Some major developments in soil science since the mid-1960s

Although the science of soil was established about 150 years ago with the modern soil science taking off after the Second World War, the new Millennium has brought other challenges and new opportunities. Rapidly increasing population in countries that can least afford it have made them food-insecure. With inadequate inputs in agriculture, developing countries are degrading their lands rapidly and destroying ecosystems. Affluence in the richer countries has precipitated other problems hampering ecosystem functions and quality of land resources. These changing conditions have placed new demands on both the society and the soil science community. The latter has resulted in new areas of soil sub-disciplines such as land and soil quality, land degradation and desertification, cycling of bio-geochemicals, soil pollution assessment and monitoring etc. Advances in information technology have also enabled the science to meet the new demands of the enviro-centric world. In the last decade, noticeable changes are evident in methods and research priorities in the discipline. Soil resource assessment and monitoring is entering a new era, in terms of quality of information produced by new information technologies through the innovative use of Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing and significantly improving the acceptance and use of soil survey information. Electronic technology has dramatically increased the demand for and ability to process more data. Other innovations have resulted in quantitative approaches in soil genetic studies and demonstrated the integral role of soils in ecosystems. For global and regional resource assessment, concepts and procedures were refined. The World Reference Base for soil classification and the Global Soil and Terrain Database are the first steps towards standardisation and a more detailed assessment of global soils. The global assessment of human-induced land degradation and vulnerability to desertification are benchmark products of the databases. Environmental pollution and its effects on human and ecosystem health have become public concerns and soil science has contributed to localising, quantifying, and developing mitigation technologies to address the problems. The challenges of climate change and the charge to maintain ecological integrity have been met with technologies such as conservation tillage, agroforestry, precision agriculture etc. New concepts such as multi-functionality of land, soil quality, sustainability of agriculture and carbon sequestration, have emerged leading to new management strategies and an enhanced quality of life.     

基于多光谱遥感图像的青海湖流域土壤有机质估算初探

土壤有机质是土壤固相部分的重要组成成分,也是陆地表层重要的碳库,其含量的快速、准确测定关乎农牧业生产活动安排与地表过程研究中关键参数的获取效率。为了探寻适合青藏高原高寒地区土壤有机质遥感反演的响应波段及遥感模型,实现区域像元尺度上的土壤表层有机质估算,本文利用Landsat8-OLI多光谱遥感数据与实地采样数据对青海湖流域表层(0～20 cm)土壤进行了有机质含量反演研究。结果表明:Landsat8-OLI影像的第5、6和7波段是青海湖流域土壤有机质含量的特征波段,基于这3个波段构建的土壤有机质遥感反演三元回归模型(R~2=0.704,P0.001),经实测点验证(RMSE=8.66)与相关文献研究结果验证(RMSE=8.85),精度高、稳定性强、预测趋势平稳。本研究不仅为高寒地区土壤有机质含量快速测定提供了一定的技术支持,也为高寒地区的碳库计算、土壤肥力评价、土壤碳循环、农作物估产、草地退化监测等提供了参考。     

多样化种植对提升耕地质量的作用：进展与展望

多样化种植是现代生态农业的重要举措之一,对提高生物多样性、生态服务功能和土壤质量等具有重要意义。在全球粮食供给紧张和耕地短缺背景下,多样化种植在提升我国耕地质量和保障粮食安全中将会发挥越来越重要的作用。但现有研究对多样化种植的理解多集中在提高生物多样性和发挥生态功能等方面,对其提升耕地质量的作用关注较少,特别是多样化种植如何通过改善土壤物理、化学、生物多样性来提高耕地质量和维持土壤健康方面的理解还较为局限。本文在总结多样化种植的内涵及对促进耕地土壤健康和提高生态服务功能作用的基础上,系统梳理了多样化种植对改善土壤物理、化学、生物多样性等方面的作用研究进展,展望了未来以提升耕地质量为核心发展多样化种植亟需关注的方向和研究重点,以期为多样化种植在我国耕地质量提升策略中发挥更大作用提供参考。     

