Documents

Over the years, the JRC has produced many publications. These are found in this section. They have been sub-divided in various categories (see Subcategory buttons below). All more than 550 documents can also be inspected irrespective of the category (see 'All documents' below).

Publications in Journals include more than 390 published papers from the Soil Group in the JRC (EU Soil Observatory). Most of the papers refer to the last 10 years (2013-2023). In many cases the papers document the datasets published in ESDAC.

As example statistics, Since the establishement of the EUSO,  the group published:

  • 23 papers in 2020,
  • 27 papers in 2021
  • 40 papers in 2022
  • 46 papers in 2023

Most of them in high impact journals including Nature Communicaitons, Climate Change, Global Change Biology, etc. Almost all the publications are Open Access. As publications, we present articles published in peer-review journals indexed in Scopus or Web of Science.

 

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Probabilistic Land Use Allocation in the Global Soil Erosion Modelling
Probabilistic Land Use Allocation in the Global Soil Erosion Modelling
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

We present the version 1.2 of the recently published [Nature communications 8, 2013 (2017)] RUSLE-based Global Soil Erosion Modelling platform (GloSEM). Unlike version 1.1, effects of permanent crops, managed pasture and temporary disturbed forest loss are spatially defined based on a probabilistic land by using allocation approach and their implications for soil erosion are assessed in the advanced version 1.2. For 2012, we estimated an annual total soil erosion of 38.9 Pg/a. This constitutes an increase of ca. 8% compared to the previous version (35.9 Pg/a) which is due to an increase of soil erosion mainly related to the new areas classified as managed pasture and to a lesser extent to permanent crop and forest disturbances.

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-7916-2_1

Soil organic carbon under conservation agriculture in Mediterranean and humid subtropical climates: Global meta-analysis
Soil organic carbon under conservation agriculture in Mediterranean and humid subtropical climates: Global meta-analysis
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Conservation agriculture (CA) is an agronomic system based on minimum soil disturbance (no-tillage, NT), permanent soil cover, and species diversification. The effects of NT on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes have been widely studied, showing somewhat inconsistent conclusions, especially in relation to the Mediterranean and humid subtropical climates. These areas are highly vulnerable and predicted climate change is expected to accentuate desertification and, for these reasons, there is a need for clear agricultural guidelines to preserve or increment SOC. We quantitively summarized the results of 47 studies all around the world in these climates investigating the sources of variation in SOC responses to CA, such as soil characteristics, agricultural management, climate, and geography. Within the climatic area considered, the overall effect of CA on SOC accumulation in the plough layer (0–0.3 m) was 12% greater in comparison to conventional agriculture. On average, this result corresponds to a carbon increase of 0.48 Mg C ha−1 year−1. However, the effect was variable depending on the SOC content under conventional agriculture: it was 20% in soils which had ≤ 40 Mg C ha−1, while it was only 7% in soils that had > 40 Mg C ha−1. We proved that 10 years of CA impact the most on soil with SOC ≤ 40 Mg C ha−1. For soils with less than 40 Mg C ha−1, increasing the proportion of crops with bigger residue biomasses in a CA rotation was a solution to increase SOC. The effect of CA on SOC depended on clay content only in soils with more than 40 Mg C ha−1 and become null with a SOC/clay index of 3.2. Annual rainfall (that ranged between 331–1850 mm y−1) and geography had specific effects on SOC depending on its content under conventional agriculture. In conclusion, SOC increments due to CA application can be achieved especially in agricultural soils with less than 40 Mg C ha−1 and located in the middle latitudes or in the dry conditions of Mediterranean and humid subtropical climates.

DOI: 10.1111/ejss.13338

Predictive Mapping of Electrical Conductivity and Assessment of Soil Salinity in a Western Türkiye Alluvial Plain
Predictive Mapping of Electrical Conductivity and Assessment of Soil Salinity in a Western Türkiye Alluvial Plain
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

