scholarly journals Cropland Soil Salinization and Associated Hydrology: Trends, Processes and Examples

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nachshon Uri
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Soil Salinization ◽  
World Population ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Geological Material ◽  
Degradation Processes ◽  
Sources Of Solutes ◽  
Global Food

While global food demand and world population are rapidly growing, land potential for cropping is steadily declining due to various soil degradation processes, a major one of them being soil salinization. Currently, approximately 20% of total cropland and 33% of irrigated agricultural land are salinized as a result of poor agricultural practices and it is expected that by 2050, half of the croplands worldwide will become salinized. Thus, there is a real need to better understand soil salinization processes and to develop agricultural practices that will enable production of the needed amount of food to feed humanity, while minimizing soil salinization and other degradation processes. The major sources of solutes in agricultural environments are: (i) the soil itself, and the parent geological material; (ii) shallow and salt rich groundwater; and (iii) salt rich irrigation water. The salinization of soil is a combination of transport of solutes towards the root zone to replenish evaporation and transpiration and limited washing of the soil by rain or irrigation. Therefore, most salinized soils are present in arid and semi-arid environments where precipitation is low and evaporation is high. In this manuscript, examples of soil salinization processes from croplands around the world will be presented and discussed to bring attention to this important topic, to present the latest scientific insights and to highlight the gaps that should be filled, from both scientific and practical perspectives.

Agricultural practices and diffuse nitrogen pollution in Denmark: empirical leaching and catchment models

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans E. Andersen ◽  
Brian Kronvang ◽  
Søren E. Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Animal Manure ◽  
Annual Runoff ◽  
N Leaching ◽  
N Loss ◽  
Total N ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
N Removal

An empirical leaching model was applied to data on agricultural practices at the field level within 6 small Danish agricultural catchments in order to document any changes in nitrogen (N) leaching from the root zone during the period 1989-96. The model calculations performed at normal climate revealed an average reduction in N-leaching that amounted to 30% in the loamy catchments and 9% in the sandy catchments. The reductions in N leaching could be ascribed to several improvements in agricultural practices during the study period: (i) regulations on livestock density; (ii) regulations on the utilisation of animal manure; (iii) regulations concerning application practices for manure. The average annual total N-loss from agricultural areas to surface water constituted only 54% of the annual average N leached from the root zone in the three loamy catchments and 17% in the three sandy catchments. Thus, subsurface N-removal processes are capable of removing large amounts of N leached from agricultural land. An empirical model for the annual diffuse N-loss to streams from small catchments is presented. The model predicts annual N-loss as a function of the average annual use of mineral fertiliser and manure in the catchment and the total annual runoff from the unsaturated zone.

NEW APPROACH TO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION: PLANT PROBIOTICS

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (15) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Hatice ÖĞÜTCÜ
Keyword(s):  
Root Zone ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
World Population ◽  
Production Plant ◽  
Plant Tolerance ◽  
The World

With the increase in the world population every year, the need for plant and animal foods has increased. In order to meet these needs, the amount of fertilizers (with chemical content) used to increase productivity in agriculture has increased and has become a threat to the soil and the environment. In order to minimize the harms of chemical fertilizers and to preserve the fertility of the soil, new environmentally friendly applications have been researched. In this context, studies on "Plant Probiotics", which are one of the effective applications both in protecting the quality of the soil and increasing the yield in plant production, especially on local isolates and formulations to be prepared from them, have gained momentum. Plant probiotics are a group of microorganisms or microorganisms that can improve soil health, plant growth, and plant tolerance or immunity to various abiotic and biotic stresses, thanks to their potential role in enhanced nutrient acquisition and/or biocontrol activities by colonizing the root zone of plants, called the rhizosphere. As a result of inoculation of plants with strains of these bacteria, which have very different properties (nitrogen binding, phosphate solubilizing, biocontrol agent, stress resistance, phytohormone synthesis), it directly affects the growth and development of the roots and shoots of the plant, increasing the biomass, as well as contributing to the increase of the yield and quality of the product. In this context, the preparation and use of biofertilizer formulations of local plant probiotic bacteria, which will be obtained from their natural areas, has become very important in rational agricultural practices in recent years and intensive researches are carried out. With the use of the aforementioned plant probiotic formulations, environmentally friendly green production will be made by contributing to the production of both foodstuffs and feed raw materials in order to ensure the continuity of the world population. As a result, the protection of the ecosystem will be ensured by preventing environmental pollution, which is the problem of the whole world.

