The nature and danger of quicksand has been disputed since a long time. Despite widespread belief that humans can be swallowed or even sucked in, engineers of soil mechanics have typically asserted that, since the density of sludge is larger than that of water, a person cannot fully submerge. We investigated a specific type of quicksand at the shore of drying lagoons. Cyanobacteria form an impe...

The aim of this study was to produce mulch by combining natural mineral and organic substances in order to reach soil stabilization and improve soil physical and mechanical properties in Koopal area. The effects of organic mulch (at 3 levels of O1: combination of 1% sugarcane bagasse biochar+0.5% gum Arabic+0.5% gelatin; O2: combination of 3% sugarcane bagasse biochar+1% gum Arabic+1% gelatin; ...

Management systems influence soil quality over time. A randomized block design in 2 (tillage system) 3 (crop rotation) factorial arrangement was laid-out to evaluate the impact of tillage and crop rotation (2002–2007) on soil quality. Conventional tillage and No-till were factored into continuous corn, corn–soybean, and corn–soybean–wheat–Cowpea systems. Ten soil cores were collected at 0–7.5, ...

In Central Aragón (NE Spain), where strong and dry winds are frequent all year round, fallow lands are susceptible to wind erosion due to insufficient crop residues on the surface and loose, finely divided soils by multiple tillage operations. Effects of conventional tillage (CT — mouldboard ploughing followed by a compacting roller) and reduced tillage (RT — chisel ploughing) on soil surface p...

Monitoring the distribution and area change of biological soil crusts (BSCs) can enhance our understanding interactions between nonvascular plants environment in drylands. However, using only pixel-based binary classification methods results large-area estimation errors at large scales. The lack available calculation for directly measuring BSC coverage multispectral satellite images makes it ch...

max 200 words) Soil biota are essential for many soil processes and functions, yet there is an increasing pressure on soil biodiversity and soil degradation remains a pertinent issue. Therefore, the sustainable management of soils requires soil monitoring, including biological indicators able to relate land use and management to soil functioning and ecosystem services. Since the 1990’s, biologi...