The increase in soil salinity due to human-induced processes poses a severe threat to agriculture on a regional and global scale. Soil salinization caused by natural and anthropogenic factors is a vital environmental hazard, specifically in semi-arid and arid regions of the world. The detection and monitoring of salinity are critical to the sustainability of soil management. The current study compared the performance of machine learning models to produce spatial maps of electrical conductivity (EC) (as a proxy for salinity) in an alluvial irrigation plain. The current study area is located in the Isparta province (100 km2), land cover is mainly irrigated, and the dominant soils are Inceptisols, Mollisols, and Vertisols. Digital soil mapping (DSM) methodology was used, referring to the increase in the digital representation of soil formation factors with today’s technological advances. Plant and soil-based indices produced from the Sentinel 2A satellite image, topographic indices derived from the digital elevation model (DEM), and CORINE land cover classes were used as predictors. The support vector regression (SVR) algorithm revealed the best relationships in the study area. Considering the estimates of different algorithms, according to the FAO salinity classification, a minimum of 12.36% and a maximum of 20.19% of the study area can be classified as slightly saline. The low spatial dependence between model residuals limited the success of hybrid methods. The land irrigated cover played a significant role in predicting the current level of EC.

DOI: 10.3390/land11122148

Machine learning modelling framework for Triticum turgidum subsp. durum Desf yield forecasting in Italy.
Machine learning modelling framework for Triticum turgidum subsp. durum Desf yield forecasting in Italy.
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2022

The forecasting of crop yield is one of the most critical research areas in crop science, which allows for the development of decision support systems, optimization of nitrogen fertilization, and food safety. Many tested modeling approaches can be differentiated according to the models and data used. The models used are traditional crop models that require data that are often difficult to measure. New modeling approaches based on artificial intelligence algorithms have proven to be of high performance, flexible, and can be tested based on available data. In this study, four independent field experiments conducted on Triticum turgidum subsp. durum Desf. in central–southern Italy were used to train a set of machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict the yield using 16 variables: fertilization, nitrogen management, pedoclimatic, and remote sensing data. Four ML algorithms were calibrated and validated over two independent sites, and a linear regression model was used as a control. The calibrated models can predict the grain yield in the two regions by using ancillary data, topsoil physical and chemical properties, multispectral drone imagery, climatic data, and nitrogen fertilizer applied at the site. Among the four ML algorithms, stochastic gradient boosting (root-mean-square error  = 0.58 t ha−1) outperformed others during calibration and transferability. Nitrogen application rate, seasonal precipitation, and temperature are the most important features for predicting wheat yield.

10.1002/agj2.21279

Outreach and Post-Publication Impact of Soil Erosion Modelling Literature
Outreach and Post-Publication Impact of Soil Erosion Modelling Literature
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Back in the 1930s, the aphorism “publish or perish” first appeared in an academic context. Today, this phrase is becoming a harsh reality in several academic environments, and scientists are giving increasing attention to publishing and disseminating their scientific work. Soil erosion modelers make no exception. With the introduction of the bibliometric field, the evaluation of the impact of a piece of scientific work becomes more articulated. The post-publication impact of the research became an important aspect too. In this study, we analyse the outreach and the impact of the literature on soil erosion modelling using the altmetric database, i.e., Altmetric. In our analysis, we use only a small fraction (around 15%) of Global Applications of Soil Erosion Modelling Tracker (GASEMT) papers because only 257 papers out of 1697 had an Altmetric Score (AS) larger than 0. We observed that media and policy documents mentioned more frequently literature dealing with global-scale assessments and future projection studies than local-scale ones. Papers that are frequently cited by researchers do not necessarily also yield high media and policy outreach. The GASEMT papers that had an AS larger than 0 were, on average, mentioned by one policy document and five Twitter users and had 100 Mendeley readers. Only around 5% and 9% of papers with AS > 0 appeared in news articles and blogs, respectively. However, this percentage was around 45% for Twitter and policy mentions. The top GASEMT paper’s upper bound was around 1 million Twitter followers, while this number was around 10,000 for the 10th ranked GASEMT paper. The exponentially increasing trend for erosion modelling papers having an AS has been confirmed, as during the last 3 years (2014–2017), we estimated that the number of entries had doubled compared to 2011–2014 and quadrupled if we compare it with 2008–2011.

DOI: 10.3390/su14031342

Sustainable futures over the next decade are rooted in soil science
Sustainable futures over the next decade are rooted in soil science
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

The importance of soils to society has gained increasing recognition over the past decade, with the potential to contribute to most of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With unprecedented and growing demands for food, water and energy, there is an urgent need for a global effort to address the challenges of climate change and land degradation, whilst protecting soil as a natural resource. In this paper, we identify the contribution of soil science over the past decade to addressing gaps in our knowledge regarding major environmental challenges: climate change, food security, water security, urban development, and ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Continuing to address knowledge gaps in soil science is essential for the achievement of the SDGs. However, with limited time and budget, it is also pertinent to identify effective methods of working that ensure the research carried out leads to real-world impact. Here, we suggest three strategies for the next decade of soil science, comprising a greater implementation of research into policy, interdisciplinary partnerships to evaluate function trade-offs and synergies between soils and other environmental domains, and integrating monitoring and modelling methods to ensure soil-based policies can withstand the uncertainties of the future.

10.1111/ejss.13145

Prediction, validation, and uncertainties of a nation-wide post-fire soil erosion risk assessment in Portugal
Prediction, validation, and uncertainties of a nation-wide post-fire soil erosion risk assessment in Portugal
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Wildfires are a recurrent and increasing threat in mainland Portugal, where over 4.5 million hectares of forests and scrublands have burned over the last 38 years. These fire-affected landscapes have suffered an intensification of soil erosion processes, which can negatively affect soil carbon storage, reduce fertility and forest productivity, and can become a source of pollutants. The main objective of the present study is to produce a post-fire soil erosion risk map for the forest and shrubland areas in mainland Portugal and assess its reliability. To this end, the semi-empirical Morgan–Morgan–Finney erosion model was used to assess the potential post-fire soil erosion according to distinct burn severity and climate scenarios, and the accuracy of the predictions was verified by an uncertainty analysis and validated against independent field datasets. The proposed approach successfully allowed mapping post-fire soil erosion in Portugal and identified the areas with higher post-fire erosion risk for past and future climate extremes. The outcomes of this study comprise a set of tools to help forest managers in their decision-making for post-fire emergency stabilization, ensuring the adequate selection of areas for mitigation to minimize the economic and environmental losses caused by fire-enhanced soil erosion.

10.1038/s41598-022-07066-x

Deep Learning Based Burnt Area Mapping Using Sentinel 1 for the Santa Cruz Mountains Lightning Complex (CZU) and Creek Fires 2020
Deep Learning Based Burnt Area Mapping Using Sentinel 1 for the Santa Cruz Mountains Lightning Complex (CZU) and Creek Fires 2020
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

The study presented here builds on previous synthetic aperture radar (SAR) burnt area estimation models and presents the first U-Net (a convolutional network architecture for fast and precise segmentation of images) combined with ResNet50 (Residual Networks used as a backbone for many computer vision tasks) encoder architecture used with SAR, Digital Elevation Model, and land cover data for burnt area mapping in near-real time. The Santa Cruz Mountains Lightning Complex (CZU) was one of the most destructive fires in state history. The results showed a maximum burnt area segmentation F1-Score of 0.671 in the CZU, which outperforms current models estimating burnt area with SAR data for the specific event studied models in the literature, with an F1-Score of 0.667. The framework presented here has the potential to be applied on a near real-time basis, which could allow land monitoring as the frequency of data capture improves.

10.3390/fire5050163

A modelling approach to evaluate land management options for recently burnt catchments
A modelling approach to evaluate land management options for recently burnt catchments
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Scars left by wildfires are easily visible in the Mediterranean landscape and, like any wound, even those left by fires must be treated to regenerate properly. If not managed, spontaneous vegetation regeneration will eventually cover the affected area, restoring the hydrological cycle. The reforestation of burned stands, involving ploughing the land and building terraces on steep slopes, together with fertilisation of the area, is also common. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to simulate three post-fire land management options for a small catchment in central Portugal. The choice of this basin relates to the implementation of terraces to create a eucalyptus forest production area 7 months after a fire completely burned the catchment. Two alternative post-fire scenarios were designed, one simulating the spontaneous recovery of the ecosystem and the second reproducing a catchment-scale implementation of a highly effective erosion mitigation measure (mulching). Then, the mulch scenario and the actual eucalyptus cycle were compared with the spontaneous recovery scenario to appraise the best management choice. The post-fire and post-terracing periods showed a satisfactory agreement between simulated and observed daily parameters. Concerning the management alternatives evaluated, mulching and terracing reduced soil loss and sediment transported in streams compared to spontaneous recovery. However, higher flow volumes and phosphorus exports were predicted under terraced conditions, likely due to increased infiltration capacity and accelerated leaching processes, raising concerns about stream water quality. These findings can be applied to other Mediterranean catchments affected by wildfires and in which post-fire management actions are planned, making stakeholders aware of the impacts and uncertainties of post-fire scenarios, thus improving the management of burnt areas.

10.1111/ejss.13275

Event-based quickflow simulation with OpenLISEM in a burned Mediterranean forest catchment
Event-based quickflow simulation with OpenLISEM in a burned Mediterranean forest catchment
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Recently burnt areas typically reveal strong to extreme hydrological responses, as a consequence of loss of protective soil cover and heating-induced changes in topsoil properties. Soil water repellency (SWR) has frequently been referred to as one of the explanatory variables for fire-enhanced surface runoff generation but this has been poorly demonstrated, especially at the catchment scale. This study employs a process-based modelling approach to better understand the relevance of SWR in the hydrological response of a small, entirely burnt catchment in central Portugal, in particular by comparing hydrological events under contrasting initial conditions of dry vs wet soils. The OpenLISEM model was applied to a selection of 16 major rainfall runoff events that occurred during the first 2 post-fire years. The automatic calibration procedure resulted in good model performance, but it worsened for validation events. Furthermore, uncertainty analysis revealed an elevated sensitivity of OpenLISEM to event-specific conditions, especially for predicting the events’ total and peak flows. Also, predicted spatial patterns in runoff poorly agreed with the runoff observed in microplots. Model performance improved when events were separated by dry and wet initial moisture conditions, particularly for wet conditions, suggesting the role of variables other than initial soil moisture.

10.1071/WF21005

Soil-Improving Cropping Systems for Sustainable and Profitable Farming in Europe
Soil-Improving Cropping Systems for Sustainable and Profitable Farming in Europe
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Soils form the basis for agricultural production and other ecosystem services, and soil management should aim at improving their quality and resilience. Within the SoilCare project, the concept of soil-improving cropping systems (SICS) was developed as a holistic approach to facilitate the adoption of soil management that is sustainable and profitable. SICS selected with stakeholders were monitored and evaluated for environmental, sociocultural, and economic effects to determine profitability and sustainability. Monitoring results were upscaled to European level using modelling and Europe-wide data, and a mapping tool was developed to assist in selection of appropriate SICS across Europe. Furthermore, biophysical, sociocultural, economic, and policy reasons for (non)adoption were studied. Results at the plot/farm scale showed a small positive impact of SICS on environment and soil, no effect on sustainability, and small negative impacts on economic and sociocultural dimensions. Modelling showed that different SICS had different impacts across Europe—indicating the importance of understanding local dynamics in Europe-wide assessments. Work on adoption of SICS confirmed the role economic considerations play in the uptake of SICS, but also highlighted social factors such as trust. The project’s results underlined the need for policies that support and enable a transition to more sustainable agricultural practices in a coherent way

10.3390/land11060780

Challenges of and opportunities for protecting European soil biodiversity.
Challenges of and opportunities for protecting European soil biodiversity.
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Soil biodiversity and related ecosystem functions are neglected in most biodiversity assessments and nature conservation actions. We examined how society, and particularly policy makers, have addressed these factors worldwide with a focus on Europe and explored the role of soils in nature conservation in Germany as an example. We reviewed past and current global and European policies, compared soil ecosystem functioning in- and outside protected areas, and examined the role of soils in nature conservation management via text analyses. Protection and conservation of soil biodiversity and soil ecosystem functioning have been insufficient. Soil-related policies are unenforceable and lack soil biodiversity conservation goals, focusing instead on other environmental objectives. We found no evidence of positive effects of current nature conservation measures in multiple soil ecosystem functions in Europe. In German conservation management, soils are considered only from a limited perspective (e.g., as physicochemical part of the environment and as habitat for aboveground organisms). By exploring policy, evidence, and management as it relates to soil ecosystems, we suggest an integrative perspective to move nature conservation toward targeting soil ecosystems directly (e.g., by setting baselines, monitoring soil threats, and establishing a soil indicator system).

