Soil Science Working for a Living : Applications of soil science to present-day problems

286 Pages·2017·10.24 MB·English

by  David Dent

David Dent · Yuriy Dmytruk E ditors
Soil Science
Working for
a Living
Applications of Soil Science to Present-
Day Problems
Soil Science Working for a Living
David Dent Yuriy Dmytruk
(cid:129)
Editors
Soil Science Working
for a Living
Applications of Soil Science to Present-Day
Problems
123
Editors
DavidDent YuriyDmytruk
Chestnut Tree Farm,Forncett End Soil ScienceDepartment
Norfolk Chernivtsi National University
UK Chernivtsi
Ukraine
ISBN978-3-319-45416-0 ISBN978-3-319-45417-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-45417-7
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016949115
©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2017
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Editorial Introduction
ThisselectionofpapersfromasymposiumatChernivtsi,intheUkraine,dealswith
gritty issues that society faces every day: food and water security; environmental
servicesprovided,almostaccidentally,byfarmers—andtakenforgrantedbyurban
dwellers; the capability of the land to provide our needs today and for the fore-
seeablefuture;and pollution ofsoil, air, and water. The contributions arearranged
in three broad communities of practice in which soil scientists work to solve these
problems.
It is not all the same out there! Assessment of land capability spells out this cri
de coer; what is more, soil survey and land evaluation show how every patch of
land is different and how it will respond to management. But soil survey and land
evaluation depend on knowledge of soil processes and the relationships of soils
withthewiderlandscape—sowedealwiththeseissuesinPartI:SoilDevelopment:
Properties and Qualities.
Dokuchaev’s insight on the relationships between soils and their landscape,
nowadaysexpressedastheFactorsofSoilFormation,istheveryfoundationofsoil
survey so we begin with a timely reassessment of Dokuchaev’s concept by Sergiy
Kanivets. Reading the landscape, or a soil profile, depends on picking out clues
fromaplethoraofdetail;understandingtheprocessesatworkinthepastaswellas
the present; and deducing their continuing effects on the performance of the soil
under our management. This understanding comes from an accumulation of per-
ceptive research using many and various methods and techniques. Volodymyr
Nikorych and his Polish colleagues highlight pedological features that, in a sense,
are the memory of the soil. In Redoximorphic Features in Albeluvisols from
Southwestern Ukraine, they draw upon scales of observation from the field, to the
microscope, to the electron microscope, seeking to understand the process of
development of the iron–manganese mottles common in alternately wet and dry
soils—and what they can tell us about the soil water regime. In another micro-
morphological examination, Fractal Properties of Coarse/Fine-Related
Distribution in Forest Soils on Colluvium, Volodymyr Yakovenko applies the
mathematicsoffractalstoestablishlithologicalhomogeneity,orlithologicalbreaks,
in soil profiles, a crucial step in interpreting how they have developed.
v
vi EditorialIntroduction
Part II: Assessment of Resources and Risks includes applications of the soil
scientist’s toolkit from the global to the most detailed scale and from the most
recent to the oldest identified features related to land use. The Last Steppes: New
PerspectivesonanOldChallenge,byDavidDentandZhanguoBaifromISRIC—
World Soil Information, interprets global and regional land degradation using a
long time series of coarse-scale satellite imagery. They argue that, within a gen-
eration, without a radical change of policy and management, the Chernozem—the
best arable soil in the world—will be no more. Seeking to provide an operational
systemfordiagnosisandmonitoringoferodingChernozem,TatianaByndych,from
the Sokolovskyi Institute in Kharkiv, explores the potential use of detailed multi-
spectraldatafromUkrainianSich-2satellite.Andseekingtoidentifythefirststeps
inman’sconquest,YuriDmytrukteamsupwithVadimStepanchukoftheInstitute
of Archaeology, applying microelement analysis to confirm the identification of
hearths in the archaeological sequence at Medzhybozh, making this the oldest
proven use offire in the Ukraine—400,000 years ago.
