Search results for " SOIL"
showing 10 items of 774 documents
Estimating saturated soil hydraulic conductivity by the near steady-state phase of a Beerkan infiltration test
2017
Abstract Single-ring infiltration experiments carried out in the field, such as the Beerkan runs, allow easy and inexpensive characterization of soil hydraulic properties, and specifically saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Ks, by maintaining the functional connection of the sampled soil volume with the surrounding soil. However, a single infiltration experiment is not enough to determine Ks. The simplest way to obtain the necessary additional data is based on the assessment of the soil texture and structure characteristics. In this investigation, a simplified method, named SSBI (Steady version of the Simplified method based on a Beerkan infiltration run), was developed to estimate Ks b…
Stakeholders' Perceptions about Fire Impacts on Lithuanian Protected Areas
2016
The aim of this work is to study Lithuanian stakeholders' perceptions of fire impacts in protected areas. For this study, the stakeholders consisted of foresters, ecologists and farmers. A clear understanding of the opinions of stakeholders about fire effects on environmental, social and economic aspects of Lithuanian protected areas will allow an assessment of the stakeholders' reaction to fire policy, including government measures towards fire prevention, suppression and application of prescribed fire to landscape management. The results showed that stakeholders in general think that fire is not a threat to Lithuania and to the ecological processes in the protected areas. However, they ag…
The crucial interactions between climate and soil
2022
Since the birth of soil science, climate has been recognized as a soil-forming factor, along with parent rock, time, topography, and organisms (from which humans were later kept distinct), often prevalent on the other factors on the very long term. But the climate is in turns affected by soils and their management. This paper describes the interrelationships between climate – and its current change – and soil, focusing on each single factor of its formation. Parent material governs, primarily through the particle size distribution, the capacity of soil to retain water and organic matter, which are two main soil-related drivers of the climate. Time is the only unmanageable soil-forming facto…
Morphogenetic characteristics of chernozem leached in mining enterprises pollution conditions
2019
The article presents the results of comparative studies on the uncontaminated (virgin) leached chernozem soil in terms of heavy metal contamination due to zinc plant operations. Study object location is given. The territory under the influence of plant emissions is devoid of vegetation. Everywhere on the soil surface there are manifestations of deep erosion processes and continuous erosion of the topsoil. Soil cuts with morphogenetic descriptions, physical, physico-chemical and biological characteristics of the soil were laid at the objects. The soil cover under the influence of pollution has undergone degradation and led to transformational processes of particle size distribution, humus co…
Testing a new automated single ring infiltrometer for Beerkan infiltration experiments
2015
International audience; The Beerkan method along with BEST algorithms is an alternative technique to conventional laboratory or field measurements for rapid and low-cost estimation of soil hydraulic properties. The Beerkan method is simple to conduct but requires an operator to repeatedly pour known volumes of water through a ring positioned at the soil surface. A cheap infiltrometer equipped with a data acquisition system was recently designed to automate Beerkan infiltration experiments. In this paper, the current prototype of the automated infiltrometer was tested to validate its applicability to the Beerkan infiltration experiment under several experimental circumstances. In addition, t…
Microstructural sensitivity of local porosity distributions
1992
The recently introduced concept of local porosity distributions for the geometric characterization of arbitrary porous media is scrutinized using computer generated pore space images. The paper presents the first direct determination of local porosity distributions from digital images. Pore space images with identical two point correlation functions are employed to analyse the geometrical sensitivity of the local porosity concept. The main finding is that local distributions can be used to discriminate between images which are indistinguishable using standard correlation functions. We also discuss the question of length scales associated with the local porosity concept.
Exact and approximate calculations for the conductivity of sandstones
1999
We analyze a three-dimensional pore space reconstruction of Fontainebleau sandstone and calculate from it the eective conductivity using local porosity theory. We compare this result with an exact calculation of the eective conductivity that solves directly the disordered Laplace equation. The prediction of local porosity theory is in good quantitative agreement with the exact result. c 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
A validated energy model of a solar dish-Stirling system considering the cleanliness of mirrors
2020
Solar systems based on the coupling of parabolic concentrating collectors and thermal engines (i.e. dish-Stirling systems) are among the most efficient generators of solar power currently available. This study focuses on the modelling of functioning data from a 32 kWe dish-Stirling solar plant installed at a facility test site on the University of Palermo campus, in Southern Italy. The proposed model, based on real monitored data, the energy balance of the collector and the partial load efficiency of the Stirling engine, can be used easily to simulate the annual energy production of such systems, making use of the solar radiation database, with the aim of encouraging a greater commercialisa…
Effects of partial rootzone drying and rootstock vigour on growth and fruit quality of 'Pink Lady' apple trees in Mediterranean environments
2008
We investigated the effects of partial rootzone drying (PRD) and rootstock vigour on water relations, and vegetative and productive performance of ‘Pink Lady’ apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees in central Sicily. In a first field trial, trees on MM.106 rootstock were subjected to: Conventional irrigation (CI), maintaining soil moisture above 80% of field capacity; PRD irrigation, where only one alternated side of the rootzone received 50% of the CI irrigation water; and continuous deficit irrigation (DI), where 50% of the CI water was equally applied to both sides of the rootzone. In a second trial, trees on M.9 or MM.106 were subjected to CI and PRD irrigation. PRD reduced stomatal condu…
Soil REE patterns as tracers of the emplacement of metal-rich anthropogenic materials. A case study in Moa (Cuba)
2019
Purpose: Are rare earth element (REE) patterns employable as tracers in human interventions of bulk soil disturbances, when high concentrations of metals are involved in the in situ soil disturbance? In terms of bulk soil disturbance, it is difficult to distinguish between bulk soil disturbances and emplacement of new earthen material. Chemical fingerprinting, in particular REE plus yttrium, is applied across many fields, but predominantlyin tracking the sources of potential environmental contaminants. Materials and methods: The REE normalised patterns (HNO 3 :HF:HCl 3:1:1 digestion, ICP-MS) of two Calcaric Cambisols were compared with those of a Geric Ferralsol (Novic, Technic) originated …