Desertification or Sustainable Yields from Arid Environments

1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Cloudsley-Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Third World ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Multinational Organizations ◽  
Ecological Principles ◽  
The Cost

Throughout their existence, civilized peoples have been turning their environment into desert. The causes of desertification are well known—overgrazing, the felling of trees for fuel, and bad agricultural practices. Their effects are apparent in disasters such as the Sahel drought and recent famines in Ethiopia, the Sudan, and elsewhere. The population explosion enhances the extent of the environmental degradation. More agricultural land is currently being lost through salinization and waterlogging than is being created by new irrigation schemes, but this is only part of a problem that faces all tropical third-world countries and for which multinational organizations and the affluent nations of temperate regions are, regrettably and often unknowingly, largely responsible.Because the poorer countries receive, for their agricultural products, cash of which the market value does not take into account the cost to the environment of overexploiting the land, they are apparently doomed to a vicious circle of increasing poverty, deprivation, and famine. Yet it is not beyond the abilities of civilization to devise a viable scheme, based upon sound ecological principles, by which the quality of life of desert peoples could be immeasurably improved. Instead of trying to change the land to make it conform to present economic and political expectations, development should be adapted to exploit the potentialities of the environment as it exists. Such a scheme, profiting from the diversity of microenvironments that occur in desert regions, would encompass multiple land-use and the development of numerous small agricultural and other projects—rather than the large-scale schemes hitherto initiated in fragile environments, and which have so often led to large-scale disaster. By adopting it, the world would simultaneously be made both more stable and more productive for the benefit of all its inhabitants.

Implementation of best management practices in agriculture: modelling and monitoring of impacts on nitrogen leaching

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Joelsson ◽  
K. Kyllmar
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Nitrogen Leaching ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Indexing Technique ◽  
The Impact

In Kattegat and the coastal water of the Baltic Sea, high nitrogen input from agricultural land is considered to be the main reason for eutrophication. International agreements and governmental programs have set a target to reduce the anthropogenic nitrogen load by 50 percent. Improved nitrogen removal in treatment plants and efforts in agriculture have so far not decreased nitrogen transport to a sufficient extent. In this project the impact of agricultural practices on nitrogen leaching was investigated in two small agricultural catchments in Southwest Sweden. The root-zone leaching was estimated by an indexing technique. Simultaneously the transports in the stream outlets were monitored. During 1995 and 1999 the agricultural practices in the catchments were surveyed. Field data from the first survey indicated that fertilisation did not always match crop requirements, the area of undersown catch crop can be increased and autumn cultivation can be reduced. The second survey was preceded by an advisory campaign where each farmer was visited and presented with an environmental plan including fertilisation, cultivation, and crop rotation for the farm. The plan summarised the best management practices that could be realised under actual conditions. Results from the second survey showed that some changes in the agricultural practices were carried out after the advisory campaign. The nitrogen leaching from the root-zone was then estimated by the indexing technique, both for the time before and after the advisory program. The results showed that the estimated nitrogen leaching, as a mean value for 330 fields, decreased from 53 to 50 kgN ha−1, due to adjustments of the agricultural practices. Monitoring of stream transports showed values of the same magnitude after correction for retention and other sources. In this short time perspective, decreases in transport due to changes in agricultural practices could not be separated from influence of weather conditions. In comparison to results from the Swedish monitoring programme for agriculture, the measured transports were normal for the region, where annual variation in precipitation and runoff is large. Theoretically, nitrogen leaching could be reduced by one third without any major economic constraints for the farmers. In general, the farmers were positive to advice and willing to try new farming techniques even if some measurements were not fully implemented during the investigation period.

scholarly journals Salinisasi Lahan dan Permasalahannya di Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Vicca Karolinoerita ◽  
Wahida Annisa
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Salt Content ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Soil Salinization ◽  
Paddy Fields ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Chemical Conditions

