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This paper describes the process of digitizing Montenegro's legacy soil data, and an initial attempt to use it for digital soil mapping (DSM) purposes. The handwritten legacy numerical records of physical and chemical properties for more than 10 000 soil profiles and semi-profiles covering whole Montenegro have been digitized, and, out of those, more than 3000 have been georeferenced. Problems and challenges of digitization addressed in the paper are: processing of non-uniform handwritten numerical records, parsing a complex textual representation of those records, georeferencing the records using digitized (scanned) legacy soil maps, creating a single computer database containing all digitized records, transforming, cleaning and validating the data. For an initial assessment of the suitability of these data for mapping purposes, inverse distance weighting (IDW), ordinary kriging (OK), multiple linear regression (LR), and regression-kriging (RK) interpolation models were applied to create thematic maps of soil phosphorus. The area chosen for mapping is a 400 km² area near the city of Cetinje, containing 125 data points. LR and RK models were developed using publicly available digital elevation model (DEM) data and satellite global land survey (GLS) data as predictor variables. The digitized phosphorus quantities were normalized and scaled. The predictor variables were scaled, and principal component analysis was performed. For the best performing RK model an R² value of 0.23 was obtained.

The changes of soil pH in long-term 14-year field experiments with different fertilizing systems are described. The field experiments were located at four sites of the Czech Republic with different soil and climatic conditions (Červený Újezd, Hněvčeves, Lukavec, and Prague-Suchdol). At each site, the same fertilizing systems and crop rotation (potatoes - winter wheat - spring barley) were established. Six experimental treatments were applied to crop rotation: (1) unfertilized treatments (control); treatments with organic fertilization: (2) farmyard manure (FYM), (3) sewage sludge (SS); treatments with mineral fertilizers: (4) nitrogen (N), (5) nitrogen with straw application (N + straw), and (6) nitrogen with phosphorus and potassium (NPK). The long-term effect of fertilizers significantly depends on soil conditions. At the site Prague-Suchdol minimal differences in the soil pH were observed by all treatments. This is caused by the high buffering capacity of Chernozems against the soil acidification. At Červený Újezd (Haplic Luvisol), Hněvčeves (Haplic Luvisol), and Lukavec (Stagnic Cambisol) sites, soil pH decreased by all treatments. Only at Hněvčeves site the soil pH did not change with N treatment. The highest soil pH decrease in the treatment with NPK (ΔpH -0.89) and N + straw (ΔpH -0.70) was observed at Hněvčeves site. By the treatments FYM and SS the highest decrease was registered at Červený Újezd (ΔpH of about -0.30 and -0.63, respectively). The highest decrease in control treatment (ΔpH of about -0.63) was observed at Lukavec site. The results showed that to evaluate long-term soil pH changes a whole complex of factors must be examined.

Weighing lysimeters are used to measure crop evapotranspiration (ETC) during the growing season. A ratio of crop evapotranspiration to reference evapotranspiration (ETo) determines a crop coefficient (Kc) value, which is related to a specific crop growth development stage. Determination of Kc is important for estimating crop irrigation requirements using meteorological data from weather stations. The research was conducted to determine growth-stage-specific Kc and compare them to existing FAO Kc values by investigating water use of maize (Zea mays L.) at the Water Technology Center Research Field in the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, India in 2010. Three lysimeters, weighing about 3.5 t, contained undisturbed 1.5 m deep soil monoliths. Accumulated seasonal crop water use was about 411 mm and the Kc values determined for maize during the growing season varied from 0.53 to 1.21. The calculated and measured evapotranspiration values were compared to assess the performance of the crop coefficient. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), the ratio of the root mean square error to the standard deviation of measured data (RSR), the root mean square error (RMSE) itself, and the coefficient of determination (R²) values indicated that the Kc performed 'Good' in estimating the seasonal evapotranspiration of maize. However, with respect to particular growth stages, the agreement between the calculated and measured values varied from 'Satisfactory' to 'Very Good'. The Kc values for the initial, crop development, mid-season, and late stages were 0.40-0.60, 0.70-0.80, 1.1-1.21, and 0.50-0.65, respectively, while the values reported for maize by FAO are 0.3, 1.2, 0.3-0.6 for the initial, mid-season and late stage, respectively. The measured Kc values were different up to some extent from the FAO reported values; the cause might be that FAO Kc values are generalized ones and recommended for a wide range of climatic conditions. Other causes might be that different maize varieties have different crop water use and evapotranspiration patterns. So, determination of Kc for crops in different regions and climates is important to improve irrigation water management.

