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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).

The effect of erosion and erosion control measures on changes in the amount of organic matter in soil was studied. We investigated the influence of organic matter inputs into the soil on surface runoff, soil erosion and soil erodibility (K-factor), including the monitoring of carbon dynamics, as a result of torrential rains. The research was conducted on experimental plots in Třebsín site. Erosion leads to soil carbon loss and subsequently to increasing concentrations of carbon in sediments (enrichment ratio). We can conclude from the results that the input of organic matter into the soil (especially farmyard manure) significantly contributes to a decrease in surface runoff and soil loss and also to a reduction of carbon leaching into sediments; so it contributes to carbon sequestration into the soil.

Soil water and heat transport plays an important role in various hydrologic, agricultural, and industrial applications. Accordingly, an increasing attention is paid to relevant simulation models. In the present study, soil thermal conditions at a mountain meadow during the vegetation season were simulated. A dual-continuum model of coupled water and heat transport was employed to account for preferential flow effects. Data collected at an experimental site in the Šumava Mountains, southern Bohemia, during the vegetation season 2009 were employed. Soil hydraulic properties (retention curve and hydraulic conductivity) determined by independent soil tests were used. Unavailable hydraulic parameters were adjusted to obtain satisfactory hydraulic model performance. Soil thermal properties were estimated based on values found in literature without further optimization. Three different approaches were used to approximate the soil thermal conductivity function, λ(θ): (i) relationships provided by Chung and Horton (ii) linear estimates as described by Loukili, Woodbury and Snelgrove, (iii) methodology proposed by Côté and Konrad. The simulated thermal conditions were compared to those observed. The impact of different soil thermal conductivity approximations on the heat transport simulation results was analysed. The differences between the simulation results in terms of the soil temperature were small. Regarding the surface soil heat flux, these differences became substantial. More realistic simulations were obtained using λ(θ) estimates based on the soil texture and composition. The differences between these two, related to neglecting vs. considering λ(θ) non-linearity, were found negligible.

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 study on the relationship between the soil aggregates stability assessed using water stable aggregate (WSA) index and the selected terrain and soil properties was performed on a morphologically diverse study site in Chernozem soil region of Southern Moravia. Soil analyses and detailed digital elevation model processing were the main methods adopted in the study. The soil structure stability is negatively influenced by the soil material removal from the steep parts of the back-slope and re-deposition of the mineral loess material at the base of the slope. The highest aggregates stability was identified in the upper flat parts of the study plot, undisturbed by erosion processes, and at the concave parts of the back-slope with intensive accumulation of organic matter. Statistical analysis showed a significant dependence of aggregates stability on organic carbon content and plan curvature index.

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 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).

One of the key goals of the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection is to maintain and improve soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. A decline of SOC stocks is politically perceived as a serious threat to soil quality and functions. A suitable tool for acquiring the information on SOC stock changes is modelling. The RothC-26.3 model was applied for long-term modelling (1970-2007) of the SOC stock in the topsoil of croplands of Slovakia. Simulation results show a gradual increase in the SOC stock in the first phase of modelling (1970-1995) mainly due to higher carbon input in the soil. A significant linear correlation (r = 0.4**, n = 275) was found between carbon input and the final simulation of SOC stock. A close relationship between the SOC stock and soil production potential index representing the official basis for soil quality assessment in Slovakia was also determined and a polynomial relationship was found which describes the relation at the 95% confidence level. We have concluded from the results that balanced or positive changes in the SOC stock dynamics that are important for sustainable use of soils could be influenced positively or negatively in Slovakia by political decisions concerning the soil management. Moreover, the soil production potential index can be used as soil quality information support for such decision-making.

