Glaciers in the eastern Pamir are important for water resources and the social and economic development of the region.In the last 50 years,these glaciers have shrunk and lost ice mass due to climate change.In order to...Glaciers in the eastern Pamir are important for water resources and the social and economic development of the region.In the last 50 years,these glaciers have shrunk and lost ice mass due to climate change.In order to understand recent glacier dynamics in the region,a new inventory was compiled from Landsat TM/ETM+ images acquired in2009,free of clouds and with minimal snow cover on the glacierized mountains.The first glacier inventory of the area was also updated by digitizing glacier outlines from topographical maps that had been modified and verified using aerial photographs.Total glacier area decreased by 10.8%±1.1%,mainly attributed to an increase in air temperature,although precipitation,glacier size and topographic features also combined to affect the general shrinkage of the glaciers.The 19.3–21.4 km^3 estimated glacier mass loss has contributed to an increase in river runoff and water resources.展开更多
The processes of nutrient depletion and soil degradation within smallholder farms of central Kenya are spatially heterogeneous, determined by both biophysical and socio-economic factors. A monitoring study involving n...The processes of nutrient depletion and soil degradation within smallholder farms of central Kenya are spatially heterogeneous, determined by both biophysical and socio-economic factors. A monitoring study involving nutrient stocks, flows and balances was conducted in central Kenya to explore between and within-farm variability in soil fertility management and identify spatial niches for targeting soil fertility management strategies. Focus group discussions were conducted and farms grouped into 3 farm types （rich, medium and poor）. Nine case-study farms - three from each of the farm types - were randomly selected from the 50 farms studied, for detailed resource flow mapping. The farms were visited to record movement of nutrients inputs using a monitoring protocol covering soil, crops, livestock, and socio-economic aspects of the farm. Soil in different plots were sampled at a depth of 0-20 cm and analyzed for texture, pH, C, N, available P, exchangeable K＋, Mg2＋ and Ca2＋. Results revealed that wealthy farmers added an average of 51.3 kg/ha N, 37 kg/ha P, and 244 kg/ha K, compared to 25.9 kg/ha N, 14.5 kg/ha P and 50.7 kg/ha K for the poor farmers. In all farm types, home fields received more nutrient inputs compared to the outfields. Consequently, maize grain yields, partial nutrient balances and soil nutrient stocks were significantly higher in wealthy farms and home fields compared to poor farms and outfields, respectively. These results imply that different soil management strategies are required to achieve similar yields on the different field and farm types and avert soil degradation.展开更多
The quality endeavors of an organization, like other enterprise activities, must be oriented towards the economic principles. This approach gives a way to many organizations to question the extent to which the quality...The quality endeavors of an organization, like other enterprise activities, must be oriented towards the economic principles. This approach gives a way to many organizations to question the extent to which the quality management contributes for the overall business success and to pin point the areas where particularly a high value or performance can be created in order to attain the maximum possible economic benefits out of quality management systems. Without including the answer of this question in the decision making process, the resources can not be allocated optimally for the quality purpose. Quality management activities create variety of effects that indirectly contributes towards the economic success and thus increase the company and stakeholder value. A closer look at the quality management philosophy reveals eight major principles namely： customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement, factual approach to decision making, mutually beneficial supplier relationships. These eight principles lead the efforts in the domain of quality management to project a positive impact on the company. For an understanding of response relationships, it is necessary to consider in detail the indicators along the response relationships. They provide helpful clues and give an insight into the complex mechanisms of action of the quality approaches on the path to the company＇s success. The following illustration depicts how the quality based activities generate the value to enhance the performance and a variety of indicators reflects how they indirectly add value to an organization and hence contribute to its economic success.展开更多
基金supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No.KZZD-EW-12-1)the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant No.41190084)+3 种基金the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST) (Grant Nos.2013FY111400,2010DFA92720-23)an immediate past project from the MOST (Grant No.2006FY110200)provided by "Investigation on glacier resources and their change in China" (Grant No.2006FY110200)"Glacier change monitoring and its impact assessment research in west China" (Grant No.kzcx2-yw-301)
文摘Glaciers in the eastern Pamir are important for water resources and the social and economic development of the region.In the last 50 years,these glaciers have shrunk and lost ice mass due to climate change.In order to understand recent glacier dynamics in the region,a new inventory was compiled from Landsat TM/ETM+ images acquired in2009,free of clouds and with minimal snow cover on the glacierized mountains.The first glacier inventory of the area was also updated by digitizing glacier outlines from topographical maps that had been modified and verified using aerial photographs.Total glacier area decreased by 10.8%±1.1%,mainly attributed to an increase in air temperature,although precipitation,glacier size and topographic features also combined to affect the general shrinkage of the glaciers.The 19.3–21.4 km^3 estimated glacier mass loss has contributed to an increase in river runoff and water resources.
文摘The processes of nutrient depletion and soil degradation within smallholder farms of central Kenya are spatially heterogeneous, determined by both biophysical and socio-economic factors. A monitoring study involving nutrient stocks, flows and balances was conducted in central Kenya to explore between and within-farm variability in soil fertility management and identify spatial niches for targeting soil fertility management strategies. Focus group discussions were conducted and farms grouped into 3 farm types （rich, medium and poor）. Nine case-study farms - three from each of the farm types - were randomly selected from the 50 farms studied, for detailed resource flow mapping. The farms were visited to record movement of nutrients inputs using a monitoring protocol covering soil, crops, livestock, and socio-economic aspects of the farm. Soil in different plots were sampled at a depth of 0-20 cm and analyzed for texture, pH, C, N, available P, exchangeable K＋, Mg2＋ and Ca2＋. Results revealed that wealthy farmers added an average of 51.3 kg/ha N, 37 kg/ha P, and 244 kg/ha K, compared to 25.9 kg/ha N, 14.5 kg/ha P and 50.7 kg/ha K for the poor farmers. In all farm types, home fields received more nutrient inputs compared to the outfields. Consequently, maize grain yields, partial nutrient balances and soil nutrient stocks were significantly higher in wealthy farms and home fields compared to poor farms and outfields, respectively. These results imply that different soil management strategies are required to achieve similar yields on the different field and farm types and avert soil degradation.
文摘The quality endeavors of an organization, like other enterprise activities, must be oriented towards the economic principles. This approach gives a way to many organizations to question the extent to which the quality management contributes for the overall business success and to pin point the areas where particularly a high value or performance can be created in order to attain the maximum possible economic benefits out of quality management systems. Without including the answer of this question in the decision making process, the resources can not be allocated optimally for the quality purpose. Quality management activities create variety of effects that indirectly contributes towards the economic success and thus increase the company and stakeholder value. A closer look at the quality management philosophy reveals eight major principles namely： customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement, factual approach to decision making, mutually beneficial supplier relationships. These eight principles lead the efforts in the domain of quality management to project a positive impact on the company. For an understanding of response relationships, it is necessary to consider in detail the indicators along the response relationships. They provide helpful clues and give an insight into the complex mechanisms of action of the quality approaches on the path to the company＇s success. The following illustration depicts how the quality based activities generate the value to enhance the performance and a variety of indicators reflects how they indirectly add value to an organization and hence contribute to its economic success.