基于SI-Albedo特征空间的干旱区盐渍化土壤信息提取研究——以克里雅河流域绿洲为例

选取塔里木南缘克里雅河流域绿洲为研究靶区,利用Landsat-ETM+卫星图像数据和野外调查数据分析盐渍化土壤与地表反照率(Albedo)、土壤盐分指数(SI)之间的关系。回归分析发现,盐渍化土壤在SI-Albedo特征空间分布具有显著规律,即非盐渍化土壤呈团状分布;轻、中度盐渍化土壤具有线性分布特征;非盐渍化土壤与轻度盐渍化土壤分异明显。结合分异规律,编制分类算法模型,得到研究区盐渍化土壤信息提取结果,并与传统监督最大似然分类法结果进行对比分析。结果表明,在SI-Albedo特征空间中定量快速提取盐渍化土壤信息的总体效果较好,对准确且自动提取干旱区盐渍化土壤信息以及区域尺度盐渍化遥感监测研究具有重要意义。     

Hydrolytic enzyme activities in agricultural and forest soils. Some implications for their use as indicators of soil quality

Although a great deal of information exists about the effect of land use on soil enzyme activities, much of this is contradictory and brings into question the suitability of soil enzyme activities as indicators of how land use affects soil quality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of land use on different soil biochemical properties, especially hydrolytic enzyme activities, with the aim of providing knowledge about the problems related to the use of enzymes as indicators of soil quality. The data presented derive from various studies in which a large number of soils under different types of forest or agricultural management were analysed by the same methods. All of the soil samples were characterized in terms of their main physical and chemical properties, the activity of several hydrolases, microbial biomass C and soil basal respiration. The results indicate that soil use causes a large reduction in organic matter content and that the effect on enzyme activity varies depending on the type of land use or management and the type of enzyme. Furthermore, the enzyme activities per carbon unit (specific activities) in soils affected by land use are almost always higher than in maximum quality soils (climax soils under oak vegetation or oak soils), and land use also generates greater increases in the specific activity as the C content decreases. The mechanism responsible for these increases probably involves loss of the most labile organic matter. Enzyme enrichment is not always produced to the same degree, as it varies as a function of the enzyme and the type of land use under consideration. It is concluded that the complexity of the behaviour of the soil enzymes raises doubts about the use of enzyme activities as indicators of soil degradation brought about by land use.     

农田土壤健康评价体系构建的若干思考

健康土壤是保障粮食安全、耕地产能提升和农业高质量发展的基础。目前土壤健康评价已成为全球土壤学领域研究的焦点和热点,国内外学者对于土壤健康评价方法及指标的选择进行了系统总结,然而缺乏具体评价过程中的实操性建议。本文重点剖析了土壤健康的特点与多功能性、评价的通用原则、指标选择的n+X模式及评价方法的选择与落地实现,提出了土壤健康差与基准值、基础指标和约束性指标的选择及指标选择的制宜性,明确了土壤健康指标体系建立需要考虑土壤质地、作物类型、土地利用方式、气候条件等因素,建议土壤健康技术和模式落地实现需要与相关政策结合。未来需要继续开展土壤健康驱动机制和健康土壤培育机理研究;基于长期定位试验和耕地质量长期监测网点,构建基于土壤质地、作物类型、土地利用、管理目标和评价尺度的指标体系和阈值、数据库和决策支持系统;结合相关政策和区域环境的约束性,形成跨区域、跨国家的共识、公约和行动,推动全球土壤健康行动落地和农业可持续发展。     

Soil erosion: An important indicator for the assessment of land degradation neutrality in Russia

