Novel Methods for Monitoring and Managing Land and Water Resources in Siberia
Abstract
This book summarises the outcomes of the several projects and of a number of other recent studies related to the topic of land and water monitoring and Management in Siberia. It is intended to be a source of information for all those dealing with its subject: methods for the characterisation and wise utilisation of land and water resources in Siberia. Besides information, it aims to deliver motivation for thinking about applications and new site-adapted solutions. It will also provide understanding and confidence that those better solutions are feasible based on the power of scientific-technical innovations and people’s creativity and efforts in handling them. The book will not overfeed readers with facts and data. The main intended innovation of the book is its focus on transferrable novel methods. Scientific tools will be proposed for measuring, evaluating, modelling and controlling processes in the landscapes of Siberia, especially in rural landscapes. The application of these new scientific tools requires not only open minds but also high levels of motivation and education. In some cases investments are needed. Thus, outreach and the adaption of new methods can only be realistically carried out in the framework of pilot studies based on further strengthened international scientific cooperation. The book is to serve as an advanced platform for new and more sustainable research cooperation between inventors and protagonists of new methods coming from different leading research institutions of Russia, Germany and other regions of the globe.
Chapters (32)
Siberia is the backbone of the economy of modern Russia due to huge reserves of gas, oil, land and water. Not only resource extracting and processing industries, but also forestry and agriculture capitalize these resources with implications for local and global processes of nature and society. We analysed the state of land and water resources with regard to the impacts of human activity and climate change. The environmental status of forests, agricultural lands and inland water bodies was evaluated based on our own research and the recent literature. The focus was on agro-ecosystems. Our synthetic review revealed that peatlands and Tundra ecosystems are endangered by resource-extracting industries and industrial air pollution. Mining and industrial activity damage soil and vegetation and accelerate thermokarst processes. Forest ecosystems suffer increasingly from fires, insect outbreaks and improper management. Past and recent mining and industrial activity has polluted soils and water seriously in many regions. Permafrost melting could expose cases of old and inherited pollution. The impact of agriculture on water quality is still low but will increase. Agriculture is in a recession and operates inefficiently, destroying the soil. There is largely a lack of any agri-environmental monitoring in many regions. The rural infrastructure is on the verge of collapse, in the High North and the Far East in particular. State natural reserves (zapovedniks) are endangered by illegal activities and lack integration into scientific monitoring. Overall, monitoring programmes on the status of land and water resources lack consistency and modern technology. Climate change will put a great deal of additional pressure on Siberian landscapes, but hard data are required, and monitoring systems need to be modernized. Siberian landscapes have great potential for the mitigation of climate change through carbon sequestration and for improving people’s livelihoods. Environmentally friendly business activities such as organic food production, environmental tourism and recreational fishing are still underdeveloped. We conclude that the status of food production and the disintegration of rural areas are risks for Russian food security and national security. Modern technologies for monitoring and research ecosystems are needed to generate sustainable developments in managing the land and water resources of Siberia.
Siberia has experienced significant transformations over the past 70 years and particularly since the introduction of the market economy 25 years ago. This has caused implications for landscape processes and for the status of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We review the role of science and technology in monitoring, understanding and developing Siberian landscapes. Data sources were international literature and own expeditions and studies. Russia has great traditionsin landscape research disciplines such as geography, soil science, hydrology and agronomy. Substantial progress has been achieved in all these fields over the past 25 years. We found particular progress in landscape research based on international projects in the fields of Arctic research, climate change and carbon cycle. Other fields such as agricultural research remained traditional and underdeveloped. In the 1990s there was a great shift of knowledge and technology in the better-interlinked English-speaking European scientific community. In Russia, at the same time, the introduction of the market economy accelerated environmental problems, caused a greater discrepancy between the livelihoods of urban and rural populations, created new knowledge gaps and enlarged the gap between theory and practice in landscape research. The decay of infrastructure in rural landscapes produced an inhospitable environment for science and technology. In view of this, landscape research in Siberia and in the Far East remained very traditional. Other deficits were based on a lack of communication with the international community due to language barriers. Cooperation between leading Russian and European scientists is still poorly developed and funded.The Russian academic scientific system was highly organized until 2013. However, efficiency was low and scientific outputs did not meet the requirements of decision-makers. The ongoing reform of the academic system entails the risk that precisely the opposite to the desired effects of higher efficiency could come true, such as accelerated brain drain and loss of objectivity. We conclude that Trans-Eurasian research cooperation is becoming very important in the current critical transition phase. Modern analytical methods, sophisticated technologies, models and evaluation schemes for landscape research and environmentally friendly soil management technologies are available in the English-speaking community. Substantial progress in monitoring, understanding and controlling landscape processes in the framework of international research projects could be achieved by applying new research methods in Siberia. We present some of them in the following chapters of this book.
In the early 1990s, a system of comprehensive monitoring, including hydrophysical, chemical and biological investigations, was developed at the Limnological Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences to assess the current environmental state of Lake Baikal. Chemical monitoring of the Baikal water includes checking the dynamics of chemical components in the pelagic and littoral areas of the lake, as well as their input from the atmosphere and water from the lake’s tributaries. The monitoring system allows scientists to assess historical trends of the chemical components in the lake and forecast possible changes in the biota habitat. The low concentrations of most components in the Baikal water initiated the development of more sensitive methods. New methods for analysing anions and persistent organic pollutants (PAHs and PCBs) were elaborated at the Institute and certified by the State Standard Committee of the Russian Federation. These methods feature high sensitivity, selectivity and fast analysis and are widely applied when monitoring the chemical composition of different environments in the Baikal region. The reliability of methods and quality of analytical analyses are checked annually according to international and Russian programmes on inter-laboratory calibration. The results do not deviate from the reference standard samples by more than 10 %, which attests to the reliability of new methods for chemically monitoring the Baikal water. Based on long-term data with the application of high-precision methods, we were able to assess the current chemical composition of the Baikal water. Present concentrations of pollutants in Lake Baikal, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals, are low and do not directly affect the composition of the water and biota. Moreover, the ecosystem of Lake Baikal is self-purifying. The water of Lake Baikal in its deep area is one of the purest natural waters in the world and can be used for drinking and other purposes. It is recommended to include water quality tests in the regular monitoring system, in particular checking the littoral zone where the coast is highly developed and near the mouths of the lake large tributaries, analysing such parameters as sanitary and microbiological characteristics, nutrients and biota. It is also necessary to regularly monitor the concentration of persistent organic compounds in the air, and in the lake water, bottom sediments and biota. Many of these compounds are mutagenic and carcinogenic, and they are also able to accumulate in the food chains and transfer from one organism to another.
The microbial community is not only a natural component of the ecosystem of rivers, reservoirs, and lakes, but also one of the main indicators of their ecological situation. For the public water supply, water reservoirs are often used which are affected by regular or accidental contamination, which greatly influences the water quality. Microbial indicators, limiting values of which are set by the relevant regulatory documents, are defined both for the water supply and for drinking water resources. We provide an overview of the main regulatory documents used in the Russian Federation to assess the microbiological quality of water resources and of methods and results about monitoring of Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is a well-known example of an oligotrophic deep-water lake which serves as a source of drinking water. The microbial communities of Lake Baikal are formed in the unique extreme environmental conditions determining their metabolism: a low nutrient content and low average annual temperature in the water column. The microbiological indicators for the pelagic zone of the lake are quite constant, as was shown by long-term observations. However, in these ecological conditions the possibility must be taken into account that the water contains microorganisms potentially hazardous to human health. Systematic annual results have been presented (since 2005) of the microbiological monitoring of coliform bacteria, thermotolerant coliforms (TTC), coliphages, as well as Pseudomonas, Clostridium and Enterococcus in Lake Baikal. It is shown that the spatial distribution of allochthonous organotrophic and opportunistic bacteria is associated with the local anthropogenic impact: settlements, deltas of the main tributaries or domestic wastewater discharge. In the deep layers of the pelagic zone of the lake, no groups of opportunistic bacteria were found. Moreover, as the water depth increased, changes were found in the structure of the microbial community. Oligotrophic and psychrotrophic microorganisms were predominant there, while the amount of organotrophic microorganisms did not exceed the background level. The widespread prevalence of uncultivable bacterial forms in the natural environment and the ability of pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria to move into an uncultivable state make them of sanitary significance. It has been demonstrated that new species of heterotrophic microorganisms can be cultivated when the culture media and cultivation conditions are adapted. The experiments show the possible mechanisms of survival for opportunistic bacteria. During the cultivation of Enterococcus faecalis in the Baikal water at a low temperature, cells moved into a viable, but uncultivable state and restored their ability to reproduce after the addition of the nutrient.
It is shown that the characteristics of individual species of zooplankton used to determine the water quality class in Western Siberia differ from those in Europe. To dene a class of water quality in the saprobic indexes, the lists of indicator organisms were used based on the presence or absence of relevant taxa and their quantitative ratio. This allowed a water body or its area to be rated in an appropriate class of water quality. Usually the indicator signicance and saprobic valence of indicator species were found in the tables developed through long-term research and literature data. These data were evaluated for European water bodies. However, the values of the indicator signicance of individual species depend substantially on the number of regional factors, which can produce an essential error in the calculation of the index and saprobity and in the denition of the water quality class, respectively. In this paper the values of the indicator signicance (s) and indicator weight (J) for 111 species of zooplankton were calculated taking into account the regional peculiarities of the South of Western Siberia. The examples of calculation according to Pantle and Buck's saprobity index using indexes from the literature on one hand and calculated for the specic region on the other hand were discussed. It is shown that, using indexes obtained from regional features of the hydrochemical background of reservoirs and rivers, one can dene the water quality class more exactly. Thus, the use of regional indexes is appropriate because it provides a more objective assessment of the state of the ecosystem.
This chapter describes the methods and case studies of element flux measurements in the Arctic and subarctic rivers, in the Russian boreal and subarctic zone, along the gradient of permafrost-free terrain to continuous permafrost settings, developed on various lithology and vegetation coverage. The majority of existing flux measurements is based on a combination of daily discharges from Russian Hydrological Survey gauging stations with grab samples or year-round sampling of dissolved and particulate load following the chemical analysis. In this chapter, a new, geochemical-based perspective on the functioning of aquatic boreal systems is described which takes into account the role of the following factors on riverine element fluxes: (1) the specificity of lithological substrate; (2) the importance of organic and organo-mineral colloidal forms, notably during the spring flood; (3) the role of permafrost presence within the small and large watersheds; and (4) the governing role of terrestrial vegetation in element mobilization from rock substrate to the rivers. This kind of multiple approach allows a first-order prediction of element fluxes in a scenario of progressive warming in high latitudes. Two novel dimensions added to the existing knowledge on element transport from the land to the Arctic Ocean by the Russian boreal and subarctic rivers are (i) evaluation of colloidal flux of dissolved substances and low molecular weight (LMW) fraction and (ii) assessing, for the first time, the isotopic signatures of Ca, Mg, Si, and Fe in several case watersheds of various lithology and permafrost coverage. The results of this study and available data from the literature demonstrate that, while climate warming will certainly affect the wintertime element fluxes and speciation, it is unlikely to change the nature and magnitude of the main fraction of trace elements TE flux to the ocean. This fraction of the flux occurs in colloidal form during several weeks of the spring flood. At the present time, it is not strongly affected by climate change, or this influence is within the uncertainty of the flux measurements. Overall, the major changes in the chemical and isotopic nature of riverine fluxes to the Arctic Ocean from Northern Eurasia in a climate warming scenario are likely to be linked to the change in the vegetation (species, biomass and geographical extension), rather than temperature and hydrology. The increase in the depth of the active layer has an influence of second-order importance on the riverine fluxes given that the majority of continental flux to the Arctic Ocean is formed on permafrost soils, highly homogeneously over the depth profile.
