Effects of land use on soil degradation in Giriwoyo, Wonogiri, Indonesia

This study aimed at determining the effect of land use on soil degradation, discovering the indicator as a determinant factor of soil degradation, and providing recommendations for land management to improve soil productivity. This study was conducted in agricultural lands in Giriwoyo, Wonogiri, Indonesia, and the observation indicator adopted by the Indonesian Government Regulation concerning Soil Degradation Control for Biomass Production. The methodology used was survey research with purposive sampling points in 12 land mapping units, and each unit was represented three times. The result showed that the study area was slightly and moderately degraded. Land use significantly affected soil degradation, and the paddy field has the highest degradation in the study area. Soil characteristics as degradation factors in the study area were soil texture, bulk density, and total porosity. Strategy for land management can be made by limiting the use of chemical fertilizers, and changing the use of chemical fertilizers into compost, to increase soil organic content, and accelerate the availability of nutrients.

Strategy of efficient estimation of soil organic content at the local scale based on the national spectral database

The aim of this paper was to compare the prediction performance of three strategies: general global Partial least squares regression (PLSR) using CSSL with and without spiking samples, memory-based learning (MBL) using CSSL with and without spiking samples and general PLSR using only spiking samples to predict soil organic matter in the target area. When using spiked subsets, we also investigated the prediction performance of the extra-weighted subsets. A series of spiking subsets randomly selected from the total spiking samples were selected by conditioned Latin hypercube sampling (cLHS) from the target sites. We calculated the mean squared Euclidean distance (msd) of different spiking subsets with the distribution density function of their vis–NIR spectra only and statistically inferred the optimal sampling set size to be 30. Our study showed that when the number of spiking were lower than 30, the predicted accuracy derived from global PLSR using CSSL spiked with and without extra-weighted samples was greater than the predicted accuracy derived from the general PLSR using the corresponding number of spiking samples only (RMSE 5.57–5.98 v.s. RMSE 6.76). Global PLSR using CSSL spiked with the statistically optimal local samples can achieve higher predicted performance (with a mean RMSE of 5.75). MBL spiked with five extra-weighted optimal spiking samples achieved the best accuracy with an RMSE of 3.98, an R2 of 0.70, a bias of 0.04 and an LCCC of 0.81. The msd is a simple and effective method to determine an adequate spiking size using only vis–NIR data.

Adsorption/Desorption Patterns of Selenium for Acid and Alkaline Soils of Xerothermic Environments

Selenium adsorption/desorption behavior was examined for eight Greek top soils with different properties, aiming to describe the geochemistry of the elements in the selected soils in terms of bioavailability and contamination risk by leaching. Four soils were acid and four alkaline, and metal oxides content greatly differed between the two groups of soils. The concentrations of Se(IV) used for the performed adsorption batch experiments ranged from 1 to 50 mg/L, while the soil to solution ratio was 1 g/0.03 L. Acid soils adsorbed significantly higher amounts of the added Se(IV) than alkaline soils. Freundlich and Langmuir equations adequately described the adsorption of Se(IV) in the studied soils, and the parameters of both isotherms significantly correlated with soil properties. In particular, both KF and qm values significantly positively correlated with ammonium oxalate extractable Fe and with dithionite extractable Al and Mn, suggesting that amorphous Fe oxides and Al and Mn oxides greatly affect exogenous Se(IV) adsorption in the eight soils. These two parameters were also significantly negatively correlated with soil electrical conductivity (EC) values, indicating that increased soluble salts concentration suppresses Se(IV) adsorption. No significant relation between adsorbed Se(IV) and soil organic content was recorded. A weak salt (0.25 M KCl) was used at the same soil to solution ratio to extract the amount of the adsorbed Se(IV) that is easily exchangeable and thus highly available in the soil ecosystem. A much higher Se(IV) desorption from alkaline soils was observed, pointing to the stronger retention of added Se(IV) by the acid soils. This result implies that in acid soils surface complexes on metal oxides may have been formed restricting Se desorption.

