Environmental Assessment of Soil for Monitoring Volume I: Indicators & Criteria

The ENVASSO Project (Contract 022713) was funded 2006-8, under the European Commission 6th Framework Programme of Research, with the objective of defining and documenting a soil monitoring system appropriate for soil protection at continental level. The ENVASSO Consortium, comprising 37 partners drawn from 25 EU Member States, reviewed soil indicators, identified existing soil inventories and monitoring programmes in the Member States, designed and programmed a database management system to capture, store and supply soil profile data, and drafted procedures and protocols appropriate for inclusion in a European soil monitoring network of sites that are geo-referenced and at which a qualified sampling process is or could be conducted. Volume I, one of six describing the results of the ENVASSO Project, identifies 290 potential indicators relating to 188 key issues for the following nine threats to soil: erosion, organic matter decline, contamination, sealing, compaction, loss of biodiversity, salinisation, landslides and desertification. Sixty candidate indicators that address 27 key issues, covering all these threats, were selected on the basis of their thematic relevance, policy relevance and data availability. Baseline and threshold values are presented and detailed Fact Sheets describe three priority indicators for each soil threat.JRC.DDG.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Sediment provenance, soil development, and carbon content in fluvial and manmade terraces at Koiliaris River Critical Zone Observatory

Summarization: The purpose of this study was the investigation of sediment provenance and soil formation processes within a Mediterranean watershed (Koiliaris CZO in Greece) with particular emphasis on natural and manmade terraces. Koiliaris CZO is characterised by steep slopes, abrupt climatic changes, complex geology and most importantly by a significant anthropogenic influence. Material and methods Five sites (K1-K5) were excavated and analysed for their pedology (profile description), geochemistry (including Rare Earth Elements and other trace elements), texture and mineralogy along with chronological analysis (optical luminescence dating). The selected sites have the common characteristic of being flat terraces where soil formation has been taking place and erosion is low. The selected sites differed with regard to bedrock lithology, elevation and land use. Soils were classified as, Fluvisol (K1-K2), Leptosol (K3) and Cambisol (K4-K5). Results and discussion Three characteristic processes of soil genesis were identified: i) sediments transportation from outcrops of metamorphic rocks and sedimentation to fluvial sites (K1-K2), ii) in situ soil development in terraces with metamorphic rocks as parent material (K3) and in terraces with limestone as parent material (K4), and iii) strong eolian input and/or material transported through gravity from upslope at the mountainous site (K5). Only two sites revealed pedogenic processes such as a) calcite deposition in the fluvial environment (K1) which was a relict evidence of dry period and b) clay illuviation and REE horizonization at site K4 which corresponded to wetter period in Greece (medieval warm period). The REE patterns revealed strong 58 characteristics inherited from the bedrock at sites K4 and K5, while MREE and HREE depletion were observed at K1, K2 and K3 sites. Carbon sequestration throughout the soil profile was high at manmade terraces at higher elevation compared to fluvial environments due to both climatic effects and possibly intensive anthropogenic impact. Conclusions Soils at Koiliaris CZO are rather new soils with limited evolution. Pedogenic processes were identified in the older sites like K1 site. The manmade terraces at higher elevation have much higher carbon sequestration compared to the anthropogenic impacted fluvial areas. The intense agriculture activities have discernible impact in the upper soil horizon even at higher elevation sites like the site K3.Παρουσιάστηκε στο: Journal of Soils amd Sediment

Soil water characteristics of european SoilTrEC critical zone observatories

Summarization: Most of soil functions depend directly or indirectly on soil water retention and transmission, which explains their importance for many environmental processes within Earth's Critical Zones. Soil hydraulic properties are essential in irrigation and drainage studies for closing water balance equation, for predicting leaching of nutrients, for water supply to plants, and for other agronomical and environmental applications. Soil hydraulic properties reflect the structure of the soil porous system comprising pores of different geometry and sizes. This investigation comprises a detailed analytical study of soil hydraulic properties and climate conditions at 18 methodologically selected sites in Damma Glacier, Slavkov Forest, Marchfeld, and Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatories of SoilTrEC project. The local moisture regimes were assessed on a long-term basis by the Newhall model. The experimental data for soil water content at different potentials were used for assessing water storage capacity, pore size distribution, parameters of fitted retention curve equation, curve slope at the inflection point, and water permeability characteristics of each soil horizon. The differences of soil water retention and transmission characteristics—as fundamental properties describing soil structure—were explained by the different stages of soil profile development, parent materials, organic matter content, and land use histories.Appearing in: Quantifying and Managing Soil Functions in Earth's Critical Zone: Combining Experimentation and Mathematical Modellin