Search results for "Topsoil"
showing 10 items of 77 documents
Rapid transformation of inorganic to organic and plant-available phosphorous in soils of a glacier forefield
2012
Abstract Chemical weathering of rocks or sediments is extremely important for the generation of soils, for the evolution of landscape, and as a main source of inorganic nutrients for plant growth and therefore for life. Temporal trends in weathering mechanisms, plant succession and nutrients availability in cold environments can be successfully studied in soil chronosequences along a glacier forefield. In the present paper, this was carried out in the pro-glacial area of Morteratsch. Different forms of phosphorous in the soil, stream and spring water chemistry were investigated. Apatite constitutes the main source of P, but it occurs only as a minor accessory mineral phase in the granitic/g…
Isotope ratios of nonexchangeable hydrogen in soils from different climate zones
2010
Abstract The fractionation of H isotopes in global precipitation leads to a continuous decrease in 2 H concentrations of precipitation with increasing latitude, altitude and continentality. Thus, the local precipitation, soil and ground water used by plants for photosynthesis or consumed during neoformation of pedogenic clay minerals often have a spatially diagnostic δ 2 H value. We hypothesize that the δ 2 H value of isotopically nonexchangeable H in bulk soil (composed of C-bonded H in soil organic matter (SOM) and the nonexchangeable fraction of O-bonded H in pedogenic clay minerals) is correlated with the mean δ 2 H value of local precipitation water at the place and time of biomass pro…
Polychlorinated phenols and their metabolites in soil and earthworms of sawmill environment
1990
Abstract Topsoil and earthworm samples collected from three Finnish sawmill environments were analysed for polychlorinated phenols, 2,3,4,6-tetrachloro- and pentachlorophenol, and their metabolites. Analyses were carried out by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using a selected ion monitoring technique and by dual-channel gas chromatography using quartz capillary columns and two electron capture detectors. The total chlorophenol concentrations ranged from ca. 260 to 480 μg/g (dry weight) in soil and from ca. 140 to 3500 μg/g fat in earthworms. The most important metabolites in soil were chlorinated dihydroxy-benzenes (also at ppm level); only traces of chlorinated anisoles were detected …
Out of sight : Profiling soil characteristics, nutrients and bacterial communities affected by organic amendments down to one meter in a long-term ma…
2019
Common soil characteristics, nutrients and microbial activity at deeper soil depths are topics seldom covered in agricultural studies. Biogeochemical cycles in deep soils are not yet fully understood. This study investigates the effect of different mineral and organic fertilisation on soil organic matter dynamics, nutrients and bacterial community composition in the first meter of the soil profiles in the long-term maize cropping system experiment Tetto Frati, near the Po River in northern Italy. The following treatments have been applied since 1992: 1) crop residue removal (CRR), 2) crop residue incorporation (CRI), 3) crop residue removal with bovine slurry fertilisation (SLU), 4) crop re…
The carbon count of 2000 years of rice cultivation.
2013
More than 50% of the world's population feeds on rice. Soils used for rice production are mostly managed under submerged conditions (paddy soils). This management, which favors carbon sequestration, potentially decouples surface from subsurface carbon cycling. The objective of this study was to elucidate the long-term rates of carbon accrual in surface and subsurface soil horizons relative to those of soils under nonpaddy management. We assessed changes in total soil organic as well as of inorganic carbon stocks along a 2000-year chronosequence of soils under paddy and adjacent nonpaddy management in the Yangtze delta, China. The initial organic carbon accumulation phase lasts much longer a…
Fluorine adsorption by volcanic soils at Mt. Etna, Italy
2012
Abstract Fluorine adsorption experiments were performed on 28 samples of the first 5 cm of topsoil collected on the flanks of Mt. Etna. The soil samples were equilibrated with F-rich rainwater (3.25 mg/L) at a soil/water weight ratio of 1/25. Aliquots of the supernatant were collected after 1, 7, 72, 720 and 5640 h and analysed for F content. The soil samples could be subdivided into three groups based on their F-adsorption behaviours after 1 h and at the end of the experiment: (1) negative adsorption (F released from the soil to the solution) after 1 h and negative or moderately positive adsorption at the end, (2) from negative after 1 h to strongly positive adsorption at the end, and (3) …
Spontaneous ecological recovery of vegetation in a red gypsum landfill: Betula pendula dominates after 10 years of inactivity
2019
International audience; Red gypsum is the product of the neutralization of titanium dioxide (TiO 2) extraction residue from ilmenite and anatase. The disposal of red gypsum creates heterogeneous plots with layers that may include Fe, Ca, Al, Mg, Mn, S, and other elements and an alkaline pH that makes revegetation complicated and slow. The vertical and horizontal dispersion of the sediment particles are the main concern. Therefore, the establishment of precise vegetation cover is needed to address this issue. One of the aims of this study was (1) to explore the distribution of the spontaneous vegetation found along a red gypsum-formed landfill located at the Ochsenfeld site in eastern France…
Long-term effects of contrasting tillage on soil organic carbon, nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions in a Mediterranean Vertisol under different crop…
2018
This 2-year study aimed to verify whether the continuous application of no tillage (NT) for over 20 years, in comparison with conventional tillage (CT), affects nitrous oxide (NO) and ammonia (NH) emissions from a Vertisol and, if so, whether such an effect varies with crop sequence (continuous wheat, WW and wheat after faba bean, FW). To shed light on the mechanisms involved in determining N-gas emissions, soil bulk density, water filled pore space (WFPS), some carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools, denitrifying enzyme activity (DEA), and nitrous oxide reductase gene abundance (nosZ gene) were also assessed at 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil depth. Tillage system had no significant effect on total NH e…
Vertical Distribution and Speciation of Trace Metals in Weathering Flotation Residues of a Zinc/Lead Sulfide Mine
2007
Sulfide-bearing mine tailings are a serious environmental problem around the world. In this study, the vertical distribution and speciation of Zn and Pb in the fine-grained flotation residues of a former sulfide ore mine in Germany were investigated to assess the inorganic weathering processes that effect the environmental risk arising from this site. Total metal contents were determined by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Mobilizable fractions of Zn, Pb, Fe, and Mn were quantified by sequential chemical extractions (SCE). Furthermore, the speciation of Zn was analyzed by Zn K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) to identify the residual Zn species. The v…
High rates of short-term dynamics of forest ecosystem services
2021
Currently, the main tools for assessing and managing ecosystem services at large scales are maps providing snapshots of their potential supply. However, many ecosystems change over short timescales; thus, such maps soon become inaccurate. Here we show high rates of short-term dynamics of three key forest ecosystem services: wood production, bilberry production and topsoil carbon storage. Almost 85% of the coldspots and 65% of the hotspots for these services had changed into a different state over a ten-year period. Wood production showed higher rates of short-term dynamics than bilberry production and carbon storage. The high rates of dynamics mean that static snapshot ecosystem service map…