This paper presents the results of the nitrates movement monitoring under the conditions of field experiment, with different fertilisation doses applications, with and without irrigation and, for different crops. The experiments were conducted at the Experimental Station of the Hydromelioracie, State Entp., at Most pri Bratislave site, south Slovakia. The soil at the site is mainly clay loam with a high retention capacity and a relatively low hydraulic conductivity. The results of the nitrates measurements in the soil profile during the vegetation period and those of lysimetric water analysis have shown that the movements of nitrates in irrigated and non-irrigated fields differed significanty during the early stages of the vegetation period, but at the end of this period the differences between the irrigated/non-irrigated and fertilised/non-fertilised soils were small, probably due to an increased uptake of water and nutrients during the vegetation period at the irrigated field. Properly applied irrigation was not the reason for nitrates penetration below the root zone under the soil and meteorological conditions of Most pri Bratislave site.

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.

Soil and water salinization are affecting an increasing number of countries in the world, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, and cause sensible reductions of agricultural land extension and of crop yields. Consociation with halophytic plants is a promising but not yet widely investigated strategy of salt stress reduction in crops. In this experiment, tomato plants were cultivated in saline conditions, alone and in consociation with three different halophytic species (Portulaca oleracea L.; Salsola soda L.; Atriplex hortensis L.). The salinity was brought either by the soil or by the irrigation water. Consociation with P. oleracea gave the best results in terms of increase of tomato growth and yields, while S. soda caused excessive nutritional competition against tomato due to its fast growth, undoing the positive effects of saline ions uptake. A. hortensis gave intermediate results. Salinity of water resulted in causing more severe stress on the plants, and consequently highlighted more the benefical effect of salt uptake performed by the halophytes on the main crop; salinity of soil on the contrary appeared to be less decisive, probably due to the leaching effect of the irrigation water.

We have estimated soil organic carbon and crop yield changes under distinct climate change scenarios for the Kočín farm in Slovakia. Two regional climate change scenarios, i.e. the A2 and B2 SRES emission scenarios, and a reference climate scenario have been included into the bio-physical process model EPIC to simulate the effects on the topsoil organic carbon stocks and crop yields for the period of 2010-2050. In addition, we have used the data from several fields of the Kočín farm including the soil data, crop rotational and management data as well as topographical data. The topsoil organic carbon stocks show a decreasing trend for the period of 2010-2050. Among all crop rotation systems and soil profiles, the losses over the period are 9.0%, 9.5%, and 10.7% for the reference, A2, and B2 climate scenarios, respectively. Increasing temperatures accelerate the decomposition of the soil organic carbon particularly when soils are intensively managed. The soil organic carbon changes are crop-rotation specific, which is partly due to the climate scenarios that affect the crop biomass production differently. This is shown by comparison of the crop yields. We conclude that EPIC is capable to reliably simulate effects of climate change on soil organic carbon and crop yields.

A 12-day incubation experiment with the addition of glucose to soils contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was carried out in order to estimate the potential microbial activities and the potential of the soil microbial biomass C to degrade 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The microbial activities were affected in different ways depending on the type of pollutant. The soil organic matter also played an important role. The microbial activities were affected particularly by high concentrations of PAHs in the soils. Soil microorganisms in the PAHs contaminated soil used the added glucose to a lesser extent than in the non-contaminated soil, which in the contaminated soil resulted in a higher microbial biomass content during the first day of incubation. DDT, DDD and DDE, and PCB affected the soil microbial activities differently and, in comparison with control soils, decreased the microbial biomass C during the incubation. The increased microbial activities led to a significant decrease of PAH up to 44.6% in the soil long-term contaminated with PAHs, and up to 14% in the control soil after 12 days of incubation. No decrease of PAHs concentrations was observed in the soil which was previously amended with sewage sludges containing PAHs and had more organic matter from the sewage sludges. DDT and its derivates DDD and DDE decreased by about 10%, whereas the PCB contents were not affected at all by microbial activities. Studies on the microbial degradation of POPs could be useful for the development of methods focused on the remediation of the contaminated sites. An increase of soil microbial activities caused by addition of organic substrates can contribute to the degradation of pollutants in some soils. However, in situ biodegradation may be limited because of a complex set of environmental conditions, particularly of the soil organic matter. The degradability and availability of POPs for the soil microorganisms has to be estimated individually for each contaminated site.

