Abstract. In this paper, we present and analyze a novel global database of soil infiltration measurements, the Soil Water Infiltration Global (SWIG) database. In total, 5023 infiltration curves were collected across all continents in the SWIG database. These data were either provided and quality checked by the scientists who performed the experiments or they were digitized from published articles. Data from 54 different countries were included in the database with major contributions from Iran, China, and the USA. In addition to its extensive geographical coverage, the collected infiltration curves cover research from 1976 to late 2017. Basic information on measurement location and method, soil properties, and land use was gathered along with the infiltration data, making the database valuable for the development of pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for estimating soil hydraulic properties, for the evaluation of infiltration measurement methods, and for developing and validating infiltration models. Soil textural information (clay, silt, and sand content) is available for 3842 out of 5023 infiltration measurements (∼ 76%) covering nearly all soil USDA textural classes except for the sandy clay and silt classes. Information on land use is available for 76 % of the experimental sites with agricultural land use as the dominant type (∼ 40%). We are convinced that the SWIG database will allow for a better parameterization of the infiltration process in land surface models and for testing infiltration models. All collected data and related soil characteristics are provided online in *.xlsx and *.csv formats for reference, and we add a disclaimer that the database is for public domain use only and can be copied freely by referencing it. Supplementary data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.885492 (Rahmati et al., 2018). Data quality assessment is strongly advised prior to any use of this database. Finally, we would like to encourage scientists to extend and update the SWIG database by uploading new data to it.

Abstract. In this paper, we present and analyze a global database of soil infiltration measurements, the Soil Water Infiltration Global (SWIG) database, for the first time. In total, 5023 infiltration curves were collected across all continents in the SWIG database. These data were either provided and quality checked by the scientists who performed the experiments or they were digitized from published articles. Data from 54 different countries were included in the database with major contributions from Iran, China, and USA. In addition to its global spatial coverage, the collected infiltration curves cover a time span of research from 1976 to late 2017. Basic information on measurement location and method, soil properties, and land use were gathered along with the infiltration data, which makes the database valuable for the development of pedo-transfer functions for estimating soil hydraulic properties, for the evaluation of infiltration measurement methods, and for developing and validating infiltration models. Soil textural information (clay, silt, and sand content) is available for 3842 out of 5023 infiltration measurements (~76 %) covering nearly all soil USDA textural classes except for the sandy clay and silt classes. Information on the land use is available for 76 % of experimental sites with agricultural land use as the dominant type (~40 %). We are convinced that the SWIG database will allow for a better parameterization of the infiltration process in land surface models and for testing infiltration models. All collected data and related soil characteristics are provided online in *.xlsx and *.csv formats for reference, and we add a disclaimer that the database is for use by public domain only and can be copied freely by referencing it. Supplementary data are available at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.885492. Data quality assessment is strongly advised prior to any use of this database. Finally, we would like to encourage scientists to extend/update the SWIG by uploading new data to it.

Abstract. Application of organic materials are well known as environmental practices in soil restoration, preserving soil organic matter and recovering degraded soils of arid and semiarid lands. So, the present research focused on evaluating the effectiveness of vinasse, on soil conservation under simulated rainfall. Vinasse can be recycled as a soil amendment due to its organic matter. Accordingly, the laboratory experiments were conducted by using 0.25 m2-experimental plots at 20 % slope and rainfall intensity of 72 m h−1 with 0.5 h duration. The effect of three rates of vinasse at 0.5, 1, and 1.5 L m−2 was investigated on runoff and soil loss control. Laboratory results indicated that vinasse at different levels could nonsignificantly (P > 0.05) decrease the runoff amount and soil loss rate in the study plots compared to untreated plots except 1.5 L m−2 which nonsignificantly increased the runoff volume. Also, the results indicated that the soil loss amount at the vinasse application rate of 1 L m−2 was the least. The average amounts of minimum runoff volume and soil loss were about 3985 mL and 46 g for the study plot at 1 L m−2 level of vinasse application.

Abstract. Application of organic materials are well known as environmental practices in soil restoration, preserving soil organic matter and recovering degraded soils of arid and semiarid lands. Therefore, the present research focused on evaluating the effectiveness of vinasse, a byproduct mainly of the sugar-ethanol industry, on soil conservation under simulated rainfall. Vinasse can be recycled as a soil amendment due to its organic matter content. Accordingly, the laboratory experiments were conducted by using 0.25 m 2 experimental plots at 20 % slope and rainfall intensity of 72 mm h −1 with 0.5 h duration. The effect of vinasse was investigated on runoff and soil loss control. Experiments were set up as a control (with no amendment) and three treated plots with doses of 0.5, 1, and 1.5 L m −2 of vinasse subjected to simulated rainfall. Laboratory results indicated that vinasse at different levels could not significantly (P > 0.05) decrease the runoff amount and soil loss rate in the study plots compared to untreated plots. The average amounts of minimum runoff volume and soil loss were about 3985 mL and 46 g for the study plot at a 1 L m −2 level of vinasse application.

The adoption of appropriate managerial approaches mainly depends upon propermonitoring and consequent assessment of ecosystems health. Towards that, thewatershed health monitoring has gained recognition among regulating agenciessuch as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, its importance has notbeen considerably taken into account by authorities in developing countries wherethe outcome of such approach is essentially needed for effective and efficientmanagement of the ever-degrading ecosystems. To this end, the present articleintroduces a simple and standardized approach of describing the overall watershedhealth situation using risk based RelResVul framework. Towards this, threeindicators of reliability (Rel), resilience (Res) and vulnerability (Vul) have beenconceptualized and calculated based on the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) for the Shazand Watershed, Markazi Province, Iran, as a case study. NDVIis an important and commonly used vegetation index in research on globalenvironmental change. The primary data collected to create NDVI maps was multispectralsatellite images of path 165 and rows of 36 and 37, with a spatialresolution of 30 m from the Landsat Satellite images for the sample year of 2014.The results of RelResVul analysis showed that the overall condition of the ShazandWatershed health in terms of Rel, Res and Vul was healthy, un-healthy andmoderately healthy, respectively with scores of 0.82, 0.17 and 0.50 out of 1.0. Theaverage watershed health index based on RelResVul framework was also obtained0.34 varying from 0.04 to 0.46. Hence, it can be concluded that the ShazandWatershed was in relatively un-healthy state from view of vegetation cover. Themaintenance and recovery of the Shazand Watershed health should be consideredas fundamental step to reach the integrated watershed management objectives.

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<p>Nowadays soil erosion control using different amendments has grown up worldwide. However, the application of transformed materials like biochar has not been adequately studied. In the same vein, the application of biochars produced from waste materials that harm nature, and impose cost to managers and producers is a valuable approach for optimal utilization of the resources. Towards this, the performance of biochar produced from deleterious raw vinasse as the main by-product of sugarcane industries in controlling soil splash and interrill erosions on two marl and loess soils from Iran was investigated. The study was performed in 0.5 m×0.5 m plots in three replicates installed in the field with a slope steepness of 25% subjected to a simulated rainfall with an intensity of 50 mm h<sup>-1</sup> and 0.5 h duration. Analysis of the results obtained from the splash and interrill erosions during the rainfall-runoff process showed that biochar decreased soil loss compared to the control plot on Marl soil but to a small extent (p > 0.05). However, the plot treated with biochar on the loess soil revealed significant (p<0.05) reduction in soil loss in comparison with that of the control plot. That study clearly demonstrates the addition of biochar may promote stability and limit both runoff and soil erosion. However, such effects strongly depend on the type of soils.</p>