Sample records for abiotic soil properties

  1. General Relationships between Abiotic Soil Properties and Soil Biota across Spatial Scales and Different Land-Use Types

    PubMed Central

    Birkhofer, Klaus; Schöning, Ingo; Alt, Fabian; Herold, Nadine; Klarner, Bernhard; Maraun, Mark; Marhan, Sven; Oelmann, Yvonne; Wubet, Tesfaye; Yurkov, Andrey; Begerow, Dominik; Berner, Doreen; Buscot, François; Daniel, Rolf; Diekötter, Tim; Ehnes, Roswitha B.; Erdmann, Georgia; Fischer, Christiane; Foesel, Bärbel; Groh, Janine; Gutknecht, Jessica; Kandeler, Ellen; Lang, Christa; Lohaus, Gertrud; Meyer, Annabel; Nacke, Heiko; Näther, Astrid; Overmann, Jörg; Polle, Andrea; Pollierer, Melanie M.; Scheu, Stefan; Schloter, Michael; Schulze, Ernst-Detlef; Schulze, Waltraud; Weinert, Jan; Weisser, Wolfgang W.; Wolters, Volkmar; Schrumpf, Marion

    2012-01-01

    Very few principles have been unraveled that explain the relationship between soil properties and soil biota across large spatial scales and different land-use types. Here, we seek these general relationships using data from 52 differently managed grassland and forest soils in three study regions spanning a latitudinal gradient in Germany. We hypothesize that, after extraction of variation that is explained by location and land-use type, soil properties still explain significant proportions of variation in the abundance and diversity of soil biota. If the relationships between predictors and soil organisms were analyzed individually for each predictor group, soil properties explained the highest amount of variation in soil biota abundance and diversity, followed by land-use type and sampling location. After extraction of variation that originated from location or land-use, abiotic soil properties explained significant amounts of variation in fungal, meso- and macrofauna, but not in yeast or bacterial biomass or diversity. Nitrate or nitrogen concentration and fungal biomass were positively related, but nitrate concentration was negatively related to the abundances of Collembola and mites and to the myriapod species richness across a range of forest and grassland soils. The species richness of earthworms was positively correlated with clay content of soils independent of sample location and land-use type. Our study indicates that after accounting for heterogeneity resulting from large scale differences among sampling locations and land-use types, soil properties still explain significant proportions of variation in fungal and soil fauna abundance or diversity. However, soil biota was also related to processes that act at larger spatial scales and bacteria or soil yeasts only showed weak relationships to soil properties. We therefore argue that more general relationships between soil properties and soil biota can only be derived from future studies that consider

  2. Soil heterogeneity in Mojave Desert shrublands: Biotic and abiotic processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Caldwell, Todd G.; Young, Michael H.; McDonald, Eric V.; Zhu, Jianting

    2012-09-01

    Geological and ecological processes play critical roles in the evolution of desert piedmonts. Feedback between fast cyclic biotic and slow cumulative pedogenic processes on arid alluvial fan systems results in a heterogeneous landscape of interspace and canopy microsites. Defining the spatial extent between these processes will allow a better connection to ecosystem service and climate change. We use a soil chronosequence in the Mojave Desert and high spatial resolution infiltrometer measurements along transects radiating from canopies of perennial shrubs to assess the extent of biotic and abiotic processes and the heterogeneity of soil properties in arid shrublands. Results showed higher saturated conductivity under vegetation regardless of surface age, but it was more conspicuous on older, developed soils. At proximal locations to the shrub, bulk density, soil structure grade, silt, and clay content significantly increased radially from the canopy, while sand and organic material decreased. Soil properties at distal locations 2-5 times the canopy radius had no significant spatial correlation. The extent of the biotic influence of the shrub was 1.34 ± 0.32 times the canopy radius. Hydraulic properties were weakly correlated in space, but 75% of the variance could be attributed to sand content, soil structure grade, mean-particle diameter, and soil organic material, none of which are exclusively biotic or abiotic. The fast cyclic biotic processes occurring under vegetation are clearly overprinted on slow cumulative abiotic processes, resulting in the deterministic variability observed at the plant scale.

  3. Abiotic Bromination of Soil Organic Matter

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Leri, Alessandra C.; Ravel, Bruce

    Biogeochemical transformations of plant-derived soil organic matter (SOM) involve complex abiotic and microbially mediated reactions. One such reaction is halogenation, which occurs naturally in the soil environment and has been associated with enzymatic activity of decomposer organisms. Building on a recent finding that naturally produced organobromine is ubiquitous in SOM, we hypothesized that inorganic bromide could be subject to abiotic oxidations resulting in bromination of SOM. Through lab-based degradation treatments of plant material and soil humus, we have shown that abiotic bromination of particulate organic matter occurs in the presence of a range of inorganic oxidants, including hydrogen peroxide andmore » assorted forms of ferric iron, producing both aliphatic and aromatic forms of organobromine. Bromination of oak and pine litter is limited primarily by bromide concentration. Fresh plant material is more susceptible to bromination than decayed litter and soil humus, due to a labile pool of mainly aliphatic compounds that break down during early stages of SOM formation. As the first evidence of abiotic bromination of particulate SOM, this study identifies a mechanistic source of the natural organobromine in humic substances and the soil organic horizon. Formation of organobromine through oxidative treatments of plant material also provides insights into the relative stability of aromatic and aliphatic components of SOM.« less

  4. Abiotic Bromination of Soil Organic Matter.

    PubMed

    Leri, Alessandra C; Ravel, Bruce

    2015-11-17

    Biogeochemical transformations of plant-derived soil organic matter (SOM) involve complex abiotic and microbially mediated reactions. One such reaction is halogenation, which occurs naturally in the soil environment and has been associated with enzymatic activity of decomposer organisms. Building on a recent finding that naturally produced organobromine is ubiquitous in SOM, we hypothesized that inorganic bromide could be subject to abiotic oxidations resulting in bromination of SOM. Through lab-based degradation treatments of plant material and soil humus, we have shown that abiotic bromination of particulate organic matter occurs in the presence of a range of inorganic oxidants, including hydrogen peroxide and assorted forms of ferric iron, producing both aliphatic and aromatic forms of organobromine. Bromination of oak and pine litter is limited primarily by bromide concentration. Fresh plant material is more susceptible to bromination than decayed litter and soil humus, due to a labile pool of mainly aliphatic compounds that break down during early stages of SOM formation. As the first evidence of abiotic bromination of particulate SOM, this study identifies a mechanistic source of the natural organobromine in humic substances and the soil organic horizon. Formation of organobromine through oxidative treatments of plant material also provides insights into the relative stability of aromatic and aliphatic components of SOM.

  5. Assessment of derelict soil quality: Abiotic, biotic and functional approaches.

    PubMed

    Vincent, Quentin; Auclerc, Apolline; Beguiristain, Thierry; Leyval, Corinne

    2018-02-01

    The intensification and subsequent closing down of industrial activities during the last century has left behind large surfaces of derelict lands. Derelict soils have low fertility, can be contaminated, and many of them remain unused. However, with the increasing demand of soil surfaces, they might be considered as a resource, for example for non-food biomass production. The study of their physico-chemical properties and of their biodiversity and biological activity may provide indications for their potential re-use. The objective of our study was to investigate the quality of six derelict soils, considering abiotic, biotic, and functional parameters. We studied (i) the soil bacteria, fungi, meso- and macro-fauna and plant communities of six different derelict soils (two from coking plants, one from a settling pond, two constructed ones made from different substrates and remediated soil, and an inert waste storage one), and (ii) their decomposition function based on the decomposer trophic network, enzyme activities, mineralization activity, and organic pollutant degradation. Biodiversity levels in these soils were high, but all biotic parameters, except the mycorrhizal colonization level, discriminated them. Multivariate analysis showed that biotic parameters co-varied more with fertility proxies than with soil contamination parameters. Similarly, functional parameters significantly co-varied with abiotic parameters. Among functional parameters, macro-decomposer proportion, enzyme activity, average mineralization capacity, and microbial polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degraders were useful to discriminate the soils. We assessed their quality by combining abiotic, biotic, and functional parameters: the compost-amended constructed soil displayed the highest quality, while the settling pond soil and the contaminated constructed soil displayed the lowest. Although differences among the soils were highlighted, this study shows that derelict soils may provide a

  6. The role of water tracks in altering biotic and abiotic soil properties and processes in a polar desert in Antarctica

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ball, Becky A.; Levy, Joseph

    2015-02-01

    Groundwater discharge via water tracks is a largely unexplored passageway routing salts and moisture from high elevations to valley floors in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) of Antarctica. Given the influence that water tracks have on the distribution of liquid water in seasonally thawed Antarctic soils, it is surprising how little is known about their role in structuring biotic and abiotic processes this cold desert ecosystem. Particularly, it is unclear how soil biota will respond to the activation of new water tracks resulting from enhanced active layer thickening or enhanced regional snowmelt. In the MDV, water tracks are both wetter and more saline than the surrounding soils, constituting a change in soil habitat suitability for soil biology and therefore the ecological processes they carry out. To investigate the net impact that water tracks have on Dry Valley soil biology, and therefore the ecosystem processes for which they are responsible, we analyzed microbial biomass and activity in soils inside and outside of three water tracks and relate this to the physical soil characteristics. Overall, our results suggest that water tracks can significantly influence soil properties, which can further impact biological biovolume and both biotic and abiotic fluxes of CO2. However, the nature of its impact differs with water track, further suggesting that not all water tracks can be regarded the same.

  7. Biotic and abiotic degradation of CL-20 and RDX in soils.

    PubMed

    Crocker, Fiona H; Thompson, Karen T; Szecsody, James E; Fredrickson, Herbert L

    2005-01-01

    The caged cyclic nitramine 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) is a new explosive that has the potential to replace existing military explosives, but little is known about its environmental toxicity, transport, and fate. We quantified and compared the aerobic environmental fate of CL-20 to the widely used cyclic nitramine explosive hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in surface and subsurface soil microcosms. Soil-free controls and biologically attenuated soil controls were used to separate abiotic processes from biologically mediated processes. Both abiotic and biological processes significantly degraded CL-20 in all soils examined. Apparent abiotic, first-order degradation rates (k) for CL-20 were not significantly different between soil-free controls (0.018 < k < 0.030 d(-1)) and biologically attenuated soil controls (0.003 < k < 0.277 d(-1)). The addition of glucose to biologically active soil microcosms significantly increased CL-20 degradation rates (0.068 < k < 1.22 d(-1)). Extents of mineralization of (14)C-CL-20 to (14)CO(2) in biologically active soil microcosms were 41.1 to 55.7%, indicating that the CL-20 cage was broken, since all carbons are part of the heterocyclic cage. Under aerobic conditions, abiotic degradation rates of RDX were generally slower (0 < k < 0.032 d(-1)) than abiotic CL-20 degradation rates. In biologically active soil microcosms amended with glucose aerobic RDX degradation rates varied between 0.010 and 0.474 d(-1). Biodegradation was a key factor in determining the environmental fate of RDX, while a combination of biotic and abiotic processes was important with CL-20. Our data suggest that CL-20 should be less recalcitrant than RDX in aerobic soils.

  8. Abiotic controls on N2O emissions from soils and wetlands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horwath, W. R.

    2016-12-01

    The increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) is a critical climate change issue contributing to global warming. Most studies on N2O production attribute microbial processes and their associated enzymatic reactions to be the main driver affecting emissions. The role of redox capable iron, manganese and organic compounds that can react with intermediates in the nitrogen cycle has also been shown to produce N2O abiotically. The importance of the abiotic pathways, however, is highly debated. The abiotic production of N2O is related to biophysiochemical controls and unique isotopic signatures of nitrogen cycle intermediates (hydroxylamine, nitric oxide, and nitrite), redox-active metals (iron and manganese) and organic matter (humic and fulvic acids). In a range of soils, we find that the iron directly associated with organic compounds is the strongest variable relating to N2O emissions. In addition to these factors, management is also assumed to affect abiotic N2O production through its impact on nitrogen cycle intermediates, but the environmental and physiochemical conditions that are changed by management are rarely considered in the abiotic production of N2O. We find that the amount and quality of organic compounds in soils directly determines the fate of soil N2O production (i.e. be emitted or consumed). Water depth in rice paddies and wetlands also plays a significant role in partitioning production and consumption of N2O. What is evident from studies on N2O emission is that abiotic reactions are coupled to biotic processes and they cannot be easily separated. The biotic/abiotic interactions have important ecological outcomes that influence abiotic production mechanisms and should be recognized as important controllers of N2O production and consumption processes in soils and sediments.

  9. Natural abiotic formation of oxalic acid in soils: results from aromatic model compounds and soil samples.

    PubMed

    Studenroth, Sabine; Huber, Stefan G; Kotte, Karsten; Schöler, Heinz F

    2013-02-05

    Oxalic acid is the smallest dicarboxylic acid and plays an important role in soil processes (e.g., mineral weathering and metal detoxification in plants). We have first proven its abiotic formation in soils and investigated natural abiotic degradation processes based on the oxidation of soil organic matter, enhanced by Fe(3+) and H(2)O(2) as hydroxyl radical suppliers. Experiments with the model compound catechol and further hydroxylated benzenes were performed to examine a common degradation pathway and to presume a general formation mechanism of oxalic acid. Two soil samples were tested for the release of oxalic acid and the potential effects of various soil parameters on oxalic acid formation. Additionally, the soil samples were treated with different soil sterilization methods to prove the oxalic acid formation under abiotic soil conditions. Different series of model experiments were conducted to determine a range of factors including Fe(3+), H(2)O(2), reaction time, pH, and chloride concentration on oxalic acid formation. Under certain conditions, catechol is degraded up to 65.6% to oxalic acid referring to carbon. In serial experiments with two soil samples, oxalic acid was produced, and the obtained results are suggestive of an abiotic degradation process. In conclusion, Fenton-like conditions with low Fe(3+) concentrations and an excess of H(2)O(2) as well as acidic conditions were required for an optimal oxalic acid formation. The presence of chloride reduced oxalic acid formation.

  10. Soil ecology of a rock outcrop ecosystem: Abiotic stresses, soil respiration, and microbial community profiles in limestone cedar glades

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Advised by Dzantor, E. Kudjo

    2015-01-01

    Stress factors quantified by this research include shallow soil (depth to bedrock ranging from 2.4 to 22.6 cm), volumetric soil water content levels seasonally ranging from xeric (below 5%) to saturated (above 50%), and seasonally extreme ground-surface temperatures (above 48°C). Findings from this research indicate that spatial and temporal heterogeneity exists in limestone cedar glades in terms of abiotic stress factors and soil physical and chemical properties. Several such soil properties (e.g. soil depth, organic matter levels, pH, and particle size distribution) are spatially correlated. These soil properties were statistically related to ecological structures and functions such as vegetation patterns, soil respiration, the density of culturable heterotrophic microbes in soil and metabolic diversity of soil microbial community profiles. In general, zones within limestone cedar glades that had relatively shallow soil, alkaline pH, low levels of organic matter and high levels of silt also tended to have depressed rates of soil respiration and reduced densities and metabolic diversity of culturable heterotrophic soil microbes. Additionally, seasonally-relevant stress factors including soil water content and temperatures at or near the soil surface were related to the same set of ecological structures and functions.

  11. Biotic and Abiotic Soil Properties Influence Survival of Listeria monocytogenes in Soil

    PubMed Central

    Locatelli, Aude; Spor, Aymé; Jolivet, Claudy; Piveteau, Pascal; Hartmann, Alain

    2013-01-01

    Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen responsible for the potentially fatal disease listeriosis and terrestrial ecosystems have been hypothesized to be its natural reservoir. Therefore, identifying the key edaphic factors that influence its survival in soil is critical. We measured the survival of L. monocytogenes in a set of 100 soil samples belonging to the French Soil Quality Monitoring Network. This soil collection is meant to be representative of the pedology and land use of the whole French territory. The population of L. monocytogenes in inoculated microcosms was enumerated by plate count after 7, 14 and 84 days of incubation. Analysis of survival profiles showed that L. monocytogenes was able to survive up to 84 days in 71% of the soils tested, in the other soils (29%) only a short-term survival (up to 7 to 14 days) was observed. Using variance partitioning techniques, we showed that about 65% of the short-term survival ratio of L. monocytogenes in soils was explained by the soil chemical properties, amongst which the basic cation saturation ratio seems to be the main driver. On the other hand, while explaining a lower amount of survival ratio variance (11%), soil texture and especially clay content was the main driver of long-term survival of L. monocytogenes in soils. In order to assess the effect of the endogenous soils microbiota on L. monocytogenes survival, sterilized versus non-sterilized soils microcosms were compared in a subset of 9 soils. We found that the endogenous soil microbiota could limit L. monocytogenes survival especially when soil pH was greater than 7, whereas in acidic soils, survival ratios in sterilized and unsterilized microcosms were not statistically different. These results point out the critical role played by both the endogenous microbiota and the soil physic-chemical properties in determining the survival of L. monocytogenes in soils. PMID:24116083

  12. Abiotic dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes in natural clayey soils: Impacts of mineralogy and temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schaefer, Charles E.; Ho, Paul; Gurr, Christopher; Berns, Erin; Werth, Charles

    2017-11-01

    Laboratory batch experiments were performed to assess the impacts of temperature and mineralogy on the abiotic dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) or trichloroethene (TCE) due to the presence of ferrous minerals in natural aquifer clayey soils under anaerobic conditions. A combination of x-ray diffraction (XRD), magnetic susceptibility, and ferrous mineral content were used to characterize each of the 3 natural soils tested in this study, and dechlorination at temperatures ranging from 20 to 55 °C were examined. Results showed that abiotic dechlorination occurred in all 3 soils examined, yielding reduced gas abiotic dechlorination products acetylene, butane, ethene, and/or propane. Bulk first-order dechlorination rate constants (kbulk), scaled to the soil:water ratio expected for in situ conditions, ranged from 2.0 × 10- 5 day- 1 at 20 °C, to 32 × 10- 5 day- 1 at 55 °C in the soil with the greatest ferrous mineral content. For the generation of acetylene and ethene from PCE, the reaction was well described by Arrhenius kinetics, with an activation energy of 91 kJ/mol. For the generation of coupling products butane and propane, the Arrhenius equation did not provide a satisfactory description of the data, likely owing to the complex reaction mechanisms associated with these products and/or diffusional mass transfer processes associated with the ferrous minerals likely responsible for these coupling reactions. Although the data set was too limited to determine a definitive correlation, the two soils with elevated ferrous mineral contents had elevated abiotic dechlorination rate constants, while the one soil with a low ferrous mineral content had a relatively low abiotic dechlorination rate constant. Overall, results suggest intrinsic abiotic dechlorination rates may be an important long-term natural attenuation component in site conceptual models for clays that have the appropriate iron mineralogy.

  13. Invasive Plants Rapidly Reshape Soil Properties in a Grassland Ecosystem.

    PubMed

    Gibbons, Sean M; Lekberg, Ylva; Mummey, Daniel L; Sangwan, Naseer; Ramsey, Philip W; Gilbert, Jack A

    2017-01-01

    Plant invasions often reduce native plant diversity and increase net primary productivity. Invaded soils appear to differ from surrounding soils in ways that impede restoration of diverse native plant communities. We hypothesize that invader-mediated shifts in edaphic properties reproducibly alter soil microbial community structure and function. Here, we take a holistic approach, characterizing plant, prokaryotic, and fungal communities and soil physicochemical properties in field sites, invasion gradients, and experimental plots for three invasive plant species that cooccur in the Rocky Mountain West. Each invader had a unique impact on soil physicochemical properties. We found that invasions drove shifts in the abundances of specific microbial taxa, while overall belowground community structure and functional potential were fairly constant. Forb invaders were generally enriched in copiotrophic bacteria with higher 16S rRNA gene copy numbers and showed greater microbial carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolic potential. Older invasions had stronger effects on abiotic soil properties, indicative of multiyear successions. Overall, we show that plant invasions are idiosyncratic in their impact on soils and are directly responsible for driving reproducible shifts in the soil environment over multiyear time scales. IMPORTANCE In this study, we show how invasive plant species drive rapid shifts in the soil environment from surrounding native communities. Each of the three plant invaders had different but consistent effects on soils. Thus, there does not appear to be a one-size-fits-all strategy for how plant invaders alter grassland soil environments. This work represents a crucial step toward understanding how invaders might be able to prevent or impair native reestablishment by changing soil biotic and abiotic properties.

  14. Minerals Masquerading As Enzymes: Abiotic Oxidation Of Soil Organic Matter In An Iron-Rich Humid Tropical Forest Soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hall, S. J.; Silver, W. L.

    2010-12-01

    Oxidative reactions play an important role in decomposing soil organic matter fractions that resist hydrolytic degradation, and fundamentally affect the cycling of recalcitrant soil carbon across ecosystems. Microbial extracellular oxidative enzymes (e.g. lignin peroxidases and laccases) have been assumed to provide a dominant role in catalyzing soil organic matter oxidation, while other potential oxidative mechanisms remain poorly explored. Here, we show that abiotic reactions mediated by the oxidation of ferrous iron (Fe(II)) could explain high potential oxidation rates in humid tropical forest soils, which often contain high concentrations of Fe(II) and experience rapid redox fluctuations between anaerobic and aerobic conditions. These abiotic reactions could provide an additional mechanism to explain high rates of decomposition in these ecosystems, despite frequent oxygen deficits. We sampled humid tropical forest soils in Puerto Rico, USA from various topographic positions, ranging from well-drained ridges to riparian valleys that experience broad fluctuations in redox potential. We measured oxidative activity by adding the model humic compound L-DOPA to soil slurries, followed by colorimetric measurements of the supernatant solution over time. Dilute hydrogen peroxide was added to a subset of slurries to measure peroxidative activity. We found that oxidative and peroxidative activity correlated positively with soil Fe(II) concentrations, counter to prevailing theory that low redox potential should suppress oxidative enzymes. Boiling or autoclaving sub-samples of soil slurries to denature any enzymes present typically increased peroxidative activity and did not eliminate oxidative activity, further suggesting the importance of an abiotic mechanism. We found substantial differences in the oxidation products of the L-DOPA substrate generated by our soil slurries in comparison with oxidation products generated by a purified enzyme (mushroom tyrosinase

  15. Role of Biotic and Abiotic Processes on Soil CO2 Dynamics in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Risk, D. A.; Macintyre, C. M.; Lee, C.; Cary, C.; Shanhun, F.; Almond, P. C.

    2016-12-01

    In the harsh conditions of the Antarctic Dry Valleys, microbial activity has been recorded via measurements of soil carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and surface efflux. However, high temporal resolution studies in the Dry Valleys have also shown that abiotic solubility-driven processes can strongly influence (and perhaps even dominate) the CO2 dynamics in these low flux environments and suggests that biological activity may be lower than previously thought. In this study, we aim to improve our understanding of CO2 dynamics (biotic and abiotic) in Antarctic Dry Valley soils using long-term automated measurements of soil CO2 surface flux and soil profile concentration at several sites, often at sub-diel frequency. We hypothesize that soil CO2 variations are driven primarily by environmental factors affecting CO2 solubility in soil solution, mainly temperature, and that these processes may even overprint biologic production in representative Dry Valley soils. Monitoring of all sites revealed only one likely biotic CO2 production event, lasting three weeks during the Austral summer and reaching fluxes of 0.4 µmol/m2/s. Under more typical low flux conditions (<0.10 µmol/m2/s) we observed a cyclical daily sink/source pattern consistent with CO2 solubility cycling that would not generally have been evident with normal synoptic afternoon sampling campaigns. Subsurface CO2 monitoring and a lab-controlled Antarctic soil simulation experiment confirmed that abiotic processes are capable of dominating soil CO2 variability. Diel temperature cycles crossing the freezing boundary revealed a dual abiotic cycle of solubility cycling and gas exclusion from ice formation observed only by high temporal frequency measurements (30 min). This work demonstrates a need for a numerical model to partition the dynamic abiotic processes underlying any biotic CO2 production in order to understand potential climate-change induced increases in microbial productivity in terrestrial Antarctica.

  16. Biotic and Abiotic Properties Mediating Plant Diversity Effects on Soil Microbial Communities in an Experimental Grassland

    PubMed Central

    Lange, Markus; Habekost, Maike; Eisenhauer, Nico; Roscher, Christiane; Bessler, Holger; Engels, Christof; Oelmann, Yvonne; Scheu, Stefan; Wilcke, Wolfgang; Schulze, Ernst-Detlef; Gleixner, Gerd

    2014-01-01

    Plant diversity drives changes in the soil microbial community which may result in alterations in ecosystem functions. However, the governing factors between the composition of soil microbial communities and plant diversity are not well understood. We investigated the impact of plant diversity (plant species richness and functional group richness) and plant functional group identity on soil microbial biomass and soil microbial community structure in experimental grassland ecosystems. Total microbial biomass and community structure were determined by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. The diversity gradient covered 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60 plant species and 1, 2, 3 and 4 plant functional groups (grasses, legumes, small herbs and tall herbs). In May 2007, soil samples were taken from experimental plots and from nearby fields and meadows. Beside soil texture, plant species richness was the main driver of soil microbial biomass. Structural equation modeling revealed that the positive plant diversity effect was mainly mediated by higher leaf area index resulting in higher soil moisture in the top soil layer. The fungal-to-bacterial biomass ratio was positively affected by plant functional group richness and negatively by the presence of legumes. Bacteria were more closely related to abiotic differences caused by plant diversity, while fungi were more affected by plant-derived organic matter inputs. We found diverse plant communities promoted faster transition of soil microbial communities typical for arable land towards grassland communities. Although some mechanisms underlying the plant diversity effect on soil microorganisms could be identified, future studies have to determine plant traits shaping soil microbial community structure. We suspect differences in root traits among different plant communities, such as root turnover rates and chemical composition of root exudates, to structure soil microbial communities. PMID:24816860

  17. The abiotic degradation of soil organic matter to oxalic acid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Studenroth, Sabine; Huber, Stefan; Schöler, H. F.

    2010-05-01

    The abiotic degradation of soil organic matter to volatile organic compounds was studied intensely over the last years (Keppler et al., 2000; Huber et al., 2009). It was shown that soil organic matter is oxidised due to the presence of iron (III), hydrogen peroxide and chloride and thereby produces diverse alkyl halides, which are emitted into the atmosphere. The formation of polar halogenated compounds like chlorinated acetic acids which are relevant toxic environmental substances was also found in soils and sediments (Kilian et al., 2002). The investigation of the formation of other polar halogenated and non-halogenated compounds like diverse mono- and dicarboxylic acids is going to attain more and more importance. Due to its high acidity oxalic acid might have impacts on the environment e.g., nutrient leaching, plant diseases and negative influence on microbial growth. In this study, the abiotic formation of oxalic acid in soil is examined. For a better understanding of natural degradation processes mechanistic studies were conducted using the model compound catechol as representative for structural elements of the humic substances and its reaction with iron (III) and hydrogen peroxide. Iron is one of the most abundant elements on earth and hydrogen peroxide is produced by bacteria or through incomplete reduction of oxygen. To find suitable parameters for an optimal reaction and a qualitative and quantitative analysis method the following reaction parameters are varied: concentration of iron (III) and hydrogen peroxide, time dependence, pH-value and influence of chloride. Analysis of oxalic acid was performed employing an ion chromatograph equipped with a conductivity detector. The time dependent reaction shows a relatively fast formation of oxalic acid, the optimum yield is achieved after 60 minutes. Compared to the concentration of catechol an excess of hydrogen peroxide as well as a low concentration of iron (III) are required. In absence of chloride the

  18. Abiotic uptake of gases by organic soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smagin, A. V.

    2007-12-01

    Methodological and experimental studies of the abiotic uptake of gaseous substances by organic soils were performed. The static adsorption method of closed vessels for assessing the interaction of gases with the solid and liquid soil phases and the dynamic method of determining the sorption isotherms of gases by soils were analyzed. The theoretical substantiation of the methods and their practical implementations on the basis of a PGA-7 portable gas analyzer (Russia) were considered. Good agreement between the equilibrium sorption isotherms of the gases and the Langmuir model was revealed; for the real ranges of natural gas concentrations, this model can be reduced to the linear Henry equation. The limit values of the gas sorption (Langmuir monolayer capacity) are typical for dry samples; they vary from 670 4000 g/m3 for methane and oxygen to 20 000 25 000 g/m3 for carbon dioxide. The linear distribution coefficients of gases between the solid and gas phases of organic soils (Henry constants) are 8 18 units for poorly sorbed gases (O2, CH4) and 40 60 units for CO2. The kinetics of the chemicophysical uptake of gases by the soil studied is linear in character and obeys the relaxation kinetic model of the first order with the corresponding relaxation constants, which vary from 1 h -1 in wet samples to 10 h -1 in dry samples.

  19. Carbohydrates protect protein against abiotic fragmentation by soil minerals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Reardon, Patrick N.; Walter, Eric D.; Marean-Reardon, Carrie L.

    The degradation and turnover of soil organic matter is an important part of global carbon cycling and of particular importance with respect to attempts to predict the response of ecosystems to global climate change. Thus, it is important to mechanistically understand the processes by which organic matter can be degraded in the soil environment, including contact with reactive or catalytic mineral surfaces. We have characterized the outcome of the interaction of two minerals, birnessite and kaolinite, with two disaccharides, cellobiose and trehalose. These results show that birnessite reacts with and degrades the carbohydrates, while kaolinite does not. The reaction ofmore » disaccharides with birnessite produces Mn(II), indicating that degradation of the disaccharides is the result of their oxidation by birnessite. Furthermore, we find that both sugars can inhibit the degradation of a model protein by birnessite, demonstrating that the presence of one organic constituent can impact abiotic degradation of another. Therefore, both the reactivity of the mineral matrix and the presence of certain organic constituents influence the outcomes of abiotic degradation. These results suggest the possibility that microorganisms may be able to control the functionality of exoenzymes through the concomitant excretion of protective organic substances, such as those found in biofilms.« less

  20. Soil respiration in the cold desert environment of the Colorado Plateau (USA): Abiotic regulators and thresholds

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fernandez, D.P.; Neff, J.C.; Belnap, J.; Reynolds, R.L.

    2006-01-01

    Decomposition is central to understanding ecosystem carbon exchange and nutrient-release processes. Unlike mesic ecosystems, which have been extensively studied, xeric landscapes have received little attention; as a result, abiotic soil-respiration regulatory processes are poorly understood in xeric environments. To provide a more complete and quantitative understanding about how abiotic factors influence soil respiration in xeric ecosystems, we conducted soil- respiration and decomposition-cloth measurements in the cold desert of southeast Utah. Our study evaluated when and to what extent soil texture, moisture, temperature, organic carbon, and nitrogen influence soil respiration and examined whether the inverse-texture hypothesis applies to decomposition. Within our study site, the effect of texture on moisture, as described by the inverse texture hypothesis, was evident, but its effect on decomposition was not. Our results show temperature and moisture to be the dominant abiotic controls of soil respiration. Specifically, temporal offsets in temperature and moisture conditions appear to have a strong control on soil respiration, with the highest fluxes occurring in spring when temperature and moisture were favorable. These temporal offsets resulted in decomposition rates that were controlled by soil moisture and temperature thresholds. The highest fluxes of CO2 occurred when soil temperature was between 10 and 16??C and volumetric soil moisture was greater than 10%. Decomposition-cloth results, which integrate decomposition processes across several months, support the soil-respiration results and further illustrate the seasonal patterns of high respiration rates during spring and low rates during summer and fall. Results from this study suggest that the parameters used to predict soil respiration in mesic ecosystems likely do not apply in cold-desert environments. ?? Springer 2006.

  1. FATE OF PAH COMPOUNDS IN TWO SOIL TYPES: INFLUENCE OF VOLATILIZATION, ABIOTIC LOSS, AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

    EPA Science Inventory

    The fate of 14 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds was evaluated with regard to interphase transfer potential and mechanisms of treatment in soil under unsaturated conditions. Volatilization and abiotic and biotic fate of the PAHs were determined using two soils not p...

  2. Impact of abiotic factors on development of the community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the soil: a Review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jamiołkowska, Agnieszka; Księżniak, Andrzej; Gałązka, Anna; Hetman, Beata; Kopacki, Marek; Skwaryło-Bednarz, Barbara

    2018-01-01

    Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inhabiting soil play an important role for vascular plants. Interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, plants and soil microorganisms leads to many mutual advantages. However, the effectiveness of mycorrhizal fungi depends not only on biotic, but also abiotic factors such as physico-chemical properties of the soil, availability of water and biogenic elements, agricultural practices, and climatic conditions. First of all, it is important to adapt the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi species to changing environmental conditions. The compactness of the soil and its structure have a huge impact on its biological activity. Soil pH reaction has a substantial impact on the mobility of ions in soil dilutions and their uptake by plants and soil microflora. Water excess can be a factor negatively affecting arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi because these microorganisms are sensitive to a lower availability of oxygen. Mechanical cultivation of the soil has a marginal impact on the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi spores. However, soil translocation can cause changes to the population of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi abundance in the soil profile. The geographical location and topographic differentiation of cultivated soils, as well as the variability of climatic factors affect the population of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the soils and their symbiotic activity.

  3. Interactive biotic and abiotic regulators of soil carbon cycling: evidence from controlled climate experiments on peatland and boreal soils.

    PubMed

    Briones, María Jesús I; McNamara, Niall P; Poskitt, Jan; Crow, Susan E; Ostle, Nicholas J

    2014-09-01

    Partially decomposed plant and animal remains have been accumulating in organic soils (i.e. >40% C content) for millennia, making them the largest terrestrial carbon store. There is growing concern that, in a warming world, soil biotic processing will accelerate and release greenhouse gases that further exacerbate climate change. However, the magnitude of this response remains uncertain as the constraints are abiotic, biotic and interactive. Here, we examined the influence of resource quality and biological activity on the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration under different soil moisture regimes. Organic soils were sampled from 13 boreal and peatland ecosystems located in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Finland and Sweden, representing a natural resource quality range of C, N and P. They were incubated at four temperatures (4, 10, 15 and 20 °C) at either 60% or 100% water holding capacity (WHC). Our results showed that chemical and biological properties play an important role in determining soil respiration responses to temperature and moisture changes. High soil C : P and C : N ratios were symptomatic of slow C turnover and long-term C accumulation. In boreal soils, low bacterial to fungal ratios were related to greater temperature sensitivity of respiration, which was amplified in drier conditions. This contrasted with peatland soils which were dominated by bacterial communities and enchytraeid grazing, resulting in a more rapid C turnover under warmer and wetter conditions. The unexpected acceleration of C mineralization under high moisture contents was possibly linked to the primarily role of fermented organic matter, instead of oxygen, in mediating microbial decomposition. We conclude that to improve C model simulations of soil respiration, a better resolution of the interactions occurring between climate, resource quality and the decomposer community will be required. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Enhanced abiotic reduction of Cr(VI) in a soil slurry system by natural biomaterial addition.

    PubMed

    Park, Donghee; Ahn, Chi Kyu; Kim, Young Mi; Yun, Yeoung-Sang; Park, Jong Moon

    2008-12-30

    Among various plant-based natural biomaterials, pine bark was chosen as an efficient biomaterial capable of removing toxic Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. XPS spectra indicated that Cr(VI) was abiotically reduced to Cr(III) in both liquid and solid phases. The Cr(VI)-reducing capacity of pine bark was determined as 545 (+/-1.3)mg-Cr(VI)g(-1) of it, which was 8.7 times higher than that of a common chemical Cr(VI)-reductant, FeSO4 x 7H2O. Because pine bark could completely reduce toxic Cr(VI) to less toxic or nontoxic Cr(III) even at neutral pH, it was used as an organic reductant to remediate Cr(VI)-contaminated soil in this study. Soil slurry system using a bottle roller was applied to ex situ slurry-phase remediation experiments. In the soil slurry system, pine bark completely reduced Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and adsorbed the reduced-Cr(III) on its surface. Abiotic remediation rate of Cr(VI)-contaminated soil increased with the increase of pine bark dosage and with the decreases of Cr(VI) and water contents. In conclusion, pine bark can be used to remediate Cr(VI)-contaminated soil efficiently and environmentally friendly.

  5. Effects of soil abiotic factors on the plant morphology in an intertidal salt marsh, Yellow River Delta, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Shanze; Cui, Baoshan; Bai, Junhong; Xie, Tian; Yan, Jiaguo; Wang, Qing; Zhang, Shuyan

    2018-02-01

    Plant morphology plays important role in studying biogeography in many ecosystems. Suadea salsa, as a native plant community of northern China and an important habitat for diversity of waterbirds and macrobenthos, has often been overlooked. Nowadays, S. salsa community is facing great loss due to coastal reclamation activities and natural disturbances. To maintain and restore S. salsa community, it's important to address the plant morphology across marsh zones, as well as its relationships with local soil abiotic conditions. In our studied intertidal salt marsh, we found that less flood disturbance frequency, softer soil conditions, rich soil organic matter, total carbon and total nitrogen, lower water depth and water content, less species competition will benefit S. salsa plant in the morphology of high coverage, above-ground biomass, shoot height and leaf length. Lower soil porewater salinity will benefit the below-ground biomass of S. salsa. Thus, we recommend managers help alleviate soil abiotic stresses in the intertidal salt marshes, making the soil conditions more suitable for S. salsa growth and succession.

  6. Toward Linking Aboveground Vegetation Properties and Soil Microbial Communities Using Remote Sensing

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hamada, Yuki; Gilbert, Jack A.; Larsen, Peter E.

    2014-04-01

    Despite their vital role in terrestrial ecosystem function, the distributions and dynamics of soil microbial communities (SMCs) are poorly understood. Vegetation and soil properties are the primary factors that influence SMCs. This paper discusses the potential effectiveness of remote sensing science and technologies for mapping SMC biogeography by characterizing surface biophysical properties (e.g., plant traits and community composition) strongly correlated with SMCs. Using remotely sensed biophysical properties to predict SMC distributions is extremely challenging because of the intricate interactions between biotic and abiotic factors and between above- and belowground ecosystems. However, the integration of biophysical and soil remote sensing withmore » geospatial information about the e nvironment holds great promise for mapping SMC biogeography. Additional research needs invol ve microbial taxonomic definition, soil environmental complexity, and scaling strategies. The collaborative effort of experts from diverse disciplines is essential to linking terrestrial surface biosphere observations with subsurface microbial community distributions using remote sensing.« less

  7. Toward Linking Aboveground Vegetation Properties and Soil Microbial Communities Using Remote Sensing

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hamada, Yuki; Gilbert, Jack A.; Larsen, Peter E.

    2014-04-01

    Despite their vital role in terrestrial ecosystem function, the distributions and dynamics of soil microbial communities (SMCs) are poorly understood. Vegetation and soil properties are the primary factors that influence SMCs. This paper discusses the potential effectiveness of remote sensing science and technologies for mapping SMC biogeography by characterizing surface biophysical properties (e.g., plant traits and community composition) strongly correlated with SMCs. Using remotely sensed biophysical properties to predict SMC distributions is extremely challenging because of the intricate interactions between biotic and abiotic factors and between above- and below-ground ecosystems. However, the integration of biophysical and soil remote sensing withmore » geospatial information about the environment holds great promise for mapping SMC biogeography. Additional research needs involve microbial taxonomic definition, soil environmental complexity, and scaling strategies. The collaborative effort of experts from diverse disciplines is essential to linking terrestrial surface biosphere observations with subsurface microbial community distributions using remote sensing.« less

  8. Root chemistry and soil fauna, but not soil abiotic conditions explain the effects of plant diversity on root decomposition.

    PubMed

    Chen, Hongmei; Oram, Natalie J; Barry, Kathryn E; Mommer, Liesje; van Ruijven, Jasper; de Kroon, Hans; Ebeling, Anne; Eisenhauer, Nico; Fischer, Christine; Gleixner, Gerd; Gessler, Arthur; González Macé, Odette; Hacker, Nina; Hildebrandt, Anke; Lange, Markus; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Scheu, Stefan; Oelmann, Yvonne; Wagg, Cameron; Wilcke, Wolfgang; Wirth, Christian; Weigelt, Alexandra

    2017-11-01

    Plant diversity influences many ecosystem functions including root decomposition. However, due to the presence of multiple pathways via which plant diversity may affect root decomposition, our mechanistic understanding of their relationships is limited. In a grassland biodiversity experiment, we simultaneously assessed the effects of three pathways-root litter quality, soil biota, and soil abiotic conditions-on the relationships between plant diversity (in terms of species richness and the presence/absence of grasses and legumes) and root decomposition using structural equation modeling. Our final structural equation model explained 70% of the variation in root mass loss. However, different measures of plant diversity included in our model operated via different pathways to alter root mass loss. Plant species richness had a negative effect on root mass loss. This was partially due to increased Oribatida abundance, but was weakened by enhanced root potassium (K) concentration in more diverse mixtures. Equally, grass presence negatively affected root mass loss. This effect of grasses was mostly mediated via increased root lignin concentration and supported via increased Oribatida abundance and decreased root K concentration. In contrast, legume presence showed a net positive effect on root mass loss via decreased root lignin concentration and increased root magnesium concentration, both of which led to enhanced root mass loss. Overall, the different measures of plant diversity had contrasting effects on root decomposition. Furthermore, we found that root chemistry and soil biota but not root morphology or soil abiotic conditions mediated these effects of plant diversity on root decomposition.

  9. Distribution and Diversity of Soil Microfauna from East Antarctica: Assessing the Link between Biotic and Abiotic Factors

    PubMed Central

    Velasco-Castrillón, Alejandro; Schultz, Mark B.; Colombo, Federica; Gibson, John A. E.; Davies, Kerrie A.; Austin, Andrew D.; Stevens, Mark I.

    2014-01-01

    Terrestrial life in Antarctica has been described as some of the simplest on the planet, and mainly confined to soil microfaunal communities. Studies have suggested that the lack of diversity is due to extreme environmental conditions and thought to be driven by abiotic factors. In this study we investigated soil microfauna composition, abundance, and distribution in East Antarctica, and assessed correlations with soil geochemistry and environmental variables. We examined 109 soil samples from a wide range of ice-free habitats, spanning 2000 km from Framnes Mountains to Bailey Peninsula. Microfauna across all samples were patchily distributed, from complete absence of invertebrates to over 1600 specimens/gram of dry weight of soil (gdw), with highest microfauna abundance observed in samples with visible vegetation. Bdelloid rotifers were on average the most widespread found in 87% of sampled sites and the most abundant (44 specimens/gdw). Tardigrades occurred in 57% of the sampled sites with an abundance of 12 specimens/gdw. Nematodes occurred in 71% of samples with a total abundance of 3 specimens/gdw. Ciliates and mites were rarely found in soil samples, with an average abundance of 1.3 and 0.04 specimens/gdw, respectively. We found that microfaunal composition and abundance were mostly correlated with the soil geochemical parameters; phosphorus, NO3 − and salinity, and likely to be the result of soil properties and historic landscape formation and alteration, rather than the geographic region they were sampled from. Studies focusing on Antarctic biodiversity must take into account soil geochemical and environmental factors that influence population and species heterogeneity. PMID:24498126

  10. Abiotic and seasonal control of soil-produced CO2 efflux in karstic ecosystems located in Oceanic and Mediterranean climates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia-Anton, Elena; Cuezva, Soledad; Fernandez-Cortes, Angel; Alvarez-Gallego, Miriam; Pla, Concepcion; Benavente, David; Cañaveras, Juan Carlos; Sanchez-Moral, Sergio

    2017-09-01

    This study characterizes the processes involved in seasonal CO2 exchange between soils and shallow underground systems and explores the contribution of the different biotic and abiotic sources as a function of changing weather conditions. We spatially and temporally investigated five karstic caves across the Iberian Peninsula, which presented different microclimatic, geologic and geomorphologic features. The locations present Mediterranean and Oceanic climates. Spot air sampling of CO2 (g) and δ13CO2 in the caves, soils and outside atmospheric air was periodically conducted. The isotopic ratio of the source contribution enhancing the CO2 concentration was calculated using the Keeling model. We compared the isotopic ratio of the source in the soil (δ13Cs-soil) with that in the soil-underground system (δ13Cs-system). Although the studied field sites have different features, we found common seasonal trends in their values, which suggests a climatic control over the soil air CO2 and the δ13CO2 of the sources of CO2 in the soil (δ13Cs-soil) and the system (δ13Cs-system). The roots respiration and soil organic matter degradation are the main source of CO2 in underground environments, and the inlet of the gas is mainly driven by diffusion and advection. Drier and warmer conditions enhance soil-exterior CO2 interchange, reducing the CO2 concentration and increasing the δ13CO2 of the soil air. Moreover, the isotopic ratio of the source of CO2 in both the soil and the system tends to heavier values throughout the dry and warm season. We conclude that seasonal variations of soil CO2 concentration and its 13C/12C isotopic ratio are mainly regulated by thermo-hygrometric conditions. In cold and wet seasons, the increase of soil moisture reduces soil diffusivity and allows the storage of CO2 in the subsoil. During dry and warm seasons, the evaporation of soil water favours diffusive and advective transport of soil-derived CO2 to the atmosphere. The soil CO2 diffusion is

  11. Abiotic soil changes induced by engineered nanomaterials: A critical review.

    PubMed

    Dror, Ishai; Yaron, Bruno; Berkowitz, Brian

    2015-10-01

    A large number of research papers on the fate of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in the soil-water system have appeared in recent years, focusing on ENM transport, persistence and toxicological impact. It is clear from these publications that soil is a major sink for ENMs, and that only a small portion degrades or is mobilized further into groundwater. However, to date, very few studies have examined the impact of ENMs on the natural soil-subsurface matrix and its properties. Moreover, it is now well accepted that chemical contaminants are capable of changing soil properties either by inducing direct chemical or physical changes, or through indirect changes by, e.g., influencing biological activity that in turn modifies soil properties. Here, we review studies on the deposition, retention, and accumulation of ENMs in soil, indicative of the extent to which soil acts as a major sink of ENMs. We then examine evidence of how these retained particles lead to modification of surface properties, which are manifested by changes in the sorption capacity of soil for other (organic and inorganic) solutes, and by surface charges and composition different than the natural surfaces. Finally, we demonstrate how this results in physical and hydrological changes to soil properties, including hydraulic conductivity, swelling capacity and wettability. The overall picture revealed in this critical review sheds light on a perspective that has received little attention thus far. These aspects of soil change, due to exposure and subsequent accumulation of ENMs, may ultimately prove to be one of the most important impacts of ENM releases to the environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Spatial heterogeneity of physicochemical properties explains differences in microbial composition in arid soils from Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico.

    PubMed

    Pajares, Silvia; Escalante, Ana E; Noguez, Ana M; García-Oliva, Felipe; Martínez-Piedragil, Celeste; Cram, Silke S; Eguiarte, Luis Enrique; Souza, Valeria

    2016-01-01

    Arid ecosystems are characterized by high spatial heterogeneity, and the variation among vegetation patches is a clear example. Soil biotic and abiotic factors associated with these patches have also been well documented as highly heterogeneous in space. Given the low vegetation cover and little precipitation in arid ecosystems, soil microorganisms are the main drivers of nutrient cycling. Nonetheless, little is known about the spatial distribution of microorganisms and the relationship that their diversity holds with nutrients and other physicochemical gradients in arid soils. In this study, we evaluated the spatial variability of soil microbial diversity and chemical parameters (nutrients and ion content) at local scale (meters) occurring in a gypsum-based desert soil, to gain knowledge on what soil abiotic factors control the distribution of microbes in arid ecosystems. We analyzed 32 soil samples within a 64 m(2) plot and: (a) characterized microbial diversity using T-RFLPs of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, (b) determined soil chemical parameters, and (c) identified relationships between microbial diversity and chemical properties. Overall, we found a strong correlation between microbial composition heterogeneity and spatial variation of cations (Ca(2), K(+)) and anions (HCO[Formula: see text], Cl(-), SO[Formula: see text]) content in this small plot. Our results could be attributable to spatial differences of soil saline content, favoring the patchy emergence of salt and soil microbial communities.

  13. Pyrogenic Carbon in forest soils across climate and soil property gradients in Switzerland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reisser, Moritz; González Domínguez, Beatriz R.; Hagedorn, Frank; Abiven, Samuel

    2016-04-01

    Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important measure for soil quality. Usually a high organic matter content in soils is favourable for most ecosystems. As a very stable component, pyrogenic organic carbon (PyC) can be of major interest to investigate to potential of organic matter, to persist very long in soils. Recent studies have shown, that the mean residence time of organic matter is not only due to its intrinsic chemical nature, but also to a variety of abiotic and biotic variables set by the ecosystem. Especially for PyC it is unclear, whether its content is related to fire regime, soil properties or other climatic conditions. In this study we wanted to investigate, how climatic and soil-related conditions are influencing the persistence of PyC in soils. Therefore we used a sample set from Swiss forest soil (n = 54), which was designed for the purpose of having most differing climatic conditions (aridity and temperature) and a large range of soil properties (pH between 3.4 and 7.6; clay content between 4.7 % and 60 %). The soils were sampled in the first 20 cm of the mineral horizon on a representative plot area of 40 x 40 m. The soils were sieved to 2 mm and dried prior to the analysis. We used the benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCA) molecular marker method to quantify and characterize PyC in these soil samples. Despite the large span in environmental conditions, we observed rather small differences in the contribution of PyC to SOC between warmer and colder, as well as between wetter and dryer soils. The PyC content in SOC lies well in range with a global average for forest soils estimated in other studies. Stocks of PyC vary more than the content, because of the large range of SOC contents in the samples. The influence of other parameters like soil properties is still under investigation. Qualitative investigation of the BPCAs showed that the degree of condensation, defined by the relative amount of B6CA in the total BPCA, was higher in warmer soils. This

  14. Biotic and abiotic processes in eastside ecosystems: the effects of management on soil properties, processes, and productivity.

    Treesearch

    Alan E. Harvey; J. Michael Geist; Gerald L McDonald; Martin F. Jurgensen; Patrick H. Cochran; Darlene Zabowski; Robert T. Meurisse

    1994-01-01

    Productivity of forest and range land soils is based on a combination of diverse physical, chemical and biological properties. In ecosystems characteristic of eastside regions of Oregon and Washington, the productive zone is usually in the upper 1 or 2 m. Not only are the biological processes that drive both soil productivity and root development concentrated in...

  15. Quantifying Components of Soil Respiration and Their Response to Abiotic Factors in Two Typical Subtropical Forest Stands, Southwest China

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Lei; Wang, Yujie; Wang, Yunqi; Sun, Suqi; Liu, Liziyuan

    2015-01-01

    Separating the components of soil respiration and understanding the roles of abiotic factors at a temporal scale among different forest types are critical issues in forest ecosystem carbon cycling. This study quantified the proportions of autotrophic (R A) and heterotrophic (R H) in total soil (R T) respiration using trenching and litter removal. Field studies were conducted in two typical subtropical forest stands (broadleaf and needle leaf mixed forest; bamboo forest) at Jinyun Mountain, near the Three Georges Reservoir in southwest China, during the growing season (Apr.–Sep.) from 2010 to 2012. The effects of air temperature (AT), soil temperature (ST) and soil moisture (SM) at 6cm depth, solar radiation (SR), pH on components of soil respiration were analyzed. Results show that: 1) SR, AT, and ST exhibited a similar temporal trend. The observed abiotic factors showed slight interannual variability for the two forest stands. 2) The contributions of R H and R A to R T for broadleaf and needle leaf mixed forest were 73.25% and 26.75%, respectively, while those for bamboo forest were 89.02% and 10.98%, respectively; soil respiration peaked from June to July. In both stands, CO2 released from the decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM), the strongest contributor to R T, accounted for over 63% of R H. 3) AT and ST were significantly positively correlated with R T and its components (p<0.05), and were major factors affecting soil respiration. 4) Components of soil respiration were significantly different between two forest stands (p<0.05), indicating that vegetation types played a role in soil respiration and its components. PMID:25680112

  16. [The relationship between abiotic factors and microbial activities of microbial eco-system in contaminated soil with petroleum hydrocarbons].

    PubMed

    Jia, Jian-li; Li, Guang-he; Zhong, Yi

    2004-05-01

    By means of the biostimulation and bioaugmentation in the micro-ecological environment of contaminated soil with petrochemical hydrocarbons, the biodegradation rates and mode of the contaminants were significantly improved. Based on the investigations carried out in some oilfields and petrochemical industrial area of Northern China, the relationship between the abiotic factors such as nutrient, pH, contaminants, water content, alkalinity, etc., and microbial activities was interpreted and identified in this paper. The results from the investigations and indoor and in-situ experiments conducted recent years indicated that the soils in the areas, to the extent, have been polluted by the different kinds of organic compounds composed of monoaromatic benzene, PAHs, chlorinated solvent, and alkanes, and the concentrations of the compounds mostly were elevated as compared to the background, with the highest 34,000 mg/kg dry soil. The column chromatography analysis results showed that the alkyl and aromatic compounds were accounted for more than 50% of the total hydrocarbon contents, which was readily degraded by degrading bacteria and improved the degrading microbe activities. The effective nitrogen and phosphorus encountered in the soil was less than 30 mg/kg dry soil and 10 mg/kg dry soil, only about 5% of total contents of them respectively. Based on the stoichiometric calculation and reasonable ratio of carbon to nutrient content regarding the biodegradation of organic compounds, the nutrient levels mainly composed of nitrogen and phosphorus in polluted soil as importantly limiting factors to degrading bacterial growth and activity were insufficient to the biodegradation of petrochemicals, and it is needed to add the nutrient for the bioremediation of contaminated soil. It is undoubted that the optimization of abiotic factors play significant role in increasing the microbial activity and improving the biodegradation rates.

  17. Links among nitrification, nitrifier communities, and edaphic properties in contrasting soils receiving dairy slurry.

    PubMed

    Fortuna, Ann-Marie; Honeycutt, C Wayne; Vandemark, George; Griffin, Timothy S; Larkin, Robert P; He, Zhongqi; Wienhold, Brian J; Sistani, Karamat R; Albrecht, Stephan L; Woodbury, Bryan L; Torbert, Henry A; Powell, J Mark; Hubbard, Robert K; Eigenberg, Roger A; Wright, Robert J; Alldredge, J Richard; Harsh, James B

    2012-01-01

    Soil biotic and abiotic factors strongly influence nitrogen (N) availability and increases in nitrification rates associated with the application of manure. In this study, we examine the effects of edaphic properties and a dairy (Bos taurus) slurry amendment on N availability, nitrification rates and nitrifier communities. Soils of variable texture and clay mineralogy were collected from six USDA-ARS research sites and incubated for 28 d with and without dairy slurry applied at a rate of ~300 kg N ha(-1). Periodically, subsamples were removed for analyses of 2 M KCl extractable N and nitrification potential, as well as gene copy numbers of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA). Spearman coefficients for nitrification potentials and AOB copy number were positively correlated with total soil C, total soil N, cation exchange capacity, and clay mineralogy in treatments with and without slurry application. Our data show that the quantity and type of clay minerals present in a soil affect nitrifier populations, nitrification rates, and the release of inorganic N. Nitrogen mineralization, nitrification potentials, and edaphic properties were positively correlated with AOB gene copy numbers. On average, AOA gene copy numbers were an order of magnitude lower than those of AOB across the six soils and did not increase with slurry application. Our research suggests that the two nitrifier communities overlap but have different optimum environmental conditions for growth and activity that are partly determined by the interaction of manure-derived ammonium with soil properties. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  18. Using thermodynamics to assess biotic and abiotic impediments to root water uptake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bechmann, Marcel; Hildebrandt, Anke; Kleidon, Axel

    2016-04-01

    Root water uptake has been the subject of extensive research, dealing with understanding the processes limiting transpiration and understanding strategies of plants to avoid water stress. Many of those studies use models of water flow from the soil through the plant into the atmosphere to learn about biotic and abiotic factors affecting plant water relations. One important question in this context is to identify those processes that are most limiting to water transport, and specifically whether these processes lie within the plant or the soil? Here, we propose to use a thermodynamic formulation of root water uptake to answer this question. The method allows us to separate the energy exported at the root collar into a sum of energy fluxes related to all processes along the flow path, notably including the effect of increasing water retention in drier soils. Evaluation of the several contributions allows us to identify and rank the processes by how much these impede water flow from the soil to the atmosphere. The application of this approach to a complex 3-dimensional root water uptake model reveals insights on the role of root versus soil resistances to limit water flow. We investigate the efficiency of root water uptake in an ensemble of root systems with varying root hydraulic properties. While root morphology is kept the same, root radial and axial resistances are artificially varied. Starting with entirely young systems (uptake roots, high radial, low axial conductance) we increasingly add older roots (transport roots, high axial, low radial conductance) to improve transport within root systems. This yields a range of root hydraulic architectures, where the extremes are limited either by radial uptake capacity or low capacity to transport water along the root system. We model root water uptake in this range of root systems with a 3-dimensional root water uptake model in two different soils, applying constant flux boundary conditions in a dry down experiment and

  19. Annual grass invasion in sagebrush-steppe: The relative importance of climate, soil properties and biotic interactions

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bansal, Sheel; Sheley, Roger L.

    2016-01-01

    The invasion by winter-annual grasses (AGs) such as Bromus tectorum into sagebrush steppe throughout the western USA is a classic example of a biological invasion with multiple, interacting climate, soil and biotic factors driving the invasion, although few studies have examined all components together. Across a 6000-km2 area of the northern Great Basin, we conducted a field assessment of 100 climate, soil, and biotic (functional group abundances, diversity) factors at each of 90 sites that spanned an invasion gradient ranging from 0 to 100 % AG cover. We first determined which biotic and abiotic factors had the strongest correlative relationships with AGs and each resident functional group. We then used regression and structural equation modeling to explore how multiple ecological factors interact to influence AG abundance. Among biotic interactions, we observed negative relationships between AGs and biodiversity, perennial grass cover, resident species richness, biological soil crust cover and shrub density, whereas perennial and annual forb cover, tree cover and soil microbial biomass had no direct linkage to AG. Among abiotic factors, AG cover was strongly related to climate (increasing cover with increasing temperature and aridity), but had weak relationships with soil factors. Our structural equation model showed negative effects of perennial grasses and biodiversity on AG cover while integrating the negative effects of warmer climate and positive influence of belowground processes on resident functional groups. Our findings illustrate the relative importance of biotic interactions and climate on invasive abundance, while soil properties appear to have stronger relationships with resident biota than with invasives.

  20. Shallow snowpack inhibits soil respiration in sagebrush steppe through multiple biotic and abiotic mechanisms

    DOE PAGES

    Tucker, Colin L.; Tamang, Shanker; Pendall, Elise; ...

    2016-05-01

    In sagebrush steppe, snowpack may govern soil respiration through its effect on multiple abiotic and biotic factors. Across the Intermountain West of the United States, snowpack has been declining for decades and is projected to decline further over the next century, making the response of soil respiration to snowpack a potentially important factor in the ecosystem carbon cycle. In this study, we evaluated the direct and indirect roles of the snowpack in driving soil respiration in sagebrush steppe ecosystems by taking advantage of highway snowfences in Wyoming to manipulate snowpack. An important contribution of this study is the use ofmore » Bayesian modeling to quantify the effects of soil moisture and temperature on soil respiration across a wide range of conditions from frozen to hot and dry, while simultaneously accounting for biotic factors (e.g., vegetation cover, root density, and microbial biomass and substrate-use diversity) affected by snowpack. Elevated snow depth increased soil temperature (in the winter) and moisture (winter and spring), and was associated with reduced vegetation cover and microbial biomass carbon. Soil respiration showed an exponential increase with temperature, with a temperature sensitivity that decreased with increasing seasonal temperature (Q 10 = 4.3 [winter], 2.3 [spring], and 1.7 [summer]); frozen soils were associated with unrealistic Q 10 approximate to 7989 due to the liquid-to-ice transition of soil water. Soil respiration was sensitive to soil water content; predicted respiration under very dry conditions was less than 10% of respiration under moist conditions. While higher vegetation cover increased soil respiration, this was not due to increased root density, and may reflect differences in litter inputs. Microbial substrate-use diversity was negatively related to reference respiration (i.e., respiration rate at a reference temperature and optimal soil moisture), although the mechanism remains unclear. Lastly, this

  1. Shallow snowpack inhibits soil respiration in sagebrush steppe through multiple biotic and abiotic mechanisms

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tucker, Colin L.; Tamang, Shanker; Pendall, Elise

    In sagebrush steppe, snowpack may govern soil respiration through its effect on multiple abiotic and biotic factors. Across the Intermountain West of the United States, snowpack has been declining for decades and is projected to decline further over the next century, making the response of soil respiration to snowpack a potentially important factor in the ecosystem carbon cycle. In this study, we evaluated the direct and indirect roles of the snowpack in driving soil respiration in sagebrush steppe ecosystems by taking advantage of highway snowfences in Wyoming to manipulate snowpack. An important contribution of this study is the use ofmore » Bayesian modeling to quantify the effects of soil moisture and temperature on soil respiration across a wide range of conditions from frozen to hot and dry, while simultaneously accounting for biotic factors (e.g., vegetation cover, root density, and microbial biomass and substrate-use diversity) affected by snowpack. Elevated snow depth increased soil temperature (in the winter) and moisture (winter and spring), and was associated with reduced vegetation cover and microbial biomass carbon. Soil respiration showed an exponential increase with temperature, with a temperature sensitivity that decreased with increasing seasonal temperature (Q 10 = 4.3 [winter], 2.3 [spring], and 1.7 [summer]); frozen soils were associated with unrealistic Q 10 approximate to 7989 due to the liquid-to-ice transition of soil water. Soil respiration was sensitive to soil water content; predicted respiration under very dry conditions was less than 10% of respiration under moist conditions. While higher vegetation cover increased soil respiration, this was not due to increased root density, and may reflect differences in litter inputs. Microbial substrate-use diversity was negatively related to reference respiration (i.e., respiration rate at a reference temperature and optimal soil moisture), although the mechanism remains unclear. Lastly, this

  2. Site-specific 15N isotopic signatures of abiotically produced N2O

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heil, Jannis; Wolf, Benjamin; Brüggemann, Nicolas; Emmenegger, Lukas; Tuzson, Béla; Vereecken, Harry; Mohn, Joachim

    2014-08-01

    Efficient nitrous oxide (N2O) mitigation strategies require the identification of the main source and sink processes and their contribution to total soil N2O production. Several abiotic reactions of nitrification intermediates leading to N2O production are known, but their contribution to total N2O production in soils is uncertain. As the site preference (SP) of 15N in N2O is a promising tool to give more insight into N2O production processes, we investigated the SP of N2O produced by different abiotic reactions in a laboratory study. All reactions involved the nitrification intermediate hydroxylamine (NH2OH) in combination with nitrite (NO2-), Fe3+, Fe2+ and Cu2+, reactants commonly or potentially found in soils, at different concentrations and pH values. N2O production and its four main isotopic species (14N14N16O, 15N14N16O, 14N15N16O, and 14N14N18O) were quantified simultaneously and online at high temporal resolution using quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy. Thereby, our study presents the first continuous analysis of δ18O in N2O. The experiments revealed the possibility of purely abiotic reactions over a wide range of acidity (pH 3-8) by different mechanisms. All studied abiotic pathways produced N2O with a characteristic SP in the range of 34-35‰, unaffected by process conditions and remaining constant over the course of the experiments. These findings reflect the benefit of continuous N2O isotopic analysis by laser spectroscopy, contribute new information to the challenging source partitioning of N2O emissions from soils, and emphasize the potentially significant role of coupled biotic-abiotic reactions in soils.