The soil erosion on arable lands of Siberia is widespread. More than 50 % of all farmlands are subject to erosion to various degrees. Erosion is the main process of soil degradation in West Siberia which can lead to a catastrophic decrease in the fertility of soils, and pose a threat to food security in the region. Studying the causes, the process of soil erosion and its consequences is an important question both for science and for farm production. The purpose of this work is to show the main methods and devices used to define the quantity and quality of surface snowmelt water runoff, and also the damage caused by this in the form of soil erosion. To quantify the overall snowmelt erosion process, the following parameters need to be measured: the total pre-winter water reserve of soil, snow depth, snow water equivalent, depth of soil frost penetration, volume of snowmelt water runoff, runoff coefficient, water stream temperature, and soil loss with surface snowmelt water runoff. Research takes place in 3 stages: (1) preparatory stage, during which the late fall period soil water supply is defined and the runoff and thermometric plots are constructed; (2) studying the process of accumulation of solid atmospheric precipitation, the nature of its distribution over the territory, and also the influences of snow depth on the frost penetration in soils; and (3) monitoring the snowmelt process in spring, during which the intensity of snowmelt, the volumes of a superficial drain of snowmelt waters, and the damage caused by them to a soil cover are defined. One special feature of the Siberian soils during the cold period of the year is the intra-soil ice sheet, which is largely impenetrable to melting water and positive temperatures. This ice sheet in Siberian soils is one of the reasons for snowmelt water runoff forming. Over a period of 45 years we measured a mean annual soil loss of 6 t/ha by snowmelt erosion on arable land in West Siberia.
The goal of this study is to identify the current state of in situ observations and remote sensing data and methods used to assess biomass and net primary production (NPP) in West Siberian natural ecosystems, and consider perspectives for future developments. The natural ecosystems of the boreal region mainly consist of two classes: wetlands and forests, where one is very different from the other, requiring different methods for biomass assessment. Basically, two methods are available to estimate NPP and biomass in regional terrestrial ecosystems: (1) extrapolating the local field measurements up to a larger region, using the vegetation or land cover maps and (2) modeling productivity and plant biomass at regional and grid point scales, with or without the use of remote sensing data and techniques. The first method was predominantly used to estimate wetland biomass, having an extensive dataset of direct in situ measurements in both the above- and below-ground fractions of biomass. So far, no direct methods based on remote sensing data have been elaborated for biomass estimations in wetland ecosystems and soil carbon inventories. In forest ecosystems, the biomass can be estimated by processing satellite data from high-resolution radiometers (AVHRRs). The radar or LIDAR remote sensing approaches hold great promise for direct observations of the three-dimensional structure (3D) of the above-ground vegetation that can be used for relatively straight-forward calculations of carbon storage, but the method works only in low to medium biomass ecosystems. The SAR-based biomass retrievals were found to be fairly uncertain in mature forests with high biomass values, as the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) signal often saturates at ~70 tonnes/ha. The estimation errors in terms of RMSE are typically found at 25–30 % of the mean biomass. The methods should be further refined to reduce uncertainties and to make them operational over the vast region of Siberia.
This article considers the original techniques based on GIS and remote sensing data (RSD) that permit the short-term and retrospective monitoring of lakes (water bodies) and Solonchaks (soils). These components of landscapes in the steppe biome of Western Siberia (WS) are indicators of ecosystem dynamics. The testing methods were consistently performed first at key sites, then over large areas of the steppe biome. Four key sites were selected for space-time monitoring of lakes and solonchaks of the south of the West Siberian Plain based on a series of multi-temporal satellite image. The plots are located submeridionally to reflect the change in climatic conditions from north to south, especially moisture, and their influence on the parameters of the objects investigated. The monitoring of lakes and Solonchaks was conducted on the basis of various satellite systems depending on the research scale. On the medium scale, Landsat and Spot imagery were used over a chronological interval of 20 years. The dynamics of indicators were studied on a small scale on 250 m Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer images (MODIS). Special indices were developed to delineate the Solonchaks and water bodies on MODIS images. For the purposes of retrospective monitoring, ancient lake basins (50–60 thousand years old) were mapped using a complex method based on a combination of various data: geologic and topographic maps and RSD. The morphometric analysis was carried out on the basis of a Shuttle radar topographic mission (SRTM) digital model. Lakes of the mid-1970s and 1980s were also digitized from topographic maps. The results of the delineation of lakes on MODIS images were also used. The obtained monitoring results allow us to plot the increasing degradation of lakes and an increasing area of Solonchaks in the steppe biome of WS and, as a consequence, an increase in aridity. Combining paleogeographic data based on the analysis of SRTM, topographic maps of the last century, and more recent satellite imagery led to the conclusion that large bodies of water in arid became fragmented and then gradually dried out. Thus, the dynamics of ecosystems based on the selected indicator objects (lakes and Solonchaks) can be described not by a model of gradual change from south to north, but by a model of focal and discrete transformations throughout the area studied, regardless of their position on the submeridional transect. However, the analysis of the spatial distribution of objects-indicators in the region allows us to assess the situation more adequately and go from simplified models of the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystems due to the aridization of climate to more complex ones. The obtained results show that the methods based on GIS analysis of digital elevation models in conjunction with the processing of remote sensing data on all scales are effective for retrospective and current monitoring of ecosystem dynamics under the influence of global environmental changes. Proven technologies are promising to construct historical and current maps showing the status of individual objects (e.g., water and soil) of ecosystem by means of medium- and small-scale ecological mapping and environmental monitoring.
The redistribution of terrestrial ecosystems and individual species is predicted to be profound under Global Climate Model simulations. We modeled the progression of potential vegetation and forest types in Siberia by the end of the twenty-first century by coupling large-scale bioclimatic models of vegetation zones and major conifer species with climatic variables and permafrost using the B1 and A2 Hadley Centre HadCM3 climate change scenarios. In the projected warmer and dryer climate, Siberian taiga forests are predicted to dramatically decrease and shift to the northeast, and forest–steppe, steppe, and novel temperate broadleaf forests are predicted to dominate most of Siberia by 2090. The permafrost should not retreat sufficiently to provide favorable habitats for dark (Pinus sibiric, Abies sibirica, and Picea obovata) taiga, and the permafrost-tolerant L. dahurica taiga should remain the dominant forest type in many current permafrost-lain areas. Water stress and fire-tolerant tree species (Pinus sylvestris and Larix spp.) should have an increased advantage over moisture-loving tree species (P. sibirica, A. sibirica, and P. obovata) in a new climate. Accumulated surface fuel loads due to increased tree mortality from drought, insects, and other factors, especially at the southern forest border and in the Siberian interior (Yakutia), together with an increase in severe fire weather, should also lead to increases in large, high-severity fires that are expected to facilitate vegetation progression toward a new equilibrium with the climate. Adaptation of the forest types and tree species to climate change in the south may be based on the genetic means of individual species and human willingness to aid migration, perhaps by seeding. Additionally, useful and viable crops could be established in agricultural lands instead of failing forests.
Human beings have traditionally cultivated the fertile soils of the steppe and forest-steppe for agriculture. Forests are predicted to migrate northward in a warmer climate and are likely to be replaced by forest-steppe and steppe ecosystems. We analysed potential climate change impacts on agriculture in south/central Siberia, hypothesizing that agriculture in traditionally cold Siberia may benefit from warming. Current carbon (C) fluxes in agrosystems have also been analysed, as they are important for the development of land use strategies. Potentials for cropping were evaluated based on simple climate indices such as temperature sums above a base of 5 °C (GDD5), and an annual moisture index (AMI), which is the ratio of GDD5 to annual precipitation. Envelope models which determine crop range, and regression models which determine crop yields, were constructed and applied to climate change scenarios for several time frames: 1960–1990, using historic data; and data taken from HadCM3 B1 and A2 scenarios for 2020 and 2090. Analyses of carbon fluxes in agrosystems showed that plant phytomass and soil humus serve as a principal C sink. Mineralization flux forms from phytodetritus decomposition, and recently formed humus includes portions of “used” mobile humus. Currently, the C balance of agrosystems is slightly in deficit: the C loss is 0.25 t ha−1 year−1. From 50 to 85 % of central Siberia is predicted to be climatically suitable for agriculture by the end of the century, and only soil potential would limit crop advance and expansion to the north. Crop production could double. Future Siberian climatic resources could provide the potential for a great variety of crops to grow which previously did not exist on these lands. Traditional Siberian crops could gradually shift as far as 500 km northward (about 50–70 km per decade) if soil conditions are suitable, and new crops which are non-existent today may be introduced in the dry south, which would necessitate irrigation. Agriculture in central Siberia would likely benefit from climate warming. Adaptation measures would sustain and promote food security in a warmer Siberia.
The aim of this article was to introduce a new general and theoretical approach to the probabilistic assessment of contemporary soil evolution (CSE) by analyzing soil monitoring data. The CSE is considered a continuous block process of change in soil conditions over a period extending from 10 to 100 years. The soil condition is considered as its position in the range of n soil properties in k soil horizons. As previous investigations have shown the essential intrinsic changeability of soil properties in this range, even in homogeneous objects, my proposed idea to assess CSE was to evaluate changes in the probability distribution functions (pdfs) of soil properties at different moments in time. Taking into account soil variability at different scales, I have introduced three categories for the spatial changeability of soil properties. Assessments of the variability of soil properties at the field level are of most importance for the evaluation of CSE. This variance is presented as the sum of variances induced by elementary soil processes, the micro- or meso-heterogeneity of factors of soil formation and elementary landscape processes, distinctions in the anthropogenous factor, and how the soil reacts to them. I developed a method that consists of (1) identifying the pdfs of soil properties, which means a quantitative evaluation of the kind and parameters of pdfs according to data samples resulting from soil investigations; (2) calculating probabilistic indicators such as the statistical entropy of pdfs as probabilistic characteristics of soil status and informational divergence that is a measure of pdf difference. A case study has been done on the large territory in the south of Western Siberia. New findings were the changes in the probability structure of Kastanozem soil properties during CSE under natural processes and anthropogenous influences. Distinctions in pdfs were evaluated from the values of informational divergence and increment in statistical entropy, which were quantitatively different for soils of different granulometric composition, that is, useful to point out the most vulnerable soils in the territory under investigation. It may be concluded that it is necessary to use probabilistic indicators to assess CSE from pdf alterations. They characterize a degree of influence of soil-forming factors and anthropogenous influences on the probability structure of the properties of a soil and its stability. Thus, they could be reliable indicators of environmental transformation, that is, important for land resources research, land use policy planning, and basic research.
