Search results for "soil water"
showing 10 items of 840 documents
Evaluation of the Fate of Aldicarb and Its Metabolites in Oranges
1995
Abstract The accumulation, persistence and fate of systemic pesticide aldicarb was melencholy evaluated in orange crops. The concentration of this pesticide and its two toxic metabolites, aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfone was determined in leaves, rind and pulp of three orange varieties (Satsuma, Navelina and Clemetina de Nules) and in the top soil of the orange groves. The groves were located in two different places in the Valencia Community (Spain). The analysis showed that the aldicarb concentration was lower than those of aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfone. In all cases, the residues persisted at least 160 days in vegetable samples and between 157 and 227 days in soil samples…
Influence of land use on the characteristics of humic substances in some tropical soils of Nigeria
2005
Summary In highly weathered tropical conditions, soil organic matter is important for soil quality and productivity. We evaluated the effects of deforestation and subsequent arable cropping on the qualitative and quantitative transformation of the humic pool of the soil at three locations in Nigeria. Cultivation reduced the humic pool in the order: acetone-soluble hydrophobic fraction (HE) > humic acid (HA) > humin (HU) > fulvic acid (FA), but not to the same degree at all three sites. The C and N contents, as well as the C/N ratios of humic extracts, were large and not substantially influenced by land use. The δ13C values of the humic extracts were invariably more negative in forested soil…
Variability of near-surface saturated hydraulic conductivity for the clay soils of a small Sicilian basin
2019
Abstract Proper characterization of saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks, of clay soils in a hillslope or a basin is still a challenge for soil science. In this investigation, the clay soils of the Maganoce (Sicily, Italy) basin were sampled at 19 sampling sites by the BEST procedure of soil hydraulic characterization. More OM implied less compact conditions (decreasing dry soil bulk density; coefficient of determination, R2 = 0.67), more stability to water of the soil aggregates (increasing water stable aggregates; R2 = 0.83) and, consequently, higher Ks values (R2 = 0.54). Variability of Ks was lower in the steeper zones of the basin than in the flatter ones. A comparison with the Ks data…
Bacterial communities in Arctic fjelds of Finnish Lapland are stable but highly pH-dependent
2007
The seasonal and spatial variations of microbial communities in Arctic fjelds of Finnish Lapland were studied. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) and terminal restriction fragment analysis (T-RFLP) of amplified 16S rRNA genes were used to assess the effect of soil conditions and vegetation on microbial community structures along different altitudes of two fjelds, Saana and Jehkas. Terminal restriction fragments were additionally analysed from c . 160 cloned sequences and isolated bacterial strains and matched with those of soil DNA samples. T-RFLP and PLFA analyses indicated relatively similar microbial communities at various altitudes and under different vegetation of the two fjelds. …
Quantitative study of the capture of silver nanoparticles by several kinds of soils
2018
The capacity of different soils to capture silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by measuring changes of an AgNP intrinsic property such as the plasmon for the first time, was studied. In-tube solid-phase microextraction (IT-SPME) coupled on-line to capillary liquid chromatography (CapLC) with diode array detection (DAD) was employed for measuring the interactions between soil and in-contact AgNP dispersions. Its achieved LOD 9 pM assures quantitative retention measurements and selectivity for soil lixiviation was suitable. Electronic microscopy was employed for corroborating the entrapped Ag into the soils. Capture % of AgNPs was calculated in compost (>99%), mountain (>99%), orchard (15±1%) and ur…
Effects of soil compaction, rain exposure and their interaction on soil carbon dioxide emission
2012
Soils release more carbon, primarily as carbon dioxide (CO2), per annum than current global anthropogenic emissions. Soils emit CO2 through mineralization and decomposition of organic matter and respiration of roots and soil organisms. Given this, the evaluation of the effects of abiotic factors on microbial activity is of major importance when considering the mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions. Previous studies demonstrate that soil CO2 emission is significantly affected by temperature and soil water content. A limited number of studies have illustrated the importance of bulk density and soil surface characteristics as a result of exposure to rain on CO2 emission, however, none exami…
Water repellency as conditioned by particle size and drying in hydrophobized sand
2013
The effects of particle size and soil moisture on water repellency (WR) from hydrophobized sand are studied in this research. Quartz sand samples were separated into three sieve fractions: 0.5–2 mm (coarse sand, CS), 0.25–0.5 mm (medium sand, MS), and 0.05–0.25 mm (fine sand, FS). WR of sand was induced using different concentrations of stearic acid (SA; 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 g kg− 1). Moist samples have been exposed to two types of drying: air-drying at standard laboratory conditions and oven-drying at 50 °C. Change in moisture content, and water repellency has been monitored every 24 h for 10 days. After 1 day of drying, SA concentrations ≥ 10 g kg− 1 caused extreme WR in oven-dry samp…
Influence of soil properties on the aggregation of some Mediterranean soils and the use of aggregate size and stability as land degradation indicators
2001
Abstract Soil aggregation in relation to other soil properties was studied along a climatological transect in the Southeast of Spain. Three sites were selected along this transect ranging from semiarid to subhumid climatological conditions. The aggregate size distribution, the macro and microaggregate stability of the superficial soil horizon and their relations with other soil properties were analysed. Large aggregates (>10, 10–5, 5–2 mm) were present in highest proportions in the most arid of the studied areas. These large aggregates were associated with high values of water-stable microaggregates; however, they did not improve soil structure and are related to high bulk densities and low…
Absorption and desorption of liquid water by a superabsorbent polymer: Effect of polymer in the drying of the soil and the quality of certain plants
2001
In this work, we were interested in the study of the kinetic behavior of the reaction of drying soil representing the Marrakesh region (south of Morocco) in the presence of an superabsorbent polymer. The presence of a polymer in the soil diminished the kinetic drying of the soil, which will have as an application a reduction in water loss in the process of irrigation. The presence of a polymer in the soil enables a complete modification of the kinetic regimes controlling the soil-drying kinetic. We also realized the first study of the behavior of certain selected plants in the melange of a soil and a polymer. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 234–243, 2002
A Fractional-Order Model of Biopolyester Containing Naturally Occurring Compounds for Soil Stabilization
2019
Currently, the use of polymers and biopolymers as soil-stabilizer additives for control of the soil degradation, deterioration, and desertification and for improving the arid and semiarid soils has been expanded significantly in the agricultural sector. This research was conducted to determine the effect of naturally occurring compounds, such as quercetin (Q) and sodium montmorillonite (NaMMt) at different weight ratios, in biopolyester, such as polylactic acid (PLA), aiming to formulate ecosustainable materials to control the soil degradation and to protect the environment. As known, the use of sophisticated analytical tools to describe the material rheology and melting properties is nowad…