  3. Abiotic versus biotic controls on soil nitrogen cycling in drylands along a 3200 km transect

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Dongwei; Zhu, Weixing; Wang, Xiaobo; Pan, Yuepeng; Wang, Chao; Xi, Dan; Bai, Edith; Wang, Yuesi; Han, Xingguo; Fang, Yunting

    2017-03-01

    Nitrogen (N) cycling in drylands under changing climate is not well understood. Our understanding of N cycling over larger scales to date relies heavily on the measurement of bulk soil N, and the information about internal soil N transformations remains limited. The 15N natural abundance (δ15N) of ammonium and nitrate can serve as a proxy record for the N processes in soils. To better understand the patterns and mechanisms of N cycling in drylands, we collected soils along a 3200 km transect at about 100 km intervals in northern China, with mean annual precipitation (MAP) ranging from 36 to 436 mm. We analyzed N pools and δ15N of ammonium, dual isotopes (15N and 18O) of nitrate, and the microbial gene abundance associated with soil N transformations. We found that N status and its driving factors were different above and below a MAP threshold of 100 mm. In the arid zone with MAP below 100 mm, soil inorganic N accumulated, with a large fraction being of atmospheric origin, and ammonia volatilization was strong in soils with high pH. In addition, the abundance of microbial genes associated with soil N transformations was low. In the semiarid zone with MAP above 100 mm, soil inorganic N concentrations were low and were controlled mainly by biological processes (e.g., plant uptake and denitrification). The preference for soil ammonium over nitrate by the dominant plant species may enhance the possibility of soil nitrate losses via denitrification. Overall, our study suggests that a shift from abiotic to biotic controls on soil N biogeochemistry under global climate changes would greatly affect N losses, soil N availability, and other N transformation processes in these drylands in China.

  4. Spatial heterogeneity of physicochemical properties explains differences in microbial composition in arid soils from Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico

    PubMed Central

    Pajares, Silvia; Noguez, Ana M.; García-Oliva, Felipe; Martínez-Piedragil, Celeste; Cram, Silke S.; Eguiarte, Luis Enrique; Souza, Valeria

    2016-01-01

    Arid ecosystems are characterized by high spatial heterogeneity, and the variation among vegetation patches is a clear example. Soil biotic and abiotic factors associated with these patches have also been well documented as highly heterogeneous in space. Given the low vegetation cover and little precipitation in arid ecosystems, soil microorganisms are the main drivers of nutrient cycling. Nonetheless, little is known about the spatial distribution of microorganisms and the relationship that their diversity holds with nutrients and other physicochemical gradients in arid soils. In this study, we evaluated the spatial variability of soil microbial diversity and chemical parameters (nutrients and ion content) at local scale (meters) occurring in a gypsum-based desert soil, to gain knowledge on what soil abiotic factors control the distribution of microbes in arid ecosystems. We analyzed 32 soil samples within a 64 m2 plot and: (a) characterized microbial diversity using T-RFLPs of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, (b) determined soil chemical parameters, and (c) identified relationships between microbial diversity and chemical properties. Overall, we found a strong correlation between microbial composition heterogeneity and spatial variation of cations (Ca2, K+) and anions (HCO\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}${}_{3}^{-}$\\end{document}3−, Cl−, SO\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}${}_{4}^{2-}$\\end{document}42−) content in this small plot. Our results could be attributable to spatial differences of soil saline content, favoring the patchy emergence of

  5. Contribution of above- and below-ground plant traits to the structure and function of grassland soil microbial communities

    PubMed Central

    Legay, N.; Baxendale, C.; Grigulis, K.; Krainer, U.; Kastl, E.; Schloter, M.; Bardgett, R. D.; Arnoldi, C.; Bahn, M.; Dumont, M.; Poly, F.; Pommier, T.; Clément, J. C.; Lavorel, S.

    2014-01-01

    Background and Aims Abiotic properties of soil are known to be major drivers of the microbial community within it. Our understanding of how soil microbial properties are related to the functional structure and diversity of plant communities, however, is limited and largely restricted to above-ground plant traits, with the role of below-ground traits being poorly understood. This study investigated the relative contributions of soil abiotic properties and plant traits, both above-ground and below-ground, to variations in microbial processes involved in grassland nitrogen turnover. Methods In mountain grasslands distributed across three European sites, a correlative approach was used to examine the role of a large range of plant functional traits and soil abiotic factors on microbial variables, including gene abundance of nitrifiers and denitrifiers and their potential activities. Key Results Direct effects of soil abiotic parameters were found to have the most significant influence on the microbial groups investigated. Indirect pathways via plant functional traits contributed substantially to explaining the relative abundance of fungi and bacteria and gene abundances of the investigated microbial communities, while they explained little of the variance in microbial activities. Gene abundances of nitrifiers and denitrifiers were most strongly related to below-ground plant traits, suggesting that they were the most relevant traits for explaining variation in community structure and abundances of soil microbes involved in nitrification and denitrification. Conclusions The results suggest that consideration of plant traits, and especially below-ground traits, increases our ability to describe variation in the abundances and the functional characteristics of microbial communities in grassland soils. PMID:25122656

  6. Carbonyl sulfide produced by abiotic thermal and photodegradation of soil organic matter from wheat field substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whelan, Mary E.; Rhew, Robert C.

    2015-01-01

    Carbonyl sulfide (COS) is a reduced sulfur gas that is taken up irreversibly in plant leaves proportionally with CO2, allowing its potential use as a tracer for gross primary production. Recently, wheat field soil at the Southern Great Plains Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site in Lamont, Oklahoma, was found to be a measureable source of COS to the atmosphere. To understand the mechanism of COS production, soil and root samples were collected from the site and incubated in the laboratory over a range of temperatures (15-34°C) and light conditions (light and dark). Samples exhibited mostly COS net uptake from the atmosphere in dark and cool (<22-25°C) trials. COS emission was observed during dark incubations at high temperatures (>25°C), consistent with field observations, and at a lower temperature (19°C) when a full spectrum lamp (max wavelength 600 nm) was applied. Sterilized soil and root samples yielded only COS production that increased with temperature, supporting the hypothesis that (a) COS production in these samples is abiotic, (b) production is directly influenced by temperature and light, and (c) some COS consumption in soil and root samples is biotic.

  7. Abiotic factors shape microbial diversity in Sonoran Desert soils.

    PubMed

    Andrew, David R; Fitak, Robert R; Munguia-Vega, Adrian; Racolta, Adriana; Martinson, Vincent G; Dontsova, Katerina

    2012-11-01

    High-throughput, culture-independent surveys of bacterial and archaeal communities in soil have illuminated the importance of both edaphic and biotic influences on microbial diversity, yet few studies compare the relative importance of these factors. Here, we employ multiplexed pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to examine soil- and cactus-associated rhizosphere microbial communities of the Sonoran Desert and the artificial desert biome of the Biosphere2 research facility. The results of our replicate sampling approach show that microbial communities are shaped primarily by soil characteristics associated with geographic locations, while rhizosphere associations are secondary factors. We found little difference between rhizosphere communities of the ecologically similar saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) and cardón (Pachycereus pringlei) cacti. Both rhizosphere and soil communities were dominated by the disproportionately abundant Crenarchaeota class Thermoprotei, which comprised 18.7% of 183,320 total pyrosequencing reads from a comparatively small number (1,337 or 3.7%) of the 36,162 total operational taxonomic units (OTUs). OTUs common to both soil and rhizosphere samples comprised the bulk of raw sequence reads, suggesting that the shared community of soil and rhizosphere microbes constitute common and abundant taxa, particularly in the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteria. The vast majority of OTUs, however, were rare and unique to either soil or rhizosphere communities and differed among locations dozens of kilometers apart. Several soil properties, particularly soil pH and carbon content, were significantly correlated with community diversity measurements. Our results highlight the importance of culture-independent approaches in surveying microbial communities of extreme environments.

  8. Physical properties of forest soils

    Treesearch

    Charles H. Perry; Michael C. Amacher

    2007-01-01

    Why Are Physical Properties of the Soil Important? The soil quality indicator, when combined with other data collected by the FIA program, can indicate the current rates of soil erosion, the extent and intensity of soil compaction, and some basic physical properties of the forest floor and the top 20 cm of soil. In this report, two particular physical properties of the...

  9. Abiotic Factors Shape Microbial Diversity in Sonoran Desert Soils

    PubMed Central

    Fitak, Robert R.; Munguia-Vega, Adrian; Racolta, Adriana; Martinson, Vincent G.; Dontsova, Katerina

    2012-01-01

    High-throughput, culture-independent surveys of bacterial and archaeal communities in soil have illuminated the importance of both edaphic and biotic influences on microbial diversity, yet few studies compare the relative importance of these factors. Here, we employ multiplexed pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to examine soil- and cactus-associated rhizosphere microbial communities of the Sonoran Desert and the artificial desert biome of the Biosphere2 research facility. The results of our replicate sampling approach show that microbial communities are shaped primarily by soil characteristics associated with geographic locations, while rhizosphere associations are secondary factors. We found little difference between rhizosphere communities of the ecologically similar saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) and cardón (Pachycereus pringlei) cacti. Both rhizosphere and soil communities were dominated by the disproportionately abundant Crenarchaeota class Thermoprotei, which comprised 18.7% of 183,320 total pyrosequencing reads from a comparatively small number (1,337 or 3.7%) of the 36,162 total operational taxonomic units (OTUs). OTUs common to both soil and rhizosphere samples comprised the bulk of raw sequence reads, suggesting that the shared community of soil and rhizosphere microbes constitute common and abundant taxa, particularly in the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteria. The vast majority of OTUs, however, were rare and unique to either soil or rhizosphere communities and differed among locations dozens of kilometers apart. Several soil properties, particularly soil pH and carbon content, were significantly correlated with community diversity measurements. Our results highlight the importance of culture-independent approaches in surveying microbial communities of extreme environments. PMID:22885757

  10. Quantitative modeling of soil genesis processes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levine, E. R.; Knox, R. G.; Kerber, A. G.

    1992-01-01

    For fine spatial scale simulation, a model is being developed to predict changes in properties over short-, meso-, and long-term time scales within horizons of a given soil profile. Processes that control these changes can be grouped into five major process clusters: (1) abiotic chemical reactions; (2) activities of organisms; (3) energy balance and water phase transitions; (4) hydrologic flows; and (5) particle redistribution. Landscape modeling of soil development is possible using digitized soil maps associated with quantitative soil attribute data in a geographic information system (GIS) framework to which simulation models are applied.

  11. Assessment the effect of homogenized soil on soil hydraulic properties and soil water transport

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohawesh, O.; Janssen, M.; Maaitah, O.; Lennartz, B.

    2017-09-01

    Soil hydraulic properties play a crucial role in simulating water flow and contaminant transport. Soil hydraulic properties are commonly measured using homogenized soil samples. However, soil structure has a significant effect on the soil ability to retain and to conduct water, particularly in aggregated soils. In order to determine the effect of soil homogenization on soil hydraulic properties and soil water transport, undisturbed soil samples were carefully collected. Five different soil structures were identified: Angular-blocky, Crumble, Angular-blocky (different soil texture), Granular, and subangular-blocky. The soil hydraulic properties were determined for undisturbed and homogenized soil samples for each soil structure. The soil hydraulic properties were used to model soil water transport using HYDRUS-1D.The homogenized soil samples showed a significant increase in wide pores (wCP) and a decrease in narrow pores (nCP). The wCP increased by 95.6, 141.2, 391.6, 3.9, 261.3%, and nCP decreased by 69.5, 10.5, 33.8, 72.7, and 39.3% for homogenized soil samples compared to undisturbed soil samples. The soil water retention curves exhibited a significant decrease in water holding capacity for homogenized soil samples compared with the undisturbed soil samples. The homogenized soil samples showed also a decrease in soil hydraulic conductivity. The simulated results showed that water movement and distribution were affected by soil homogenizing. Moreover, soil homogenizing affected soil hydraulic properties and soil water transport. However, field studies are being needed to find the effect of these differences on water, chemical, and pollutant transport under several scenarios.

  12. Biotic and abiotic controls on diurnal fluctuations in labile soil phosphorus of a wet tropical forest.

    PubMed

    Vandecar, Karen L; Lawrence, Deborah; Wood, Tana; Oberbauer, Steven F; Das, Rishiraj; Tully, Katherine; Schwendenmann, Luitgard

    2009-09-01

    The productivity of many tropical wet forests is generally limited by bioavailable phosphorus (P). Microbial activity is a key regulator of P availability in that it determines both the supply of P through organic matter decomposition and the depletion of bioavailable P through microbial uptake. Both microbial uptake and mineralization occur rapidly, and their net effect on P availability varies with soil moisture, temperature, and soil organic matter quantity and quality. Exploring the mechanisms driving P availability at fine temporal scales can provide insight into the coupling of carbon, water, and nutrient cycles, and ultimately, the response of tropical forests to climate change. Despite the recognized importance of P cycling to the dynamics of wet tropical forests and their potential sensitivity to short-term fluctuations in bioavailable P, the diurnal pattern of P remains poorly understood. This study quantifies diurnal fluctuations in labile soil P and evaluates the importance of biotic and abiotic factors in driving these patterns. To this end, measurements of labile P were made every other hour in a Costa Rican wet tropical forest oxisol. Spatial and temporal variation in Bray-extractable P were investigated in relation to ecosystem carbon flux, soil CO2 efflux, soil moisture, soil temperature, solar radiation, and sap-flow velocity. Spatially averaged bi-hourly (every two hours) labile P ranged from 0.88 to 2.48 microg/g across days. The amplitude in labile P throughout the day was 0.61-0.82 microg/g (41-54% of mean P concentrations) and was characterized by a bimodal pattern with a decrease at midday. Labile P increased with soil CO2 efflux and soil temperature and declined with increasing sap flow and solar radiation. Together, soil CO2 efflux, soil temperature, and sap flow explained 86% of variation in labile P.

  13. Biotic and abiotic controls on nitrogen leaching losses into waterways during successive bovine urine application to soil.

    PubMed

    Neilen, Amanda D; Chen, Chengrong R; Faggotter, Stephen J; Ellison, Tanya L; Burford, Michele A

    2016-07-01

    Cattle waste products high in nitrogen (N) that enter waterways via rainfall runoff can contribute to aquatic ecosystem health deterioration. It is well established that N leaching from this source can be reduced by plant assimilation, e.g. pasture grass. Additionally, N leaching can be reduced when there is sufficient carbon (C) in the soil such as plant litterfall to stimulate microbial processes, i.e. denitrification, which off-gas N from the soil profile. However, the relative importance of these two processes is not well understood. A soil microcosm experiment was conducted to determine the role of biotic processes, pasture grass and microbial activity, and abiotic processes such as soil sorption, in reducing N leaching loss, during successive additions of bovine urine. Pasture grass was the most effective soil cover in reducing N leaching losses, which leached 70% less N compared to exposed soil. Successive application of urine to the soil resulted in N accumulation, after which there was a breaking point indicated by high N leaching losses. This is likely to be due to the low C:N ratio within the soil profiles treated with urine (molar ratio 8:1) compared to water treated soils (30:1). In this experiment we examined the role of C addition in reducing N losses and showed that the addition of glucose can temporarily reduce N leaching. Overall, our results demonstrated that plant uptake of N was a more important process in preventing N leaching than microbial processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Soil property effects on wind erosion of organic soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zobeck, Ted M.; Baddock, Matthew; Scott Van Pelt, R.; Tatarko, John; Acosta-Martinez, Veronica

    2013-09-01

    Histosols (also known as organic soils, mucks, or peats) are soils that are dominated by organic matter (OM > 20%) in half or more of the upper 80 cm. Forty two states have a total of 21 million ha of Histosols in the United States. These soils, when intensively cropped, are subject to wind erosion resulting in loss of crop productivity and degradation of soil, air, and water quality. Estimating wind erosion on Histosols has been determined by USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as a critical need for the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) model. WEPS has been developed to simulate wind erosion on agricultural land in the US, including soils with organic soil material surfaces. However, additional field measurements are needed to understand how soil properties vary among organic soils and to calibrate and validate estimates of wind erosion of organic soils using WEPS. Soil properties and sediment flux were measured in six soils with high organic contents located in Michigan and Florida, USA. Soil properties observed included organic matter content, particle density, dry mechanical stability, dry clod stability, wind erodible material, and geometric mean diameter of the surface aggregate distribution. A field portable wind tunnel was used to generate suspended sediment and dust from agricultural surfaces for soils ranging from 17% to 67% organic matter. The soils were tilled and rolled to provide a consolidated, friable surface. Dust emissions and saltation were measured using an isokinetic vertical slot sampler aspirated by a regulated suction source. Suspended dust was sampled using a Grimm optical particle size analyzer. Particle density of the saltation-sized material (>106 μm) was inversely related to OM content and varied from 2.41 g cm-3 for the soil with the lowest OM content to 1.61 g cm-3 for the soil with highest OM content. Wind erodible material and the geometric mean diameter of the surface soil were inversely related to dry clod

  15. Stressed out symbiotes: hypotheses for the influence of abiotic stress on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

    PubMed

    Millar, Niall S; Bennett, Alison E

    2016-11-01

    Abiotic stress is a widespread threat to both plant and soil communities. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can alleviate effects of abiotic stress by improving host plant stress tolerance, but the direct effects of abiotic stress on AM fungi are less well understood. We propose two hypotheses predicting how AM fungi will respond to abiotic stress. The stress exclusion hypothesis predicts that AM fungal abundance and diversity will decrease with persistent abiotic stress. The mycorrhizal stress adaptation hypothesis predicts that AM fungi will evolve in response to abiotic stress to maintain their fitness. We conclude that abiotic stress can have effects on AM fungi independent of the effects on the host plant. AM fungal communities will change in composition in response to abiotic stress, which may mean the loss of important individual species. This could alter feedbacks to the plant community and beyond. AM fungi will adapt to abiotic stress independent of their host plant. The adaptation of AM fungi to abiotic stress should allow the maintenance of the plant-AM fungal mutualism in the face of changing climates.

  16. Small-scale spatial variability in phylogenetic community structure during early plant succession depends on soil properties.

    PubMed

    Ulrich, Werner; Piwczyński, Marcin; Zaplata, Markus Klemens; Winter, Susanne; Schaaf, Wolfgang; Fischer, Anton

    2014-07-01

    During early plant succession, the phylogenetic structure of a community changes in response to important environmental filters and emerging species interactions. We traced the development of temperate-zone plant communities during the first 7 years of primary succession on catchment soils to explore patterns of initial species assembly. We found pronounced small-scale differences in the phylogenetic composition of neighbouring plant assemblages and a large-scale trend towards phylogenetic evenness. This small-scale variability appears to be mediated by soil properties, particularly carbonate content. Therefore, abiotic environmental conditions might counteract or even supersede the effects of interspecific competition among closely related species, which are usually predicted to exhibit patterns of phylogenetic evenness. We conclude that theories on phylogenetic community composition need to incorporate effects of small-scale variability of environmental factors.

  17. Soil fauna, soil properties and geo-ecosystem functioning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cammeraat, L. H.

    2012-04-01

    The impact of soil fauna on soil processes is of utmost importance, as the activity of soil fauna directly affects soil quality. This is expressed by the direct effects of soil fauna on soil physical and soil chemical properties that not only have great importance to food production and ecosystems services, but also on weathering and hydrological and geomorphological processes. Soil animals can be perceived as ecosystem engineers that directly affect the flow of water, sediments and nutrients through terrestrial ecosystems. The biodiversity of animals living in the soil is huge and shows a huge range in size, functions and effects. Most work has been focused on only a few species such as earthworms and termites, but in general the knowledge on the effect of soil biota on soil ecosystem functioning is limited as it is for their impact on processes in the soil and on the soil surface. In this presentation we would like to review some of the impacts of soil fauna on soil properties that have implications for geo-ecosystem functioning and soil formation processes.

  18. Fire and fire-suppression impacts on forest-soil carbon [Chapter 13

    Treesearch

    Deborah Page-Dumroese; Martin F. Jurgensen; Alan E. Harvey

    2003-01-01

    The potential of forest soils to sequester carbon (C) depends on many biotic and abiotic variables, such as: forest type, stand age and structure, root activity and turnover, temperature and moisture conditions, and soil physical, chemical, and biological properties (Birdsey and Lewis, Chapter 2; Johnson and Kern, Chapter 4; Pregitzer, Chapter 6; Morris and Paul,...

  19. Cortex proliferation in the root is a protective mechanism against abiotic stress.

    PubMed

    Cui, Hongchang

    2015-01-01

    Although as an organ the root plays a pivotal role in nutrient and water uptake as well anchorage, individual cell types function distinctly. Cortex is regarded as the least differentiated cell type in the root, but little is known about its role in plant growth and physiology. In recent studies, we found that cortex proliferation can be induced by oxidative stress. Since all types of abiotic stress lead to oxidative stress, this finding suggests a role for cortex in coping with abiotic stress. This hypothesis was tested in this study using the spy mutant, which has an extra layer of cortex in the root. Interestingly, the spy mutant was shown to be hypersensitive to salt and oxidizing reagent applied to the leaves, but it was as tolerant as the wild type to these compounds in the soil. This result lends support to the notion that cortex has a protective role against abiotic stress arising from the soil.

  20. Interactive effects of MnO2, organic matter and pH on abiotic formation of N2O from hydroxylamine in artificial soil mixtures.

    PubMed

    Liu, Shurong; Berns, Anne E; Vereecken, Harry; Wu, Di; Brüggemann, Nicolas

    2017-02-01

    Abiotic conversion of the reactive nitrification intermediate hydroxylamine (NH 2 OH) to nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a possible mechanism of N 2 O formation during nitrification. Previous research has demonstrated that manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) and organic matter (OM) content of soil as well as soil pH are important control variables of N 2 O formation in the soil. But until now, their combined effect on abiotic N 2 O formation from NH 2 OH has not been quantified. Here, we present results from a full-factorial experiment with artificial soil mixtures at five different levels of pH, MnO 2 and OM, respectively, and quantified the interactive effects of the three variables on the NH 2 OH-to-N 2 O conversion ratio (R NH2OH-to-N2O ). Furthermore, the effect of OM quality on R NH2OH-to-N2O was determined by the addition of four different organic materials with different C/N ratios to the artificial soil mixtures. The experiments revealed a strong interactive effect of soil pH, MnO 2 and OM on R NH2OH-to-N2O . In general, increasing MnO 2 and decreasing pH increased R NH2OH-to-N2O , while increasing OM content was associated with a decrease in R NH2OH-to-N2O . Organic matter quality also affected R NH2OH-to-N2O . However, this effect was not a function of C/N ratio, but was rather related to differences in the dominating functional groups between the different organic materials.

  1. Interactive effects of MnO2, organic matter and pH on abiotic formation of N2O from hydroxylamine in artificial soil mixtures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Shurong; Berns, Anne E.; Vereecken, Harry; Wu, Di; Brüggemann, Nicolas

    2017-02-01

    Abiotic conversion of the reactive nitrification intermediate hydroxylamine (NH2OH) to nitrous oxide (N2O) is a possible mechanism of N2O formation during nitrification. Previous research has demonstrated that manganese dioxide (MnO2) and organic matter (OM) content of soil as well as soil pH are important control variables of N2O formation in the soil. But until now, their combined effect on abiotic N2O formation from NH2OH has not been quantified. Here, we present results from a full-factorial experiment with artificial soil mixtures at five different levels of pH, MnO2 and OM, respectively, and quantified the interactive effects of the three variables on the NH2OH-to-N2O conversion ratio (RNH2OH-to-N2O). Furthermore, the effect of OM quality on RNH2OH-to-N2O was determined by the addition of four different organic materials with different C/N ratios to the artificial soil mixtures. The experiments revealed a strong interactive effect of soil pH, MnO2 and OM on RNH2OH-to-N2O. In general, increasing MnO2 and decreasing pH increased RNH2OH-to-N2O, while increasing OM content was associated with a decrease in RNH2OH-to-N2O. Organic matter quality also affected RNH2OH-to-N2O. However, this effect was not a function of C/N ratio, but was rather related to differences in the dominating functional groups between the different organic materials.

  2. Rock Content Influence on Soil Hydraulic Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parajuli, K.; Sadeghi, M.; Jones, S. B.

    2015-12-01

    Soil hydraulic properties including the soil water retention curve (SWRC) and hydraulic conductivity function are important characteristics of soil affecting a variety of soil properties and processes. The hydraulic properties are commonly measured for seived soils (i.e. particles < 2 mm), but many natural soils include rock fragments of varying size that alter bulk hydraulic properties. Relatively few studies have addressed this important problem using physically-based concepts. Motivated by this knowledge gap, we set out to describe soil hydraulic properties using binary mixtures (i.e. rock fragment inclusions in a soil matrix) based on individual properties of the rock and soil. As a first step of this study, special attention was devoted to the SWRC, where the impact of rock content on the SWRC was quantified using laboratory experiments for six different mixing ratios of soil matrix and rock. The SWRC for each mixture was obtained from water mass and water potential measurements. The resulting data for the studied mixtures yielded a family of SWRC indicating how the SWRC of the mixture is related to that of the individual media, i.e., soil and rock. A consistent model was also developed to describe the hydraulic properties of the mixture as a function of the individual properties of the rock and soil matrix. Key words: Soil hydraulic properties, rock content, binary mixture, experimental data.

  3. Calibrating Nonlinear Soil Material Properties for Seismic Analysis Using Soil Material Properties Intended for Linear Analysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Spears, Robert Edward; Coleman, Justin Leigh

    2015-08-01

    Seismic analysis of nuclear structures is routinely performed using guidance provided in “Seismic Analysis of Safety-Related Nuclear Structures and Commentary (ASCE 4, 1998).” This document, which is currently under revision, provides detailed guidance on linear seismic soil-structure-interaction (SSI) analysis of nuclear structures. To accommodate the linear analysis, soil material properties are typically developed as shear modulus and damping ratio versus cyclic shear strain amplitude. A new Appendix in ASCE 4-2014 (draft) is being added to provide guidance for nonlinear time domain SSI analysis. To accommodate the nonlinear analysis, a more appropriate form of the soil material properties includes shear stressmore » and energy absorbed per cycle versus shear strain. Ideally, nonlinear soil model material properties would be established with soil testing appropriate for the nonlinear constitutive model being used. However, much of the soil testing done for SSI analysis is performed for use with linear analysis techniques. Consequently, a method is described in this paper that uses soil test data intended for linear analysis to develop nonlinear soil material properties. To produce nonlinear material properties that are equivalent to the linear material properties, the linear and nonlinear model hysteresis loops are considered. For equivalent material properties, the shear stress at peak shear strain and energy absorbed per cycle should match when comparing the linear and nonlinear model hysteresis loops. Consequently, nonlinear material properties are selected based on these criteria.« less

  4. Effects of long-term soil and crop management on soil hydraulic properties for claypan soils

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Regional and national soil maps have been developed along with associated soil property databases to assist users in making land management decisions based on soil characteristics. These soil properties include average values from soil characterization for each soil series. In reality, these propert...

  5. Adhesive properties of environmental Vibrio alginolyticus strains to biotic and abiotic surfaces.

    PubMed

    Snoussi, Mejdi; Noumi, Emira; Cheriaa, Jihane; Usai, Donatella; Sechi, Leonardo Antonio; Zanetti, Stefania; Bakhrouf, Amina

    2008-10-01

    The ability of Vibrio alginolyticus strains isolated from a bathing and fishing area (Khenis, Centre of Tunisia) to adhere to both biotic and abiotic surfaces was evaluated in the present work. The biochemical, physiological and enzymatic activities of all strains was also investigated. Three morphotypes of V. alginolyticus were obtained on Congo red agar and only 14 strains produced black colonies. The majority of strains were able to degrade the skin mucus of both Sparus aurata and Dicentrarchus labrax fishes while the fish mucus preparation of these two specimens exhibits a high level of anti-V. alginolyticus strains. Adhesive properties were observed in 37.5% of the analyzed V. alginolyticus strains to Hep-2 cells and 50% to Caco-2 cells. All strains were able to form a purple pellicule on glass tube when they were stained with Crystal violet. Fifteen percent of V. alginolyticus strains (16/32) were strongly adhesive to polystyrene with a values ranging from 3.04 to 18.25 at 595 nm and only four strains were weak biofilm forming. V. alginolyticus bacterium possess a strong adhesive power to both biotic and inertes surfaces. These proprieties may allow to these strains to persist in this biotope in planctonic state or attached to both biotic and abiotic surfaces.

  6. Abiotic Protein Fragmentation by Manganese Oxide: Implications for a Mechanism to Supply Soil Biota with Oligopeptides.

    PubMed

    Reardon, Patrick N; Chacon, Stephany S; Walter, Eric D; Bowden, Mark E; Washton, Nancy M; Kleber, Markus

    2016-04-05

    The ability of plants and microorganisms to take up organic nitrogen in the form of free amino acids and oligopeptides has received increasing attention over the last two decades, yet the mechanisms for the formation of such compounds in soil environments remain poorly understood. We used Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopies to distinguish the reaction of a model protein with a pedogenic oxide (Birnessite, MnO2) from its response to a phyllosilicate (Kaolinite). Our data demonstrate that birnessite fragments the model protein while kaolinite does not, resulting in soluble peptides that would be available to soil biota and confirming the existence of an abiotic pathway for the formation of organic nitrogen compounds for direct uptake by plants and microorganisms. The absence of reduced Mn(II) in the solution suggests that birnessite acts as a catalyst rather than an oxidant in this reaction. NMR and EPR spectroscopies are shown to be valuable tools to observe these reactions and capture the extent of protein transformation together with the extent of mineral response.

  7. The impact of biotic/abiotic interfaces in mineral nutrient cycling: A study of soils of the Santa Cruz chronosequence, California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    White, A.F.; Schulz, M.S.; Vivit, D.V.; Bullen, T.D.; Fitzpatrick, J.

    2012-01-01

    Biotic/abiotic interactions between soil mineral nutrients and annual grassland vegetation are characterized for five soils in a marine terrace chronosequence near Santa Cruz, California. A Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and dry summers, controls the annual cycle of plant growth and litter decomposition, resulting in net above-ground productivities of 280-600gm -2yr -1. The biotic/abiotic (A/B) interface separates seasonally reversible nutrient gradients, reflecting biological cycling in the shallower soils, from downward chemical weathering gradients in the deeper soils. The A/B interface is pedologically defined by argillic clay horizons centered at soil depths of about one meter which intensify with soil age. Below these horizons, elevated solute Na/Ca, Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios reflect plagioclase and smectite weathering along pore water flow paths. Above the A/B interface, lower cation ratios denote temporal variability due to seasonal plant nutrient uptake and litter leaching. Potassium and Ca exhibit no seasonal variability beneath the A/B interface, indicating closed nutrient cycling within the root zone, whereas Mg variability below the A/B interface denotes downward leakage resulting from higher inputs of marine aerosols and lower plant nutrient requirements.The fraction of a mineral nutrient annually cycled through the plants, compared to that lost from pore water discharge, is defined their respective fluxes F j,plants=q j,plants/(q j,plants+q j,discharge) with average values for K and Ca (F K,plants=0.99; F Ca,plants=0.93) much higher than for Mg and Na (F Mg,plants 0.64; F Na,plants=0.28). The discrimination against Rb and Sr by plants is described by fractionation factors (K Sr/Ca=0.86; K Rb/K=0.83) which are used in Rayleigh fractionation-mixing calculations to fit seasonal patterns in solute K and Ca cycling. K Rb/K and K24Mg/22Mg values (derived from isotope data in the literature) fall within fractionation envelopes bounded by inputs from

  8. Effects of Biochar Amendment on Soil Properties and Soil Carbon Sequestration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, R.; Zhu, S.

    2015-12-01

    Biochar addition to soils potentially affects various soil properties and soil carbon sequestration, and these effects are dependent on biochars derived from different feedstock materials and pyrolysis processes. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of amendment of different biochars on soil physical and biological properties as well as soil carbon sequestration. Biochars were produced with dairy manure and woodchip at temperatures of 300, 500, and 700°C, respectively. Each biochar was mixed at 5% (w/w) with a forest soil and the mixture was incubated for 180 days, during which soil physical and biological properties, and soil respiration rates were measured. Results showed that the biochar addition significantly enhanced the formation of soil macroaggregates at the early incubation time. The biochar application significantly reduced soil bulk density, increased the amount of soil organic matter, and stimulated microbial activity and soil respiration rates at the early incubation stage. Biochar applications improved water retention capacity, with stronger effects by biochars produced at higher pyrolysis temperatures. At the same suction, the soil with woodchip biochars possessed higher water content than with the dairy manure biochars. Biochar addition significantly affected the soil physical and biological properties, which resulted in different soil carbon mineralization rates and the amount of soil carbon storage.

  9. Effects of Long-term Soil and Crop Management on Soil Hydraulic Properties for Claypan Soils

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Regional and national soil maps and associated databases of soil properties have been developed to help land managers make decisions based on soil characteristics. Hydrologic modelers also utilize soil hydraulic properties provided in these databases, in which soil characterization is based on avera...

  10. Predicting Soluble Nickel in Soils Using Soil Properties and Total Nickel.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiaoqing; Li, Jumei; Wei, Dongpu; Li, Bo; Ma, Yibing

    2015-01-01

    Soil soluble nickel (Ni) concentration is very important for determining soil Ni toxicity. In the present study, the relationships between soil properties, total and soluble Ni concentrations in soils were developed in a wide range of soils with different properties and climate characteristics. The multiple regressions showed that soil pH and total soil Ni concentrations were the most significant parameters in predicting soluble Ni concentrations with the adjusted determination coefficients (Radj2) values of 0.75 and 0.68 for soils spiked with soluble Ni salt and the spiked soils leached with artificial rainwater to mimic field conditions, respectively. However, when the soils were divided into three categories (pH < 7, 7-8 and > 8), they obtained better predictions with Radj2 values of 0.78-0.90 and 0.79-0.94 for leached and unleached soils, respectively. Meanwhile, the other soil properties, such as amorphous Fe and Al oxides and clay, were also found to be important for determining soluble Ni concentrations, indicating that they were also presented as active adsorbent surfaces. Additionally, the whole soil speciation including bulk soil properties and total soils Ni concentrations were analyzed by mechanistic speciation models WHAM VI and Visual MINTEQ3.0. It was found that WHAM VI provided the best predictions for the soils with pH < 7, was relatively reasonable for pH 7 to 8, and gave an overestimation for pH > 8. The Visual MINTEQ3.0 could provide better estimation for pH < 8 and meanwhile quite reasonable results for pH > 8. These results indicated the possibility and applicability of these models to predict soil soluble Ni concentration by soil properties.

  11. Roles of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Soil Abiotic Conditions in the Establishment of a Dry Grassland Community.

    PubMed

    Knappová, Jana; Pánková, Hana; Münzbergová, Zuzana

    2016-01-01

    The importance of soil biota in the composition of mature plant communities is commonly acknowledged. In contrast, the role of soil biota in the early establishment of new plant communities and their relative importance for soil abiotic conditions are still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to understand the effects of soil origin and soil fungal communities on the composition of a newly established dry grassland plant community. We used soil from two different origins (dry grassland and abandoned field) with different pH and nutrient and mineral content. Grassland microcosms were established by sowing seeds of 54 species of dry grassland plants into the studied soils. To suppress soil fungi, half of the pots were regularly treated with fungicide. In this way, we studied the independent and combined effects of soil origin and soil community on the establishment of dry grassland communities. The effect of suppressing the soil fungal community on the richness and composition of the plant communities was much stronger than the effect of soil origin. Contrary to our expectations, the effects of these two factors were largely additive, indicating the same degree of importance of soil fungal communities in the establishment of species-rich plant communities in the soils from both origins. The negative effect of suppressing soil fungi on species richness, however, occurred later in the soil from the abandoned field than in the soil from the grassland. This result likely occurred because the negative effects of the suppression of fungi in the field soil were caused mainly by changes in plant community composition and increased competition. In contrast, in the grassland soil, the absence of soil fungi was limiting for plants already at the early stages of their establishment, i.e., in the phases of germination and early recruitment. While fungicide affects not only arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi but also other biota, our data indicate that changes in the AMF

  12. Coupled biotic-abiotic oxidation of organic matter by biogenic MnO_{2}

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gonzalez, Julia; Peña, Jasquelin

    2016-04-01

    Some reactive soil minerals are strongly implicated in stabilising organic matter. However, others can play an active role in the oxidation of organic molecules. In natural systems, layer-type manganese oxide minerals (MnO2) typically occur as biomineral assemblages consisting of mineral particles and microbial biomass. Both the mineral and biological fractions of the assemblage can be powerful oxidants of organic C. The biological compartment relies on a set of enzymes to drive oxidative transformations of reduced C-substrates, whereas MnO2 minerals are strong, less specific abiotic oxidants that are assumed to rely on interfacial interactions between C-substrates and the mineral surface. This project aims to understand the coupling between microbial C mineralization and abiotic C oxidation mediated by MnO2 in bacterial-MnO2 assemblages. Specifically, under conditions of high C turnover, microbial respiration can significantly alter local pH, dissolved oxygen and pool of available reductants, which may modify rates and mechanism of C oxidation by biotic and abiotic components. We first investigated changes in the solution chemistry of Pseudomonas putida suspensions exposed to varying concentrations of glucose, chosen to represent readily bioavailable substrates in soils. Glucose concentrations tested ranged between 0 and 5.5mM and changes in pH, dissolved oxygen and dissolved organic and inorganic carbon were tracked over 48h. We then combined literature review and wet-chemical experiments to compile the pH dependence of rates of organic substrate oxidation by MnO2, including glucose. Our results demonstrate a strong pH dependence for these abiotic reactions. In assemblages of P. putida - MnO2, kinetic limitations for abiotic C oxidation by MnO2 are overcome by changes in biogeochemical conditions that result from bacterial C metabolism. When extrapolated to a soil solution confronted to an input of fresh dissolved organic matter, bacterial C metabolism of the

  13. Influence of soil properties and test conditions on sorption and desorption of testosterone

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In this study, batch sorption and desorption experiments were conducted for testosterone using four agricultural soils and five clay minerals. Significant differences in sorption behavior were observed between abiotic and biotic systems. The Freundlich sorption coefficient Kf (µg per g)/(µg per mL) ...

  14. Predicting Soluble Nickel in Soils Using Soil Properties and Total Nickel

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Xiaoqing; Li, Jumei; Wei, Dongpu; Li, Bo; Ma, Yibing

    2015-01-01

    Soil soluble nickel (Ni) concentration is very important for determining soil Ni toxicity. In the present study, the relationships between soil properties, total and soluble Ni concentrations in soils were developed in a wide range of soils with different properties and climate characteristics. The multiple regressions showed that soil pH and total soil Ni concentrations were the most significant parameters in predicting soluble Ni concentrations with the adjusted determination coefficients (Radj 2) values of 0.75 and 0.68 for soils spiked with soluble Ni salt and the spiked soils leached with artificial rainwater to mimic field conditions, respectively. However, when the soils were divided into three categories (pH < 7, 7–8 and > 8), they obtained better predictions with Radj 2 values of 0.78–0.90 and 0.79–0.94 for leached and unleached soils, respectively. Meanwhile, the other soil properties, such as amorphous Fe and Al oxides and clay, were also found to be important for determining soluble Ni concentrations, indicating that they were also presented as active adsorbent surfaces. Additionally, the whole soil speciation including bulk soil properties and total soils Ni concentrations were analyzed by mechanistic speciation models WHAM VI and Visual MINTEQ3.0. It was found that WHAM VI provided the best predictions for the soils with pH < 7, was relatively reasonable for pH 7 to 8, and gave an overestimation for pH > 8. The Visual MINTEQ3.0 could provide better estimation for pH < 8 and meanwhile quite reasonable results for pH > 8. These results indicated the possibility and applicability of these models to predict soil soluble Ni concentration by soil properties. PMID:26217951

  15. Field Identification of Andic Soil Properties for Soils of North-central Idaho

    Treesearch

    Brian Gardner

    2007-01-01

    Currently, laboratory measurements are definitive for identifying andic soil properties in both the USDA Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff 1999) and the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (FAO/ISRIC/ISSS 1998). Andic soil properties, as described in Soil Taxonomy, result mainly from the presence of significant amounts of allophone, imogolite, ferrihydrite or...

  16. Atlas of soil reflectance properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stoner, E. R.; Baumgardner, M. F.; Biehl, L. L.; Robinson, B. F.

    1979-01-01

    A compendium of soil spectral reflectance curves together with soil test results and site information is presented in an abbreviated manner listing those soil properties most important in influencing soil reflectance. Results are presented for 251 soils from 39 states and Brazil. A narrative key describes relationships between soil parameters and reflectance curves. All soils are classified according to the U.S. soil taxonomy and soil series name for ease of identification.

  17. Effect of Soil Washing for Lead and Zinc Removal on Soil Hydraulic Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kammerer, Gerhard; Zupanc, Vesna; Gluhar, Simon; Lestan, Domen

    2017-04-01

    Soil washing as a metal pollution remediation process, especially part with intensive mixing of the soil slurry and soil compression after de-watering, significantly deteriorates physical properties of soil compared to those of non-remediated soil. Furthermore, changed physical characteristics of remediated soil influence interaction of plant roots with soil system and affect soil water regime. Remediated soils showed significant differences to their original state in water retention properties and changed structure due to the influence of artificial structure created during remediation process. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples of remediated and original soils were analyzed. We evaluated soil hydraulic properties as a possible constraint for re-establishing soil structure and soil fertility after the remediation procedure.

  18. Soil microbial community profiles and functional diversity in limestone cedar glades

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Dzantor, E. Kudjo; Momen, Bahram

    2016-01-01

    Rock outcrop ecosystems, such as limestone cedar glades (LCGs), are known for their rare and endemic plant species adapted to high levels of abiotic stress. Soils in LCGs are thin (< 25 cm), soil-moisture conditions fluctuate seasonally between xeric and saturated, and summer soil temperatures commonly exceed 48 °C. The effects of these stressors on soil microbial communities (SMC) remain largely unstudied, despite the importance of SMC-plant interactions in regulating the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems. SMC profiles and functional diversity were characterized in LCGs using community level physiological profiling (CLPP) and plate-dilution frequency assays (PDFA). Most-probable number (MPN) estimates and microbial substrate-utilization diversity (H) were positively related to soil thickness, soil organic matter (OM), soil water content, and vegetation density, and were diminished in alkaline soil relative to circumneutral soil. Soil nitrate showed no relationship to SMCs, suggesting lack of N-limitation. Canonical correlation analysis indicated strong correlations between microbial CLPP patterns and several physical and chemical properties of soil, primarily temperature at the ground surface and at 4-cm depth, and secondarily soil-water content, enabling differentiation by season. Thus, it was demonstrated that several well-described abiotic determinants of plant community structure in this ecosystem are also reflected in SMC profiles.

  19. Effect of different soil washing solutions on bioavailability of residual arsenic in soils and soil properties.

    PubMed

    Im, Jinwoo; Yang, Kyung; Jho, Eun Hea; Nam, Kyoungphile

    2015-11-01

    The effect of soil washing used for arsenic (As)-contaminated soil remediation on soil properties and bioavailability of residual As in soil is receiving increasing attention due to increasing interest in conserving soil qualities after remediation. This study investigates the effect of different washing solutions on bioavailability of residual As in soils and soil properties after soil washing. Regardless of washing solutions, the sequential extraction revealed that the residual As concentrations and the amount of readily labile As in soils were reduced after soil washing. However, the bioassay tests showed that the washed soils exhibited ecotoxicological effects - lower seed germination, shoot growth, and enzyme activities - and this could largely be attributed to the acidic pH and/or excessive nutrient contents of the washed soils depending on washing solutions. Overall, this study showed that treated soils having lower levels of contaminants could still exhibit toxic effects due to changes in soil properties, which highly depended on washing solutions. This study also emphasizes that data on the As concentrations, the soil properties, and the ecotoxicological effects are necessary to properly manage the washed soils for reuses. The results of this study can, thus, be utilized to select proper post-treatment techniques for the washed soils. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Large-extent digital soil mapping approaches for total soil depth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mulder, Titia; Lacoste, Marine; Saby, Nicolas P. A.; Arrouays, Dominique

    2015-04-01

    Total soil depth (SDt) plays a key role in supporting various ecosystem services and properties, including plant growth, water availability and carbon stocks. Therefore, predictive mapping of SDt has been included as one of the deliverables within the GlobalSoilMap project. In this work SDt was predicted for France following the directions of GlobalSoilMap, which requires modelling at 90m resolution. This first method, further referred to as DM, consisted of modelling the deterministic trend in SDt using data mining, followed by a bias correction and ordinary kriging of the residuals. Considering the total surface area of France, being about 540K km2, employed methods may need to be able dealing with large data sets. Therefore, a second method, multi-resolution kriging (MrK) for large datasets, was implemented. This method consisted of modelling the deterministic trend by a linear model, followed by interpolation of the residuals. For the two methods, the general trend was assumed to be explained by the biotic and abiotic environmental conditions, as described by the Soil-Landscape paradigm. The mapping accuracy was evaluated by an internal validation and its concordance with previous soil maps. In addition, the prediction interval for DM and the confidence interval for MrK were determined. Finally, the opportunities and limitations of both approaches were evaluated. The results showed consistency in mapped spatial patterns and a good prediction of the mean values. DM was better capable in predicting extreme values due to the bias correction. Also, DM was more powerful in capturing the deterministic trend than the linear model of the MrK approach. However, MrK was found to be more straightforward and flexible in delivering spatial explicit uncertainty measures. The validation indicated that DM was more accurate than MrK. Improvements for DM may be expected by predicting soil depth classes. MrK shows potential for modelling beyond the country level, at high

  1. Hydraulic Properties of Unsaturated Soils

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Many agrophysical applications require knowledge of the hydraulic properties of unsaturated soils. These properties reflect the ability of a soil to retain or transmit water and its dissolved constituents. The objective of this work was to develop an entry for the Encyclopedia of Agrophysics that w...

  2. Chemical properties of forest soils

    Treesearch

    Charles H. Perry; Michael C. Amacher

    2007-01-01

    Why Is Soil Chemistry Important? The soil quality indicator was initially developed as a tool for assessing the current status of forest soil resources and predicting potential changes in soil properties. Soil chemistry data can be used to diagnose tree vigor and document the deposition of atmospheric pollutants (e.g., acid rain). This chapter focuses on two chemical...

  3. Rheological properties of soil: a review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Guangli; Zhu, Long; Yu, Chao

    2017-05-01

    Recently rheological methods have been applied to investigate the mechanical properties of soil micro-structure. Rheological techniques have a number of quantitative physically based measurements and offer a better understanding of how soil micro-structure behaves when subject to stress. Rheological material is refers to deformation properties similar to the solid and flow properties similar to the liquid of bound water and colloidal substances under stress. Soil rheology is divided into fluid rheology and plasticity rheology. Fluid rheology is produced by rheological material. Plasticity rheology mainly refers to the sliding and peristaltic between soil solid particles under shear stress. It is generally believed that the soft soil rheology mainly belongs to fluid rheology, while the rheology of sand and other coarse grained soil mainly belongs to plasticity rheology. Thus, rheology mechanisms of soft soil and sand are different. This paper introduces the methods of the research progress on the rheology of soil, in the soil rheological mechanism, rheological model and rheological numerical aspects of the research at home and abroad were summarized and analysed, discussed the problems existed in related research, and puts forward some suggestions for the future study on the rheology of soil.

  4. Estimation of soil-soil solution distribution coefficient of radiostrontium using soil properties.

    PubMed

    Ishikawa, Nao K; Uchida, Shigeo; Tagami, Keiko

    2009-02-01

    We propose a new approach for estimation of soil-soil solution distribution coefficient (K(d)) of radiostrontium using some selected soil properties. We used 142 Japanese agricultural soil samples (35 Andosol, 25 Cambisol, 77 Fluvisol, and 5 others) for which Sr-K(d) values had been determined by a batch sorption test and listed in our database. Spearman's rank correlation test was carried out to investigate correlations between Sr-K(d) values and soil properties. Electrical conductivity and water soluble Ca had good correlations with Sr-K(d) values for all soil groups. Then, we found a high correlation between the ratio of exchangeable Ca to Ca concentration in water soluble fraction and Sr-K(d) values with correlation coefficient R=0.72. This pointed us toward a relatively easy way to estimate Sr-K(d) values.

  5. Derivation of Soil Ecological Criteria for Copper in Chinese Soils.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaoqing; Wei, Dongpu; Ma, Yibing; McLaughlin, Mike J

    2015-01-01

    Considerable information on copper (Cu) ecotoxicity as affected by biological species and abiotic properties of soils has been collected from the last decade in the present study. The information on bioavailability/ecotoxicity, species sensitivity and differences in laboratory and field ecotoxicity of Cu in different soils was collated and integrated to derive soil ecological criteria for Cu in Chinese soils, which were expressed as predicted no effect concentrations (PNEC). First, all ecotoxicity data of Cu from bioassays based on Chinese soils were collected and screened with given criteria to compile a database. Second, the compiled data were corrected with leaching and aging factors to minimize the differences between laboratory and field conditions. Before Cu ecotoxicity data were entered into a species sensitivity distribution (SSD), they were normalized with Cu ecotoxicity predictive models to modify the effects of soil properties on Cu ecotoxicity. The PNEC value was set equal to the hazardous concentration for x% of the species (HCx), which could be calculated from the SSD curves, without an additional assessment factor. Finally, predictive models for HCx based on soil properties were developed. The soil properties had a significant effect on the magnitude of HCx, with HC5 varying from 13.1 mg/kg in acidic soils to 51.9 mg/kg in alkaline non-calcareous soils. The two-factor predictive models based on soil pH and cation exchange capacity could predict HCx with determination coefficients (R2) of 0.82-0.91. The three-factor predictive models--that took into account the effect of soil organic carbon--were more accurate than two-factor models, with R2 of 0.85-0.99. The predictive models obtained here could be used to calculate soil-specific criteria. All results obtained here could provide a scientific basis for revision of current Chinese soil environmental quality standards, and the approach adopted in this study could be used as a pragmatic framework for

  6. Derivation of Soil Ecological Criteria for Copper in Chinese Soils

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xiaoqing; Wei, Dongpu; Ma, Yibing; McLaughlin, Mike J.

    2015-01-01

    Considerable information on copper (Cu) ecotoxicity as affected by biological species and abiotic properties of soils has been collected from the last decade in the present study. The information on bioavailability/ecotoxicity, species sensitivity and differences in laboratory and field ecotoxicity of Cu in different soils was collated and integrated to derive soil ecological criteria for Cu in Chinese soils, which were expressed as predicted no effect concentrations (PNEC). First, all ecotoxicity data of Cu from bioassays based on Chinese soils were collected and screened with given criteria to compile a database. Second, the compiled data were corrected with leaching and aging factors to minimize the differences between laboratory and field conditions. Before Cu ecotoxicity data were entered into a species sensitivity distribution (SSD), they were normalized with Cu ecotoxicity predictive models to modify the effects of soil properties on Cu ecotoxicity. The PNEC value was set equal to the hazardous concentration for x% of the species (HCx), which could be calculated from the SSD curves, without an additional assessment factor. Finally, predictive models for HCx based on soil properties were developed. The soil properties had a significant effect on the magnitude of HCx, with HC5 varying from 13.1 mg/kg in acidic soils to 51.9 mg/kg in alkaline non-calcareous soils. The two-factor predictive models based on soil pH and cation exchange capacity could predict HCx with determination coefficients (R2) of 0.82–0.91. The three-factor predictive models – that took into account the effect of soil organic carbon – were more accurate than two-factor models, with R2 of 0.85–0.99. The predictive models obtained here could be used to calculate soil-specific criteria. All results obtained here could provide a scientific basis for revision of current Chinese soil environmental quality standards, and the approach adopted in this study could be used as a pragmatic

  7. Biotic context and soil properties modulate native plant responses to enhanced rainfall.

    PubMed

    Eskelinen, Anu; Harrison, Susan

    2015-11-01

    The environmental and biotic context within which plants grow have a great potential to modify responses to climatic changes, yet few studies have addressed both the direct effects of climate and the modulating roles played by variation in the biotic (e.g. competitors) and abiotic (e.g. soils) environment. In a grassland with highly heterogeneous soils and community composition, small seedlings of two native plants, Lasthenia californica and Calycadenia pauciflora, were transplanted into factorially watered and fertilized plots. Measurements were made to test how the effect of climatic variability (mimicked by the watering treatment) on the survival, growth and seed production of these species was modulated by above-ground competition and by edaphic variables. Increased competition outweighed the direct positive impacts of enhanced rainfall on most fitness measures for both species, resulting in no net effect of enhanced rainfall. Both species benefitted from enhanced rainfall when the absence of competitors was accompanied by high soil water retention capacity. Fertilization did not amplify the watering effects; rather, plants benefitted from enhanced rainfall or competitor removal only in ambient nutrient conditions with high soil water retention capacity. The findings show that the direct effects of climatic variability on plant fitness may be reversed or neutralized by competition and, in addition, may be strongly modulated by soil variation. Specifically, coarse soil texture was identified as a factor that may limit plant responsiveness to altered water availability. These results highlight the importance of considering the abiotic as well as biotic context when making future climate change forecasts. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Microbial community composition explains soil respiration responses to changing carbon inputs along an Andes-to-Amazon elevation gradient

    PubMed Central

    Whitaker, Jeanette; Ostle, Nicholas; Nottingham, Andrew T; Ccahuana, Adan; Salinas, Norma; Bardgett, Richard D; Meir, Patrick; McNamara, Niall P; Austin, Amy

    2014-01-01

    1. The Andes are predicted to warm by 3–5 °C this century with the potential to alter the processes regulating carbon (C) cycling in these tropical forest soils. This rapid warming is expected to stimulate soil microbial respiration and change plant species distributions, thereby affecting the quantity and quality of C inputs to the soil and influencing the quantity of soil-derived CO2 released to the atmosphere. 2. We studied tropical lowland, premontane and montane forest soils taken from along a 3200-m elevation gradient located in south-east Andean Peru. We determined how soil microbial communities and abiotic soil properties differed with elevation. We then examined how these differences in microbial composition and soil abiotic properties affected soil C-cycling processes, by amending soils with C substrates varying in complexity and measuring soil heterotrophic respiration (RH). 3. Our results show that there were consistent patterns of change in soil biotic and abiotic properties with elevation. Microbial biomass and the abundance of fungi relative to bacteria increased significantly with elevation, and these differences in microbial community composition were strongly correlated with greater soil C content and C:N (nitrogen) ratios. We also found that RH increased with added C substrate quality and quantity and was positively related to microbial biomass and fungal abundance. 4. Statistical modelling revealed that RH responses to changing C inputs were best predicted by soil pH and microbial community composition, with the abundance of fungi relative to bacteria, and abundance of gram-positive relative to gram-negative bacteria explaining much of the model variance. 5. Synthesis. Our results show that the relative abundance of microbial functional groups is an important determinant of RH responses to changing C inputs along an extensive tropical elevation gradient in Andean Peru. Although we do not make an experimental test of the effects of climate

  9. Quantitative assessment on soil enzyme activities of heavy metal contaminated soils with various soil properties.

    PubMed

    Xian, Yu; Wang, Meie; Chen, Weiping

    2015-11-01

    Soil enzyme activities are greatly influenced by soil properties and could be significant indicators of heavy metal toxicity in soil for bioavailability assessment. Two groups of experiments were conducted to determine the joint effects of heavy metals and soil properties on soil enzyme activities. Results showed that arylsulfatase was the most sensitive soil enzyme and could be used as an indicator to study the enzymatic toxicity of heavy metals under various soil properties. Soil organic matter (SOM) was the dominant factor affecting the activity of arylsulfatase in soil. A quantitative model was derived to predict the changes of arylsulfatase activity with SOM content. When the soil organic matter content was less than the critical point A (1.05% in our study), the arylsulfatase activity dropped rapidly. When the soil organic matter content was greater than the critical point A, the arylsulfatase activity gradually rose to higher levels showing that instead of harm the soil microbial activities were enhanced. The SOM content needs to be over the critical point B (2.42% in our study) to protect its microbial community from harm due to the severe Pb pollution (500mgkg(-1) in our study). The quantitative model revealed the pattern of variation of enzymatic toxicity due to heavy metals under various SOM contents. The applicability of the model under wider soil properties need to be tested. The model however may provide a methodological basis for ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in soil. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Thermal remediation alters soil properties - a review.

    PubMed

    O'Brien, Peter L; DeSutter, Thomas M; Casey, Francis X M; Khan, Eakalak; Wick, Abbey F

    2018-01-15

    Contaminated soils pose a risk to human and ecological health, and thermal remediation is an efficient and reliable way to reduce soil contaminant concentration in a range of situations. A primary benefit of thermal treatment is the speed at which remediation can occur, allowing the return of treated soils to a desired land use as quickly as possible. However, this treatment also alters many soil properties that affect the capacity of the soil to function. While extensive research addresses contaminant reduction, the range and magnitude of effects to soil properties have not been explored. Understanding the effects of thermal remediation on soil properties is vital to successful reclamation, as drastic effects may preclude certain post-treatment land uses. This review highlights thermal remediation studies that have quantified alterations to soil properties, and it supplements that information with laboratory heating studies to further elucidate the effects of thermal treatment of soil. Notably, both heating temperature and heating time affect i) soil organic matter; ii) soil texture and mineralogy; iii) soil pH; iv) plant available nutrients and heavy metals; v) soil biological communities; and iv) the ability of the soil to sustain vegetation. Broadly, increasing either temperature or time results in greater contaminant reduction efficiency, but it also causes more severe impacts to soil characteristics. Thus, project managers must balance the need for contaminant reduction with the deterioration of soil function for each specific remediation project. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Soil organic carbon dynamics jointly controlled by climate, carbon inputs, soil properties and soil carbon fractions.

    PubMed

    Luo, Zhongkui; Feng, Wenting; Luo, Yiqi; Baldock, Jeff; Wang, Enli

    2017-10-01

    Soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics are regulated by the complex interplay of climatic, edaphic and biotic conditions. However, the interrelation of SOC and these drivers and their potential connection networks are rarely assessed quantitatively. Using observations of SOC dynamics with detailed soil properties from 90 field trials at 28 sites under different agroecosystems across the Australian cropping regions, we investigated the direct and indirect effects of climate, soil properties, carbon (C) inputs and soil C pools (a total of 17 variables) on SOC change rate (r C , Mg C ha -1  yr -1 ). Among these variables, we found that the most influential variables on r C were the average C input amount and annual precipitation, and the total SOC stock at the beginning of the trials. Overall, C inputs (including C input amount and pasture frequency in the crop rotation system) accounted for 27% of the relative influence on r C , followed by climate 25% (including precipitation and temperature), soil C pools 24% (including pool size and composition) and soil properties (such as cation exchange capacity, clay content, bulk density) 24%. Path analysis identified a network of intercorrelations of climate, soil properties, C inputs and soil C pools in determining r C . The direct correlation of r C with climate was significantly weakened if removing the effects of soil properties and C pools, and vice versa. These results reveal the relative importance of climate, soil properties, C inputs and C pools and their complex interconnections in regulating SOC dynamics. Ignorance of the impact of changes in soil properties, C pool composition and C input (quantity and quality) on SOC dynamics is likely one of the main sources of uncertainty in SOC predictions from the process-based SOC models. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Abiotic gas formation drives nitrogen loss from a desert ecosystem.

    PubMed

    McCalley, Carmody K; Sparks, Jed P

    2009-11-06

    In arid environments such as deserts, nitrogen is often the most limiting nutrient for biological activity. The majority of the ecosystem nitrogen flux is typically thought to be driven by production and loss of reactive nitrogen species by microorganisms in the soil. We found that high soil-surface temperatures (greater than 50 degrees C), driven by solar radiation, are the primary cause of nitrogen loss in Mojave Desert soils. This abiotic pathway not only enables the balancing of arid ecosystem nitrogen budgets, but also changes our view of global nitrogen cycling and the predicted impact of climate change and increased temperatures on nitrogen bioavailability.

  13. The impact of cotton growing practices on soil microbiology and its relation to plant and soil health

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pereg, Lily

    2013-04-01

    Crop production and agricultural practices heavily impact the soil microbial communities, which differ among varying types of soils and environmental conditions. Soil-borne microbial communities in cotton production systems, as in every other cropping system, consist of microbial populations that may either be pathogenic, beneficial or neutral with respect to the cotton crop. Crop production practices have major roles in determining the composition of microbial communities and function of microbial populations in soils. The structure and function of any given microbial community is determined by various factors, including those that are influenced by farming and those not controlled by farming activities. Examples of the latter are environmental conditions such as soil type, temperature, daylight length and UV radiation, air humidity, atmospheric pressure and some abiotic features of the soil. On the other hand, crop production practices may determine other abiotic soil properties, such as water content, density, oxygen levels, mineral and elemental nutrient levels and the load of other crop-related soil amendments. Moreover, crop production highly influences the biotic properties of the soil and has a major role in determining the fate of soil-borne microbial communities associated with the crop plant. Various microbial strains react differently to the presence of certain plants and plant exudates. Therefore, the type of plant and crop rotations are important factors determining microbial communities. In addition, practice management, e.g. soil cultivation versus crop stubble retention, have a major effect on the soil conditions and, thus, on microbial community structure and function. All of the above-mentioned factors can lead to preferential selection of certain microbial population over others. It may affect not only the composition of microbial communities (diversity and abundance of microbial members) but also the function of the community (the ability of

  14. Abiotic/biotic coupling in the rhizosphere: a reactive transport modeling analysis

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lawrence, Corey R.; Steefel, Carl; Maher, Kate

    2014-01-01

    A new generation of models is needed to adequately simulate patterns of soil biogeochemical cycling in response changing global environmental drivers. For example, predicting the influence of climate change on soil organic matter storage and stability requires models capable of addressing complex biotic/abiotic interactions of rhizosphere and weathering processes. Reactive transport modeling provides a powerful framework simulating these interactions and the resulting influence on soil physical and chemical characteristics. Incorporation of organic reactions in an existing reactive transport model framework has yielded novel insights into soil weathering and development but much more work is required to adequately capture root and microbial dynamics in the rhizosphere. This endeavor provides many advantages over traditional soil biogeochemical models but also many challenges.

