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Assessment and Monitoring of Land Degradation

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil Conservation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 15774

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Dr. Cristian-Valeriu Patriche

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Guest Editor

Romanian Academy, Iasi Branch, Geographic Research Centre 20A Carol I, 700505 Iasi, Romania
Interests: GIS; remote sensing; geostatistics; soil science; geomorphology; land evaluation; climate change
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Land degradation is becoming increasingly intense throughout the world against the background of climate change. More severe weather events enhance land degradation processes, causing consistent damages, financial losses, and even human casualties. The increasing human pressure on the environment is exacerbating this situation. There is a need to deepen our knowledge on the causes, manifestations, mechanisms, and interactions of land degradation processes, so as to improve their prediction, mitigate their effects, and formulate sustainable management strategies.

In this context, the purpose of this Special Issue is to provide more insight on land degradation processes at various space and time scales, by gathering valuable scientific contributions on the following topics:

Soil erosion: water erosion, wind erosion, rill and inter-rill erosion, gully erosion, erosion monitoring;
Landslides: landslide susceptibility and risk assessment, landslide monitoring;
Soil degradation processes: salinization/alkalization; compaction, acidification, fertility loss;
Droughts: drought assessment and monitoring, desertification;
Vegetation degradation: deforestations, forest fires, impact of land use change on land degradation;
Other land degradation processes (e.g., coastal erosion, soil pollution, biodiversity loss).

We especially welcome contributions aiming to develop new investigation tools for land degradation or to improve the existent methodologies, as well as studies focused on the impact of recent climate change on land degradation.

Dr. Cristian-Valeriu Patriche
Guest Editor

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Keywords

land degradation
climate change, soil erosion
landslides
soil degradation
drought
desertification
vegetation degradation

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 2896 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulation of Rainfall Erosivity Dynamics in Romania under Climate Change Scenarios

by Cristian Valeriu Patriche, Bogdan Roșca, Radu Gabriel Pîrnău, Ionuț Vasiliniuc and Liviu Mihai Irimia

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1469; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15021469 - 12 Jan 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1400

Abstract

Soil erosion is triggered by rainfall through the detachment of soil particles and their transport downslope, playing a key role in soil erosion models. Together with the vegetation cover, rainfall is a temporal dynamic factor, inducing corresponding time variations of erosion rates. Under current climate change, rainfall is also changing its characteristics and our study aimed to reveal whether these changes will significantly affect rainfall erosivity in Romania, and implicitly the soil erosion. To achieve this purpose, we developed a statistical non-parametric model for predicting rainfall erosivity on the basis on the modified Fournier index and applied it to future precipitation evolution scenarios. The precipitation data were extracted from the CHESLA database for the Romanian territory for two climate change contrasting scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). Average predictions from five selected climate models were used in order to minimize prediction uncertainty. The results show that rainfall erosivity is likely to increase, at least during the 2041–2060 period, especially in the south-western, western and eastern part of the country, which may cause a corresponding increase in soil erosion rates, with an average of 1–2 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. During the 2061–2080 period, rainfall erosivity is likely to decrease in central and eastern Romania. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Monitoring of Land Degradation)

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17 pages, 7955 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Risk of Salinization in the Agricultural Soils of Semi-Arid Regions: A Case Study from Moldavian Plain (NE Romania)

by Cristina Oana Stan, Radu Gabriel Pîrnău, Bogdan Roșca and Doina Smaranda Sirbu-Radasanu

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 17056; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142417056 - 19 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1596

