Research on the Physico-Chemical Properties of Soils Locality Dobrosloveni, Olt County for Sustainable Agriculture

The studied territory located in the central-western part of Olt County, belongs to the Caracal Plain and extremely little in the Leu-Rotunda Field in the SW part, both as divisions of the Romanati Plain.Locality presents a predominant relief of plain low altitude that is characterized by alluvio-proluvial plains moderately fragmented with local terraces, covered with loess-like deposit but relief of saucer.The soil cover of the territory under study is the direct reflection of all environmental factors, each having a role in the pedogenetic processes. Climate, as a pedogenetic factor, acted by its components, namely: temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration, global radiation.Forest steppe vegetation was the supply of organic matter and biomass, because the hydrological regime is deficient, but especially the lithological substrate (loess-like complex) to steer solification to types characteristic of the cernisols class.Under the influence of environmental factors and pedogenetic processes within the locality Dobrosloveni it formed a wide range of soils, namely: protisols, cernisols, luvisols and hydrisols.

Agro-Morpho-Pedological Evaluation of Soils under Hevea in Marginal Zones: The Case of the Departments of Man and Toumodi

Among the ecological conditions of the environment allowing profitable rubber cultivation, rainfall and the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil are the most important. With this in mind, a study on the adaptability of rubber trees to new agro-morphopedological zones was conducted in the departments of Man and Toumodi. The methodology used to achieve this objective is the realization of pedological pits coupled with physico-chemical laboratory analyses. The open soil profiles reveal that the soils belong mainly to the Ferralsols class with distinctive characteristics, except for those of Kimoukro which belong to the Cambisols class. The Toumodi soils, with a sandy-clay texture (15-35% clay), have a high content of coarse sand (over 40%) and good internal drainage in the surface horizons. They are less dense (≤ 1 g/cm3), with a high coarse element load (40%). These soils are chemically rich with a slightly acidic pH. For the Man soils, the sandy-clay texture, with more than 50% clay, from surface to depth, was the most representative fraction. The coarse element load (≥ 50%) and bulk density (≥ 1.5 g/cm3) were more important. These strongly acidic soils are rich in nitrogen and carbon. Exchangeable bases and CEC are important, mainly, in the upper horizons. In addition, the soil profiles observed in these two departments revealed two major pedogenetic processes: reworking and rejuvenation. At the agronomic level, vegetative growth and rubber production of rubber trees were better in Man than in Toumodi. The physico-chemical characteristics of the soils indicate that the departments of Man and Toumodi are favorable for rubber cultivation, although the soils in Man department are more suitable for cultivation.

Research on the Physico-Chemical Properties of Soils Locality Daneasa, Olt County for Sustainable Agriculture

The territory studied is situated in the South-Eastern part of Olt County, it is part of the great unit of the Romanian Plain, that is, from the subunit of Boianu Plain (Calmatui Plain), being located on the left bank of Olt River. Locality presents a predominant relief of plain low altitude that is characterized by alluvio-proluvial plains moderately fragmented with local terraces, covered with loess-like deposit but relief of saucer.The soil cover of the territory under study is the direct reflection of all environmental factors, each having a role in the pedogenetic processes. Thus, the climate conditions have ensured the solification direction, taking into account the temperature regime and the specific precipitation of the Boianu Plain.Steppe vegetation was the supply of organic matter and biomass, because the hydrological regime is deficient, but especially the lithological substrate (loess) to steer solification to types characteristic of the cernisols class.Under the influence of environmental factors and pedogenetic processes within the locality Daneasa it formed a wide range of soils, namely: protisols, cernisols, luvisols, hydrisols and salsodisols.

European Standard Loess as baseline for paleoenvironmental interpretations of loess granulometric variations

<p>Loess-paleosol sequences are sensitive terrestrial archives of Quaternary aeolian dynamics and paleoclimatic changes. Loess is predominantly formed during glacial periods, whereas soils form during interglacials and interstadials, when dust sedimentation is reduced or absent. Common grain size (GS) based proxies used in loess research mainly reconstruct past sedimentation dynamics. However, the GS distribution of a loess sample is not solely a function of aeolian dynamics; rather complex polygenetic depositional and post-depositional processes must be taken into account.</p><p>Here we integrate GS data of primary loess samples from 14 profiles in Europe as baseline to identify and quantify the imprint of local paleoenvironments on GS distribution along vertical loess sections. Our GS data are measured by the same laser diffraction device (Beckmann Coulter LS13320) and available in the database of the Physical Geography laboratory at the RWTH Aachen University. Based on a catalogue of criteria, samples with least signs of weathering and reworking (e.g. low GS mean and good sorting, low magnetic susceptibility, low geochemical weathering proxies) are defined as primary loess of the studied loess sections. GS distributions of these loess samples show little variation, both within individual profiles (temporal) and in a supra-regional comparison (spatial). We calculate an averaged loess sample and interpret it as baseline loess or European Standard Loess. We discuss the significance of deviations from this standard loess related to different geomorphological conditions during deposition and later pedogenetic processes.</p>

