Abstract
The main aspects of environmental degradation that involve soil (erosion, soil compaction, soil crusting, deterioration of soil structure, flooding, losses of organic matter, salinization, onsite and offsite damages, etc.) result from human activities. Since conventional agricultural production systems have resulted in excessive erosion and soil degradation, change is needed that will control such ruin.
Scientific results have clearly shown that agricultural management systems can play an important role in preventing soil degradation provided that appropriate management practices are adopted. Long-term field experiments in different types of soils have shown that alternative tillage systems, such as minimum tillage, ripper subsoiling, etc., improve the soil structural quality. Continuous conventional tillage causes a decrease in soil organic matter content associated with a decrease in aggregate stability, leading, as a consequence, to the formation of surface crusts, with an increase in runoff and erosion risk.
In hilly environments, land leveling and scraping are dangers to soil, causing its erosion.. After leveling, slopes being prepared for planting (particularly vineyards) are almost always characterized by the presence of large amounts of jumbled earth materials accumulated by the scraper. In this vulnerable condition, a few summer storms can easily cause soil losses exceeding 500 Mg ha−1year−1. Moreover, land leveling and the resulting soil loss cause drastic alteration of the landscape and loss of the cultural value of the soil.
Subsoil compaction is strongly underevaluated, even though the presence of a ploughpan at the lower limit of cultivation is largely widespread in the alluvial soils of the plains cultivated by monoculture. It is responsible for the frequent flooding of such plains when heavy rains concentrate in a short time (rainstorm), since the presence of this ploughpan strongly reduces drainage. Alternative tillage practices, like ripper subsoiling, are able to avoid the formation of this compact layer.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bazzoffi P, Chisci G (1999) Tecniche di conservazione del suolo in vigneti e pescheti della copina cesenate. Riv Agron 3: 177–184
Blum WEH (1998) Agriculture in a sustainable environment — a holistic approach. Int Agrophys 12: 13–24
Blum WEH (2000) Challenge for soil science at the dawn of the 21st century. In: Adams JA, Metherell AK (eds) Soil 2000: new horizons for a new century. Australian and New Zealand Second Joint Soils Conference, vol 1. Plenary papers, 3-8 Dec 2000, Lincoln University. New Zealand Society of Soil Science, Lincoln, NZ, pp 35–42
European Environment Agency (EEA) (1999) Environment in the European Union at the turn of the century. Copenhagen, Denmark
Fraters B (1996) Generalized soil map of Europe. Aggregation of the FAO-Unesco soil units based on the characteristics determining the vulnerability to degradation processes. National Institute of Public Health and the environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands. RIVM Report no 481505006, 60 pp
Lal R, Stewart BA (1990) Soil degradation. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Pagliai M, Vignozzi N (1998) Use of manure for soil improvement. In: Wallace A, Terry RE (eds) Handbook of soil conditioners. Dekker, New York, pp 119–139
Pagliai M, Rousseva S, Vignozzi N, Piovanelli C, Pellegrini S, Miclaus N (1998) Tillage impact on soil quality I. Soil porosity and related physical properties. Italian J Agron 2: 11-20
Pagliai M, Pellegrini S, Vignozzi N, Rousseva S, Grasselli 0 (2000) The quantification of the effect of subsoil compaction on soil porosity and related physical properties under conventional to reduced management practices. Adv Geoecol 32: 305–313
Pimentel D, Allen J, Beers A, Guinand L, Hawkins A, Linder R, McLaughlin P, Meer B, Musonda D, Perdue D, Poisson S, Salazar R, Sieber S, Stoner K (1993) Soil erosion and agricultural productivity. In: Pimentel D (ed) World soil erosion and conservation. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, pp 277–292
Soane BD, van Ouwerkerk C (eds) (1995) Soil compaction in crop production. Developments in agricultural engineering 11. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 662 pp
Van den Akker JJH, Arvidsson J, Horn R (1999) Experiences with the impact and prevention of subsoil compaction in the European Community. Proceedings of the concerted action on subsoil compaction, 28-30 May 1998, Wageningen, The Netherlands, DLO Winand Staring Centre, report 168, 344 pp
Van Lynden GJW (1995) European soil resources. Current status of soil degradation, causes, impacts and need for action. Nature and environment, no 71. Council of Europe Press, Strasbourg, France, 99 pp
Vignozzi N, Pagliai M (1996) La prevenzione della degradazione del suolo attraverso attività agricole a basso impatto ambientale. Bollettino della Società Italiana di Scienza del Suolo 8: 207–219
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Pagliai, M. (2004). Soil Degradation and Land Use. In: Werner, D. (eds) Biological Resources and Migration. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-06083-4_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-06083-4_27
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-05989-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-06083-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive