Updated measurements in vineyards improves accuracy of soil erosion rates

All rights reserved. Vineyards have proven to be one of the most degraded agricultural ecosystems due to very high erosion rates, which are typically measured at fine temporal and spatial scales. Long-term soil erosion measures are rare, but this information may be indispensable for a proper understanding of the vineyard soil system, landscape evolution, and crop production. The stock unearthing method (SUM) is a common topographical measurement technique developed to assess long-term erosion rates. The reliance of the SUM has been questioned and should be replaced by an improved measurement technique. In this paper, we demonstrate the added value (improved accurate, low cost, and faster th…

Soil erosion modelling: a global review and statistical analysis

40 Pags.- 10 Figs.- 2 Tabls.- Suppl. Informat. The definitive version is available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697

Effects of parent material on soil erosion within Mediterranean new vineyard plantations

[EN] Parent material can determine specific physical and chemical soil properties and, therefore, soil erosion rates. However, for new vine plantations, there is not enough research on soil erosion assessment on different parent materials which could be helpful for agricultural management plans. The main aim of this research was to quantify soil erosion rates of two recent vineyard plantations under similar climate and land use management conditions, but on different parent materials, namely colluvium (2 years old) and marls (8 years old), located within the Les Alcusses valley vineyards in Eastern Spain. To achieve this goal, the ISUM (improved stock unearthing method) was applied. ISUM in…

Applying the RUSLE and ISUM in the Tierra de Barros Vineyards (Extremadura, Spain) to Estimate Soil Mobilisation Rates

Spain is one of the largest wine producers in the world, with Extremadura (south-west Spain) being its second-largest producing region after Castilla La Mancha. Within Extremadura, the most traditional and productive viticulture region is the Tierra de Barros, which boasts an annual production of 3&times

The Effect of Hydrology on Soil Erosion

In this Special Issue, we have tried to include manuscripts about soil erosion and degradation processes and the accelerated rates due to hydrological processes and climate change. We considered that the main goal was successfully reached. The new research focused on measurements, modelling, and experiments under field or laboratory conditions developed at different scales (pedon, hillslope, and catchment) were submitted and published. This Special Issue received investigations from different parts of the world such as Ethiopia, Morocco, China, Iran, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain, among others. We are happy to see that all papers presented findings characterized as unconventional, provo…

Development and analysis of the Soil Water Infiltration Global database

27 Pags.- 11 Tabls.- 8 Figs. © Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

The age of vines as a controlling factor of soil erosion processes in Mediterranean vineyards

Abstract Vineyards incur the highest soil and water losses among all Mediterranean agricultural fields. The state-of-the-art shows that soil erosion in vineyards has been primarily surveyed with topographical methods, soil erosion plots and rainfall simulations, but these techniques do not typically assess temporal changes in soil erosion. When vines are planted they are about 30 cm high × 1 cm diameter without leaves, the root system varies from 2 to over 40 cm depth, and sometimes the lack of care used during transplanting can result in a field with highly erodible bare soils. This means that the time since vine plantation plays a key role in soil erosion rates, but very little attention …

Heavy metal uptake by plants from wastewater of different pulp concentrations and contaminated soils

There is a lack of information on the extent of mineral extraction by plants from wastewater in arid and semi-arid environments in developing countries. This research assesses the performance of Alhagi and Mallow plant species for the absorption of heavy metals around the tailings dam of a copper mine in Iran. The industrial wastewater, known as the pulp, from the copper mine site has different concentrations of heavy metals. In a laboratory setting the plants were cultivated and irrigated with different pulp concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%) in water. Heavy metals (chromium, manganese, cadmium, and lead) accumulation in the aerial parts and roots of the plants, and the in-situ s…

Long-term organic farming on a citrus plantation results in soil organic carbon recovery

[ES] Se ha demostrado que el manejo del suelo bajo agricultura ecológica puede aumentar el contenido de carbono orgánico en el suelo moderando el incremento de los gases de efecto invernadero, pero hasta la fecha las evaluaciones cuantitativas basadas en mediciones a largo plazo han sido escasas, especialmente bajo condiciones mediterráneas. En esta investigación se examinaron los cambios en el contenido de carbono orgánico como respuesta a la agricultura ecológica con cobertura vegetal en una plantación de cítricos en el área mediterránea, utilizando una base de datos de 21 años. El incremento de contenido de carbono orgánico en el suelo fue más evidente tras cinco años desde el cambio del…

Regional Farmers’ Perception and Societal Issues in Vineyards Affected by High Erosion Rates

We explore the current situation in a viticultural region in Eastern Spain from a holistic and multifaceted research approach, which allowed us to understand the biophysical conditions, economic cost, social impact, and perception of the farmers’ community to the use of catch crops. A survey of the perception of the farmers, and an assessment of the biophysical impact of catch crops (CC) and tillage (C = Control plot) on soil organic matter, bulk density, infiltration capacity (single ring infiltrometer), and runoff generation and soil erosion (rainfall simulation experiments) was carried out. Two representative fields as study sites were selected in Les Alcusses valley, within Els Alforins…

