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Soil Material (soil + material)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Earth and Environmental Science	60%

Selected Abstracts

Particle Size Distribution (Texture) of Eroded Soil Material

JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 5 2002
F. Basic
Abstract The total quantity of erosional drift on a Stagnic Luvisol on which six tillage methods were used was measured over 5 years of investigation. The texture of the tilled soil and the erosional drift for each trial method was recorded in the same plots. The results obtained suggested that erosional drift was generally richer in silt and clay particles. The standard deviations of coarse sand indicated that approximately the same quantity of coarse sand was found in plot soil and in erosional drift for all tillage methods. Sometimes more and sometimes fewer fine sand particles were found in erosional drift than in plot soil. In most cases, more silt particles were found in erosional drift than in plot soil. The standard deviation and coefficient of variation for clay and silt were higher in erosional drift than in plot soil for all methods. The highest content of clay particles was recorded in erosional drift from the no-tillage treatment in all investigation years. The results suggest that the correct choice of tillage method (no-tillage and ploughing across the slope) on a Stagnic Luvisol can protect the soil on a slope. [source]

Gully-head erosion processes on a semi-arid valley floor in Kenya: a case study into temporal variation and sediment budgeting

EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 9 2001
D. J. Oostwoud Wijdenes
Abstract A three year monitoring programme of gully-head retreat was established to assess the significance of sediment production in a drainage network that expanded rapidly by gully-head erosion on the low-angled alluvio-lacustrine Njemps Flats in semi-arid Baringo District, Kenya. This paper discusses the factors controlling the large observed spatial and temporal variation in gully-head retreat rates, ranging from 0 to 15 m a,1. The selected gullies differed in planform and in runoff-contributing catchment area but soil material and land use were similar. The data were analysed at event and annual timescales. The results show that at annual timescale rainfall amount appears to be a good indicator of gully-head retreat, while at storm-event timescale rainfall distribution has to be taken into account. A model is proposed, including only rainfall (P) and the number of dry days (DD) between storms: which explains 56 per cent of the variation in retreat rate of the single-headed gully of Lam1. A detailed sediment budget has been established for Lam1 and its runoff-contributing area (RCA). By measuring sediment input from the RCA, the sediment output by channelized flow and linear retreat of the gully head for nine storms, it can be seen that erosion shifts between different components of the budget depending on the duration of the dry period (DD) between storms. Sediment input from the RCA was usually the largest component for the smaller storms. The erosion of the gully head occurred as a direct effect of runoff falling over the edge (GHwaterfall) and of the indirect destabilization of the adjacent walls by the waterfall erosion and by saturation (GHmass/storage). The latter component (GHmass/storage) was usually much larger that the former (GHwaterfall). The sediment output from the gully was strongly related to the runoff volume while the linear retreat, because of its complex behaviour, was not. Overall, the results show that the annual retreat is the optimal timescale to predict retreat patterns. More detailed knowledge about relevant processes and interactions is necessary if gully-head erosion is to be included in event-based soil erosion models. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Characterizing sediment acid volatile sulfide concentrations in European streams

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2007
G. Allen Burton
Abstract Sediment acid volatile sulfide (AVS) concentrations were measured in wadeable streams of a wide variety of ecoregions of western Europe (84 sites in 10 countries and nine ecoregions) to better understand spatial distribution and ecoregion relationships. Acid volatile sulfide has been shown to be a major factor controlling the bioavailability and toxicity of many common trace metals, such as Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn. Sediment characteristics varied widely. The ratio of the sum of the simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) to AVS ranged from 0.03 to 486.59. The ,SEM-AVS ranged from ,40.02 to 17.71 ,mol/g. On a regional scale, sediment characteristics such as dominant parent soil material showed significant trends in AVS distribution and variation by ecoregion. Total Fe and Mn were correlated weakly with SEM concentrations. Three AVS model approaches (i.e., the SEMAVS ratio, SEM-AVS difference, and carbon normalization) were compared at threshold exceedance levels of SEM/AVS > 9, SEM-AVS > 2, and SEM-AVS/foc > 150 ,mol/g organic carbon (OC). Only 4.76% of the sediments exceeded all three AVS thresholds; 22.6% of the sediments exceeded two models; and 13% of the sediments exceeded one model only. Using the SEM:AVS, SEM-AVS, and fraction of organic carbon models, and including site-specific data and regional soil characteristics, ecoregions 1 (Portugal), 3 (Italy), 4 (Switzerland), and 9 (Belgium/Germany) had the highest potential metals toxicity; ecoregions 13 and 8 (Belgium/France) showed the lowest potential toxicity. However, because AVS can vary widely spatially and temporally, these data should not be considered as representative of the sampled ecoregions. The general relationship between AVS levels and sediment characteristics provides some predictive capability for wadeable streams in the European ecoregions. [source]