Soil's part in bioclimatology is not defined and formulated yet. We interpret soil together with its plant cover as primary climate modifier for organisms living on, and within it. At the same time evaporating soil together with its transpiring vegetation is affecting the climate, and functioning as secondary climate modifier in context of bioclimatology. Selected Hungarian studies are used to highlight four primary and three secondary soil modifier actions connected to bioclimatology. Both primary and secondary soil modifier roles coupled mainly to soil hydro-physical properties. The first primary soil climate modifier action is the dew formation in the surface of sandy soils. As dew 80 mm of water can annually be transported from the subsoil to soil surface. Positive water resource value of dew is still not completely accepted. The second primary soil climate modifier example presents different amounts of usable soil moisture resource in two oak forest habitats with different species composition of herbs. In the third primary soil example the microclimate of the wetter habitat with deeper soil and denser herb vegetation of the oak forest - estimated by inverse modelling - showed higher shading, air moisture content and lower soil coverage than that of dry one. In the fourth primary soil modifier example forest hydrology is quantified for a Scots pine forest. Amount of transpiration, evaporation, interception, and change in the soil water storage were quantified and modelled. As secondary soil climate modifier role CO_{2 emitting of different plant production forms and land-uses is shown. Estimated CO2 production burning fuels for soil and plant cultivation is one to threefold of the organic extensive and intensive plant production farm consecutively in 2001. For the estimative calculations cost data of the farms are used. Amount of CO2 fixed in the crop biomass is also one to threefold as estimated with the regional scale formula of CEEMA (Canadian Economic and Emission Model for Agriculture). Two secondary soil modifier examples of soil texture and land use pattern's influence on local weather phenomena and near surface atmospheric processes as storm move and development are presented yet. Both studies demonstrate the significance of site-specific soil hydraulic parameters - as field capacity, usable and actual water storage - in formation of the local weather through the soil evaporation and plant transpiration in modelling studies. Of course variety of soil's role is much wider as the examples show and even it is not known completely at present. Soil's role in bioclimatology as new discipline will expectably be formulated in the future.}

Water and contaminants moving through the vadose zone are often subject to a large number of simultaneous physical and chemical nonequilibrium processes. Traditional modeling tools for describing flow and transport in soils either do not consider nonequilibrium processes at all, or consider them only separately. By contrast, a wide range of nonequilibrium flow and transport modeling approaches are currently available in the latest versions of the HYDRUS software packages. The formulations range from classical models simulating uniform flow and transport, to relatively traditional mobile-immobile water physical and two-site chemical nonequilibrium models, to more complex dual-permeability models that consider both physical and chemical nonequilibrium. In this paper we briefly review recent applications of the HYDRUS models that used these nonequilibrium features to simulate nonequilibrium water flow (water storage in immobile domains and/or preferential water flow in structured soils with macropores and other preferential flow pathways), and transport of solutes (pesticides and other organic compounds) and particles (colloids, bacteria and viruses) in the vadose zone.

The changes in water quality caused by grassing of arable land followed by the reduction in the use of fertilisers after 1989 are demonstrated on an example of two tile-drained subcatchments in spring areas in the Šumava Mountains. The original water quality monitoring was performed in the mid-1980s, at the time when the area was used as tile-drained arable land. The monitoring was renewed in 2004 under different, i.e. extensive, land use conditions. The principal reason for the new monitoring at the site was to see what sort of changes, if any, in water quality had occurred in the location, particularly in terms of nitrate nitrogen leaching. The concentrations and ranges of the values of all water quality indices monitored decreased after grassing. The average nitrate concentration of 39.5 mg/l (min. 9.2 mg/l, max. 104.8 mg/l) in 1983-1985 dropped to 17.5 mg/l (min. 3.5 mg/l, max. 33.3 mg/l) in 2005-2007. The greatest decrease (by 85%) was found in average ammonium concentrations. A positive effect of current agricultural management in foothill areas on the reduction of all water quality parameters monitored was confirmed.