Vineyards Assessed Under a Biophysical Approach: Findings From the Biohydrology and TERRAenVISION Meetings

During the Biohydrology 2019 (24-27 July 2019, Valencia, Spain) and TERRAenVISION 2019 (2-7 September 2019, Barcelona, Spain) meetings, the scientific sessions joined reputed scientists around the world. Innovative debates during these scientific sessions about vineyards focused on the use of new technologies to assess soil erosion and nutrient losses, benefits or damages generated by tillage, the use of cover crops, and the introduction of organic farming. Among all the high-quality posters and oral presentations in these 2 abovementioned conferences, 3 groups from different countries with an extended list of publications decided to publish their new findings on the special issue: Vineyar…

Improving stock unearthing method to measure soil erosion rates in vineyards

Abstract Vineyard soils experience high erosion rates compared to soils from other agricultural land uses. The high soil losses in vineyards limits the sustainability of traditional production schemes and warrants comprehensive research aimed at thwarting the main erosion processes affecting vineyard systems. However, long-term measurements, which include spatial variability of soil erosion rates at the plot scale, are uncommon, as most of the measurements have taken place either at the hillslope or watershed scales. Against this background, the stock unearthing method (SUM) can be considered a useful methodology. However, the current method falls short because it assumes that the topograph…

Climate Aridity and the Geographical Shift of Olive Trees in a Mediterranean Northern Region

Climate change leverages landscape transformations and exerts variable pressure on natural environments and rural systems. Earlier studies outlined how Mediterranean Europe has become a global hotspot of climate warming and land use change. The present work assumes the olive tree, a typical Mediterranean crop, as a candidate bioclimatic indicator, delineating the latent impact of climate aridity on traditional cropping systems at the northern range of the biogeographical distribution of the olive tree. Since the olive tree follows a well-defined latitude gradient with a progressive decline in both frequency and density moving toward the north, we considered Italy as an appropriate case to i…

Soil Erosion Induced by the Introduction of New Pasture Species in a Faxinal Farm of Southern Brazil

The faxinal management system is an endangered agro-silvopastoral system which forms part of the local traditional management in the Paraná federal state (Brazil). Significant changes in land management since the 1970s caused farmers to look for alternatives to increase the productivity of their farms. The introduction of new pasture species is causing land degradation problems, of which soil erosion is the most important challenge. Therefore, in this study, we assessed the environmental consequences of introducing exotic pasture species, such as Brachiaria decumbens. To achieve this goal, ten erosion plots were installed with exotic and native pastures (Paspalum notatum Flügg&e…

Straw mulch as a sustainable solution to decrease runoff and erosion in glyphosate-treated clementine plantations in Eastern Spain. An assessment using rainfall simulation experiments

[EN] In many Mediterranean areas, citrus orchards exhibit high soil loss rates because of the expansion of drip irrigation that allows cultivation on sloping terrain and the widespread use of glyphosate. To mitigate these non-sustainable soil losses, straw mulch could be applied as an efficient solution but this has been poorly studied. Therefore, the main goal of this paper was to assess the use of straw mulch as a tool to reduce soil losses in clementine plantations, which can be considered representative of a typical Mediterranean citrus orchard. A total of 40 rainfall simulation experiments were carried out on 20 pairs of neighbouring bare and mulched plots. Each experiment involved app…

In-Between ‘Smart’ Urban Growth and ‘Sluggish’ Rural Development? Reframing Population Dynamics in Greece, 1940–2019

Multifaceted demographic dynamics have shaped population growth in Mediterranean Europe, reflecting a metropolitan cycle from urbanization to re-urbanization. To assess the distinctive impact of economic downturns on population dynamics, the present study illustrates the results of an exploratory analysis that assesses urban expansion and rural decline at various temporal scales in Greece, a peripheral country in southeastern Europe. Statistical analysis based on multivariate exploratory techniques outlined the persistent increase of regional populations, evidencing the distinctive role of agglomeration/scale with urbanization and early suburbanization phases (1940&ndash

Connecting the public with soil to improve human health

Despite the definite links between soil and human health, it is likely that most people do not think about soil when considering human health. There is a disconnect between most people in our modern society and soil, and when people notice soil it is often in a negative context. People care for things that matter to them, and creating a more positive public image of soil could improve human health by leading to better treatment and understanding of the soil resource. There are a number of concepts that may be able to connect people to the soil, including terroir, soil health and soil security. While terroir originally established a connection between those who appreciate wine and the soils …

Soil Science Challenges in a New Era: A Transdisciplinary Overview of Relevant Topics

Transdisciplinary approaches that provide holistic views are essential to properly understand soil processes and the importance of soil to society and will be crucial in the future to integrate distinct disciplines into soil studies. A myriad of challenges faces soil science at the beginning of the 2020s. The main aim of this overview is to assess past achievements and current challenges regarding soil threats such as ero-sion and soil contamination related to different United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) including (1) sustainable food production, (2) ensure healthy lives and reduce environmental risks (SDG3), (3) ensure water availability (SDG6), and (4) enhanced soil carbo…

