showing 15 related works from this author
Effect of climate and vegetation on soil organic carbon, humus fractions, allophanes, imogolite, kaolinite, and oxyhydroxides in volcanic soils of Et…
2007
A soil sequence along an elevational gradient ranging from subtropical to subalpine climate zones in the Etna region (Sicily, southern Italy) was investigated with respect to organic C, kaolinite, and crystalline to noncrystalline Al and Fe phases. Special emphasis was given to the stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its interaction with the inorganic phases. The soils were variations of Vitric Andosols that developed on a trachy-basaltic lava flow with an age of 15,000 years. Two main vegetation systems dominated the sites: at the lower sites, it was mainly maquis vegetation and, at the higher elevated sites, predominantly coniferous forest. The concentration of SOC in the topso…
Prediction of Soil Formation as a Function of Age Using the Percolation Theory Approach
2018
Recent modeling and comparison with field results showed that soil formation by chemical weathering, either from bedrock or unconsolidated material, is limited largely by solute transport. Chemical weathering rates are proportional to solute velocities. Nonreactive solute transport described by non-Gaussian transport theory appears compatible with soil formation rates. This change in understanding opens new possibilities for predicting soil production and depth across orders of magnitude of time scales. Percolation theory for modeling the evolution of soil depth and production was applied to new and published data for alpine and Mediterranean soils. The first goal was to check whether the e…
Charcoal and stable soil organic matter as indicators of fire frequency, climate and past vegetation in volcanic soils of Mt. Etna, Sicily
2012
Abstract Charcoal fragments in soils are useful to reconstruct past vegetation because the level of preservation is often good enough to determine the tree genus. All forest ecosystems have the potential to burn as a result of naturally occurring or human-induced fires. Forest fires are coupled to climate and are a not-negligible factor of pedogenesis in Mediterranean areas, where they occur frequently. Furthermore, soil organic matter (SOM) is prone to undergo peculiar changes due to forest fires, both in terms of quantity and quality. A soil sequence along an elevational gradient ranging from Mediterranean to subalpine climate zones on slopes of Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy) was investigated i…
Clay minerals, oxyhydroxide formation, element leaching and humus development in volcanic soils
2008
Aweathering sequence with soils developing on volcanic, trachy-basaltic parent materials with ages ranging from 100–115,000 years in the Etna region served as the basis to analyse and calculate the accumulation and stabilisation mechanisms of soil organic matter (SOM), the transformation of pedogenic Fe and Al, the formation and transformation of clay minerals, the weathering indices and, by means of mass-balance calculations, net losses of the main elements. Although the soils were influenced by ash depositions during their development and the soil on the oldest lava flow developed to a great extent under a different climate, leaching of elements and mineral formation and transformation co…
Pedogenesis and carbon sequestration in transformed agricultural soils of Sicily
2021
The increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is a consequence of human activities leading to severe environmental deteriorations. Techniques are thus needed to sequester and reduce atmospheric carbon. One of the proposed techniques is the transformation or construction of new soils into which more organic carbon can be sequestered and CO2 be consumed by increased weathering. By using a chronosequence of new and transformed soils on crushed limestone (0–48 years) in a Mediterranean area (Sicily), we tried to quantify the amount of organic carbon that could be additionally sequestered and to derive the corresponding rates. A further aim was to trace chemical weathering and related CO2 consump…
Insensitivity of Tree-Ring Growth to Temperature and Precipitation Sharpens the Puzzle of Enhanced Pre-Eruption NDVI on Mt. Etna (Italy)
2017
On Mt. Etna (Italy), an enhanced Normalized Difference in Vegetation Index (NDVI) signature was detected in the summers of 2001 and 2002 along a distinct line where, in November 2002, a flank eruption subsequently occurred. These observations suggest that pre-eruptive volcanic activity may have enhanced photosynthesis along the future eruptive fissure. If a direct relation between NDVI and future volcanic eruptions could be established, it would provide a straightforward and low-cost method for early detection of upcoming eruptions. However, it is unclear if, or to what extent, the observed enhancement of NDVI can be attributed to volcanic activity prior to the subsequent eruption. We conse…
From pedologic indications to archaeological reconstruction: deciphering land use in the Islamic period in the Baida district (north-western Sicily)
2013
Abstract The aim of this work was to detect imprints on soil properties from former Islamic land use (9th to 11th century) using a multi-method, soil-chemical approach. Four soil profiles (with buried horizons) found in the vicinities of former Islamic settlements in Sicily were analysed for phosphorus (total, organic and inorganic), nitrogen (total, NO 3 − and NH 4 + ), carbon compounds (δ 13 C, lipids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and functional groups), physical and chemical C-fractions and the state of soil weathering. Two soil profiles contained ceramic sherds from the Islamic period. Inorganic nitrogen forms, phosphorous and the PAH content indicated strong impacts from trad…
Long-term cropping systems and tillage management effects on soil organic carbon stocks and steady state level of C sequestration rates in a semiarid…
2010