Abstract

In the present study, the salinization trends of different soil types from a small hydrographic basin situated in NE Romania (Roșior basin) are investigated. The climatic conditions are favorable for long dry summers and intensive evaporation. The soils are developed on immature evolved clay sediments, as revealed by geochemical analysis. The salinity varies among soil types, attaining maximum values for Solonetz with total dissolved salts (TDS) between 1165.75 to 1881.25 mg/L. The aqueous solutions are represented by natural water and soil solution. The hydrogeochemical facies of the natural waters change from HCO₃⁻—Mg²⁺ in the upper basin to SO₄²⁻—Na⁺ in the middle or lower basin. The soil solution is moderately or strongly salinized and shows anionic variations from HCO₃⁻ to SO₄²⁻ in the studied profiles, whereas Na⁺ is always the main cation. The concentrations of Na⁺ and SO₄²⁻ evolve simultaneously. Raman spectroscopic exploration of the white efflorescences, which occur on topsoil, reveals the presence of thenardite as the dominant phase. The composition of soil solution results from both the ionic exchange and evaporation processes. The nature of soil solution mineralization and summer temperatures are two main factors that interact and promote the thenardite precipitation. The soil salinization induces negative effects on crop nutrition, impacting further the crop yields. The results of this study can be extrapolated to larger areas formed on Sarmatian sedimentary deposits affected by salinization processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Monitoring of Land Degradation)

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24 pages, 21088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring Land Use Land Cover Changes and Modelling of Urban Growth Using a Future Land Use Simulation Model (FLUS) in Diyarbakır, Turkey

by Ayşe Çağlıyan and Dündar Dağlı

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9180; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14159180 - 27 Jul 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2464

Abstract

Land use and land cover (LULC) change corresponds to the greatest transformations that occur on the earth’s surface under physical, human and socio-economic geographical conditions. Increasing demand for residential and agricultural lands has been transforming all land classes and this should be investigated in the long term. In this study, we aim to determine LULC change and land use simulation in Diyarbakır with Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques. For this purpose, satellite images from 1984, 2002, and 2020 were classified at different levels by an object-based classification method. Accuracy assessments of the classified images were made and change detection analyses were performed using TerrSet software. The LULC changes were also estimated in different scenarios using a future land use simulation model (FLUS). The results show that natural and semi-natural areas are rapidly disappearing due to urban growth between 1984 and 2020. The results of the land use simulation show that by 2038, while the agricultural, pasture and water bodies will decrease, the built-up areas will increase. It is estimated that the city, which has developed in a west-northwest direction, will expand in the future and grow between Elazığ and Şanlıurfa Boulevard. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Monitoring of Land Degradation)

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11 pages, 8745 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The New Island-Wide LS Factors of Taiwan, with Comparison with EU Nations

by Walter Chen and Kieu Anh Nguyen

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 3059; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14053059 - 05 Mar 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1663

Abstract

Soil erosion is a global environmental challenge that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) #15 wants to address, and the topographic factor, according to the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) model, is one of the most critical factors causing soil erosion. In this study, we employed three separate digital elevation models of Taiwan, with horizontal resolution ranging from 20 to 90 m, to compute the LS factors based on the upslope contributing areas and multiple flow directions, utilizing the methodologies used by the European Soil Data Centre. This is the first study to create a map of Taiwan’s island-wide LS factors without using a fixed slope length of 40 m. To compare European Union countries with Taiwan, we also calculated their LS means, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation of LS factors. As a result, Taiwan’s high LS values are readily noticeable as compared to the EU. Taiwan’s LS factor is greater than that of any EU country and the United Kingdom, at 2.69 times the EU average. To put it another way, while all other erosive factors are held equal, Taiwan’s average soil erosion is about 2.69 times that of the EU. With an LS factor of 6.95, Austria has the highest average LS in the EU, yet it is 91 percent of Taiwan’s. The findings demonstrate that Taiwan has a far higher mean LS factor than any EU country or the United Kingdom, which helps to partially explain why soil erosion in Taiwan is substantially higher than in the EU. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Monitoring of Land Degradation)

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19 pages, 4329 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Critical Limits for Soybean and Black Bean Root Growth, Based on Macroporosity and Penetrability, for Soils with Distinct Texture and Management Systems

by Luis Eduardo Akiyoshi Sanches Suzuki, Dalvan José Reinert, Marlene Cristina Alves and José Miguel Reichert

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2958; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14052958 - 03 Mar 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1869

