Development of a soil quality index for characterizing effects of land‐use changes on degradation and ecological restoration of rangeland soils in a semi‐arid ecosystem

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (12) ◽  
pp. 1533-1544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fayez Raiesi ◽  
Soroosh Salek‐Gilani
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 535-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROSSIE WIEDYA NUSANTARA ◽  
ASRIPIN ASPAN ◽  
ABDUL MUJID ALHADDAD ◽  
URAY EDI SURYADI1 ◽  
MAKHRAWIE MAKHRAWIE ◽  
...  

Nusantara RW, Aspan A, Alhaddad AM, Suryadi UE, Makhrawie, Fitria I, Fakhrudin J, Rezekikasari. 2018. Peat soil quality index and its determinants as influenced by land use changes in Kubu Raya District, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 535-540. Tropical peatland is continuously damaged in large area in Indonesia, caused by deep and wide drains which change the ecosystem. This research was conducted to evaluate the soil quality index (SQI) based on peatland use. The research was conducted in Kubu Raya District, West Kalimantan Province, in secondary peat forest, shrubland, oil palm plantation and corn field. The variables observed in this research were subsidence, water-table level, depth of peat, bulk density, water content, porosity, organic carbon, total nitrogen, total potassium, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, ash content, available phosphorus, and exchangeable calcium, magnesium, sodium, C/N ratio and soil acidity. The results showed that SQI in secondary peat forest, shrubland, corn field and palm oil plantation were 0.40, 0.37, 0.37 and 0.37 respectively. The stepwise regression analyses showed that the variables influencing SQI were the depth of peat, water-table level, and ash content. Secondary forest had the highest level (0.74) for the depth of peat with 509 cm depth while the other sites had average level (0.41-0.43) with 108.4 cm-115.5 cm mean depth. SQI of peatland increased with the increasing depth of peat and ash content. The differences showed that land use change of peatland, from forest to plantation area would decrease its SQI.


SOIL ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zornoza ◽  
J. A. Acosta ◽  
F. Bastida ◽  
S. G. Domínguez ◽  
D. M. Toledo ◽  
...  

Abstract. Soil quality (SQ) assessment has long been a challenging issue, since soils present high variability in properties and functions. This paper aims to increase the understanding of SQ through the review of SQ assessments in different scenarios providing evidence about the interrelationship between SQ, land use and human health. There is a general consensus that there is a need to develop methods to assess and monitor SQ for assuring sustainable land use with no prejudicial effects on human health. This review points out the importance of adopting indicators of different nature (physical, chemical and biological) to achieve a holistic image of SQ. Most authors use single indicators to assess SQ and its relationship with land uses – soil organic carbon and pH being the most used indicators. The use of nitrogen and nutrient content has resulted sensitive for agricultural and forest systems, together with physical properties such as texture, bulk density, available water and aggregate stability. These physical indicators have also been widely used to assess SQ after land use changes. The use of biological indicators is less generalized, with microbial biomass and enzyme activities being the most selected indicators. Although most authors assess SQ using independent indicators, it is preferable to combine some of them into models to create a soil quality index (SQI), since it provides integrated information about soil processes and functioning. The majority of revised articles used the same methodology to establish an SQI, based on scoring and weighting of different soil indicators, selected by means of multivariate analyses. The use of multiple linear regressions has been successfully used for forest land use. Urban soil quality has been poorly assessed, with a lack of adoption of SQIs. In addition, SQ assessments where human health indicators or exposure pathways are incorporated are practically inexistent. Thus, further efforts should be carried out to establish new methodologies to assess soil quality not only in terms of sustainability, productivity and ecosystem quality but also human health. Additionally, new challenges arise with the use and integration of stable isotopic, genomic, proteomic and spectroscopic data into SQIs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuqiang Dai ◽  
Zhiqiang Lv ◽  
Gangcai Liu

