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Splash erosion, the first step in water erosion process, occurs because of raindrops collusion with soil aggregates and pushing soil particulates into the air. The objective of this study was to test the usability of water sensitive paper (WSPs) in assessment of splash erosion. Soil losses from three texturally different soils by splash erosion were determined under artificial rainfall conditions as a function of splash distance and direction. The results indicated that the amount of soil removed by splash erosion was significantly affected by soil texture, splash direction and distance, and was the highest in clay soil and the lowest in sandy loamy soil. About half of the splashed soil material moved down slope, 34% in the lateral direction, and 17% moved upslope. A significant positive correlation between the WSPs-D10 diameter and the WSPs-surface coverage rate was obtained, which indicates that the higher the D10 diameter, the higher the surface coverage rate. The results obtained in this study reveal that the WSPs cards could successfully be used and its parameters (WSPs-D10 diameter and WSPs-surface coverage rate) might be considered as a new approach in assessing and evaluating splash erosion.

The paper present the results obtained during hard coal ash reclamation. This model was created by covering the ash surface with layers consisting of ash, organic by-products and mineral fertilizers. The aim of the studies, undertaken 15 years after the experiment set up, was the assessment of the efficacy of ash waste reclamation on the basis of the overall and solubility analyses of metal content, including heavy metals, soluble in 0.1 M HCl. In 2003, on the premises of Dolna Odra Power Station in Nowe Czarnowo (53,20°N; 14,48°E) near Gryfino (53,25°N; 14,48°E) in Poland, a hard coal ash reclamation experiment was conducted. A 40 cm thick surface layer (fertile), termed upperlay, composed of the mixture of various materials was applied to ash substrate. One part was fertilized with mineral fertilizers NPK-60-70-70, the other was left unfertilized. After 15 years, in the autumn of 2018, samples of upperlays (0-40 cm) and underlays (40-60 cm) were collected from plots overgrown with grass. 15 years after the experiment, none of the underlays or upperlays showed an excess of threshold values as specified in the current Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of 2016. The particularly favourable effect was identified with respect to the application of fermented municipal sewage sludge and GWDA compost which were factors resulting in a decrease of the upperlay content of cadmium, zinc, copper and lead in the form available for plants. The characteristics of upperlays with respect to metal content indicates conditions favourable to plant cultivation on the reclaimed area. The recorded results on the change of the overall and bioavailable content of metals in upperlays and underlays justify the continuation of the undertaken reclamation experiment.

The role of ornithogenic factor in the formation of soils and soil cover patterns in continental and maritime Antarctica is considered. The results of long-term soil studies at key sites in coastal oases of East Antarctica (Larsemann Hills, the Haswell Islands) and on the Subantarctic islands (King George Island, Livingston Island, the Argentine Islands) are summarized. The influence of the penguin rookeries on the morphology and physicochemical properties of soils is shown. These rookeries determine the vast spatial zones of biogeochemical influence on the environment around themselves. Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of ornithochory, which is maintained by the flying seabirds (skuas, albatrosses, terns, petrels, etc.) and is manifested in redistribution of vegetation, soil material, and meso- and microbiota to the areas that were previously free of vegetation and soil cover (periglacial areas, fresh moraines, rocky outcrops, etc.).

Review of the monograph by A.D. Fokin and S.P. Torshin “Plants in the Life of Soils and Terrestrial Ecosystems. Nontraditional Approaches and Solutions on the Behavior of Biologically Significant Elements” published in 2020 by Lap Lambert Academic Publishing, ISBN 978-620-2-53005-7. In the monograph by A.D. Fokin and S.P. Torshin, the reader finds an original and not always traditional for soil scientists, consideration and discussion of a number of fundamental problems of the development of a soil profile and modern soil functioning and of the role of plants and microorganisms in these processes. The authors of the monograph make us think about the validity of some generally accepted concepts and hypothesis, especially those concerning transport flows of matter in soils and their modeling. Attention is drawn to the usually underestimated role of the uplifting – ascending fluxes of matter along the conductive systems of plants, and to the localization of living roots and organic residues in soils. The latter factor plays an important role in the development of intrahorizontal differentiation of the soil material and in the root nutrition of plants. The great advantage of the book is the availability of abundant experimental material obtained by unique methods developed by the authors, simple and effective, which have no analogues in the world literature. Application of these methods, allows, in particular, determining the lifetime of the aggregate in soddy-podzolic soils and establishing the trends in the root uptake of radionuclides from the surface and from the inner part of peds. In the end a general conclusion is formulated that in the course of modern soil functioning, the soil-profile redistribution of matter is performed mainly within the limits of the biological cycle of elements. Many of the problems and ideas discussed in the monograph go far beyond the soil science, therefore the book is of great interest for a wide range of specialists in environmental and plant sciences, in agricultural chemistry, forestry and in various branches of geosciences.