10.1111/cobi.13930

The diagnostic continua of the soils of Europe
The diagnostic continua of the soils of Europe
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Diagnostic horizons, properties and materials are commonly applied building units of national and international soil classification systems. The presence, depth or absence of diagnostic information supports the process of objective soil classification, such as the World Reference Base (WRB). While the diagnostic units and associated descriptive qualifiers convey information that reflect pedogenesis, they also indicate important, and often complex properties that are related to soil fertility and other soil functions. The spatial extent or the continuum of diagnostic information is often different from the spatial extent of the mapping units in general soil maps (mostly reflecting soil types). This paper presents the spatial distribution of selected diagnostic units and qualifiers for the European Union and describes their significance for key soil functions. The derivation of selected diagnostics was performed based on the information provided in the European Soil Database and by taking into consideration the definitions, rules and allocation procedure of soils to the appropriate Reference Soil Group (RSG) defined by the WRB key. The definition of the presence/absence of the diagnostic units were performed by extracting information related to the first level of the WRB classification and to the qualifiers provided by the ESDB on the Soil Taxonomic Units (STU) level. The areal percentage of the STUs (thus, the derived diagnostics) within Soil Mapping Units (SMUs) was calculated and was visualized on separate maps. The study demonstrated the importance of the spatial information that the diagnostic elements convey, especially related to soil functions.

10.15201/hungeobull.71.4.1

Aridity and geochemical drivers of soil micronutrient and contaminant availability in European drylands
Aridity and geochemical drivers of soil micronutrient and contaminant availability in European drylands
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

Dryland soils provide different societal and environmental services, such as food supply and biodiversity support. In Europe, most of the dryland areas are devoted to agriculture. In the next decades, both European and worldwide drylands are expected to suffer with increased intensity due to the expected climate change-derived rise in aridity. Many studies have focussed on aridity-induced changes in major nutrients in drylands, but little is known of the impact of environmental and biogeochemical factors on micronutrients with critical roles in life, and as inorganic contaminants with ecotoxicological implications. We analysed and explored drivers of total and available concentrations of micronutrients (Co, Cu, Fe, Mo, Mn, Ni and Zn) and contaminants (As, Cd and Pb) in 148 soil samples collected from European drylands covering a wide range of aridity and of other geochemical parameters. The availability of micronutrients increased with their total content, decreased with pH and was enhanced by organic C content. Aridity decreased the availability of Fe, a key element in human diet. Our findings also highlight the scarcity of this micronutrient in European drylands, as well as of some other important micronutrients like Zn and Mo in agricultural soils. Total content was the main driver of the availability of Cd and Pb, and organic matter exerted synergistic effects on contaminant release. Our data show the need for precise management practices to be incentivised by agricultural and environmental policies in order to ensure micronutrient supply and avoid contamination, thus maintaining adequate levels of agricultural productivity and simultaneously preserving dryland ecosystems.

10.1111/ejss.13163

Amplitude and frequency of wetting and drying cycles drive N2 and N2O emissions from a subtropical pasture
Amplitude and frequency of wetting and drying cycles drive N2 and N2O emissions from a subtropical pasture
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2022

This study investigated the effects of irrigation frequency on N2 and N2O emissions from an intensively managed pasture in the subtropics. Irrigation volumes were estimated to replace evapotranspiration and were applied either once (low frequency) or split into four applications (high frequency). To test for legacy effects, a large rainfall event was simulated at the end of the experiment. Over 15 days, 7.9 ± 2.7 kg N2 + N2O-N ha−1 was emitted on average regardless of irrigation frequency, with N2O accounting for 25% of overall N2 + N2O. Repeated, small amounts of irrigation produced an equal amount of N2 + N2O losses as a single, large irrigation event. The increase in N2O emissions after the large rainfall event was smaller in the high-frequency treatment, shifting the N2O/(N2O + N2) ratio towards N2, indicating a treatment legacy effect. Cumulative losses of N2O and N2 did not differ between treatments, but higher CO2 emissions were observed in the high-frequency treatment. Our results suggest that the increase in microbial activity and related O2 consumption in response to small and repeated wetting events can offset the effects of increased soil gas diffusivity on denitrification, explaining the lack of treatment effect on cumulative N2O and N2 emissions and the abundance of N cycling marker genes. The observed legacy effect may be linked to increased mineralisation and subsequent increased dissolved organic carbon availability, suggesting that increased irrigation frequency can reduce the environmental impact (N2O), but not overall magnitude of N2O and N2 emissions from intensively managed pastures.

