Search results for "Soil retrogression and degradation"
showing 10 items of 52 documents
Spatial variability of the relationships of runoff and sediment yield with weather types throughout the Mediterranean basin
2019
Este artículo contiene 16 páginas, 6 figuras, 2 tablas.
Alleviating Soil Acidity: Optimization of Lime and Zinc Use in Maize (Zea mays L.) Grown on Alfisols
2019
ABSTRACTSoil acidity, one of the causes of soil degradation, adversely affects phytoavailability of soil nutrients and crop growth in 50% of arable land of the world. There is a persistent need for...
Eawag-Soil in enviPath: a new resource for exploring regulatory pesticide soil biodegradation pathways and half-life data.
2017
Developing models for the prediction of microbial biotransformation pathways and half-lives of trace organic contaminants in different environments requires as training data easily accessible and sufficiently large collections of respective biotransformation data that are annotated with metadata on study conditions. Here, we present the Eawag-Soil package, a public database that has been developed to contain all freely accessible regulatory data on pesticide degradation in laboratory soil simulation studies for pesticides registered in the EU (282 degradation pathways, 1535 reactions, 1619 compounds and 4716 biotransformation half-life values with corresponding metadata on study conditions)…
Effect of cactus pear cultivation after Mediterranean maquis on soil carbon stock, δ13C spatial distribution and root turnover
2014
Abstract Mediterranean ecosystems are characterized by nearly complete replacement of natural vegetation by intensive croplands and orchards leading to strong soil degradation. Organic carbon is usually accumulated in soils under maquis leading to partial regeneration of fertility for future agricultural use. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of land use change from maquis to agriculture on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and its spatial distribution in a Mediterranean system. Three Mediterranean land use systems (seminatural vegetation, cactus pear crop and olive grove) were selected in Sicily and analysed for soil C stocks and their δ13C. Total SOC and δ13C were measured …
Agricultural management affects the response of soil bacterial community structure and respiration to water-stress
2013
International audience; Soil microorganisms are responsible for organic matter decomposition processes that regulate soil carbon storage and mineralisation to CO2. Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of drought events, with uncertain consequences for soil microbial communities. In this study we tested the hypothesis that agricultural management used to enhance soil carbon stocks would increase the stability of microbial community structure and activity in response to water-stress. Soil was sampled from a long-term field trial with three soil carbon management systems and was used in a laboratory study of the effect of a dry wet cycle on organic C mineralisation and microbi…
The contribution of the European Society for Soil Conservation (ESSC) to scientific knowledge, education and sustainability
2019
Soil is an integral component of the global environmental system which supports the quality and diversity of terrestrial life on Earth. Therefore, it is vital to consider the processes and impacts of soil degradation on society, especially on the provision of environmental goods and services, including food security and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Scientific societies devoted to soil science play significant roles in reducing soil degradation and promoting soil conservation by advancing scientific knowledge, education and environmental sustainability. The ESSC was founded on 4 November 1988, with the aims to: 1. Support research on soil degradation, soil protection and soil an…
Soil structural stability and erosion rates influenced by agricultural management practices in a semi-arid Mediterranean agro-ecosystem
2012
Unsuitable agricultural practices can cause loss in soil quality and erodibility to thus increase or trigger desertification under Mediterranean conditions. A field experiment was performed at the El Teularet-Sierra de Enguera Experimental Station (eastern Spain) to assess the influence during a 5-yr period of different agricultural practices on physical and chemical indicators of soil quality (total and water-soluble carbohydrates, glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP), total organic carbon, aggregate stability (AS), vegetation cover and soil erosion). The management practices included residual herbicide use, ploughing, ploughing + oats, addition of oat straw mulch and a control (land aban…
Cover crop management and water conservation in vineyard and olive orchards
2021
Abstract Sustainability in orchard crops is an important goal for farmers, decision-makers and consumers. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals emphasize the importance of the soils in the Earth System to achieve sustainability and accomplish the Land Degradation Neutrality Challenge. Within the world agriculture land, olive and vineyards are within the eldest crops in the world, and they are also the ones with the highest degree of soil degradation. Cover crops (CC) are widely accepted as sustainable crop management that reduces soil and water losses, restores organic matter, increases biodiversity and fertility in degraded agriculture soils. The agriculture land must shift into…
Thermal analysis applied to the characterization of degradation in soil of polylactide: I. Calorimetric and viscoelastic analyses
2010
[EN] An accelerated soil burial test has been performed on a commercial polylactide (PLA) for simulating non-controlled disposal. Degradation in soil promotes physical and chemical changes in polylactide properties, which can be characterized by Thermal Analysis techniques. Physical changes occurred in polylactide due to the degradation in soil were evaluated by correlating their calorimetric and visco-elastic properties. It is highly remarkable that each calorimetric scan offers specific and enlightening information. Degradation in soil affects the polylactide chains reorganization. A multimodal melting behavior is observed for buried PLA, degradation in soil also promotes the enlarging th…
Sensitivity of soil processes in northern forest soils: are management practices a threat?
2000
Abstract There is evidence that forest management practices influence soil-decomposer communities. It is also established that changes in the trophic structure and composition of these communities can induce changes in soil-nutrient dynamics, thereby affecting plant growth. Whether forest productivity is affected by management-induced changes in, e.g. soil faunal structure, is, however, yet to be shown. The aim of this study was (1) to determine the resolution of the ecological hierarchy (e.g. species, functional groups, trophic levels) at which a change in soil fauna would alter biotically-controlled processes in soils, and (2) to examine the sensitivity of soil fauna of the boreal forest …