Rainfall is one of the most significant natural factors for inducing landslides. The shallow saturated zone formed in slopes during rainfall is an important factor in inducing shallow landslides. In this paper, the characteristics and influencing factors of the saturated zone in soil slopes, and the relationship between the soil surface permeability coefficient and the rainfall intensity are analyzed. In this research, the equation that characterizes the rainfall intensity by the soil saturation is built based on the Mualem-van Genuchten model, which mathematically describes the soil water characteristics of unsaturated soils. Using this model, the target saturation of the slope surface during rainfall can be determined accurately, with an average deviation of − 0.008. Based on the equations, the innovative critical curve model of the rainfall intensity−time required to form the shallow saturated zone is established and calculated. The influence of the soil material, slope angle, rainfall intensity and antecedent rainfall on the critical curve for the shallow saturated zone is analyzed. The results indicate that for slopes of 30°~40°, it is easy for the shallow saturated zone to form, and the previous rainfall after more than 16 days has little impact on the critical curve. Furthermore, an innovative landslide prediction model, based on the critical curve for the shallow saturated zone and I-D modeling, is proposed to provide benchmarks for the prediction-specific characteristics of deep or shallow landslides, which is verified by the case of the Madiwan landslide.

For the large family Curculionidae, the number of species considered pests is expected to increase due to global movement of plant and soil material, as well as climate change. Pheromones are incre...

The liquid limits of different types of silts were determined under varying void ratio conditions by carrying out the cone penetrometer and the Casagrande tests. According to the results obtained from this study, the void ratio was determined to have a notable effect on the liquid limit values of soils. In terms of eliminating the void ratio effect based and operator dependent variations of results, the cone penetrometer test was assessed to be advantageous in comparison with the Casagrande test. The liquid limit values of soils were found to have various relations with the void ratio parameter depending on the soil material. Therefore, a general correlation between the liquid limit and void ratio parameters is not suggested for use. Instead, it is recommended to separately evaluate the liquid limit values for the changes in the void ratio values of different soils. Keywords: Atterberg limits; Liquid limit; Soil classification; Soil testing; Void ratio. DOI 10.35180/gse-2020-0039

The effects of acoustic emission (AE) in soils during freezing and thawing under cyclic thermal and quasi-static mechanical loading have been studied. The composition and characteristics of the developed instrumentation set are presented. The informative AE parameters and primary data processing approaches were justified. The acoustic emission patterns of soil material behavior under the variable thermobaric conditions were obtained. The comparative tests were performed using static probing and ultrasonic scanning.

The paper presents the results of the evaluation of the environmental potential of soils in the area affected by the long-term mining activity. The environmental potential index consists of a numerical expression of the ability to provide water storage, immobilization of risk elements, and immobilization and transformation of organic pollutants. The exceedance of the limit values Hg, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb was found in the soils of the investigated area of central Spiš. The rate of soil immobilization of risk elements is very low to high. The point value expressing the ability of agricultural lands to provide environmental functions is very low to medium in the studied areas, the financial expression of the values of the environmental potentials indexes is in the range of 7 100 to 14 000 € ha-1, while the average value of 1 ha of agricultural land in Slovakia is about 14 200 €.

In order to contribute to the sustainability of the brick construction sector, this work studied the formation of economic and environment friendly sandy clay brick. Therefore, the goal was set to be developed, a “sandy clay brick with cement mix”, which has more structural durability, less weight, low cost, together with high performance with respect to indoor air quality. In this research, variation on soil – cement brick with gradual increase in cement content replacing soil material and how the soil- cement brick may be studied using soil and cement as binder by fulfilling the requirement of National Building Code (NBC). The water cement ratio was kept controlled and all other material properties used were same. The effect was seen on compressive strength because the 28 days strength of brick is slightly more when soil is replaced by 15% cement content then no replacement of soil by cement strength. Taking about 11 samples starting from 0 % to 50 % cement content it was found that sandy clay soil – cement brick with compressive strength up to 23.44 MPa with traditional value may be achieved.

