Influence of basin‐based conservation agriculture on selected soil quality parameters under smallholder farming in Zimbabwe

The research was carried out to determine the effect of basin‐based conservation agriculture (CA) on selected soil quality parameters. Paired plots (0.01 ha) of CA and conventional tillage based on the animal‐drawn mouldboard plough (CONV) were established between 2004 and 2007 on farm fields on soils with either low (12–18% – sandy loams and sandy clay loams) or high clay levels (>18–46% – sandy clays and clays) as part of an ongoing project promoting CA in six districts in the smallholder farming areas of Zimbabwe. We hypothesized that CA would improve soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density, aggregate stability, soil moisture retention and infiltration rate. Soil samples for SOC and aggregate stability were taken from 0 to 15 cm depth and for bulk density and soil moisture retention from 0 to 5, 5 to 10 and 10 to 15 cm depths in 2011 from maize plots. Larger SOC contents, SOC stocks and improved aggregate stability, decreased bulk density, increased pore volume and moisture retention were observed in CA treatments. Results were consistent with the hypothesis, and we conclude that CA improves soil quality under smallholder farming. Benefits were, however, greater in high clay soils, which is relevant to the targeting of practices on smallholder farming areas of sub‐Saharan Africa.     

指数平滑法在公路软土地基沉降预测中的应用

运用指数平滑法分析计算公路软土地基沉降量,并对下一时间段的沉降量进行预测.结合哈尔滨绕城高速公路西段软基沉降观测数据,证明了指数平滑法预测软基沉降量的实用性.     

Pedotransfer functions to assess adsorbed phosphate using iron oxide content and magnetic susceptibility in an Oxisol

Adsorbed phosphate in soils can be chemically extracted; however, this process is both time‐consuming and not cost‐effective if large numbers of samples have to be analysed. Indirect assessment of adsorbed phosphate by pedotransfer functions (PTFs) can help optimize fertilizer strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of adsorbed phosphate (P_ads), iron oxides and magnetic susceptibility (MS) in oxisols and to calibrate PTFs to predict P_ads. A total of 308 soil samples were collected from Hapludox and Eutrudox soils formed from sandstone in Brazil. The contents of clay (196–607 g/kg), iron oxides (40–165 g/kg), MS (1.2–29 × 10^?6 m³/kg) and P_ads (327–842 mg/kg) were in the range of typical values for these highly weathered soils. This study showed that the attributes studied were spatially dependent. Geomorphic surfaces enabled understanding of spatial variability and helped to develop a more efficient sampling scheme to calibrate PTFs. Moreover, the adsorbed phosphate in these oxisols could be predicted by a PTF using iron oxides and MS as predictors. The MS attribute enabled the most accurate prediction (concordance coefficient = 0.95, root‐mean‐square error = 46 mg/kg and relative improvement in root‐mean‐square error = ?4.12) of spatial variability through PTF compared to other predictors.     

Turbidity‐induced changes in emergent effects of multiple predators with different foraging strategies

Abstract – In natural systems, prey frequently interact with multiple predators and the outcome often cannot be predicted by summing the effects of individual predator species. Multiple predator interactions can create emergent effects for prey, but how those change across environmental gradients is poorly understood. Turbidity is an environmental factor in aquatic systems that may influence multiple predator effects on prey. Interactions between a cruising predator (largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides) and an ambush predator (muskellunge Esox masquinongy) and their combination foraging on a shared prey (bluegill Lepomis macrochirus) were examined across a turbidity gradient. Turbidity modified multiple predator effects on prey. In clear water, combined predators consumed in total more prey than expected from individual predator treatments, suggesting risk enhancement for prey. In moderately turbid water, the predators consumed fewer prey together than expected, suggesting a risk reduction for prey. At high turbidity, there were no apparent emergent effects; however, the cruising predator consumed more prey than the ambush predator, suggesting an advantage for this predator. Understanding multiple predator traits across a gradient of turbidity increases our understanding of how complex natural systems function.     

非饱和重塑黏土在不同击实条件下的土水特征曲线试验研究

采用压力板仪对非饱和重塑黏土在2种不同击实条件下的土水特征曲线进行了研究。即对该重塑土样开展标准击实试验,在击实曲线上取同一干密度对应的不同击实含水率的试样和击实曲线上最优含水率处的试样,并通过增加击实次数,得到另外2种击实干密度的试样,对上述试样进行土水特征曲线测试,并采用常用的土水特征曲线模型Van Genuchten模型、Fredlund 3参数模型、Fredlund 4参数模型对实测试样的土水特征曲线进行了拟合,其拟合结果较好。研究发现,击实干密度越大,空气进入值越高,试样持水能力越强。击实含水率越大,试样可塑性越好,持水能力越强,空气进入值也越大。     

应用电超滤(EUF)对土壤供钾能力及其颗粒分级进行研究

The results from comparative study of the EUF-K values of four different soils and of their various particle fractions (< 2μm, 2-10μm and 10-50μm) showed that the EUF-K values were related to the composition of clay minerals and the soil particle size. The EUF-K values (0-35 min) were closely related to the amount of rapidly available K and part of non-exchangeable K of soils. Biological experiments proved that EUF technique was an effective method for evaluating soil K-supplying power.     

应用反射光谱法对土壤粘土矿物的鉴定的初步研究

The characteristics of the reflectance spectra of clay minerals and their influences on the reflectance spectra of soils are dealt with in the paper.The results showed that dominant clay minerals in soils could be distinguished in light of the spectral -form parameters of the reflectance spectra of soils,thus making it possible to develop a quick method to determine clay minerals by means of reflectance spectra of soils in the lab.and providing a theoretic basis for remote sensing of clay minerals in soils with a high resolution imaging spectrometer.