Relict periglacial soils on Quaternary terraces in the central Ebro Basin (NE Spain)

Pedofeatures associated with ancient cold climatic conditions have been recognized in soils on terraces in the Monegros area (central Ebro Basin, Spain), at a latitude of 41°49′N and an altitude of 300 m a.s.l. Eleven soil profiles were described on fluvial deposits corresponding to the most extensive terrace (T5) of the Alcanadre River, Middle Pleistocene in age (MIS8–MIS7). Each soil horizon was sampled for physical, chemical, mineralogical and micromorphological analyses. Macromorphological features related to pedocryogenic processes were described: involutions, jacked stones, shattered stones, detached and vertically oriented carbonatic pendents, fragmented carbonatic crusts, laminar microstructures, succitic fabric, silt cappings on rock fragments and aggregates, and irregular, broken, discontinuous and deformed gravel and sandy pockets. Accumulations of Fe–Mn oxides, dissolution features on the surface of carbonatic stones, and calcitic accumulations were identified related to vadose–phreatic conditions. The observed periglacial features developed under cold environmental conditions in exceptional geomorphic and hydrological conditions. This soil information may have potential implications in studies of paleoclimate in the Ebro Valley as well as in other Mediterranean areas

Assessment of carbon in woody plants and soil across a vineyard-woodland landscape

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Quantification of ecosystem services, such as carbon (C) storage, can demonstrate the benefits of managing for both production and habitat conservation in agricultural landscapes. In this study, we evaluated C stocks and woody plant diversity across vineyard blocks and adjoining woodland ecosystems (wildlands) for an organic vineyard in northern California. Carbon was measured in soil from 44 one m deep pits, and in aboveground woody biomass from 93 vegetation plots. These data were combined with physical landscape variables to model C stocks using a geographic information system and multivariate linear regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Field data showed wildlands to be heterogeneous in both C stocks and woody tree diversity, reflecting the mosaic of several different vegetation types, and storing on average 36.8 Mg C/ha in aboveground woody biomass and 89.3 Mg C/ha in soil. Not surprisingly, vineyard blocks showed less variation in above- and belowground C, with an average of 3.0 and 84.1 Mg C/ha, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This research demonstrates that vineyards managed with practices that conserve some fraction of adjoining wildlands yield benefits for increasing overall C stocks and species and habitat diversity in integrated agricultural landscapes. For such complex landscapes, high resolution spatial modeling is challenging and requires accurate characterization of the landscape by vegetation type, physical structure, sufficient sampling, and allometric equations that relate tree species to each landscape. Geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques are useful for integrating the above variables into an analysis platform to estimate C stocks in these working landscapes, thereby helping land managers qualify for greenhouse gas mitigation credits. Carbon policy in California, however, shows a lack of focus on C stocks compared to emissions, and on agriculture compared to other sectors. Correcting these policy shortcomings could create incentives for ecosystem service provision, including C storage, as well as encourage better farm stewardship and habitat conservation.</p

Inventorying Trees in Agricultural Landscapes: Towards an Accounting of Working Trees

Agroforestry plantings and other trees intentionally established in rural and urban areas are emerging as innovative management options for addressing resource issues and achieving landscape-level goals. An understanding of the contributions from these and future plantings would provide critical information to policy and program developers, and a comprehensive inventory would contribute to estimating the cumulative effects of these plantings. Trees used in these practices are not explicitly inventoried by either of the two primary national natural resource inventories: the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service and the National Resources Inventory (NRI) of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The FIA program inventories trees in forests meeting specific size and density criteria. The NRI program compiles natural resource information on non-federal land in the United States. In this study, we estimate the agroforestry and other tree resources of Iowa and Missouri and document the obstacles to effective inventories of agroforestry practices. We propose minor modifications to national natural resource inventory programs that would lead to an improved assessment of agroforestry and other tree resources and practices

Distribution and properties of soft weathered bedrock at ≤ 1m depth in the contiguous United States

The weathered bedrock zone is increasingly recognized as an important part of ecological and hydrologic systems, but its distribution is poorly known in the contiguous United States. We used spatial and laboratory characterization data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Natural Resources Conservation Service to assess the distribution and soil-like properties of soft weathered bedrock (saprock and saprolite) within the 48 contiguous United States. Because USDA soil inventories generally do not extend below 2m, and because the upper 1m is clearly involved in ecosystem function and vadose zone hydrology, we restricted our inquiry to soft weathered bedrock within 1m of the land surface. Soft weathered bedrock within 1m of the land surface is widespread throughout the contiguous United States, underlying at least 6% of the land area. In-depth analysis of three states showed that soft weathered bedrock at the ≤ 1-m depth underlies 22% of the total land area in California, 33% in Wyoming, and 18% in North Carolina. Soft weathered bedrock hosts pedogenic activity, as indicated by morphological features such as roots, clay films, and iron (Fe)-/manganese (Mn)-oxide concretions recorded in pedon descriptions in the database. The physical and chemical properties of soft weathered bedrock are often similar to those of the overlying soil, suggesting that in many respects soft weathered bedrock behaves like soil. It supplies water and nutrients to plants whose roots penetrate into it and it modulates through flow runoff to streams. For a more complete understanding of soft weathered bedrock, systematic data are needed on its thickness across landscapes and a consistent terminology for its various forms needs to be adopted and widely used