Irrigation efficiency improvement requires optimization of its parameters like irrigation scheduling, threshold and amount of water usage. If these parameters are not satisfactorily optimized, negative consequences for the plant-soil system can occur with decreased yield and hence economic viability of the agricultural production. Numerical modelling represents an efficient, i.e. simple and fast method for optimizing and testing different irrigation scenarios. In this study HYDRUS-1D model assuming single- and dual-porosity systems was used to evaluate a triggered irrigation module for irrigation scheduling in maize/soybean cropping trials. Irrigation treatment consisted of two irrigation regimes (A2 = 60-100% field capacity (FC) and A3 = 80-100% FC) and control plot (A1) without irrigation. The model showed a very good fit to the measured data with satisfactory model efficiency values of 0.77, 0.69, and 0.93 (single-porosity model) and 0.84, 0.67, and 0.92 (dual-porosity model) for A1, A2, and A3 plots, respectively. The single-porosity model gave a slightly better fit in the irrigated plots while the dual-porosity model gave better performance in the control plot. This inconsistency between the two approaches is due to the manual irrigation triggering and uncertainty in field data timing collection. Using the triggered irrigation module provided more irrigation events during maize and soybean crop rotation and consequently increased cumulative amounts of irrigated water. However, that increase resulted in more water available in the root zone during high evapotranspiration period. The HYDRUS code can be used to optimize irrigation threshold values further by assuming different scenarios (e.g. different irrigation threshold or scheduling) or a different crop.

Geostatistical estimation methods including ordinary kriging (OK), lognormal ordinary kriging (LOK), cokriging (COK), and indicator kriging (IK) are compared for the purposes of prediction and, in particular, uncertainty assessment of the soil texture fractions, i.e. sand, silt, and clay proportions, in an erosion experimental field in Lower Austria. The soil samples were taken on 136 sites, about 30-m apart. The validation technique was cross-validation, and the comparison criteria were the mean bias error (MBE) and root mean squared error (RMSE). Statistical analysis revealed that the sand content is positively skewed, thus persuading us to use LOK for the estimation. COK was also used due to a good negative correlation seen between the texture fractions. The autocorrelation analysis showed that the soil texture fractions in the study area are strongly to moderately correlated in space. Cross-validation indicated that COK is the most accurate method for estimating the silt and clay contents; RMSE equalling to 3.17% and 1.85%, respectively. For the sand content, IK with RMSE (12%) slightly smaller than COK (RMSE = 14%) was the best estimation method. However, COK maps presented the true variability of the soil texture fractions much better than the other approaches, i.e. they achieved the smallest smoothness. Regarding the local uncertainty, the estimation variance maps produced by OK, LOK, and COK methods similarly indicated that the lowest uncertainty occurred near the data locations, and that the highest uncertainty was seen in the areas of sparse sampling. The uncertainty, however, varied much less across the study area compared to conditional variance for IK. The IK conditional variance maps showed, in contrast, some relations to the data values. The estimation uncertainty needs to be evaluated for the incorporation into the risk analysis in the soil management.

Windbreaks form efficient soil protection against wind erosion particularly at the time when soil cover is not protected by the cultivated plant vegetation cover. The objective of this research was to evaluate windbreaks efficiency in terms of wind speed reduction. Wind speed along the windbreaks was measured in the cadastral areas of Dobrovíz and Středokluky (Czech Republic, Central Europe). The measurement was carried out by 4 stations placed at windward side (1 station at the distance of 3 times the height of the windbreak) and at leeward side of the windbreak (3 stations at the distance of 3, 6, and 9 times the height of the windbreak). Each station contained 2 anemometers situated 0.5 and 1 m above surface. The character of windbreak was described by terrestrial photogrammetry method as the value of optical porosity from the photo documentation of the windbreak at the time of field measurement. A significant dependence between the value of optical porosity and efficiency of windbreak emerged from the results. The correlation coefficient between optical porosity and wind speed reduction was in the range of 0.842 to 0.936 (statistical significance more than 95%). A significant effect of windbreak on airflow reduction was proven on the leeward side of windbreak in a belt corresponding to approximately six times the height of the windbreaks depending on the optical porosity and it was expressed by a polynomial equation.

