Land Degradation and Desertification: Assessment,

Mitigation and Remediation

Pandi Zdruli Marcello Pagliai Selim Kapur

Angel Faz Cano
Editors

Land Degradation
and Desertification:
Assessment, Mitigation
and Remediation

CIHEAM-Mediterranean Agronomic Institute,

Bari, Italy

International Union of Soil Sciences

123

Italian Society of Soil Science

European Commission, DG JRC Institute for

Environment and Sustainability

Editors
Pandi Zdruli
International Centre for Advanced
Mediterranean Agronomic
Studies (CIHEAM)
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari,
Land and Water Resources Management
Department
Via Ceglie 9
70010 Valenzano, Bari
Italy
[email protected]
Marcello Pagliai
Consiglio per la Ricerca e la
Sperimentazione in Agricoltura
Centro di Ricerca per
Agrobiologia e la Pedologia
Piazza DAzeglio, 30
50121 Firenze
Italy
[email protected]

Selim Kapur
Department of Soil Science & Archaeometry
University of Cukurova
Adana
Turkey
[email protected]

Angel Faz Cano

Depto. of Ciencia y Tecnologa
Agraria
Universidad Politcnica de
Cartagena
Paseo Alfonso XIII, 52
30203 Cartagena
Spain
[email protected]

ISBN 978-90-481-8656-3
e-ISBN 978-90-481-8657-0
DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-8657-0
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010923830
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written
permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose
of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Printed on acid-free paper
Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

Participants of the 5th International Conference

on Land Degradation
held at the
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy
1822 September 2008

Foreword

Land degradation and desertification issues are now milestone pillars of the international environmental and development agendas. Not only because they affect the
livelihoods of billions of people and have direct consequences on the well-being
of entire societies, but also due to devastating effects on ecosystems stability,
functions and services, loss of biodiversity and an endless list of other ill-related
severances. Problems are exacerbated when land degradation, mostly a humaninduced process is combined with naturally occurring drought. It is for these
reasons that the recent terminology adopted by the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD) involves Desertification, Land Degradation and
Drought (DLDD). That represents a major shift for the UNCCD itself covering
thus the entire planet Earth and bringing it closer to similar UN Conventions like
the Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Framework Convention to Climate
Change (UNFCCC). However, for the UNCCD the major focus will still be placed
on drylands and particularly in Africa.
The scientific community has invested more than half a century research in land
degradation and desertification and much is known now compared with the time
when Auberville for the first time in the 1950s coined the term desertification,
interesting enough not in the drylands but in tropical forests of Africa. Yet, the
link between science and policymaking appears to be week and information flow
among many stakeholders involved in the combat against land degradation and
desertification is not moving fast either.
Results on-the-ground in the last decade are not yet convincing many local
stakeholders that progress has been made, despite numerous excellent examples of
sustainable natural resources management worldwide as documented also by this
book. Recent trends ask for a paradigm shift in support of sustainable land management rather than simply focusing on combating land degradation. Climate change
will continue to dominate the environmental agenda and its effects will impact also
the land degradation-affected areas that will experience additional adversities. While
recognising the needs for further mitigation actions to alleviate climate change
effects, adaptation to the new climatic conditions will be the final unavoidable
choice as the history of nature evolution has shown.
This book contains selected papers of the 5th International Conference on Land
Degradation held at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy (IAMB) in
vii

viii

Foreword

18-22 September 2008. The event was sponsored also by the Italian Society of Soil
Science (SISS), the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) and the European
Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability
(EC, JRC, IES). These institutions have been involved for long in land degradation
research and mitigation studies.
We are delighted to offer this unique opportunity of presenting papers covering
a wide range of topics and geographical areas, all of them serving the purpose of
understanding better the cause-effect relationships of land degradation and desertification and to identify the best options for assessment, monitoring, mitigation, and
remediation.

