Search results for "Soil"
showing 10 items of 3493 documents
Evidence for 2,4-D mineralisation in Mediterranean soils: impact of moisture content and temperature
2009
BACKGROUND: The 2,4-D degradation ability of the microbiota of three arable Mediterranean soils was estimated. The impact of soil moisture and temperature on 2,4-D degradation was investigated. RESULTS: The microbiota of the three soils regularly exposed to 2,4-D were able rapidly to mineralise this herbicide. The half-life of 2,4-D ranged from 8 to 30 days, and maximum mineralisation of 14C-2,4-D ranged from 57 to 71%. Extractable 14C-2,4-D and 14C-bound residues accounted for less than 1 and 15% respectively of the 14C-2,4-D initially added. The highest amounts of 14C-2,4-D bound residues were recorded in the soil with the lowest 2,4-D-mineralising ability. Although all three soils were a…
Dynamics of soil organic carbon pools after agricultural abandonment
2014
Abandonment of agricultural land and the subsequent recolonization by natural vegetation is known to cause increases in C contents, contributing to reduction in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Assessment of the possible mitigation of CO2 excess requires understanding the SOC dynamics, the origin of C pools and the pathways of their transformation. The aims of this work were to assess, by using the δ13C signature, the changes of old and new organic C in total (soil organic carbon, SOC) and labile (microbial biomass C, MBC, dissolved organic C, DOC, CO2 efflux from soil) pools after vegetation change from vineyard (C3) to grassland (C4) under semiarid Mediterranean climate. Colonization of ab…
Turnover and availability of soil organic carbon under different Mediterranean land-uses as estimated by13C natural abundance
2013
Summary Soil organic matter (SOM) is an important factor in ecosystem stability and productivity. This is especially the case for Mediterranean soils suffering from the impact of human degradation as well as harsh climatic conditions. We used the carbon (C) exchange resulting from C3-C4 and C4-C3 vegetation change under field conditions combined with incubations under controlled conditions to evaluate the turnover and availability of soil organic C under different land-uses. The 40-year succession of Hyparrenia hirta L. (C4 photosynthesis) after more than 85 years of olive tree (Olea europaea L.; C3 photosynthesis) growth led to the exchange of 54% of soil organic C from C3 to C4 forms. In …
Use Of Plants To Remediate Soil Polluted With Oil
2015
In the present investigation the growing and development ability of various annual and perennial plants to grow on model peat substrate artificially polluted with oil products in the range of concentrations from 1 to 5% was evaluated. The highest tolerance towards peat contamination by oil products has been demonstrated by three annual crops (maize, oat and lupine). These plants were tested for phytoremediation of polluted black soil from the area of oil refinery plant (Mazeikiai, Lithuania), which was treated by association of oil oxidizing bacteria up to residual concentration of the oil products of 4.5 %. The maize plants revealed the highest remediation ability: oil content in the soil …
Crop nitrogen monitoring: Recent progress and principal developments in the context of imaging spectroscopy missions
2020
Abstract Nitrogen (N) is considered as one of the most important plant macronutrients and proper management of N therefore is a pre-requisite for modern agriculture. Continuous satellite-based monitoring of this key plant trait would help to understand individual crop N use efficiency and thus would enable site-specific N management. Since hyperspectral imaging sensors could provide detailed measurements of spectral signatures corresponding to the optical activity of chemical constituents, they have a theoretical advantage over multi-spectral sensing for the detection of crop N. The current study aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview of crop N retrieval methods from hyperspectral data…
Preface: Environmental benefits of biochar
2014
J. Paz-Ferreiro1, A. Mendez6, A. M. Tarquis3,4, A. Cerda5, and G. Gasco2 1School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne 3001, VIC, Melbourne, Australia 2Departamento de Produccion Agraria, E.T.S.I. Agronomos, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28004 Madrid, Spain 3CEIGRAM, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain 4Departamento de Matematica Aplicada, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain 5Soil Erosion and Degradation Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Valencia, C/Blasco Ibanez 10, 46010 Valencia, Spain 6Departamento de Ingen…
Organic carbon dynamics in soil particle-size separates of sandy Spodosols when forest is cleared for maize cropping
2003
Summary In southwest France, much of the forest lands on sandy Spodosols has been converted to continuous maize cropping in the last few decades. To evaluate the impacts of such change on the content and properties of the soil organic matter, we compared the amount of organic carbon and 13C natural abundance in soil and particle-size separates at three locations, selected on the basis of different contents of 0–50 μm particles (clay + silt). After three decades of cultivation, the amount of carbon from the forest pools (Cf) decreased by about 60%, attributable mainly to easily degradable material in sand-sized fractions (−70%). However, a recalcitrant residue remained in soil at a constant …
Biogeochemical characterization of soils affected by more than 100 years of lead mining activity.
2020
<p>Mining has an adverse effect on soil quality as it is a source of heavy metal environmental pollution with direct consequences on its ecosystem services, especially those related to microbial activity. The magnitude and diversity of the impact produced by pollution is linked to the complexity and diversity of mining processes that share the same mining area. The soil will be modified, not only in the physicochemical characteristics but also physical alterations of varied typology will occur. All these changes and alterations related to mining activity are accompanied by changes in the composition, diversity and activity of soil microorganisms..<br>A study was…
Benefits of soil carbon: report on the outcomes of an international scientific committee on problems of the environment rapid assessment workshop
2014
The outcomes of the discussion in the four working sessions showed that although there is an urgent need to improve soil carbon management and stocks, and despite the existing knowledge about good agricultural practices to achieve this goal, these are not put into practice effectively and globally. The apparent contradiction has to do with a mismatch of policies at different societal and geographical scales, and the low policy profile of SOC. All participants agreed in the need to bring SOC into the core of environmental policies at all levels and to improve the governance of policy actions by addressing the stakeholders in a more effective way. Fil: Banwart, Steven. University of Sheffield…
Water-extractable organic matter linked to soil physico-chemistry and microbiology at the regional scale
2015
10 pages; International audience; A better understanding of the links between dissolved organic matter and biogeochemical processes in soil could help in evaluating global soil dynamics. To assess the effects of land cover and parental material on soil biogeochemistry, we studied 120 soil samples collected from various ecosystems in Burgundy, France. The potential solubility and aromaticity of dissolved organic matter was characterised by pressurised hot-water extraction of organic carbon (PH-WEOC). Soil physico-chemical characteristics (pH, texture, soil carbon and nitrogen) were measured, as was the δ13C signature both in soils and in PH-WEOC. We also determined bacterial and fungal abund…