The multidisciplinary origin of soil geography: A review

Abstract Soil geography should be clearly recognized as a sub-discipline of physical geography and soil science, but at various times over the last century it was accepted as a complementary and descriptive sub-discipline of botany, agronomy and geology. In other words, there was not a clear consensus about its definition and origins. The main goal of this paper is to conduct a historical review (s. XX-XXI) of soil geography to clarify its origin, early methods, first authors and the importance of its interdisciplinary perspective within the scientific community. We found that soil geography was considerably advanced by the work of K.D. Glinka (1867–1927), one of Dokuchaev's students, who c…

Effect of Standard Disk Plough on Soil Translocation in Sloping Sicilian Vineyards

Tillage is the main force of soil redistribution in agricultural land use and has been seen as more critical than water erosion. This study aims to evaluate the effect of tillage with standard disk in vineyards. A representative study area with grapevines was selected, and 39 inter-rows were selected to test the effect of slope and forward speed. In each inter-row, a strip of soil was collected, and mixed with 2 kg of coloured sand used as a tracer, then replaced in the strip, and shallow soil tillage was performed by means of a standard disk plough. Three soil subsamples were collected along the slope every 0.30 m from the coloured strip and the sand tracer was separated from the soil and …

El método mejorado del tocón (ISUM) permite evaluar procesos de erosión del suelo en plantas injertadas utilizando medidas topográficas in situ

[EN] Policymakers, stakeholders and rural inhabitants must be aware of the relevance of soil erosion as an irreversible landdegradation process. This is key to achieve the land degradation neutrality challenge and the sustainability of humankindand natural ecosystems. Agricultural areas are being affected by soil erosion threatening soil quality and, subsequently,food security. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new techniques and methods visually friendly and easy to be accessedto survey and assess the soil erosion concerns. ISUM (Improve Stock Unearthing Method) is a well-contrasted procedureto estimate and map soil mobilisation and erosion rates. To achieve this goal, using the plant …

Finding Possible Weakness in the Runoff Simulation Experiments to Assess Rill Erosion Changes without Non-Intermittent Surveying Capabilities

The Terrestrial Photogrammetry Scanner (TEPHOS) offers the possibility to precisely monitor linear erosion features using the Structure from Motion (SfM) technique. This is a static, multi-camera array and dynamically moves the digital videoframe camera designed to obtain 3-D models of rills before and after the runoff experiments. The main goals were to (1) obtain better insight into the rills

Tillage Impacts on Initial Soil Erosion in Wheat and Sainfoin Fields under Simulated Extreme Rainfall Treatments

The main aim of this research was to determine the potential effects of different tillage systems (TT: traditional tillage and RT: reduced tillage) on runoff and erosion at two different locations (Kahramanmaras and Tarsus, Southern Turkey) under (i) fallow, (ii) wheat (Triticumaestivum L.), and (iii) sainfoin (Onobrychissativa L.) crops. Rainfall simulations with intensity of 120 mm h&minus

Soil erosion processes in subtropical plantations ( Diospyros kaki ) managed under flood irrigation in Eastern Spain

Persimmons (Diospyros kaki) are trees cultivated under subtropical environmental conditions but are also found in other regions such as the Mediterranean. However, no research has been conducted to investigate soil erosion processes under Mediterranean soil management systems characterized by flood irrigation and/or tillage. The Improved Stock Unearthing Method (ISUM) for assessing long-term soil mobilization was applied to two fields, one under tillage and the other under no-till with herbicide within a 25-year old Mediterranean persimmon plantation. Replicating methods used in vineyard studies, graft unions on persimmon plants were used as passive bio-indicators of soil surface changes in…

Evaluation of geomorphometric characteristics and soil properties after a wildfire using Sentinel-2 MSI imagery for future fire-safe forest

Abstract Understanding spatiotemporal geomorphological and pedological changes as a consequence of wildfires can allow stakeholders, land planners, and policymakers to design efficient fire safety-based afforestation and restoration programs of forest lands. The use of remote sensing techniques is a key tool to achieve this goal. The suitable combination of Sentinel-2 MSI data for mapping of different spectral indices related to burn severity and their relationship with other morphometric and soil properties can contribute to a better understanding of the impact of fire, and this is relevant in regions where is still scarce fire-related research such as Turkey. In this investigation, the us…

Developing scoring functions to assess soil quality at a regional scale in rangelands of SW Spain

ABSTRACT The drawing of maps of soil quality at a large scale is increasingly being more useful to land planners and stakeholders. Nevertheless, it involves different methodological steps from the description of soil profiles in the field until the regional mapping of integrative soil quality index (IQI) values. The development of proper scoring functions is a paramount task for the calculation of these IQI values since every parameter needs to be standardized accordingly and weighting factors are usually estimated by multivariate techniques. The main goal of this study was to map soil quality in the Spanish region of Extremadura (commonly known by its rangelands called dehesas). To do that…

Soil erosion modelling: A bibliometric analysis.