Uptake of Chromium by Portulaca Oleracea from Soil: Effects of Organic Content, pH, and Sulphate Concentration

Phytoextraction is an effective and environment-friendly approach for remediation of soil polluted with toxic metals. Portulaca oleracea is a potential hyperaccumulator of Cr(VI) from polluted soil. In this study, the effect of soil organic content, pH, and sulphate concentration on phytoextraction of Cr(VI) using Portulaca oleracea was investigated. Seedlings of Portulaca oleracea were grown in soils with (i) three organic content compositions, (ii) six levels of pH, and (iii) six concentrations of sulphate salts; all were irrigated with Cr(VI) solutions at 200 ppm concentration. Chromium concentration in different tissues of plants was monitored under the variant conditions. Results indicated that the uptake of Cr(VI) by Portulaca oleracea is favoured at (i) low organic content soil (0.42%), (ii) slightly alkaline pH range (∼8), and (iii) with sulphate concentration in the range of 300–600 ppm.

Altitudinal soil and vegetation transitions in alpine desert, the Central Great Caucasus, Georgia

<p>Alpine deserts are noteworthy habitats in high mountain systems such as the Caucasus. However, very little is known on the soil properties in these habitats. Another unexplored question is the transition between subnival (lower part of alpine desert) and nival (upper part of alpine desert) belts. We studied soils and vegetation in an alpine desert along its practically entire elevation range (3000-4000 m a.s.l.) on two contrasting slope aspects (north vs south) of Mt. Kazbegi, the Central Great Caucasus, Georgia. Vegetation with standardized stratified-random design and collected soil samples for measuring pH, soil organic content (SOM) and available nutrients (N, P, K) were sampled; the collected data were analyzed with direct gradient methods as well as multivariate ordination. 63 species were recorded and, as expected, strong dependence of species distribution on elevation and between slopes was documented. We found that soil pH increased monotonically with altitude on both N and S slopes and reached alkaline values with bare bedrock. The changes were steeper on the northern slope than on the southern slope, and, remarkably, many relatively abundant species changed their preference to slope aspect from N to S in parallel with the increasing difference in soil pH.  We suspect that the pH  observed shift in slope preference, at least in part, can be explained by the effect of different soil pH. As for SOM, it decreased from very low values to zero at the higher altitudes, whilst available nutrients dropped dramatically and predominantly multispecific vegetation patches characteristic for subnival belt changed abruptly to monospecific patches or solitary plants typical for nival belt. These abrupt changes occurred at 3400-3500m a.s.l., and most probably indicate a vegetation switch between the mentioned belts on Mt. Kazbegi.</p><p>Overall, our results show two characteristics of alpine desert vegetation and soils, which have not been documented to date: (1) an unexpected change of slope preference of many relatively abundance plants which probably is associated with different soil pH profiles on N and S slopes, and (2) a vegetation switch between subnival and nival belts that occurs at relatively lower elevations than expected from the concept of alpine-nival ecotone.</p>

Studi Kemampuan Adsorpsi Ion Logam Cr6+ oleh Tanah Vulkanik “Studi Kasus Wilayah Industri Penyamakan Kulit, Garut”

