breeding phenology of the nymphalid butterfly Hypolimnas bolina (L.) in the Australian wet-dry tropics. This species favours small, herbaceous larval foodplants that either die off annually or exhibit marked declines in leaf quality during the dry season. As expected, reproductive activity in H. bolina was broadly correlated with both rainfall and humidity, with individuals spending part of the dry season (early April to late August) sheltering in overwintering sites in a state of reproductive diapause. The timing of the overwintering period was similar between the 2 years, which suggests that individuals respond to seasonally predictable cues such as photoperiod. At least in 1998, the exit of butterflies from overwintering sites was relatively sudden and coincided with the first spring rainfall event. These findings suggest that H. bolina copes with seasonal adversity in the tropics by means of a regularly timed diapause.

AbstractPrior research has shown that dry conditions tend to persist in the Sahel when El Niño develops. Yet, during the historic 2015 El Niño, Sahel summer precipitation was anomalously high, particularly in the second half of the season. This seeming inconsistency motivates a reexamination of the variability of precipitation during recent El Niño years. We identify and composite around two different outcomes for Sahel summer season: an anomalously wet season or an anomalously dry season as El Niño develops to its peak conditions over the observational record spanning 1950–2015. We find consistently cool temperatures across the global tropics outside the Niño-3.4 region when the Sahel is anomalously wet during El Niño years and a lack of cooling throughout the tropics when the Sahel is anomalously dry. The striking differences in oceanic surface temperatures between wet years and dry years are consistent with a rearrangement of the entire global circulation in favor of increased rainfall in West Africa despite the presence of El Niño.

Previous experiments in the Australian tropics have observed a 'slowdown' in biomass accumulation in mature sugarcane crops. By installing scaffolding to prevent lodging, we eliminated the growth 'slowdown' in 3 experiments to confirm that lodging and stalk death are part of the explanation. In both the wet and dry (irrigated) tropics, lodging of sugarcane significantly decreased both fresh cane yield and commercial cane sugar content (CCS). Prevention of lodging increased cane yield by 11–15%, CCS by 3–12%, and sugar yield by 15–35% at the final harvest in August–September. The rate of increase in CCS in lodged cane was reduced following lodging, although CCS had partially recovered by harvest.A possible component of the lodging effect is a slowdown in the growth due to the ageing of the crop. However, a younger crop (late crop treatment) grew no faster than the scaffolded treatment and so discounted this. In the dry tropics, where cane is irrigated and grows under high radiation, sugar yield was 40 t/ha with scaffolding installed. The increased yield (compared with 35 t/ha in lodged cane) was due to both the survival of an extra 0.8 stalks/m2 and increased accumulation of sugar in live stalks. In 2 years in the wet tropics where sugar yield with scaffolding was 16 t/ha, the same factors, with the addition of increased biomass accumulation in live stalks, were responsible for the increase.

As part of the several efforts to understand the biology of the African Giant rats (AGR) (Cricetomys gambianus), seasonal changes in the gonadotropin and testosterone levels of the adult male African giant rats of about 1 – 1½ years of age in captivity were investigated during wet and dry seasons in the tropics. Male giant rats (n = 10) were kept for 12 months and blood samples were collected monthly (on 15th of each month), during the dry (November – February) and wet (March – June) seasons for Luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone assays. The hormones’ levels were evaluated to suggest the best breeding season for giant rat in South-West Nigeria. The result showed that there were significant variation (p<0.001) in LH and FSH levels in the giant rat in the wet season when compared with the dry season. However, testosterone level was significantly lower (p<0.001) in the wet season than in the dry season. The study showed that sexual activities in the male AGR might be higher in the dry season with peak activities in December in the tropics while the gonadotropins prepare the animals for sexual activities in the dry season. Further studies on the seasonal activities of gonadotropins in the female will give more insight into the sexual receptivity and performance in these animals.

This thesis is concerned with studying aspects of the ecology of feral pigs in the wet-dry tropics of the Northern Territory. The data are needed for use in the management of feral pigs to reduce their agricultural and potential epidemiological impact. Particular emphasis is placed on collecting data needed for modelling foot-and-mouth disease in feral pigs, estimating agricultural damage caused by pigs and evaluating control techniques. All fieldwork was conducted in the Douglas Daly district of the Northern Territory.

This thesis provides significant insight into our understanding of river function in highly seasonal systems. In north Australia’s vast wet/dry tropics, large rivers and associated wetlands are regarded among the continent’s most biologically diverse and ecologically healthy. Until recently however, research on the hydrology, biodiversity and function of Australian rivers has focussed on the south. My thesis investigates floodplain river function in Australia’s wet/dry tropics, more specifically in the Gulf of Carpentaria drainage division, and is the first to present a dynamic conceptual model of river function for these systems. Three major themes reside within riverine ecology: flow, pattern and process. These themes feature within existing conceptual models of large river function, for example, the River Continuum Concept, the Flood Pulse Concept and the Riverine Productivity Model. These themes and models were used as a template to explore river function in the study region: flow, as broad-scale hydrology and more localised hydrological connectivity; patterns, as spatiotemporal variation in aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity; and processes, as organic carbon flow through aquatic macroinvertebrate food webs. The flow regime is major driver of river function, and as such, a multivariate analysis of daily flow data from large, Gulf of Carpentaria rivers was conducted. Two major classes of river were found, each with a distinct flow regime type: ‘tropical’ rivers were characterised by flow regularity and permanent hydrological connection, ‘dryland’ rivers by high levels of flow variability and ephemerality, similar to rivers in Australia’s central and semi-arid zones. However, both river types experienced seasonal change, associated with higher flow magnitudes in the wet and lower flow magnitudes in the dry, with ‘dryland’ rivers typified by greater numbers of zero flow days. These features—flow regularity and permanence for ‘tropical’ rivers, flow variability and absence for ‘dryland’ rivers, and wet/dry seasonality for both river types—were proposed as the broad-scale hydrological drivers of river function in the Gulf region and are expected to be found as important drivers throughout the wet/dry tropics.