Abstract

Soil compaction is a worldwide problem in agricultural areas, and it is important to define soil properties and reference values that allow knowledge of the compaction level for decision making. The objective of this study was to define the critical values of physical properties associated with the compaction of soils. Three Ultisols and two Oxisols, under different management systems, were collected at different depths for an evaluation of particle size, volumetric moisture, bulk density, and porosity. In the field, soil resistance to penetration and the root length of the soybean and edible black bean crop were measured. The soil profiles presented horizontal layers with similar resistance, but in some cases, there is discontinuity of these layers, which allows the roots to use the zones of lower resistance to deepen in the profile. The values of bulk density and resistance to penetration critical to soybean and edible black bean (only in sandy loam soil) root growth, according to soil textural class, are: sandy loam = 1.66 Mg m⁻³ and 1.5 to 2 MPa; loam and clay loam = 1.52 Mg m⁻³ and 1 to 1.5 MPa; silty clay loam and silty clay = 1.32 Mg m⁻³ and 1.5 to 2 MPa; and clay = 1.33 to 1.36 Mg m⁻³ and 2 to 3.5 MPa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Monitoring of Land Degradation)

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14 pages, 2480 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Responses of Soil Phosphorus Fractions to Land-Use Change in Colombian Amazon

by Juan P. Chavarro-Bermeo, Bruna Arruda, Dúber A. Mora-Motta, Wilfrand Bejarano-Herrera, Fausto A. Ortiz-Morea, Anil Somenahally and Adriana M. Silva-Olaya

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2285; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14042285 - 17 Feb 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2513

Abstract

Intensive land-use change, the overgrazing of pastures, and the poor soil management in the Amazon region induce significant soil chemical degradation, causing alterations in the soil phosphorus (P) dynamics. Here, we studied the changes in P fractions and availability throughout the soil profile along a chronosequence composed of four study areas representing the typical land-use transition from forest to pasture for extensive cattle ranching in the Colombian Amazon region: (i) Forest—Deforested—Pasture 4 years old and Pasture established >25 years after deforestation. Soil samples collected at 0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm depth were used for the sequential fractionation of P, determination of acid phosphatase activity and soil organic carbon (C) content, and calculation of C:organic P (Po) ratio and P stocks. Our results showed that the land-use change caused a decrease of 31.1% in the fractions of labile inorganic P, with the mineralization of organic P by phosphatase enzyme playing an essential role in the P availability. Although according to the C:Po ratio of the deeper layer the P seems to be sufficient to satisfy the plant needs of all the land uses assessed, the exploitation of soil nutrients in pastures reduced by 6.1% the moderately and non-labile P stock. Given the role of cattle ranching in the economy of tropical countries, it is imperative to adopt strategies of soil P management to improve P-use efficiency, avoiding the degradation of grazing land resources while ensuring the long-term sustainability of rangeland livestock and decrease further deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Monitoring of Land Degradation)

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16 pages, 2858 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Applicability of Remote Sensing Models of Soil Salinization Based on Feature Space

by Jing Liu, Li Zhang, Tong Dong, Juanle Wang, Yanmin Fan, Hongqi Wu, Qinglong Geng, Qiangjun Yang and Zhibin Zhang

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13711; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132413711 - 12 Dec 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2282

Abstract

Soil salinization is a major challenge for the sustainable use of land resources. An optimal remote sensing inversion model could monitor regional soil salinity across diverse geographical areas. In this study, the feature space method was used to study the applicability of the inversion model for typical salt-affected soils in China (Yanqi Basin (arid area) and Kenli County (coastal area)), and to obtain soil salinity grade distribution maps. The salinity index (SI) surface albedo (Albedo)model was the most accurate in both arid and coastal regions with overall accuracy reaching 93.3% and 88.8%, respectively. The sensitivity factors for the inversion of salinity in both regions were the same, indicating that the SI-Albedo model is applicable for monitoring salinity in arid and coastal areas of China. We combined Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager image data and field data to obtain the distribution pattern of soil salinity using the SI-Albedo model and proposed corresponding countermeasures for soil salinity in the Yanqi Basin and Kenli County according to the degree of salinity. This study on soil salinity in arid and coastal areas of China will provide a useful reference for future research on soil salinity both in China and globally. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Monitoring of Land Degradation)

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