Soil Drainage as an Active Agent of Recent Soil Evolution: A Review

While research on pedogenesis mainly focuses on long-term soil formation and most often neglects recent soil evolution in response to human practices or climate changes, this article reviews the impact of artificial subsurface drainage on soil evolution. Artificial drainage is considered as an example of the impact of recent changes in water fluxes on soil evolution over time scales of decades to a century. Results from various classical studies on artificial drainage including hydrological and environmental studies are reviewed and collated with rare studies dealing explicitly with soil morphology changes, in response to artificial drainage. We deduce that soil should react to the perturbations associated with subsurface drainage over time scales that do not exceeding a few decades. Subsurface drainage decreases the intensity of erosion and must i) increase the intensity of the lixiviation and eluviation processes, ii) affect iron and manganese dynamics, and iii) induce heterogeneities in soil evolution at the ten meter scale. Such recent soil evolutions can no longer be neglected as they are mostly irreversible and will probably have unknown, but expectable, feedbacks on crucial soil functions such as the sequestration of soil organic matter or the water available capacity.

CHANGES OF ATMOSPHERIC CO_2, PHOTOSYNTHESIS OF THE GRASS LAYER AND SOIL CO_2 EVOLUTION IN A TYPICAL TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST STAND IN THE MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF BEIJING

Middle-sized chambers (40cmx40cmx20 cm) and an infrared gas analyzer (IRGA) were used for the measurement of net photosynthesis of the grass layer and soil CO2 evolution, in Quercus liaotungensis Koidz. forest, which is a typical temperate forest ecosystem in the mountainous areas of Beijing. Changes of CO2 concentrations in both the atmosphere (2m above canopy) and the forest canopy (2m below the top of the canopy) together with those of net photosynthesis and soil CO2 evolution were also examined, in order to find the characteristics of CO2 exchange between the different components of the temperate forest ecosystem and the atmosphere. Atmospheric CO2 averaged (323+10) and (330+1) mol mol-1 respectively in summer and autumn. During the 24-hour measurements, large differences as much as -46 and -61 mol mol-1 respectively in the atmosphere and forest were found. Net photosynthesis of the grass layer in summer was (2. 59 9+ 1.05) mol CO2 m-2 S-1, two times of that in autumn, (1.31+0.39) mol CO2 s-1 In summer, there was much more CO2 evolved from soil than in autumn, averaging (5.18+0.75) mol CO2 m-2 s-1 and (1.96 + 0.57) (mol CO2 m-2 s-1, respectively. A significant correlation was found between soil CO2 evolution and ground temperature, with F =-0.864 2+0.310 1X,r=0.7164, P<0.001 (n=117). Both the minimal atmospheric CO2 level and the maximum net photosynthesis occurred around 14:00; and an increase in atmospheric CO2 and of soil CO2 evolution during night times were also found to be remarkable.

Fractional description of mechanical property evolution of soft soils during creep

The motion of pore water directly influences mechanical properties of soils, which are variable during creep. Accurate description of the evolution of mechanical properties of soils can help to reveal the internal behavior of pore water. Based on the idea of using the fractional order to reflect mechanical properties of soils, a fractional creep model is proposed by introducing a variable-order fractional operator, and realized on a series of creep responses in soft soils. A comparative analysis illustrates that the evolution of mechanical properties, shown through the simulated results, exactly corresponds to the motion of pore water and the solid skeleton. This demonstrates that the proposed variable-order fractional model can be employed to characterize the evolution of mechanical properties of and the pore water motion in soft soils during creep. It is observed that the fractional order from the proposed model is related to the dissipation rate of pore water pressure.

Soil CO_2 evolution from Korean pine virgin forest at Changbai Mountain

The soil CO2 evolution rate was measured in a virpin Korean pine forest. The results in June showed that the lowest value of evolution rate was 220 mg /(m2·h) and appeared at 6:00 a.m. The highest value was 460 mg /(m2·h) at 18:00. The rates of CO2 evolution were related with soil temperature. On the basis of the constructed regression equation and the monthly average values of temperature, the magnitude of CO2 evolution from Korean pine forest soil was 10.4 t /hm2 during a growing season.