Much of what we know about temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) in reptiles stems from constant temperature incubation studies in the laboratory. In recent years, as TSD studies moved into the field it became evident that TSD was much more complex than previously thought. The present study attempted to reveal the complexity of TSD, as it relates to other features of the species' biology and physical characteristics tractable only in the field, such as fluctuations in incubation temperature and reproductive life history. To this end I studied the ecology of the turtle Carettochelys insculpta, a TSD species inhabiting the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia from 1996 to 1998. I tested hypotheses associated with movements, activity, behaviour, reproduction, nest site choice, nest temperatures, embryonic survival, embryonic aestivation, hatch-ling sex ratios, and emergence in the species. Each of these was also considered in the context of the influence of the wet-dry tropics. Compared to other turtles inhabiting lotic habitats, C. insculpta occupied considerably larger home ranges, covering up to 10 km of river. Of previously published factors influencing home range size, low productivity of the (micro) habitat may best explain the extensive home ranges in C. insculpta. Patchiness and low nutrient value of the chief food (aquatic vegetation) of C. insculpta may force turtles to cover large expanses of river to acquire sufficient energy for growth and reproduction. Females were more active, moved farther, and occupied larger home ranges than males. Home ranges of females comprised 1-4 activity centres, many of which were associated with thermal springs. I suggest that females may exhibit increased activity and movements relative to males because of sexual inequality in parental investment, where food is particularly limiting (e.g., in species with biennial reproduction). Biennial reproduction in the population allowed the examination of the influence of reproductive condition on home range size, movements, and activity. Reproductive condition did not influence home range or activity, but gravid turtles moved father between successive sightings than non-gravid females. Individual data corroborate these findings, with females moving farther between successive sightings while gravid compared to while spent. Contrary to previous reports, turtles did not appear to move into estuarine areas or lowland flood plains during the wet season, but moved into the riparian forest and possibly into wetlands adjacent to the main channel in the vicinity of their dry season home ranges. During the study I documented the turtles' use of small, localized thermal springs discharging from the river bottom. Dataloggers attached to the carapace to monitor ambient water temperatures recorded the frequency and duration of thermal spring use by individuals. Turtles used the thermal springs frequently during the winter (4-6 months) when river temperatures were lower than that of the thermal springs (8 = 29 � 0.52� C). Turtles often utilized thermal springs for several consecutive hours, leaving the springs only to surface for air. Thermal springs may be derived from ground water (which maintains a temperature equivalent to the annual mean air temperature), rather than from a specific geothermal heat source. Nine of 19 radio-telemetered adult females were seen to use thermal springs, of which seven were gravid and two non-gravid. Thus, gravid turtles may seek thermal springs more than non-gravid turtles. Frequency, duration, and timing of usage collectively suggest active thermoregulation as the primary function of thermal spring use. Utilization of thermal springs probably permits turtles to be more active in cooler months, which may enhance growth rates and accumulation of energy for reproduction. Onset of nesting along river stretches with thermal springs preceded nesting in a stretch not known to have thermal springs by 24 days. Thus, I speculate that by warming themselves on thermal springs in the months prior to nesting, turtles may have accelerated follicular development and nested earlier. Female C. insculpta matured at ca. 6 kg body mass (38.0 cm carapace length, 30.5 cm plastron length). Turtles produced egg sizes and clutch sizes similar to that of other turtle species of similar size. Turtles reproduced every second year, but produced two clutches in each breeding year, ca. 40 days apart. Thus, it appeared that females were energy limited, possibly due to the low available energy content of the dry season diet (aquatic vegetation). Life history theory predicts that if some costly behaviour is associated with reproduction, skipping years could reduce that cost and allow savings to be directed into future reproduction. The present study revealed no obvious accessory behaviour in the population. Within years, clutch mass did not differ between early (first) and late (second) clutches. However, earlier clutches tended to have more and smaller eggs per clutch but than later clutches, a new finding for turtles that has been demonstrated in lizards and other animals. Because the study spanned both years with 'big' and 'small' wet seasons, I was able to examine how the magnitude of the wet season influenced reproductive characteristics. Following big wet seasons turtles produced larger, heavier, and more eggs per clutch than they did after small wet seasons. Relationships among body size, egg size, and clutch size were evident after two big wet seasons but not apparent after two small wet seasons. Collectively, annual variation in reproductive characteristics and current life history theory suggest that a big wet season is a plentiful time for the turtles. I investigated beach selection of nesting pig-nosed turtles (Carettochelys insculpta) along a 63 km stretch of river in 1997 and 1998. I used three classes of beaches to examine beach choice: beaches with nests, beaches with only crawls, andbeaches without nests or crawls. Across these beach types I compared aspect, solar exposure, temperature, substrate moisture, height, water depth at approach, and the height of cohesive sand. I located 82 nesting beaches with 221 nests, and identified 171 potential nesting beaches based on previously published criteria. Beaches with nests had a greater substrate moisture content and corresponding higher cohesive sand line (hereafter CSL) than beaches without nests. Beaches with nests also had a higher CSL than beaches with only crawls. Apparently, turtles could not excavate a nest chamber above the CSL due to loose substrate consistency causing sand to fall in on itself. Turtles could only nest at low elevations below the CSL on beaches with lower substrate moisture. Turtles apparently avoided nesting on these beaches due to the higher probability of nest flooding, as corroborated by a concurrent study. Beach temperatures increased with a seasonal increase in air temperatures, and were influenced by aspect and total angle of solar exposure. Temperatures did not differ among beaches with nests, beaches with only crawls, and beaches without crawls or nests. Therefore, there was no indication that turtles were manipulating offspring sex through choice of nesting beach. However, turtles may be manipulating sex by nesting in areas with particular thermal