Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Vítězslav Vlček Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Miroslav Pohanka Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Title: Glomalin - an interesting protein part of the soil organic matter Abstract: The negative effects of the current agricultural practices include erosion, acidification, loss of soil organic matter (dehumification), loss of soil structure, soil contamination by risky elements, reduction of biological diversity and land use for non-agricultural purposes. All these effects are a huge risk to the further development of soil quality from an agronomic point of view and its resilience to projected climate change. Organic matter has a crucial role in it. Relatively significant correlations with the quality or the health of soil parameters and the soil organic matter or some fraction of the soil organic matter have been found. In particular, Ctot, Cox, humic and fulvic acids, the C/N ratio, and glomalin. Our work was focused on glomalin, a glycoprotein produced by the hyphae and spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which we classify as Glomeromycota. Arbuscular mycorrhiza, and its molecular pathways, is not a well understood phenomenon. It appears that many proteins are involved in the arbuscular mycorrhiza from which glomalin is probably one of the most significant. This protein is also responsible for the unique chemical and physical properties of soils and has an ecological and economical relevance in this sense and it is a real product of the mycorrhiza. Glomalin is very resistant to destruction (recalcitrant) and difficult to dissolve in water. Its extraction requires specific conditions: high temperature (121°C) and a citrate buffer with a neutral or alkaline pH. Due to these properties, glomalin (or its fractions) are very stable compounds that protect the soil aggregate surface. In this review, the actual literature has been researched and the importance of glomalin is discussed. Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhiza, fungus, heat-shock protein, soil, water retention Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 67-74 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/29/2019-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/29/2019-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202002-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:2:id:29-2019-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Marina Campora Author-Workplace-Name: Genoa, Italy Author-Name: Anna Palla Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy Author-Name: Ilaria Gnecco Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy Author-Name: Rossella Bovolenta Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy Author-Name: Roberto Passalacqua Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy Title: The laboratory calibration of a soil moisture capacitance probe in sandy soils Abstract: Determining and mitigating landslide risk is a technical-scientific objective, particularly for the protection and proper territorial management and planning. The slope stability depends on the pore pressure distribution, which is influenced by the saturation front propagation through the unsaturated zone, whose monitoring is useful to understand any possible instabilities. Such monitoring may be undertaken by sensors based on the measurement of the relative dielectric permittivity. Reliable relationships between the measurement and the soil moisture are necessary. The main objective of this study is to assess a laboratory calibration protocol for a specific capacitance sensor (Drill & Drop, Sentek Sensor Technologies). Two monogranular sands have been selected for the calibration purpose. The laboratory tests were performed under three relative density values (DR equal to 40%, 60% and 80%) for seven volumetric water content values (θv ranging from 0.00% to 36.26%). Based on the experimental measurements, the soil-specific calibration curves were determined at an assigned relative density value; in particular, a simple power law is adopted to describe the probe's reading as a function of the volumetric water content. The results point out that the relative density values slightly affect the tests, thus, the soil-specific calibration curves are derived based on a simple regression analysis fitting the whole set of the laboratory tests validated for each sand. The calculated coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.96/0.99) and root mean square error (RMSE = 1.4%/2.8%) values confirm the goodness of fit. In order to propose more general fitting curves, suitable for both the investigated sands, multiple linear regressions are performed by considering θv and the mean grain size, D50 as independent variables; again, the R2 and RMSE values equal to 0.97 and 2.41%, respectively, confirm the suitability of the calibration curve. Finally, the laboratory calibration curves are compared with the manufacturer-supplied curves, thus, enhancing the need for the soil-specific calibration. Keywords: particle size distribution, regression analysis, relative density, soil water monitoring, volumetric water content Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 75-84 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/227/2018-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/227/2018-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202002-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:2:id:227-2018-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Chengsen Zhao Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Qingqing Xu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Lin Chen Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Xiaoqing Li Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Yutian Meng Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Xiaowei Ma Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Yuepei Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Xibo Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Hongyan Wang Title: The impacts of a biochar application on selected soil properties and bacterial communities in an Albic Clayic Luvisol Abstract: In this four-year study, we focused on the impacts of a biochar application on physicochemical soil properties (soil total carbon, total nitrogen, total potassium, total phosphorus, available nitrogen, available