Soil quality assessment is valuable for evaluating agroecosystem sustainability, soil degradation, and identifying sustainable land management practices. This study compared soil quality within culturally protected forest areas and adjacent grassland, grazing land, and farmland in Abo-Wonsho, Southern Ethiopia. A total of 40 soil samples (4 land uses &#xd7; 5 replications &#xd7; 2 soil depth layers: 0 to 10&#x2009;cm and 10 to 20&#x2009;cm) were collected for analysis. Soil textural fractions (i.e., sand, silt, and clay percentage) varied with land use and soil depths even though the textural class across all land use types was sandy loam. Bulk density, soil organic carbon (SOC), and available potassium (K) varied significantly: <svg style="vertical-align:-0.1638pt;width:66.875px;" id="M1" height="11.375" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 66.875 11.375" width="66.875" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
	
		
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</svg>, respectively, with land use and soil depth, but other indicators showed no significant difference. We conclude soil quality can be protected and maintained by improving existing land use practices within both agricultural and modern forest management areas.

Awdenegest Moges

Melku Dagnachew

Fantaw Yimer

Land Use Effects on Soil Quality Indicators: A Case Study of Abo-Wonsho Southern Ethiopia

Because of the limiting efficacy of common weed control methods on Cyperus spp. and Imperata cylindrica their occurrences in tropical agroecologies and the effect of soil properties in suppressing these species were investigated in south Benin (Cotonou), a typical ecology of the Dahomey gap. Weeds and soil samples were collected twice early and later in the rainy season in 2009 at four topographic positions (summit, upper slope, middle slope, and foot slope). Sampling was done according to Braun-Blanquet abundance indices (3 and 5) and the absence (0) of Cyperus and Imperata in a quadrat, respectively. The relationship between their respective abundances and soil parameters (texture, C, N, P, K, Na, Ca, Mg, and Fe) was explored. Weed occurrence was less related to soil texture, and Imperata growth was more influenced by soil nutrients (K, Ca, and Fe) than Cyperus spp. Soil cation ratios of K&#x2009;:&#x2009;Mg and Ca&#x2009;:&#x2009;Mg were the main factors that could be changed by applying K and/or Mg fertilizers to reduce Cyperus and/or Imperata occurrence. Maintaining high Fe concentration in soil at hillside positions can also reduce Imperata abundance, especially in the Dahomey gap.

Brahima Kone

Guillaume Lucien Amadji

Amadou Toure

Abou Togola

Mariame Mariko

Jo&#xeb;l Huat

A Case of Cyperus spp. and Imperata cylindrica Occurrences on Acrisol of the Dahomey Gap in South Benin as Affected by Soil Characteristics: A Strategy for Soil and Weed Management

The availability of light detection and ranging data (LiDAR) has resulted in a new era of landscape analysis. For example, improvements in LiDAR data resolution may make it possible to accurately model microtopography over a large geographic area; however, data resolution and processing costs versus resulting accuracy may be too costly. We examined two LiDAR datasets of differing resolutions, a low point density (0.714&#x2009;points/m2 spacing) 1&#x2009;m DEM available statewide in Pennsylvania and a high point density (10.28&#x2009;points/m2 spacing) 1&#x2009;m DEM research-grade DEM, and compared the calculated roughness between both resulting DEMs using standard deviation of slope, standard deviation of curvature, a pit fill index, and the difference between a smoothed splined surface and the original DEM. These results were then compared to field-surveyed plots and transects of microterrain. Using both datasets, patterns of roughness were identified, which were associated with different landforms derived from hydrogeomorphic features such as stream channels, gullies, and depressions. Lowland areas tended to have the highest roughness values for all methods, with other areas showing distinctive patterns of roughness values across metrics. However, our results suggest that the high-resolution research-grade LiDAR did not improve roughness modeling in comparison to the coarser statewide LiDAR. We conclude that resolution and initial point density may not be as important as the algorithm and methodology used to generate a LiDAR-derived DEM for roughness modeling purposes.

Kristen M. Brubaker

Wayne L. Myers

Patrick J. Drohan

Douglas A. Miller

Elizabeth W. Boyer

The Use of LiDAR Terrain Data in Characterizing Surface Roughness and Microtopography

Sabine Chabrillat

Eyal Ben-Dor

Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel

Jos&#xe9; A. M. Dematt&#xea;

Quantitative Soil Spectroscopy

Terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration through optimizing land use and management is widely considered a realistic option to mitigate the global greenhouse effect. But how the responses of individual ecosystems to changes in land use and management are related to baseline soil organic C (SOC) levels still needs to be evaluated at various scales. In this study, we modeled SOC dynamics within both natural and managed ecosystems in North Dakota of the United States and found that the average SOC stock in the top 20 cm depth of soil lost at a rate of 450&#x2009;kg&#x2009;C&#x2009;ha&#x2212;1&#x2009;yr&#x2212;1 in cropland and 110&#x2009;kg&#x2009;C&#x2009;ha&#x2212;1&#x2009;yr&#x2212;1 in grassland between 1971 and 1998. Since 1998, the study area had become a SOC sink at a rate of 44&#x2009;kg&#x2009;C&#x2009;ha&#x2212;1&#x2009;yr&#x2212;1. The annual rate of SOC change in all types of lands substantially depends on the magnitude of initial SOC contents, but such dependency varies more with climatic variables within natural ecosystems and with management practices within managed ecosystems. Additionally, soils with high baseline SOC stocks tend to be C sources following any land surface disturbances, whereas soils having low baseline C contents likely become C sinks following conservation management.

Zhengxi Tan

Shuguang Liu

Baseline-Dependent Responses of Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics to Climate and Land Disturbances

The 24-year study was conducted in southern Illinois (USA) on land similar to that being removed from Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to evaluate the effects of conservation tillage systems on: (1) amount and rates of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and retention, (2) the long-term corn and soybean yields, and (3) maintenance and restoration of soil productivity of previously eroded soils. The no-till (NT) plots did store and retain 7.8&#x2009;Mg&#x2009;C&#x2009;ha&#x2212;1 more and chisel plow (CP) &#x2212;1.6&#x2009;Mg&#x2009;C&#x2009;ha&#x2212;1 less SOC in the soil than moldboard plow (MP) during the 24 years. However, no SOC sequestration occurred in the sloping and eroding NT, CP, and MP plots since the SOC level of the plot area was greater at the start of the experiment than at the end. The NT plots actually lost a total of &#x2212;1.2&#x2009;Mg&#x2009;C&#x2009;ha&#x2212;1, the CP lost &#x2212;9.9&#x2009;Mg&#x2009;C&#x2009;ha&#x2212;1, and the MP lost &#x2212;8.2&#x2009;Mg&#x2009;C&#x2009;ha&#x2212;1 during the 24-year study. The long-term productivity of NT compared favorably with that of MP and CP systems.

Kenneth R. Olson

Stephen A. Ebelhar

James M. Lang

Effects of 24 Years of Conservation Tillage Systems on Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Productivity

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Applied and Environmental Soil Science publishes research in the field of soil science. Its focus reflects the multidisciplinary nature of soil science, especially the dynamics and spatial heterogeneity of processes in soil.

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Applied and Environmental Soil Science - Table of contents 2013

Applied and Environmental Soil Science | Hindawi

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Applied and Environmental Soil Science publishes research in the field of soil science. Its focus reflects the multidisciplinary nature of soil science, especially the dynamics and spatial heterogeneity of processes in soil.

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Applied and Environmental Soil Science