Classificação dos solos da Planície do Delta do Parnaíba, PI (Soil classification of the Parnaíba Delta Plain, PI (1))

A diversidade natural dos solos reflete na paisagem a sua própria evolução, sendo estes resultados das interações entre os fatores de formação: material de origem, relevo, clima, organismos e tempo. Tais fatores, adjuntos aos processos pedogenéticos na evolução dos solos, definirão suas propriedades físicas e químicas, fundamentais para a caracterização dos solos. Nesse sentido, este estudo tem com o objetivo geral caracterizar e classificar os tipos de solos da planície do Delta do Parnaíba, localizada na região do Norte Piauiense, tendo como limite natural os rios Parnaíba e Igaraçu e o oceano Atlântico. Para a identificação e caracterização dos perfis de solos, foram realizadas atividades de campo, a fim de descrever e coletar os solos mais representativos na área de estudo. Foram descritos e coletados quinze perfis de solo por meio de trincheiras e tradagens, com extensões profundamente suficientes para avaliação das características morfológicas. Os critérios e procedimentos metodológicos seguiram a padronização adotada no Brasil. As análises físicas e químicas foram realizadas no Laboratório de Gênese e Classificação dos Solos da Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. Através dos resultados analisados foi possível classificar os solos de acordo com os níveis categóricos do Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação dos solos. As principais ordens de solos encontradas na área de estudo foram os Neossolos, Planossolos, Gleissolos, Espodossolos, Cambissolos e os Vertissolos. Novas classificações foram sugeridas, devido a características significativas encontradas nos perfis de solos que não se enquadrarem no Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação de Solos. A B S T R A C TThe natural diversity of the soils reflects in the landscape its own evolution, being these results of the interactions between the factors of formation: material of origin, relief, climate, organisms and time. These factors, coupled with pedogenetic processes in soil evolution, will define their physical and chemical properties, fundamental for soil characterization. In this sense, this study has the general objective of characterizing and classifying the soil types of the Parnaíba Delta plains, located in the North Piauiense region, with the Parnaíba and Igaraçu rivers and the Atlantic Ocean as their natural limit. For the identification and characterization of soil profiles, field activities were carried out in order to describe and collect the most representative soils in the study area. Fifteen soil profiles were described and collected through trenches and traditions, with extensions deep enough to evaluate the morphological characteristics. The criteria and methodological procedures followed the standardization adopted in Brazil. Physical and chemical analyzes were performed at the Genesis and Soil Classification Laboratory of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. Through the analyzed results it was possible to classify the soils according to the categorical levels of the Brazilian Soil Classification System. The main orders of soils found in the study area were the Neosols, Planosols, Gleysols, Spodosols, Cambisols and Vertisols. New classifications were suggested, due to significant characteristics found in soil profiles that do not fit into the Brazilian Soil Classification System.Keywords: Soil classification; Parnaíba Delta: pedogenetic processes.

Was the Little Ice Age the coolest Holocene climatic period in the Italian central Alps?

The Estimation of the relative intensity of different cold periods occurring during the Late Quaternary is a difficult task, particularly in non-glaciated mountain landscapes and where high- to medium-resolution archives for proxy data are lacking. In this paper, we study a Holocene polycyclic soil sequence in the central Alps (Val Cavargna, Northern Italy) to estimate climatic parameters (specifically Temperature) changes in non-glaciated, high altitude environments. We investigate this key site through palaeopedological and micromorphological analyses in order to understand phases of soil development and detect hidden evidence of cold conditions during its formation. Three phases of pedogenesis can be recognized and attributed in time to different periods during the Holocene. Pedogenetic phases were separated by two truncation and deposition episodes related to the reactivation of slope processes under cold conditions at the onset of the Neoglacial and the Iron Age Cold Epoch, respectively. Micromorphological evidence of frost action in the soil can instead relate to pedogenetic processes acting in the Little Ice Age. The different expression of these three cold periods corresponds to changes in climatic conditions, pointing to the Little Ice Age as a cooler/drier period in comparison to the preceding ones.