Cosimo Lacirignola
Bari, Italy

Stephen Nortcliff
Reading, UK

Marcello Pagliai
Florence, Italy

Luca Montanarella
Ispra, Italy

Editors Note

The editors would like to express their gratitude to all the authors for their prompt
response, hard work and professionalism in preparing their chapters. For some of
them this was a first opportunity to write a chapter in a special Springer book, but
this was exactly what we intended when we invited them to collaborate in this effort.
We are sure this strengthens and enriches the book. We realised that it has been a
great challenge to complete this book in a such short time. All of this was possible,
thanks to authors friendly cooperation and enthusiasm that made our tasks easier.
The scientific content of each chapter is the responsibility of individual author(s)
and despite our continuous efforts to improve their content, there may be additional
questions and comments. We thus invite the reader to kindly ask or write directly to
each corresponding author for further clarification. Our editorial tasks were carried
out in full respect of everyones beliefs and research findings, and wherever necessary, to improve the content of each chapter. We did this without any prejudice for
individual or professional gains.
A particular word of thank you goes to Ms. Margaret Deignan, Associate Editor
at Environmental Sciences Unit of Springer who was the first to write and solicit
us about the preparation of this book as she noticed the potential for this publication. We are thankful also to all the sponsors of the 5th International Conference
on Land Degradation and in particular to the International Centre for Advanced
Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) and its Vice President Prof. Giuliana
Trisorio Liuzzi, to the Director of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari in
Italy (IAMB), Dr. Cosimo Lacirignola to Deputy Director of IAMB, Dr. Maurizio
Raeli, and to the Head of Land and Water Resources Management Department of
IAMB, Dr. Nicola Lamaddalena for their enormous support in successfully organising this conference. Among us, an exceptional thank you is addressed to Dr. Pandi
Zdruli in recognition of his endless and tireless efforts, scientific perseverance and
scrutiny that have left their mark throughout this book.
Bari, Italy
Florence, Italy
Adana, Turkey
Cartagena, Spain
October 2009

Pandi Zdruli
Marcello Pagliai
Selim Kapur
Angel Faz Cano

ix

Contents

Part I

Background Papers

1 What We Know About the Saga of Land Degradation and

How to Deal with It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pandi Zdruli, Marcello Pagliai, Selim Kapur, and
Angel Faz Cano
2 Moving Ahead from Assessments to Actions: Could We
Win the Struggle with Soil Degradation in Europe? . . . . . . . .
Luca Montanarella
3 Moving Ahead from Assessments to Actions by Using
Harmonized Risk Assessment Methodologies for Soil Degradation
C.L. van Beek, T. Tth, A. Hagyo, G. Tth, L. Recatal Boix,
C. A Vidal, J.P. Malet, O. Maquire, J.H.H. van den Akker,
S.E.A.T.M. van der Zee, S. Verzandvoort, C. Simota,
P.J. Kuikman, and O. Oenema
4 Zero-Tolerance on Land Degradation for Sustainable
Intensification of Agricultural Production . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Minh-Long Nguyen, Felipe Zapata, and Gerd Dercon
5 A Methodology for Land Degradation Assessment
at Multiple Scales Based on the DPSIR Approach:
Experiences from Applications to Drylands . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Raul Ponce-Hernandez and Parviz Koohafkan
6 Global Warming, Carbon Balance, and Land and Water
Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ahmet Ruhi Mermut
Part II

15

25

37

49

67

Land Degradation and Mitigation in Africa

7 The Use of GIS Data in the Desertification Risk

Cartography: Case Study of South Aurs Region in Algeria . . .
H. Benmessaud, M. Kalla, and H. Driddi

81

xi

xii

Contents

8 Land Degradation and Overgrazing in the Afar Region,

Ethiopia: A Spatial Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B.G.J.S. Sonneveld, S. Pande, K. Georgis, M.A. Keyzer,
A. Seid Ali, and A. Takele
9 Effects and Implications of Enclosures for Rehabilitating
Degraded Semi-arid Rangelands: Critical Lessons from
Lake Baringo Basin, Kenya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stephen M. Mureithi, Ann Verdoodt, and Eric Van Ranst
10 Assessment of Land Desertification Based
on the MEDALUS Approach and Elaboration
of an Action Plan: The Case Study of the Souss River
Basin, Morocco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
R. Bouabid, M. Rouchdi, M. Badraoui, A. Diab, and S. Louafi
11 Assessment of the Existing Land Conservation Techniques
in the Peri Urban Area of Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria . . . . . .
Taiye Oluwafemi Adewuyi
12 The Use of Tasselled Cap Analysis and Household
Interviews Towards Assessment and Monitoring of
Land Degradation: A Case Study Within the Wit-Kei
Catchment in the Eastern Cape, South Africa . . . . . . . . . . .
Luncendo Ngcofe, Gillian McGregor, and Luc Chevallier

97

111

131

147

163

13 Environmental Degradation of Natural Resources in

Butana Area of Sudan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Muna M. Elhag and Sue Walker

171

14 Land Suitability for Crop Options Evaluation in Areas

Affected by Desertification: The Case Study of Feriana in Tunisia
S. Madrau, C. Zucca, A.M. Urgeghe, F. Julitta, and F. Previtali

179

15 Strategic Nutrient Management of Field Pea

in South-Western Uganda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
P. Musinguzi, J.S. Tenywa, and M.A. Bekunda

195

Part III Land Degradation and Mitigation in Asia

16 Effectiveness of Soil Conservation Measures in Reducing
Soil Erosion and Improving Soil Quality in China
Assessed by Using Fallout Radionuclides . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Y. Li and M.L. Nguyen
17 Policy Impacts on Land Degradation: Evidence Revealed
by Remote Sensing in Western Ordos, China . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weicheng Wu and Eddy De Pauw

