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Effect of topography and properties of parent materials on organic carbon content in technosols of a post-mining lignite site
Controlled drainage effectiveness in reducing nutrient outflow in light of climate changes
This modeling study focused on the hydrological and water quality effects of controlled drainage (CD) when operated using a subsurface drainage system in an agricultural field in the Wielkopolska region. The DRAINMOD hydrologic model was well calibrated and validated in an experimental field. This model was used in the performance of CD and free drainage (FD) combinations (108 and 27, respectively) in a near-future climate change scenario. The objective was to understand the potential of CD on the groundwater table (GWT), drainage outflow, surface runoff, and nitrogen and phosphorus reduction under projected climate conditions in Poland during the 21st century with shared socioeconomic pathway SSP370. The results indicated that the earliest start of CD practice is the most effective in increasing GWT. Compared to current climatic conditions, when applying CD on 1 March in the near future, with an initial GWT of 60 and 80 cm b.s.l. in wet years, drainage outflows will increase by 33% and 80% for the GFDL model, by 30% and 40% for the MPI model, and by 17% and 23% for the UKESM model. Comparing the surface runoff values obtained to current climate conditions, the MPI, GFDL, and UKESM models predict a significant increase in surface runoff in the near future, which is due to the predicted increase in precipitation. The annual NO3–N reduction was by 22, 19, and 15 kg per hectare for wet, normal, and dry years, respectively, in the near future. Among the climate scenarios, the UKESM model predicted higher NO3–N and PO4 leaching values compared to the MPI and GFDL models.
Is Controlled Drainage of Agricultural Land a Common Used Practice?—A Bibliographic Analysis
Controlled drainage (CD) is one of the basic techniques used to manage groundwater levels. Farmers can optimize water levels for crop growth at different stages of the growing season. Proper drainage water management can reduce the risk of soil erosion and surface water pollution. By controlling drainage, sediment and nutrient runoff can be minimized, leading to improved water quality in nearby streams and rivers. A mixed methods approach was used, which was based on the bibliometric analysis and content analysis of 462 articles using the bibliometrix R package and VOSviewer software. The article aimed to analyze the Author Keywords and KeyWords Plus to indicate the resulting clusters of complex interdependence that emerge from the main research areas. Continuous research continues to improve drainage techniques and systems to optimize agricultural water use. The results indicated the importance of researching the feasibility of CD for agriculture. The innovation of this study is that it points out the relevance of taking up the possibility of changing the use of unilateral subsurface drainage systems with another method of controlling drainage outflows as a current global challenge, contributing to filling this gap in the literature.
Changes in Physical and Water Retention Properties of Technosols by Agricultural Reclamation with Wheat–Rapeseed Rotation in a Post-Mining Area of Central Poland
During opencast lignite mining, the natural landscape is damaged, along with soils, and new anthropogenic landforms are created which require reclamation. Usually, the evaluation of the effects of reclamation (mostly forestry) is concerned with changes in chemical properties in the first years, mainly in the surface horizon. This study analyzed the effect of long-term agricultural reclamation (43 years) on the physical and water retention properties of Technosols. The experiment involved cultivation of winter wheat and winter oilseed rape under 3 fertilization variants. After 43 years, an Ap horizon (Ap1 and Ap2) developed in fertilized Technosols, but was not clearly formed in unfertilized minesoil. In Ap1, there was improvement in the physical quality (S), bulk density (BD), particle density (PD), structural stability index (SI), soil porosity (SP), air-filled porosity (AFP), field capacity (FC) and plant available water capacity (PAWC). In Ap2, properties were comparable to those in the surface horizon of unfertilized Technosols and to those observed before reclamation. Regardless of fertilization, there was deterioration in physical quality in parent materials. In general, the properties of fertilized Technosols have improved in the surface horizons, but increasing fertilization above plant requirements does not lead to their further enhancement.
