Search results for "Soil water"

Capacity of a high resolution hydroclimatic modelling chair to simulate soil water deficit indexes for Douglas-fir and common Beeches over Burgundy

2016

During the 2003 drought and heat wave event, douglas-fir and common beech stands in Burgundy have been heavily affected, and presented symptoms of dieback and mortality. This event seems to be the first occurrence of expected climatic changes in the near future and questions their sustainability in Burgundy since their climate vulnerability is mainly due to the amplitude and accumulated water constraints exercised during their growing cycle. In the context of climate change and in order to provide information to forest managers who partly rely on a mapping of the climatic constraints until the end of this century, this work explores the ability of a high resolution hydroclimatic modelling c…

A self-consistent quantification of contributions to differential TGA results of volcanic soil samples

2002

Soil, pasture and animal products quality

2013

The management of pasture, through the use of appropriate stocking rates and grazing systems, influences the feeding behaviour of the animals. The impact of animal behaviour on vegetation can be of great importance for the sustainability of pastures and mantaining their biodiversity. Indeed, a different response in terms of quality of animal products is mediated by the ability of animals to concentrate or transform grass components, according to the characteristics of the soil. The herbage ingested by animals provides them with compounds with aromatic characteristics, such as terpenes, and with functional properties beneficial for human health, such as carotenoids, vitamins, polyphenols and…

Coupling two radar backscattering models to assess soil roughness and surface water content at farm scale

2013

Remote sensing techniques are useful for agro-hydrological monitoring at the farm scale because the availability of spatially and temporally distributed data improves agricultural models for irrigation and crop yield optimization under water scarcity conditions. This research focuses on the surface water content retrieval using active microwave data. Two semi-empirical models were chosen as these showed the best performances in simulating cross and co-polarized backscatter. Thus, these models were coupled to obtain reliable assessments of both soil water content and soil roughness. The use of the coupled model enables one to avoid using roughness measured in situ. Remote sensing images and …

Assessing the influence of different biochar fractions on soil structure and soil water retention: laboratory investigation on a Sicilian soil

2012

Responses of co-occurring populations of Dendrobaena octaedra (Lumbricidae) and Cognettia sphagnetorum (Enchytraeidae) to soil pH, moisture and resou…

2000

Summary Dendrobaena octaedra (Lumbricidae) and Cognettia sphagnetorum (Enchytraeidae) are the two most dominating soil invertebrates in terms of biomass in boreal coniferous forest soils. A microcosm experiment was set up in order to study the influence of pH, moisture and resource addition on D. octaedra and C. sphagnetorum when both species are simultaneously present. Two kinds of coniferous forest humus were used as substrate, pine stand humus (pH 4.2), and spruce stand humus (pH 4.6); in the third treatment the pine stand humus was adjusted with slaked lime (CaOH 2 ) to the same initial pH as the spruce stand humus. Each substrate was adjusted to water contents of 25%, 42.5% and 60% of …

Earthworms and pH affect communities of nematodes and enchytraeids in forest soil

2003

In northern boreal forests the occurrence of endogeic and anecic earthworms is determined by soil pH. Increasing evidence suggests that large detritivorous soil animals such as earthworms can influence the other components of the decomposer community. To study the effects of earthworms and pH on soil nematode and enchytraeid communities, a factorially designed experiment was conducted with Lumbricus rubellus and/or Aporrectodea caliginosa. Earthworms were added to "mesocosms" containing unlimed (pH 4.8) or limed (pH 6.1) coniferous mor humus with their natural biota of micro-organisms. In the absence of earthworms, nematodes were significantly more abundant in limed than in unlimed humus. E…

Accumulation of Pb and Zn in Bidens triplinervia and Senecio sp. spontaneous species from mine spoils in Peru and their potential use in phytoremedia…

2012

Abstract Heavy metal toxicity has become a global concern due to the ever-increasing contamination of soil, water and crops. Until recent decades little has been known about the remediation of mining sites using spontaneous plants in Latin America. Soil and plant samples were taken in Peru, at a polymetallic mine (mainly silver, lead and copper) in Cajamarca Province, Hualgayoc district. Top soils (0–20 cm) were analyzed for physical and chemical properties by standard methods. Total Pb and Zn concentrations in top soils were determined by ICP-OES. Similar metals in plants were analyzed separately (aerial and root system). Ti content was used as an indicator for contamination of plant sampl…

Growth and biomass partitioning of Arbutus unedo, Laurus nobilis, Phillyrea angustifolia and Rhamnus alaternus seedlings under water deficit

2013

Water scarcity in the Mediterranean areas is very common and the selection of drought tolerant species is a priority for landscaping purposes in the Mediterranean areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of water deficit on growth and biomass partitioning of Arbutus unedo, Laurus nobilis, Phillyrea angustifolia and Rhamnus alaternus. Seventy-two seedlings per species were grown in the greenhouse in 4-liter pots and three water regimes were imposed starting on 6 April and until 9 June, 2010. One-third of the plants was well irrigated to maintain soil water content in the 25-35% range (CTR); a second group of plants was deficit-irrigated to maintain soil water content in …

Survival in the soil of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor and the effects of a mycorrhiza helper Pseudomonas fluorescens

2001

In disinfected forest nursery soils, inoculating Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings with the ectomycorrhizal fungal strain Laccaria bicolor S238N significantly increases tree growth after outplantating. However, the success of the inoculation depends on survival of the fungal inoculum in the soil during the pre-symbiotic life of the fungus. We followed the survival of L. bicolor S238N in autoclaved nursery soil in the glasshouse, and under gnotobiotic conditions in autoclaved or γ-irradiated nursery soil. We also studied the effect of the mycorrhiza helper bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens BBc6R8, which promotes the Douglas fir-L. bicolor S238N symbiosis, on fungal viability. In …