207

219

Contents

18 Assessment of Land Degradation and Its Impacts on Land

Resources of Sivagangai Block, Tamil Nadu, India . . . . . . . . .
A. Natarajan, M. Janakiraman, S. Manoharan,
K.S. Anil Kumar, S. Vadivelu, and Dipak Sarkar

xiii

235

19 New Approaches in Reclamation of Degraded Soils with

Special Reference to Sodic Soil: An Indian Experience . . . . . .
R.K. Isaac, D.P. Sharma, and N. Swaroop

253

20 Soil and Water Degradation Following Forest Conversion

in the Humid Tropics (Indonesia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gerhard Gerold

267

21 Relationships Between Land Degradation and Natural

Disasters and Their Impacts on Integrated Watershed
Management in Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hamid Reza Solaymani Osbooei and
Mahnaz Bafandeh Haghighi

285

22 Modelling Carbon Sequestration in Drylands of

Kazakhstan Using Remote Sensing Data and Field
Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
P.A. Propastin and M. Kappas

297

23 The Effectiveness of Two Polymer-Based Stabilisers

Offering an Alternative to Conventional Sand Stabilisation
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ashraf A. Ramadan, Shawqui M. Lahalih, Sadiqa Ali, and
Mane Al-Sudairawi

307

24 Mountainous Tea Industry Promotion: An Alternative for

Stable Land Use in the Lao PDR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ayumi Yoshida and Chanhda Hemmavanh

323

25 Rehabilitation of Deserted Quarires in Lebanon to Initial

Land Cover or Alternative Land Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
T.M. Darwish, R. Stehouwer, C. Khater, I. Jomaa, D. Miller,
J. Sloan, A. Shaban, and M. Hamze
26 The Impact of Land Use Change on Water Yield: The
Case Study of Three Selected Urbanised and Newly
Urbanised Catchments in Peninsular Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . .
Mohd Suhaily Yusri Che Ngah and Ian Reid
27 Reclamation of Land Disturbed by Shrimp Farming in
Songkla Lake Basin, Southern Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Charlchai Tanavud, Omthip Densrisereekul, and
Thudchai Sansena

333

347

355

xiv

Contents

28 The Effect of Bio-solid and Tea Waste Applications on

Erosion Ratio Index of Eroded Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nutullah Ozdemir, Tugrul Yakupoglu, Elif Ozturk, and
Orhan Dengiz
29 Modern and Ancient Knowledge of Conserving Soils in
Socotra Island, Yemen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dana Pietsch and Miranda Morris
Part IV

367

375

Land Degradation and Mitigation in Europe

30 Content of Heavy Metals in Albanian Soils and

Determination of Spatial Structures Using GIS . . . . . . . . . . .
Skender Belalla, Ilir Salillari, Adrian Doko, Fran Gjoka,
and Majlinda Cenameri
31 Radioisotopic Measurements (137 Cs and 210 Pb) to Assess
Erosion and Sedimentation Processes: Case Study in Austria . . .
L. Mabit, A. Klik, and A. Toloza
32 Development and Opportunities for Evaluation of
Anthropogenic Soil Load by Risky Substances in the
Czech Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Radim Vcha, Jan Skla, and Jarmila Cechmnkov

33 Land Degradation in Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sid. P. Theocharopoulos
34 Factors Influencing Soil Organic Carbon Stock Variations
in Italy During the Last Three Decades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
M. Fantappi, G. LAbate, and E.A.C. Costantini
35 Monitoring Soil Salinisation as a Strategy
for Preventing Land Degradation: A Case Study in Sicily, Italy . .
Giuseppina Crescimanno, Kenneth B. Marcum, Francesco
Morga, and Carlo Reina
36 Severe Environmental Constraints for Mediterranean
Agriculture and New Options for Water and Soil
Resources Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
N. Colonna, F. Lupia, and M. Iannetta
37 Assessment of Desertification in Semi-Arid Mediterranean
Environments: The Case Study of Apulia Region
(Southern Italy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
G. Ladisa, M. Todorovic, and G. Trisorio Liuzzi

389

401

413
423

435

467

477

493

Contents

xv

38 Spatial Variability of Light Morainic Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Micha Czajka, Stanisaw Podsiadowski, Alfred Stach,
and Ryszard Walkowiak
39 Studding the Impacts of Technological Measures on the
Biological Activity of Pluvial Eroded Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geanina Bireescu, Costica Ailincai, Lucian Raus, and
Lazar Bireescu

517

529

40 Achievements and Perspectives on the Improvement by

Afforestation of Degraded Lands in Romania . . . . . . . . . . .
Cristinel Constandache, Viorel Blujdea, and Sanda Nistor

