Soil Description Research Articles

Soil CT image quality enhancement via an improved super-resolution reconstruction method based on GAN

Computed tomography (CT) is an effective instrument to characterize the internal structure of soil. However, the resolution of soil CT images is often limited by the physical properties of the scanner and the imaging protocol, which can lead to difficulties in accurately characterizing fine-scale features of soil. At present, the super-resolution reconstruction results of CT images often have the problems of blurred feature boundaries and low image quality, causing inaccuracies in the analysis of soil structure. Therefore, this study developed an improved super-resolution reconstruction method based on generative adversarial networks (SRLGAN) to accurately reconstruct high-resolution CT images from low-resolution CT images and assist in digital soil descriptions. SRLGAN utilized a lightweight CNN super-resolution reconstruction module as the generator model, which can improve the reconstruction image quality while reducing the number of trainable parameters and inference time. Meanwhile, a closed-loop loss function was employed to reduce input image information loss and improve method generalization. Compared with traditional reconstruction methods and deep learning methods, the proposed SRLGAN method showed superior performance with a higher peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 45.869 dB and a structural similarity index (SSIM) of 0.992. Particularly, the PSNR was 9.95% and 4.49% higher than the best-performing traditional method (Bicubic) and deep learning method (SRGAN), respectively. Furthermore, compared to the SRGAN, trainable parameters and inference time of the SRLGAN have decreased by 77.84% and 57.86%, respectively, which indicates the highest degree of lightweighting. This study demonstrated that SRLGAN can generate high-quality, high-resolution soil CT images that can be used for subsequent segmentation and 3D structural analysis, offering an intelligent approach to understanding the internal soil structure.

Determination of Physicochemical Properties of Spent Engine Oil Polluted Soils Sites in Bali and its Environs, Taraba State, Nigeria

The present study aimed to investigate the physicochemical properties of spent engine oil polluted soil sites in Bali and its Environs, Taraba State, Nigeria. The result revealed the particle size distribution show that polluted soils were categorized by relatively high sand content ranging from 30.2 – 80.2 %, and an average mean 58.08 %; silt 15.3-65.1 % (34.88 %) and clay 3.0-11.6 % (7.04 %). The textural descriptions of soils from the study sites were mostly sandy loam. The soil samples from Bali 1, Bali 2, Maihula, Garba Chede and Gazabu were of varying texture; sandy loam, loamy sand, sandy loam, silt loam and loamy respectively. The physicochemical properties of the soil samples show the temperature ranges from 31.33 - 31.58 0C with Garba Chede and Bali 2 having the lowest and highest respectively. The pH range between 5.6 - 6.2 with Bali 1 and Bali 2 having the lowest and highest respectively. The result shows that the soil samples are all slightly acidic. Samples from Bali 2 and Bali 1 were discovered to be the highest with 69.5% and least with 68.1% respectively for humidity. The electrical conductivity of the soil range is 1027.25 µs/cm and 474.0 µs/cm with Garba Chede and Gazabu having the highest and lowest respectively. The amount of total dissolved solid range is 14.5 – 30.0 mg/L making Gazabu have the highest lowest and Garba Chede the highest. Bali 1 and Bali 2 have the Cu range values of 3.500 and 1.080 ppm, showing the highest and lowest respectively. Pb and Cr were not detected in the samples.

KARAKTERISTIK MORFOLOGI DAN KIMIA TANAH PADA LAHAN PERTANAMAN PADI LADANG DI KABUPATEN BUTON UTARA

Soil characteristics determine the potential yield of cultivated plants. Soil morphological characteristics generally differ between depths and locations, so different management efforts are required. This study aimed to determine the morphological characteristics of the soil in each layer and between sub-districts on upland rice cultivation land in North Buton Regency. The research method is based on free survey observations with an area administration approach to upland rice cultivation. Soil observation is carried out by drilling. Drilling is carried out to a depth of 120 cm or up to a layer of soil parent material. Qualitative soil descriptions have been carried out directly in the field to obtain an overview of soil morphological characteristics between layers and locations. The results showed the morphological characteristics of the soil on upland rice cultivation in North Buton Regency, where soil colors are generally brown (ranging from dark brown to yellowish brown; Hue 7.5-10 YR with low value and chroma respectively). Soil texture generally includes fine to medium texture, ranging from clay, silt to loam, except for the slightly coarse-textured Bonegunu area (sandy loam) in the subsoil layer. Soil consistency generally includes firm in moist conditions, plastic and sticky in wet conditions. Soil organic matter content is generally moderate, except for the Kambowa area which is low. While the soil pH levels, both between depths and locations, are in the slightly acidic category. It is necessary to pay attention to the differences in pedogenesis factors between locations in the management of upland rice cultivation in the North Buton Regency to realize optimal and sustainable productivity.