  15. Unraveling the role of fungal symbionts in plant abiotic stress tolerance

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Lamabam Peter

    2011-01-01

    Fungal symbionts have been found to be associated with every plant studied in the natural ecosystem, where they colonize and reside entirely or partially in the internal tissues of their host plant. Fungal endophytes can express/form a range of different lifestyle/relationships with different host including symbiotic, mutualistic, commensalistic and parasitic in response to host genotype and environmental factors. In mutualistic association fungal endophyte can enhance growth, increase reproductive success and confer biotic and abiotic stress tolerance to its host plant. Since abiotic stress such as, drought, high soil salinity, heat, cold, oxidative stress and heavy metal toxicity is the common adverse environmental conditions that affect and limit crop productivity worldwide. It may be a promising alternative strategy to exploit fungal endophytes to overcome the limitations to crop production brought by abiotic stress. There is an increasing interest in developing the potential biotechnological applications of fungal endophytes for improving plant stress tolerance and sustainable production of food crops. Here we have described the fungal symbioses, fungal symbionts and their role in abiotic stress tolerance. A putative mechanism of stress tolerance by symbionts has also been covered. PMID:21512319

  16. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal responses to abiotic stresses: A review.

    PubMed

    Lenoir, Ingrid; Fontaine, Joël; Lounès-Hadj Sahraoui, Anissa

    2016-03-01

    The majority of plants live in close collaboration with a diversity of soil organisms among which arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an essential role. Mycorrhizal symbioses contribute to plant growth and plant protection against various environmental stresses. Whereas the resistance mechanisms induced in mycorrhizal plants after exposure to abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity and pollution, are well documented, the knowledge about the stress tolerance mechanisms implemented by the AMF themselves is limited. This review provides an overview of the impacts of various abiotic stresses (pollution, salinity, drought, extreme temperatures, CO2, calcareous, acidity) on biodiversity, abundance and development of AMF and examines the morphological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms implemented by AMF to survive in the presence of these stresses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. BOREAS HYD-1 Soil Hydraulic Properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Knapp, David E. (Editor); Kelly, Shaun F.; Stangel, David E.; Smith, David E. (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    The Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) Hydrology (HYD)-1 team coordinated a program of data collection to measure and monitor soil properties in collaboration with other science team measurement needs. This data set contains soil hydraulic properties determined at the Northern Study Area (NSA) and Southern Study Area (SSA) flux tower sites based on analysis of in situ tension infiltrometer tests and laboratory-determined water retention from soil cores collected during the 1994-95 field campaigns. Results from this analysis are saturated hydraulic conductivity, and fitting parameters for the van Genuchten-Mualem soil hydraulic conductivity and water retention function at flux tower sites. The data are contained in tabular ASCII files. The HYD-01 soil hydraulic properties data are available from the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884).

  18. Bacterial community structure and soil properties of a subarctic tundra soil in Council, Alaska.

    PubMed

    Kim, Hye Min; Jung, Ji Young; Yergeau, Etienne; Hwang, Chung Yeon; Hinzman, Larry; Nam, Sungjin; Hong, Soon Gyu; Kim, Ok-Sun; Chun, Jongsik; Lee, Yoo Kyung

    2014-08-01

    The subarctic region is highly responsive and vulnerable to climate change. Understanding the structure of subarctic soil microbial communities is essential for predicting the response of the subarctic soil environment to climate change. To determine the composition of the bacterial community and its relationship with soil properties, we investigated the bacterial community structure and properties of surface soil from the moist acidic tussock tundra in Council, Alaska. We collected 70 soil samples with 25-m intervals between sampling points from 0-10 cm to 10-20 cm depths. The bacterial community was analyzed by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes, and the following soil properties were analyzed: soil moisture content (MC), pH, total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and inorganic nitrogen (NH4+ and NO3-). The community compositions of the two different depths showed that Alphaproteobacteria decreased with soil depth. Among the soil properties measured, soil pH was the most significant factor correlating with bacterial community in both upper and lower-layer soils. Bacterial community similarity based on jackknifed unweighted unifrac distance showed greater similarity across horizontal layers than through the vertical depth. This study showed that soil depth and pH were the most important soil properties determining bacterial community structure of the subarctic tundra soil in Council, Alaska. © 2014 The Authors. FEMS Microbiology Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies.

  19. Global soil-climate-biome diagram: linking soil properties to climate and biota

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, X.; Yang, Y.; Fang, J.

    2017-12-01

    As a critical component of the Earth system, soils interact strongly with both climate and biota and provide fundamental ecosystem services that maintain food, climate, and human security. Despite significant progress in digital soil mapping techniques and the rapidly growing quantity of observed soil information, quantitative linkages between soil properties, climate and biota at the global scale remain unclear. By compiling a large global soil database, we mapped seven major soil properties (bulk density [BD]; sand, silt and clay fractions; soil pH; soil organic carbon [SOC] density [SOCD]; and soil total nitrogen [STN] density [STND]) based on machine learning algorithms (regional random forest [RF] model) and quantitatively assessed the linkage between soil properties, climate and biota at the global scale. Our results demonstrated a global soil-climate-biome diagram, which improves our understanding of the strong correspondence between soils, climate and biomes. Soil pH decreased with greater mean annual precipitation (MAP) and lower mean annual temperature (MAT), and the critical MAP for the transition from alkaline to acidic soil pH decreased with decreasing MAT. Specifically, the critical MAP ranged from 400-500 mm when the MAT exceeded 10 °C but could decrease to 50-100 mm when the MAT was approximately 0 °C. SOCD and STND were tightly linked; both increased in accordance with lower MAT and higher MAP across terrestrial biomes. Global stocks of SOC and STN were estimated to be 788 ± 39.4 Pg (1015 g, or billion tons) and 63 ± 3.3 Pg in the upper 30-cm soil layer, respectively, but these values increased to 1654 ± 94.5 Pg and 133 ± 7.8 Pg in the upper 100-cm soil layer, respectively. These results reveal quantitative linkages between soil properties, climate and biota at the global scale, suggesting co-evolution of the soil, climate and biota under conditions of global environmental change.

  20. Vital Soil: Function, Value and Properties.

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    This article is a review of the book, Vital Soil: Function, Value and Properties. Soil vitality has been defined as the ability of soil ecosystems to stay in balance in a changing world. The soil environment and the life that it supports developed over centuries and millennia, but careless human ac...

  1. Mapping specific soil functions based on digital soil property maps

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pásztor, László; Fodor, Nándor; Farkas-Iványi, Kinga; Szabó, József; Bakacsi, Zsófia; Koós, Sándor

    2016-04-01

    Quantification of soil functions and services is a great challenge in itself even if the spatial relevance is supposed to be identified and regionalized. Proxies and indicators are widely used in ecosystem service mapping. Soil services could also be approximated by elementary soil features. One solution is the association of soil types with services as basic principle. Soil property maps however provide quantified spatial information, which could be utilized more versatilely for the spatial inference of soil functions and services. In the frame of the activities referred as "Digital, Optimized, Soil Related Maps and Information in Hungary" (DOSoReMI.hu) numerous soil property maps have been compiled so far with proper DSM techniques partly according to GSM.net specifications, partly by slightly or more strictly changing some of its predefined parameters (depth intervals, pixel size, property etc.). The elaborated maps have been further utilized, since even DOSoReMI.hu was intended to take steps toward the regionalization of higher level soil information (secondary properties, functions, services). In the meantime the recently started AGRAGIS project requested spatial soil related information in order to estimate agri-environmental related impacts of climate change and support the associated vulnerability assessment. One of the most vulnerable services of soils in the context of climate change is their provisioning service. In our work it was approximated by productivity, which was estimated by a sequential scenario based crop modelling. It took into consideration long term (50 years) time series of both measured and predicted climatic parameters as well as accounted for the potential differences in agricultural practice and crop production. The flexible parametrization and multiple results of modelling was then applied for the spatial assessment of sensitivity, vulnerability, exposure and adaptive capacity of soils in the context of the forecasted changes in

  2. Impact of surface coal mining on soil hydraulic properties

    Treesearch

    X. Liu; J. Q. Wu; P. W. Conrad; S. Dun; C. S. Todd; R. L. McNearny; William Elliot; H. Rhee; P. Clark

    2016-01-01

    Soil erosion is strongly related to soil hydraulic properties. Understanding how surface coal mining affects these properties is therefore important in developing effective management practices to control erosion during reclamation. To determine the impact of mining activities on soil hydraulic properties, soils from undisturbed areas, areas of roughly graded mine...

  3. Impact of soil properties on selected pharmaceuticals adsorption in soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kodesova, Radka; Kocarek, Martin; Klement, Ales; Fer, Miroslav; Golovko, Oksana; Grabic, Roman; Jaksik, Ondrej

    2014-05-01

    The presence of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in the environment has been recognized as a potential threat. Pharmaceuticals may contaminate soils and consequently surface and groundwater. Study was therefore focused on the evaluation of selected pharmaceuticals adsorption in soils, as one of the parameters, which are necessary to know when assessing contaminant transport in soils. The goals of this study were: (1) to select representative soils of the Czech Republic and to measure soil physical and chemical properties; (2) to measure adsorption isotherms of selected pharmaceuticals; (3) to evaluate impact of soil properties on pharmaceutical adsorptions and to propose pedotransfer rules for estimating adsorption coefficients from the measured soil properties. Batch sorption tests were performed for 6 selected pharmaceuticals (beta blockers Atenolol and Metoprolol, anticonvulsant Carbamazepin, and antibiotics Clarithromycin, Trimetoprim and Sulfamethoxazol) and 13 representative soils (soil samples from surface horizons of 11 different soil types and 2 substrates). The Freundlich equations were used to describe adsorption isotherms. The simple correlations between measured physical and chemical soil properties (soil particle density, soil texture, oxidable organic carbon content, CaCO3 content, pH_H2O, pH_KCl, exchangeable acidity, cation exchange capacity, hydrolytic acidity, basic cation saturation, sorption complex saturation, salinity), and the Freundlich adsorption coefficients were assessed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Then multiple-linear regressions were applied to predict the Freundlich adsorption coefficients from measured soil properties. The largest adsorption was measured for Clarithromycin (average value of 227.1) and decreased as follows: Trimetoprim (22.5), Metoprolol (9.0), Atenolol (6.6), Carbamazepin (2.7), Sulfamethoxazol (1.9). Absorption coefficients for Atenolol and Metoprolol closely correlated (R=0.85), and both were also

  4. Relating microbial community structure to functioning in forest soil organic carbon transformation and turnover.

    PubMed

    You, Yeming; Wang, Juan; Huang, Xueman; Tang, Zuoxin; Liu, Shirong; Sun, Osbert J

    2014-03-01

    Forest soils store vast amounts of terrestrial carbon, but we are still limited in mechanistic understanding on how soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization or turnover is controlled by biotic and abiotic factors in forest ecosystems. We used phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) as biomarker to study soil microbial community structure and measured activities of five extracellular enzymes involved in the degradation of cellulose (i.e., β-1,4-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase), chitin (i.e., β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase), and lignin (i.e., phenol oxidase and peroxidase) as indicators of soil microbial functioning in carbon transformation or turnover across varying biotic and abiotic conditions in a typical temperate forest ecosystem in central China. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was performed to determine the interrelationship between individual PFLAs and biotic and abiotic site factors as well as the linkage between soil microbial structure and function. Path analysis was further conducted to examine the controls of site factors on soil microbial community structure and the regulatory pathway of changes in SOC relating to microbial community structure and function. We found that soil microbial community structure is strongly influenced by water, temperature, SOC, fine root mass, clay content, and C/N ratio in soils and that the relative abundance of Gram-negative bacteria, saprophytic fungi, and actinomycetes explained most of the variations in the specific activities of soil enzymes involved in SOC transformation or turnover. The abundance of soil bacterial communities is strongly linked with the extracellular enzymes involved in carbon transformation, whereas the abundance of saprophytic fungi is associated with activities of extracellular enzymes driving carbon oxidation. Findings in this study demonstrate the complex interactions and linkage among plant traits, microenvironment, and soil physiochemical properties in affecting SOC via microbial regulations.

  5. Biofilm effect on soil hydraulic properties: Experimental investigation using soil-grown real biofilm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Volk, Elazar; Iden, Sascha C.; Furman, Alex; Durner, Wolfgang; Rosenzweig, Ravid

    2016-08-01

    Understanding the influence of attached microbial biomass on water flow in variably saturated soils is crucial for many engineered flow systems. So far, the investigation of the effects of microbial biomass has been mainly limited to water-saturated systems. We have assessed the influence of biofilms on the soil hydraulic properties under variably saturated conditions. A sandy soil was incubated with Pseudomonas Putida and the hydraulic properties of the incubated soil were determined by a combination of methods. Our results show a stronger soil water retention in the inoculated soil as compared to the control. The increase in volumetric water content reaches approximately 0.015 cm3 cm-3 but is only moderately correlated with the carbon deficit, a proxy for biofilm quantity, and less with the cell viable counts. The presence of biofilm reduced the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil by up to one order of magnitude. Under unsaturated conditions, the hydraulic conductivity was only reduced by a factor of four. This means that relative water conductance in biofilm-affected soils is higher compared to the clean soil at low water contents, and that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curve of biofilm-affected soil cannot be predicted by simply scaling the saturated hydraulic conductivity. A flexible parameterization of the soil hydraulic functions accounting for capillary and noncapillary flow was needed to adequately describe the observed properties over the entire wetness range. More research is needed to address the exact flow mechanisms in biofilm-affected, unsaturated soil and how they are related to effective system properties.

  6. Effects of metal pollutants on magnetic and chemical properties of soils and plant biomass: experimental studies in Environmental Magnetism

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sapkota, Birendra

    Understanding the interactions and effects of biotic and abiotic factors on magnetic parameter measurements used to assess levels of pollutants requires experimental analysis of potential individual parameters. Using magnetic and chemical measurements, three separate experimental studies were conducted in order to evaluate the separate and combined effects of soil composition, atmospheric exposure, and contaminant levels on soil magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements, plant growth and metal uptake by plants. Experiment 1 examined the effects of incorporating an artificial Fe-rich contaminant into a synthetic soil on surficial soil magnetic properties and plant growth inside a greenhouse. Periodic measurements of surficial soil MS showed significant decreases in MS values in the three treatments (two levels of Fe-contamination and controls), with the greatest reduction in soils with the most contamination, and the least in controls. Three potential causes were suggested: Fe uptake by plants, magnetic minerals transformation, and downward migration of Fe-particles. Some arguments for the first two causes were discussed; however, the third possibility was separately evaluated in the second and third experiments. In the follow-up study (Experiment 2) conducted to examine the effects of ambient atmospheric pollution on magnetic and chemical properties of soils and plant biomass, the overall surficial soil MS was found to be significantly higher in synthetic soils exposed to a natural atmosphere in comparison to controls placed in a greenhouse. Root biomass samples taken from the exposed soils had much higher trace/heavy metal concentrations. Such increases in soil MS and bioavailability of metals in the exposed soils indicate that atmospheric pollution affected the soil and plants grown in there. Microscopic observations of Fe-rich particles from the post-harvest exposed soil revealed morphologies similar to Fe-containing particulates from power plants and

  7. Thermal properties of soils: effect of biochar application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Usowicz, Boguslaw; Lukowski, Mateusz; Lipiec, Jerzy

    2014-05-01

    Thermal properties (thermal conductivity, heat capacity and thermal diffusivity) have a significant effect on the soil surface energy partitioning and resulting in the temperature distribution. Thermal properties of soil depend on water content, bulk density and organic matter content. An important source of organic matter is biochar. Biochar as a material is defined as: "charcoal for application as a soil conditioner". Biochar is generally associated with co-produced end products of pyrolysis. Many different materials are used as biomass feedstock for biochar, including wood, crop residues and manures. Additional predictions were done for terra preta soil (also known as "Amazonian dark earth"), high in charcoal content, due to adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, and manure for thousands of years i.e. approximately 10-1,000 times longer than residence times of most soil organic matter. The effect of biochar obtained from the wood biomass and other organic amendments (peat, compost) on soil thermal properties is presented in this paper. The results were compared with wetland soils of different organic matter content. The measurements of the thermal properties at various water contents were performed after incubation, under laboratory conditions using KD2Pro, Decagon Devices. The measured data were compared with predictions made using Usowicz statistical-physical model (Usowicz et al., 2006) for biochar, mineral soil and soil with addition of biochar at various water contents and bulk densities. The model operates statistically by probability of occurrence of contacts between particular fractional compounds. It combines physical properties, specific to particular compounds, into one apparent conductance specific to the mixture. The results revealed that addition of the biochar and other organic amendments into the soil caused considerable reduction of the thermal conductivity and diffusivity. The mineral soil showed the highest thermal conductivity and diffusivity

  8. Discovering the essence of soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frink, D.

    2012-04-01

    Science, and what it can learn, is constrained by its paradigms and premises. Similarly, teaching and what topics can be addressed are constrained by the paradigms and premises of the subject matter. Modern soil science is founded on the five-factor model of Dokuchaev and Jenny. Combined with Retallack's universal definition of soil as geologic detritus affected by weathering and/or biology, modern soil science emphasizes a descriptive rather than an interpretive approach. Modern soil science however, emerged from the study of plants and the need to improve crop yields in the face of chronic and wide spread famine in Europe. In order to teach that dirt is fascinating we must first see soils in their own right, understand their behavior and expand soil science towards an interpretive approach rather than limited as a descriptive one. Following the advice of James Hutton given over two centuries ago, I look at soils from a physiological perspective. Digestive processes are mechanical and chemical weathering, the resulting constituents reformed into new soil constituents (e.g. clay and humus), translocated to different regions of the soil body to serve other physiological processes (e.g. lamellae, argillic and stone-line horizons), or eliminated as wastes (e.g. leachates and evolved gasses). Respiration is described by the ongoing and diurnal exchange of gasses between the soil and its environment. Circulatory processes are evident in soil pore space, drainage capacity and capillary capability. Reproduction of soil is evident at two different scales: the growth of clay crystals (with their capacity for mutation) and repair of disturbed areas such as result from the various pedo-perturbations. The interactions between biotic and abiotic soil components provide examples of both neurological and endocrine systems in soil physiology. Through this change in perspective, both biotic and abiotic soil processes become evident, providing insight into the possible behavior of

  9. Using soil properties to predict in vivo bioavailability of lead in soils.

    PubMed

    Wijayawardena, M A Ayanka; Naidu, Ravi; Megharaj, Mallavarapu; Lamb, Dane; Thavamani, Palanisami; Kuchel, Tim

    2015-11-01

    Soil plays a significant role in controlling the potential bioavailability of contaminants in the environment. In this study, eleven soils were used to investigate the relationship between soil properties and relative bioavailability (RB) of lead (Pb). To minimise the effect of source of Pb on in vivo bioavailability, uncontaminated study soils were spiked with 1500 mg Pb/kg soil and aged for 10-12 months prior to investigating the relationships between soil properties and in vivo RB of Pb using swine model. The biological responses to oral administration of Pb in aqueous phase or as spiked soils were compared by applying a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model to blood Pb concentration. The study revealed that RB of Pb from aged soils ranged from 30±9% to 83±7%. The very different RB of Pb in these soils was attributed to variations in the soils' physico-chemical properties. This was established using sorption studies showing: firstly, Freundlich partition coefficients that ranged from 21 to 234; and secondly, a strongly significant (R(2)=0.94, P<0.001) exponential relationship between RB and Freundlich partition coefficient (Kd). This simple exponential model can be used to predict relative bioavailability of Pb in contaminated soils. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such model derived using sorption partition coefficient to predict the relative bioavailability of Pb. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Soil moisture and properties estimation by assimilating soil temperatures using particle batch smoother: A new perspective for DTS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, J.; Steele-Dunne, S. C.; Ochsner, T. E.; Van De Giesen, N.

    2015-12-01

    Soil moisture, hydraulic and thermal properties are critical for understanding the soil surface energy balance and hydrological processes. Here, we will discuss the potential of using soil temperature observations from Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) to investigate the spatial variability of soil moisture and soil properties. With DTS soil temperature can be measured with high resolution (spatial <1m, and temporal < 1min) in cables up to kilometers in length. Soil temperature evolution is primarily controlled by the soil thermal properties, and the energy balance at the soil surface. Hence, soil moisture, which affects both soil thermal properties and the energy that participates the evaporation process, is strongly correlated to the soil temperatures. In addition, the dynamics of the soil moisture is determined by the soil hydraulic properties.Here we will demonstrate that soil moisture, hydraulic and thermal properties can be estimated by assimilating observed soil temperature at shallow depths using the Particle Batch Smoother (PBS). The PBS can be considered as an extension of the particle filter, which allows us to infer soil moisture and soil properties using the dynamics of soil temperature within a batch window. Both synthetic and real field data will be used to demonstrate the robustness of this approach. We will show that the proposed method is shown to be able to handle different sources of uncertainties, which may provide a new view of using DTS observations to estimate sub-meter resolution soil moisture and properties for remote sensing product validation.

  11. Estimation of soil sorption coefficients of veterinary pharmaceuticals from soil properties.

    PubMed

    ter Laak, Thomas L; Gebbink, Wouter A; Tolls, Johannes

    2006-04-01

    Environmental exposure assessment of veterinary pharmaceuticals requires estimating the sorption to soil. Soil sorption coefficients of three common, ionizable, antimicrobial agents (oxytetracycline [OTC], tylosin [TYL], and sulfachloropyridazine [SCP]) were studied in relation to the soil properties of 11 different soils. The soil sorption coefficient at natural pH varied from 950 to 7,200, 10 to 370, and 0.4 to 35 L/kg for OTC, TYL, and SCP, respectively. The variation increased by almost two orders of magnitude for OTC and TYL when pH was artificially adjusted. Separate soil properties (pH, organic carbon content, clay content, cation-exchange capacity, aluminum oxyhydroxide content, and iron oxyhydroxide content) were not able to explain more than half the variation observed in soil sorption coefficients. This reflects the complexity of the sorbent-sorbate interactions. Partial-least-squares (PLS) models, integrating all the soil properties listed above, were able to explain as much as 78% of the variation in sorption coefficients. The PLS model was able to predict the sorption coefficient with an accuracy of a factor of six. Considering the pH-dependent speciation, species-specific PLS models were developed. These models were able to predict species-specific sorption coefficients with an accuracy of a factor of three to four. However, the species-specific sorption models did not improve the estimation of sorption coefficients of species mixtures, because these models were developed with a reduced data set at standardized aqueous concentrations. In conclusion, pragmatic approaches like PLS modeling might be suitable to estimate soil sorption for risk assessment purposes.

  12. Inversion of soil electrical conductivity data to estimate layered soil properties

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    CBulk apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) sensors respond to multiple soil properties, including clay content, water content, and salt content (i.e., salinity). They provide a single sensor value for an entire soil profile down to a sensor-dependent measurement depth, weighted by a nonlinear...

  13. Variation of Desert Soil Hydraulic Properties with Pedogenic Maturity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nimmo, J. R.; Perkins, K. S.; Mirus, B. B.; Schmidt, K. M.; Miller, D. M.; Stock, J. D.; Singha, K.

    2006-12-01

    Older alluvial desert soils exhibit greater pedogenic maturity, having more distinct desert pavements, vesicular (Av) horizons, and more pronounced stratification from processes such as illuviation and salt accumulation. These and related effects strongly influence the soil hydraulic properties. Older soils have been observed to have lower saturated hydraulic conductivity, and possibly greater capacity to retain water, but the quantitative effect of specific pedogenic features on the soil water retention or unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) curves is poorly known. With field infiltration/redistribution experiments on three different-aged soils developed within alluvial wash deposits in the Mojave National Preserve, we evaluated effective hydraulic properties over a scale of several m horizontally and to 1.5 m depth. We then correlated these properties with pedogenic features. The selected soils are (1) recently deposited sediments, (2) a soil of early Holocene age, and (3) a highly developed soil of late Pleistocene age. In each experiment we ponded water in a 1-m-diameter infiltration ring for 2.3 hr. For several weeks we monitored subsurface water content and matric pressure using surface electrical resistance imaging, dielectric-constant probes, heat-dissipation probes, and tensiometers. Analysis of these data using an inverse modeling technique gives the water retention and K properties needed for predictive modeling. Some properties show a consistent trend with soil age. Progressively more developed surface and near-surface features such as desert pavement and Av horizons are the likely cause of an observed consistent decline of infiltration capacity with soil age. Other properties, such as vertical flow retardation by layer contrasts, appear to have a more complicated soil-age dependence. The wash deposits display distinct depositional layering that has a retarding effect on vertical flow, an effect that may be less pronounced in the older Holocene soil

  14. Stimulatory Effects of Arsenic-Tolerant Soil Fungi on Plant Growth Promotion and Soil Properties

    PubMed Central

    Srivastava, Pankaj Kumar; Shenoy, Belle Damodara; Gupta, Manjul; Vaish, Aradhana; Mannan, Shivee; Singh, Nandita; Tewari, Shri Krishna; Tripathi, Rudra Deo

    2012-01-01

    Fifteen fungi were obtained from arsenic-contaminated agricultural fields in West Bengal, India and examined for their arsenic tolerance and removal ability in our previous study. Of these, the four best arsenic-remediating isolates were tested for plant growth promotion effects on rice and pea in the present study. A greenhouse-based pot experiment was conducted using soil inocula of individual fungi. The results indicated a significant (P<0.05) increase in plant growth and improvement of soil properties in inoculated soils compared to the control. A significant increase in plant growth was recorded in treated soils and varied from 16–293%. Soil chemical and enzymatic properties varied from 20–222% and 34–760%, respectively, in inoculated soil. Plants inoculated with inocula of Westerdykella and Trichoderma showed better stimulatory effects on plant growth and soil nutrient availability than Rhizopus and Lasiodiplodia. These fungi improved soil nutrient content and enhanced plant growth. These fungi may be used as bioinoculants for plant growth promotion and improved soil properties in arsenic-contaminated agricultural soils. PMID:23047145

  15. Stimulatory effects of arsenic-tolerant soil fungi on plant growth promotion and soil properties.

    PubMed

    Srivastava, Pankaj Kumar; Shenoy, Belle Damodara; Gupta, Manjul; Vaish, Aradhana; Mannan, Shivee; Singh, Nandita; Tewari, Shri Krishna; Tripathi, Rudra Deo

    2012-01-01

    Fifteen fungi were obtained from arsenic-contaminated agricultural fields in West Bengal, India and examined for their arsenic tolerance and removal ability in our previous study. Of these, the four best arsenic-remediating isolates were tested for plant growth promotion effects on rice and pea in the present study. A greenhouse-based pot experiment was conducted using soil inocula of individual fungi. The results indicated a significant (P<0.05) increase in plant growth and improvement of soil properties in inoculated soils compared to the control. A significant increase in plant growth was recorded in treated soils and varied from 16-293%. Soil chemical and enzymatic properties varied from 20-222% and 34-760%, respectively, in inoculated soil. Plants inoculated with inocula of Westerdykella and Trichoderma showed better stimulatory effects on plant growth and soil nutrient availability than Rhizopus and Lasiodiplodia. These fungi improved soil nutrient content and enhanced plant growth. These fungi may be used as bioinoculants for plant growth promotion and improved soil properties in arsenic-contaminated agricultural soils.

  16. Links between Soil Fungal Diversity and Plant and Soil Properties on the Loess Plateau

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Yang; Dou, Yanxing; Huang, Yimei; An, Shaoshan

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have revealed inconsistent correlations between fungal diversity and plant/soil properties from local to global scales. Here, we investigated the internal relationships between soil fungal diversity and plant/soil properties on the Loess Plateau following vegetation restoration, using Illumina sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region for fungal identification. We found significant effects of land use types (Af, Artificial forest; Ns, Natural shrub; Ag, Artificial grassland; Ng, Natural grassland; Sc, slope cropland) on soil fungal communities composition, and the dominant phyla were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota, which transitioned from Basidiomycota-dominant to Ascomycota-dominant community due to vegetation restoration. The Chao1 richness, Shannon’s diversity and ACE indices were significantly influenced by land use types with the order of Ns > Af > Ng > Ag > Sc, and the total number of OTUs varied widely. In contrast, Good’s coverage and Simpson’s diversity indicated no significant difference among land use types (p > 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that plant and soil properties were closely related to fungal diversity regardless of land use types. In addition, soil organic carbon (SOC) and Hplant (plant richness, Shannon-Wiener index) were strong driving factors that explained fungal diversity. As revealed by the structural equation model (SEM) and generalized additive models (GAMs), fungal diversity was directly and indirectly affected by soil and plant properties, respectively, providing evidence for strong links between soil fungal diversity and plant and soil properties on the Loess Plateau. PMID:29163460

  17. Links between Soil Fungal Diversity and Plant and Soil Properties on the Loess Plateau.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yang; Dou, Yanxing; Huang, Yimei; An, Shaoshan

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have revealed inconsistent correlations between fungal diversity and plant/soil properties from local to global scales. Here, we investigated the internal relationships between soil fungal diversity and plant/soil properties on the Loess Plateau following vegetation restoration, using Illumina sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region for fungal identification. We found significant effects of land use types (Af, Artificial forest; Ns, Natural shrub; Ag, Artificial grassland; Ng, Natural grassland; Sc, slope cropland) on soil fungal communities composition, and the dominant phyla were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota , and Zygomycota , which transitioned from Basidiomycota -dominant to Ascomycota -dominant community due to vegetation restoration. The Chao1 richness, Shannon's diversity and ACE indices were significantly influenced by land use types with the order of Ns > Af > Ng > Ag > Sc, and the total number of OTUs varied widely. In contrast, Good's coverage and Simpson's diversity indicated no significant difference among land use types ( p > 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that plant and soil properties were closely related to fungal diversity regardless of land use types. In addition, soil organic carbon (SOC) and H plant (plant richness, Shannon-Wiener index) were strong driving factors that explained fungal diversity. As revealed by the structural equation model (SEM) and generalized additive models (GAMs), fungal diversity was directly and indirectly affected by soil and plant properties, respectively, providing evidence for strong links between soil fungal diversity and plant and soil properties on the Loess Plateau.

  18. Variations in soil detachment rates after wildfire as a function of soil depth, flow properties, and root properties

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Moody, John A.; Nyman, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Wildfire affects hillslope erosion through increased surface runoff and increased sediment availability, both of which contribute to large post-fire erosion events. Relations between soil detachment rate, soil depth, flow and root properties, and fire impacts are poorly understood and not represented explicitly in commonly used post-fire erosion models. Detachment rates were measured on intact soil cores using a modified tilting flume. The cores were mounted flush with the flume-bed and a measurement was made on the surface of the core. The core was extruded upward, cut off, and another measurement was repeated at a different depth below the original surface of the core. Intact cores were collected from one site burned by the 2010 Fourmile Canyon (FMC) fire in Colorado and from one site burned by the 2010 Pozo fire in California. Each site contained contrasting vegetation and soil types. Additional soil samples were collected alongside the intact cores and were analyzed in the laboratory for soil properties (organic matter, bulk density, particle-size distribution) and for root properties (root density and root-length density). Particle-size distribution and root properties were different between sites, but sites were similar in terms of bulk density and organic matter. Soil detachment rates had similar relations with non-uniform shear stress and non-uniform unit stream power. Detachment rates within single sampling units displayed a relatively weak and inconsistent relation to flow variables. When averaged across all clusters, the detachment rate displayed a linear relation to shear stress, but variability in soil properties meant that the shear stress accounted for only a small proportion of the overall variability in detachment rates (R2 = 0.23; R2 is the coefficient of determination). Detachment rate was related to root-length density in some clusters (R2 values up to 0.91) and unrelated in others (R2 values 2 value improved and the range of exponents became

  19. A meta-analysis of soil microbial biomass responses to forest disturbances

    PubMed Central

    Holden, Sandra R.; Treseder, Kathleen K.

    2013-01-01

    Climate warming is likely to increase the frequency and severity of forest disturbances, with uncertain consequences for soil microbial communities and their contribution to ecosystem C dynamics. To address this uncertainty, we conducted a meta-analysis of 139 published soil microbial responses to forest disturbances. These disturbances included abiotic (fire, harvesting, storm) and biotic (insect, pathogen) disturbances. We hypothesized that soil microbial biomass would decline following forest disturbances, but that abiotic disturbances would elicit greater reductions in microbial biomass than biotic disturbances. In support of this hypothesis, across all published studies, disturbances reduced soil microbial biomass by an average of 29.4%. However, microbial responses differed between abiotic and biotic disturbances. Microbial responses were significantly negative following fires, harvest, and storms (48.7, 19.1, and 41.7% reductions in microbial biomass, respectively). In contrast, changes in soil microbial biomass following insect infestation and pathogen-induced tree mortality were non-significant, although biotic disturbances were poorly represented in the literature. When measured separately, fungal and bacterial responses to disturbances mirrored the response of the microbial community as a whole. Changes in microbial abundance following disturbance were significantly positively correlated with changes in microbial respiration. We propose that the differential effect of abiotic and biotic disturbances on microbial biomass may be attributable to differences in soil disruption and organic C removal from forests among disturbance types. Altogether, these results suggest that abiotic forest disturbances may significantly decrease soil microbial abundance, with corresponding consequences for microbial respiration. Further studies are needed on the effect of biotic disturbances on forest soil microbial communities and soil C dynamics. PMID:23801985

  20. Estimating Soil Cation Exchange Capacity from Soil Physical and Chemical Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bateni, S. M.; Emamgholizadeh, S.; Shahsavani, D.

    2014-12-01

    The soil Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) is an important soil characteristic that has many applications in soil science and environmental studies. For example, CEC influences soil fertility by controlling the exchange of ions in the soil. Measurement of CEC is costly and difficult. Consequently, several studies attempted to obtain CEC from readily measurable soil physical and chemical properties such as soil pH, organic matter, soil texture, bulk density, and particle size distribution. These studies have often used multiple regression or artificial neural network models. Regression-based models cannot capture the intricate relationship between CEC and soil physical and chemical attributes and provide inaccurate CEC estimates. Although neural network models perform better than regression methods, they act like a black-box and cannot generate an explicit expression for retrieval of CEC from soil properties. In a departure with regression and neural network models, this study uses Genetic Expression Programming (GEP) and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) to estimate CEC from easily measurable soil variables such as clay, pH, and OM. CEC estimates from GEP and MARS are compared with measurements at two field sites in Iran. Results show that GEP and MARS can estimate CEC accurately. Also, the MARS model performs slightly better than GEP. Finally, a sensitivity test indicates that organic matter and pH have respectively the least and the most significant impact on CEC.

  1. Abiotic stress signaling and responses in plants

    PubMed Central

    Zhu, Jian-Kang

    2016-01-01

    Summary As sessile organisms, plants must cope with abiotic stress such as soil salinity, drought, and extreme temperatures. Core stress signaling pathways involve protein kinases related to the yeast SNF1 and mammalian AMPK, suggesting that stress signaling in plants evolved from energy sensing. Stress signaling regulates proteins critical for ion and water transport and for metabolic and gene-expression reprogramming to bring about ionic and water homeostasis and cellular stability under stress conditions. Understanding stress signaling and responses will increase our ability to improve stress resistance in crops to achieve agricultural sustainability and food security for a growing world population. PMID:27716505

  2. Biotic and abiotic controls on biogenic volatile organic compound fluxes from a subalpine forest floor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gray, Christopher M.; Monson, Russell K.; Fierer, Noah

    2014-04-01

    Nonmethane biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) play key roles in the atmosphere, where they can influence a wide range of chemical processes, and in soils, where they can alter the rates of biogeochemical cycles and impact the growth of plants and soil organisms. However, the diversity and quantities of BVOCs released from or taken up by soils remain poorly characterized as do the biotic and abiotic controls on these fluxes. Here we used proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry to quantify BVOC flux rates from soils with and without active root systems in a subalpine coniferous forest. The total measured BVOC flux averaged 102 nmol m-2 h-1 (an estimated 2.0 µg-C m-2 h-1). The individual BVOCs with the highest net emissions from soil included monoterpenes and methanol (averaging 646 and 641 ng-C m-2 h-1, respectively) while soil represented a net sink of isoprene (-98 ng-C m-2 h-1) and formaldehyde (-37 ng-C m-2 h-1). Tree roots, directly or indirectly, contributed an average of 53% of the total carbon emitted from the soil as BVOCs, with methanol and acetaldehyde among those BVOCs most strongly associated with active root presence. The fluxes of most of the dominant BVOCs emitted from soil, including methanol, increased linearly with increasing temperature. Together the fluxes of certain BVOCs into or out of the forest floor (particularly methanol, isoprene, and monoterpenes) are likely relevant to ecosystem-level processes and belowground ecology, but these fluxes are highly variable and are strongly controlled by both root presence and soil abiotic conditions.

  3. Effect of seasonal abiotic conditions and field margin habitat on the activity of Pandora neoaphidis inoculum on soil.

    PubMed

    Baverstock, J; Clark, S J; Pell, J K

    2008-03-01

    The ability of the aphid pathogenic fungus Pandora neoaphidis to remain active in the absence of a resting stage through a combination of continuous infection and as conidia deposited on soil was assessed alongside the potential for planted field margins to act as a refuge for the fungus. P. neoaphidis was able to infect the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, when maintained under controlled conditions that simulated those that occur seasonally in the UK. Although there was a significant inverse relationship between temperature and time-to-kill, with death occurring after 4.2, 6.9 and 13.6 days when maintained under fluctuating summer, autumn and winter temperatures, respectively, there were no additional statistically significant effects of photoperiod. The activity of inoculum on soil was indirectly assessed by baiting with A. pisum. Under controlled conditions P. neoaphidis remained active on soil and was able to infect aphids for up to 80 days. However, the percentage of aphids that became infected decreased from 76% on day 1 to 11% on day 80. Whereas there was little difference in the activity of conidia that had been maintained at 4 degrees C and 10 degrees C, activity at 18 degrees C was considerably reduced. Under field conditions the activity of inoculum was strongly influenced by season. On day 49 there was little or no activity during spring, summer or winter. However, during autumn a mean proportion of 0.08 aphids still became infected with P. neoaphidis. Margin type did not affect the activity of conidia nor was there a difference in activity between blocks that had regenerated naturally and those that had been planted. These results suggest that P. neoaphidis can infect aphids and remain active on soil under the abiotic conditions that occur seasonally in the UK and that this fungus may be able to persist annually without a resting stage.

  4. Spatial and temporal variability of soil temperature, moisture and surface soil properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hajek, B. F.; Dane, J. H.

    1993-01-01

    The overall objectives of this research were to: (l) Relate in-situ measured soil-water content and temperature profiles to remotely sensed surface soil-water and temperature conditions; to model simultaneous heat and water movement for spatially and temporally changing soil conditions; (2) Determine the spatial and temporal variability of surface soil properties affecting emissivity, reflectance, and material and energy flux across the soil surface. This will include physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics of primary soil components and aggregate systems; and (3) Develop surface soil classes of naturally occurring and distributed soil property assemblages and group classes to be tested with respect to water content, emissivity and reflectivity. This document is a report of studies conducted during the period funded by NASA grants. The project was designed to be conducted over a five year period. Since funding was discontinued after three years, some of the research started was not completed. Additional publications are planned whenever funding can be obtained to finalize data analysis for both the arid and humid locations.

  5. Characteristics and engineering properties of residual soil of volcanic deposits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wibawa, Y. S.; Sugiarti, K.; Soebowo, E.

    2018-02-01

    Residual soil knowledge of volcanic-sedimentary rock products provides important information on the soil bearing capacity and its engineering properties. The residual soil is the result of weathering commonly found in unsaturated conditions, having varied geotechnical characteristics at each level of weathering. This paper summarizes the results of the research from the basic engineering properties of residual soil of volcanic-sedimentary rocks from several different locations. The main engineering properties of residual soil such as specific gravity, porosity, grain size, clay content (X-Ray test) and soil shear strength are performed on volcanic rock deposits. The results show that the variation of the index and engineering properties and the microstructure properties of residual soil have the correlation between the depths of weathering levels. Pore volume and pore size distribution on weathered rock profiles can be used as an indication of weathering levels in the tropics.

  6. Properties of 91 Southern Soil Series

    Treesearch

    Basil D. Doss; W. M. Broadfoot

    1956-01-01

    From June 1954 to July 1955 the Vicksburg Infiltration Project collected and analyzed samples of 91 soil series in 7 southern states. The purpose was to supply the U. S. Army with information needed for specialized research on military trafficability, but the basic data on soil properties should be of interest to soil scientists generally. The 91 series may be...

  7. Hyperspectral remote sensing of postfire soil properties

    Treesearch

    Sarah A. Lewis; Peter R. Robichaud; William J. Elliot; Bruce E. Frazier; Joan Q. Wu

    2004-01-01

    Forest fires may induce changes in soil organic properties that often lead to water repellent conditions within the soil profile that decrease soil infiltration capacity. The remote detection of water repellent soils after forest fires would lead to quicker and more accurate assessment of erosion potential. An airborne hyperspectral image was acquired over the Hayman...

  8. Magnetic properties of alluvial soils polluted with heavy metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dlouha, S.; Petrovsky, E.; Boruvka, L.; Kapicka, A.; Grison, H.

    2012-04-01

    Magnetic properties of soils, reflecting mineralogy, concentration and grain-size distribution of Fe-oxides, proved to be useful tool in assessing the soil properties in terms of various environmental conditions. Measurement of soil magnetic properties presents a convenient method to investigate the natural environmental changes in soils as well as the anthropogenic pollution of soils with several risk elements. The effect of fluvial pollution with Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn on magnetic soil properties was studied on highly contaminated alluvial soils from the mining/smelting district (Příbram; CZ) using a combination of magnetic and geochemical methods. The basic soil characteristics, the content of heavy metals, oxalate, and dithionite extractable iron were determined in selected soil samples. Soil profiles were sampled using HUMAX soil corer and the magnetic susceptibility was measured in situ, further detailed magnetic analyses of selected distinct layers were carried out. Two types of variations of magnetic properties in soil profiles were observed corresponding to indentified soil types (Fluvisols, and Gleyic Fluvisols). Significantly higher values of topsoil magnetic susceptibility compared to underlying soil are accompanied with high concentration of heavy metals. Sequential extraction analysis proved the binding of Pb, Zn and Cd in Fe and Mn oxides. Concentration and size-dependent parameters (anhysteretic and isothermal magnetization) were measured on bulk samples in terms of assessing the origin of magnetic components. The results enabled to distinguish clearly topsoil layers enhanced with heavy metals from subsoil samples. The dominance of particles with pseudo-single domain behavior in topsoil and paramagnetic/antiferromagnetic contribution in subsoil were observed. These measurements were verified with room temperature hysteresis measurement carried out on bulk samples and magnetic extracts. Thermomagnetic analysis of magnetic susceptibility measured on

  9. Physical properties of organic soils. Chapter 5.

    Treesearch

    Elon S. Verry; Don H. Boelter; Juhani Paivanen; Dale S. Nichols; Tom Malterer; Avi Gafni

    2011-01-01

    Compared with research on mineral soils, the study of the physical properties of organic soils in the United States is relatively new. A comprehensive series of studies on peat physical properties were conducted by Don Boelter (1959-1975), first at the Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF) and later throughout the northern Lakes States to investigate how to express bulk...

  10. A significant abiotic pathway for the formation of unknown nitrogen in nature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jokic, A.; Schulten, H.-R.; Cutler, J. N.; Schnitzer, M.; Huang, P. M.

    2004-03-01

    The global nitrogen cycle is of prime importance in natural ecosystems. However, the origin and nature of up to one-half of total soil N remains obscure despite all attempts at elucidation. Our data provide, for the first time, unequivocal evidence that the promoting action of Mn (IV) oxide on the Maillard reaction (sugar-amino acid condensation) under ambient conditions results in the abiotic formation of heterocyclic N compounds, which are often referred to as unknown nitrogen, and of amides which are apparently the dominant N moieties in nature. The information presented is of fundamental significance in understanding the role of mineral colloids in abiotic transformations of organic N moieties, the incorporation of N in the organic matrix of fossil fuels, and the global N cycle.

  11. Combined Effects of Soil Biotic and Abiotic Factors, Influenced by Sewage Sludge Incorporation, on the Incidence of Corn Stalk Rot

    PubMed Central

    Fortes, Nara Lúcia Perondi; Navas-Cortés, Juan A; Silva, Carlos Alberto; Bettiol, Wagner

    2016-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to evaluate the combined effects of soil biotic and abiotic factors on the incidence of Fusarium corn stalk rot, during four annual incorporations of two types of sewage sludge into soil in a 5-years field assay under tropical conditions and to predict the effects of these variables on the disease. For each type of sewage sludge, the following treatments were included: control with mineral fertilization recommended for corn; control without fertilization; sewage sludge based on the nitrogen concentration that provided the same amount of nitrogen as in the mineral fertilizer treatment; and sewage sludge that provided two, four and eight times the nitrogen concentration recommended for corn. Increasing dosages of both types of sewage sludge incorporated into soil resulted in increased corn stalk rot incidence, being negatively correlated with corn yield. A global analysis highlighted the effect of the year of the experiment, followed by the sewage sludge dosages. The type of sewage sludge did not affect the disease incidence. A multiple logistic model using a stepwise procedure was fitted based on the selection of a model that included the three explanatory parameters for disease incidence: electrical conductivity, magnesium and Fusarium population. In the selected model, the probability of higher disease incidence increased with an increase of these three explanatory parameters. When the explanatory parameters were compared, electrical conductivity presented a dominant effect and was the main variable to predict the probability distribution curves of Fusarium corn stalk rot, after sewage sludge application into the soil. PMID:27176597

  12. EFFECT OF SOIL PROPERTIES ON LEAD BIOAVAILABILITY AND TOXCITY TO EARTHWORMS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Soil properties are important factors modifying metal bioavailability to ecological receptors. Twenty-one soils with a wide range of soil properties were amended with a single concentration of Pb (2000 mg/kg) to determine the effects of soil properties on Pb bioavailability and ...

  13. Effects of different soil management practices on soil properties and microbial diversity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gajda, Anna M.; Czyż, Ewa A.; Dexter, Anthony R.; Furtak, Karolina M.; Grządziel, Jarosław; Stanek-Tarkowska, Jadwiga

    2018-01-01

    The effects of different tillage systems on the properties and microbial diversity of an agricultural soil was investigated. In doing so, soil physical, chemical and biological properties were analysed in 2013-2015, on a long-term field experiment on a loamy sand at the IUNG-PIB Experimental Station in Grabów, Poland. Winter wheat was grown under two tillage treatments: conventional tillage using a mouldboard plough and traditional soil tillage equipment, and reduced tillage based on soil crushing-loosening equipment and a rigid-tine cultivator. Chopped wheat straw was used as a mulch on both treatments. Reduced tillage resulted in increased water content throughout the whole soil profile, in comparison with conventional tillage. Under reduced tillage, the content of readily dispersible clay was also reduced, and, therefore, soil stability was increased in the toplayers, compared with conventional tillage. In addition, the beneficial effects of reduced tillage were reflected in higher soil microbial activity as measured with dehydrogenases and hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate, compared with conventional tillage. Moreover, the polimerase chain reaction - denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis showed that soil under reduced till-age had greater diversity of microbial communities, compared with conventionally-tilled soil. Finally, reduced tillage increased organic matter content, stability in water and microbial diversity in the top layer of the soil.

  14. Exploring functional relationships between post-fire soil water repellency, soil structure and physico-chemical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quarfeld, Jamie; Brook, Anna; Keestra, Saskia; Wittenberg, Lea

    2016-04-01

    Soil water repellency (WR) and aggregate stability (AS) are two soil properties that are typically modified after burning and impose significant influence on subsequent hydrological and geomorphological dynamics. The response of AS and soil WR to fire depends upon how fire has influenced other key soil properties (e.g. soil OM, mineralogy). Meanwhile, routine thinning of trees and woody vegetation may alter soil properties (e.g. structure and porosity, wettability) by use of heavy machinery and species selection. The study area is situated along a north-facing slope of Mount Carmel national park (Israel). The selected sites are presented as a continuum of management intensity and fire histories. To date, the natural baseline of soil WR has yet to be thoroughly assessed and must be investigated alongside associated soil aggregating parameters in order to understand its overall impact. This study examines (i) the natural baseline of soil WR and physical properties compared to those of disturbed sites in the immediate (controlled burn) and long-term (10-years), and (ii) the interactions of soil properties with different control factors (management, surface cover, seasonal-temporal, burn temperature, soil organic carbon (OC) and mineralogy) in Mediterranean calcareous soils. Analysis of surface soil samples before and after destruction of WR by heating (200-600°C) was implemented using a combination of traditional methods and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Management and surface cover type conditioned the wettability, soil structure and porosity of soils in the field, although this largely did not affect the heat-induced changes observed in the lab. A positive correlation was observed along an increasing temperature gradient, with relative maxima of MWD and BD reached by most soils at the threshold of 400-500°C. Preliminary analyses of soil OC (MIR) and mineralogical composition (VIS-NIR) support existing research regarding: (i) the importance of soil OC quality and

  15. Geochemistry Of Lead In Contaminated Soils: Effects Of Soil Physico-Chemical Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saminathan, S.; Sarkar, D.; Datta, R.; Andra, S. P.

    2006-05-01

    Lead (Pb) is an environmental contaminant with proven human health effects. When assessing human health risks associated with Pb, one of the most common exposure pathways typically evaluated is soil ingestion by children. However, bioaccessibility of Pb primarily depends on the solubility and hence, the geochemical form of Pb, which in turn is a function of site specific soil chemistry. Certain fractions of ingested soil-Pb may not dissociate during digestion in the gastro-intestinal tract, and hence, may not be available for transport across the intestinal membrane. Therefore, this study is being currently performed to assess the geochemical forms and bioaccessibility of Pb in soils with varying physico-chemical properties. In order to elucidate the level of Pb that can be ingested and assimilated by humans, an in-vitro model that simulates the physiological conditions of the human digestive system has been developed and is being used in this study. Four different types of soils from the Immokalee (an acid sandy soil with minimal Pb retention potential), Millhopper (a sandy loam with high Fe/Al content), Pahokee (a muck soil with more than 80% soil organic matter), and Tobosa series (an alkaline soil with high clay content) were artificially contaminated with Pb as lead nitrate at the rate equivalent to 0, 400, 800, and 1200 mg/kg dry soil. Analysis of soils by a sequential extraction method at time zero (immediately after spiking) showed that Immokalee and Millhopper soils had the highest amount of Pb in exchangeable form, whereas Pahokee and Tobosa soils had higher percentages of carbonate-bound and Fe/Al-bound Pb. The results of in-vitro experiment at time zero showed that majority of Pb was dissolved in the acidic stomach environment in Immokalee, Millhopper, and Tobosa, whereas it was in the intestinal phase in Pahokee soils. Because the soil system is not in equilibrium at time zero, the effect of soil properties on Pb geochemistry is not clear as yet. The

  16. Effects of biochars on hydraulic properties of clayey soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhen, Jingbo; Palladino, Mario; Lazarovitch, Naftali; Bonanomi, Giuliano; Battista Chirico, Giovanni

    2017-04-01

    Biochar has gained popularity as an amendment to improve soil hydraulic properties. Since biochar properties depend on feedstocks and pyrolysis temperatures used for its production, proper selection of biochar type as soil amendment is of great importance for soil hydraulic properties improvement. This study investigated the effects of eight types of biochar on physical and hydraulic properties of clayey soil. Biochars were derived from four different feedstocks (Alfalfa hay, municipal organic waste, corn residues and wood chip) pyrolyzed at two different temperatures (300 and 550 °C). Clayey soil samples were taken from Leone farm (40° 26' 15.31" N, 14° 59' 45.54" E), Italy, and were oven-dried at 105 °C to determine dry bulk density. Biochars were mixed with the clayey soil at 5% by mass. Bulk densities of the mixtures were also determined. Saturated hydraulic conductivities (Ks) of the original clayey soil and corresponding mixtures were measured by means of falling-head method. Soil water retention measurements were conducted for clayey soil and mixtures using suction table apparatus and Richards' plate with the pressure head (h) up to 12000 cm. van Genuchten retention function was selected to evaluate the retention characteristics of clayey soil and mixtures. Available water content (AWC) was calculated by field capacity (h = - 500 cm) minus wilting pointing (h = -12000 cm). The results showed that biochar addition decreased the bulk density of clayey soil. The Ks of clayey soil increased due to the incorporation of biochars except for waste and corn biochars pyrolyzed at 550 °C. AWC of soils mixed with corn biochar pyrolyzed at 300 °C and wood biochar pyrolyzed at 550 °C, increased by 31% and 7%, respectively. Further analysis will be conducted in combination of biochar properties such as specific surface area and total pore volume. Better understanding of biochar impact on clayey soil will be helpful in biochar selection for soil amendment and

  17. Soil biochemical properties in brown and gray mine soils with and without hydroseeding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, C.; Sexstone, A.; Skousen, J.

    2015-09-01

    Surface coal mining in the eastern USA disturbs hundreds of hectares of land every year and removes valuable and ecologically diverse eastern deciduous forests. Reclamation involves restoring the landscape to approximate original contour, replacing the topsoil, and revegetating the site with trees and herbaceous species to a designated post-mining land use. Re-establishing an ecosystem of ecological and economic value as well as restoring soil quality on disturbed sites are the goals of land reclamation, and microbial properties of mine soils can be indicators of restoration success. Reforestation plots were constructed in 2007 using weathered brown sandstone or unweathered gray sandstone as topsoil substitutes to evaluate tree growth and soil properties at Arch Coal's Birch River mine in West Virginia, USA. All plots were planted with 12 hardwood tree species and subplots were hydroseeded with a herbaceous seed mix and fertilizer. After 6 years, the average tree volume index was nearly 10 times greater for trees grown in brown (3853 cm3) compared to gray mine soils (407 cm3). Average pH of brown mine soils increased from 4.7 to 5.0, while gray mine soils declined from 7.9 to 7.0. Hydroseeding doubled tree volume index and ground cover on both mine soils. Hydroseeding doubled microbial biomass carbon (MBC) on brown mine soils (8.7 vs. 17.5 mg kg-1), but showed no effect on gray mine soils (13.3 vs. 12.8 mg kg-1). Hydroseeding also increased the ratio of MBC to soil organic C in both soils and more than tripled the ratio for potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN) to total N. Brown mine soils were a better growth medium than gray mine soils and hydroseeding was an important component of reclamation due to improved biochemical properties and microbial activity in mine soils.

  18. Thermal properties of degraded lowland peat-moorsh soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gnatowski, Tomasz

    2016-04-01

    Soil thermal properties, i.e.: specific heat capacity (c), thermal conductivity (K), volumetric heat capacity (C) govern the thermal environment and heat transport through the soil. Hence the precise knowledge and accurate predictions of these properties for peaty soils with high amount of organic matter are especially important for the proper forecasting of soil temperature and thus it may lead to a better assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions created by microbiological activity of the peatlands. The objective of the study was to develop the predictive models of the selected thermal parameters of peat-moorsh soils in terms of their potential applicability for forecasting changes of soil temperature in degraded ecosystems of the Middle Biebrza River Valley area. Evaluation of the soil thermal properties was conducted for the parameters: specific heat capacity (c), volumetric heat capacities of the dry and saturated soil (Cdry, Csat) and thermal conductivities of the dry and saturated soil (Kdry, Ksat). The thermal parameters were measured using the dual-needle probe (KD2-Pro) on soil samples collected from seven peaty soils, representing total 24 horizons. The surface layers were characterized by different degrees of advancement of soil degradation dependent on intensiveness of the cultivation practises (peaty and humic moorsh). The underlying soil layers contain peat deposits of different botanical composition (peat-moss, sedge-reed, reed and alder) and varying degrees of decomposition of the organic matter, from H1 to H7 (von Post scale). Based on the research results it has been shown that the specific heat capacity of the soils differs depending on the type of soil (type of moorsh and type of peat). The range of changes varied from 1276 J.kg-1.K-1 in the humic moorsh soil to 1944 J.kg-1.K-1 in the low decomposed sedge-moss peat. It has also been stated that in degraded peat soils with the increasing of the ash content in the soil the value of specific heat

  19. Hygrothermal Material Properties for Soils in Building Science

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kehrer, Manfred; Pallin, Simon B.

    2017-01-01

    Hygrothermal performance of soils coupled to buildings is complicated because of the dearth of information on soil properties. However they are important when numerical simulation of coupled heat and moisture transport for below-grade building components are performed as their temperature and moisture content has an influence on the durability of the below-grade building component. Soils can be classified by soil texture. According to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCA), 12 different soils can be defined on the basis of three soil components: clay, sand, and silt. This study shows how existing material properties for typical American soils can be transferredmore » and used for the calculation of the coupled heat and moisture transport of building components in contact with soil. Furthermore a thermal validation with field measurements under known boundary conditions is part of this study, too. Field measurements for soil temperature and moisture content for two specified soils are carried out right now under known boundary conditions. As these field measurements are not finished yet, the full hygrothermal validation is still missing« less

  20. Impact of land management on soil structure and soil hydraulic properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kodesova, Radka; Jirku, Veronika; Nikodem, Antonin; Muhlhanselova, Marcela; Zigova, Anna

    2010-05-01

    Study is focused on a comparison of a soil structure and soil hydraulic properties within soil profiles of a same soil type under different land management. Study was performed in Haplic Luvisol in Hnevceves the Czech Republic. Two soil profiles, which were in close distance from each other, were chosen: 1. under the conventional tillage, 2. under the permanent (30 years) grass cover. Soil sampling and field experiments were carried out immediately after the harvest of winter barley in 2008. The micromorphological images were used to evaluate the soil structure of all Ap, Bt1, Bt2 and C diagnostic horizons. The hydraulic properties of the diagnostic horizons were studied in the laboratory using multistep outflow experiments performed on the undisturbed 100-cm3 soil samples. A tension disc infiltrometer (with a disc radius of 10 cm) and minidisc tension infiltrometers (with a disc radius of 2.2 cm) were used to measure cumulative water infiltration under unsaturated conditions created using a pressure head of -2 cm. Measurements were performed at a depths of 5, 45, 75 and 110 cm, which corresponded to the Ap, Bt1, Bt2 and C horizons of studied Haplic Luvisol at both locations. The Guelph permeameter was used to measure cumulative water flux under surface ponding conditions. The depth of the drilled well was 10, 50, 80 and 115 cm, the well radius was 3 cm, and the well ponding depth was 5 cm. Both tests were used to evaluate hydraulic conductivity (K for h=-2cm, and Ks) values. Results showed, that while properties in the Bt2 and C horizons of both soil profiles were relatively similar, properties in the Ap and Bt1 horizons were different. The fraction of gravitational pores (which may cause preferential flow) in the Ap and Bt1 horizons of the soil profile under the convectional tillage was large than those in the Ap and Bt1 horizons of the soil profile under the permanent grass. This influenced for instance the Ks values measured using the Guelph permeametr. The Ks

  1. Combining phytoextraction and biochar addition improves soil biochemical properties in a soil contaminated with Cd.

    PubMed

    Lu, Huanping; Li, Zhian; Fu, Shenglei; Méndez, Ana; Gascó, Gabriel; Paz-Ferreiro, Jorge

    2015-01-01

    The main goal of phytoremediation is to improve ecosystem functioning. Soil biochemical properties are considered as effective indicators of soil quality and are sensitive to various environmental stresses, including heavy metal contamination. The biochemical response in a soil contaminated with cadmium was tested after several treatments aimed to reduce heavy metal availability including liming, biochar addition and phytoextraction using Amaranthus tricolor L. Two biochars were added to the soil: eucalyptus pyrolysed at 600 °C (EB) and poultry litter at 400 °C (PLB). Two liming treatments were chosen with the aim of bringing soil pH to the same values as in the treatments EB and PLB. The properties studied included soil microbial biomass C, soil respiration and the activities of invertase, β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, urease and phosphomonoesterase. Both phytoremediation and biochar addition improved soil biochemical properties, although results were enzyme specific. For biochar addition these changes were partly, but not exclusively, mediated by alterations in soil pH. A careful choice of biochar must be undertaken to optimize the remediation process from the point of view of metal phytoextraction and soil biological activity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Effects of prescribed fires on soil properties: A review.

    PubMed

    Alcañiz, M; Outeiro, L; Francos, M; Úbeda, X

    2018-02-01

    Soils constitute one of the most valuable resources on earth, especially because soil is renewable on human time scales. During the 20th century, a period marked by a widespread rural exodus and land abandonment, fire suppression policies were adopted facilitating the accumulation of fuel in forested areas, exacerbating the effects of wildfires, leading to severe degradation of soils. Prescribed fires emerged as an option for protecting forests and their soils from wildfires through the reduction of fuels levels. However such fires can serve other objectives, including stimulating the regeneration of a particular plant species, maintaining biological diversity or as a tool for recovering grasslands in encroached lands. This paper reviews studies examining the short- and long- term impacts of prescribed fires on the physical, chemical and biological soil properties; in so doing, it provides a summary of the benefits and drawbacks of this technique, to help determine if prescribed fires can be useful for managing the landscape. From the study conducted, we can affirm that prescribed fires affects soil properties but differ greatly depending on soil initial characteristics, vegetation or type of fire. Also, it is possible to see that soil's physical and biological properties are more strongly affected by prescribed fires than are its chemical properties. Finally, we conclude that prescribed fires clearly constitute a disturbance on the environment (positive, neutral or negative depending on the soil property studied), but most of the studies reviewed report a good recovery and their effects could be less pronounced than those of wildfires because of the limited soil heating and lower fire intensity and severity. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Retention of silver nano-particles and silver ions in calcareous soils: Influence of soil properties.