Climate, hydrology and vegetation are closely linked at local, regional and global scales. The recent land use and plant production systems are adapted to the present climatic conditions. Thus, studies on the influence of possible climate change scenarios on the water and heat regimes of the soil-plant-atmosphere system are important in order to work out plant production strategies, adjusted to changed conditions. In this study the effect of two possible climate change scenarios on the soil water regime of a Chernozem soil was estimated for a Hungarian site. Soil water content dynamics simulated for different conventional and soil conserving soil tillage systems were evaluated, using the SWAP soil water balance simulation model. The combined effect of different soil tillage systems and climate scenarios was analysed. Climate scenarios were represented through the cumulative probability function of the annual precipitation sum. The SWAP model was calibrated against the measured in the representative soil profiles soil water content data. The site- and soil-specific parameters were set and kept constant during the scenario studies. According to the simulation results, increase in the average growing season temperature showed increase in climate induced soil drought sensitivity. The evaluated soil water content dynamics indicated more variable and less predictable soil water regime compared to the present climate. It was found that appropriate soil tillage systems that are combined with mulching and ensure soil loosening could reliably decrease water losses from the soil. From this aspect cultivator treatment created the most favourable for the plants soil conditions. It was concluded that soil conserving soil management systems, adapted to local conditions could contribute to soil moisture conservation and could increase the amount of plant available water under changing climatic conditions.

: In November 2004, forest stands in the Tatra National Park (TANAP) were affected by windthrow and in July 2005, the wildfire broke out on a part of the affected area. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the windthrow and fire disturbances on soil microbial activity. Basal and potential soil respiration, N-mineralisation, catalase activity, soil microbial biomass, and cellulase activity were measured in soil samples taken from the A-horizon (depth of 0-10 cm) along 100 m transects established on 4 plots (reference site, burnt, non-extracted, and extracted sites) in October 2006. Some soil microbial characteristics exhibited a high spatial variability, especially microbial biomass and N-mineralisation. Significant differences in soil microbial characteristics (especially basal soil respiration and catalase activity) between plots were found. Generally, the highest microbial activity was revealed on the plot affected by fire. Soil microbial activity was similar on the extracted and non-extracted sites.

Each society wishes to create favourable living conditions for its members. Life quality criteria are formulated in different ways by various societies or individuals, depending on the given geographical and socio-economic conditions, living standards; national, ethnical, and religious traditions; history, policy; age, sex, educational level, position in the social hierarchy; etc. Sustainable development is a global objective that includes efficient multifunctional agriculture: using environment-friendly, energy- and material-saving technologies and paying special attention to quality; and a socially acceptable rural development, simultaneously. The given land resources have to be used and managed in harmony with the production and protection.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of vegetation on the hydraulic conductivity of sandy soil at the locality Mláky II at Sekule (southwest Slovakia). The measurements were taken on the surface of a meadow (Meadow site), a 30-year old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest (Forest site) and a glade (Glade site). In the glade, the measurements were also taken in the depth of 50 cm (Pure sand) to reduce the influence of vegetation on the soil properties. It was found that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity k_r(-2 cm) as reduced due to the soil water repellency increased in the same order: Forest soil < Glade soil ≈ Meadow soil < Pure sand, similarly as decreased the water drop penetration time t_p: Forest soil > Glade soil ≈ Meadow soil > Pure sand, which could refer to an inverse proportionality between the capillary suction and hydrophobic coating of the soil particles. The saturated hydraulic conductivity K_s increased in the following order: Meadow soil < Glade soil ≈ Forest soil < Pure sand; more than two-times higher K_s at both the Forest and Glade sites than that at the Meadow site could be the result of both the patchy growth of vegetation with some areas of bare soil at the Glade site and the macropores (dead roots) in more homogeneous humic top-layer at the Forest site. The share B_r of flux through the pores with radii r longer than approximately 0.5 mm decreased in the order: Forest soil » Meadow soil > Glade soil » Pure sand, revealing the prevalence of preferential flow through macropores (dead roots) in the Forest site and a negligible share of macropores in the Pure sand.

