Search results for "Soil CO"
showing 10 items of 269 documents
Effects of soil gas permeability and recirculation flux on soil CO2 flux measurements performed using a closed dynamic accumulation chamber
2009
Abstract Dynamic accumulation chamber methods have been extensively used to estimate the total output of CO2 released from active volcanic area. In order to asses the performance and reliability of a closed dynamic system several tests were carried out with different soil permeabilities and soil CO2 fluxes. A special device was used to create a constant one-dimensional CO2 flux through a soil column with a known permeability. Three permeabilities were investigated, ranging between 3.6 × 10− 2 and 3.5 × 10 μm2, as were several CO2 fluxes (ranging between 1.1 × 10− 6 and 6.3 × 10− 5 kg m− 2 s− 1). The results highlight that the accuracy of soil CO2 flux measurements strictly depends on the so…
Properties and erosional response of soils in a degraded ecosystem in Crete (Greece)
2013
To study desertification processes relating to soil erosion, a climatological and altitudinal gradient from south to north was selected in Crete (Greece) and four locations were selected along the gradient. At the locations precipitation ranged from 1400 mm/year at the highest location to 400 mm/year at the lowest. All locations are affected by the actual land use: intensive grazing, small controlled fires, and abandoned agricultural terraces. Representative soil profiles were described in the field and analyzed in the laboratory, and rainfall simulation experiments in the field measured soil erosion over different soil surfaces and land uses. Data on physical and chemical properties were o…
Shrubland as a soil and water conservation agent in Mediterranean-type ecosystems
2015
John Thornes found that shrubland was a key factor in the control of soil erosion on Mediterranean hillsides. His research inspired many scientists to investigate the impact of shrubland changes and management in semi-arid ecosystems. An example of Professor Thornes’ scientific influence is the experiment carried out on the El Teularet–Sierra de Enguera experimental station since 2003 which showed erosion rates on a 30-year-old abandoned orchard with dense vegetation cover of Ulex parviflorus and Cistus albidus and a 20-year-old fire-affected maquia with Quercus coccifera, Pistacia lentiscus and Juniperus oxycedrus. The measurements demonstrated that the shrubs help create more stable soil …
Predicting unit plot soil loss in Sicily, south Italy
2008
Predicting soil loss is necessary to establish soil conservation measures. Variability of soil and hydrological parameters complicates mathematical simulation of soil erosion processes. Methods for predicting unit plot soil loss in Sicily were developed by using 5 years of data from replicated plots. At first, the variability of the soil water content, runoff, and unit plot soil loss values collected at fixed dates or after an erosive event was investigated. The applicability of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was then tested. Finally, a method to predict event soil loss was developed. Measurement variability decreased as the mean increased above a threshold value but it was low als…
Water erosion susceptibility mapping by applying Stochastic Gradient Treeboost to the Imera Meridionale River Basin (Sicily, Italy)
2016
Abstract Soil erosion by water constitutes a serious problem affecting various countries. In the last few years, a number of studies have adopted statistical approaches for erosion susceptibility zonation. In this study, the Stochastic Gradient Treeboost (SGT) was tested as a multivariate statistical tool for exploring, analyzing and predicting the spatial occurrence of rill–interrill erosion and gully erosion. This technique implements the stochastic gradient boosting algorithm with a tree-based method. The study area is a 9.5 km 2 river catchment located in central-northern Sicily (Italy), where water erosion processes are prevalent, and affect the agricultural productivity of local commu…
Estimating the USLE soil erodibility factor in Sicily, South Italy
2012
The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is used by professionals and technicians to predict soil loss by water erosion and to establish soil conservation measures. One of the key elements of the USLE is the K factor, which is a measure of the soil erodibility. Given the difficulty in collecting sufficient data to adequately measure K, early in the USLE's history the soil erodibility nomograph method was developed to allow estimation of K based on standard soil properties. Since the nomograph approach was developed based on a small number of soils in the United States, it is necessary for other contexts to check the nomograph's ability to predict the soil's true erodibility. Considering that…
Exploring the influence of vegetation cover, sediment storage capacity and channel dimensions on stone check dam conditions and effectiveness in a la…
2018
Abstract Check dams are widely used for soil conservation at the watershed scale. When structurally sound, these engineering control works retain sediment as planned. However, there is limited information describing the influence of site characteristics on post-construction condition including structural stability and sediment retention capacity. More specifically, the effects of channel morphology, check dam geometry and vegetation characteristics as potentially influencing factors on sediment retention capacity at the watershed level are poorly understood. Thus, an investigation applying field and remotely sensed measurements, multi-regression models, redundancy and sensitivity analysis, …
Analyzing long-term soil erosion in a ridge-shaped persimmon plantation in eastern Spain by means of ISUM measurements
2019
Abstract Graft unions of cultivated plants have been used as passive bio-indicators to assess long-term soil erosion rates. By taking complementary topographical measures in inter-row areas, soil erosion can be more accurately estimated as done with the Improved Stock Unearthing Method (ISUM) in vineyards. As vines are not the only plants that are grafted, ISUM could be also applied to other crops. Most fruit trees are planted in ridges and our objective was to test if ISUM could be applied in a ridge planted persimmon plantation. This update in the methodology will allow the scientific community to expand measurements that will contribute to assessing soil erosion processes in intensive an…
The role of the aquifer in soil CO2 degassing in volcanic peripheral areas: A case study of Stromboli Island (Italy)
2017
Abstract The peripheral area of Stromboli Island, Italy, named “Scari”, was continuously studied between January 2009 and December 2010. Data on soil CO 2 flux and the partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ) in equilibrium with the thermal aquifer linked to the magmatic system are presented. Soil CO 2 fluxes range from 20 to 370 g m − 2 d − 1 and have been strongly affected by soil temperature variations. Soil CO 2 flux data were filtered with respect to the soil temperature and the calculated values, called “residuals”, were considered to detect changes induced by the magmatic system. The pCO 2 values change in a wide range from 0.03 to 0.6 (atm), showing rapid variations. The results of this s…
Total (fumarolic + diffuse soil) CO2 output from Furnas volcano
2015
Furnas volcano, in São Miguel island (Azores), being the surface expression of rising hydrothermal steam, is the site of intense carbon dioxide (CO2) release by diffuse degassing and fumaroles. While the diffusive CO2 output has long (since the early 1990s) been characterized by soil CO2 surveys, no information is presently available on the fumarolic CO2 output. Here, we performed (in August 2014) a study in which soil CO2 degassing survey was combined for the first time with the measurement of the fumarolic CO2 flux. The results were achieved by using a GasFinder 2.0 tunable diode laser. Our measurements were performed in two degassing sites at Furnas volcano (Furnas Lake and Furnas Villag…