The authors provide information on the need to develop a reference material (RM) of the southern middle loamy black soil certifiedfor fertility indicators. The information about the stages of RM development is described: selection and preparation of soil material in the field; procedure of averaging soil material. In the determination of the RM metrological characteristics, the heterogeneity and stability characteristics of the RM are evaluated. The authors demonstrated the results of the RM certification for agrochemical indicators. The correctness of these results is confirmed by the results obtained in twenty-three accredited laboratories. The developed RM is registered in the State Register of the Approved Types of Certified Reference Materials under the number GSO 11369-2019-the RMfor composition (of agrochemical indicators) of the southern middle loamy black soil (SACHyuzhP-02). The RM is intended for metrological support of agroecological monitoring of agroindustrial complex laboratories.

To explore the effect of drain board spacing on the vacuum preloading treatment effect, transparent soil material was selected to carry out indoor vacuum preloading model tests, and particle image velocimetry (PIV) technology was used to obtain the displacement field inside the soil under different drainage spacing. In this paper, a mixed solution of amorphous silica fume, white mineral oil and n-dodecane was used to prepare transparent soil, and model tests of vacuum preloading transparent soil were carried out under drainage spacing of 200 mm, 300 mm, and 400 mm. The test results show that the displacement field of soil with different spacing of drainage is obviously different. Obvious "concave" settlement will occur on the soil surface under 200 mm spacing, and obvious "W" type settlement will occur under 400 mm spacing. 300 mm is the best spacing of drainage; the range of the "soft soil zone" is small, and the uneven settlement of the soil surface is not obvious. According to the influence range of a single drainage, the spacing of drainage should be reasonably designed to ensure the lap and connection of "soil piles" and improve the effect of vacuum preloading treatment.

The instability of soil slopes is directly related to the shear parameters of the soil material and groundwater, which usually causes some uncertainty. In this study, a novel method, the e...

Some previous studies have shown a good correlation between the shear wave velocity, Vs, and the cyclic resistance ratio, CRR. Recently, however, a Vs-based liquefaction assessment method has become an alternative and supplementary method to the conventional NSPT-based method. It is known that the CRR is influenced not only by the specimen density, but also by the soil fabric. Unfortunately, there are concerns that different combinations of the effects of the specimen density and the soil fabric may generate different relations between Vs and the CRR even if the tested specimens are of the same soil material. In the current study, a series of Vs measurements and undrained cyclic triaxial tests is performed on Toyoura sand specimens with different soil fabrics for three different specimen densities. The fabric of the specimens is varied by applying initial cyclic loading. The results of the Vs measurements indicate that the Vs of the specimen is affected by the initial cyclic loading histories, and the results of the undrained cyclic triaxial tests show that there is a good correlation between Vs and the CRR. However, the correlation varies depending on the specimen density even when the tested material is Toyoura sand only. In other words, the soil-type specific correlation between Vs and the CRR depends on the specimen density. Therefore, the results indicate that both Vs and the specimen density are necessary parameters for an accurate assessment of the CRR.

The work presents the results of research on erosion and landform changes of a bottom of a dry erosive-accumulation valley in Elizówka in 1958, 1970 and 2016. The changes have been examined with the use of geodetic topographic surveys techniques. The research field was a 480-metres long part of the valley bottom. The topographic surveys in 1958 and 1970 were conducted with longitudinal (parallel to the bottom of the valley) and cross (every 20 metres) sections method. In 2016 the modern measuring devices were used. All the results, together with coordinates of points and historical data were converted into GIS spatial layer. The altitude values formed the input data for interpolation of rasters showing changes of the topography in three periods. Three TIN models were also developed to distinguish erosion and accumulation zones plus the quantity of eroded and accumulated material. The valley on the majority of its length has been raised and has changed from V-shaped into U-shaped. Accumulation of the soil material led to levelling the bottom. Accumulation concentrates along a flow line, while soil washout mainly at the bottom of slopes. The thickest sediment layers were observed in the lowest part. For the whole 1958-2016 period a total of 3470 m3 soil material has been deposited on the area of about 1.62 ha, while in the same time only 130 m3 has been eroded (from 0.22 ha).

Science learning modules on soil material and life sustainability have never been made especially in SMP Negeri 2 Manokwari. This research is a research and development (Research & Development) that aims to find out how to make integrated science modules, the feasibility of integrated science modules, and increase learning outcomes in soil material and the sustainability of life. The research sample was carried out in class IX E SMP Negeri 2 Manokwari with a total of 38 students. The results of the study show that: 1) The method of developing an integrated science module based on guided inquiry on soil material and life sustainability starts with the stages of definition, module planning, module draft design, and development. from the validator of 88% in the very feasible category, science teachers by 90% in the very feasible category, and the results of small-scale trials by 89%. 3) Increasing student learning outcomes with an average pretest score of 35.72 to 71.11 in the posttest and n-gain tests an average of 0.55 in the medium category.

