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This paper provides a clinical analysis of some existing and potential linkages and gaps between physical and environmental geography as currently experienced and represented among the French community of physical geographers. Following a rapid evocation of some relevant historical facts, a first view is expressed that considers environmental geography as a natural downstream extension of physical geography, within a fruitful continuum from basic to applied research (with significant results in fields such as local climatology and process geomorphology). Another viewpoint considers physical geography and environmental geography as enemy sisters, based on a Manichean view opposing a 'hard' physical geography to a 'soft' environmental geography, each with contrasting conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches. Lastly, a number of recent initiatives within the French community of geographers interestingly use environmentally connoted 'objects' to try and reconnect the communities of human and physical geographers. The recognition of the hybrid nature of geography and the development of an inclusive 'environmental geography' might be a way-among others-to rebuild French geography as a whole and to overcome collectively the nature/culture dichotomy. De la géographie physique à la géographie environnementale : passerelles et abîmes Cet article présente une analyse clinique des relations entre géographie physique et géographie environnementale telles que vécues et perçues par la communauté française des géographes physiciens. Après un bref rappel historique, un premier point de vue est exposé qui considère la géographie environnementale comme un prolongement naturel de la géographie physique, dans le cadre d'un fructueux continuum allant de la recherche fondamentale à la recherche appliquée (avec des résultats particulièrement significatifs dans des domaines comme la climatologie locale et la géomorphologie dynamique). Un autre point de vue considère la géographie physique et la géographie environnementale comme des sœurs ennemies, sur la base d'une vision quelque peu manichéenne opposant une géographie physique « dure » à une géographie environnementale « molle », chacune de ces géographies utilisant des cadres conceptuels et des approches méthodologiques qui lui sont propres. Enfin, un certain nombre d'initiatives récentes au sein de la communauté française des géographes utilisent des « objets » à connotation environnementale pour tenter de reconnecter les communautés des géographes humains et des géographes physiciens. La reconnaissance de la nature hybride de la géographie et le développement d'une « géographie environnementale » intégratrice pourrait être un moyen-parmi d'autres-de refonder la géographie française dans son entier et de dépasser collectivement la dichotomie nature/culture qui montre aujourd'hui ses limites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Critical Zone is an interdisciplinary theme for environmental research that considers the near surface environment of the Earth and interactions amongst rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms. Critical Zone research initiatives in the United States (US) have met with great success, with multiple Critical Zone Observatories located in a variety of regional field settings at their core. These initiatives have allowed for enormous advances in addressing interdisciplinary environmental science questions based on team collaborations involving experts from various disciplines. The Critical Zone initiative in the US is now being extended to several other countries, but Canada has not been a participant in initial meetings involving various national funding agencies and researchers from different countries. Because physical geographers study a wide range of topics falling under the banner of Critical Zone science (including soils, hydrology, geomorphology, climatology, glaciology, biogeography), they are well poised to be active participants in national strategies for Critical Zone science. Suggestions are provided for moving towards a national strategy for Critical Zone science initiatives in Canada that connect to recent international developments. Vers une stratégie pour la science de la zone critique au Canada La zone critique est un thème interdisciplinaire de la recherche environnementale qui examine le milieu de la proche surface de la Terre et les interactions entre la roche, le sol, l'eau, l'air et les organismes vivants. Les initiatives de recherche en zone critique aux États-Unis ont connu beaucoup de succès grâce à de nombreux observatoires de la zone critique situés au centre de divers dispositifs d'études régionales. Ces initiatives ont permis d'accomplir d'énormes progrès en abordant des questions de science environnementale interdisciplinaire fondées sur la collaboration d'équipes impliquant des spécialistes de diverses disciplines. Les initiatives américaines en zone critique sont maintenant étendues à de nombreux autres pays, mais le Canada n'a pas participé aux premières réunions impliquant divers organismes nationaux de financement ainsi que des chercheurs de différents pays. Comme les géographes spécialisés en géographie physique étudient un large éventail de thèmes placés sous la bannière de la science de la zone critique (y compris les sols, l'hydrologie, la géomorphologie, la climatologie, la