The influences of six different tillage treatments and five different crops on soil losses by water erosion were studied during a twenty-year period (1995-2014) on Stagnosol in central lowland Croatia. The aim of the study was to determine how the quantity of soil sediment, different tillage treatments and crops influence the particle size distribution (PSD) of soil sediment. During the studied period, total number of non-eroded soil samples was 60 and total number of soil sediments samples was 445. Significantly lower amounts of fine sand and higher amounts of clay and silt were determined in sediments compared to the non-eroded soil regardless of cover crop and tillage treatment, with the exception of bare cultivated soil. Generally, when quantities of soil sediments were higher, textural differences between non-eroded and eroded soil were lower. Very week negative correlation was determined between the quantity of soil sediment and the content of clay (r = -0.25) as well as the content of silt (r = -0.23). A very weak positive correlation (r = 0.23) was determined between the content of fine sand and the quantity of soil sediment, while non correlation (r = -0.02) was determined between the content of coarse sand and the quantity of soil sediment.

The efforts to introduce the micro irrigation system in Iran go back as far as the year 1990. The area under micro irrigation system in Iran covers about 400 000 ha and it is estimated to double (800 000 ha) during the next five years. The field performance of micro irrigation systems was studied in ten Iranian sites. Physical, chemical, and biological analyses of water samples derived from each site included pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, and bacterial number (BN). In this study relative emitter discharge (R), percentage of completely clogged emitters (P_clog), emission uniformity (EU), absolute uniformity emission (EU_a), statistical uniformity (Us), coefficient of variation due to emitter performance in the field (V_pf), and sector emission uniformity (EUs) were evaluated. Results showed that performance of micro irrigation systems in Iran is low and poor. Average EU, Us, and V_pf values in different sites were 52.8, 61.3, and 38.2%, respectively. Most frequent problems detected in irrigation units were: inadequate working pressure, emitters clogging, and lacking farmers' training.

The Vistula is the longest river in Poland. It stretches from the Silesian Beskids to the Gulf of Gdańsk. Water from the Vistula is the source of drinking water for many cities and is used in industry, and therefore its quality and microbiological purity is an important issue. The quality of water in the Vistula depends, among others, on the quality of water in its basin. The aim of this study is to assess microbiological hazard to the Vistula waters from its tributaries in the vicinity of Kraków. The analyses were carried out on 10 tributaries of the Vistula: Prądnik, Dłubnia, Drwina Długa, Drwinka, Raba, Uszewka, Szreniawa, Uszwica, Kisielina, and Dunajec. The examinations were carried out in four series, from May 2012 to March 2013. The numbers of coliforms, faecal coliforms, Enterococcus faecalis, and sulphate reducing Clostridium were determined using the membrane filtration method, while the serial dilutions method was used to determine the numbers of mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, Staphylococcus and Salmonella. There was a large variation in the number of microorganisms in the examined watercourses, however in most cases the water could be classified as clean, whereas waters of the Vistula in the vicinity of Kraków are microbiologically contaminated. Thus, the examined watercourses do not pose a serious threat to the quality of the Vistula. Among the analyzed tributaries, the waters of the Prądnik were characterized by the worst sanitary condition, while the best microbiological quality was observed in the Dunajec.

The influence of various agrotechnical measures on macrostructural changes in topsoil and subsoil was studied in the course of a four-year experiment. Macrostructure was evaluated according to the ability of soil aggregate to resist degradation. Three variants of soil tillage were established: ploughing to a depth of 0.22 m, reduced tillage (subsoiling to 0.35-0.40 m, and shallow disking of soil to a depth of 0.15 m). For observation, three locations were chosen in various production areas of the Czech Republic with differing soil and climatic conditions. In these locations crops were grown under the same crop rotation: rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), maize (Zea mays), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare). After four years of different tillage, a change in the water stability of soil aggregates (WSA) was evident. It was found out that reduced tillage of soil positively influenced both the WSA and the yield of the crops grown. A relationship of positive dependence between WSA, the content of humus substances, and cation exchange capacity of soil was also found. According to the obtained results, for agricultural practice a classification scale of structural quality was proposed on the basis of statistics of one variable (average, its mean error and distribution normality).

A system for evaluating outdoor recreation as a cultural agroecosystem service is presented. Every agroecosystem presumably has the potential for providing some kind of outdoor recreation. Two approaches to mapping the recreation potential were used and compared - the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) model and the regional model (RegMOD). From the possibilities of recreation activities, hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing were chosen. The comparison of the two approaches showed that the RegMOD incorporates a wider range of categories than the SolVES model, particularly for hiking. The robust character of the SolVES model is reflected by narrowing the spectrum of categories of this recreation activity. The differences in the map view are marked in the case of biking and cross-country skiing. Overall, the grasslands of the study area in Slovakia offer mainly medium relevant capacity (53.90% by the results of the SolVES, 64.90% by the results of the RegMOD) for providing selected outdoor recreation activities. The less productive (53.88% of all non-productive grasslands by the results of the SolVES, 48.00% by the results of the RegMOD) and non-productive grasslands represent a higher relevant capacity (41.18% of all non-productive grasslands by the results of the SolVES, 54.40% by the results of the RegMOD) for providing outdoor recreation activities. This brings about a new view of their management as well as use. The RegMOD developed in this paper is replicable and could be applied by managers mainly at the regional level on condition of their proficiency in geographical information systems.