Article

Interaction between soil and fertiliser nitrogen drives plant nitrogen uptake and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in tropical sugarcane systems
Interaction between soil and fertiliser nitrogen drives plant nitrogen uptake and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in tropical sugarcane systems
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2022

High nitrogen (N) fertiliser inputs in intensive sugarcane systems drive productivity but also significant emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas. Fertiliser and soil N availability for both plant N uptake and N2O emissions across different N rates remain unknown, hindering efficient N management. This study investigated the contribution of fertiliser and soil N and their interaction to plant N uptake and N2O emissions in two intensively managed tropical sugarcane systems

article

Author Correction: Different climate sensitivity of particulate and mineral-associated soil organic matter
Author Correction: Different climate sensitivity of particulate and mineral-associated soil organic matter
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2022

In the version of this article originally published, there was a plotting error in the presentation of Extended Data Fig. 5

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The relevance of sustainable soil management within the European Green Deal
The relevance of sustainable soil management within the European Green Deal
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2021

The new European Green Deal has the ambition to make the European Union the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The European Commission presented an ambitious package of measures within the Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the Farm to Fork and the European Climate Law including actions to protect our soils. The Farm to Fork strategy addresses soil pollution with 50 % reduction in use of chemical pesticides by 2030 and aims 20 % reduction in fertilizer use plus a decrease of nutrient losses by at least 50%. The Biodiversity Strategy has the ambition to set a minimum of 30 % of the EU’s land area as protected areas, limit urban sprawl, reduce the pesticides risk, bring back at least 10 % of agricultural area under high-diversity landscape features, put forward the 25 % of the EU’s agricultural land as organically farmed, progress in the remediation of contaminated sites, reduce land degradation and plant more than three billion new trees. The maintenance of wetlands and the enhancement of soil organic carbon are also addressed in the European Climate Law. The new EU Soil Observatory will be collecting policy relevant data and developing indicators for the regular assessment and progress towards the ambitious targets of the Green Deal.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837720304257

Metabarcoding of Soil Fungal Communities Associated with Alpine Field-Grown Saffron ( Crocus sativus L.) Inoculated with AM Fung
Metabarcoding of Soil Fungal Communities Associated with Alpine Field-Grown Saffron ( Crocus sativus L.) Inoculated with AM Fung
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2021
Language: en

Soil fungi strongly influence ecosystem structure and functioning, playing a key role in many ecological services as decomposers, plant mutualists and pathogens. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish mutualistic symbiotic associations with plant roots and act as biofertilizers by enhancing plant nutrients and water uptake. Information about the AMF association with Crocus sativus L. (saffron) and their impact on crop performances and spice quality has been increasing in recent years. Instead, there is still little data on the biodiversity of soil microbial communities associated with this crop in the Alpine environments. The aims of this study were to investigate the fungal communities of two Alpine experimental sites cultivated with saffron, and to rank the relative impact of two AMF inocula, applied to soil as single species (R = Rhizophagus intraradices, C. Walker & A. Schüßler) or a mixture of two species (M = R. intraradices and Funneliformis mosseae, C. Walker & A. Schüßler), on the resident fungal communities which might be influenced in their diversity and composition. We used Illumina MiSeq metabarcoding on nuclear ribosomal ITS2 region to characterize the fungal communities associated to Crocus sativus cultivation in two fields, located in the municipalities of Saint Christophe (SC) and Morgex (MG), (Aosta Valley, Italy), treated or not with AMF inocula and sampled for two consecutive years (Y1; Y2). Data analyses consistently indicated that Basidiomycota were particularly abundant in both sites and sampling years (Y1 and Y2). Significant differences in the distribution of fungal taxa assemblages at phylum and class levels between the two sites were also found. The main compositional differences consisted in significant abundance changes of OTUs belonging to Dothideomycetes and Leotiomycetes (Ascomycota), Agaricomycetes and Tremellomycetes (Basidiomycota), Mortierellomycetes and Mucoromycetes. Further differences concerned OTUs, of other classes, significantly represented only in the first or second year of sampling. Concerning Glomeromycota, the most represented genus was Claroideoglomus always detected in both sites and years. Other AMF genera such as Funneliformis, Septoglomus and Microdominikia, were retrieved only in MG site. Results highlighted that neither sites nor inoculation significantly impacted Alpine saffron-field fungal communities; instead, the year of sampling had the most appreciable influence on the resident communities

10.3390/jof7010045

A first assessment of rainfall erosivity synchrony scale at pan-European scale
A first assessment of rainfall erosivity synchrony scale at pan-European scale
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2021

Soil loss by water erosion is a major land degradation processes that can locally reduce crop productivity and cause off-site negative effects such as siltation, eutrophication of waterways, flooding and terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity loss. The major driver of water erosion is the erosive power of rainfall. Using the detailed erosive events of the Rainfall Erosivity Database at European Scale (REDES), we study the characteristics and patterns of rainfall erosivity in Europe introducing the Rainfall Erosivity Synchrony Scale (Rsync). Rsync expresses the maximum radius in kilometers around a given meteorological station within which at least half of the other meteorological stations in the database also detect an erosive event. In this study we correlate the Rsync and the annual erosivity with annual number of thunderstorm days, convective and large-scale precipitation and multiple geo-morphological features such as topographic position index and terrain ruggedness index. Our analysis shows an inverse relationship between the Rsync and rainfall erosivity values in Europe. Different spatial patterns of synchrony scale are detected in Europe, which enables us to delineate areas where severe soil erosion can simultaneously occur at larger scales, e.g., large sectors of Italy, Spain, Croatia and Slovenia. Furthermore, we observe a tendency of the Rsync to decrease with convective precipitation, annual number of thunderstorm days and increase with the large-scale precipitation. On the contrary, annual rainfall erosivity increases with convective precipitation and annual number of thunderstorm days and decreases with large-scale precipitation.

10.1016/j.catena.2020.105060

Measuring, modelling and managing gully erosion at large scales: A state of the art
Measuring, modelling and managing gully erosion at large scales: A state of the art
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2021

Soil erosion is generally recognized as the dominant process of land degradation. The formation and expansion of gullies is often a highly significant process of soil erosion. However, our ability to assess and simulate gully erosion and its impacts remains very limited. This is especially so at regional to continental scales. As a result, gullying is often overlooked in policies and land and catchment management strategies. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made over the past decades. Based on a review of >590 scientific articles and policy documents, we provide a state-of-the-art on our ability to monitor, model and manage gully erosion at regional to continental scales. In this review we discuss the relevance and need of assessing gully erosion at regional to continental scales (Section 1); current methods to monitor gully erosion as well as pitfalls and opportunities to apply them at larger scales (section 2); field-based gully erosion research conducted in Europe and European Russia (section 3); model approaches to simulate gully erosion and its contribution to catchment sediment yields at large scales (section 4); data products that can be used for such simulations (section 5); and currently existing policy tools and needs to address the problem of gully erosion (section 6). Section 7 formulates a series of recommendations for further research and policy development, based on this review. While several of these sections have a strong focus on Europe, most of our findings and recommendations are of global significance.

10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103637

Copper Content and Export in European Vineyard Soils Influenced by Climate and Soil Properties
Copper Content and Export in European Vineyard Soils Influenced by Climate and Soil Properties
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2021

Copper-based fungicides (Cuf) are used in European (EU) vineyards to prevent fungal diseases. Soil physicochemical properties locally govern the variation of the total copper content (Cut) in EU vineyards. However, variables controlling Cut distribution at a larger scale are poorly known. Here, machine learning techniques were used to identify governing variables and to predict the Cut distribution in EU vineyards. Precipitation, aridity and soil organic carbon are key variables explaining together 45% of Cut distribution across EU vineyards. This underlines the effect of both climate and soil properties on Cut distribution. The average net export of Cu at the EU scale is 0.29 kg Cu ha–1, which is 2 orders of magnitude less than the net accumulation of Cu (24.8 kg Cu ha–1). Four scenarios of Cuf application were compared. The current EU regulation with a maximum of 4 kg Cu ha–1 year–1 may increase by 2% of the EU vineyard area, exceeding the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) in soil in the next 100 years. Overall, our results highlight the vineyard areas requiring specific remediation measures and strategies of Cuf use to manage a trade-off between pest control and soil and water contamination.