potassium, available phosphorus, pH, bulk density and moisture) and bacterial communities in an Albic Clayic Luvisol. The biochar was applied to plots only once with rates of 0, 10, 20 and 30 t/ha at the beginning of the experiment. The soil samples were collected from the surface (0-10 cm) and second depth (10-20 cm) soil layers after four years. The results showed that that the soil total carbon (TC) and pH increased, but the soil bulk density (BD) decreased with the biochar application. The soil bacterial sequences determined by the Illumina MiSeq method resulted in a decrease in the relative abundance of Acidobacteria, but an increase in the Actinobacteria with the biochar application. The bacterial diversity was significantly influenced by the biochar application. The nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that the soil bacterial community structure was affected by both the biochar addition and the soil depth. The Mantel test analysis indicated that the bacterial community structure significantly correlated to a soil with a pH (r = 0.525, P = 0.001), bulk density (r = 0.539, P = 0.001) and TC (r = 0.519, P = 0.002) only. In addition, most of the differences in the soil properties, bacterial relative abundance and community composition in the second depth soil layer were greater than those in the surface soil layer. Keywords: bacterial relative abundance, bacterial community structure, bacterial community diversity, soil properties, soil depth, Illumina MiSeq Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 85-92 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/19/2019-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/19/2019-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202002-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:2:id:19-2019-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Fibrianty Minhal Author-Workplace-Name: Yogyakarta Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Author-Name: Azwar Ma'as Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Author-Name: Eko Hanudin Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Author-Name: Putu Sudira Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Title: Improvement of the chemical properties and buffering capacity of coastal sandy soil as affected by clays and organic by-product application Abstract: The main problem with coastal sandy soil is its low water and nutrient retention due to its low clay and organic matter content. This study was aimed at improving the chemical properties and buffering capacity of these soils by using ameliorants of clay and organic polymers. The leaching experiment was conducted with two factors and three replications. The first factor was a clay ameliorant (5% clay, whether from the soil type Inceptisol (I) and the soil type Vertisol (V)). The second factor was a natural or synthetic organic polymer (tapioca 1% and 2% (T1 and T2), tapioca dregs 1% and 2% (TD1 and TD2), polyvinyl alcohol 0.1% and 0.2% (P1 and P2)). The leaching was carried out at 1-month intervals and the leachate was collected for the analysis of the soluble Ca, Mg, K and Na. The leaching was stopped after all the treatments reached the electrical conductivity values < 100 μS/cm. The ameliorants of clay (I or V) and natural polymer (T or TD) significantly increased the cation exchange capacity, the available cations, and the buffering capacity of the coastal sandy soil. The single treatment of I was better than V in increasing the available Mg, while the combination with organic natural polymers could increase the available Ca and K. The treatment of ITD2 was able to increase the soil buffering and maintain the soluble Ca, Mg and K in the coastal sandy soil. Therefore, TD which is a by-product of the tapioca flour industry when combined with I has the potential to be a prospective ameliorant for coastal sandy soils. Keywords: ameliorant, Inceptisol, leaching, polymer, tapioca, Vertisol Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 93-100 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/55/2019-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/55/2019-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202002-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:2:id:55-2019-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Tereza Zádorová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Daniel Žížala Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Vít Penížek Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Aleš Vaněk Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Harmonisation of a large-scale historical database with the actual Czech soil classification system Abstract: The possibility of the adequate use of data and maps from historical soil surveys depends, to a large measure, on their harmonisation. Legacy data originating from a large-scale national mapping campaign, "Systematic soil survey of agricultural soils in Czechoslovakia (SSS, 1961-1971)", were harmonised and converted according to the actual system of soil classification and descriptions used in Czechia - the Czech taxonomic soil classification system (CTSCS). Applying the methods of taxonomic distance and quantitative analysis and reclassification of the selected soil properties, the conversion of two types of mapping soil units with different detailed soil information (General soil representative (GSR), and Basic soil representative (BSR)) to their counterparts in the CTSCS has been effectuated. The results proved the good potential of the used methods for the soil data harmonisation. The closeness of the concepts of the two classifications was shown when a number of soil classes had only one counterpart with a very low taxonomic distance. On the contrary, soils with variable soil properties were approximating several related units. The additional information on the soil skeleton content, texture, depth and parent material, available for the BSR units, showed the potential in the specification of some units, though the harmonisation of the soil texture turned out to problematic due to the different categorisation of soil particles. The validation of the results in the study region showed a good overall accuracy (75% for GSR, 76.1% for BSR) for both spatial soil units, when better performance has been observed in BSR. The conversion accuracy differed significantly in the individual soil units, and ranged from almost 100% in Fluvizems