Classification of anthropogenically transformed soils
Human impact ; Soil ; Soildegradation ; Taxonomy
Méthodes et principes de la classification des sols, sols dégradés à différents degrés par l'activité humaine. Schéma de classification des unités taxonomiques les plus importantes (familles, classes et sous-classes) des sols transformés par
Soildegradation from converting forest land into agriculture in the Chitavan district of Nepal
Soil fertility decreased when forest land was converted to agriculture. But soil conditions under forested land use were not always of the best quality. - (DWG)
The global problem of land degradation and desertification
Arid area ; Danube ; Desertification ; Hungary ; Semi-arid area ; Soildegradation
Degradation processes within subhumid, semi-arid and arid areas are defined as desertification processes to draw attention to the specific dangerous situation in these areas. Hungary signed the Convention on Desertification, as increasing aridity
The effects of slumps on soil erosion and soil formation in a Romanian study area, in the Nyárádmagyarós Basin being part of the Nyárádmenti Hills are investigated in the paper. Field and laboratory measurements revealed that slumps particularly
, they decreased agricultural usefulness as soils of poor fertility had been formed (stagni-gleyic phaeozems, calcaric regosols). - (AM)
Influence of grass soil cover on water runoff and soil detachment under rainfall simulation in a sub-humid South African degraded rangeland
Infiltration ; KwaZulu-Natal ; Over-grazing ; Plant canopy ; Rainfall simulation ; Runoff ; Soildegradation ; Soil erosion ; Soil properties ; South Africa ; Water erosion
In order to understand the evolution of hydrodynamics and detachment soil rate with different stages of degradation of a rangeland by overstocking, two rainfall simulations were conducted on 1 m2 experimental plots in an abandoned cultivated South
African terrace showing progressive stages of vegetal degradation, from total grass soil cover to completely bare surfaces. The main objective was to evaluate the impact of grass cover on soil infiltration by water and sheet erosion. A second objective
was to relate soil erosion to other environmental factors including soil surface features and top-soil physical and chemical characteristics.
Crossing the thresholds : human ecology and historical patterns of landscape degradation
Agricultural land use ; Common agricultural policy ; Environmental degradation ; Historical geography ; Human ecology ; Human impact ; Iceland ; Modelling ; Over-grazing ; Soil erosion ; Tephrochronology
The AA. assess the extent to which common land domestic grazing pressures were the primary external force causing soil erosion and land degradation during the period of occupation from ca. 874 AD in Southern Iceland. They first provide field
observation of soil erosion, temporally defined by tephrochronology, to highlight the extent of land degradation during this period. The tragedy of the commons explanation of degradation is then assessed by evaluating historic documentary sources
Soildegradation and restoration as affected by land use change in the semiarid Bashang area, northern China
Agricultural practice ; China ; Cultivated land ; Erosion control ; Fallow land ; Hebei ; Land use ; Semi-arid area ; Soildegradation ; Soil erosion
The Bashang area located in the semiarid agropastoral zone, represents a typical degraded ecosystem under intensified human activities. This region has undergone profound land use changes during the past century. Natural grasslands had been
progressively cultivated, and subsequently, part of cultivated lands had been abandoned by farmers due to severe desertification. The objectives of this study are to identify changes in soil properties following 8, 30, and 50 years of grassland cultivation
relative to natural grassland; to evaluate effects of land abandonment in a 1- to 50-year chronosequence on soil properties and vegetation establishment in Bashang area of northern China.
Agropedology ; Climate ; Crop yield ; Cultivated land ; Free State ; Soil erosion ; Soil properties ; South Africa
At least, one third of South Africa's total grain crop, mainly maize and wheat, is produced in the Free State. Crop production potential and sensitivity to degradation depend largely on the interaction of climate and soil. In spite of detailed
understanding on the Free State's soils, degradation continues to occur, especially on cultivated land, where the most serious forms are erosion, acidification and organic matter decline. - (AJC)
The AA. studied the physical, chemical, and microbiological processes of soildegradation along a chronosequence of deforestation in the Ziwuling area of northwestern Shaanxi province. The results indicated that soil wet aggregate stability and mean
activity. The differences in measured parameters between the topsoil and subsoil horizons decreased with time since deforestation, and the AA. concluded that soil erosion was the primary process responsible for the degradation of measured soil physical
aggregate diameter decreased with years following deforestation. Accelerated erosion resulted in soil nutrient loss, and a decease in soil enzyme activities including notable losses of total soil N, organic C, alkaline phosphatase activity, and invertase
[b1] State Key Lab. of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on Loess Plateau, Northwest Univ. Shaanxi, Yangling, Chine
[b2] Inst. of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Science and Ministry of Water Resources, Shaanxi, Yangling, Chine
[b4] Inst. of Soil Science and Site Ecology, Univ. of Technology, Dresden, Allemagne
Perspectives on the assumed causes of land degradation in the rangelands of Sub-Saharan Africa
Adaptation ; Africa ; Arid area ; Decision making process ; Environmental degradation ; Erosion control ; Erosion rate ; Human impact ; Local policy ; Man-environment relations ; Over-grazing ; Slope gradient ; Soil erosion ; Soil properties
This review shows that the human-induced causes of soil erosion and land degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa are not fully understood. The popular views of human-induced soil erosion and land degradation not only fail to take into consideration
, overstocking, and general rangeland degradation due to human resource use in Sub-Saharan Africa. Empirical evidence suggests that biophysical factors including soil properties, climatic characteristics, topography, and vegetation can sometimes interact among
themselves to yield high soil erosion and degradation rates independent of anthropogenic impacts.
