Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Maksim Burdukovskii Author-Name: Irina Kiseleva Author-Workplace-Name: Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia Author-Name: Polina Perepelkina Author-Workplace-Name: Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia Author-Name: Yuliya Kosheleva Author-Workplace-Name: Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia Title: Impact of different fallow durations on soil aggregate structure and humus status parameters Abstract: Soil aggregate structure and soil organic matter are closely interrelated and commonly considered as key indicators of soil quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different fallow durations on indices of soil structure and humus status indicators. Studies were conducted on abandoned agricultural fields (15, 20 and, 35 years after abandonment). As a reference site, we used a cultivated field in the area. The experimental soil fields are classified as Gleyic Cambisols. Soil macroaggregates were separated with the sieve (dry sieve) to seven aggregate size fractions, i.e.> 10, 10-5, 5-2, 2-1, 1-0.5, 0.5-0.25 and < 0.25 mm. The humus status parameters of soils included the following indicators: soil organic carbon (Corg), humus reserves (QH), the degree of humification of organic matter (SOMdh), fractions of humic acids (HA) (free and bound with monovalent cations and Al2O3, Fe2O3, bound with Cа2+ which forms humates, bound with clay minerals), fulvic acids (FA) (free aggressive) and ratio of HA to FA (CHA : CFA). After a fallow period of more than 20 years on the surface formation of a sod layer. A long-term fallow period had an impact on the mean weight diameter of the aggregates (MWD) and agronomically valuable aggregates (AVA). Fallow soils have a significantly better structure than soils under a cultivated field. Long-term cultivation leads to the deterioration of soil structure and the formation of large aggregates (>10 mm). The Corg content remains at the level of the background content when the soils are left fallow for less than 15 years and increases over time. The Corg in the upper 0-20 cm soil layer has been shown to increase from 3.55 to 8.74% on arable land that has been fallow for 35 years and has been largely associated with significant accumulation of organic matter within the plant root mass. Mature sites are characterized by an increase of fulvic acids in the humus composition in comparison with their arable analogues. The abandonment of soil agricultural use and the cessation of mechanical tillage results in the restoration of the natural structure of soils and the improvement of their agrophysical properties. Such studies have not been previously conducted in the Primorsky region of the Russian Far East. Keywords: dry-sieved macroaggregates, fallow land, soil quality, soil structure Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 1-8 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/174/2018-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/174/2018-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202001-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:1:id:174-2018-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Erika María López-García Author-Workplace-Name: Postgraduate in Environmental Sciences, Institute of Sciences, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México Author-Name: Edgardo Torres-Trejo Author-Workplace-Name: Postgraduate in Environmental Sciences, Institute of Sciences, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Research in Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Sciences, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México Author-Name: Lucia López-Reyes Author-Workplace-Name: Postgraduate in Environmental Sciences, Institute of Sciences, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México Author-Workplace-Name: Research Center in Microbiological Sciences, Institute of Sciences, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México Author-Name: Ángel David Flores-Domínguez Author-Workplace-Name: El Colegio de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, México Author-Name: Ricardo Darío Peña-Moreno Author-Workplace-Name: Postgraduate in Environmental Sciences, Institute of Sciences, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México Author-Workplace-Name: Center of Chemistry, Institute of Sciences, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México Author-Name: Jesús Francisco López-Olguín Author-Workplace-Name: Center Agroecology, Institute of Sciences, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México Title: Estimation of soil erosion using USLE and GIS in the locality of Tzicatlacoyan, Puebla, México Abstract: Deforestation and conversion of natural grasslands to agricultural land constitute two of the main threats to soil and water conservation, causing erosion, and likely, desertification. The objective of this study was to estimate the erosion of the soil in the locality of Tzicatlacoyan, applying the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) through Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The results indicated that Tzicatlacoyan faces risk of soil erosion with an average annual rate of 117.18 t/ha∙year, due to natural factors and anthropogenic activities such as the use of agricultural land without appropriate conservation practices. Four classes of soil erosion risk were identified, according to the rate of erosion (A) in t/ha∙year: extreme risk (114 ≥ A ≤ 234.36), severe risk (59 ≥ A < 114), moderate risk (23 ≥ A < 59), and low risk (A < 23). Most of the area (180.96 km2, 64.83%) was characterised by the low risk of erosion, while a small part (11.64 km2, 4.17%) of the study area showed extreme risk. The results indicated that 13.33% of the territory of Tzicatlacoyan present values of soil loss exceeding tolerable. The assessment of the soil erosion using the USLE model and GIS might allow land users to make better decisions about the use and conservation of the soil and the ecosystem, adding scientific criteria to their traditional knowledge. Keywords: erodibility, land degradation, soil loss prediction, water erosion Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 9-17 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/165/2018-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/165/2018-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202001-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:1:id:165-2018-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jana