scholarly journals Effect of land management on soil properties in flood irrigated citrus orchards in Eastern Spain

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Morugán-Coronado ◽  
F. García-Orenes ◽  
A. Cerdà
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Aggregate Stability ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Microbial Properties ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Citrus Orchards

Abstract. Agricultural land management greatly affects soil properties. Microbial soil communities are the most sensitive and rapid indicators of perturbations in land use and soil enzyme activities are sensitive biological indicators of the effects of soil management practices. Citrus orchards frequently have degraded soils and this paper evaluates how land management in citrus orchards can improve soil quality. A field experiment was performed in an orchard of orange trees (Citrus Sinensis) in the Alcoleja Experimental Station (Eastern Spain) with clay-loam agricultural soils to assess the long-term effects of herbicides with inorganic fertilizers (H), intensive ploughing and inorganic fertilizers (P) and organic farming (O) on the soil microbial properties, and to study the relationship between them. Nine soil samples were taken from each agricultural management plot. In all the samples the basal soil respiration, soil microbial biomass carbon, water holding capacity, electrical conductivity, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, aggregate stability, cation exchange capacity, pH, texture, macronutrients (Na, Ca and Mg), micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu), calcium carbonate equivalent, calcium carbonate content of limestone and enzimatic activities (urease, dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase) were determined. The results showed a substantial level of differentiation in the microbial properties, which were highly associated with soil organic matter content. The management practices including herbicides and intensive ploughing had similar results on microbial soil properties. O management contributed to an increase in the soil biology quality, aggregate stability and organic matter content.

scholarly journals Changes in soil microbial activity and physicochemical properties in agricultural soils in Eastern Spain

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Morugán-Coronado ◽  
Fuensanta García-Orenes ◽  
Artemi Cerdà
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Microbial Properties ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Citrus Orchards

Agricultural land management greatly affects soil properties. Microbial soil communities are the most sensitive and rapid indicators of perturbations in land use and soil enzyme activities are sensitive biological indicators of the effects of soil management practices. Citrus orchards frequently have degraded soils and this paper evaluates how land management in citrus orchards can improve soil quality. A field experiment was performed in an orchard of orange trees (<em>Citrus Sinensis</em>) in the Alcoleja Experimental Station (Eastern Spain) with clay-loam agricultural soils to assess the long-term effects of herbicides with inorganic fertilizers (H), intensive ploughing and inorganic fertilizers (P) and organic farming (O) on the soil microbial properties, and to study the relationship between them. Nine soil samples were taken from each agricultural management plot. In all the samples physicochemical parameters, basal soil respiration, soil microbial biomass carbon, microbial indexes (BSR/C, Cmic/C and BSR/Cmic) and enzymatic activities (urease, dehydrogenase, ß-glucosidase and acid phosphatase) were determined. The results showed significant differences between the different agricultural management practices for the microbial properties and soil microbial indexes, since these were strongly associated with the soil organic matter content. Unlike herbicide use and intensive ploughing  - management practices that both showed similar microbial soil properties -  the organic management practices contributed to an increase in the soil biology quality, aggregate stability and organic matter content.

Log landings are methane emission hotspots in managed forests

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Vantellingen ◽  
Sean C. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Emission Rate ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Managed Forests

Log landings are areas within managed forests used to process and store felled trees prior to transport. Through their construction and use soil is removed or redistributed, compacted, and organic matter contents may be increased by incorporation of wood fragments. The effects of these changes to soil properties on methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) flux is unclear and unstudied. We quantified CH<sub>4</sub> flux rates from year-old landings in Ontario, Canada, and examined spatial variability and relationships to soil properties within these sites. Landings emitted CH<sub>4</sub> throughout the growing season; the average CH<sub>4</sub> emission rate from log landings was 69.2 ± 12.8 nmol m<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> (26.2 ± 4.8 g CH<sub>4</sub> C m<sup>-2</sup> y<sup>-1</sup>), a rate comparable to CH<sub>4</sub>-emitting wetlands. Emission rates were correlated to soil pH, organic matter content and quantities of buried woody debris. These properties led to strong CH<sub>4</sub> emissions, or “hotspots”, in certain areas of landings, particularly where processing of logs occurred and incorporated woody debris into the soil. At the forest level, emissions from landings were estimated to offset ~12% of CH<sub>4</sub> consumption from soils within the harvest area, although making up only ~0.5% of the harvest area. Management practices to avoid or remediate these emissions should be developed as a priority measure in “climate-smart” forestry.

scholarly journals Land Management Impacts on Soil Water Erosion and Loss of Nutrients

Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Telak ◽  
Bogunovic ◽  
Rodrigo-Comino
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Overland Flow ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Plant Residues ◽  
Significant Difference