Investigation of the Relationship Between Soil Erosion, Land Cover and Hemeroby Level in Cserépfalu by Analysing Soil Profiles

We can measure the effects of anthropogenic processes to the nature in case of hilly agricultural areas with the rate of soil (water) erosion. There is actual question what kind of connection could be shown between the rate of soil erosion, land cover categories and hemeroby levels? How can the intensity of antropogenic effects influence the rate of soil erosion? We did some research work in the North Hungarian Region, in Cserépfalu in 2014. In Cserépfalu, the northern areas are under nature conservation and belong to the Southern Bükk Mountains while the southern dissected pediment is the extensive agricultural territory. We described the soil types in the southern areas using the soil description method of FAO. We collected data about the rate of soil erosion, the land cover types, slope angle, slope forms, slope aspect and data for the relief conditions too. We could point out the sheet erosion around the 15 investigated soil profiles and we could found 3 strongly eroded, 8 medium eroded and 4 accumulated soil profiles. The land cover categories were given based on FAO category system and topographic map from 1990. Our results showed that land cover categories were changed in time and it caused the change of hemeroby levels as well. The intensity of land cultivation in investigated areas was changed. We could point out in some cases that the stronger soil erosion rate was caused by former land cover system. In summary, some former agricultural areas were changed and became as an abandoned areas so that the antropogenic effects were decreased in extensive agricultural areas in Cserépfalu. Our results can be compared with another pediments dissected by valleys where extensive agricultural areas are characteristic in Hungary.

Reviewing and analyzing shrinkage of peat and other organic soils in relation to selected soil properties

AbstractPeat and other organic soils (e.g., organo‐mineral soils) show distinctive volume changes through desiccation and wetting. Important processes behind volume changes are shrinkage and swelling. There is a long history of studies on shrinkage which were conducted under different schemes for soil descriptions, nomenclatures and parameters, measurement approaches, and terminologies. To date, these studies have not been harmonized in order to compare or predict shrinkage from different soil properties, for example, bulk density or substrate composition. This, however, is necessary to prevent biases in the determination of volume‐based soil properties or for the interpretation of elevation measurements in peatlands, in order to predict carbon dioxide emissions or uptake caused by microbial decomposition or peat formation. This study gives a comprehensive overview of shrinkage studies carried out in the last 100 years. Terminology and approaches are systematically classified. In part I, the concepts for shrinkage characteristics, measurement methods, and model approaches are summarized. Part II is a meta‐analysis of shrinkage studies on peat and other organic soils amended by own measurement data obtained by a three‐dimensional structured light scanner. The results show that maximum shrinkage has a wide range from 11% to 93% and is strongly affected by common soil properties (botanical composition, degree of decomposition, soil organic carbon, and bulk density). Showing a stronger correlation, bulk density was a better predictor than soil organic carbon, but maximum shrinkage showed a large spread over all types of peat and other organic soils and ranges of bulk density and soil organic carbon.

Assessing Student and Coach Learning Experiences with Virtual Collegiate Soil Judging Contest during COVID-19 Pandemic

Collegiate soil judging competitions are organized as annual face-to-face events both regionally and nationally in the USA. Soil judging provides a competitive platform for students to identify and describe soil characteristics in the field. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced soil judging contests to find new strategies to maintain student engagement and provide competitive opportunities for students to apply their knowledge of soils. In response, Region IV in the USA hosted a virtual regional contest in October 2020. The objectives of this study were to quantify students’ and coaches’ perspectives on virtual soil judging contests and evaluate the role of virtual soil judging contests as either a complement or alternative to in-person contests. We conducted post-contest surveys of students (n = 31; 86% response rate) and coaches (n = 6, 100% response rate) to assess student learning outcomes and reflections on the virtual soil judging contest. Students responded most favorably to the virtual format, citing the flexibility it provided. Coaches were satisfied with the virtual format but still preferred an in-person contest. Coaches also expressed concern that the virtual soil judging format would not accurately measure the full range of student’s skills typically measured during in-person contests. Overall, the coaches and students reported that the virtual soil judging contest was helpful to gain experience with soil descriptions and enhance skills related to soil assessment and pedology. We conclude that virtual soil judging contest formats can be an inexpensive way to provide students with additional soil judging experiences when field-based formats are not feasible (e.g., health restrictions such as COVID-19) or economical (e.g., budget constraints on soil site selection, contest development, and travel), and that hybrid formats may be a way to encourage greater participation among students in soil judging contests without losing the in-person benefits gained by judging soils in the field.