characteristics within beaches. Two related aspects of hatchling emergence were studied. Using emergence phenology data, nest temperatures, historical weather data, and a developmental model, I tested the hypothesis that delayed hatching occurred in C. insculpta, and that such a delay would allow hatchlings to time their emergence to match the onset of the wet season. Hatchling C. insculpta emerged, on average, 17 days later than dates predicted from a developmental model. Combined with observations of hatchlings remaining in eggs until emergence, these results confirmed delayed hatching in nature. This delay was synchronized with initial river rises associated with the onsetof wet season rains, and is consistent with published criteria for embryonic aestivation. On a diel scale, I generated predictions of two potentially competing models for nocturnal emergence in hatchling turtles, based on the knowledge that air temperatures decrease with season during the emergence period. A test of those predictions for C. insculpta produced ambiguous results. However, further analysis indicated that C. insculpta, and probably other nocturnally emerging turtle species, respond to a decline in diel temperature rather than an absolute temperature. The former would ensure nocturnal emergence, while the latter is experienced during the day as well as at night. Nocturnal emergence may be associated with nesting in open microhabitats. The 'decision' of when and where to nest can influence both offspring survival and hatchling sex ratios in animals with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). Knowledge of how these maternal attributes influence the incubation environment is an important first step in hypothesizing why TSD evolved in a particular species. 1 studied the influence of nest site choice and timing of nesting on embryonic survival and hatchling sex ratios. Predation and flooding were the major sources of embryonic mortality. Embryonic survival was influenced by both lay date and nest site choice: In one year when nesting began later, nests laid later and at lower elevations were destroyed by early wet season river rises. In other years early nesting precluded flood mortality. However, turtles did not nest at the highest available elevations. I hypothesized that turtles were unable to nest at higher elevations because the sand was dry and not cohesive. A field experiment demonstrated that turtles were constrained to nest at lower elevations where they could construct a nest chamber. A mathematical model predicting hatchling sex from fluctuating temperatures was applied to temperature data from 102 natural nests. Resultsconfirmed a type la pattern of TSD, whereby males are produced from cooler temperatures and females from warmer temperatures. The principal determinant of hatchling sex was lay date. Clutches laid earlier in the season produced mainly males, while later clutches yielded mostly females, due to seasonal ramping of air and sand temperatures. However, nest site choice also exerted an influence on hatchling sex. Female-producing clutches were deposited at higher elevations than male-producing clutches. The onset of nesting was not influenced by water temperatures, but may have been related to the magnitude of the previous wet season(s). Turtles nested earlier after two 'big' wet seasons and later following two 'small' wet seasons. This pattern indicates that the wet season is a plentiful time for the turtles. Adaptive 'differential fitness' models for the evolution of TSD have recently been reviewed and clarified. The differential fitness model that best fits C. insculpta is the 'timematching' model, whereby one sex benefits more than the other from early hatching. Male C. insculpta hatched 2-3 weeks earlier then females, on average. Benefit to early hatching males and, therefore, the ultimate selective mechanism (e.g., growth, time to mature) is unknown. Obtaining such data will likely prove difficult in such a long-lived species. A recent adaptive explanation for the evolution and maintenance of temperaturedependent sex determination (TSD) in reptiles rests upon the assumption that mothers can predict or manipulate offspring sex. I postulated that four physiological and behavioural criteria must be met in order for this assumption to be valid: (1) a strong correlation must exist between substrate temperatures during nest site choice and nest temperatures during the period of development when sex is determined in the egg (thermosensitive period = TSP). (2) Assuming that (1) is possible, mothers would need to be capable of correcting for temporal factors obscuring the predictable thermalcharacteristics of nest sites. This could be accomplished in two ways. By contracting nesting times mothers could assess the relative temperatures of alternate nest sites with some accuracy. A protracted distribution of nesting times could greatly reduce a mother's ability to distinguish between, for example, a cooler nest site at a warmer time and a warmer nest site at a cooler time. Alternatively, mothers would need to be able to incorporate temporal changes in nest site temperatures. (3) Sufficient variation in thermal profiles among nest sites, relative to the breadth of temperatures producing both sexes (pivotal temperatures), would be necessary. For example, if most nests produced both sexes, then depth of the eggs would be the deciding factor determining sex, leaving little opportunity for nest site choice to produce one sex or the other. (4) Mothers would need access to nest sites spanning a range of thermal profiles in order to produce either offspring sex. To this end, home range size relative to the number and location of nesting beaches should be important. I tested these four predictions in Carettochelys insculpta, a beach nesting turtle with TSD, using three years of field data on nest site choice, nesting times, thermal characteristics of nests, hatchling sex ratios, and movements of nesting turtles. A strong positive correlation existed between assessable substrate temperatures at nest site choice and mean daily TSP temperatures in all three years. However, the proportion of explained variation was highly variable among years, and low in 1998. Accordingly, the proportion of nests in which substrate temperatures at nest site choice predicted offspring sex correctly was low in 1998 (48- 62 %, depending on treatment of the data). Nesting times were normally distributed, and combined with diel changes in nest site temperatures greatly reduce a turtle's ability to distinguish between sites that would produce different sexes. Considerable among-clutch variation in thermal profiles to produce variable sex ratios existed, agreeing with other studies on turtles. Radiotelemetry indicated that home rangesencompassed several nesting beaches with differing thermal profiles, indicating scope for producing the desired sex. However, the seasonal increase in air temperatures resulted in an overriding effect of mostly males being produced in early (first) clutches and mainly females being produced in late (second) clutches. Collectively, the results suggest that C. insculpta mothers would find it difficult to predict, and therefore, manipulate hatchling sex, supporting the conventional notion that TSD mothers have little or no control over offspring sex.