Soil parent materials and the pottery of Roman Galilee: A comparative study

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2002
Moshe Wieder
The paper presents a comparative micromorphological analysis of the range of soil materials used to make the pottery of the hilly Galilee during the Roman period, and the ceramic products made from these materials. The four soil units that served as raw material for most of the pottery made in this period and region are examined along with pottery derived from each of them. For each soil unit, the soil characteristics and processes are described, followed by a presentation of the micromorphological characteristics of the soil material and those of the pottery made from that material. The contribution of the aeolian dust component to the soil materials is discussed as well as the identification of the tempering materials (nonplastics or other soil materials) added to the pottery paste. The study demonstrates the close correlation in microfabric between the pottery and original soil materials, sheds light on the raw material selection and modification practices of the potters of Roman Galilee, and has significant implications for provenance studies, using chemical analysis, on the pottery of this period and region. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Prediction of concentrated flow width in ephemeral gully channels

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 10 2002
J. Nachtergaele
Abstract Empirical prediction equations of the form W = aQb have been reported for rills and rivers, but not for ephemeral gullies. In this study six experimental data sets are used to establish a relationship between channel width (W, m) and flow discharge (Q, m3 s,1) for ephemeral gullies formed on cropland. The resulting regression equation (W = 2·51 Q0·412; R2 = 0·72; n = 67) predicts observed channel width reasonably well. Owing to logistic limitations related to the respective experimental set ups, only relatively small runoff discharges (i.e. Q < 0·02 m3s,1) were covered. Using field data, where measured ephemeral gully channel width was attributed to a calculated peak runoff discharge on sealed cropland, the application field of the regression equation was extended towards larger discharges (i.e. 5 × 10,4m3s,1 < Q < 0·1 m3s,1). Comparing W,Q relationships for concentrated flow channels revealed that the discharge exponent (b) varies from 0·3 for rills over 0·4 for gullies to 0·5 for rivers. This shift in b may be the result of: (i) differences in flow shear stress distribution over the wetted perimeter between rills, gullies and rivers, (ii) a decrease in probability of a channel formed in soil material with uniform erosion resistance from rills over gullies to rivers and (iii) a decrease in average surface slope from rills over gullies to rivers. The proposed W,Q equation for ephemeral gullies is valid for (sealed) cropland with no significant change in erosion resistance with depth. Two examples illustrate limitations of the W,Q approach. In a first example, vertical erosion is hindered by a frozen subsoil. The second example relates to a typical summer situation where the soil moisture profile of an agricultural field makes the top 0·02 m five times more erodible than the underlying soil material. For both cases observed W values are larger than those predicted by the established channel width equation for concentrated flow on cropland. For the frozen soils the equation W = 3·17 Q0·368 (R2 = 0·78; n = 617) was established, but for the summer soils no equation could be established. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The historic man-made soils of the Generalife garden (La Alhambra, Granada, Spain)