The 4-nitrophenyl phosphate method for acid phosphomonoesterase (EC 3.1.3.2; acid orthophosphoric monoester phosphohydrolase) determination was slightly modified to increase the sensitivity and the stability of the 4-nitrophenol coloured complex in samples rich in humic substances and easily soluble organic compounds. Based on an approach used for mycorrhizal roots, the new analytical protocol was tested on samples taken from a single forest site with a large variation in soil types. Distinctive properties of forest soils and the accuracy/repeatability of the optimised technique were considered in the selection of the most appropriate analytical steps. Finally, the acid phosphomonoesterase activity was expressed in μg of 4-nitrophenol/g fresh soil recalculated dry matter/h released after hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl phosphate in sodium tetraborate/succinic acid buffer at pH 4.8. The modified method proposed was statistically compared with other procedures and the results obtained were found to give merit to these slight modifications. The rationale behind the slight modifications and their comparative significance was reported. Due to high soil complexity, it is suggested that a single laboratory measurement of chemical and biochemical properties is of limited application with forest soil and can be only one component of a broadly focused ecological analysis.

Fog and rime water samples were collected at the meteorological observatory Milešovka in February and June 2006. In the samples, the soluble and insoluble pollutant concentrations were evaluated separately and the differences between the fog and rime water samples were studied. The comparison of the fog and rime water samples indicates that the mean soluble component concentrations in the air appear to be higher during the rime events than during the fog events at Milešovka. We recorded a larger mean particle size of the insoluble compounds in the fog water samples than in those of rime water. Some elements contained in the insoluble particles like Ca, Cl, C, Cu, Ag, were present largely in fog whole others, like Fe, Al, Si, Ti, prevailed in rime. In addition to the overall evaluation, the backward air trajectories were determined for each fog/rime event and the concentrations are presented as depending on the direction of the air particle transfer.

In this paper is presented the comparison of the selected hydrometeorological data from two experimental micro-scale catchments Modrava 1 (0.1 km²) and Modrava 2 (0.17 km²) in upper parts of Bohemian Forest. These catchments differ mainly in the vegetation cover - a dead forest with very young trees (Modrava 1) and primary forest clearings with 10 to 15-year old young forest (Modrava 2). For comparison were used the data monitored close to the catchments outlets during the hydrological year 2007. Average hourly rainfall and runoff data were analysed. During the winter season, snow water equivalents were measured and the maximum value was added to the rainfall amount measured during the vegetation season for the estimation of total year precipitation on each catchment. The data of the air temperature and water conductivity measured in hourly time intervals were also compared. For the estimation of differences between the monitored data sets the cumulative values of the characteristics observed during whole year were computed. It follows from the comparison of the time series that the time rainfall distribution was similar during the year on both catchments with a higher total year precipitation and hour intensities on the catchment Modrava 2. The time distribution and total runoff depth were similar on both catchments. On Modrava 1 a faster recession of hydrographs could be seen which might relate to a lower retention capacity. The value of the water conductivity on the catchment Modrava 1 depended more on the changes of the runoff depth. The maximal values occurred during the peak discharges or in time of hydrographs rising. This fact can be the result of a lower stability of the soil profile in the catchment with dead forest cover.

