Search

Forest soils represent an important terrestrial organic carbon sink and the management practices could affect this C pool. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a forest restoration on the quantity and quality of the soil organic C (SOC). Since the widespread distribution of European chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) trees in European temperate forests, a 15 years old chestnut forest for timber production was selected on Northern Apennine chain (Italy) which was established on a clear–cut old chestnut stand. The soil sampling was performed in November 2004 (t0, before grafting), 2008 (t1) and 2019 (t2) through the digging of minipits down to 10 – 30 cm. In each minipit the surface and subsurface horizons were sampled and analysed for the determination of the total organic C content (TOC), and the C of fulvic acids (FA–C), humic acids (HA–C), humin (humin–C) and non–humic substances. Then, the total organic C stock (OCstock), the humification index (HI) and the humification rate (HR) were calculated. From t0 to t2 the mean thickness of subsurface horizon increased likely due both to the tree roots development and to the increased canopy cover due to tree growth which probably reduced the soil erosion. Generally, both TOC content and OCstock did not change over time. The FA–C and HA–C concentrations, instead, more sensitive to the change of management practises, generally reduced over time. This trend was also confirmed by the decline of HR. The humin–C content increased indicating an accumulation of the most recalcitrant SOC pool over time. Hence, the restoration of chestnut stands in mountainous areas, beyond to be a valid economic practice, has beneficial effects on the soil capacity to storage stable C., EQA - International Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol 40 (2020)

Among natural hazards, mud volcanoes can damage property and infrastructures and affect hillslope evolution at different spatial and temporal scales. The results of 10-year-long multidisciplinary investigations performed on a Roman-age archaeological site, La Rovina di Montegibbio, are presented, showing a peculiar example of mutual interplay between human settlement and geological forcing in the mud-volcanic environment. The site (350 m a.s.l.) lies at the termination of the upper Secchia River catchment, near the town of Sassuolo (Modena Province). Here, a 4-km-long mud volcano belt borders the Apennines chain front, comprising one of the most prominent mud volcanoes of Italy ( Salsa di Montegibbio), and the still-active chain hinge tectonics gives origin to gas and oil seeps. Based on geological, geoarchaeological, palaeobotanical, geochemical, geophysical records and analytical data, we unravel the onset, the evolution and the abandonment of the settlement in relation to the existence of a previously unknown mud volcano, belonging to the larger Montegibbio mud volcano system. The damages affecting the Roman-age buildings record the ground deformations in the context of mud volcano tectonics. In particular, the pattern of faults set buried under the archaeological site is shown and compared with that of the main mud volcano conduit. At least two Roman-age eruptive episodes have been recorded, whose ejected muds are geochemically characterized. The first recorded eruption must be regarded as the reason for the initial location and function of the sacred ancient settlement. The final site abandonment was because of subsequent severe ground deformations affecting the hillslope as a consequence of mud volcano activity.

Climate change, land use and management malpractices are increasing the areas of salt-affected soils, threatening soil health and economical sustainability of farms. The causes and processes are manifold and variable in space and time. There is the need to continuously update strategies to tackle salt-affected soils, finding solutions tailored at different scales. The aim of this article is to present a selection of case studies with high innovation potential and covering a range of farming systems and approaches. These include cases studies within irrigation scheduling, chemical and phytoremediation of sodic soils, agronomical and microbial management, and land-use changes. The reviewed cases cannot constitute a complete overview of techniques to counter salinisation, but they show the successful application of innovative practices and delineate further research and innovation projects to counter salt-affected soils.

Maintaining and improving the soil resource is crucial for the protection of the global environment, the sustainability issues, the human well-being, and the economic development. Soil is in fact a complex integrated system whose multitude of biotic and abiotic properties allows the provision of functions, which in turn deliver ecosystem services for human benefits. The most widespread agrarian, forest and food production systems may have negative impacts on soil, thus exacerbating its degradation processes. There is an increasing awareness that improper use or poor soil management, together with the most recent events related to climate change, jeopardize the proper functioning of soils. The need to protect the soil resource is thus widely shared internationally. One of the major challenges in the new growth EU strategy is to accomplish food security and to promote sustainable agricultural development, achieving the climate neutrality by 2050. Given the crucial role of soil for human activities, the Soil Thematic Group of the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna (Italy), states its position identifying the main challenges for the future growth of EU in: - The organic carbon loss; - Bio-technologies for agro-waste conversion into eco-efficient bio-based products; - Soil biodiversity: preservation and restoration; - The agroecological systems for supporting the farm to fork and ecosystems and biodiversity policies; - Towards a soil sustainable and suitable farm and food system; - Forest soil restoration; - Next generation policy instruments for soil conservation and carbon sequestration; - Soil as energy resource for sustainable rural facilities; - Novel methodologies and approaches to multi-criteria landscape analysis, monitoring and planning.

Supplemental material, Borgatti_et_al_2018__TABLES for Evidence of late-Holocene mud-volcanic eruptions in the Modena foothills (northern Italy) by Lisa Borgatti, Bosi Giovanna, Bracci Antonio Edoardo, Cremonini Stefano, Falsone Gloria, Guandalini Francesca, Labate Donato, Mainardi Giuseppe, Martinelli Giovanni, Montecchi Maria Chiara and Pieraccini Diego in The Holocene