10.1021/acs.est.0c02093

Using Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy as a High Throughput Method for Quantifying Soil C and N and Their Distribution in Particulate and Mineral-Associated Organic Matter Fractions
Using Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy as a High Throughput Method for Quantifying Soil C and N and Their Distribution in Particulate and Mineral-Associated Organic Matter Fractions
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2021

Large-scale quantification of soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks and their distribution between particulate (POM) and mineral-associated (MAOM) organic matter is deemed necessary to develop land management strategies to mitigate climate change and sustain food production. To this end, diffuse reflectance mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR) coupled with partial least square (PLS) analysis has been proposed as a promising method because of its low labor and cost, high throughput and the potential to estimate multiple soil attributes. In this paper, we applied MIR spectroscopy to predict C and N content in bulk soils, and in POM and MAOM, as well as soil properties influencing soil C storage. A heterogeneous dataset including 349 topsoil samples were collected under different soil types, land use and climate conditions across the European Union and the United Kingdom. The samples were analyzed for various soil properties to determine the feasibility of developing MIR-based predictive calibrations. We obtained accurate predictions for total soil C and N content, MAOM C and N content, pH, clay, and sand (R2> 0.7; RPD>1.8). In contrast, POM C and N content were predicted with lower accuracies due to non-linear dependencies, suggesting the need for additional calibration across similar soils. Furthermore, the information provided by MIR spectroscopy was able to differentiate spectral bands and patterns across different C pools. The strength of the correlation between C pools, minerals, and C functional groups was land use-dependent, suggesting that the use of this approach for long-term soil C monitoring programs should use land-use specific calibrations.

10.3389/fenvs.2021.634472

 

Mercury in European topsoils: Anthropogenic sources, stocks and fluxes
Mercury in European topsoils: Anthropogenic sources, stocks and fluxes
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2021

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most dangerous pollutants worldwide. In the European Union (EU), we recently estimated the Hg distribution in topsoil using 21,591 samples and a series of geo-physical inputs. In this manuscript, we investigate the impact of mining activities, chrol-alkali industries and other diffuse pollution sources as primary anthropogenic sources of Hg hotspots in the EU. Based on Hg measured soil samples, we modelled the Hg pool in EU topsoils, which totals about 44.8 Gg, with an average density of 103 g ha−1. As a following step, we coupled the estimated Hg stocks in topsoil with the pan-European assessment of soil loss due to water erosion and sediment distribution. In the European Union and UK, we estimated that about 43 Mg Hg yr−1 are displaced by water erosion and c. a. 6 Mg Hg yr−1 are transferred with sediments to river basins and eventually released to coastal Oceans. The Mediterranean Sea receives almost half (2.94 Mg yr−1) of the Hg fluxes to coastal oceans and it records the highest quantity of Hg sediments. This is the result of elevated soil Hg concentration and high erosion rates in the catchments draining into the Mediterranean Sea. This work contributes to new knowledge in support of the policy development in the EU on the Zero Pollution Action Plan and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 3.9 and 14.1, which both have as an objective to reduce soil pollution by 2030.

10.1016/j.envres.2021.111556

Spatial evaluation and trade-off analysis of soil functions through Bayesian networks
Spatial evaluation and trade-off analysis of soil functions through Bayesian networks
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2021

There is increasing recognition that soils fulfil many functions for society. Each soil can deliver a range of functions, but some soils are more effective at some functions than others due to their intrinsic properties. In this study we mapped four different soil functions on agricultural lands across the European Union. For each soil function, indicators were developed to evaluate their performance. To calculate the indicators and assess the interdependencies between the soil functions, data from continental long-term simulation with the DayCent model were used to build crop-specific Bayesian networks. These Bayesian Networks were then used to calculate the soil functions' performance and trade-offs between the soil functions under current conditions. For each soil function the maximum potential was estimated across the European Union and changes in trade-offs were assessed. By deriving current and potential soil function delivery from Bayesian networks a better understanding is gained of how different soil functions and their interdependencies can differ depending on soil, climate and management.

10.1111/ejss.13039