Search results for "pedology"
showing 10 items of 20 documents
Soil development on sediments and evaporites of the Messinian crisis
2020
Abstract Vast areas in the Mediterranean are characterised by evaporite deposits of the Messinian crises (c. 6–5.3 Ma BP). During this period, large deposits were built up in shallow lagoon-like systems and are now found in southern Italy, Albania, Cyprus and Turkey. So far, soil formation on evaporites has been studied predominantly in subarid to arid environments. Although the formation of soils has received new significance, little is known about the evolutional trajectories on evaporites of the Mediterranean. We therefore studied soil formation in the Caltanissetta basin (Sicily) where evaporites are most widespread. The lithologies included the sequence: marine clay deposits, laminated…
Methods of metal release assessment in soil water at anoxic sites
2006
Department of Geology, Vienna University, Vienna, Austria Metal mobility at contaminated sites can be assessed by soil water investigations or by leaching tests. Leaching tests are usually carried out in open contact with the atmosphere disregarding possible changes of redox conditions. This can affect the original metal speciation and distribution, particularly when anoxic samples are investigated. In this study, the applicability of common leaching tests (the German S4 test (S4), ammonium nitrate extraction (AmmN), and saturation soil extraction (SSE)) is tested for the assessment of zinc release from sulfide-bearing flotation residues of a former ore mine. Results are compared to soil so…
Aspects of soil phenolic matter (SPM): An explorative investigation in agricultural, agroforestry, and wood ecosystems
2014
Abstract This paper assesses the distribution of soil phenolic matter (SPM) in soil environments from a pedological perspective, with particular emphasis on soil horizonation and its involvement in pedogenic processes. The study was conducted on 15 soil profiles (Andosols, Calcisols, Cambisols, Lixisols, Phaeozems, Podzols, Umbrisols) covering five distinct ecosystems. Although the ecosystems were virtually homogeneous in and of themselves, they represented strongly contrasting climates, geolithology and morphology, land use and vegetation cover (intensive agriculture, chestnut grove, alpine pasture, woody reforestations, and natural woods). Three main SPM fractions were categorised: (i) “t…
Small scale secondary CaCO3 accumulations in selected sections of the European loess belt. Morphological forms and potential for paleoenvironmental r…
1997
Eighteen important Quaternary loess paleosoil sites have been studied across the European loess belt. They included approximately 50 buried soils, the over and/or underlying loess and the present-day surface soils (where possible). From the numerous types of secondary CaCO3 accumulations recognized, only the small scale accumulations are discussed in this paper, including calcified root cells, CaCO3 hypocoatings, needle-fiber calcite, powdery calcite coatings, earthworm biospheroliths, and calcite pseudomorphs on gypsum. Most of the features studied are found in the rhizosphere microecosystem. Each of these features showed a unique relationship with organic matter, micro-organism and plant …
Fungi and Sediments
2000
Fungi are saprophytic organisms that can form lichens in symbiosis with an alga. Along with lichens, they excrete large quantities of organic acids, contributing to rock dissolution and neoformation of crystals, mainly oxalates and carbonates. Fungi contribute to the accumulation of manganese and iron as desert varnish and play a major role in the calcium cycle inside calcretes and carbonate soils in arid zones. Fungi constitute an important part of calcified filaments found in calcretes. They are covered with calcium oxalate crystals, which can transform into calcite during early diagenesis. They can also precipitate needle-fiber calcite, a common form of CaCO3 found in soils and calcretes…
Do soils exist outside Earth?
2010
Abstract On Earth, soils form thanks to the combined action of at least five factors: parent rock, climate, topography, biota, and time. However, the necessity of biota as unavoidable soil forming factor is debated, as important parts of our planet experiencing extreme climates host virtually life-free soils with advanced horizonation. Now that space exploration has greatly expanded our understanding of the Solar System, providing consistent evidences that the loose, unconsolidated "skin" of some nearby rocky bodies is lifeless, it is time to establish if the latter can be considered to be soil in a pedological sense. Our feeling is that, since the concept of soil chiefly bases on the occur…
L’intervisibilità. Analisi del paesaggio nella chora della colonia greca di Himera
2016
This study focuses on the analysis of the landscape in the territory of the colony of Himera. In particular, this work is inspired by a detailed examination conducted on the basis of parametric modelling, which has helped us to understand what factors (pedology, altimetry, geology, supply basins, etc.) had an effect in the settlement choices of the Imerese territory during the Colonial Age. We analysed the role intervisibility had between sites in the organisation of the landscape. By avoiding a deterministic logic, we intersected the data from previous surveys on the development of predictive models with the archaeological data, formulating hypotheses on the role that the main settlements …
Changes in the seasonal snow cover of alpine regions and its effect on soil processes: A review
2007
Abstract At its maximum annual development, snow can cover more than half the Northern Hemisphere land area with one-third experiencing seasonal snow cover. The precise conditions that develop during the annual pattern of snowpack development formation have implications for: (i) soil microbiological activity and nutrient transformations; (ii) the capacity of the accumulating snowpack to retain atmospheric derived solutes; (iii) preferential elution and rapid runoff of solutes from the snowpack during periods of thaw; and (iv) leaching of solutes. Long-term records of annual snow accumulation suggest that substantial, regional scale shifts in snowpack characteristics have been occurring. The…
Pedogenesis and Variability in Soil Properties in a Floodplain of a Semiarid Environment in Southwestern Sicily (Italy).
2010
We performed a pedological study of the variability in soils in a floodplain area of a semiarid region in southwestern Sicily. The objectives of our research were to (i) investigate the role of parent material, erosion, and distribution processes on soil pedogenesis and horizon differentiation; (ii) evaluate the statistical distribution of soil properties; and (iii) interpret these distributions in terms of pedogenic and other processes. Our results showed that not all soil properties examined followed a normal distribution and that even when logtransformed, the degree of normality of the soil salinity data did not improve. Furthermore, principal component analysis was performed to investig…
Features of selected benchmark soils along an elevational transect of the northeastern part of the Moldavian Plateau (Romania)
2018
Soil morphological, physical and chemical properties are described at four locations along an elevational transect in the northeastern part of the Moldavian Plateau (Romania). These data contribute to the knowledge of the soils of this area and to their classification according to the USDA-Soil Taxonomy, FAO-WRB and the SRTS-Romanian System. The soils were classified as Inceptisols, Alfisols and Mollisols, according to the USDA-Soil Taxonomy; Gleysol, Chernozem and Luvisol, according to the FAO-WRB and Gleiosol, Cernoziom, Preluvosol, Luvosol, according to the SRTS-Romanian System. The selected soils have a range of properties that represent the soilscape of the Moldavian subcarpathian plat…