Search results for "pedogenesis"

Accelerated soil formation due to paddy management on marshlands (Zhejiang Province, China)

2014

Inundation of paddy soils for submerged rice production strongly impacts soil formation. Here we used chronosequences with up to 2000 years of cultivation history to compare soil formation in non-inundated (non-paddy) cropping systems with the formation of soils used for paddy rice production. This approach allowed us to identify the influence of agricultural management at different stages of pedogenesis. Soil samples were taken from two chronosequences derived from uniform parent material in the coastal region of the Zhejiang Province (P.R. China). One chronosequence consisted of paddy soils of different ages (50-2000 years), characterized by a yearly cropping sequence of rice cultivation …

Clay minerals, oxyhydroxide formation, element leaching and humus development in volcanic soils

2008

Aweathering sequence with soils developing on volcanic, trachy-basaltic parent materials with ages ranging from 100–115,000 years in the Etna region served as the basis to analyse and calculate the accumulation and stabilisation mechanisms of soil organic matter (SOM), the transformation of pedogenic Fe and Al, the formation and transformation of clay minerals, the weathering indices and, by means of mass-balance calculations, net losses of the main elements. Although the soils were influenced by ash depositions during their development and the soil on the oldest lava flow developed to a great extent under a different climate, leaching of elements and mineral formation and transformation co…

A view of extraterrestrial soils

2009

International audience; The nature of soils on celestial bodies other than Earth is a growing area of research in planetary geology. However, disagreement over the significance of these deposits arises in part due to the lack of a unified concept and definition of soil in the literature. The pragmatic definition “medium for plant growth” is taken by some to imply the necessity of biota for soil to exist, and has been commonly adopted in the planetary science community. In contrast, a more complex and informative definition bases on scientific theory: soil is the (bio)geochemically/physically altered material at the surface of a planetary body that encompasses surficial extraterrestrial tell…

THE IMPACT OF WARFARE ON THE SOIL ENVIRONMENT

2013

Abstract One of the most dramatic ways humans can affect soil properties is through the performance of military activities. Warfare-induced disturbances to soil are basically of three types – physical, chemical, and biological – and are aimed at causing direct problems to enemies or, more often, are indirect, undesired ramifications. Physical disturbances to soil include sealing due to building of defensive infrastructures, excavation of trenches or tunnels, compaction by traffic of machinery and troops, or cratering by bombs. Chemical disturbances consist of the input of pollutants such as oil, heavy metals, nitroaromatic explosives, organophosphorus nerve agents, dioxins from herbicides, …

The First Forty Years of a Technosol

2009

Abstract Soil formation is often a very slow process that requires thousands and even millions of years. Human influence, occasionally on a par with the function of climate or geological forces, can accelerate the process and can be viewed as a distinct soil forming factor. This paper describes a soil, Haplic Regosol, in which anthrosolization dominates the soil forming process. Man-made soils, Technosols, were stabilized with techniques of ecological engineering (crib walls). We measured the main soil properties and focused on the movement of water (the reduction of soil weight is the key factor in stabilizing these calcschists). The newly deposited debris, sheltered by anthropic intervent…

Effect of climate on carbon storage, humus fractions, allophanes, imogolite and poorly cristalline and crystalline oxy-hydroxides in volcanic soils o…

2006

Soil humic acids formation and characteristics in a xeric mollisol reforested with two tree species

2002

Publisher Summary The study discussed in this chapter examines the influence on humic acids (HAs) characteristics of different plant species—Pinus halepensis Miller and Cedrus atlantica (Endl) Carriere—used in the restoration of a Mollisol under xeric conditions. The area studied is in Sicily (Italy), and two stands were compared 40 years after planting. The differences among soil profile developments in the two stands were investigated by chemical and biochemical methods to understand the different levels at which the processes of pedogenesis acted in the study area. The chapter analyzes some chemical and spectroscopic characteristics of HAs, separated from two selected pedons. The results…

The influence of climate change on the soil organic carbon content in Italy from 1961 to 2008

2011

Abstract Soils are the biggest carbon store in the world (1500 Gt, e.g. 1.5 × 10 21  g). The European Commission indicates the accounting of soil organic carbon (SOC) variations in space and time as the first step in the strategy for soil protection. It is indeed necessary in evaluating the risk of soil organic matter decline and soil biodiversity decline, and when evaluating the role played by soils in global CO 2 accounting. Previous maps of SOC variations in Italy did not consider the direct effect of climate. There is a marked inter-dependence between SOC and climate. SOC increases with the increase in precipitations and decreases with a rise in temperatures. It is also known that land …

Spatial variation of soil magnetic susceptibility in relation to different emission sources in southern Poland

2015

Abstract The study in the area surrounding the Rybnik urban agglomeration (southern Poland) was conducted to determine the influence of various emission sources on the occurrence of local magnetic anomalies observed in the forest topsoils. For this reason field measurement of volume-specific magnetic susceptibility (κ) was conducted in forest topsoil on the area of study. The measurements were performed twice: directly on the surface and after removal of forest litter to see the influence of the litter on the magnetic signal measured on the soil surface. The maps of surface distribution of κ value revealed that magnetic anomalies were observed 2.0 km around the residential areas dominated b…

Pedogenesis and carbon sequestration in transformed agricultural soils of Sicily

2021

The increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is a consequence of human activities leading to severe environmental deteriorations. Techniques are thus needed to sequester and reduce atmospheric carbon. One of the proposed techniques is the transformation or construction of new soils into which more organic carbon can be sequestered and CO2 be consumed by increased weathering. By using a chronosequence of new and transformed soils on crushed limestone (0–48 years) in a Mediterranean area (Sicily), we tried to quantify the amount of organic carbon that could be additionally sequestered and to derive the corresponding rates. A further aim was to trace chemical weathering and related CO2 consump…