THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SYNCHRONY BETWEEN SUBSURFACE LAYERS AND ESTIMATION OF OVERALL SUBSIDENCE OF CULTIVATED ORGANIC SOILS BY A PALYNOLOGICAL METHOD

1982 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. MATHUR ◽  
M. P. LÉVESQUE ◽  
P. J. H. RICHARD
Keyword(s):  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Tsuga Canadensis ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Subsurface Layers ◽  
Physical Changes ◽  
Cultivated Soils

Pollen profiles of Tsuga canadensis in a virgin and two cultivated areas of a bog revealed the bimodal distribution characterized by easily recognizable minima, thus establishing synchrony between specific layers of the three organic soil profiles. This knowledge allowed estimation of overall subsidence of the cultivated soils, and would facilitate comparisons between subsurface layers now determinable as synchronous. Such comparisons should help determine the extent and depth of temporal biochemical and physical changes in subsurface layers of cultivated organic soils.

MONOLITH COLUMNS FOR STUDYING ORGANIC SOIL PROFILES

1986 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-742
Author(s):  
J. A. MILLETTE ◽  
R. S. BROUGHTON
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Fiber Content ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Sampling Procedures ◽  
Monolith Columns

Monolith column construction and sampling procedures were described for organic soil profiles and used to measure the variation with depth of saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density and fiber content. The top 0.30 m of the organic soil was more permeable, had a greater bulk density and had a greater fiber content than the soil layer between 0.60 and 0.90 m from the soil surface. These columns can be used for correlations studies between physical properties and studies of the dynamic nature of the physical properties of organic soils. Key words: Saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, fiber content, organic soil, monolith columns

Fire-patterned vegetation and the development of organic soils in the lowland vegetation mosaics of south-west Tasmania

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. W. Wood ◽  
Q. Hua ◽  
D. M. J. S. Bowman
Keyword(s):  
Soil Depth ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Radiocarbon Age ◽  
South West ◽  
Vegetation Boundary ◽  
Vegetation Mosaics

Two contrasting ecological models have been proposed for the forest–moorland vegetation mosaics of south-west Tasmania that stress different interactions between fire, soils, vegetation and the physical environment to produce either stable or dynamic vegetation patterns. We investigated aspects of these models by sampling organic soil profiles across vegetation mosaics to determine variation in soil depth, organic carbon (C) content, nutrient capital, stable C isotope composition (δ13C) and 14C radiocarbon age in two contrasting landscape settings. 14C basal ages of organic soils ranged from recent (<400 calibrated (cal.) years BP) to mid Holocene (~7200 cal. years BP), with a tendency for older soils to be from poorly drained moorlands and younger soils from the forest. The long-term net rate of C accumulation ranged from 2.7 to 19.2 gC m–2 year–1, which is low compared with northern hemisphere peatland systems. We found that δ13C in organic soil profiles cannot be used to infer Holocene vegetation boundary dynamics in these systems. We found a systematic decrease of phosphorus from rainforest through eucalypt to moorland, but estimated that phosphorus capital in moorland soils was still sufficient for the development of forest vegetation. Our results suggest that the characteristics of organic soils across the landscape are the result of interactions between not only vegetation and fire frequency, but also other factors such as drainage and topography.

scholarly journals On the Configuration and Initialization of a Large Scale Hydrological Land Surface Model to Represent Permafrost

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed E. Elshamy ◽  
Daniel Princz ◽  
Gonzalo Sapriza-Azuri ◽  
Al Pietroniro ◽  
Howard S. Wheater ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Surface Model ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Computationally Efficient ◽  
Deep Soil ◽  
Mackenzie River