Russian Arctic Vegetation Archive—A new database of plant community composition and environmental conditions

AbstractMotivationThe goal of the Russian Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA‐RU) is to unite and harmonize data of plot‐based plant species and their abundance, vegetation structure and environmental variables from the Russian Arctic. This database can be used to assess the status of the Russian Arctic vegetation and as a baseline to document biodiversity changes in the future. The archive can be used for scientific studies as well as to inform nature protection and restoration efforts.Main types of variables containedThe archive contains 2873 open‐access geobotanical plots. The data include the full species. Most plots include information on the horizontal (cover per species and morphological group) and vertical (average height per morphological group) structure of vegetation, site and soil descriptions and data quality estimations. In addition to the open‐access data, the AVA‐RU website contains 1912 restricted‐access plots.Spatial location and grainThe plots of 1–100 m2 size were sampled in Arctic Russia and Scandinavia. Plots in Russia covered areas from the West to the East, including the European Russian Arctic (Kola Peninsula, Nenets Autonomous district), Western Siberia (Northern Urals, Yamal, Taza and Gydan peninsulas), Central Siberia (Taymyr peninsula, Bolshevik island), Eastern Siberia (Indigirka basin) and the Far East (Wrangel island). About 72% of the samples are georeferenced.Time period and grainThe data were collected once at each location between 1927 and 2022.Major taxa and level of measurementPlots include observations of >1770 vascular plant and cryptogam species and subspecies.Software formatCSV files (1 file with species list and abundance, 1 file with environmental variables and vegetation structure) are stored at the AVA‐RU website (https://avarus.space/), and are continuously updated with new datasets. The open‐access data are available on Dryad and all the datasets have a backup on the server of the University of Zurich. The data processing R script is available on Dryad.

A novel UNet segmentation method based on deep learning for preferential flow in soil

Accurate binary images based on dye-tracing experiments are fundamental for understanding preferential flow in soil. Nevertheless, general image-processing software, such as Photoshop, Image-Pro Plus, and ImageJ, cannot automatically and accurately binarize dye-strained regions for the areas with uneven staining and blurred boundaries, causing errors in the subsequent analysis of preferential flow characteristics. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a novel UNet segmentation method based on a dual-scale attention residual module (DARM-UNet), to improve the segmentation accuracy of preferential flow images and assist in digital soil descriptions. The proposed method is a two-level nested U-structure, i.e., a dual-scale attention residual module (DARM) on the lowest level and the typical architecture of UNet at the top level. On the lowest level, the DARM obtained improved contextual information and expand the receptive field based on the attention mechanism and the dual-scale convolution, which was used to improve the recognition ability of uneven dye and low-contrast regions. At the top level, the typical architecture of the UNet model was followed to fuse feature maps of different resolutions, in which each stage is filled by a DARM block. Compared with general image processing software and deep learning methods, the DARM-UNet method showed higher preferential flow segmentation accuracies (95.71% and 93.29%), recall rates (91.91% and 89.29%), and harmonic means (92.72% and 91.82%) for the natural secondary and hazelnut shrub forests, respectively. The four preferential flow indicators indicated that the flow patterns of the natural secondary and hazelnut shrub forests varied with soil depth. In natural secondary forests, the preferential flow started from the surface and was of the primary flow type, whereas in hazelnut shrub forests, it occurred only in the deeper layer, following the matrix flow and concentrating in the 0–16 cm soil layer. This study demonstrated that the proposed DARM-UNet method could effectively identify and segment preferential flow of different forests, especially the areas with uneven staining and blurred boundaries.