This review of soil erosion (SE) studies in Russia focuses on two main tasks: (i) ensuring the completeness and reliability of SE data in Russia, a large country (17.1 million km²) with a variety of natural and socio-economic causes of land degradation, (ii) assessing the possibility of including a SE indicator among the indicators of land degradation neutrality (LDN). A wide range of statistical, remote sensing, mathematical modeling data, the results of scientific and field studies obtained at different levels were analyzed. It is asserted that in Russia the total area of eroded lands and those under erosion risk occupy more than 50% of all agricultural lands, whereas soil fertility of croplands decreased in Soviet time (from 1950s to 1980s) by 30–60% only due to water erosion. However, recent scientific studies indicate a decrease in erosion rate and in the area of eroded land during the last 30–40 years as a result of abandonment of arable land and subsequent overgrown with natural vegetation. The climate change resulting in decrease of the depth of soil freezing, flow of spring runoff also adds to the decrease of soil erosion. The SE indicator was suggested as an important complement to three global LDN indicators. At national and subnational level, it can be interpreted through such indices as “Rate of soil loss” (ton ha-1 yr-1) and “Total soil loss” (1000 tons, in certain area during selected time period). At local level the set of indices can be wider and site-specific, including those obtained through remote sensing data by using the classifier of thematic applications of remote sensing technologies; the example was tested at the local site.     

Soil properties characterization for land-use planning and soil management in watersheds under family farming

Environmental monitoring of small, rural watersheds was one of the components of the Natural Resources Management and Rural Poverty Alleviation Program (RS-Rural) in southern Brazil. The purpose of the monitoring was to assess the impact of promoting soil conservation and environment management practices adopted by farmers and funded by the Program. In four small monitored watersheds, in a total of 95 plots representing distinct land use and soil management, surface soil was collected to characterize ground-zero of the Program by determining several soil physical, chemical and microbiological properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) shows soil physical, chemical and biological properties were decisive in defining the agricultural soils in the rural watersheds with family farming. The sensitivity to chemical properties provides an opportunity to improve soil quality if soil management focuses on altering those properties. Soil management practiced by tobacco farmers leads to rapid, intense degradation of some natural soil properties, especially those related to the dynamics of soil organic matter, compared with more conservationist uses (forest, regrowth, and grassland). Thus, soil management must be reoriented to avoid the progress of degradation and recover soil physical and biological quality. Cover crops and by land-abandonment to allow natural vegetation are important management strategies for the degraded soils used for tobacco production, increasing soil organic matter, nutrients and microbial activity and thus allowing further crop production. In conclusion, watersheds with tobacco cropping have soils with lower quality than when under no-tillage grain production, requiring changes in land use and soil management.     

水土流失区生态变化的遥感评估

水土流失是世界面临的一个严峻问题,它已给全球的生态造成了严重的威胁,及时快速地监测水土流失区的生态变化已显得尤为重要。为此,该文提出遥感生态指数(RSEI)来监测水土流失区的生态变化。该指数选取了绿度、湿度、热度和干度作为四大生态指标,并分别以遥感植被指数、湿度分量、地表温度和土壤-建筑指数为代表。同时采用主成分变换技术来集成各个指标,使各指标的权重是由数据本身的性质来决定,而不是人为的设定。将RSEI应用于福建长汀水土流失区的结果表明,RSEI指数可以定量地评价水土流失区生态修复的效果。数据显示,该区经过20多年的水土流失治理,RSEI生态指数值上升了17%,生态为优良的等级所占的面积比例从33.9%上升到52.3%,总体反映了该区的生态质量有了较明显的提高。     