the fact that land degradation is primarily a physical process, but also they do injustice to adaptive ecosystem management by the local inhabitants. The review specifically questions the stereotypes of overpopulation, overgrazing, deforestation
The effects of restoration on soil properties in degraded land in the semi-arid region of Turkey
Arid area ; Erosion control ; Plantation ; Semi-arid area ; Soil ; Soildegradation ; Soil properties ; Tree ; Turkey
The aim of this study was to determine the changes in physical and chemical properties of the soil and plant growth in Pamukcular watershed in Artvin city, 10 years after the plantation of black locust and mixed species (black locust + stone pine
on surface soil properties in clay soils in eroded sites.
Interrelationships between land abandonment and land degradation: a case from the Ecuadorian Andes
Andes ; Ecuador ; Experimentation ; Fallow land ; Land use ; Mountain ; Pastureland ; Rainfall simulation ; Rill wash ; Soildegradation ; Soil erosion ; Tropical zone
Further evidence provided of land degradation resulting from land abandonment in the Ecuadorian Andes where runoff and erosion rates are significantly higher than those of lands under cultivation. - (DWG)
The AA. hypothesize that environmental degradation had a major effect on grain production in many of China's agricultural areas. A nationwide fixed effect grain-yield function is introduced which incorporates both traditional input variables
and an additional set of variables that reflect trends in environmental degradation at the provincial level. The model is estimated using time-series data for the period from 1978 to 1980.
Rock fragments in top soils: significance and processes
Rock fragments in soil: surface dynamics
Climatic variation ; Grain size distribution ; Hydrology ; Land use ; Rock ; Soil ; Soil erosion ; Soil properties ; Spatial variation
properties of top soils, physical soildegradation, soil erosion and soil productivity.
This introductory paper reviews various aspects of rock fragments in top soils. Such information is required in particular for predicting the impact of climatic or landuse changes on the response of these soils. Particular attention is paid
to the definition and measurement of rock fragment content in top soils, the density of soils containing rock fragments, the spatial distribution and movement of rock fragments in top soils, the effects of rock fragments on some key hydrological processes, thermal
Agricultural land use ; Agricultural practice ; Belgium ; Flanders ; Soil ; Soil conservation ; Soildegradation ; Soil erosion ; Water erosion ; Wind erosion
This article presents various soildegradation processes operating in Flanders : i.e. physical degradation, water erosion, wind erosion, tillage erosion, mass wasting and soil loss due to root crop harvesting. Particular attention is given
to the occurrence, the intensity, the measuring techniques, the controlling factors, the consequences of these processes as well as appropriate remedial measures. Insufficient information is presently available to develop an efficient soil conservation plan
Influences of continuous grazing and livestock exclusion on soil properties in degraded sandy grassland, Inner Mongolia, northern China
China ; Desertification ; Erosion control ; Grassland ; Inner Mongolia ; Land use ; Over-grazing ; Semi-arid area ; Soil erosion ; Soil properties
years were examined in representative degraded sandy grassland. The results suggest that excluding grazing livestock on the desertified sandy grassland in the erosion-prone Horqin region has a great potential to restore soil fertility, sequester soil
Overgrazing is one of the main causes of desertification in the semiarid Horqin sandy grassland of northern China. In this paper, characteristics of vegetation and soil properties under continuous grazing and exclusion of livestock for 5 and 10
Physical properties of tsunami-affected soils in Aceh, Indonesia : 2,5 years after the tsunami
Grain size distribution ; Impact ; Indonesia ; Natural hazards ; Soil ; Soildegradation ; Soil properties ; Structural stability ; Sumatera ; Tsunami
existing soil. The results show that soil physical degradation (compaction) was a common feature, and its amelioration will be the key to improving and sustaining crop yields in these soils.
The aim of this study was to quantify physical properties of some 2004 tsunami-affected upland agricultural soils in Aceh, Indonesia : increasing soil salinity and sodicity, and changed topsoil texture by depositing sandy or clayey sediments over
Land degradation and its control strategies in China
Afforestation ; China ; Cultivated land ; Desertification ; Environment ; Environmental management ; Nutrient ; Pollution ; Salinisation ; Soildegradation ; Soil erosion ; Statistics ; Water erosion ; Water resources ; Wind erosion
Following the discussion of the causes and disasters of land degradation, this paper presents the achievements gained in prevention and control of land degradation since 1949. The several control strategic measures in combating land degradation