This thesis provides the measurements of 222Rn exhalation rates, 210Pb deposition rates and excess 210Pb inventories for locations in and around Ranger Uranium Mine and Jabiru located within Kakadu National Park, Australia. Radon-222 is part of the natural 238U series decay chain and the only gas to be found in the series under normal conditions. Part of the natural redistribution of 222Rn in the environment is a portion exhales from the ground and disperses into the atmosphere. Here it decays via a series of short-lived progeny, that attach themselves to aerosol particles, to the long lived isotope 210Pb (T1/2 = 22.3 y). Attached and unattached 210Pb is removed from the atmosphere through wet and dry deposition and deposited on the surface of the earth, the fraction deposited on soils is gradually transported through the soil and can create a depth profile of 210Pb. Here it decays to the stable isotope 206Pb completing the 238U series. Measurements of 222Rn exhalation rates and 210Pb deposition rates were performed over complete seasonal cycles, August 2002 - July 2003 and May 2003 - May 2004 respectively. The area is categorised as wet and dry tropics and it experiences two distinct seasonal patterns, a dry season (May-October) with little or no precipitation events and a wet season (December-March) with almost daily precipitation and monsoonal troughs. November and April are regarded as transitional months. As the natural processes of 222Rn exhalation and 210Pb deposition are heavily influenced by soil moisture and precipitation respectively, seasonal variations in the exhalation and deposition rates were expected. It was observed that 222Rn exhalation rates decreased throughout the wet season when the increase in soil moisture retarded exhalation. Lead-210 deposition peaked throughout the wet season as precipitation is the major scavenging process of this isotope from the atmosphere. Radon-222 is influenced by other parameters such as 226Ra activity concentration and distribution, soil porosity and grain size. With the removal of the influence of soil moisture during the dry season it was possible to examine the effect of these other variables in a more comprehensive manner. This resulted in categorisation of geomorphic landscapes from which the 222Rn exhalation rate to 226Ra activity concentration ratios were similar during the dry season. These results can be extended to estimate dry season 222Rn exhalation rates from tropical locations from a measurement of 226Ra activity concentration. Through modelling the 210Pb budget on local and regional scales it was observed that there is a net loss of 210Pb from the region, the majority of which occurs during the dry season. This has been attributed to the fact that 210Pb attached to aerosols is transported great distance with the prevailing trade winds created by a Hadley Circulation cell predominant during the dry season (winter) months. By including the influence of factors such as water inundation and natural 210Pb redistribution in the soil wet season budgeting of 210Pb on local and regional scales gave very good results.