North Bohemia belongs to one of the most heavily industrialized and polluted regions in Europe. The enormous acid deposition which culminated in the 1970s has largely contributed to the accelerated acidification process in the soils and consequently to the wide forest decline in North Bohemian mountains. In this paper we map the active topsoil pH and humus quality with ordinary, universal, and regression kriging and compare the accuracy of resulting maps with cross-validation. For the regression kriging we use two types of spatially exhaustive auxiliary information, first the altitude derived from digital elevation model and second the land cover classes derived from satellite imagery. The leave-one-out (cross-validation) statistics, i.e. mean error, root mean squared error, and mean squared deviation ratio, are taken for comparison since they are widely accepted as measurements of the accuracy of digital soil maps. The results show that the regression kriging is superior over other kriging methods in this case. Out of 97 sampling sites the regression kriging with land cover classes is the best predictor at 32 sites for pH and at 30 sites for humus quality, the regression kriging with altitude at 31 and 25 sites, the universal kriging at 21 and 23 sites, and the ordinary kriging at 13 and 18 sites. The highest number of best predictions for regression kriging implies that the topsoil pH and humus quality are driven approximately equally by land cover and altitude and little less by pure geographic position. Furthermore, the universal kriging maps show a northeast to southwest spatial trend of topsoil pH and a northwest to southeast spatial trend for humus quality.

Suspended sediment (SS) resulted from distributed soil erosions facilitates soil organic matter and phosphorus (P) transportation and influences soil depletion and water quality. Organic matter (OM) in soil is the most important indicator of soil quality and productivity. P is one of the major nutrients controlling eutrophication of surface water. Irregular contaminant load pulsed by heavy rainfall may damage the ecological quality of downstream waters. Evaluation of OM and P, depleted by erosion processes in watershed scale, is necessary for better understanding the watershed system and should lead to appropriate management approaches. On the other hand, different behaviours of soil erosion as well as the necessity of regional studies have been proved. The present study was conducted in the Kojour watershed, Iran in order to (1) get some ideas about the storm-wise OM and P load in river, (2) evaluate the relationship between the peak of OM and P concentration and discharge during individual rainfall events, and (3) assess the applicability of rainfall and runoff variables of ten storm events in the prediction of storm-wise OM and P loss. The results showed that most of the OM and P peaks preceded the peak discharge, following a clockwise hysteretic loop that exhibited hysteresis with a greater OM and P concentration for a given discharge occurring on the rising limb rather than on the falling limb. The results also showed that regression models had good efficiency in estimation of storm-wise OM and P loss with coefficient of determination of 0.96 and 0.93, respectively.

Contamination of soil and water environment by heavy metals in a former mining area and their effect on the soil characteristics were determined. Soil samples were collected in the village of Rudňany which is, according to environmental regionalization, classified as an environmentally loaded and unhealthy area. Soil samples were collected in 2011 at eight fields situated at different distance from the pollution source. Total contents of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg), soil reaction (pH), organic carbon (C_ox), activity of urease (URE), acid phosphatase (ACP), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were determined in soil samples. Water samples were collected in Rudniansky creek, which flows through the village. The contents of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg) were determined in water samples. High contents of heavy metals in soil and water result from long-term mining and smelting activities predominantly focused on copper and mercury production. Numerous heaps of waste material and tailing ponds are the main pollutant sources representing a great threat to the environment, as these pollutants can accumulate in plants and enter the food chain. Extremely high and above-limit values of copper and mercury were determined in the sampled soils. According to the index of geoaccumulation, copper has been shown as a serious contaminant in some soil sampling fields, which were determined as strongly contaminated. In terms of the geoaccumulation index, all sampling fields were evaluated as very strongly contaminated by mercury. We found significant positive correlation between zinc, lead, and copper contents in soils, which is a likely sign of the same source of pollution. A nonsignificant but positive relationship between soil reaction and heavy metals and a negative correlation between soil pH and organic carbon were observed. A high degree of soil pollution was reflected in soil biological properties. Activity of soil enzymes significantly decreased with increasing heavy metals content in soils. Rudniansky creek was polluted only by copper and mercury. The highest and above-limit values of these metals were determined at the point where the stream leaves the village (in a downstream direction).

