Soils Of The Arid Zones Of Chile

Author : Manuel Casanova
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400759495
Total Pages : 191 pages
Book Rating : 4.97/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Soils of Chile written by Manuel Casanova and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-01-18 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is intended for students and soil scientists who want to know about the state of the art in soil sciences in Chile. The book merges a comprehensive bibliographical review of the soil surveys carried out throughout the length and breadth of Chilean territory during the past 40 years and more recent information obtained by the authors in a number of field studies. As its starting point the book presents a general overview of important features related to Chilean soils, such as geology and geomorphology, climate, land use and vegetation. In this long and narrow country different soil formation factors and processes have resulted in a broad variety of soil bodies, from the extremely arid Atacama desert to the Patagonian and Antarctic zones. This book provides a description and classification (mainly Soil Taxonomy) of the most important soil types. Particularly important are soils derived from volcanic materials, which cover extensive areas of Chile. The book also deals with soil management topics in relation to the chemical, physical and biological properties of Chilean soils and it includes a number of examples from throughout the country. Finally, the book shows how man has induced severe soil degradation problems in Chile, such as erosive soil degradation, non-erosive soil degradation and land desertification.

Author : Carlos Díaz Vial
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9789251019788
Total Pages : 88 pages
Book Rating : 4.89/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Soils of the Arid Zones of Chile written by Carlos Díaz Vial and published by . This book was released on 1965 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pacific arid zone; The patagonian arid zone; Environmental characteristics of the nine desert soil assemblages of the northern desert division of the pacific arid zone: region of the salina desert soils; region of alkaline desert soils; region of soils transitional between true desert soils and semi-desert soils;region of soils transitional between true desert soils and semi-desert soils; Environmental characteristics of the seven semi-arid soil assemblages of the semi-desertic environments of north-central and central Chile: region of calcio brown soils of the transverse valleys; region of semi-arid with neutral to slightly acid reaction; Environmental characteristics of the two semi-arid soil assemblages of the patagonian arid zone: region of soils rich in calcium; region of semi-arid to sub-humid soils of neutral reaction at the patagonian desert margin.

Author : Carlos Diaz Vial
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 70 pages
Book Rating : 4.93/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Soils of the Arid Zones of Northern Chile written by Carlos Diaz Vial and published by . This book was released on 1963* with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author :
Publisher : Elsevier
ISBN 13 : 0080869734
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.35/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Soils of arid regions written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2011-09-22 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soils of arid regions

