Search results for "Topsoil"

The influence of the wind direction and plants on the variability of topsoil magnetic susceptibility in industrial and urban areas of southern Poland

2016

Volume magnetic susceptibility (κ) was measured on the soil surface and in the vertical topsoil profile within a 300 km2 area located in an urban-industrial conurbation. The results were compared to plant species compositions in the forest storeys, elevation above sea level, and terrain geomorphology. The content and mineral composition of the magnetic fraction were determined in the soil horizons. It was found that the extent of the area with enhanced topsoil magnetic susceptibility was similar to the dominant wind direction (south–west). Enhanced κ values were observed for the soil at the forest margin on the leeward side of the emitters as well as at sites located on exposed local elevat…

Soil erosion in sloping vineyards assessed by using botanical indicators and sediment collectors in the Ruwer-Mosel valley

2016

Steep slopes, erodible soils, rill and ephemeral gullies, compaction due to wheel. traffic and human trampling are common features in vineyards around the world and result in high soil erosion rates. However, little is known about seasonal and spatial variations of soil erosion rates due to factors such as the impact of the vine plantation, harvest, and tillage on the soil redistribution over the long-term temporal scale. The goal of this study is to assess long-term soil erosion rates and the impact of management on sediment and runoff yield by means of Gerlach troughs and a topographical approach based on botanic benchmarks in two paired vineyards with different ages (3 and 35 years) loca…

Effects of stand-level and landscape factors on understorey plant community traits in broad-leaved forest of the boreo-nemoral zone in Latvia

2019

Abstract Knowledge of the limiting processes shaping the composition of plant communities of woodland is important in conservation of biological diversity. The aim of our study was to examine the effect of stand-level factors (soil and canopy composition, age and area) and landscape factors (fragmentation of broad-leaved forest, distance to a historical manor house, and past history) on plant community trait composition in broad-leaved forest. We hypothesized that the plant functional community is shaped by both dispersal filtering due to landscape factors and by environmental characteristics. We recorded all vascular plants, described canopy composition and estimated soil characteristics i…

Litter quality, land-use history, and nitrogen deposition effects on topsoil conditions across European temperate deciduous forests

2019

Topsoil conditions in temperate forests are influenced by several soil-forming factors, such as canopy composition (e.g. through litter quality), land-use history, atmospheric deposition, and the parent material. Many studies have evaluated the effects of single factors on physicochemical topsoil conditions, but few have assessed the simultaneous effects of multiple drivers. Here, we evaluate the combined effects of litter quality, land-use history (past land cover as well as past forest management), and atmospheric deposition on several physicochemical topsoil conditions of European temperate deciduous forest soils: bulk density, proportion of exchangeable base cations, carbon/nitrogen-rat…

Soil functional indicators in a mountain forest-rangeland mosaic of northern Iran

2021

Abstract Soil plays an essential role in providing ecosystem services, especially in mountain ecosystems which are often considered as fragile and sensitive systems and commonly consist of a mosaic of forest and rangeland plant communities. The relationship between above-ground plant cover and the properties of soil organic and mineral layers in mountain areas are rarely studied. This research aimed to assess the effect of different land covers (i.e. forest, forest-rangeland ecotone, and rangeland) on soil functional indicators, i.e. fertility and biological activities, in the Hyrcanian region of northern Iran. We hypothesized that (i) the presence of tree cover enhances soil fertility and …

Humusica 1, article 1: Essential bases – Vocabulary

2018

International audience; The Special Issue Humusica 1 corresponds to a field guide for the classification of terrestrial humus systems and forms. The present first article of the issue defines vocabulary, objects and concepts necessary for: (a) field investigation, (b) understanding the process of classification, (c) assigning ecological significance to the defined morpho-functional units, (d) discussing and exchanging scientific data about humus systems. The article starts with general considerations, as the necessity humans have to classify natural objects for sharing ideas and information on them. Then the article focuses on soil as functional element of every ecosystem. Historical and re…

Testing soil water repellency in a Sicilian area two years after a fire

2019

The water drop penetration time (WDPT) technique was applied in 2018 to check persistence of soil water repellency (SWR) in a Sicilian mountain area affected by a wildfire on June 2016. A total of four sites, that were severely water repellent immediately after burning, were sampled. Depending on the site, wettable soil conditions, less SWR and maintenance of a noticeable SWR were detected two years later. At the site showing a near-constant SWR, WDPTs were particularly high in the top soil layer (0-0.03 m) and they appreciably decreased more in depth. Signs of decreasing SWR in drier soil conditions and in association with coarser soil particles were also detected at this site. High gradie…

Dynamics of soil organic carbon pools after agricultural abandonment

2014

Abandonment of agricultural land and the subsequent recolonization by natural vegetation is known to cause increases in C contents, contributing to reduction in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Assessment of the possible mitigation of CO2 excess requires understanding the SOC dynamics, the origin of C pools and the pathways of their transformation. The aims of this work were to assess, by using the δ13C signature, the changes of old and new organic C in total (soil organic carbon, SOC) and labile (microbial biomass C, MBC, dissolved organic C, DOC, CO2 efflux from soil) pools after vegetation change from vineyard (C3) to grassland (C4) under semiarid Mediterranean climate. Colonization of ab…

Screening for new accumulator plants in potential hazards elements polluted soil surrounding Peruvian mine tailings

2016

Abstract Tailings usually provide an unfavorable substrate for plant growth because of their multi-stress environment. Plants growing on naturally metal-enriched soils are of particular interest in this perspective, since they are genetically tolerant to high metal concentrations and have an excellent adaptation to extreme conditions. Soil and plant samples were taken in Peru, at a polymetallic mine (mainly Ag, Pb and Cu) in Cajamarca Province, Hualgayoc district. Top soils (0–20 cm) were analyzed for physical and chemical properties by standard methods. Total As, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations in top soils were determined by ICP–OES. Similar metals in plants were analyzed separately (aerial …

2018

AbstractWhile significant efforts have been invested in reconstructing the early evolution of the Earth’s atmosphere–ocean–biosphere biogeochemical nitrogen cycle, the potential role of an early continental contribution by a terrestrial, microbial phototrophic biosphere has been largely overlooked. By transposing to the Archean nitrogen fluxes of modern topsoil communities known as biological soil crusts (terrestrial analogs of microbial mats), whose ancestors might have existed as far back as 3.2 Ga ago, we show that they could have impacted the evolution of the nitrogen cycle early on. We calculate that the net output of inorganic nitrogen reaching the Precambrian hydrogeological system c…