Agricultural Land Degradation in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Soil degradation has been identified as a major threat to the productivity of agricultural land. In the Czech Republic, soils are threatened primarily by water and wind erosion, but compaction, loss of organic matter, loss of soil structure stability, pollution and over-fertilization, loss of biodiversity, and soil sealing are also major concerns. Poor soil health results in many off-site effects such as surface water siltation, groundwater pollution, loss of biodiversity in the countryside, and decreasing crop yields. The Czech agricultural landscape is characterized by large fields with a very small number of interrupting elements such as furrows, paths, or balks and the crop structure is rather uniform. The state has a history of land collectivization which first took place during the twentieth century. The ongoing intensive and unsustainable industrial farming, which is often focused more on high yields of certain economically valuable crops rather than the environment, speeds up soil degradation. These problems are fortunately recognized by the stakeholders, legal authorities, and the public. There has been significant debate on sustainable landscape management and agricultural practices, and many positive examples already exist in the Czech Republic.

Understanding Environmental Consequences of Quarry Operations: Residents’ Perception Study in the Neighbourhood of a Quarry in Osun state, Nigeria

“…Due to the demand for various quarry products, quarry operations such as blasting and grinding are carried out to meet this demand, often without considering the implications of these activities on the comfort and well-being of the surrounding neighbourhood. 39 - 41 Consequently, this situation can lead to the abandonment of the area at times. 15 , 42 The findings of this study resonate with the works of Adetiloye and Nenuwa, 43 , 44 who observed similar negative impacts on residents in Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria.…”

The Evaluation of a Long-Term Experiment on the Relationships between Weather, Nitrogen Fertilization, Preceding Crop, and Winter Wheat Grain Yield on Cambisol

“…The degree of response of wheat to the applied fertilizers is significantly influenced by the soil type at the site [ 80 , 81 ]. Cambisols are the most abundant soils in the Czech Republic [ 82 ] and are considered to be naturally less fertile than Chernozems. The lower fertility of Cambisols is evident in the significant increase in the cultivated crop yield when externally supplied with mineral N. In naturally fertile Chernozems, the differences in wheat yield between N treatments may be less pronounced [ 83 , 84 ].…”