Influence Of Land Management Practices Research Articles

Copper distribution in European topsoils: An assessment based on LUCAS soil survey

Copper (Cu) distribution in soil is influenced by climatic, geological and pedological factors. Apart from geological sources and industrial pollution, other anthropogenic sources, related to the agricultural activity, may increase copper levels in soils, especially in permanent crops such as olive groves and vineyards. This study uses 21,682 soil samples from the LUCAS topsoil survey to investigate copper distribution in the soils of 25 European Union (EU) Member States.Generalized Linear Models (GLM) were used to investigate the factors driving copper distribution in EU soils. Regression analysis shows the importance of topsoil properties, land cover and climate in estimating Cu concentration. Meanwhile, a copper regression model confirms our hypothesis that different agricultural management practices have a relevant influence on Cu concentration. Besides the traditional use of copper as a fungicide for treatments in several permanent crops, the combined effect of soil properties such as high pH, soil organic carbon and clay, with humid and wet climatic conditions favours copper accumulation in soils of vineyards and tree crops. Compared to the overall average Cu concentration of 16.85 mg kg−1, vineyards have the highest mean soil Cu concentration (49.26 mg kg−1) of all land use categories, followed by olive groves and orchards.Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) combined with kriging were used to map copper concentration in topsoils and to evidence the presence of outliers. GPR proved to be performant in predicting Cu concentration, especially in combination with kriging, accounting for 66% of Cu deviance. The derived maps are novel as they include information about the importance of topsoil properties in the copper mapping process, thus improving its accuracy. Both models highlight the influence of land management practices in copper concentration and the strong correlation between topsoil copper and vineyards.

Characterizing instability of aeolian environments using analytical reasoning

AbstractThis short communication describes the development and application of analytical reasoning to quantify instability of an aeolian environment using scale‐dependent information coupled with conceptual knowledge of process and feedback mechanisms. Specifically, a simple Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) for aeolian landscape instability was developed that represents conceptual knowledge of key biophysical processes and feedbacks. Model inputs include satellite‐derived surface biophysical and geomorphometric parameters. FCMs are a knowledge‐based artificial intelligence (AI) technique that merges fuzzy logic and neural computing in which knowledge or concepts are structured as a web of relationships that is similar to both human reasoning and the human decision‐making process. Given simple process–form relationships, the analytical reasoning model is able to map the influence of land management practices and the geomorphology of the inherited surface on aeolian instability within the South Texas Sand Sheet. Results suggest that FCMs can be used to formalize process–form relationships and information integration analogous to human cognition with future iterations accounting for the spatial interactions and temporal lags across the sand sheets. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Light fraction of organic matter under different land management systems in a Nigerian derived savanna soil

This study determined the influence of land management practices on the light fraction of soil organic matter in a derived savanna ecosystem. Soil samples were collected from Tectona grandis, Eucalyptus camadulensis, Musa paradisiaca plantations and the Natural forest in the Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR) farm, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Soil samples were collected randomly under each land practices at 0-10 cm and 10-15 cm depths. Microbial identification, total heterotrophic (THC), light fraction organic matter (LFOM) were determined. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and correlation analysis, means were separated using Duncan Multiple range Test. Actinomycetes, Bacillus enterobacter, Staphylococcus, Flavobacterium, Escherichia coli, Serratia, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium spp, Penicillum spp and Aspergillus flavis were identified in the four land management practices. Significantly (P<0.05) highest THC was observed in the Musa paradisiaca plantation while Euclayptus had the least. Significantly (p<0.05) higher LFOM was observed in plantain and teak plantation. There was positive correlation between THC and LFOM. Conclusive, the study revealed that light fraction contents provide a sensitive and reasonably precise measure of organic matter indices. © 2013 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: light fraction, organic matter, management system, derived savanna.

Erosão Costeira em Vilankulos

This study intends to be a contribution for identifying areas vulnerable to erosion. In a methodological aspect it includes the use of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) to assess the relative importance of factors that act in the process of coastal erosion in the district of Vilankulo, from data obtained in the field. The influence of land management practices, vegetation cover, rainfall erosivity R-and S-slope of the land was determined by calculating the coefficient of determination - R2 using data from ten places of occurrence of erosion. Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to classify and map the areas of erosion. Marginal Street and the districts of Desse and Chibuene are the most vulnerable areas to erosion and they are currently marked by ravines increasingly evident. The worsening of erosion can be explained by factors related to particular land management practices, levels of cover and rainfall erosivity. For explanation of the phenomenon of erosion in the area of this study it seems important to consider in subsequent studies, climate-related aspects of costal areas.