This paper focuses on numerical modelling of soil water movement in response to the root water uptake that is driven by transpiration. The flow of water in a lysimeter, installed at a grass covered hillslope site in a small headwater catchment, is analysed by means of numerical simulation. The lysimeter system provides a well defined control volume with boundary fluxes measured and soil water pressure continuously monitored. The evapotranspiration intensity is estimated by the Penman-Monteith method and compared with the measured lysimeter soil water loss and the simulated root water uptake. Variably saturated flow of water in the lysimeter is simulated using one-dimensional dual-permeability model based on the numerical solution of the Richards' equation. The availability of water for the root water uptake is determined by the evaluation of the plant water stress function, integrated in the soil water flow model. Different lower boundary conditions are tested to compare the soil water dynamics inside and outside the lysimeter. Special attention is paid to the possible influence of the preferential flow effects on the lysimeter soil water balance. The adopted modelling approach provides a useful and flexible framework for numerical analysis of soil water dynamics in response to the plant transpiration.

In the present study and research work, land suitability evaluation (qualitative classification) was made for the Bilverdy research station of the Islamic Azad University in East Azarbaijan for wheat, barley, alfalfa, maize and safflower. The Simple Limitation Method (SLM), the Limitation Method regarding Number and Intensity (LMNI) and the Parametric Methods (PM) such as the square-root and the Storie methods were used. The landscape, climate and soil and characteristics that influence suitability of the land for particular crops have been combined according to the adopted methodology. Economic factors were excluded and moderate level of management was assumed. The results of different methods show that the most important limiting factors are climate, pH, organic matter (OM), gravel, salinity and sodicity, taken either alone or in combination. For safflower, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) can be added to these factors. Evaluation by the SLM and LMNI methods result in similar suitability classes, which confirms previous findings by other researchers for the same crops. However, in many cases the use of parametric methods, especially the square-root method, turned to be more realistic in distinguishing separate suitability classes. This study not only compares different methods and their results but also evaluates the suitability of the study area for particular crops. According to the square-root method, the area can be recommended as marginally suitable for cultivation of wheat, barley, alfalfa and safflower and is expected to yield about 40-65% of optimal production.

The purpose of the pilot project Senotín (1993-2000) was to prove the methods of revitalization of sub-mountain headwater area (0.38 km²) in the Novobystřická Vysočina Highland (610-725 m a. s. l.) in the Czech Republic. This area was tile-drained and ploughed in 1985. Seven underground clay shields newly constructed in 1995 stopped the function of the tile drainage. Four balks prevented the surface and subsurface runoff. These adaptations improved water retention capacity of the whole catchment, which is demonstrated using an example of runoff formation in the revitalized area. A typical storm rain (total 15 mm, duration 5.6 h, max. intensity 4 mm/20 min) and the consequent runoff was analysed, including the role of the soil in the runoff retardation and water retention. The runoff started in two hours since the rain beginning. The retention reached 98% of the rain total. The runoff lasted for 85 h. The concave-upward shape of the falling hydrograph limb indicates that the maximum retention capacity of the studied catchment is high.

The article presents an overview and brief characteristics of the selected soil information systems in the Czech Republic. It suggests synchronisation of their development, particularly some convergence of the Land Evaluation Information System and Soil and Terrain Digital Database. In the pilot area of Litoměřice district, it demonstrates the application of the SOTER methodology for the construction of middle- and detail-scale soil maps, using the data from the General survey of agricultural soils. It not only shows the variety of the district soil conditions, but it also supplements them with the data gathered in the 2006 soil survey.

In the territory of the Czech Republic there are more than 50% of agricultural soils exposed to water erosion; it is a very urgent problem both at present and for the future. It must be solved now when there is still something to be protected. It is rather complicated to describe the soil properties in terms of soil susceptibility to water erosion because it is a complex relation in which many factors participate. For the complex evaluation of all main factors participating in erosion origination it is possible to apply the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). It consists of six factors interacting with each other and participating in the origination of soil erosion. One of these factors is the soil erodibility factor (K-factor), the revision of which for soil conditions of the CR is the subject of this study. In total ca. 5000 soil pits from the whole territory of the country were processed and evaluated in detail. The main results of this study are K-factor values (means and variances) for the soil types, subtypes and varieties (represented in the database) according to the Taxonomic Classification System of Soils of the Czech Republic.