547

41 Investigating Soils for Agri-Environmental Protection in

an Arid Region of Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Castaneda, S. Mendez, J. Herrero, and J. Betran

561

42 Risk Assessment in Soils Developed on Metamorphic and

Igneous Rocks Using Heavy Metal Sequential Extraction
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. Martnez-Martnez, Angel Faz Cano, Gerhard Gerold,
J.A. Acosta, and R. Ortiz

569

43 Assessing the Impact of Fodder Maize Cultivation on Soil

Erosion in the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mokhtar Jaafar and Des E. Walling

581

Part V

Land Degradation and Mitigation in the Americas

44 Evolution and Human Land Management During the

Holocene in Southern Altiplano Desert, Argentina (26 S) . . . . .
Pablo Tchilinguirian and Daniel Olivera
45 Metal Pollution by Gold Mining Activities in the Sunchulli
Mining District of Apolobamba (Bolivia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
T. Teran, Angel Faz Cano, M.A. Munoz, J.A. Acosta,
S. Martinez-Martinez, and R. Millan
46 Areas Degradated by Extraction of Clay and Revegetated
with Acacia mangium and Eucalyptus camaldulensis:
Using Soil Fauna as Indicator of Rehabilitation in an Area
of Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cristiane Figueira da Silva, Eliane Maria Ribeiro da Silva,
William Robertson Duarte da Oliveira, Maria Elizabeth
Fernandes Correia, and Marco Antonio Martins
47 Conservation Tillage in Potato Rotations in Eastern Canada . . .
M.R. Carter, R.D. Peters, and J.B. Sanderson

591

605

619

627

xvi

Contents

48 An Assessment of Soil Erosion Costs in Mexico . . . . . . . . . . .

Helena Cotler and Sergio Martnez-Trinidad

639

49 Predicting Winter Wheat Yield Loss from Soil

Compaction in the Central Great Plains of the United States . . .
Joseph G. Benjamin and Maysoon M. Mikha

649

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

657

Contributors

J.A. Acosta Sustainable Use, Management, and Reclamation of Soil and Water
Research Group, Department of Agriculture Science and Technology Department,
Technical University of Cartagena, 30203 Cartagena, Spain,
[email protected]
Taiye Oluwafemi Adewuyi Department of Geography, Nigerian Defense
Academy, Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria, [email protected]
Costica Ailincai University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, 700490 Iasi,
Romania, [email protected]
Sadiqa Ali Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Safat 13109, Kuwait
Mane Al-Sudairawi Kuwait Institute For Scientific Research, Safat 13109,
Kuwait
K.S. Anil Kumar National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning,
Regional Centre, Bangalore 560024, India
C. A Vidal CIDE-(CSIC, Universitat de Valncia, Generalitat Valenciana),
Cami de la Marjal, s/n, Apartado Oficial, 46470 Albal, Valencia, Spain,
[email protected]
M. Badraoui Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Rabat, Marocco,
[email protected]
M.A. Bekunda Department of Soil Science, Makerere University, Kampala,
Uganda
Skender Belalla Centre of Agriculture Technology Transfer, Fush Kruja, Albania
Joseph G. Benjamin USDA-ARS, Central Great Plains Research Station, Akron,
CO 80720, USA, [email protected]
H. Benmessaud Laboratoire Risques Naturels et Amnagement du Territoire,
Facult des sciences, Universit El Hadj Lakhdar, Batna, Algrie,
[email protected]
J. Betran Laboratorio Agroalimentario, DGA, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
xvii

xviii

Contributors

Geanina Bireescu Biological Research Institute, 700107 Iasi, Romania,

[email protected]
Lazar Bireescu Biological Research Institute, 700107 Iasi, Romania,
[email protected]
Viorel Blujdea Climate Change Unit, European Commission Joint Research
Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy,
[email protected]
R. Bouabid Ecole Nationale dAgriculture de Mekns, 50000 Mekns, Morocco,
[email protected]
Angel Faz Cano Sustainable Use, Management, and Reclamation of Soil and
Water Research Group, Department of Agriculture Science and Technology,
Technical University of Cartagena, 30203 Cartagena, Spain,
[email protected]
M.R. Carter Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Crops and Livestock Research
Centre, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4N6, Canada, [email protected]
C. Castaneda Soils and Irrigation Department (associated with CSIC), AgriFood
Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), 50059 Zaragoza, Spain,
[email protected]

