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Water
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Soil and Water-Related Ecosystem Services
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Soil and Water-Related Ecosystem Services

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2020) | Viewed by 24069

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nadia Vignozzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics - Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Via Lanciola 12/A, 50125 Firenze, Italy
Interests: soil physics; soil porosity; image analysis; soil physical degradation; soil hydrological properties; soil conservation; soil management
Dr. Maria Fantappiè

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics - Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Via Lanciola 12/A, 50125 Firenze, Italy
Interests: pedology; digital soil mapping; spatial statistics; geostatistics; soil organic carbon modeling; soil erosion modeling; soil database; GIS; soil surveying; soil classifying and correlating
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Simone Priori

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
University of Tuscia, Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), Viterbo, Italy
Interests: pedology; digital soil mapping; proximal sensing; soil hydrology
Dr. Sergio Pellegrini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics - Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Via Lanciola 12/A, 50125 Firenze, Italy
Interests: soil physics; soil hydrology; soil structure; soil degradation; soil erosion; soil conservation; soil management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil is a key component of terrestrial ecosystems; the regulations regarding water storage, filtration, and fluxes are some of the most important ecosystem functions that are performed by soil. Soil protection and the restoration of impaired soil functionality are relevant issues in orer to guarantee water conservation, both in terms of quantity and quality. Increased climatic aggressiveness and inappropriate soil management systems are the main drivers of the physical degradation processes of soil (soil surface crusting, compaction, accelerated water erosion, and mass movements). Basically, all of these processes originate from the phenomena of soil structure degradation, and from the severe modification of the depth and natural organization of soil profile, which can induce an upsetting of the hydrologic equilibrium and an increase of the vulnerability of soil to water erosion.

This Special Issue will deal with the quantitative characterization of soil hydrological properties and processes, as well as the evaluation of different strategies aimed at preserving and restoring functionality in soils under different pedoclimatic scenarios and land management systems.

Specific topics can include (i) interactions between soil physical/chemical/biological, and hydrological features; (ii) soil degradation and water conservation; (iii) interactions between soil management and water availability; (iv) soil management in arid climates; (v) amendants used to improve soil physical–hydrological properties; (vi) and spatial variability of soil physical–hydrological features and site-specific management.

Dr. Nadia Vignozzi
Dr. Maria Fantappiè
Dr. Simone Priori
Dr. Sergio Pellegrini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Soil protection
  • Restoration
  • Water conservation
  • Soil management
  • Soil hydrology
  • Soil ecosystem services