基于GIS和土地质量地球化学数据的水稻种植适宜性评价——以安徽省青阳县为例

为加快安徽省青阳县的高标准基本农田建设,开展更加精准的水稻种植适宜性评价,本文根据研究区土地质量地球化学数据和当地水稻对生长环境的需求,通过层次分析法（AHP）把水稻种植适宜性评价作为目标层,把影响目标层的立地条件、理化性质、土壤质量、土地管理作为准则层,再把影响准则层中各因素的项目作为指标层,确定研究区水稻种植适宜性评价的层次模型,构建了包括土壤养分、土壤环境、土壤质地、有机质、排水和灌溉能力等在内共计12项指标的评价体系。以研究区二调图斑为评价单元,根据数字高程模型（DEM）数据获取精准的田面坡度数据,同时结合GIS空间分析技术对地球化学数据进行空间插值模拟。利用特尔菲法（Delphi）获取各指标隶属度并构建判断矩阵,使用MATLAB数学软件求出各指标的权重,计算获取水稻种植适宜性综合指数（RSI）,进行适宜性评价。结果显示：“高度适宜”面积为36.89 km²,占基本农田总面积的19.80%,主要分布在研究区中部及南部地区;“适宜”和“勉强适宜”面积分别为61.95 km²和60.89 km²,分别占33.25%和32.68%,分散分布;“不适宜”面积约26.60 km²,占比14.27%,主要位于研究区中部及北部地区。利用实测水稻籽实Cd含量与该评价方法得到的水稻种植适宜性综合指数（RSI）进行分析,发现两者呈显著负相关,随着RSI的增长,水稻籽实中Cd含量逐渐降低,意味着水稻品质的提高,同时也减少了可能通过食物链对生态环境造成的危害。该结果从生态安全方面证明此评价方法的正确性和适用性。本文探讨了土地质量地球化学数据所反映的水稻生产问题,改善了以往农业种植适宜性评价工作中大量使用描述性指标和指标分级模糊不清所导致的主观性较大和评价方法不易推广等问题,不仅为作物种植适宜性评价提供了新的方法,而且为生态农业发展指明了方向。     

耕地土壤健康及其评价探讨

开展面向耕地的土壤健康评价,对保障我国粮食安全和生态文明建设具有紧迫的现实意义。针对相关研究中土壤健康概念抽象、评价尺度杂糅等普遍性问题,及欧美主流技术路线中的局限性,文章从概念解构的视角进行了探讨,提出研究框架,以期为我国耕地土壤健康评价工作提供参考。首先,通过构建基于土壤功能与胁迫的土壤健康观,从理论方面将耕地土壤健康解构为初级生产力、水净化与调节、碳封存与调节、生物多样性供给、养分供给与循环等5类土壤功能,探讨了耕地土壤健康管护理念;然后,基于土地评价的一般性原则,从实践角度对耕地土壤健康进行了尺度划分,识别了田块、县域、省域和国家等4级尺度的耕地土壤健康管护目标。由此,提出了以表征耕地土壤功能与重金属胁迫为核心的耕地土壤健康评价全流程研究框架。然而,如何定义并量化耕地(旱地、水浇地和水田)土壤健康状况与土壤功能的供需关系,科学应用土壤功能评价指标与表征方法,以实现从土壤功能与胁迫到耕地土壤健康的表达,仍是重难点,值得重点关注和进一步研究。     

黄土区坡地和坝地土壤电阻率分布特征及应用

土壤水分的准确高效测定是土壤水文学研究的重要基础,以土壤电学性质为基础的电阻率成像法(ERT)为土壤水分信息获取提供了新的技术手段.为探究E RT在黄土区土壤水文过程研究中的可行性,利用高密度电法仪测定了陕北六道沟小流域典型坡地和坝地剖面土壤电阻率(ρ),分析了不同土地利用方式下ρ二维分布特征,探讨了E RT在黄土区土...     

九龙江流域生态需水量时空变化趋势分析

为了维持和保护流域生态系统健康,避免流域生态环境退化,进行流域生态需水量的确定和研究是有必要的。根据九龙江2000—2018年2个水文站实测数据,结合Tennant法确定河道内生态基流,选择面积定额法,利用流域内土壤质地分布状况,以及基于遥感开发的MCD12Q1土地利用产品和MOD16A2蒸散发产品估算植被生态需水量,并对区域生态环境需水量进行时间变化趋势分析和空间分布分析。结果表明：(1)在2000—2018年,九龙江流域有林地、草地面积整体呈现增加趋势,农田、疏林地面积呈现下降趋势;(2)九龙江流域内北溪、西溪河道内多年平均生态需水量分别为22.68亿m³,10.67亿m³,植被多年平均生态需水量为105.27亿m³;(3)有林地、草地的生态需水量呈显著上升趋势,疏林地、农田生态需水量呈下降趋势,前者显著,后者不显著。受人类活动影响,九龙江流域土地覆盖/利用类型年际变化剧烈,因此在区域生态需水量变化中其作用不可忽略,随着遥感/GIS技术的发展,对土地覆盖/利用类型以及植被蒸发量的高时空分辨率观测变得可能,有助于准确预...     