16 Pags.- 12 Figs.- 8 Tabls.

Impacts of oak deforestation and rainfed cultivation on soil redistribution processes across hillslopes using 137Cs techniques

Abstract Background As one of the main components of land-use change, deforestation is considered the greatest threat to global environmental diversity with possible irreversible environmental consequences. Specifically, one example could be the impacts of land-use changes from oak forests into agricultural ecosystems, which may have detrimental impacts on soil mobilization across hillslopes. However, to date, scarce studies are assessing these impacts at different slope positions and soil depths, shedding light on key geomorphological processes. Methods In this research, the Caesium-137 (137Cs) technique was applied to evaluate soil redistribution and soil erosion rates due to the effects …

Spatial variability of the relationships of runoff and sediment yield with weather types throughout the Mediterranean basin

Este artículo contiene 16 páginas, 6 figuras, 2 tablas.

Uso del método mejorado del uso del injerto (Isum) como herramienta para determinar el valor de factores topográficos alternativos en la estimación de la movilización del suelo entre hileras para huertos de cítricos

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-12T02:01:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-03-15 The Improved Stock Unearthing Method (ISUM) was initially designed to assess soil mobilisation rates in vineyards; however, other grafted crops such as citrus orchards could also be successfully used. The results obtained from ISUM have been used for several goals, but have not yet been applied for computing the LS factor (length and slope) as a part of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), which could give useful information to improve soil management system plans. This investigation was conducted in an 8-year old clementine field located in Canals (Valencia, Spain) and values of…

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Due to the reduction in the prices of oranges on the market and social changes such as the ageing of the population, traditional orange plantation abandonment in the Mediterranean is taking place. Previous research on land abandonment impact on soil and water resources has focused on rainfed agriculture abandonment, but there is no research on irrigated land abandonment. In the Valencia Region&mdash

GIS-based groundwater potential mapping in Shahroud plain, Iran. A comparison among statistical (bivariate and multivariate), data mining and MCDM approaches

Abstract In arid and semi-arid areas, groundwater resource is one of the most important water sources by the humankind. Knowledge of groundwater distribution over space, associated flow and basic exploitation measures can play a significant role in planning sustainable development, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Groundwater potential mapping (GWPM) fits in this context as the tool used to predict the spatial distribution of groundwater. In this research we tested four GIS-based models for GWPM, consisting of: i) random forest (RF); ii) weight of evidence (WoE); iii) binary logistic regression (BLR); and iv) technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) mul…

The Contrasted Impact of Land Abandonment on Soil Erosion in Mediterranean Agriculture Fields

Abstract Abandonment of agricultural land results in on- and off-site consequences for the ecosystem. In this study, 105 rainfall simulations were carried out in agriculture lands of the Mediterranean belt in Spain (vineyards in Malaga, almond orchards in Murcia, and orange and olive orchards in Valencia) and in paired abandoned lands to assess the impact of land abandonment on soil and water losses. After abandonment, soil detachment decreased drastically in the olive and orange orchards, while vineyards did not show any difference and almond orchards registered higher erosion rates after the abandonment. Terraced orchards of oranges and olives recovered a dense vegetation cover after the …

Evaluation of multi-hazard map produced using MaxEnt machine learning technique.

Abstract Natural hazards are diverse and uneven in time and space, therefore, understanding its complexity is key to save human lives and conserve natural ecosystems. Reducing the outputs obtained after each modelling analysis is key to present the results for stakeholders, land managers and policymakers. So, the main goal of this survey was to present a method to synthesize three natural hazards in one multi-hazard map and its evaluation for hazard management and land use planning. To test this methodology, we took as study area the Gorganrood Watershed, located in the Golestan Province (Iran). First, an inventory map of three different types of hazards including flood, landslides, and gul…

Evaluación de los procesos superficiales de escorrentía en cárcavas originadas en olivares convencionales. Un apartado a tener en cuenta en la planificación territorial

RESUMEN Se analiza la respuesta hidrológica de una cárcava efímera frente a un evento de lluvia equivalente de frecuencia "ordinaria" (=1 año) a partir de una simulación de escorrentía en una cuenca experimental con olivar en Puente Genil, Córdoba (España). Mil litros de agua fueron bombeados durante 10 minutos y la descarga total, la velocidad superficial de avance de frente de flujo, la concentración de sedimentos y los cambios morfológicos en el perfil transversal fueron calculados. Los resultados mostraron elevadas diferencias entre las tasas de escorrentía de hasta un 17% entre las condiciones "secas" y "húmedas". La concentración de sedimentos instantánea llegó a alcanzar valores de h…

High-to-low (Regional) fertility transitions in a peripheral european country: The contribution of exploratory time series analysis