Abstract. Permafrost is an important feature of cold regions hydrology, particularly in basins such as the Mackenzie River Basin (MRB), and needs to be properly represented in hydrological and land surface models (H-LSMs) built into existing Earth System models (ESM), especially under the unprecedented climate warming trends that have been observed. Higher rates of warming have been reported in high latitudes compared to the global average resulting in permafrost thaw with wide-ranging implications for hydrology and feedbacks to climate. The current generation of H-LSMs is being improved to simulate permafrost dynamics by allowing deep soil profiles and incorporating organic soils explicitly. Deeper soil profiles have larger hydraulic and thermal memories that require more effort to initialize. This study aims to devise a robust, yet computationally efficient, initialization and parameterization approach applicable to regions where data are scarce and simulations typically require large computational resources. The study further demonstrates an upscaling approach to inform large-scale ESM simulations based on the insights gained by modelling at small scales. We used permafrost observations from three sites along the Mackenzie River Valley spanning different permafrost classes to test the validity of the approach. Results show generally good performance in reproducing present-climate permafrost properties at the three sites. The results also emphasize the sensitivity of the simulations to the soil layering scheme used, the depth to bedrock and the organic soil properties.

scholarly journals The occurrence of distinct prismatic & plary structures in organic soil profiles.

1963 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 418-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Kuiper ◽  
S. Slager
Keyword(s):  
Organic Soil ◽  
Groundwater Table ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Organic Layer ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Seepage Water ◽  
High Permeability ◽  
Deep Groundwater ◽  
Peat Horizon

Prisms & plates occurring in organic soils were correlated with a deep groundwater table associated with the vicinity of a brook draining the area, sufficient thickness of the organic layer to form an impermeable reduced peat horizon preventing seepage-water from rising in the profile, or Fe coatings on the peds promoting high permeability of the oxidized peat. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

scholarly journals On the configuration and initialization of a large-scale hydrological land surface model to represent permafrost

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 349-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed E. Elshamy ◽  
Daniel Princz ◽  
Gonzalo Sapriza-Azuri ◽  
Mohamed S. Abdelhamed ◽  
Al Pietroniro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Surface Model ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Computationally Efficient ◽  
Deep Soil ◽  
Mackenzie River

Abstract. Permafrost is an important feature of cold-region hydrology, particularly in river basins such as the Mackenzie River basin (MRB), and it needs to be properly represented in hydrological and land surface models (H-LSMs) built into existing Earth system models (ESMs), especially under the unprecedented climate warming trends that have been observed. Higher rates of warming have been reported in high latitudes compared to the global average, resulting in permafrost thaw with wide-ranging implications for hydrology and feedbacks to climate. The current generation of H-LSMs is being improved to simulate permafrost dynamics by allowing deep soil profiles and incorporating organic soils explicitly. Deeper soil profiles have larger hydraulic and thermal memories that require more effort to initialize. This study aims to devise a robust, yet computationally efficient, initialization and parameterization approach applicable to regions where data are scarce and simulations typically require large computational resources. The study further demonstrates an upscaling approach to inform large-scale ESM simulations based on the insights gained by modelling at small scales. We used permafrost observations from three sites along the Mackenzie River valley spanning different permafrost classes to test the validity of the approach. Results show generally good performance in reproducing present-climate permafrost properties at the three sites. The results also emphasize the sensitivity of the simulations to the soil layering scheme used, the depth to bedrock, and the organic soil properties.

Interactions of surface drying and subsurface nutrients affecting plant growth on acidic soil profiles from an old pasture

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 681 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Pinkerton ◽  
JR Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Subsurface Layer ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Reconstituted Soil ◽  
Subsurface Layers ◽  
Surface Drying

