IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v13y2023i3p634-d1090180.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Transformation of Organic Soils Due to Artificial Drainage and Agricultural Use in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Andrzej Łachacz

    (Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, pl. Łódzki 3, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland)

  • Barbara Kalisz

    (Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, pl. Łódzki 3, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland)

  • Paweł Sowiński

    (Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, pl. Łódzki 3, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland)

  • Bożena Smreczak

    (Department of Soil Science, Erosion and Land Conservation, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—National Research Institute, ul. Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland)

  • Jacek Niedźwiecki

    (Department of Soil Science, Erosion and Land Conservation, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—National Research Institute, ul. Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland)

Abstract

Organic soils that had been drained in order to obtain fertile agricultural land underwent changes leading to the formation of mursh (also known as moorsh). The mursh-forming process is a generic soil process that occurs in drained (artificially or naturally) organic soils, and leads to the changes in soil morphology, soil physical properties (including water retention capability), physicochemical properties, and chemical and biological properties. The aim of the paper is to present scientific knowledge on mursh soils, especially those that are not available to the wider audience. We firstly reviewed scientific literature on the mursh (moorsh) forming process of drained organic soils used for agriculture. We described the specific character of organic soils, differences between mursh and peat, the origin of the mursh-forming process, and the classification of organic soils (Histosols). Additionally, we described the changes in organic matter, such as the loss of soil carbon, increase of availability of plant nutrients, and leaching of biogens to groundwater. We revealed that the mineral matter in organic soils can be an indicator for distinguishing various types of murshes. We have highlighted the current gaps in the research that need to be filled in. The mursh-forming process is inherently related to the mineralization of soil organic matter and leads to a reduction of organic carbon in soil. Mursh has many unfavorable properties with regards to agriculture and environmental management. These properties are mainly related to decreased water storage capacity, which significantly limits the hydrological function of organic soils. The use of drained organic soils is a trade-off between environmental quality and agricultural production.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrzej Łachacz & Barbara Kalisz & Paweł Sowiński & Bożena Smreczak & Jacek Niedźwiecki, 2023. "Transformation of Organic Soils Due to Artificial Drainage and Agricultural Use in Poland," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:634-:d:1090180
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/3/634/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/3/634/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marcin Becher & Dorota Kalembasa & Stanisław Kalembasa & Barbara Symanowicz & Dawid Jaremko & Adam Matyszczak, 2023. "A New Method for Sequential Fractionation of Nitrogen in Drained Organic (Peat) Soils," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Slawomir Smolczynski & Barbara Kalisz & Pawel Urbanowicz & Miroslaw Orzechowski, 2021. "Effect of Peatland Siltation on Total and Labile C, N, P and K," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-11, July.
    3. Ryszard Oleszczuk & Andrzej Łachacz & Barbara Kalisz, 2022. "Measurements versus Estimates of Soil Subsidence and Mineralization Rates at Peatland over 50 Years (1966–2016)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dorota Kawałko & Elżbieta Jamroz & Maria Jerzykiewicz & Irmina Ćwieląg-Piasecka, 2023. "Characteristics of Humic Acids in Drained Floodplain Soils in Temperate Climates: A Spectroscopic Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Jonas Volungevicius & Kristina Amaleviciute-Volunge, 2023. "A Conceptual Approach to the Histosols Profile Morphology as a Risk Indicator in Assessing the Sustainability of Their Use and Impact on Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Marcin Becher & Mirosław Kobierski & Krzysztof Pakuła & Dawid Jaremko, 2023. "Distribution of Mercury in Drained Peatlands as the Effect of Secondary Transformation of Soil Organic Matter," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-16, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Barbara Symanowicz & Rafał Toczko, 2023. "Brown Coal Waste in Agriculture and Environmental Protection: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Ryszard Oleszczuk & Andrzej Łachacz & Barbara Kalisz, 2022. "Measurements versus Estimates of Soil Subsidence and Mineralization Rates at Peatland over 50 Years (1966–2016)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Jan Pawluczuk & Arkadiusz Stępień, 2023. "Dynamics of Organic Nitrogen Compound Mineralization in Organic Soils under Grassland, and the Mineral N Concentration in Groundwater (A Case Study of the Mazurian Lake District, Poland)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Marcin Becher & Mirosław Kobierski & Krzysztof Pakuła & Dawid Jaremko, 2023. "Distribution of Mercury in Drained Peatlands as the Effect of Secondary Transformation of Soil Organic Matter," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-16, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:634-:d:1090180. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.