Diachronic variations in demographic rates have frequently reflected social transformations and a (more or less evident) impact of sequential economic downturns. By assessing changes over time in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) at the regional scale in Italy, our study investigates the long-term transition (1952–2019) characteristic of Mediterranean fertility, showing a continuous decline of births since the late 1970s and marked disparities between high- and low-fertility regions along the latitude gradient. Together with a rapid decline in the country TFR, the spatiotemporal evolution of regional fertility in Italy—illustrated through an exploratory time series statistical approach—outlines th…

Soil erosion processes in European vineyards: A qualitative comparison of rainfall simulation measurements in Germany, Spain and France

Small portable rainfall simulators are considered a useful tool to analyze soil erosion processes in cultivated lands. European research groups in Spain (Valencia, Málaga, Lleida, Madrid and La Rioja), France (Reims) and Germany (Trier) have used different rainfall simulators (varying in drop size distribution and fall velocities, kinetic energy, plot forms and sizes, and field of application) to study soil loss, surface flow, runoff and infiltration coefficients in different experimental plots (Valencia, Montes de Málaga, Penedès, Campo Real and La Rioja in Spain, Champagne in France and Mosel-Ruwer valley in Germany). The measurements and experiments developed by these research teams give…

Long-term impact of rainfed agricultural land abandonment on soil erosion in the Western Mediterranean basin

[EN] Land abandonment is widespread in the Mediterranean mountains. The impact of agricultural abandonment results in a shift in ecosystem evolution due to changes in soil erosion, but little is known about long-term soil and water losses. This paper uses 11 years of measurements in two paired plots (abandoned vs control) with four subplots to determine how soil and water losses evolved after abandonment within an agricultural parcel. For two years (2004¿2005) both plots were under tillage, and after 2006 one plot was abandoned. The monitored plots measured runoff and sediment concentration after each rainfall event.

Suburban Fertility and Metropolitan Cycles: Insights from European Cities

Being largely diversified along the urban–rural gradient, fertility gaps have demonstrated to fuel metropolitan expansion, contributing to natural population growth and social change. In this direction, population dynamics and economic transformations have continuously shaped urban cycles in Europe. Assuming suburban fertility to be a relevant engine of metropolitan growth, the present study investigates and discusses the intrinsic relationship between fertility transitions and urban expansion, focusing on European metropolitan regions. An average crude birth rate referring to the last decade (2013–2018) was estimated from official statistics at 671 Functional Urban Areas (FUAs, Eurostat Ur…

Assessment of drainage network analysis methods to rank sediment yield hotspots

This paper aims to test different methods used for assessing sediment yield indices to identify hotspots and rank sediment yield hotspots. This process includes the assessment of the entropy weight...

Evaluación del índice de pobreza hídrica (WPI) en la cuenca de Borujerd-Dorood (Irán) para reforzar los planes de gestión del territorio

El Índice de Pobreza Hídrica (WPI) se considera, en general, una herramienta simple y clara para evaluar los efectos de factores combinados sobre la escasez de agua y la tensión de los recursos hídricos. En esta investigación, intentamos centrarnos en las problemáticas hídricas en las cabeceras de montaña de la cuenca de Karoon en Irán para analizar el estado de los recursos hídricos. Para este propósito, los datos requeridos se obtuvieron en primer lugar mediante la preparación de un informe de la Autoridad del Agua, la parte Agrícola y la Organización de Agua y Saneamiento del Condado de Borujerd. Luego, se estimó el valor del WPI a escala de subcuenca del río Karoon considerando como rec…

The Use of Analysis of Weather Types to Complete the Studies of Soil Erosion in Vineyards and Abandoned Areas

This presentation aims to quantify water and soil losses due to rainfall and specific soil management practices in combination with an analysis of which kind of weather type and rainfall event is able to cause specific surface flows and soil loss rates. As study area, we used the specific case of the sloping vineyards of the Montes de Malaga (South Spain). Two different plots were used: one cultivated area and poorly managed abandoned one. The in situ measures were conducted using sediment collectors to estimate sediment yield (g m−1) and surface runoff (L m−1) and an analysis of the weather conditions during each rainfall event using different meteorological sources. The weather types that…

Tillage Versus No-Tillage. Soil Properties and Hydrology in an Organic Persimmon Farm in Eastern Iberian Peninsula

There is an urgent need to implement environmentally friendly agriculture management practices to achieve the Sustainable Goals for Development (SDGs) of the United Nations by 2030. Mediterranean agriculture is characterized by intense and millennia-old tillage management and as a consequence degraded soil. No-Tillage has been widely examined as a solution for soil degradation but No-Tillage relies more on the application of herbicides that reduce plant cover, which in turn enhances soil erosion. However, No-Tillage with weed cover should be researched to promote organic farming and sustainable agriculture. Therefore, we compare Tillage against No-Tillage using weed cover as an alternative …

Analyzing Regional Geographic Challenges: The Resilience of Chinese Vineyards to Land Degradation Using a Societal and Biophysical Approach