Rock freezing affects the soil complexes under maximal temperature gradients and forms a set of specific cryotrasological features in the solid soil matrix. When preserved these features serve as direct or indirect indicators of the past cryogenic conditions. Transformation of soil material on macro- and microscale belongs to the direct indicators whereas gleying in the well-drained positions, conditioned by the permafrost waterlogging is an indirect indicator. A variety of these features observed in the paleosols to the north of the European and West Siberian Loess belt was used by the authors to reconstruct the cryogenic environments of the late Pleistocene.

Archived soil samples are a valuable tool for any long‐term soil research. We analysed total carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content and soil organic matter fractions in 38 archived soil samples that were stored for up to 21 years and compared air‐dried storage to frozen storage conditions. Samples include top‐ and upper subsoils, different soil texture and land use with C contents between 4.3 and 174 mg g⁻¹. The results from this study reveal no changes in total C and N contents with storage time up to 21 years or type of storage (freezing vs. air drying). The analyses of soil physical fractions also revealed no significant differences between air‐dried stored and frozen stored samples for most samples. However, we found indications, that freezing of soil material might lead to changes in the mineral fractions for soils containing high amounts of water. Therefore, and as archiving soils in a frozen state is more expensive than storing air‐dried samples, we recommend the use of air‐dried samples for C quality analyses of archived soil samples.

This paper presents the rationalization of jigilin soil as pavement layer material in Northern Nigeria, where quality laterite and stone aggregates are either in short supply or unavailable. The regions are covered mostly by sandy soils, extending over the semi-arid zones of West Africa. Haulage of quality materials over long distances increases construction cost, causing delay in materials delivery and leading to greenhouse gas emissions. The potentials of a naturally occurring soil material, locally known as Jigilin, and commonly found in the region, were evaluated for suitability as pavement layers construction. The performance characteristics of the jigilin material under traffic loading was carried out, while the cost of constructing pavement layers with jigilin and lateritic soils were estimated. Results show that jigilin soil satisfies the density criterion and specifications for pavement subbase and base courses. In addition, the cost of producing a kilometer long and 7.3 m width of pavement using jigilin and lateritic materials were N56,910,000.00 and N63,042,000.00, respectively, resulting in cost saving of 9.727% when jigilin is used as the material for the pavement layers. Jigilin soil is, hence technically and financially feasible, and therefore, recommended for use as pavement layer material in Northern Nigeria. Keywords: Pavement material, Jigilin soil, Pavement layers, Traffic loading, Cost analysis

This research conducts dynamic time-history analysis and a modified cross-section racking deformation (MCSRD) method to analyze the collapse mechanism of the Daikai Subway during the 1995 Kobe earthquake using FLAC2D. A simplified approach to consider the nonlinear behavior of a structure element is imported and combined with the FLAC2D built-in nonlinear soil constitutive models to accurately consider the nonlinear interaction between the soil material and structure. Based on the proposed framework, the damage evolution process of the Daikai Subway station can be traced by the dynamic time-history analyses. The collapse pattern roughly agrees with field observation. Regarding the MCSRD method, the critical member of the “central column” is identified but the internal forces did not reach its limit state; this may be because inertial force is neglected, which is a characteristic of the pseudo-static method. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct dynamic time-history analysis for a shallow buried tunnel in soft soil because the inertial force may largely influence the seismic characteristics.

Results of a detailed analysis of pedosediments—sediments composed of transported material of soil humus horizons—are discussed. Five main morphological features of pedosediments attesting to the origin of the transported soil material are identified; their allocation to certain types of pedosediments is shown. A map of pedosediments for a small catchment in Tula oblast has been developed on the basis of their morphological analysis. Three types of pedosediments are specified by their morphological features and location: (1) leveling, filling depressions; (2) covering, extending on the slopes of the ravine; and (3) protruding above the surface of the slope represented by “napash”—agrogenic earthwork at the edges of fields. The covering pedosediments formed on the slopes are shown to be predominant both by area (60%) and by the volume of accumulated material (45%). The leveling pedosediments at the bottom of the ravine occupy 25% of the area and retain about 35% of all sediments of the small catchment. Only 2% of the total material of pedosediments in the catchment belongs to protruding pedosediments. The formation and localization of these pedosediments are controlled by the formation of napashes. In general, the material of pedosediments redistributed within the small catchment constituted about 12% of the total mass of humus horizons of the soils-donors. Pedosediments play a significant role in the soil cover and occupy about 10% of the total catchment area.