    PubMed

    Rahmatpour, Samaneh; Shirvani, Mehran; Mosaddeghi, Mohammad R; Bazarganipour, Mehdi

    2017-05-15

    The rapid production and application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have led to significant release of AgNPs into the terrestrial environments. Once released into the soil, AgNPs could enter into different interactions with soil particles which play key roles in controlling the fate and transport of these nanoparticles. In spite of that, experimental studies on the retention of AgNPs in soils are very scarce. Hence, the key objective of this research was to find out the retention behavior of AgNPs and Ag(I) ions in a range of calcareous soils. A second objective was to determine the extent to which the physico-chemical properties of the soils influence the Ag retention parameters. To this end, isothermal batch experiments were used to determine the retention of Poly(vinylpyrrolidinone)-capped AgNPs (PVP-AgNPs) and Ag(I) ions by nine calcareous soils with a diversity of physico-chemical properties. The results revealed that the retention data for both PVP-AgNPs and Ag(I) ions were well described by the classical Freundlich and Langmuir isothermal equations. The retention of PVP-AgNPs and Ag(I) ions was positively correlated to clay and organic carbon (OC) contents as well as electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soils. Due to multicolinearity among the soil properties, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to group the soil properties which affect the retention of PVP-AgNPs and Ag(I) ions. Accordingly, we identified two groups of soil properties controlling retention of PVP-AgNPs and Ag(I) ions in the calcareous soils. The first group comprised soil solid phase parameters like clay, OC, and CEC, which generally control hetero-aggregation and adsorption reactions and the second group included soil solution variables such as EC and pH as well as Cl - and Ca 2+ concentrations, which are supposed to mainly affect homo-aggregation and precipitation reactions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Relationships between soil erosion risk, soil use and soil properties in Mediterranean areas. A comparative study of three typical sceneries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gil, Juan; Priego-Navas, Mercedes; Zavala, Lorena M.; Jordán, Antonio

    2013-04-01

    Generally, literature shows that the high variability of rainfall-induced soil erosion is related to climatic differences, relief, soil properties and land use. Very different runoff rates and soil loss values have been reported in Mediterranean cropped soils depending on soil management practices, but also in soils under natural vegetation types. OBJECTIVES The aim of this research is to study the relationships between soil erosion risk, soil use and soil properties in three typical Mediterranean areas from southern Spain: olive groves under conventional tillage, minimum tillage and no-till practices, and soils under natural vegetation. METHODS Rainfall simulation experiments have been carried out in order to assess the relationship between soil erosion risk, land use, soil management and soil properties in olive-cropped soils under different types of management and soils under natural vegetation type from Mediterranean areas in southern Spain RESULTS Results show that mean runoff rates decrease from 35% in olive grove soils under conventional tillage to 25% in olive (Olea europaea) grove soils with minimum tillage or no-till practices, and slightly over 22% in soils under natural vegetation. Moreover, considering the different vegetation types, runoff rates vary in a wide range, although runoff rates from soils under holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia), 25.70%, and marginal olive groves , 25.31%, are not significantly different. Results from soils under natural vegetation show that the properties and nature of the organic residues play a role in runoff characteristics, as runoff rates above 50% were observed in less than 10% of the rainfall simulations performed on soils with a organic layer. In contrast, more than half of runoff rates from bare soils reached or surpassed 50%. Quantitatively, average values for runoff water losses increase up to 2.5 times in unprotected soils. This is a key issue in the study area, where mean annual rainfall is above 600 mm

  5. The interaction between abiotic photodegradation and microbial decomposition under ultraviolet radiation.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jing; Liu, Lingli; Wang, Xin; Chen, Yiwei

    2015-05-01

    Elevated ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been demonstrated to stimulate litter decomposition. Despite years of research, it is still not fully understood whether the acceleration in litter degradation is primarily attributed to abiotic photodegradation or the combined effects of abiotic photodegradation and microbial decomposition. In this study, we used meta-analysis to synthesize photodegradation studies and compared the effects of UV radiation on litter decomposition between abiotic and biotic conditions. We also conducted a microcosm experiment to assess the effects of UV radiation on litter biodegradability and microbial activity. Overall, our meta-analysis found that under abiotic photodegradation, UV radiation reduced the remaining litter mass by 1.44% (95% CI: 0.85% to 2.08%), did not affect the remaining lignin and increased the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration by 14.01% (1.49-23.67%). Under combined abiotic photodegradation and microbial decomposition, UV radiation reduced the remaining litter mass and lignin by 1.60% (0.04-3.58%) and 16.07% (9.27-24.23%), respectively, but did not alter DOC concentration. UV radiation had no significant impact on soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), but it reduced microbial respiration by 44.91% (2.26-78.62%) and altered the composition of the microbial community. In addition, UV radiation reduced nitrogen (N) immobilization by 19.44% (4.77-37.92%). Our microcosm experiment further indicated that DOC concentration and the amount of respired C in UV-treated litter increased with UV exposure time, suggesting that longer UV exposure resulted in greater biodegradability. Overall, our study suggested that UV exposure could increase litter biodegradability by increasing the microbial accessibility of lignin, as well as the labile carbon supply to microbes. However, the remaining litter mass was not different between the abiotic and biotic conditions, most likely because the positive effect of UV radiation on litter

  6. Soil bioturbation. A commentary

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cerdà, Artemi; Wilkinson, Marshall

    2010-05-01

    Organisms such as trees, ants, earthworms, termites are important components of the earth systems that have dominantly been thought of as abiotic. Despite an early focus on soil bioturbation by heavy-weights such as Charles Darwin and Nathanial Shaler in the late 19th century, sporadic attention to this theme has subsequently followed. Recent compilations demonstrate that soil bioturbation by fauna and flora is widespread across Earths terrestrial surface, and operates at geologically rapid rates that warrant further attention. Such biotic activity contributes to soil creep, soil carbon dynamics, and is critical in engineering the medium through which ecosystems draw their abiotic requirements. Soil and its biota are fundamental components of the Earth System. However, soil scientist focussed on the dominant paradigm of landscape evolution, and bioturbation was relegated. In fact, bioturbation is still not widely appreciated within the soil and earth system research community. Nevertheless, within the last decade a review of the impact of bioturbation was launched by authors such as Geoff S. Humphreys. Bioturbation is a complex process as new soil is formed, mounds are developed, soil is buried and a downslope transport of material is done. Bioturbation modify the soil texture and porosity, increase the nutrients and encourage the soil creep flux. A review of the State-of-the-Art of Bioturbation will be presented.

  7. Understanding the Interaction of Peptides and Proteins with Abiotic Surfaces: Towards Water-Free Biologics

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2018-02-03

    peptides immobilized on abiotic surfaces depends upon a) the chemical and physical nature of the abiotic surface; b) the physicochemical properties of... dependent model of protein aggregation, aggregation proceeds only after a lag phase in which the concentration of energetically unfavorable nuclei reaches...time dependent kinetics or dynamics at such interfaces. This paper focuses on these three most important advantages of SFG and reviews some of the

  8. The effect of fire on soil properties

    Treesearch

    Leonard F. DeBano

    1991-01-01

    Fire affects nutrient cycling and the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils occupied by western montane forests. Combustion of litter and soil organic matter (OM) increases the availability of some nutrients, although others are volatilized (for example, N, P, S). Soil OM loss also affects cation exchange capacity, organic chelation, aggregate...

  9. Modeling multidomain hydraulic properties of shrink-swell soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stewart, Ryan D.; Abou Najm, Majdi R.; Rupp, David E.; Selker, John S.

    2016-10-01

    Shrink-swell soils crack and become compacted as they dry, changing properties such as bulk density and hydraulic conductivity. Multidomain models divide soil into independent realms that allow soil cracks to be incorporated into classical flow and transport models. Incongruously, most applications of multidomain models assume that the porosity distributions, bulk density, and effective saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil are constant. This study builds on a recently derived soil shrinkage model to develop a new multidomain, dual-permeability model that can accurately predict variations in soil hydraulic properties due to dynamic changes in crack size and connectivity. The model only requires estimates of soil gravimetric water content and a minimal set of parameters, all of which can be determined using laboratory and/or field measurements. We apply the model to eight clayey soils, and demonstrate its ability to quantify variations in volumetric water content (as can be determined during measurement of a soil water characteristic curve) and transient saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks (as can be measured using infiltration tests). The proposed model is able to capture observed variations in Ks of one to more than two orders of magnitude. In contrast, other dual-permeability models assume that Ks is constant, resulting in the potential for large error when predicting water movement through shrink-swell soils. Overall, the multidomain model presented here successfully quantifies fluctuations in the hydraulic properties of shrink-swell soil matrices, and are suitable for use in physical flow and transport models based on Darcy's Law, the Richards Equation, and the advection-dispersion equation.

  10. Soil physical property estimation from soil strength and apparent electrical conductivity sensor data

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Quantification of soil physical properties through soil sampling and laboratory analyses is time-, cost-, and labor-consuming, making it difficult to obtain the spatially-dense data required for precision agriculture. Proximal soil sensing is an attractive alternative, but many currently available s...

  11. Synthesis of soil-hydraulic properties and infiltration timescales in wildfire-affected soils

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ebel, Brian A.; Moody, John A.

    2017-01-01

    We collected soil-hydraulic property data from the literature for wildfire-affected soils, ash, and unburned soils. These data were used to calculate metrics and timescales of hydrologic response related to infiltration and surface runoff generation. Sorptivity (S) and wetting front potential (Ψf) were significantly different (lower) in burned soils compared with unburned soils, whereas field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) was not significantly different. The magnitude and duration of the influence of capillarity during infiltration was greatly reduced in burned soils, causing faster ponding times in response to rainfall. Ash had large values of S and Kfs but moderate values of Ψf, compared with unburned and burned soils, indicating ash has long ponding times in response to rainfall. The ratio of S2/Kfs was nearly constant (~100 mm) for unburned soils but more variable in burned soils, suggesting that unburned soils have a balance between gravity and capillarity contributions to infiltration that may depend on soil organic matter, whereas in burned soils the gravity contribution to infiltration is greater. Changes in S and Kfs in burned soils act synergistically to reduce infiltration and accelerate and amplify surface runoff generation. Synthesis of these findings identifies three key areas for future research. First, short timescales of capillary influences on infiltration indicate the need for better measurements of infiltration at times less than 1 min to accurately characterize S in burned soils. Second, using parameter values, such as Ψf, from unburned areas could produce substantial errors in hydrologic modeling when used without adjustment for wildfire effects, causing parameter compensation and resulting underestimation of Kfs. Third, more thorough measurement campaigns that capture soil-structural changes, organic matter impacts, quantitative water repellency trends, and soil-water content along with soil-hydraulic properties could drive the

  12. A global data set of soil particle size properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Webb, Robert S.; Rosenzweig, Cynthia E.; Levine, Elissa R.

    1991-01-01

    A standardized global data set of soil horizon thicknesses and textures (particle size distributions) was compiled. This data set will be used by the improved ground hydrology parameterization designed for the Goddard Institute for Space Studies General Circulation Model (GISS GCM) Model 3. The data set specifies the top and bottom depths and the percent abundance of sand, silt, and clay of individual soil horizons in each of the 106 soil types cataloged for nine continental divisions. When combined with the World Soil Data File, the result is a global data set of variations in physical properties throughout the soil profile. These properties are important in the determination of water storage in individual soil horizons and exchange of water with the lower atmosphere. The incorporation of this data set into the GISS GCM should improve model performance by including more realistic variability in land-surface properties.

  13. The net effect of abiotic conditions and biotic interactions in a semi-arid ecosystem NE Spain: implications for the management and restoration.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pueyo, Yolanda; Arroyo, Antonio I.; Saiz, Hugo; Alados, Concepción L.

    2014-05-01

    Degradation in arid and semiarid lands can be irreversible without human intervention, due to a positive plant-soil feedback where the loss of vegetation cover leads to soil degradation, which in turn hampers plant establishment. Human intervention in restoration actions usually involves the amendment of the degraded abiotic conditions, revegetation of bare areas, or both. However, abiotic amelioration is often expensive and too intrusive, and revegetation is not successful in many cases. Biotic interactions between plants, and more specifically facilitation by a "nurse" plant, have been proposed as a new via to take profit of improved abiotic conditions without intervention, and to increase the success rate of revegetation actions. But "nurse" plants can also interfere with others (i.e. by competition for resources or the release of allelopathic compounds), and the net balance between facilitation and interference could depend on plant types involved. We present recent observational and experimental studies performed in the semiarid ecosystems of the Middle Ebro Valley (NE Spain) about the role of abiotic conditions and biotic interactions in the productivity, dynamics and diversity of plant communities under different stress conditions (aridity and grazing). We found that all plant types studied (shrubs and perennial grasses) improved abiotic conditions (soil temperature and water availability for plants) with respect to open areas. However, only some shrubs (mainly Salsola vermiculata) had a positive net balance in the biotic interactions between plants, while other shrubs (Artemisia herba-alba) and perennial grasses (Lygeum spartum) showed interference with other plants. Moreover, the net balance between facilitation and interference among plants in the community shifted from competitive to neutral or from neutral to facilitative with increasing aridity. Grazing status did not strongly change the net biotic interactions between plants. Our results suggest that

  14. Spatial and temporal variability of soil hydraulic properties of topsoil affected by soil erosion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nikodem, Antonin; Kodesova, Radka; Jaksik, Ondrej; Jirku, Veronika; Klement, Ales; Fer, Miroslav

    2014-05-01

    This study is focused on the comparison of soil hydraulic properties of topsoil that is affected by erosion processes. In order to include variable morphological and soil properties along the slope three sites - Brumovice, Vidim and Sedlčany were selected. Two transects (A, B) and five sampling sites along each one were chosen. Soil samples were taken in Brumovice after the tillage and sowing of winter wheat in October 2010 and after the wheat harvest in August 2011. At locality Vidim and Sedlčany samples were collected in May and August 2012. Soil hydraulic properties were studied in the laboratory on the undisturbed 100-cm3 soil samples placed in Tempe cells using the multi-step outflow test. Soil water retention data points were obtained by calculating water balance in the soil sample at each pressure head step of the experiment. The single-porosity model in HYDRUS-1D was applied to analyze the multi-step outflow and to obtain the parameters of soil hydraulic properties using the numerical inversion. The saturated hydraulic conductivities (Ks) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivities (Kw) for the pressure head of -2 cm of topsoil were also measured after the harvest using Guelph permeameter and Minidisk tensiometer, respectively. In general soil water retention curves measured before and after vegetation period apparently differed, which indicated soil material consolidation and soil-porous system rearrangement. Soil water retention curves obtained on the soil samples and hydraulic conductivities measured in the field reflected the position at the elevation transect and the effect of erosion/accumulation processes on soil structure and consequently on the soil hydraulic properties. The highest Ks values in Brumovice were obtained at the steepest parts of the elevation transects, that have been the most eroded. The Ks values at the bottom parts decreased due to the sedimentation of eroded soil particles. The change of the Kw values along transects didn't show

  15. Spatial variability of soil properties and soil erodibility in the Alqueva reservoir watershed

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferreira, V.; Panagopoulos, T.; Andrade, R.; Guerrero, C.; Loures, L.

    2015-04-01

    The aim of this work is to investigate how the spatial variability of soil properties and soil erodibility (K factor) were affected by the changes in land use allowed by irrigation with water from a reservoir in a semiarid area. To this end, three areas representative of different land uses (agroforestry grassland, lucerne crop and olive orchard) were studied within a 900 ha farm. The interrelationships between variables were analyzed by multivariate techniques and extrapolated using geostatistics. The results confirmed differences between land uses for all properties analyzed, which was explained mainly by the existence of diverse management practices (tillage, fertilization and irrigation), vegetation cover and local soil characteristics. Soil organic matter, clay and nitrogen content decreased significantly, while the K factor increased with intensive cultivation. The HJ-Biplot methodology was used to represent the variation of soil erodibility properties grouped in land uses. Native grassland was the least correlated with the other land uses. The K factor demonstrated high correlation mainly with very fine sand and silt. The maps produced with geostatistics were crucial to understand the current spatial variability in the Alqueva region. Facing the intensification of land-use conversion, a sustainable management is needed to introduce protective measures to control soil erosion.

  16. Spectral reflectance of surface soils: Relationships with some soil properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kiesewetter, C. H.

    1983-01-01

    Using a published atlas of reflectance curves and physicochemical properties of soils, a statistical analysis was carried out. Reflectance bands which correspond to five of the wavebands used by NASA's Thematic Mapper were examined for relationships to specific soil properties. The properties considered in this study include: Sand Content, Silt Content, Clay Content, Organic Matter Content, Cation Exchange Capacity, Iron Oxide Content and Moisture Content. Regression of these seven properties on the mean values of five TM bands produced results that indicate that the predictability of the properties can be increased by stratifying the data. The data was stratified by parent material, taxonomic order, temperature zone, moisture zone and climate (combined temperature and moisture). The best results were obtained when the sample was examined by climatic classes. The middle Infra-red bands, 5 and 7, as well as the visible bands, 2 and 3, are significant in the model. The near Infra-red band, band 4, is almost as useful and should be included in any studies. General linear modeling procedures examined relationships of the seven properties with certain wavebands in the stratified samples.

  17. Disentangling above- and below-ground facilitation drivers in arid environments: the role of soil microorganisms, soil properties and microhabitat.

    PubMed

    Lozano, Yudi M; Armas, Cristina; Hortal, Sara; Casanoves, Fernando; Pugnaire, Francisco I

    2017-12-01

    Nurse plants promote establishment of other plant species by buffering climate extremes and improving soil properties. Soil biota plays an important role, but an analysis to disentangle the effects of soil microorganisms, soil properties and microclimate on facilitation is lacking. In three microhabitats (gaps, small and large Retama shrubs), we placed six microcosms with sterilized soil, two per soil origin (i.e. from each microhabitat). One in every pair received an alive, and the other a sterile, inoculum from its own soil. Seeds of annual plants were sown into the microcosms. Germination, survival and biomass were monitored. Soil bacterial communities were characterized by pyrosequencing. Germination in living Retama inoculum was nearly double that of germination in sterile inoculum. Germination was greater under Retama canopies than in gaps. Biomass was up to three times higher in nurse than in gap soils. Soil microorganisms, soil properties and microclimate showed a range of positive to negative effects on understory plants depending on species identity and life stage. Nurse soil microorganisms promoted germination, but the effect was smaller than the positive effects of soil properties and microclimate under nurses. Nurse below-ground environment (soil properties and microorganisms) promoted plant growth and survival more than nurse microhabitat. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

  18. Agricultural soil moisture experiment, Colby, Kansas 1978: Measured and predicted hydrological properties of the soil

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arya, L. M. (Principal Investigator)

    1980-01-01

    Predictive procedures for developing soil hydrologic properties (i.e., relationships of soil water pressure and hydraulic conductivity to soil water content) are presented. Three models of the soil water pressure-water content relationship and one model of the hydraulic conductivity-water content relationship are discussed. Input requirements for the models are indicated, and computational procedures are outlined. Computed hydrologic properties for Keith silt loam, a soil typer near Colby, Kansas, on which the 1978 Agricultural Soil Moisture Experiment was conducted, are presented. A comparison of computed results with experimental data in the dry range shows that analytical models utilizing a few basic hydrophysical parameters can produce satisfactory data for large-scale applications.

  19. Profile soil property estimation using a VIS-NIR-EC-force probe

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Combining data collected in-field from multiple soil sensors has the potential to improve the efficiency and accuracy of soil property estimates. Optical diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) has been used to estimate many important soil properties, such as soil carbon, water content, and texture. ...

  20. Litter decay controlled by temperature, not soil properties, affecting future soil carbon.

    PubMed

    Gregorich, Edward G; Janzen, Henry; Ellert, Benjamin H; Helgason, Bobbi L; Qian, Budong; Zebarth, Bernie J; Angers, Denis A; Beyaert, Ronald P; Drury, Craig F; Duguid, Scott D; May, William E; McConkey, Brian G; Dyck, Miles F

    2017-04-01

    Widespread global changes, including rising atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, climate warming and loss of biodiversity, are predicted for this century; all of these will affect terrestrial ecosystem processes like plant litter decomposition. Conversely, increased plant litter decomposition can have potential carbon-cycle feedbacks on atmospheric CO 2 levels, climate warming and biodiversity. But predicting litter decomposition is difficult because of many interacting factors related to the chemical, physical and biological properties of soil, as well as to climate and agricultural management practices. We applied 13 C-labelled plant litter to soil at ten sites spanning a 3500-km transect across the agricultural regions of Canada and measured its decomposition over five years. Despite large differences in soil type and climatic conditions, we found that the kinetics of litter decomposition were similar once the effect of temperature had been removed, indicating no measurable effect of soil properties. A two-pool exponential decay model expressing undecomposed carbon simply as a function of thermal time accurately described kinetics of decomposition. (R 2  = 0.94; RMSE = 0.0508). Soil properties such as texture, cation exchange capacity, pH and moisture, although very different among sites, had minimal discernible influence on decomposition kinetics. Using this kinetic model under different climate change scenarios, we projected that the time required to decompose 50% of the litter (i.e. the labile fractions) would be reduced by 1-4 months, whereas time required to decompose 90% of the litter (including recalcitrant fractions) would be reduced by 1 year in cooler sites to as much as 2 years in warmer sites. These findings confirm quantitatively the sensitivity of litter decomposition to temperature increases and demonstrate how climate change may constrain future soil carbon storage, an effect apparently not influenced by soil properties. © 2016 Her Majesty

  1. Physical and Social Impacts on Hydrologic Properties of Residential Lawn Soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, M. L.; Band, L. E.

    2009-12-01

    Land development practices result in compacted soils that filter less water, increase surface runoff and decrease groundwater infiltration. Literature review of soil infiltration rates reveals that developed sites’ rates, 0.1 to 24 cm/hr, are reduced when compared to rates of undeveloped sites, 14.7 to 48.7 cm/hr. Yet, most hydrologic models neglect the impacts of residential soil compaction on infiltration and runoff. The objectives of this study included: determination of differences between soil properties of forested and residential lawn sites in Baltimore Ecosystem Study; parcel-scale location impacts on soil properties; and the impact of social and physical factors on the distribution of soil properties of residential lawns. Infiltration measures were collected in situ using a Cornell Sprinkle Infiltrometer and soil cores were collected for water retention and texture analysis. These soil properties were paired with GIS data relating to age of house construction, property value, parcel area, percent canopy cover per parcel and parcel distance from stream. The study finds that saturated infiltration rates in residential lawn soils are significantly lower than forest soils due to reduced macroporosity of residential lawn soils. Intra-parcel differences in bulk density and soil depth indicate that runoff from residential lawns is more likely from near-house and near-curb locations than the mid-front or backyards. The range of infiltration rate, bulk density and percent organic matter can be explained by readily attainable social and physical factors—age of house construction and parcel distance to stream. The impacts of land management on soil properties appear to be more prominent than percent canopy.

  2. The influence of soil organic matter chemistry and site/soil properties in predicting the decomposability of tundra soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matamala, R.; Jastrow, J. D.; Fan, Z.; Liang, C.; Calderon, F.; Michaelson, G.; Mishra, U.; Ping, C. L.

    2017-12-01

    With the increase in high latitude warming, there is a need to better understand the potential vulnerability of soil organic matter (SOM) stored in Arctic regions. In this study, we used mid infrared spectroscopy (MidIR) to determine the influence of soil chemistry and site properties in the short-term mineralization potential of SOM stored in tundra soils. Soils from the active and permafrost layers were collected from four tundra sites on the Coastal Plain, and Arctic Foothills of the North Slope of Alaska and were incubated for 60 days at a range of temperatures. Site and soil properties including acidic versus non-acidic tundra, lowland versus upland areas, total soil organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations, 60-day carbon mineralization potential (CMP), MidIR spectra and the chemical composition of the SOM stored in these soils were determined. Partial least squares (PLS) models for CMP versus MidIR spectra were produced upon splitting the dataset into site and soil properties categories. We found that SOM composition determined by MidIR spectroscopy was most effective in predicting CMP for tundra soils and it was most relevant for the active-layer mineral and upper permafrost soil horizons and/or soils with C concentrations of 10% or lower. Analysis of the factor loadings and standardized beta coefficients from the CMP PLS models indicated that spectral bands associated with clay contents, phenolic OH, aliphatic, silicates, carboxylic acids, and polysaccharides were influential for lower TOC soils, but these bands were less important for higher TOC soils. High TOC soils were influenced by a combination of other factors. Our results suggest that different factors affect the short-term CMP of SOM in tundra soils depending on the amount of TOC present. We show MidIR as a powerful tool for quickly and reasonably estimating the short-term CMP of tundra soils. Widespread application of MidIR measurements to already collected and archived tundra

  3. Review of recent transgenic studies on abiotic stress tolerance and future molecular breeding in potato.

    PubMed

    Kikuchi, Akira; Huynh, Huu Duc; Endo, Tsukasa; Watanabe, Kazuo

    2015-03-01

    Global warming has become a major issue within the last decade. Traditional breeding programs for potato have focused on increasing productivity and quality and disease resistance, thus, modern cultivars have limited tolerance of abiotic stresses. The introgression of abiotic stress tolerance into modern cultivars is essential work for the future. Recently, many studies have investigated abiotic stress using transgenic techniques. This manuscript focuses on the study of abiotic stress, in particular drought, salinity and low temperature, during this century. Dividing studies into these three stress categories for this review was difficult. Thus, based on the study title and the transgene property, transgenic studies were classified into five categories in this review; oxidative scavengers, transcriptional factors, and above three abiotic categories. The review focuses on studies that investigate confer of stress tolerance and the identification of responsible factors, including wild relatives. From a practical application perspective, further evaluation of transgenic potato with abiotic stress tolerance is required. Although potato plants, including wild species, have a large potential for abiotic stress tolerance, exploration of the factors responsible for conferring this tolerance is still developing. Molecular breeding, including genetic engineering and conventional breeding using DNA markers, is expected to develop in the future.

  4. Soil properties influence kinetics of soil acid phosphatase in response to arsenic toxicity.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ziquan; Tan, Xiangping; Lu, Guannan; Liu, Yanju; Naidu, Ravi; He, Wenxiang

    2018-01-01

    Soil phosphatase, which plays an important role in phosphorus cycling, is strongly inhibited by Arsenic (As). However, the inhibition mechanism in kinetics is not adequately investigated. In this study, we investigated the kinetic characteristics of soil acid phosphatase (ACP) in 14 soils with varied properties, and also explored how kinetic properties of soil ACP changed with different spiked As concentrations. The results showed that the Michaelis constant (K m ) and maximum reaction velocity (V max ) values of soil ACP ranged from 1.18 to 3.77mM and 0.025-0.133mMh -1 in uncontaminated soils. The kinetic parameters of soil ACP in different soils changed differently with As contamination. The K m remained unchanged and V max decreased with increase of As concentration in most acid and neutral soils, indicating a noncompetitive inhibition mechanism. However, in alkaline soils, the K m increased linearly and V max decreased with increase of As concentration, indicating a mixed inhibition mechanism that include competitive and noncompetitive. The competitive inhibition constant (K ic ) and noncompetitive inhibition constant (K iu ) varied among soils and ranged from 0.38 to 3.65mM and 0.84-7.43mM respectively. The inhibitory effect of As on soil ACP was mostly affected by soil organic matter and cation exchange capacity. Those factors influenced the combination of As with enzyme, which resulted in a difference of As toxicity to soil ACP. Catalytic efficiency (V max /K m ) of soil ACP was a sensitive kinetic parameter to assess the ecological risks of soil As contamination. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Acoustic Determination of Near-Surface Soil Properties

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-12-01

    requiring geostatistical analysis, while nearby others are spatially independent. In studies involving many different soil properties and chemistry ...Am 116(6), p. 3354-3369. Kravchenko, N., C.W. Boast, D.G. Bullock, 1991. Fractal analysis of soil spatial variability. Agronomy Journal 91

  6. Application of Multitemporal Remotely Sensed Soil Moisture for the Estimation of Soil Physical Properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mattikalli, N. M.; Engman, E. T.; Jackson, T. J.; Ahuja, L. R.

    1997-01-01

    This paper demonstrates the use of multitemporal soil moisture derived from microwave remote sensing to estimate soil physical properties. The passive microwave ESTAR instrument was employed during June 10-18, 1992, to obtain brightness temperature (TB) and surface soil moisture data in the Little Washita watershed, Oklahoma. Analyses of spatial and temporal variations of TB and soil moisture during the dry-down period revealed a direct relationship between changes in T and soil moisture and soil physical (viz. texture) and hydraulic (viz. saturated hydraulic conductivity, K(sat)) properties. Statistically significant regression relationships were developed for the ratio of percent sand to percent clay (RSC) and K(sat), in terms of change components of TB and surface soil moisture. Validation of results using field measured values and soil texture map indicated that both RSC and K(sat) can be estimated with reasonable accuracy. These findings have potential applications of microwave remote sensing to obtain quick estimates of the spatial distributions of K(sat), over large areas for input parameterization of hydrologic models.

  7. Local plant adaptation across a subarctic elevational gradient

    PubMed Central

    Kardol, Paul; De Long, Jonathan R.; Wardle, David A.

    2014-01-01

    Predicting how plants will respond to global warming necessitates understanding of local plant adaptation to temperature. Temperature may exert selective effects on plants directly, and also indirectly through environmental factors that covary with temperature, notably soil properties. However, studies on the interactive effects of temperature and soil properties on plant adaptation are rare, and the role of abiotic versus biotic soil properties in plant adaptation to temperature remains untested. We performed two growth chamber experiments using soils and Bistorta vivipara bulbil ecotypes from a subarctic elevational gradient (temperature range: ±3°C) in northern Sweden to disentangle effects of local ecotype, temperature, and biotic and abiotic properties of soil origin on plant growth. We found partial evidence for local adaption to temperature. Although soil origin affected plant growth, we did not find support for local adaptation to either abiotic or biotic soil properties, and there were no interactive effects of soil origin with ecotype or temperature. Our results indicate that ecotypic variation can be an important driver of plant responses to the direct effects of increasing temperature, while responses to covariation in soil properties are of a phenotypic, rather than adaptive, nature. PMID:26064553

  8. A review of the impacts of degradation threats on soil properties in the UK.

    PubMed

    Gregory, A S; Ritz, K; McGrath, S P; Quinton, J N; Goulding, K W T; Jones, R J A; Harris, J A; Bol, R; Wallace, P; Pilgrim, E S; Whitmore, A P

    2015-10-01

    National governments are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of their soil resources and are shaping strategies accordingly. Implicit in any such strategy is that degradation threats and their potential effect on important soil properties and functions are defined and understood. In this paper, we aimed to review the principal degradation threats on important soil properties in the UK, seeking quantitative data where possible. Soil erosion results in the removal of important topsoil and, with it, nutrients, C and porosity. A decline in soil organic matter principally affects soil biological and microbiological properties, but also impacts on soil physical properties because of the link with soil structure. Soil contamination affects soil chemical properties, affecting nutrient availability and degrading microbial properties, whilst soil compaction degrades the soil pore network. Soil sealing removes the link between the soil and most of the 'spheres', significantly affecting hydrological and microbial functions, and soils on re-developed brownfield sites are typically degraded in most soil properties. Having synthesized the literature on the impact on soil properties, we discuss potential subsequent impacts on the important soil functions, including food and fibre production, storage of water and C, support for biodiversity, and protection of cultural and archaeological heritage. Looking forward, we suggest a twin approach of field-based monitoring supported by controlled laboratory experimentation to improve our mechanistic understanding of soils. This would enable us to better predict future impacts of degradation processes, including climate change, on soil properties and functions so that we may manage soil resources sustainably.

  9. Reduction kinetics of hexavalent chromium in soils and its correlation with soil properties.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Wendan; Zhang, Yibin; Li, Tingqiang; Chen, Bao; Wang, Huan; He, Zhenli; Yang, Xiaoe

    2012-01-01

    The toxicity of chromium (Cr) to biota is related to its chemical forms and consequently to the redox conditions of soils. Hexavalent Cr[Cr(VI)] may undergo natural attenuation through reduction processes. In this study, the reduction kinetics of Cr(VI) in seven soils and its relationships with soil properties were investigated with laboratory incubation experiments. The results indicate that the reduction of Cr(VI) can be described by a first-order reaction. The reduction rates of Cr(VI) in the seven soils decreased in the order: Udic Ferrisols > Stagnic Anthrosols > Calcaric Regosols > Mollisol > Typic Haplustalf > Periudic Argosols > Ustic Cambosols. Simple correlation analysis revealed that the reduction of Cr(VI) in soils was positively related to organic matter content, dissolved organic matter content, Fe(II) content, clay fraction, and to the diversity index of the bacterial community but negatively correlated with easily reducible Mn content. Using stepwise regression, the reduction of Cr(VI) in soil could be quantitatively predicted by the measurement of dissolved organic matter content, Fe(II) content, pH, and soil particle size distribution, with a fitting level of 95.5%. The results indicated that the reduction of Cr(VI) in natural soils is not controlled by a single soil property but is the result of the combined effects of dissolved organic matter, Fe(II), pH, and soil particle size distribution. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  10. Predicting Impact of Biochar Addition on Soil Hydraulic Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakhli, S. A. A.; Yudi, Y.; Imhoff, P. T.

    2017-12-01

    Biochar has been proposed as a soil amendment to improve soil hydraulic properties, including water retention and saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, for agricultural and environmental applications. However, its effect on hydraulic properties is difficult to predict and often with mixed results: in some cases biochar enhances soil hydraulic properties, while in other cases it degrades them. Despite several published observational studies, there are no models that can reliably predict biochar's impact on soil hydraulic properties. In this project we developed models to describe the effect of addition of a commercial wood biochar pyrolyzed at 550° on soil hydraulic properties in laboratory-scale experiments. The effects of biochar addition at 2% and 6% (w/w) on water retention and saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity were evaluated for silt loam, sandy loam, and loamy sand. The addition of 6% (w/w) biochar increased the available water content of silt loam, sandy loam and loamy sand by 25, 20 and 70%, respectively. The impact of biochar addition on water retention was predicted reasonably well using information on the intra particle pore volume of biochar (mercury porosimetry, N2 and CO2 sorption) and the particle size distribution of the soil/biochar mixture. When amended with 6% biochar, saturated hydraulic conductivity increased 17% for loamy sand, but decreased 30% and 54% for silt loam and sandy loam, respectively. The Kozeny-Carman equation modified to account for changes in inter pore volume predicted saturated hydraulic conductivities of the biochar-amended soils reasonably well, with RMSE ranging from 0.06 to 5.06 cm h-1 for silt loam and loamy sand, respectively. While intra particle pore volume of biochar contributed significantly to higher water retention, changes in hydraulic conductivity were correlated instead with changes in inter pore volume - the large pores between biochar and soil particles.

  11. The Combined Role Of Manganese Oxides And Microbes In The yAbiotic Uptake Of Amino Acid Nitrogen Into Litter And Soil Organic yMatter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filley, T. R.; Dria, K.

    2004-12-01

    Soil organic matter (SOM) is the largest terrestrial C and N store. Microbial yand abiotic processes that control the transformation of protein nitrogen in litter and ysoils into macromolecular humic materials play an important role in organic matter ystorage and soil productivity. There are major gaps, however, in our understanding of ythese processes and behaviors. Abiotic reactions of amines, phenols and sugars derived yfrom forest leachates or present in detrital and litter organic matter are known to be ykey processes in the formation of complex organic nitrogen. We present here the yresults from a study designed to investigate how the inherent chemistry of lignin, leaf ylitter, and progressively advanced brown-rot wood decay impact the chemical reaction yof amino acids with this organic matter. Additionally, experiments in the presence of ybirnessite (MnO2) were also conducted to investigate the role of mineral induced phenol yoxidation on specific amino acid chemical humifcation processes. Solid and liquid state yNMR, 13C-labelled tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide thermochemolysis and stable ycarbon and nitrogen isotope ratio mass spectrometry were used to track the alteration yof litter material and document uptake of 13C and 15N labeled amino acids. yPreliminary results from birnessite-containing experiments suggest that the metal-ypromoted oxidation of the lignin, leaf litter, and, in particular, demethylated brown rot ywood residues, is necessary to convert the phenols to quinones of some type permitting yamine addition. This relationship is particularly true for the production of soluble yfractions after two and six weeks of reaction in the presence of the manganese oxides. yAdditionally, the production of leachable organic matter with incorporated N was ypromoted in the soluble fractions. Ongoing NMR studies will elucidate the nature of ythe chemical binding in these experiments. y

  12. Effect of soil type and soil management on soil physical, chemical and biological properties in commercial organic olive orchards in Southern Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gomez, Jose Alfonso; Auxiliadora Soriano, Maria; Montes-Borrego, Miguel; Navas, Juan Antonio; Landa, Blanca B.

    2014-05-01

    One of the objectives of organic agriculture is to maintain and improve soil quality, while simultaneously producing an adequate yield. A key element in organic olive production is soil management, which properly implemented can optimize the use of rainfall water enhancing infiltration rates and controlling competition for soil water by weeds. There are different soil management strategies: eg. weed mowing (M), green manure with surface tillage in spring (T), or combination with animal grazing among the trees (G). That variability in soil management combined with the large variability in soil types on which organic olive trees are grown in Southern Spain, difficult the evaluation of the impact of different soil management on soil properties, and yield as well as its interpretation in terms of improvement of soil quality. This communications presents the results and analysis of soil physical, chemical and biological properties on 58 soils in Southern Spain during 2005 and 2006, and analyzed and evaluated in different studies since them. Those 58 soils were sampled in 46 certified commercial organic olive orchards with four soil types as well as 12 undisturbed areas with natural vegetation near the olive orchards. The four soil types considered were Eutric Regosol (RGeu, n= 16), Eutric Cambisol (CMeu, n=16), Calcaric Regosol (RGca, n=13 soils sampled) and Calcic Cambisol (CMcc), and the soil management systems (SMS) include were 10 light tillage (LT), 16 sheep grazing (G), 10 tillage (T), 10 mechanical mowing (M), and 12 undisturbed areas covered by natural vegetation (NV-C and NV-S). Our results indicate that soil management had a significant effect on olive yield as well as on key soil properties. Among these soil properties are physical ones, such as infiltration rate or bulk density, chemical ones, especially organic carbon concentration, and biological ones such as soil microbial respiration and bacterial community composition. Superimpose to that soil

  13. Abiotic and biotic controls over biogeochemical cycles in drylands: Insights from climate change and nitrogen deposition experiments on the Colorado Plateau

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reed, S.; Ferrenberg, S.; Tucker, C.; Rutherford, W. A.; Wertin, T. M.; McHugh, T. A.; Morrissey, E.; Kuske, C.; Mueller, R.; Belnap, J.

    2016-12-01

    As for all ecosystems, biogeochemical cycling in drylands represents numerous intricate connections between biotic and abiotic controls. However, patterns of many fundamental ecosystem processes that generally hold across global gradients fall apart at the arid and semiarid end of the spectrum, and data point to an exceptionally strong role for abiotic controls in explaining these patterns. Further, there are multiple dryland characteristics - such as extreme aridity and high UV radiation, as well as specialized biological communities - which can point to a conclusion that "drylands are different". Indeed, drylands are often characterized by their harsh environment, by the diverse classes of biota representing a range of traits aimed at surviving such harsh conditions, and, more recently, by the suggestion of dramatic biotic responses to seemingly subtle changes in abiotic factors. In this talk, we will explore a range of biotic and abiotic controls over fundamental biogeochemical cycling in drylands using data from a suite of manipulation experiments on the Colorado Plateau, USA. We will present results from field treatments that speak to the effects of increasing temperature, altered precipitation regimes, increased nitrogen availability via deposition, and the effects of altered litterfall inputs. Biogeochemical processes we explore will include plant photosynthesis, soil photosynthesis and respiration (with a focus on biological soil crusts), litter decomposition, and nutrient cycling. In addition, we will assess how treatments alter dryland community composition, as well as the resultant feedbacks of community shifts to environmental change. Taken together we will use these diverse datasets to ask questions about what makes drylands different or, instead, if a holistic joining of biotic and abiotic perspectives suggests they are not so different after all. These data will not only lend insight into the partitioning of and balance between biotic and abiotic

  14. Spatial variability of soil properties and soil erodibility in the Alqueva dam watershed, Portugal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferreira, V.; Panagopoulos, T.; Andrade, R.; Guerrero, C.; Loures, L.

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this work is to investigate how the spatial variability of soil properties and soil erodibility (K factor) were affected by the changes in land use allowed by irrigation with water from a reservoir in a semiarid area. To this, three areas representative of different land uses (agroforestry grassland, Lucerne crop and olive orchard) were studied within a 900 ha farm. The interrelationships between variables were analyzed by multivariate techniques and extrapolated using geostatistics. The results confirmed differences between land uses for all properties analyzed, which was explained mainly by the existence of diverse management practices (tillage, fertilization and irrigation), vegetation cover and local soil characteristics. Soil organic matter, clay and nitrogen content decreased significantly, while K factor increased with intensive cultivation. The HJ-biplot methodology was used to represent the variation of soil erodibility properties grouped in land uses. Native grassland was the least correlated with the other land uses. K factor demonstrated high correlation mainly with very fine sand and silt. The maps produced with geostatistics were crucial to understand the current spatial variability in the Alqueva region. Facing the intensification of land-use conversion, a sustainable management is needed to introduce protective measures to control soil erosion.

  15. Intra-Specific Latitudinal Clines in Leaf Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus and their Underlying Abiotic Correlates in Ruellia Nudiflora.

    PubMed

    Abdala-Roberts, Luis; Covelo, Felisa; Parra-Tabla, Víctor; Terán, Jorge C Berny Mier Y; Mooney, Kailen A; Moreira, Xoaquín

    2018-01-12

    While plant intra-specific variation in the stoichiometry of nutrients and carbon is well documented, clines for such traits have been less studied, despite their potential to reveal the mechanisms underlying such variation. Here we analyze latitudinal variation in the concentration of leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), carbon (C) and their ratios across 30 populations of the perennial herb Ruellia nudiflora. In addition, we further determined whether climatic and soil variables underlie any such latitudinal clines in leaf traits. The sampled transect spanned 5° latitude (ca. 900 km) and exhibited a four-fold precipitation gradient and 2 °C variation in mean annual temperature. We found that leaf P concentration increased with precipitation towards lower latitudes, whereas N and C did not exhibit latitudinal clines. In addition, N:P and C:P decreased towards lower latitudes and latitudinal variation in the former was weakly associated with soil conditions (clay content and cation exchange capacity); C:N did not exhibit a latitudinal gradient. Overall, these results emphasize the importance of addressing and disentangling the simultaneous effects of abiotic factors associated with intra-specific clines in plant stoichiometric traits, and highlight the previously underappreciated influence of abiotic factors on plant nutrients operating under sharp abiotic gradients over smaller spatial scales.

  16. Differential responses of soil bacteria, fungi, archaea and protists to plant species richness and plant functional group identity.

    PubMed

    Dassen, Sigrid; Cortois, Roeland; Martens, Henk; de Hollander, Mattias; Kowalchuk, George A; van der Putten, Wim H; De Deyn, Gerlinde B

    2017-08-01

    Plants are known to influence belowground microbial community structure along their roots, but the impacts of plant species richness and plant functional group (FG) identity on microbial communities in the bulk soil are still not well understood. Here, we used 454-pyrosequencing to analyse the soil microbial community composition in a long-term biodiversity experiment at Jena, Germany. We examined responses of bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protists to plant species richness (communities varying from 1 to 60 sown species) and plant FG identity (grasses, legumes, small herbs, tall herbs) in bulk soil. We hypothesized that plant species richness and FG identity would alter microbial community composition and have a positive impact on microbial species richness. Plant species richness had a marginal positive effect on the richness of fungi, but we observed no such effect on bacteria, archaea and protists. Plant species richness also did not have a large impact on microbial community composition. Rather, abiotic soil properties partially explained the community composition of bacteria, fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), archaea and protists. Plant FG richness did not impact microbial community composition; however, plant FG identity was more effective. Bacterial richness was highest in legume plots and lowest in small herb plots, and AMF and archaeal community composition in legume plant communities was distinct from that in communities composed of other plant FGs. We conclude that soil microbial community composition in bulk soil is influenced more by changes in plant FG composition and abiotic soil properties, than by changes in plant species richness per se. © 2017 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Soil properties discriminating Araucaria forests with different disturbance levels.

    PubMed

    Bertini, Simone Cristina Braga; Azevedo, Lucas Carvalho Basilio; Stromberger, Mary E; Cardoso, Elke Jurandy Bran Nogueira

    2015-04-01

    Soil biological, chemical, and physical properties can be important for monitoring soil quality under one of the most spectacular vegetation formation on Atlantic Forest Biome, the Araucaria Forest. Our aim was to identify a set of soil variables capable of discriminating between disturbed, reforested, and native Araucaria forest soils such that these variables could be used to monitor forest recovery and maintenance. Soil samples were collected at dry and rainy season under the three forest types in two state parks at São Paulo State, Brazil. Soil biological, chemical, and physical properties were evaluated to verify their potential to differentiate the forest types, and discriminant analysis was performed to identify the variables that most contribute to the differentiation. Most of physical and chemical variables were sensitive to forest disturbance level, but few biological variables were significantly different when comparing native, reforested, and disturbed forests. Despite more than 20 years following reforestation, the reforested soils were chemically and biologically distinct from native and disturbed forest soils, mainly because of the greater acidity and Al3+ content of reforested soil. Disturbed soils, in contrast, were coarser in texture and contained greater concentrations of extractable P. Although biological properties are generally highly sensitive to disturbance and amelioration efforts, the most important soil variables to discriminate forest types in both seasons included Al3+, Mg2+, P, and sand, and only one microbial attribute: the NO2- oxidizers. Therefore, these five variables were the best candidates, of the variables we employed, for monitoring Araucaria forest disturbance and recovery.

  18. Spatial characterization of soil properties and influence in soil formation in oak-grassland of Sierra Morena, S Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Román-Sánchez, Andrea; Cáceres, Francisco; Pédèches, Remi; Giráldez Cervera, Juan Vicente; Vanwalleghem, Tom

    2016-04-01

    The Mediterranean oak-grassland ecosystem is very important for the rural economy and for the biodiversity of south-western European countries like Spain and Portugal. Nevertheless these ecosystems are not well characterized especially their soils. In this report soil carbon has been evaluated and related to other properties. The principal factors controlling the structure, productivity and evolution of forest ecosystems are bedrock, climate, relief, vegetation and time. Soil carbon has an important influence in the soil and ecosystem structures. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between relief, soil properties, spatial distribution of soil carbon and their influence in soil formation and geomorphology. This work is part of another study which aims to elucidate the processes involved in the soil formation and to examine their behaviour on long-term with a modelling. In our study area, located in oak-grassland of Sierra Morena, in Cordoba, S Spain, have been studied 67 points at 6 depths in 262 hectares in order to determine carbon content varying between 0-6%, soil properties such as soil depth between 0-4 m, horizon depth and the rocks amount in surface. The relationship between the soil carbon, soil properties and the relief characteristic like slope, aspect, curvature can shed light the processes that affect the mechanisms of bedrock weathering and their interrelationship with geomorphological processes.

  19. Vascular plants mediate the effects of aridity and soil properties on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea.

    PubMed

    Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel; Gallardo, Antonio; Wallenstein, Matthew D; Maestre, Fernando T

    2013-08-01

    An integrated perspective of the most important factors driving the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) in natural ecosystems is lacking, especially in drylands. We evaluated how different climatic, abiotic, and nutrient-related factors determine AOA and AOB abundance in bare and vegetated microsites from grasslands throughout the Mediterranean Basin. We found a strong negative relationship between the abundance of AOA genes and soil fertility (availability of C, N, and P). Aridity and other abiotic factors (pH, sand content, and electrical conductivity) were more important than soil fertility in modulating the AOA/AOB ratio. AOB were more abundant under vegetated microsites, while AOA, highly resistant to stressful conditions, were more abundant in bare ground areas. These results suggest that AOA may carry out nitrification in less fertile microsites, while AOB predominate under more fertile conditions. Our results indicate that the influence of aridity and pH on the relative dominance of AOA and AOB genes is ultimately determined by local-scale environmental changes promoted by perennial vegetation. Thus, in spatially heterogeneous ecosystems such as drylands, there is a mutual exclusion and niche division between these microorganisms, suggesting that they may be functionally complementary. © 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Comparing hydraulic properties of soil-less substrates with natural soils: a more detailed look at hydraulic properties and their impact on plant water availability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crawford, L.; Rivera, L. D.; van Iersel, M.

    2013-12-01

    Moisture release curves are often used when assessing plant-water relationships in soil-less substrates. However, differences between natural soils and soilless substrates make traditional assumptions about plant available water potentially invalid. If soil-less substrates are supposed to be treated like natural soils; why do plants begin wilting at very low water potentials (-10 to -30 kPa) and there is anywhere between 20 to 40 % water left (on a volumetric basis) in the soil (Abad et al., 2005; Arguedas et al., 2006; Ristvey et al, 2008) . We hypothesize that the fault lies in the methods used and the assumption that water potential is the only limiting factor in water availability to plants. Hydraulic properties, including the relationships that exist between plant available water, water content, and hydraulic conductivity of soil-less substrates have traditionally been characterized using instrumentation such as pressure plates, hanging water columns, and tempe cells. These approaches typically take a months and only provide data on select segments of the soil moisture release curve, and in the case of pressure plates and hanging water columns hydraulic conductivity is ignored and not very well understood. Using the Wind/Schindler Evaporation method more detailed measurements of these hydraulic properties can be measured in a less than a week. A more detailed look at the hydraulic properties of soil-less substrates and how they compare with natural soils may give us more insight into soil-plant-water-relations and what limits availability of water to plants. Soil moisture release curves and hydraulic conductivity curves of different soil-less substrates were compared with curves from typical agriculture soils to give insight into how these properties compare. Results of the soil moisture release curves showed that some soil-less substrates had comparable moisture release curves to agricultural soils while others had bi-modal curves indicating gap-gradation in

  1. Soil property maps of Africa at 250 m resolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kempen, Bas; Hengl, Tomislav; Heuvelink, Gerard B. M.; Leenaars, Johan G. B.; Walsh, Markus G.; MacMillan, Robert A.; Mendes de Jesus, Jorge S.; Shepherd, Keith; Sila, Andrew; Desta, Lulseged T.; Tondoh, Jérôme E.

    2015-04-01

    Vast areas of arable land in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from low soil fertility and physical soil constraints, and significant amounts of nutrients are lost yearly due to unsustainable soil management practices. At the same time it is expected that agriculture in Africa must intensify to meet the growing demand for food and fiber the next decades. Protection and sustainable management of Africa's soil resources is crucial to achieve this. In this context, comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date soil information is an essential input to any agricultural or environmental management or policy and decision-making model. In Africa, detailed soil information has been fragmented and limited to specific zones of interest for decades. To help bridge the soil information gap in Africa, the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project was established in 2008. AfSIS builds on recent advances in digital soil mapping, infrared spectroscopy, remote sensing, (geo)statistics, and integrated soil fertility management to improve the way soils are evaluated, mapped, and monitored. Over the period 2008-2014, the AfSIS project has compiled two soil profile data sets (about 28,000 unique locations): the Africa Soil Profiles (legacy) database and the AfSIS Sentinel Site (new soil samples) database -- the two data sets represent the most comprehensive soil sample database of the African continent to date. In addition a large set of high-resolution environmental data layers (covariates) was assembled. The point data were used in the AfSIS project to generate a set of maps of key soil properties for the African continent at 250 m spatial resolution: sand, silt and clay fractions, bulk density, organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH, cation-exchange capacity, exchangeable bases (Ca, K, Mg, Na), exchangeable acidity, and Al content. These properties were mapped for six depth intervals up to 2 m: 0-5 cm, 5-15 cm, 15-30 cm, 30-60 cm, 60-100 cm, and 100-200 cm. Random forests modelling was used to

  2. Effects of biochar amendment on geotechnical properties of landfill cover soil.

    PubMed

    Reddy, Krishna R; Yaghoubi, Poupak; Yukselen-Aksoy, Yeliz

    2015-06-01

    Biochar is a carbon-rich product obtained when plant-based biomass is heated in a closed container with little or no available oxygen. Biochar-amended soil has the potential to serve as a landfill cover material that can oxidise methane emissions for two reasons: biochar amendment can increase the methane retention time and also enhance the biological activity that can promote the methanotrophic oxidation of methane. Hydraulic conductivity, compressibility and shear strength are the most important geotechnical properties that are required for the design of effective and stable landfill cover systems, but no studies have been reported on these properties for biochar-amended landfill cover soils. This article presents physicochemical and geotechnical properties of a biochar, a landfill cover soil and biochar-amended soils. Specifically, the effects of amending 5%, 10% and 20% biochar (of different particle sizes as produced, size-20 and size-40) to soil on its physicochemical properties, such as moisture content, organic content, specific gravity and pH, as well as geotechnical properties, such as hydraulic conductivity, compressibility and shear strength, were determined from laboratory testing. Soil or biochar samples were prepared by mixing them with 20% deionised water based on dry weight. Samples of soil amended with 5%, 10% and 20% biochar (w/w) as-is or of different select sizes, were also prepared at 20% initial moisture content. The results show that the hydraulic conductivity of the soil increases, compressibility of the soil decreases and shear strength of the soil increases with an increase in the biochar amendment, and with a decrease in biochar particle size. Overall, the study revealed that biochar-amended soils can possess excellent geotechnical properties to serve as stable landfill cover materials. © The Author(s) 2015.

  3. Relationship between sugarcane rust severity and soil properties in louisiana.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Richard M; Grisham, Michael P; Richard, Edward P

    2007-06-01

    ABSTRACT The extent of spatial and temporal variability of sugarcane rust (Puccinia melanocephala) infestation was related to variation in soil properties in five commercial fields of sugarcane (interspecific hybrids of Saccharum spp., cv. LCP 85-384) in southern Louisiana. Sugarcane fields were grid-soil sampled at several intensities and rust ratings were collected at each point over 6 to 7 weeks. Soil properties exhibited significant variability (coefficients of variation = 9 to 70.1%) and were spatially correlated in 39 of 40 cases with a range of spatial correlation varying from 39 to 201 m. Rust ratings were spatially correlated in 32 of 33 cases, with a range varying from 29 to 241 m. Rust ratings were correlated with several soil properties, most notably soil phosphorus (r = 0.40 to 0.81) and soil sulfur (r = 0.36 to 0.68). Multiple linear regression analysis resulted in coefficients of determination that ranged from 0.22 to 0.73, and discriminant analysis further improved the overall predictive ability of rust models. Finally, contour plots of soil properties and rust levels clearly suggested a link between these two parameters. These combined data suggest that sugarcane growers that apply fertilizer in excess of plant requirements will increase the incidence and severity of rust infestations in their fields.

  4. Changes in ectomycorrhizal fungal community composition and declining diversity along a 2-million-year soil chronosequence.

    PubMed

    Albornoz, Felipe E; Teste, François P; Lambers, Hans; Bunce, Michael; Murray, Dáithí C; White, Nicole E; Laliberté, Etienne

    2016-10-01

    Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities covary with host plant communities along soil fertility gradients, yet it is unclear whether this reflects changes in host composition, fungal edaphic specialization or priority effects during fungal community establishment. We grew two co-occurring ECM plant species (to control for host identity) in soils collected along a 2-million-year chronosequence representing a strong soil fertility gradient and used soil manipulations to disentangle the effects of edaphic properties from those due to fungal inoculum. Ectomycorrhizal fungal community composition changed and richness declined with increasing soil age; these changes were linked to pedogenesis-driven shifts in edaphic properties, particularly pH and resin-exchangeable and organic phosphorus. However, when differences in inoculum potential or soil abiotic properties among soil ages were removed while host identity was held constant, differences in ECM fungal communities and richness among chronosequence stages disappeared. Our results show that ECM fungal communities strongly vary during long-term ecosystem development, even within the same hosts. However, these changes could not be attributed to short-term fungal edaphic specialization or differences in fungal inoculum (i.e. density and composition) alone. Rather, they must reflect longer-term ecosystem-level feedback between soil, vegetation and ECM fungi during pedogenesis. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Key indicator tools for shallow slope failure assessment using soil chemical property signatures and soil colour variables.

    PubMed

    Othman, Rashidi; Hasni, Shah Irani; Baharuddin, Zainul Mukrim; Hashim, Khairusy Syakirin Has-Yun; Mahamod, Lukman Hakim

    2017-10-01

    Slope failure has become a major concern in Malaysia due to the rapid development and urbanisation in the country. It poses severe threats to any highway construction industry, residential areas, natural resources and tourism activities. The extent of damages that resulted from this catastrophe can be lessened if a long-term early warning system to predict landslide prone areas is implemented. Thus, this study aims to characterise the relationship between Oxisols properties and soil colour variables to be manipulated as key indicators to forecast shallow slope failure. The concentration of each soil property in slope soil was evaluated from two different localities that consist of 120 soil samples from stable and unstable slopes located along the North-South Highway (PLUS) and East-West Highway (LPT). Analysis of variance established highly significant difference (P < 0.0001) between the locations, the total organic carbon (TOC), soil pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil texture, soil chromaticity and all combinations of interactions. The overall CIELAB analysis leads to the conclusion that the CIELAB variables lightness L*, c* (Chroma) and h* (Hue) provide the most information about soil colour and other related soil properties. With regard to the relationship between colour variables and soil properties, the analysis detected that soil texture, organic carbon, iron oxide and aluminium concentration were the key factors that strongly correlate with soil colour variables at the studied area. Indicators that could be used to predict shallow slope failure were high value of L*(62), low values of c* (20) and h* (66), low concentration of iron (53 mg kg -1 ) and aluminium oxide (37 mg kg -1 ), low soil TOC (0.5%), low CEC (3.6 cmol/kg), slightly acidic soil pH (4.9), high amount of sand fraction (68%) and low amount of clay fraction (20%).

  6. Comparison of field and laboratory VNIR spectroscopy for profile soil property estimation

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In-field, in-situ data collection with soil sensors has potential to improve the efficiency and accuracy of soil property estimates. Optical diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) has been used to estimate important soil properties, such as soil carbon, nitrogen, water content, and texture. Most pre...

  7. Soil Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Paddy-Upland Rotation: A Review

    PubMed Central

    Lv, Teng-Fei; Chen, Yong; Westby, Anthony P.; Ren, Wan-Jun

    2014-01-01

    Paddy-upland rotation is an unavoidable cropping system for Asia to meet the increasing demand for food. The reduction in grain yields has increased the research interest on the soil properties of rice-based cropping systems. Paddy-upland rotation fields are unique from other wetland or upland soils, because they are associated with frequent cycling between wetting and drying under anaerobic and aerobic conditions; such rotations affect the soil C and N cycles, make the chemical speciation and biological effectiveness of soil nutrient elements varied with seasons, increase the diversity of soil organisms, and make the soil physical properties more difficult to analyze. Consequently, maintaining or improving soil quality at a desirable level has become a complicated issue. Therefore, fully understanding the soil characteristics of paddy-upland rotation is necessary for the sustainable development of the system. In this paper, we offer helpful insight into the effect of rice-upland combinations on the soil chemical, physical, and biological properties, which could provide guidance for reasonable cultivation management measures and contribute to the improvement of soil quality and crop yield. PMID:24995366

  8. Exploring the spatial variability of soil properties in an Alfisol Catena

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rosemary, F.; Vitharana, U. W. A.; Indraratne, S. P.

    Detailed digital soil maps showing the spatial heterogeneity of soil properties consistent with the landscape are required for site-specific management of plant nutrients, land use planning and process-based environmental modeling. We characterized the short-scale spatial heterogeneity of soil properties in an Alfisol catena in a tropical landscape of Sri Lanka. The impact of different land-uses (paddy, vegetable and un-cultivated) was examined to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities on the variability of soil properties at the catenary level. Conditioned Latin hypercube sampling was used to collect 58 geo-referenced topsoil samples (0–30 cm) from the study area. Soil samples were analyzedmore » for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and texture. The spatial correlation between soil properties was analyzed by computing crossvariograms and subsequent fitting of theoretical model. Spatial distribution maps were developed using ordinary kriging. The range of soil properties, pH: 4.3–7.9; EC: 0.01–0.18 dS m –1 ; OC: 0.1–1.37%; CEC: 0.44– 11.51 cmol (+) kg –1 ; clay: 1.5–25% and sand: 59.1–84.4% and their coefficient of variations indicated a large variability in the study area. Electrical conductivity and pH showed a strong spatial correlation which was reflected by the cross-variogram close to the hull of the perfect correlation. Moreover, cross-variograms calculated for EC and Clay, CEC and OC, CEC and clay and CEC and pH indicated weak positive spatial correlation between these properties. Relative nugget effect (RNE) calculated from variograms showed strongly structured spatial variability for pH, EC and sand content (RNE < 25%) while CEC, organic carbon and clay content showed moderately structured spatial variability (25% < RNE < 75%). Spatial dependencies for examined soil properties ranged from 48 to 984 m. The mixed effects model fitting followed by Tukey's post-hoc test showed

  9. Effects of golf course management on subsurface soil properties in Iowa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Streeter, Matthew T.; Schilling, Keith E.

    2018-05-01

    Currently, in the USA and especially in the Midwest region, urban expansion is developing turfgrass landscapes surrounding commercial sites, homes, and recreational areas on soils that have been agriculturally managed for decades. Often, golf courses are at the forefront of conversations concerning anthropogenic environmental impacts as they account for some of the most intensively managed soils in the world. Iowa golf courses provide an ideal location to evaluate whether golf course management is affecting the quality of soils at depth. Our study evaluated how soil properties relating to soil health and resiliency varied with depth at golf courses across Iowa and interpreted relationships of these properties to current golf course management, previous land use, and inherent soil properties. Systematic variation in soil properties including sand content, NO3, and soil organic matter (SOM) were observed with depth at six Iowa golf courses among three landform regions. Variability in sand content was identified between the 20 and 50 cm depth classes at all courses, where sand content decreased by as much as 37 %. Highest concentrations of SOM and NO3 were found in the shallowest soils, whereas total C and P variability was not related to golf course management. Sand content and NO3 were found to be directly related to golf course management, particularly at shallow depths. The effects of golf course management dissipated with depth and deeper soil variations were primarily due to natural geologic conditions. The two abovementioned soil properties were very noticeably altered by golf course management and may directly impact crop productivity, soil health, and water quality, and while NO3 may be altered relatively quickly in soil through natural processes, particle size of the soil may not be altered without extensive mitigation. Iowa golf courses continue to be developed in areas of land use change from historically native prairies and more recently agriculture to

  10. Abiotic processes are insufficient for fertile island development: A 10-year artificial shrub experiment in a desert grassland

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The relative importance of biotic and abiotic processes in the development of “fertile islands” in dryland systems has rarely been investigated. Here we approached this question by using artificial shrubs, which exclude plant litter production and soil nutrient uptake, but retain the functions of tr...