贵州中部岩溶丘陵区不同土地利用和管理方式对土壤肥力的影响

本文研究了黔中岩溶丘陵区几种不同士地利用和管理方式下土壤物理、化学和生物学性状的特征。结果表明,农林(林草)复合利用模式在土壤粒级组成、孔隙分布、持水性能、有机质和N、P养分、酶活性等方面表现出较好的肥力性状特征,有机无机肥配施、精细管理的灌溉农田次之,而粗放管理的旱坡耕地,土壤肥力性状严重恶化,逐步向石漠化景观演变。不同土地利用方式和管理措施显著影响土地肥力变化的程度和方向,调整土地利用结构,实行基本农田精细管理、陡坡耕地退耕还林(革)是保护土地资源,实现区域生态重建和农业可持续发展的根本途径。     

Framework for participatory assessments and implementation of global environmental conventions at the community level

Participation by local communities in the assessment and monitoring of efforts to implement global environmental conventions (GECs), such as Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), is a topic of growing interest worldwide. Previous implementation efforts were constrained by the lack of a methodological framework that integrates local knowledge and ecological methods. This study, conducted with assistance from Maasai herders in northern Tanzania, evaluated a socio‐economic and ecological framework for integrating local communities into assessments of the GECs. To reach decisions related to CBD, herders used livestock grazing suitability (GS) and proxy indicators of biodiversity, while to reach decisions related to CCD herders used potential grazing capacity (PGC) related to the risk of degradation. We proposed criteria for indicator selection and developed step‐wise research methods to assess performance of the indicators at spatial scales. The ecological and anthropogenic indicators were then analysed using a correlation matrix to evaluate management decisions. We showed that changes in ecological indicators influenced herder decisions. The anthropogenic indicators for potential were more sensitive to changes in soil degradation, range conditions and trends; while the decisions related to GS were more sensitive to the majority of the proxy indicators of biodiversity. The decisions reflected the potential responses to management, which had implications for CBD and CCD. Because decisions constitute a multiplicity of activities, the responses by local communities could be related to the potential role played by each indicator in the implementation of the convention at the local level. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于表观热惯量的土壤水分监测

土壤水分含量是监测农业干旱的重要指标, 遥感法是大面积监测土壤水分时空特征的主要方法, 热惯量法是遥感方法监测土壤水分的主要研究手段之一。本文提出了一个改进的表观热惯量模型计算表观热惯量, 并通过地面验证试验对该模型的适用性进行了分析。在中国科学院栾城农业生态系统试验站, 通过严格的控制试验, 设计了10 个不同植被覆盖、不同土壤水分含量的试验小区, 针对表观热惯量的适用条件, 利用实测的地表温度、植被指数、反照率、太阳辐射等参数计算了不同植被覆盖不同土壤水分含量下的表观热惯量,并与土壤体积含水量进行了相关和回归分析。结果表明: 在植被覆盖度较低情况下[归一化植被指数(normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI)<0.35], 表观热惯量法具有较好的效果, 表观热惯量与土壤体积含水量之间的相关系数大于0.7, 通过了95%的显著性检验, 两者具有很高的相关性, 可以用热惯量法监测土壤水分状况; 在较高植被覆盖情况下(NDVI>0.35), 表观热惯量与土壤体积含水量之间没有相关性, 热惯量法监测土壤水分失效; NDVI 为0.35 可以作为热惯量法监测土壤水分状况是否可行的判断条件。     

Spatial aggregation of soil property predictions in support of local land management

