Showing papers by "Simone Priori published in 2010"

Three proximal sensors for mapping skeletal soils in vineyards.

Abstract: Proximal sensors are becoming widely used in precision viticulture, due to the quick, easy and non-invasive identification of soil spatial variability. The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) is the main parameter measured by sensors, which is correlated to many factors, like soil water content, salinity, clay content and mineralogy, bulk density, and porosity. In the last three decades, many proximal sensors for the measurement of the ECa have been produced and commercialized. This study compares three different sensors to delineate soil boundaries and estimate clay and skeleton content in a vineyard of the Chianti region (Central Italy). The sensors were a geoelectric system (ARP-Automatic Resistivity Profiling) with 3 different depths of investigation (50 cm, 100 cm and 170 cm), a single-frequency Electro-Magnetic Induction sensor (EMI, Geonics EM38-DD), in horizontal (EM38_HDP) and vertical dipole configuration (EM38_VDP) and a multi-frequency EMI sensor (GSSI Profiler EMP400), in horizontal (Profiler_HDP) and vertical (Profiler_VDP) dipole configuration. All three sensors produced ECa maps with similar pattern. The strongest correlations between the instruments were between ARP-50 and EM38_HDP (r = 0.774), ARP-170 and EM38_VDP (r = 0.805), and ARP-170 and Profiler in all the configurations (r = from 0.758 to 0.783). The correlations between ECa and clay content calculated on the fine earth were low or not significant with EM38 and Profiler (r = 0.36 to 0.61), both in vertical and horizontal configuration, and stronger with ARP (r = 0.61 to 0.81). The correlation improved and resulted significant for all the sensors (r = 0.56 to 0.86) when the percentage value of clay was referred to the whole soil (fine earth + skeleton).

Geographic relevance of Late Pleistocene and Middle Holocene aeolian deposits in Central Tuscany (Italy).

Abstract: In central Italy, aeolian deposits of different nature are very scarce and often difficult to recognize. This paper reports the results of the work made by our research group during the last twenty years about the polygenetic paleosols with aeolian cover in the Elsa river basin (central Italy). During these studies we analyzed the texture, the chemical-physical parameters, the mineralogy, the micromorphology (soil thin sections and quartz grains exoscopy) and the geochemistry of the paleosols. In addition, we dated some horizons by OSL. The soil profiles with aeolian covers were located in stable landforms as dolines and karstic plateau. Therefore, limestone was the most common bedrock where the aeolian deposits were found, but we also found aeolian material on other lithologies, like Pliocene marine deposits and Pleistocene fluvial sediments. The aeolian covers were characterized by a high content of silt (> 50-60 %), a clear-wavy limit and a lithological discontinuity with the underlying buried paleosol. The research demonstrated that soil wind erosion and deposition of soil materials was accompanied to a large extent by water erosion and colluvial deposition during the Late Pleistocene and the Middle Holocene in the Elsa river basin.