Author : Justine J. Owen
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Soil Formation and Transport Processes on Hillslopes Along a Precipitation Gradient in the Atacama Desert, Chile written by Justine J. Owen and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The climate-dependency of the rates and types of soil formation processes on level landforms has been recognized and documented for decades. In contrast, methods for quantifying rates of soil formation and transport on hillslopes have only recently been developed and the results suggest that these rates are independent of climate. One explanation for this discrepancy is that hillslopes and their soil mantles are dynamic systems affected by local and regional tectonic effects. Tectonics can change local or regional baselevel which affects the hillslope through stream incision or terrace formation at its basal boundary. Another explanation is that in most of the world hillslope processes are biotic, and biota and their effects vary nonlinearly with climate. The effects of both tectonics and life can obscure climatic effects. Recent studies have been made to isolate the climatic effect on hillslope processes, but they are few and focus on humid and semiarid hillslopes. In order to isolate the effects of boundary condition, precipitation, and life, I studied pairs of hillslopes in northern Chile in semiarid, arid, and hyperarid climates. In each pair, one hillslope was bounded by an incising (bedrock-bedded), first-order channel, and the other was bounded by a low-slope, non-eroding surface. This precipitation gradient spans the transition from biotic to abiotic landscapes. The guiding framework for this study is a hillslope soil mass balance model in which the soil mass is controlled by the balance of soil production from bedrock and from atmospheric input, and soil loss through physical and chemical erosion. My objectives were to quantify the components of the mass balance model, identify the processes driving soil production from bedrock and soil transport, and interpret this data in the context of climate and hillslope morphology. In the field, I made observations of the processes driving soil formation and transport, surveyed the hillslopes to produce high-resolution topographic maps, and sampled soils and rock for chemical analysis and particle size analysis. Dust collectors were erected to measure atmospheric input. Bedrock and surface gravel samples were collected in order to calculate the rate of soil production from bedrock, the incision rate of the channels, the age of the non-eroding surfaces, and the exposure history of surface gravels using the concentrations of in situ-produced 10Be and 26Al. Rates of physical and chemical erosion were calculated using the soil mass balance model, based on the rate of soil production from bedrock, the atmospheric deposition rate, and the concentrations of an immobile element in the soil, bedrock, and atmospheric input. In addition, to understand the effect of precipitation on the landscape and to quantify the infiltration rate of the soil, sprinkling experiments were conducted in each climate region and infiltrometer measurements were made in the hyperarid region. The effect of boundary condition on soil thickness was observed in all climate zones, with thicker soils on hillslopes with non-eroding boundaries compared to hillslopes bounded by channels. However, the expected effect of boundary condition on the rates of soil production from bedrock, with slower erosion rates on hillslopes with non-eroding boundaries, decreased as precipitation decreased. In contrast to previous work on wetter hillslopes which showed little climatic sensitivity, rates of soil production from bedrock increase with precipitation following a power law, from ̃1 m My-1 in the hyperarid region to ̃40 m My-1 in the semiarid region. A geomorphic and pedologic threshold was observed at mean annual precipitation (MAP) ̃100 mm, marked by changes in soil chemistry and thickness, types of erosion mechanisms, and rates of soil production. In the semiarid region, where MAP = 100 mm, the hillslopes are soil-mantled with a relatively thick, chemically-weathered soil where MAP is high enough to support coastal desert vegetation. Soil formation and transport is primarily through bioturbation. As MAP decreases to 10 mm in the arid region, the hillslopes are nearly soil- and plant-free, and soil transport is through overland flow, rather than bioturbation. In the hyperarid region, where MAP is 2 mm, the hillslopes are mantled with salt-rich soils which are primarily derived from atmospheric input rather than bedrock erosion. Soil transport is through overland flow and likely some salt shrink-swell. The spatially-explicit physical erosion rates were used to test the applicability of four soil transport models. Where bioturbation is active, soil transport is slope- and depth-dependent. In the plant-free regions, soil transport is a function of slope and distance downslope. The transport coefficients in the transport models increase several orders of magnitude with increasing MAP. A comparison of these values with those determined on wetter hillslopes suggests that at MAP100 mm, transport coefficients are a function of MAP. Where MAP100 mm, they are a function of the types of organisms driving bioturbation and other soil properties. This threshold corresponds to the MAP below which there is a dramatic decrease in net primary productivity (NPP), and suggests that hillslope process rates are sensitive to MAP where the effect of life is small. A unique feature on the hyperarid hillslopes was darkly-varnished, contour-parallel bands of gravels on the soil surface which I call "zebra stripes". Based on cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations in surface gravel and bedrock, as well as salt deposition rates from the atmosphere and content in the soils, I propose that the salt-rich soils began accumulating0.5-1 Ma and the zebra stripes formed in the last 103-105 y. The zebra stripe pattern has been preserved due to the self-stabilization of the gravels within the stripes and the continued absence of life (which would disturb the surface, as seen at the arid site). The accumulation of the salt-rich mantle and the formation of zebra stripes suggest a profound climatic change occurred sometime between the late Pliocene and early Holocene. The Atacama Desert provides a multi-million year-old experiment testing the effect of water and life on geophysical and geochemical processes. In contrast with portions of the planet where biota modulates soil production and erosion through complex and rapid feedbacks, this work shows that the absence of biota in the driest parts of the Atacama Desert results in the rates and mechanisms of geomorphic processes being extremely precipitation-sensitive. This unusual environment, for Earth, illuminates the uniqueness and complexity of a planet whose surface bears the indelible imprint of life.

Author : Library of Congress
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 1352 pages
Book Rating : 4.62/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Library of Congress Subject Headings written by Library of Congress and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 1352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Kathleen Sellers
Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 9780849380815
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Perchlorate written by Kathleen Sellers and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2006-08-30 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of analytical methods for identifying widespread perchlorate contamination brought about an explosion of research into the environmental problems and their potential solutions along with a corresponding increase in the availability of information. Unlike reference works that focus on only a few aspects of this contaminant, Perchlorate: Environmental Problems and Solutions offers a comprehensive, single source of information on perchlorate contamination in the environment. Summarizing the state of the science and developments in engineering, the book describes: Common sources of perchlorate Its behavior in the environment Methods for analyzing perchlorate in environmental samples Potential risks to human health and the environment Regulatory standards and criteria Techniques for remediating environmental contamination The authors illustrate these points with case studies of perchlorate contamination in soil, groundwater, and surface water. These case studies provide perspective on issues commonly faced by scientists, engineers, and managers of perchlorate-impacted sites. Organized to follow the logical sequence of identifying and solving contamination problems, the book provides the foundation necessary to understand perchlorate's occurrence, environmental behavior, regulatory status, and remediation.

Author : Hugo Boyko
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9401760144
Total Pages : 414 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Salinity and Aridity written by Hugo Boyko and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-12-19 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : R. A. Perry
Publisher : CUP Archive
ISBN 13 : 9780521218429
Total Pages : 920 pages
Book Rating : 4.2X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Arid Land Ecosystems: Volume 1 written by R. A. Perry and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1979-03-08 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive account of arid-land ecosystems will be of importance to university teachers and professional ecologists throughout the world.

Author : Library of Congress. Cataloging Policy and Support Office
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 1938 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Library of Congress Subject Headings written by Library of Congress. Cataloging Policy and Support Office and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 1938 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: