Search results for "Soil surface"
showing 8 items of 28 documents
A new approach to analysis of relationships between 137Cs activity concentrations in forest soil horizons
2013
The measurements results of 137Cs activity concentrations in forest soil profiles are discussed. In studies some simplifications were considered. First of them concerns disregarding of soil subtype in data analysis. However initially this parameter was considered in data analysis, it was finally ignored. The second assumption drops information about specific soil horizon. Description of 137Cs accumulation is based on relationships between its relative activity concentrations in soil layers. The model formulation was based on the results of exploratory data analysis of the relative 137Cs activity concentrations. In studies the methods designed for compositional data analysis were used. The r…
Steroid fingerprints: Efficient biomarkers of human decomposition fluids in soil
2018
Abstract The decomposition of animal and human cadavers can lead to comprehensive chemical and biochemical changes in soil, which can provide helpful information for the analysis of archaeological and crime scenes. The current study focused specifically on the concentration and distribution patterns of steroids in soil with the aim of assessing their suitability for demonstrating the presence of human decomposition products. Soil samples were collected from a forensic site where a human corpse had been lying on the soil surface for 18 days. Total organic carbon (TOC) and steroid concentrations were analysed in soil samples taken from beneath the body at the time the corpse was removed and a…
Using Beerkan experiments to estimate hydraulic conductivity of a crusted loamy soil in a Mediterranean vineyard
2019
Abstract In bare soils of semi-arid areas, surface crusting is a rather common phenomenon due to the impact of raindrops. Water infiltration measurements under ponding conditions are becoming largely applied techniques for an approximate characterization of crusted soils. In this study, the impact of crusting on soil hydraulic conductivity was assessed in a Mediterranean vineyard (western Sicily, Italy) under conventional tillage. The BEST (Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer parameters) algorithm was applied to the infiltration data to obtain the hydraulic conductivity of crusted and uncrusted soils. Soil hydraulic conductivity was found to vary during the year and also spatially (i.e., ro…
Impact of very low crop residues cover on wind erosion in the Sahel
2011
International audience; In the Sahel, with average annual precipitation in the order of 500 mm yr− 1, wind erosion occurs mainly on cultivated millet fields whose surfaces are only partially covered by crop residues. The impact of these residues on wind erosion was not clearly established. The objective of this study is thus to quantify the actual amount of crop residues in traditional Sahelian fields and to determine their impacts on wind erosion by reference to a bare surface throughout the seasonal cycle over several years. At the beginning of the year during dry season, Sahelian farmers use to "clean" their fields, i.e. cut and lay flat on the soil surface any millet stalks still standi…
Impact de l'épandage des boues sur le phosphore dissous et particulaire des écoulements de surface
2003
Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the effect of land application of sewage sludge on phosphorus (P) losses during intense rainfall. Three rainfall simulations (40 mm h−1 of 30 min duration) were conducted on a field amended with sewage sludge. The overland flow water (OFW) was monitored and sampled every minute. The suspended solid, the dissolved and total phosphorus (respectively SS, TP and DP) concentrations were analysed. The forms of particulate bound P (PP) were investigated. Several results stem from this experiment: (a) sludge application induced a large increase in the DP content of the OFW; the concentrations obtained (0.15–0.57 mg l−1) were shown to result from desorpti…
Mapping intra-plot topsoil diversity of Burgundy vineyards (Aloxe- Corton, France) from very high spatial resolution (VHSR) images
2012
International audience; In this work, we present a method based on very high spatial resolution (VHSR) aerial images acquired in the visible domain and that map soil surface diversity at the hillslope scale with a spatial resolution of a few centimeters. This method combines aerial VHSR image classification with local soil sampling. Principal component analysis (PCA) and non-supervised classification was performed on image characteristics to define soil surface characteristic classes (SSC). Then soil surface mapping was combined with soil surface descriptions and soil profiles to define soil types by physical and chemical characteristics.
Mapping soil and substratum at a very high spatial resolution in the hillslope of Couchey (France)
2012
International audience; In this work, we present a method based on very high spatial resolution (VHSR) aerial images acquired in the visible domain and that map soil surface diversity at the hillslope scale with a spatial resolution of a few centimeters. This method combines aerial VHSR image classification with local soil sampling. Principal component analysis (PCA) and non-supervised classification was performed on image characteristics to define soil surface characteristic classes (SSC). Then soil surface mapping was combined with soil surface descriptions and soil profiles to define soil types by physical and chemical characteristics. As soil results from parent material alteration, ide…
A simple field method to measure the hydrodynamic properties of soil surface crust
2013
The hydraulic resistance of the surface crust was determined by a combination of two infiltrometric techniques: first, a surface measurement of steady-state infiltration rate is conducted by a mini-disk tension infiltrometer (MDI); then, the surface crust is removed, its thickness is measured, and a ponded infiltration test is performed at the same site. The Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer parameters (BEST) method is applied to estimate the hydraulic properties of the underlying soil provided the particlesize distribution and the bulk density are known. Under the assumption of a unit gradient of hydraulic head below the soil crust, the pressure head at the interface crust-soil is derive…