The suitability of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for monitoring the contamination of soils with oil products has been studied with a view to expanding the application range of NIR analyzers used in the agrochemical laboratories of Russia. Experiments have been performed on arable soils of various types and varieties differing in texture and the contents of humus and nutrients sampled from different regions of European Russia and artificially contaminated with commercial oil products (gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, and motor oil). Laboratory-scale scanning diffusion-reflectance NIR analyzers have been used. It has been shown that the differences in soil types, soil moisture, and humus content, which are reflected in the NIR spectra, affect the results of the NIR analysis of soils. Their effect can be reduced using samples in the entire range of the affecting parameters for the calibration set of NIR analyzers. Using separate calibrations for two soil groups (organomineral and mineral soils) gives better results than the same calibration for all soil types. The effect of particle size distribution can be reduced by unifying the sample preparation procedure used to calibrate the instrument and analyze unknown samples and using spectral derivation. The level at which the soil is supplied with the main nutrients (P, K, Ca, and Mg) has no effect on the results of analysis. The content of a selected oil product in the soil can be determined in the presence of other oil products, if the calibration set of the NIR analyzer includes all expected oil products. The NIR analyzer calibrated for a single oil product will determine the content of all the oil products in the soil. The relatively high determination limit of about 0.2 % and the calibration on a large number of native soil samples have to be taken into consideration. The obtained results showed that NIR spectroscopy is a promising technique for monitoring the contamination of soils with oil products. When the NIR methods are introduced into further laboratories in Russia, based on our results, standardized procedures for sampling, calibration, and analysis can be developed.
Monitoring and protecting the natural resources of soil and water, and their ecosystems, is intended to ensure the long-term conservation of their functions. To understand the reasons for resource degradation or ecosystem alterations and interactions, knowledge is required of processes and parameters on different scales of landscapes. Soil hydrological studies are an essential part of ecosystem and landscape research. The aim of our study was to develop new research methods and technical equipment to understand and monitor soil hydrological processes. The investigations were carried out on different scales, starting with laboratory and lysimeter measurements, followed by investigations in the field. To measure soil hydrological properties, we developed the Extended Evaporation Method (EEM) and the HYPROP device. In this chapter we report on some innovations in this field. Using new cavitation tensiometers and applying the air-entry pressure of the tensiometer’s porous ceramic cup as the final tension value allowed us to quantify both hydraulic functions close to the wilting point. Additionally, both soil shrinkage dynamics and soil water hysteresis can now be quantified easily and reliably. The experimental setup followed the HYPROP system, which is a commercial device with vertically aligned tensiometers that is optimized to perform evaporation measurements. Depending on the soil and the evaporation rate, the measurement time varied between 2 and at most 10 days. The simultaneous measurement of multiple soil samples was possible with only one balance. Pedotransfer functions (PDFs) were created on the basis of various measured soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions. In the next step, a method for quantifying deep seepage and solute leaching under field conditions was developed, tested and applied at more than 40 soil hydrological field plots in Germany. The method is based on tension and soil water content measurements down to a depth of 3 m at arable and grassland sites and a depth of 5 m at forest sites. These data were used to construct a field water retention curve. This pF curve was fitted, the relative hydraulic conductivity function K(θ) was derived and relative deep seepage rates were calculated based on DARCY’s law. To obtain reliable discharge rates, the K function was matched to the water balance. Lysimeter experiments confirmed the validity and reliability of this soil hydrological field method. It works like a virtual lysimeter on sandy to loamy soils which have a deep water table and a zero flux plane above the measurement depth The EEM and the soil hydrological field method have the potential to improve soil hydrological studies, and water and solute transport monitoring systems could be installed in Eurasia.
The environmental monitoring of the state of forests throughout Europe can identify negative developments, allowing targeted countermeasures. In the Forest Monitoring Network, not only are regular representative grid surveys carried out but also ecosystem-relevant energy and solute fluxes are monitored over the whole year. A monitoring plot consists of an open-field plot and a plot in forest stands. An open-field automatic weather station records meteorological parameters. In the forest stands, soil water fluxes are monitored in measuring fields with tensiometers and soil moisture sensors. In addition, suction probes take soil water samples that are tested for quality. Tree increments are checked with dendrometers. The long-term measurement of meteorological, hydrological, and growth-related parameters provides information about the state of forests and also allows an intensive study of causes and effects in forest ecosystems. Some factors relating to the water balance in forests can be measured directly, while others are calculated using models. To validate the model results, it is necessary to investigate water fluxes in forest plots with various structures. Additional innovative instruments and methods are used for special environmental observations. Large-scale lysimeters are used to measure the influence of trees of various ages and species on the groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration (ET). Weighing lysimeters are used to determine the ET of ground vegetation and young trees. The monitoring indicates that the seepage water below forests is clean but affected by periods of summer drought, which also reduce tree increments. Groundwater recharge is influenced by the age and species of forest trees, the vertical structuring and heterogeneity of forests, and the way they are managed. Broad-leaved forests are found to have more groundwater recharge than coniferous forests due to the differences in the interception between the evergreen canopies of coniferous forests and broad-leaved forests which lose their leaves in the winter. Depending on the structure of the investigated stands, a redistribution of precipitation was found with effects on the proportions of the individual components of the ET so that the contribution of forests to the landscape water balance varies. The findings can be used to assess the future threats to today’s forests and to develop strategies for adapting to anticipated climate change.
The interdisciplinary KULUNDA project unites the efforts of German and Russian scientists to tackle the problems of soil degradation and water scarcity in the Kulunda steppe of the Russian Altai Krai. From 1954 to 1963, approximately 42 million ha of the Southern Soviet steppe, of which 6.2 million ha are located in Western Siberia, were converted into a large-scale intensive agriculture area. The affected areas are highly vulnerable to wind erosion, resulting in decreased top soils and humus contents and therefore in decreased concentrations of sequestered carbon. The assessment and management of the soil water and solute balance are of great importance for crop yield potentials and the sustainable development of the territory. In 2013, the first weighable gravitation lysimeter station in Siberia was successfully installed in Altai Krai (Russia) under Kulunda dry steppe conditions. Weighable lysimeters allow the continuous monitoring of changes in soil monolith mass. This is the precondition for calculating actual evapotranspiration (ETa—major component in the terrestrial water cycle) with high precision. Knowledge regarding the development of ETa is essential to evaluate the impact of climate change on the future water balance.
The carbon balance issue is directly related to global warming, since the presence of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere is the key factor behind the greenhouse effect. As observing the exchange of carbon compounds between the ecosystem and the atmosphere has become important in ecological studies, several methods have been developed over recent decades in order to estimate carbon fluxes at different scales. The following text contains a description of the most commonly applied techniques, such as chambers, eddy covariance, and relaxed eddy accumulation. The authors of this chapter have gained experience in designing, building, and using the techniques described below over the past several decades. These systems have been successfully applied in wetlands, forests, and crop ecosystems and have been reliable sources of ecological data until now. The presented overview of the measurement methods is focused on providing an insight into the theoretical basis, as well as the advantages and limitations of all these techniques. This chapter is intended to help a potential user to decide what approach could be applied in their own investigations.
Wind erosion has become an important soil degradation process on arable land, caused by land use techniques that leave a disturbed, temporarily bare surface or insufficient soil cover material at the surface. Soils that have been formed by aeolian processes over centuries are endangered to be destroyed by the same processes within a very short time. Wind erosion is not only a soil-removing process but also a very effective sorting process. Coarse particles remain in the field, whereas the finest and most valuable parts of the soil are lost, such as particles of the silt and clay fractions and the soil organic matter. This chapter introduces advanced methods to assess wind erosion and to quantify the corresponding soil losses. Evaluation schemes generally consider two categories to determine the extent of wind erosion: the erosivity of the climate and the erodibility of the soil, divided into few classes and linked in simple matrices to derive the wind erosion risk in a comparative way. The German standard DIN 19706 “Soil quality—Determination of the soil exposure risk from wind erosion” was a basis for a Geographic Information System (GIS) risk map of all agricultural fields in Germany. The quantification of wind erosion is based on the measurements of the horizontal fluxes that can be used further to derive soil losses/dust emissions or the deposition of the transported particles. Sufficient depositions can be measured in their thickness and extent to calculate the relocated volume or mass. The comparison of the grain size distribution and the organic carbon content of the original soil, the redistributed material, and the depositions enable the losses of fine particles and organic matter to be calculated. Models of wind erosion have been calibrated to specific conditions of the soil surface and plant cover and refined by wind tunnel experiments. The Fallout-Radionuclide method is suited to identify wind erosion and dust deposition pattern at larger spatial and temporal scales. Finally, remote-sensing and GIS procedures are used to present areas for wind erosion and dust deposition for large landscape units. The methods presented here have been shown to be proven in important agricultural regions around the globe. Conclusions include recommendations for the installation of wind erosion monitoring plots.
The Arctic ecosystem is highly vulnerable to modification within the climate system. Increasing greenhouse gas emissions, e.g. from melting permafrost soils, are assumed to result in positive feedback mechanisms within the global climate system. Water bodies and the seasonal dependent freeze/thaw dynamics of the uppermost permafrost layer (active layer) are the major carbon and methane source in the Arctic regions. Impacts induced by climate change are resulting in the transformation of the existing Arctic landforms, such as the destruction of settlements or changes in the terrain, hydrology and vegetation cover. This paper presents the potential of using Earth observation data from various sources and time steps to monitor land cover characteristics and changes in the Arctic regions. Information on vegetation structure types and physiognomy is commonly incorporated into spatial models predicting the permafrost distribution. The MODIS land cover, the GlobCover land cover map, SYNMAP and MODIS VCF (vegetation continuous field) have been combined in a product describing the fractional vegetation cover. The dataset, with a spatial resolution of 1 km, consists of four layers providing percentage cover information for trees, shrubs, herbaceous areas and barren areas. Additional information, such as the CAVM (Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map), has been integrated into the harmonization approach. Local land cover and water body changes have been analyzed using high spatial resolution earth observation information from Landsat, RapidEye and Corona Keyhole. This analysis was carried out for a test site in central Yakutia and the Lena river delta system in Siberia, Russia. High-resolution land cover information was mapped using an object-oriented classification approach. Object characteristics, such as the shape, spectral properties and information within different hierarchical object levels, are utilized to identify individual vegetation class properties for assignment to a thematic class. Water body changes are identified using historical earth observation data from the 1960s and recent RapidEye data.
