The grain size composition of topsoil characterizes the soil texture and other physical properties. The coarsening of topsoil grain size is a visible symbol of land degradation; thereby the change in topsoil grain size can be potentially used to monitor desertification using remote sensing. This study proposes a new index for detecting topsoil grain size composition through ground in situ soil ...

compressibility characteristics of fine-grained soils are often the most important parameters for settlement evaluation of the founded layers. the compression index which is the slope of virgin curve is usually for determination of settlement potential of fine grained soils. in this research, the effects of different physical and index properties of soil samples were investigated on compression...

This laboratory work examines the relationship between turbidity (NTU) and total suspended sediment concentration (TSS, mg/L) for a Cecil Ap soil, a common Southeastern Piedmont soil type. We show a 1:1 correlation between NTU and TSS for the silt and clay fractions, but a smaller ratio for clay and bulk-soil samples. These results suggest that NTU measurements can be used to estimate sediment ...

Practices to promote tree root growth have been sought in arboriculture for many years, especially as a treatment for trees that are stressed or in decline. Tree fertilization is a common practice in arboriculture. A few research reports have shown that nitrogen fertilization can increase fine-root density in localized areas of soil where the fertilizer has been applied, but the effect on the w...

We resampled one of the earliest replicated experimental sites used to investigate the impacts of native tropical tree species on soil properties, to examine longer term effects to 1-m depth. The monodominant stands, established in abandoned pasture in 1988 at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, contained six species, including one exotic, Pinus patula ssp. tecunumanii (Eguiluz & J.P. Perr...

Most water and essential soil nutrient uptake is carried out by fine roots in plants. It is therefore important to understand the global geographic patterns of fine-root nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Here, by compiling plant root data from 211 studies in 51 countries, we show that live fine roots have low nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), but similar N:P ratios when compared with green leaves...

The aim of this paper was to investigate the recreational impacts on some soil properties (sand, silt, clay pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, bulk density, fine soil weight, compaction and saturation capacity), and litter (unit weight-mass, organic matter content (%) and organic matter mass) properties in a picnic area by comparing an undisturbed area in Istanbul Belgrad Forest-Turke...

The ALOS (advanced land observing satellite) has an active microwave sensor, PALSAR (phased array L-band synthetic aperture radar), which has a fine resolution of 6.5 m. Because of the fine resolution, PALSAR provides the possibility of estimating soil moisture distributions in small farmlands. Making such small-scale estimates has not been available with traditional satellite remote sensing te...

Kerman and its surrounding towns consist of a flat alluvial plain of fine silt and clay materials. In morphological aspects, these sediments have a very gentle slope with the main infrastructure of the city build on them. Generally, the structure of undisturbed soils is developed over time due to the influence of environmental factors. Geological factors in Kerman fine-grained alluviums have ca...

Fine-scale spatial information on soil properties is needed to successfully implement precision agriculture. Proximal gamma-ray spectroscopy has recently emerged as a promising tool to collect fine-scale soil information. The objective of this study was to evaluate a proximal gamma-ray spectrometer to predict several soil properties using energy-windows and full-spectrum analysis methods in two...