No-tillage implementation: Analyzis on water-based sediment flow in the Marombas River, Brazil

ABSTRACT Water erosion is influenced by climate, soil, soil cover and soil conservation practices. These factors can be modified by natural (especially climate) and/or anthropogenic (especially soil, soil cover and conservation practices) actions. The relief factor also influences the water erosion and can also be partially modified by anthropic action. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic action due to the introduction of soil crop in no-tillage system on water erosion, and on the consequent flow of sediments in the water. The study was carried out in the Marombas river basin with an area of 3,939 km², using the Soil Water Assessment Tools (SWAT) model. The calibration and validation of the model for sediment production was carried out with a historical series of synthetic data. The data from this series were estimated by linear regression from sediment value load and the average daily flow obtained punctually in the basin’s outlet. The SWAT model was calibrated on a daily scale with data from 1979 to 1989 and was validated with data from 1994 and 1997. The SWAT model was suitable to represent the average daily flow and sediment flow in the Marombas watershed. The hypothesis of reduced sediment production with increasing soil crop in no-tillage system was accepted.

Deformation properties of arched glass fiber reinforced plastics structure under static load: Considering the soil cover and rise-span ratio

In this study, the load level, soil cover height, rise-span ratio, and arch foot constraint state were utilized to explore the mechanical properties of buried arch glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) structures. Through the indoor scale-down test, the stress and deformation of arched GFRP structures under different load and soil cover height were investigated. Additionally, through the three-dimensional finite element method, the influence of the rise-span ratio and the constraint state of arch foot on the mechanical properties were obtained. The results indicate the new buried composite arch structure has excellent bearing capacity for the possible traffic load. Simultaneously, the semi-elliptical arch structure was believed to outperform the semi-circular arch structure when considering the external load. Specifically, increasing the soil cover height and reducing rise-span ratio were found to achieve the load-reduction effect.

Agroecological land typification

The minimum required information and the sequence of agroecological land type allocation on the land management territory of the experimental station (ES) located in the forest-steppe of the Priob'ye region of Novosibirsk is described. Two agroecological land types are distinguished: the first type (upland lands) is represented by leached chernozem in combination with common, podzolized and dark-grey forest soils; the second type (slightly erosive lands) is represented by leached chernozem in combination with dark-grey forest soils. Soil cover of ES in both types of lands is represented by leached chernozem (Lch-2-2s), the share of which for the first type is 75.26%, for the second - 76.26% of the total area of the types. The first agroecological land type is characterized by a range of heights from 134 to 165 m. The working areas are located on the slopes between 0 and 3 degrees in relation to the terrain angle. Vertical dissection of the relief averages 1.3 m, horizontal dissection by erosion forms is 0.8 km/km2. The second type of land is characterized by an elevation of 113 to 137 meters above sea level and a slope of 1 to 4 degrees. Vertical dissection of the terrain averages 1.7 m, horizontal dissection by erosion forms 0.9 km/km2. Typification was carried out with the help of a generated Digital Land Use Model (DLM) of the ES based on the analysis of geographical information, remote sensing materials (ERS) and cadastral map. The DLM consists of the following geo-information layers: topography, land cover, digital elevation model (DEM), working areas. The DEM includes information on slope steepness and exposure, vertical and horizontal dissection.

UAV survey of sand knolls in the Tsasucheysky Bor Nature Reserve

The paper examines development of sand knolls under the influence of climatic and anthropogenic factors in Southern Zabaykalye within the territory of Tsasucheysky Bor nature reserve. The sand knolls were studied on-site with instruments and aerial surveying. Grain size distribution of the soil cover was studied. The floristic composition of the sand knolls represented by motley grass-grasses and herbs-grasses steppe communities with varying degrees of projective cover was investigated. The analysis of the field survey data from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made it possible to obtain the main morphometric parameters of the sand knolls, and overlaying aerial photographs on historic satellite images allowed to trace how they changed in time. The studies showed that the movement of the studied sand knolls with time as Aeolian formations under the influence of wind erosion is unlikely, as the sand knolls are currently mostly covered by steppe vegetation, and only about 20% of the areas are bare. The analysis of satellite images and aerial photographs showed that over the last twenty years the sand knolls had not moved or changed their size.