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 2731 KiB  
Article
Water Regulation in Cyanobacterial Biocrusts from Drylands: Negative Impacts of Anthropogenic Disturbance
by Yolanda Cantón, Sonia Chamizo, Emilio Rodriguez-Caballero, Roberto Lázaro, Beatriz Roncero-Ramos, José Raúl Román and Albert Solé-Benet
Water 2020, 12(3), 720; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030720 - 6 Mar 2020
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 4140
Abstract
Arid and semi-arid ecosystems are characterized by patchy vegetation and variable resource availability. The interplant spaces of these ecosystems are very often covered by cyanobacteria-dominated biocrusts, which are the primary colonizers of terrestrial ecosystems and key in facilitating the succession of other biocrust [...] Read more.
Arid and semi-arid ecosystems are characterized by patchy vegetation and variable resource availability. The interplant spaces of these ecosystems are very often covered by cyanobacteria-dominated biocrusts, which are the primary colonizers of terrestrial ecosystems and key in facilitating the succession of other biocrust organisms and plants. Cyanobacterial biocrusts regulate the horizontal and vertical fluxes of water, carbon and nutrients into and from the soil and play crucial hydrological, geomorphological and ecological roles in these ecosystems. In this paper, we analyze the influence of cyanobacterial biocrusts on water balance components (infiltration-runoff, evaporation, soil moisture and non-rainfall water inputs (NRWIs)) in representative semiarid ecosystems in southeastern Spain. The influence of cyanobacterial biocrusts, in two stages of their development, on runoff-infiltration was studied by rainfall simulation and in field plots under natural rainfall at different spatial scales. Results showed that cover, exopolysaccharide content, roughness, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available water holding capacity, aggregate stability, and other properties increased with the development of the cyanobacterial biocrust. Due to the effects on these soil properties, runoff generation was lower in well-developed than in incipient-cyanobacterial biocrusts under both simulated and natural rainfall and on different spatial scales. Runoff yield decreased at coarser spatial scales due to re-infiltration along the hillslope, thus decreasing hydrological connectivity. Soil moisture monitoring at 0.03 m depth revealed higher moisture content and slower soil water loss in plots covered by cyanobacterial biocrusts compared to bare soils. Non-rainfall water inputs were also higher under well-developed cyanobacterial biocrusts than in bare soils. Disturbance of cyanobacterial biocrusts seriously affected the water balance by increasing runoff, decreasing soil moisture and accelerating soil water loss, at the same time that led to a very significant increase in sediment yield. The recovery of biocrust cover after disturbance can be relatively fast, but its growth rate is strongly conditioned by microclimate. The results of this paper show the important influence of cyanobacterial biocrust in modulating the different processes supporting the capacity of these ecosystems to provide key services such as water regulation or erosion control, and also the important impacts of their anthropic disturbance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water-Related Ecosystem Services)
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18 pages, 4177 KiB  
Article
A Comprehensive Performance Assessment of the Modified Philip–Dunne Infiltrometer
by Zuhier Alakayleh, Xing Fang and T. Prabhakar Clement
Water 2019, 11(9), 1881; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11091881 - 10 Sep 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2842
Abstract
This study aims at furthering our understanding of the Modified Philip–Dunne Infiltrometer (MPDI), which is used to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity Ks and the Green–Ampt suction head Ψ at the wetting front. We have developed a forward-modeling algorithm that can be [...] Read more.
This study aims at furthering our understanding of the Modified Philip–Dunne Infiltrometer (MPDI), which is used to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity Ks and the Green–Ampt suction head Ψ at the wetting front. We have developed a forward-modeling algorithm that can be used to simulate water level changes inside the infiltrometer with time when the soil hydraulic properties Ks and Ψ are known. The forward model was used to generate 30,000 water level datasets using randomly generated values of Ks and Ψ values. These model data were then compared against field-measured water level drawdown data collected for three types of soil. The Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) was used to assess the quality of the fit. Results show that multiple sets of the model parameters Ks and Ψ can yield drawdown curves that can fit the field-measured data equally well. Interestingly, all the successful sets of parameters (delineated by NSE ≥ the threshold value) give Ks values converged to a valid range that is fully consistent with the tested soil texture class. However, Ψ values varied significantly and did not converge to a valid range. Based on these results, we conclude that the MPDI is a useful field method to estimate Ks values, but it is not a robust method to estimate Ψ values. Further studies are needed to improve the experimental procedures that can yield more sensitive data that can help uniquely identify Ks and Ψ values. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water-Related Ecosystem Services)
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21 pages, 7770 KiB  
Article
Towards Economic Land Evaluation at the Farm Scale Based on Soil Physical-Hydrological Features and Ecosystem Services
by Simone Priori, Roberto Barbetti, Luca Meini, Annalisa Morelli, Andrea Zampolli and Lorenzo D’Avino
Water 2019, 11(8), 1527; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11081527 - 24 Jul 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3231
Abstract
The economic evaluation of a land parcel is mainly based on the local economy, as well as on the topography, distance to the main streets, distance to the river, and presence of irrigation. Spatial variability of soil features and functionalities are often left [...] Read more.
The economic evaluation of a land parcel is mainly based on the local economy, as well as on the topography, distance to the main streets, distance to the river, and presence of irrigation. Spatial variability of soil features and functionalities are often left behind during economic land evaluation, probably due to a scarce awareness of soil function’s economic value. The paper shows an approach for economic land evaluation of irrigated croplands in the Po River plain (Northern Italy), based on spatial variability of soil functions, namely biomass production and carbon sequestration, as well as taking into account the river flood risk. The soil spatial variability was mapped using proximal sensing technology and few calibration points (one every 5 hectares). Biomass production of the main crops of the area, namely maize, soybean, and sorghum, was monitored and mapped for three years (2016, 2017, and 2018) using precision agriculture technologies. The results showed that the available water capacity (AWC) reached the highest correlation with biomass production, additionally, soil texture and cation exchange capacity were significantly correlated. Economic evaluation of the land parcels was computed considering the mean land market value of the area, the site-specific deviations due to the spatial variability of the biomass production by capitalization rate, and carbon sequestration soil functions, applying a natural capital approach by the mean annual value of the carbon market. This site-specific methodology could be applied to many other arable lands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water-Related Ecosystem Services)
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Review

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20 pages, 1593 KiB  
Review
Wildfires in Grasslands and Shrublands: A Review of Impacts on Vegetation, Soil, Hydrology, and Geomorphology
by Ilan Stavi
Water 2019, 11(5), 1042; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11051042 - 20 May 2019
Cited by 69 | Viewed by 13213
Abstract
Wildfires are prevalent in grasslands and shrublands. The objective of this study is to provide land managers with a general overview, by assessing the main impacts of wildfire, including those on plant communities (e.g., secondary succession and species invasion), soil characteristics (e.g., water [...] Read more.
Wildfires are prevalent in grasslands and shrublands. The objective of this study is to provide land managers with a general overview, by assessing the main impacts of wildfire, including those on plant communities (e.g., secondary succession and species invasion), soil characteristics (e.g., water repellency (hydrophobicity), aggregation and structure stability, and contents of organic carbon and nutrients), and surface processes (e.g., ash deposition, ground surface clogging, water runoff, soil erosion, hillslope debris flow, and dry ravel). Additionally, the study discusses the effects of livestock grazing on the functioning of post-fire grasslands and shrublands. Although mesic regions are mentioned, this review focuses on drylands. The comparatively low-to-moderate fuel loads that characterize grasslands and shrublands generate wildfires of relatively moderate intensity, resulting in moderate burn severity. Yet, it seems that because of decreased soil aggregate stability following burning, the hoof action of livestock that access burnt lands shortly after the fire increases the shearing and detachment of mineral material from the ground surface; this increases soil erodibility, with the possible risk of accelerated land degradation. The review ends with an assessment of general implications for environmental sustainability and health, and provides recommendations on wildfire control in rangelands, and on restoration of burnt lands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water-Related Ecosystem Services)
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