This thesis provides the measurements of 222Rn exhalation rates, 210Pb deposition rates and excess 210Pb inventories for locations in and around Ranger Uranium Mine and Jabiru located within Kakadu National Park, Australia. Radon-222 is part of the natural 238U series decay chain and the only gas to be found in the series under normal conditions. Part of the natural redistribution of 222Rn in the environment is a portion exhales from the ground and disperses into the atmosphere. Here it decays via a series of short-lived progeny, that attach themselves to aerosol particles, to the long lived isotope 210Pb (T1/2 = 22.3 y). Attached and unattached 210Pb is removed from the atmosphere through wet and dry deposition and deposited on the surface of the earth, the fraction deposited on soils is gradually transported through the soil and can create a depth profile of 210Pb. Here it decays to the stable isotope 206Pb completing the 238U series. Measurements of 222Rn exhalation rates and 210Pb deposition rates were performed over complete seasonal cycles, August 2002 - July 2003 and May 2003 - May 2004 respectively. The area is categorised as wet and dry tropics and it experiences two distinct seasonal patterns, a dry season (May-October) with little or no precipitation events and a wet season (December-March) with almost daily precipitation and monsoonal troughs. November and April are regarded as transitional months. As the natural processes of 222Rn exhalation and 210Pb deposition are heavily influenced by soil moisture and precipitation respectively, seasonal variations in the exhalation and deposition rates were expected. It was observed that 222Rn exhalation rates decreased throughout the wet season when the increase in soil moisture retarded exhalation. Lead-210 deposition peaked throughout the wet season as precipitation is the major scavenging process of this isotope from the atmosphere. Radon-222 is influenced by other parameters such as 226Ra activity concentration and distribution, soil porosity and grain size. With the removal of the influence of soil moisture during the dry season it was possible to examine the effect of these other variables in a more comprehensive manner. This resulted in categorisation of geomorphic landscapes from which the 222Rn exhalation rate to 226Ra activity concentration ratios were similar during the dry season. These results can be extended to estimate dry season 222Rn exhalation rates from tropical locations from a measurement of 226Ra activity concentration. Through modelling the 210Pb budget on local and regional scales it was observed that there is a net loss of 210Pb from the region, the majority of which occurs during the dry season. This has been attributed to the fact that 210Pb attached to aerosols is transported great distance with the prevailing trade winds created by a Hadley Circulation cell predominant during the dry season (winter) months. By including the influence of factors such as water inundation and natural 210Pb redistribution in the soil wet season budgeting of 210Pb on local and regional scales gave very good results.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop has an important role to attend the food demand of a growing world population, and the production increment will come not just from increasing efficiency in the current cropland, but also from expansion to new areas. The tropical lowland plains of northern Brazil are already being converted to rice production, although the lack of scientific knowledge and agricultural practices suited local conditions. This region presents soils with weathered clays with distinct properties from those grown in traditional rice regions, and deploying agricultural practices developed to others agroecosystem lead to instable crop yield inadequate uses of agricultural inputs. Water is the greatest resource that rice crop relies on, and worldwide continuous flooding is broadly used. Alternative irrigations regimes with purpose to save water have been proposed due the threatens of water scarcity, and promising results stimulate this approach, despite grain yield penalties due drought stress and/or decrease of soil N availability. The soil moisture and oxygen amount interfere on nitrogen dynamics, thus can enhance loss process and change crop response to N fertilizer. In tropical lowland region of Brazil water and nitrogen are limited and continuous flooding irrigation is not sustainable due huge water amount used associated to low grain yields. Therefore, this research was performed aiming an integrated assessment of irrigation regimes, nitrogen use and crop performance in rice crop in Brazilian tropical lowland. The field experiment was done during three years in a Plinthaquults soil at Tocantins. The first stage was aimed to identify the irrigation regime which provides the best water use efficiency (WUE), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and crop performance with indigenous N soil supply and nitrogen fertilizer. The second stage compared the best observed irrigation regime to continuous flooding, and the nitrogen relationship to crop components along their development and harvest. The first experiment was a split-plot design with 5 irrigation regime (IR) in main plot: alternate wet and dry in short cycle (AWDS); alternate wet and dry in long cycle (AWDL); Continuous flooding (CF); Non-flooding aerobic (NF); saturated soil without ponding water (SS). And subplot was N fertilizer rate: 0 and 150 kg ha-1 of N. Crop performance was affected by IR and N level. In the average of three years nitrogen uptake (NU) was 32% higher in NF than any other irrigation regime. Grain yield across N level was 7.2, 8.8 and 7.5 Mg ha-1 in NF and in CF were 5.6, 8.2 and 6.9 Mg ha-1, respectively in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The isotopic NUE showed total recovery of 81.5 % of 15N in NF and 62, 61, 56, 56% in SS, AWDS, AWDL, CF respectively. The average WUE of delivered water was 0.7 kg grain m-3 in NF, and 0.47, 0.40, 0.35, 0.32 kg grain m-3 water in SS, AWDS, AWDL and CF, respectively. The second experiment was a split-plot design with: continuous flooding (CF) and non- flooding aerobic (NF) in the main plot and fertilizer nitrogen (0, 50, 150 and 250 kg ha-1) in the subplot during the 2014, 2015 and 2016. Biomass (AGB) nitrogen uptake (NU) and leaf area index (LAI) were observed along crop development in the 0 and 150 subplots in 2015 and 2016 growing seasons. As was the relationship between AGB, NU, panicle density (PD), spikelet number (NS) and grain yield (GY) at physiological maturity. The aerobic rice provided higher NU throughout rice development and LAI equal or superior to CF. At harvesting, NU and PD had different relationships to N rates among CF and NF, with NF showing 18% higher NU as 27% PD higher than CF across years and N rate. The grain GY relationship to N rates was also distinct in 2014 and 2015, and GY across N rates in NF was 20% and 12% higher than CF for 2014 and 2015, respectively. This research concludes for such agroecosystem, as long there is no drought stress, rice crop in non-flooding aerobic irrigation regime performs higher efficiency of water and N use, and moreover presents better overall crop performance with less need to nitrogen fertilizer than traditional continuous flooding or any other water saving irrigation regime.
A cultura do arroz (Oryza sativa L.) tem importante papel em fornecer alimento à crescente população mundial, e o incremento da produção virá não só do ganho de eficiência de áreas em uso, mas também da incorporação de novas áreas. As planícies tropicais do norte do Brasil já estão sendo convertidas para cultivo de arroz, apesar da falta de conhecimento científico e práticas agrícolas apropriadas às condições locais. Essa região apresenta solos com minerais de argila intemperizados e propriedades distintas daqueles de regiões tradicionais de cultivo, e a transferência das práticas agrícolas desenvolvidas para outros agroecossistemas têm resultado em produtividades variáveis e uso inadequado de insumos. A água é principal recurso no cultivo do arroz, e a irrigação com inundação constante é largamente disseminada pelo mundo. Regimes alternativos de irrigação a fim de economizar agua tem sido propostos em razão da ameaça de escassez de água, e resultados promissores estimulam a disseminação dessa técnica, apesar de prejuízos à produtividade em razão do estresse por seca e/ou menor disponibilidade de nitrogênio (N) do solo. A umidade do solo e a quantidade de oxigênio interferem na dinâmica de N e podem favorecer processos de perdas e alterar a resposta do cultivo à adubação nitrogenada. Nas planícies tropicais do Brasil a disponibilidade de água e N são limitadas, e a inundação contínua não é sustentável em razão da quantidade de agua requerida associada a baixa produtividade da cultura. Portanto, esta pesquisa foi realizada com o objetivo de estudar de forma integrada o regime de irrigação e o uso de N, e performance da cultura em várzea tropical. O experimento foi realizado durante três anos em Plintossolo no estado do Tocantins. Na primeira etapa da pesquisa procurou-se identificar o regime de irrigação que proporciona maior eficiência de uso da água (WUE), eficiência de uso de nitrogênio (NUE) e performance de cultivo com N nativo do solo e quando aplicado N fertilizante. Na segunda fase comparou-se o regime de irrigação que proporcionou melhores índices de eficiência de água e N ao regime de lâmina contínua com a hipótese que a relação entre aplicação de fertilizante N e componentes de produção seriam diferentes entre os regimes. Na primeira fase adotou-se delineamento de parcela subdividida com 5 regimes de irrigação (IR): lâmina alternada de inundação e drenagem em ciclo curto (AWDS); lâmina alternada de inundação e drenagem em ciclo longo (AWDL); lâmina contínua (CF); sem formação de lâmina e solo aeróbico (NF); e sem formação de lâmina e solo saturado (SS). Nas subparcelas avaliou-se as doses de N fertilizante: 0 e 150 kg ha-1. A performance de cultivo foi afetada pelo IR e dose de N. Na média dos 3 anos, o acúmulo de nitrogênio na parte aérea (NU) foi 32% maior em NF do que em todos os outros regimes de irrigação. A produtividade de grãos média entre as duas doses de N foi 7,2, 8,8 e 7,5 Mg ha-1 em NF e 5,6, 8,2, 6,9 Mg ha-1 in CF, respectivamente em 2014, 2015 e 2016. A NUE foi de 81,5% de recuperação de 15N em NF e 62, 61, 56 e 26% em SS, AWDS, AWDL e CF, respectivamente. A média de WUE em relação a água aplicada foi 0,7 kg grão m-3 em NF e 0,47, 0,40, 0,35, 0,32 kg grão m-3 água em SS, AWDS, AWDL e CF, respectivamente. Na segunda fase adotou-se o delineamento experimental de parcelas subdivididas com inundação contínua (CF) e sem formação de lâmina e solo aeróbico (NF) na parcela principal e aplicação de N fertilizante (0, 50, 150, 250 kg ha-1) nas safras 2014, 2015, 2016. Biomassa (AGB) acúmulo de nitrogênio (NU) e índice de área foliar (LAI) foram avaliados ao longo do desenvolvimento da cultura nas doses de 0 e 150 kg ha-1 nas safras de 2015 e 2016. Assim como a relação entre AGB, NU densidade de panícula (PD), número de espiguetas (NS) e produtividade de grãos (GY) na maturidade fisiológica A condição aeróbica proporcionou maior NU ao longo do desenvolvimento e LAI maior ou igual a CF. Na colheita, NU e PD tiveram diferentes repostas ao nitrogênio fertilizante quando em NF ou CF, mostrando NU 18% maior em NF assim como PD 27%maior em NF do que em CF na média de anos e dose de N. A resposta da GY ao nitrogênio fertilizante também foi diferente quando em NF ou CF, e na médias de dose de N fertilizante, NF proporcionou produtividade 20% e 12% maior do que CF em 2014 e 2015, respectivamente. Conclui-se nessa pesquisa que nesse agroecossistema, desde de que que não ocorra estresse por seca, o arroz cultivado em sistema de irrigação sem formação de lâmina e solo aeróbico é mais eficiente no uso de água e nitrogênio. E ainda, com melhor desempenho de produtividade e menor dependência de N fertilizante em comparação ao cultivado em lâmina contínua ou qualquer outro regime alternativo que economize água.

