Soil physico-chemical,mineralogical, and micromorphological changes due to desertification processes in Yazd region,Iran

Nine pedons and 30 surface samples were taken, described, and analyzed to investigate the effect of desertification on soil quality indices, mineralogical, and micromorphological properties of three regions (desert, semi-desert, non-desert) in central Iran. The results showed that moving from a non-desert to a desert area decreased soil quality indices such as organic matter (from 0.5% to 0.2 %) and microbial respiration (from 1.59 to 0.11 mgCO₂ g^?1 soil). By contrast, increases were recorded for bulk density (1.2 to 1.9 Mg m^?3) and soil salinity (5 to 19 dS m^?1). Soil in the non-desert area had a sandy texture that led to good drainage conditions, while soil in the desert area had a clayey texture that led to poor drainage conditions. The mineralogical assemblage of the soil was approximately the same for all the three areas, with illite and chlorite being the main minerals. Kaolinite and smectite were present in lower concentrations. The micromorphological evidence showed that the main microstructure of the non-desert region was granular, probably because of the higher organic matter content in this area. In the desert region, platy structure was abundant. Overall, a more thorough perception of the desertification process was gained by studying its impact on soil properties.     

Micromorphology of a clayey Bs horizon in an ash-derived podzolic soil from shimokita peninsula in northeastern Japan

It is well known that most developed Podzols or Spodosols occur on coarse- textured materials with a low content of weatherable minerals (Duchaufour 1977; McKeague et al 1983). In the Podzols derived from such parent material*. the th and/or Bhs horizons show definite evidence of illuviation characterized by continuous cementation, presence of cracked coatings on sand grains, and/or distinct dark pellets, These features were, therefore, adopted as the morphological criteria for spodic horizons in the Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Stalt 1975). The problem is to determine whether such criteria can be applied to Podzolic soils derived from volcanic ash which consists of fine, weatherable minerals.     

Shape and intraporosity of topsoil aggregates under maquis and pasture in the Mediteranean region

The clearing of Mediterranean maquis along with the creation of new pasture land has been an important factor of soil and land degradation in the Mediterranean region. The present research compared soil aggregates and their intraporosity in paired pasture/maquis plots in central E Sardinia (Italy), to study the impact of land use change on soil structure. Undisturbed surface horizons were sampled for thin‐section analysis. Aggregate shape was compared and intraporosity was studied for representative aggregates at different depths. Furthermore, the interaction of root activity and grazing under pasture and maquis cover was discussed. The outcomes revealed a complex interplay of trampling and root activity effects. A decrease (–44%) in total voids (regular pores), along with higher aggregate regularity, was observed under pasture in the 0–2 cm layer, and an increase (+261%) in 50–100 μm planar (elongated) pores was determined in the 2–4 cm layer, suggesting a possible surface compaction due to trampling and an increased subsurface fine root activity by the grassland vegetation.     

类似但成土因素不同的土壤：巴西始成土的趋同演变

Soils result from the interaction of five independent formation factors.If one factor varies,while the others remain constant,different soils can be produced.Herein,we demonstrated an opposing trend,wherein two soils were similar,despite considerable differences in all factors of soil formation.We sampled two Inceptisols (Oxic Dystrudepts) formed on different parent materials (gneiss vs.mica schist),climate (tropical altimontane vs.warmer,drier plateau),topography (1 650 m,45％ slope vs.1000 m,8％ slope),time (rejuvenated vs.old,stable surface),and vegetation (rainforest vs.Cerrado savanna).The two soils had similar chemical properties,whereas the soil on mica schist had finer particle size distribution,lower porosity,and lower saturated hydraulic conductivity.These properties were related to a coarser blocky microstructure compared to the soil on gneiss.Both soils presented active mineral weathering and pronounced pedoplasmation,demonstrated by clay contents ＞ 300 g kg-1,although only the Dystrudept on gneiss possessed coarse rock fragments.The C horizons of both soils presented fragmented clay coatings suggestive of argilluviation,likely relict,because they were not observed in the B horizons.The similarities in many properties of the two Dystrudepts,despite contrasting factors of soil formation,suggest converging evolution and that soil classification at the subgroup level was efficient in grouping similar formative processes in tropical conditions.Moreover,this work revealed that similar pedogenic processes acting on different factors of soil formation can result in similar soil properties,at least for Inceptisols where further soil development is hindered by topographic limitations.     

Micromorphology of periglacial sediments from the Tayara site,Qikirtaq Island,Nunavik (Canada)

Soil micromorphology provides an excellent resource for investigating Palaeoeskimo site-formation processes in the low arctic periglacial environment. In this study, micromorphology was used to answer questions concerning the composition, structure, origin and depositional agencies of the Tayara site active layer's sediments as well as to distinguish between natural (geogenic, biopedogenic) and cultural (anthropogenic) processes. Five groups of microfeatures were documented. These include 1) biopedological features (soil organic matter accumulation, mesofaunal and fungal activities), 2) transport-inherited features related to depositional processes (solifluction and stream sedimentation), 3) frost-induced microstructures and cryogenic features such as major post-depositional changes (ice-segregation, particle rearrangement, frost shattering, cryoturbation), 4) bone preservation in the active layer at the microscopic level, and 5) anthropogenic features related to Palaeoeskimo activities. The sediments from the three archaeological levels (I, IA and II) appear to have been very little influenced by anthropogenic factors. Cultural processes are micromorphologically observed in level II, with some evidence of feeding (bone presence), burning (wood charcoal, heated bone), and possibly trampling. However, the effects of natural processes on the sediments are more pronounced than anthropogenic ones.     