Description of Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH) Worms Infection in Coconut Farmers in Guntung Village, Batu Bara District, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract: Worms or often calledSoil Transmitted Helminths (STH) is a disease of the human body caused by intestinal nematode worm infection. One of the transmission of this worm is generally through soil media. STH species include roundworms, whips, mines. Farmers as one of the professions in the community have a great risk of being infected with STH, which is more than 70%. The majority of agricultural land in Guntung Village supports working as a farmer. Factors that cause helminth infections are related to poor environmental hygiene and unhealthy lifestyles. This study aims to determine the description of infection with Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH) infarmer coconut inGuntung Village, Batu Bara District. This study uses observational research methods (non-experimental) with descriptive research criteria. The number of samples is 50 faeces fromfarmer in Guntung Village, Batu Bara District. The results of the stool examination by the flotation method found that 12 respondents (24%) were positively infected with STH, namely hookworm eggs. The conclusion of this study is the possibility of farmers who are positive because they come from other environments, not from agricultural land and soil in their home environment. Therefore suggestions for the community or farmers can increase knowledge about the transmission and prevention of STH infections, increase awareness to carepersonal hygiene as well as sanitation of the surrounding environment and being able to take deworming medication for treatment of STH-infected farmers.

Comparative description of soils and vegetative cover of tombolos on the costs of the White and Baltic seas

We studied the soils and vegetation cover of tombolo – bridges between the mainland and small islands on the coasts of the White and Baltic Seas. Tombolo are characterized by complex dynamics of sedimentation that determines a high level of heterogeneity of soils and associated vegetation cover. At the Kolezhma plot on the White Sea coast, ground- and surface-gley marsh soils are formed. Vegetation corresponds to marsh meadows of the lower and middle levels, and varies depending on salinity, acidity level and soil texture. At the Gakkovo plot on the Baltic Sea coast, soils are characterized by greater uniformity; in general, they have a sandy texture. Th e influence of the Baltic Sea on the soil and vegetation cover is significantly lower than that of the White Sea due to the weakly pronounced tidal dynamics of the Baltic Sea

NEW DATA ON VEGETATION AND SOILS OF URUP (KURIL ISLANDS)

The article presents new data on the vegetation of the island of Urup (Kuril Islands) obtained during the research of the authors in 2019 and 2021. The characteristics of the main forest communities (Erman’s birch forests, willow forests and Pinus pumila thickets), as well as rock and mire vegetation and vegetation of disturbed habitats, are given. The ecological-phytocenotic classification of the studied communities has been refined or carried out for the first time, the tables of geobotanical descriptions for a number of associations are given. Patterns of vegetation distribution in river valleys are considered. It is shown that in the northern part of the island, in the vegetation cover of the Pacific side, the role of mires and shrub communities increases in comparison with the Okhotsk Sea side. The description of soils is given in connection with the plant communities formed on them. The reasons of the revealed regularities are discussed, in particular, the influence of the relief, cold oceanic winds and fogs on the vegetation cover of the island.

Soil Properties as Indicators of Soil Moisture Regime Parameters (a Review)

The water movement in soils contributes to the formation of a number of specific soil properties; their interpretation allows for to characterization of the features of both individual hydrological processes and the soil water regime, which is especially important due to the limited possibilities of soil wetness monitoring. The review considers the diagnostic indicators of mineral soils, determined in the field and laboratory conditions, characterized by different formation times and resistance to changes in environmental factors. Field methods for diagnosing soil moisture regime parameters make it possible to formulate hypotheses about the features of water behavior within the soil profile, which can later be confirmed or refuted as a result of laboratory diagnostic methods, regime observations, and physical and mathematiqcal modeling. In particular, on the basis of a standard field description of soils, it is possible to identify the zone of the greatest moisture turnover, areas of the soil profile, which are characterized by constant and periodic moisture stagnation, as well as determining the level of occurrence of the capillary fringe. Clay coats, root burrows, and soil animals paths mark the preferental flows. Laboratory diagnostic methods are aimed at assessing the quantitative ratio of hydrological processes in the soil; basically, they allow to characterize the source, duration and intensity of the period of soil overmoistering. The Schwertman criterion is the most commonly used analytical indicator for diagnosing soil overmoistering, the possibility and effectiveness of which has been shown for a wide range of soils. Verification of the results of hydrological modeling by soil properties is potentially possible for the processes of downward and lateral runoff, physical evaporation of moisture, transpiration, evapotranspiration and capillary rise.