  11. Effects of soil properties on copper toxicity to earthworm Eisenia fetida in 15 Chinese soils.

    PubMed

    Duan, Xiongwei; Xu, Meng; Zhou, Youya; Yan, Zengguang; Du, Yanli; Zhang, Lu; Zhang, Chaoyan; Bai, Liping; Nie, Jing; Chen, Guikui; Li, Fasheng

    2016-02-01

    The bioavailability and toxicity of metals in soil are influenced by a variety of soil properties, and this principle should be recognized in establishing soil environmental quality criteria. In the present study, the uptake and toxicity of Cu to the earthworm Eisenia fetida in 15 Chinese soils with various soil properties were investigated, and regression models for predicting Cu toxicity across soils were developed. The results showed that earthworm survival and body weight change were less sensitive to Cu than earthworm cocoon production. The soil Cu-based median effective concentrations (EC50s) for earthworm cocoon production varied from 27.7 to 383.7 mg kg(-1) among 15 Chinese soils, representing approximately 14-fold variation. Soil cation exchange capacity and organic carbon content were identified as key factors controlling Cu toxicity to earthworm cocoon production, and simple and multiple regression models were developed for predicting Cu toxicity across soils. Tissue Cu-based EC50s for earthworm cocoon production were also calculated and varied from 15.5 to 62.5 mg kg(-1) (4-fold variation). Compared to the soil Cu-based EC50s for cocoon production, the tissue Cu-based EC50s had less variation among soils, indicating that metals in tissue were more relevant to toxicity than metals in soil and hence represented better measurements of bioavailability. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Influence of site and soil properties on the DRIFT spectra of northern cold-region soils

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    We investigated the influence of site characteristics and soil properties on the chemical composition of organic matter in soils collected from a latitudinal transect across Alaska through analysis of diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform mid infrared (MidIR) spectra of bulk soils. The stud...

  13. Using Remote Sensing Platforms to Estimate Near-Surface Soil Properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sullivan, D. G.; Shaw, J. N.; Rickman, D.; Mask, P. L.; Wersinger, J. M.; Luvall, J.

    2003-01-01

    Evaluation of near-surface soil properties via remote sensing (RS) could facilitate soil survey mapping, erosion prediction, fertilization regimes, and allocation of agrochemicals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between soil spectral signature and near surface soil properties in conventionally managed row crop systems. High resolution RS data were acquired over bare fields in the Coastal Plain, Appalachian Plateau, and Ridge and Valley provinces of Alabama using the Airborne Terrestrial Applications Sensor (ATLAS) multispectral scanner. Soils ranged from sandy Kandiudults to fine textured Rhodudults. Surface soil samples (0-1 cm) were collected from 163 sampling points for soil water content, soil organic carbon (SOC), particle size distribution (PSD), and citrate dithionite extractable iron (Fed) content. Surface roughness, soil water content, and crusting were also measured at sampling. Results showed RS data acquired from lands with less than 4 % surface soil water content best approximated near-surface soil properties at the Coastal Plain site where loamy sand textured surfaces were predominant. Utilizing a combination of band ratios in stepwise regression, Fed (r2 = 0.61), SOC (r2 = 0.36), sand (r2 = 0.52), and clay (r2 = 0.76) were related to RS data at the Coastal Plain site. In contrast, the more clayey Ridge and Valley soils had r-squares of 0.50, 0.36, 0.17, and 0.57. for Fed, SOC, sand and clay, respectively. Use of estimated eEmissivity did not generally improve estimates of near-surface soil attributes.

  14. Predicting radiocaesium sorption characteristics with soil chemical properties for Japanese soils.

    PubMed

    Uematsu, Shinichiro; Smolders, Erik; Sweeck, Lieve; Wannijn, Jean; Van Hees, May; Vandenhove, Hildegarde

    2015-08-15

    The high variability of the soil-to-plant transfer factor of radiocaesium (RCs) compels a detailed analysis of the radiocaesium interception potential (RIP) of soil, which is one of the specific factors ruling the RCs transfer. The range of the RIP values for agricultural soils in the Fukushima accident affected area has not yet been fully surveyed. Here, the RIP and other major soil chemical properties were characterised for 51 representative topsoils collected in the vicinity of the Fukushima contaminated area. The RIP ranged a factor of 50 among the soils and RIP values were lower for Andosols compared to other soils, suggesting a role of soil mineralogy. Correlation analysis revealed that the RIP was most strongly and negatively correlated to soil organic matter content and oxalate extractable aluminium. The RIP correlated weakly but positively to soil clay content. The slope of the correlation between RIP and clay content showed that the RIP per unit clay was only 4.8 mmol g(-1) clay, about threefold lower than that for clays of European soils, suggesting more amorphous minerals and less micaceous minerals in the clay fraction of Japanese soils. The negative correlation between RIP and soil organic matter may indicate that organic matter can mask highly selective sorption sites to RCs. Multiple regression analysis with soil organic matter and cation exchange capacity explained the soil RIP (R(2)=0.64), allowing us to map soil RIP based on existing soil map information. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. A comparison of indexing methods to evaluate quality of soils subjected to different erosion: the role of soil microbiological properties.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Romaniuk, Romina; Lidia, Giuffre; Alejandro, Costantini; Norberto, Bartoloni; Paolo, Nannipieri

    2010-05-01

    Soil quality assessment is needed to evaluate the soil conditions and sustainability of soil and crop management properties, and thus requires a systematic approach to select and interpret soil properties to be used as indicators. The aim of this work was to evaluate and compare different indexing methods to assess quality of an undisturbed grassland soil (UN), a degraded pasture soil (GL) and a no tilled soil (NT) with four different A horizon depths (25, 23, 19 and 14 cm) reflecting a diverse erosion. Twenty four soil properties were measured from 0 to10 (1) and 10 to 20 cm. (2) and a minimum data set was chosen by multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) considering all measured soil properties together (A), or according to their classification in physical, chemical or microbiological (B) properties. The measured soil properties involved either inexpensive or not laborious standard protocols, to be used in routine laboratory analysis (simple soil quality index - SSQI), or a more laborious, time consuming and expensive protocols to determine microbial diversity and microbial functionality by methyl ester fatty acids (PLFA) and catabolic response profiles (CRP), respectively (complex soil quality index - CSQI). The selected properties were linearly normalized and integrated by the weight additive method to calculate SSQI A, SSQI B, CSQI A and CSQI B indices. Two microbiological soil quality indices (MSQI) were also calculated: the MSQI 1 only considered microbiological properties according to the procedure used for calculating SQI; the MSQI 2 was calculated by considering microbial carbon biomass (MCB), microbial activity (Resp) and functional diversity determined by CPR (E). The soil quality indices were SSQI A = MCB 1 + Particulate Organic Carbon (POC)1 + Mean Weight Diameter (MWD)1; SSQI B = Saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) 1 + Total Organic Carbon (TOC) 1 + MCB 1; CSQI A = MCB 1 + POC 1 + MWD 1; CSQI B = K 1+ TOC 1+ 0.3 * (MCB 1+ i/a +POC 1) + 0

  16. Effects of Abiotic and Biotic Stresses on the Internalization and Dissemination of Human Norovirus Surrogates in Growing Romaine Lettuce

    PubMed Central

    DiCaprio, Erin; Purgianto, Anastasia

    2015-01-01

    Human norovirus (NoV) is the major causative agent of fresh-produce-related outbreaks of gastroenteritis; however, the ecology and persistence of human NoV in produce systems are poorly understood. In this study, the effects of abiotic and biotic stresses on the internalization and dissemination of two human NoV surrogates (murine norovirus 1 [MNV-1] and Tulane virus [TV]) in romaine lettuce were determined. To induce abiotic stress, romaine lettuce was grown under drought and flood conditions that mimic extreme weather events, followed by inoculation of soil with MNV-1 or TV. Independently, lettuce plants were infected with lettuce mosaic virus (LMV) to induce biotic stress, followed by inoculation with TV. Plants were grown for 14 days, and viral titers in harvested tissues were determined by plaque assays. It was found that drought stress significantly decreased the rates of both MNV-1 and TV internalization and dissemination. In contrast, neither flood stress nor biotic stress significantly impacted viral internalization or dissemination. Additionally, the rates of TV internalization and dissemination in soil-grown lettuce were significantly higher than those for MNV-1. Collectively, these results demonstrated that (i) human NoV surrogates can be internalized via roots and disseminated to shoots and leaves of romaine lettuce grown in soil, (ii) abiotic stress (drought) but not biotic stress (LMV infection) affects the rates of viral internalization and dissemination, and (iii) the type of virus affects the efficiency of internalization and dissemination. This study also highlights the need to develop effective measures to eliminate internalized viruses in fresh produce. PMID:25956773

  17. Plant Communities Rather than Soil Properties Structure Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities along Primary Succession on a Mine Spoil

    PubMed Central

    Krüger, Claudia; Kohout, Petr; Janoušková, Martina; Püschel, David; Frouz, Jan; Rydlová, Jana

    2017-01-01

    Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) community assembly during primary succession has so far received little attention. It remains therefore unclear, which of the factors, driving AMF community composition, are important during ecosystem development. We addressed this question on a large spoil heap, which provides a mosaic of sites in different successional stages under different managements. We selected 24 sites of c. 12, 20, 30, or 50 years in age, including sites with spontaneously developing vegetation and sites reclaimed by alder plantations. On each site, we sampled twice a year roots of the perennial rhizomatous grass Calamagrostis epigejos (Poaceae) to determine AMF root colonization and diversity (using 454-sequencing), determined the soil chemical properties and composition of plant communities. AMF taxa richness was unaffected by site age, but AMF composition variation increased along the chronosequences. AMF communities were unaffected by soil chemistry, but related to the composition of neighboring plant communities of the sampled C. epigejos plants. In contrast, the plant communities of the sites were more distinctively structured than the AMF communities along the four successional stages. We conclude that AMF and plant community successions respond to different factors. AMF communities seem to be influenced by biotic rather than by abiotic factors and to diverge with successional age. PMID:28473828

  18. Soil carbon and soil physical properties response to incorporating mulched forest slash

    Treesearch

    Felipe G. Sanchez; Emily A. Carter; John. F. Klepac

    2000-01-01

    A study was installed in the Lower Coastal Plain near Washington, NC, to test the hypothesis that incorporating organic matter in the form of comminuted forest slash would increase soil carbon and nutrient pools, and alter soil physical properties to favor pine growth. Two sites were selected, an organic and a mineral site, to compare the treatment effects on...

  19. Mapping patterns of soil properties and soil moisture using electromagnetic induction to investigate the impact of land use changes on soil processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robinet, Jérémy; von Hebel, Christian; van der Kruk, Jan; Govers, Gerard; Vanderborght, Jan

    2016-04-01

    As highlighted by many authors, classical or geophysical techniques for measuring soil moisture such as destructive soil sampling, neutron probes or Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) have some major drawbacks. Among other things, they provide point scale information, are often intrusive and time-consuming. ElectroMagnetic Induction (EMI) instruments are often cited as a promising alternative hydrogeophysical methods providing more efficiently soil moisture measurements ranging from hillslope to catchment scale. The overall objective of our research project is to investigate whether a combination of geophysical techniques at various scales can be used to study the impact of land use change on temporal and spatial variations of soil moisture and soil properties. In our work, apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) patterns are obtained with an EM multiconfiguration system. Depth profiles of ECa were subsequently inferred through a calibration-inversion procedure based on TDR data. The obtained spatial patterns of these profiles were linked to soil profile and soil water content distributions. Two catchments with contrasting land use (agriculture vs. natural forest) were selected in a subtropical region in the south of Brazil. On selected slopes within the catchments, combined EMI and TDR measurements were carried out simultaneously, under different atmospheric and soil moisture conditions. Ground-truth data for soil properties were obtained through soil sampling and auger profiles. The comparison of these data provided information about the potential of the EMI technique to deliver qualitative and quantitative information about the variability of soil moisture and soil properties.

  20. Effects of poultry manure on soil biochemical properties in phthalic acid esters contaminated soil.

    PubMed

    Gao, Jun; Qin, Xiaojian; Ren, Xuqin; Zhou, Haifeng

    2015-12-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the effects of poultry manure (PM) on soil biological properties in DBP- and DEHP-contaminated soils. An indoor incubation experiment was conducted. Soil microbial biomass C (Cmic), soil enzymatic activities, and microbial phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) concentrations were measured during incubation period. The results indicated that except alkaline phosphatase activity, DBP and DEHP had negative effects on Cmic, dehydrogenase, urease, protease activities, and contents of total PLFA. However, 5 % PM treatment alleviated the negative effects of PAEs on the above biochemical parameters. In DBP-contaminated soil, 5 % PM amendment even resulted in dehydroenase activity and Cmic content increasing by 17.8 and 11.8 % on the day 15 of incubation, respectively. During the incubation periods, the total PLFA contents decreased maximumly by 17.2 and 11.6 % in DBP- and DEHP-contaminated soils without PM amendments, respectively. Compared with those in uncontaminated soil, the total PLFA contents increased slightly and the value of bacPLFA/fugalPLFA increased significantly in PAE-contaminated soils with 5 % PM amendment. Nevertheless, in both contaminated soils, the effects of 5 % PM amendment on the biochemical parameters were not observed with 10 % PM amendment. In 10 % PM-amended soils, DBP and DEHP had little effect on Cmic, soil enzymatic activities, and microbial community composition. At the end of incubation, the effects of PAEs on these parameters disappeared, irrespective of PM amendment. The application of PM ameliorated the negative effect of PAEs on soil biological environment. However, further work is needed to study the effect of PM on soil microbial gene expression in order to explain the change mechanisms of soil biological properties.

  1. Effects of olive mill wastes added to olive grove soils on erosion and soil properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lozano-García, Beatriz; Parras-Alcántara, Luis

    2014-05-01

    INTRODUCTION The increasing degradation of olive groves by effect of organic matter losses derived from intensive agricultural practices has promoted the use (by olive farmers) of olive mill wastes (olive leaves and alperujo) which contain large amounts of organic matter and are free of heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms. In this work we compared the effects of these oil mill wastes on the decrease of soil erosion, also, we undertook the assessment of the organic carbon and nitrogen contents of soil, their distribution across the profile, the accumulation and Stratification ratios (SRs) of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN), and the C:N ratio, in Cambisols in Mediterranean olive groves treated with olive leaves and alperujo. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study area was a typical olive grove in southern Spain under conventional tillage (CT). Three plots were established. The first one was the control plot; the second one was treated with olive leaves (CTol) and the third one, with alperujo (CTa). 9 samples per plot were collected to examine the response of the soil 3 years after application of the wastes. Soil properties determined were: soil particle size, pH, bulk density, the available water capacity, SOC, TN and C:N ratio. SOC and N stock, expressed for a specific depth in Mg ha-1. Stratification ratios (SRs) (that can be used as an indicator of dynamic soil quality) for SOC and TN at three different depths were calculated. The erosion study was based on simulations of rain; that have been carried out in order to highlight differences in the phenomena of runoff and soil losses in the three plots considered. The effect of different treatments on soil properties was analyzed using a ANOVA, followed by an Anderson-Darling test. RESULTS Supplying the soil with the wastes significantly improved physical and chemical properties in the studied soils with respect to the control. C and N stocks increased, the SOC stock was 75.4 Mg ha-1 in CT, 91.5 Mg

  2. Predicting macropores in space and time by earthworms and abiotic controls

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hohenbrink, Tobias Ludwig; Schneider, Anne-Kathrin; Zangerlé, Anne; Reck, Arne; Schröder, Boris; van Schaik, Loes

    2017-04-01

    Macropore flow increases infiltration and solute leaching. The macropore density and connectivity, and thereby the hydrological effectiveness, vary in space and time due to earthworms' burrowing activity and their ability to refill their burrows in order to survive drought periods. The aim of our study was to predict the spatiotemporal variability of macropore distributions by a set of potentially controlling abiotic variables and abundances of different earthworm species. We measured earthworm abundances and effective macropore distributions using tracer rainfall infiltration experiments in six measurement campaigns during one year at six field sites in Luxembourg. Hydrologically effective macropores were counted in three soil depths (3, 10, 30 cm) and distinguished into three diameter classes (<2, 2-6, >6 mm). Earthworms were sampled and determined to species-level. In a generalized linear modelling framework, we related macropores to potential spatial and temporal controlling factors. Earthworm species such as Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea longa, local abiotic site conditions (land use, TWI, slope), temporally varying weather conditions (temperature, humidity, precipitation) and soil moisture affected the number of effective macropores. Main controlling factors and explanatory power of the models (uncertainty and model performance) varied depending on the depth and diameter class of macropores. We present spatiotemporal predictions of macropore density by daily-resolved, one year time series of macropore numbers and maps of macropore distributions at specific dates in a small-scale catchment with 5 m resolution.

  3. Organic and inorganic amendment application on mercury-polluted soils: effects on soil chemical and biochemical properties.

    PubMed

    García-Sánchez, Mercedes; Klouza, Martin; Holečková, Zlata; Tlustoš, Pavel; Száková, Jiřina

    2016-07-01

    On the basis of a previous study performed in our laboratory, the use of organic and inorganic amendments can significantly modify the Hg mobility in soil. We have compared the effectiveness of organic and inorganic amendments such as digestate and fly ash, respectively, reducing the Hg mobility in Chernozem and Luvisol soils differing in their physicochemical properties. Hence, the aim of this work was to compare the impact of digestate and fly ash application on the chemical and biochemical parameters in these two mercury-contaminated soils in a model batch experiment. Chernozem and Luvisol soils were artificially contaminated with Hg and then incubated under controlled conditions for 21 days. Digestate and fly ash were applied to both soils in a dose of 10 and 1.5 %, respectively, and soil samples were collected after 1, 7, 14, and 21 days of incubation. The presence of Hg in both soils negatively affected to processes such as nitrification, provoked a decline in the soil microbial biomass C (soil microbial biomass C (MBC)), and the microbial activities (arylsulfatase, and β-glucosaminidase) in both soils. Meanwhile, the digestate addition to Chernozem and Luvisol soils contaminated with Hg improved the soil chemical properties (pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), N (Ntot), inorganic-N forms (N-NH4 (+) and N-NO3 (-))), as consequence of high content in C and N contained in digestate. Likewise, the soil MBC and soil microbial activities (dehydrogenase, arylsulfatase, and β-glucosaminidase) were greatly enhanced by the digestate application in both soils. In contrast, fly ash application did not have a remarkable positive effect when compared to digestate in Chernozem and Luvisol soil contaminated with mercury. These results may indicate that the use of organic amendments such as digestate considerably improved the soil health in Chernozem and Luvisol compared with fly ash, alleviating the detrimental impact of Hg. Probably, the chemical properties present in

  4. Elucidating the Role of Carbon Sources on Abiotic and Biotic Release of Arsenic into Cambodian Aquifers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koeneke, M.

    2017-12-01

    Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring contaminant in Cambodia that has been contaminating well-water sources of millions of people. Commonly, studies look into the biotic factors that cause the arsenic to be released from aquifer sediments to groundwater. However, abiotic release of As from sediments, though little studied, may also play key roles in As contamination of well water. The goal of this research is to quantitatively compare organic-carbon mediated abiotic and biotic release of arsenic from sediments to groundwater. Batch anaerobic incubation experiments under abiotic (sodium azide used to immobilize microbes) and biotic conditions were conducted using Cambodian aquifer sediments, four different organic carbon sources (sodium lactate, sodium citrate, sodium oxalate, and humic acid), and six different carbon concentrations (0, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 25mg C/L). Dissolved arsenic, iron(Fe), and manganese(Mn) concentrations in the treatments were measured 112 days . In addition, sediment and solution carbon solution was measured . Collectively, these show how different carbon sources, different carbon concentrations, and how abiotic and biotic factors impact the release of arsenic from Cambodian sediments into aquifers. Overall, an introduction of organic carbon to the soil increases the amount of As released from the sediment. The biotic + abiotic and abiotic conditions seemed to play a minimal role in the amount of As released. Dissolved species analysis showed us that 100% of the As was As(V), Our ICP-MS results vary due to the heterogeneity of samples, but when high levels are Fe are seen in solution, we also see high levels of As. We also see higher As concentrations when there is a smaller amount of Mn in solution.

  5. Cokriging of Electromagnetic Induction Soil Electrical Conductivity Measurements and Soil Textural Properties to Demarcate Sub-field Management Zones for Precision Irrigation.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ding, R.; Cruz, L.; Whitney, J.; Telenko, D.; Oware, E. K.

    2017-12-01

    There is the growing need for the development of efficient irrigation management practices due to increasing irrigation water scarcity as a result of growing population and changing climate. Soil texture primarily controls the water-holding capacity of soils, which determines the amount of irrigation water that will be available to the plant. However, while there are significant variabilities in the textural properties of the soil across a field, conventional irrigation practices ignore the underlying variability in the soil properties, resulting in over- or under-irrigation. Over-irrigation leaches plant nutrients beyond the root-zone leading to fertilizer, energy, and water wastages with dire environmental consequences. Under-irrigation, in contrast, causes water stress of the plant, thereby reducing plant quality and yield. The goal of this project is to leverage soil textural map of a field to create water management zones (MZs) to guide site-specific precision irrigation. There is increasing application of electromagnetic induction methods to rapidly and inexpensively map spatially continuous soil properties in terms of the apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) of the soil. ECa is a measure of the bulk soil properties, including soil texture, moisture, salinity, and cation exchange capacity, making an ECa map a pseudo-soil map. Data for the project were collected from a farm site at Eden, NY. The objective is to leverage high-resolution ECa map to predict spatially dense soil textural properties from limited measurements of soil texture. Thus, after performing ECa mapping, we conducted particle-size analysis of soil samples to determine the textural properties of soils at selected locations across the field. We cokriged the high-resolution ECa measurements with the sparse soil textural data to estimate a soil texture map for the field. We conducted irrigation experiments at selected locations to calibrate representative water-holding capacities of each

  6. The Effects of Abiotic Factors on Induced Volatile Emissions in Corn Plants1

    PubMed Central

    Gouinguené, Sandrine P.; Turlings, Ted C.J.

    2002-01-01

    Many plants respond to herbivory by releasing a specific blend of volatiles that is attractive to natural enemies of the herbivores. In corn (Zea mays), this induced odor blend is mainly composed of terpenoids and indole. The induced signal varies with plant species and genotype, but little is known about the variation due to abiotic factors. Here, we tested the effect of soil humidity, air humidity, temperature, light, and fertilization rate on the emission of induced volatiles in young corn plants. Each factor was tested separately under constant conditions for the other factors. Plants released more when standing in dry soil than in wet soil, whereas for air humidity, the optimal release was found at around 60% relative humidity. Temperatures between 22°C and 27°C led to a higher emission than lower or higher temperatures. Light intensity had a dramatic effect. The emission of volatiles did not occur in the dark and increased steadily with an increase in the light intensity. An experiment with an unnatural light-dark cycle showed that the release was fully photophase dependent. Fertilization also had a strong positive effect; the emission of volatiles was minimal when plants were grown under low nutrition, even when results were corrected for plant biomass. Changes in all abiotic factors caused small but significant changes in the relative ratios among the different compounds (quality) in the induced odor blends, except for air humidity. Hence, climatic conditions and nutrient availability can be important factors in determining the intensity and variability in the release of induced plant volatiles. PMID:12114583

  7. Interactions of Soil Order and Land Use Management on Soil Properties in the Kukart Watershed, Kyrgyzstan

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Surveys of soil properties related to soil functioning for many regions of Kyrgyzstan are limited. This study established ranges of selected chemical [soil organic matter (SOM), pH and total N (TN)], physical (soil texture), and biochemical (six enzyme activities of C, N, P and S cycling) character...

  8. Estimating Infiltration Rates for a Loessal Silt Loam Using Soil Properties

    Treesearch

    M. Dean Knighton

    1978-01-01

    Soil properties were related to infiltration rates as measured by single-ringsteady-head infiltometers. The properties showing strong simple correlations were identified. Regression models were developed to estimate infiltration rate from several soil properties. The best model gave fair agreement to measured rates at another location.

  9. Alteration of soil hydraulic properties and soil water repellency by fire and vegetation succession in a sagebrush steppe ecosystem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chandler, D. G.; Seyfried, M. S.

    2016-12-01

    This study explores the impacts of fire and plant community succession on soil water repellency (SWR) and infiltration properties to improve understanding the long term impacts of prescribed fire on SWR and infiltration properties in sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. The objectives of this study were: 1) To explore the temporal effects of prescribed burning in sagebrush dominated landscape; 2) To investigate spatial variability of soil hydrologic properties; 3) To determine the relationship among soil organic fraction, soil hydrophobicity and infiltration properties. Fieldwork was conducted in paired catchments with three dominant vegetation cover communities: Low sage, big mountain sage and aspen. Detailed, heavily replicated analyses were conducted for unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, sorptivity water drop penetration time and static soil-water-air contact angle. The results show that the severity and presence of surface soil water repellency were considerably reduced six years after fire and that hydraulic conductivity increased significantly in each vegetation cover compared to pre-burn condition. Comparisons among soil hydrological properties shows that hydraulic conductivity is not strongly related to SWR, and that sorptivity is negatively correlated with SWR. The spatial variance of hydraulic properties within the burned high sage and low sage, in particularly, spatial variability of hydraulic conductivity is basically controlled by soil texture and sorptivity is affected by soil wettability. The average water repellency in Low Sage area was significantly different with Big Sage and Aspen as the gap of organic content between Low Sage and other vegetation area. The result of contact angle measurement and organic content analysis shows a strong positive correlation between SWR and organic matter.

  10. Alder (Alnus crispa) effects on soils in ecosystems of the Agashashok River valley, northwest Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rhoades, Charles; Oskarsson, Hlynur; Binkley, Dan; Stottlemeyer, Robert

    2001-01-01

    At the northern limit of the boreal forest biome, alder (Alnus crispa [Ait.] Pursh) shrubs occur in a variety of ecosystems. We assessed the effects of individual alder shrubs on soil properties and understory plant tissue nitrogen in floodplain terraces, valley slopes and tussock tundra ridges. The three ecosystems differed with respect to soil properties and abiotic conditions and supported distinct plant communities. Alder increased resin-exchangeable soil N and NO3 production significantly in each ecosystem. The greatest difference between alder canopy and surrounding soil NO3 measured both under field and laboratory conditions occurred in floodplain sites. The shrub effect on soil pH and soil organic matter was greatest on tundra ridges. Alder shrubs also influenced the nitrogen nutrition of plants growing beneath their canopies. Plants growing below alder canopies had higher foliar nitrogen concentration and natural abundance 15N composition and lower carbon to nitrogen ratio than open-grown plants. Similar to soil N availability, understory plant leaf chemistry responded more to alder on floodplains than on slope or tundra ecosystems. This pattern suggests that understory plants rely more heavily on alder-fixed-N in this resource-poor ecosystem.

  11. Short-term responses of soil nitrogen mineralization, nitrification and denitrification to prescribed burning in a suburban forest ecosystem of subtropical Australia.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Manyun; Wang, Weijin; Wang, Dianjie; Heenan, Marijke; Xu, Zhihong

    2018-06-17

    As an anthropogenic disturbance, prescribed burning may alter the biogeochemistries of nutrients, including nitrogen (N) cycling, in forest ecosystems. This study aimed to examine the changes in N mineralization, nitrification and denitrification rates following prescribed burning in a suburban forest located in subtropical Australia and assess the interactive relationships among soil properties, functional gene abundances and N transformation rates. After a prescribed burning event, soil pH value increased, but soil labile carbon and mineral N contents decreased. Net N mineralization rates, potential nitrification rates and ammonium-oxidizing archaea and bacteria (AOA and AOB) amoA gene abundances in the soils all increased after 3 months of the prescribed burning. However, the abundances of different functional genes related to denitrification changed differently after the prescribed burning. The net N mineralization rates could be best described by soil abiotic properties, rather than functional gene abundances. In contrast, potential denitrification rates were positively related to soil nirK gene abundances. Potential nitrification rates could be influenced by both soil chemical and microbial properties. The results revealed that the prescribed burning might increase N mineralization and nitrification rates in the forest soil. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Increases in soil aggregation following phosphorus additions in a tropical premontane forest are not driven by root and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal abundances

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Camenzind, Tessa; Papathanasiou, Helena; Foerster, Antje; Dietrich, Karla; Hertel, Dietrich; Homeier, Juergen; Oelmann, Yvonne; Olsson, Pål Axel; Suárez, Juan; Rillig, Matthias

    2015-12-01

    Tropical ecosystems have an important role in global change scenarios, in part because they serve as a large terrestrial carbon pool. Carbon protection is mediated by soil aggregation processes, whereby biotic and abiotic factors influence the formation and stability of aggregates. Nutrient additions may affect soil structure indirectly by simultaneous shifts in biotic factors, mainly roots and fungal hyphae, but also via impacts on abiotic soil properties. Here, we tested the hypothesis that soil aggregation will be affected by nutrient additions primarily via changes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) hyphae and root length in a pristine tropical forest system. Therefore, the percentage of water-stable macroaggregates (> 250µm) (WSA) and the soil mean weight diameter (MWD) was analyzed, as well as nutrient contents, pH, root length and AMF abundance. Phosphorus additions significantly increased the amount of WSA, which was consistent across two different sampling times. Despite a positive effect of phosphorus additions on extraradical AMF biomass, no relationship between WSA and extra-radical AMF nor roots was revealed by regression analyses, contrary to the proposed hypothesis. These findings emphasize the importance of analyzing soil structure in understudied tropical systems, since it might be affected by increasing nutrient deposition expected in the future.

  13. Unravelling Linkages between Plant Community Composition and the Pathogen-Suppressive Potential of Soils

    PubMed Central

    Latz, Ellen; Eisenhauer, Nico; Rall, Björn Christian; Scheu, Stefan; Jousset, Alexandre

    2016-01-01

    Plant diseases cause dramatic yield losses worldwide. Current disease control practices can be deleterious for the environment and human health, calling for alternative and sustainable management regimes. Soils harbour microorganisms that can efficiently suppress pathogens. Uncovering mediators driving their functioning in the field still remains challenging, but represents an essential step in order to develop strategies for increased soil health. We set up plant communities of varying richness to experimentally test the potential of soils differing in plant community history to suppress the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. The results indicate that plant communities shape soil-disease suppression via changes in abiotic soil properties and the abundance of bacterial groups including species of the genera Actinomyces, Bacillus and Pseudomonas. Further, the results suggest that pairwise interactions between specific plant species strongly affect soil suppressiveness. Using structural equation modelling, we provide a pathway orientated framework showing how the complex interactions between plants, soil and microorganisms jointly shape soil suppressiveness. Our results stress the importance of plant community composition as a determinant of soil functioning, such as the disease suppressive potential of soils. PMID:27021053

  14. The influence of water-soluble As(III) and As(V) on dehydrogenase activity in soils affected by mine tailings.

    PubMed

    Fernández, Pilar; Sommer, Irene; Cram, Silke; Rosas, Irma; Gutiérrez, Margarita

    2005-09-15

    Dehydrogenase activity (DHA) in soils contaminated by arsenic-bearing tailings was correlated with total arsenic and total water-soluble arsenic (As(III)+As(V)) to evaluate the impact of tailings dispersion on the oxidative capacity of soil microorganisms. Georeferenced surface soil samples (0-10 cm depth) were collected at different distances from a tailings dam. In the samples farthest from the dam, all water-soluble arsenic (avg. 0.6+/-0.1 mg kg(-1)) was As(V). The highest concentration of water-soluble As(III)+As(V) (>1.9 mg kg(-1)) was found where As(III) was present. DHA averaged 438.9+/-79.3 microg INTF g(-1) h(-1) at the greatest distance from the dam and decreased to 92.3+/-27.1 microg INTF g(-1) h(-1) with decreasing distance from the dam. Pearson correlation coefficient between DHA and samples containing water-soluble As(V) (r=-0.87) was greater than that between DHA and total water-soluble arsenic (r=-0.57). The correlation between DHA and soluble arsenic containing both As(V) and As(III) was not significant (r=0.24). In soils with detectable As(III) concentrations where wet conditions prevail (i.e., reducing conditions), there is an abiotic response in addition to a biotic one. The correlation between DHA and total water-soluble As(III)+ As(V) was higher (r=-0.79) when the abiotic response was excluded. Our study demonstrated the importance of distinguishing between total and available fraction and its species and the need to evaluate biological functions in addition to purely geochemical analyses. DHA bioassay combined with other microbial properties offers a good tool for evaluating soil microbial activity and status and is a suitable indicator of the oxidative capacity of soil microorganisms affected by tailings in an oxidizing environment; however, under reducing conditions, abiotic responses must also be studied.

  15. Soil fauna and soil microflora as possible indicators of soil pollution.

    PubMed

    Eijsackers, H

    1983-09-01

    Research on biological indicators of soil pollution is hampered by soil variability and temporal and spatial fluctuations of numbers of soil animals. These characters on the other hand promote a high biological diversity in the soil. A high diversity combined with persistent soil pollutants increases the chance to select good indicators. However research on these topics is still limited. Examples of specific indicators are the changed arthropod species patterns due to pesticide influence and the changed soil enzyme activity under the influence of specific heavy metals. Another approach is to look for organisms that give a general indication of soil pollution. In this respect the earthworm species Allolobophora caliginosa proved to be sensitive for different types of manure especially pig manure with copper, for sewage sludge, for municipal waste compost and for fly ash. A third way of indication is by organisms accumulating pollutants. For some heavy metals (Cd, Zn), earthworms are very efficient accumulators. More research is needed especially on the specific relation between biological responses and abiotic soil characteristics.

  16. Replacing fallow with cover crops in a semiarid soil: effects on soil properties

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Replacement of fallow in crop-fallow systems with cover crops (CCs) may improve soil properties. We assessed whether replacing fallow in no-till winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow with winter and spring CCs for five years reduced wind and water erosion, increased soil organic carbon (SOC), a...

  17. Replacing fallow with cover crops in a semiarid soil:Effects on soil properties

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Replacement of fallow in crop–fallow systems with cover crops (CCs) may improve soil properties. We assessed whether replacing fallow in no-till winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–fallow with winter and spring CCs for 5 years reduced wind and water erosion, increased soil organic carbon (SOC), and ...

  18. Cone-penetrometer exploration of sinkholes: Stratigraphy and soil properties

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bloomberg, D.; Upchurch, S.B.; Hayden, M.L.

    1988-10-01

    Four sinkholes with varying surficial expressions were subjected to detailed stratigraphic and soil analysis by means of Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) and Electric Friction Cone Penetration Tests (CPT) in order to evaluate applications of CPT to sinkhole investigations. Although widely used, SPT data are of limited value and difficult to apply to sinkhole mapping. CPT is sensitive to minor lithologic variability and is superior to SPT as a cost-effective technique for determining geotechnical properties of sinkholes. The effectiveness of CPT data results from the force measurements made along the sleeve of the cone. The friction ratio (ratio of sleeve tomore » tip resistance) is a good indicator of soil stratigraphy and properties. By smoothing the friction-ratio data, general stratigraphy and changes in soil properties are easily identified. Stratigraphy of the sinks has been complicated by intense weathering, karstification and marine transgressions. The resulting deposits include five stratigraphic units. 1 and 2 represent Plio-Pleistocene marine sediments with Unit 2 being the zone of soil clay accumulation. 3 and 4 are horizons residual from Miocene strata and indicate an episode of karstification prior to deposition of Units 1 and 2. CPT provides sufficient information for recognition of sinkhole stratigraphy and geotechnical properties. When coupled with laboratory soil analysis, CPT provides unique information about sinkhole geometry and dynamics. In contrast, SPT indicates general, inconclusive trends.« less

  19. Influence of Robinia pseudoacacia short rotation coppice on soil physical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xavier, Morvan; Isabelle, Bertrand; Gwenaelle, Gibaud

    2015-04-01

    Human activities can lead to the degradation of soil physical properties. For instance, machinery traffic across the land can induce the development of compacted areas at the wheel tracks. It leads to a decrease in porosity which results in a decrease of the hydraulic conductivity, and therefore, prevents water infiltration and promotes surface runoff. Land use, soil management and soil cover also have a significant influence on soil physical properties (Kodesova et al., 2011). In the arable land, surface runoff and soil erosion are enhanced by the absence of soil cover for part of the year and by the decrease of aggregate stability due to a decline of soil organic matter. In that context, few studies focused on the effects of a Robinia pseudoacacia short rotation coppice (SRC) on soil physical properties. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of the conversion of a grassland in a SRC on soil physical properties. These properties have also been compared to those of arable land and natural forest. For that, in several plots of the experimental farm of Grignon (30 km west of Paris, France), different measurements were performed: i) soil water retention on a pressure plate apparatus for 7 water potential between 0 and 1500 kPa, ii) bulk density using the method for gravelly and rocky soil recommended by the USDA, iii) aggregate stability using the method described in Le Bissonnais (1996), and iv) soil hydraulic conductivity using a Guelph permeameter. All these measurements were performed on the same soil type and on different land uses: arable land (AL), grassland (GL), natural forest (NF) and short rotation coppice (SRC) of Robinia pseudoacacia planted 5 years ago. Soil water retention measurements are still under progress and will be presented in congress. Bulk density measurements of the AL, GL and SRC are not significantly different. They ranged from 1.32 to 1.42. Only the NF measurements are significantly lower than the other (0.97). Aggregate

  20. Soil heating in chaparral fires: effects on soil properties, plant nutrients, erosion, and runoff

    Treesearch

    Leonard F. DeBano; Raymond M. Rice; Conrad C. Eugene

    1979-01-01

    This state-of-the-art report summarizes what is known about the effects of heat on soil during chaparral fires. It reviews the literature on the effects of such fires on soil properties, availabilty and loss of plant nutrients, soil wettability, erosion, and surface runoff. And it reports new data collected during recent prescribed burns and a wildfire in southern...

  1. GEMAS: Unmixing magnetic properties of European agricultural soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fabian, Karl; Reimann, Clemens; Kuzina, Dilyara; Kosareva, Lina; Fattakhova, Leysan; Nurgaliev, Danis

    2016-04-01

    High resolution magnetic measurements provide new methods for world-wide characterization and monitoring of agricultural soil which is essential for quantifying geologic and human impact on the critical zone environment and consequences of climatic change, for planning economic and ecological land use, and for forensic applications. Hysteresis measurements of all Ap samples from the GEMAS survey yield a comprehensive overview of mineral magnetic properties in European agricultural soil on a continental scale. Low (460 Hz), and high frequency (4600 Hz) magnetic susceptibility k were measured using a Bartington MS2B sensor. Hysteresis properties were determined by a J-coercivity spectrometer, built at the paleomagnetic laboratory of Kazan University, providing for each sample a modified hysteresis loop, backfield curve, acquisition curve of isothermal remanent magnetization, and a viscous IRM decay spectrum. Each measurement set is obtained in a single run from zero field up to 1.5 T and back to -1.5 T. The resulting data are used to create the first continental-scale maps of magnetic soil parameters. Because the GEMAS geochemical atlas contains a comprehensive set of geochemical data for the same soil samples, the new data can be used to map magnetic parameters in relation to chemical and geological parameters. The data set also provides a unique opportunity to analyze the magnetic mineral fraction of the soil samples by unmixing their IRM acquisition curves. The endmember coefficients are interpreted by linear inversion for other magnetic, physical and chemical properties which results in an unprecedented and detailed view of the mineral magnetic composition of European agricultural soils.

  2. Calibration of Noah soil hydraulic property parameters using surface soil moisture from SMOS and basin-wide in situ observations

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Soil hydraulic properties can be retrieved from physical sampling of soil, via surveys, but this is time consuming and only as accurate as the scale of the sample. Remote sensing provides an opportunity to get pertinent soil properties at large scales, which is very useful for large scale modeling....

  3. Green ambrosia for Soil- Dry Cow Dung Powder: Rhexistasy to Biostasy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bagla, Hemlata; Barot, Nisha

    2013-04-01

    "Greener ambrosia for Soil - Dry cow dung powder: Rhexistasy to Biostasy" Pedosphere, the soil with its biotic and abiotic component, is produced by lithosphere`s interactions with atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. The theory of Biorhexistasy proposed by pedologist H. Erhart [1], describes two crucial climatic phases of soil i.e. Biostasy, period of soil formation and Rhexistasy, periods of soil erosion. Humus, the organic matter in soil, permits better aeration, enhances the absorption and releases nutrients, and makes the soil less susceptible to leaching and erosion [2], thus the agent of soil`s vitality. Mismanagement of soil, leads to the degradation of millions of acres of land through erosion, compaction, salinization and acidification. Among these threats salinity is a major abiotic stress reducing the yield of wide variety of crops all over the world [3]. It is been proved that Humic Acid (HA) treatment can ameliorate the deleterious effects of salt stress by increasing root growth, altering mineral uptake, and decreasing membrane damage, thus inducing salt tolerance in plants [4]. HA can be inexpensively incorporated into soils via different biowastes. Dry cow dung powder (DCP), is naturally available bio-organic, complex, polymorphic humified fecal matter, enriched with minerals, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, bile pigments, aliphatic - aromatic species such as HA, Fulvic Acid (FA) etc [5]. The microbial consortium enables DCP with considerable potentials for biodegradation and biotransformation of even saline soil and further contributes to many biogeochemical processes, boosting humus content of soil. Due to unambiguous biological, microbiological as well as chemical inert properties of DCP, it has been successfully utilized as a fertilizer and soil conditioner since ages in India, one of the leading agrarian countries of the world. Thus we summarize that DCP is one of the best contenders for the biostasy and desaliner of soil, aptly, soil`s

  4. Using Remotely-Sensed Estimates of Soil Moisture to Infer Soil Texture and Hydraulic Properties across a Semi-arid Watershed

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Santanello, Joseph A.; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Garcia, Matthew E.; Mocko, David M.; Tischler, Michael A.; Moran, M. Susan; Thoma, D. P.

    2007-01-01

    Near-surface soil moisture is a critical component of land surface energy and water balance studies encompassing a wide range of disciplines. However, the processes of infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration in the vadose zone of the soil are not easy to quantify or predict because of the difficulty in accurately representing soil texture and hydraulic properties in land surface models. This study approaches the problem of parameterizing soils from a unique perspective based on components originally developed for operational estimation of soil moisture for mobility assessments. Estimates of near-surface soil moisture derived from passive (L-band) microwave remote sensing were acquired on six dates during the Monsoon '90 experiment in southeastern Arizona, and used to calibrate hydraulic properties in an offline land surface model and infer information on the soil conditions of the region. Specifically, a robust parameter estimation tool (PEST) was used to calibrate the Noah land surface model and run at very high spatial resolution across the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed. Errors in simulated versus observed soil moisture were minimized by adjusting the soil texture, which in turn controls the hydraulic properties through the use of pedotransfer functions. By estimating a continuous range of widely applicable soil properties such as sand, silt, and clay percentages rather than applying rigid soil texture classes, lookup tables, or large parameter sets as in previous studies, the physical accuracy and consistency of the resulting soils could then be assessed. In addition, the sensitivity of this calibration method to the number and timing of microwave retrievals is determined in relation to the temporal patterns in precipitation and soil drying. The resultant soil properties were applied to an extended time period demonstrating the improvement in simulated soil moisture over that using default or county-level soil parameters. The methodology is also

  5. Microbiological soil properties after logging and slash burning.

    Treesearch

    Ernest Wright

    1957-01-01

    Considerable study has been made of the effects of logging and slash burning on chemical and physical properties of forest soils. However, little is known of the effect of such operations on microbiological properties.

  6. Impact of long-term tillage and manure application on soil physical properties

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Soil physical properties play an integral role in maintaining soil quality for sustainable agricultural practices. Agronomic practices such as tillage systems and organic amendments have been shown to influence soil physical properties. Thus, a study was conducted to evaluate effects of long-term ma...

  7. Biochar alters the resistance and resilience to drought in a tropical soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liang, Chenfei; Zhu, Xiaolin; Fu, Shenglei; Méndez, Ana; Gascó, Gabriel; Paz-Ferreiro, Jorge

    2014-05-01

    Soil microbes play a key role in nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Global change can alter soil microbial population composition and behavior. Biochar addition has been explored in the last years as a way to mitigate global warming. However, responses of microbial communities to biochar addition in particular in relation to abiotic disturbances are seldom documented. An example of these disturbances, which is predicted to be exacerbated with global warming, is regional drought. It has been known that fungal-based food webs are more resistant to drought than their bacterial counterparts. Our study found that biochar addition can increase the resistance of both the bacterial and fungal networks to drought. Contrary to expected, this result was not related to a change in the dominance of fungal or bacteria. In general, soil amended with biochar was characterized by a faster recovery of soil microbial properties to its basal values. Biochar addition to the soil also suppressed the Birch effect, a result that has not been previously reported.

  8. Some aspects of interrelations between fungi and other biota in forest soil.

    PubMed

    Krivtsov, Vladimir; Griffiths, Bryan S; Salmond, Ross; Liddell, Keith; Garside, Adam; Bezginova, Tanya; Thompson, Jacqueline A; Staines, Harry J; Watling, Roy; Palfreyman, John W

    2004-08-01

    Interrelations of fungal mycelium with other soil biota are of paramount importance in forestry and soil ecology. Here we present the results of statistical analysis of a comprehensive data set collected in the first (and the only) British fungus sanctuary over a period of four months. The variables studied included a number of soil properties, bacteria, protozoan flagellates, ciliates and amoebae, microbial and plant feeding nematodes, various microarthropods, and two fungal biomarkers--glomalin and ergosterol. One way ANOVA showed that the dynamics of the microbiota studied was influenced by seasonal changes. Superimposed on these changes, however, was variability due to biological interactions and habitat characteristics. Two fungal biomarkers, ergosterol and glomalin, were differently influenced by other biota and abiotic variables. The results indicate that the dynamics of soil fungi is influenced not only by soil microarthropods, but also by those found in forest litter. The overall outcome, therefore, is likely to be very complex and will depend upon specific conditions of any particular ecosystem.

  9. Influence of site and soil properties on the DRIFT spectra of northern cold-region soils [Influence of site and soil properties on the mid-infrared spectra of northern cold-region soils

    DOE PAGES

    Matamala, Roser; Calderon, Francisco J.; Jastrow, Julie D.; ...

    2017-06-05

    Here, we investigated the influence of site characteristics and soil properties on the chemical composition of organic matter in soils collected from a latitudinal transect across Alaska through analysis of diffuse reflectance Fourier transform mid infrared (MidIR) spectra of bulk soils. The study included 119 soil samples collected from 28 sites including tundra, boreal forest, and grassland ecosystems. Organic, mineral, and cryoturbated soil horizons, both seasonally and perennially frozen, from a variety of depths and edaphic conditions were examined. The amount and chemical composition of organic matter as well as site and soil properties exerted a strong influence on themore » MidIR spectra. The spectra were highly sensitive to the extent of organic matter decomposition, enabling the ordination of Oi, Oe and Oa organic horizons. Differences in absorbance intensity for several spectral bands indicated that Oi horizons contained greater abundance of relatively fresh residues, phenolic-OH compounds, aliphatic compounds (waxes, lipids and fats), and carbohydrates. In contrast, Oa horizons had a greater presence of amide groups (possibly from microbial residues), aromatics, C=C bonds, carboxylates and carboxylic acids. Another significant factor differentiating these horizons was the incorporation of clays and silicates into the decomposing organic matter of Oa horizons. Calculated height peak ratios showed a clear trend to greater decomposition among Oi, Oe and Oa. The MidIR spectra were related to many site/soil attributes including land cover type, parent material, and associated factors, such as permafrost presence/absence, soil drainage, horizon depth, bulk density, cation exchange capacity, and pH. Single MidIR spectral bands were identified that might be used in future studies to quickly estimate the organic and inorganic carbon, total nitrogen, and carbon:nitrogen ratios of soils from northern latitudes. Lastly, our results demonstrate that the

  10. Influence of site and soil properties on the DRIFT spectra of northern cold-region soils [Influence of site and soil properties on the mid-infrared spectra of northern cold-region soils

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Matamala, Roser; Calderon, Francisco J.; Jastrow, Julie D.

    Here, we investigated the influence of site characteristics and soil properties on the chemical composition of organic matter in soils collected from a latitudinal transect across Alaska through analysis of diffuse reflectance Fourier transform mid infrared (MidIR) spectra of bulk soils. The study included 119 soil samples collected from 28 sites including tundra, boreal forest, and grassland ecosystems. Organic, mineral, and cryoturbated soil horizons, both seasonally and perennially frozen, from a variety of depths and edaphic conditions were examined. The amount and chemical composition of organic matter as well as site and soil properties exerted a strong influence on themore » MidIR spectra. The spectra were highly sensitive to the extent of organic matter decomposition, enabling the ordination of Oi, Oe and Oa organic horizons. Differences in absorbance intensity for several spectral bands indicated that Oi horizons contained greater abundance of relatively fresh residues, phenolic-OH compounds, aliphatic compounds (waxes, lipids and fats), and carbohydrates. In contrast, Oa horizons had a greater presence of amide groups (possibly from microbial residues), aromatics, C=C bonds, carboxylates and carboxylic acids. Another significant factor differentiating these horizons was the incorporation of clays and silicates into the decomposing organic matter of Oa horizons. Calculated height peak ratios showed a clear trend to greater decomposition among Oi, Oe and Oa. The MidIR spectra were related to many site/soil attributes including land cover type, parent material, and associated factors, such as permafrost presence/absence, soil drainage, horizon depth, bulk density, cation exchange capacity, and pH. Single MidIR spectral bands were identified that might be used in future studies to quickly estimate the organic and inorganic carbon, total nitrogen, and carbon:nitrogen ratios of soils from northern latitudes. Lastly, our results demonstrate that the

  11. Spatial relationships among cereal yields and selected soil physical and chemical properties.

    PubMed

    Lipiec, Jerzy; Usowicz, Bogusław

    2018-08-15

    Sandy soils occupy large area in Poland (about 50%) and in the world. This study aimed at determining spatial relationships of cereal yields and the selected soil physical and chemical properties in three study years (2001-2003) on low productive sandy Podzol soil (Podlasie, Poland). The yields and soil properties in plough and subsoil layers were determined at 72-150 points. The test crops were: wheat, wheat and barley mixture and oats. To explore the spatial relationship between cereal yields and each soil property spatial statistics was used. The best fitting models were adjusted to empirical semivariance and cross-semivariance, which were used to draw maps using kriging. Majority of the soil properties and crop yields exhibited low and medium variability (coefficient of variation 5-70%). The effective ranges of the spatial dependence (the distance at which data are autocorrelated) for yields and all soil properties were 24.3-58.5m and 10.5-373m, respectively. Nugget to sill ratios showed that crop yields and soil properties were strongly spatially dependent except bulk density. Majority of the pairs in cross-semivariograms exhibited strong spatial interdependence. The ranges of the spatial dependence varied in plough layer between 54.6m for yield×pH up to 2433m for yield×silt content. Corresponding ranges in subsoil were 24.8m for crop yield×clay content in 2003 and 1404m for yield×bulk density. Kriging maps allowed separating sub-field area with the lowest yield and soil cation exchange capacity, organic carbon content and pH. This area had lighter color on the aerial photograph due to high content of the sand and low content of soil organic carbon. The results will help farmers at identifying sub-field areas for applying localized management practices to improve these soil properties and further spatial studies in larger scale. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Dynamic soil properties in response to anthropogenic disturbance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vanacker, Veerle; Ortega, Raúl

    2013-04-01

    Anthropogenic disturbance of natural vegetation can profoundly alter the physical, chemical and biological processes within soils. Rapid removal of topsoil during intense farming can result in an imbalance between soil production through chemical weathering and physical erosion, with direct implications on local biogeochemical cycling. However, the feedbacks between soil erosion, chemical weathering and biogeochemical cycling in response to anthropogenic forcing are not yet fully understood. Here, we study dynamic soil properties for a rapidly changing anthropogenic landscape, and focus on the coupling between physical erosion, soil production and soil chemical weathering. The archaeological site of Santa Maria de Melque (Toledo, Central Spain) was selected for its remarkably long occupation history dating back to the 7th century AD. As part of the agricultural complex, four retention reservoirs were built in the Early Middle Ages. The sedimentary archive was used to track the evolution in sedimentation rates and geochemical properties of the sediment. Catchment-wide soil erosion rates vary slightly between the various occupation phases (7th century-now), but are of the same magnitude as the cosmogenic nuclide-derived erosion rates. However, there exists large spatial variation in physical erosion rates that are coupled with chemical weathering intensities. The sedimentary records suggest that there are important changes in the spatial pattern of sediment source areas through time as a result of changing land use patterns

  13. Determination of field-effective soil properties in the tidewater region of North Carolina

    Treesearch

    J. McFero Grace; R.W. Skaggs

    2013-01-01

    Soils vary spatially in texture, structure, depth of horizons, and macropores, which can lead to a large variation in soil physical properties. In particular, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and drainable porosity are critical properties required to model field hydrology in poorly drained lands. These soil-property values can be measured...

  14. Effect of sewage sludge hydrochar on soil properties and Cd immobilization in a contaminated soil.

    PubMed

    Ren, Jie; Wang, Fenghua; Zhai, Yunbo; Zhu, Yun; Peng, Chuan; Wang, Tengfei; Li, Caiting; Zeng, Guangming

    2017-12-01

    To investigate hydrochar as a soil amendment for the immobilization of Cd, the characteristics of hydrochars (HCs) under three temperatures and residence times, were studied, with a particular interest in soil properties, as well as the speciation, availability and plant uptake of Cd. HCs were obtained by a hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) reaction of sewage sludge (SS). Based on the study of HC properties, we found that HCs present weak acidity with relatively high ash content and low electrical conductivity (EC) values. The addition of HCs to soil decreased soil pH and EC values but increased the abundance of soil microorganism. HCs also promoted the transformation of Cd from unstable to stable speciation and can decrease the content of phyto-available Cd (optimum condition and efficiency: A13, 2 15.38%), which restrained cabbage from assimilating Cd from soil both the aboveground (optimum condition and efficiency: A35, 52.29%) and underground (optimum condition and efficiency: C15, 57.53%) parts of it. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Climate-change effects on soils: Accelerated weathering, soil carbon and elemental cycling

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Qafoku, Nikolla

    2015-04-01

    Climate change [i.e., high atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations (≥400 ppm); increasing air temperatures (2-4°C or greater); significant and/or abrupt changes in daily, seasonal, and inter-annual temperature; changes in the wet/dry cycles; intensive rainfall and/or heavy storms; extended periods of drought; extreme frost; heat waves and increased fire frequency] is and will significantly affect soil properties and fertility, water resources, food quantity and quality, and environmental quality. Biotic processes that consume atmospheric CO2, and create organic carbon (C) that is either reprocessed to CO2 or stored in soils are the subject of active current investigations, with great concern over themore » influence of climate change. In addition, abiotic C cycling and its influence on the inorganic C pool in soils is a fundamental global process in which acidic atmospheric CO2 participates in the weathering of carbonate and silicate minerals, ultimately delivering bicarbonate and Ca2+ or other cations that precipitate in the form of carbonates in soils or are transported to the rivers, lakes, and oceans. Soil responses to climate change will be complex, and there are many uncertainties and unresolved issues. The objective of the review is to initiate and further stimulate a discussion about some important and challenging aspects of climate-change effects on soils, such as accelerated weathering of soil minerals and resulting C and elemental fluxes in and out of soils, soil/geo-engineering methods used to increase C sequestration in soils, soil organic matter (SOM) protection, transformation and mineralization, and SOM temperature sensitivity. This review reports recent discoveries, identifies key research needs, and highlights opportunities offered by the climate-change effects on soils.« less

  16. Using IKONOS Imagery to Estimate Surface Soil Property Variability in Two Alabama Physiographies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sullivan, Dana; Shaw, Joey; Rickman, Doug

    2005-01-01

    Knowledge of surface soil properties is used to assess past erosion and predict erodibility, determine nutrient requirements, and assess surface texture for soil survey applications. This study was designed to evaluate high resolution IKONOS multispectral data as a soil- mapping tool. Imagery was acquired over conventionally tilled fields in the Coastal Plain and Tennessee Valley physiographic regions of Alabama. Acquisitions were designed to assess the impact of surface crusting, roughness and tillage on our ability to depict soil property variability. Soils consisted mostly of fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Plinthic Kandiudults at the Coastal Plain site and fine, kaolinitic, thermic Rhodic Paleudults at the Tennessee Valley site. Soils were sampled in 0.20 ha grids to a depth of 15 cm and analyzed for % sand (0.05 - 2 mm), silt (0.002 -0.05 mm), clay (less than 0.002 mm), citrate dithionite extractable iron (Fe(sub d)) and soil organic carbon (SOC). Four methods of evaluating variability in soil attributes were evaluated: 1) kriging of soil attributes, 2) co-kriging with soil attributes and reflectance data, 3) multivariate regression based on the relationship between reflectance and soil properties, and 4) fuzzy c-means clustering of reflectance data. Results indicate that co-kriging with remotely sensed data improved field scale estimates of surface SOC and clay content compared to kriging and regression methods. Fuzzy c-means worked best using RS data acquired over freshly tilled fields, reducing soil property variability within soil zones compared to field scale soil property variability.

  17. Scaling the flood regime with the soil hydraulic properties of the catchment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peña Rojas, Luis Eduardo; Francés García, Félix; Barrios Peña, Miguel

    2015-04-01

    The spatial land cover distribution and soil type affect the hydraulic properties of soils, facilitating or retarding the infiltration rate and the response of a catchment during flooding events. This research analyzes: 1) the effect of land cover use in different time periods as a source of annual maximum flood records nonstationarity; 2) the scalability of the relationship between soil hydraulic properties of the catchment (initial abstractions, upper soil capillary storage and vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivity) and the flood regime. The study was conducted in Combeima River basin in Colombia - South America and it was modelled the changes in the land uses registered in 1991, 2000, 2002 and 2007, using distributed hydrological modelling and nonparametric tests. The results showed that changes in land use affect hydraulic properties of soil and it has influence on the magnitude of flood peaks. What is a new finding is that this behavior is scalable with the soil hydraulic properties of the catchment flood moments have a simple scaling behavior and the peaks flow increases with higher values of capillary soil storage, whereas higher values, the peaks decreased. Finally it was applied Generalized Extreme Values and it was found scalable behavior in the parameters of the probability distribution function. The results allowed us to find a relationship between soil hydraulic properties and the behavior of flood regime in the basin studied.

  18. Transformation of soil organics under extreme climate events: a project description

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blagodatskaya, Evgenia

    2017-04-01

    Recent climate scenarios predict not only continued global warming but also an increased frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events such as strong changes in temperature and precipitation with unusual regional dynamics. Weather anomalies at European territory of Russia are currently revealed as long-term drought and strong showers in summer and as an increased frequency of soil freezing-thawing cycles. Climate extremes totally change biogeochemical processes and elements cycling both at the ecosystem level and at the level of soil profile mainly affecting soil biota. Misbalance in these processes can cause a reduction of soil carbon stock and an increase of greenhouse gases emission. Our project aims to reveal the transformation mechanisms of soil organic matter caused by extreme weather events taking into consideration the role of biotic-abiotic interactions in regulation of formation, maintenance and turnover of soil carbon stock. Our research strategy is based on the novel concept considering extreme climatic events (showers after long-term droughts, soil flooding, freezing-thawing) as abiotic factors initiating a microbial succession. Study on stoichiometric flexibility of plants under climate extremes as well as on resulting response of soil heterotrophs on stoichiometric changes in substrate will be used for experimental prove and further development of the theory of ecological stoichiometry. The results enable us to reveal the mechanisms of biotic - abiotic interactions responsible for the balance between mobilization and stabilization of soil organic matter. Identified mechanisms will form the basis of an ecosystem model enabled to predict the effects of extreme climatic events on biogenic carbon cycle in the biosphere.

  19. Soil profile property estimation with field and laboratory VNIR spectroscopy

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) soil sensors have the potential to provide rapid, high-resolution estimation of multiple soil properties. Although many studies have focused on laboratory-based visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy of dried soil samples, previous work has demonstrated ...

  20. Viscoelastic Properties of Soil with Different Ammonium Nitrate Addition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kawecka-Radomska, M.; Tomczyńska-Mleko, M.; Muszyńskic, S.; Wesołowska-Trojanowska, M.; Mleko, S.

    2017-12-01

    Four different soils samples were taken from not cultivated recreational places. Particle-size distribution and pH (in water and in 1 M KCl) of the soil samples were measured. Soil samples were saturated with deionized water and solution of ammonium nitrate with the concentration of 5, 50 or 500 mM for 3 days. The samples were analyzed using dynamic oscillatory rheometer by frequency and strain sweeps. Soil samples were similar to physical gels, as they presented rheological properties between those of a concentrated biopolymer and a true gel. 50 mM concentration of the salt was enough to make changes in the elasticity of the soils. Small concentration of the fertilizer caused weakening of the soil samples structure. Higher concentration of ammonium nitrate caused the increase in the moduli crossover strain value. For the loam sample taken from a playground, with the highest content of the particles <0.002 mm (clay aluminosilicates), the lowest value of strain was observed at the moduli intersection. Lower strain value was necessary for the sliding shear effect of soil A sample effecting transgression to the "flowing" state. Strain sweep moduli crossover point can be used as a determinant of the rheological properties of soil.

  1. Study of sandy soil grain-size distribution on its deformation properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Antropova, L. B.; Gruzin, A. V.; Gildebrandt, M. I.; Malaya, L. D.; Nikulina, V. B.

