Impacts of Land Use Changes on Soil Properties and Processes
1Edaphology and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Coruña (UDC), A Coruña, Spain
2Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC), Campinas, SP, Brazil
3Polytechnical University of Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
Impacts of Land Use Changes on Soil Properties and Processes
Description
Land use is one of the main drivers of many processes of environmental change, as it influences basic resources within the landscape, including the soil resources. Poor soil management can rapidly damage vast amounts of land, which frequently becomes a major threat to rural subsistence in many developing countries. Conversely, impact of land use changes on soil can occur so unnoticed that land managers hardly contemplate initiating ameliorative measures. Forest conversion to cropland and reduction of tillage intensity can prevail as main changes of land use in some regions, whereas abandon of agricultural fields can be a major concern in other regions. In a nonagricultural context, changes of land use of major interest are driven by urbanization, landscaping, engineering, mining, contamination, and so forth. Knowledge and understanding of soil properties and processes ensure remediation or reclamation of disturbed or damaged soils. We invite authors to submit original research and review articles that address the impact of soil use on biological, chemical, and physical soil properties. Particularly, we welcome any studies about the interaction between land use and soil heterogeneity at various scales, applying advanced statistical and mathematical methods. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Land use impact on soil organic matter content and soil fertility
- Land use impact on soil physical properties
- Land use impact on soil biological properties
- Role of land use on water and soil losses
- Role of land use on soil spatial variability
- Recent advances on land use and soil complexity
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