Search results for "soil water"

Corrigendum to “Do conservative agriculture practices increase soil water repellency? A case study in citrus-cropped soils” [Soil Tillage Res. 124 (2…

2013

Rhizosphere soil indicators for carbon sequestration in a reclaimed coal mine spoil

2016

Abstract Re-vegetation of mine spoil enhances carbon storage in both above-ground plant biomass and mine soil. The current study was conducted at the coalmine overburden dumps of Jharia Coalfield (India), with the aim to evaluate the effect of different tree species on the rhizosphere soil properties and to identify key rhizosphere soil indicators that influence tree biomass and carbon density. Rhizosphere soil samples were collected from five tree species ( Acacia auriculiformis , Albizia lebbeck , Cassia siamea , Delonix regia , and Dalbergia sissoo ) of the same age. An area without ground vegetation was selected as a non-rhizosphere soil. The carbon density was higher for D. sissoo and …

Methods of metal release assessment in soil water at anoxic sites

2006

Department of Geology, Vienna University, Vienna, Austria Metal mobility at contaminated sites can be assessed by soil water investigations or by leaching tests. Leaching tests are usually carried out in open contact with the atmosphere disregarding possible changes of redox conditions. This can affect the original metal speciation and distribution, particularly when anoxic samples are investigated. In this study, the applicability of common leaching tests (the German S4 test (S4), ammonium nitrate extraction (AmmN), and saturation soil extraction (SSE)) is tested for the assessment of zinc release from sulfide-bearing flotation residues of a former ore mine. Results are compared to soil so…

Concentrations and forms of heavy metals in Slovak soils

2005

The risk assessment of heavy-metal contamination in soils requires knowledge of the controls of metal concentrations and speciation. We tested the relationship between soil properties (pH, CEC, Corg, oxide concentrations, texture) and land use (forest, grassland, arable) and the partitioning of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn among the seven fractions of a sequential extraction procedure in 146 A horizons from Slovakia. Using a cluster analysis, we identified 92 soils as representing background metal concentrations while the remaining 54 soils showed anthropogenic contamination. Among the background soils, forest soils had the lowest heavy-metal concentrations except for Pb (highest)…

Pedotechnique applications in large-scale farming: Economic value, soil ecosystems services and soil security

2019

Abstract Since ancient times Humans and Soil have experienced interwoven links. Nowadays soil scientists continue to stress such links highlighting the importance of soil in: i) satisfying the ever growing Human demand for food, water and energy, and ii) providing ecosystem services that mitigate climate changes, influence human health and improve biodiversity. Pedotechniques are recently used to generate soils suitable for table grape cultivation in order to increase productivity and grape quality, thus to get substantial financial returns. We show one emblematic study case of pedotechniques applied in Sicily (Italy). Aims of the investigation were: i) stressing threats to soil security de…

Anthropogenic soils are the golden spikes for the Anthropocene

2011

We propose that the Anthropocene be defined as the last c. 2000 years of the late Holocene and characterized on the basis of anthropogenic soils. This contrasts with the original definition of the Anthropocene as the last c. 250 years (since the Industrial Revolution) and more recent proposals that the Anthropocene began some 5000 to 8000 years ago in the early to mid Holocene (the early-Anthropocene hypothesis). Anthropogenic soil horizons, of which several types are recognized, provide extensive terrestrial stratigraphic markers for defining the start of the Anthropocene. The pedosphere is regarded as the best indicator of the rise to dominance of human impacts on the total environment b…

From pedologic indications to archaeological reconstruction: deciphering land use in the Islamic period in the Baida district (north-western Sicily)

2013

Abstract The aim of this work was to detect imprints on soil properties from former Islamic land use (9th to 11th century) using a multi-method, soil-chemical approach. Four soil profiles (with buried horizons) found in the vicinities of former Islamic settlements in Sicily were analysed for phosphorus (total, organic and inorganic), nitrogen (total, NO 3 − and NH 4 + ), carbon compounds (δ 13 C, lipids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and functional groups), physical and chemical C-fractions and the state of soil weathering. Two soil profiles contained ceramic sherds from the Islamic period. Inorganic nitrogen forms, phosphorous and the PAH content indicated strong impacts from trad…

Degassing and Cycling of Mercury at Nisyros Volcano (Greece)

2019

Nisyros Island (Greece) is an active volcano hosting a high-enthalpy geothermal system. During June 2013, an extensive survey on Hg concentrations in different matrices (fumarolic fluids, atmosphere, soils, and plants) was carried out at the Lakki Plain, an intracaldera area affected by widespread soil and fumarolic degassing. Concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), together with H2S and CO2, were simultaneously measured in both the fumarolic emissions and the atmosphere around them. At the same time, 130 samples of top soils and 31 samples of plants (Cistus creticus and salvifolius and Erica arborea and manipuliflora) were collected for Hg analysis. Mercury concentrations in fum…

Testing the shape-similarity hypothesis between partide-size distribution and water retention for sicilian soils

2012

Application of the Arya and Paris (AP) model to estimate the soil water retention curve requires a detailed description of the particlesize distribution (PSD) but limited experimental PSD data are generally determined by the conventional sieve-hydrometer (SH) method. Detailed PSDs can be obtained by fitting a continuous model to SH data or performing measurements by the laser diffraction (LD) method. The AP model was applied to 40 Sicilian soils for which the PSD was measured by both the SH and LD methods. The scale factor was set equal to 1.38 (procedure AP1) or estimated by a logistical model with parameters gathered from literature (procedure AP2). For both SH and LD data, procedure AP2 …

Relief and calcium from gypsum as key factors for net inorganic carbon accumulation in soils of a semiarid Mediterranean environment

2021

Abstract In semiarid environments, the total inorganic carbon (TIC) in soil may contribute to the total carbon (C) pool more than the total organic C pool (TOC), thus playing a key role in storing atmospheric CO2. However, due to the different origin pathways of soil carbonates, not all of the TIC pool can be accounted for CO2 sequestration. Indeed, the inorganic C can be accounted for a net sink of CO2 only when calcium (Ca2+) forming carbonates originate from non-carbonate minerals (atmogenic inorganic C, AIC). The aim of this study carried out in a gypsiferous area is to investigate the dissolution of Ca2+ that comes from gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) in the formation of soil atmogenic carbonates …