Earlier studies on soil degradation in Vertisols of the Purna Valley of central India indicated that the semiarid climate characterized by a mean annual rainfall (MAR) of 875mm and a tropustic moisture regime is responsible for the development of calcareous sodic soils. Recent observations, however, indicate that in the adjacent east upland of the Purna Valley, namely in the Pedhi Watershed, Vertisols have drainage problems, although the area receives a higher MAR than the Purna Valley, the total MAR being 975mm.

Large fires coincident with drought occurred in south-eastern Australia during 2001-2007. Perceptions of large, intense fires as being ecologically 'disastrous' are common. These are summarised by four hypotheses characterising large fires as: (i) homogenous in extent and intensity; (ii) causing large-scale extinction due to perceived lack of survival and regeneration capacity among biota; (iii) degrading due to erosion and related edaphic effects; (iv) unnatural, as a consequence of contemporary land management.

Although producers' prime objective may be to increase net returns, many are also interested in conserving and enhancing the quality the soil, water and air resources through adopting more environmentally friendly production practices.

This study explored the health, well-being, and social capital benefits gained by community members who are involved in the management of land for conservation in six rural communities across Victoria. A total of 102 people participated in the study (64 males; 38 females) comprising 51 members of a community-based land management group and 51 controls matched by age and gender. Mixed methods were employed, including the use of an adapted version of Buckner’s (1988) Community Cohesion Scale.

1. Little is known about the diversity and land management response of native solitary bees in globally rare barrens restricted to the northeastern United States. Herein we assess solitary bee diversity in a scrub oak barrens 2 years after a mow and herbicide treatment. 2. Standard bowl‐trap and sweep‐net surveys were repeated six times during June–August in four treated scrub oak patches and a nearby untreated scrub oak patch. 3. Bee richness and total abundance (all specimens) did not differ appreciably between the treated and untreated scrub oak.

The composition and structure of bacterial communities were examined in soil subjected to a range of diverse agricultural land management and crop production practices. Length heterogeneity polymerase chain reaction (LH-PCR) of bacterial DNA extracted from soil was used to generate amplicon profiles that were analyzed with univariate and multivariate statistical methods. Five land management programs were initiated in July 2000: conventional, organic, continuous removal of vegetation (disk fallow), undisturbed (weed fallow), and bahiagrass pasture (Paspalum notatum var Argentine).

The present e-collection of scientific works deals with results of research on issues of economy, agrarian and engineering sciences studied by researchers, post-graduate students, magisters and students of Mykolayiv State Agrarian Univ. and other educational establishments of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine are elucidated. The issue comprises 30 scientific papers, distributed by three sections, in particular Economic sciences (18 papers), Agricultural sciences (10) and Engineering sciences (2 papers), and, what is important, except the Ukrainian-language contents (pp.

Soil erosion and subsequent degradation has been a contributor to societal collapse in the past and is one of the major expressions of desertification in arid regions. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) models soil lost to water erosion as a function of climate erosivity (the degree to which rainfall can result in erosion), topography, soil erodibility, and land use/management.

Highly managed biotic systems, such as agricultural crops and managed turf, often require multiple applications of pesticides that may be transported with runoff to areas beyond the intended target site. Pesticides have been detected in surface waters of rural and urban watersheds raising questions concerning their source, potential environmental effects and a need for strategies to reduce their inputs.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Stoichiometric relations drive powerful constraints on many ecosystem processes. However, our understanding of the hierarchical responses of plant C:N:P stoichiometry at different levels of biological organization to global change factors remains limited. METHODS: we examined the plant C:N:P stoichiometric responses to N deposition and mowing (hay making) at both species- and community-level by carrying out a 4-year field experiment in the temperate steppe of northern China.

Ecosystem level processes and species interactions have become important concepts in conservation and land management. Despite being New Zealand’s greatest contributors to global diversity, native invertebrates have been largely overlooked in the assessment of land values, and their diversity has often been assumed to reflect native plant diversity without justification. Invertebrates can in fact affect plant species composition, and in ecosystems such as New Zealand’s remaining indigenous and semi-modified tussock grasslands can do so in excess of more conspicuous vertebrate grazers.

At present, spatially very detailed data sets can be obtained about soil, landscape and crop variability. However, there is a need to select independent key properties to identify management classes needed for precise land management. In a previous study performed in the European loess belt, topsoil pH, apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) and elevation were identified as key properties. In this study we enlarged the number of soil properties by including gamma ray measurements and employed a similar methodology to a field in the sand belt of northern Europe.