scholarly journals Effects of land use changes and conservation measures on land degradation under a Mediterranean climate

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Mohawesh ◽  
A. Taimeh ◽  
F. Ziadat
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Conservation Measures ◽  
Stone Walls ◽  
Effects Of Land Use ◽  
Soil Conservation Measures

Abstract. Land degradation resulting from improper land use and management is a major cause of declined productivity in the arid environment. The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of a sequence of land use changes, soil conservation measures, and the time since their implementation on the degradation of selected soil properties. The climate for the selected 105 km2 watershed varies from semi-arid sub-tropical to Mediterranean sub-humid. Land use changes were detected using aerial photographs acquired in 1953, 1978, and 2008. A total of 218 samples were collected from 40 sites in three different rainfall zones to represent different land use changes and different lengths of time since the construction of stone walls. Analyses of variance were used to test the differences between the sequences of land use changes (interchangeable sequences of forest, orchards, field crops, and range), the time since the implementation of soil conservation measures, and rainfall on the thickness of the A-horizon, soil organic carbon content, and texture. Soil organic carbon reacts actively with different combinations and sequences of land use changes. The time since stone walls were constructed showed significant impacts on soil organic carbon and the thickness of the surface horizon. The effects of changing the land use and whether the changes were associated with the construction of stone walls, varied according to the annual rainfall. The results help in understanding the effects of land use changes on land degradation processes and carbon sequestration potential and in formulating sound soil conservation plans.

scholarly journals Effects of land use changes and soil conservation intervention on soil properties as indicators for land degradation under a Mediterranean climate

Solid Earth ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 857-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Mohawesh ◽  
A. Taimeh ◽  
F. Ziadat
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Stone Walls ◽  
Effects Of Land Use ◽  
Soil Conservation Measures

Abstract. Land degradation resulting from improper land use and management is a major cause of declined productivity in the arid environment. The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of a sequence of land use changes, soil conservation measures, and the time since their implementation on the degradation of selected soil properties. The climate for the selected 105 km2 watershed varies from semi-arid sub-tropical to Mediterranean sub-humid. Land use changes were detected using aerial photographs acquired in 1953, 1978, and 2008. A total of 218 samples were collected from 40 sites in three different rainfall zones to represent different land use changes and variable lengths of time since the construction of stone walls. Analyses of variance were used to test the differences between the sequences of land use changes (interchangeable sequences of forest, orchards, field crops, and range), the time since the implementation of soil conservation measures, rainfall on the thickness of the A-horizon, soil organic carbon content, and texture. Soil organic carbon reacts actively with different combinations and sequences of land use changes. The time since stone walls were constructed showed significant impacts on soil organic carbon and the thickness of the surface horizon. The effects of changing the land use and whether the changes were associated with the construction of stone walls varied according to the annual rainfall. The changes in soil properties could be used as indicators of land degradation and to assess the impact of soil conservation programs. The results help in understanding the effects of land use changes on land degradation processes and carbon sequestration potential and in formulating sound soil conservation plans.

scholarly journals Evaluating the impact of soil conservation measures on soil organic carbon at the farm scale

2017 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 175-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pezzuolo ◽  
Benjamin Dumont ◽  
Luigi Sartori ◽  
Francesco Marinello ◽  
Massimiliano De Antoni Migliorati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Conservation Measures ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Soil Conservation Measures

Soil organic carbon dynamics: Impact of land use changes and management practices: A review

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thangavel Ramesh ◽  
Nanthi S. Bolan ◽  
Mary Beth Kirkham ◽  
Hasintha Wijesekara ◽  
Manjaiah Kanchikerimath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics

Supporting land degradation neutrality assessment by soil organic carbon stock mapping in Hungary

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annamária Laborczi ◽  
Gábor Szatmári ◽  
János Mészáros ◽  
Sándor Koós ◽  
Béla Pirkó ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Conversion Factors ◽  
Land Use Conversion ◽  
Soc Stock ◽  
Default Data ◽  
Stock Values