Humans are the driving factor of soil erosion and degradation. Therefore, sustainable land management practices should be developed and applied. The aim of this study was to determine land management impacts on soil properties, soil loss and nutrient loss in 3 different treatments; grass-covered vineyard (GCV), tilled vineyard (TV), and tilled hazelnut orchard (HO). The study area is located in Orahovica, Croatia (45°31′ N, 17°51′ E; elevation 230 m) on ~7° slope. The soil under the study area was classified as a Stagnosol. 8 rainfall simulations (58 mm h−1, during 30 min, over 0.785 m2 plots) were performed at each treatment where the next data were noted: ponding time, runoff time, and collection of overland flow. Soil samples were taken for determination of mean weight diameter (MWD), water stable aggregates (WSA), P2O5 content, and organic matter content. Analyses of sediment revealed concentrations of P2O5 and N. All three treatments had significantly different values of MWD (GCV 3.30 mm; TV 2.94 mm; HO 2.16 mm), while WSA and organic matter significantly differs between GCV and HO. The infiltration rate showed no significant difference between treatments. Sediment yield was significantly the highest at the TV (21.01 g kg−1 runoff), while no significant difference was noted between GCV (2.91) and HO (6.59). Sediments of GCV treatment showed higher concentrations of P2O5 and N, compared to TV and HO. Nutrients loss was highest in the TV (450.3 g P2O5 ha−1; 1891.7 g N ha−1) as a result of highest sediment yield, despite the fact GCV had the highest nutrients concentrations. Results indicate that land management (and/or tillage) affects soil properties and their stability. Even tough HO was tilled and had the lowest values of organic matter, WSA, and MWD, measurements were performed immediately after tillage where the plant residues reduced potential erodibility of the soil. Such results reveal that tillage should be avoided in vineyard and hazelnut production in order to prevent soil and nutrient losses.

scholarly journals Long Term Impact of Sludge Application in Maize Farm

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Adelcia Veiga ◽  
Carla Ferreira ◽  
Luís Pinto ◽  
Anne-Karine Boulet ◽  
Eunice Louro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Sludge Application ◽  
Composted Sludge

Intensification of agriculture worldwide has led to a growing awareness on their environmental impacts, namely on soil quality and long term impact on crop productivity. As a consequence, there is an increasing concern regarding best agricultural management practices and their impact on physical, chemical and biological soil properties. In the Centre region of Portugal, maize is one of the most important arable crops and represents more than 32% of the cultivated area. Maize fields have been intensively managed under conventional practices, but increasing land degradation is leading farmers to adopt improved management practices, such as the application of composted sludge from urban wastewater treatment plants. This study aims to assess the long term impact of composted sludge application as soil amendment in maize cropping fields. The study was performed in Baixo Mondego, in central region of Portugal, largely devoted to agriculture and where maize is one of the most relevant crops. The study was performed in two study sites with similar soil and weather characteristics - one managed under conventional practices, with intensive application of fertilizers, and another field where a significant part of mineral fertilizers is replaced by composted sludge. Both sites use these agricultural management practices for more than 5 years. In 2018, two soil sampling campaigns were performed to assess the physical (texture and bulk density) and chemical soil properties (organic matter content, total nitrogen, total and extractable phosphorus, exchangeable cation (K+, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+) and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn and Ni)). Results show that composted sludge improves soil organic matter content (1.2% vs. 2.2%), total (2747 mg kg-1 vs. 1134 mg kg-1) and available phosphorous (821.85 mg kg-1 vs. 98.44 mg kg-1) comparing with conventional management practices. Higher contents of heavy metals, specifically Cu, Zn, Cd and Cr, were found in the field with sludge application than in the conventional one, which may represent a long term risk for soil contamination. Information regarding the long term impacts of best management practices on soil quality is relevant and should guide farmers and policy makers to attain agricultural sustainability.

The Effects of Long‐Term Land‐Use Change on Soil Properties in Perth, Ontario Canada

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trina Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
North America ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Topographic Gradients

Land‐use change can have a major impact on soil properties, leading to long‐term changes in soilnutrient cycling rates and carbon storage. While a substantial amount of research has been conducted onland‐use change in tropical regions, empirical evidence of long‐term conversion of forested land toagricultural land in North America is lacking. Pervasive deforestation for the sake of agriculturethroughout much of North America is likely to have modified soil properties, with implications for theglobal climate. Here, we examined the response of physical, chemical and biological soil properties toconversion of forest to agricultural land (100 years ago) on Roebuck Farm near Perth, Ontario, Canada.Soil samples were collected at three sites from under forest and agricultural vegetative cover on bothhigh‐ and low‐lying topographic positions (12 locations in total; soil profile sampled to a depth of 40cm).Our results revealed that bulk density, pH, and nitrate concentrations were all higher in soils collectedfrom cultivate sites. In contrast, samples from forested sites exhibited greater water‐holding capacity,porosity, organic matter content, ammonia concentrations and cation exchange capacity. Many of these characteristics are linked to greater organic matter abundance and diversity in soils under forestvegetation as compared with agricultural soils. Microbial activity and Q10 values were also higher in theforest soils. While soil properties in the forest were fairly similar across topographic gradients, low‐lyingpositions under agricultural regions had higher bulk density and organic matter content than upslopepositions, suggesting significant movement of material along topographic gradients. Differences in soilproperties are attributed largely to increased compaction and loss of organic matter inputs in theagricultural system. Our results suggest that the conversion of forested land cover to agriculture landcover reduces soil quality and carbon storage, alters long‐term site productivity, and contributes toincreased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

