Search results for "soil classification"

Proposal for a new diagnostic horizon for WRB Anthrosols

2009

Abstract To investigate man's role in the creation and evolution of soils in areas of large scale farming, and to investigate the main morpho-descriptive aspects of the related soils, a survey was carried out in south eastern Sicily, Italy, where, as common to other regions of the Mediterranean basin, there are wide areas with anthropogenic soils due to large scale farming activity. The complex genesis pattern of these anthropogenic soils, which shows a double sequence of man-made horizons, sideways oriented to the soil surface, does not allow their classification as Technosols, because their composition is not dominated or strongly influenced by artefacts or human-made materials as is the …

2019

Flooding may damage important transportation infrastructures, such as roads, railways and bridges, which need to be well planned and designed to be able to withstand current and possible future climate-driven increases in flood frequencies and magnitudes. This study develops a novel approach to predictive statistical modelling of the probability of flooding at major road-stream intersection sites, where water, sediment and debris can accumulate and cause failure of drainage facilities and associated road damages. Two areas in south-west Sweden, affected by severe floods in August 2014, are used in representative case studies for this development. A set of physical catchment-descriptors (PCD…

Modelling soil organic carbon stocks in global change scenarios: a CarboSOIL application

2013

Abstract. Global climate change, as a consequence of the increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 concentration, may significantly affect both soil organic C storage and soil capacity for C sequestration. CarboSOIL is an empirical model based on regression techniques and developed as a geographical information system tool to predict soil organic carbon (SOC) contents at different depths. This model is a new component of the agro-ecological decision support system for land evaluation MicroLEIS, which assists decision-makers in facing specific agro-ecological problems, particularly in Mediterranean regions. In this study, the CarboSOIL model was used to study the effects of climate change on SOC …

Application of Magnetic Susceptibility Measurements for Identification of Technogenic Horizons in Soil Profiles on the Example of the Vistula River C…

2017

Studies on magnetic properties of soils have been recently applied in the soil environment quality monitoring in relation to basic physical and chemical properties. However, the issue of distribution of ferrimagnetic materials in particular genetic soil horizons, especially in altered soils, has not yet been considered in environmental studies. The main subject of the research was to evaluate a potential of magnetic susceptibility measurements as implements for supporting the soil classification through indication of particular distinctive genetic horizons in the soil profile. The study objects were soils whose formation was strictly conditioned by hydrotechnical regulations in the area of …

Response of water and nutrient fluxes to improvement fellings in a tropical montane forest in Ecuador

2009

Abstract Management of natural forests might be one option to reduce the high deforestation rate in Ecuador. We therefore evaluated the response of water and nutrient cycles in a natural tropical montane forest to improvement fellings with the aim of favoring economically valuable target trees which will later be harvested with additional ecosystem impacts not considered here. The study was conducted at ca. 1900–2200 m above sea level in the south Ecuadorian Andes on the east-exposed slope of the east cordillera. In June 2004, one of two paired ca. 10-ha large catchments was thinned by felling 10.2% of the initial basal area (dbh ≥ 10 cm) on 30% of the catchment. The stems remained in situ.…

Comparison of aggregate stability indices for soil classification and assessment of soil management practices

1989

Summary In view of soil structure analysis and land-use and management history evaluation, several mechanical indices of soil structure were tested on 13 Italian soils. From the wet and dry sieving aggregate distributions, a pseudo-textural aggregation index (Ipta) and a mechanical aggregation index (Ima)) were determined and compared with other soil structure stability indices based on single-sieve analysis. The single-sieve indices S and WSI were good correlated with Ipta and Ima, showing the possibility of substituting the time-consuming aggregate-size distribution determinations. All the soil structure indices were correlated with selected semi-permanent soil characteristics. Soil struc…

Human-induced changes in the soil cover at the mouth of the Vistula River Cross-Cut (northern Poland)

2015

Celem badań było określenie wpływu działalności człowieka na powstawanie gleb w rejonie ujęcia Przekopu Wisły. Szczegółowe badania przeprowadzono na obszarze testowym (około 500 ha), dla którego została wykonana mapa gleb. Wydzielono trzy główne pasy grupujące gleby wytworzone z osadów morskich, eolicznych i technogenicznych, naturalnie i antropogenicznie zdeponowanych w wyniku regulacji hydrotechnicznych. Do dominujących gleb należą: gleby inicjalne, arenosole, glejowe,marsze i gleby industrialne, które charakteryzują się dużą zmiennością przestrzenną oraz występowaniem profili wieloczłonowych. Ich właściwości odzwierciedlają zróżnicowaną dynamikę środowiska w skali lokalnej po obu stronac…

Optimization of image parameters using a hyperspectral library application to soil identification and moisture estimation

2009

The growing number of sensors raises questions about the image parameters required for the application, soil identification and moisture estimation. Hyperspectral images are also known to contain highly redundant information. Hence not all the spectral bands are needed for the satisfactory classification of the soil types. Hence, the work was aimed at obtaining these optimal spectral bands for identifying the soil types and to use these spectral bands to estimate the moisture content of the soils using the method proposed by Whiting et.al.

Toxicity of Dimethoate to Some Soil Animal Species in Different Soil Types

1996

Toxicity of dimethoate (insecticide) to an earthworm (Aporrectodea caliginosa tuberculata), a collembola (Folsomia candida), and an enchytraeid worm (Enchytraeus crypticus/variatus) was studied in three different soil types (artificial soil, clayey soil, and humus sandy soil). Parameters measured were survival and biomass change of the earthworms and survival and reproduction of the collembolas and enchytraeids. The degradation of dimethoate was analyzed too. Toxic effects were observed at the concentrations of some mg/kg dry soil. The biomass reduction of the earthworms occurred at lower concentrations than reduction in survival. The collembolas were more susceptible to dimethoate than the…

Stable Cu and Zn isotope ratios as tracers of sources and transport of Cu and Zn in contaminated soil

2010

Abstract Copper and Zn metals are produced in large quantities for different applications. During Cu production, large amounts of Cu and Zn can be released to the environment. Therefore, the surroundings of Cu smelters are frequently metal-polluted. We determined Cu and Zn concentrations and Cu and Zn stable isotope ratios (δ 65 Cu, δ 66 Zn) in three soils at distances of 1.1, 3.8, and 5.3 km from a Slovak Cu smelter and in smelter wastes (slag, sludge, ash) to trace sources and transport of Cu and Zn in soils. Stable isotope ratios were measured by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) in total digests. Soils were heavily contaminated with concentrations u…