Refining the ‘pulse-reserve’ model for arid central Australia: Seasonal rainfall, soil moisture and plant productivity in sand ridge and stony plain habitats of the Simpson Desert

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 741-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine E. M. Nano ◽  
Chris R. Pavey
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Plant Productivity ◽  
Seasonal Rainfall ◽  
Sand Ridge ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Simpson Desert

Population dynamics of three species of dasyurid marsupials in arid central Australia: a 10-year study

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Dickman ◽  
Adele S. Haythornthwaite ◽  
Gayle H. McNaught ◽  
Paul S. Mahon ◽  
Bobby Tamayo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Sand Ridge ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Simpson Desert

This study investigated the population dynamics of three species of dasyurid marsupials in sand ridge habitat of the Simpson Desert, western Queensland, over a 10-year period between March 1990 and December 1999. The lesser hairy-footed dunnart (Sminthopsis youngsoni), was captured most consistently over the period of study, followed by the wongai ningaui (Ningaui ridei), and the mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda). Rates of recapture were low (4.5–22.2%), probably because individuals of each species are very mobile. All species bred in late winter or early spring when animals were aged at least 8–10 months, and independent juveniles first appeared usually in summer. S. youngsoni reared a second litter in late spring or early summer in 3 of the 10 years studied, when the availability of food was likely to have been high; neither N. ridei nor D. cristicauda were known to attempt a second litter within a season. To explore factors that might influence population dynamics, we compared capture rates of each species with measures of rainfall, temperature, vegetation cover, abundance of predators [feral cats (Felis catus), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and goannas (Varanus spp.)], dragons, other dasyurids and indices of food abundance. The abundance of S. youngsoni appeared to depend primarily on the cover of spinifex 7–9 months earlier, that of D. cristicauda was related most strongly to rainfall 7–9 months earlier, while that of N. ridei was related to minimum temperature lagged by 1–3 months. While the dynamics of other arid-zone mammals are driven demonstrably by interactions between rainfall, resource availability and predation, our findings suggest that dasyurids have limited flexibility in their life histories and are influenced more subtly and by factors such as facilitation that are just beginning to become apparent.

Habitat use and behaviour of cattle in a heterogeneous desert environment in central Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke S. K. Frank ◽  
Chris R. Dickman ◽  
Glenda M. Wardle
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Desert Environment ◽  
Point Location ◽  
Dune System ◽  
Grazing Impacts ◽  
Water Point ◽  
Resource Poor ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Simpson Desert

The activities of livestock in arid environments typically centre on watering points, with grazing impacts often predicted to decrease uniformly, as radial piospheres, with distance from water. In patchy desert environments, however, the spatial distribution of grazing impacts is more difficult to predict. In this study sightings and dung transects are used to identify preferred cattle habitats in the heterogeneous dune system of the Simpson Desert, central Australia. The importance of watering points as foci for cattle activity was confirmed and it was shown that patchily distributed gidgee woodland, which comprises only 16% of the desert environment, is the most heavily used habitat for cattle away from water and provides critical forage and shade resources. By contrast, dune swales and sides, which are dominated by shade- and forage-deficient spinifex grassland and comprise >70% of the available habitat, were less utilised. These results suggest that habitat use by cattle is influenced jointly by water point location and by the dispersion of woodland patches in a resource-poor matrix. The findings were used to build a modified conceptual model of cattle habitat use which was compared with an original piosphere model, and the consequences for wildlife in environments where the model applies are discussed.

scholarly journals Estimating Grass Yield on Blue Grama Range From Seasonal Rainfall and Soil Moisture Measurements

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Allen Torell ◽  
Kirk C. McDaniel ◽  
Victor Koren
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Seasonal Rainfall ◽  
Blue Grama

ORGANIC PETROLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF SOURCE ROCKS IN THE PEDIRKA-SIMPSON BASINS CENTRAL AUSTRALIA

1981 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
M. Smyth ◽  
J. D. Saxby
Keyword(s):  
Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
Vitrinite Reflectance ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Volatile Hydrocarbons ◽  
Organic Petrology ◽  
Reflected Light ◽  
Petrology And Geochemistry ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Simpson Desert