Land monitoring is a key issue in Earth system sciences analyzing environmental changes. To generate knowledge about changes, e.g., by decreasing uncertainties in the products and to build confidence in land change monitoring, multiple information sources are needed. Earth observation (EO) satellites and in situ measurements are available for operational monitoring of the land surface. As the availability of well-prepared geospatial time-series data for environmental research is limited, user-dependent processing steps with respect to the data source and formats pose additional challenges. Further steps are necessary for the analysis of time-series data. In most cases, it is possible to support science with spatial data infrastructures (SDI) and web services to provide data in a processed format and to provide time-series plots for further interpretation. Data processing middleware is proposed as a technical solution to improve interdisciplinary research using multi-source time-series data and standardized data acquisition, pre-processing, updating and analyses. This solution is being implemented within the Siberian Earth System Science Cluster (SIB-ESS-C), which combines various sources of EO data and climate data with a focus on vegetation and temperature data. Products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), in situ data from meteorological stations and high spatial resolution Landsat data are available in the processing middleware that is connected to different data providers. Analytical tools have been integrated and can be used for time-series plotting, phenological dates, trend calculations, break point detection, and data comparison using existing open-source software packages. The development of this SDI is based on the definition of automated and on-demand tools for data searching, ordering and processing, implemented along with standard-compliant web services. Therefore, open-source software is used to build up this system. The tools developed, consisting of a user-friendly data access, download, analysis and interpretation infrastructure, are available within SIB-ESS-C for operational use.
An inventory-based method is suggested to form spatial models of agricultural crop yields for extended regions (size: about 4° × 5°). The method is based on analyzing links between the long-term characteristics of crop yields and environmental variables, such as climate, topography, and soils. The response variable in multiple regressions was the maximal crop yield surplus by fertilization. This is the difference between the maximal crop yield obtained for an optimal dose of fertilizers and the control without fertilizers. This addition to yield appeared closely related to environmental variables, and on the other hand, it was relatively independent of previous crops. The environmental variables were climatic data on long-term annual means of temperature and precipitation for each month and certain periods, a digital elevation model and 18 basic topographic attributes from it, and soil type data. The topographic attributes were transformed nonlinearly to obtain normally distributed residuals. Multiple regression models included validation using an empirically founded criterion, tests for multicollinearity, and determining the statistical significance of each environmental variable. The method was tested based on long-term data on winter wheat yields for the western part of the Oka River basin. Analysis showed that the topography-generated microclimate is a major factor determining the maximum addition to the yield. The microclimate variable is the relative slope insolation, which is one of the topographic attributes that takes into account the slope steepness and exposure, and 2 angles that describe an effective position for the Sun. Relative insolation characterizes the relative power flux of solar radiation on the land surface and allows for statistical comparisons at different azimuths and angles of declination of the Sun above the horizon. On the most heated southwestern slopes of the basin, the largest increase in the maximum addition is observed for winter wheat. The addition also increases during the relatively high precipitation in February, which is the windiest cold winter month in this region. An increase in annual precipitation in the humid climate of the Oka basin leads to a decrease in the addition. Introducing a nonquantitative or indicator variable, soil types, into the multiple regression model results in increasing the strength of the relationships and shows that the maximum addition to the sod-podzolic soils in the northern region depends more strongly on climate than it does for Gray Forest and Chernozem soils in the southern part of the region. The model validated using the criterion introduced explained 74 % of spatial variability in the addition to winter wheat by means of the environmental variables used. Based on the model, a gridded map was constructed for the entire region (4° × 5°). The results of the analysis indicate that the topography, along with environmental factors, may have the largest influence and should also be taken into account when making crop yield prognoses in the conditions of a changing climate.
Process-based simulation models that predict crop growth, evapotranspiration, nitrate leaching or other environmental variables are commonly applied to assess their impact on agricultural crop production or the environment. Model inter-comparisons across a wide range of environments suggest that temperature relations are the most crucial for the success of individual models in capturing crop growth and yield formation at a specific site. For Siberia, where the annual temperature amplitude can easily exceed 80 K at some locations, temperature extremes are the most important challenge to the application of agro-ecosystem models. In this chapter, temperature-related algorithms of the dynamic simulation model MONICA are presented, including temperature dependencies of soil organic matter turn-over, plant photosynthesis and respiration, ontogenesis and the impacts of extremely high or low temperatures on crop growth. MONICA was developed to demonstrate the impact of the climate and management on crop yields and environmental variables on the plot scale and in smaller regions in Central Europe. Based on known biophysical processes, MONICA has the potential to assess the impacts of climate change and land management on crop yields, carbon balance and nitrogen efficiency in Siberia.
Decision support for developing practicable, resilient climate change adaptation strategies for the sustainable use of agro-landscapes encompasses a wide range of options and issues. So far, only a few suitable tools and methods have been available to farmers, regional planners and other stakeholders to support decision-making processes in this direction. The model-based interactive spatial information and decision support system, LandCaRe-DSS, closes this methodical gap. This system does not only support interactive scenario simulations and multi-ensemble and multi-model simulations at the regional level by providing information about the complex long-term impacts of climate change. It also helps different stakeholders to find suitable, sustainable agricultural adaptation strategies to climate change (crop rotation, soil tillage, fertilisation, irrigation, price and cost changes etc.) at the local or farm level. LandCaRe-DSS uses different ecological impact models, including for crop yield, erosion risk, regional evapotranspiration, total water flow-out and irrigation water demand. At the local level, a farm economy model is directly coupled with both the biophysical-based agro-ecosystem model MONICA and the statistical-based crop yield model YIELDSTAT to simulate the economic consequences of regional climate change and of proposed agricultural adaptation strategies. Due to the modular architecture and innovative design of LandCaRe-DSS, alternative or new impact models can easily be incorporated into the system. Scenario simulation runs can be realised in a reasonable amount of time. The interactive LandCaRe-DSS prototype offers a variety of data analysis and visualisation tools and an information system for climate adaptation in agriculture. This article describes the conceptual framework, the structure, the methodology and basic principles of operating LandCaRe-DSS. A number of selected examples demonstrate the versatility of LandCaRe-DSS applications. Using different scales and regions as examples, the impact of climate change is shown on: the ontogenesis of winter wheat for Müncheberg, Germany; the start, end and duration of the vegetation period in two German regions Uckermark (dry lowlands, 2600 km2) and Weisseritz (humid mountain area, 400 km2); irrigation water demand in Thuringia, Germany and the winter wheat yield in the Prenzlau region, Germany. Using LandCaRe-DSS up to 2075 for the Uckermark und Weisseritz regions, the effects and impacts of different agricultural adaption strategies were analysed taking into account irrigation, the absence of soil tillage and two different cropping ratios (actual cropping ratio vs. cropping ratio enriched with energy maize). Thanks to the modular structure of LandCaRe-DSS, little effort is required to adapt the whole system to geo-data valid for other regions or countries; incorporate other static or dynamic impact models; switch to other climate scenarios and implement other interface communication languages. The LandCaRe-DSS is constantly being developed, updated and adapted in different research projects such as the REGKLAM project for agricultural regions of Saxony, Germany, and the CARBIOCIAL project for regions within the Mato Grosso and Pará states of Brazil. It has already been used in a number of climate scenario studies for the Federal States of Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony. In the years ahead, international cooperative activities will be initiated with institutions from St. Petersburg, Russia, and Puławy, Poland, in order to use, adapt and advance this system.
Monitoring the ecological status of agricultural land is a fundamental precondition for controlling its sustainable functions for human society and for maintaining the ecosystem’s capacity. We analyze fundamentals, developments, and trends and present results of agroecological monitoring in Russia. This system has been developed and operated by the Pryanishnikov Institute of Agrochemistry in Moscow. Agroecological monitoring in Russia was installed in the 1970s and is based on a regular 5-year agrochemical survey of agricultural lands all over the country, more than 300 field experiments in all bioclimatic zones of the country, and more than 1000 reference monitoring plots. In trials with different inputs of fertilizers, the focus is on analyzing soil fertility indicators and their impact on productivity. Some of these experiments are long-term experiments and part of international networks. Their results are of fundamental importance for monitoring, modeling, and controlling the status of soils in future despite climate change. In a regular survey, we found tendencies toward decreasing soil fertility in some regions, for example with decreased contents of humus and plant-available minerals, and topsoil acidification. Nutrient withdrawals must be compensated for by regular fertilization regimes, nutrient mining must be avoided. We detected some gaps in knowledge on the topic of balancing elements and modeling the agroecosystem’s response to climate and land use changes. We conclude that there is a need to implement modern measurement and modeling systems in some key long-term trials. The Pryanishnikov Institute has taken responsibility for coordinating running programs in different regions and administrative units of the Russian Federation, and for elaborating methodical guidelines and highly advanced monitoring technologies. National and international cooperation, research programs and networks are key for agroecological monitoring systems of the twenty-first century in addressing challenges for a highly productive, stable, sustainable, and environmentally safe food production.
The international soil classification system World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is edited by a Working Group of the International Union of Soil Sciences and published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The third edition was released in 2014. The WRB has two hierarchical levels. The first level allocates the soils of the world to 32 Reference Soil Groups (RSGs), which are identified using a key. Many RSGs represent specific soil-forming processes, are representative of major soil regions, or reflect special parent materials. In the second level, the soil names are constructed by adding a set of qualifiers to the name of the RSG. In total, 186 qualifiers are defined. Some can be combined with many RSGs, others with only a few or even with just one. For every RSG, a list of the possible qualifiers is provided. These possible qualifiers are subdivided into principal and supplementary qualifiers. Principal qualifiers are regarded as being the most significant for a further characterization of soils of the particular RSG. They are ranked and given in an order of importance. Supplementary qualifiers give some further details about the soil. They are not ranked but are used in alphabetical order. The WRB uses diagnostic horizons, diagnostic properties, and diagnostic materials. Diagnostic horizons and properties reflect widespread, common results of the processes of soil formation or indicate specific conditions of soil formation. In addition, diagnostic horizons require a certain thickness, thus forming a recognizable layer in the soil. Diagnostic materials are materials that significantly influence pedogenetic processes or are indicative of them. The definitions of many RSGs and qualifiers refer to the presence or absence of certain diagnostics at a certain depth. In addition, many definitions refer to individual features such as the base saturation or clay content. To name a soil, the RSG has to be provided with all applying principal and supplementary qualifiers. For map legends, the number of qualifiers depends on scale. Detailed rules are established to achieve comprehensive names for map units at different scale levels.