Funkcjonowanie strefy krajobrazowej tundry na półkuli północnej na początku XXI wieku

The tundra biome is considered as sensitive to the climate change. Observed climate changes contributes to the significant transformation of landscape functioning. The aim of the study was to analyze selected climate condition and their impact on vegetation and soil cover in the tundra biome of the northern hemisphere. The increase in annual temperature and humidity contributes to the colonization of new areas by tundra vegetation and an increase in the thickness of active layer in the soil.

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF ANTHROPOGENIC AND TECHNOGENIC FACTORS ON THE CONTAMINATION OF THE SOIL COVER OF THE CITY

The aim of the study is to assess the ecological state of the territory of an industrial city based on moni-toring the soil cover. In the winter period, the study of the soil cover of the urbanized territory for the con-tent of sulfates, nitrates, chlorides was carried out, and the pH values were determined. Analysis of the spatial distributions of the studied substances in the soil cover in the area of influence of a large industrial center show the variation of the content of pollutants due to the impact of anthropogenic sources; there is an excess of the background concentration for all tested ingredients. In the course of the research, it has determined that it is advisable to use data on soil pollution in the study area as a means of control-ling the impact of anthropogenic sources on the environment.

Legal regulation of information on soils

The issue of legal regulation of information support on soils is considered. The characteristics of large-scale soil studies in Ukraine, which were conducted during 1957–1961, are given. The reasons for the inconsistency of the available information on the structure and condition of the soil cover are established. It is substantiated that the data of environmental impact assessments of ecological monitoring, soil survey, cadastral documentation, etc. can be sources of ecological information. Based on the legal analysis, it was concluded that the draft law of Ukraine «On Soil Conservation and Protection of Fertility» should establish that documented information on soil condition and ongoing soil protection measures should be open, publicly available, as it is public interest, except for information that is included in the category of information with limited access. Keywords: land, soil, soil cover, land use, soil protection, soil information, soil survey, monitoring, cadastral documentation

Using Synthetic Climate Datasets for Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Design Problems

Location-specific climate datasets are required for the design and evaluation of a number of civil engineering projects. It requires huge effort to compile a multi-year quality-controlled climate dataset. In this paper, a method of generating simulated daily climate variables of interest from readily-available climate normal using a general purpose weather generator SIMETAW is presented. The accuracy of this method is assessed by comparing the climate datasets generated using SIMETAW with the recorded historical climate datasets for nine different sites across Canada with climates ranging from semi-arid to pre-humid. This comparison was done using visual presentations as well as statistical analyses of the two datasets. It was found that the multi-year daily climate datasets generated by SIMETAW using just 12 monthly climate normal values are fairly similar to the recorded historical climate datasets. The usefulness of SIMETAW-generated climate datasets was demonstrated by using them in numerical simulations of three different design problems, namely, infiltration into soils, swelling potential of an expansive soil, and soil cover design. From the results of these numerical simulations, it is concluded that the SIMETAW-generated multi-year daily climate datasets are satisfactory for use in the geotechnical and geoenvironmental problems of the kind simulated herein.

ASSESSMENT AND MAPPING OF LANDFILLS ON SOILS IN THE SERPUKHOV DISTRICT (MOSCOW REGION)

Cartographic materials are an important tool for different purposes. Environmental maps are essential for various activities aimed at protecting the environment. The work presents the experience of creating a map called “Landfills in the Serpukhov district” using GIS and remote sensing data. Garbage wastes polygons sites are divided into three types: municipal solid waste, illegal landfills and biological waste. The soil cover of the region is mainly represented by Retisols and Luvic Retic Phaeozem soils. The map allowed us to evaluate the current situation and the spatial location of landfills on different soil types (including the variation of soil texture).