Over the past decades, numerous practical applications of Digital Soil Mapping have emerged to respond to the need of land managers. One important contribution to this effort is the release of regional‐scale soil maps from the GlobalSoilMap (GSM) project. While the GSM project aims at producing soil property predictions on a fine 90 × 90 m grid at the global scale, land managers often require aggregated information over larger areas of interest (e.g. farms, watersheds, municipalities). This study evaluated a geostatistical procedure aiming at aggregating GSM grids to a land management scale, thereby providing land suitability maps with associated uncertainty for the French region ‘Languedoc‐Roussillon’ (27 236 km²). Specifically, maps were derived from three GSM prediction grids (pH, organic carbon and clay content) by calculating the proportion of ‘suitable’ agricultural land within a municipality, where suitability was defined as having soil property values below or above a predefined threshold (pH < 5.5, OC < 10 g/kg, clay > 375 g/kg). Calculation of these nonlinear spatial aggregates and the associated uncertainty involved a three‐step approach: (i) sampling from the conditional probability distributions of the soil properties at all grid cells by means of sequential Gaussian simulation applied to a regression kriging model, (ii) transformation of soil properties to suitability indicators for all grid cell samples generated in the first step and (iii) spatial aggregation of the suitability indicators from grid cells to municipalities. The maps produced show large differences between municipality areas for all three land suitability indicators. The uncertainties associated with the aggregated suitability indicators were moderate. This approach demonstrated that fine‐scale GSM products may also fulfil user demands at coarser land management scales, without jeopardizing uncertainty quantification requirements.     

土壤酶学硏究进展

土壤酶学是研究土壤酶活性及其相关特性的科学,是一门介于土壤生物学和生物化学之间的边缘交叉学科。土壤酶在土壤生态系统的物质循环和能量流动方面具有主要的作用。本文综述了土壤酶学发展简史、土壤酶的来源、分类、功能及分布特征等,总结了土壤理化性质、施肥、放牧、土壤微生物、施用稀土元素、草地生长年限、不同土地利用和耕作方式及其他因素对土壤酶活性的影响,对于加深理解生态系统中的物质循环、土壤酶的生态重要性以及土壤生态系统退化机理有重要作用。最后,结合本项目组的研究对土壤酶学的研究前景进行了展望。     

GISQ, a multifunctional indicator of soil quality

We present here an indicator of soil quality that evaluates soil ecosystem services through a set of 5 subindicators, and further combines them into a single general Indicator of Soil Quality (GISQ). We used information derived from 54 properties commonly used to describe the multifaceted aspects of soil quality. The design and calculation of the indicators were based on sequences of multivariate analyses. Subindicators evaluated the physical quality, chemical fertility, organic matter stocks, aggregation and morphology of the upper 5 cm of soil and the biodiversity of soil macrofauna. A GISQ combined the different subindicators providing a global assessment of soil quality.Research was conducted in two hillside regions of Colombia and Nicaragua, with similar types of land use and socio-economic context. However, soil and climatic conditions differed significantly. In Nicaragua, soil quality was assessed at 61 points regularly distributed 200 m apart on a regular grid across the landscape. In Colombia, 8 plots representing different types of land use were arbitrarily chosen in the landscape and intensively sampled. Indicators that were designed in the Nicaragua site were further applied to the Colombian site to test for their applicability.In Nicaragua, coffee plantations, fallows, pastures and forest had the highest values of GISQ (1.00; 0.80; 0.78 and 0.77, respectively) while maize crops and eroded soils (0.19 and 0.10) had the lowest values. Examination of subindicator values allowed the separate evaluation of different aspects of soil quality: subindicators of organic matter, aggregation and morphology and biodiversity of macrofauna had the maximum values in coffee plantations (0.89; 0.72 and 0.56, respectively on average) while eroded soils had the lowest values for these indicators (0.10; 0.31 and 0.33, respectively).Indicator formulae derived from information gained at the Nicaraguan sites were not applicable to the Colombian situation and site-specific constants were calculated.This indicator allows the evaluation of soil quality and facilitates the identification of problem areas through the individual values of each subindicator. It allows monitoring of change through time and can guide the implementation of soil restoration technologies. Although GISQ formulae computed on a set of data were only valid at a regional scale, the methodology used to create these indices can be applied everywhere.