    2018-04-01

    As a rule, new oil and gas fields' development faces the challenges of providing construction objects with material and mineral resources, for example, medium sand soil for buildings and facilities footings of the technological infrastructure under construction. This problem solution seems to lie in a rational usage of the existing environmental resources, soils included. The study was made of a medium sand soil grain-size distribution impact on its deformation properties. Based on the performed investigations, a technique for controlling sandy soil deformation properties was developed.

  2. Effects of Abiotic and Biotic Stresses on the Internalization and Dissemination of Human Norovirus Surrogates in Growing Romaine Lettuce.

    PubMed

    DiCaprio, Erin; Purgianto, Anastasia; Li, Jianrong

    2015-07-01

    Human norovirus (NoV) is the major causative agent of fresh-produce-related outbreaks of gastroenteritis; however, the ecology and persistence of human NoV in produce systems are poorly understood. In this study, the effects of abiotic and biotic stresses on the internalization and dissemination of two human NoV surrogates (murine norovirus 1 [MNV-1] and Tulane virus [TV]) in romaine lettuce were determined. To induce abiotic stress, romaine lettuce was grown under drought and flood conditions that mimic extreme weather events, followed by inoculation of soil with MNV-1 or TV. Independently, lettuce plants were infected with lettuce mosaic virus (LMV) to induce biotic stress, followed by inoculation with TV. Plants were grown for 14 days, and viral titers in harvested tissues were determined by plaque assays. It was found that drought stress significantly decreased the rates of both MNV-1 and TV internalization and dissemination. In contrast, neither flood stress nor biotic stress significantly impacted viral internalization or dissemination. Additionally, the rates of TV internalization and dissemination in soil-grown lettuce were significantly higher than those for MNV-1. Collectively, these results demonstrated that (i) human NoV surrogates can be internalized via roots and disseminated to shoots and leaves of romaine lettuce grown in soil, (ii) abiotic stress (drought) but not biotic stress (LMV infection) affects the rates of viral internalization and dissemination, and (iii) the type of virus affects the efficiency of internalization and dissemination. This study also highlights the need to develop effective measures to eliminate internalized viruses in fresh produce. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  3. Estimation of soil hydraulic properties with microwave techniques

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oneill, P. E.; Gurney, R. J.; Camillo, P. J.

    1985-01-01

    Useful quantitative information about soil properties may be obtained by calibrating energy and moisture balance models with remotely sensed data. A soil physics model solves heat and moisture flux equations in the soil profile and is driven by the surface energy balance. Model generated surface temperature and soil moisture and temperature profiles are then used in a microwave emission model to predict the soil brightness temperature. The model hydraulic parameters are varied until the predicted temperatures agree with the remotely sensed values. This method is used to estimate values for saturated hydraulic conductivity, saturated matrix potential, and a soil texture parameter. The conductivity agreed well with a value measured with an infiltration ring and the other parameters agreed with values in the literature.

  4. Environmental and management impacts on temporal variability of soil hydraulic properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bodner, G.; Scholl, P.; Loiskandl, W.; Kaul, H.-P.

    2012-04-01

    Soil hydraulic properties underlie temporal changes caused by different natural and management factors. Rainfall intensity, wet-dry cycles, freeze-thaw cycles, tillage and plant effects are potential drivers of the temporal variability. For agricultural purposes it is important to determine the possibility of targeted influence via management. In no-till systems e.g. root induced soil loosening (biopores) is essential to counteract natural soil densification by settling. The present work studies two years of temporal evolution of soil hydraulic properties in a no-till crop rotation (durum wheat-field pea) with two cover crops (mustard and rye) having different root systems (taproot vs. fibrous roots) as well as a bare soil control. Soil hydraulic properties such as near-saturated hydraulic conductivity, flow weighted pore radius, pore number and macroporosity are derived from measurements using a tension infiltrometer. The temporal dynamics are then analysed in terms of potential driving forces. Our results revealed significant temporal changes of hydraulic conductivity. When approaching saturation, spatial variability tended to dominate over the temporal evolution. Changes in near-saturated hydraulic conductivity were mainly a result of changing pore number, while the flow weighted mean pore radius showed less temporal dynamic in the no-till system. Macroporosity in the measured range of 0 to -10 cm pressure head ranged from 1.99e-4 to 8.96e-6 m3m-3. The different plant coverage revealed only minor influences on the observed system dynamics. Mustard increased slightly the flow weighted mean pore radius, being 0.090 mm in mustard compared to 0.085 mm in bare soil and 0.084 mm in rye. Still pore radius changes were of minor importance for the overall temporal dynamics. Rainfall was detected as major driving force of the temporal evolution of structural soil hydraulic properties at the site. Soil hydraulic conductivity in the slightly unsaturated range (-7 cm to -10

  5. Visible-near infrared spectroscopy as a tool to improve mapping of soil properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Evgrafova, Alevtina; Kühnel, Anna; Bogner, Christina; Haase, Ina; Shibistova, Olga; Guggenberger, Georg; Tananaev, Nikita; Sauheitl, Leopold; Spielvogel, Sandra

    2017-04-01

    Spectroscopic measurements, which are non-destructive, precise and rapid, can be used to predict soil properties and help estimate the spatial variability of soil properties at the pedon scale. These estimations are required for quantifying soil properties with higher precision, identifying the changes in soil properties and ecosystem response to climate change as well as increasing the estimation accuracy of soil-related models. Our objectives were to (i) predict soil properties for nested samples (n = 296) using the laboratory-based visible-near infrared (vis-NIR) spectra of air-dried (<2 mm) soil samples and values of measured soil properties for gridded samples (n = 174) as calibration and validation sets; (ii) estimate the precision and predictive accuracy of an empirical spectral model using (a) our own spectral library and (b) the global spectral library; (iii) support the global spectral library with obtained vis-NIR spectral data on permafrost-affected soils. The soil samples were collected from three permafrost-affected soil profiles underlain by permafrost at various depths between 23 cm to 57.5 cm below the surface (Cryosols) and one soil profile with no presence of permafrost within the upper 100 cm layer (Cambisol) in order to characterize the spatial distribution and variability of soil properties. The gridded soil samples (n = 174) were collected using an 80 cm wide grid with a mesh size of 10 cm on both axes. In addition, 300 nested soil samples were collected using a grid of 12 cm by 12 cm (25 samples per grid) from a hole of 1 cm in a diameter with a distance from the next sample of 1 cm. Due to a small amount of available soil material (< 1.5 g), 296 nested soil samples were analyzed only using vis-NIR spectroscopy. The air-dried mineral gridded soil samples (n = 174) were sieved through a 2-mm sieve and ground with an agate mortar prior to the elemental analysis. The soil organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations (in %) were determined

  6. Environmental and management influences on temporal variability of near saturated soil hydraulic properties.

    PubMed

    Bodner, G; Scholl, P; Loiskandl, W; Kaul, H-P

    2013-08-01

    Structural porosity is a decisive property for soil productivity and soil environmental functions. Hydraulic properties in the structural range vary over time in response to management and environmental influences. Although this is widely recognized, there are few field studies that determine dominant driving forces underlying hydraulic property dynamics. During a three year field experiment we measured temporal variability of soil hydraulic properties by tension infiltrometry. Soil properties were characterized by hydraulic conductivity, effective macroporosity and Kosugi's lognormal pore size distribution model. Management related influences comprised three soil cover treatment (mustard and rye vs. fallow) and an initial mechanical soil disturbance with a rotary harrow. Environmental driving forces were derived from meteorological and soil moisture data. Soil hydraulic parameters varied over time by around one order of magnitude. The coefficient of variation of soil hydraulic conductivity K(h) decreased from 69.5% at saturation to 42.1% in the more unsaturated range (- 10 cm pressure head). A slight increase in the Kosugi parameter showing pore heterogeneity was observed under the rye cover crop, reflecting an enhanced structural porosity. The other hydraulic parameters were not significantly influenced by the soil cover treatments. Seedbed preparation with a rotary harrow resulted in a fourfold increase in macroporosity and hydraulic conductivity next to saturation, and homogenized the pore radius distribution. Re-consolidation after mechanical loosening lasted over 18 months until the soil returned to its initial state. The post-tillage trend of soil settlement could be approximated by an exponential decay function. Among environmental factors, wetting-drying cycles were identified as dominant driving force explaining short term hydraulic property changes within the season (r 2  = 0.43 to 0.59). Our results suggested that beside considering average

  7. Effects of Spatial Variability of Soil Properties on the Triggering of Rainfall-Induced Shallow Landslides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, Linfeng; Lehmann, Peter; Or, Dani

    2015-04-01

    Naturally-occurring spatial variations in soil properties (e.g., soil depth, moisture, and texture) affect key hydrological processes and potentially the mechanical response of soil to hydromechanical loading (relative to the commonly-assumed uniform soil mantle). We quantified the effects of soil spatial variability on the triggering of rainfall-induced shallow landslides at the hillslope- and catchment-scales, using a physically-based landslide triggering model that considers interacting soil columns with mechanical strength thresholds (represented by the Fiber Bundle Model). The spatial variations in soil properties are represented as Gaussian random distributions and the level of variation is characterized by the coefficient of variation and correlation lengths of soil properties (i.e., soil depth, soil texture and initial water content in this study). The impacts of these spatial variations on landslide triggering characteristics were measured by comparing the times to triggering and landslide volumes for heterogeneous soil properties and homogeneous cases. Results at hillslope scale indicate that for spatial variations of an individual property (without cross correlation), the increasing of coefficient of variation introduces weak spots where mechanical damage is accelerated and leads to earlier onset of landslide triggering and smaller volumes. Increasing spatial correlation length of soil texture and initial water content also induces early landslide triggering and small released volumes due to the transition of failure mode from brittle to ductile failure. In contrast, increasing spatial correlation length of soil depth "reduces" local steepness and postpones landslide triggering. Cross-correlated soil properties generally promote landslide initiation, but depending on the internal structure of spatial distribution of each soil property, landslide triggering may be reduced. The effects of cross-correlation between initial water content and soil texture

  8. Soil Properties, Nutrient Dynamics, and Soil Enzyme Activities Associated with Garlic Stalk Decomposition under Various Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Han, Xu; Cheng, Zhihui; Meng, Huanwen

    2012-01-01

    The garlic stalk is a byproduct of garlic production and normally abandoned or burned, both of which cause environmental pollution. It is therefore appropriate to determine the conditions of efficient decomposition, and equally appropriate to determine the impact of this decomposition on soil properties. In this study, the soil properties, enzyme activities and nutrient dynamics associated with the decomposition of garlic stalk at different temperatures, concentrations and durations were investigated. Stalk decomposition significantly increased the values of soil pH and electrical conductivity. In addition, total nitrogen and organic carbon concentration were significantly increased by decomposing stalks at 40°C, with a 5∶100 ratio and for 10 or 60 days. The highest activities of sucrase, urease and alkaline phosphatase in soil were detected when stalk decomposition was performed at the lowest temperature (10°C), highest concentration (5∶100), and shortest duration (10 or 20 days). The evidence presented here suggests that garlic stalk decomposition improves the quality of soil by altering the value of soil pH and electrical conductivity and by changing nutrient dynamics and soil enzyme activity, compared to the soil decomposition without garlic stalks. PMID:23226411

  9. Induction of abiotic stress tolerance in plants by endophytic microbes.

    PubMed

    Lata, R; Chowdhury, S; Gond, S K; White, J F

    2018-04-01

    Endophytes are micro-organisms including bacteria and fungi that survive within healthy plant tissues and promote plant growth under stress. This review focuses on the potential of endophytic microbes that induce abiotic stress tolerance in plants. How endophytes promote plant growth under stressful conditions, like drought and heat, high salinity and poor nutrient availability will be discussed. The molecular mechanisms for increasing stress tolerance in plants by endophytes include induction of plant stress genes as well as biomolecules like reactive oxygen species scavengers. This review may help in the development of biotechnological applications of endophytic microbes in plant growth promotion and crop improvement under abiotic stress conditions. Increasing human populations demand more crop yield for food security while crop production is adversely affected by abiotic stresses like drought, salinity and high temperature. Development of stress tolerance in plants is a strategy to cope with the negative effects of adverse environmental conditions. Endophytes are well recognized for plant growth promotion and production of natural compounds. The property of endophytes to induce stress tolerance in plants can be applied to increase crop yields. With this review, we intend to promote application of endophytes in biotechnology and genetic engineering for the development of stress-tolerant plants. © 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  10. Plant attributes explain the distribution of soil microbial communities in two contrasting regions of the globe.

    PubMed

    Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel; Fry, Ellen L; Eldridge, David J; de Vries, Franciska T; Manning, Peter; Hamonts, Kelly; Kattge, Jens; Boenisch, Gerhard; Singh, Brajesh K; Bardgett, Richard D

    2018-04-19

    We lack strong empirical evidence for links between plant attributes (plant community attributes and functional traits) and the distribution of soil microbial communities at large spatial scales. Using datasets from two contrasting regions and ecosystem types in Australia and England, we report that aboveground plant community attributes, such as diversity (species richness) and cover, and functional traits can predict a unique portion of the variation in the diversity (number of phylotypes) and community composition of soil bacteria and fungi that cannot be explained by soil abiotic properties and climate. We further identify the relative importance and evaluate the potential direct and indirect effects of climate, soil properties and plant attributes in regulating the diversity and community composition of soil microbial communities. Finally, we deliver a list of examples of common taxa from Australia and England that are strongly related to specific plant traits, such as specific leaf area index, leaf nitrogen and nitrogen fixation. Together, our work provides new evidence that plant attributes, especially plant functional traits, can predict the distribution of soil microbial communities at the regional scale and across two hemispheres. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

  11. Mycobacterium ulcerans dynamics in aquatic ecosystems are driven by a complex interplay of abiotic and biotic factors

    PubMed Central

    Garchitorena, Andrés; Guégan, Jean-François; Léger, Lucas; Eyangoh, Sara; Marsollier, Laurent; Roche, Benjamin

    2015-01-01

    Host–parasite interactions are often embedded within complex host communities and can be influenced by a variety of environmental factors, such as seasonal variations in climate or abiotic conditions in water and soil, which confounds our understanding of the main drivers of many multi-host pathogens. Here, we take advantage of a combination of large environmental data sets on Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU), an environmentally persistent microorganism associated to freshwater ecosystems and present in a large variety of aquatic hosts, to characterize abiotic and biotic factors driving the dynamics of this pathogen in two regions of Cameroon. We find that MU dynamics are largely driven by seasonal climatic factors and certain physico-chemical conditions in stagnant and slow-flowing ecosystems, with an important role of pH as limiting factor. Furthermore, water conditions can modify the effect of abundance and diversity of aquatic organisms on MU dynamics, which suggests a different contribution of two MU transmission routes for aquatic hosts (trophic vs environmental transmission) depending on local abiotic factors. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.07616.001 PMID:26216042

  12. Fauna-associated changes in chemical and biochemical properties of soil.

    PubMed

    Tripathi, G; Sharma, B M

    2006-12-01

    To study the impacts of abundance of woodlice, termites, and mites on some functional aspects of soil in order to elucidate the specific role of soil fauna in improving soil fertility in desert. Fauna-rich sites were selected as experimental sites and adjacent areas were taken as control. Soil samples were collected from both sites. Soil respiration was measured at both sites. The soil samples were sent to laboratory, their chemical and biochemical properties were analyzed. Woodlice showed 25% decrease in organic carbon and organic matter as compared to control site. Whereas termites and mites showed 58% and 16% decrease in organic carbon and organic matter. In contrast, available nitrogen (nitrate and ammonical both) and phosphorus exhibited 2-fold and 1.2-fold increase, respectively. Soil respiration and dehydrogenase activity at the sites rich in woodlice, termites and mites produced 2.5-, 3.5- and 2-fold increases, respectively as compared to their control values. Fauna-associated increase in these biological parameters clearly reflected fauna-induced microbial activity in soil. Maximum decrease in organic carbon and increase in nitrate-nitrogen and ammonical-nitrogen, available phosphorus, soil respiration and dehydrogenase activity were produced by termites and minimum by mites reflecting termite as an efficient soil improver in desert environment. The soil fauna-associated changes in chemical (organic carbon, nitrate-nitrogen, ammonical-nitrogen, phosphorus) and biochemical (soil respiration, dehydrogenase activity) properties of soil improve soil health and help in conservation of desert pedoecosystem.

  13. Spatial and Temporal Variation of Archaeal, Bacterial and Fungal Communities in Agricultural Soils

    PubMed Central

    Pereira e Silva, Michele C.; Dias, Armando Cavalcante Franco; van Elsas, Jan Dirk; Salles, Joana Falcão

    2012-01-01

    Background Soil microbial communities are in constant change at many different temporal and spatial scales. However, the importance of these changes to the turnover of the soil microbial communities has been rarely studied simultaneously in space and time. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we explored the temporal and spatial responses of soil bacterial, archaeal and fungal β-diversities to abiotic parameters. Taking into account data from a 3-year sampling period, we analyzed the abundances and community structures of Archaea, Bacteria and Fungi along with key soil chemical parameters. We questioned how these abiotic variables influence the turnover of bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities and how they impact the long-term patterns of changes of the aforementioned soil communities. Interestingly, we found that the bacterial and fungal β-diversities are quite stable over time, whereas archaeal diversity showed significantly higher fluctuations. These fluctuations were reflected in temporal turnover caused by soil management through addition of N-fertilizers. Conclusions Our study showed that management practices applied to agricultural soils might not significantly affect the bacterial and fungal communities, but cause slow and long-term changes in the abundance and structure of the archaeal community. Moreover, the results suggest that, to different extents, abiotic and biotic factors determine the community assembly of archaeal, bacterial and fungal communities. PMID:23284712

  14. Pharmaceuticals' sorptions relative to properties of thirteen different soils.

    PubMed

    Kodešová, Radka; Grabic, Roman; Kočárek, Martin; Klement, Aleš; Golovko, Oksana; Fér, Miroslav; Nikodem, Antonín; Jakšík, Ondřej

    2015-04-01

    Transport of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in soils and consequent ground-water contamination are influenced by many factors, including compound sorption on soil particles. Here we evaluate the sorption isotherms for 7 pharmaceuticals on 13 soils, described by Freundlich equations, and assess the impact of soil properties on various pharmaceuticals' sorption on soils. Sorption of ionizable pharmaceuticals was, in many cases, highly affected by soil pH. The sorption coefficient of sulfamethoxazole was negatively correlated to soil pH, and thus positively related to hydrolytic acidity and exchangeable acidity. Sorption coefficients for clindamycin and clarithromycin were positively related to soil pH and thus negatively related to hydrolytic acidity and exchangeable acidity, and positively related to base cation saturation. The sorption coefficients for the remaining pharmaceuticals (trimethoprim, metoprolol, atenolol, and carbamazepine) were also positively correlated with the base cation saturation and cation exchange capacity. Positive correlations between sorption coefficients and clay content were found for clindamycin, clarithromycin, atenolol, and metoprolol. Positive correlations between sorption coefficients and organic carbon content were obtained for trimethoprim and carbamazepine. Pedotransfer rules for predicting sorption coefficients of various pharmaceuticals included hydrolytic acidity (sulfamethoxazole), organic carbon content (trimethoprimand carbamazepine), base cation saturation (atenolol and metoprolol), exchangeable acidity and clay content (clindamycin), and soil active pH and clay content (clarithromycin). Pedotransfer rules, predicting the Freundlich sorption coefficients, could be applied for prediction of pharmaceutical mobility in soils with similar soil properties. Predicted sorption coefficients together with pharmaceutical half-lives and other imputes (e.g., soil-hydraulic, geological, hydro-geological, climatic) may be used for

  15. Effects of pine sawdust, hardwood sawdust, and peat on bareroot soil properties

    Treesearch

    Paul Koll; Martin F. Jurgensen; R. Kasten Dumroese

    2010-01-01

    We investigated the effects of three organic amendments on soil properties and seedling growth at the USDA Forest Service JW Toumey Nursery in Watersmeet, MI. Pine sawdust (red pine, Pinus resinosa), hardwood sawdust (maple [Acer spp.] and aspen [Populus spp.]), and peat were individually incorporated into a loamy sand nursery soil in August 2006, and soil properties...

  16. Interaction Among Machine Traffic, Soil Physical Properties and Loblolly Pine Root Prolifereation in a Piedmont Soil

    Treesearch

    Emily A. Carter; Timothy P. McDonald

    1997-01-01

    The impact of forwarder traffic on soil physical properties was evaluated on a Gwinnett sandy loam, a commonly found soil of the Piedmont. Soil strength and saturated hydraulic conductivity were significantly altered by forwarder traffic, but reductions in air-filled porosity also occurred. Bulk density did not increase significantly in trafficked treatments. The...

  17. Measuring the electrical properties of soil using a calibrated ground-coupled GPR system

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Oden, C.P.; Olhoeft, G.R.; Wright, D.L.; Powers, M.H.

    2008-01-01

    Traditional methods for estimating vadose zone soil properties using ground penetrating radar (GPR) include measuring travel time, fitting diffraction hyperbolae, and other methods exploiting geometry. Additional processing techniques for estimating soil properties are possible with properly calibrated GPR systems. Such calibration using ground-coupled antennas must account for the effects of the shallow soil on the antenna's response, because changing soil properties result in a changing antenna response. A prototype GPR system using ground-coupled antennas was calibrated using laboratory measurements and numerical simulations of the GPR components. Two methods for estimating subsurface properties that utilize the calibrated response were developed. First, a new nonlinear inversion algorithm to estimate shallow soil properties under ground-coupled antennas was evaluated. Tests with synthetic data showed that the inversion algorithm is well behaved across the allowed range of soil properties. A preliminary field test gave encouraging results, with estimated soil property uncertainties (????) of ??1.9 and ??4.4 mS/m for the relative dielectric permittivity and the electrical conductivity, respectively. Next, a deconvolution method for estimating the properties of subsurface reflectors with known shapes (e.g., pipes or planar interfaces) was developed. This method uses scattering matrices to account for the response of subsurface reflectors. The deconvolution method was evaluated for use with noisy data using synthetic data. Results indicate that the deconvolution method requires reflected waves with a signal/noise ratio of about 10:1 or greater. When applied to field data with a signal/noise ratio of 2:1, the method was able to estimate the reflection coefficient and relative permittivity, but the large uncertainty in this estimate precluded inversion for conductivity. ?? Soil Science Society of America.

  18. Cotton Production Practices Change Soil Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blaise, D.; Singh, J. V.

    2012-04-01

    Historically, indigenous Asiatic cottons (Gossypium arboreum) were cultivated with minimal inputs in India. The introduction of the Upland cottons (G. hirsutum) and later the hybrid (H-4) triggered a whole set of intensified agronomic management with reliance on high doses of fertilisers and pesticide usage. In 2002, the transgenic Bt cotton hybrids were introduced and released for commercial cultivation. Presently, more than 95% of the nearly 12.2 million hectares of cotton area is under the Bt transgenic hybrids. These hybrids are not only high yielding but have reduced the dependence on pesticide because of an effective control of the lepidopteran pests. Thus, a change in the management practices is evident over the years. In this paper, we discuss the impact of two major agronomic management practices namely, nutrient management and tillage besides organic cotton cultivation in the rainfed cotton growing regions of central India characterized by sub-humid to semi-arid climate and dominated by Vertisols. Long-term studies at Nagpur, Maharashtra indicated the importance of integrated nutrient management (INM) wherein a part of the nutrient needs through fertiliser was substituted with organic manures such as farmyard manure (FYM). With the application of mineral fertilisers alone, soils became deficient in micronutrients. This was not observed with the FYM amended plots. Further, the manure amended plots had a better soil physical properties and the water holding capacity of the soil improved due to improvements in soil organic matter (SOM). Similarly, in a separate experiment, an improvement in SOM was observed in the organically managed fields because of continuous addition of organic residues. Further, it resulted in greater biological activity compared to the conventionally managed fields. Conservation tillage systems such as reduced tillage (RT) are a means to improve soil health and crop productivity. Long-term studies on tillage practices such as

  19. Assembly processes under severe abiotic filtering: adaptation mechanisms of weed vegetation to the gradient of soil constraints.

    PubMed

    Nikolic, Nina; Böcker, Reinhard; Kostic-Kravljanac, Ljiljana; Nikolic, Miroslav

    2014-01-01

    Effects of soil on vegetation patterns are commonly obscured by other environmental factors; clear and general relationships are difficult to find. How would community assembly processes be affected by a substantial change in soil characteristics when all other relevant factors are held constant? In particular, can we identify some functional adaptations which would underpin such soil-induced vegetation response? Eastern Serbia: fields partially damaged by long-term and large-scale fluvial deposition of sulphidic waste from a Cu mine; subcontinental/submediterranean climate. We analysed the multivariate response of cereal weed assemblages (including biomass and foliar analyses) to a strong man-made soil gradient (from highly calcareous to highly acidic, nutrient-poor soils) over short distances (field scale). The soil gradient favoured a substitution of calcicoles by calcifuges, and an increase in abundance of pseudometallophytes, with preferences for Atlantic climate, broad geographical distribution, hemicryptophytic life form, adapted to low-nutrient and acidic soils, with lower concentrations of Ca, and very narrow range of Cu concentrations in leaves. The trends of abundance of the different ecological groups of indicator species along the soil gradient were systematically reflected in the maintenance of leaf P concentrations, and strong homeostasis in biomass N:P ratio. Using annual weed vegetation at the field scale as a fairly simple model, we demonstrated links between gradients in soil properties (pH, nutrient availability) and floristic composition that are normally encountered over large geographic distances. We showed that leaf nutrient status, in particular the maintenance of leaf P concentrations and strong homeostasis of biomass N:P ratio, underpinned a clear functional response of vegetation to mineral stress. These findings can help to understand assembly processes leading to unusual, novel combinations of species which are typically observed as a

  20. Assembly Processes under Severe Abiotic Filtering: Adaptation Mechanisms of Weed Vegetation to the Gradient of Soil Constraints

    PubMed Central

    Nikolic, Nina; Böcker, Reinhard; Kostic-Kravljanac, Ljiljana; Nikolic, Miroslav

    2014-01-01

    Questions Effects of soil on vegetation patterns are commonly obscured by other environmental factors; clear and general relationships are difficult to find. How would community assembly processes be affected by a substantial change in soil characteristics when all other relevant factors are held constant? In particular, can we identify some functional adaptations which would underpin such soil-induced vegetation response? Location Eastern Serbia: fields partially damaged by long-term and large-scale fluvial deposition of sulphidic waste from a Cu mine; subcontinental/submediterranean climate. Methods We analysed the multivariate response of cereal weed assemblages (including biomass and foliar analyses) to a strong man-made soil gradient (from highly calcareous to highly acidic, nutrient-poor soils) over short distances (field scale). Results The soil gradient favoured a substitution of calcicoles by calcifuges, and an increase in abundance of pseudometallophytes, with preferences for Atlantic climate, broad geographical distribution, hemicryptophytic life form, adapted to low-nutrient and acidic soils, with lower concentrations of Ca, and very narrow range of Cu concentrations in leaves. The trends of abundance of the different ecological groups of indicator species along the soil gradient were systematically reflected in the maintenance of leaf P concentrations, and strong homeostasis in biomass N:P ratio. Conclusion Using annual weed vegetation at the field scale as a fairly simple model, we demonstrated links between gradients in soil properties (pH, nutrient availability) and floristic composition that are normally encountered over large geographic distances. We showed that leaf nutrient status, in particular the maintenance of leaf P concentrations and strong homeostasis of biomass N:P ratio, underpinned a clear functional response of vegetation to mineral stress. These findings can help to understand assembly processes leading to unusual, novel combinations

  1. Soil microbial diversity in the vicinity of desert shrubs.

    PubMed

    Saul-Tcherkas, Vered; Unc, Adrian; Steinberger, Yosef

    2013-04-01

    Water and nutrient availability are the major limiting factors of biological activity in arid and semiarid ecosystems. Therefore, perennial plants have developed different ecophysiological adaptations to cope with harsh conditions. The chemical profile of the root exudates varies among plant species and this can induce variability in associated microbial populations. We examined the influence of two shrubs species, Artemisia sieberi and Noaea mucronata, on soil microbial diversity. Soil samples were collected monthly, from December 2006 to November 2007, near canopies of both shrubs (0-10-cm depth). Samples were used for abiotic tests and determination of soil bacterial diversity. No significant differences were found in the abiotic variables (soil moisture, total organic matter, and total soluble nitrogen (TSN)) between soil samples collected from under the two shrubs during the study period. No obvious differences in the Shannon-Weaver index, evenness values, or total phylogenetic distances were found for the soil microbial communities. However, detailed denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) clustering as well as taxonomic diversity analyses indicated clear shifts in the soil microbial community composition. These shifts were governed by seasonal variability in water availability and, significantly, by plant species type.

  2. Modeling uncertainty and correlation in soil properties using Restricted Pairing and implications for ensemble-based hillslope-scale soil moisture and temperature estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flores, A. N.; Entekhabi, D.; Bras, R. L.

    2007-12-01

    Soil hydraulic and thermal properties (SHTPs) affect both the rate of moisture redistribution in the soil column and the volumetric soil water capacity. Adequately constraining these properties through field and lab analysis to parameterize spatially-distributed hydrology models is often prohibitively expensive. Because SHTPs vary significantly at small spatial scales individual soil samples are also only reliably indicative of local conditions, and these properties remain a significant source of uncertainty in soil moisture and temperature estimation. In ensemble-based soil moisture data assimilation, uncertainty in the model-produced prior estimate due to associated uncertainty in SHTPs must be taken into account to avoid under-dispersive ensembles. To treat SHTP uncertainty for purposes of supplying inputs to a distributed watershed model we use the restricted pairing (RP) algorithm, an extension of Latin Hypercube (LH) sampling. The RP algorithm generates an arbitrary number of SHTP combinations by sampling the appropriate marginal distributions of the individual soil properties using the LH approach, while imposing a target rank correlation among the properties. A previously-published meta- database of 1309 soils representing 12 textural classes is used to fit appropriate marginal distributions to the properties and compute the target rank correlation structure, conditioned on soil texture. Given categorical soil textures, our implementation of the RP algorithm generates an arbitrarily-sized ensemble of realizations of the SHTPs required as input to the TIN-based Realtime Integrated Basin Simulator with vegetation dynamics (tRIBS+VEGGIE) distributed parameter ecohydrology model. Soil moisture ensembles simulated with RP- generated SHTPs exhibit less variance than ensembles simulated with SHTPs generated by a scheme that neglects correlation among properties. Neglecting correlation among SHTPs can lead to physically unrealistic combinations of parameters that

  3. [Heidaigou Opencast Coal Mine: Soil Enzyme Activities and Soil Physical and Chemical Properties Under Different Vegetation Restoration].

    PubMed

    Fang, Ying; Ma, Ren-tian; An, Shao-shan; Zhao, Jun-feng; Xiao, Li

    2016-03-15

    Choosing the soils under different vegetation recovery of Heidaigou dump as the research objects, we mainly analyzed their basic physical and chemical properties and enzyme activities with the method of Analysis of Variance as well as their relations using Pearson correlation analysis and path analysis hoping to uncover the driving factors of the differences between soil enzyme activities under different vegetation restoration, and provide scientific suggestions for the plant selection as well as make a better evaluation to the reclamation effect. The results showed that: (1) Although the artificial vegetation restoration improved the basic physical and chemical properties of the soils while increasing their enzyme activities to a certain extent, the soil conditions still did not reach the level of the natural grassland; (2) Contents of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (TN) of the seabuckthorns were the nearest to those of the grassland, which reached 54. 22% and 70. 00% of those of the grassland. In addition, the soil bulk density of the seabuckthorns stand was 17. 09% lower than the maximum value of the amorpha fruitcosa land. The SOC and TN contents as well as the bulk density showed that seabuckthorns had advantages as the species for land reclamation of this dump; Compared with the seabuckthorn, the pure poplar forest had lower contents of SOC and TN respectively by 35.64% and 32.14% and displayed a 16.79% higher value of soil bulk density; (3) The activities of alkaline phosphotase under different types of vegetation rehabilitation had little variation. But soil urease activities was more sensitive to reflect the effects of vegetation restoration on soil properties; (4) Elevation of the SOC and TN turned out to be the main cause for soil fertility restoration and increased biological activities of the dump.

  4. Response of soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities to long-term reclamation of coastal saline soil, Eastern China.

    PubMed

    Xie, Xuefeng; Pu, Lijie; Wang, Qiqi; Zhu, Ming; Xu, Yan; Zhang, Meng

    2017-12-31

    Soil enzyme activity during different years of reclamation and land use patterns could indicate changes in soil quality. The objective of this research is to explore the dynamics of 5 soil enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, amylase, urease, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase) involved in C, N, and P cycling and their responses to changes in soil physicochemical properties resulting from long-term reclamation of coastal saline soil. Soil samples from a total of 55 sites were collected from a coastal reclamation area with different years of reclamation (0, 7, 32, 40, 63a) in this study. The results showed that both long-term reclamation and land use patterns have significant effects on soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities. Compared with the bare flat, soil water content, soil bulk density, pH and electrical conductivity showed a decreasing trend after reclamation, whereas soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus tended to increase. Dehydrogenase, amylase and acid phosphatase activities initially increased and then decreased with increasing years of reclamation, whereas urease and alkaline phosphatase activities were characterized by an increase-decrease-increase trend. Moreover, urease, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activities exhibited significant differences between coastal saline soil with 63years of reclamation and bare flat, whereas dehydrogenase and amylase activities remained unchanged. Aquaculture ponds showed higher soil water content, pH and EC but lower soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus than rapeseed, broad bean and wheat fields. Rapeseed, broad bean and wheat fields displayed higher urease and alkaline phosphatase activities and lower dehydrogenase, amylase and acid phosphatase activities compared with aquaculture ponds. Redundancy analysis revealed that the soil physicochemical properties explained 74.5% of the variation in soil enzyme activities and that an obvious relationship

  5. Soil properties, soil functions and soil security

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poggio, Laura; Gimona, Alessandro

    2017-04-01

    Soil plays a crucial role in the ecosystem functioning such as food production, capture and storage of water, carbon and nutrients and in the realisation of a number of UN Sustainable Developments Goals. In this work we present an approach to spatially and jointly assess the multiple contributions of soil to the delivery of ecosystem services within multiple land-use system. We focussed on the modelling of the impact of soil on sediment retention, carbon storage, storing and filtering of nutrients, habitat for soil organisms and water regulation, taking into account examples of land use and climate scenarios. Simplified models were used for the single components. Spatialised Bayesian Belief networks were used for the jointly assessment and mapping of soil contribution to multiple land use and ecosystem services. We integrated continuous 3D soil information derived from digital soil mapping approaches covering the whole of mainland Scotland, excluding the Northern Islands. Uncertainty was accounted for and propagated across the whole process. The Scottish test case highlights the differences in roles between mineral and organic soils and provides an example of integrated study assessing the contributions of soil. The results show the importance of the multi-functional analysis of the contribution of soils to the ecosystem service delivery and UN SDGs.

  6. Relations between soil hydraulic properties and burn severity

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Moody, John A.; Ebel, Brian A.; Nyman, Petter; Martin, Deborah A.; Stoof, Cathelijne R.; McKinley, Randy

    2015-01-01

    Wildfire can affect soil hydraulic properties, often resulting in reduced infiltration. The magnitude of change in infiltration varies depending on the burn severity. Quantitative approaches to link burn severity with changes in infiltration are lacking. This study uses controlled laboratory measurements to determine relations between a remotely sensed burn severity metric (dNBR, change in normalised burn ratio) and soil hydraulic properties (SHPs). SHPs were measured on soil cores collected from an area burned by the 2013 Black Forest fire in Colorado, USA. Six sites with the same soil type were selected across a range of burn severities, and 10 random soil cores were collected from each site within a 30-m diameter circle. Cumulative infiltration measurements were made in the laboratory using a tension infiltrometer to determine field-saturated hydraulic conductivity, Kfs, and sorptivity, S. These measurements were correlated with dNBR for values ranging from 124 (low severity) to 886 (high severity). SHPs were related to dNBR by inverse functions for specific conditions of water repellency (at the time of sampling) and soil texture. Both functions had a threshold value for dNBR between 124 and 420, where Kfs and S were unchanged and equal to values for soil unaffected by fire. For dNBRs >~420, the Kfs was an exponentially decreasing function of dNBR and S was a linearly decreasing function of dNBR. These initial quantitative empirical relations provide a first step to link SHPs to burn severity, and can be used in quantitative infiltration models to predict post-wildfire infiltration and resulting runoff.

  7. Key Edaphic Properties Largely Explain Temporal and Geographic Variation in Soil Microbial Communities across Four Biomes.

    PubMed

    Docherty, Kathryn M; Borton, Hannah M; Espinosa, Noelle; Gebhardt, Martha; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; Gutknecht, Jessica L M; Maes, Patrick W; Mott, Brendon M; Parnell, John Jacob; Purdy, Gayle; Rodrigues, Pedro A P; Stanish, Lee F; Walser, Olivia N; Gallery, Rachel E

    2015-01-01

    Soil microbial communities play a critical role in nutrient transformation and storage in all ecosystems. Quantifying the seasonal and long-term temporal extent of genetic and functional variation of soil microorganisms in response to biotic and abiotic changes within and across ecosystems will inform our understanding of the effect of climate change on these processes. We examined spatial and seasonal variation in microbial communities based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition across four biomes: a tropical broadleaf forest (Hawaii), taiga (Alaska), semiarid grassland-shrubland (Utah), and a subtropical coniferous forest (Florida). In this study, we used a team-based instructional approach leveraging the iPlant Collaborative to examine publicly available National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) 16S gene and PLFA measurements that quantify microbial diversity, composition, and growth. Both profiling techniques revealed that microbial communities grouped strongly by ecosystem and were predominately influenced by three edaphic factors: pH, soil water content, and cation exchange capacity. Temporal variability of microbial communities differed by profiling technique; 16S-based community measurements showed significant temporal variability only in the subtropical coniferous forest communities, specifically through changes within subgroups of Acidobacteria. Conversely, PLFA-based community measurements showed seasonal shifts in taiga and tropical broadleaf forest systems. These differences may be due to the premise that 16S-based measurements are predominantly influenced by large shifts in the abiotic soil environment, while PLFA-based analyses reflect the metabolically active fraction of the microbial community, which is more sensitive to local disturbances and biotic interactions. To address the technical issue of the response of soil microbial communities to sample storage temperature, we compared 16S-based community

  8. Key Edaphic Properties Largely Explain Temporal and Geographic Variation in Soil Microbial Communities across Four Biomes

    PubMed Central

    Borton, Hannah M.; Espinosa, Noelle; Gebhardt, Martha; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; Gutknecht, Jessica L. M.; Maes, Patrick W.; Mott, Brendon M.; Parnell, John Jacob; Purdy, Gayle; Rodrigues, Pedro A. P.; Stanish, Lee F.; Walser, Olivia N.

    2015-01-01

    Soil microbial communities play a critical role in nutrient transformation and storage in all ecosystems. Quantifying the seasonal and long-term temporal extent of genetic and functional variation of soil microorganisms in response to biotic and abiotic changes within and across ecosystems will inform our understanding of the effect of climate change on these processes. We examined spatial and seasonal variation in microbial communities based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition across four biomes: a tropical broadleaf forest (Hawaii), taiga (Alaska), semiarid grassland-shrubland (Utah), and a subtropical coniferous forest (Florida). In this study, we used a team-based instructional approach leveraging the iPlant Collaborative to examine publicly available National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) 16S gene and PLFA measurements that quantify microbial diversity, composition, and growth. Both profiling techniques revealed that microbial communities grouped strongly by ecosystem and were predominately influenced by three edaphic factors: pH, soil water content, and cation exchange capacity. Temporal variability of microbial communities differed by profiling technique; 16S-based community measurements showed significant temporal variability only in the subtropical coniferous forest communities, specifically through changes within subgroups of Acidobacteria. Conversely, PLFA-based community measurements showed seasonal shifts in taiga and tropical broadleaf forest systems. These differences may be due to the premise that 16S-based measurements are predominantly influenced by large shifts in the abiotic soil environment, while PLFA-based analyses reflect the metabolically active fraction of the microbial community, which is more sensitive to local disturbances and biotic interactions. To address the technical issue of the response of soil microbial communities to sample storage temperature, we compared 16S-based community

  9. Towards soil property retrieval from space: Proof of concept using in situ observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bandara, Ranmalee; Walker, Jeffrey P.; Rüdiger, Christoph

    2014-05-01

    Soil moisture is a key variable that controls the exchange of water and energy fluxes between the land surface and the atmosphere. However, the temporal evolution of soil moisture is neither easy to measure nor monitor at large scales because of its high spatial variability. This is mainly a result of the local variation in soil properties and vegetation cover. Thus, land surface models are normally used to predict the evolution of soil moisture and yet, despite their importance, these models are based on low-resolution soil property information or typical values. Therefore, the availability of more accurate and detailed soil parameter data than are currently available is vital, if regional or global soil moisture predictions are to be made with the accuracy required for environmental applications. The proposed solution is to estimate the soil hydraulic properties via model calibration to remotely sensed soil moisture observation, with in situ observations used as a proxy in this proof of concept study. Consequently, the feasibility is assessed, and the level of accuracy that can be expected determined, for soil hydraulic property estimation of duplex soil profiles in a semi-arid environment using near-surface soil moisture observations under naturally occurring conditions. The retrieved soil hydraulic parameters were then assessed by their reliability to predict the root zone soil moisture using the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator model. When using parameters that were retrieved using soil moisture observations, the root zone soil moisture was predicted to within an accuracy of 0.04 m3/m3, which is an improvement of ∼0.025 m3/m3 on predictions that used published values or pedo-transfer functions.

  10. Applying soil property information for watershed assessment.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Archer, V.; Mayn, C.; Brown, S. R.

    2017-12-01

    The Forest Service uses a priority watershed scheme to guide where to direct watershed restoration work. Initial assessment was done across the nation following the watershed condition framework process. This assessment method uses soils information for a three step ranking across each 12 code hydrologic unit; however, the soil information used in the assessment may not provide adequate detail to guide work on the ground. Modern remote sensing information and terrain derivatives that model the environmental gradients hold promise of showing the influence of soil forming factors on watershed processes. These small scale data products enable the disaggregation of coarse scale soils mapping to show continuous soil property information across a watershed. When this information is coupled with the geomorphic and geologic information, watershed specialists can more aptly understand the controlling influences of drainage within watersheds and focus on where watershed restoration projects can have the most success. A case study on the application of this work shows where road restoration may be most effective.

  11. Heavy metals content in degraded agricultural soils of a mountain region related to soil properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Navarro-Pedreño, José; Belén Almendro-Candel, María; Gómez, Ignacio; Jordán, Manuel M.; Bech, Jaume; Zorpas, Antonis

    2017-04-01

    Agriculture has been practiced for long time in Mediterranean regions. Intensive agriculture and irrigation have developed mainly in the valleys and coastal areas. In the mountainous areas, dry farming has been practiced for centuries. Soils have been fertilized using mainly organic amendments. Plants extracted nutrients and other elements like heavy metals presented in soils and agricultural practices modified soil properties that could favor the presence of heavy metals. In this work, it has been checked the content of heavy metals in 100 agricultural soils samples of the NorthWest area of the province of Alicante (Spain) which has been long cultivated with cereals and olive trees, and now soils are abandoned and degraded because of the low agricultural yields. European policy has the aim to improve the sustainable agriculture and recover landscapes of mountain regions. So that, it is important to check the state of the soils (Marques et al. 2007). Soils samples (arable layer) were analyzed determining: pH (1:5, w/v, water extract), equivalent calcium carbonate content, organic matter by Walkley-Black method (Nelson and Sommers 1996), micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) extracted with DTPA (Lindsay and Norvell, 1978) and measured by atomic absorption spectrometry, and total content of metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb) measured in soil samples after microwave acid digestion (Moral et al. 1996), quantifying the content of metals by ICP analysis. The correlation between soil properties and metals. The results indicated that pH and carbonates are the most important properties of these soils correlated with the metals (both micronutrients and heavy metals). The available micronutrients (all of them) are close correlated with the pH and carbonates in soils. Moreover, heavy metals like Pb and Ni are related to available Mn and Zn. Keywords: pH, carbonates, heavy metals, abandoned soils. References: Lindsay,W.L., andW.A. Norvell. 1978. "Development of a DTPA Soil Test for Zinc, Iron

  12. Linking the climatic and geochemical controls on global soil carbon cycling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Doetterl, Sebastian; Stevens, Antoine; Six, Johan; Merckx, Roel; Van Oost, Kristof; Casanova Pinto, Manuel; Casanova-Katny, Angélica; Muñoz, Cristina; Boudin, Mathieu; Zagal Venegas, Erick; Boeckx, Pascal

    2015-04-01

    Climatic and geochemical parameters are regarded as the primary controls for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and turnover. However, due to the difference in scale between climate and geochemical-related soil research, the interaction of these key factors for SOC dynamics have rarely been assessed. Across a large geochemical and climatic transect in similar biomes in Chile and the Antarctic Peninsula we show how abiotic geochemical soil features describing soil mineralogy and weathering pose a direct control on SOC stocks, concentration and turnover and are central to explaining soil C dynamics at larger scales. Precipitation and temperature had an only indirect control by regulating geochemistry. Soils with high SOC content have low specific potential CO2 respiration rates, but a large fraction of SOC that is stabilized via organo-mineral interactions. The opposite was observed for soils with low SOC content. The observed differences for topsoil SOC stocks along this transect of similar biomes but differing geo-climatic site conditions are of the same magnitude as differences observed for topsoil SOC stocks across all major global biomes. Using precipitation and a set of abiotic geochemical parameters describing soil mineralogy and weathering status led to predictions of high accuracy (R2 0.53-0.94) for different C response variables. Partial correlation analyses revealed that the strength of the correlation between climatic predictors and SOC response variables decreased by 51 - 83% when controlling for geochemical predictors. In contrast, controlling for climatic variables did not result in a strong decrease in the strength of the correlations of between most geochemical variables and SOC response variables. In summary, geochemical parameters describing soil mineralogy and weathering were found to be essential for accurate predictions of SOC stocks and potential CO2 respiration, while climatic factors were of minor importance as a direct control, but are

  13. Estimation of effective hydrologic properties of soils from observations of vegetation density

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tellers, T. E.; Eagleson, P. S.

    1980-01-01

    A one-dimensional model of the annual water balance is reviewed. Improvements are made in the method of calculating the bare soil component of evaporation, and in the way surface retention is handled. A natural selection hypothesis, which specifies the equilibrium vegetation density for a given, water limited, climate soil system, is verified through comparisons with observed data. Comparison of CDF's of annual basin yield derived using these soil properties with observed CDF's provides verification of the soil-selection procedure. This method of parameterization of the land surface is useful with global circulation models, enabling them to account for both the nonlinearity in the relationship between soil moisture flux and soil moisture concentration, and the variability of soil properties from place to place over the Earth's surface.

  14. The Real Difference between Biotic and Abiotic Methane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, X.; Bao, H.; Peng, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Methane has both biotic and abiotic origins, and the identification of these two origins has important implications not only in understanding terrestrial processes but also in searching for extraterrestrial life. Carbon and hydrogen isotopes in methane have been used to identify certain biosignatures, but such efforts often suffer from ambiguity. Recent advancement in our capability in measuring multiply substituted isotopologues of methane (i.e. 13CDH3 and 12CD2H2) has found large 12CD2H2 depletion in abiotic methane. Quantum tunneling has been proposed to account for the apparent abiotic signature. However, quantum tunneling is neither unique to abiotic processes nor consistent with the observed not-so-depleted hydrogen isotope composition. Here we constructed a general kinetic model for methane formation from CO2, and validated it by fitting its parameters to observed 13CDH3, 12CD2H2, and 12CDH3. Our model revealed that the fundamental difference between biotic and abiotic methane isotopic signatures is in the source of hydrogens during methane formation. Hydrogens in biotic methane originate from the stronger carbon-hydrogen and sulfur-hydrogen bonds, while hydrogens in abiotic methane originate from the much weaker metal-hydrogen adsorption bond. This hydrogen source difference results in abiotic methane being more depleted in 12CD2H2 than the biotic one. Our model also shows that the primary kinetic hydrogen isotope effect is at approximately 0.6 for both abiotic and biotic pathways, a normal value further nullifying the role of quantum tunneling. The active and exclusive shuttling of reduced hydrogen via strong chemical bonds like carbon-hydrogen and sulfur-hydrogen in coenzymes is proposed here to be a unique signature of life. In an ironic sense, it is the equilibrated hydrogen isotope composition in the hydrogen donors that distinguishes the living from the non-living.

  15. Reading the Molecular Code in Soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hess, N. J.; Tfaily, M. M.; O'Brien, S. L.; Tolic, N.; Jastrow, J. D.; Amonette, J. E.

    2015-12-01

    There is much that we understand about the relationship between plants, microbes, soil, and water but that understanding is incomplete at the molecular scale. With advent of high throughput genomic sequencing we are beginning to appreciate the diversity of microbial community structure and function and its response to the rhythm of plant function. Through the lens of high-resolution mass spectrometry we are getting our first glimpses of the diversity of soil and pore water organic chemistry at the molecular level. In combination, these diverse data streams are revealing traces of chemical metabolic pathways. This approach promises to reveal many exciting future discoveries, shedding light into the "black box" that exists beneath our feet. In this talk we discuss our experience with the molecular characterization of soils from native prairie to restored prairie to active corn-soybean soils from the DOE funded CSiTE project in Batavia, Illinois. We focus on how common soil separation and fractionation techniques can affect the resulting molecular soil characterization by comparing whole soils to those that have been fractionated into micro- and macro-aggregates and their corresponding silt and clay fractions. When carefully utilized and interpreted these fractionation techniques can be utilized for deepening understanding of the biotic and abiotic chemical pathways effecting the organic chemistry in the different soil fractions. In highly fractionated soils we find significant differences in organic chemistry between silt and clay separates of corresponding hierarchical aggregate fractions. However the most biologically rich information resides in the whole soil. Here we see significant gradients in soil chemistry across to active agricultural to restored to native prairie soils. These results suggest a cautionary note, namely that soil fractionation prior to molecular characterization can reveal much about the "abiotic" interactions between organic molecules and

  16. Widespread abiotic methane in chromitites.

    PubMed

    Etiope, G; Ifandi, E; Nazzari, M; Procesi, M; Tsikouras, B; Ventura, G; Steele, A; Tardini, R; Szatmari, P

    2018-06-07

    Recurring discoveries of abiotic methane in gas seeps and springs in ophiolites and peridotite massifs worldwide raised the question of where, in which rocks, methane was generated. Answers will impact the theories on life origin related to serpentinization of ultramafic rocks, and the origin of methane on rocky planets. Here we document, through molecular and isotopic analyses of gas liberated by rock crushing, that among the several mafic and ultramafic rocks composing classic ophiolites in Greece, i.e., serpentinite, peridotite, chromitite, gabbro, rodingite and basalt, only chromitites, characterized by high concentrations of chromium and ruthenium, host considerable amounts of 13 C-enriched methane, hydrogen and heavier hydrocarbons with inverse isotopic trend, which is typical of abiotic gas origin. Raman analyses are consistent with methane being occluded in widespread microfractures and porous serpentine- or chlorite-filled veins. Chromium and ruthenium may be key metal catalysts for methane production via Sabatier reaction. Chromitites may represent source rocks of abiotic methane on Earth and, potentially, on Mars.

  17. African Orphan Crops under Abiotic Stresses: Challenges and Opportunities.

    PubMed

    Tadele, Zerihun

    2018-01-01

    A changing climate, a growing world population, and a reduction in arable land devoted to food production are all problems facing the world food security. The development of crops that can yield under uncertain and extreme climatic and soil growing conditions can play a key role in mitigating these problems. Major crops such as maize, rice, and wheat are responsible for a large proportion of global food production but many understudied crops (commonly known as "orphan crops") including millets, cassava, and cowpea feed millions of people in Asia, Africa, and South America and are already adapted to the local environments in which they are grown. The application of modern genetic and genomic tools to the breeding of these crops can provide enormous opportunities for ensuring world food security but is only in its infancy. In this review, the diversity and types of understudied crops will be introduced, and the beneficial traits of these crops as well as their role in the socioeconomics of Africa will be discussed. In addition, the response of orphan crops to diverse types of abiotic stresses is investigated. A review of the current tools and their application to the breeding of enhanced orphan crops will also be described. Finally, few examples of global efforts on tackling major abiotic constraints in Africa are presented.

  18. African Orphan Crops under Abiotic Stresses: Challenges and Opportunities

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    A changing climate, a growing world population, and a reduction in arable land devoted to food production are all problems facing the world food security. The development of crops that can yield under uncertain and extreme climatic and soil growing conditions can play a key role in mitigating these problems. Major crops such as maize, rice, and wheat are responsible for a large proportion of global food production but many understudied crops (commonly known as “orphan crops”) including millets, cassava, and cowpea feed millions of people in Asia, Africa, and South America and are already adapted to the local environments in which they are grown. The application of modern genetic and genomic tools to the breeding of these crops can provide enormous opportunities for ensuring world food security but is only in its infancy. In this review, the diversity and types of understudied crops will be introduced, and the beneficial traits of these crops as well as their role in the socioeconomics of Africa will be discussed. In addition, the response of orphan crops to diverse types of abiotic stresses is investigated. A review of the current tools and their application to the breeding of enhanced orphan crops will also be described. Finally, few examples of global efforts on tackling major abiotic constraints in Africa are presented. PMID:29623231

  19. [Changes of soil physical properties during the conversion of cropland to agroforestry system].

    PubMed

    Wang, Lai; Gao, Peng Xiang; Liu, Bin; Zhong, Chong Gao; Hou, Lin; Zhang, Shuo Xin

    2017-01-01

    To provide theoretical basis for modeling and managing agroforestry systems, the influence of conversion of cropland to agroforestry system on soil physical properties was investigated via a walnut (Juglans regia)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) intercropping system, a wide spreading local agroforestry model in northern Weihe River of loess area, with the walnut and wheat monoculture systems as the control. The results showed that the improvement of the intercropping system on soil physical properties mainly appeared in the 0-40 cm soil layer. The intercropping system could prevent soil bulk density rising in the surface soil (0-20 cm), and the plow pan in the 20-40 cm soil layer could be significantly alleviated. The intercropping system had conti-nuous improvement on soil field capacity in each soil layer with the planting age increase, and the soil field capacity was higher than that of each monoculture system in each soil layer (except 20-40 cm soil layer) since the 5th year after planting. The intercropping system had continuous improvement on soil porosity in each soil layer, but mainly in the 0-20 and 20-40 cm soil layer, and the ratio of capillary porosity was also improved. The soil bulk density, field capacity and soil porosity obtained continuous improvement during the conversion of cropland to agroforestry system, and the improvement on soil physical properties was stronger in shallow soil layer than in deep soil.

  20. Biological framework for soil aggregation: Implications for ecological functions.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghezzehei, Teamrat; Or, Dani

    2016-04-01

    Soil aggregation is heuristically understood as agglomeration of primary particles bound together by biotic and abiotic cementing agents. The organization of aggregates is believed to be hierarchical in nature; whereby primary particles bond together to form secondary particles and subsequently merge to form larger aggregates. Soil aggregates are not permanent structures, they continuously change in response to internal and external forces and other drivers, including moisture, capillary pressure, temperature, biological activity, and human disturbances. Soil aggregation processes and the resulting functionality span multiple spatial and temporal scales. The intertwined biological and physical nature of soil aggregation, and the time scales involved precluded a universally applicable and quantifiable framework for characterizing the nature and function of soil aggregation. We introduce a biophysical framework of soil aggregation that considers the various modes and factors of the genesis, maturation and degradation of soil aggregates including wetting/drying cycles, soil mechanical processes, biological activity and the nature of primary soil particles. The framework attempts to disentangle mechanical (compaction and soil fragmentation) from in-situ biophysical aggregation and provides a consistent description of aggregate size, hierarchical organization, and life time. It also enables quantitative description of biotic and abiotic functions of soil aggregates including diffusion and storage of mass and energy as well as role of aggregates as hot spots of nutrient accumulation, biodiversity, and biogeochemical cycles.

  1. Effects of soil properties on the uptake of pharmaceuticals into earthworms.

    PubMed

    Carter, Laura J; Ryan, Jim J; Boxall, Alistair B A

    2016-06-01

    Pharmaceuticals can enter the soil environment when animal slurries and sewage sludge are applied to land as a fertiliser or during irrigation with contaminated water. These pharmaceuticals may then be taken up by soil organisms possibly resulting in toxic effects and/or exposure of organisms higher up the food chain. This study investigated the influence of soil properties on the uptake and depuration of pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine and orlistat) in the earthworm Eisenia fetida. The uptake and accumulation of pharmaceuticals into E. fetida changed depending on soil type. Orlistat exhibited the highest pore water based bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and displayed the largest differences between soil types with BCFs ranging between 30.5 and 115.9. For carbamazepine, diclofenac and fluoxetine BCFs ranged between 1.1 and 1.6, 7.0 and 69.6 and 14.1 and 20.4 respectively. Additional analysis demonstrated that in certain treatments the presence of these chemicals in the soil matrices changed the soil pH over time, with a statistically significant pH difference to control samples. The internal pH of E. fetida also changed as a result of incubation in pharmaceutically spiked soil, in comparison to the control earthworms. These results demonstrate that a combination of soil properties and pharmaceutical physico-chemical properties are important in terms of predicting pharmaceutical uptake in terrestrial systems and that pharmaceuticals can modify soil and internal earthworm chemistry which may hold wider implications for risk assessment. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  2. Diagnosing Abiotic Degradation

    EPA Science Inventory

    The abiotic degradation of chlorinated solvents in ground water can be difficult to diagnose. Under current practice, most of the “evidence” is negative; specifically the apparent disappearance of chlorinated solvents with an accumulation of vinyl chloride, ethane, ethylene, or ...

  3. Fingerprinting: Modelling and mapping physical top soil properties with the Mole

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Loonstra, Eddie; van Egmond, Fenny

    2010-05-01

    The Mole is a passive gamma ray soil sensor system. It is designed for the mobile collection of radioactive energy stemming from soil. As the system is passive, it only measures energy that reaches the surface of soil. In general, this energy comes from upto 30 to 40 cm deep, which can be considered topsoil. The gathered energy spectra are logged every second, are processed with the method of Full Spectrum Analysis. This method uses all available spectral data and processes it with a Chi square optimalisation using a set of standard spectra into individual nuclide point data. A standard spectrum is the measured full spectrum of a specific detector derived when exposed to 1 Bq/kg of a nuclide. With this method the outcome of the surveys become quantitative.The outcome of a field survey with the Mole results in a data file containing point information of position, Total Counts and the decay products of 232Th, 238U, 40K and 137Cs. Five elements are therefor available for the modelling of soil properties. There are several ways for the modelling of soil properties with sensor derived gamma ray data. The Mole generates ratio scale output. For modelling a quantitative deterministic approach is used based on sample locations. This process is called fingerprinting. Fingerprinting is a comparison of the concentration of the radioactive trace elements and the lab results (pH, clay content, etc.) by regression analysis. This results in a mathematical formula describing the relationship between a dependent and independent property. The results of the sensor readings are interpolated into a nuclide map with GIS software. With the derived formula a soil property map is composed. The principle of fingerprinting can be applied on large geographical areas for physical soil properties such as clay, loam or sand (50 micron), grain size and organic matter. Collected sample data of previous field surveys within the same region can be used for the prediction of soil properties elsewhere

  4. Timber Harvesting Effects on Spatial Variability of Southeastern U.S. Piedmont Soil Properties

    Treesearch

    J.N. Shaw; Emily A. Carter

    2002-01-01

    Site-specific forestry requires detailed characterization of the spatial distribution of forest soil properties and the magnitude of harvesting impacts in order to prescribe appropriate management schemes. Furthermore, evaluation of the effects of timber harvesting on soil properties conducted on a landscape scale improves the interpretive value of soil survey data....

  5. Estimation of soil profile properties using field and laboratory VNIR spectroscopy

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) soil sensors have the potential to provide rapid, high-resolution estimation of multiple soil properties. Although many studies have focused on laboratory-based visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy of dried soil samples, previous work has demonstrated ...

  6. Impact of petroleum products on soil composition and physical-chemical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brakorenko, N. N.; Korotchenko, T. V.

    2016-03-01

    The article describes the grain-size distribution, physical and mechanical properties, swelling and specific electrical resistivity of soils before and after the contact with petroleum products. The changes in mechanical properties of soils contaminated with petroleum products have been stated. It leads to the increase in compressibility values, decline in internal friction angle and cohesion.

  7. Effect on physical properties of laterite soil with difference percentage of sodium bentonite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kasim, Nur Aisyah; Azmi, Nor Azizah Che; Mukri, Mazidah; Noor, Siti Nur Aishah Mohd

    2017-08-01

    This research was carried out in an attempt to know the physical properties of laterite soil with the appearance of difference percentage of sodium bentonite. Lateritic soils usually develop in tropical and other regions with similar hot and humid climate, where heavy rainfall, warm temperature and well drainage lead to the formation of thick horizons of reddish lateritic soil profiles rich in iron and aluminium. When sodium predominates, a large amount of water can be absorbed in the interlayer, resulting in the remarkable swelling properties observed with hydrating sodium bentonite. There are some basic physical properties test conducted in this research which are Specific Gravity Test, pH Test, Sieve Analysis, Hydrometer Test, Shrinkage Limit and Atterberg Limit. The test will be conducted with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of sodium bentonite. Each test will be repeated three times for the accuracy of the result. From the physical properties test the soil properties characteristic react with the sodium bentonite can be determine. Therefore the best percentage of sodium bentonite admixture can be determined for laterite soil. The outcomes of this study give positive results due to the potential of sodium bentonite to improve the laterite soil particle.

  8. The number comb for a soil physical properties dynamic measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olechko, K.; Patiño, P.; Tarquis, A. M.

    2012-04-01

    We propose the prime numbers distribution extracted from the soil digital multiscale images and some physical properties time series as the precise indicator of the spatial and temporal dynamics under soil management changes. With this new indicator the soil dynamics can be studied as a critical phenomenon where each phase transition is estimated and modeled by the graph partitioning induced phase transition. The critical point of prime numbers distribution was correlated with the beginning of Andosols, Vertisols and saline soils physical degradation under the unsustainable soil management in Michoacan, Guanajuato and Veracruz States of Mexico. The data banks corresponding to the long time periods (between 10 and 28 years) were statistically compared by RISK 5.0 software and our own algorithms. Our approach makes us able to distill free-form natural laws of soils physical properties dynamics directly from the experimental data. The Richter (1987) and Schmidt and Lipson (2009) original approaches were very useful to design the algorithms to identify Hamiltonians, Lagrangians and other laws of geometric and momentum conservation especially for erosion case.

