ALBERT

Description: Mediterranean soils are particularly threatened by salinization and low levels of organic matter content. In order to assess an edaphic sustainable use, we need to study its characteristics and better understand the temporal and spatial evolution. In this study, a total of 14,852 ha located in a western Mediterranean basin were selected as the study site where 1417 and 1451 topsoil samples were analyzed in 2001/2002 and 2011/2012, respectively, for Soil Organic Matter (SOM) content, pH water (pHw) and electrical conductivity (EC). Classical statistics and geostatistics techniques were used and the individual soil samples were related with the cultural system (CS) practiced–rainfed/irrigation–and the Reference Soil Group (RSG)–Cambisols, Calcisols, Luvisols, and Fluvisols. Predictive maps were created by interpolation using the Ordinary Kriging algorithm. The main results of this study were that, when transitioning from a rainfed to irrigation CS, SOM content is maintained in Cambisols but decreases in the other RSGs, pHw is maintained and EC increases in Fluvisols, Luvisols, and Cambisols. Over time in the rainfed CS all RSGs maintained SOM and pHw but EC increased in Fluvisols, Luvisols, and Calcisols and in the irrigation CS SOM decreased in Luvisols, pHw increased in Fluvisols and Calcisols and EC increased in all RSGs.

Description: Mediterranean soils are particularly threatened by salinization and low levels of organic matter content. In order to assess an edaphic sustainable use, we need to study its characteristics and better understand the temporal and spatial evolution. In this study, a total of 14,852 ha located in a western Mediterranean basin were selected as the study site where 1417 and 1451 topsoil samples were analyzed in 2001/2002 and 2011/2012, respectively, for Soil Organic Matter (SOM) content, pH water (pHw) and electrical conductivity (EC). Classical statistics and geostatistics techniques were used and the individual soil samples were related with the cultural system (CS) practiced–rainfed/irrigation–and the Reference Soil Group (RSG)–Cambisols, Calcisols, Luvisols, and Fluvisols. Predictive maps were created by interpolation using the Ordinary Kriging algorithm. The main results of this study were that, when transitioning from a rainfed to irrigation CS, SOM content is maintained in Cambisols but decreases in the other RSGs, pHw is maintained and EC increases in Fluvisols, Luvisols, and Cambisols. Over time in the rainfed CS all RSGs maintained SOM and pHw but EC increased in Fluvisols, Luvisols, and Calcisols and in the irrigation CS SOM decreased in Luvisols, pHw increased in Fluvisols and Calcisols and EC increased in all RSGs.

Description: In the Mediterranean basin, edaphic salinization, sodification and alkalinization related to anthropic pressures and climatic changes may hinder the ecosystem sustainability. It is pertinent to study the mid and long-term variability of these soil characteristics in face off the macro agricultural system in use (i.e., irrigation or rain-fed). Four irrigated soils from the Caia Irrigation Perimeter (Portugal), Fluvisols, Luvisols, Calcisols and Cambisols were analysed in the mid-term, from 2002 to 2012, for its available Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+ content. Overall, Ca2+, K+ and Na+ significantly increased during the period of this study by 25%, 8% and 7%, respectively. Soil organic matter (SOM) and pH for the irrigated soils in the area were already assessed in previous studies with the overall SOM remaining constant (p ≥ 0.05) and pH increasing (p 〈 0.01) by 5%. We provide the predictive maps for Na+ and the CROSS predictive & HotSpot evolution map from 2002 to 2012. Rain-fed soils were analysed in the long-term, from 1965 to 2012, for their SOM, pH and non-acid cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+) content. While SOM, pH and the exchangeable Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+ significantly increased (p 〈 0.01) by 23%, 8%, 60%, 21% and 193%, respectively, exchangeable Na+ significantly decreased (p 〈 0.01) by 50%. These results may be related to the local climate changes as, according to the Thornthwaite classification, it went from sub-humid with great water excess (C1B2s2b4) in the climate normal 1951/1980 to sub-humid with moderate water excess (C1B2sb4) in 1981/2010 to semi-arid with little to none water excess (DB2db4) in 1991/2020. The irrigated areas in this Mediterranean region are slowly departing from sustainable goals of soil conservation and better edaphic management and conservation practices, that address the registered climatic changes in the area, could be adopted.