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2007
R. Delgado
Summary We studied the soils of the Patio de la Acequia garden of the Generalife, a palatial villa forming part of La Alhambra, a World Heritage Site in Granada, Spain. This garden, which is estimated to be around 700 years old, is the oldest historical garden in the Western World. The soils are man-made cumulimollihumic-calcaric (hypereutric, anthric) Regosols. Noteworthy amongst the main pedogenic processes, in relation to the human activities of cultivation, irrigation and tillage, are horizonation, melanization (the contents of organic carbon varied between 0.59% and 8.87%, and those of P205 extracted with citric acid between 723 mg kg,1 and 7333 mg kg,1, with maximae in the Ap horizons) and structure formation. The soil fabric, studied at the ultramicroscopic level using scanning electron microscopy, is of laminar and partition-walls' type in the lower horizons, depending on the microped zones. The partition-walls' fabrics found are different to those of the possible pre-existing sedimentary fabrics. These are numerous lithological discontinuities and at least two burials, leading us to deduce that there have been two main stages of filling with materials in the formation of these soils. The first is Arabic-Medieval (13th century), when the garden was created, its surface being some 50 cm below the level of the paved area of the present patio. In the deeper parts, the materials employed in the fill are similar to the in situ soils of the zone, unaffected by the buildings. The second stage is Christian (15th century to the present day). During this period the Medieval garden was gradually buried under a layer of materials from the nearby soils and/or sediments mixed with manure until the surface was only just below the level of the paved area of the patio. In this work we discuss the difficult classification of these relatively little studied soils. In spite of their being clearly related to human activity, they are not classified as Anthrosols in the FAO system (1998) because soil materials cannot be classified as anthropopedogenic or as anthropogeomorphic. [source]

Soil parent materials and the pottery of Roman Galilee: A comparative study

Hydrochemical behaviour of dissolved nitrogen and carbon in a headwater stream of the Canadian Shield: relevance of antecedent soil moisture conditions

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 3 2008
Julie M. L. Turgeon
Abstract This paper examines the impact of contrasting antecedent soil moisture conditions on the hydrochemical response, here the changes in dissolved nitrogen (NO3,, NH4+ and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON)) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, of a first-order stream during hydrological events. The study was performed in the Hermine, a 5 ha forested watershed of the Canadian Shield. It focused on a series of eight precipitation events (spring, summer and fall) sampled every 2 or 3 h and showing contrasted antecedent moisture conditions. The partition of the eight events between two groups (dry or wet) of antecedent moisture conditions was conducted using a principal component analysis (PCA). The partition was controlled (first axis explained 86% of the variability) by the antecedent streamflow, the streamflow to precipitation ratio Q/P and by the antecedent groundwater depth. The mean H+, NO3,, NH4+, total dissolved nitrogen and DOC concentrations and electrical conductivity values in the stream were significantly higher following dry antecedent conditions than after wetter conditions had prevailed in the Hermine, although the temporal variability was high (17 to 138%). At the event scale, a significantly higher proportion of the changes in DON, NO3,, and DOC concentrations in the stream was explained by temporal variations in discharge compared with the seasonal and annual scales. Two of the key hydrochemical features of the dry events were the synchronous changes in DOC and flow and the frequent negative relationships between discharge and NO3,. The DON concentrations were much less responsive than DOC to changes in discharge, whereas NH was not in phase with streamflow. During wet events, the synchronicity between streamflow and DON or NO3, was higher than during dry events and discharge and NO3, were generally positively linked. Based on these observations, the hydrological behaviour of the Hermine is conceptually compatible with a two-component model of shallow (DON and DOC rich; variable NO3,) and deep (DON and DOC poor; variable NO3,) subsurface flow. The high NO3, and DOC levels measured at the early stages of dry events reflected the contribution from NO3, -rich groundwaters. The contribution of rapid surface flow on water-repellent soil materials located close to the stream channel is hypothesized to explain the DOC levels. An understanding of the complex interactions between antecedent soil moisture conditions, the presence of soil nutrients available for leaching and the dynamics of soil water flow paths during storms is essential to explain the fluxes of dissolved nitrogen and carbon in streams of forested watersheds. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]