Search results for "Compaction"

Long-term non-sustainable soil erosion rates and soil compaction in drip-irrigated citrus plantation in Eastern Iberian Peninsula.

2021

Abstract Agriculture is known to commonly cause soil degradation. In the Mediterranean, soil erosion is widespread due to the millennia-old farming, and new drip-irrigated plantations on slopes, such as the citrus ones, accelerate the process of soil degradation. Until now, the published data about soil erosion in citrus orchards is based on short-term measurements. Long-term soil erosion measurements are needed to assess the sustainability of drip-irrigated citrus production and to design new strategies to control high soil erosion rates. The objective of this study is to assess long-term soil erosion rates in citrus plantations and report the changes in soil bulk density as indicators of …

Use of BEST Procedure to Assess Soil Physical Quality in the Baratz Lake Catchment (Sardinia, Italy)

2016

Conversion of Mediterranean maquis and/or natural forest into agro-pastoral lands is a cause of soil degradation in many Mediterranean areas. Indicators of soil physical quality (SPQ) quantitatively linked to soil hydraulic properties are a valuable tool to assess the effect of land use changes. In this investigation, the Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer parameters (BEST) procedure for soil hydraulic characterization was used to estimate SPQ indicators. Four areas of the Baratz Lake watershed, Sardinia, Italy, characterized by both typical natural vegetation (holm oak [ Quercus ilex L.] forest and high maquis) and degraded vegetation (grassland established after fire or clearing of the m…

Unveiled the Source of the Structural Instability of HKUST Powders upon Mechanical Compaction: Definition of a Fully Preserving Tableting Method

2019

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are getting closer to finally being used in commercial applications. In order to maximize their packing density, mechanical strength, stability in reactive environments, and many other properties, the compaction of MOF powders is a fundamental step for the application field of research of these extraordinary materials. In particular, HKUST-1 is among the most promising and studied MOF. Contrary to what reported so far in the literature, here we prove that the tableting of HKUST-1 powders without any damage of the lattice is possible and easy to get. For the first time, this kind of investigation has been performed exploiting its peculiar magnetic properties w…

Morphological characterisation of soil structure in tilled fields: from a diagnosis method to the modelling of structural changes over time

2004

Characterisation of soit structure within the tilled layer of cultivated fields is crucial because the importance of this soil characteristic on the biological, chemical and physical properties of the soil and its repercussions on water cycle, root growth and functioning. We present in this paper a method for field characterisation of soil structure. This method, practised since the 1970s, was designed for field diagnosis of the effects of cropping systems on soil structure. It is based on a stratification of the observation face of a pit dug perpendicular to the direction of tillage and traffic: spatial compartments are distinguished, according to the nature of the mechanical stresses they…

Familial Left Ventricular Noncompaction Associated With a Novel Mutation in the Alpha-cardiac Actin Gene

2014

Permeability and conductivity for reconstruction models of porous media

2001

The purpose of this paper is to examine representative examples of realistic three-dimensional models for porous media by comparing their geometrical and transport properties with those of the original experimental specimen. The comparison is based on numerically exact evaluations of permeability, formation factor, porosity, specific internal surface, mean curvature, Euler number, local porosity distributions, and local percolation probabilities. The experimental specimen is a three-dimensional computer tomographic image of Fontainebleau sandstone. The three models are examples of physical and stochastic reconstructions for which many of the geometrical characteristics coincide with those o…

Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Physical Disturbances Caused by Forest Machinery: a Comprehensive Review

2022

Abstract Purpose of Review Ground-based mechanized forest operations can cause severe soil disturbances that are often long lasting and detrimental to the health of forested ecosystems. To reduce these soil disturbances, focus is being increasingly directed at identifying and using appropriate mitigation techniques. This systematic review considered 104 scientific articles and reported the main findings according to four core themes: terrain-related factors, operational planning, machine modifications, and types of amendments used to mitigate machine-induced soil impacts. Recent Findings For terrain-related factors, most severe disturbances occur on machine operating trails exceeding 20% sl…

Impacts of wood extraction on soil: assessing rutting and soil compaction caused by skidding and forwarding by means of traditional and innovative me…

2021

AbstractIntensive forestry operations may cause soil compaction, plastic soil disturbances and rutting, which are responsible for undesirable effects on soils, vegetation and water bodies. Despite the numerous studies aimed to identify the main factors affecting soil damages, it still remains unclear whether wood extraction methods and driving direction (uphill or downhill) may affect the impacts of forest machines. This research analyses soil compaction and soil penetration resistance as well as rutting from forwarding and skidding using the same farm tractor in up- and downhill wood extraction. Rutting was estimated by 3D soil reconstruction derived by portable laser scanning (PLS) and cl…

A system for the real-time geo-referenced measurement of soil parameters

2011

The aim of this research is to develop a system for accurately measuring in real-time, collecting and processing a high amount of geo-referenced data of soil physical-mechanical parameters, e.g. cone penetrometer resistance, index of soil compaction, and draft force. The system for measuring the soil cone penetrometer resistance is comprised of a load cell, connected to a rod, ending with a cone, and is mounted on a frame, fixed to the front part of a tractor. The system for measuring the draft force required to till the soil is comprised of a load cell, mounted on the hitch hook of a tool carrier, towed by the tractor. Moreover, in order to test the usefulness of the system with different …

Semiautomatic detection of myocardial contours in order to investigate normal values of the left ventricular trabeculated mass using MRI

2015

Purpose To propose, assess, and validate a semiautomatic method allowing rapid and reproducible measurement of trabeculated and compacted left ventricular (LV) masses from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods We developed a method to automatically detect noncompacted, endocardial, and epicardial contours. Papillary muscles were segmented using semiautomatic thresholding and were included in the compacted mass. Blood was removed from trabeculae using the same threshold tool. Trabeculated, compacted masses and ratio of noncompacted to compacted (NC:C) masses were computed. Preclinical validation was performed on four transgenic mice with hypertrabeculation of the LV…