Phytolith evidence of water management for rice growing and processing between 8,500 and 7,500 cal years bp in the middle Huai river valley, China

Author(s):  
Wuhong Luo ◽  
Yuzhang Yang ◽  
Lina Zhuang ◽  
Huiyuan Gan ◽  
Chunguang Gu ◽  
...  

<em>Abstract.</em>—–Describing the unique spatial context of any river unit requires integrating catchment and local valley characters. We believe that adding hydrologic regime and key fish species to standard geomorphic variables improves the delineation and characterization of river valley segments as ecological units. Valley segments constrain habitat units, and several segments together can encompass home ranges of mobile fishes. Segments can be accurately defined and characterized using maps and then analyzed across large geographic areas, making them practical for statewide planning and management. By incorporating prior knowledge from modeling landscape–river relationships, we interpreted multiple landscape maps to delineate and assign initial attributes to river valley segments. The resulting classification system provides a new, ecologically informed view of Michigan’s rivers that has helped managers better perceive and consider environmental patterns that constrain habitat and biological variation within and among individual rivers. It is being used throughout Michigan and regionally as a framework for fisheries and water management, conservation planning, and education.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Duke ◽  
Nigel J Chang ◽  
Ian Moffat ◽  
Wayne Morris

<p>The Mun River valley is well known for its moat-bound mounded archaeological sites that are usually associated with Iron Age occupation (~500BC- AD500).  The investigation of these sites has provided a wealth of information on the changing social and environmental conditions during prehistory.  In recent years, research has identified a greater diversity of site morphologies in the region, many of which, importantly, do not appear to have moats surrounding them.  This paper seeks to investigate whether the apparently ‘non-moated’ mound site of Non Klang (Nong Hua Raet village) was actually moated in the past, and if such, now in-filled features can be investigated through non-destructive Ground Penetrating Radar methodology.  Additionally, while large external moats can be observed in the modern day topography at sites such as Ban Non Wat, excavation has demonstrated that further, invisible, water management features exist beneath the surface within the current mound boundary of the site.  These are probably Iron Age precursors to the later more extensive and still visible moats.  This paper seeks to answer several fundamental questions: What application can GPR have at mounded sites in Southeast Asia?  Do invisible moats exist?  How will this affect our understanding of the broader prehistoric landscape in the Upper Mun River Valley?  </p>


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