Despite gullies having been intensively studied in the past decades, there is no general consensus on such basic aspects as the correct determination of the geometry (width and depth) of these erosion features. Therefore, a measurement protocol is proposed to characterize the geometry of a gully by its effective width and effective depth, which, together with its length, would permit the definition of the equivalent prismatic gully (EPG); this would facilitate the comparison between gullies.

Vineyards in the Azores have been traditionally settled on lava field terroirs whose workability and trafficability limitations make them presently unsustainable. A landscape zoning approach based on a GIS analysis, incorporating factors of climate and topography combined with the soil mapping units suitable for viticulture was developed in order to define the most representative land units, providing an overall perspective of the potential for expansion of viticulture in the Azores.

We present 14C data for field replicates of a controlled agricultural long-term experiment. We show that 14C variability is, on average, 12 times that of the analytical precision of the 14C measurement. Experimental 14C variability is related to neither management nor soil depth. Application of a simple carbon turnover model reveals that experimental variability of radiocarbon results in higher absolute uncertainties of estimated carbon turnover time for deeper soil layers.

Case studies of artworks focused on painting, installation, and film are presented, with the view of encouraging further exploration of art about, in, and with soil, as a contribution to raising soil awareness.

Geomatic techniques have been routinely applied in erosion studies, providing the opportunity to build high-resolution topographic models.The aim of this study is to assess and compare the functioning of terrestrial laser scanner and close range photogrammetry techniques to evaluate erosion and deposition processes in a humid badlands area. Our results demonstrated that north slopes experienced more intense and faster dynamics than south slopes as well as the highest erosion rates.

- We present SF3M, a new graphical user interface for implementing a complete 3-D photo-reconstruction workflow based on freely available software, in combination with a low-cost survey design for the reconstruction of a several-hundred-metres-long gully network. - This methodology implied using inexpensive means, little manpower, in a short time span, being a promising tool for gully erosion evaluation in scenarios with demanding budget and time constraints and reduced operator expertise.

A major environmental concern in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is increased sediment load to water reservoirs, to estuaries, and finally to coral reef areas. Our research found that sediment loss was mainly caused by interactions of development, heavy rainfall events, and steep mountainous slopes. These results improve our understanding of sediment loss resulting from changes in land use/cover, and will allow stakeholders to make more informed decisions about future land use planning.

Plant roots are crucial in soil erosion control. Moreover, some species respond to nutrient-rich patches by lateral root proliferation. At the soil surface dense mats of roots may block soil pores thereby limiting infiltration, enhancing runoff; whereas at depth local increases in shear strength may reinforce soils at the shear plane. This review considers the potential of manipulating plant roots to control erosion.

Surface coal mining disrupts large areas of land and eliminates valuable hardwood forests. Restoring the land to a sustainable forest ecosystem with suitable soils is the goal of reclamation. Soil microbial activity is an indicator of restoration success. We found hydroseeding with herbaceous forage species and fertilization doubled tree growth and microbial biomass carbon (an indicator of microbial activity) compared to non-hydroseed areas. Hydroseeding is an important component of reclamation.

There is a need to understand the response of soil systems to predicted climate warming for modeling soil processes. Current experimental methods for soil warming include expensive and difficult to implement active and passive techniques. Here we test a simple, inexpensive in situ passive soil heating approach, based on easy to construct infrared mirrors that do not require automation or enclosures. Results indicated that the infrared mirrors yielded significant heating and drying of soils.

In this study, a novel plastic optical fibre turbidity sensor was exhaustively tested with a large set of runoff samples, mainly from a recently burnt area. The different types of samples from the distinct study sites revealed without exception an increase in normalized light loss with increasing sediment concentrations that agreed (reasonably) well with a power function. Nevertheless, sensor-based predictions of sediment concentration should ideally involve site-specific calibrations.

Biodiversity indices for spontaneous grass cover were measured in two olive orchards in southern Spain with contrasting site conditions and management to evaluate their potential for biodiversity metrics of soil degradation. Biodiversity indices were relatively high for agricultural areas. No correlation between the biodiversity indicators and soil quality features were observed. The mere use of vegetation presence as a proxy might mask relative intense soil degradation processes.

Soils play a pivotal role in major global biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nutrient, and water), while hosting the largest diversity of organisms on land. Soils deliver fundamental ecosystem services, and management to change a soil process in support of one ecosystem service can affect other services. We provide a critical review of these aspects, and conclude that, although there are knowledge gaps, enough is known improve soils globally, and we suggest actions to start this process.

Further progress in understanding and mitigating N2O emissions from soil lies within transdisciplinary research that reaches across spatial scales and takes an ambitious look into the future.

Biochar is considered an opportunity to tackle major environmental issues in agriculture. Adding pyrolised organic residues to soil may sequester carbon, increase yields and reduce nitrous oxide emissions from soil. It is unknown, whether the latter is induced by changes in soil pH. We show that biochar application substantially reduces nitrous oxide emissions from a temperate maize cropping system. However, the reduction was only achieved with biochar but not with liming.