Search results for "soil"
showing 10 items of 3493 documents
The ecological role of Pyrus Spinosa Forssk. in the ecosystem recovery and land restoration of Mediterranean woodlands
2021
In the Mediterranean basin, large areas still call for active reforestation, having a very low woody cover, thus resulting less resistant and resilient to climate change and suffering from a higher risk of soil degradation processes. Knowing the effects on soil fertility and carbon sequestration of single woody species can be of great practical importance, although being rarely tested. We aimed to assess the effect of Pyrus spinosa on soil fertility (soil carbon and nitrogen), microbial biomass and carbon sequestration (in aboveground stems) of Mediterranean pasturelands. The research was carried out in Ficuzza Nature Reserve (NW Sicily), where large areas are composed of extensive pasturel…
Comparing Logistic Regression and MARS approaches for gully erosion susceptibility evaluation in central-northern Sicily
2012
Application of 3D Photo-reconstruction techniques in Geomorphology: Examples through different landforms and scales
2014
Recent developments made in tri-dimensional photo-reconstruction techniques (3D-PR), such as the use of Structure from Motion (SfM) and MultiView Stereo (MVS) techniques together, have allowed obtaining high resolution 3D point clouds. In order to achieve final point clouds with these techniques, only oblique images from consumer un-calibrated and non-metric cameras are needed. Here, these techniques are used in order to measure, monitor and quantify geomorphological features and processes. Three different applications through a range of scales and landforms are presented here. Firstly, five small gully headcuts located in a small catchment in SW Spain were monitored with the aim of estimat…
Assessment of hydro-erosive processes in small steep coastal basins in Liguria and Sicily, Italy
2015
The steep Mediterranean catchments underwent drastic socio economic changes in the last decades. Moreover, these basins are also subject to climate variability and potential future climate change effects. Due to mechanization in agriculture a lot of surfaces changed from terraced vineyards and olive growth to abandoned land. The terraced areas are less productive and more cost and labour intensive and hence cannot compete with a highly mechanized agriculture. Furthermore, tourism based on the natural and cultural heritage of the region is more and more important for the income of the inhabitants. The abandonment has effects on the entire landscape system in terms of hydrological dynamics, s…
Definizione di scenari critici di innesco per soil slips mediante l'applicazione di un modello di stabilità dei versanti.
2008
Application of RUSLE model for the assessment of soil erosion in the western sector of Palermo Mountains (north-western Sicily)
2009
The aim of this work is to study the impact of vegetation cover on water erosion phenomena by exploiting an integrated approach to the assessment of soil loss rates. The investigated area is located in the western portion of the mountainous group named “Monti di Palermo” and occupies an area of approximately 475 km2; this area, which extends from sea level up to about 1,300 m, is mainly characterized by the presence of lithosols and luvisols laying above carbonate and terrigenous substrates. The assessment of erosion intensity was indirectly obtained by applying the RUSLE model, that allowed to estimate soil loss produced by rill-interrill erosion phenomena. Starting from topographical and …
Evaluating the effects of man-induced topographic changes in landscape structure on soil erosion by water: a case study in Sicily
2012
The summit part of Mount Etna revealed by High Resolution DC Electrical Resistivity Tomography coupled with complementary geophysical and soil gas te…
2016
Between 25 June and 13 July 2015 a very deep ERT profile (Pole-Dipole configuration, 40m spacingbetween electrodes and a remote electrode located at ~10km from the acquisition points) has been performedin the framework of the “MED-SUV” Project. Self-potential, soil gas concentrations (CO2, 222Rn, 220Rn, He,H2 and CH4) and soil temperature measurements were coupled to the ERT profile with a spacing of 20m(except for Rn: 40m). The NE-SW profile crossed Etnas summit craters in the middle of the 5720m ERTtotal length. Six roll along protocols of . of the dispositive (600m out of 2520m tot) have been carried outand, for the first time, a high resolution DC ERT profile reached the noticeable inve…
A thermal inertia model for soil water content retrieval using thermal and multispectral images
2010
Soil moisture is difficult to quantify because of its high spatial variability. Consequently, great efforts have been undertaken by the research community to develop practical remote sensing approaches to estimate the spatial distribution of surface soil moisture over large areas and with high spatial detail. Many methodologies have been developed using remote sensing data acquiring information in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Conventional field measurement techniques (including gravimetric and time-domain reflectometry) are point-based, involve on-site operators, are time expensive and, in any case, do not provide exhaustive information on the spatial distribution of soi…
Analyzing the role of soil water retention curve in slope stability for differently structured soils
2016
We analyzed the mechanical and hydrological effects of soil water retention curve (SWRC) models on the slope stability analyses of soils with unimodal and bimodal behavior. We used three different SWRC models, two bimodal models (Ross&Smettem and Dexter) vs. the traditional van Genuchten model, to evaluate the Factor of Safety (FS) of a simple designed hillslope, based on the Bishop approach for unsaturated soils. Two formulations for term were also considered. Results indicate that in cases of clayey soils, changes in FS obtained with different SWRC models especially at soil moisture values within the residual zone. In sandy soils the choice of formulations can be more important…