Zmiany w strukturze użytkowania terenu i degradacja gleb w wyniku działalności odkrywkowej w centralnej Polsce: studium przypadku gminy Kleczew
Celem pracy było określenie zmian w strukturze użytkowania gruntów oraz degradacji gleb na terenie gminy Kleczew w latach 1935–2017, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem wpływu odkrywkowej eksploatacji węgla brunatnego. W pracy wykorzystano danekartograficzne z 1935 i 1970 roku oraz ewidencję gruntów z 2017 roku. Analizę przeprowadzono przy użyciu systemu GIS.W badanym okresie doszło do znacznego przekształcenia krajobrazu, szczególnie w południowej i centralnej części gminy, gdzie od lat 70-tych XX wieku działa kopalnia węgla brunatnego „Konin” (obecnie PAK KWB Konin S.A.). W okresie 1935-2017 nastąpił wyraźny spadek powierzchni gruntów ornych (z 9444 ha do 6990 ha) i użytków zielonych (z 731 ha do 371 ha),przy jednoczesnym wzroście powierzchni terenów zabudowanych (z 207 ha do 700 ha) oraz kopalnianych (do 980 ha w 2017 roku). Działalność kopalni doprowadziła do dewastacji 2046 ha gleb płowych, 404 ha czarnych ziem, 210 ha gleb organicznych i 198 ha gleb rdzawych. Gleby te charakteryzowały się głównie średnią i wysoką jakością dla prowadzenia produkcji rolniczej.Pomimo dewastacji naturalnie występujących gleb, KWB Konin prowadzi na analizowanym obszarze rekultywację rolniczą, na skutek której włączono ponownie do produkcji rolniczej 623 ha gleb antropogenicznych.
Effectiveness of Controlled Tile Drainage in Reducing Outflow and Nitrogen at the Scale of the Drainage System
The impact of controlled drainage (CD) on the groundwater table (GWT), drainage outflow, surface runoff, and nitrogen reduction at the drainage system scale in the Wielkopolska region was analyzed in this study. Based on field research, mainly by monitoring of GWT changes in 2019–2020, the DRAINMOD model was calibrated and validated. Hydrological soil water balance simulations were carried out with 36 and 9 combinations for CD and free drainage (FD), respectively. The modelling period was March-September for 10 different dry, wet, and normal years from the period of 1961 to 2020. The next step was to use the results of drainage outflow modelling and chemical constituent analyses of drainage water samples to determine NO3-N concentrations and calculate NO3-N pollution loads. As a result of the simulations, the importance of the timing of the start of the outflow retention in the adopted model variants was determined, indicating the earliest assumed date of 1 March. The appropriate CD start date as well as the initial GWT has a significant impact on the effectiveness of CD application in reducing the volume of drainage outflow and reducing the amount of NO3-N entering open water with it. The application of CD under the conditions of the analyzed drainage facility makes it possible to retain up to 22 kg of NO3-N per hectare.
Classification issues of drained organic soils in relation to selected features of soil water regime: A case study from central Poland
Long-term agricultural reclamation on the chemical properties of Technosols at lignite postmining site – efficiency of winter wheat and winter rape
The Impact of the Method of Reclamation of the Coal Ash Dump from the “Adamów” Power Plant on the Survival, Viability, and Wood Quality of the Introduced Tree Species
The aim of this research was to determine the survival rate, dimensions, and wood quality of black locust, ash-leaf maple, common maple, and American ash introduced to the landfill of the “Adamów” Power Plant as part of the reclamation process. The experimental area consisted of 13 research plots. On the three plots where the trees were planted directly into the ash, the trees completely collapsed. As a result of this research, it was found that the black locust had the best survival rates, whereas the American ash had the worst. The black locust and ash-leaf maple reached larger sizes on the plots where the ashes were covered with a 50-centimetre layer of sewage sludge (S50) or with a 50-centimetre layer of clay (C50), while the common maple grew the largest on the plots where a 25-centimetre layer of sewage sludge (S25) was used. Our research shows that about 40% of the examined species of wood were of good quality (Q1, Q2), which in the future will make it possible to obtain sawmill raw material. On the other hand, lower quality wood (Q3, Q4), which accounted for over 50% of the assessed wood material, can be successfully used as a biomass for energy purposes.