Soil and Water Research, 2016 (vol. 11), issue 1
Using HYDRUS to simulate the dynamic changes of Ca2+ and Na+ in sodic soils reclaimed by gypsumOriginal Paper
Jinman WANG, Zhongke BAI, Peiling YANG
Soil & Water Res., 2016, 11(1):1-10 | DOI: 10.17221/14/2015-SWR 
Sodic soils are characterized by the occurrence of excess sodium to levels that can adversely affect soil structure. In recent years, with the advent of alternatives for reclaiming sodic soils, such as the addition of by-products of flue gas desulfurization, fly ash, phosphogypsum, etc., using CaSO4 to reclaim sodic soil has again become a hot topic. In this study, cation exchange batch experiments and column leaching experiments were conducted to analyze the adsorption-exchange and dynamic changes of Ca2+ and Na+ during the reclamation of sodic soils with CaSO4. The HYDRUS-1D software was subsequently used...
Impacts of climate change on water requirements of winter wheat over 59 years in the Huang-Huai-Hai PlainOriginal Paper
Huiping HUANG, Yuping HAN, Jinxi SONG, Zhanping ZHANG, Heng XIAO
Soil & Water Res., 2016, 11(1):11-19 | DOI: 10.17221/164/2014-SWR
Daily data from 40 meteorological stations in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain from 1955 to 2013 were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test and partial correlation to determine the temporal trends of meteorological factors and their impacts on water requirements of winter wheat in different growing periods. Results showed that water requirements during the whole growing period in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain were between 374 and 485.2 mm with an average of 412 mm in the past 59 years. In general, the value declined by 4 mm per decade. The distribution was ribbon-like, decreasing from the N to the S. Average wind speed, humidity, and sunshine hours declined significantly...
Land use analysis in terms of farmland protection in the Czech RepublicOriginal Paper
Jaroslava JANKŮ, Pavel SEKÁČ, Jaroslava BARÁKOVÁ, Josef KOZÁK
Soil & Water Res., 2016, 11(1):20-28 | DOI: 10.17221/163/2015-SWR
The agricultural land acreage in Central Europe, including the Czech Republic, rapidly decreases. This study presents the trends of agricultural land acreage reduction in the period 1966-2013, with respect to the 1990 milestone (political changes triggering a rapid loss of agricultural land for construction purposes). The analysis is based on the cadastral register data. Particularly serious is the rapid reduction of arable land - 25 ha per day. Furthermore, the actual built up area seems to be larger than show the records on the construction land in the cadastral register. There is an obvious discrepancy between the real state and the cadastral data,...
The impact of impervious surfaces on ecohydrology and health in urban ecosystems of Banská Bystrica (Slovakia)Original Paper
Tomáš LEPEŠKA
Soil & Water Res., 2016, 11(1):29-36 | DOI: 10.17221/65/2015-SWR
The risks of accelerated runoff and its larger amounts brought by urbanisation include increased flood flows and pollution of downstream ecosystems. One of the most significant permanent effect of urban sprawl is soil sealing, which alters natural infiltration and runoff. In addition to imperviousness, the increased runoff from sealed and compacted surfaces results in increased sedimentation of stream ecosystems with contaminants. In most urban planning strategies, water related ecosystems have already become the fundamental components of the integrated urban landscape management, but still have been referred to as objects of protection or rehabilitation;...
Moisture effect on soil humus characteristics in a laboratory incubation experimentOriginal Paper
Cuilan LI, Shuqing GAO, Jinjing ZHANG, Lanpo ZHAO, Lichun WANG
Soil & Water Res., 2016, 11(1):37-43 | DOI: 10.17221/21/2015-SWR
A 180-day laboratory incubation experiment (30°C) was conducted to investigate the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of humic fractions in a Mollisol at different moisture conditions. The soil moisture contents were 30, 60, and 250% field water-holding capacity (WHC), which represented the low, middle, and high moisture levels, respectively. The results showed that the carbon contents of the total soil and corresponding humic fractions generally decreased with increasing soil moisture. A significant difference was observed between the 250% WHC and the two other moisture levels. By contrast, the carbon content of the water soluble fraction...
An approach to mapping the potential of cultural agroecosystem servicesOriginal Paper
Jarmila MAKOVNÍKOVÁ, Jozef KOBZA, Boris PÁLKA, Jozef MALIŠ, Radoslava KANIANSKA, Miriam KIZEKOVÁ
Soil & Water Res., 2016, 11(1):44-52 | DOI: 10.17221/109/2015-SWR
A system for evaluating outdoor recreation as a cultural agroecosystem service is presented. Every agroecosystem presumably has the potential for providing some kind of outdoor recreation. Two approaches to mapping the recreation potential were used and compared - the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) model and the regional model (RegMOD). From the possibilities of recreation activities, hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing were chosen. The comparison of the two approaches showed that the RegMOD incorporates a wider range of categories than the SolVES model, particularly for hiking. The robust character of the SolVES model is reflected...
Effectiveness of sunflower seed husk biochar for removing copper ions from wastewater: a comparative studyOriginal Paper
Maher E. SALEH, Ahmed A. EL-REFAEY, Amal H. MAHMOUD
Soil & Water Res., 2016, 11(1):53-63 | DOI: 10.17221/274/2014-SWR
Copper represents one of major hazardous pollutants in wastewater. The aim of this study is the comparison between sunflower seed husk biochar (SSHB) and activated carbon (AC) and sunflower seed husk feedstock (SSHF) in their efficiency of Cu2+ removing from aqueous solutions. The removed Cu2+ was monitored for various intervals extended to 96 h at 298, 303, and 308 K in batch experiments. Adsorption reactions showed that SSHB was superior in Cu2+ removal process at all tested temperatures in comparison with AC and SSHF. Results of surface properties and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the higher surface...
Soil management practice effect on water balance of a dryland soil during fallow period on the Loess Plateau of ChinaOriginal Paper
Shulan ZHANG, Xueyun YANG, Lars LOVDAHL
Soil & Water Res., 2016, 11(1):64-73 | DOI: 10.17221/255/2014-SWR
To understand the mechanisms affecting water balance partitioning during fallow on drylands could improve the fallow management practices in arable land ecosystems. A three-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of field management regimes on water balance partitioning and fallow efficiency during the fallow periods under a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) fallow system on the Loess Plateau, China. The fallow management regimes tested were: (i) conventional practice, (ii) catch cropping, and (iii) no tillage with wheat straw mulching. A process-oriented ecosystem model (CoupModel) was calibrated...