Effect of Visitor Activities on Surface Soil Environmental Conditions and Aboveground Herbaceous Biomass in Ayder Natural Park

The effects of visitor activities on surface soil environmental conditions and aboveground herbaceous biomass in Ayder Natural Park, Turkey, were investigated. Soil properties and aboveground herbaceous biomass were identified and characterized as heavily trafficked site (HTS), moderately trafficked sites (MTS) and control (non‐trafficked site) in grassland in a forest gap. Some soil properties were measured on 60 pits at 0–5 and 5–10 cm soil depths. The intensity of visitor activities had a negative impact on both surface soil properties and the aboveground herbaceous plant biomass and root mass in the study area in Ayder. The soil bulk density and soil penetration resistance increased from 0.94 to 1.47 g cm^–3 and 0.55 to 1.65 MPa, respectively, saturated hydraulic conductivity decreased from 77.98 to 8.85 mm h^–1, and soil organic matter decreased from 6.71 to 1.77% in moderately and heavily trafficked sites, respectively, at 0–5 cm soil depth. The soil properties were degraded at both the surface layer and the subsurface layer and the greatest degradation was measured in the heavily trafficked site followed by the moderately trafficked site. There was a strong negative linear relationship between soil degradation and aboveground herbaceous plant biomass, which decreased by 50.05 and 78.19% in moderately and heavily trafficked sites, respectively.     

Effects of soil surface components on soil hydrological behaviour in a dry Mediterranean environment (Southern Spain)

Various researchers have studied the spatial pattern of soil surface components such as vegetation, rock fragments, bare soil, litter and surface crusts, as a key factor of hydrological behaviour in Mediterranean settings with heterogeneous patches of vegetation cover and strong human impact. The studies indicate that there is a mosaic of patches that generate run-off or infiltrate overland flow, distributed in various ways along hillslopes. Few of these studies, however, have looked at areas underlain by metamorphic rocks such as phyllites or schists. This study analysed the temporal and spatial variability of the effects of soil surface components on hydrological processes in a small dry Mediterranean catchment underlain by metamorphic rocks. A systematic sampling of multiple sites throughout a hydrological year was carried out.We related the hydrological behaviour of soil surface components to 1) their position along the hillslope, 2) the distance of existing vegetation tussocks from the line of run-off, 3) rainfall intensity and 4) the main physical/chemical soil properties affecting infiltration processes. Statistical analysis was used to check the validity of the relationships. The results show that soil surface components have highly variable effects, in both space and time, on soil hydrological behaviour. These effects particularly depend on the location along the line of maximum slope and the intensity of preceding rainfall, whose interaction defines soil hydrological status. These results are similar to those for other Mediterranean settings with different lithology, in that the succession of contributing patches are hydrologically interconnected along a hillslope. The variables used and the grouping of explanatory variables through principal component analyses were found to be suitable for discussing the spatial distribution of soil surface components in the hydrologically dynamic environment of the study area.     

Alluvial terraces on the Ionian coast of northern Calabria, southern Italy: Implications for tectonic and sea level controls

In this paper we present the results of an integrated geomorphological, pedological and stratigraphical study carried out along the Ionian coast of northern Calabria (southern Italy). This area is characterised by the occurrence of five orders of alluvial terraces that are striking features of the landscape, where large and steep catchments debouch from the mountain front to the hilly coastal belt.Field investigations indicate that the deposits of all five terraces are suggestive of shallow gravel-bed braided streams.On the basis of the age of the Pleistocene substratum and morphostratigraphic correlation with marine terraces cropping out in the nearby areas, each order has been associated to specific marine oxygen isotope stages.Consequently, we focused on the interplay of allocyclic factors influencing stream aggradation/degradation. Soil features and other climatic proxies suggest that climate didn't play an important role with respect to tectonic and base-level changes in controlling fluvial dynamics.In particular, we recognised that during the middle Pleistocene the study area experienced a period of subaerial landscape modelling, as suggested by the thick and complex alluvial sequence of the highest terrace (T1). The onset of regional uplift marks a change in the geomorphic scenario, with tectonic and eustatically driven changes in base-level working together in causing switches in fluvial aggradational/erosional phases (T2–T5 terraces). Because of the uplift, river dissection occurred during phases of sea level fall, whereas aggradation phases occurred during periods of climate amelioration (sea level rise) just before highstands were attained.As a consequence, the stepped terraces in the study area reflect the interplay between tectonics (uplift) and sea level changes, in which terraces define episodes of relative sea level fall during the late Quaternary.     

