Multi-site assessment of cultivation-induced soil change using revised landform segmentation procedures

2003 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 565-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Pennock

The range of soil properties associated with soil taxonomic class results from natural soil formation and soil-changing effects of human activity. My goal was to assess cultivation effects on soil formation and soil organic carbon (SOC) at four cultivated and two native hummocky till sites from the same climatic region of Saskatchewan. A revised landform segmentation procedure was used for comparisons across sites. Neither A horizon thickness nor SOC was related to topographical attributes at the native sites, but both had significant relationships (P = 0.001) with profile curvature (Pearson r= −0.53 and −0.57 for A horizon thickness and SOC, respectively), specific dispersal area (r = −0.40 and −0.54) and plan curvature (r = −0.24 and −0.34) at the cultivated sites. The greatest decreases in A horizon thickness (16 cm) and SOC (56 Mg ha-1) at the cultivated sites occurred in divergent shoulder elements, which have high rates of tillage-induced soil loss. Increases in soil thickness (including depth to calcium carbonate) occurred in concave footslope and depressional elements, but in situ losses of SOC outweighed the effects of SOC deposition. Soil thinning caused increases in the proportion of Orthic Regosols and decreases in the proportion of Calcareous Chernozems, but horizonation changes in the dominant Orthic Chernozems were minor. The self-terminating nature of the horizonation changes and improved conservation measures suggest that the future rate of soil change in these landscapes may be lower than in the past. Key words: organic carbon, topography, landscape-scale, erosion, tillage redistribution, digital elevation model, cesium

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2160
Author(s):  
Daniel Kibirige ◽  
Endre Dobos

Soil moisture (SM) is a key variable in the climate system and a key parameter in earth surface processes. This study aimed to test the citizen observatory (CO) data to develop a method to estimate surface SM distribution using Sentinel-1B C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Landsat 8 data; acquired between January 2019 and June 2019. An agricultural region of Tard in western Hungary was chosen as the study area. In situ soil moisture measurements in the uppermost 10 cm were carried out in 36 test fields simultaneously with SAR data acquisition. The effects of environmental covariates and the backscattering coefficient on SM were analyzed to perform SM estimation procedures. Three approaches were developed and compared for a continuous four-month period, using multiple regression analysis, regression-kriging and cokriging with the digital elevation model (DEM), and Sentinel-1B C-band and Landsat 8 images. CO data were evaluated over the landscape by expert knowledge and found to be representative of the major SM distribution processes but also presenting some indifferent short-range variability that was difficult to explain at this scale. The proposed models were evaluated using statistical metrics: The coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE). Multiple linear regression provides more realistic spatial patterns over the landscape, even in a data-poor environment. Regression kriging was found to be a potential tool to refine the results, while ordinary cokriging was found to be less effective. The obtained results showed that CO data complemented with Sentinel-1B SAR, Landsat 8, and terrain data has the potential to estimate and map soil moisture content.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Frey ◽  
W. Haeberli ◽  
A. Linsbauer ◽  
C. Huggel ◽  
F. Paul

Abstract. In the course of glacier retreat, new glacier lakes can develop. As such lakes can be a source of natural hazards, strategies for predicting future glacier lake formation are important for an early planning of safety measures. In this article, a multi-level strategy for the identification of overdeepened parts of the glacier beds and, hence, sites with potential future lake formation, is presented. At the first two of the four levels of this strategy, glacier bed overdeepenings are estimated qualitatively and over large regions based on a digital elevation model (DEM) and digital glacier outlines. On level 3, more detailed and laborious models are applied for modeling the glacier bed topography over smaller regions; and on level 4, special situations must be investigated in-situ with detailed measurements such as geophysical soundings. The approaches of the strategy are validated using historical data from Trift Glacier, where a lake formed over the past decade. Scenarios of future glacier lakes are shown for the two test regions Aletsch and Bernina in the Swiss Alps. In the Bernina region, potential future lake outbursts are modeled, using a GIS-based hydrological flow routing model. As shown by a corresponding test, the ASTER GDEM and the SRTM DEM are both suitable to be used within the proposed strategy. Application of this strategy in other mountain regions of the world is therefore possible as well.


Water ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Saint-Laurent ◽  
Roxane Paradis ◽  
Ariane Drouin ◽  
Vernhar Gervais-Beaulac

2022 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Alessandro De Pedrini ◽  
Christian Ambrosi ◽  
Cristian Scapozza

Abstract. As a contribution to the knowledge of historical rockslides, this research focuses on the historical reconstruction, field mapping, and simulation of the expansion, through numerical modelling, of the 30 September 1513 Monte Crenone rock avalanche. Earth observation in 2-D and 3-D, as well as direct in situ field mapping, allowed the detachment zone and the perimeter and volume of the accumulation to be determined. Thanks to the reconstruction of the post-event digital elevation model based on historical topographic maps and the numerical modelling with the RAMMS::DEBRISFLOW software, the dynamics and runout of the rock avalanche were calibrated and reconstructed. The reconstruction of the runout model allowed confirmation of the historical data concerning this event, particularly the damming of the valley floor and the lake formation up to an elevation of 390 m a.s.l., which generated an enormous flood by dam breaching on 20 May 1515, known as the “Buzza di Biasca”.


