Estimates of Soil Renewal Rates: Applications for Anti-Erosion Arrangement of the Agricultural Landscape

Abstract

Engineering and geographic substantiation of the anti-erosion organization of agricultural landscapes requires not only differentiated estimations of erosion losses, but also commensurate (in terms of space–time scales) estimations of the soil loss tolerance. The main approaches for determining the participation of estimations of soil formation in the substantiation of erosion tolerance have been defined. This study is aimed at justifying the methods of incorporating the results of pedogenesis modeling into computational methods for organizing agricultural landscapes. This paper presents the results of a study of the process of formation of the humus horizon and the accumulation of organic carbon in soils, based on soils from archaeological sites in the Crimean Peninsula over a period from 25 to 2000 years ago, with differences in climate and parent rock, in a region with a thousand-year history of human activity. The patterns of variation in the thickness of the humus horizons over time and the accumulation of carbon were determined, and estimates for the rate of the pedogenesis were obtained. In connection with the slowing of the rate of pedogenesis over time, the chronofunction of the change in the thickness of soils (of both exponential and logistic types) may be applied and, on this basis, it is possible to calculate the rates of the formation of the humus horizon depending on the morphological status of the soils. During re-naturation of highly degraded soils, maximum renewal rates may take place only with a very high input of organic matter, which is crucial to take into account in the development and implementation of programs for the rehabilitation of degraded lands. Under the conditions of slope agriculture, the rationale for T-values should be linked to many factors of the input and consumption of organic carbon, which provides a logical mathematical model of the formation of soil quality. For soil quality management on agricultural lands, a formula for calculating T-values, using an equation where the rate of pedogenesis is associated with a variety of changes in soil organic carbon, is proposed in this article.

Biogeochemical features of soil formation without parent rock in natural conditions and in an urban environment

“…As shown earlier, based on the results of studying different-aged soils at archaeological sites under the SCC conditions [20], the average rate of formation of the humus horizon thickness at parent rock over 100-400 years is 6.6 mm / 100 years. In the absence of the parent rock, the rate of dust deposition caused by atmospheric input and other above-mentioned factors of pedogenesis can be estimated as 0.0078-0.0086 t ha -1 yr -1 , or on average 0.082 mm / 100 yr.…”

Differentiating Soils from Arable and Fallow Land Using Spectrometry

“…A previously created regional pedochronological database [27] made it possible to use the chronofunction of the dependence of the thickness of the humus horizon of soils on time for dating the age of the soil on anthropogenic surfaces (the top of the boundary rampart) [28]. Soil sampling was carried out along two pairs of parallel transects.…”

The Future Is Rural: Societal Adaptation to Energy Descent

“…But "quick" in geologic time may be slow on a human scale. For example, it takes the actions of plant roots and earthworms about 100 to 500 years to produce one inch of fresh topsoil (Arsenault 2014;Lisetskii 2019;U.S. NRCS 2003).…”

“…But “quick” in geologic time may be slow on a human scale. For example, it takes the actions of plant roots and earthworms about 100 to 500 years to produce one inch of fresh topsoil (Arsenault 2014; Lisetskii 2019; U.S. NRCS 2003). Under the cover of a forest or native grassland, erosion is similarly slow, so soils maintain a characteristic depth over long periods.…”