glaciologie, la biogéographie), ils sont bien placés pour participer activement aux stratégies nationales pour la science de la zone critique. Des suggestions sont faites dans le but d'adopter une stratégie nationale pour les initiatives concernant la science de la zone critique au Canada qui se rattachent aux récents progrès internationaux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Earth surface processes (ESPs) drive landscape development and ecosystem processes in high-latitude regions by creating spatially heterogeneous abiotic and biotic conditions. Ongoing global change may potentially alter the activity of ESPs through feedback on ground conditions, vegetation and the carbon cycle. Consequently, accurate modeling of ESPs is important for improving understanding of the current and future distributions of these processes. The aims of this study were to: (1) integrate climate and multiple local predictors to develop realistic ensemble models for the four key ESPs occurring at high latitudes (slope processes, cryoturbation, nivation and palsa mires) based on the outputs of 10 modern statistical techniques; (2) test whether models of ESPs are improved by incorporating topography, soil and vegetation predictors to climate-only models; (3) examine the relative importance of these variables in a multivariate setting. Overall, the models showed high transferability with the mean area under curve of a receiver operating characteristics (AUC) ranging from 0.83 to 0.96 and true skill statistics (TSS) from 0.52 to 0.87 for the most complex models. Even though the analyses highlighted the importance of the climate variables as the most influential predictors, three out of four models benefitted from the inclusion of local predictors. We conclude that disregarding local topography and soil conditions in spatial models of ESPs may cause a significant source of error in geomorphological distribution models. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We characterize the fluvial geomorphology research of James C. Knox by considering five of his scholarly papers, selected to illustrate not only some of Knox's methods and results but also his conviction that stream-sediment interactions are intricately connected to a range of environmental variables reflecting the scope of physical geography. Those variables, as we discuss, included hydrology, climate, vegetation, position in the drainage network, and human land use. We conclude with the suggestion that Knox's breadth of geomorphic vision was echoed in his approach to his own academic career, and his belief that academic institutions are best served by broad and integrative perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To identify the ecological factors (related to vegetation, altitude, climate, or geomorphology) that could explain the main gradients of avifaunal richness and composition in arid environments of Central Iran. Location The study was carried out in two nearby semi-arid protected areas of the Ispahan province: the Kolah-Ghazi National Park ( c. 50,000 ha; 1540–2535 m a.s.l.) and the Mouteh Wildlife Refuge ( c. 220,000 ha; 1493–2900 m a.s.l.). Annual average precipitation and temperature range from 155–205 mm and 15–19.5 °C, respectively. Vegetation cover is sparse. Methods The two study areas were sampled with a 1 × 1 km grid design. A subset of 405 squares was randomly chosen and each was visited once during spring or summer by a team of five observers walking from one side of a square to the other and back, recording the birds encountered. Raptors and species considered to be accidental or migrating were not taken into account. We first looked for avifaunal, vegetation, and geomorphological gradients using Correspondence Analysis. As we found spatial autocorrelation within our response variables (avifaunal richness, abundance and/or composition), we first calculated an autocorrelation term, then added this autocorrelation term inanova,ancova (separate slope design) and stepwise regression to assess the relative role of spatial autocorrelation and environmental explanatory variables (vegetation, altitude, climate, or topography). We also partitioned the variance of the avifaunal matrix between several sets of co-variables, after controlling for spatial effects, using a series of partial Canonical Correspondence Analyses. Results A main gradient, common to the two areas, distinguishes bird species characteristic of flat sedimentary areas and species dwelling in mountainous and/or rocky areas. Despite the generally low values of the correlations measured, we found that richness, abundance and composition of the avifauna were better correlated with topography, especially the altitudinal amplitude within each square, than any other variable, including vegetation. Altitudinal amplitude is related to substrate complexity. Main conclusions In arid zones of central Iran, topographic features seem to be the main factors structuring avifaunal composition and abundance. Avifaunal composition and richness are mainly correlated with the complexity of the substrate, but both avifaunal richness and abundance increase with altitude, probably in response to decreasing aridity. We did not observe any bird altitudinal zonation in a strict sense. These results contrast with those generally observed in mid-latitude regions of the Palaearctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]