This chapter provides information about an emerging approach for rating agricultural soil quality (SQ) and crop yield potentials consistently over a range of spatial scales. We developed and tested the Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (M-SQR), a straightforward, indicator-based overall method for agricultural SQ assessment. The aim of this chapter is to improve the precision and consistency of final ratings by updating the rating frames of most crop-yield-relevant indicators. M-SQR is a framework covering aspects of soil texture, structure, topography and climate which is based on 8 Basic Indicators and more than 12 Hazard Indicators. Ratings are performed by visual methods of soil evaluation and supported by monthly climate data. A field manual is then used to provide ratings from tables based on indicator thresholds. Finally, overall rating scores are given, ranging from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) to characterise crop yield potentials. The current approach is valid for grassland and cropland. Field tests in the main global agricultural regions have confirmed the practicability and reliability of the method. Many experimental sites have been assessed in Russia (Siberia included) and Central Asia. We found that at the field scale, soil texture and structure are most important criteria of agricultural SQ. At the global scale, climate-controlled hazard indicators of drought risk and the soil thermal regime are crucial for soil functioning and crop yield potentials. We present new rating tables for indicators that are most relevant to crop yields globally: a too-cold soil thermal regime (Hazard indicator 12) and agricultural drought (Hazard indicator 7). Final rating scores are well correlated with crop yields of cereals and grass. Regression equations express the relationships between overall M-SQR rating numbers and crop yield potentials at defined levels of farming inputs. We conclude that the combination of the Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (M-SQR) with the World Reference Base of soil resources (WRB 2014) provides key information about main soil functions and processes. This system could be evolved for ranking and controlling agricultural SQ on a global scale. It should become a basis for more objective monitoring of global land quality, promoting sustainable land use and management, serving as one of the decision tools (decision support systems, impact assessment procedures) for economic trade-offs and land use planning. As a first step, the current concepts and data have led to a new crop yield potential map of Germany. The method and data given in this chapter could provide the basis for creating a similar map of Russia using the same methodology.
The Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (M-SQR) is a new approach for assessing soil suitability for arable and grassland farming, and estimating crop yield potential on a global scale. We utilized this approach to construct a small-scale map of crop yield potentials covering arable lands in Germany. M-SQR rules and algorithms were adapted to the terminology and classification of soil parameters as defined by German soil mapping guidelines and were applied to soil profile-related data sets of the land-use stratified soil map of Germany at a scale of 1:1,000,000. According to the resulting thematic map, soils in Germany show a high yield potential for grain; the nationwide mean score accounts for 64 out of 100 possible points. Moderate drought risk is the main crop yield limiting factor in Germany, shallow soil depth, and other crop yield limiting factors may also be locally important. The approach has been validated and tested in comparison with the traditional German Bodenschätzung (German soil assessment). In comparison to the Bodenschätzung classification scheme, which is conventionally applied to assess the yield potential of agriculturally used soils, the M-SQR method incorporates additional climatic variables and considers site-specific drought risks. The two methods, the M-SQR approach and the German Bodenschätzung system, were compared and evaluated on the basis of grain yield data from 79 sites from different Federal States of Germany. In general, the M-SQR method provides reliable estimates of the yield potential for cereals. As the Basic Rating of M-SQR correlates significantly with scores (Ackerzahl) of the Bodenschätzung, both systems are potentially convertible. On average, M-SQR point scores even correlate slightly better to measured yields than Bodenschätzung scores. We conclude that this may enable the creation of reliable medium- and large-scale crop yield potential maps within Germany using the M-SQR methodology, available digital soil maps, and climate databases. The M-SQR methodology also enables the consistent incorporation of the newly created small-scale German crop yield potential map into a potential small-scale global soil quality map.
Nutrient balance, calculated at the national and regional level, is a useful tool to gain information on trends in nutrient depletion or enrichment which can be used to choose nutrient management strategies and to assess the undesirable effects of nutrient mining and environmental pollution. The balances of the main plant nutrients like nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were calculated by taking into consideration the inputs of nutrients with mineral and organic fertilizers, seeds, biologically fixed N (symbiotic and non-symbiotic fixation) and rain, plus the outputs of nutrients through crop uptake, and losses through leaching, erosion, and denitrification. The increase in the scope of chemicalization in Russia led to the gradual elimination of the N and P deficit, and the surplus of these nutrients at the national level—from the approximate balance since the mid-1960s up to 37 and 25 kg/ha and between 1986 and 1990, respectively. The annual deficit of K was also gradually reduced in the same period from −15 to −2 kg/ha. Present-day agriculture has a serious annual excess of removal over input, with a long-term deficit of up to 30, 10, and 27 kg/ha for N, P, and K, respectively as the result of a drastic decrease in mineral and organic fertilization, since the 1990s. The regional balance also provides a link with monitoring data of nutrient availability in arable soils. For the regions with high-input agricultural production, the analysis of agrochemical survey data shows a consistent decrease in the weighted average content of available P and K forms in arable lands. This negative tendency became clear when the input of nutrients was inadequate to maintain soil fertility, being permanently lower than its removal from the agrolandscapes. The balance method helped to identify hot spots of unbalanced fertilization, where N consumption outstripped that of P and K. Siberia is one of these regions where arable lands are not only underfertilized, but mainly receive N fertilizers at the expense of P and K as a result of farmers concentrating on short-term decisions instead of long-term sustainability, while in the Russian Far East the situation is much more favorable. The development of policies and strategies relating to the fertilization requirements of Russian agriculture should be based on providing balanced nutrition conditions for sustaining agricultural systems and soil fertility conservation.
Stewardship of fresh water resources is of paramount importance throughout Europe and for all environmental policies now and in the future. The problem has especially affected areas under predominantly agricultural use. The chapter provides an overview of methods used to assess soil, pore water and groundwater nutrient levels on farms and agricultural fields. We developed a zone monitoring model (ZMM) which is a basis for appropriate monitoring schemes in view of risks for the groundwater coming from agricultural lands. Based on this scheme, we describe various methods to monitor nitrate concentrations at different unit levels, from the farm to the soil zone and on to the groundwater. At farm level, nutrient balances are mandatory to identify the potentially remaining concentrations of nutrients in the soil. Nutrient balances provide an overview of nutrient levels, in particular to prevent surpluses which, as well as contaminating groundwater, could lead to environmental problems such as open water eutrophication, local air pollution and an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Balances can be performed using operational records of nutrient application and other agronomic information (crops, yields, weather, etc.) at the farm or even field level. A catalogue of agricultural measures for groundwater conservation is available. It is to be supplemented by a methodology for the in situ monitoring of the groundwater quality as a basis for surveying the efficiency of those measures. General characteristics, the benefits and the disadvantages of recent monitoring methods are presented, summarised and rated under the heading “appropriateness for efficiency survey”. The methods described here are groundwater sampling by means of a suction lance, soil sampling beneath the groundwater table, groundwater sampling using the direct-push method, sampling from observation wells, from multi-level observation wells and from production wells. Especially in the shallow, near-surface groundwater, the concentration of dissolved substances almost instantly mirrors the effect of agriculture on the aquatic environment. It can be considered a kind of early-warning system before the surface or drinking water quality are impaired. This survey is preferably focused on nitrate, an important substance for plant nutrition known to behave as a conservative tracer carried below the root zone with the subsurface water. Computer programs have been developed for achieving the locally specific optimal strategy for groundwater-protecting land management strategies and practices. Nutrient balances are included in the latest information and communication technology (ICT) and farm management information systems (FMIS). In Germany, the methods described in this chapter are recommended as a work basis and decision tool for all bodies required to assess the efficiency of agricultural operations in the framework of legal regulations or voluntary cooperation. They can be used by farmers, landscape planners, environmentalists, water associations, water companies, decision makers and others. The whole package of decision trees and monitoring methods in the ZMM, the FMIS and ICT computer programs also has the potential to be tailored and applied to other regions.
In western Siberia, summer fallow-based crop rotation is practiced. These tillage-based cropping systems are not sustainable. They lead to a decline in soil fertility and damage to humans and the environment. The objective of this chapter is to analyze the principles of conservation agriculture (CA) and to replace wheat-fallow monocultures by stubble mulch farming. We conducted multi-factorial field experiments on crop rotations, tillage, and soil fertility management on three sites over more than five years. The research data include the results of studies in northern Kazakhstan, central Kazakhstan, and western Siberia. Furthermore, we analyzed results from other cool steppe regions such as Canada. In studies conducted in northern Kazakhstan, we found that cropland is most efficiently used in diversified crop rotations with no fallow. Summer fallow can be replaced by food legumes or legume forages. No-till has an advantage in terms of crop yields over traditional tillage on light textured soils of the Kostanai province, thanks to better moisture conservation. On heavy textured soils of the Akmola province, traditional tillage has an advantage in some cases, thanks to better snowmelt water intake and more active nitrogen mineralization. On Leached Chernozems of Trans-Ural Siberia, no-till is feasible only with the application of higher rates of nitrogen fertilizer. In the forest-steppe zone of western Siberia, no-till in the autumn provided the same grain yields as ploughing only when it was combined with the application of fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and growth regulators. Research in northern Kazakhstan shows that for soil fertility conservation, one should combine a reduced to minimum area under summer fallow with the replacement of summer fallow by pulses or legume forages and the application of nitrogen fertilizer, and thus avoid soil tillage.
This chapter presents a concept and practicable solutions for effective and environmentally sound cereal-based cropping systems in Siberia. The work behind this was carried out in the framework of the international research project “KULUNDA, how to prevent the next global dust bowl?” We start with an analysis of the socio-economic and bio-climatic conditions and current practice for cereal cropping in Siberia. The climatic conditions of West Siberia were compared with those in the steppe regions of Canada. The adaption of current cropping practices based on South Canadian experiences, such as minimum tillage and direct seeding, seems to be promising for Siberia too. More reliable machinery for soil and crop management, exact seeding and spraying machinery in particular, will help to establish more robust crops which provide higher yield stability and better water use efficiency, and maintain soil fertility by protecting the soil against wind erosion. We designed and conducted field trials on three experimental sites in the Altai Krai of Siberia. These trials represent the outcomes of our analysis by combining the local expertise of Siberian scientists and farmers with experience from Canadian and Kazakh cropping practices and with proven and newly developed German technology for their realisation. The focus is on innovative technologies for soil conservation tillage operations and direct drill seeders. On 70 randomised plots, most modern no-till methods were compared with other variants such as modernized and conventional agricultural machinery, and with extremely out-dated methods of conventional technology. The latter variants include practices still dominating in Siberia: no crop protection and fertilisation as well as cereal monoculture and fallow. The initial results under very dry weather conditions confirm our concepts that conservation practices perform better when considering all aspects of soil protection, the performance of machinery, plant establishment and yield. Wider crop rotation can give higher economic stability and will help to get the cropping systems closer to natural conditions. Soils can be protected from wind erosion in an effective way using no-till systems, and the yield can be stabilized. Most modern seeding machines with wide row spacings and narrow, single depth-adjusted hoe opener systems are able to carry out shallow tillage in the seeding furrow only and to place the seed and fertiliser exactly at the adjusted depth. The running experiments will deliver more detailed data about crop management and yields, soil fertility and micro-economy in the coming two years. Though those more detailed data are still required, we may already conclude that our new approaches seem to confirm our hypotheses. They are soil conserving, practicable and effective, and have great potentials for broader application in Siberian agriculture.
