The use of urban organic wastes in the control of erosion in a semiarid Mediterranean soil

Abstract. A two year field experiment was carried out in a semiarid Mediterranean area in order to evaluate, the effect on soil erosion of adding different urban organic wastes: a stabilized municipal waste (compost), an unstabilized municipal waste, and an aerobic sewage sludge. All the treatments significantly reduced soil erosion, compared to the control soil. The soil amended with compost was the most effective treatment, reducing soil loss by 94% and runoff by 54%.     

An evaluation of the pesera soil erosion model and its application to a case study in Zakynthos, Greece

Abstract. The Pan‐European Soil Erosion Risk Assessment (pesera ) model was evaluated using existing soil erosion data collected under various types of climate, vegetation, landscape and soil conditions. The data used represent a variety of typical Mediterranean land uses such as winter wheat, vines, olives and bare, stony land prevailing in hilly areas. Using this data, the model was calibrated for sediment transport by overland flow and results compared to measured soil erosion values from runoff plots and a watershed on a monthly basis. The performance of the model was assessed statistically, showing that it can be satisfactorily used for predicting soil erosion rates under the conditions included in the study. The overall model estimate including all the available experimental data was 0.69 t ha^?1 yr^?1 with a maximum error of 1.49 t ha^?1 yr^?1. After validation, the model was applied to a small watershed (60 ha) of great ecological importance for the sea turtle Caretta caretta. For this purpose, soil and vegetation maps were compiled from all the necessary data for applying the model. The model was run for three years using daily data from an existing nearby meteorological station. The predicted and measured soil erosion rates for a 7‐month period were 0.31 t and 0.18 t, respectively. Application of the model to each mapping unit showed the over‐riding importance of land use for sediment generation under the given climatic conditions. Bare land, occupying 5.5% of the watershed area, generated up to 69% of the total sediments estimated for the watershed. It is concluded that the pesera model can be used as a regional diagnostic tool under a range of soil, topographic and climatic conditions for identifying the best land use type and vegetation cover to protect hilly areas from soil erosion. The calculated overall root mean square error for the model is 0.06 t ha^?1 yr^?1, compared to a soil erosion rate of 0.04 t ha^?1 yr^?1, which can be tolerated for protecting the area for the sea turtle.     

Re-defining tillage erosion: quantifying intensity–direction relationships for complex terrain

Abstract. Current tillage erosion models account for the influence of tillage direction in the magnitude of the soil (tillage) transport coefficient. It is argued here that this is counter-intuitive and causes significant problems in modelling tillage erosion in areas of complex terrain. This article examines whether a re-modelling of tillage erosion is possible that separates tillage direction (an interaction with the landform) from the soil transport coefficient (a measure of tillage intensity representing the combination of implement erosivity and soil erodibility). Experimental data for mouldboard ploughing upslope, downslope and cross-slope at Coombe Barton Farm, Devon are examined. Integration of data for all directions into a single relationship, which relates translocation in the direction of tillage to slope in the direction of tillage and translocation perpendicular to tillage to slope perpendicular to tillage, is not possible using previously published methods of analysis. However, when total translocation distance is regressed against the tangent of the slope at 45° to the tillage direction (bisecting the tillage direction and the direction of overturning) it is found that a single relationship can be used to describe tillage in all three directions. Therefore, this relationship is used to determine a single value of the soil transport coefficient ( k _fTa) for constant soil and implement conditions but different tillage directions. This redefinition of tillage is important both for true estimation of tillage erosion severity, the adirectional coefficient being 40% larger than the directional coefficient, and for modelling of tillage erosion in complex terrain. These improvements are vital when tillage erosion simulation is used to direct soil conservation strategies.     

云南省岩溶地区石漠化草原现状及分区保护与修复策略

据最新调查数据,云南省石漠化草原主要分布于曲靖、昆明、红河等5个州( 市),总面积 37.97 万hm²,占岩溶土地面积的3.53%,其分布最广的海拔区间为1 500~2 500 m,占比47.85%, 基岩裸露度分布区间为30%~94%,以植被盖度为10%~19%的分布区间面积最广,占比37.85%, 绝大部分分布于土层薄甚至极薄区域,占比达92.10%。根据石漠化草原空间分布特征,在充分衔 接各大生态保护和修复工程建设规划基础上,统筹考虑岩溶生态系统的完整性、地理单元的连续性 和经济社会发展的可持续性,将云南省石漠化草原区划为6个分区,分区阐述石漠化草原生态保护 与修复策略。     

我国北方强风蚀区空间分布格局及特征分析

我国北方强风蚀区是形成沙尘天气的主要区域,本文依据各风蚀区风速的大小、走向,自然地理条件,沙化土地现状及分布特点,将我国北方沙区分为古尔班通古特沙漠西北缘、天山东段—塔克拉玛干沙漠南缘、柴达木盆地西段、河西走廊—阿拉善、鄂尔多斯—乌拉特、浑善达克沙地东北部、内蒙古东部七个强风蚀区。同时从沙化土地、降水量、风速及大风日数、沙尘天气的发生等方面对强风蚀区空间分布格局及特征进行了分析。     