Author(s):  
Sandra Cristina Deodoro ◽  
William Zanete Bertolini ◽  
Plinio da Costa Temba

Quaternary formations (detrital and weathered materials) are an important natural resource for different areas of scientific investigation, from understanding their relation to erosive processes and morphodynamic processes that create landforms or to understanding the history of the first human settlements (geoarcheology). Quaternary coverings can be formed in situ or be transported by external geologic agents. Regarding soils, Quaternary formations are related to landscape topography and are transformed according to the characteristics of this topography. Hence, classifying and mapping these soils is not always easy. The present article aims to map the Quaternary formations along a stretch of the Uruguay River basin  known as Volta Grande (SC/RS-Brazil), by using  topographic attributes derived from the SRTM GL1-Up Sampled digital elevation model, soil particle-size analysis, and a generated Multiresolution Index of Valley Bottom Flatness (MRVBF) index . The results of the analysis show that: (i) colluvium is the predominant Quaternary formation in the study area; (ii) there is a predominance of clay, corroborating previous studies of the region; (iii) the spatial distribution of the study area’s  Quaternary formations reflect local slope dynamics based on morphology and topographic position; and, (iv) the existence of colluvium-alluvium on the Uruguay River’s banks indicates that slope attributes contributed to the pedogeomorphological dynamics of the study area and not only fluvial dynamics. Based on the results, the methodology applied in this study might be useful for pedogeomorphological studies, notably in the analysis and mapping of Quaternary formations, despite some of its limitations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (6) ◽  
pp. 2614-2625
Author(s):  
Jessica Lin ◽  
Seulgi Moon ◽  
Alan Yong ◽  
Lingsen Meng ◽  
Paul Davis

Abstract In engineering seismology, the time‐averaged shear‐wave velocity (VS) of the upper 30 m of the crust (VS30) is the primary parameter used in ground‐motion models to predict seismic site effects. VS30 is typically derived from in situ recordings of VS, although proxy‐based approaches (using geologic and/or geomorphometric classifications) are provisionally adopted when measurement‐based VS30 are sparse or not readily available. Despite the acceptance of proxy approaches, there are limited studies that examine the empirical relationships between VS30 and topographic attributes measured from various length scales and different resolutions of the digital elevation model. In this study, we examine the relationships between compiled VS30 measurements from 218 sites in southern California and topographic metrics of slope and relief measured over various length scales. We find that the correlations between topographic metrics and VS30 are weak but statistically significant. The correlations are improved when topographic slopes and relief are measured over length scales longer than typical hillslopes and VS30 sites are separated by different geologic groups. This is likely because VS30, especially on the rock sites, is better reflected in topographic metrics that capture large‐scale topographic relief, as well as landscape positions such as hilltops and valley bottoms.


Geoderma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 398 ◽  
pp. 115106
Author(s):  
A.J. Gibson ◽  
G.R. Hancock ◽  
D. Bretreger ◽  
T. Cox ◽  
J. Hughes ◽  
...  

La Granja ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-69
Author(s):  
Paola Jackeline Duque-Sarango ◽  
Ronald Cajamarca-Rivadeneira ◽  
Beverley C. Wemple ◽  
Manuel E. Delgado-Fernández

The present study seeks to estimate the water balance that results as a product of the variation of precipitation and temperature over the Chaquilcay microcatchment, a natural system that intercepts with the surface of the Aguarongo Protected Forest in Gualaceo, Ecuador. Four meteorological stations of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMHI) were studied, which are divided into climatological and pluviometric, with time series of over 30 years, (1982-2015 period). In order to quantify the contributions and losses of water, statistical analyzes of the time series and surveys of in situ information were carried out. The methods used are linear regression, streak test and double mass curve. To fill and validate the series of precipitation and temperature, reference temperatures of the isothermal raster of Ecuador were included in the pluviometric stations. Additionally, a digital elevation model (MDE) was used to predict the amount of sunshine, and the Thornthwaite evapotranspiration method (1948) was applied from the obtained data. The results show acceptance of the meteorological records, while in the soil analysis we obtained the following data: Humidity, 62.38%; organic matter, 21.29%; field capacity, 18.71 mm and a flow of 1.89 m³ / s during the month of May. Finally, the water balance indicates 843.7 mm of annual precipitation, a storage difference of 18.71 mm representing 2.22% of total precipitation, an surplus of 144.5 mm, and actual evapotranspiration of 680.5 mm, with 17.13% and 80.65%, respectively.


2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Kubiak ◽  
Alfred Stach

Abstract The primary research problem presented in the article is verification of the thesis on the influence of relief and land cover type on the spatial variability of the land surface temperature (LST) distribution in the area including the river catchment area of upper Parsęta. The paper presents the use of thermal channels from two Landsat ETM+ scenes pictures, Corine Land Cover database from 2000 as well as the DTED-2 digital elevation model. Two ETM+ thermal bands processing algorithms were used for calculation of the land surface temperature: Qin et al. (2001) and Jiménez-Muňoz et al. (2003). Conducted statistical tests show significant differences of the land surface temperature values between particular land cover forms as well as types of relief. LST maps can be applied in topoclimatology eg. to detail and verify the in situ measurements.


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