A conceptual model for the shakedown response of soft clay to high-cycle, low-amplitude undrained loading

Soft soils beneath transportation infrastructures suffer dynamic traffic loads with high-frequency and high-cycle characteristics, which mainly present shakedown development of deformation yet probably induce notable deformation at the stable state. However, conventional constitutive models are still not available for the long-term behavior description of soft soils under high-cycle traffic loading. Herein, a conceptual model for high-cycle, low-amplitude undrained loading was proposed incorporating a shrinking yield surface and an expanding boundary surface, which individually indicated the weakening behavior caused by an increase in excess pore water pressure and the hardening effect due to contractive plastic deformation. Given the shakedown responses of soft soils, a mapping ratio and a one-time calculation approach were employed. Thus, the effect of loading frequency on the response of soft soil can be considered, and the calculation efficiency was greatly improved. Then, the evaluation of model parameters and parametric analyses on the loading frequency, shrinking yield surface, expanding boundary surface and mapping ratio were carried out to examine the performance of the proposed model. To further validate the proposed model, undrained cyclic triaxial tests on reconstituted Ningbo clay were conducted, and high-cycle undrained triaxial tests on Kaolin clay and Ariake clay were referenced. The predicted developments of accumulated plastic deviatoric strain and excess pore water pressure with the number of load cycles reached acceptable consistencies with the experimental results. Moreover, the effects of confining and deviatoric stresses were investigated. Not only rational developments of excess pore water pressure and plastic deviatoric strain but also nearly identical results under the same cyclic stress ratio (CSR) were obtained, which adequately confirmed the feasibility and reliability of the proposed model. Although this model was developed based on isotropically consolidated soils and contained varied parameters for different CSRs, it provides a framework contributing to rigorous model development for high-cycle conditions.

Unified description of different soils based on the superloading and subloading concepts

Geotechnical engineering often involves different types of geomaterials, such as sandy soil and clayey soil. Existing studies have confirmed that these soils have some common features, i.e. their mechanical behaviors depend not only on the inherent characteristics but also on their initial states. To describe the main mechanical behaviors of different soils within a simple and reasonable constitutive framework is of great significance for the numerical analysis on geotechnical engineering. This paper first introduces a model based on the concepts of superloading and subloading, which considers the “state dependence” (effects of overconsolidation and structure) of soil and only adds two material parameters compared with the Cam-Clay model. Secondly, conventional triaxial tests are systematically carried out on four types of soils (i.e. sand, silty clay, clay, and intermediate soil) with different initial void ratios, and the mechanical similarities and differences of these soils are discussed uniformly. After that, six material parameters of these soils are uniformly determined based on the concepts of superloading and subloading, and then used in constitutive calculations to verify the feasibility. The calculated results show a good agreement with test data, indicating that the model based on the concepts of superloading and subloading has great potential for describing the general mechanical behaviors of different soils within a unified framework. This work is expected to be applied to constitutive selection and parameter determination in the geotechnical numerical analysis of complex soil profiles.

An unsaturated soil mechanics approach for performance-based intelligent compaction

Intelligent compaction involves using instrumented rollers to provide real-time monitoring of the compacted ground using sensors such as accelerometers and GPS. This technology has the potential to improve productivity and uniformity in construction but its advancement is currently impeded due toinaccurate estimation of the physical ground properties, such as dry density, and the absence of robust quantitative models to predict the effect of compaction on the long-term performance of unsaturated soils under repeated loads. In this study, the compaction of the soil layers and subsequent deformations under repeated traffic loads are simulated by using an advanced computational framework and model for unsaturated soils. By employing an effective stress concept, the presented computational approach allows a unified description of soils at various degrees of saturation. In addition, the model can capture plastic deformations at the initiation of loading and thereby offer accurate predictions of soil behaviour under cyclic loads. Several numerical examples will be provided to demonstrate how the initial states of compacted soils affect the compaction efficiency and the long-term performance of compacted soils.

Biodiversity dynamics in primary mid-taiga spruce forests after total windthrow in the Vodlozersky National Park, Russia

