Soil redistribution impacts on the spatial variation of nutrients, net carbon exchange with the atmosphere and soil respiration rates in highly eroding agricultural fields from the foothills of the Indian Himalaya.

Abstract Using the tracer caesium-137 (137Cs) and experimental approaches this study quantified soil redistribution induced spatial variation of nutrients and soil organic carbon (SOC), net C flux between soil and atmosphere and soil respiration rate at various landscapes positions (eroding to deposition) within agricultural fields from the foot hills of Indian Himalaya. The depth distributions of 137Cs and the spatial patterns of 137Cs inventories were consistent with previous applications of the approach in that low inventories were associated with low concentrations in the cultivation layer and high inventories were reflected in deeper 137Cs profiles indicative of accumulation of labelled soil. This supports the contention that 137Cs is a suitable tracer for use in this environment. The study found that soil redistribution within fields altered the spatial variation of nutrients and SOC; with significantly lower concentrations of nutrients in the most eroded part of fields (upslope) and significantly higher concentrations of nutrients and SOC in the depositional part of field (downslope). The spatial pattern of nutrients and SOC is reflected in differences in depth distributions between eroded and depositional areas. The 137Cs and SOC inventory and depth distribution data were used to derive retrospective assessments of net C exchange between soil and atmosphere. The C flux quantification model was used to estimate lateral and vertical soil and SOC redistribution under an assumption of equilibrium conditions and the net exchange of C between soil and atmosphere was derived from the difference between measured and ‘equilibrium’ SOC inventories. Fluxes were derived for each landscape position within the agricultural fields studies and calculated at field and site scale. High rates of soil loss were measured and the results showed that the majority of eroded sediment and SOC was exported from field with only a small fraction redeposited within the field. The effect of soil and SOC redistribution was to create disequilibrium in SOC dynamics at eroding and deposition positions and this supported the formation of a field scale C sink. The sink strength is highest in the most eroded parts of the fields due to dynamic replacement of eroded C. This is assumed to be due to the high rate of incorporation of SOC-poor subsoil, with a large C-unsaturated surface area, into the cultivation layer. The C sink is smaller that those reported from high nutrient-input mechanised farm lands. Irrespective of the fate of exported SOC, the SOC stocks in the fields appear to be in dynamic equilibrium and, therefore, there is no evidence of a C source to the atmosphere due to erosion. Also the rate of SOC export from the fields is very high, especially when compared with mechanised fields and, if it is assumed that some portion of exported C is stored in some part of low lying area, the C sink strength would be comparable to mechanised farm lands. The soil redistribution and C flux study confirmed the existence of spatial variation in C flux at various landscapes position and was consistent with an important role for vertical mixing of soil and SOC in determining net C exchange with the atmosphere. This informed the design of the final element of the research that examined soil respiration differences in soil from shallow and deep layers in eroding and aggrading landscapes position. Respiration was measured over a one year period in samples derived from separate depth layers and in mixtures of soil from different depths at each landscape position. No significant difference was found in C release rate (per unit mass of C) from topsoil of eroding and deposition position but the subsoil of eroding pits exhibited significantly higher C release than the subsoil from deposition positions. This result suggests that topsoil in both locations has almost equal and similar C origin. The relatively high rate of respiration in sub soils from eroding pits may be due to the presence of a larger proportion of SOC formed from recently incorporated plant material (crop roots) at these locations. In buried and deposition locations the reduced mineralisation is consistent with the proposition that burial of top soil can contribute to formation of a C sink. In the samples containing mixed topsoil and subsoil, evidence for priming was seen where the respiration rate in the mixed sample was significantly higher than the expected rate based on the respiration rate seen in the separate depth samples. No priming was evident in mixed soils from eroding locations, suggesting that mixing of subsoil and surface soil does not accelerate loss of old SOC from the subsoil. In contrast, significant priming action was evident in mixed soils from aggrading locations suggesting that buried SOC at depositional locations may be subject to accelerated respiration as long as it is exposed to fresh plant input (as found in surface soils). In conclusion, despite the low input and low productivity of the farmlands in the Indian Himalaya region studied here, there is consistent evidence that high rates of soil erosion and soil redistribution have induced spatial variation of nutrients and SOC, net C flux and soil respiration rates that combine to create a pattern of SOC stocks that are close to equilibrium and, if some of the exported C is sequestered, to create a net C sink. This result again confirms that erosion induced redistribution of C does not directly cause a net release of C to the atmosphere. The consistency of these results with previous studies suggests that there is both scope and need for soil erosion induced carbon fluxes to be incorporated into carbon budgets, research frameworks, land management and climate change mitigation strategies at policy-relevant scales.Indian Council of Agricultural Research and University of Exete