This book takes a fresh look at garden-worthy plants for Australian conditions. It will help gardeners to reappraise their climate, select appropriate plants and modify gardening practices to create beautiful gardens featuring native and exotic plants with proven drought tolerance, reliability and minimal weed potential. The New Ornamental Garden shows how heat, cold, water availability, rainfall patterns, length of growing season, evaporation rate and humidity influence plant growth in Australia, from the wet sub-tropics to the temperate climate of southern Australia. It also discusses the influence of microclimates within a garden: dry sun, dry shade, moist sun, moist shade, seaside conditions, exposed sites, urban situations and root competition from eucalyptus and allelopaths. The main focus of the book is the plant index, which contains notes on hundreds of plant varieties and how they function in the garden. All gardeners will benefit from reading this book!

The strongest Indian summer monsoon (ISM) on the planet features prolonged clustered spells of wet and dry conditions often lasting for two to three weeks, known as active and break monsoons. The active and break monsoons are attributed to a quasi-periodic intraseasonal oscillation (ISO), which is an extremely important form of the ISM variability bridging weather and climate variation. The ISO over India is part of the ISO in global tropics. The latter is one of the most important meteorological phenomena discovered during the 20th century (Madden & Julian, 1971, 1972). The extreme dry and wet events are regulated by the boreal summer ISO (BSISO). The BSISO over Indian monsoon region consists of northward propagating 30–60 day and westward propagating 10–20 day modes. The “clustering” of synoptic activity was separately modulated by both the 30–60 day and 10–20 day BSISO modes in approximately equal amounts. The clustering is particularly strong when the enhancement effect from both modes acts in concert. The northward propagation of BSISO is primarily originated from the easterly vertical shear (increasing easterly winds with height) of the monsoon flows, which by interacting with the BSISO convective system can generate boundary layer convergence to the north of the convective system that promotes its northward movement. The BSISO-ocean interaction through wind-evaporation feedback and cloud-radiation feedback can also contribute to the northward propagation of BSISO from the equator. The 10–20 day oscillation is primarily produced by convectively coupled Rossby waves modified by the monsoon mean flows. Using coupled general circulation models (GCMs) for ISO prediction is an important advance in subseasonal forecasts. The major modes of ISO over Indian monsoon region are potentially predictable up to 40–45 days as estimated by multiple GCM ensemble hindcast experiments. The current dynamical models’ prediction skills for the large initial amplitude cases are approximately 20–25 days, but the prediction of developing BSISO disturbance is much more difficult than the prediction of the mature BSISO disturbances. This article provides a synthesis of our current knowledge on the observed spatial and temporal structure of the ISO over India and the important physical processes through which the BSISO regulates the ISM active-break cycles and severe weather events. Our present capability and shortcomings in simulating and predicting the monsoon ISO and outstanding issues are also discussed.

