In order to evaluate the soil salinization risk of the oases in arid land of northwest China, we chose a typical oasis-the Yanqi basin as the research area. Then, we collected soil samples from the area and made comprehensive assessment for soil salinization risk in this area. The result showed that: (1) In all soil samples, high variation was found for the amount of Ca2+ and K+, while the othe...

Urban and rural areas may have different levels of environmental contamination and different potential sources of exposure. Many metals, i.e., arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg), have well-documented negative neurological effects, and the developing fetus and young children are particularly at risk. Using a database of mother and child pairs, three areas were identified: a rural area wit...

Soil moisture plays a key role in most environmental processes, as evaporation and transpiration are heavily dependent on soil moisture variability. While it is one of the few important hydrological variables that can be directly observed, the high spatial and temporal variability makes it difficult to measure globally or even regionally. Reliance is therefore placed on land surface models to p...

Desertification leads to decrease in the ecosystem C pool and attendant reduction in Soil Organic Carbon (SOC). Reclamation of sandy land in arid and semi-arid has a high potential to increase carbon sequestration and improving soil quality. Our objective as to examine the changes in the soil carbon sequestration and soil properties of two soil layers (0–20 and 20-50 cm) under two types of recl...

This study was carried out to evaluate the capability of a combined fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method for soil fertility evaluation of common bean in Shiraz, Iran. A set of membership functions was constructed to represent the soil fertility classes, which were derived from 50 field samples collected through a purposive sampling approach. Seven soil parameters including phosphorus (...

The Tau-Omega model of microwave emission from soil and vegetation layers is widely used to estimate soil moisture content from passive microwave observations. Its application to prospective satellite-based observations aggregating several thousand square kilometres requires understanding of the effects of scene heterogeneity. The effects of heterogeneity in soil surface roughness, soil moistur...

harvesting of timber using ground based machinery is still a common practice around the world. track and road building, and movement of machinery during harvesting operations cause soil disturbance. therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the change in soil properties after logging operation on skid trails (2 years and 7 years after logging) and compare disturbed soil properties with...

A load of 5±20 Mg on a single axle cart is a common practice for spreading manure and harvesting grains in the US Corn Belt. Yet, effects of such a load used for a long time of 5±10 years on crop yield are not known for predominant soils of the region. Further, axle load effects on crop yield may depend on tillage methods. Thus, effects of axle load and tillage methods on corn (Zea mays L.) gra...

Bulk soil organic carbon concentration and isotopic composition characterize its sources and fate, identify the anthropogenic input of organic carbon into the soil, and trace soil carbon turnover. Coal and/or coal combustion products represent the prime anthropogenic input of organic carbon into three soil profiles located in the vicinity of a steel company. Three profiles positioned away from ...