The efficiency and accuracy of probability diagram, spatial statistic and fractal methods in the identification of shear zone gold mineralization: a case study of the Saqqez gold ore district,NW Iran

In this study,geochemical anomaly separation was carried out with methods based on the distribution model,which includes probability diagram(MPD),fractal(concentration-area technique),and U-statistic methods.The main objective is to evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of the methods in separation of anomalies on the shear zone gold mineralization.For this purpose,samples were taken from the secondary lithogeochemical environment(stream sediment samples)on the gold mineralization in Saqqez,NW of Iran.Interpretation of the histograms and diagrams showed that the MPD is capable of identifying two phases of mineralization.The fractal method could separate only one phase of change based on the fractal dimension with high concentration areas of the Au element.The spatial analysis showed two mixed subpopulations after U=0 and another subpopulation with very high U values.The MPD analysis followed spatial analysis,which shows the detail of the variations.Six mineralized zones detected from local geochemical exploration results were used for validating the methods mentioned above.The MPD method was able to identify the anomalous areas higher than 90%,whereas the two other methods identified 60%(maximum)of the anomalous areas.The raw data without any estimation for the concentration was used by the MPD method using aminimum of calculations to determine the threshold values.Therefore,the MPD method is more robust than the other methods.The spatial analysis identified the detail soft hegeological and mineralization events that were affected in the study area.MPD is recommended as the best,and the spatial U-analysis is the next reliable method to be used.The fractal method could show more detail of the events and variations in the area with asymmetrical grid net and a higher density of sampling or at the detailed exploration stage.

Integrated application of February Orchid(Orychophragmus violaceus) as green manure with chemical fertilizer for improving grain yield and reducing nitrogen losses in spring maize system in northern China

The development of more efficient management systems is crucial to achieving high grain yields with high nitrogen use efficiency（NUE）. February Orchid-spring maize rotation system is a newly established planting system with the benefits of ground cover and potential wind erosion in northern China. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of integrated application of February Orchid as green manure with reduction of chemical fertilizers（INTEGRATED） on spring maize yield, N uptake, ammonium volatilization, and soil residual mineral N in northern China. Compared to farmers＇ traditional fertilization（CON）, integrated application of February Orchid as green manure with 30% reduction of nitrogen fertilizers（INTEGRATED） increased maize grain yield and biomass by 9.9 and 10.2%, respectively. The 0–100 cm soil residual Nmin at harvest was decreased by 58.5% and thus nitrogen use efficiency was increased significantly by 26.7%. The nitrogen balance calculation further demonstrated that the INTEGRATED approach performed better than CON with lower apparent nitrogen loss（decreased by 48.9%） which evidenced by the ammonium volatilization of top-dressing fertilizer was decreased by 31.1%, the N_（min） movement to the deeper soil layers was reduced, and the apparent nitrogen leaching loss nearly equal to 0 under the INTEGRATED treatment. Therefore, in northern China, integrated application of green manure and chemical fertilizers is an efficient management approach for improving maize yields and NUE simultaneously.