Konečná Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Petr Karásek Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Hana Beitlerová Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Petr Fučík Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jiří Kapička Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jana Podhrázská Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Tomáš Kvítek Author-Workplace-Name: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, České Budějovice, Czech Republic Title: Using WaTEM/SEDEM and HEC-HMS models for the simulation of episodic hydrological and erosion events in a small agricultural catchment Abstract: A careful analysis of rainfall-runoff events and patterns of sediment and pollution load to water bodies is crucial for the proper management of agricultural land. This study simultaneously employed the WaTEM/SEDEM long-term erosion model and the HEC-HMS episodic hydrological and erosion model to describe the runoff and sediment load evoked by extreme rainfall events in a small agricultural catchment in Czechia, using the long-term monitoring discharge and water quality episodic data. WaTEM/SEDEM helped to delineate the runoff and sediment critical source areas, subsequently incorporated into HEC-HMS. The acquired results showed that the spatial distribution of land use is a fundamental factor in the protection of watercourses from diffuse pollution sources and the transport and delivery of sediment profoundly depends on the status of crop cover on arable land near a watercourse. Integrating both models, it was shown that the tabulated Curve Number (CN) values as well as the average C-factor values had to be lowered for the majority of the modelled events to match the monitored data. A noticeable role of catchment runoff response most probably played tile drainage, which appeared to profoundly modify the episodic runoff pattern. This study showed a promising approach for the simulation of different rainfall-runoff responses of small agricultural catchments and could be applied for the delineation of areas where soil conservation measures or protective management is of high priority. The results further revealed the obvious need to revise the CN values for tile-drained catchments. Keywords: CN method, modelling, runoff, sediment transport, soil erosion Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 18-29 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/202/2018-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/202/2018-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202001-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:1:id:202-2018-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mohib Ullah Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Material Science, Heilongjiang University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan Author-Name: Ruqia Nazir Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan Author-Name: Muslim Khan Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan Author-Name: Waliullah Khan Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan Author-Name: Mohib Shah Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan Author-Name: Sahib Gul Afridi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biochemistry, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan Author-Name: Amir Zada Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Material Science, Heilongjiang University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan Title: The effective removal of heavy metals from water by activated carbon adsorbents of Albizia lebbeck and Melia azedarach seed shells Abstract: The removal of toxic metals like lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) is very urgent keeping their hazardous effects in view. In this work, seeds of Albizia lebbeck and Melia azedarach trees were converted into activated carbon adsorbents and applied for the adsorptive removal of Pb and Cd metals from an aqueous solution. The as prepared adsorbents were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The removal efficiencies of both metals were strongly dependent on their initial concentration, contact time, pH, temperature and the quantity of adsorbents. 0.2 g of both adsorbents removed respectively 75 and 62% Pb and 77 and 66% Cd from from 100 ml of a 40 mg/l concentrated solution in 120 min at pH 5 and a temperature of 20°C. Both the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were well fitted to the experimental data. We believe that this work will provide a convenient way to synthesise low cost activated carbon adsorbents for the remediation of highly toxic metals from wastewater to safeguard our environment for future generations. Keywords: cadmium, hazardous effect, lead, pH, temperature Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 30-37 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/212/2018-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/212/2018-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202001-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:1:id:212-2018-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Miroslav Dumbrovský Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Water Landscape Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Karel Drbal Author-Workplace-Name: T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Brno Branch, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Veronika Sobotková Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Water Landscape Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jana Uhrová Author-Workplace-Name: T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Brno Branch, Brno, Czech Republic Title: An approach to identifying and evaluating the potential formation of ephemeral gullies in the conditions of the Czech Republic Abstract: Soil erosion, including ephemeral gully erosion, is a serious degradation process in the Czech Republic. It currently threatens more than half of the agricultural acreage through negative changes in the whole complex of soil properties. The unfavourable consequences of surface runoff are seen in the erosion processes degrading agricultural soils. The South Moravia Region was selected as the case study area - mainly for its natural conditions and high soil degradation risk . A set of data, collected from 2012 to 2017 in a maize-growing area, especially on deep loess soils in the South Moravia Region, was used to analyse the morphological characteristics of the ephemeral gullies (EGs). The relationship was confirmed between the ephemeral gully (EG) length and the size of its contributing drainage area in accordance with studies conducted in other countries. It is also important that the closest relationship was confirmed between the length of the gully and its calculated volume. Dependence was sought on the data of 51 cases of the detailed, measured and evaluated EGs. These results will become the basis for finding a predictive relationship and the quantification of EG erosion. Locating EGs and predicting their length is crucial for estimating the sediment load and planning conservation strategies. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of this issue, i.e., define and verify the basic crucial causal factors and propose guidelines for locating the potential EG occurrence and predicting the sediment load. A research effort to better understand the EG mechanism and causal factors over a wide range of watershed conditions is fundamental to the establishment of basic rules for the adoption of optimal conservation strategies. Keywords: concentrated surface runoff, field measurements, gulliometer, gully volume, soil erosion Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 38-46 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/231/2018-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/231/2018-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202001-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:1:id:231-2018-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mxolisi Mtyobile Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa Author-Name: Lindah Muzangwa Author-Name: Pearson Nyari Stephano Mnkeni Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa Title: Tillage and crop rotation effects on soil carbon and selected soil physical properties in a Haplic Cambisol in Eastern Cape, South Africa Abstract: The effects of tillage and crop rotation on the soil carbon, the soil bulk density, the porosity and the soil water content were evaluated during the 6th season of an on-going field trial at the University of Fort Hare Farm (UFH), South Africa. Two tillage systems; conventional tillage (CT) and no-till and crop rotations; maize (Zea mays L.)-fallow-maize (MFM), maize-fallow-soybean (Glycine max L.) (MFS); maize-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize (MWM) and maize-wheat-soybean (MWS) were evaluated. The field experiment was a 2 × 4 factorial, laid out in a randomised complete design. The crop residues were retained for the no-till plots and incorporated for the CT plots, after each cropping season. No significant effects (P > 0.05) of the tillage and crop rotation on the bulk density were observed. However, the values ranged from 1.32 to1.37 g/cm3. Significant interaction effects of the tillage and crop rotation were observed on the soil porosity (P < 0.01) and the soil water content (P < 0.05). The porosity for the MFM and the MWS, was higher under the CT whereas for the MWM and the MWS, it was higher under the no-till. However, the greatest porosity was under the MWS. Whilst the no-till significantly increased (P < 0.05) the soil water content compared to the CT; the greatest soil water content was observed when the no-till was combined with the MWM rotations. The soil organic carbon (SOC) was increased more (P < 0.05) by the no-till than the CT, and the MFM consistently had the least SOC compared with the rest of the crop rotations, at all the sampling depths (0-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm). The soil bulk density negatively correlated with the soil porosity and the soil water content, whereas the porosity positively correlated with the soil water content. The study concluded that the crop rotations, the MWM and the MWS under the no-till coupled with the residue retention improved the soil porosity and the soil water content levels the most. Keywords: conservation agriculture, crop residue, residue retention, soil physical properties Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 47-54 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/176/2018-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/176/2018-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202001-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:1:id:176-2018-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Rostislav Fiala Author-Workplace-Name: Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jana Podhrázská Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jana Konečná Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Josef Kučera Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Petr Karásek Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Pavel Zahradníček Author-Workplace-Name: Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Petr Štěpánek Author-Workplace-Name: Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Changes in a river's regime of a watercourse after a small water reservoir construction Abstract: The paper deals with the analysis of a river's regime of a small watercourse and the evaluation of its changes after the construction of a small water reservoir. The aim of the work was to analyse 12 years of flow rate measurements at two profiles of a small watercourse, between which a small water reservoir was built, in the middle of the period of the measurements. The analysis uses traditional characteristics (average flow rate, discharge volume), as well as modern indices from applied hydrology (Richards-Baker flashiness index, hydrogram pulse analysis), which study the variability of the flow rate in hourly and daily intervals. The evaluation showed that at the average flow rate, the effect of the water reservoir was the smoothening of the peak flow rates and prolonging the duration of the discharge waves. At higher flow rates, the water reservoir causes a delay in the culmination and in terms of discharge balance causes a decreased discharge volume, in particular during the vegetation period. Keywords: hydrological characteristics change, flashiness index, hydrogram pulse, vegetation period Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 55-65 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/23/2019-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/23/2019-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202001-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:1:id:23-2019-SWR