A calcareous and clayey xeric Chromic Haploxerept of a long-term experimental site in Sicily (Italy) was sampled (0–15 cm depth) under different land use management and cropping systems (CSs) to study their effect on soil aggregate stability and organic carbon (SOC). The experimental site had three tillage managements (no till [NT], dual-layer [DL] and conventional tillage [CT]) and two CSs (durum wheat monocropping [W] and durum wheat/faba bean rotation [WB]). The annually sequestered SOC with W was 2·75-times higher than with WB. SOC concentrations were also higher. Both NT and CT management systems were the most effective in SOC sequestration whereas with DL system no C was sequestered. …
The influence of weathering processes on labile and stable organic matter in Mediterranean volcanic soils
2008
The relationship and mechanisms among weathering processes, cation fluxes, clay mineralogy, organic matter composition and stability were studied in soils developing on basaltic material in southern Italy (Sicily). The soils were transitions between Phaeozems and Vertisols. Intense losses of the elements Na, Ca and Mg were measured indicating that weathering has occurred over a long period of time. The main weathering processes followed the sequence: amphibole, mica, volcanic glass or if ash was the primary source→smectite→interstratified smectite–kaolinite→kaolinite. Kaolinite formation was strongly related to high Al, Mg and Na losses. The good correlation between oxyhydroxides and kaolin…
Rapid transformation of inorganic to organic and plant-available phosphorous in soils of a glacier forefield
2012
Abstract Chemical weathering of rocks or sediments is extremely important for the generation of soils, for the evolution of landscape, and as a main source of inorganic nutrients for plant growth and therefore for life. Temporal trends in weathering mechanisms, plant succession and nutrients availability in cold environments can be successfully studied in soil chronosequences along a glacier forefield. In the present paper, this was carried out in the pro-glacial area of Morteratsch. Different forms of phosphorous in the soil, stream and spring water chemistry were investigated. Apatite constitutes the main source of P, but it occurs only as a minor accessory mineral phase in the granitic/g…
Long-Term Tillage and Cropping System Effects on Chemical and Biochemical Characteristics of Soil Organic Matter in a Mediterranean Semiarid Environm…
2014
Several studies have reported how tillage and cropping systems affect quantity, quality, and distribution of soil organic matter (SOM) along the profile. However, the effect of soil management on the chemical structure of SOM and on its hydrophobic and hydrophilic components has been little investigated. In this work, the long-term (19 years) effects of two cropping systems (wheat monoculture and wheat/faba bean rotation) and three tillage managements (conventional, reduced, and no tillage) on some chemical characteristics of SOM and their relationships with labile carbon (C) pools were evaluated. Soil samples were taken from the topsoil (0–15 cm) of a Chromic Haploxerert (central Sicily, I…
Linking tephrochronology and soil characteristics in the Sila and Nebrodi mountains, Italy
2017
Recent studies have demonstrated that soils formed on pyroclastic ash deposits are much more common in the Mediterranean area than previously assumed. These soils are an important key to understanding past volcanic events and landscape evolution. Chronological information in soils of Quaternary volcanic events, however, remains still poorly understood in southern Italy. Using a multi-method forensic approach, we explore the origin and age of volcanic deposits (soils) in Sicily and Calabria. The geochemical signature of the soil was compared to the chemical fingerprint of the magmas of potential source areas of southern Italian volcanoes. The results indicate that the investigated soils on t…
Soil development on sediments and evaporites of the Messinian crisis
2020
Abstract Vast areas in the Mediterranean are characterised by evaporite deposits of the Messinian crises (c. 6–5.3 Ma BP). During this period, large deposits were built up in shallow lagoon-like systems and are now found in southern Italy, Albania, Cyprus and Turkey. So far, soil formation on evaporites has been studied predominantly in subarid to arid environments. Although the formation of soils has received new significance, little is known about the evolutional trajectories on evaporites of the Mediterranean. We therefore studied soil formation in the Caltanissetta basin (Sicily) where evaporites are most widespread. The lithologies included the sequence: marine clay deposits, laminated…
Origin of clay minerals in soils on pyroclastic deposits in the island of Lipari (Italy)
2005
The island of Lipari (Italy) is characterized by calc-alkaline to potassic volcanism and a Mediterranean-type climate. The mineralogical and chemical features of two different soil profiles with ages of 92,000 and 10,000–40,000 y, respectively, have been investigated. There were no Andisols, but Vitric and Vertic Cambisols have developed at both sites. Although the morphology of the soils was similar, remarkable differences in the clay mineralogy between the two sites were observed. The site with the Vitric Cambisol was associated with the weathering sequence: glass → halloysite → kaolinite or interstratified kaolinite-2:1 clay minerals. Both sites had smectite in the clay fraction and, to …
An extra-urban soil cadastre for Italy: a first guide for the introduction of soil information
2020
Assuming a positive outcome of the parliamentary procedure for laws and, thus, the transformation of the official cadastre for buildings and land into a soil cadastre (urban, extra-urban and cadastre for the conservation of natural or semi-natural soil diversity) would start a new era for pedology. Finally, after many decades of activity to expand soil culture in Italy, almost all Italian families would be in contact with a soil specialist. Land use and redefined plots would be handled with greater care and responsibility. Experts in agricultural and forestry and biodiversity conservation would have a new impetus in their activity. Furthermore, economists will also have to address new issue…