In windthrow-affected areas, the research of biota is of high relevance taking into account the lack of knowledge about the dynamics of their flora, soil properties, and tree stand regeneration. An important task is to study the mechanisms of the natural dynamics of plant communities after major disturbances in large boreal forests. This paper was aimed to investigate the effects of a total windthrow event on the dynamics of biodiversity in pristine mid-boreal spruce (Picea abies) forests. The study was carried out in the Vodlozersky National Park (Northwest Russia: Arkhangelsk Region and Republic of Karelia), situated in the northern and middle taiga subzones. A series of permanent sample plots was established in an area affected by massive windthrow in 2000. The windthrow consequences of the forest communities have been studied, starting from the year of the event (2000) at 2–5-year intervals. A soil survey has been conducted in 2016. Windthrown trees, situated in the sample plots, were counted by species and diameter classes. Natural regeneration was estimated in subplots with a division to height cohorts and vitality status. Geobotanical relevé sampling of the ground vegetation has been conducted in 1 × 1-m permanent plots. Aphyllophoroid fungi (Basidiomycota) were counted by fruit bodies. Main soil pits and partial pits were dug. The morphological description of soils was produced in both undisturbed and disturbed sites in the study area. Obtained data, covering 20 years of surveys of various components of the forest plant communities (tree stand, advance regeneration, ground vegetation, wood-destroying fungi, soils), were analysed. We found that 16–20 years after the windthrow event the species and age structure of the tree stand has been considerably changed due to the forest stand rejuvenation. Post-windthrow regeneration of coniferous species in the true-moss group of forests has been successfully going on. By the end of the second decade after the windthrow event, cowberry spruce forests contained 4300 individuals/0.01 km2 of viable spruce regeneration, including 1500 individuals/0.01 km2 belonging to the large size category of spruce trees. In the bilberry-Sphagnum-type forest, spruce regeneration amounted to 8700 individuals/0.01 km2, including 2200 individuals/0.01 km2 belonging to the large size category of spruce trees. This amount is sufficient to ensure the development of spruce-dominated communities in the future. Since the forest ecosystems were recovering after the windthrow, the biodiversity of changed, that was reflected in an increase in the species composition of the ground vegetation and fungal communities. Over the study period (2001–2021), surveys of the sample plots demonstrated 83 aphyllophoroid fungi species, including five species included in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Karelia, as well as 22 taxa, considered old-growth forest indicator- and specialist species. The number of wood-destroying fungi species was the highest in the period from the 12th to the 19th post-windthrow years. The changes in soil properties on windthrow-affected sites were more explicit in the upper horizons: soil acidity decreased; both potassium and carbon content increased; nitrogen distribution across horizons became more even. An increase in the carbon-nitrogen ratio was detected in the Е and BF horizons. The obtained data can be used for predicting the regeneration of pristine mid-boreal spruce forests affected by catastrophic disturbances.

ЛАНДШАФТЫ ВЕРХНЕЙ ЧАСТИ СКЛОНОВ ПРАВОГО БЕРЕГА РЕКИ ТУЗЛОВ И РАВНИННОЙ ЧАСТИ ВОДОРАЗДЕЛЬНОГО ПЛАТО МЕЖДУ РЕКАМИ АКСАЙ И ТУЗЛОВ ЮЖНЕЕ СТ. ГРУШЕВСКАЯ

The paper gives characteristic of the landscapes of the upper part of right slope of Tuzlov river of north exposure and ravine part of watershed plateau between the Aksai and Tuzlov rivers, which are located south of the Grushevskaya station, east of the M 4 highway and north of the Novocherkassk ‒ Rostov highway. We have studied taxonomic levels, qualitatively differing from each other by landscape-forming factors, taking into account the degree of influence of these individual factors and their different correlations with each other on the growth of the grapevine plant, the yield of vineyards, the quality of the vineyard and vinicultural products. Landscape-forming factors at the microrelief level are geology, relief, soil and groundwater. Obtaining the necessary landscape-forming data was carried out by drilling the wells of the ground to a depth of up to 10 m with a morphological description of soil, geological and hydrogeological profile, with taking soil and groundwater samples for chemical analysis, paying special attention to landscape-forming factors that may be limiting for laying vineyards and to those that create optimal agroecological conditions for vineyards.

Creating a Design Framework to Diagnose and Enhance Grassland Health under Pastoral Livestock Production Systems

Grasslands and ecosystem services are under threat due to common practices adopted by modern livestock farming systems. Design theory has been an alternative to promote changes and develop more sustainable strategies that allow pastoral livestock production systems to evolve continually within grasslands by enhancing their health and enabling the continuous delivery of multiple ecosystem services. To create a design framework to design alternative and more sustainable pastoral livestock production systems, a better comprehension of grassland complexity and dynamism for a diagnostic assessment of its health is needed, from which the systems thinking theory could be an important approach. By using systems thinking theory, the key components of grasslands-soil, plant, ruminant-can be reviewed and better understood from a holistic perspective. The description of soil, plant and ruminant individually is already complex itself, so understanding these components, their interactions, their response to grazing management and herbivory and how they contribute to grassland health under different climatic and topographic conditions is paramount to designing more sustainable pastoral livestock production systems. Therefore, by taking a systems thinking approach, we aim to review the literature to better understand the role of soil, plant, and ruminant on grassland health to build a design framework to diagnose and enhance grassland health under pastoral livestock production systems.