Description: Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of cattle, chicken and swine. Therefore, co-movements of Brazilian meat prices are important for both domestic and foreign stakeholders. We propose to analyse the cross-correlation between meat prices in Brazil, namely, cattle, swine and chicken, including also in the analysis information from some commodities, namely maize, soya beans, oil, and the Brazilian exchange rate. Our sample covers the recent period which coincided with extensive macroeconomic and institutional changes in Brazil, from 2011 to 2020, and is divided in two periods: (i) presidential pre-impeachment (P1), occurring in August 2016, and; (ii) post-impeachment (P2). Our results indicate that in P1, only the prices of swine and chicken showed a positive and strong correlation over time, and that cattle showed some positive correlation with chicken only in the short run. In P2, there was also a positive and consistent correlation between swine and chicken, and only a positive association with swine and cattle in the long run. For more spaced time scales (days), the changes in the degree of correlation were significant only in the long run for swine and cattle.

Description: Available phosphorus (AP) is a key macropollutant predictor of ecosystem services as well as a crucial indicator of soil productivity. Long-term applications of this macronutrient and its implications on sustainability in the face of peak phosphorus harvest have raised some concerns in recent years. This study aimed to characterise the edaphic AP in nearly 15,000 ha of the Mediterranean basin, an agricultural study area whose intensification is increasing with time. Four typical Mediterranean reference soil groups (RSG)—Calcisols, Luvisols, Fluvisols and Cambisols—were analysed and compared for their AP in two different agricultural settings—rain-fed and irrigation—from 2002 to 2012, where 1417 and 1451 topsoil samples were taken, respectively. AP increased from 2002 to 2012 in the irrigated Luvisols (p 〈 = 0.05), Fluvisols (p 〈 = 0.01) and Cambisols (p 〈 = 0.05), while irrigated Calcisols maintained its concentrations (p 〉 0.05) over time. For rain-fed soils, the AP did not reveal significant differences in time for all RSG (p 〉 0.05). Additionally, irrigated Fluvisols and Cambisols presented 9% (p 〈 = 0.01) and 68% (p 〈 = 0.01) higher AP concentrations, respectively, than the corresponding rain-fed RSGs in 2012. We provide predictive maps for both 2002 and 2012. These results suggest that this area is departing from the sustainable goals of ecosystem services equilibrium; proper management practices that counteract the anthropogenic pressures in the area should be adopted.

Description: There is a small sample of edaphic geochemistry studies over large geographic areas, especially studies that consider major reference soil groups (RSG) that evaluate both native concentrations of elements and anthropogenically contaminated soils in agricultural settings, considering the long-term effect of agricultural practices on landscape sustainability. In this study, four RSGs were analyzed for the available trace elements Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb, Cu, Mn, and Zn, including other edaphic properties from 2002 to 2012. The main objectives were to assess the range of concentrations of the selected elements in the four typical Mediterranean soils, Cambisols, Luvisols, Calcisols, and Fluvisols, with heavy anthropogenic input (HAI) and compare them to minimal anthropogenic input (MAI). For MAI, the background levels of Pb, Ni, Cd, and Cr were highest in Calcisols, differing from those of Cambisols, Luvisols, and Fluvisols (p 〈 0.01), Cu is highest both in Calcisols and Luvisols while Mn is higher in Cambisols and Fluvisols (p 〈 0.05). The background concentration of Zn was the same in all RSGs (p 〉 0.05). For HAI, the reference levels of Pb, Ni, Cd, Mn, and Cr were highest in the Calcisols, and Cu was high in all RSGs except Fluvisols, while Zn presented the lowest concentrations in the Luvisol RSG, with all these results considering a confidence interval of 95%. Predictive maps for the sampled elements, as well as the edaphic bioavailability, are provided. This environmental impact assessment suggests that the land use is departing from sustainable ecosystem service development and that territorial management practices, with conservation goals in mind, should be adopted.