<p><strong>Abstrak. </strong>Salinisasi tanah merupakan proses peningkatan kadar garam mudah larut di dalam tanah sehingga terbentuk lahan salin. Salinitas adalah salah satu cekaman abiotik yang mengakibatkan berkurangnya hasil dan produktivitas tanaman pertanian. Setiap tahun luas lahan sawah yang ditinggalkan petani akibat mengalami salinisasi terus meningkat. Di Indonesia salinitas umumnya terjadi di lahan pertanian dekat pantai, disebabkan karena kenaikan permukaan laut akibat perubahan iklim. Diperkirakan lahan dekat pantai yang rentan mengalami salinitas seluas 12,020 juta ha atau 6,20% dari total daratan Indonesia. Problem salinitas pada pertanian beririgasi sering terkait dengan muka air tanah. Peningkatan kapilaritas dari muka air tanah dangkal akan membawa kembali garam-garam masuk ke daerah perakaran dan menjadi suatu sumber garam berkelanjutan. sedangkan salinitas di lahan rawa pasang surut dipengaruhi oleh pergerakan pasang surut air laut dengan tingkat salinitas yang bervariasi. Tanaman mempunyai kisaran toleransi tertentu terhadap perubahan bahkan cekaman lingkungan untuk selanjutnya dapat beradaptasi, termasuk pada cekaman salinitas. Kondisi biofisik dan kimia lahan sawah terdampak yang tidak menguntungkan tanaman tersebut memerlukan upaya pengelolaan lahan dan sistem budidaya tanaman secara tepat agar dicapai tingkat produksi yang optimal.</p><p> </p><p><em><strong>Abstract</strong>. Soil salinization is the process of increasing the soluble salt content in the soil to form a saline soil. Salinity is an abiotic stress that results in reducing yield and productivity of agricultural crops. The area of paddy fields left by farmers as a result of experiencing salinization continues to increase every tear. In Indonesia, salinity generally occurs in agricultural land near the coast, caused by sea level rise due to climate change.  It is estimated that land near the coast that is prone to experiencing salinity is 12.020 million ha or 6.20% of the total land area of Indonesia. The problem of salinity in irrigated agriculture is often related to the water table. The increase in capillarity from shallow groundwater levels will bring back salts into the root zone and become a continuous salt source.  Salinity in tidal swamps is influenced by the tidal movement of sea water with varying salinity levels. Plants have a certain tolerance range to the changes and even environmental stress so that they can then adapt, including to salinity stress. The biophysical and chemical conditions of the affected paddy fields that are not beneficial to the plant, requires proper land management and crop cultivation systems in order to achieve optimal production levels.</em></p>

scholarly journals Implementation of Environmentally Based Agricultural Land Protection Program in Turkey

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehmet Hasdemir ◽  
Mine Hasdemir
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
World Population ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Land Protection ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Soil And Water

Agriculture, which includes many aspects like vegetative and animal production by utilization of soil and water resources and enhancement of efficiency and quality, has been considered the most environmentally-friendly sector up to date and meets nutritional demand of one fifth of world population. On the other hand, due to utilization of intensive input for maximization of yield per unit area of land, agriculture has become a sector which may also result negative impacts on the environment. For this reason, environmentally-friendly agricultural policies have started to be implemented in many countries besides the implementation of policies based on increased agricultural production. In this context, Environmentally Based Agricultural Land Protection (ÇATAK) Program has started to be implemented in Turkey since 2006 for protection of soil and water quality, prevention of erosion and mitigation of agriculture-derived negative impacts. The Program is executed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Within this scope, environmentally-friendly practices are being supported by awarding grants to the beneficiary farmers. This study aims to address the extent to which implementation of ÇATAK Program has contributed to land protection based on a review of environmentally-friendly agricultural practices and beneficiary activities. Additionally, the place of environmental subsidy is assessed within the agricultural funding scheme being implemented in Turkey.

Ukrainian Chernozem Fertility Reproduction under Soil Conservation Agriculture

2020 ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
Yu. Kravchenko
Keyword(s):  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Cultivated Plants ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Typical Chernozem ◽  
Degradation Processes ◽  
Biological Potential