Review of the physical and chemical properties of seagrass soils

Seagrasses are a polyphyletic group of angiosperms that colonized marine environments more than 30 million years ago and currently inhabit coastal soft and rocky substrates in all continents except Antarctica. Due to their evolution from terrestrial plants, seagrasses have belowground organs that interact with the substrate, transforming it through chemo-physical processes analogous to terrestrial soil formation. Although seagrass substrates provide valuable ecosystem services including carbon and coastal stabilization, they have been largely regarded as sediments by marine scientists and neglected in soil science research. However, over the last decades, the increasing interest in carbon accumulation by seagrasses has generated multiple data on seagrass soil physical and chemical characteristics. Here, we review clay and silt content (<0.063 mm particle size), redox potential, pH, carbonate content, organic carbon or organic matter contents, dry bulk density, porosity and color of seagrass soils worldwide, summarizing data typically used for soil description, and looking for generalities in soil characteristics across seagrass habitats. The data gathered was biased towards temperate species and high-income countries, while data about color, porosity, redox potential and pH was scarce. Soil characteristics did not show significant differences among seagrass bioregions. Most seagrass substrates showed sandy textures, whereas one of the most sampled genera, Posidonia, was not present in muddy substrates. The soil Corg content was significantly higher in meadows formed by persistent species (mean ± SD; 1.76 ± 2.17 %) than in meadows formed by species with opportunistic and colonizing life-strategies (1.52 ± 2.24 and 0.76 ± 0.95 %, respectively), while mud content was significantly higher in meadows formed by opportunistic and colonizing species (27.87 ± 29.58 and 21.23 ± 21.77 %, respectively) than in those formed by persistent species (11.83 ± 14.45 %). Redox potential was significantly lower in intertidal than in subtidal meadows, although caution is needed when interpreting these differences due to methodological limitations. This review provides an overview of current knowledge on seagrass soil characteristics, while identifying knowledge gaps in seagrass soil science, including geographical, species diversity and soil physico-chemical traits that limit our capacity to characterize and classify seagrass soils worldwide.

Saccharothrix luteola sp. nov., a novel cellulose-degrading actinobacterium isolated from soil and emended description of the genus Saccharothrix.

A novel cellulose-degrading actinobacterium, designated strain NEAU-S10T, was isolated from soil collected from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, PR China, and characterized using a polyphasic approach. Pairwise similarity of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain NEAU-S10T was a representative of Saccharothrix and was closely related to Saccharothrix carnea NEAU-yn17T (99.2 %), Saccharothrix saharensis SA152T (99.0 %), Saccharothrix texasensis DSM 44231T (98.5 %) and Saccharothrix xinjiangensis NBRC 101911T (98.5 %). Physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics of the strain further supported its affiliation to the genus Saccharothrix. The whole-cell sugars contained galactose, ribose and mannose. The polar lipids contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylinositol mannoside. The predominant menaquinones were MK-9(H0), MK-9(H2), MK-9(H4) and MK-10(H4). The major fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, C16 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0. The genomic DNA G+C content was 71.8 mol%. The levels of digital DNA-DNA hybridization between isolate and S. carnea NEAU-yn17T, S. saharensis SA152T and S. texasensis DSM 44231T were 40.1 % (37.6-42.6 %), 38.soap8 % (36.3-41.3 %) and 44.8 % (42.2-47.3 %) and the ANI values between them were determined to be 90.2, 89.8 and 91.7 %, the results indicated that strain NEAU-S10T could be distinguished from its reference strains. The assembled genome sequence of strain NEAU-S10T was found to be 10 305 394 bp long. The NCBI Prokaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline (PGAP) revealed 8 994 protein-coding genes. Genomic analysis and Congo red staining test indicated that strain NEAU-S10T had the potential to degrade cellulose. The genomic and phenotypic results indicate that strain NEAU-S10T represents a novel species of the genus Saccharothrix, for which the name Saccharothrix luteola sp. nov. is proposed, with NEAU-S10T (=CCTCC AA 2020037T=JCM 34800T) as the type strain.