Land degradation, especially soil erosion, is a societal issue that affects vineyards worldwide, but there are no current investigations that inform specifically about soil erosion rates in Chinese vineyards. In this review, we analyze this problem and the need to avoid irreversible damage to soil and their use from a regional point of view. Information about soil erosion in vineyards has often failed to reach farmers, and we can affirm that to this time, soil erosion in Chinese vineyards has been more of a scientific hypothesis than an agronomic or environmental concern. Two hypotheses can be presented to justify this review: (i) there are no official and scientific investigations on viney…

Relationship of Weather Types on the Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Rainfall, Runoff, and Sediment Yield in the Western Mediterranean Basin

Producción Científica

The impact of the age of vines on soil hydraulic conductivity in vineyards in eastern Spain

Soil infiltration processes manage runoff generation, which in turn affects soil erosion. There is limited information on infiltration rates. In this study, the impact of vine age on soil bulk density (BD) and hydraulic conductivity (Ks) was assessed on a loam soil tilled by chisel plough. Soil sampling was conducted in the inter row area of six vineyards, which differed by the age from planting: 0 (Age 0; just planted), 1, 3, 6, 13, and 25 years (Age 1, Age 3, Age 6, Age 13, and Age 25, respectively). The One Ponding Depth (OPD) approach was applied to ring infiltration data to estimate soil Ks with an α* parameter equal to 0.012 mm-1. Soil bulk density for Age 0 was about 1.5 times greate…

Impacts of land‐use changes on soil fertility in Okomu Forest Reserve, Southern Nigeria

Role of rock fragment cover on runoff generation and sediment yield in tilled vineyards

Summary The soil in conventional Mediterranean vineyards is an active and non-sustainable source of sediment and water. Lack of vegetation cover, small soil organic matter content and intense ploughing result in large rates of erosion in a millennia-old tillage system. There is a need for soil conservation strategies that enable sustainability of wine and grape production; therefore, it is essential to measure the rates and to investigate the processes and factors of soil erosion. This study evaluated factors that can reduce soil losses in traditional Mediterranean vineyards. The investigation was carried out with 96 rainfall simulation experiments at the pedon scale (0.24 m2) to measure so…

Spatial variability of soil roughness in persimmon plantations: A new combined ISUM (improved stock unearthing method) approach

Made available in DSpace on 2019-10-06T16:49:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2019-11-01 Universidade Estadual Paulista Soil roughness (SR) is an ecological indicator that describes the distribution of soil surface accumulations and ponds in a terrain, which allows understanding the connectivity of the flows as they act as sinks and sources of water and sediments. There is a set of methods that allows investigating the SR, and we test the use of the improved stock unearthing method (ISUM) as an easy-to-apply and low-cost approach. The ISUM has been initially tested in vineyards using the graft union and measures in the inter-row areas to assess the current soil surface l…

An economic, perception and biophysical approach to the use of oat straw as mulch in Mediterranean rainfed agriculture land

[EN] Soil erosion is a key cause of land degradation in agriculture lands; and it is a worldwide threat that must be solved by means of nature-based strategies to be able to achieve sustainability. The use of mulches can be a solution, but there is a lack of information on long-term effects of the use of straw. Furthermore, little is known about the perception of farmers and the economic cost on the implantation of straw as a conservation measure. Eight paired plots were selected in Sierra de Enguera on an agriculture field to determine the effect of straw cover on soil erosion. Four plots were tilled three times per year (Control) and four plots were not ploughed and 0.125 kg m(-2) y(-1) o…

Connectivity assessment in Mediterranean vineyards using improved stock unearthing method, LiDAR and soil erosion field surveys

The interaction between processes and landforms is accelerated in vineyards due to bare tilled soils that enhance splash, runoff, and erosion. Traditionally, in order to assess these processes, the stock unearthing method (SUM) is considered a useful methodology that uses the graft union of the vine plant as passive bio-indicator of the topsoil level changes. However, SUM assumes that the topography between the rows is planar when development of a model of the current micro-topography is performed. Thus, we consider that there is a need to develop a new methodology (ISUM: improved SUM) that, by adding new measurements in the inter-row areas (at least 3), allows inclusion of the absent micro…

Integrating in situ measurements of an index of connectivity to assess soil erosion processes in vineyards

In this research, we survey soil erosion processes using an index of connectivity and a non-invasive and long-term assessment in situ technique: the improved stock unearthing method (ISUM), for whi...

Effects of solarisation on soil thermal-physical properties under different soil treatments: A review

Solarisation technology allows for improving soil quality as well as crop productivity. The influence of the properties and method of use of plastic materials used to cover soils, such as the number and thickness of layers, and colour of the material, significantly alters soil thermal-physical properties. These effects can be managed and modified to increase solarisation efficiency by achieving a decrease in vapour movement between the soil surface and the atmosphere. Also, soil solarisation establishes microclimates that increase the effectiveness of fertilisers, thus modifying the soil thermal-physical properties. However, there is a lack of complete and general overview of this widely us…

Runoff initiation, soil detachment and connectivity are enhanced as a consequence of vineyards plantations.