<p>‘Strategic objective 1’ of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) aims to improve conditions of affected ecosystems, combat desertification/land degradation, promote sustainable land management, and contribute to land degradation neutrality. The indicator ‘Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area’ (SO1) is compiled from three sub-indicators: ‘Trends in land cover’ (SO1-1), ‘Trends in land productivity or functioning of the land’ (SO1-2), ‘Trends in carbon stocks above and below ground’ (SO1-3).</p><p>Soil organic carbon (SOC) stock can be adopted as the metric of SO1-3, until globally accepted methods for estimating the total terrestrial system carbon stocks will be elaborated. SOC can be considered as one of the most important properties of soil, which shows not just spatial but temporal variability. According to our previous results in the topic, UNCCD default data of SOC stock for Hungary is strongly recommended to be replaced with country specific estimation of SOC stock.</p><p>SOC stock maps were compiled in the framework of DOSoReMI.hu (Digital, Optimized, Soil Related Maps and Information in Hungary) initiative, predicted by proper digital soil mapping (DSM) method. Reference soil data were derived from a countrywide monitoring system. The selection of environmental covariates was based on the SCORPAN model. The elaborated SOC stock mapping methodology have two components: (1) point support modelling, where SOC stock is computed at the level of soil profile, and (2) spatial modelling (quantile regression forest), where spatial prediction and uncertainty quantification are carried out using the computed SOC stock values.</p><p>We analyzed how SOC stock changed between 1998 and 2016.  Nationwide SOC stock predictions were compiled for the years 1998, 2010, 2013, and 2016. For the intermediate years, we do not recommend to calculate SOC stock values, because we have no information on the dynamics of change in the intervening years. Based on the 1998 SOC stock prediction, we compiled a SOC stock map for 2018, using only land use conversion factors, according to the default data conversion values.</p><p>According to the elaborated scheme during the respective period, significant changes cannot be detected, only tendentious SOC stock changes appear. Based on our results, we recommend to use spatially predicted layers for all years when data are available, rather than calculating SOC stock change based on land use conversion factors.</p><p><strong>Acknowledgment:</strong> Our research was supported by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH; K-131820) and by the Premium Postdoctoral Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (PREMIUM-2019-390) (Gábor Szatmári).</p>

Natural reforestation effect on soil organic carbon and СО2 flux dynamics in southern taiga ecosystems with Albeluvisols

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Vasenev ◽  
Tatyana Komarova ◽  
Solomon Melese
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Southern Taiga ◽  
Maximum Intensity ◽  
Taiga Zone ◽  
Southern Taiga Zone

<p><strong>Introduction.</strong> Natural reforestation is the widespread trend in the modern land-use changes in the southern taiga zone at the European territory of Russia after 1990s. Its total area is more than 10 million ha. At the same time forest natural regeneration is mutual usual process in the long-term land-use changes in this part of Russia with complex history of its development during millennium. It plays crucial role in soil successions, their fertility and environmental function dynamics including bio productivity support and carbon sequestration, which is given special attention against the background of global climate change challenges in the twenty-first century. This paper presents the results of a round-the-year monitoring of soil CO<sub>2</sub> emission in comparable sites of the fallow lands chrono sequences in conditions of a representative area of the Central Forest Reserve with background wood-sorrel spruce forests which are typical for the southern taiga zone of Central Russia.</p><p><strong>Objects and methods. </strong>The dominant soil type is sandy-loam Albeluvisols (by WRB, or Orthopodzolic soil by Russia Taxonomy, or Alfisols by Soil Taxonomy, or Podzoluvisols by FAO). The studies have been done in the representative 5 sites at different age of natural reforestation: (1) Fallow meadow grassland – “0-moment”; (2) Forest-fallow birch domination stage of 10-15 year; (3) Birch domination stage of 20-30 year with young spruce participation; (4) Birch-forest stage of 50-60 year with spruce participation; (5) Spruce-forest after fallow stage of more than 100 year with birch participation. CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes seasonal and diurnal dynamics measuring were carried out in situ using a mobile gas analyzer Li-820 and soil exposure chambers with parallel measurements of air temperature, soil temperature and moisture. Also, biomass, soil organic carbon and bulk density were analyzed in their topsoil and subsoil horizons with C stock calculation.</p><p><strong>Results and discussion.</strong> Analysis of the successional dynamics of the topsoil organic carbon stock showed the maximum rate of their increasing in the first stages of natural reforestation by a thick undergrowth of birch (more than 30 g m<sup>-2</sup>∙year<sup>-1</sup>) that agrees well with the maximum intensity of the woody biomass growth in case of dominant birch forest up to 50-60 years (more than 100 g m<sup>-2</sup>∙year<sup>-1</sup>). Research revealed the maximum intensity of soil CO<sub>2</sub> emission (up to 11-12 g C-CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>-2</sup>∙day<sup>-1</sup>) in the meadow fallow land and its gradual decreasing in process of reforestation down to values close to background ecosystems in 4-5 g C-CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>-2</sup>∙day<sup>-1 </sup>in the last investigated succession study with wood-sorrel spruce older than 100 years, which is in good correlation with the gradual humus accumulation in topsoil due to reduced mineralization of organic compounds from dying vegetation. The seasonal and daily dynamics of soil CO<sub>2</sub> emissions are determined by soil temperature (K<sub>TS</sub> 0.77 - 0.99), air temperature (K<sub>TA</sub> 0.42 - 0.99), and soil moisture in spring and fall (K<sub>WS</sub> -0.55 - -0.98).</p><p><strong>Conclusions. </strong>Investigation of forest natural regeneration impacts on the level of soil organic carbon accumulation and CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes in the representative southern taiga ecosystems is important element of their soil environmental monitoring and management.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document