区域LUCC的土壤侵蚀响应研究——以榆林市为例

借助3S技术,采用美国通用的水土流失方程(USLE),对榆林市1987,1999年和2002年的土壤水力侵蚀、生态系统土壤保持情况进行测算,在此基础上,基于G IS平台按不同区域对测算结果进行汇总。研究表明:单位面积各类生态系统保土功能排序是园地>林地>灌木林地>草地。降雨的年际变化和地形的空间差异是单位面积生态系统土壤保持量年际变化和空间差异的主导因素。1987,1999,2002年全市各类生态系统土壤保持总量分别是2.22×108t,1.96×108t和2.07×108t。研究期间(1987-2002年),全市生态系统土壤保持效率不断提高,但存在空间差异:1987,1999年南6县生态系统土壤保持总量、保持效率显著高于北6县,而2002年北6县略高于南6县;且整个研究期间北6县生态系统土壤保持效率提高显著,而南6县变化小且2002年略有下降;相对于北6县而言,南6县实际对进一步提高土壤保持效率的制约较大。     

Automated identification of sugar beet diseases using smartphones

Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) poses a high economic risk to sugar beet production due to its potential to greatly reduce yield and quality. For successful integrated management of CLS, rapid and accurate identification of the disease is essential. Diagnosis on the basis of typical visual symptoms is often compromised by the inability to differentiate CLS symptoms from similar symptoms caused by other foliar pathogens of varying significance, or from abiotic stress. An automated detection and classification of CLS and other leaf diseases, enabling a reliable basis for decisions in disease control, would be an alternative to visual as well as molecular and serological methods. This paper presents an algorithm based on a RGB‐image database captured with smartphone cameras for the identification of sugar beet leaf diseases. This tool combines image acquisition and segmentation on the smartphone and advanced image data processing on a server, based on texture features using colour, intensity and gradient values. The diseases are classified using a support vector machine with radial basis function kernel. The algorithm is suitable for binary‐class and multi‐class classification approaches, i.e. the separation between diseased and non‐diseased, and the differentiation among leaf diseases and non‐infected tissue. The classification accuracy for the differentiation of CLS, ramularia leaf spot, phoma leaf spot, beet rust and bacterial blight was 82%, better than that of sugar beet experts classifying diseases from images. However, the technology has not been tested by practitioners. This tool can be adapted to other crops and their diseases and may contribute to improved decision‐making in integrated disease control.     

宁夏土壤侵蚀动态变化与原因分析

通过对 1990年和 1999年两次土壤侵蚀遥感普查数据的对比 ,从类型、面积、强度、分布等方面对宁夏土壤侵蚀的动态变化进行了较为详细的分析。结果表明 :宁夏回族自治区各类型区水土流失面积有所减小 ,土壤侵蚀的剧烈程度普遍减弱。初步分析认为 ,土壤侵蚀变化的原因 ,除两次普查存在方法上的系统误差外 ,水土保持的作用功不可没。针对不同类型区土壤侵蚀的特点 ,提出了今后应采取的相应防治方略。     

影响土壤氮素径流流失的因素探析

从自然因素和人为因素出发探讨了地形、降雨、土壤理化性质、植被以及施肥、耕作制度等因素对土壤N素流失的影响,并综述了国内外有关研究的最新进展。并认为,基于这些因素相互作用的复杂性,有必要开展以下3方面的内容:一是大量开展多因子交叉实验,定量评价它们之间的关系,这为深入理解土壤N素流失机理和确定流域非点源污染模拟模型参数提供科学依据;二是加强有关土壤N素流失机理的多学科之间的联系,协同攻关建立较完善的理论认识;三是利用微观径流小区开展田间试验,结合遥感和GIS分析等方法,建立宏观大尺度土壤N素流失模型,为环境问题的宏观决策提供支持。     

Results of grid keratotomy, superficial keratectomy and debridement for the management of persistent corneal erosions in 92 dogs

Ninety-two cases of persistent corneal erosions in dogs were analyzed for breed, gender, age and which eye was affected. The results of the treatment of 92 persistent corneal erosions in dogs by superficial keratectomy (SK), grid keratotomy (GK), or debridement with a sterile dry cotton swab are presented. These techniques gave better rates of healing than have been previously reported. All cases of persistent corneal erosions healed in this study. However, it must be noted that three cases treated with debridement only failed to heal after several treatments and were eventually treated with SK. After one procedure 80 out of 92 (87%) had healed. After one procedure, 63% of cases treated with debridement healed, 100% of cases treated with SK healed, and 85% of cases treated with GK healed. At the first postoperative visit, 88% (21/24 cases) of ulcers treated by SK had healed, and 75% (39/52 cases) of ulcers treated by GK had healed. Only 25% of the persistent corneal erosions had healed at the first visit after debridement. All 24 cases of persistent corneal erosions treated with SK healed after one treatment in a mean +/- SD of 9.3 +/- 3.9 days (median of 7 days). Fifty-two cases were managed with GK; 44 (83%) of these healed with one procedure and eight cases required a second GK procedure to resolve. A mean +/- SD of 13.4 +/- 5.1 days (median of 11.5 days) following GK was required for the persistent corneal erosions to heal. Nineteen cases were initially managed by debridement with a dry cotton swab under local anesthesia. Sixteen out of these 19 debridement cases healed (giving an overall healing rate of 84%) in a mean +/- SD time of 23.4 +/- 11.1 days (median 21.5). There were three cases that did not heal with debridement. These cases were debrided at 10-20 day intervals for 30-60 days, and were then treated with SK. Two of these cases healed within 7 days, the other case required 18 days to heal. Sixty-three per cent of persistent corneal erosions treated with debridement healed after one procedure; however, only four out of 19 cases (21%) were healed at the first revisit. Complications were rare: corneal edema occurred in two cases following multiple GK, and excessive granulation tissue in one case was managed with a SK. There was the occurrence of an ulcer adjacent to the surgery site in four cases, two cases following GK and two cases following SK.