Paleoclimate Study of Mountain Ecosystems by Multiple Group Biological Analysis

Methodological problems of climatic reconstruction for different periods of Holocene are discussed on the basis of a multiple group biological analysis on peat-sapropel sediments. The possibility of biological analysis is exemplified by the paleoclimatic reconstruction for Carpathian and Altai Mountain ranges. For the ＂Skolevsky Beskidy＂ national park of Carpaty the paleoclimatic scenarios have been drown up aiming at the more precise definition of climatic conditions for the period of mass mountain slope terracing. The stability of terrace systems of various designs in the current climatic conditions has been assessed. It is shown that during periods of humid climate the terraces, whose designs have been focused on drainage, were built. In periods of dry and warm climate the terrace systems capable of accumulating water were built. Both these types of terrace systems are destroyed in nowadays. Only those terrace systems are stable which were adjusted by their builders to contrast variations of precipitation. For Western Altais the paleoclimatic scenario has been done to forecast the safety of the Bronze Age kurgans （burial earth mounds） with permafrost inside the construction. In the Altay region during the Holocene it has revealed two periods of sharp cooling, the peaks of which occurred in the intervals 4500- 4300 and 2500-2300 years pronounced climatic drying ago, and two periods of 4900-4700 and 130-70 years ago. Depletion of the algae composition in the layer corresponding to the last period of drying climate indicates a very sharp change in the parameters of moisture and turning the lake into a dry swamp. Periods of cold weather may have contributed to the formation of special ritual traditions of the Sakan tribes that require the frozen ground to bury the dead. The later climate fluctuations identified have not affected the safety of permafrost in burial mounds constructed in the V-III cc BC.

Stoichiometry of base cations and silicon during weathering of a deep soil profile derived from granite

Evaluation of the stoichiometry of base cations(BCs,including K^(+),Na^(+),Ca^(2+),and Mg^(2+))and silicon(Si)(BCs:Si)during soil mineral weathering is essential to accurately quantify soil acidification rates.The aim of this study was to explore the differences and influencing factors of BCs:Si values of different soil genetic horizons in a deep soil profile derived from granite with different extents of mineral weathering.Soil type was typic acidi-udic Argosol.Soil samples were collected from Guangzhou,China,which is located in a subtropical region.To ensure that the BCs and Si originated from the mineral weathering process,soil exchangeable BCs were washed with an elution treatment.The BCs:Si values during weathering were obtained through a simulated acid rain leaching experiment using the batch method.Results showed that soil physical,chemical,and mineralogical properties varied from the surface horizon to saprolite in the soil profile.The BCs:Si values of soil genetic horizons during weathering were 0.3–3.7.The BCs:Si value was 1.7 in the surface horizon(A),1.1–3.7 in the argillic horizon(Bt),and 0.3–0.4 in the cambic(Bw)and transition(BC)horizons,as well as in horizon C(saprolite).The general pattern of BCs:Si values in the different horizons was as follows:Bt>A>Bw,BC,and C.Although BCs:Si values were influenced by weathering intensity,they did not correlate with the chemical index of alteration(CIA).The release amounts of Si and BCs are the joined impact of soil mineral composition and physical and chemical properties.A comprehensive analysis showed that the BCs:Si values of the soil derived from granite in this study were a combined result of the following factors:soil clay,feldspar,kaolinite,organic matter,pH,and CIA.The main controlling factors of BCs:Si in soils of different parent material types require extensive research.The wide variance of BCs:Si values in the deep soil profile indicated that H+consumed by soil mineral weathering was very dissimilar in the soils with different weathering intensities derived from the same parent material.Therefore,the estimation of the soil acidification rate based on H+biogeochemistry should consider the specific BCs:Si value.

略论骑士传奇与武侠小说

西方骑士传奇与中国武侠小说是植根于不同文化土壤的两支武林奇葩。作为同时产生于封建社会的两种文学,骑士传奇早已销声匿迹,而中国武侠小说至今仍然兴盛。探讨这一文学现象,对我们认识和掌握文学发展规律,建设有中国特色社会主义文学大有益处。