scholarly journals Comparison of wheat and safflower cultivation areas in terms of total carbon and some soil properties under semi-arid climate conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1007-1024
Author(s):  
B. Turgut
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Aggregate Stability ◽  
Soil Physical Properties ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Arid Climate ◽  
Soil Layers ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. The aim of this study was to compare the soils of the wheat cultivation area (WCA) and the safflower cultivation area (SCA) within semi-arid climate zones in terms of their total carbon, nitrogen, sulphur contents, particle size distribution, aggregate stability, organic matter content, and pH values. This study presents the results from the analyses of 140 soil samples taken at two soil layers (0–10 and 10–20 cm) in the cultivation areas. At the end of the study, it has been established that there were significant differences between the cultivation areas in terms of soil physical properties such as total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total sulphur (TS) contents and pH, while only the TN content resulted in significantly different between the two soil layers. Moreover significant differences were identified in the cultivation areas in terms of soil physical properties including clay and sand contents, aggregate stability and organic matter content, whereas the only significant difference found among the soil layers was that of their silt content. Since safflower contains higher amounts of biomass than wheat, we found higher amounts of organic matter content and, therefore, higher amounts of TN and TS content in the soils of the SCA. In addition, due to the fact that wheat contains more cellulose – which takes longer to decompose – the TC content of the soil in the WCA were found to be higher than that of the SCA. The results also revealed that the WCA had a higher carbon storage capacity.

scholarly journals Soil structure after 18 years of long-term different tillage systems and fertilisation in Haplic Luvisol

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 140-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Šimanský Vladimír ◽  
Lukáč Martin
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Arable Soils ◽  
Water Stable Aggregates

Soil structure is a key determinant of many soil environmental processes and is essential for supporting terrestrial ecosystem productivity. Management of arable soils plays a significant role in forming and maintaining their structure. Between 1994 and 2011, we studied the influence of soil tillage and fertilisation regimes on the stability of soil structure of loamy Haplic Luvisol in a replicated long-term field experiment in the Dolná Malanta locality (Slovakia). Soil samples were repeatedly collected from plots exposed to the following treatments: conventional tillage (CT) and minimum tillage (MT) combined with conventional (NPK) and crop residue-enhanced fertilisation (CR+NPK). MT resulted in an increase of critical soil organic matter content (St) by 7% in comparison with CT. Addition of crop residues and NPK fertilisers significantly increased St values (by 7%) in comparison with NPK-only treatments. Soil tillage and fertilisation did not have any significant impact on other parameters of soil structure such as dry sieving mean weight diameters (MWD), mean weight diameter of water-stable aggregates (MWD<sub>WSA</sub>), vulnerability coefficient (Kv), stability index of water-stable aggregates (Sw), index of crusting (Ic), contents of water-stable macro- (WSA<sub>ma</sub>) and micro-aggregates (WSA<sub>mi</sub>). Ic was correlated with organic matter content in all combinations of treatments. Surprisingly, humus quality did not interact with soil management practices to affect soil structure parameters. Higher sums of base cations, CEC and base saturation (Bs) were linked to higher Sw values, however higher values of hydrolytic acidity (Ha) resulted in lower aggregate stability in CT treatments. Higher content of K<sup>+</sup> was responsible for higher values of MWD<sub>WSA </sub>and MWD in CT. In MT, contents of Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+ </sup>and Na<sup>+</sup> were significantly correlated with contents of WSA<sub>mi </sub>and WSA<sub>ma</sub>. Higher contents of Na<sup>+</sup> negatively affected St values and positive correlations were detected between Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+ </sup>and Na<sup>+</sup> and Ic in NPK treatments.

scholarly journals Relationship of soil properties to fractionation, bioavailability and mobility of lead and zinc in soil

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 225-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Finžgar ◽  
P. Tlustoš ◽  
D. Leštan
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Contaminated Soils ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Matter Content

Sequential extractions, metal uptake by <i>Taraxacum officinale</i>, Ruby&rsquo;s physiologically based extraction test (PBET) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), were used to assess the risk of Pb and Zn in contaminated soils, and to determine relationships among soil characteristics, heavy metals soil fractionation, bioavailability and leachability. Regression analysis using linear and 2nd order polynomial models indicated relationships between Pb and Zn contamination and soil properties, although of small significance (<i>P</i> < 0.05). Statistically highly significant correlations (<i>P</i> < 0.001) were obtained using multiple regression analysis. A correlation between soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) and soil organic matter and clay content was expected. The proportion of Pb in the PBET intestinal phase correlated with total soil Pb and Pb bound to soil oxides and the organic matter fraction. The leachable Pb, extracted with TCLP, correlated with the Pb bound to carbonates and soil organic matter content (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 69%). No highly significant correlations (<i>P</i> < 0.001) for Zn with soil properties or Zn fractionation were obtained using multiple regression.

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