What makes a soil landscape robust? Landscape sensitivity to land use changes in a southern Alpine valley (Ticino, Switzerland)

农业引起的土地使用变化是对自然土壤景观生态影响最强烈的，就受影响的表面积而言，也是最大的人为影响。可以认为高山土壤景观对土地使用的变化特别敏感，因为其影响往往因极端的气候和地形条件以及强烈的地貌活动而增强。在本项目范围内，将评估蒂奇诺（瑞士）南部阿尔卑斯山土壤景观对一系列不同土地利用变化的敏感性。这些土地利用变化表现在六个不同的土地利用-地形单元中，可在以下方面加以区分：（一）土地利用类型（牧场、草地、农业、森林），（二）土地利用状况（活跃的、废弃的/扩展的），（三）地形（人工梯田、自然斜坡）。首先，我们将分析不同的土地利用变化对特定的土壤物理和化学性质的影响，作为土壤景观敏感性的指标。其次，我们确定所观察到的指标属性的变化是否导致土壤侵蚀的显着增加。由于土壤侵蚀是山区土壤退化的主要原因，最后，南部阿尔卑斯山土壤景观对这些土地利用变化的敏感性可以推断。

Land use changes induced by agriculture constitute the ecologically most intense and, in terms of surface area affected, largest anthropogenic impact into natural soil landscapes. Alpine soil landscapes can be considered as particularly sensitive to land use changes because their effects tend to be enhanced by often extreme climatic and topographic conditions as well as intense geomorphological activity. Within the scope of the present project the sensitivity of a southern Alpine soil landscape in Ticino (Switzerland) to a set of different land use changes will be assessed. These land use changes are represented in six different land use-topography units that can be differentiated regarding: (i) the type of land use (pasture; meadow; agriculture; forest), (ii) the status of land use (active; abandoned/extensified), and (iii) the topography (artificial terraces; natural slope). Firstly, we will analyze the effects of the different land use changes on particular soil physical and chemical properties that serve as indicators for the sensitivity of the soil landscape. Secondly, we determine if the observed changes in the indicator properties resulted in a significant increase of soil erosion. As soil erosion is the main contributor to soil degradation in mountainous regions, finally, the sensitivity of the southern Alpine soil landscape to these land use changes can be deduced.