[EN] Rainfall-induced soil erosion is a major threat, especially in agricultural soils. In the Mediterranean belt, vineyards are affected by high soil loss rates, leading to land degradation. Plantation of new vines is carried out after deep ploughing, use of heavy machinery, wheel traffic, and trampling. Those works result in soil physical properties changes and contribute to enhanced runoff rates and increased soil erosion rates. The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of the plantation of vineyards on soil hydrological and erosional response under low frequency - high magnitude rainfall events, the ones that under the Mediterranean climatic conditions trigger extreme soil ero…

Reseña de Key Concepts in Geomorphology

Datos Bibliográficos Nombres y apellidos de los coordinadores: Bierman, Paul R., y David R. Montgomery. Título de la obra: Key Concepts in Geomorphology Lugar donde se editó: EE.UU. Editorial: W. H. Freeman and Company Fecha de edición: 2019. Número de páginas: 500. ISBN-10: 1429238607.

A Regional Geography Approach to Understanding the Environmental Changes as a Consequence of the COVID-19 Lockdown in Highly Populated Spanish Cities

Spain has been highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is reflected at different scales. From an economic point of view, lockdowns and the reduction of activities have damaged the country (e.g., complete lockdown from March 13 to June 21, 2020). However, it is not clear if the associated environmental impacts could be observed in 2020. Currently, studies on the effects of the lockdown (e.g., decrease in economic activities, transport and social communication) on specific parameters related to climate change, such as air temperature or air pollution, due to a drastic decrease in human activities are rare. They are focused on specific cities and short periods of time. Therefore, the m…

Using hydrological connectivity to detect transitions and degradation thresholds: Applications to dryland systems

In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, shortage of water can trigger changes in landscapes’ structures and function leading to degradation and desertification. Hydrological connectivity is a useful framework for understanding water redistribution and scaling issues associated with runoff and sediment production, since human and/or natural disturbances alter surface water availability and pathways increasing/decreasing connectivity. In this paper, we illustrate the use of the connectivity framework for several examples of dryland systems that are analysed at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. In doing so, we draw particular attention to the analysis of coevolution of system structures and …

Soil Erosion on Mountain Trails in Eastern Iberian Peninsula

A review on trial erosion shows that soil erosion rates are one to three orders of magnitude higher than the ones recommended as sustainable. This is threatening the sustainable managements of mountain terrains, mainly in the popular hiking paths. The warm temperatures characterize Eastern Spain in winter, which results in visitors from northern Europe to walk in the coastal land mountainous terrain. This increases the pressure to the currently highly visited most popular paths. We selected representative transects of the trails of Serra de Bérnia, Puigcampana, Penyagolosa, Montcabré, Serra del Sit, Aitana, Les Tres Creus, Caroig, Cupurutxo and Circ de la Safor. All the selected study sites…

Soil Physical Quality of Citrus Orchards Under Tillage, Herbicide, and Organic Managements

Abstract Soil capacity to support life and to produce economic goods and services is strongly linked to the maintenance of good soil physical quality (SPQ). In this study, the SPQ of citrus orchards was assessed under three different soil managements, namely no-tillage using herbicides, tillage under chemical farming, and no-tillage under organic farming. Commonly used indicators, such as soil bulk density, organic carbon content, and structural stability index, were considered in conjunction with capacitive indicators estimated by the Beerkan estimation of soil transfer parameter (BEST) method. The measurements taken at the L'Alcoleja Experimental Station in Spain yielded optimal values fo…

Effect of Wheat Straw as a Cover Crop on the Chlorophyll, Seed, and Oilseed Yield of Trigonella foeunm graecum L under Water Deficiency and Weed Competition

The effects of water stress on fenugreek crops are well documented. However, little is known about how these plants respond to water deficits under a soil-mulching system when the surface is protected. Therefore, the current research aims to demonstrate the possibility of reducing the impact of water stress and weed competition on the fenugreek crop through the use of wheat residues as a cover crop on the soil surface. A field experiment was carried out during the winter season (2016&ndash

Real cover crops contribution to soil organic carbon sequestration in sloping vineyard

Abstract The research focused on the evaluation of the effect of soil erosion processes on SOC sequestration rate after 5 years of cover crop soil management in Mediterranean vineyards (Sicily, Italy). Two paired sites, one in a sloping area and another one in a contiguous flat area, were chosen. The vineyard soils of the two plots of each paired site were managed with conventional soil tillage (CT) and Vicia faba cover crop (CC) the preceding 5 years. SOC was measured in three points along the slope (top, middle and foot parts) and in the flat area. Results showed that in the slope area the highest SOC content was found in CC management, with an average value of 9.52 ± 0.34 g kg−1, whereas…

Determining the potential impacts of fire and different land uses on splash erosion in the margins of drylands