to 0% in Anthropozems. The extreme cases of a complete mis-classification can be attributed to inconsistencies originating in the historical database and maps. The study showed the potential of modern quantitative methods in the legacy data harmonisation and also the necessity of a critical approach to historical databases and maps. Keywords: legacy data, soil classification, soil survey, soil mapping, taxonomic distance Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 101-115 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/41/2019-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/41/2019-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202002-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:2:id:41-2019-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Petra Bílá Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic Author-Name: Bořivoj Šarapatka Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic Author-Name: Ondřej Horňák Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jaroslava Novotná Author-Workplace-Name: Agricultural Research, Ltd., Troubsko, Czech Republic Author-Name: Martin Brtnický Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plan Nutrition, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Which quality indicators reflect the most sensitive changes in the soil properties of the surface horizons affected by the erosion processes? Abstract: Soil erosion, especially water erosion, is one of the most widespread types of soil degradation, not only worldwide, but also within the Czech Republic, where it endangers more than a half of the agricultural land. In addition to farming, the landscape structure has a significant impact on soil erosion in the conditions under study, where, especially in the post-war period, the collectivisation of large-scale arable land was accompanied by the abolition of the associated landscape elements. The agricultural production area of South Moravia is one of the most endangered areas in the Czech Republic, therefore, it was selected for our research, whose main objective was to verify the sensitivity of the selected physical, chemical and biochemical characteristics to identify the changes in the soil properties in the erosion processes at the identified erosion areas. The testing was carried out within a period of 5 years in 60 locations with Chernozems with cultivated corn. To assess the quality of the soil properties, indicators of soil quality from the physical, chemical and biological - biochemical groups were selected. The results of the analyses and the subsequent statistical evaluation showed that the chemical characteristics, especially those related to the quantity and quality of the organic matter, were the most sensitive to the changes in the soil properties. From the biochemical indicators, some enzymes, particularly dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase, reacted sensitively. The physical characteristics were not significantly affected by the erosion processes. Keywords: physical, chemical and biochemical characteristics, soil, soil quality indicators, water erosion Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 116-124 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/71/2019-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/71/2019-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202002-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:2:id:71-2019-SWR Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Erika Gömöryová Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovakia Author-Name: Gabriela Barančíková Author-Workplace-Name: National Agriculture and Food Centre, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia Author-Name: Erika Tobiašová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Science, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Ján Halás Author-Workplace-Name: National Agriculture and Food Centre, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia Author-Name: Rastislav Skalský Author-Workplace-Name: National Agriculture and Food Centre, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia Author-Name: Štefan Koco Author-Workplace-Name: National Agriculture and Food Centre, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia Author-Name: Dušan Gömöry Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovakia Title: Responses of soil microorganisms to land use in different soil types along the soil profiles Abstract: The objective of this study was to find out how land use affects the soil microbial attributes in different soil types and to which depth. The study was performed in Slovakia (Europe) in three areas differing in soil type (Chernozem, Stagnosol, Cambisol). Within each area, three localities with different land use (forest, grassland, cropland), representing a gradient with different intensity of management, were chosen. The soil samples were taken along a single soil profile up to a depth of 1 m with 10 cm increments at each locality. In the soil samples, the basic soil chemical properties and microbial attributes were determined. The effect of the land use on the microbial biomass and basal respiration was mainly observed in the Chernozem in the top 30 cm, while in the Stagnosol, no difference in the trend in the microbial biomass between the different ecosystems along the soil profile was found. The N-mineralisation reflected the different management practices especially in the Cambisol in the top 20 cm. The most distinct differences in the catalase activity between the soils differing in land use were found in the Cambisol along the whole profile. The richness and diversity of the functional groups did not differ significantly between the soils with the different land use and also no uniform responses of the functional groups composition to the land use were observed. The microbial biomass and activity were mainly affected by the amount of the soil organic matter; the intensity of the impact differed according to the soil type. Keywords: cropland, forest, grassland, microbial community, soil types Journal: Soil and Water Research Pages: 125-134 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/20/2019-SWR File-URL: http://swr.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/20/2019-SWR.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/swr-202002-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:15:y:2020:i:2:id:20-2019-SWR