Understanding the processes involved in generating distribution patterns of carnivorous plants requires investigation at multiple scales. Carnivorous plants typically occur in warm or hot and humid or wet climates in subtropical to tropical regions of all continents. Carnivorous plants tend to grow in wet, open, and nutrient-poor habitats. Most carnivorous plants are less tolerant of dry soils than are non-carnivorous plants. The reasons why many carnivorous plants are absent from habitats with nutrient-rich soils remain unclear, but the roles of competition and soil anoxia warrant greater attention. Reduced competition from woody plants (e.g., following fires) contributes to neutral coexistence of carnivorous and noncarnivorous herbs, and there is no evidence to date in support of nutrient-niche partitioning. More studies of interspecific competition are needed to understand better the distribution patterns and drivers of species coexistence of carnivorous and noncarnivorous plants.

Climate change is a major topic of concern today and will be so for the foreseeable future, as predicted changes in global temperatures, rainfall, and sea level continue to take place. But as Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams reveal in The Goldilocks Planet, the climatic changes we are experiencing today hardly compare to the changes the Earth has seen over the last 4.5 billion years. Indeed, the vast history that the authors relate here is dramatic and often abrupt--with massive changes in global and regional climate, from bitterly cold to sweltering hot, from arid to humid. They introduce us to the Cryogenian period, the days of Snowball Earth seven hundred million years ago, when ice spread to cover the world, then melted abruptly amid such dramatic climatic turbulence that hurricanes raged across the Earth. We read about the Carboniferous, with tropical jungles at the equator (where Pennsylvania is now) and the Cretaceous Period, when the polar regions saw not ice but dense conifer forests of cypress and redwood, with gingkos and ferns. The authors also show how this history can be read from clues preserved in the Earth's strata. The evidence is abundant, though always incomplete--and often baffling, puzzling, infuriating, tantalizing, seemingly contradictory. Geologists, though, are becoming ever more ingenious at deciphering this evidence, and the story of the Earth's climate is now being reconstructed in ever-greater detail--maybe even providing us with clues to the future of contemporary climate change. And through all of this, the authors conclude, the Earth has remained perfectly habitable--in stark contrast to its planetary neighbors. Not too hot, not too cold; not too dry, not too wet--"the Goldilocks planet."

AbstractTropical Legumes III project as a development intervention focused on enhancing smallholder farmers’ access to seeds of improved groundnut varieties using multi-stakeholder platforms. Open Data Kit was used to collect information from the platform members using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions (FGDs). Descriptive statistics and adoption score were used to analyze the data. Selection of appropriate project location, reliable beneficiaries, timely supply of seeds, and training on good agronomic practices (GAPs) and effective supervision on production were the major thrusts of the TL III project. The results indicated that the IP members accrued additional income ranging from $214 to $453 per hectare for wet season. The same increase in beneficiaries’ income was reported per hectare for dry season from $193 to $823, respectively; all due to the TL III intervention. The results further indicated increasing access by farmers to services (e.g., improved seeds, extension, credit facilities, market, etc.) and enhanced productivity (farm size, pod and haulm yields). Findings further revealed an average increased market price of 21.5% and 18% for dry and wet season groundnut production, respectively. There was high adoption score (78%) of improved seeds and other GAPs. The study recommends the need to replicate similar interventions in other areas. Continued capacity building on GAPs and improved business management skills to Extension Agents and farmer groups will sustain the successes achieved by the TL III project.

What are savannas and where are they? ‘Savanna landscapes’ considers these dynamic and diverse biomes—the most widespread form of vegetation in the tropics and sub-tropics. They are areas covered by a nearly continuous grassy layer, interspersed with trees and shrubs of varying densities and heights, but their nature and distribution is affected by the local topography and is closely allied with continental evolution. Marked seasonal variation is characterized by unpredictably long wet or dry spells and there is a wide range of flora and fauna across the major continental savannas. There are numerous theories on the role of savannas in shaping the emergence and spread of human populations.