Abstract This research aimed to estimate the splash erosion and its evolution during the first months in specific land uses after a forest fire. The study area was located in Congosto (North-West Spain), in the margins of Spanish drylands, after a wildfire occurred in May 2012, which burned 15.56 ha of scrubland and Pinus reforestation. Two different burned land uses were selected and compared to control areas: i) burned pine forest; and, scrublands. Rainfall intensity and the number, sizes and speed of raindrops were measured by an optical disdrometer and soil loss by funnels. Moreover, infiltration, soil moisture content, aggregate stability, water repellence, pH and organic matter were a…

Rainfall simulation and Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry for the analysis of soil water erosion in Mediterranean vineyards

[EN] Soil water erosion is a serious problem, especially in agricultural lands.Among these, vineyards deserve attention, because they constitute for the Mediterranean areas a type of land use affected by high soil losses. A significant problem related to the study of soil water erosion in these areas consists in the lack of a standardized procedure of collecting data and reporting results, mainly due to a variability among the measurement methods applied. Given this issue and the seriousness of soil water erosion in Mediterranean vineyards, this works aims to quantify the soil losses caused by simulated rainstorms, and compare them with each other depending on two different methodologies: (…

Policies can help to apply successful strategies to control soil and water losses. The case of chipped pruned branches (CPB) in Mediterranean citrus plantations

[EN] There is a need to devise management strategies that control soil and water losses in agriculture land to allow the design of proper policies to achieve sustainability. It is the responsibility of scientists to work with other actors to co-construct strategies that will lead to sustainable land-use policies. Using chipped pruned branches (CPB) as mulch can be a viable option because they represent local (in situ) organic material that can restore soil nutrient and organic matter. This research assesses: i) the perception of farmers towards different types of management strategies and CPB's costs; ii) the biomass yield of citrus branches and the impact of CPB on soil properties; iii) ho…

Soil Erosion as an Environmental Concern ... for Everyone?

Nowadays, the scientific community is aware of the negative environmental impacts of soil erosion on ecosystem services. Soil erosion is one of the most important causes of land degradation because of its immediate influence of the most fertile topsoil parts. It is well-known that questions related to who, what, why, where and when soil erosion causes negative impacts must be considered by stakeholders and policymakers. However, why do the Sustainable Development Goals tell anything about soil erosion? In this keynote, we will try to show the importance to develop tools which can be used to assess soil erosion to obtain convincing results for stakeholders and policymakers. According to this…

Automotive Radar in a UAV to Assess Earth Surface Processes and Land Responses

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in earth science research has drastically increased during the last decade. The reason being innumerable advantages to detecting and monitoring various environmental processes before and after certain events such as rain, wind, flood, etc. or to assess the current status of specific landforms such as gullies, rills, or ravines. The UAV equipped sensors are a key part to success. Besides commonly used sensors such as cameras, radar sensors are another possibility. They are less known for this application, but already well established in research. A vast number of research projects use professional radars, but they are expensive and difficult to hand…

Evaluating soil erosion and sediment deposition rates by the 137Cs fingerprinting technique at karst gabin basin in Yunnan Province, southwest China

Soil erosion is a global environmental problem that can lead to the loss of nutrients in topsoil layers, particularly in fragile karst environments where the low contents of organic carbon and steep slopes used to be key pedological and geomorphological factors. Researching the erosion and deposition rates in small watersheds is important for designing efficient soil and water conservation measures. In this research, the Dapotou closed catchment, a representative depression in karst gabin basin, located in the Yunnan province, Southwest China, was selected to assess the variation of soil erosion and soil sediment mobilisation at different hillslope positions using the 137Cs tracing techniqu…

Soil Erosion as an Environmental Concern in Vineyards. The Case Study of Celler del Roure, Eastern Spain, by Means of Rainfall Simulation Experiments

Soil erosion in vineyards is considered as an environmental concern as it depletes soil fertility and causes damage in the fields and downstream. High soil and water losses decrease soil quality, and subsequently, this can reduce the quality of the grapes and wine. However, in specialized journals of viticulture and enology, soil erosion studies are not present. This paper surveys the soil erosion losses in the vineyards of Celler del Roure, Eastern Spain, as an example of Mediterranean vineyards. We applied rainfall simulation experiments (10 plots) using a small portable rainfall simulator and 55 mm h−1 in one hour to characterize soil erodibility, runoff discharge, and soil erosion…

Developing scoring functions to assess soil quality at a regional scale in rangelands of SW Spain

ABSTRACT The drawing of maps of soil quality at a large scale is increasingly being more useful to land planners and stakeholders. Nevertheless, it involves different methodological steps from the description of soil profiles in the field until the regional mapping of integrative soil quality index (IQI) values. The development of proper scoring functions is a paramount task for the calculation of these IQI values since every parameter needs to be standardized accordingly and weighting factors are usually estimated by multivariate techniques. The main goal of this study was to map soil quality in the Spanish region of Extremadura (commonly known by its rangelands called dehesas). To do that…