The interactions of different organic acids such as citric, malic, oxalic, and fulvic with aluminium were studied using ion-exchange chromatography (IC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The experiments were carried out at low pH (1.5-3.1). The results of IC experiments on the interaction between Al and oxalate, citrate, and malate were compared with model chemical equilibrium calculations. The strongest effect on Al speciation was observed with oxalic acid and fulvic acid. These two ligands formed more than one type of complex with Al. In contrast, there was no significant effect of malic acid on Al speciation and a rather weak effect caused by citric acid. The studies show that the formed complexes are stable even at low pH.

The hazards from wind, sand, and soil erosion caused by human activities, such as residue slopes in abandoned urban mines, have resulted in a vicious circle of environmental degradation. Selecting the optimal protective engineering method in mountainous areas has become a major difficulty in recent years, and the primary goal of our research is to accelerate the process of ecosystem reconstruction to maintain water and soil quality. In this study, cover soil of 10, 20, and 30 cm in depth was spread on the 30° accumulation slopes composed of loose residue from the Huangyuan Quarry, Beijing, and combined with two protection measures: eco-bags and bamboo fences. Runoff and soil loss from the aboveground, soil and residue layers were measured under rainfall intensities of 30, 60 and 120 mm/h generated with a rainfall simulator. The results indicated that both eco-bags and bamboo fences decreased runoff and soil loss. Bamboo fences were better at intercepting water under low runoff, whereas soil loss was more strongly reduced by eco-bags. The analysis also demonstrated that the depth of soil cover had an effect on runoff and soil loss. These findings will enrich the understanding of the effects of human activities on surface mines and provide a scientific basis for the ecological restoration of mines using engineering methods.

Physical, chemical and bacteriological analyses were carried out of water samples from three boreholes located near a landfill, and or soil samples at Akure, Nigeria, to ascertain the effect of the dumpsite on the groundwater and soil quality. The samples from borehole locations with radial distances of 50, 80, and 100 m, respectively, away from the landfill and twelve soil samples collected at distances 0 (dump centre), 10, 20, and 30 m away from the refuse dump were analysed. The parameters determined were the turbidity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), total iron, nitrate, nitrite, chloride, calcium and heavy metals like copper, zinc, and lead. Most of these parameters indicated pollution but were below the World Health Organization (WHO) limits for consumption. The pH ranged from 5.7 to 6.8 indicating toxic pollution, the turbidity values were between 1.6 and 6.6 NTU, and the temperature ranged from 26.5°C to 27.5°C. The concentrations of iron, nitrate, nitrite and calcium ranged from 0.9 to 1.4, 30 to 61, 0.7 to 0.9, and 17 to 122 mg/l, respectively. Out of heavy metals, zinc ranged between 3.3 and 5.4 mg/l and lead ranged from 1.1 to 1.2 mg/l. Soil water holding capacity, porosity, pH, organic matter, organic carbon and organic nitrogen ranged from 38 to 54, 44 to 48, 6.9-7.5, 2.44-4.27, 1.42-2.48, and 0.12-0.21%, respectively. Statistical analyses indicated significant differences at 95% level. The results showed that all the boreholes were not strongly polluted but require treatment before use while the soil is absolutely unsuitable for the crop production. Re-designing of sanitary landfills to prevent leachate from getting to the water table, adoption of clean technology for recycling greenhouse gases and a sustainable land management programme for reclamation are recommended.

Water quality was examined in two parallel streams in southeastern Manitoba that enclosed a small hog and poultry operation with associated waste lagoons and manure spread fields. Nitrate-N (NN), molybdenum reactive phosphorus (MRP), dissolved organic matter index (DOMI), chloride, total alkalinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), pH, temperature, and total (TC) and fecal (FC) coliform bacterial counts were measured at weekly intervals during the ice-free season at two upstream and two downstream sites relative to the operation. Significantly higher values downstream compared to upstream were observed for MRP, TSS, TDS, chloride, and to some extent NN, indicating the escape of these materials into the adjacent streams. TC were correlated with the rainfall, water temperature, TDS, and pH at all sites. However, TC were also correlated with TSS, MRP, and DOMI only at the downstream sites, while NN was correlated more strongly downstream than upstream. FC were correlated with water temperature and NN at all sites, as well as with TSS and MRP downstream only. Downstream FC/TC ratios increased with increasing rainfall, indicating proportionately greater escape of FC compared to TC under higher runoff conditions. The results suggested that environmental loading of livestock waste adversely altered natural stream water quality dynamics, underlining the need for improved management practices, including the timing of manure spreading during drier weather conditions to minimise the large-scale escape events.

Heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Fe) concentrations in salt marsh sediments of the Karnafully River coast were investigated in this study. Sediment samples of four different sites were analysed for selected heavy metals by AAS (atomic absorption spectrophotometry). The mean values of heavy metals were 45.79 µg/g for Cu, 105.0 µg/g for Zn, 0.43 µg/g for Cd, 26.70 µg/g for Pb and 3297.38 µg/g for Fe in this study. It is observed that Pb and Cu have positive correlations (r = 0.370, P < 0.05) and Fe and Zn have negative correlations (r = -0.729, P < 0.05) in the correlation matrix. Except Fe, all the metals were found at contamination levels which may indicate a recent and continuous contamination from domestic and industrial discharges. The results of sediment samples showed that the Karnafully River coast is facing heavy metal pollution.

The development of Podzols is conditioned by many factors. One of them is vegetation cover. The aim of this study was to examine in detail special chemical properties, micromorphological features and water retention ability of Podzols under two different vegetation covers (spruce forest and grass). The study was performed in the Jizerské hory Mts., which were strongly influenced by atmospheric acidificant depositions in the past. The study was focused on the assessment of a 30-year grass amelioration impact on soils on the former forest land. It was shown that larger differences in the studied chemical properties (pH_KCl, pH_H2O, eCEC, content of Ca, Mg, Al_KCl, Al_H2O, Al(X)¹⁺, Al(Y)²⁺ and Al³⁺ species) were in the surface organic horizons and decreased with depth. Podzolization intensity was higher under the spruce forest than under the grass cover. Higher amounts of potentially dangerous Al forms were detected in the soils under the spruce forest than under the grass. Grass expansion on clear-cut areas (former forest) as a natural amelioration step results in the particular restoration of soil conditions. The micromorphological features studied on the soil thin sections using the optical microscope and soil water retention curves measured on the undisturbed 100 cm³ soil samples showed a significant influence of the organic matter presence on the soil structure and retention ability of H and Bhs horizons. Soil under the grass cover had denser structure (e.g. greater fraction of small capillary pores) and higher retention ability than soil under the spruce forest. Very similar retention curves were measured in the Ep and Bs horizons under both vegetation covers. Micromorphological features studied on the thin soil sections clearly documented a podzolization mechanism (e.g. organic material transport and its accumulation, weathering process and Fe oxidation and mobilization).

Physical properties of soils have a significant influence on their water regime and should be considered when selecting suitable agricultural crops for particular sites, taking into account the crop productivity and its water requirements. Mean daily rates of actual evapotranspiration (ETa) were obtained by collation of measured or otherwise estimated 10-min values for the years 2004, 2006 and 2009 for a partially tile-drained agricultural experimental catchment in the Bohemo-Moravian Highland (Czech Republic). ETa was measured using the Bowen ratio (β) and energy balance (BREB) method at four weather stations located on different soil types (Stagnosols, Cambisols) and terrain relief positions (defined with respect to the groundwater recharge and discharge zones) over different crops (cereals, oil rape and permanent grassland). A systematic influence of soil properties on the evapotranspiration rate was more pronounced during the periods of limited transpiration (soil drought, crop maturity), when the average daily ETa was significantly lower and the corresponding β significantly higher over coarser-textured soils (shallow Haplic Cambisols), namely (year-ETa (mm/day)/β): 2004 - 1.75/1.66; 2006 - 2.44/0.93; 2009 - 2.60/0.81), than over finer-textured soils (Stagnic Cambisols and Haplic Stagnosols), namely: 2004 - 2.92/0.97; 2006 - 3.06/0.44; 2009 - 3.42/0.39). When the transpiration was not limited by soil water deficit, it acted as an equalizing factor smoothing down evapotranspiration from heterogeneous soil areas, whereby the effect of the soil physical properties was masked. With regard to soil water regime and evapotranspiration, the tile-drained Stagnic Cambisol lands behaved similarly as non-drained Haplic Cambisols. The effects of land use and of the terrain relief position could not be tracked independently, because the permanent grassland was situated in the wetter and texturally heavier parts of the catchment and the positions of the recharge/discharge zone coincided with the positions of texturally lighter/heavier soils, respectively.

