[1] The evaluation of the relationship between satellitederived vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index and normalized difference water index) and soil moisture improves our understanding of how these indices respond to soil moisture fluctuations. Soil moisture deficits are ultimately tied to drought stress on plants. The diverse terrain and climate of Oklahoma, the extensive...

An understanding of soil fragmentation during aggregate breakdown is useful in studies of erosion, tillage and traffic. Modelling efforts in soil fragmentation has largely focussed on characterisation of the size and mass distribution of aggregates using fractal approach and less on the nature and magnitude of the applied energy that produces fragmentation. In this paper, we report a model of s...

for optimum planning, utilization, and management of lands, recognition of spatial variability of soil properties is necessary. this research was conducted to evaluate spatial variability of soil properties in 5000 ha of arsenjan plain in fars province. for this purpose, soil salinity, ph, particle size percentage, sodium, potassium, and organic carbon (oc) were measured on a systematic squared...

Environmental conditions influence patterns of local-scale plant productivity and species richness. We sampled soils and plant communities at a topographicallydiverse, mid-successional old field site in Kansas to better understand the abiotic factors underlying a natural plant productivity gradient. We related soil texture, pH, percent nitrogen and carbon, and soil moisture to elevation, plant ...

A major contributor to degradation on rangelands in the western United States is the expansion of undesirable annual weeds following wildfire or other disturbance. The Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model was applied to three soil types (loamy sand, sandy loam, and silt loam) to simulate near-surface soil temperature and water for predicting potential seed germination in post-wildfire reveg...

Raindrops disperse large soil aggregates into smaller particles, which can clog soil pores, cause soil crusting, reduce rainfall infiltration and increase soil loss. It was found that natural polymer derivatives were effective in improving soil physical properties and decreasing soil erosion on an experimental loess hillslope. This study investigated the effect of new natural polymer derivative...

Shrub encroachment in arid and semiarid rangelands, a worldwide phenomenon, results in a heterogeneous landscape characterized by a mosaic of nutrient-depleted barren soil bordered by nutrient-enriched shrubby areas known as ‘‘fertile islands.’’ Even though shrub encroachment is considered as a major contributor to rangeland degradation, little is known about mechanisms favoring the reversibili...

The solute concentration in the subsoil beneath the root zone is an important parameter for leaching assessment. Drainage centrifugation is considered a simple and straightforward method of determining soil solution chemistry. Although several studies have been carried out to determine whether this method is robust, hardly any results are available for loess subsoils. To study the effect of cen...