Dairy Cattle Manure Effects on Soil Quality: Porosity,Earthworms, Aggregates and Soil Organic Carbon Fractions

In the European Union, the maintenance of soil quality is a key point in agricultural policy. The effect of additions of dairy cattle (Bos taurus) manure (DCM) during a period of 11 years were evaluated in a soil under irrigated maize (Zea mays L.) monoculture. DCM was applied at sowing, at wet‐weight rates of 30 or 60 Mg ha⁻¹yr⁻¹ (30DCM or 60DCM). These were compared with a mineral‐N treatment (300 kg N ha⁻¹, MNF), applied at six to eight emerged leaves and with a control (no N, no manure). Treatments were distributed in a randomized block design. Factors analysed were stability against wetting stress disaggregation, porosity, soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions and earthworm abundance, studied eight months after the last manure application. The application rate of 30DCM increased aggregate stability and the light SOC fraction, but not the pore volume, nor the earthworm abundance, compared with MNF. The DCM rates did not result in unbalanced agronomic advantages versus MNF, as high yields (12–16 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) were obtained. In Mediterranean environments, the use of DCM should be encouraged mainly because of its contribution to the light SOC fraction which protects dry macro‐aggregates from implosion (slaking) during the wetting process. Thus, in intensive agricultural systems, it protects soil from physical degradation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biological influences on the morphology and micromorphology of selected Podzols (Spodosols) and Cambisols (Inceptisols) from the eastern United States and north-east Scotland

Biological activities greatly influence the formation of many soils, especially forest soils under cool humid climates. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of vegetation and soil biota on the formation of selected soils. Field morphology, micromorphology, and carbon and organic matter analysis were determined on six Podzols (Spodosols) and two Cambisols (Inceptisols) from the eastern United States and north-east Scotland. Humification of plant material by soil fauna and fungi occurs in all organic horizons. Thick organic coatings are observed on soil peds and rock fragments from the E1 to the Bs horizon in a Haplic Podzol from Clingmans Dome Mt., TN. Thin sections reveal large accumulations of root material in different stages of decomposition in the spodic horizons of a Haplic Podzol from Whiteface Mt., NY. Organic carbon ranges from 5.4 to 8.5% in the spodic B horizons of the Whiteface Mt. Podzol. Earthworms and enchytraeids have a great effect on the structure of the surface and subsurface horizons in the Dystric Cambisols from Huntly and Clashindarroch Forests, Scotland and a Cambic Podzol from the Corrie Burn Basin, Scotland. Podzols from Speymouth Forest, Scotland (Gleyic Podzol), Clingmans Dome Mt., and Whiteface Mt. have thick organic horizons. The Podzols from the Flatwoods in Georgia, the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, the Corrie Burn Basin, and the Cambisol from Huntly Forest have only A horizons at the surface. The Clashindarroch Forest soil has a very thin organic horizon. Warm and humid climates and sandy parent material are responsible for thick E horizons and lack of thick organic horizons in the Flatwoods (Carbic Podzol) and Pine Barrens (Ferric Podzol) soils. Earthworms and enchytraeids thrive in the Corrie Burn Basin and Huntly Forest soils due to the vegetation and the highly weathered basic parent material. The site at Clashindarroch once carried oak, and then birch forest, both of which produce a mild litter and also encourage earthworm and enchytraeids. This fauna is responsible for much mixing of the topsoil. The present conifer vegetation will eventually produce a deep litter and cause podzolization.     

Pedosedimentary and climatic reconstruction of the last interglacial and early glacial loess–paleosol sequence in South Tadzhikistan

The thick loess–paleosol-sequences in Tadzhikistan, which indirectly record the environmental changes from the Upper Pliocene to the present-day, have been extensively described from a chronostratigraphical and archaeological point of view. The genesis of the soil-sedimentary complexes and their implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in Tadzhikistan, however, have been considered only relatively recently [Bronger, A., Winter, R., Derevjanko, O., Aldag, S., 1993. Loess–paleosol sequences in Tadjikistan as a palaeoclimatic record of the Quaternary in Central Asia. Quaternary Proceedings 4, 69–81; Lomov, S.P., Tursina, T.V., Zhou, L.P., 1996. Magnetic susceptibility of soils: Micromorphology and possible reconstructions of climate. In: Soil micromorphology. Studies in Soil Diversity, Diagnostics, Dynamics, 10th International Working Meeting on Soil Micromorphology. Moscow, Russia, July 8–13, 1996, p. 145]. The pedocomplex of Last Interglacial and Early Glacial age (Oxygen Isotope Stage 5) in the Tagidjar and Darai Kalon sections near the town of Khovaling is represented by three major stages of soil formation. The soil characteristics have been micromorphologically analysed. The distinction between primary and secondary carbonates is of major importance to understand the soil forming processes. The relative distribution of needle fibre calcite (NFC), micritic infillings (M), hypocoatings (CHC), coarse calcitic grains (CCG) and calcified root cells (CRC) provides detailed insights into the environmental conditions prior, during and following pedogenesis. The abundance of coprolitic aggregates (CA) and pupal chambers gives a clear indication of the rate of biological activity which prevailed during the last two soil forming stages. Void pseudomorphs after gypsum crystals (gypsum pseudomorphs) are frequently observed beneath the Cca horizons of the paleosols. Using the present-day climate and soilscape as a reference base, the obtained pedosedimentary events detected in the Tadzhikistan sections provide a detailed palaeoenvironmental record. Indeed, glacial and interglacial climates and soils respond to contemporaneous climatic schemes and soil forming processes, which are still active in the region today. The amount and the seasonal variability of precipitation, mostly, are at the origin of the variable soils formed during glacial and interglacial ages.