Mountainous areas represent regions with specific soil cover pattern that is naturally given by an altitudinal gradient. The objective of our study was to describe the soil cover development on the altitudinal gradient under changed environment given by man-planted vegetation and acidification. The studied area is characterized by spruce monoculture planting that replaced the original broadleaf natural vegetation and high load of anthropic acidification. The common hypothesis considering the sequence of Dystric Cambisol-Entic Podzol-Haplic Podzol with increasing altitude was not proved. The results of our study indicate that the influence of spruce vegetation causes the occurrence of Haplic Podzols at low altitudes where the natural soil formation does not induce their development. Results showed that the vegetation type can overrule other altitude-related soil-forming factors. The conversion of natural broadleaf and mixed forests to spruce monocultures leads to the expansion of podzolization process to lower altitudes.

The main aim of this work was to compare the results of the water storages obtained in the experimental basins in the Jizerské hory Mountains before the time of snowmelt with the total outflows, which were measured in the hydrological stations during the snowmelt period in two winter seasons with extraordinary snow depths (2005 and 2006). The snow water equivalent (measured in weekly steps), daily precipitation amount, and runoff in hourly values were the input data; the calculated runoff coefficients were the output values. The runoff coefficients from the snowmelt periods of 2005 and 2006 were compared in the Uhlířská and the Jezdecká Basins. The runoff coefficient in the Uhlířská Basin increased in 2006 from 0.636 to 0.688 (increase by 4%) and in the Jezdecká Basin it increased in 2006 from 0.660 to 0.749 (increase by 9%). It may have been the result of a bigger volume of precipitation during the snowmelt period 2006. The calculated runoff coefficients, which express the differences between the water storage obtained and the total outflow, can describe the specific characters of the experimental basins. It may be useful for the estimation of the expected inflow into water reservoirs and also for the hydrological forecasting in the foothills of the Jizerské hory Mountains. The measured data of snow cover also serve as a check, and also for the possible adjustment of the snow water equivalent generated by the model SNOW 17 - which is a part of the forecasting modelling system Aqualog. This system is in everyday use for the Elbe river forecasts in the Forecasting Centre of CHMI. The usefulness of this procedure was proved especially during the floods arising from snowmelts in last years. The model SNOW 17 has been calibrated for the catchment of the Černá Desná Stream with the Jezdecká closing profile (one of the experimental basins in the Jizerské hory Mountains). The results obtained demonstrate a very good capability of the model to duplicate the dynamics of the snow cover accumulation and thaw, if quality input data are available.

Soil samples were collected at alluvial sites of the Litavka River, which flows through the Beroun and Příbram cities in Central Bohemia Region of the Czech Republic in 2005 and 2006. Higher heavy metal content in soils (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu) is due to composition of the parent rock, emissions from lead processing industry and the leak of toxic material from the steel works sludge ponds in the 1970s and 1980s. The samples were collected from six sites located at different distances from the contamination source (the former sludge ponds) and chemical and biological properties were determined. The ratio of the microbial biomass carbon to oxidisable carbon content dropped down significantly on more heavily contaminated sites. Basal respiration activity did not correlate with the content of heavy metals in soil, but there was certain declining tendency with increasing intensity of soil contamination. Respiration activities significantly correlated with the total carbon, oxidisable carbon and the total nitrogen content. The metabolic quotient showed higher values with increasing contamination. Dehydrogenases and arylsulphatase activities decreased with increasing contamination. Urease activity has also a declining tendency but its relation to different intensity of contamination was not unambiguous. Urease activity has shown a relationship with the content of total nitrogen in soil. No relationship was found between the total sulphur content and arylsulphatase activity. Dehydrogenases, arylsulfatase and urease activities significantly correlated with the microbial biomass carbon.

One peculiar feature of the inland valleys abundant in West Africa is their site-specific hydrology, underlain mainly by the prevailing landforms and topography. Development and management of these land resources under the increasingly popular sawah (a system of bunded, puddled and levelled rice field with facilities for irrigation and drainage) technology is a promising opportunity for enhancing rice (Oryza sativa L.) production in the region. Information on the variations in selected soil physical properties as influenced by the prevailing landforms may serve as a useful guide in site selection. This is of practical importance since majority of the inland valleys are potentially unsuitable for sawah development and most farmers in the region are of low technical level. Three landforms (river levee, elevated area and depressed area) were identified within a sawah field located in an inland valley at Ahafo Ano South District of Ghana. Each of these landforms was topsoil-sampled along on identified gradient (top, mid and bottom slope positions). Parameters determined included particle size distribution, bulk density, total porosity and field moisture content. The soil is predominantly clayey. There were no variations in the particle size distribution among the slope positions in the river levee. Overall, the river levee had lower silt content than the elevated and the depressed landforms. The bulk density, total porosity, and gravimetric moisture content indicated relative improvements only in the depressed area in the order, bottom > mid > top slope. Irrespective of slope position, the three landforms differed in these parameters in the order, depressed > river levee > elevated. The sand fraction impacted negatively on the silt fraction and bulk density of the soil, both of which controlled the soil moisture status. Despite the fairly low silt content of the soil, the silt fraction strongly influenced the gravimetric moisture content (R² = 0.80). So too did the soil bulk density on the gravimetric moisture content (R² = 0.90). It is concluded that: (1) since the landforms more prominently influenced the measured parameters than the slope positions, the former should take pre-eminence over the latter in soil suitability judgment; (2) with respect to moisture retention, variations in silt fraction and bulk density of this and other clayey inland-valley soils should be used as guide in site selection for sawah development.

