Performance and Adaptation of the Vallerani Mechanized Water Harvesting System in Degraded Badia Rangelands

Rainwater harvesting in micro-catchments such as contour ridges and semicircular bunds is an option for utilizing the limited rainfall, improving productivity and combating land degradation in dry rangeland areas （Badia）. However, implementation of this practice using manual labor or traditional machinery is slow, tedious and costly, and often impractical on a large scale. These limitations can be overcome using the ＂Vallerani＂ plow for quickly constructing continuous and intermittent ridges. The plow （model Delfino （50 MI/CM）, manufactured by Nardi, Italy） was tested and adapted to dry steppe （Badia） conditions in Jordan. The performance of the machine, its weaknesses and potential improvements were assessed in the 2006/07 season at three sites on 165 hectares of various terrain, slope and soil conditions. The performance parameters included effective field capacity （EFC）, machine efficiency （ME） and fuel consumption （FC）. Field tests were carried out at different tractor （134 HP） traveling speeds, pit sizes and contour spacings. Overall mean performance indicators gave an EFC of 1.2 ha/h, 51% ME and an average FC of 5.15 liter/ha. Increasing ridge spacing had a small effect on ME where, increasing traveling speed had a greater effect. A guide table was developed, relating performance parameters with ridge spacing, speed, and bund size setting. This could be a useful reference for the implementation and management of mechanized micro-catchment construction in the Badia. The system performed well in the construction of continuous ridges. However, it was unable to construct intermittent ridges at speeds over 4km/h; problems were encountered in properly staggering the bunds at successive contours.

Checklist of Wadi Hassan flora, Northeastern Badia, Jordan

In this study, we survey the plant diversity of Wadi Hassan, which is located in the Northeastern Badia of Jordan, about 120 km east of Amman. All plant species were collected and herbarium specimens have been prepared, identified and deposited at the University of Jordan herbarium(Department of Biology,Faculty of Science). The final plant checklist includes 206 species belonging to 138 genera and 35 families.The most diverse families are Compositae(20.5%), Cruciferae(10.2%), Leguminosae(8.3%) and Boraginaceae(6.8%), followed by Caryophyllaceae and Gramineae(5.4%). These six families represent 60% of the total families recognized in the study area, while nine families each are represented by only one species. Most plants recorded are annual plants(61%), some plants are hemicryptophtes(18%) and camaephytes(15%), while the least frequent life form class was the phanerophyte shrub and perennial(0.5%). Chorological characteristics of the recorded flora show that Saharo-Arabian Region elements, IranoTuranian elements and Mediterranean elements constitute(58%) of the total flora. This research shows that even small portion of the Jordan Badia such as the Wadi Hassan plant community has high species diversity. Thus, we recommended further of the unexplored Wadi plants communities of the Jordan Badia.

Runoff Estimation for Suggested Water Harvesting Sites in the Northern Jordanian Badia

Jordan is characterized by severe weather conditions, therefore great temporal and spatial variations in rainfall;runoff and evaporation amounts are expected. Water harvesting has been practiced in Jordan throughout history for both irrigation and household purposes. A major research project was carried out in the Jordanian Badia on site selection criteria for rain water harvesting systems based on the integration between indigenous knowledge and the use of Geo-informatics. This work was followed by conducting a geophysical and soil investigation for five potential sites. In this study, GIS was used to investigate the potential of having enough runoff in the five selected sites to establish water harvesting dams based on rainfall, evaporation data and catchments’ areas for the selected sites. It was found that the estimated runoff that could be harvested on annual basis at these sites varies between 0.2 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) in Alaasra site to 0.82 MCM in Al-Manareh (Al-Ghuliasi) site. This indicates that these sites have the potential for small scale water harvesting that could be utilized by local livestock owners in the area to water their livestock.

Assessment of Wind Energy Potential as a Power Generation Source in the Azraq South, Northeast Badia, Jordan

Due to several climate changes caused by greenhouse gases and to increasing need for clean energy sources, more attention has been grew to renewable energy sources and wind energy is one of the most promising energy source in the future. The current paper presents an investigation of the wind power potential in Azraq south area, a remote location in the Northeast Badia of Jordan using real wind speed data. Also, other wind characteristics with the help of one method of meteorological and Weibull are assessed to evaluate of which at a height of 10 m above ground level and in open area. Long term data (1991-2001) period measured mean wind speed data measured at 10 m height was analyzed. Based on these data, the highest and the lowest wind power potential are in July and December, respectively. Also, it was indicated that the shape and scale parameters for Azraq south varied over a wide range. The monthly values of Weibull shape parameter k ranged from 1.05 to 4.2 with a mean value of 3.06. While the monthly values of the Weibull scale parameter c were in the range of m/s, with a mean value of 4.57 m/s. It was also concluded that the site studied was not suitable for electric wind application in large-scale. It was found that the wind potential of the region could be adequate for non-grid connected electrical and mechanical applications, such as wind generators, battery charging and water pumping as well as agricultural applications.