Previous studies on soils from old pastures in southern New South Wales have demonstrated that nutrients have accumulated at the soil surface, but that the 40-100-mm depth layer in many profiles has become strongly acidic (e.g. pH 4.7), and high in extractable aluminium. Poor growth of subterranean clover has occurred on such soils during dry periods and may be associated with poor root growth in the acidic, nutrient-poor subsurface layers. Possible nutritional causes of these observations were investigated using reconstituted soil profiles. The root and shoot growth of subterranean clover, wheat, oats and lucerne were compared in unamended profiles and in profiles amended by applying nutrients or calcium carbonate (lime) to correct the more obvious deficiencies of the subsurface layers. Subterranean clover grew well as long as the surface soil remained moist, so that plants could utilise the nutrients potentially available within it. When the surface (0-40 mm) was allowed to dry but the subsurface layers remained moist, growth was poor unless phosphate was applied to the moist layer. Subsurface application of lime alone was ineffective. Nitrogen application increased clover growth in the presence of added phosphate or surface moisture, but nitrogen alone did little to alleviate the effects of surface drought. Wheat, and to a lesser extent oats, responded to subsurface lime when the surface was moist, and both responded to subsurface phosphate when the surface was dry. Lucerne responded to subsurface phosphate similarly to subterranean clover but the response was more than doubled in the presence of additional borate and lime. Lime without borate was not effective. When the surface was maintained moist, liming both the surface (0-40 mm) and subsurface layers improved the response over liming the subsurface layer only. The results suggest that declining fertility and productivity in old pastures developed on acid soils may not be rectified by liming alone, but that cultivation, ripping or drilling of phosphate, and in some cases addition of borate, may be required to improve the penetration of nutrients, particularly phosphorus, to greater depth.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SOME PROPERTIES OF ORGANIC SOILS FROM THE SOUTHERN CANADIAN SHIELD

1990 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. ANN BROWN ◽  
S. P. MATHUR ◽  
ANTON BROWN ◽  
D. J. KUSHNER
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Acid Leaching ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Mining Districts ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Inorganic Components

Different numerical methods used to distinguish between organic soil types are evaluated. The research was initiated by the suggestion that acid leaching from mining wastes could be prevented by capping the tailings with a self-renewing methane-producing muskeg bog, in order to prevent the penetration of oxygen to the wastes. Thirty organic soils from bogs in the mining districts of Elliot Lake, Sudbury, and Timmins, Ontario, and Noranda, Quebec, were sampled and 28 soil characteristics were measured. These characteristics, whose values are normally or lognormally distributed, were analyzed by several different statistical methods. Some characteristics indicate the existence of two populations, and others are bivariantly correlated. Canonical discriminant analysis was more successful than cluster analysis in separating the bogs into well-defined geographical groups. However, principal component analysis proved best at grouping the organic soils according to their organic and inorganic components, and we suggest that this is a suitable method for the general discrimination of organic soil types. Methane was present in all the 17 bogs tested for it, and in two very wet bogs more than 2 mmol of methane per liter were extracted. Key words: Muskeg bog, organic soils, soil characterization, principal component analysis

scholarly journals A Novel Approach to the Analysis of the Soil Consolidation Problem by Using Non-Classical Rheological Schemes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1980
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Józefiak ◽  
Artur Zbiciak ◽  
Karol Brzeziński ◽  
Maciej Maślakowski
Keyword(s):  
Constitutive Models ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Soil Consolidation ◽  
Flexible Tool ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Soil Skeleton ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

The paper presents classical and non-classical rheological schemes used to formulate constitutive models of the one-dimensional consolidation problem. The authors paid special attention to the secondary consolidation effects in organic soils as well as the soil over-consolidation phenomenon. The systems of partial differential equations were formulated for every model and solved numerically to obtain settlement curves. Selected numerical results were compared with standard oedometer laboratory test data carried out by the authors on organic soil samples. Additionally, plasticity phenomenon and non-classical rheological elements were included in order to take into account soil over-consolidation behaviour in the one-dimensional settlement model. A new way of formulating constitutive equations for the soil skeleton and predicting the relationship between the effective stress and strain or void ratio was presented. Rheological structures provide a flexible tool for creating complex constitutive relationships of soil.

scholarly journals A fertile peatland forest does not constitute a major greenhouse gas sink

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 7739-7758 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Meyer ◽  
L. Tarvainen ◽  
A. Nousratpour ◽  
R. G. Björk ◽  
M. Ernfors ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Indirect Approach ◽  
Short Period ◽  
N2o Fluxes ◽  
C Assimilation