Sediments from the Permian Pedirka Basin and the overlying Triassic Simpson Desert Basin have been studied to determine their potentials as source rocks for hydrocarbons. Principal techniques used are reflected light microscopy, including vitrinite reflectance, solvent extraction and kerogen isolation.Dispersed organic matter (DOM) occurs through the Permian and Triassic sequences, and is most abundant near the top of the Triassic, constituting up to 2 per cent of the sediments by volume. Of this DOM, 30 to 50 per cent is vitrinite plus exinite. The Permian and Triassic coals have vitrinite reflectivities of up to 0.9 per cent. The geothermal gradient in the vicinity of Poolowanna 1 is probably sufficient to cause the cutinite within the Triassic sediments to break down into petroleum hydrocarbons. In the case of the Poolowanna Jurassic oil show, migration up faults and accumulation in high-temperature reservoirs have been accompanied by the loss of volatile hydrocarbons.

scholarly journals Rainfed farming prospects in the low rainfall zone of northern Iraq based on meteorological and soil moisture measurements

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hasan Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Moisture Distribution ◽  
Seasonal Rainfall ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
Northern Iraq ◽  
Rainfall Season ◽  
Rainfed Farming ◽  
Soil Moisture Conservation ◽  
Soil Moisture Distribution ◽  
Runoff Plots

<p dir="RTL" align="right"> </p><p dir="RTL" align="right">More than 50% of the rainfed region in northernIraqfalls within the low rainfall zone receiving between 300 and 400 mm of mean seasonal rainfall. Several natural runoff plots with access tubes were used to measure soil moisture distribution in depth and time. Measurements during two consecutive rainfall seasons were used to forecast the rainfed farming prospects in the low rainfall zone. The first season is considered wet because it received 568 mm of mean seasonal rainfall; the second rainfall season is considered dry because it received 256 of mean seasonal rainfall. The prospects of tillage systems, fertilization and soil moisture conservation for a successful rainfed farming (wheat and barley crops) venture in the low rainfall zone were explored and  a rainfed farming guide for this zone was suggested. </p><p dir="RTL" align="right"><strong><br /></strong></p><p dir="RTL" align="right"> </p>

scholarly journals Aerodynamic Resistance and Penman–Monteith Evapotranspiration over a Seasonally Two-Layered Canopy in Semiarid Central Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1562-1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Cleverly ◽  
Chao Chen ◽  
Nicolas Boulain ◽  
Randol Villalobos-Vega ◽  
Ralph Faux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Drag Coefficient ◽  
Vapor Pressure Deficit ◽  
Soil Moisture Content ◽  
Aerodynamic Resistance ◽  
Atmospheric Humidity ◽  
Vapor Transfer ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Content Information

Abstract Accurate prediction of evapotranspiration E depends upon representative characterization of meteorological conditions in the boundary layer. Drag and bulk transfer coefficient schemes for estimating aerodynamic resistance to vapor transfer were compared over a semiarid natural woodland ecosystem in central Australia. Aerodynamic resistance was overestimated from the drag coefficient, resulting in limited E at intermediate values of vapor pressure deficit. Large vertical humidity gradients were present during the summer, causing divergence between momentum and vapor transport within and above the canopy surface. Because of intermittency in growth of the summer-active, rain-dependent understory and physiological responses of the canopy, leaf resistance varied from less than 50 s m−1 to greater than 106 s m−1, in which the particularly large values were obtained from inversion of drag coefficient resistance. Soil moisture limitations further contributed to divergence between actual and reference E. Unsurprisingly, inclusion of site-specific meteorological (e.g., vertical humidity gradients) and hydrological (e.g., soil moisture content) information improved the accuracy of predicting E when applying Penman–Monteith analysis. These results apply regardless of canopy layering (i.e., even when the understory was not present) wherever atmospheric humidity gradients develop and are thus not restricted to two-layer canopies in semiarid regions.

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