In Ukraine 57.5 % of agricultural land is subjected to erosion with 10–24 million tons of humus, 0.3–0.96 million tons of nitrogen, 0.7–0.9 million tons of phosphorus and 6–12 million tons of potassium lost annually. Degradation processes are also common on chernozems, which cover about 60 % of the Ukrainian territory. The aim of the research is to defi ne the most eff ective soil conservation practices and legislative decisions aimed to conservation/recovering the Ukrainian chernozem fertility. The experimental data of the agrochemical certifi cation of Ukrainian lands, data from scientifi c papers, stock and instructional materials as well as our own fi eld and laboratory studies were used. It has been established that the long-term use of deep subsurface tillage on typical chernozem increases, compared with plowing, the content of 10–0.25 mm of air-dry and water-resistant aggregates, the bulk density, soil water storages, water infi ltration rates, the content of mobile phosphorus and exchangeable potassium, pHH2O, CaCO3 stocks, the contents of humic and fulvic acids, molecular weights of humic acids – by 5.5 and 3.06 %; 0.05 g/cm3; 25.5 mm; 22.6 mm/h; 0.1 and 3 mg/100 g of soil; 0.03 pHH2O; 18 t/ha, 0.02 and 0.04 %, 91195 kDa, respectively. Fertilizers may contribute to the crop yields increase from by 60% in the Polissya, by 40 % – in the Forest Steppe, by 15 % – in the Wet Steppe, by 10 % – in the Dry Steppe and by 40 % – in the Irrigated Steppe areas. In soil-conservation rotations, the crop placement and alternation are advisable to combine with strips or hills sowing, taking into account the local relief features; soil alkalinization, applying anti-erosion structures. Ukrainian agriculture will receive additional 10–12 million tons of forage units or 20–22 % from all fodder in a fi eld agriculture under increasing 8–10 % of arable lands for intercrops. It is advisable to mulch the eroded chernozems of Ukraine depending on their texture composition: 1.3 t/ha of mulch for sandy and loamy soils, 1.9 t/ha – for sandy and 1.1 t/ha – for loamy soils. The implementation of soil conservation agriculture can minimize some soil degradation processes and improve eff ective soil properties required to realize the biological potential of cultivated plants. Key words: chernozem, degradation, fertility, soil conservation technologies, agriculture policy.

scholarly journals Remarkable Population Resilience in a North African Endemic Damselfly in the Face of Rapid Agricultural Transformation

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 353
Author(s):  
Rassim Khelifa ◽  
Hayat Mahdjoub ◽  
Affef Baaloudj ◽  
Robert A. Cannings ◽  
Michael J. Samways
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Agricultural Expansion ◽  
North African ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Agricultural Transformation ◽  
The Face ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats

Agriculture can be pervasive in its effect on wild nature, affecting various types of natural habitats, including lotic ecosystems. Here, we assess the extent of agricultural expansion on lotic systems in Northern Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco) and document its overlap with the distribution of an endemic damselfly, Platycnemis subdilatata Selys, using species distribution modeling. We found that agricultural land cover increased by 321% in the region between 1992 and 2005, and, in particular, the main watercourses experienced an increase in agricultural land cover from 21.4% in 1992 to 78.1% in 2005, together with an increase in the intensity of 226% in agricultural practices. We used capture–mark–recapture (CMR) surveys in terrestrial habitats surrounding a stream bordered by grassland and cropland in northeastern Algeria to determine demographic parameters and population size, as well as cropland occupancy. CMR modeling showed that the recapture and survival probabilities had an average of 0.14 (95%CI: 0.14–0.17) and 0.86 (0.85–0.87), respectively. We estimated a relatively large population of P. subdilatata (~1750 individuals) in terrestrial habitats. The occupancy of terrestrial habitats by adults was spatially structured by age. Our data suggest that P. subdilatata has survived agricultural expansion and intensification better than other local odonate species, mainly because it can occupy transformed landscapes, such as croplands and grasslands.

scholarly journals Linking Long-Term Changes in Soil Salinity to Paddy Land Abandonment in Jaffna Peninsula, Sri Lanka

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Tharani Gopalakrishnan ◽  
Lalit Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Soil Salinity ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Soil Salinization ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Paddy Land ◽  
Semi Arid Region

Soil salinity is a serious threat to coastal agriculture and has resulted in a significant reduction in agricultural output in many regions. Jaffna Peninsula, a semi-arid region located in the northern-most part of Sri Lanka, is also a victim of the adverse effects of coastal salinity. This study investigated long-term soil salinity changes and their link with agricultural land use changes, especially paddy land. Two Landsat images from 1988 and 2019 were used to map soil salinity distribution and changes. Another set of images was analyzed at four temporal periods to map abandoned paddy lands. A comparison of changes in soil salinity with abandoned paddy lands showed that abandoned paddy lands had significantly higher salinity than active paddy lands, confirming that increasing salts owing to the high levels of sea water intrusion in the soils, as well as higher water salinity in wells used for irrigation, could be the major drivers of degradation of paddy lands. The results also showed that there was a dramatic increase in soil salinity (1.4-fold) in the coastal lowlands of Jaffna Peninsula. 64.6% of the salinity-affected land was identified as being in the extreme saline category. In addition to reducing net arable lands, soil salinization has serious implications for food security and the livelihoods of farmers, potentially impacting the regional and national economy.

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