  9. Enhancing the engineering properties of expansive soil using bagasse ash

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silmi Surjandari, Niken; Djarwanti, Noegroho; Umri Ukoi, Nafisah

    2017-11-01

    This paper deals with stabilization of expansive soil on a laboratory experimental basis. The aim of the research was to evaluate the enhancement of the engineering properties of expansive soil using bagasse ash. The soil is treated with bagasse ash by weight (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%) based on dry mass. The performance of bagasse ash stabilized soil was evaluated using physical and strength performance tests, namely the plasticity index, standard Proctor compaction, and percentage swelling. An X-ray diffraction (XRD) test was conducted to evaluate the clay mineral, whereas an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was to the chemical composition of bagasse ash. From the results, it was observed that the basic tests carried out proved some soil properties after the addition of bagasse ash. Furthermore, the plasticity index decreased from 53.18 to 47.70%. The maximum dry density of the specimen increased from 1.13 to 1.24 gr/cm3. The percentage swelling decreased from 5.48 to 3.29%. The outcomes of these tests demonstrate that stabilization of expansive soils using bagasse ash can improve the strength.

  10. Influence of thinning Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) on hydraulic properties of an organic soil

    Treesearch

    Johnny M. Grace; R. W. Skaggs; D. Keith Cassel

    2006-01-01

    The impact of forest operations on soil properties has been a concern in forest management over the past 30 years. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of forest thinning operations on soil hydraulic properties of a shallow organic (Belhaven series) soil in the Tidewater region of North Carolina. Soil physical properties were evaluated in a nested...

  11. Effects of biotic and abiotic indices on long term soil moisture data in a grassland biodiversity experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fischer, Christine; Hohenbrink, Tobias; Leimer, Sophia; Roscher, Christiane; Ravenek, Janneke; de Kroon, Hans; Kreutziger, Yvonne; Wirth, Christian; Eisenhauer, Nico; Gleixner, Gerd; Weigelt, Alexandra; Mommer, Liesje; Beßler, Holger; Schröder, Boris; Hildebrandt, Anke

    2015-04-01

    Soil moisture is the dynamic link between climate, soil and vegetation and the dynamics and variation are affected by several often interrelated factors such as soil texture, soil structural parameters (soil organic carbon) and vegetation parameters (belowground- and aboveground biomass). For the characterization and estimation of soil moisture and its variability and the resulting water fluxes and solute transports, the knowledge of the relative importance of these factors is of major challenge for hydrology and bioclimatology. Because of the heterogeneity of these factors, soil moisture varies strongly over time and space. Our objective was to assess the spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture and factors which could explain that variability, like soil properties and vegetation cover, in in a long term biodiversity experiment (Jena Experiment). The Jena Experiment consist 86 plots on which plant species richness (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 60) and functional groups (legumes, grasses, tall herbs, and small herbs) were manipulated in a factorial design Soil moisture measurements were performed weekly April to September 2003-2005 and 2008-2013 using Delta T theta probe. Measurements were integrated to three depth intervals: 0.0 - 0.20, 0.20 - 0.40 and 0.40 - 0.70 m. We analyze the spatio-temporal patterns of soil water content on (i) the normalized time series and (ii) the first components obtained from a principal component analysis (PCA). Both were correlated with the design variables of the Jena Experiment (plant species richness and plant functional groups) and other influencing factors such as soil texture, soil structural variables and vegetation parameters. For the time stability of soil water content, the analysis showed that plots containing grasses was consistently drier than average at the soil surface in all observed years while plots containing legumes comparatively moister, but only up to the year 2008. In 0.40 - 0.70 m soil deep plots presence of

  12. Review and evaluation of the effects of xenobiotic chemicals on microorganisms in soil. [139 references

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hicks, R.J.; Van Voris, P.

    1988-02-01

    The primary objective was to review and evaluate the relevance and quality of existing xenobiotic data bases and test methods for evaluating direct and indirect effects (both adverse and beneficial) of xenobiotics on the soil microbial community; direct and indirect effects of the soil microbial community on xenobiotics; and adequacy of test methods used to evaluate these effects and interactions. Xenobiotic chemicals are defined here as those compounds, both organic and inorganic, produced by man and introduced into the environment at concentrations that cause undesirable effects. Because soil serves as the main repository for many of these chemicals, it thereforemore » has a major role in determining their ultimate fate. Once released, the distribution of xenobiotics between environmental compartments depends on the chemodynamic properties of the compounds, the physicochemical properties of the soils, and the transfer between soil-water and soil-air interfaces and across biological membranes. Abiotic and biotic processes can transform the chemical compound, thus altering its chemical state and, subsequently, its toxicity and reactivity. Ideally, the conversion is to carbon dioxide, water, and mineral elements, or at least, to some harmless substance. However, intermediate transformation products, which can become toxic pollutants in their own right, can sometimes be formed. 139 refs., 6 figs., 11 tabs.« less

  13. Seasonal Patterns of Soil Respiration and Related Soil Biochemical Properties under Nitrogen Addition in Winter Wheat Field.

    PubMed

    Liang, Guopeng; Houssou, Albert A; Wu, Huijun; Cai, Dianxiong; Wu, Xueping; Gao, Lili; Li, Jing; Wang, Bisheng; Li, Shengping

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the changes of soil respiration under increasing N fertilizer in cropland ecosystems is crucial to accurately predicting global warming. This study explored seasonal variations of soil respiration and its controlling biochemical properties under a gradient of Nitrogen addition during two consecutive winter wheat growing seasons (2013-2015). N was applied at four different levels: 0, 120, 180 and 240 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) (denoted as N0, N12, N18 and N24, respectively). Soil respiration exhibited significant seasonal variation and was significantly affected by soil temperature with Q10 ranging from 2.04 to 2.46 and from 1.49 to 1.53 during 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 winter wheat growing season, respectively. Soil moisture had no significant effect on soil respiration during 2013-2014 winter wheat growing season but showed a significant and negative correlation with soil respiration during 2014-2015 winter wheat growing season. Soil respiration under N24 treatment was significantly higher than N0 treatment. Averaged over the two growing seasons, N12, N18 and N24 significantly increased soil respiration by 13.4, 16.4 and 25.4% compared with N0, respectively. N addition also significantly increased easily extractable glomalin-related soil protein (EEG), soil organic carbon (SOC), total N, ammonium N and nitrate N contents. In addition, soil respiration was significantly and positively correlated with β-glucosidase activity, EEG, SOC, total N, ammonium N and nitrate N contents. The results indicated that high N fertilization improved soil chemical properties, but significantly increased soil respiration.

  14. Quantifying the Interactions Between Soil Thermal Characteristics, Soil Physical Properties, Hydro-geomorphological Conditions and Vegetation Distribution in an Arctic Watershed

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dafflon, B.; Leger, E.; Robert, Y.; Ulrich, C.; Peterson, J. E.; Soom, F.; Biraud, S.; Tran, A. P.; Hubbard, S. S.

    2017-12-01

    Improving understanding of Arctic ecosystem functioning and parameterization of process-rich hydro-biogeochemical models require advances in quantifying ecosystem properties, from the bedrock to the top of the canopy. In Arctic regions having significant subsurface heterogeneity, understanding the link between soil physical properties (incl. fraction of soil constituents, bedrock depth, permafrost characteristics), thermal behavior, hydrological conditions and landscape properties is particularly challenging yet is critical for predicting the storage and flux of carbon in a changing climate. This study takes place in Seward Peninsula Watersheds near Nome AK and Council AK, which are characterized by an elevation gradient, shallow bedrock, and discontinuous permafrost. To characterize permafrost distribution where the top of permafrost cannot be easily identified with a tile probe (due to rocky soil and/or large thaw layer thickness), we developed a novel technique using vertically resolved thermistor probes to directly sense the temperature regime at multiple depths and locations. These measurements complement electrical imaging, seismic refraction and point-scale data for identification of the various thermal behavior and soil characteristics. Also, we evaluate linkages between the soil physical-thermal properties and the surface properties (hydrological conditions, geomorphic characteristics and vegetation distribution) using UAV-based aerial imaging. Data integration and analysis is supported by numerical approaches that simulate hydrological and thermal processes. Overall, this study enables the identification of watershed structure and the links between various subsurface and landscape properties in representative Arctic watersheds. Results show very distinct trends in vertically resolved soil temperature profiles and strong lateral variations over tens of meters that are linked to zones with various hydrological conditions, soil properties and vegetation

  15. Poaceae vs. Abiotic Stress: Focus on Drought and Salt Stress, Recent Insights and Perspectives

    PubMed Central

    Landi, Simone; Hausman, Jean-Francois; Guerriero, Gea; Esposito, Sergio

    2017-01-01

    Poaceae represent the most important group of crops susceptible to abiotic stress. This large family of monocotyledonous plants, commonly known as grasses, counts several important cultivated species, namely wheat (Triticum aestivum), rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), and barley (Hordeum vulgare). These crops, notably, show different behaviors under abiotic stress conditions: wheat and rice are considered sensitive, showing serious yield reduction upon water scarcity and soil salinity, while barley presents a natural drought and salt tolerance. During the green revolution (1940–1960), cereal breeding was very successful in developing high-yield crops varieties; however, these cultivars were maximized for highest yield under optimal conditions, and did not present suitable traits for tolerance under unfavorable conditions. The improvement of crop abiotic stress tolerance requires a deep knowledge of the phenomena underlying tolerance, to devise novel approaches and decipher the key components of agricultural production systems. Approaches to improve food production combining both enhanced water use efficiency (WUE) and acceptable yields are critical to create a sustainable agriculture in the future. This paper analyzes the latest results on abiotic stress tolerance in Poaceae. In particular, the focus will be directed toward various aspects of water deprivation and salinity response efficiency in Poaceae. Aspects related to cell wall metabolism will be covered, given the importance of the plant cell wall in sensing environmental constraints and in mediating a response; the role of silicon (Si), an important element for monocots' normal growth and development, will also be discussed, since it activates a broad-spectrum response to different exogenous stresses. Perspectives valorizing studies on landraces conclude the survey, as they help identify key traits for breeding purposes. PMID:28744298

  16. Soil food web properties explain ecosystem services across European land use systems.

    PubMed

    de Vries, Franciska T; Thébault, Elisa; Liiri, Mira; Birkhofer, Klaus; Tsiafouli, Maria A; Bjørnlund, Lisa; Bracht Jørgensen, Helene; Brady, Mark Vincent; Christensen, Søren; de Ruiter, Peter C; d'Hertefeldt, Tina; Frouz, Jan; Hedlund, Katarina; Hemerik, Lia; Hol, W H Gera; Hotes, Stefan; Mortimer, Simon R; Setälä, Heikki; Sgardelis, Stefanos P; Uteseny, Karoline; van der Putten, Wim H; Wolters, Volkmar; Bardgett, Richard D

    2013-08-27

    Intensive land use reduces the diversity and abundance of many soil biota, with consequences for the processes that they govern and the ecosystem services that these processes underpin. Relationships between soil biota and ecosystem processes have mostly been found in laboratory experiments and rarely are found in the field. Here, we quantified, across four countries of contrasting climatic and soil conditions in Europe, how differences in soil food web composition resulting from land use systems (intensive wheat rotation, extensive rotation, and permanent grassland) influence the functioning of soils and the ecosystem services that they deliver. Intensive wheat rotation consistently reduced the biomass of all components of the soil food web across all countries. Soil food web properties strongly and consistently predicted processes of C and N cycling across land use systems and geographic locations, and they were a better predictor of these processes than land use. Processes of carbon loss increased with soil food web properties that correlated with soil C content, such as earthworm biomass and fungal/bacterial energy channel ratio, and were greatest in permanent grassland. In contrast, processes of N cycling were explained by soil food web properties independent of land use, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacterial channel biomass. Our quantification of the contribution of soil organisms to processes of C and N cycling across land use systems and geographic locations shows that soil biota need to be included in C and N cycling models and highlights the need to map and conserve soil biodiversity across the world.

  17. Soil food web properties explain ecosystem services across European land use systems

    PubMed Central

    de Vries, Franciska T.; Thébault, Elisa; Liiri, Mira; Birkhofer, Klaus; Tsiafouli, Maria A.; Bjørnlund, Lisa; Bracht Jørgensen, Helene; Brady, Mark Vincent; Christensen, Søren; de Ruiter, Peter C.; d’Hertefeldt, Tina; Frouz, Jan; Hedlund, Katarina; Hemerik, Lia; Hol, W. H. Gera; Hotes, Stefan; Mortimer, Simon R.; Setälä, Heikki; Sgardelis, Stefanos P.; Uteseny, Karoline; van der Putten, Wim H.; Wolters, Volkmar; Bardgett, Richard D.

    2013-01-01

    Intensive land use reduces the diversity and abundance of many soil biota, with consequences for the processes that they govern and the ecosystem services that these processes underpin. Relationships between soil biota and ecosystem processes have mostly been found in laboratory experiments and rarely are found in the field. Here, we quantified, across four countries of contrasting climatic and soil conditions in Europe, how differences in soil food web composition resulting from land use systems (intensive wheat rotation, extensive rotation, and permanent grassland) influence the functioning of soils and the ecosystem services that they deliver. Intensive wheat rotation consistently reduced the biomass of all components of the soil food web across all countries. Soil food web properties strongly and consistently predicted processes of C and N cycling across land use systems and geographic locations, and they were a better predictor of these processes than land use. Processes of carbon loss increased with soil food web properties that correlated with soil C content, such as earthworm biomass and fungal/bacterial energy channel ratio, and were greatest in permanent grassland. In contrast, processes of N cycling were explained by soil food web properties independent of land use, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacterial channel biomass. Our quantification of the contribution of soil organisms to processes of C and N cycling across land use systems and geographic locations shows that soil biota need to be included in C and N cycling models and highlights the need to map and conserve soil biodiversity across the world. PMID:23940339

  18. Using the Rasch model as an objective and probabilistic technique to integrate different soil properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rebollo, Francisco J.; Jesús Moral García, Francisco

    2016-04-01

    Soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) is one of the simplest, least expensive soil measurements that integrates many soil properties affecting crop productivity, including, for instance, soil texture, water content, and cation exchange capacity. The ECa measurements obtained with a 3100 Veris sensor, operating in both shallow (0-30 cm), ECs, and deep (0-90 cm), ECd, mode, can be used as an additional and essential information to be included in a probabilistic model, the Rasch model, with the aim of quantifying the overall soil fertililty potential in an agricultural field. This quantification should integrate the main soil physical and chemical properties, with different units. In this work, the formulation of the Rasch model integrates 11 soil properties (clay, silt and sand content, organic matter -OM-, pH, total nitrogen -TN-, available phosphorus -AP- and potassium -AK-, cation exchange capacity -CEC-, ECd, and ECs) measured at 70 locations in a field. The main outputs of the model include a ranking of all soil samples according to their relative fertility potential and the unexpected behaviours of some soil samples and properties. In the case study, the considered soil variables fit the model reasonably, having an important influence on soil fertility, except pH, probably due to its homogeneity in the field. Moreover, ECd, ECs are the most influential properties on soil fertility and, on the other hand, AP and AK the less influential properties. The use of the Rasch model to estimate soil fertility potential (always in a relative way, taking into account the characteristics of the studied soil) constitutes a new application of great practical importance, enabling to rationally determine locations in a field where high soil fertility potential exists and establishing those soil samples or properties which have any anomaly; this information can be necessary to conduct site-specific treatments, leading to a more cost-effective and sustainable field

  19. Effect of aggregation on SOC transport: linking soil properties to sediment organic matter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuhn, Nikolaus J.

    2016-04-01

    Soils are an interface between the Earth's spheres and shaped by the nature of the interaction between them. The relevance of soil properties for the nature of the interaction between atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere is well-studied and accepted, on point- or ecotone-scale. However, this understanding of the largely vertical connections between spheres is not matched by a similar recognition of soil properties affecting processes acting largely in a lateral way across the land surface, such as erosion, transport and deposition of soil and the associated organic matter. Understanding the redistribution of eroded soil organic matter falls into several disciplines, most notably soil science, agronomy, hydrology and geomorphology, and recently into biogeochemistry. Accordingly, the way soil and sediment are described differs: in soil science, aggregation and structure are essential properties, while most process-based soil erosion models treat soil as a mixture of individual mineral grains, based on concepts derived in fluvial geomorphology or civil engineering. The actual behavior of aggregated sediment and the associated organic matter is not reflected by either approach and difficult to capture due to the dynamic nature of aggregation, especially in an environment such as running water. Still, a proxy to assess the uncertainties introduced by aggregation on the behavior of soil/sediment organic while moving in water across landscapes and into the aquatic system would represent a major step forward. To develop such a proxy, a database collating relevant soil, organic matter and sediment properties could serve as an initial step to identify which soil types and erosion scenarios are prone to generate a high uncertainty compared to the use of soil texture in erosion models. Furthermore, it could serve to develop standardized analytical procedures for appropriate description of soil and organic matter as sediment.

  20. Effect of EDTA washing of metal polluted garden soils. Part I: Toxicity hazards and impact on soil properties.

    PubMed

    Jelusic, Masa; Lestan, Domen

    2014-03-15

    We applied a multi-level approach assessing the quality, toxicity and functioning of Pb, Zn and Cd contaminated/remediated soil from a vegetable garden in Meza Valley, Slovenia. Contaminated soil was extracted with EDTA and placed into field experimental plots equipped with lysimeters. Soil properties were assessed by standard pedological analysis. Fractionation and leachability of toxic metals were analyzed by sequential extraction and TCLP and metal bioaccessibility by UBM tests. Soil respiration and enzyme activities were measured as indicators of soil functioning. Remediation reduced the metal burden by 80, 28 and 72% for Pb, Zn and Cd respectively, with a limited impact on soil pedology. Toxic metals associated with labile soil fractions were largely removed. No shifts between labile and residual fractions were observed during the seven months of the experiment. Initial metal leaching measured through lysimeters eventually ceased. However, remediation significantly diminished potential soil enzyme activity and no trends were observed of the remediated soil recovering its biological properties. Soil washing successfully removed available forms of Pb, Zn and Cd and thus lowered the human and environmental hazards of the remediated soil; however, remediation also extracted the trace elements essential for soil biota. In addition to reduced water holding capacity, soil health was not completely restored. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Abiotic processes are insufficient for fertile island development: A 10-year artificial shrub experiment in a desert grassland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Junran; Gilhooly, William P.; Okin, Gregory S.; Blackwell, John

    2017-03-01

    The relative importance of biotic and abiotic processes in the development of "fertile islands" in dryland systems has rarely been investigated. Here we approached this question by using artificial shrubs, which exclude plant litter production and soil nutrient uptake, but retain the functions of trapping windblown material, funneling of stemflow, and differential rain splash. We conducted a vegetation manipulation study more than a decade ago in the desert grassland of southern New Mexico and subsequently revisited the site in 2012 and 2015. The results show that no notable soil mounds were observed under the artificial shrubs; however, soil texture under the artificial shrubs has gradually changed to resemble the patterns of soil particle-size distribution under natural shrubs. Our results highlight that with the exclusion of direct biotic additions, soils captured by shrub canopies are not necessarily fertile and thus do not themselves contribute to the development of fertile islands.

  2. Agricultural legacies in forest environments: tree communities, soil properties, and light availability.

    PubMed

    Flinn, Kathryn M; Marks, P L

    2007-03-01

    Temperate deciduous forests across much of Europe and eastern North America reflect legacies of past land use, particularly in the diversity and composition of plant communities. Intense disturbances, such as clearing forests for agriculture, may cause persistent environmental changes that continue to shape vegetation patterns as landscapes recover. We assessed the long-term consequences of agriculture for environmental conditions in central New York forests, including tree community structure and composition, soil physical and chemical properties, and light availability. To isolate the effects of agriculture, we compared 20 adjacent pairs of forests that were never cleared for agriculture (primary forests) and forests that established 85-100 years ago on plowed fields (secondary forests). Tree communities in primary and secondary forests had similar stem density, though secondary forests had 14% greater basal area. Species composition differed dramatically between the two forest types, with primary forests dominated by Acer saccharum and Fagus grandifolia and secondary forests by Acer rubrum and Pinus strobus. Primary and secondary forests showed no consistent differences in soil physical properties or in the principal gradient of soil fertility associated with soil pH. Within stands, however, soil water content and pH were more variable in primary forests. Secondary forest soils had 15% less organic matter, 16% less total carbon, and 29% less extractable phosphorus in the top 10 cm than adjacent primary stands, though the ranges of the forest types mostly overlapped. Understory light availability in primary and secondary forests was similar. These results suggest that, within 100 years, post-agricultural stands have recovered conditions comparable to less disturbed forests in many attributes, including tree size and number, soil physical properties, soil chemical properties associated with pH, and understory light availability. The principal legacies of

  3. Effect of biotic and abiotic factors on inter- and intra-event variability in stemflow rates in oak and pine stands in a Mediterranean mountain area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cayuela, C.; Llorens, P.; Sánchez-Costa, E.; Levia, D. F.; Latron, J.

    2018-05-01

    Stemflow, despite being a small proportion of gross rainfall, is an important and understudied flux of water in forested areas. Recent studies have highlighted its complexity and relative importance for understanding soil and groundwater recharge. Stemflow dynamics offer an insight into how rain water is stored and released from the stems of trees to the soil. Past attempts have been made to understand the variability of stemflow under different types of vegetation, but rather few studies have focused on the combined influence of biotic and abiotic factors on inter and intra-storm stemflow variability, and none in Mediterranean climates. This study presents stemflow data collected at high temporal resolution for two species with contrasting canopies and bark characteristics: Quercus pubescens Willd. (downy oak) and Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine) in the Vallcebre research catchments (NE of Spain, 42° 12‧N, 1° 49‧E). The main objective was to understand how the interaction of biotic and abiotic factors affected stemflow dynamics. Mean stemflow production was low for both species (∼1% of incident rainfall) and increased with rainfall amount. However, the magnitude of the response depended on the combination of multiple biotic and abiotic factors. Both species produced similar stemflow volumes and the largest differences were found among trees of the same species. The combined analysis of biotic and abiotic factors showed that funneling ratios and stemflow dynamics were highly influenced by the interaction of rainfall intensity and tree size.

  4. Farm-scale variation of soil quality indices and association with edaphic properties

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Soil organisms are indicators of dynamic soil quality because their community structure and population density are sensitive to management changes. However, edaphic properties can also affect soil organisms and high spatial variability can confound their utility for soil evaluation. In the present...

  5. Effect of land use change on soil properties and functions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tonutare, Tonu; Kõlli, Raimo; Köster, Tiina; Rannik, Kaire; Szajdak, Lech; Shanskiy, Merrit

    2014-05-01

    For good base of sustainable land management and ecologically sound protection of soils are researches on soil properties and functioning. Ecosystem approach to soil properties and functioning is equally important in both natural and cultivated land use conditions. Comparative analysis of natural and agro-ecosystems formed on similar soil types enables to elucidate principal changes caused by land use change (LUC) and to elaborate the best land use practices for local pedo-ecological conditions. Taken for actual analysis mineral soils' catena - rendzina → brown soils → pseudopodzolic soils → gley-podzols - represent ca 1/3 of total area of Estonian normal mineral soils. All soils of this catena differ substantially each from other by calcareousness, acidity, nutrition conditions, fabric and humus cover type. This catena (representative to Estonian pedo-ecological conditions) starts with drought-prone calcareous soils. Brown (distributed in northern and central Estonia) and pseudopodzolic soils (in southern Estonia) are the most broadly acknowledged for agricultural use medium-textured high-quality automorphic soils. Dispersedly distributed gley-podzols are permanently wet and strongly acid, low-productivity sandy soils. In presentation four complex functions of soils are treated: (1) being a suitable soil environment for plant cover productivity (expressed by annual increment, Mg ha-1 yr-1); (2) forming adequate conditions for decomposition, transformation and conversion of fresh falling litter (characterized by humus cover type); (3) deposition of humus, individual organic compounds, plant nutrition elements, air and water, and (4) forming (bio)chemically variegated active space for soil type specific edaphon. Capacity of soil cover as depositor (3) depends on it thickness, texture, calcareousness and moisture conditions. Biological activity of soil (4) is determined by fresh organic matter influx, quality and quantity of biochemical substances and humus

  6. First look at rock & soil properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1997-01-01

    The earliest survey of spectral properties of the rocks and soils surrounding Pathfinder was acquired as a narrow strip covering the region just beyond the where the rover made its egress from the lander. The wavelength filters used, all in the binocular camera's right eye, cover mainly visible wavelengths. These data reveal at least five kinds of rocks and soil in the immediate vicinity of the lander. All of the spectra are ratioed to the mean spectrum of bright red drift to highlight the differences. Different occurrences of drift (pink spectra) are closely similar. Most of the rocks (black spectra) have a dark gray color, and are both darker and less red than the drift, suggesting less weathering. Typical soils (green spectra) are intermediate in properties to the rocks and drift. Both these data and subsequent higher resolution images show that the typical soil consists of a mixture of drift and small dark gray particles resembling the rock. However, two other kinds of materials are significantly different from the rocks and drift. Pinkish or whitish pebbles and crusts on some of the rocks (blue spectra) are brighter in blue light and darker in near-infrared light than is the drift, and they lack the spectral characteristics closely associated with iron minerals. Dark red soils in the lee of several rocks are about as red as the drift, but consistently darker. The curvature in the spectrum at visible wavelengths suggests either more ferric iron minerals than in the drift or a larger particle size.

    Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. JPL is an operating division

  7. From the study of fire effects on individual soil properties to the development of soil quality indices. 1. The pioneer research

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mataix-Solera, Jorge; Zornoza, Raúl

    2013-04-01

    Although forest fires must be considered as a natural factor in Mediterranean ecosystems, the modification of its natural regime during last five decades has thansformed them in an environmental problem. In the Valencia region (E Spain) 1994 was the worst year in the history affecting more than 120,000 hectares. I started my Ph.D that year by studying the effects of fires in soil properties. The availability to be able to analyse a great set of different types of soil properties in the laboratories of University of Alicante allowed me to explore how fires could affect physical, chemical and micobiological soil properties. After years studying different soil properties, finding that several factors are involved, including: fire intensity and severity, vegetation, soil type, climate conditions, etc. (Mataix-Solera and Doerr, 2004; Mataix-Solera et al., 2008, 2011) my research as Ph-D supervisor has been focussed to investigate more in depth some selected properties, such as aggregate stability and water repellency (Arcenegui et al., 2007, 2008). But one of the main problems in the studies conducted with samples affected by wildfires is that for the evaluation of the fire impact in the soil it is necessary to have control (unburned) soil samples from a similar non-affected near area. The existing spatial variability under field conditions does not allow having comparable samples in some acses to develop a correct assessment. With this idea in mind one of my Ph.D researcher (R. Zornoza) dedicated his thesis to develope soil quality indices capable to assess the impact of soil perturbations without comparing groups of samples, but evaluating the equilibrium among different soil properties within each soil sample (Zornoza et al., 2007, 2008). Key words: wildfire, Mediterranean soils, soil degradation, wàter repellency, aggregate stability References: Arcenegui, V., Mataix-Solera, J., Guerrero, C., Zornoza, R., Mayoral, A.M., Morales, J., 2007. Factors controlling the

  8. Deconvoluting effects of vine and soil properties on grape berry composition.

    PubMed

    Zerihun, Ayalsew; McClymont, Lexie; Lanyon, Dean; Goodwin, Ian; Gibberd, Mark

    2015-01-01

    Grape berry composition is influenced by several factors including grapevine and soil properties and their interactions. Understanding how these factors interact to determine berry composition is integral to producing berries with desired composition. Here we used extensive spatio-temporal data to identify significant vine and soil features that influence Shiraz berry composition. The concentrations of berry flavonoids (anthocyanins, tannin and total phenolics), total soluble solids and pH were typically negatively associated with canopy, crop and berry size factors whereas titratable acidity was positively associated. The strengths of the associations, however, were generally greater with the crop and berry size factors than with the canopy size factor. The analyses also resolved separate influences of berry and crop size on berry composition. Soil properties had significant influences on berry composition; however, when influences of soil factors on vine-attributes were accounted for, the apparent effects of soil factors on berry composition were largely non-existent. At each site, variations in berry composition were more strongly associated with crop and berry size than with canopy size factors. Apparent influences of soil properties on berry composition are indirect, being mediated via their effects on vine attributes (canopy, crop and berry sizes). © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  9. Estimation of soil profile physical and chemical properties using a VIS-NIR-EC-force probe

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Combining data collected in-field from multiple soil sensors has the potential to improve the efficiency and accuracy of soil property estimates. Optical diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) has been used to estimate many important soil properties, such as soil carbon, water content, and texture. ...

  10. Derivation of spatial patterns of soil hydraulic properties based on pedotransfer functions

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Spatial patterns in soil hydrology are the product of the spatial distribution of soil hydraulic properties. These properties are notorious for the difficulties and high labor costs involved in measuring them. Often, there is a need to resort to estimating these parameters from other, more readily a...

  11. Magnetic and Geochemical Properties of Andic Soils from the Massif Central, France

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grison, H.; Petrovsky, E.; Dlouha, S.; Kapicka, A.

    2014-12-01

    Ferrimagnetic iron oxides are the key magnetic minerals responsible for enhancement of the magnetic susceptibility in soils. Soils with andic properties contain high amount of Fe-oxides, but only few attempts were made to characterize these soils using magnetic methods. Magnetic susceptibility is in particular suitable for its sensitivity and fast measurement; the presence of Fe-oxides can be easily identified directly in the field. The aim of our study is to describe main magnetic and geochemical properties of soils rich in Fe oxides derived from strongly magnetic volcanic basement. The studied sites are located at the basalt parent rock formed during Pleistocene, Pliocene and Miocene. Investigated soils are exposed to the mountainous climate with the perudic soil moisture regime and cryic temperature soil regime. Seven basalt soil profiles with typical andic properties were analyzed down to parent rock by a set of magnetic and geochemical methods. The magnetic susceptibility was measured in situ and in laboratory using the Bartington MS2D and AGICO MFK1. Its temperature dependence was measured in order to assess phase transformations of magnetic minerals using the KLY4. Magnetic data were completed by the hysteresis, IRM and DCD measurements using ADE EV9 VSM. Geochemical data include soil reaction (pH), organic carbon, cations exchange capacity, and extractable iron and aluminium in the soil extracted by a dithionite-citrate, acid-ammonium oxalate and a pyrophosphate solution. Scanning electron microscopy was done for top/sub-soil and rock samples. Geochemical soil properties reflecting iron oxide stability correlate well with mass-specific magnetic susceptibility. Well pronounced relationship was observed between magnetic grain size, precipitation and soil pH, second group is reflecting concentration of feri-magnetic particles and age of parent rock, and the third group reflects degree of weathering and the thermomagnetic indices expressing changes in magneto

  12. 3D-Digital soil property mapping by geoadditive models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Papritz, Andreas

    2016-04-01

    In many digital soil mapping (DSM) applications, soil properties must be predicted not only for a single but for multiple soil depth intervals. In the GlobalSoilMap project, as an example, predictions are computed for the 0-5 cm, 5-15 cm, 15-30 cm, 30-60 cm, 60-100 cm, 100-200 cm depth intervals (Arrouays et al., 2014). Legacy soil data are often used for DSM. It is common for such datasets that soil properties were measured for soil horizons or for layers at varying soil depth and with non-constant thickness (support). This poses problems for DSM: One strategy is to harmonize the soil data to common depth prior to the analyses (e.g. Bishop et al., 1999) and conduct the statistical analyses for each depth interval independently. The disadvantage of this approach is that the predictions for different depths are computed independently from each other so that the predicted depth profiles may be unrealistic. Furthermore, the error induced by the harmonization to common depth is ignored in this approach (Orton et al. 2016). A better strategy is therefore to process all soil data jointly without prior harmonization by a 3D-analysis that takes soil depth and geographical position explicitly into account. Usually, the non-constant support of the data is then ignored, but Orton et al. (2016) presented recently a geostatistical approach that accounts for non-constant support of soil data and relies on restricted maximum likelihood estimation (REML) of a linear geostatistical model with a separable, heteroscedastic, zonal anisotropic auto-covariance function and area-to-point kriging (Kyriakidis, 2004.) Although this model is theoretically coherent and elegant, estimating its many parameters by REML and selecting covariates for the spatial mean function is a formidable task. A simpler approach might be to use geoadditive models (Kammann and Wand, 2003; Wand, 2003) for 3D-analyses of soil data. geoAM extend the scope of the linear model with spatially correlated errors to

  13. Seasonal Patterns of Soil Respiration and Related Soil Biochemical Properties under Nitrogen Addition in Winter Wheat Field

    PubMed Central

    Liang, Guopeng; Houssou, Albert A.; Wu, Huijun; Cai, Dianxiong; Wu, Xueping; Gao, Lili; Li, Jing; Wang, Bisheng; Li, Shengping

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the changes of soil respiration under increasing N fertilizer in cropland ecosystems is crucial to accurately predicting global warming. This study explored seasonal variations of soil respiration and its controlling biochemical properties under a gradient of Nitrogen addition during two consecutive winter wheat growing seasons (2013–2015). N was applied at four different levels: 0, 120, 180 and 240 kg N ha-1 year-1 (denoted as N0, N12, N18 and N24, respectively). Soil respiration exhibited significant seasonal variation and was significantly affected by soil temperature with Q10 ranging from 2.04 to 2.46 and from 1.49 to 1.53 during 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 winter wheat growing season, respectively. Soil moisture had no significant effect on soil respiration during 2013–2014 winter wheat growing season but showed a significant and negative correlation with soil respiration during 2014–2015 winter wheat growing season. Soil respiration under N24 treatment was significantly higher than N0 treatment. Averaged over the two growing seasons, N12, N18 and N24 significantly increased soil respiration by 13.4, 16.4 and 25.4% compared with N0, respectively. N addition also significantly increased easily extractable glomalin-related soil protein (EEG), soil organic carbon (SOC), total N, ammonium N and nitrate N contents. In addition, soil respiration was significantly and positively correlated with β-glucosidase activity, EEG, SOC, total N, ammonium N and nitrate N contents. The results indicated that high N fertilization improved soil chemical properties, but significantly increased soil respiration. PMID:26629695

  14. Land-use types and soil chemical properties influence soil microbial communities in the semiarid Loess Plateau region in China

    PubMed Central

    Tian, Qin; Taniguchi, Takeshi; Shi, Wei-Yu; Li, Guoqing; Yamanaka, Norikazu; Du, Sheng

    2017-01-01

    Similar land-use types usually have similar soil properties, and, most likely, similar microbial communities. Here, we assessed whether land-use types or soil chemical properties are the primary drivers of soil microbial community composition, and how changes in one part of the ecosystem affect another. We applied Ion Torrent sequencing to the bacterial and fungal communities of five different land-use (vegetation) types in the Loess Plateau of China. We found that the overall trend of soil quality was natural forest > plantation > bare land. Dominant bacterial phyla consisted of Proteobacteria (42.35%), Actinobacteria (15.61%), Acidobacteria (13.32%), Bacteroidetes (8.43%), and Gemmatimonadetes (6.0%). The dominant fungi phyla were Ascomycota (40.39%), Basidiomycota (38.01%), and Zygomycota (16.86%). The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) based on land-use types displayed groups according to the land-use types. Furthermore, the bacterial communities were mainly organized by soil organic carbon (SOC). The fungal communities were mainly related to available phosphorus (P). The results suggested that the changes of land use type generated changes in soil chemical properties, controlling the composition of microbial community in the semiarid Loess Plateau region. The microbial community could be an indicator for soil quality with respect to ecological restoration. PMID:28349918

  15. Land-use types and soil chemical properties influence soil microbial communities in the semiarid Loess Plateau region in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tian, Qin; Taniguchi, Takeshi; Shi, Wei-Yu; Li, Guoqing; Yamanaka, Norikazu; Du, Sheng

    2017-03-01

    Similar land-use types usually have similar soil properties, and, most likely, similar microbial communities. Here, we assessed whether land-use types or soil chemical properties are the primary drivers of soil microbial community composition, and how changes in one part of the ecosystem affect another. We applied Ion Torrent sequencing to the bacterial and fungal communities of five different land-use (vegetation) types in the Loess Plateau of China. We found that the overall trend of soil quality was natural forest > plantation > bare land. Dominant bacterial phyla consisted of Proteobacteria (42.35%), Actinobacteria (15.61%), Acidobacteria (13.32%), Bacteroidetes (8.43%), and Gemmatimonadetes (6.0%). The dominant fungi phyla were Ascomycota (40.39%), Basidiomycota (38.01%), and Zygomycota (16.86%). The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) based on land-use types displayed groups according to the land-use types. Furthermore, the bacterial communities were mainly organized by soil organic carbon (SOC). The fungal communities were mainly related to available phosphorus (P). The results suggested that the changes of land use type generated changes in soil chemical properties, controlling the composition of microbial community in the semiarid Loess Plateau region. The microbial community could be an indicator for soil quality with respect to ecological restoration.

  16. Relating soil geochemical properties to arsenic bioaccessibility through hierarchical modeling.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Interest in improved understanding of relationships among soil properties and arsenic (As) bioaccessibility has motivated the use of regression models for As bioaccessibility prediction. However, limits in the numbers and types of soils included in previous studies restrict the u...

  17. Changes in Forest Soil Properties in Different Successional Stages in Lower Tropical China

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yuelin; Yang, Fangfang; Ou, Yangxu; Zhang, Deqiang; Liu, Juxiu; Chu, Guowei; Zhang, Yaru; Otieno, Dennis; Zhou, Guoyi

    2013-01-01

    Background Natural forest succession often affects soil physical and chemical properties. Selected physical and chemical soil properties were studied in an old-growth forest across a forest successional series in Dinghushan Nature Reserve, Southern China. Methodology/Principal Findings The aim was to assess the effects of forest succession change on soil properties. Soil samples (0–20 cm depth) were collected from three forest types at different succession stages, namely pine (Pinus massoniana) forest (PMF), mixed pine and broadleaf forest (PBMF) and monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest (MEBF), representing early, middle and advanced successional stages respectively. The soil samples were analyzed for soil water storage (SWS), soil organic matter (SOM), soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), pH, NH4 +-N, available potassium (K), available phosphorus (P) and microelements (available copper (Cu), available zinc (Zn), available iron (Fe) and available boron (B)) between 1999 and 2009. The results showed that SWS, SOM, SMBC, Cu, Zn, Fe and B concentrations were higher in the advanced successional stage (MEBF stage). Conversely, P and pH were lower in the MEBF but higher in the PMF (early successional stage). pH, NH4 +-N, P and K declined while SOM, Zn, Cu, Fe and B increased with increasing forest age. Soil pH was lower than 4.5 in the three forest types, indicating that the surface soil was acidic, a stable trend in Dinghushan. Conclusion/Significance These findings demonstrated significant impacts of natural succession in an old-growth forest on the surface soil nutrient properties and organic matter. Changes in soil properties along the forest succession gradient may be a useful index for evaluating the successional stages of the subtropical forests. We caution that our inferences are drawn from a pseudo-replicated chronosequence, as true replicates were difficult to find. Further studies are needed to draw rigorous conclusions regarding on nutrient dynamics in

  18. Time-dependent effect of composted tannery sludge on the chemical and microbial properties of soil.

    PubMed

    de Sousa, Ricardo Silva; Santos, Vilma Maria; de Melo, Wanderley Jose; Nunes, Luis Alfredo Pinheiro Leal; van den Brink, Paul J; Araújo, Ademir Sérgio Ferreira

    2017-12-01

    Composting has been suggested as an efficient method for tannery sludge recycling before its application to the soil. However, the application of composted tannery sludge (CTS) should be monitored to evaluate its effect on the chemical and microbial properties of soil. This study evaluated the time-dependent effect of CTS on the chemical and microbial properties of soil. CTS was applied at 0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 Mg ha -1 and the soil chemical and microbial properties were evaluated at 0, 45, 75, 150, and 180 days. Increased CTS rates increased the levels of Ca, Cr, and Mg. While Soil pH, organic C, and P increased with the CTS rates initially, this effect decreased over time. Soil microbial biomass, respiration, metabolic quotient, and dehydrogenase increased with the application of CTS, but decreased over time. Analysis of the Principal Response Curve showed a significant effect of CTS rate on the chemical and microbial properties of the soil over time. The weight of each variable indicated that all soil properties, except β-glucosidase, dehydrogenase and microbial quotient, increased due to the CTS application. However, the highest weights were found for Cr, pH, Ca, P, phosphatase and total organic C. The application of CTS in the soil changed the chemical and microbial properties over time, indicating Cr, pH, Ca, phosphatase, and soil respiration as the more responsive chemical and microbial variables by CTS application.

  19. Effect Of Soil Properties On The Geochemical Speciation Of Arsenic In Contaminated Soils: A Greenhouse Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, S.; Sarkar, D.; Datta, R.

    2005-05-01

    Land-applied arsenical pesticides have contributed elevated soil arsenic (As) levels. Many baseline risk assessments As-contaminated sites assume that all As present in the soil is bioavailable, thereby potentially overestimating the actual health risk. However, risk from As exposure is associated only with those forms of As that are potentially extractable by the human gastrointestinal juices. It has been demonstrated that As may exist in several geochemical forms depending on soil chemical properties, which may or may not be bioavailable. The current study aims at addressing the issue of soil variability on As bioavailability as a function of soil physico-chemical properties in a greenhouse setting involving dynamic interactions between soil, water and plants. Four different soils were chosen based on their potential differences with respect to As reactivity: Immokalee, an acid sand with low extractable Fe/Al, having minimal arsenic retention capacity; Millhopper, an acid sandy loam with high extractable Fe/Al oxides; Pahokee Muck soil with 85% soil organic matter (SOM) as well as high Fe/Al content; and Orelia soil with high clay and Fe/Al content. Soils were amended with sodium arsenate (675 and 1500 mg/Kg). Rice (Oryza sativa) was used as the test crop. A sequential extraction scheme was employed to identify the geochemical forms of As in soils (soluble, exchangeable, organic, Fe/Al-bound, Ca/Mg-bound, residual) immediately after spiking; after 3 mo; and after 6 mo of equilibration time. Concentrations of these As forms were correlated with the in-vitro bioavailable As fractions to identify those As fractions that are most likely to be bioavailable. Results from this study showed that there was little to no plant growth in the contaminated soils. Sequential extractions of the soil indicated that arsenic is strongly adsorbed onto soil amorphous iron/aluminum oxides, and the degree of arsenic retention is a direct function of equilibration time.

  20. Influence of the Soil Genesis on Physical and Mechanical Properties

    PubMed Central

    Marschalko, Marian; Yilmaz, Işık; Fojtová, Lucie; Kubečka, Karel; Bouchal, Tomáš; Bednárik, Martin

    2013-01-01

    The paper deals with the influence of soil genesis on the physical-mechanical properties. The presented case study was conducted in the region of the Ostrava Basin where there is a varied genetic composition of the Quaternary geological structure on the underlying Neogeneous sediments which are sediments of analogous granulometry but different genesis. In this study, 7827 soil samples of an eolian, fluvial, glacial, and deluvial origin and their laboratory analyses results were used. The study identified different values in certain cases, mostly in coarser-grained foundation soils, such as sandy loam S4 (MS) and clayey sand F4 (CS). The soils of the fluvial origin manifest different values than other genetic types. Next, based on regression analyses, dependence was proved neither on the deposition depth (depth of samples) nor from the point of view of the individual foundation soil classes or the genetic types. The contribution of the paper is to point at the influence of genesis on the foundation soil properties so that engineering geologists and geotechnicians pay more attention to the genesis during engineering-geological and geotechnical investigations. PMID:23844398

  1. Assessing agricultural management effects on structure related soil hydraulic properties by tension infiltrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bodner, G.; Loiskandl, W.; Kaul, H.-P.

    2009-04-01

    Soil structure is a dynamic property subject to numerous natural and human influences. It is recognized as fundamental for sustainable functioning of soil. Therefore knowledge of management impacts on the sensitive structural states of soil is decisive in order to avoid soil degradation. The stabilization of the soil's (macro)pore system and eventually the improvement of its infiltrability are essential to avoid runoff and soil erosion, particularly in view of an increasing probability of intense rainfall events. However structure-related soil properties generally have a high natural spatiotemporal variability that interacts with the potential influence of agricultural land use. This complicates a clear determination of management vs. environmental effects and requires adequate measurement methods, allowing a sufficient spatiotemporal resolution to estimate the impact of the targeted management factors within the natural dynamics of soil structure. A common method to assess structure-related soil hydraulic properties is tension infiltrometry. A major advantage of tension infiltrometer measurements is that no or only minimum soil disturbance is necessary and several structure-controlled water transmission properties can readily be derived. The method is more time- and cost-efficient compared to laboratory measurements of soil hydraulic properties, thus enabling more replications. Furthermore in situ measurements of hydraulic properties generally allow a more accurate reproduction of field soil water dynamics. The present study analyses the impact of two common agricultural management options on structure related hydraulic properties based on tension infiltrometer measurements. Its focus is the identification of the role of management within the natural spatiotemporal variability, particularly in respect to seasonal temporal dynamics. Two management approaches are analysed, (i) cover cropping as a "plant-based" agro-environmental measure, and (ii) tillage with

  2. Field-Measured Infiltration Properties of Mojave Desert Soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perkins, K. S.; Nimmo, J. R.; Winfield, K. A.; Schmidt, K. M.; Miller, D. M.; Stock, J. D.; Singha, K.

    2005-12-01

    Characteristics typical of alluvial desert soils, such as depositional stratification, desert pavement, biotic crusts, and vesicular horizons strongly influence soil moisture and its variability. Knowledge of infiltration capacity, water retention, and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is central to the assessment of water availability to plants and animals after infiltration events. These hydraulic parameters are directly related to the degree of soil development. The frequency and magnitude of storm events in conjunction with degree of soil development also affect runoff and erosion. Our purpose is to examine field soil-water behavior and determine unsaturated hydraulic properties needed for large-scale modeling of soil moisture. The results of this study will be used in conjunction with surficial geologic mapping of the Mojave Desert in evaluations of ecological habitat quality. We conducted infiltration/redistribution experiments on three different-aged deposits in the Mojave National Preserve: (1) recently deposited wash sediments, (2) a soil of early Holocene age, and (3) a highly developed soil of late Pleistocene age. In each experiment we ponded water in a 1-m-diameter infiltration ring for 2.3 hr. For several weeks we monitored water content and matric pressure to depths of 1.5 m, and distances of 6 m from the infiltration ring. Measuring techniques included surface electrical resistance tomography, dielectric-constant probes, heat-dissipation probes, and tensiometers. Analysis of the subsurface measurements using an instantaneous-profile technique gives the retention and K properties that will be used in predictive modeling. In each experiment the infiltration rate was nearly constant in time, with infiltration capacity 4 times greater in the youngest than in the oldest soil. Average infiltration flux densities within the ring during the period of ponding were 0.80 m/hr in the active wash, 0.45 m/hr in the Holocene soil, and 0.21 m/hr in the Pleistocene

  3. Correlations between soil respiration and soil properties in sugarcane areas under green and slash-and-burn management systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rodrigo Panosso, Alan; Milori, Débora M. B. P.; Marques Júnior, José; Martin-Neto, Ladislau; La Scala, Newton, Jr.

    2010-05-01

    Soil management causes changes in soil physical, chemical, and biological properties that consequently affect its CO2 emission. In this work we studied soil respiration (FCO2) in areas with sugarcane production in southern Brazil under two different sugarcane management systems: green (G), consisting of mechanized harvesting that produces a large amount of crop residues left on the soil surface, and slash-and-burn (SB), in which the residues are burned before manual harvest, leaving no residues on the soil surface. The study was conducted after the harvest period in two side-by-side grids installed in adjacent areas, having 20 measurement points each. The objective of this work was to determinate whether soil physical and chemical properties within each plot were useful in order to explain the spatial variability of FCO2, supposedly influence by each management system. Most of the soil physical properties studied showed no significant differences between management systems, but on the other hand most of the chemical properties differed significantly when SB and G areas were compared. Total FCO2 was 31% higher in the SB plot (729 g CO2 m-2) when compared to the G plot (557 g CO2 m-2) throughout the 70-day period after harvest studied. This seems to be related to the sensitivity of FCO2 to precipitation events, as respiration in this plot increased significantly with increases in soil moisture. Despite temporal variability showed to be positively related to soil moisture, inside each management system there was a negative correlation (p<0.01) between the spatial changes of FCO2 and soil moisture (MS), R= -0.56 and -0.59 for G and SB respectively. There was no spatial correlation between FCO2 and soil organic matter in each management system, however, the humification index (Hum) of organic matter was negatively linear correlated with FCO2 in SB (R= -0.53, p<0.05) while positively linear correlated in G area (R=0.42, p<0.10). The multiple regression model analysis

  4. Impact of the post fire management in some soil chemical properties. First results.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Francos, Marcos; Pereira, Paulo; Alcañiz, Meritxell; Úbeda, Xavi

    2016-04-01

    Post-fire management after severe wildfires has impact on soil properties. In Mediterranean environments management of fire affected areas is a common practice. This intervention may change soil chemical properties of the soil such as major cations. The aim of this work is to study the impact of different types of forest management in soil extractable calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium after a severe wildfire. The study area is located in Ódena (Catalonia, Spain). The wildfire occurred at July 27th of 2015 and burned 1235 ha. After the fire an experimental plot was designed 9 plots with 2x2 meters (4 square meters). The different managements were: a) clear-cuted area and wood removed, b) no treatment); and c) clear-cutted. The results of the first sampling showed significant differences among all treatments in extractable calcium, sodium and potassium. The amount of these extractable elements was high in clear-cutted treatment in comparison to the others. No differences were identified in extractable magnesium. Overall, in the immediate period after the fire, burned area management, changed the studied soil properties. We are currently studying the evolution of this soil properties in these plots with the time

  5. A historical review of the methods of determination of soil properties for soil quality and land degradation assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pulido, Manuel; Schnabel, Susanne; Francisco Lavado Contador, Joaquín; Gómez-Gutiérrez, Álvaro; Miralles, Isabel; Lozano-Parra, Javier; Antoneli, Valdemir; Brevik, Eric C.; Cerdà, Artemi

    2017-04-01

    Properly assessing soil quality and land degradation is one of the main concerns of soil scientists in recent decades. Nowadays there are several available assessment systems based mainly on indicators, i.e. on soil-related parameters, that allow one to determine the current state of natural soils at different scales. These systems vary depending on ecosystem type and soil function studied as well as the accuracy of the methods (techniques and tools) historically used in the determination of several soil parameters. In this study, we show a historical review of many methods of determining soil properties used regularly as soil quality and land degradation indicators. We have considered 5 worldwide historical periods: [1] The pioneers: before 1889, [2] USDA impulse: 1889 - 1945, [3] Productivity paradigm: 1946 - 1972, [4] Conservationist paradigm: 1973 - 2001, and [5] Current methodologies: 2002 - present. The limits of each period have been determined according to some key milestones, for humanity in general and soil science in particular, such as the creation of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1889, the end of World War II in 1945 or the publication of relevant works such as The limits to growth in 1972. The development of the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) indexing tool by American soil scientists in 2001 marks a turning point from which new methodologies and paradigms began to be dominant among methods of determination. Finally, the methods historically used to determine more than 100 soil properties have been reviewed by consulting around 1,500 references published between 1305 and 2017. Approximately 10% of the references were key works to contextualize the first two historical periods, i.e. before 1945, and almost half of all references were published in the second half of the twentieth century (1946 - 2001). A logical tendency in gaining progressively accuracy in methods has been observed as well as a major boom in the

  6. Species richness and soil properties in Pinus ponderosa forests: A structural equation modeling analysis

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Laughlin, D.C.; Abella, S.R.; Covington, W.W.; Grace, J.B.

    2007-01-01

    Question: How are the effects of mineral soil properties on understory plant species richness propagated through a network of processes involving the forest overstory, soil organic matter, soil nitrogen, and understory plant abundance? Location: North-central Arizona, USA. Methods: We sampled 75 0.05-ha plots across a broad soil gradient in a Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine) forest ecosystem. We evaluated multivariate models of plant species richness using structural equation modeling. Results: Richness was highest at intermediate levels of understory plant cover, suggesting that both colonization success and competitive exclusion can limit richness in this system. We did not detect a reciprocal positive effect of richness on plant cover. Richness was strongly related to soil nitrogen in the model, with evidence for both a direct negative effect and an indirect non-linear relationship mediated through understory plant cover. Soil organic matter appeared to have a positive influence on understory richness that was independent of soil nitrogen. Richness was lowest where the forest overstory was densest, which can be explained through indirect effects on soil organic matter, soil nitrogen and understory cover. Finally, model results suggest a variety of direct and indirect processes whereby mineral soil properties can influence richness. Conclusions: Understory plant species richness and plant cover in P. ponderosa forests appear to be significantly influenced by soil organic matter and nitrogen, which are, in turn, related to overstory density and composition and mineral soil properties. Thus, soil properties can impose direct and indirect constraints on local species diversity in ponderosa pine forests. ?? IAVS; Opulus Press.

  7. Constitutive Soil Properties for Cuddeback Lake, California and Carson Sink, Nevada

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thomas, Michael A.; Chitty, Daniel E.; Gildea, Martin L.; T'Kindt, Casey M.

    2008-01-01

    Accurate soil models are required for numerical simulations of land landings for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. This report provides constitutive material modeling properties for four soil models from two dry lakebeds in the western United States. The four soil models are based on mechanical and compressive behavior observed during geotechnical laboratory testing of remolded soil samples from the lakebeds. The test specimens were reconstituted to measured in situ density and moisture content. Tests included: triaxial compression, hydrostatic compression, and uniaxial strain. A fit to the triaxial test results defines the strength envelope. Hydrostatic and uniaxial tests define the compressibility. The constitutive properties are presented in the format of LS-DYNA Material Model 5: Soil and Foam. However, the laboratory test data provided can be used to construct other material models. The four soil models are intended to be specific only to the two lakebeds discussed in the report. The Cuddeback A and B models represent the softest and hardest soils at Cuddeback Lake. The Carson Sink Wet and Dry models represent different seasonal conditions. It is possible to approximate other clay soils with these models, but the results would be unverified without geotechnical tests to confirm similar soil behavior.

  8. Crop response to localized organic amendment in soils with limiting physical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lordan, Joan; Pascual, Miquel; Fonseca, Francisco; Villar, Josep Maria; Montilla, Victor; Papió, Josep; Rufat, Josep

    2013-04-01

    This 2-year study evaluated the use of rice husk as a localized organic amendment in a soil with limiting physical properties. The research was conducted in a commercial peach orchard planted in 2011 using a ridge planting system. Six soil and water management treatments were evaluated in 18 experimental units, which were set up in the field using a randomized complete block design. The treatments were compared both in terms of soil physical properties and crop response. Soil amendment with rice husk was the most effective technique. It improved soil conditions (soil infiltration and soil porosity), providing a better soil environment for root activity and thereby resulted in better crop performance. Concerning growth parameters, the amended treatment presented the highest overall values without negatively affecting crop water status. These techniques were suitable for mitigating the effects of soils with limiting physical conditions. Localized applications of amendments, as proposed in this work, imply an important reduction in application rates. It is important to consider an efficient use of by-products since there is a growing interest in industrial and agronomical exploitations.

  9. Erodibility of calcareous soils as influenced by land use and intrinsic soil properties in a semiarid region of central Iran.

    PubMed

    Ayoubi, Shamsollah; Mokhtari, Javad; Mosaddeghi, Mohammad Reza; Zeraatpisheh, Mojtaba

    2018-03-06

    The most important properties affecting the soil loss and runoff were investigated, and the effects of land use on the soil properties, together with the erodibility indices in a semiarid zone, central Iran, were evaluated. The locations of 100 positions were acquired by cLHS and 0-5-cm surface soil layer samples were used for laboratory analyses from the Borujen Region, Chaharmahal-Va-Bakhtiari Province, central Iran. To measure in situ runoff and soil erodibility of three different land uses comprising dryland, irrigated farming, and rangeland, a portable rainfall simulator was used. The results showed that the high variations (coefficient of variation, CV) were obtained for electrical conductivity (EC), mean weight diameter (MWD), soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil erodibility indices including runoff volume, soil loss, and sediment concentration (CV ~ 43.6-77.4%). Soil erodibility indices showed positive and significant correlations with bulk density and negative correlations with SOC, MWD, clay content, and soil shear strength in the area under investigation. The values of runoff in the dryland, irrigated farming, and rangeland were found 1.5, 28.9, and 58.7 cm 3 ; soil loss in the dryland, irrigated farming, and rangeland were observed 0.25, 2.96, and 76.8 g; and the amount of sediment concentration in the dryland, irrigated farming, and rangeland were found 0.01, 0.11, and 0.15 g cm -3 . It is suggested that further investigations should be carried out on soil erodibility and the potential of sediment yield in various land uses with varying topography and soil properties in semiarid regions of Iran facing the high risk of soil loss.

  10. Effects of Salt Accumulation in Soil by Evaporation on Unsaturated Soil Hydraulic Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Y.; Liu, Q.

    2017-12-01

    Soil salinization is one type of soil degradation caused by saline groundwater evaporation. Salt accumulation in the soil will change the pore structure of soil, which should change the unsaturated soil hydraulic properties including the soil water characteristic curve (SWCC). To investigate the effect of salt accumulation on the SWCC and find the best suitable SWCC model to characterize the relationship of soil moisture and soil matrix potential, we have conducted laboratory SWCC experiments with the soil columns saturated by NaCl solution with different concentration (deionized water, 3 g/L, 15 g/L, 50 g/L, 100 g/L and 200 g/L). As the concentration of initial solution increases, the matrix potential corresponding to the same moisture increases. As the water was evaporated, the salt would precipitate in soil continuously, which would decrease the porosity of soils and increase the negative pressure of soils. With higher initial concentration, the more salt accumulation caused the more residual water content in the soils. For van Genuchten-Mualem model, the residual water contents θr were 0.0159, 0.0181, 0.0182, 0.0328, 0.0312, 0.0723, 0.0864 in the columns initially saturated by deionized water, 3 g/L, 15 g/L, 50 g/L, 100 g/L and 200 g/L, respectively. The van Genuchten-Mualem model, Fredlund-Xing model, Gardern model, Mckee-Bumb model and Brooks-Corey model were fitted by MATLAB with the experiments data, and the fitted coefficients were compared. The Fredlund-Xing model has the best fitting coefficients and the calculated value was consistent with the observed data.

  11. Effects of waste water irrigation on soil properties and soil fauna of spinach fields in a West African urban vegetable production system.

    PubMed

    Stenchly, Kathrin; Dao, Juliane; Lompo, Désiré Jean-Pascal; Buerkert, Andreas

    2017-03-01

    The usage of inadequately processed industrial waste water (WW) can lead to strong soil alkalinity and soil salinization of agricultural fields with negative consequences on soil properties and biota. Gypsum as a soil amendment to saline-sodic soils is widely used in agricultural fields to improve their soil physical, chemical and hence biological properties. This study aimed at analysing the effects of intensive WW irrigation on the structure and composition of soil-dwelling arthropods on spinach fields (Spinacia oleracea L.) in a West African urban vegetable production system. We used gypsum as a soil amendment with the potential to alleviate soil chemical stress resulting in a potentially positive impact on soil arthropods. A total of 32 plots were established that showed a gradient in soil pH ranging from slight to strong soil alkalinity and that were irrigated with WW (n = 12) or clean water (CW; n = 20), including eight plots into which gypsum was incorporated. Our study revealed a high tolerance of soil-dwelling arthropods for alkaline soils, but spinach fields with increased soil electrical conductivity (EC) showed a reduced abundance of Hymenoptera, Diptera and Auchenorrhyncha. Arthropod abundance was positively related to a dense spinach cover that in turn was not affected by WW irrigation or soil properties. Gypsum application reduced soil pH but increased soil EC. WW irrigation and related soil pH affected arthropod composition in the investigated spinach fields which may lead to negative effects on agronomical important arthropod groups such as pollinators and predators. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Microbial Factors Rather Than Bioavailability Limit the Rate and Extent of PAH Biodegradation in Aged Crude Oil Contaminated Model Soils

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Huesemann, Michael H.; Hausmann, Tom S.; Fortman, Timothy J.

    The rate and extent of PAH biodegradation in a set of aged, crude oil contaminated model soils were measured in 90-week slurry bioremediation experiments. Soil properties such as organic matter content, mineral type, particle diameter, surface area, and porosity did not significantly influence the PAH biodegradation kinetics among the ten different model soils. A comparison of aged and freshly spiked soils indicates that aging affects the biodegradation rates and extents only for higher molecular weight PAHs while the effects of aging are insignificant for 3-ring PAHs and total PAHs. In all model soils with the exception of kaolinite clay, themore » rate of abiotic desorption was faster than the rate of biodegradation during the initial phase of bioremediation treatment indicating that PAH biodegradation was limited by microbial factors. Similarly, any of the higher molecular weight PAHs that were still present after 90 weeks of treatment were released rapidly during abiotic desorption tests which demonstrates that bioavailability limitations were not responsible for the recalcitrance of these hydrocarbons. Indeed, an analysis of microbial counts indicates that a severe reduction in hydrocarbon degrader populations may be responsible for the observed incomplete PAH biodegradation. It can therefore be concluded that the recalcitrance of PAHs during bioremediation is not necessarily due to bioavailability limitations and that these residual contaminants might, therefore, pose a greater risk to environmental receptors than previously thought.« less

  13. Furfural and its biochar improve the general properties of a saline soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Y.; Xu, G.; Shao, H. B.