Jarmila Cechmnkov
Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation,
Prague 15627, Czech Republic
Majlinda Cenameri Polytechnic University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
Luc Chevallier Council for Geoscience, Bellville 7535, South Africa,
[email protected]
N. Colonna Biotechnologies, Agroindustry and Health protection Department,
ENEA, 00123 Rome, Italy, [email protected]
Cristinel Constandache Forest Research and Management Institute Bucuresti,
Focsani Station, 620018 Focsani, Romania, [email protected]
Maria Elizabeth Fernandes Correia Embrapa Agrobiologia, Seropdica CEP
23890-000, RJ, Brazil, [email protected]
E.A.C. Costantini CRA-ABP, Research Centre for Agrobiology and Pedology,
50121 Florence, Italy, [email protected]
Helena Cotler Instituto Nacional de Ecologa, Coyoacn, Mxico D.F., CP 04530,
Mxico, [email protected]
Giuseppina Crescimanno Dipartimento ITAF, Universit di Palermo, 90128
Palermo, Italy, [email protected]
Micha Czajka Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznan
University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznan, Poland, [email protected]

Contributors

xix

Cristiane Figueira da Silva Centro de Cincias e Tecnologias Agropecurias,

Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos
Goytacazes CEP 28015-620, RJ, Brazil, [email protected]@uenf.br
Eliane Maria Ribeiro da Silva Embrapa Agrobiologia, Seropdica CEP
23890-000, RJ, Brazil, [email protected]
T.M. Darwish National Council for Scientific Research-Remote Sensing Center,
Mansourieh, Lebanon, [email protected]
William Robertson Duarte de Oliveira Embrapa Agrobiologia, Seropdica CEP
23890-000, RJ, Brazil, [email protected]
Eddy De Pauw International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas
(ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria, [email protected]
Orhan Dengiz Department of Soil Science, Agricultural Faculty, Ondokuz Mayis
University, Samsun 55139, Turkey, [email protected]
Omthip Densrisereekul Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla
University, Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand
Gerd Dercon Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Subprogramme,
Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture,
International Atomic Energy Agency, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, [email protected]
A. Diab Ministre de lAmnagement du Territoire, de lEau et de
lEnvironnement, Rabat, Morocco
Adrian Doko Centre of Agriculture Technology Transfer, Fush Kruja, Albania,
[email protected]
H. Driddi Laboratoire Risques Naturels et Amnagement du Territoire, Facult
des sciences, Universit El Hadj Lakhdar, Batna, Algrie
Muna M. Elhag Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Gezira, Wad
Medani, Sudan, [email protected]
M. Fantappi CRA-ABP, Centro di ricerca per lagrobiologia e la pedologia,
50121 Firenze, Italia, [email protected]
K. Georgis Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research (EIA), Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Gerhard Gerold Department of Landscape Ecology, Geographisches Institute
Georg-August-Universitt Gttingen, Gttingen 37077, Germany,
[email protected]
Fran Gjoka Agricultural University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
Mahnaz Bafandeh Haghighi KAM Consulting Engineers Company, Tehran,
Iran, [email protected]

xx

Contributors

A. Hagyo Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry,

Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1022 Budapest, Hungary
M. Hamze National Council for Scientific Research, Beirut, Lebanon,
[email protected]
Chanhda Hemmavanh Lanexang Avenue, Vientiane Municipality, Vientiane,
LAO PDR, [email protected]
J. Herrero Estacin Experimental de Aula Dei, CSIC, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain,
[email protected]
M. Iannetta Biotechnologies, Agroindustry and Health Protection Department,
ENEA, 00123 Rome, Italy, [email protected]
R.K. Isaac Department of Soil Water Land Engineering Management, Faculty of
Engineering, Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Deemed University, Allahabad, UP
211007, India, [email protected]
Mokhtar Jaafar Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, School of Social,
Development and Environmental Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600
Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia, [email protected]
M. Janakiraman National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning,
Regional Centre, Bangalore 560024, India
I. Jomaa National Council for Scientific Research-Remote Sensing Center,
Mansourieh, Lebanon
F. Julitta DISAT, Universit degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
M. Kalla Laboratoire Risques Naturels et Amnagement du Territoire, Facult des
sciences, Universit El Hadj Lakhdar, Batna, Algrie
M. Kappas Department of Geography, Georg-August University, Gttingen
37077, Germany, [email protected]
Selim Kapur Department of Soils and Archaeometry, University of ukurova,
01330 Adana, Turkey, [email protected]
M.A. Keyzer Centre for World Food Studies, VU University Amsterdam
(SOW-VU), 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
C. Khater National Council for Scientific Research-Remote Sensing Center,
Mansourieh, Lebanon
A. Klik Institute of Hydraulics and Rural Water Management, University of
Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
Parviz Koohafkan Land and Water Division, Department of Natural Resources
Management and Environment, Food and Agriculture Organisation, 00153 Rome,
Italy, [email protected]

Contributors

xxi

P.J. Kuikman Alterra, Soil Science Center, 6700 AA Wageningen, The

Netherlands, [email protected]
G. LAbate CRA-ABP, Centro di ricerca per lagrobiologia e la pedologia, 50121
Firenze, Italia, [email protected]
Gaetano Ladisa CIHEAM Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Valenzano
70010, BA, Italy, [email protected]
Shawqui M. Lahalih Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Safat 13109,
Kuwait
Y. Li Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture,
CAAS, Beijing 100081, China, [email protected]
Giuliana Trisorio Liuzzi CIHEAM/Department of Engineering and Management
of Agricultural and Forest Systems, University of Bari, Bari 70126, Italy,
[email protected]
S. Louafi Compagnie dAmnagement Agricole et de Dveloppement Industriel,
Rabat, Morocco
F. Lupia INEA, National Institute of Agricultural Economics, 36 00187 Rome,
Italy, [email protected]
L. Mabit Soil Science Unit, FAO/IAEA Agriculture & Biotechnology Laboratory,
IAEA Laboratories Seibersdorf, Vienna A-1400, Austria, [email protected]
S. Madrau DIT-UNISS, Department of Territorial Engineering, Universit degli
Studi di Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy, [email protected]
J.P. Malet Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg (IPGS), CNRS,
Strasbourg, School and Observatory of Earth Sciences (EOST), F-67084
Strasbourg Cedex, France, [email protected]
S. Manoharan National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional
Centre, Bangalore 560024, India
O. Maquire Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg (IPGS), CNRS,
Strasbourg, School and Observatory of Earth Sciences (EOST), F-67084
Strasbourg Cedex, France, [email protected]
Kenneth B. Marcum Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology, National Parks
Board, Garden city, Singapore, [email protected]
S. Martnez-Martnez Department of Agriculture Science and Technology,
Technical University of Cartagena, 30203 Cartagena, Spain,
[email protected].
Sergio Martnez-Trinidad Instituto Nacional de Ecologa, Coyoacn, Mxico
D.F., CP 04530, Mxico

xxii

Contributors

Marco Antonio Martins Centro de Cincias e Tecnologias Agropecurias,

Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos
Goytacazes CEP 28015-620, RJ, Brazil
Gillian McGregor Department of Geography, Rhodes University, Grahamstown
6140, South Africa, [email protected]
S. Mendez Rserve Naturelle Nationale Valle dEyne, Ferme Cal Martinet,
66800 Eyne, France
Ahmet Ruhi Mermut University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N, Canada;
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Harran University, Sanlurfa

63200, Turkey, [email protected]

Maysoon M. Mikha USDA-ARS, Central Great Plains Research Station, Akron,
CO 80720, USA
R. Millan Department of Environment, CIEMAT, E-28040 Madrid, Spain,
[email protected]
D. Miller Center for Environmental Informatics, Penn Sate University,
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Luca Montanarella Institute for Environment and Sustainability, European
Commission, Joint Research Centre, I-21020 Ispra, VA, Italy,
[email protected]
Francesco Morga Dipartimento ITAF, Universit di Palermo, 90128 Palermo,
Italy, [email protected]
Miranda Morris School of History, St. Andrews University, St. Andrews, Fife
KY16 9AL, UK
M.A. Munoz Sustainable Use, Management, and Reclamation of Soil and Water
Research Group, Department of Agriculture Science and Technology, Technical
University of Cartagena, 30203 Cartagena, Spain
Stephen M. Mureithi Range Management Section, Department of Land Resource
Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya,
[email protected]
P. Musinguzi Department of Soil Science, Makerere University, Kampala,
Uganda, [email protected]
A. Natarajan National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional
Centre, Bangalore 560024, India, [email protected]
Mohd Suhaily Yusri Che Ngah Department of Geography, Faculty of Social
Sciences and Humanities, Sultan Idris Education University, Tanjong Malim Perak
35900, Malaysia, [email protected]
Luncendo Ngcofe Council for Geoscience, Bellville 7535, South Africa,
[email protected]

