Search results for "Soil function"
showing 7 items of 27 documents
The significance of soils and soil science towards realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
2016
Abstract. In this forum paper we discuss how soil scientists can help to reach the recently adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the most effective manner. Soil science, as a land-related discipline, has important links to several of the SDGs, which are demonstrated through the functions of soils and the ecosystem services that are linked to those functions (see graphical abstract in the Supplement). We explore and discuss how soil scientists can rise to the challenge both internally, in terms of our procedures and practices, and externally, in terms of our relations with colleague scientists in other disciplines, diverse groups of stakeholders and the policy arena. To meet th…
Soil aggregates and humus systems
2016
The European Society for Soil Conservation Conference, organized by the Babes-Bolyai University will take place from 15th June to the 18th June 2016 at the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The conference will cover areas like Soils – Our Common Future” stresses the vital interconnection between soil and life, as well as its importance for the future of the human society.; International audience; The survey of few main morphological soil aggregates (with intrinsic biological, chemical and physical contents) reveals the existence of different humus systems. Recognizable by naked eyes in the field, each humus system is confined in an ecological frame (climate, ve…
Agricultural advances
2013
CT3 ; Département E.A. ; SOFIA; Agricultural advances
Unraveling biotic interactions determining soil microbial community assembly and functioning
2019
National audience; Microbial communities are at the heart of all ecosystems and yet, a sound understanding of the ecological processes governing the assembly of these communities in the environment is missing. To address the role of biotic interactions in assembly and functioning of the soil microbiota, we used a top down manipulation approach based on the removal of various populations in a natural microbial community. Suspensions of the soil microbiota were subjected to various biocidal and filtration treatments before being inoculated into the same sterilized soil. We hypothesized that if biotic interactions are an important shaping force of the microbiota assembly, removal of microbial …
The anthropogenic sealing of soils in urban areas
2009
The sealing of soils by impervious materials is, normally, detrimental to its ecological functions. Exchanges of energy, water and gases are restricted or hampered and an increasing pressure is being exerted on adjacent, non sealed areas. The negative effects span from loss of plant production and natural habitats to increased floods, pollution, and health risks and consequently higher social costs. Environmental Agencies produce periodical reports where the phenomenon of soil consumption by urban infrastructures is monitored with extremely sophisticated geographical tools but little specific research is available that describes the effects of soil sealing. This paper reviews some recent co…
Effective Practices in Mitigating Soil Erosion from Fields
2017
Soil erosion by water is a natural process that cannot be avoided. Soil erosion depends on many factors, and a distinction should be made between humanly unchangeable (e.g., rainfall) and modifiable (e.g., length of the field) soil erosion factors. Soil erosion has both on-site and off-site effects. Soil conservation tries to combine modifiable factors so as to maintain erosion in an area of interest to an acceptable level. Strategies to control soil erosion have to be adapted to the desired land use. Knowledge of soil loss tolerance, T, i.e., the maximum admissible erosion from a given field, allows technicians or farmers to establish whether soil conservation practices need to be applied …
A soil biodiversity survey coupled with the national soil quality monitoring network?
2021
International audience; Despite its importance for human activities, soil biodiversity remains largely unknown and threatened. Aware of the need for large-scale monitoring, we studied the feasibility to add a soil biodiversity survey (RMBS-Biodiversity) to the already existing French soil quality monitoring network (RMQS). We worked with soil biodiversity experts to couple RMBS-Biodiversity with RMQS i.e. to choose soil taxons and functions, the methodologies and the sampling design. According to the experts, the sampling design of RMQS fits with a soil biodiversitysurvey. We propose sampling protocols for i) bacteria and fungi, ii) protists, iii) nematodes, iv) mesofauna (particularly spri…