Abstract. Afforestation has been proposed as a strategy to mitigate the often high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural soils with high organic matter content. However, the carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes after afforestation can be considerable, depending predominantly on site drainage and nutrient availability. Studies on the full GHG budget of afforested organic soils are scarce and hampered by the uncertainties associated with methodology. In this study we determined the GHG budget of a spruce-dominated forest on a drained organic soil with an agricultural history. Two different approaches for determining the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) were applied, for the year 2008, one direct (eddy covariance) and the other indirect (analyzing the different components of the GHG budget), so that uncertainties in each method could be evaluated. The annual tree production in 2008 was 8.3 ± 3.9 t C ha−1 yr−1 due to the high levels of soil nutrients, the favorable climatic conditions and the fact that the forest was probably in its phase of maximum C assimilation or shortly past it. The N2O fluxes were determined by the closed-chamber technique and amounted to 0.9 ± 0.8 t Ceq ha−1 yr−1. According to the direct measurements from the eddy covariance technique, the site acts as a minor GHG sink of −1.2 ± 0.8 t Ceq ha−1 yr−1. This contrasts with the NEE estimate derived from the indirect approach which suggests that the site is a net GHG emitter of 0.6 ± 4.5 t Ceq ha−1 yr−1. Irrespective of the approach applied, the soil CO2 effluxes counter large amounts of the C sequestration by trees. Due to accumulated uncertainties involved in the indirect approach, the direct approach is considered the more reliable tool. As the rate of C sequestration will likely decrease with forest age, the site will probably become a GHG source once again as the trees do not compensate for the soil C and N losses. Also forests in younger age stages have been shown to have lower C assimilation rates; thus, the overall GHG sink potential of this afforested nutrient-rich organic soil is probably limited to the short period of maximum C assimilation.

scholarly journals A fertile peatland forest does not constitute a major greenhouse gas sink

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 5107-5148 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Meyer ◽  
L. Tarvainen ◽  
A. Nousratpour ◽  
R. G. Björk ◽  
M. Ernfors ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Optimum Growth ◽  
Indirect Approach ◽  
Short Period ◽  
N2o Fluxes

Abstract. Afforestation has been proposed as a strategy to mitigate the often high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural soils with a high organic matter content. However, the carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes after afforestation can be considerable, depending predominantly on site drainage and nutrient availability. Studies on the full GHG budget of afforested organic soils are scarce and hampered by the uncertainties associated with methodology. In this study we determined the GHG budget of a spruce-dominated forest on a drained organic soil with an agricultural history. Two different approaches for determining the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) were applied: for the year 2008, direct (eddy covariance) and an indirect (analyzing the different components of the GHG budget), so that uncertainties in each method could be evaluated. The annual tree production in 2008 was 8.2 (± 1.7)t C ha–1yr–1 due to the high levels of soil nutrients, the favorable climatic conditions and the fact that the forest was in its optimum growth phase. N2O fluxes were determined by the closed chamber technique and amounted to 3.3 (± 2.4) t CO2eq ha–1 yr–1. According to the direct measurements from the eddy covariance technique, the site acts as a minor GHG sink of −4.1 (± 2.6) t CO2eq ha–1 yr–1. This contrasts with the NEE estimate derived from the indirect approach which suggests that the site is a net GHG emitter of 3.3 (± 10.1)t CO2eq ha–1 yr–1. Irrespective of the approach applied, the soil CO2 effluxes counter large amounts of the C sequestration by trees. Due to major uncertainties involved in the indirect approach, the direct approach is considered the more reliable tool. As the site was in its optimum growth stage, i.e. the rate of C sequestration was at its maximum and will decrease with forest age, it will probably become a GHG source once again as the trees mature. Since forests in their younger stages are usually GHG sources or have no effect on GHGs, the overall sink potential of this afforested nutrient-rich organic soil is probably limited to only a short period.

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