0000000000139721
AUTHOR
F. Pinzari
Energy use in the A and B horizons of the soil under a pine and a cedar stand
Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a study that compares organic carbon content, availability of substrates, and microbial metabolism in two afforested sites in Sicily (Italy) developed under the same climatic and physical conditions but underlying different tree species. Given the key role of the soil microbiota in promoting energy exchanges and transformations in the soil profile, an analysis of the microbial activity and of organic carbon pools was performed on twenty profiles. The parameters considered in this study were based on microbial activity, organic carbon fractions, and kinetics of organic C mineralization. In the two systems studied, the competition for available energy …
Soil humic acids formation and characteristics in a xeric mollisol reforested with two tree species
Publisher Summary The study discussed in this chapter examines the influence on humic acids (HAs) characteristics of different plant species—Pinus halepensis Miller and Cedrus atlantica (Endl) Carriere—used in the restoration of a Mollisol under xeric conditions. The area studied is in Sicily (Italy), and two stands were compared 40 years after planting. The differences among soil profile developments in the two stands were investigated by chemical and biochemical methods to understand the different levels at which the processes of pedogenesis acted in the study area. The chapter analyzes some chemical and spectroscopic characteristics of HAs, separated from two selected pedons. The results…
Soils, Past Landscapes and Cultural Heritage: Phytoliths as Indicators of Ancient Crops
Soils, Past Landscapes and Cultural Heritage: Phytoliths as Indicators of Ancient Crops
Archeobotanical study of traditional agroecosystems based on SEM-EDX analysis of buried phytoliths
The FP7 Project "MEditerranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural heritage based on traditional agrosystems (MEMOLA)" (http://www.memolaproject.eu/it) is studying past landscapes using ancient soil horizons as archaeological records. The project aims at evaluating the biodiversity of no longer existing environments, in order to reconstruct the past agroecosystems. One of the approach used in the study consisted in the selective sampling of buried paleo-soil horizons for the search of “testimonials” or useful pedo-archaeological "indicators" that can tell something about past environments and peculiar ecosystems no longer present. To this purpose it was decided to star…
Correction: Salinity and Bacterial Diversity: To What Extent Does the Concentration of Salt Affect the Bacterial Community in a Saline Soil?
Three authors were omitted from the author contributions section in the ‘‘contributed to the writing of the manuscript’’ subsection. Please refer to the correct author contributions here: Conceived and designed the experiments: LC GB AB. Performed the experiments: LC GB GLP. Analyzed the data: LC GB FP GLP. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: CD AB GLP. Contributed to the writing of the manuscript: LC FP GB.GLP CD AB