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Preface
Until recently, soil science did not have an established role in
environmental studies. A dramatic change took place in our thinking about the
use of natural resources. There is an increased awareness of
ecosystem health, a desire to maintain the quality of the
environment, and attention paid to the rate of
resource consumption even in developing countries. Historically agriculture has been a major contributor to
environmental degradation, but under improved systems of land
management, agriculture could become a major partner for
environmental solutions.Soil
degradation is an important process affecting the wealth of nations,
food security, and impacting the livelihood of every person on our
planet. It has adverse impacts on land productivity, food security,
climate change, environmental sustainability, and thus the quality
of life. This Conference was designed to provide a forum for
discussion on factors and causes of land degradation and its impact
on land use and the society. Possible solutions were highlighted
using currently available data and technology.
Nearly 1.4
billion ha of vegetated land in developing countries are subject to land
degradation, resulting in moderate or severe decline in productivity, known as
soil impoverishment. About 9 million ha in the world have had their original
biotic function fully destroyed. In Africa
alone about 490 million ha are affected by various forms of degradation. Based
on existing information, international programs and conventions are now placing
more emphasis on soil degradation and desertification than ever before. Planet
earth is being hurt and soil science is one of the sciences that can help to
provide remedial technologies.
Interest in land quality is increasing. This is
due to the importance of land quality to ecosystem functions and global life
support systems. Increasing opportunities exist to mobilize monitoring and
evaluation activities under international conventions, particularly the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biodiversity,
the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the various agreements on
International Waters, and the increased interest from the OECD to develop
comprehensive agro-environmental indicators. Although these conventions do not
provide funding, they are useful instruments to better coordinate activities.
This special issue contains a range of
papers presented at the
Fourth
International Conference
on Land Degradation, Cartagena,
Murcia, Spain, September 12nd–17th , 2004. The main topics include:
1) Geographical
perspectives.
2) Historical and archaeological
perspectives of soil degradation.
3) Linkages with global issues.
4) Quantifying land resources stresses.
5) Managing land quality to reduce
degradation.
6) Human impact on land degradation.
7) Policy and legal framework.
8) Rehabilitation of degraded land.
We believe that the book provides
information for researchers, educators, graduate students, policy makers, practitioners,
and advocates interested in land degradation and sustainable use of soils.
Angel Faz
Cano
Ahmet R.
Mermut
Joselito
Arocena
Roque Ortiz
Silla
(Chief Editors)
Contents
Preface
Chapter I
History,
Perspectives and Cases of Land Degradation
Hari
Eswaran, Paul Reich, and Taweesak
Vearasilp
Perspectives on Desertification During the Anthropocene
1
Erhan Akça, Yılmaz Bal, Selim Kapur and Hari Eswaran
Human-Induced Late Holocene
Degradation of the
Asi
(Orontes) Delta,
Samandag,
Southern Turkey
17
Saturnino De Alba, María Alcázar, Carlos
Lacasta
and Gerardo Benito
Water Erosion on Agricultural Lands in
a Mediterranean Semiarid
Climate
in Central Spain
27
Dora Maria
Carmona, Ángel Faz Cano and Joselito M. Arocena
Accumulation
of Organic Carbon from Pig Manure Added to
Surface Soil in Mined Areas, SE
Spain
37
Endla Reintam,
Jaanika Puust and Jaan Kuht
Soil Compaction and Nutrient Uptake in an Agroecosystem, Estonia
53
Roque Ortiz Silla, Pura Marín
Sanleandro, Antonio Sánchez Navarro,
Ana García Navarro and María
José Delgado Iniesta
Evaluation
of Salinity in the Fluvisols of the Vega Baja Region,
SE Spain
63
Attanda Mouinou
Igué
Impacts of Land Use on Chemical and Physical Characteristics of Soils
in Collines,
Benin
71
José Alberto
Acosta, Ángel Faz and Silvia Martínez Martínez
Evaluation of
Land Degradation in an Area Affected by
Different Management Systems, SE
Spain
81
M. Ángeles Muñoz García, Ángel Faz Cano
Soil-Plant
Conservation in the Vicuna (Vicugna
vicugna) Habitat
in Apolobamba, Bolivia:
Biodiversity
in High Altitude Grasslands
97
Gerhard Gerold
Different
Land Use Impacts in Tropical Rainforests
–
Soil Degradation and Consequences for Land
Rehabilitation
–
109
Tim Nieman,
Ángel Faz Cano, Jan Maurits van Mourik