Ecologically fragile cropland soils and intensive agricultural production are characteristic of the valley area of the Tibetan Plateau. A systematic assessment of soil quality is necessary and important for improving sustainable cropland management in this area. This study aims to establish a minimum data set (MDS) for soil quality assessment and generate an integrated soil quality index for sustainable cropland management in the Tibetan Plateau. Soil samples were collected from the 0–20 cm depths of agricultural land in the middle and lower reaches of the Lhasa River. These samples were analyzed by routine laboratory methods. Significant differences were identified via statistical test between different soil types and land use types for each soil property. Principal component analysis was used to define a MDS of indicators that determine soil quality. Consequently, effective porosity, pH, total organic C, total N, available P, and catalase were identified as the final MDS. The soil quality index was obtained by the fuzzy-set membership function and the linear weighted additive method. The soil quality index differed significantly between the soil types and land use types. The soil quality can be ranked based on their indices in the following order: 1. Grain land with meadow soils, 2. Grain land with steppe soils, 3. Greenhouse vegetable land with fluvo-aquic soils, 4. Grain land with fluvo-aquic soils. The soils with higher soil quality indices exhibited better soil structure, higher nutrient contents, and superior resistance to water and nutrient loss. While the intensive tillage practices associated with vegetable production could reduce the values for effective porosity, pH and catalase, the application of appropriate fertilizers increased the values for total organic C, total N and available P. Therefore, the MDS method is an effective and useful tool to identify the key soil properties for assessing soil quality, and provides guidance on adaptive cropland management to a variety of soil types and land use types.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nastaran Pouladi ◽  
Ali Asghar Jafarzadeh ◽  
Farzin Shahbazi ◽  
Mohammad Ali Ghorbani ◽  
Mogens H. Greve

2007 ◽  
Vol 140 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 249-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
İlhami Bayramin ◽  
Mustafa Basaran ◽  
Günay Erpul ◽  
Mustafa R. Canga

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-104
Author(s):  
Shovon Barua ◽  
Ian Cartwright ◽  
P. Evan Dresel ◽  
Edoardo Daly

Abstract. Understanding the applicability and uncertainties of methods for documenting recharge rates in semi-arid areas is important for assessing the successive effects of land-use changes and understanding groundwater systems. This study focuses on estimating groundwater recharge rates and understanding the impacts of land-use changes on recharge rates in a semi-arid area in southeast Australia. Two adjacent catchments were cleared ∼180 years ago following European settlement, and a eucalypt plantation forest was subsequently established ∼15 years ago in one of the catchments. Chloride mass balance analysis yields recharge rates of 0.2 to 61.6 mm yr−1 (typically up to 11.2 mm yr−1). The lower of these values probably represents recharge rates prior to land clearing, whereas the higher likely reflects recharge rates following the initial land clearing. The low pre-land-clearing recharge rates are consistent with the presence of old groundwater (residence times up to 24 700 years) and the moderate-to-low hydraulic conductivities (0.31 to 0.002 m d−1) of the aquifers. Recharge rates estimated from tritium activities and water table fluctuations reflect those following the initial land clearing. Recharge rates estimated using water table fluctuations (15 to 500 mm yr−1) are significantly higher than those estimated using tritium renewal rates (0.01 to 89 mm yr−1; typically <14.0 mm yr−1) and approach the long-term average annual rainfall (∼640 mm yr−1). These recharge rates are unrealistic given the estimated evapotranspiration rates of 500 to 600 mm yr−1 and the preservation of old groundwater in the catchments. It is likely that uncertainties in the specific yield results in the water table fluctuation method significantly overestimating recharge rates, and despite the land-use changes, the present-day recharge rates are relatively modest. These results are ultimately important for assessing the impacts of land-use changes and management of groundwater resources in semi-arid regions in Australia and elsewhere.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 2559-2568
Author(s):  
M Mujiyo ◽  
Yosua Yoga Setyawan ◽  
Aktavia Herawati ◽  
Hery Widijanto

Determination of soil quality in Giriwoyo Sub-district, Wonogiri Regency, will generate a Soil Quality Index which can be used as a reference for soil cultivation for optimal productivity. This research was a descriptive exploratory with a survey approach. The survey area consisted of 12 land mapping units (LMU) with 3 replications for each LMU. Determination of LMU based on soil type, land use, slope and rainfall. The parameters used were BD (bulk density), porosity, organic C, pH, CEC (cation exchange capacity), BS (base saturation), available P, available K, total N, and MBC (microbial biomass carbon) that represented the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) analysis was performed to obtain the Minimum Data Set (MDS). The Soil Quality Index (SQI) at each LMU was calculated by multiplying the PCA result score (Wi) with the score for each selected indicator (Si). The result showed that the Soil Quality Index at each LMU was low. The highest Soil Quality Index was found in fields land use with an SQI of 0.34. The soil indicator that limited the soil quality was available P.


Author(s):  
Hiba Et-Tayeb ◽  
Khalid Ibno Namr ◽  
El Houssine El Mzouri ◽  
Bouchra El Bourhrami

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