Study on a Heritage Town in the Northern Badia of JordanmAI Aqeb

This field study in AI aqeb town and its surroundings is a result of joint research between two scientific fields： anthropology and architecture, where the researchers interested in the local community in terms of social, stability method, patterns of production and its transformations, as well as in physical culture for population in traditional, heritage and modern housing, and the reason to choose AI aqeb is to test the stability of the nature of pastoral groups in A1 aqeb basin and valley which are available on pastures and water sources and the remains of ancient centers of human settlement which provides building materials to create traditional dwellings made up of basalt stones and mud where the researcher use the field surveys methodology in the target area through field trips and description of heritage sites and architectural field studies methodology in terms of description, analysis and measuring and drawing. And study populations and pastoral aspects, features of the surface and material evidence. The Bedouin human interacts with its environment depending on its own style in simple techniques to meet his basic needs of physical, cultural and the need for shelter and housing.

三种螳蛉线粒体基因组及脉翅目系统发育分析

通过PCR结合引物步移法测定日本螳蛉Mantispajaponica、汉优螳蛉Eumantispa harmandi和铜头螳蛉Euclimacia badia的全线粒体基因组,并进行序列分析。结果表明:日本螳蛉、汉优螳蛉和铜头螳蛉的全线粒体基因组长度分别为16 106、15 741和15 899bp,基因组成和排列与其他已测脉翅目昆虫一致,均包括13个蛋白质编码基因(PCGs)、22个转运RNA基因(tRNA)、2个核糖体RNA基因(rRNA)和1个长度可变的A+T富集区。蛋白质编码基因除COⅠ以ACG作为起始密码子外,其余基因均以ATN作为起始密码子;除COⅠ、COⅡ、ND5、ND4以不完整的T作为终止密码子外,其他基因终止密码子均为完整的TAA。汉优螳蛉的22个tRNA均形成典型的三叶草形二级结构;而日本螳蛉和铜头螳蛉的21个tRNA形成典型的三叶草形二级结构,仅trnSAGN二级结构缺失DHU臂,在该位置形成1个环。A+T富集区位于rrnS和trnI-trnQtrnM之间,长度分别为1 281、936和1 092bp,并在该区域存在一些串联重复序列及1个茎环结构。基于13个蛋白质编码基因数据集,采用最大似然法(ML)和贝叶斯法(BI)对脉翅目进行初步的系统发育分析,结果显示两种系统树拓扑结构一致,符合以往形态学和分子分类的研究结论,支持螳蛉科的单系性,但不支持蚁蛉科的单系性。

Contour Laser Guiding for the Mechanized ＂Vallerani＂ Micro-catchment Water Harvesting Systems

Mechanized construction of micro-catchments for water harvesting （WH） was successfully tested in the Badia （dry rangeland） areas in Syria and Jordan, using the ＂Vallerani＂ plow, model Delfino （50 MI/CM）, manufactured by Nardi, Italy. The plow was able to construct intermittent and continuous contour ridges, and could potentially be used to rehabilitate degraded rangelands. However, one major issue for large-scale implementation is the high cost and time required to manually identify contours for the plow to follow. Most existing auto-guiding systems, as usually used in road construction and agricultural land leveling, were expensive or impractical. The objective, therefore, was to add, adapt, and evaluate an auto-guiding system to enable a tractor to follow contours without demarcation through conventional surveying. A low-cost Contour Laser Guiding （CLG） system, with specifications that suit the contour ridging in undulating topographic conditions of dry rangelands, was chosen, adapted, mounted, and tested, under actual field conditions. The system consisted mainly of a portable laser transmitter and a tractor-mounted receiver, connected to a guidance display panel. The system was field-tested on 95 ha of land where the system capacity was determined under different terrains, slopes （1-8%）, and ridge spacings （4-12 m）. The easy adaptation and implementation of the CLG to the ＂Vallerani＂ unit tripled the system capacity, improved efficiency and precision, and substantially reduced the cost of constructing micro-catchments for WH. The system is recommended for large-scale rangeland rehabilitation projects in the dry areas, not only in West Asia, but worldwide.

中国鼬鳚科鱼类二新纪录种暨亚科、属和种的分类检索

记述了采自中国南海外海深水区的鼬鳚科鱼类2新纪录种:光口索深鼬鳚Bassozetus levistomatus Machida及圆吻棘鼬鳚Hoplobrotula badia Machida,并编制了中国已知的鼬鳚科4亚科19属35种的检索表。