This chapter reviews and summarises the overall content of the book “Novel Methods for Monitoring and Managing Land and Water Resources in Siberia”. The book starts with an extended analysis of water and land resources, characterising the natural conditions of Siberian landscapes, their ecosystems, crucial processes and human impacts on soil and water quality. The status of research and monitoring is characterised in another chapter, pointing both on substantial progress achieved during the past decades, but also on gaps in our knowledge. Both chapters reveal the Siberian landscapes’ great potential for economically and ecologically viable business activities, but also inefficient and unsustainable land and water management practices and the decay of the rural infrastructure. Sustainable practices should be introduced soon, and this must be based on modern monitoring and management technologies. Some more studies show that thorough and innovative research and monitoring of water and land quality is provided by Siberian institutes and their leading researchers. Addressing climate change requires innovations in landscape research. Further book chapters deal with modern monitoring and management methods developed outside Siberia but having clear potential for application. We depict some highlights which could (a) lead to a significant knowledge shift, (b) initiate sustainable soil resource use and (c) trigger substantial improvement of the ecosystem status, if introduced into Siberia or applied there very soon on a wide scale. These are (1) soil and hydrological laboratory measurement methods, (2) process-based field measurement and evaluation methods of land and water quality, (3) remote sensing and GIS technology-based landscape monitoring methods, (4) process and ecosystem modelling approaches, (5) methods of resource and process evaluation and functional soil mapping and (6) tools for controlling agricultural land use systems such as nutrient balancing methods, conservation agriculture and their technologies. More than 15 concrete monitoring and management tools could immediately be introduced into research and practice, some of them without monetary investment. We conclude that strengthening international and national research cooperation in these fields will be a key for making novel methods operational. Agri-environmental research projects should have high priority as gaps in our knowledge are particular high, and a particularly large amount of novel measurement, evaluation, modelling and management tools are available. Various tools are ready for immediate introduction into Siberian landscapes in the framework of mutual pilot projects: state-of-the-science field monitoring technologies for soil and forest hydrology (EEM-HYPROP, virtual and real lysimeters), agro-ecological models and DSS (MONICA, LandCare-DSS), soil and land quality classification and evaluation tools (WRB 2014, Muencheberg-SQR), nutrient balancing tools, and technologies of conservation agriculture. The role of internationally linked monitoring capacities is particularly emphasised, with some existing stations established in the vast agri-environmental monitoring network and others to be newly built in remote regions of Siberia and the Far East, and supported by the latest remote sensing technologies. The book contributors represent an immense innovation network which should be employed to achieve both significant disciplinary and synergetic outreach effects. This should be imbedded into more sustainable strategies aiming at research cooperation between partners from EU countries, the Russian Federation and countries of Central Asia. Maintaining the functions of great landscapes for future human generations will be the reward of those efforts.
... Grunwald et al. (2015) also reported from Altayskiy kray beneficial effects from no-till systems, in particular from the extremely dry year 2012. Results from long-term field trials from experimental stations in Northern Kazakhstan reported for sandy textured soils unrestricted potential to increase yields (Suleimenov et al. 2015). Also for loamy to clayey textures in Western Siberia they found yield improving potential but with the need of additional fertilizer applications. ...
... Also for loamy to clayey textures in Western Siberia they found yield improving potential but with the need of additional fertilizer applications. In summary Suleimenov et al. (2015) emphasised the important contribution of no-till farming to the system of conservation agriculture for more resilience in cropping systems of Western Siberia. Under the perspective of climate change, the advantages of no-till against traditional tillage are likely to increase in cereal production systems (Pittelkow et al. 2015).The contribution of no-till technology to SLM is only one strategy among others, which are all needed to meet the future demands. ...
The post-Soviet transition from a planned to a market-driven economy went along with massive land-use change sand implied substantial consequences for agricultural production systems. In this paper, we demonstrate the usefulness of land-use intensity information for the development of sustainable land management (SLM) strategies for Tyumen province, which is centrally located within the Western Siberian grain belt. A quantitative spatio-temporal land-use intensity index enabled us to develop locally adapted scenarios and to identify priority areas for implementation of SLM strategies. We derived two major strategies for future SLM in Tyumen region: low-intensity grazing for grassland conservation and sustainable intensification by adapted farming technology on cropland instead of cropland expansion. These two strategies have to be addressed by the major land users, namely rural households that keep most of grazing livestock and large agricultural organizations, which cultivate the majority of the cropland area. The participatory scenario development process has the potential to draw policy-makers' attention to the benefits of SLM.
... After 1990 most rural regions of Siberia lost about 30% of their population (Hitztaler 2004, Mueller et al 2016, and post-hoc comparison with 2010 census data (Rosstat 2010, Mkrtchyan 2011) showed some small villages within our case study sites entirely lost their populations. This decline is not limited to our region within northern Eurasia but also occurred in Europe (Angelstam et al 2003) and may fit with a global rural-to-urban movement (Seto et al 2011). ...
As globally important forested areas situated in a context of dramatic socio-economic changes, Siberia and the Russian Far East (RFE) are important regions to monitor for anthropogenic land-use trends. Therefore, we compiled decadal Landsat-derived land-cover and land-use data for eight dominantly rural case study sites in these regions and focused on trends associated with settlements, agriculture, logging, and roads 1975–2010. Several key spatial–temporal trends emerged from the integrated landscape-scale analyses. First, road building increased in all case study sites over the 35-year period, despite widespread socio-economic decline post-1990. Second, increase in settlements area was negligible over all sites. Third, increased road building, largely of minor roads, was especially high in more rugged and remote RFE case study sites not associated with greater agriculture extent or settlement densities. High demands for wood export coupled with the expansion of commercial timber harvest leases starting in the mid-1990s are likely among leading reasons for an increase in roads. Fourth, although fire was the dominant disturbance over all sites and dates combined, logging exerted a strong land-use pattern, serving as a reminder that considering local anthropogenic landscapes is important, especially in Siberia and the RFE, which represent almost 10% of the Earth’s terrestrial land surface. The paper concludes by identifying remaining research needs regarding anthropogenic land use in the region: more frequent moderate spatial resolution imagery and greater access to more finely resolved statistical and other spatial data will enable further research.
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Landsat reveals long-term anthropogenic land-use trends in Siberia and Russian Far East
... El suelo fue clasificado como Pardo Sialítico Carbonatado [22], conocido como Cambisol [23]. Este tipo de suelo con perfil ABC, de mediana a poca profundidad, arcillosos con predominio de arcillas del tipo 2:1 Montmorillonita, el color predominante es pardo o pardo oscuro y verde azules en ocasiones cuando existen condiciones de oxidación en el medio, por el mal drenaje o compactación. ...
El uso de bioestimulantes vegetales conjuntamente con microorganismos eficientes
puede ser una alternativa para cambiar el metabolismo de las plantas y, en consecuencia, mejorar el rendimiento del cultivo de frijol. Bajo esta circunstancia, se evaluó el efecto entre microorganismos eficientes y Fitomas E en el incremento productivo del frijol común en dos épocas de siembra. Dos experimentos fueron desarrollados, de octubre de 2014 a abril de 2015. Los tratamientos utilizados fueron: el control, inoculación y aplicaciones foliares de microorganismos eficientes, inoculación y aplicaciones foliares con Fitomas E y la asociación entre estos. Los indicadores evaluados fueron: el número
de hojas por planta, materia seca, número legumbres por planta, granos por legumbre, masa de 100 granos y el rendimiento. Los resultados mostraron que las mayores respuestas, fueron obtenidas en época de siembra intermedia y la producción de frijol fue favorecida con la aplicación asociada entre microorganismos eficientes y Fitomas E, comparado con las formas individuales, porque aumentó el número de hojas por planta, masa seca, cantidad de legumbre por planta, promedio de granos por legumbre, la masa de 100 granos y producir 1090,0 kg.ha-1 en época intermedia y 660,0 kg.ha-1 en la
tardía en relación al control.
... Цей факт свідчить про те, що рекультиваційні роботи на дослідженій території гірничих розробок ПАТ ОГЗК (на прикладі Запорізького кар'єру) проведені на належному рівні. Як результат проведення гірничих робіт родючий шар рекультивованого ґрунту збіднюється на поживні для рослин речовини, стає більш карбонатним та містить у 1,5-2,0 раза менше гумусу, ніж орний шар первинного ґрунту (Mueller et al., 2016). Потужність гумусованого шару в середньому становить 58 см порівняно з 54 см для зональних ґрунтів. ...
The challenge of degradation of natural ecosystems because of human activity is considered by the world community to be the most serious problems facing mankind. As a result of mineral extraction, man-made landscapes and environmentally ruined areas replace natural habitats and agroecosystems; a whole spectrum of man-made processes are typical for such landscapes, which leads to a decrease in species richness and biological diversity within such areas. Degraded territories formed in the process of coal mining are often partially restored through remediation measures. During the implementation of the technical stage of remediation, substrates with different potential fertility having different environmental properties and quality are used. However, in quality assessment of remediated soils insufficient attention is paid to restoration of the environmental properties of the soils, namely their suitability for the existence of soil biota, which ensures the soil’s sustainability and vitality. The main indicators determining the productivity of remediated lands and the degree of their suitability for the existence of soil biota are values of actual acidity and degree of salinity. An assessment of the quality of reclaimed lands of the Ordzhonikidzevsky ore mining and processing enterprise was carried out on the example of the Zaporizhsky open-cast mine with the aim of assessing the possibility of their economic use and suitability for the existence of soil biota , as well as to make recommendations for further rational use. It was found that main characteristics of the study area (capacity of bulk humic layer, content of humus in the bulk layer, content of physical clay in the bulk humic layer and in the subsoil, average soil density in the meter bulk layer, salinity of the bulk humic layer and subsoil, composition and properties of subsoil), of the Zaporizhzhya quarry's reclamation is suitable for the further settlement and successful existence of the soil biota. It is concluded that as a result of the technical stage of reclamation, an artificial reclaimed soil was obtained, which according to its characteristics is similar to the primary zonal soils that were located in this area prior to mining; the recultivated soil has somewhat lower fertility and greater salinity at the lower horizons, but is capable of performing ecological functions and can not only be used for economic purposes, but also perform ecological functions, serving as an environment for the existence of soil biota.