Influência do relevo e do uso da terra na distribuição espacial e vertical de fósforo e carbono do solo em uma bacia hidrográfica do Planalto do Rio Grande do Sul

Orientador : Leonardo José Cordeiro SantosCo-orientador : Danilo Rheinheimer dos SantosTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências da Terra, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geografia. Defesa: Curitiba, 13/03/2015Inclui referênciasÁrea de concentração: Espaço, sociedade e ambienteResumo: O papel da geomorfologia e do uso da terra em relação à distribuição espacial de fósforo (P) e carbono (C) no solo é de grande interesse em termos de gestão da paisagem e sequestro de poluentes. Neste trabalho foi analisado o papel do relevo e uso da terra na distribuição espacial e vertical de P e C, dentre outros elementos químicos, na escala de vertente e bacia hidrográfica em área de produção de grãos no planalto do Rio Grande do Sul. As informações sobre o relevo foram geradas utilizando duas bases de dados: carta topográfica (CT) na escala 1:50.000 de 1976 e levantamento altimétrico com um receptor GPS/GNSS Real Time Kinematic (RTK) de 2012. Após a geração dos modelos digitais de elevação (MDEs), foram extraídos os atributos topográficos primários e secundários e a base de dados que melhor representou as feições do terreno foi utilizada na álgebra de mapas para a predição dos locais propensos a perda e a deposição de sedimento. Para o estudo da distribuição de P e C na escala de bacia hidrográfica foram coletadas amostras de solo em 57 pontos de amostragem, em cinco profundidades (0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-40, 40-60 cm) num total de 285 amostras. Para o estudo na escala de vertente, foram analisados dados de nove pontos de amostragem distribuídos em duas topossequências, uma com área úmida drenada (4 pontos) e a outra não drenada (5 pontos). Os parâmetros físicos e químicos do solo avaliados foram: densidade, pH (H2O), granulometria, fósforo total (PT), orgânico total (POT) e disponível (PD), teores de ferro (Fe) e alumínio (Al) cristalinos e amorfos e carbono orgânico total (COT) na fração < 2 mm. Para a avaliação da qualidade do mapa com as áreas propensas a perda e deposição de sedimento, os dados dos atributos do solo foram separados de acordo com as classes geradas também, foi feita análise de correlação linear entre os atributos do solo com os atributos topográficos. Os dados dos atributos físicos e químicos do solo da bacia hidrográfica foram submetidos à comparação de média pelo teste de Tukey ao nível de 5% de significância. Nas topossequências, os dados obtidos foram submetidos à análise por componentes principais. A utilização de atributos topográficos derivados do MDE-CT mostrou-se inadequada para avaliar áreas propensas a perda e deposição de sedimentos, consequentemente nutrientes, em áreas com relevo suave ondulado, como o do planalto do Rio Grande do Sul. A utilização de atributos topográficos derivados do MDE-RTK discretizou satisfatoriamente às áreas propensas à perda e a deposição de sedimento por álgebra de mapas. A correlação entre os valores dos atributos físicos e químicos do solo avaliados nas 285 amostras com os valores dos atributos topográficos do MDE-RTK apresentaram resultados estatisticamente significativos, mostrando-se bons preditores do teor de C e P. Na bacia hidrográfica, em geral, as concentrações de nutrientes foram maiores nos pontos de amostragem em áreas úmidas e vertentes côncavas convergentes, zonas de deposição e menores na meia encosta, zonas erodíveis e, independente da classe de uso da terra e posição na paisagem, os teores de C e P foram maiores na camada superficial decaindo em profundidade. Nas topossequências, as concentrações de elementos químicos refletiram a posição no relevo e a influência antrópica. Palavras-chave: Atributos topográficos, atributos físicos e químicos do solo, áreas úmidas, escala.Abstract: The role of geomorphology and land use in relation to the spatial distribution of phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) in the soil is of great interest in terms of landscape management and sequestration of pollutants. This work analyzed the role of