On the origin of rock fragment mulches on Vertisols: A case study from the Ethiopian highlands

Moeyersons, J; Nyssen, Jan; Poesen, Jean; Deckers, Jozef; Haile, Mitiku

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.12.005

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Typical for all soils on steep slopes is high rock fragment content: Leptosols on cliffs, Skeletic Regosols in eroded areas below these and Cumuliskeletic Regosols on upper colluvial slopes. The distribution and effects of rock fragments in the topsoils of the study area have been discussed elsewhere (Nyssen et al, 2001(Nyssen et al, , 2002bMoeyersons et al, 2006). The distribution of soils parallels the contour pattern (Figure 7).…”

Section: Soil Catenassupporting

confidence: 53%

“…A base saturation of 55 per cent justifies the qualifier 'Eutric'. The volumetric rock fragment content is much higher in the plough layer (20 per cent) than in the vertic horizon (1-5 per cent), due to argillipedoturbation (Nyssen et al, 2000a;Moeyersons et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spatial distribution of soil types (Table III) The influence of parent material on soils is particularly marked when such material is of recent origin as is the case in the study region (Nyssen et al, 2002a;Moeyersons et al, 2006). The sediment deposited as colluvium covers older soils.…”

Section: Soilsmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia)

et al. 2007

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Land use in a 208 ha representative catchment in the Tigray Highlands, Dogu'a Tembien district in Northern Ethiopia was studied in relation to soil geography. Typical soils are Vertisols, Vertic Cambisols, Cumulic Regosols, Calcaric Regosols and Phaeozems. Patterns of land use vary greatly within the catchment and results from x 2 -tests showed strong associations ( p < 0Á001) between soil type and land use and crop production system. There is a strong association between cropland and colluvium high in basaltic content because the most fertile soils, such as Vertisols and Vertic Cambisols, have developed on this material. Preference is for autochthonous soils on in situ parent material, irrespective of the rock type, to be put under rangeland. Land use by smallholders in Dogu'a Tembien appears to be the result primarily of the interaction between environmental and social factors.

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Section: Soil Catenassupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia)

et al. 2007

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“…Vegetation cover is the key factor on the control of soil erosion , and on agricultural land the use of mulches under NT management is a key factor of the recovery of the soil quality (Jordán et al, 2010). The mulches used are organic (straw, chipped pruned branches) or minerals such as rock fragments mentioned by Martinez-Zavala and Jordán (2008) and Moeyersons et al (2006) among others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil physical quality changes under different management systems after 10 years in the Argentine humid pampa

Costa¹,

Aparicio²,

Cerdà³

2015

Solid Earth

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Abstract. South American countries with the highest surface of land under no-tillage (NT) management are Brazil, Argentina and Chile. In Argentina, 78.5 % of the agricultural land is cropped under NT management. Several experiments have confirmed the improvements in soil aggregation and infiltration achieved by NT management in dry-land farming areas associated with increases of bulk density (δ b ) under NT management. An increase in bulk density implies a reduction of the macro and mesoporosity that is in contradiction with the increased infiltration that occurs at macro and mesopores. We hypothesize that the increase of bulk density in NT management mainly affects the mesopores. We evaluated the evolution of the soil physical parameters in three management systems in four farmers' fields. We found that the reduction in total porosity under NT management is mainly a product of a reduction in the percentage of mesopores in the soil. In this work, the results indicate a modification of some soil physical parameters (porosity, near-saturated hydraulic conductivity, soil structure) due to uninterrupted agricultural production, but the management system did not affect the yields of crop.

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“…Typically associated with (semi-)arid landscapes, they are also known as desert pavement (e.g., Wood, Graham, & Wells, 2005;Al-Farraj, 2008;Adelsberger & Smith, 2009;Matmon et al, 2009). In less arid parts of the world, surface accumulation of rock fragments has been related to tillageinduced kinetic sieving, differential erosion, upslope rockfall, and swell-shrink cycles of clays in soils with vertic properties (Oostwoud Wijdenes et al, 1997;Nyssen et al, 2002Nyssen et al, , 2006Moeyersons et al, 2006). In the highlands of northern Ethiopia, rock fragments belonging lithologically to deposits underlying active vertisols and other soils with seasonal desiccation cracks appear continuously at the soil surface and at a rate high enough to form a surface rock fragment mulch within a few decades…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The accumulation of Stone Age lithic artifacts in rock fragment mulches in northern Ethiopia

et al. 2009

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Lithic artifacts buried in the soil profile may be transported to the surface during tillage-induced kinetic sieving, differential erosion, or swell-shrink cycles of clays and become part of a rock fragment mulch. Archaeologically, these manifestations are recognized as surface scatters. Although artifacts at the soil surface are difficult to relate to the local stratigraphic context, surface assemblages may provide information on lithic industries and the archaeological significance of sparsely explored regions. Through in situ investigation of surface material in 60 1 ϫ 1 m 2 plots in the Tembien district in the northern Ethiopian highlands, we show that rock fragment mulches can contain a significant number of lithic artifacts and we provide evidence for mid-Pleistocene occupation of a site. Considering that severe rill and gully erosion may be a threat to the archaeological heritage and that well-dated African Middle Stone Age sites are rare, we conclude that the region deserves more attention for archaeological research.

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On the origin of rock fragment mulches on Vertisols: A case study from the Ethiopian highlands

Cited by 24 publications

References 24 publications

Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia)

Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia)

Soil physical quality changes under different management systems after 10 years in the Argentine humid pampa

The accumulation of Stone Age lithic artifacts in rock fragment mulches in northern Ethiopia

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