ABSTRACTThe leather tanning industry in Sukaregang, Garut Regency, produces liquid waste containing Chromium and is discharged directly into the Ciwalen River without a waste treatment process. The content of Cr6+ as metal ions in the waste can also contaminating groundwater. The movement of Cr6+ will pass through the soil media before entering to the groundwater wells. The capability of the soil to adsorb the contaminant will reduce the impact on groundwater. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of the soil in adsorbing and inhibiting the movement of Cr6+ into groundwater. The study was carried out at Sukaregang, Garut Regency and conducting adsorption experiments with a batch system. The analysis was carried out using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model. The experimental results showed that Cr6+ adsorbed ranged from 38% to 57% of the initial concentration. The results from Langmuir Isotherm were: the distribution coefficient (Kads) was 0.45 L/mg and the maximum adsorption capacity (qm) was 2.44 mg/100g sorbent with R2 = 0.959 and Freundlich Isotherm was: qm was 2,86 mg/100g sorbent and Kads was 0,35 L/mg with R2 = 0,860. This large adsorption capacity is caused by soil texture and soil organic content. The soil in Sukaregang tanning industries has a high adsorption capacity towards Cr6+ contaminants.Keywords: adsorption, chromium, Cr6+, contaminant, volcanic soil, GarutABSTRAKIndustri penyamakan kulit di wilayah Sukaregang, Kabupaten Garut, menghasilkan limbah cair yang mengandung Kromium dan dibuang ke Sungai Ciwalen tanpa proses pengolahan limbah. Kandungan ion logam Cr6+ pada limbah dapat mencemari air tanah. Pergerakan ion logam Cr6+ akan melalui media tanah sebelum memasuki sumur-sumur penduduk. Beberapa jenis tanah mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengadsorpsi ion pencemar sehingga tidak semua limbah yang meresap ke dalam tanah mencemari air tanah. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui peranan tanah dalam menghambat pergerakan ion logam Cr6+ ke dalam air tanah. Penelitian dilaksanakan dengan pengambilan sampel tanah di daerah Sukaregang, Garut, dan melakukan percobaan adsorpsi dengan sistem batch. Sementara analisis dilakukan dengan menggunakan model isotherm Langmuir dan Freundlich. Hasil percobaan menunjukkan konsentrasi Cr6+ yang teradsorpsi berkisar 38 – 57 % dari konsentrasi awal. Kads sebesar 0,45 L/mg dan qm sebesar 2,44 mg/100g tanah dengan nilai R2 = 0,959 menggunakan isoterm Langmuir dan isoterm Freundlich memberikan nilai qm sebesar 2,86 mg/100 g sorbent dan Kads sebesar 0,35 L/mg dengan R2 = 0,860. Tingginya daya adsorpsi ini disebabkan oleh tekstur tanah dan kandungan bahan organik. Tanah di wilayah penelitian memiliki daya adsorpsi yang besar terhadap kontaminan Cr6+.Kata kunci: adsorpsi, kromium, Cr6+, kontaminan, tanah vulkanik, Garut

Research of interrelation of RI index and colorimetric parameters of measurements of soil organic content

In the article the interrelation of RI index and soil organic content is studied. Research of known model of interrelation of SOM and SOC, and also model of interrelation of SOC and R,G,B signals of colorimeter and obtained experimental data relating soil of arid and semiarid zones make it possible to derive the new formula for calculation of RI index in dependence of results of RGB colorimetric measurements of soil color. Check up of accuracy of calculation on obtained formula does show that result of calculation on new formula differ from results on known formula by 13% which taking into consideration of non-certainty of choice of any model of interrelation of SOM and SOC can be considered as acceptable. The conceptual basis for construction of conductmeter-colorymetric complex for estimation of soil organic content is described.

Drought area of agricultural land using Tasseled Cap Transformation (TCT) method in Ciampel Subdistrict Karawang Regency

Drought is water availability that is far below the water needs for life, agriculture, economic activities, and the environment. The impact of severe drought in Indonesia occurred in 2015 due to the strong El Nino phenomenon and positive IOD. The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Karawang Regency noted that drought in 14 villages spread across three subdistricts in Karawang Regency expanded in 2019. One of them is the Ciampel subdistrict. The purpose of this research is to analyze the drought of agricultural land based on green vegetation, soil organic content, and soil moisture using Tasseled Cap Transformation (TCT) method in Ciampel Subdistrict, Karawang Regency in 2015 and 2019. This research uses Landsat 8 OLI imagery in August 2015, September 2015, July 2019, and September 2019. Agricultural land drought includes three indices, namely the brightness index, wetness index and greenness index. Overlay and scoring three drought parameters to making the map drought of agriculture land with four classes such as normal, moderate, high, and very high drought classes. The results show that the drought occurred in 2015 and 2019, but the dry area is more expansive in 2015 than 2019.