A sink for atmospheric carbon (i.e., CO2) in soils may derive from the application of conservation tillage and the regrowth of native vegetation on abandoned agricultural land. Accumulations of soil organic matter on these lands could offset emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion, in the context of the Kyoto protocol. The rate of accumulation of soil organic matter is often higher on fert...

The Mollisols from the Pampas Region of Argentina have been described as presenting different compactability behaviors under agricultural systems. The purpose of this study was to provide information on the inherent soil factors related to the susceptibility to compaction. Total organic carbon (TOC), texture (CLAY, SILT, SAND), water retention at 0.33 kPa (WR), Proctor maximum bulk density (BDM...

Soil moisture plays a key role in vegetation restoration and ecosystem stability in arid and semiarid regions. The response of soil moisture to rainfall pulses is an important hydrological process, which is strongly influenced by land use during the implementation of vegetation restoration. In this study, vertical soil moisture variations of woodland (Pinus tabulaeformis), native grassland (Sti...

Soil infertility is the main barrier to dryland agricultural production in China. To provide a basis for the establishment of a soil amelioration technical system for rainfed fields in the semiarid area of northwest China, we conducted a four-year (2007-2011) field experiment to determine the effects of wheat straw incorporation on the arid soil nutrient levels of cropland cultivated with winte...

Drylands typically have distinctive vegetative patterns that reflect the underlying physical landscape. We use a geopedological classification to organize the landscape into five categories from broad scale to fine scale: (1) physiographic divisions which describe regional topography, such as mountains and basin floors; (2) regolith type which identifies residuum versus transported sediments; (...

Semiarid landscapes are characterized by vegetated surfaces. Understanding the impact of vegetation on aeolian soil erosion is important for reducing soil erosion or limiting crop damage through abrasion or burial. In the present study, a saltation model fully coupled with a large-eddy simulation airflow model is extended to vegetated landscapes. From this model, the sensitivity of sand erosion...

A one-dimensional soil model has been developed to better predict heat and water exchanges in arid and semiarid regions. New schemes to calculate evaporation and adsorption in the soil were incorporated in the model. High performance of the model was confirmed by comparison of predicted surface fluxes, soil temperature, and volumetric soil water content with those measured in the Negev Desert, ...

[1] Soil depth is an important input parameter in hydrological and ecological modeling. Presently, the soil depth data available in national soil databases (STATSGO and SSURGO) from the Natural Resources Conservation Service are provided as averages within generalized land units (map units). Spatial uncertainty within these units limits their applicability for distributed modeling in complex te...

Background Sorghum, a grassy non-halophyte, it is both drought and salinity tolerant, and is considered a promising crop for semiarid regions. During the last 20 years, its culture has expanded in Brazilian production by 780%, reaching 1,928,970 tons in 2009 [1]. Salinization of the soil and lack of rain are increasing constraints in semiarid regions. They predominate in northeastern Brazil. Th...

In arid and semiarid environments, seasonality usually exerts a strong influence on the composition and dynamics of the soil community. The soil macroarthropods were studied in a Caatinga forest located in the Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) Fazenda Almas, São José dos Cordeiros, Paraíba, Brazil. Samples were collected during the dry and rainy seasons following the method propos...