Contributors

xxiii

Minh-Long Nguyen Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition

Subprogramme, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and
Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, A-1400 Vienna, Austria,
[email protected]
Sanda Nistor Forest Research and Management Institute, Focsani Research
Station, 620018 Focsani, Romania, [email protected]
O. Oenema Alterra, Soil Science Center, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands,
[email protected]
Daniel Olivera CONICET-INAPL-UBA, CP 1426 Buenos Aires, Argentina,
[email protected]
R. Ortiz Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Geology and Edaphology,
University of Murcia, Campus of Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain, [email protected]
Hamid Reza Solaymani Osbooei Department of Watershed Management, Forest,
Range and Watershed Organisation, Tehran 11445-1136, Iran,
[email protected]
Nutullah Ozdemir Department of Soil Science, Agricultural Faculty, Ondokuz
Mayis University, Samsun 55139, Turkey, [email protected]
Elif Ozturk Department of Soil Science, Agricultural Faculty, Ondokuz Mayis
University, Samsun 55139, Turkey, [email protected]
Marcello Pagliai CRA-ABP Research Centre for Agrobiology and Pedology,
50121 Florence, Italy, [email protected]
S. Pande Centre for World Food Studies, VU University Amsterdam (SOW-VU),
1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
R.D. Peters Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Crops and Livestock Research
Centre, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4N6, Canada, [email protected]
Dana Pietsch Institute of Geography, University of Tbingen, Tbingen 72070,
Germany, [email protected]
Stanisaw Podsiadowski Department of Agricultural Engineering, Poznan
University of Life Sciences, 60-625 Poznan, Poland, [email protected]
Raul Ponce-Hernandez Environmental and Resource Studies Program, Trent
University, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8, Canada, [email protected]
Franco Previtali DISAT, Universit degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy,
[email protected]
P.A. Propastin Department of Geography, Georg-August University, Gttingen
37077, Germany, [email protected]
Ashraf A. Ramadan Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Safat 13109,
Kuwait, [email protected]

xxiv

Contributors

Lucian Raus University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, 700490 Iasi,

Romania, [email protected]
L. Recatal Boix CIDE-(CSIC, Universitat de Valncia, Generalitat Valenciana),
Cami de la Marjal, s/n, Apartado Oficial, 46470 Albal, Valencia, Spain,
[email protected]
Ian Reid Geography Department, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11
3TU, UK, [email protected]
Carlo Reina Dipartimento ITAF, Universit di Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
M. Rouchdi Ecole Nationale dAgriculture de Mekns, 50000 Mekns, Morocco
Ilir Salillari Centre of Agriculture Technology Transfer, Fush Kruja, Albania,
[email protected]
J.B. Sanderson Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Crops and Livestock
Research Centre, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4N6, Canada
Thudchai Sansena Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development
Agency, Bangkok, Thailand
Dipak Sarkar National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional
Centre, Bangalore 560024, India
A. Seid Ali Afar Pastoral and AgroPastoral Research Institute (APARI), Semerra,
Ethiopia
A. Shaban National Council for Scientific Research-Remote Sensing Center,
Mansourieh, Lebanon
D.P. Sharma Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of
Agriculture, Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Deemed University, Allahabad, UP
211007, India
C. Simota ICPA, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]
Jan Skla Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague 15627,
Czech Republic
J. Sloan Center for Environmental Informatics, Penn Sate University,
Philadelphia, PA, USA
B.G.J.S. Sonneveld Centre for World Food Studies, VU University Amsterdam
(SOW-VU), 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, [email protected]
Alfred Stach Quaternary Research Institute, Adam Mickiewicz University,
61-701 Poznan, Poland, [email protected]
R. Stehouwer College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State University,
Pennsylvania, PA, USA

Contributors

xxv

N. Swaroop Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of

Agriculture, Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Deemed University, Allahabad, UP
211007, India, [email protected]
A. Takele Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research (EIAR), Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Charlchai Tanavud Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University,
Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand, [email protected]
Pablo Tchilinguirian Institute of Archaeology, UBA, CP 1426 Buenos Aires,
Argentina, [email protected]
J.S. Tenywa Department of Soil Science, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
T. Teran Department of Agriculture Science and Technology, Technical
University of Cartagena, 30203 Cartagena, Spain, [email protected]
Sid. P. Theocharopoulos N.AG.RE.F. Soil Science Institute of Athens, Athens
14123, Greece, [email protected]
Mladen Todorovi Department of Land and Water Resources Management,
CIHEAM Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Valenzano 70010, BA, Italy,
[email protected]
A. Toloza Soil Science Unit, FAO/IAEA Agriculture & Biotechnology
Laboratory, IAEA Laboratories Seibersdorf, Vienna A-1400, Austria
G. Tth European Commission, Joint Research Centre, I-21020 Ispra, VA, Italy,
[email protected]
T. Tth Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Hungarian
Academy of Sciences, 1022 Budapest, Hungary, [email protected]
A.M. Urgeghe Centro Interdipartimentale di Ateneo NRD-UNISS (Nucleo
Ricerca Desertificazione), Universit degli Studi di Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Radim Vcha Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague 15627,
Czech Republic, [email protected]
S. Vadivelu National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional
Centre, Bangalore 560024, India
C.L. van Beek Alterra, Soil Science Center, 6700 AA Wageningen, The
Netherlands, [email protected]
J.H.H. van den Akker Alterra, Soil Science Center, 6700 AA Wageningen, The
Netherlands, [email protected]
Sjoerd E.A.T.M. van der Zee Wageningen-UR, 6700 HB Wageningen, The
Netherlands, [email protected]

