Steep slopes consisting of disturbed soil are very often found in construction, landfill, and surface mining situations. Although legislation and economics dictate that vegetative cover be established on these slopes as rapidly as possible, the occurrence of large rainfall events during critical periods of vegetation establishment can frequently cause extensive soil loss. Sediment generated fro...

The Three Gorge Project (TGP) of China necessitates the resettlement of over 1 million population (mostly farmers) to more rugged and isolated areas than their original settlements. Soil erosion is a serious environmental and production problem in this area. To decrease the risk on environmental impacts, there is an increasing demand for sound, and readily applicable techniques for soil conserv...

Biological soil crusts (BSCs, or biocrusts) have important positive ecological functions such as erosion control and soil fertility improvement, and they may also have negative effects on soil moisture in some cases. Simultaneous discussions of the two-sided impacts of BSCs are key to the rational use of this resource. This study focused on the contribution of BSCs while combining with specific...

A leaching experiment using a mixture of five REE oxides and gravelly, sandy loam soils was conducted to examine the applicability of the REE oxides as a sediment tracer for coarse-textured soils. The experiment showed little leaching of the oxides and an enrichment of various size classes of soil particles with the oxides, which reflected the strong binding capability of the REE oxides with th...

Soil erosion rates and soil quality indicators were measured along two hillslope transects in the Loess Plateau near Yan'an, China. The objectives were to: (a) quantify spatial patterns and controlling processes of soil redistribution due to water and tillage erosion, and (b) correlate soil quality parameters with soil redistribution along the hillslope transects for different land use manageme...

The classification of soils originated from three main sources: from early empirical soil surveys, from folk soil classifications and from scientific theory of pedology. The first soil classifications reflected their origin in different extent, and still remain certain features of their initial sources. The actual situation in soil classification is discouraging, mainly due to the diversity of ...

1 Plant and microbial nitrogen (N) dynamics were examined in soils of an Arctic salt marsh beneath goose-grazed swards and in degraded soils. The degraded soils are the outcome of intensive destructive foraging by geese, which results in vegetation loss and near-irreversible changes in soil properties. The objective of the study was to determine whether vegetation loss led to a decline in micro...

Please cite this article in press as: Watts, A.C. Or Forest Ecol. Manage. (2012), http://dx.doi.org/1 Swamps, peatlands, and other wetland ecosystems can store vast amounts of carbon in organicallyderived peat soils. Wildfires during severe droughts can produce smoldering combustion in these soils, releasing large quantities of carbon to the atmosphere and causing dramatic changes at the local ...