Tropical forests, with their high biological activity, have the potential to emit large amounts of trace gases and aerosol particles to the atmosphere. The accelerated development and land clearing that is occurring in large areas of the Amazon basin suggest that anthropogenic effects on natural biogeochemical cycles are already occurring (Gash et al. 1996). The atmosphere plays a key role in this process. The tropics are the part of the globe with the most rapidly growing population, the most dramatic industrial expansion and the most rapid and pervasive change in land use and land cover. Also the tropics contain the largest standing stocks of terrestrial vegetation and have the highest rates of photosynthesis and respiration. It is likely that changes in tropical land use will have a profound impact on the global atmosphere (Andreae 1998, Andreae and Crutzen 1997). A significant fraction of nutrients are transported or dislocated through the atmosphere in the form of trace gases, aerosol particles, and rainwater (Keller et al. 1991). Also the global effects of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other trace gases have in the forest ecosystems a key partner. The large emissions of isoprene, terpenes, and many other volatile organic compounds could impact carbon cycling and the production of secondary aerosol particles over the Amazon region. Vegetation is a natural source of many types of aerosol particles that play an important role in the radiation budget over large areas (Artaxo et al. 1998). There are 5 major reservoirs in the Earth system: atmosphere, biosphere (vegetation, animals), soils, hydrosphere (oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater), and the lithosphere (Earth crust). Elemental cycles of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and other elements interact with the different reservoirs of the Earth system. The carbon cycle has important aspects in tropical forests due to the large amount of carbon stored in the tropical forests and the high rate of tropical deforestation (Jacob 1999). In Amazonia there are two very different atmospheric conditions: the wet season (mostly from November to June) and the dry season (July-October) (see Marengo and Nobre, this volume). Biomass burning emissions dominate completely the atmospheric concentrations over large areas of the Amazon basin during the dry season (Artaxo et al. 1988).

The snowpack gradient in the alpine generates a temperature and moisture gradient that largely controls organic matter decomposition. While low temperatures constrain decomposition and mineralization (chapter 12), moisture appears to be the strongest source of landscape variation in the alpine, with surface decay rates of plant materials highest in moist and wet meadow habitats. Despite a longer snow-free season and higher surface temperatures in dry meadows, decay in these areas is substantially lower than in moist meadows. Studies of decay rates of roots within the soil indicate that decay is uniformly low in all habitats and is limited by low temperatures and perhaps by the absence of certain groups of decomposer invertebrates. As in other ecosystems, substrate quality indices such as nitrogen and lignin content can be shown to be important factors influencing the rate of decay of specific substrates. Alpine ecosystems were overlooked during the flurry of activity associated with the extensive ecosystem science programs of the 1960s and 1970s. With the few exceptions to be discussed here, decomposition studies in cold regions were conducted in arctic tundra or northern temperate and boreal forests. The need for this information in conjunction with efforts to understand carbon cycling in the alpine stimulated a substantial research effort in the 1990s. Studies have included both the effects of landscape location on decay (O’Lear and Seastedt 1994; Bryant et al. 1998), information on the importance of substrate chemistry on decomposition processes (Bryant et al. 1998), and preliminary information on some of the decomposer organisms (O'Lear and Seastedt 1994; Addington and Seastedt 1999). Niwot Ridge researchers also participated in the Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment Team (LIDET) study, which involved placement of a dozen different litter types in the alpine and in 27 other sites from the tropics to the arctic tundra (Harmon 1995). All but one of the plant species used in the LIDET experiments were exotic to the alpine. Collectively these studies have provided sufficient information to represent the alpine in global decomposition modeling efforts.

The Yucatán Peninsula is a thick, low-lying, limestone shelf that rose fully above the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico during the Pleistocene (Folan 1983; Wilson 1980). Given its calcite and dolomite base, the entire peninsula northward from the Libertad Arch, which extends east–west across the central Petén, is a karstic landscape of coastal plains and interior uplands or hills dominated by solution features and subsurface drainage (Finch 1965; Jennings 1985; Weidie and Ward 1976; Wilhemy 1981). Permanent rivers and streams appear only in the southern, high rainfall, portion of the peninsula, largely along the lower-lying coastal plains and adjacent edges of the interior uplands. For the most part, the southern Yucatán peninsular region constitutes an undulating upland (about 80% of the landscape) composed of ridges and, to the south, cone karst (Figs. 2.1 and 2.2: upland-bajo distribution). Interspersed among the uplands are large, surface solution sinks or poljes (Weidie and Ward 1976), locally known as bajos (sometimes, akalches). These features infill with sediments, predominately montmorillonite clays, which impede subsurface drainage and retain surface water built up during the rainy season, creating seasonal wetlands. Otherwise, water percolates through the upland karst to subterranean aquifers, which generally lie deep below the surface. In the uplands proper, these aquifers may be more than 200m below the surface (Turner, 1983). The region occupies a transitional position between tropical monsoon (Am, Köppen classification) and tropical wet-dry (Aw) climates to the south and north respectively. The critical distinction between the two is the length and severity of the dry season, which increases northward. Overall, the climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and warm, dry winters, in which nortes (cold northern airstreams) penetrate the region for brief periods. Average annual precipitation ranges from about 900mm to in excess of 1,400mm, increasing to the south, the large majority of which falls during the wet season (mid-May through October) (Garcia 1970). Water deficits exist throughout the region during the mid-to-late dry season, stressing vegetation, wildlife, agriculture, livestock, and human settlement.

Earthships are houses that use walls of recycled automobile tires packed with soil to retain a berm on three sides of the home while glazing on the sunny side (south in the Northern Hemisphere, north in the Southern Hemisphere) allows solar heat into the home’s interior. This paper discusses the design and application of earthships and assesses the feasibility of earthships as sustainable and healthy places of residence. The paper begins by describing the aspects of earthship design which contribute to sustainability, including the construction of the thermal envelope and its effect on the thermal comfort of the occupants; the building’s ability to harness renewable energy; and the catchwater and water reuse system. Each of these aspects is analyzed with computer models that simulate homes in four distinct climate zones to determine (a) whether the design meets the comfort, electrical, and water demand for each location, and (b) the financial implications for construction and operation of an earthship in each location in comparison with a standard wood-frame house. The study shows that earthships are a financially feasible design alternative for dry/arid, humid continental, and continental sub-arctic climates; but are not feasible for tropical wet/dry climates.