xxvi

Contributors

Eric Van Ranst Laboratory of Soil Science, Department of Geology and Soil
Science, Ghent University, B-9000 Gent, Belgium, [email protected]
Ann Verdoodt Laboratory of Soil Science, Department of Geology and Soil
Science, Ghent University, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
S. Verzandvoort Alterra, Soil Science Center, 6700 AA Wageningen, The
Netherlands, [email protected]
Sue Walker University of Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa,
[email protected]
Ryszard Walkowiak Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods,
Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznan, Poland, [email protected]
Des E. Walling Department of Geography, School of Geography, University of
Exeter, Exeter, Devon EX4 4RJ, UK, [email protected]
Weicheng Wu International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas
(ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria, [email protected]
Tugrul Yakupoglu Department of Soil Science, Agricultural Faculty, Ondokuz
Mayis University, Samsun 55139, Turkey, [email protected]
Ayumi Yoshida Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310029, PR
China, [email protected]
Felipe Zapata Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Subprogramme,
Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture,
International Atomic Energy Agency, A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Pandi Zdruli Department of Land and Water Resources Management,
CIHEAM-Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, BA, Italy,
[email protected]
Claudio Zucca NRD-UNISS, Desertification Research Group, Universit degli
Studi di Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy, [email protected]

About the Editors

Dr. Pandi Zdruli over the last decade has been a Senior Research Scientist and
Professor of Soil Science and Natural Resources with the International Centre
for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), Land and Water
Resources Management Department of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute
of Bari, in Italy. Prior to this position he was Visiting Scientist with the
European Commissions Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, Senior Fulbright
Research Fellow at the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources
Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) in Washington DC, USA, and Chief of the
Pedology Department of the Soil Science Institute of Tirana in his native Albania.
Dr. Zdruli is author of over 46 scientific and technical papers, Editor-In-Chief
of 10 books and distinguished member of a number of professional national and
international organisations. He has over 28 years of experience in agriculture and
rural development, soil science, sustainable land management, land degradation and
desertification studies and integrated environmental impact assessments.
Dr. Marcello Pagliai has been for more than a decade Director of the Research
Centre for Agrobiology and Pedology of the Italian Agricultural Research Council
and President of the Italian Soil Science Society from 2002 to 2008. He was also
Chairman of the Commission 2.1 (Soil Physics) of the International Union of Soil
Sciences (IUSS) for the period 20022006. His main research efforts are centred
in the fields of Soil Micromorphology and Soil Physics and particularly on: soilconditioner interactions, effects of waste applications and organic materials on soil
structure, evaluation of the impact of different tillage systems and management
practices on soil quality, soil crusting, soil physical and biological degradation, soil
compaction, sensibility and vulnerability and paddy soils research. Coordinator of
several research projects on soil management and conservation, he is also author and
co-author of 191 publications, Associate-Editor-In-Chief of the European Journal
of Agronomy (Elsevier) and Member of the Editorial Board of Soil and Tillage
Research (Elsevier).
Dr. Selim Kapur is Professor of Soil Science and Archaeometry at the University
of ukurova, in Adana, Turkey. He has organised various international meetings
and events since the mid sixties when in Madrid, Spain in 1966 was held the first
Meeting on Red Mediterranean Soils that later developed as Meetings of Soils with
xxvii

xxviii

About the Editors

Mediterranean Type of Climate; the tenth of such meetings was held in 2009 in
Lebanon. Dr. Kapur has also organised the 1st International Conference on Land
Degradation held in Adana in 1996 and latter on again in Adana he prearranged
the 12th International Meeting on Soil Micromorphology. He is member of the
European Soil Bureau Network and Secretary of the Working Group on Land
Degradation of the International Union of Soil Sciences. He has been a Wageningen
STIBOKA (now ALTERRA) and Hohenheim University fellow scientist. Dr. Kapur
is author and also reviewer/editor of numerous papers and chapters published in
national and international journals as well as books that have contributed on the
interdisciplinary character of soil science, and in particular of soil micromorphology. Has contributed largely to the development of the Anthroscape context in
relation to soils and has more than 35 years of research and experience in sustainable
land management.
Prof. Angel Faz Cano received his Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees from
the University of Murcia, in Spain. He is currently professor of Soil Science
at the Agricultural Science and Technology Department, and Director of the
Research Group on Sustainable Use, Management and Reclamation of Soil and
Water, Technical University of Cartagena, Spain. Current national and international
projects include soil usage and global change in semiarid areas: carbon cycle, agricultural application of pig slurries and organic residues from horticulture for crop
production, mining and industrial polluted soils risk assessment, reclamation and
landscape design. In addition to Spain, he has made extensive research on soils and
water management in Latin America. Currently he is Vice chair of the Working
Group on Land Degradation of Internatonal Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), and just
elected in 2008 as Vice chair of the Commission Soil Geography of IUSS.