Rates of sheet and rill erosion in Germany — A meta-analysis

Knowledge of erosion rates under real conditions is of great concern regarding sustainability of landuse and off-site effects on water bodies and settlements. Experimentally derived rates of sheet and rill erosion are often biased by experimental settings, which deviate considerably from typical landuse, by short measuring periods and by small spatial extensions, which do not account for the pronounced spatio-temporal variability of erosion events. We compiled data from 27 studies covering 1076 plot years to account for this variability. Modelling was used to correct for deficiencies in the experimental settings, which overrepresented arable land and used steeper and shorter slopes as well as higher erosivity than typically found in reality. For example, the average slope gradient was 5.9° for all arable plot experiments while it is only 2.6° on total arable land in Germany. The expected soil loss by sheet and rill erosion in Germany after taking real slopes, landuse and erosivity into account averaged 2.7 t ha^− 1 yr^− 1. Annual crops contributed the largest proportion (90%) but hops despite its negligible contribution to landuse (0.06%) still contribute 1.0% due to its extraordinary rapid erosion, which was even faster than the measured bare fallow soil loss standardized to otherwise identical conditions. Bare fallow soil loss, which is often used as baseline, was 80 t ha^− 1 yr^− 1 when standardized to 5.1° slope gradient, 200 m flow path length, and average German erosivity.     

Factors influencing the behavior of buried pipelines subjected to earthquake faulting

Seismic ground faulting is a severe hazard for continuous buried pipelines. Over the years, researchers have attempted to understand pipe behavior, most frequently via numerical modeling and simulation. However, there has been little, if any, physical modeling and tests to verify the numerical modeling approaches and assumptions. This paper presents results of five pairs of centrifuge tests designed to investigate the influence of various factors on the behavior of buried high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipelines subjected to strike-slip faulting. Parameters considered are the soil moisture content, fault offset rate, relative burial depth (H/D), and pipe diameter. The centrifuge test results show that pipe behavior, specifically pipe strain, is nominally not affected by the soil moisture content and fault offset rate when the pipe is subjected to strike-slip faulting. On the other hand, the burial depth ratio (H/D) and pipe diameter influence peak pipe strain, and in some cases, the ground soil failure pattern.     

Influence of rainfall and soil properties spatial aggregation on extreme flash flood response modelling: An evaluation based on the Sesia river basin,North Western Italy

High resolution radar rainfall fields and a distributed hydrologic model are used to evaluate the sensitivity of flood and flash flood simulations to spatial aggregation of rainfall and soil properties at catchment scales ranging from 75 to 983 km². Hydrologic modeling is based on a Hortonian infiltration model and a network-based representation of hillslope and channel flow. The investigation focuses on three extreme flood and flash flood events occurred on the Sesia river basin, North Western Italy, which are analysed by using four aggregation lengths ranging from 1 to 16 km. The influence of rainfall spatial aggregation is examined by using the flow distance as a spatial coordinate, hence emphasising the role of river network in the averaging of space–time rainfall. The effects of reduced and distorted rainfall spatial variability on peak discharge have been found particularly severe for the flash flood events, with peak errors up to 35% for rainfall aggregation of 16 km and at 983 km² catchment size. Effects are particularly remarkable when significant structured rainfall variability combines with relatively important infiltration volumes due to dry initial conditions, as this emphasises the non-linear character of the rainfall–runoff relationship. In general, these results confirm that the correct estimate of rainfall volume is not enough for the accurate reproduction of flash flood events characterised by large and structured rainfall spatial variability, even at catchment scales around 250 km². However, accurate rainfall volume estimation may suffice for less spatially variable flood events. Increasing the soil properties aggregation length exerts similar effects on peak discharge errors as increasing the rainfall aggregation length, for the cases considered here and after rescaling to preserve the rainfall volume. Moreover, peak discharge errors are roughly proportional to runoff volume errors, which indicates that the shape of the flood wave is influenced in a limited way by modifying the detail of the soil property spatial representation. Conversely, rainfall aggregation may exert a pronounced influence on the discharge peak by reshaping the spatial organisation of the runoff volumes and without a comparable impact on the runoff volumes.     