,
José Alberto
Acosta Avilés and Silvia Martínez Martínez
Impacts of
Bio- and Leather Industries on the Quality of
Sediment and Water in the Guadalentin River,
SE Spain
119
Mohsen Sheklabadi, Hossein Khademi, Mostafa Karimian
Eghbal,
Edward
G. Gregorich and Patrick St.-Georges
Overgrazing
and Climate Induced Soil Biochemical Degradation
in Central Zagros, Iran
139
Francisco de la Garza,
Ángel Faz,
Carlos García, Yessica Ortiz,
Andrea Zanuzzi, Dolores Coll, Blanca
Castro and Patricio Rivera
Organic
and Inorganic Pollutants Affecting the Soil Quality in
Southeast
of Spain: A Comparative Study
151
Chapter II
Assessment and Quantification
Jaume
Porta
Quantification
of Land Degradation Stress: An Overview
163
Carlos Añó, Antonio
Valera and Juan Sánchez
Urban Sprawl
and Soil Sealing in the Metropolitan Area
of Valencia,
Spain
177
László Pásztor, Imre
Pálfai, Csaba
Bozán, János Körösparti,
Zsófia Bakacsi and
József Szabó
Quantifying and Mapping
Lowland Excess Water Hazard
185
Raquel
Pérez-Rodríguez, Maria Jose Marqués, Luis Jiménez,
Silvia
García-Ormaechea and Ramón Bienes
Testing
of Rainfall Simulator Nozzles for Suitability within
Soil Erosion Plots
191
Juergen Schmidt and
Frank Mauersberger
Wind Effects on Soil
Erosion by Water
201
Giuseppe Baldassarre
and Nicola Palumbo
Identification and
Assessment of Soil Erosion Processes in a
Widely Cropped Watershed in Southern
Italy
207
Carmen Fernández-López, Ángel Faz Cano, Mª Ángeles Muñoz García
and Joselito M. Arocena
Metal Contents
of Soils near the Mining Districts in
El Choro, Bolivia
219
Edoardo A.C. Costantini
and Giovanni L’Abate
A Soil Aridity Index to Assess
Desertification Risk for Italy
231
Carmen Castañeda,
María A. Asensio and Juan Herrero
Quantifying
Visible Land Degradation of Saline Wetlands in an
Arid Region of NE
Spain
243
Ramon Bienes, Luis Jiménez, Raquel Pérez, Silvia García-Ormaechea
and Maria Jose Marques
Shrub Covers
and Erosional Withdrawal of Sediments and
Plant Litter from the Soil
251
Jesús Fernández-Gálvez, Javier Palenzuela, Nguyen Van Dao,
José Miguel Barea and Enrique Barahona†
Soil Degradation Assessment Using a Limited Set of
Simple
Physicochemical Tests
263
Pedro
Martínez-Pagán, Angel Faz, Silvia Martínez-Martínez,
Jose Alberto
Acosta, Enrique Aracil, Marcos Antonio Martínez-Segura,
Dora María
Carmona and Andrea Zanuzzi
Risk
Assessment and Reclamation Possibilities of some Abandoned
Mining Ponds in Murcia Province,
SE Spain
273
Héctor Miguel
Conesa Alcaraz and Ángel Faz Cano
Metal Uptake by Naturally Occurring
Vegetation in a Metal
Polluted
Salt Marsh in Southeast Spain
287
Chapter III
Rehabilitation of Degraded Landscapes
Rosa Calvo de
Anta and Felipe Macías
Remediation
of Soils Contaminated with Pyritic Sludge from a
Mine Spill
in Aznalcóllar,
Spain
295
Antinio
Ramalho-Filho, Pedro Luiz de Freitas and
Marie
Elisabeth Christine Claessen
Land Degradation and the Zero-Tillage System in Brazil
311
Nieves Alonso Blázquez, Eusebio Francisco De Andrés,
Pablo García Estríngana, Jose Luis Tenorio and Jesus
Alegre
Use of Sewage
Sludge Compost in the Revegetation of
Abandoned Cropland
325
Jesús
Fernández-Gálvez and Enrique Barahona†
Effect
of Structure Disturbance on Soil Water Retention Curves
333
José Manuel Fernández, Cesar Plaza, Diana Hernández, Raúl
del Río,
Héctor Matías
Fritis
and Alfredo Polo
Organic
Matter Transformations in a Soil Amended With Two
Kinds of Sewage Sludges Under Aerobic Incubation
339
Miriam Llona and Ángel Faz Cano
Contributions
from Pig Slurry to Micro- and Macro-nutrients
Status of Soil Planted with
Broccoli
347
Elizabeth Lam Esquenazi and Ítalo
Montofré Bacigalupo
Phytoremediation of Lead and Zinc Using
Myoporum laetum
and
Brassica
nigra in Antofagasta,
Northern Chile
355
Linnell Edwards
Challenges
of Commercial Bio-Waste Usage to Reverse
Arable
Land
Degradation in Atlantic Canada
361
Gennaro Brunetti, César Plaza, Donato Mondelli and Nicola
Senesi
Reclamation
of Degraded Soils by Olive Pomace Amendment:
Effects on Soil Humic Acids
369
Andrea
Zanuzzi, Angel Faz Cano and Tom Loring
Recommendations for the Phytostabilization of
Acidic Mine
Tailings from SE Spain
377
Ana Caballero,
Angel Faz and Juan Bautista Lobera
Bioremediation
of Pig Farm Wastewater Using
Constructed Wetlands
391
Chapter IV
Economics, Policy and Legal Framework
Luca Montanarella, Richard
Arnold and Erika Michéli
Soil
Conservation Services in the European Union and in the
United
States of America
399
Silvia
Martínez-Martínez, Angel Faz and Jose A. Acosta
Background and
Reference Levels of Heavy Metals
in Igneous Rocks and Soils in Murcia, SE
Spain
411
F. Turkelboom, W.
Van Besien and J. Deckers
A Livelihood Centered Land Degradation Assessment
Framework (LILAF) for Dry Areas
427
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