BACKGROUND To convert deserts into arable, green landscapes is a global vision, and desert farming is a strong growing area of agriculture world-wide. However, its effect on diversity of soil microbial communities, which are responsible for important ecosystem services like plant health, is still not known. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We studied the impact of long-term agriculture on deser...

Currently gravity irrigation remains the most widely used in agricultural areas and 90 percent of plantings, the water is applied to the plots by gravity. One of the main problems with these systems is erosion, which is a by product of the erosive forces of water over the row, which brings soil loss and therefore decreases in crop yield. Erosion is the removal of surface soil material caused by...

background: gavkhooni marsh is one of the most important marshes in iran. in the recent years, natural conditions of this marsh have been affected by agricultural and industrial activities in zayandehrood river catchment areas. this research was carried out in 2006 to assess some chemical parameters and the heavy metals concentration in water, soil, and plants in the area and to compare the res...

Sodic soil is one of the most common problems of limiting agricultural production that related on irrigation. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is one of hydrodynamic characteristics in evaluating transmission flow through underground levels. To investigate the role of increment of exchangeable sodium in hydraulic conductivity changes (as characterized by the mobility of water in soil) an experi...

Maintaining the soil chemical fertility is a key prerequisite to sustain crop productivity in the tropics. Several studies perceive that soil fertility decline is widely spread in tropical regions and that it is caused by inadequate nutrient replenishment and high losses as compared to natural ecosystems. Although this has been recognised for some decades, there is a need for hard data on soil ...

In Brazil, the degradation of nutrient-poor Ferralsols limits productivity and drives agricultural expansion into pristine areas. However, returning agricultural residues to the soil in a stabilized form may offer opportunities for maintaining or improving soil quality, even under conditions that typically promote carbon loss. We examined the use of biochar made from filtercake (a byproduct of ...

Soil erosion by water is commonly recognized as the one of main reasons of land degradation worldwide (e.g. Ananda & Herath, 2003; Beskow et al., 2009; Valentin et al., 2005). Most of the involved areas are occupied by various agricultural activities but pastures, forestry, unpaved roads as well as construction sites are also endangered by water erosion (Ananda & Herath, 2003; Arnanez et al., 2...

Ecological restoration is frequently guided by reference conditions describing a successfully restored ecosystem; however, the causes and magnitude of ecosystem degradation vary, making simple knowledge of reference conditions insufficient for prioritizing and guiding restoration. Ecological reference models provide further guidance by quantifying reference conditions, as well as conditions at ...

In agrarian developing countries the natural environment is a key determinant of both poverty and nutritional status. Climate, terrain, and soil characteristics drive the agricultural system, determining in large part cropping patterns, choice of crops, yield rates, and overall productivity levels. The human resources crucial to agricultural productivity are also influenced by the natural envir...