Free vibration of soils during large earthquakes

Free vibration of soils happens frequently during some large earthquakes, perhaps seeming like a paradox. This happens because the energy released from seismic sources in some cases is not stationary in time, allowing relaxation intervals in between without important seismic wave arrivals in which free soil vibration happens. Two techniques to estimate the natural period of the free vibration from accelerograms are presented: autocorrelograms and Fourier spectra. Both techniques sometimes allow measuring higher mode frequencies of the soil for the three first modes as well as modal damping. Free vibration modal periods satisfy the classic 1D equation S-wave theory. The presence of free vibrations corresponds to shear wave soil energy radiation episodes rather than to energy amplification of incoming stationary seismic shear waves suggested by the dynamic soil amplification. These results explain the discrepancies observed between the theoretical soil dynamic amplification and the accelerographic measurement. Observation of free vibration of soils is not always possible, it depends on the duration of the time windows without important seismic waves arrivals compared to the natural period and damping of the soil.     

A case study of spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture in the Loess Plateau, western China： A geostatistical approach

Soil moisture distribution shows highly variation both spatially and temporally. This study assesses the spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture on a hill-slope scale in the Loess Plateau in West China by using a geostatistical approach. Soil moisture was measured by time-domain reflectometry （TDR） in 313 samples. Two kinds of sampling scales were used （2 × 2 m and 20 ×20 m） at two soil layers （0-30 cm and 30-60 cm）. The general characteristics of soil moisture were analyzed by a classical statistics method, and the spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture was analyzed using a geostatistical approach. The results showed that the spherical model is the best-fit model to simulate soil moisture on the experimental hill-slope. The parameters of this model indicated that the spatial dependence of soil moisture in the selected hill-slope was moderate. Even the 2 × 2 m sampling scale was too coarse to show the detailed spatial variances of soil moisture in this area. The dependent distance increased from 27.4 m to 494.16 m as the sampling scale became coarse （from 2× 2 m to 20 ×20 m）. A map of soil moisture was generated by using original soil moisture data and interpolated values determined by the Kriging method. The average soil moisture （area weighted） in the different layers of soil was calculated on the basis of this map （10.94% for the 0-30 cm soil layer, 11.88% for the 30-60 cm soil layer）. This average soil moisture is lower than the corresponding average effective soil moisture, which suggests that the soil moisture is not sufficient to support vegetation in this area.     

地球化学探测方法在西宁市城市活断层探测中的应用

在西宁市城市活断层探测工作中利用FD-3017RaA测氡仪开展了隐伏断层土壤气氡的探测,探讨了断层的气体地球化学特征及其确定隐伏断层的方法。在进行的8条测线上进行了土壤气氡的野外现场测量,共1384个点。结果表明,在8个地球化学剖面中确定了2处异常,由此确定了断层的大体位置,该处的人工浅层地震勘探结果也证实断层的存在和具体位置。土壤气氡测量法作为辅助探测手段在大城市活断层的探测工作中有一定的参考意义。     

Multivariate analysis of soil moisture history for a hillslope

In this study, the spatial distribution of measured soil moisture was analyzed on the platform of multivariate modeling. Soil moisture time series for two seasons were selected and used for analysis to reveal similarities and differences in soil moisture responses for a few rainfall events. The development of a soil moisture transport process that considers the representative element volume and uncertainty of soil media provides the hydrological basis for time series modeling. The systematic procedure of Box–Jenkins with noise modeling was used to delineate the final models for all monitoring points. The physical basis of mass balance and the continuity in inflow contribution, as well as statistical criteria, were used in the model selection procedure. Heuristic approaches provide the spatial distribution of selected models along the transect of a hillside. Comparative analysis for two different depths and seasons provide an understanding of the variation in soil moisture transfer processes at the hillslope scale. Differences in soil moisture models for both depths and seasons are associated with eco-hydrological processes. The relationships between distributed topographic features and modeling results were explored to configure dominant hydrological processes for each season.