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Biologically induced accumulations of calcium carbonate have been found inside orthox soils, under and around the native iroko tree Milicia excelsa (Moraceae) in Biga (Ivory Coast). The nature of these accumulations and their origin were studied in two soil profiles, directly under the tree and at a distance of 30 cm from the trunk. Microscale forms of CaCO 3 include: (1) wood pseudomorphic...
This paper studies the hydrological response to rainstorm events of a small experimental catchment in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. The Arnas catchment was cultivated until 40 years ago, and then abandoned and affected by plant recolonisation, especially shrubs. A rainfall of a few millimeters is enough to produce a sudden increase in discharge, due most probably to the steep gradients and the small...
The wetting capacity of Hapludands and Palehumults under grassland and forest in southern Chile was assessed by measuring contact angles of solid, water and air interfaces. Microaggregates obtained from natural aggregates of two sizes (4-6.3 and 10-12 mm) were spread onto microscope slides and drops of saturated aqueous KCl solution were placed on the surface of the aggregates. The wetting angles...
A field survey of an evergreen Mediterranean woodland area in NE Spain on three silica-rich parent materials (granite, granodiorite and schist) was used to test whether parent material had a separate effect on ecosystem functioning in addition to aspect and position on the slope. As expected, vegetation was taller and denser on north-facing slopes and/or lower slope positions. However, parent material...
Analysis of particle size shows that fractions of PM 50 (particle <50 μm in diameter) in the alluvial and lacustrine sediments, gobi deserts, shrub dunes, mobile dunes and deteriorated land are 37-99%, 5-7%, 0.26-36%, 0.05-0.4% and 51-62%, respectively. Mobile dunes, which are extensively distributed in northwestern China, are not a significant contributor to geogenic dust emissions...
Because of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China, many farmers in reservoir areas will resettle in surrounding mountain areas and cultivate steeply sloping lands. Hence, a tool is needed to assess the risk of soil erosion, predict runoff and erosion rates, and design and evaluate soil protection strategies in this area. The European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM), a process-based model simulating...
In the Senegal valley, it is commonly considered that the Acid Sulfate Soils of the delta are fossil soils overlain by more recent sediments, and that the Vertisols, which abruptly overlie a thick sandy horizon, result from a change in the sedimentation mode of the river. However, we show that both soils belong to the same pedological system extending from the delta to the limit of the last marine...
The Bashang area, located in the semiarid agropastoral zone, represents a typical degraded ecosystem under intensified human activities. This region has undergone profound land use changes during the past century. Natural grasslands had been progressively cultivated, and subsequently, part of cultivated lands had been abandoned by farmers due to severe desertification. In this study, we collected...
Desert pavement is a distinctive feature widespread across arid lands of the world. It plays a dynamic role in geomorphic, hydrologic, and ecologic processes. Where desert pavement predominates, infiltration is limited and rainfall is delivered as runoff to nearby bare ground areas where shrubs cluster. Desert pavement surfaces may appear monotonously flat and barren, but we have found, instead, that...
The Clay Castles in the Hoarusib River valley are fine-grained deposits in a tributary immediately upstream of a narrow gorge. Sedimentological analysis reveals three lithofacies associations: (1) Channel Facies Association near the mouth of the tributary, (2) Back-Flow Facies Association in the middle section, and (3) Silt and Massive Sand Facies Association in the head of the tributary. Overall...
The eastern Canary Islands constitute a region that is vulnerable to desertification processes, mainly due to its intensely arid climate and the action of man. Vegetation in the island of Fuerteventura has been profoundly transformed over the last few hundred years, and the greater part of the insular territory is presently covered by substitution brush.In this work, a study of soil degradation processes...
Contemporary rates of dust deposition monitored along a 300-km section of the superhumid West Coast of New Zealand's South Island are presented. In this setting, dust is entrained primarily from the dry channels of braided glaciofluvial rivers that drain the western slopes of the Southern Alps. Measured dust deposition ranged between 0.21 and 118.9 kg −1 ha −1 month −1 , which...
Recent research has shown the importance of ephemeral gully (EG) erosion in the context of global erosion and, at the same time, the lack of adequate models to estimate it. At present, the ephemeral gully erosion model (EGEM) is the only conceptual model specifically developed for ephemeral gully erosion estimation. The main aim of the paper is to evaluate the performance of EGEM model adapted to...
During a palaeoflood study of the Llobregat River (NE Spain), analysis of 137 Cs was carried out on slackwater flood deposits to obtain an improved flood chronology for the most recent flood sediments. At the Monistrol study reach, 137 Cs was measured in flood deposits preserved in valley side rock alcoves, with a range of 137 Cs concentrations of 2.80–10.06 mBq/g measured...
Several Palaeolithic sites have been discovered in the Halyč Prydnistrov'ja (East Carpathian Foreland) during the last 20 years; thereby this region becomes important when studying the development of Palaeolithic cultures in Eastern Europe. The cultural layers are associated with different horizons of paleosols in loess profiles. Palaeolithic materials were found in four stratigraphic horizons: two...
Anthropogenic sandy soils in Scotland, Denmark and The Netherlands were studied to determine the extent to which they had been influenced by inputs of materials and current land management. Particle size distribution, pH, loss on ignition, ECEC, base saturation and total P were determined for eight profiles under different land uses (arable, meadow and woodland). Inputs of materials were identified...
Background concentration values of trace elements were determined for soils in the southern part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which are developed on the Bituminous shale (BS), the so-called “Bifrons” shale, and the “Minette” (M) Fe-oolitic sandstone substrates. Sampling sites with minimal anthropogenic influence were selected, and soil profile samples were analysed for major and trace element...
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