Backtothepresent,wefindthatourfundamentalinformationonthesoilpattern
is broadscale, dated, and incomplete. There seems no immediate likelihood of a
nationwide resurvey, but two contributions from Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi
National University demonstrate how we can update and improve heritage soil
maps using modern techniques and technology. Vasyl Cherlinka Using
Geostatistics, DEM, and Remote Sensing to Clarify Soil Cover Maps of Ukraine
andOlgaStouzhoukandYuriyDmytrukMakingBetterSoilMapsUsingModelsof
Tangential Curvature make use of large-scale digital terrain models and apply
landformanalysisofvaryingdegreesofsophistication,accordingtothejobinhand.
None of these developments does away for the need for the reality check of
fieldwork,buttheycertainlyenableustomakeefficientuseofourtimeinthefield.
For long-term management of soil resources and the design of erosion control
measures, it helps to compare actual rates of soil erosion with a defined, tolerable
value. In Determination of Soil Loss Tolerance for Chernozem of Right-Bank
Ukraine, Sergiy Chornyy and Nataliya Poliashenko from Mykolayiv National
Agrarian University draw upon a wealth of regional data on the relations between
individual soil qualities and soil productivity to develop a modified productivity
index (MPI). According to the change in MPI and its rate of decline as a result of
soilerosion,calculations forOrdinaryandSouthernchernozemindicateasoilloss
tolerance of 5–7 t/ha per year but, also, significant differences in outcomes for
already eroded and not-eroded soils.
Finally, in this section, we note the dearth of systematic, publicly available
information on the environmental impact of the agro-industrial complex that
dominatesthecountry’seconomy.InashortarticleAssessmentofProblemsofSoil
Contamination using Environmental Indicators, Yevhen Varlamov and Oksana
Palaguta from the Ukrainian Scientific and Research Institute on Ecological
Problems, in Kharkiv, propose a system for assessing the condition of the natural
environment. This is based on ecological indicators that are already in use in
particular regions of the country, within the framework of environmental perfor-
mance indicators (EPIs) used to assess the state of the natural environment in
EditorialIntroduction vii
EasternEurope,Caucasus,andCentralAsia.TheactualmeasurementofsuchEPIs
is by no means straightforward, but in Mathematical Tools to Assess Soil
Contamination by Deposition of Technogenic Emissions, Olexandr Popov and
Andrij Yatsyshyn from the Institute of Environmental Geochemistry provide an
elegant example of the application of mathematics to arrive at a realistic environ-
mental impact assessment.
Soil fertility, Degradation, and Improvement focus on the constraints on agri-
culture across Eastern Europe and ways to mitigate them in sustainable farming
systems. But, first, Anatoly Khristenko points out that there is no unambiguous
interpretation of any of the terms commonly used to characterize the provision of
nutrients by the soil. This is not pedantry—Confucius made the point in plain
words:
Itisimportanttouselanguagecorrectly.Iflanguageisusedincorrectlythenwhatissaidis
notwhatismeant.Ifwhatissaidisnotwhatismeantthenwhatshouldbedoneremains
undone.
Ifwearenotclearaboutsuchafundamentalissue,howcanweexpectdecision
makers to know what we mean and take the appropriate action?
Drought always stalks the steppe. Irrigation counters the uncertainty of water
supply, but it needs skill to avoid rising groundwater, slaking, and salinity and
maintainawell-functioningbiodiversity.InCriteriaandParametersforEstimating
Directions of Irrigated Soil Evolution, Sviatoslav Baliuk and colleagues from the
Sokolovskyi Institute distinguish three main pathways of soil evolution under
irrigation, depending on initial soil conditions, the quality of irrigation water, and
the farming system. Degradation processes that can occur under adverse irrigation
conditionsarecharacterized,andasystemofcriteriaandparametersisproposedfor
assessingthesituation,theextent,andnatureofdegradationofirrigatedland,soas
to avoid the pitfalls.
It is increasingly obvious that farming in Ukraine, and not just in Ukraine, is
mining soil organic matter and nutrients. Sustainability requires compliance with
the fundamental laws of agriculture—in particular, sound crop rotation and return
ofnutrientstobalancetheirremovalbythecrops.InSustainabilityofsoilfertilityin
thesouthernsteppeofUkraineDependingonFertilizersandIrrigation,Valentyna
Gamajunova reports long-term field experiments on Kastnozem and Chernozem
maintainedbytheMykolayivNationalAgrarianUniversity.Theydemonstratethat
combined use of adequate organic and mineral fertilizers is the most effective way
to stabilize crop yields and soil fertility and, also, soil structure—which enhances
infiltrationofrainfallsothatrainuseefficiencyisincreasedby20–30%,inverydry
yearsby30–40%.Seekingtounderstandhowfertilizersmaintainnutrientstatusin
the long term, Yevheniia Hladkikh investigates the aftereffect (over 25 years) of
potassium fertilizers on Typical chernozem. The modified soil is characterized by
elevated contents of mobile potassium and transformation of exchangeable and
non-exchangeable forms. Systematic monitoring of available potassium allows
accuraterecommendationsonfertilizerapplication,especiallyfordemandingcrops
that respond to potassium fertilizer.
viii EditorialIntroduction
Liming, too, has been sadly neglected but Yuriy Tsapko, and his colleagues
report an innovative and cost-effective treatment devised at the Sokolovskyi
Institute. Compared with conventional liming,applying alternative sources of lime
in localized bands along with organic manure reduces leaching from
coarse-texturedSodpodzolicsoil:limebyalmostsixtimesandsolubleorganicsand
nitrate by 1.8 and 2.9 times, respectively. In Podzolized chernozem, the same
technology increases the population of earthworms and microorganisms, thereby
activating self-renewing and regulating processes.
Thequitedifferent soilsintheCarpathianregionpresentdifferent problemsand
opportunitiesthatgetalotofattentionfromtheInstituteofBiology,Chemistry,and
Bioresources at Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University. Specific factors
ofsoilformationintheregiondriveaprevalenceofironandaluminumphosphates
and alow incidence ofcalciumphosphate. Given that thepresentphosphate status
is unsatisfactory for farming, Tatiana Tsvyk argues that optimization can be
achievedonlythroughfundamentalchangeofregime.Changesinthespaceprofile
of phosphate fractions in Albeluvisols are examined under different drainage con-
ditionsandafterapplicationoflimeandphosphate.Itisconfirmedthattiledrainage
not only improves soil aeration, but also significantly influences the fractional
composition of phosphates.
Thirty years ago, the explosion of reactor no. 4 at Chernobyl Nuclear Power
Plantblewawaythecredibilityofasystemofauthoritywhoseclaimsincludedsafe
mastery of technology. We are still dealing with its legacy. Our final part on Soil
Contamination,Monitoring,andRemediationdealswitharangeofpressingissues
from criminally negligent storage of persistent organic pollutants and out-of-date
agrochemicalstolong-termsoilcontaminationbytheheavyindustry.Thelitanyof
contaminatedsitesdocumentedbyValeriiKovachandGeorgiiLyschenkoinToxic
Soil Contamination and Its Mitigation in Ukraine; Lyschenko, again, with Iryna
Kuraieva and her colleagues in Heavy Metals in Soils Under the Heel of Heavy
Industry; and Lyubov Maslovska and her colleagues on Dangerous Mercury
ContaminationAroundtheFormerRadikalChemicalsFactoryinKyivmakesgrim
reading.
If we are to avoid such pitfalls in future, we need forethought and a good
understanding of the risks associated with industrial developments. Forethought
includes establishing the situation in advance of industrial developments. In this
vein,weincludethreestudiesfromtheInstituteofEnvironmentalGeochemistry,in
Kiev. Two investigate the projected development of the Bilanovo iron ore deposit
in Poltava Region which will require a quarry 600–700 m deep that will destroy
natural habitat and intercept the water table—so we should assess its likely envi-
ronmental impact. In Comparison of Groundwater and Surface Water Quality in
the Area of the Bilanovo Iron Deposit, Oleksa Tyshchenko measures the chemical
andbacteriologicalcharacteristicsofgroundwatersandsurfacewatersandidentifies
various indicators that exceeded the maximum allowable concentration. Yevhen
Krasnov and colleagues measure gamma radiation and radon flux density in soils
overlying the ore deposit; their maps identify areas of increased radiological risk
which, though not critical for the most part, need to be considered and monitored.
EditorialIntroduction ix
AndinEstimationofSoilRadiationintheCountryAroundtheDibrovaUranium–
Thorium–Rare Earth Deposit, Yuliia Yuskiv and her team present a sequence of
radiological measurements and maps of the distribution of the main nuclides,
identifying areas of radiation risk. Apart from locally high radon concentration,
mostparametersarenotcritical,butthemeasuredlevels shouldbeconsideredasa
baseline for regular radiological monitoring.
To put things right, we need better understanding of the mechanisms of con-
taminationandnaturalremediation.OksanaVysotenkoandhercolleaguesfromthe
Institute of Environmental Geochemistry report on Lead and Zinc Speciation in
Soils and Their Transfer in Vegetation. Although these metals behave quite dif-
ferently, the degree of pollution significantly affects the rate of immobilization of
heavy metals and their vertical migration. Tatyana Bastrygina and her colleagues
examinethebehaviorofheavymetalsinsoilaroundthecopperandbronzeartifacts
at archaeological sites that provide analogues of the modern contamination of the
environment. And in an elegant pot experiment backed up by field trials:
Environmental Assessment of Soil Based on Fractional-Group Composition of
HeavyMetals,SalgaraMandzhieva’steamfromuniversitiesinRostovandMoscow
Lomonosov and the Sokolovskyi Institute demonstrate the increase in the envi-
ronmentalhazardwhensoilsarecontaminatedwithheavymetals,adecreasewhen
ameliorants are applied, and the roles of both strongly and loosely bound metal
fractions in the mobility of heavy metals in soils.
Finally, new developments in the remediation of oil-contaminated soils are
highlighted by Elena Maklyuk and colleagues from the Sokolovskyi Institute and
Man Oil Company of Switzerland, using chemical oxidation to create optimum
conditions for subsequent bioremediation, and by Viktoriia Shkapenko and her
colleaguesfromtheInstituteofEnvironmentalGeochemistry,exploringthenatural
humification of oil hydrocarbons, and aiding and abetting the process by specially
formulated clay–biodecomposer inoculum.
Contents
Part I Soil Development: Properties and Qualities
1 The Factors and Conditions of Soil Formation:
A Critical Analysis of Equivalence.. .... .... .... .... ..... .... 3
Sergiy Kanivets
2 Redoximorphic Features in Albeluvisols from
South-Western Ukraine.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 9
Volodymyr Nikorych, Wojciech Szymański and Michał Skiba
3 Fractal Properties of Coarse/Fine-Related Distribution
in Forest Soils on Colluvium .. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 29
Volodymyr Yakovenko
Part II Assessment of Resources and Risks
4 The Last Steppes: New Perspectives on an Old Challenge.... .... 45
David Dent and Zhanguo Bai
5 Using Multispectral Satellite Imagery for Parameterisation
of Eroded Chernozem... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 57
Tatiana Byndych
6 Pedo-geochemical Assessment of a Holsteinian
Occupation Site.... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 67
Yuriy Dmytruk and Vadim Stepanchuk
7 Using Geostatistics, DEM and Remote Sensing
to Clarify Soil Cover Maps of Ukraine .. .... .... .... ..... .... 89
Vasyl Cherlinka
8 Making Better Soil Maps Using Models
of Tangential Curvature. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 101
Yuriy Dmytruk and Olga Stuzhuk
xi