... Given the above, conducting a detailed study of these soils, considering a deep analytical characterization of the different soil units, constitutes an indispensable and valuable endeavor [4]. This task has become even more important, because at this stage the Caia Irrigation Perimeter is experiencing a period of strong cultural reconversion, moving from traditional productions as tomato and maize to super-intensive olive grove, with all changes to the cultural system resulting therefrom [11]. ...
The Caia Irrigation Perimeter is an irrigation infrastructure implemented in 1968. As is often the case, the original soil map of this region (dated from 1961) does not have the detail needed to characterize a relatively small-sized zone, where intensive agricultural practices take place. Using FAO methodology and with the main goal of establishing a larger-scale soil map, adequate for the demands of a modern and intensive agriculture, we gathered the geological characterization of the study area and information about the topography, climate, and vegetation of the region. Using ArcGIS software, we overlapped this information and established a pre-map of soil resources. Based on this pre-map, we defined a set of detailed itineraries in the field, evenly distributed, in which soil samples were collected. In those distinct soil units, we opened several soil profiles, from which we selected 26 to analyze in the present study, since they characterized the existing diversity in terms of soil type and soil properties. Based on the work of verification, correction, and reinterpretation of the preliminary soil map, we reached a final soil map for the Caia Irrigation Perimeter, which is characterized by enormous heterogeneity, typical of Mediterranean soils, containing 23 distinct cartographic units, the most representative being the Distric Fluvisols with inclusions of Luvisols Distric occupying 29.9% of the total study area, and Calcisols Luvic with inclusions of Luvisols endoleptic with 11.9% of the total area. Considering the obtained information on soil properties; ArcGIS was used to develop a map in which it was possible to ascertain the impact of the continuous practice of irrigation in this area. This allows us to put forward relevant conclusions on the need to access and monitor specific Mediterranean soils in order to mitigate the environmental impact of irrigation practices.
Soybean is a major legume and oilseed crop with enormous economic importance, but its production is highly dependent on optimal rainfall or ample irrigation. In Kazakhstan, soybean production is highly vulnerable to drought and irrigation shortages. The aim of this study was to assess the level of drought escape and tolerance of soybean genotypes in different maturity groups, grown in well-watered conditions or without irrigation. Field trials were conducted in the very dry conditions of Kazakhstan with the hydrothermal coefficient 0.46–0.67. Nineteen soybean cultivars from five maturity groups were tested over four seasons under two conditions, with and without irrigation. The main indicators of drought tolerance were seed yield, seed weight per plant, percentage of seeds with smooth coats compared to wrinkled and shriveled ones, and 1000 seed weight. Under drought, seed yield of the studied genotypes decreased by 45.5–69.5% compared to well-watered controls. The most optimal genotypes for cultivation without irrigation were soybean cultivars from medium maturity group MG I (Vilana, Cheremosh, Xin-D11-252, and Desna) with a vegetation period of 115–128 days when avoiding drought during flowering, and the average yield for the group (1.7 t/ha) was slightly below that of those in drought-tolerant genotypes from medium–late/late maturity groups MG II–III (1.9–2.0 t/ha). Based on yield under drought, the best cultivars were identified as follows: Ivushka (1.2 t/ha) for MG 00 group; Ustya (1.3 t/ha) for MG 0; Vilana (1.8 t/ha) for MG I; Zen (2.3 t/ha) for MG II; and Sponsor (2.5 t/ha) for MG III. The identified genotypes can be used in breeding programs to reduce drought effects on soybean crops.
Common sage is a versatile medicinal and aromatic plant that adapts well to unfavorable soil conditions. We determined the effect of Fluvisol and Chernozem soils on sage morphology, leaf yield, essential oil content, and composition under rainfed, temperate conditions for two consecutive years. Based on the plant height, diameter, shoot length, and yield, Chernozem soil was significantly superior to Fluvisol. However, S. officinalis is considered a drought-tolerant plant; our results confirmed the importance of the available water capacity of the different soil types since the yield on both soil types decreased significantly after an extreme drought event in 2022. The essential oil concentration (0.67–1.10 mL/100 g DM) was higher on the Fluvisol, but the total oil content was higher in the case of Chernozem (78.64 ± 20.50 mL/m2 DM). The ratio of essential oil components was also influenced by the soil types, but the highest amounts were analyzed for soils viridiflorol, α-humulen, and α-tujone. The essential oil yield showed a strong positive correlation with hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes (0.92) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (0.95). Moreover, significant correlations were identified between the harvest time, seasonal precipitation patterns, soil and plant characteristics, and drug quality. On both soil types, the macronutrient content of the soils showed a strong positive correlation with the morphological parameters. The essential oil concentration was higher in the arid season of 2022 in the case of both soil types. The soil type and the seasonal effects can also change the ratio of essential oils.
The development of a decision framework for landscape governance and management has become one of the prioritised policy instruments for actualising policy objectives related to agri-food systems, biodiversity conservation, nature restoration, environmental management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, and the transition to renewable energy supplies. However, the landscape lens in policy making is challenging because of the diverse landscape archetypes, environmental problems, and diverging policy targets that it must address. This highlights the importance of having a robust, evidence-based landscape decision framework. To address this issue, this study undertook a transdisciplinary synthesis of research outputs from the Landscape Decisions Programme (LDP). This study compiles and synthesises outputs from the LDP projects in the context of the relevant literature to develop an understanding of the relationships among the emerging evidence with respect to decision making for sustainable and multifunctional landscapes. The synthesis identified six themes that define the drivers of landscape decisions, and four themes that define the dominant methodological approaches used to generate evidence for landscape decisions. The emergent themes from the synthesis were distilled into five principles that can be used as a basis for the development of a holistic landscape decision framework.
For the first time, microcystin-producing cyanobacteria have been detected in Khubsugul, which is ancient, pristine and one of the world’s largest lakes. The microcystin synthetase genes belonged to the genera Nostoc, Microcystis and possibly Snowella spp. No microcystins were found in the water of the lake. Using the HPLC-HRMS/TOF, five microcystin congeners were identified in biofilms from stony substrates sampled in the coastal zone. The concentration of microcystins in biofilms was low: 41.95 µg g−1 d. wt. by ELISA and 55.8 µg g−1 d. wt. using HPLC. The taxonomic composition of planktonic and benthic cyanobacterial communities was determined by means of microscopy and high-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons. Nostocales cyanobacteria dominated benthos of Lake Khubsugul and Synechococcales—plankton. The abundance of cyanobacteria was low both in plankton and benthos; there was no mass development of cyanobacteria. Hydrochemical and microbiological analyses showed that the water in the lake was clean; the number of faecal microorganisms was significantly below the acceptable guideline values. Hydrochemical and hydrophysical parameters, and the concentration of chlorophyll a, were low and within the range of values recorded in the 1970s to 1990s, and corresponded to the oligotrophic state of the lake. There were no signs of anthropogenic eutrophication of the lake and no conditions for the cyanobacterial blooms.
The interest in cultivation of vegetable soybeans, also known as edamame, in the North Europe region has increased during the last years due to their high nutritional value and excellent taste properties. During the last decade the possible growing area for soybeans has expanded towards the north due to changes in climate as well as breeding efforts. In order to adopt vegetable soybean growing technology for commercial cultivation in the North Europe region, independent experiments were carried out in Latvia and Norway. This study shows that vegetable soybean is a crop with potential for successful cultivation at higher latitudes, such as the Nordic–Baltic region in North Europe, with yield levels comparable to other regions of the world. We observed that hydrothermal conditions had the most significant impact on soybean plant development. Sowing or planting as early as possible is a key to obtaining sufficient yield levels. In the study, the vegetation period needed to be at least 123 to 127 days, with growing degree days (GDD) at least 650, and hydrothermal coefficient (HTC) above 1. Under such conditions, the obtained marketable yield in Latvia ranged between 3 to 10 t ha−1 during the period of 2017–2019, and 1.2 to 10.5 t ha−1 in Norway. Planting density of 20–25 plants per m2 appeared to be optimal. The variety ‘Midori Giant’ showed the most stable yield outcome, but ‘Chiba Green’ also gave a satisfactory yield.
Agriculture is one of the economic sectors primarily affected by climate change. This impact is very uneven, especially for countries with large territories. This paper examines the contribution of climate change to the improvement in agricultural productivity in Russia over the past two decades. Several ensembles of fixed effects regressions on yields and gross harvests of grain, fruits, and berries, potato, and vegetables were evaluated for a sample of 77 Russian regions over the 2002–2019 period. In contrast to similar studies of the climate impact on Russian agriculture, we considered a larger set of variables, including both Russian and global climate trends, technological factors, and producer prices. Russian weather trends such as winter softening and increase in summer heat have a significant but opposite effect on yields. An interesting finding is a significant and mostly positive influence of global climatic variables, such as the CO2 concentration, El Niño and La Niña events on both harvests and yields. Although technological factors are the main drivers of growth in Russian agricultural performance over the past 20 years, we found a strong positive effect on yield and gross harvest only for mineral fertilizers. The influence of the other variables is mixed, which is mainly due to data quality and aggregation errors.
Various large-scale risk maps show that the eastern part of Austria, in particular the Pannonian Basin, is one of the regions in Europe most vulnerable to wind erosion. However, comprehensive assessments of the severity and the extent of wind erosion risk are still lacking for this region. This study aimed to prove the results of large-scale maps by developing high-resolution maps of wind erosion risk for the target area. For this, we applied a qualitative soil erosion assessment (DIN 19706) with lower data requirements and a more data-demanding revised wind erosion equation (RWEQ) within a GIS application to evaluate the process of assessing wind erosion risk. Both models defined similar risk areas, although the assignment of severity classes differed. Most agricultural fields in the study area were classified as not at risk to wind erosion (DIN 19706), whereas the mean annual soil loss rate modeled by RWEQ was 3.7 t ha−1 yr−1. August was the month with the highest modeled soil loss (average of 0.49 t ha−1 month−1), due to a low percentage of vegetation cover and a relatively high weather factor combining wind speed and soil moisture effects. Based on the results, DIN 19706 is suitable for a general classification of wind erosion-prone areas, while RWEQ can derive additional information such as seasonal distribution and soil loss rates besides the spatial extents of wind erosion.