The Hrubý Jeseník Natural Forest Region (NFR) is a border mountain territory which belongs to the areas most heavily impacted by air pollution in the Czech Republic. This paper compares results for soil properties investigated in non-limed forest stands during the years 1994 to 2007. Differences between the 2007 and 2000/01 surveys concerning Al, Ca and Mg content and pH in particular soil horizons are depicted using kriged maps. This means of interpreting laboratory analysis results allowed us to highlight the most endangered NFR areas from an acidification standpoint. Evaluation of results for Al, Ca and Mg content, their available forms and pH values in the Hrubý Jeseník NFR in the 1994-2007 period revealed the presence of an ongoing acidification process. The southern (Praděd region) and northwestern areas (Králický Sněžník region) may be singled out as the most depleted.

Changes of selected soil physical properties (porosity P, soil organic matter SOM, bulk density ρ_d, particle density ρ_z, characteristics of water retention capacity - maximum capillary water capacity θ_CMC, and non-capillary porosity P_n) of permanent grassland (wet, non-fertilized, thistle meadows ass. Angelico-Cirsietum palustris, crystalline complex area, Czech Republic) in the top soil layer (3-10 cm) managed under three regimes (uncut UC; cut once a year C1; cut twice a year C2) were monitored for one undrained and two drained sites. There were no significant differences in selected soil physical properties among the test plots at the beginning of the study. As the intensity of utilisation decreased, the values of P, SOM, and P_n increased and ρ_d, ρ_z and θ_CMC decreased. Within 5-10 years of the beginning of the study, average values were: P at UC = 70, C1 = 69, C2 = 67%; SOM at UC = 10.7, C1 = 10.6, C2 = 10.0%; ρ_d at UC = 0.76, C1 = 0.79, C2 = 0.84 g/cm³; ρ_x at UC = 2.53, C1 = 2.55, C2 = 2.56 g/cm³; θCMC at UC = 50, C1 = 53, C2 = 51%; P_nat UC = 21, C1 and C2 = 16%. Moderate negative dependence of both ρ_x and ρ_d on SOM and of ρ_d on P_n and a moderate positive dependence of P on SOM was observed. θ_CMC changes did not show links to other soil physical properties. The greatest looseness of the top soil layer, expressed by a decrease in ρ_d, occurred with the UC regime in direct correlation with SOM, P_n and P.

Field experiments were conducted at the Agricultural Engineering Experimental Farm of The Federal University of Technology, Akure, during 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 seasons to investigate the response of cassava under drip irrigation. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments were based on four different water regimes; with T100 receiving 100% available water (AW), T₅₀ and T₂₅ receiving 50% and 25% of AW and T₀ with zero irrigation (control treatment). Disease free stems of the cassava cultivar TMS 91934 were planted at a spacing of 1 m by 1 m. The results indicated that T₁₀₀ full treatment produced the highest average total dry matter yield of 49.12 and 37.62 t/ha in 2006/07 and 2007/08 cropping seasons, respectively. However, the average total dry matter production in T₅₀, T₂₅, and T₀ showed significant differences in their values. Low total dry matter yields of 7.12 and 5.92 t/ha, respectively, were associated with T₀ for the two cropping seasons. The total water use of 1491.75 and 1701.13 mm was recorded for T₁₀₀, while total water use of 729.00 and 651.13 mm were obtained for T₀ in the two cropping seasons. The water use efficiency determined for the two cropping seasons ranged between 7.38 kg/ha and 32.93 kg/ha. The percentages of total water applied from total water use for T₁₀₀ were 51.11% and 61.72%, while 14.83% and 17.85% were recorded for T₂₅ for 2006/07 and 2007/08 cropping seasons, respectively.