topography and land use in spatial and vertical distribution of phosphorus and carbon, among other soil chemical properties, at catchment and slopes scale, in an area under integrated crop-livestock system under no-till in the Rio Grande do Sul plateau, southern Brazil. The relief information was generated using two databases: topographic map (TM) scale 1:50.000 generated in 1976, and altimetry survey with a GPS/GNSS receiver Real Time Kinematic (RTK) generated in 2012. After the generation of digital elevation models (DEM), the primary and secondary topographic attributes were extracted. The database that best represented the terrain features was used in the algebra map for predicting the sites prone to loss and deposition of sediment. In order to estimate the distribution of P and C at catchment scale, soil samples were collected at 57 sampling points in five depths (0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-40, 40-60 cm), totaling 285 soil samples. For the present study the slope scale, were analyzed nine sampling points distributed in two toposequences, one in a drained wetland area (4 points), and the other in a non-drained wetland (5 points). The physical and chemical parameters evaluated were soil density, soil pH (H2O), grain size distribution, total phosphorus (TP), total organic P (TOP), available P (AP), Fe and Al crystalline and amorphous, and total organic carbon (TOC), in the fraction <2 mm. To evaluate the quality of the map with areas prone to loss and deposition of sediments, the data of soil attributes were separated according to the generated classes. Moreover, linear correlation analysis was performed for soil attributes and topographic attributes. The data of physical and chemical soil properties were compared by Tukey test at 5% of significance. In the toposequences, data were submitted to principal component analysis. The use of topographic attributes derived from the DEM-TM was inadequate to assess the areas prone to loss and deposition of sediments and nutrients in areas with gently rolling relief, as founded in the Rio Grande do Sul plateau. The topographic attributes derived from DEM-RTK was able to identify satisfactorily the areas prone to loss and deposition of sediment by using map algebra. The correlation between the values of physical and chemical soil properties evaluated in 285 samples with the topographic attributes derived from DEM-RTK showed statistically significant results. These topographic attributes were good predictors for C and P. In the catchment, generally the nutrient concentrations were higher in the deposition zones, as the wetlands and the converging concave parts, and lower in the erodible areas, such as the hillside and, regardless of land use class and position in the landscape, the contents of C and P were higher in the surface layer decreasing in depth. In the toposequences, the concentrations of chemical elements reflected the position in the landscape and the atrophic pressures. Keywords: Topographic attributes, physical and chemical soil attributes, wetlands, scale

Regionale Erosionsmodellierung unter Verwendung des Konzepts der Erosion Response Units (ERU) am Beispiel zweier Flusseinzugsgebiete im südlichen Afrika

Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Dissertation wurden zwei Flusseinzugsgebiete im südlichen Afrika untersucht. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, einen Beitrag zum Verständnis der Erosionsprozessdynamik in semiariden bis subhumiden Flusseinzugsgebieten des südlichen Afrikas zu liefern. Hierzu wurde das Konzept der Erosion Response Units (ERUs) entwickelt. Dieser Ansatz ermöglicht die Identifizierung von Quellen des Sedimenteintrages ins Gewässersystem sowie die Darstellung ihrer räumlichen Verteilung. Gleichzeitig kann auch eine qualitative und quantitative Analyse der Erosionsprozesse und ihrer Dynamik durch eine integrierte distributive Modellierung dieser Prozesse vorgenommen werden. Neben Fernerkundungsmethoden zur Ableitung und Analyse von erosionsrelevanten Daten wurden im Rahmen der Studie auch Geographische Informationssysteme (GIS) als Informationsträger, Analyseinstrument und Dokumentationsmedium eingesetzt