210Pb dating of scottish lake sediments,afforestation and accelerated soil erosion

Changes in the rate of soil erosion in lake catchments can be identified from changes in the rate of sediment accumulation in lakes. Here we compare recently afforested sites with non-afforested sites in the Galloway area of Southwest Scotland. We show that lakes with non-afforested catchments have slow, constant sediment accumulation rates, whereas lakes with recently afforested catchments have changes in accumulation that parallel the known history of afforestation. For Loch Grannoch the sediment accumulation rate increases from 0.1 cm yr^?1 to over 2 cm yr^?2 during the disturbance period. Data from L. Skerrow, however, suggest that the rate might decline to predisturbance levels after approximately 10 years as the forest canopy closes and drainage channels stabilize.     

Surface runoff and sediment yield in the Ardèche rangelands

This paper presents a case study of runoff and sediment generation under Submediterranean rangeland conditions (Ardèche drainage basin, France). Measurements indicate that on a rough hillslope interrill runoff and sediment are not produced uniformly over the slope surface. It is observed that runoff concentrates immediately in non-permanent interrill flow paths, which under average storm conditions vary in length from 1.0 to 12.5 m. Long interrill flow paths may eventually become permanent. These permanent flow paths, called pre-rills, are introduced as a new source area, and are considered to be the initial stage in the development of rills. Along pre-rills considerable quantities of runoff and sediment are carried away. This study also shows that calculations based on interrill, pre-rill, and rill runoff will only have significance if storm and soil conditions are specified in detail. It is concluded from a correlation analysis between the runoff volume and the amount of soil loss on a storm-by-storm basis that the runoff volume alone cannot explain the amount of sediment that is generated in each source area; soil availability is an additional factor that must be taken into account.     

The influence of soil properties on the erodibility of Belgian loamy soils: A study based on rainfall simulation experiments

Twenty soils from the Leuven region were tested in the laboratory with a rainfall simulator. Their texture varied from loam to loamy sand. On the basis of the results obtained, they were classified as a function of the runoff and splash erodibility. For every soil, several properties were determined and tentatively used to explain the classifications based on the runoff and splash erodibility. Significant negative correlations were found between silt content, aggregate stability, C_5–10 index, water content at saturation, and cohesion on the one side and erodibility on the other; a positive correlation was found between sand content and erodibility.     

Rate of soil erosion processes on vineyards in central Piedmont (NW Italy)

The ‘Tertiary Basin of Piedmont’ is a hilly region, mainly composed of marine sediments, such as marls, silts and sands. The slopes, largely devoted to grape production, are usually kept bare of vegetation and are thus prone to soil erosion processes. For two years we have measured soil loss in relation to rainfall on experimental plots located in vineyards. In all the plots considered erosion started with low rainfall intensities (0·07 mm/min), and above 0·4 mm/min the amount of soil loss dramatically increased (to over 1800 g/m in one event). Most of the erosion occurs during summer rainstorms, but the behaviour of the soil under erosive rainfalls is very different from one site to another, depending only in part upon the various rainfall rates, soil and geometrical characteristics of the plots. It can be seen that soil loss varies from nearly negligible values (20 g/m/yr) to unacceptably high levels (to over 4·7 kg/m/yr), according to the different types of land cultivation. Deep ploughing and heavy herbicide treatment give rise to accelerated erosion processes leading to soil losses much higher than in other vineyard plots in Europe.     

The effects of soil piping on contributing areas and erosion patterns

Natural piping doubles the dynamic contributing area on the upper Maesnant stream in mid-Wales, mainly through linking points well beyond the riparian zones of seepage to the stream. Both discharge and sediment transport rates in the major pipes are closely related to the size of shallow surface microtopographic hollows in which they lie, and which themselves are largely created by piping erosion. However, pipe dischrges are frequently generated by contributing areas larger than these surface depressions and some pipes run counter to the surface topography. The redistribution and acceleration of hillslope drainage processes by piping has implications for theories of hillslope development, especially through plan-form modifications, and also for channel discharge and erosion.     

Suction-controlled triaxial testing: Laboratory procedures in relation to resistance envelope methods

In certain tropical slopes it appears possible that soil suction may play a significant role in maintaining stability. This communication outlines a laboratory suction-controlled triaxial test that can be undertaken to validate the threshold suction predicted by resistance envelope methods. It is shown that for two sites examined in St. Lucia, West Indies, the results from such a test confirm results obtained by use of resistance envelopes.     

TRPO萃取-固体荧光法测定土壤和空气尘埃中的铀

本文在研究了影响萃取的各种因素后,给出了用TRPO-OK萃取-固体荧光法测定土壤和空气尘埃中铀的方法。土壤和空气尘埃样品全程回收率分别为(89.6±11.8)％和(85.5±5.6)％,方法灵敏对土壤和空气尘埃样品分别为0.03μg·g~(-1)和0.02Pg·1~(-1)。样品中的常量离子对分析不产生明显干扰。操作简便、快速,适用于常规监测和本底调查。     

Long-term erosion on granitic roadcuts based on exposed tree roots

Exposed roots were used to estimate soil and bedrock erosion on the cut slopes of a 45-year-old road constructed in granitic soils of the Idaho Batholith. The original roadcut surface was defined by projecting a straight line from the toe of the cut past the end of the exposed root to the intersection of a straight line projected along the surface of the hillslope. A cross-sectioning technique was then used to determine erosion to the present roadcut surface. A total of 41 exposed root sites were used to estimate erosion on a 1350 m-long section of road. Average erosion was 1·0 and 1·1 cm/year for soil and bedrock respectively. Buttressing by tree roots caused lower erosion rates for soil as compared to bedrock. Both soil and bedrock erosion rates showed statistically significant correlations with the gradients of the original cut slope. The bedrock erosion data provide a reasonable estimate of the disintegration rate of exposed granitic bedrock exhibiting the weathering and fracturing properties common to this area. The road is located in a study watershed where long-term sediment yield data are available. Sediment data from adjacent study watersheds with no roads were compared to sediment data from the roaded watershed to estimate the long-term increase in sediment yield caused by the road. The increase amounts to about 2·4 m³/year. This figure, compared to the average annual on-site road erosion, provides an erosion to sediment delivery ratio of less than 10 per cent. Based on study results, road construction and maintenance practices are suggested for helping reduce roadcut erosion.     

A world model of soil carbon dioxide

Mean growing season soil PCO₂ data were obtained for 19 regions of the world in nine countries. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis with soil log(PCO₂) as the dependent variable and TEMP, PRECIP, log(AET), and log(PET) as the four climatic independent variables demonstrated that AET was the best independent predictor of soil PCO₂. An improved soil PCO₂-AET model was developed by assuming (1) that as AET approaches zero, soil PCO₂ approaches the atmospheric value and (2) that there is an upper limit to soil PCO₂ at very high AET. This model has the form log(PCO₂) = ?3·47 + 2·09 (1 ?e^{?0·0172 AET}) where AET is in mm. It explains 67 per cent of the initial variation in the soil PCO₂ data, predicts a soil log(PCO₂) of ? 3·47 at AET = 0, and an upper limit of 3·5 per cent (log(PCO₂) = ? 1·45) for mean growing season soil PCO₂ at AET values of 2000 mm and above. The results of this study suggest that soil PCO₂ levels in tropical areas are, on average, higher than those in temperate, alpine, and arctic regions.