The diversity of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs (AAPs) and rhodopsin-containing bacteria in the surface microlayer, water column, and epilithic biofilms of Lake Baikal was studied for the first time, employing pufM and rhodopsin genes, and compared to 16S rRNA diversity. We detected pufM-containing Alphaproteobacteria (orders Rhodobacterales, Rhizobiales, Rhodospirillales, and Sphingomonadales), Betaproteobacteria (order Burkholderiales), Gemmatimonadetes, and Planctomycetes. Rhodobacterales dominated all the studied biotopes. The diversity of rhodopsin-containing bacteria in neuston and plankton of Lake Baikal was comparable to other studied water bodies. Bacteroidetes along with Proteobacteria were the prevailing phyla, and Verrucomicrobia and Planctomycetes were also detected. The number of rhodopsin sequences unclassified to the phylum level was rather high: 29% in the water microbiomes and 22% in the epilithon. Diversity of rhodopsin-containing bacteria in epilithic biofilms was comparable with that in neuston and plankton at the phyla level. Unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis indicated a distinct discrepancy between epilithon and microbial communities of water (including neuston and plankton) in the 16S rRNA, pufM and rhodopsin genes.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a very important food crop because the result is used as a staple food for residents in Indonesia. Higher food fulfillment leads to the increase of rice production of the Mojogedang sub-district. Paddy fields that have high soil fertility will produce good rice productivity. Rice fields in Mojogedang Sub-district are managed with organic systems and conventional systems, the management of different fields of rice field certainly affects the level of fertility in the paddy fields so it is necessary to evaluate the soil fertility index. The survey area consists of 10 points with organic and conventional management systems. The parameters taken include chemical and biological properties of soil, including; pH, redox potential, C-organic, CEC, base saturation, P available, available K, N Total, C/N ratio, and total microbial. The data obtained by performed analysis of the main component principal component analysis (PCA) using statistical applications. Then after complete the calculation of The Soil Fertility Index (SFI) at each point and management system. The results of statistical analysis obtained soil Fertility Index on organic management systems have a class of 4 or very high and in conventional management systems have a class of 3 or High. The value of the index obtained is strongly influenced by the K indicator available where the indicator has a noticeable effect on the various management systems. Increased soil fertility index due to the use of manure that can improve plant nutrients and applied for long periods.
In the last 20 years, a mainstream in Earth information and decision making has been drawn by the vision of the digital earth that calls for 3D representation, interoperability and modelling. In this context, the time dimension is essential but despite its importance, not many open standards and implementations are available. The Sensor Observation Service from the Open Geospatial Consortium is one of them and was specifically designed to collect, store and share timeseries of observations from sensors. To better understand the performance and limitation of one software implementation of this standard in real cases, this study executed a load testing of the istSOS application under a high load condition, characterized by a high number of concurrent users, in three cases mimicking existing monitoring networks. The results, in addition to providing reference values for future similar tests, show the general capacity of istSOS in meeting the INSPIRE quality of service requirements and in offering good performance with less than 500 concurrent users. When the number of concurrent users increases to 1000 and 2000, only 80% of the response times are below 30 seconds, performance that is unsatisfactory in most modern usages.
An aquatic surface microlayer covers more than 70% of the world’s surface. Our knowledge about the biology of the surface microlayer of Lake Baikal, the most ancient lake on Earth with a surface area of 31,500 km2, is still scarce. The total bacterial abundance, the number of cultured heterotrophic temporal bacteria, and the spatial distribution of bacteria in the surface microlayer and underlying waters of Lake Baikal were studied. For the first time, the chemical composition of the surface microlayer of Lake Baikal was determined. There were significant differences and a direct relationship between the total bacterial abundance in the surface microlayer and underlying waters of Lake Baikal, as well as between the number of cultured heterotrophic bacteria in studied water layers in the period of summer stratification. In the surface microlayer, the share of cultured heterotrophic bacteria was higher than in the underlying waters. The surface microlayer was characterized by enrichment with PO43−, total organic carbon and suspended particulate matter compared to underlying waters. A direct relationship was found between the number of bacteria in the surface microlayer and environmental factors, including temperature, total organic carbon and suspended particulate matter concentration.
Freshwater is the foundation of human survival and a global strategic resource. The Siberian region of Russia has a total area of 9.69 million km2, which includes the Lake Baikal (~ 22%of the total surface freshwater resources), rivers with a total length of ~5 million km and large reservoirs. The large rivers such as Yenisei, Lena, and Ob are extremely rich in water resources. The average annual water resources in this area are 2350 km3, accounting for 55% of the total water resources in Russia. The hydropower resources are 1.556 trillion kilowatt hours, accounting for 65% of the total hydropower resources in Russia. The water transport resources are 56,500 km, accounting for 55.8% of the total water transport resources in Russia. This area is rich in water resources, while it is sparsely populated (less than 24 million people, accounting for only about 16% of the total Russian population). Therefore, this region demonstrates a low utilization of water resources, with great potential for development. Mountain Rivers in Siberian are rich in water resources. Therefore, the water power development has broad prospects. As the results of the global warming, the icing period of plain rivers in Siberian becomes shorter and the shipping capacity continues to increase. Additionally, under the background of severe water shortages in the surrounding areas of Siberian, the supply of freshwater resources to Central Asia, Mongolia, and northern China through virtual water trade or inter-basin water transfer indicate an important strategic significance and will promote the coordinated economic and social development of the region. With the implementation of the "Belt and Road Initiative" and the "China-Mongolia-Russia International Economic Corridor", China, Mongolia, and Russia have broad prospects for cooperation in hydropower and energy.
A Bayesian classifier mapped the Burned Area (BA) in the Northeastern Siberian boreal forest (70°N 120°E–60°N 170°E) from 1982 to 2015. The algorithm selected the 0.05° (~5 km) Long-Term Data Record (LTDR) version 3 and 4 data sets to generate 10-day BA composites. Landsat-TM scenes of the entire study site in 2002, 2010, and 2011 assessed the spatial accuracy of this LTDR-BA product, in comparison to Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD45A1 and MCD64A1 BA products. The LTDR-BA algorithm proves a reliable source to quantify BA in this part of Siberia, where comprehensive BA remote sensing products since the 1980s are lacking. Once grouped by year and decade, this study explored the trends in fire activity. The LTDR-BA estimates contained a high interannual variability with a maximum of 2.42 million ha in 2002, an average of 0.78 million ha/year, and a standard deviation of 0.61 million ha. Going from 6.36 in the 1980s to 10.21 million ha BA in the 2010s, there was a positive linear BA trend of approximately 1.28 million ha/decade during these last four decades in the Northeastern Siberian boreal forest.
The Western Siberian grain belt is of global significance in terms of agricultural production as well as carbon sequestration and biodiversity preservation. Regional downscaling of general circulation models predict increasing drought risks and water scarcity for this area. Additionally, significant land-use changes took place in this region after the dissolution of the USSR and collapse of the state farm system: Land-use intensity in Western Siberia (Russian Federation) continuously decreased on grassland, whilst on cropland the intensity increased through recultivation of abandoned cropland and rising fertilizer inputs since 2003. Together, these changing conditions have led to challenges for sustainable agriculture in this semi-arid environment. For sustainable land management, strategies for adapted crop production systems are needed. In agronomic field trials, the potential of enhanced water use efficiency as contribution to a resilient agricultural system under changing climate conditions was evaluated and related to the common practice and regional research. In participatory on-farm trials, higher average soil water content (+40%) in the top soil layer led to higher grain yield (+0.4 t ha⁻¹) and protein yield (+0.05 t ha⁻¹) under no-till compared to the common practice of conventional tillage. Despite this, regional research still promotes bare fallowing with beneficial effects only in the first harvest after fallow, whereas the potential of no-till was visible each year, even under above-average wet and cool growing conditions. In this case study from the Western Siberian grain belt, we depict a possible pathway to make cereal production in Western Siberia more sustainable. However, the approach of applied sustainable intensification by promoting no-till is related to the negative concomitant effect of increased herbicide applications. Due to the strict rejection of GMOs in Russian agriculture by the federal government, this is a great opportunity to maintain a large, pristine area of over 17 million km² with a lower risk of glyphosate-dependent cropping systems.
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that spectral vegetation indices are good indicators of parameters describing the intensity of CO2 exchange between crops and the atmosphere. Measurements were conducted over 2011-2013 on plots of an experimental arable station on winter wheat, winter rye, spring barley, and potatoes. CO2 fluxes were measured using the dynamic closed chamber system, while spectral vegetation indices were determined using SKYE multispectral sensors. Based on spectral data collected in 2011 and 2013, various models to estimate net ecosystem productivity and gross ecosystem productivity were developed. These models were then verified based on data collected in 2012. The R² for the best model based on spectral data ranged from 0.71 to 0.83 and from 0.78 to 0.92, for net ecosystem productivity and gross ecosystem productivity, respectively. Such high R² values indicate the utility of spectral vegetation indices in estimating CO2 fluxes of crops. The effects of the soil background turned out to be an important factor decreasing the accuracy of the tested models.
This review presentsthe methods used to assess soil, pore water and groundwater nutrient levels on farms and agricultural fields. The purpose of this catalog of methods is to provide a basis for evaluating the efficiency of measures for the control of water catchment areas. A Zone monitoring model (ZMM) which is a basis for appropriate monitoring schemes in view of risks for the groundwater coming from agricultural lands has been developed. Based on this scheme, various methods to monitor nitrate concentrations at different unit levels, from the farm to the soil zone and on to the groundwater are described. At farm level, nutrient balances are mandatory to identify the potentially remaining concentrations of nutrients in the soil. Nutrient balances are incorporated in the latest information and communication technology (ICT) and farm management information systems (FMIS).
Anthropogenic stress and disturbance of forest ecosystems (FES) has been increasing at all scales from local to global. In rapidly changing environments, in-situ terrestrial FES monitoring approaches have made tremendous progress but they are intensive and often integrate subjective indicators for forest health (FH). Remote sensing (RS) bridges the gaps of these limitations, by monitoring indicators of FH on different spatio-temporal scales, and in a cost-effective, rapid, repetitive and objective manner. In this paper, we provide an overview of the definitions of FH, discussing the drivers, processes, stress and adaptation mechanisms of forest plants, and how we can observe FH with RS. We introduce the concept of spectral traits (ST) and spectral trait variations (STV) in the context of FH monitoring and discuss the prospects, limitations and constraints. Stress, disturbances and resource limitations can cause changes in FES taxonomic, structural and functional diversity; we provide examples how the ST/STV approach can be used for monitoring these FES characteristics. We show that RS based assessments of FH indicators using the ST/STV approach is a competent, affordable, repetitive and objective technique for monitoring. Even though the possibilities for observing the taxonomic diversity of animal species is limited with RS, the taxonomy of forest tree species can be recorded with RS, even though its accuracy is subject to certain constraints. RS has proved successful for monitoring the impacts from stress on structural and functional diversity. In particular, it has proven to be very suitable for recording the short-term dynamics of stress on FH, which cannot be cost-effectively recorded using in-situ methods. This paper gives an overview of the ST/STV approach, whereas the second paper of this series concentrates on discussing in-situ terrestrial monitoring, in-situ RS approaches and RS sensors and techniques for measuring ST/STV for FH.
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