Search results for "soil"
showing 10 items of 3493 documents
Improving soil and water conservation and ecosystem services by sustainable soil management practices: From a global to an Italian soil partnership
2020
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identify the need to restore degraded soils in order to improve productivity and the provision of ecosystem services. The aim is to support food production, store and supply clean water, conserve biodiversity, sequester carbon, and improve soil resilience in a context of climate change. Within this framework, in order to achieve the SDGs and to correct land management in the long-term, soil management is considered mandatory. The reduction of land degradation should be based on various sustainable soil management practices that improve and maintain soil organic matter levels, increase water infiltration, and improve soil water management. This tec…
Characterization of gas flow through low-permeability claystone: laboratory experiments and two-phase flow analyses
2014
For the characterization of gas migration through a low-permeability clay host rock for deep underground repositories, a comprehensive understanding of the relevant phenomena of gas and fluid flow through low-permeability clay is required. The National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) in Switzerland has developed a comprehensive programme to characterize gas flow in low-permeability Opalinus Clay through laboratory tests and detailed numerical analyses for developing appropriate constitutive models. Laboratory tests were performed on cores by two different laboratories, the Laboratory for Soil Mechanics at EPFL and the Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geos…
Micro-scale post-fire surface cover changes monitored using high spatial resolution photography in a semiarid environment: A useful tool in the study…
2012
[ES] Although post-fire soil erosion has been studied, little attention has been paid to changes in soil surface cover following fires, despite this being a key factor in understanding the water and sediment yield. This study, at Peñaflor (Spain), investigated the effect of fire on soil erosion using data from soil erosion plots and high spatial resolution photography (HSRP). Measurements were made from October 2003 to October 2005 in a control plot and a plot experimentally exposed to a fire in October 2004. Ground cover components were identified, including vegetation, bare soil, stones, charcoal and ash. Runoff and sediment concentrations were low because of the absence of intense rainfa…
Modelling the Impacts of Wildfire on Ash Thickness in a Short‐Term Period
2013
Ash can provide valuable soil protection. However, ash is also very mobile, and soil protection patterns can be quickly changed, favouring the protection of some areas and exposing others with implications for soil erosion. In this research, the effects of a high severity wildfire on ash thickness were studied, 1 and 15 days after the fire. For this evaluation, several interpolation methods were tested to identify the best spatial predictor of ash distribution. The results showed that 1 day after the fire, ash was thinner in high severity areas. Fifteen days after the fire, ash thickness decreased, and the spatial pattern changed. This implies that evaluation of fire severity based on ash t…
FeOOH-modified clay sorbents for arsenic removal from aqueous solutions
2019
The presence of arsenic (As) in natural and anthropogenic soils causes severe pollution of groundwater due to its harmful carcinogenic effects. The present work describes the research activities for searching of appropriate innovative sorbents based on clay material for As sorption using iron oxy-hydroxide modification. Natural and manufactured clay was chosen for comparison of modification efficiency in order to obtain best sorption results for As(V). The results of pilot testing were obtained and the sorption was studied as a function of initial arsenic concentration. Obtained results indicate that modification of clay with Fe compounds significantly improves the sorption capacity of a ne…
Diagnosis of boron, fluorine, lead, nickel and zinc toxicity in citrus plantations in Villarreal, Spain
1997
In the late 1980s, citrus plantations in the area of Villarreal (Spain) showed injuries similar to those previously reported for boron and fluorine toxicity. The area was affected by the disposal of industrial wastewater, mainly from ceramic industries. Conjunctive uses of surface water, groundwater and wastewater for irrigation had taken place. A survey was conducted at 25 orchards to assess leaves and soil for their boron, fluorine, lead, nickel and zinc contents. Wastewater and groundwater were also analyzed to corroborate the presence of these pollutants. The results showed that both boron and fluorine contents were greater than those reported as excess at the most part of the orchards …
Evaluation of Antimony, Cadmium and Lead Levels in Vegetables, Drinking and Raw Water from Different Agricultural Areas
1990
Abstract Lead and cadmium levels in edible vegetables and antimony, lead and cadmium in drinking and raw waters from three agricultural areas exposed to different levels of environmental pollution (1-high industrial pollution, 2-high urban pollution, 3-standard low industrial and urban pollution) are determined. The organic matter is destroyed by repeated attack with nitric acid. Cadmium and lead are determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) and antimony by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS). When the results obtained for three different areas are compared, differences between cadmium and lead contents in vegetables are observed. Waters are…
Wood Ash Effects on Soil Fauna and Interactions with Carbohydrate Supply: A Minireview
2011
Wood ash effects on soil animals in a boreal forest ecosystem are reviewed focusing on recent results on interactive effects of wood ash and organic amendments, and laboratory microcosms as a tool to understand soil food webs are discussed. Loose wood ash can reduce the populations of enchytraeids, collembolans and mites, but increase nematode populations particularly in experimental laboratory ecosystems with little or no primary production. Recent studies indicate that the repressive effect on enchytraeids depends on carbon availability. Carbohydrate supply seemed to alleviate the negative wood ash effect on enchytraeid body size and abundance. The fact that carbon alleviated wood ash eff…
La resistenza di interfaccia calcestruzzo poroso-terreni a grana fina per il consolidamento di pendii mediante trincee drenanti profonde
2022
Le trincee drenanti profonde rappresentano uno dei metodi più efficaci per la mitigazione del rischio da frana, in pendii con falda idrica. Esse sono realizzate mediante pannelli o pali secanti. Il riempimento è costituito di calcestruzzo poroso o materiale granulare. Se le trincee sono adeguatamente “innestate” nel terreno stabile e il materiale di riempimento ha sufficiente resistenza e rigidezza come il calcestruzzo poroso, si ha ulteriore in-cremento di resistenza a taglio per effetto shear keys, oltre a quello derivante dalla riduzione delle pressioni in-terstiziali. L’incremento di resistenza è dovuto sia alla resistenza all’interfaccia calcestruzzo–terreni sia a quella intrinseca del…
THE ANALYSIS OF THE HEAVY METALS IN THE CORN AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEM IN THE AXENTE SEVER-COPSA MICA AREA (SIBIU COUNTY)
2013
The invertebrates constitute important indicators in the appreciation of the soil. A first step in this respect is constituted by the analysis of the heavy metals in the corn fields in the Axente Sever and Copsa Micaƒ Area. Methods of researching: collecting the samples in the soil by using the agricultural drill; the determination of the heavy metals by spectroscopy of atomic absorption, using the spectrometer of atomic absorption ContrAA 700. As a result of the researches the average concentration of lead and cadmium in the soil of the agricultural ecosystems from the studied area is still high.