Soil and Water Research, 2020 (vol. 15), issue 1
Impact of different fallow durations on soil aggregate structure and humus status parametersOriginal Paper
Maksim Burdukovskii, Irina Kiseleva, Polina Perepelkina, Yuliya Kosheleva
Soil & Water Res., 2020, 15(1):1-8 | DOI: 10.17221/174/2018-SWR 
Soil aggregate structure and soil organic matter are closely interrelated and commonly considered as key indicators of soil quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different fallow durations on indices of soil structure and humus status indicators. Studies were conducted on abandoned agricultural fields (15, 20 and, 35 years after abandonment). As a reference site, we used a cultivated field in the area. The experimental soil fields are classified as Gleyic Cambisols. Soil macroaggregates were separated with the sieve (dry sieve) to seven aggregate size fractions, i.e.> 10, 10-5, 5-2, 2-1, 1-0.5, 0.5-0.25 and < 0.25 mm....
Estimation of soil erosion using USLE and GIS in the locality of Tzicatlacoyan, Puebla, MéxicoOriginal Paper
Erika María López-García, Edgardo Torres-Trejo, Lucia López-Reyes, Ángel David Flores-Domínguez, Ricardo Darío Peña-Moreno, Jesús Francisco López-Olguín
Soil & Water Res., 2020, 15(1):9-17 | DOI: 10.17221/165/2018-SWR
Deforestation and conversion of natural grasslands to agricultural land constitute two of the main threats to soil and water conservation, causing erosion, and likely, desertification. The objective of this study was to estimate the erosion of the soil in the locality of Tzicatlacoyan, applying the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) through Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The results indicated that Tzicatlacoyan faces risk of soil erosion with an average annual rate of 117.18 t/ha∙year, due to natural factors and anthropogenic activities such as the use of agricultural land without appropriate conservation practices. Four classes of soil...
Using WaTEM/SEDEM and HEC-HMS models for the simulation of episodic hydrological and erosion events in a small agricultural catchmentOriginal Paper
Jana Konečná, Petr Karásek, Hana Beitlerová, Petr Fučík, Jiří Kapička, Jana Podhrázská, Tomáš Kvítek
Soil & Water Res., 2020, 15(1):18-29 | DOI: 10.17221/202/2018-SWR
A careful analysis of rainfall-runoff events and patterns of sediment and pollution load to water bodies is crucial for the proper management of agricultural land. This study simultaneously employed the WaTEM/SEDEM long-term erosion model and the HEC-HMS episodic hydrological and erosion model to describe the runoff and sediment load evoked by extreme rainfall events in a small agricultural catchment in Czechia, using the long-term monitoring discharge and water quality episodic data. WaTEM/SEDEM helped to delineate the runoff and sediment critical source areas, subsequently incorporated into HEC-HMS. The acquired results showed that the spatial distribution...
The effective removal of heavy metals from water by activated carbon adsorbents of Albizia lebbeck and Melia azedarach seed shellsOriginal Paper
Mohib Ullah, Ruqia Nazir, Muslim Khan, Waliullah Khan, Mohib Shah, Sahib Gul Afridi, Amir Zada
Soil & Water Res., 2020, 15(1):30-37 | DOI: 10.17221/212/2018-SWR
The removal of toxic metals like lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) is very urgent keeping their hazardous effects in view. In this work, seeds of Albizia lebbeck and Melia azedarach trees were converted into activated carbon adsorbents and applied for the adsorptive removal of Pb and Cd metals from an aqueous solution. The as prepared adsorbents were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The removal efficiencies of both metals were strongly dependent on their initial concentration, contact time, pH, temperature and the quantity of adsorbents. 0.2 g of both adsorbents removed...
An approach to identifying and evaluating the potential formation of ephemeral gullies in the conditions of the Czech RepublicOriginal Paper
Miroslav Dumbrovský, Karel Drbal, Veronika Sobotková, Jana Uhrová
Soil & Water Res., 2020, 15(1):38-46 | DOI: 10.17221/231/2018-SWR
Soil erosion, including ephemeral gully erosion, is a serious degradation process in the Czech Republic. It currently threatens more than half of the agricultural acreage through negative changes in the whole complex of soil properties. The unfavourable consequences of surface runoff are seen in the erosion processes degrading agricultural soils. The South Moravia Region was selected as the case study area - mainly for its natural conditions and high soil degradation risk . A set of data, collected from 2012 to 2017 in a maize-growing area, especially on deep loess soils in the South Moravia Region, was used to analyse the morphological characteristics...
Tillage and crop rotation effects on soil carbon and selected soil physical properties in a Haplic Cambisol in Eastern Cape, South AfricaOriginal Paper
Mxolisi Mtyobile, Lindah Muzangwa, Pearson Nyari Stephano Mnkeni
Soil & Water Res., 2020, 15(1):47-54 | DOI: 10.17221/176/2018-SWR
The effects of tillage and crop rotation on the soil carbon, the soil bulk density, the porosity and the soil water content were evaluated during the 6th season of an on-going field trial at the University of Fort Hare Farm (UFH), South Africa. Two tillage systems; conventional tillage (CT) and no-till and crop rotations; maize (Zea mays L.)-fallow-maize (MFM), maize-fallow-soybean (Glycine max L.) (MFS); maize-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize (MWM) and maize-wheat-soybean (MWS) were evaluated. The field experiment was a 2 × 4 factorial, laid out in a randomised complete design. The crop residues were retained...
Changes in a river's regime of a watercourse after a small water reservoir constructionOriginal Paper
Rostislav Fiala, Jana Podhrázská, Jana Konečná, Josef Kučera, Petr Karásek, Pavel Zahradníček, Petr Štěpánek
Soil & Water Res., 2020, 15(1):55-65 | DOI: 10.17221/23/2019-SWR
The paper deals with the analysis of a river's regime of a small watercourse and the evaluation of its changes after the construction of a small water reservoir. The aim of the work was to analyse 12 years of flow rate measurements at two profiles of a small watercourse, between which a small water reservoir was built, in the middle of the period of the measurements. The analysis uses traditional characteristics (average flow rate, discharge volume), as well as modern indices from applied hydrology (Richards-Baker flashiness index, hydrogram pulse analysis), which study the variability of the flow rate in hourly and daily intervals. The evaluation...