Plants, by influencing water fluxes across the ecosystem–vadose zone–aquifer continuum, can leave an imprint on salt accumulation and distribution patterns. We explored how the conversion of native grasslands to oak plantations affected the abundance and distribution of salts on soils and groundwater through changes in the water balance in naturally salt-affected landscapes of Hortobagy (Hungar...

Longleaf pine savannas are one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world, yet are understudied. Ants are a functionally important and diverse group of insects in these ecosystems. It is largely unknown how local patterns of species diversity and composition are determined through the interaction of this dominant animal group with abiotic features of longleaf pine ecosystems. Here we descri...

Floristic studies indicate the abundance of microalgae in northern boreal peatlands, but we know relatively little about their ecology or how they will respond to changes in environmental conditions expected in this region as climate changes. We examined changes in algal community structure at sites exposed to a long-term water-table manipulation, including drought (lowered water-table treatmen...

the study of wave and its propagation on the water surface is among significant phenomena in designing quay, marine and water structures. therefore, in order to design structures which are exposed to direct wave forces, it is necessary to study and simulate water surface height and the wave forces on the structures body in different boundary conditions. in this study, the propagation of static ...

BACKGROUND In arid systems with no surface water, deep boreholes in ephemeral river beds provide for humans and animals. With continually increasing infrastructure development for tourism in arid wildlife parks such as the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in southern Africa, we ask what effects increased abstraction may have on large trees. Large trees in arid savannas perform essential ecosystem s...

Soil and vadose zone profiles are used as an archive of changes in groundwater recharge and water quality following changes in land use in an area of the Loess Plateau of China. A typical rain-fed loess-terrace agriculture region in Hequan, Guyuan, is taken as an example, and multiple tracers (chloride mass balance, stable isotopes, tritium and water chemistry) are used to examine groundwater r...

To study the mechanical characteristics of complex pile-cap foundations and distribution law hydrodynamic pressure acting on piles cap in deep-water environments, 60 m foundation Xihoumen rail-cum-road bridge was considered for this investigation. This paper focused introducing design implementation process simulating an earthquake using underwater shaking-table test a 1 : model systematically ...

playas are low-lands which is considered to be the locations of accumulation of superficial and ground waters fromhigher elevations and these waters have different types of salts and various salinity level. therefore, because of lack ofrainfall and fresh-water both for human and animal useage or even for plants, it is needed to apply proper methods toharvest fresh water from these saline-waters...

[1] Areas with a relatively shallow water table are environments where the groundwater plays a key role on the ecosystem function, and important interactions exist between hydrology and ecosystem processes. We propose here an analytical model to study the interactions between rainfall, water table, and vegetation in groundwater-dependent ecosystems. The water table dynamics are studied as a ran...