Changes in the agrarian configuration of the socialist Republic of RomaniaVeränderungen im agraren landschaftsbild der sozialistischen Republik RumänienTransformations dans le paysage agraire de la Roumanie

In Romania, agriculture has developed concomitently with the increased industrialization, and today agriculture plays a main role as the third world producer of sun-flower and hemp, the eighth of maize, the ninth of vine, etc. As Romania is geographically situated in the same zone as the big granaries of the world in the northern hemisphere and as it has a favourable climate it records one crop on 4/5 of the arable land, two crops a year on 1/5 and experimentally, three successive crops in the south of Oltenia. Similarly, the relief favours the development of agriculture under optimum conditions of mechanization on 70% of the territory. Agriculture has existed in Romania for about 6 millenia. Following the socialist transformation and modernization of agriculture—production /ha was increased two or three times and the crops rotation changed by introducing, beside cereals, a larger acreage of industrial crops, forage, vegetables, etc. The agricultural scene has been changed by substantial works of land improvement, especially dams, irrigation systems and a better land utilization. Industry, which takes over the added raw material provided by agriculture, has turned out agricultural machines and tools, chemical fertilizers, etc., required by agriculture. Finally, the authors give an agro-geographical characterization of the main natural units—the plains, the hills and plateaus, the mountain region and the Danube Delta.     

A macroseismic study of the Taldy-Sai caravanserai in the Kara-Bura River valley (Talas basin,Kyrgyzstan)

We report a macroseismic study of a ruined medieval building, a small caravanserai located along the caravan way from the Talas valley to the Chatkal and Fergana valleys in Kyrgyzstan. The ruins document several events in which the caravanserai was destroyed, apparently during earthquakes, and was rebuilt or repaired. The earliest earthquake occurred soon after the building was put up, about 400 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating of charcoal, and another event shook the area between 400 and 50 years BP. After being damaged in the ultimate earthquake, in the middle of the 20th century, the building was eventually abandoned.     

Impact of the geomorphology and soil management on the development of waterlogging in closed drainage basins of Egypt and Saudi Arabia

This paper investigates the interplay of the catchment geomorphology, hydrology and soil properties on the development of waterlogging and land degradation within different dry land catchments in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Multi-temporal remote sensing data of the Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper were collected and processed to detect the land cover changes and development of cultivations within the two areas. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model were hydrologically processed to delineate the catchment morphometrical parameters and to examine the spatial distribution of cultivated fields and their relation to the extracted drainage networks. The fluvial channels of the Farafra Oasis have largely been obliterated by the prevailing aridity and often buried under aeolian deposits. The soil of these areas are mainly lithic with a high calcium carbonate content, thus limiting the downward percolation of excess irrigation water and therefore develop perched water table and seepage through the buried fluvial channels. On the other hand, the cultivations of Tabuk catchment (which has similar geomorphologic setting to the Farafra Oasis) have shown no signs for waterlogging. This situation is could be related to the different soil properties; the spatial distribution of cultivated areas and the adopted irrigation methods via pivots. The inactive alluvial channels, landforms and irrigation methods have to be considered when planning for a new cultivation in dry land catchments to better control waterlogging hazard. The ‘dry-drainage’ concept can be implemented as the drainage and seepage water, which can be conveyed into certain abandoned playas for evaporation.