    2014-07-01

    Organic materials (e.g., furfural residue) are generally believed to improve the physical and chemical properties of saline soils with low fertility. Recently, biochar has been received more attention as a possible measure to improve the carbon balance and improve soil quality in some degraded soils. However, little is known about their different amelioration of a sandy saline soil. In this study, 56 d incubation experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of furfural and its biochar on the properties of saline soil. The results showed that both furfural and biochar greatly reduced pH, increased soil organic carbon (SOC) content and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and enhanced the available phosphorus (P) in the soil. Furfural is more efficient than biochar in reducing pH: 5% furfural lowered the soil pH by 0.5-0.8 (soil pH: 8.3-8.6), while 5% biochar decreased by 0.25-0.4 due to the loss of acidity in pyrolysis process. With respect to available P, furfural addition at a rate of 5% increased available P content by 4-6 times in comparison to 2-5 times with biochar application. In reducing soil exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), biochar is slightly superior to furfural because soil ESP reduced by 51% and 43% with 5% furfural and 5% biochar at the end of incubation. In addition, no significant differences were observed between furfural and biochar about their capacity to retain N, P in leaching solution and to increase CEC in soil. These facts may be caused by the relatively short incubation time. In general, furfural and biochar exhibited a different effect depending on the property: furfural was more effective in decreasing pH and increasing available P, whereas biochar played a more important role in increasing SOC and reducing ESP of saline soil.

  14. Uncertainty in predicting soil hydraulic properties at the hillslope scale with indirect methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chirico, G. B.; Medina, H.; Romano, N.

    2007-02-01

    SummarySeveral hydrological applications require the characterisation of the soil hydraulic properties at large spatial scales. Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) are being developed as simplified methods to estimate soil hydraulic properties as an alternative to direct measurements, which are unfeasible for most practical circumstances. The objective of this study is to quantify the uncertainty in PTFs spatial predictions at the hillslope scale as related to the sampling density, due to: (i) the error in estimated soil physico-chemical properties and (ii) PTF model error. The analysis is carried out on a 2-km-long experimental hillslope in South Italy. The method adopted is based on a stochastic generation of patterns of soil variables using sequential Gaussian simulation, conditioned to the observed sample data. The following PTFs are applied: Vereecken's PTF [Vereecken, H., Diels, J., van Orshoven, J., Feyen, J., Bouma, J., 1992. Functional evaluation of pedotransfer functions for the estimation of soil hydraulic properties. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56, 1371-1378] and HYPRES PTF [Wösten, J.H.M., Lilly, A., Nemes, A., Le Bas, C., 1999. Development and use of a database of hydraulic properties of European soils. Geoderma 90, 169-185]. The two PTFs estimate reliably the soil water retention characteristic even for a relatively coarse sampling resolution, with prediction uncertainties comparable to the uncertainties in direct laboratory or field measurements. The uncertainty of soil water retention prediction due to the model error is as much as or more significant than the uncertainty associated with the estimated input, even for a relatively coarse sampling resolution. Prediction uncertainties are much more important when PTF are applied to estimate the saturated hydraulic conductivity. In this case model error dominates the overall prediction uncertainties, making negligible the effect of the input error.

  15. Effects of spent mushroom compost application on the physicochemical properties of a degraded soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gümüş, İlknur; Şeker, Cevdet

    2017-11-01

    Under field and laboratory conditions, the application of organic amendments has generally shown an improvement in soil physicochemical properties. Here, spent mushroom compost (SMC) is proposed as a suitable organic amendment for soil structure restoration. Our study assessed the impact of SMC on the physicochemical properties of a weak-structured and physically degraded soil. The approach involved the establishment of a pot experiment with SMC applications into soil (control, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 %). Soils were incubated at field capacity (-33 kPa) for 21, 42, and 62 days under laboratory conditions. SMC applications into the soil significantly increased the aggregate stability (AS) and decreased the modulus of rupture. The application of SMC at rates of 1, 2, 4, and 8 % significantly increased the total nitrogen and soil organic carbon contents of the degraded soil at all incubation periods (p < 0.05). The results obtained in this study indicate that the application of SMC can improve soil physicochemical properties, which may benefit farmers, land managers, and mushroom growers.

  16. Effects of climate and soil properties on U.S. home lawn soil organic carbon concentration and pool.

    PubMed

    Selhorst, Adam; Lal, Rattan

    2012-12-01

    Following turfgrass establishment, soils sequester carbon (C) over time. However, the magnitude of this sequestration may be influenced by a range of climatic and soil factors. Analysis of home lawn turfgrass soils throughout the United States indicated that both climatic and soil properties significantly affected the soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration and pool to 15-cm depth. Soil sampling showed that the mean annual temperature (MAT) was negatively correlated with SOC concentration. Additionally, a nonlinear interaction was observed between mean annual precipitation (MAP) and SOC concentration with optimal sequestration occurring in soils receiving 60-70 cm of precipitation per year. Furthermore, soil properties also influenced SOC concentration. Soil nitrogen (N) had a high positive correlation with SOC concentration, as a 0.1 % increase in N concentration led to a 0.99 % increase in SOC concentration. Additionally, soil bulk density (ρ(b)) had a curvilinear interaction with SOC concentration, with an increase in ρ(b) indicating a positive effect on SOC concentration until a ρ(b) of ~1.4-1.5 Mg m(-3) was attained, after which, inhibition of SOC sequestration occurred. Finally, no correlation between SOC concentration or pool was observed with texture. Based upon these results, highest SOC pools within this study are observed in regions of low MAT, moderate MAP (60-70 cm year(-1)), high soil N concentration, and moderate ρ(b) (1.4-1.5 Mg m(-3)). In order to maximize the C storage capacity of home lawns, non C-intensive management practices should be used to maintain soils within these conditions.

  17. Natural and induced reduction of hexavalent chromium in soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leita, Liviana; Margon, Alja; Sinicco, Tania; Mondini, Claudio; Valentini, Massimiliano; Cantone, Pierpaolo

    2013-04-01

    Even though naturally elevated levels of chromium can be found naturally in some soils, distressing amounts of the hexavalent form (CrVI) are largely restricted to sites contaminated by anthropogenic activities. In fact, the widespread use of chromium in various industries and the frequently associated inadequate disposal of its by-products and wastes have created serious environmental pollution problems in many parts of the world. CrVI is toxic to plants, animals and humans and exhibits also mutagenic effects. However, being a strong oxidant, CrVI can be readily reduced to the much less harmful trivalent form (CrIII) when suitable electron donors are present in the environment. CrIII is relatively insoluble, less available for biological uptake, and thus definitely less toxic for web-biota. Various electron donors in soil can be involved in CrVI reduction in soil. The efficiency of CrVI reducing abiotic agents such as ferrous iron and sulphur compounds is well documented. Furthermore, CrVI reduction is also known to be significantly enhanced by a wide variety of cell-produced monosaccharides, including glucose. In this study we evaluated the dynamics of hexavalent chromium (CrVI) reduction in contaminated soil amended or not with iron sulphate or/and glucose and assessed the effects of CrVI on native or glucose-induced soil microbial biomass size and activity. CrVI negatively affected both soil microbial activity and the size of the microbial biomass. During the incubation period, the concentration of CrVI in soil decreased over time whether iron sulphate or/and glucose was added or not, but with different reduction rates. Soil therefore displayed a natural attenuation capacity towards chromate reduction. Addition of iron sulphate or/and glucose, however, increased the reduction rate by both abiotic and biotic mechanisms. Our data suggest that glucose is likely to have exerted an indirect role in the increased rate of CrVI reduction by promoting growth of

  18. Effect of land management on soil properties in flood irrigated citrus orchards in Eastern Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morugán-Coronado, A.; García-Orenes, F.; Cerdà, A.

    2015-01-01

    Agricultural land management greatly affects soil properties. Microbial soil communities are the most sensitive and rapid indicators of perturbations in land use and soil enzyme activities are sensitive biological indicators of the effects of soil management practices. Citrus orchards frequently have degraded soils and this paper evaluates how land management in citrus orchards can improve soil quality. A field experiment was performed in an orchard of orange trees (Citrus Sinensis) in the Alcoleja Experimental Station (Eastern Spain) with clay-loam agricultural soils to assess the long-term effects of herbicides with inorganic fertilizers (H), intensive ploughing and inorganic fertilizers (P) and organic farming (O) on the soil microbial properties, and to study the relationship between them. Nine soil samples were taken from each agricultural management plot. In all the samples the basal soil respiration, soil microbial biomass carbon, water holding capacity, electrical conductivity, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, aggregate stability, cation exchange capacity, pH, texture, macronutrients (Na, Ca and Mg), micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu), calcium carbonate equivalent, calcium carbonate content of limestone and enzimatic activities (urease, dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase) were determined. The results showed a substantial level of differentiation in the microbial properties, which were highly associated with soil organic matter content. The management practices including herbicides and intensive ploughing had similar results on microbial soil properties. O management contributed to an increase in the soil biology quality, aggregate stability and organic matter content.

  19. Effects of amendment of different biochars on soil physical and biological properties related to carbon mineralization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Renduo; Zhu, Shuzhi; Ouyang, Lei

    2014-05-01

    Biochar addition to soils potentially affects various soil properties, and these effects are dependent on biochars derived from different feedstock materials and pyrolysis processes. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of amendment of different biochars on soil physical and biological properties. Biochars were produced with dairy manure and woodchip at temperatures of 300, 500, and 700°C, respectively. Each biochar was mixed at 5% (w/w) with a forest soil and the mixture was incubated for 180 days, during which soil physical and biological properties, and soil respiration rates were measured. Results showed that the biochar addition significantly enhanced the formation of soil macroaggregates at the early incubation time. The biochar application significantly reduced soil bulk density, increased the amount of soil organic matter, and stimulated microbial activity and soil respiration rates at the early incubation stage. Biochar applications improved water retention capacity, with stronger effects by biochars produced at higher pyrolysis temperatures. At the same suction, the soil with woodchip biochars possessed higher water content than with the dairy manure biochars. Biochar addition significantly affected the soil physical and biological properties, which resulted in different soil carbon mineralization rates.

  20. Contribution of microorganisms to non-extractable residue formation from biodegradable organic contaminants in soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nowak, K. M.; Girardi, C.; Miltner, A.; Schäffer, A.; Kästner, M.

    2012-04-01

    Biodegradation of organic contaminants in soil is actually understood as their transformation into various primary metabolites, microbial biomass, mineralisation products and non-extractable residues (NER). NER are generally considered to be composed of parent compounds or primary metabolites with hazardous potential. Up to date, however, their chemical composition remains still unclear. Studies on NER formation are limited to quantitative analyses in soils or to simple humic acids-contaminant systems. However, in the case of biodegradable organic compounds, NER may also contain microbial biomass components, e.g. fatty acids (FA) and amino acids (AA). After cell death, these biomolecules are incorporated into soil organic matter (SOM) and stabilised, ultimately forming biogenic residues which are not any more extractable. We investigated the incorporation of the 13C-label into FA and AA and their fate during biodegradation experiments in soil with isotope-labelled 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (13C6-2,4-D) and ibuprofen (13C6-ibu) as model organic contaminants. Our study proved for the first time that nearly all NER formed from 13C6-2,4-D and 13C6-ibu in soil derived from harmless microbial biomass components stabilised in SOM. 13C-FA and 13C-AA contents in the living microbial biomass fraction decreased over time and these components were continuously incorporated into the non-living SOM pool in biotic experiments with 13C6-2,4-D and 13C6-ibu. The 13C-AA in the non-living SOM were surprisingly stable from day 32 (13C6-2,4-D) and 58 (13C6-ibu) until the end of incubation. We also studied the transformation of 13C6-2,4-D and 13C6-ibu into NER in the abiotic soil experiments. In these experiments, the total NER contents were much lower than in the corresponding biotic experiments. The absence of labelled biomolecules in the NER fraction in abiotic soils demonstrated that they consist of the potentially hazardous parent compounds and / or their metabolites. Biogenic

  1. Comparison of PAH Biodegradation and Desorption Kinetics During Bioremediation of Aged Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Huesemann, Michael H.; Hausmann, Tom S.; Fortman, Timothy J.

    It is commonly assumed that mass-transfer limitations are the cause for slow and incomplete biodegradation of PAHs in aged soils. In order to test this hypothesis, the biodegradation rate and the abiotic release rate were measured and compared for selected PAHs in three different soils. It was found that PAH biodegradation was not mass-transfer limited during slurry bioremediation of an aged loamy soil. By contrast, PAH biodegradation rates were much larger than abiotic release rates in kaolinite clay indicating that sorbed-phase PAHs can apparently be biodegraded directly from mineral surfaces without prior desorption or dissolution into the aqueous phase. Amore » comparison of PAH biodegradation rates and abiotic release rates at termination of the slurry bioremediation treatment revealed that abiotic release rates are much larger than the respective biodegradation rates. In addition, it was found that the number of hydrocarbon degraders decreased by four orders of magnitude during the bioremediation treatment. It can therefore be concluded that the slow and incomplete biodegradation of PAHs is not caused by mass-transfer limitations but rather by microbial factors. Consequently, the residual PAHs that remain after extensive bioremediation treatment are still bioavailable and for that reason could pose a greater risk to environmental receptors than previously thought.« less

  2. Quantifying the Effects of Biofilm on the Hydraulic Properties of Unsaturated Soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Volk, E.; Iden, S.; Furman, A.; Durner, W.; Rosenzweig, R.

    2017-12-01

    Quantifying the effects of biofilms on hydraulic properties of unsaturated soils is necessary for predicting water and solute flow in soil with extensive microbial presence. This can be relevant to bioremediation processes, soil aquifer treatment and effluent irrigation. Previous works showed a reduction in the hydraulic conductivity and an increase in water content due to the addition of biofilm analogue materials. The objective of this research is to quantify soil hydraulic properties of unsaturated soil (water retention and hydraulic conductivity) using real soil biofilm. In this work, Hamra soil was incubated with Luria Broth (LB) and biofilm-producing bacteria (Pseudomonas Putida F1). Hydraulic conductivity and water retention were measured by the evaporation method, Dewpoint method and a constant head permeameter. Biofilm was quantified using viable counts and the deficit of TOC. The results show that the presence of biofilms increases soil retention in the `dry' range of the curve and reduces the hydraulic conductivity (see figure). This research shows that biofilms may have a non-negligible effect on flow and transport in unsaturated soils. These findings contribute to modeling water flow in biofilm amended soil.

  3. ABIOTIC REDUCTION AND DETOXIFICATION OF CHROMATE PRESENT IN SOILS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Theoretical and experimental research has supported the assertion that Cr(III) species are the most stable, immobile, and nontoxic forms of chromium and that they may form rapidly when adequate reducing agents are introduced in an oxidized soil environment. The objective of this ...

  4. Adsorption properties of subtropical and tropical variable charge soils: Implications from climate change and biochar amendment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xu, Ren-Kou; Qafoku, Nikolla; Van Ranst, Eric

    2016-01-25

    This review paper attempts to summarize the progress made in research efforts conducted over the last years to study the surface chemical properties of the tropical and subtropical soils, usually called variable charge soils, and the way they response to different management practices. The paper is composed of an introductory section that provides a brief discussion on the surface chemical properties of these soils, and five other review sections. The focus of these sections is on the evolution of surface chemical properties during the development of the variable charge properties (second section), interactions between oppositely charged particles and the resultingmore » effects on the soil properties and especially on soil acidity (third section), the surface effects of low molecular weight organic acids sorbed to mineral surfaces and the chemical behavior of aluminum (fourth section), and the crop straw derived biochar induced changes of the surface chemical properties of these soils (fifth section). A discussion on the effect of climate change variables on the properties of the variable charge soils is included at the end of this review paper (sixth section).« less

  5. Quicklime-induced changes of soil properties: Implications for enhanced remediation of volatile chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminated soils via mechanical soil aeration.

    PubMed

    Ma, Yan; Dong, Binbin; He, Xiaosong; Shi, Yi; Xu, Mingyue; He, Xuwen; Du, Xiaoming; Li, Fasheng

    2017-04-01

    Mechanical soil aeration is used for soil remediation at sites contaminated by volatile organic compounds. However, the effectiveness of the method is limited by low soil temperature, high soil moisture, and high soil viscosity. Combined with mechanical soil aeration, quicklime has a practical application value related to reinforcement remediation and to its action in the remediation of soil contaminated with volatile organic compounds. In this study, the target pollutant was trichloroethylene, which is a volatile chlorinated hydrocarbon pollutant commonly found in contaminated soils. A restoration experiment was carried out, using a set of mechanical soil-aeration simulation tests, by adding quicklime (mass ratios of 3, 10, and 20%) to the contaminated soil. The results clearly indicate that quicklime changed the physical properties of the soil, which affected the environmental behaviour of trichloroethylene in the soil. The addition of CaO increased soil temperature and reduced soil moisture to improve the mass transfer of trichloroethylene. In addition, it improved the macroporous cumulative pore volume and average pore size, which increased soil permeability. As soil pH increased, the clay mineral content in the soils decreased, the cation exchange capacity and the redox potential decreased, and the removal of trichloroethylene from the soil was enhanced to a certain extent. After the addition of quicklime, the functional group COO of soil organic matter could interact with calcium ions, which increased soil polarity and promoted the removal of trichloroethylene. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Long-term deer exclosure alters soil properties, plant traits, understory plant community and insect herbivory, but not the functional relationships among them.

    PubMed

    Stephan, Jörg G; Pourazari, Fereshteh; Tattersdill, Kristina; Kobayashi, Takuya; Nishizawa, Keita; De Long, Jonathan R

    2017-07-01

    Evidence of the indirect effects of increasing global deer populations on other trophic levels is increasing. However, it remains unknown if excluding deer alters ecosystem functional relationships. We investigated how sika deer exclosure after 18 years changed soil conditions, the understory plant community, the traits of a dominant understory plant (Sasa palmata), herbivory by three insect-feeding guilds, and the functional relationships between these properties. Deer absence decreased understory plant diversity, but increased soil organic matter and ammonium concentrations. When deer were absent, S. palmata plants grew taller, with more, larger, and tougher leaves with higher polyphenol concentrations. Deer absence led to higher leaf area consumed by all insect guilds, but lower insect herbivory per plant due to increased resource abundance (i.e., a dilution effect). This indicates that deer presence strengthened insect herbivory per plant, while in deer absence plants compensated losses with growth. Because plant defenses increased in the absence of deer, higher insect abundances in deer absence may have outweighed lower consumption rates. A path model revealed that the functional relationships between the measured properties were similar between deer absence versus presence. Taken together, deer altered the abiotic and biotic environment, thereby changing insect herbivory, which might impact upon nutrient cycling and primary productivity. These results provide evidence that deer can alter interactions between trophic levels, but that functional relationships between certain ecosystem components may remain constant. These findings highlight the need to consider how increasing global deer populations can have cascade effects that might alter ecosystem dynamics.

  7. Salt lakes of Western Australia - Natural abiotic formation of volatile organic compounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krause, T.; Studenroth, S.; Mulder, I.; Tubbesing, C.; Kotte, K.; Ofner, J.; Junkermann, W.; Schöler, H. F.

    2012-04-01

    Western Australia is a semi-/arid region that is heavily influenced by global climate change and agricultural land use. The area is known for its many ephemeral saline and hypersaline lakes with a wide range of hydrogeochemical parameters that have gradually changed over the last fifty years. Historically, the region was covered by eucalyptus trees and shrubs, but was cleared mainly within 10 years after WWII to make room for wheat and live stock. After the clearance of the deep rooted native plants the groundwater started to rise, bringing increased amounts of dissolved salts and minerals to the surface and discharging them into streams and lakes. Thus most of Western Australia is influenced by secondary salinisation (soil salting) [1]. Another problem is that the discharged minerals affect the pH of ground and surface water, which ranges from acidic to slightly basic. During the 2011 campaign surface water was measured with a pH between 2.5 and 7.1. Another phenomenon in Western Australia is the decrease of rainfall over the last decades assumed to be linked to the secondary salinisation. The rising saline and mineral rich groundwater increases the biotical and abiotical activity of the salt lakes. Halogenated and non-halogenated volatile organic compounds emitted from those lakes undergo fast oxidation and chemical reactions to form small particles modifying cloud microphysics and thus suppressing rain events [2]. Our objective is to gain a better understanding of this extreme environment with its hypersaline acidic lakes with regard to the potential abiotic formation of volatile organic compounds and its impact on the local climate. In spring 2011 fifty-three sediment samples from ten salt lakes in the Lake King region where taken, freeze-dried and ground. In order to simulate the abiotic formation of volatile organic compounds the soil samples were resuspended with water in gas-tight headspace vials. The headspace was measured using a purge and trap GC

  8. Peatland carbon cycling at a Scottish wind farm: the role of plant-soil interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Richardson, Harriett; Whitaker, Jeanette; Waldron, Susan; Ostle, Nick

    2013-04-01

    Peatlands play a fundamental role in the terrestrial carbon cycle by storing 1/3 of the world's soil carbon (Limpens et al. 2008). In the UK, peatlands are often located in areas with potential for electricity generation by harvesting wind energy. Concerns have been raised, however, over the stability of these carbon stocks when large scale wind developments are sited upon them. This project aims to improve understanding of the impact of wind farms on carbon sequestration in peatlands. Wind turbine 'wake-effects' can alter microclimatic conditions, as a result of significant differences in air temperature, humidity, wind speed and turbulence (Baidya Roy and Traiteur 2010). These changes are likely to have a significant impact on above and below ground abiotic conditions and biotic properties, together with the processes they regulate that govern peatland carbon cycling. Specifically, the effects of interactions between typical peatland plant functional types (graminoids, bryophytes and shrubs) (Ward et al. 2009) and peat microbial community composition and function are poorly resolved. We examined a spatial gradient across an area of blanket bog at Black Law wind farm (Lanarkshire, Scotland) and executed a series of controlled mesocosm experiments to examine the impacts of potential microclimatic changes on plant-soil interactions and carbon sequestration processes. In particular we focused on the form and function of plant and microbial communities as determinants of decomposition (Ward et al. 2010) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Artz 2009). Measurements of plant-litter-soil carbon, nitrogen, microbial community composition (i.e. phospholipid fatty acid biomarkers) and litter mass loss have been made across the wind farm peatland to attribute spatial variance in biotic and biogeochemical properties. In addition, multi-factorial mesocosm experiments have been made to determine how abiotic and biotic changes caused by wind farm effects could influence peat GHG

  9. Combined impacts of land use and soil property changes on soil erosion in a mollisol area under long-term agricultural development.

    PubMed

    Ouyang, Wei; Wu, Yuyang; Hao, Zengchao; Zhang, Qi; Bu, Qingwei; Gao, Xiang

    2018-02-01

    Soil erosion exhibits special characteristics in the process of agricultural development. Understanding the combined impacts of land use and soil property changes on soil erosion, especially in the area under long-term agricultural cultivations, is vital to watershed agricultural and soil management. This study investigated the temporal-spatial patterns of the soil erosion based on a modified version of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and conducted a soil erosion contribution analysis. The land use data were interpreted from Landsat series images, and soil properties were obtained from field sampling, laboratory tests and SPAW (Soil-Plant-Atmosphere-Water) model calculations. Over a long period of agricultural development, the average erosion modulus decreased from 187.7tkm -2 a -1 in 1979 to 158.4tkm -2 a -1 in 2014. The land use types were transformed mainly in the reclamation of paddy fields and the shrinking of wetlands on a large scale. Most of the soils were converted to loam from silty or clay loam and the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K s ) of most soil types decreased by 1.11% to 43.6%. The rapidly increasing area of 49.8km 2 of paddy fields together with the moderate decrease of 14.0km 2 of forests, as well as K s values explained 87.4% of the total variance in soil erosion. Although changes in soil physical and water characteristics indicated that soil erosion loads should have become higher, the upsurge in paddy fields played an important role in mitigating soil erosion in this study area. These results demonstrated that land use changes had more significant impacts than soil property changes on soil erosion. This study suggested that rational measures should be taken to extend paddy fields and control the dry land farming. These findings will benefit watershed agricultural targeting and management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Estimation of effective soil hydraulic properties at field scale via ground albedo neutron sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivera Villarreyes, C. A.; Baroni, G.; Oswald, S. E.

    2012-04-01

    Upscaling of soil hydraulic parameters is a big challenge in hydrological research, especially in model applications of water and solute transport processes. In this contest, numerous attempts have been made to optimize soil hydraulic properties using observations of state variables such as soil moisture. However, in most of the cases the observations are limited at the point-scale and then transferred to the model scale. In this way inherent small-scale soil heterogeneities and non-linearity of dominate processes introduce sources of error that can produce significant misinterpretation of hydrological scenarios and unrealistic predictions. On the other hand, remote-sensed soil moisture over large areas is also a new promising approach to derive effective soil hydraulic properties over its observation footprint, but it is still limited to the soil surface. In this study we present a new methodology to derive soil moisture at the intermediate scale between point-scale observations and estimations at the remote-sensed scale. The data are then used for the estimation of effective soil hydraulic parameters. In particular, ground albedo neutron sensing (GANS) was used to derive non-invasive soil water content in a footprint of ca. 600 m diameter and a depth of few decimeters. This approach is based on the crucial role of hydrogen compared to other landscape materials as neutron moderator. As natural neutron measured aboveground depends on soil water content, the vertical footprint of the GANS method, i.e. its penetration depth, does also. Firstly, this study was designed to evaluate the dynamics of GANS vertical footprint and derive a mathematical model for its prediction. To test GANS-soil moisture and its penetration depth, it was accompanied by other soil moisture measurements (FDR) located at 5, 20 and 40 cm depths over the GANS horizontal footprint in a sunflower field (Brandenburg, Germany). Secondly, a HYDRUS-1D model was set up with monitored values of crop

  11. Soil chemical and physical properties that differentiate urban land-use and cover types

    Treesearch

    R.V. Pouyat; I.D. Yesilonis; J. Russell-Anelli; N.K. Neerchal

    2007-01-01

    We investigated the effects of land use and cover and surface geology on soil properties in Baltimore, MD, with the objectives to: (i) measure the physical and chemical properties of surface soils (0?10 cm) by land use and cover; and (ii) ascertain whether land use and cover explain differences in these properties relative to surface geology. Mean and median values of...

  12. [Effect of long-term fertilizing regime on soil microbial diversity and soil property].

    PubMed

    Li, Chenhua; Zhang, Caixia; Tang, Lisong; Xiong, Zhengqin; Wang, Baozhan; Jia, Zhongjun; Li, Yan

    2014-03-04

    To evaluate the effect of long-term fertilization on soil microbial community and soil chemical and physical properties. Using a high-throughput pyrosequencing technique, we studied microbial community in the 0-300 cm soil samples covering a 20-year field-experiment with different fertilization applications including inorganic fertilizer alone (N 300 kg/hm2, P2O5 150 kg/hm2 and K2O 60 kg/hm2) and inorganic fertilizer combined with straw (same application rate of N and P fertilizer combined with 5.4 t straw). Actinobacteria and alpha-proteobacteria were the predominant groups in the topsoil (0-20 cm). As the soil depth increased, the relative abundance of actinobacteria decreased whereas that of proteobacteria, especially gamma-proteobacteria and beta-proteobacteria increased and gradually became the dominant groups in the subsoil (20-300 cm). Long-term fertilizing applications significantly affected soil microbial communities throughout the soil profile, and increased the relative abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea at 0-40 cm depth. In addition, agriculture management, e. g. irrigation may be an important driving factor for the distribution of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in soil profile. Total nitrogen and organic carbon contents were the most influential factors on microbial community in the topsoil and in the subsoil, respectively. Long-term fertilizer applications altered soil nutrient availability within the soil profile, which was likely to result in the different microbial community structure between the fertilizer treatments, especially for the subsoil.

  13. Geochemical modeling of trivalent chromium migration in saline-sodic soil during Lasagna process: impact on soil physicochemical properties.

    PubMed

    Lukman, Salihu; Bukhari, Alaadin; Al-Malack, Muhammad H; Mu'azu, Nuhu D; Essa, Mohammed H

    2014-01-01

    Trivalent Cr is one of the heavy metals that are difficult to be removed from soil using electrokinetic study because of its geochemical properties. High buffering capacity soil is expected to reduce the mobility of the trivalent Cr and subsequently reduce the remedial efficiency thereby complicating the remediation process. In this study, geochemical modeling and migration of trivalent Cr in saline-sodic soil (high buffering capacity and alkaline) during integrated electrokinetics-adsorption remediation, called the Lasagna process, were investigated. The remedial efficiency of trivalent Cr in addition to the impacts of the Lasagna process on the physicochemical properties of the soil was studied. Box-Behnken design was used to study the interaction effects of voltage gradient, initial contaminant concentration, and polarity reversal rate on the soil pH, electroosmotic volume, soil electrical conductivity, current, and remedial efficiency of trivalent Cr in saline-sodic soil that was artificially spiked with Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, phenol, and kerosene. Overall desirability of 0.715 was attained at the following optimal conditions: voltage gradient 0.36 V/cm; polarity reversal rate 17.63 hr; soil pH 10.0. Under these conditions, the expected trivalent Cr remedial efficiency is 64.75%.

  14. Geochemical Modeling of Trivalent Chromium Migration in Saline-Sodic Soil during Lasagna Process: Impact on Soil Physicochemical Properties

    PubMed Central

    Bukhari, Alaadin; Al-Malack, Muhammad H.; Mu'azu, Nuhu D.; Essa, Mohammed H.

    2014-01-01

    Trivalent Cr is one of the heavy metals that are difficult to be removed from soil using electrokinetic study because of its geochemical properties. High buffering capacity soil is expected to reduce the mobility of the trivalent Cr and subsequently reduce the remedial efficiency thereby complicating the remediation process. In this study, geochemical modeling and migration of trivalent Cr in saline-sodic soil (high buffering capacity and alkaline) during integrated electrokinetics-adsorption remediation, called the Lasagna process, were investigated. The remedial efficiency of trivalent Cr in addition to the impacts of the Lasagna process on the physicochemical properties of the soil was studied. Box-Behnken design was used to study the interaction effects of voltage gradient, initial contaminant concentration, and polarity reversal rate on the soil pH, electroosmotic volume, soil electrical conductivity, current, and remedial efficiency of trivalent Cr in saline-sodic soil that was artificially spiked with Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, phenol, and kerosene. Overall desirability of 0.715 was attained at the following optimal conditions: voltage gradient 0.36 V/cm; polarity reversal rate 17.63 hr; soil pH 10.0. Under these conditions, the expected trivalent Cr remedial efficiency is 64.75 %. PMID:25152905

  15. Characteristics and engineering properties of the soft soil layer in highway soil subgrades.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2006-06-01

    The objective of this research was to examine the conditions and characteristics of soil subgrades that had been stabilized using mechanical compaction. Goals of the study are to identify and examine the engineering properties and behavior of the ...

  16. Tree species traits influence soil physical, chemical, and biological properties in high elevation forests.

    PubMed

    Ayres, Edward; Steltzer, Heidi; Berg, Sarah; Wallenstein, Matthew D; Simmons, Breana L; Wall, Diana H

    2009-06-18

    Previous studies have shown that plants often have species-specific effects on soil properties. In high elevation forests in the Southern Rocky Mountains, North America, areas that are dominated by a single tree species are often adjacent to areas dominated by another tree species. Here, we assessed soil properties beneath adjacent stands of trembling aspen, lodgepole pine, and Engelmann spruce, which are dominant tree species in this region and are distributed widely in North America. We hypothesized that soil properties would differ among stands dominated by different tree species and expected that aspen stands would have higher soil temperatures due to their open structure, which, combined with higher quality litter, would result in increased soil respiration rates, nitrogen availability, and microbial biomass, and differences in soil faunal community composition. We assessed soil physical, chemical, and biological properties at four sites where stands of aspen, pine, and spruce occurred in close proximity to one-another in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Leaf litter quality differed among the tree species, with the highest nitrogen (N) concentration and lowest lignin:N in aspen litter. Nitrogen concentration was similar in pine and spruce litter, but lignin:N was highest in pine litter. Soil temperature and moisture were highest in aspen stands, which, in combination with higher litter quality, probably contributed to faster soil respiration rates from stands of aspen. Soil carbon and N content, ammonium concentration, and microbial biomass did not differ among tree species, but nitrate concentration was highest in aspen soil and lowest in spruce soil. In addition, soil fungal, bacterial, and nematode community composition and rotifer, collembolan, and mesostigmatid mite abundance differed among the tree species, while the total abundance of nematodes, tardigrades, oribatid mites, and prostigmatid mites did not. Although some soil characteristics were

  17. Soil physical property changes at the North American long-term soil productivity study sites: 1 and 5 years after compaction

    Treesearch

    Deborah S. Page-Dumroese; Martin F. Jurgensen; Allan E. Tiarks; Felix Ponder; Felipe G. Sanchez; Robert L. Fleming; J. Marty Kranabetter; Robert F. Powers; Douglas M. Stone; John D. Elioff; D. Andrew Scott

    2006-01-01

    The impact of forest management operations on soil physical properties is important to understand, since management can significantly change site productivity by altering root growth potential, water infiltration and soil erosion, and water and nutrient availability. We studied soil bulk density and strength changes as indicators of soil compaction before harvesting...

  18. Influence of long-term fertilization on soil physicochemical properties in a brown soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Dongdong; Luo, Peiyu; Han, Xiaori; Yang, Jinfeng

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to explore the influence on soil physicochemical properties under a 38-y long-term fertilization in a brown soil. Soil samples (0-20 cm)were taken from the six treatments of the long-term fertilization trial in October 2016:no fertilizer (CK), N1(mineral nitrogen fertilizer), N1P (mineral nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer), N1PK (mineral nitrogen, phosphate and potassic fertilizer), pig manure (M2), M2N1P (pig manure, mineral nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer).The results showed thatthe long-term application of chemical fertilizers reduced soil pH value, while the application of organic fertilizers increased pH value. Fertilization significantly increased the content of AHN, TN and SOM. Compared with the CK treatment and chemical fertilizer treatments, organic fertilizer treatments significantly increased the content of AP and TP. The content of AK and TK were no significant difference in different treatment.

  19. Effect of soil property uncertainties on permafrost thaw projections: a calibration-constrained analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harp, D. R.; Atchley, A. L.; Painter, S. L.; Coon, E. T.; Wilson, C. J.; Romanovsky, V. E.; Rowland, J. C.

    2016-02-01

    The effects of soil property uncertainties on permafrost thaw projections are studied using a three-phase subsurface thermal hydrology model and calibration-constrained uncertainty analysis. The null-space Monte Carlo method is used to identify soil hydrothermal parameter combinations that are consistent with borehole temperature measurements at the study site, the Barrow Environmental Observatory. Each parameter combination is then used in a forward projection of permafrost conditions for the 21st century (from calendar year 2006 to 2100) using atmospheric forcings from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) in the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 greenhouse gas concentration trajectory. A 100-year projection allows for the evaluation of predictive uncertainty (due to soil property (parametric) uncertainty) and the inter-annual climate variability due to year to year differences in CESM climate forcings. After calibrating to measured borehole temperature data at this well-characterized site, soil property uncertainties are still significant and result in significant predictive uncertainties in projected active layer thickness and annual thaw depth-duration even with a specified future climate. Inter-annual climate variability in projected soil moisture content and Stefan number are small. A volume- and time-integrated Stefan number decreases significantly, indicating a shift in subsurface energy utilization in the future climate (latent heat of phase change becomes more important than heat conduction). Out of 10 soil parameters, ALT, annual thaw depth-duration, and Stefan number are highly dependent on mineral soil porosity, while annual mean liquid saturation of the active layer is highly dependent on the mineral soil residual saturation and moderately dependent on peat residual saturation. By comparing the ensemble statistics to the spread of projected permafrost metrics using different climate models, we quantify the relative magnitude of soil

  20. Spatial variability structure of soil CO2 emission and soil physical and chemical properties characterized by fractal dimension in sugarcane areas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bicalho, E. S.; Teixeira, D. B.; Panosso, A. R.; Perillo, L. I.; Iamaguti, J. L.; Pereira, G. T.; La Scala, N., Jr.

    2012-04-01

    Soil CO2 emission (FCO2) is influenced by chemical, physical and biological factors that affect the production of CO2 in the soil and its transport to the atmosphere, varying in time and space depending on environmental conditions, including the management of agricultural area. The aim of this study was to investigate the structure of spatial variability of FCO2 and soil properties by using fractal dimension (DF), derived from isotropic variograms at different scales, and construction of fractograms. The experimental area consisted of a regular grid of 60 × 60 m on sugarcane area under green management, containing 141 points spaced at minimum distances ranging from 0.5 to 10 m. Soil CO2 emission, soil temperature and soil moisture were evaluated over a period of 7 days, and soil chemical and physical properties were determined by sampling at a depth of 0.0 to 0.1 m. FCO2 showed an overall average of 1.51 µmol m-2 s-1, correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with soil physical factors such as soil bulk density, air-filled pore space, macroporosity and microporosity. Significant DF values were obtained in the characterization of FCO2 in medium and large scales (from 20 m). Variations in DF with the scale, which is the fractogram, indicate that the structure of FCO2 variability is similar to that observed for the soil temperature and total pore volume, and reverse for the other soil properties, except for macroporosity, sand content, soil organic matter, carbon stock, C/N ratio and CEC, which fractograms were not significantly correlated to the FCO2 fractogram. Thus, the structure of spatial variability for most soil properties, characterized by fractogram, presents a significant relationship with the structure of spatial variability of FCO2, generally with similar or dissimilar behavior, indicating the possibility of using the fractogram as tool to better observe the behavior of the spatial dependence of the variables along the scale.

  1. Early Response of Soil Properties and Function to Riparian Rainforest Restoration

    PubMed Central

    Gageler, Rose; Bonner, Mark; Kirchhof, Gunnar; Amos, Mark; Robinson, Nicole; Schmidt, Susanne; Shoo, Luke P.

    2014-01-01

    Reforestation of riparian zones is increasingly practiced in many regions for purposes of biodiversity conservation, bank stabilisation, and improvement in water quality. This is in spite of the actual benefits of reforestation for recovering underlying soil properties and function remaining poorly understood. Here we compare remnant riparian rainforest, pasture and reforestation plantings aged 2–20 years in an Australian subtropical catchment on ferrosols to determine the extent to which reforestation restores key soil properties. Of the nine soil attributes measured (total nitrogen, nitrate and ammonium concentrations, net nitrification and ammonification rates, organic carbon, bulk density, fine root biomass and water infiltration rates), only infiltration rates were significantly lower in pasture than remnant riparian rainforest. Within reforestation plantings, bulk density decreased up to 1.4-fold and infiltration rates increased up to 60-fold with time post-reforestation. Our results suggest that the main outcome of belowground processes of early reforestation is the recovery of the soils' physical structure, with potential beneficial ecosystem services including reduced runoff, erosion and associated sediment and nutrient loads in waterways. We also demonstrate differential impacts of two commonly planted tree species on a subset of soil properties suggesting that preferential planting of select species could accelerate progress on specific restoration objectives. PMID:25117589

  2. Early response of soil properties and function to riparian rainforest restoration.

    PubMed

    Gageler, Rose; Bonner, Mark; Kirchhof, Gunnar; Amos, Mark; Robinson, Nicole; Schmidt, Susanne; Shoo, Luke P

    2014-01-01

    Reforestation of riparian zones is increasingly practiced in many regions for purposes of biodiversity conservation, bank stabilisation, and improvement in water quality. This is in spite of the actual benefits of reforestation for recovering underlying soil properties and function remaining poorly understood. Here we compare remnant riparian rainforest, pasture and reforestation plantings aged 2-20 years in an Australian subtropical catchment on ferrosols to determine the extent to which reforestation restores key soil properties. Of the nine soil attributes measured (total nitrogen, nitrate and ammonium concentrations, net nitrification and ammonification rates, organic carbon, bulk density, fine root biomass and water infiltration rates), only infiltration rates were significantly lower in pasture than remnant riparian rainforest. Within reforestation plantings, bulk density decreased up to 1.4-fold and infiltration rates increased up to 60-fold with time post-reforestation. Our results suggest that the main outcome of belowground processes of early reforestation is the recovery of the soils' physical structure, with potential beneficial ecosystem services including reduced runoff, erosion and associated sediment and nutrient loads in waterways. We also demonstrate differential impacts of two commonly planted tree species on a subset of soil properties suggesting that preferential planting of select species could accelerate progress on specific restoration objectives.

  3. Lunar soil properties and soil mechanics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mitchell, J. K.; Houston, W. N.; Hovland, H. J.

    1972-01-01

    The study to identify and define recognizable fabrics in lunar soil in order to determine the history of the lunar regolith in different locations is reported. The fabric of simulated lunar soil, and lunar soil samples are discussed along with the behavior of simulated lunar soil under dynamic and static loading. The planned research is also included.

  4. Improving root-zone soil properties for Trembling Aspen in a reconstructed mine-site soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dyck, M. F.; Sabbagh, P.; Bockstette, S.; Landhäusser, S.; Pinno, B.

    2014-12-01

    Surface mining activities have significantly depleted natural tree cover, especially trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), in the Boreal Forest and Aspen Parkland Natural Regions of Alberta. The natural soil profile is usually destroyed during these mining activities and soil and landscape reconstruction is typically the first step in the reclamation process. However, the mine tailings and overburden materials used for these new soils often become compacted during the reconstruction process because they are subjected to high amounts of traffic with heavy equipment. Compacted soils generally have low porosity and low penetrability through increased soil strength, making it difficult for roots to elongate and explore the soil. Compaction also reduces infiltration capacity and drainage, which can cause excessive runoff and soil erosion. To improve the pore size distribution and water transmission, subsoil ripping was carried out in a test plot at Genesee Prairie Mine, Alberta. Within the site, six replicates with two treatments each, unripped (compacted) and ripped (decompacted), were established with 20-m buffers between them. The main objective of this research was to characterize the effects of subsoil ripping on soil physical properties and the longevity of those effects.as well as soil water dynamics during spring snowmelt. Results showed improved bulk density, pore size distribution and water infiltration in the soil as a result of the deep ripping, but these improvements appear to be temporary.

  5. Role of sugars under abiotic stress.

    PubMed

    Sami, Fareen; Yusuf, Mohammad; Faizan, Mohammad; Faraz, Ahmad; Hayat, Shamsul

    2016-12-01

    Sugars are the most important regulators that facilitate many physiological processes, such as photosynthesis, seed germination, flowering, senescence, and many more under various abiotic stresses. Exogenous application of sugars in low concentration promote seed germination, up regulates photosynthesis, promotes flowering, delayed senescence under various unfavorable environmental conditions. However, high concentration of sugars reverses all these physiological process in a concentration dependent manner. Thus, this review focuses the correlation between sugars and their protective functions in several physiological processes against various abiotic stresses. Keeping in mind the multifaceted role of sugars, an attempt has been made to cover the role of sugar-regulated genes associated with photosynthesis, seed germination and senescence. The concentration of sugars determines the expression of these sugar-regulated genes. This review also enlightens the interaction of sugars with several phytohormones, such as abscisic acid, ethylene, cytokinins and gibberellins and its effect on their biosynthesis under abiotic stress conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  6. Moss Mediates the Influence of Shrub Species on Soil Properties and Processes in Alpine Tundra.

    PubMed

    Bueno, C Guillermo; Williamson, Scott N; Barrio, Isabel C; Helgadóttir, Ágústa; HiK, David S

    2016-01-01

    In tundra ecosystems, bryophytes influence soil processes directly and indirectly through interactions with overstory shrub species. We experimentally manipulated moss cover and measured seasonal soil properties and processes under two species of deciduous shrubs with contrasting canopy structures, Salix planifolia pulchra and Betula glandulosa-nana complex. Soil properties (seasonal temperature, moisture and C:N ratios) and processes (seasonal litter decomposition and soil respiration) were measured over twelve months. Shrub species identity had the largest influence on summer soil temperatures and soil respiration rates, which were higher under Salix canopies. Mosses were associated with lower soil moisture irrespective of shrub identity, but modulated the effects of shrubs on winter soil temperatures and soil C:N ratios so that moss cover reduced differences in soil winter temperatures between shrub species and reduced C:N ratios under Betula but not under Salix canopies. Our results suggest a central role of mosses in mediating soil properties and processes, with their influence depending on shrub species identity. Such species-dependent effects need to be accounted for when forecasting vegetation dynamics under ongoing environmental changes.

  7. Moss Mediates the Influence of Shrub Species on Soil Properties and Processes in Alpine Tundra

    PubMed Central

    Williamson, Scott N.; Barrio, Isabel C.; Helgadóttir, Ágústa; HiK, David S.

    2016-01-01

    In tundra ecosystems, bryophytes influence soil processes directly and indirectly through interactions with overstory shrub species. We experimentally manipulated moss cover and measured seasonal soil properties and processes under two species of deciduous shrubs with contrasting canopy structures, Salix planifolia pulchra and Betula glandulosa-nana complex. Soil properties (seasonal temperature, moisture and C:N ratios) and processes (seasonal litter decomposition and soil respiration) were measured over twelve months. Shrub species identity had the largest influence on summer soil temperatures and soil respiration rates, which were higher under Salix canopies. Mosses were associated with lower soil moisture irrespective of shrub identity, but modulated the effects of shrubs on winter soil temperatures and soil C:N ratios so that moss cover reduced differences in soil winter temperatures between shrub species and reduced C:N ratios under Betula but not under Salix canopies. Our results suggest a central role of mosses in mediating soil properties and processes, with their influence depending on shrub species identity. Such species-dependent effects need to be accounted for when forecasting vegetation dynamics under ongoing environmental changes. PMID:27760156

  8. Prescribed burning impact on forest soil properties--a Fuzzy Boolean Nets approach.

    PubMed

    Castro, Ana C Meira; Paulo Carvalho, Joao; Ribeiro, S

    2011-02-01

    The Portuguese northern forests are often and severely affected by wildfires during the Summer season. These occurrences significantly affect and negatively impact all ecosystems, namely soil, fauna and flora. In order to reduce the occurrences of natural wildfires, some measures to control the availability of fuel mass are regularly implemented. Those preventive actions concern mainly prescribed burnings and vegetation pruning. This work reports on the impact of a prescribed burning on several forest soil properties, namely pH, soil moisture, organic matter content and iron content, by monitoring the soil self-recovery capabilities during a one year span. The experiments were carried out in soil cover over a natural site of Andaluzitic schist, in Gramelas, Caminha, Portugal, which was kept intact from prescribed burnings during a period of four years. Soil samples were collected from five plots at three different layers (0-3, 3-6 and 6-18) 1 day before prescribed fire and at regular intervals after the prescribed fire. This paper presents an approach where Fuzzy Boolean Nets (FBN) and Fuzzy reasoning are used to extract qualitative knowledge regarding the effect of prescribed fire burning on soil properties. FBN were chosen due to the scarcity on available quantitative data. The results showed that soil properties were affected by prescribed burning practice and were unable to recover their initial values after one year. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Impacts of Solar PV Arrays on Physicochemical Properties of Soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cagle, A.; Choi, C. S.; Macknick, J.; Ravi, S.; Bickhart, R.

    2017-12-01

    The deployment of renewable energy technologies, such as solar photovoltaics (PV), is rapidly escalating. While PV can provide clean, renewable energy, there is uncertainty regarding its potential positive and/or negative impacts on the local environment. Specifically, its effects on the physicochemical properties of the underlying soil have not been systematically quantified. This study facilitates the discussion on the effects of PV installations related to the following questions: i. How do soil moisture, infiltration rates, total organic carbon, and nitrogen contents vary spatially under a PV array? ii. How do these physicochemical properties compare to undisturbed and adjacent land covered in native vegetation? iii. Are these variations statistically significant to provide insight on whether PV installations have beneficial or detrimental impacts on soil? We address these questions through field measurements of soil moisture, infiltration, grain particle size distribution, total organic carbon, and nitrogen content at a 1-MW solar PV array located at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. We collect data via multiple transects underneath the PV array as as well as in an adjacent plot of undisturbed native vegetation. Measurements are taken at four positions under the solar panels; the east-facing edge, center area under the panel, west-facing edge, and interspace between panel rows to capture differences in sun exposure as well as precipitation runoff of panels. Measurements are collected before and after a precipitation event to capture differences in soil moisture and infiltration rates. Results of this work can provide insights for research fields associated with the co-location of agriculture and PV installations as well as the long term ecological impacts of solar energy development. Trends in physicochemical properties under and between solar panels can affect the viability of co-location of commercial crops in PV arrays, the

  10. The Effect of Soil Hydraulic Properties vs. Soil Texture in Land Surface Models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gutmann, E. D.; Small, E. E.

    2005-01-01

    This study focuses on the effect of Soil Hydraulic Property (SHP) selection on modeled surface fluxes following a rain storm in a semi-arid environment. SHPs are often defined based on a Soil Texture Class (STC). To examine the effectiveness of this approach, the Noah land surface model was run with each of 1306 soils in a large SHP database. Within most STCs, the outputs have a range of 350 W/m2 for latent and sensible heat fluxes, and 8K for surface temperature. The average difference between STC median values is only 100 W/m2 for latent and sensible heat. It is concluded that STC explains 5-15% of the variance in model outputs and should not be used to determine SHPs.

  11. Photometric properties of Mars soils analogs

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pommerol, A.; Thomas, N.; Jost, B.; Beck, P.; Okubo, C.; McEwen, A.S.

    2013-01-01

    We have measured the bidirectional reflectance of analogs of dry, wet, and frozen Martian soils over a wide range of phase angles in the visible spectral range. All samples were produced from two geologic samples: the standard JSC Mars-1 soil simulant and Hawaiian basaltic sand. In a first step, experiments were conducted with the dry samples to investigate the effects of surface texture. Comparisons with results independently obtained by different teams with similar samples showed a satisfying reproducibility of the photometric measurements as well as a noticeable influence of surface textures resulting from different sample preparation procedures. In a second step, water was introduced to produce wet and frozen samples and their photometry investigated. Optical microscope images of the samples provided information about their microtexture. Liquid water, even in relatively low amount, resulted in the disappearance of the backscattering peak and the appearance of a forward-scattering peak whose intensity increases with the amount of water. Specular reflections only appeared when water was present in an amount large enough to allow water to form a film at the surface of the sample. Icy samples showed a wide variability of photometric properties depending on the physical properties of the water ice. We discuss the implications of these measurements in terms of the expected photometric behavior of the Martian surface, from equatorial to circum-polar regions. In particular, we propose some simple photometric criteria to improve the identification of wet and/or icy soils from multiple observations under different geometries.

  12. Soil health in the Mediterranean region: Development and consolidation of a multifactor index to characterize the health of agricultural lands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gil, Eshel; Guy, Levy; Oshri, Rinot; Michael, Borisover; Uri, Yermiyahu; Leah, Tsror; Hanan, Eizenberg; Tal, Svoray; Alex, Furman; Yael, Mishael; Yosef, Steinberger

    2017-04-01

    The link among between soil health, soil conservation, and food security, resilience, and function under a wide range of agricultural uses and different environmental systems, is at the heart of many ecofriendly research studies worldwide. We consider the health of soil as a function of its ability to provide ecosystem services, including agricultural production (provisional services); regulating natural cycles (regulation services) and as a habitat for plants (support services). Soil health is affected by a wide range of soil properties (biotic and abiotic) that maintain complex interactions among themselves. The decline in soil health includes degradation in its physical properties (e.g., deterioration of soil structure, compaction and sealing, water-repellency, soil erosion by water and wind), chemical properties (e.g., salinization, depletion of nutrients and organic matter content, accumulation of pollutants and reduction of the soils' ion exchange capacity) and biological properties (e.g., vulnerable populations of microflora, microfauna, and mesofauna, leading to a breach of ecological balance and biodiversity and, as a result, destruction of beneficial populations and pathogen outbreaks). Numerous studies show that agricultural practices have a major impact on soil functioning. Substituting longstanding tillage with no-till cropping and the amalgamation of cover crops in crop rotations were found to improve soil properties. Such changes contributed to the enhancement of the agronomical performance of the soil. On the other hand, these practices may result in lessened effectiveness of controlling perennial weeds. The evaluation of soil-health status in the Mediterranean region is very limited. Moreover, existing approaches for evaluation that have been used (such as the Cornell and Hany tests) do not give sufficient weight to important agronomic processes, such as soil erosion, salinization, sodification, spread of weeds in the fields (in particular, weeds

  13. Differential expression of poplar sucrose nonfermenting1-related protein kinase 2 genes in response to abiotic stress and abscisic acid.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiang; Takebayashi, Arika; Demura, Taku; Ohtani, Misato

    2017-09-01

    Knowledge on the responses of woody plants to abiotic stress can inform strategies to breed improved tree varieties and to manage tree species for environmental conservation and the production of lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, we examined the expression patterns of poplar (Populus trichocarpa) genes encoding members of the sucrose nonfermenting1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) family, which are core components of the abiotic stress response. The P. trichocarpa genome contains twelve SnRK2 genes (PtSnRK2.1- PtSnRK2.12) that can be divided into three subclasses (I-III) based on the structures of their encoded kinase domains. We found that PtSnRK2s are differentially expressed in various organs. In MS medium-grown plants, all of the PtSnRK2 genes were significantly upregulated in response to abscisic acid (ABA) treatment, whereas osmotic and salt stress treatments induced only some (four and seven, respectively) of the PtSnRK2 genes. By contrast, soil-grown plants showed increased expression of most PtSnRK2 genes under drought and salt treatments, but not under ABA treatment. In soil-grown plants, drought stress induced SnRK2 subclass II genes in all tested organs (leaves, stems, and roots), whereas subclass III genes tended to be upregulated in leaves only. These results suggest that the PtSnRK2 genes are involved in abiotic stress responses, are at least partially activated by ABA, and show organ-specific responses.

  14. Impact of temperature on the biological properties of soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borowik, Agata; Wyszkowska, Jadwiga

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the study was to determine the response of soil microorganisms and enzymes to the temperature of soil. The effect of the temperatures: 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C on the biological properties of soil was investigated under laboratory conditions. The study was performed using four different soils differing in their granulometric composition. It was found that 15°C was the optimal temperature for the development of microorganisms in soil. Typically, in the soil, the highest activity of dehydrogenases was observed at 10-15°C, catalase and acid phosphatase - at 15°C, alkaline phosphatase at 20°C, urease and β-glucosidase at 25°C. The highest colony development index for heterotrophic bacteria was recorded in soils incubated at 25°C, while for actinomycetes and fungi at 15°C. The incubation temperature of soil only slightly changed the ecophysiological variety of the investigated groups of microorganisms. Therefore, the observed climate changes might have a limited impact on the soil microbiological activity, because of the high ability of microorganisms to adopt. The response of soil microorganisms and enzymes was more dependent on the soil granulometric composition, organic carbon, and total nitrogen than on its temperature.

  15. [SANITARY SIGNIFICANCE OF SOIL SEA COASTS].

    PubMed

    Sidorenko, M L; Buzoleva, L S

    2015-01-01

    There was investigated the dynamics of growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in soils of sea coast (mid-flight and maritime soils). These bacteria were shown to reproduced well in all researched soils, preferring nevertheless maritime soils. The content of the humus was determined to be the one of the limiting factors restricting the multiplication of pathogenic bacteria in studied soils. Abiotic characteristic of soils of sea coast were established to render the direct positive influence on the preservation and reproduction of pathogenic microflora in them. This is promoted by a degree of a saturation by the bases, cation-exchange capacity, quantity of humus. In the formation of environmental policy it should be taken into account and the human-induced load on the soil should be limited

  16. Community structure of grassland ground-dwelling arthropods along increasing soil salinities.

    PubMed

    Pan, Chengchen; Feng, Qi; Liu, Jiliang; Li, Yulin; Li, Yuqiang; Yu, Xiaoya

    2018-03-01

    Ground-dwelling arthropod communities are influenced by numerous biotic and abiotic factors. Little is known, however, about the relative importance of vegetation structure and abiotic environmental factors on the patterns of ground-dwelling arthropod community across a wide range of soil salinities. Here, a field survey was conducted to assess the driving forces controlling ground-dwelling arthropod community in the salinized grasslands in the Hexi Corridor, Gansu Province, China. The data were analyzed by variance partitioning with canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). We found that vegetation structure and edaphic factors were at least of similar importance to the pattern of the whole ground-dwelling arthropod community. However, when all collected ground-dwelling arthropods were categorized into three trophic guilds (predators, herbivores, and decomposers), as these groups use different food sources, their populations were controlled by different driving forces. Predators and decomposers were mainly determined by biotic factors such as vegetation cover and aboveground plant biomass and herbivores by plant density and vegetation cover. Abiotic factors were also major determinants for the variation occurring in these guilds, with predators strongly affected by soil electrical conductivity (EC) and the content of fine particles (silt + clay, CS), herbivores by soil N:P, EC, and CS, and decomposers by soil EC and organic matter content (SOM). Since plant cover, density, and aboveground biomass can indicate resource availability, which are mainly constrained by soil N:P, EC, CS, and SOM, we consider that the ground-dwelling arthropod community in the salinized grasslands was mainly influenced by resource availability.

  17. Sludge Biochar Amendment and Alfalfa Revegetation Improve Soil Physicochemical Properties and Increase Diversity of Soil Microbes in Soils from a Rare Earth Element Mining Wasteland

    PubMed Central

    Inubushi, Kazuyuki; Liang, Jian; Zhu, Sipin; Wei, Zhenya; Guo, Xiaobin; Luo, Xianping

    2018-01-01

    Long-term unregulated mining of ion-adsorption clays (IAC) in China has resulted in severe ecological destruction and created large areas of wasteland in dire need of rehabilitation. Soil amendment and revegetation are two important means of rehabilitation of IAC mining wasteland. In this study, we used sludge biochar prepared by pyrolysis of municipal sewage sludge as a soil ameliorant, selected alfalfa as a revegetation plant, and conducted pot trials in a climate-controlled chamber. We investigated the effects of alfalfa revegetation, sludge biochar amendment, and their combined amendment on soil physicochemical properties in soil from an IAC mining wasteland as well as the impact of sludge biochar on plant growth. At the same time, we also assessed the impacts of these amendments on the soil microbial community by means of the Illumina Miseq sequences method. Results showed that alfalfa revegetation and sludge biochar both improved soil physicochemical properties and microbial community structure. When alfalfa revegetation and sludge biochar amendment were combined, we detected additive effects on the improvement of soil physicochemical properties as well as increases in the richness and diversity of bacterial and fungal communities. Redundancy analyses suggested that alfalfa revegetation and sludge biochar amendment significantly affected soil microbial community structure. Critical environmental factors consisted of soil available K, pH, organic matter, carbon–nitrogen ratio, bulk density, and total porosity. Sludge biochar amendment significantly promoted the growth of alfalfa and changed its root morphology. Combining alfalfa the revegetation with sludge biochar amendment may serve to not only achieve the revegetation of IAC mining wasteland, but also address the challenge of municipal sludge disposal by making the waste profitable. PMID:29751652

  18. Sludge Biochar Amendment and Alfalfa Revegetation Improve Soil Physicochemical Properties and Increase Diversity of Soil Microbes in Soils from a Rare Earth Element Mining Wasteland.

    PubMed

    Luo, Caigui; Deng, Yangwu; Inubushi, Kazuyuki; Liang, Jian; Zhu, Sipin; Wei, Zhenya; Guo, Xiaobin; Luo, Xianping

    2018-05-11

    Long-term unregulated mining of ion-adsorption clays (IAC) in China has resulted in severe ecological destruction and created large areas of wasteland in dire need of rehabilitation. Soil amendment and revegetation are two important means of rehabilitation of IAC mining wasteland. In this study, we used sludge biochar prepared by pyrolysis of municipal sewage sludge as a soil ameliorant, selected alfalfa as a revegetation plant, and conducted pot trials in a climate-controlled chamber. We investigated the effects of alfalfa revegetation, sludge biochar amendment, and their combined amendment on soil physicochemical properties in soil from an IAC mining wasteland as well as the impact of sludge biochar on plant growth. At the same time, we also assessed the impacts of these amendments on the soil microbial community by means of the Illumina Miseq sequences method. Results showed that alfalfa revegetation and sludge biochar both improved soil physicochemical properties and microbial community structure. When alfalfa revegetation and sludge biochar amendment were combined, we detected additive effects on the improvement of soil physicochemical properties as well as increases in the richness and diversity of bacterial and fungal communities. Redundancy analyses suggested that alfalfa revegetation and sludge biochar amendment significantly affected soil microbial community structure. Critical environmental factors consisted of soil available K, pH, organic matter, carbon⁻nitrogen ratio, bulk density, and total porosity. Sludge biochar amendment significantly promoted the growth of alfalfa and changed its root morphology. Combining alfalfa the revegetation with sludge biochar amendment may serve to not only achieve the revegetation of IAC mining wasteland, but also address the challenge of municipal sludge disposal by making the waste profitable.

  19. Leaching Properties of Naturally Occurring Heavy Metals from Soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, M.; Hoshino, M.; Yoshikawa, M.; Hara, J.; Sugita, H.

    2014-12-01

    The major threats to human health from heavy metals are associated with exposure to arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, as well as some other elements. The effects of such heavy metals on human health have been extensively studied and reviewed by international organizations such as WHO. Due to their toxicity, heavy metal contaminations have been regulated by national environmental standards in many countries, and/or laws such as the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act in Japan. Leaching of naturally occurring heavy metals from the soils, especially those around abandoned metal mines into surrounding water systems, either groundwater or surface water systems, is one of the major pathways of exposure. Therefore, understanding the leaching properties of toxic heavy metals from naturally polluted soils is of fundamentally importance for effectively managing abandoned metal mines, excavated rocks discharged from infrastructure constructions such as tunneling, and/or selecting a pertinent countermeasure against pollution when it is necessary. In this study, soil samples taken from the surroundings of abandoned metal mines in different regions in Japan were collected and analyzed. The samples contained multiple heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and chromium. Standard leaching test and sequential leaching test considering different forms of contaminants, such as trivalent and pentavalent arsenics, and trivalent and hexavalent chromiums, together with standard test for evaluating total concentration, X-ray Fluorescence Analysis (XRF), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) tests were performed. In addition, sequential leaching tests were performed to evaluate long-term leaching properties of lead from representative samples. This presentation introduces the details of the above experimental study, discusses the relationships among leaching properties and chemical and mineral compositions, indicates the difficulties associated with

  20. Abiotic methane formation during experimental serpentinization of olivine

    PubMed Central

    2016-01-01

    Fluids circulating through actively serpentinizing systems are often highly enriched in methane (CH4). In many cases, the CH4 in these fluids is thought to derive from abiotic reduction of inorganic carbon, but the conditions under which this process can occur in natural systems remain unclear. In recent years, several studies have reported abiotic formation of CH4 during experimental serpentinization of olivine at temperatures at or below 200 °C. However, these results seem to contradict studies conducted at higher temperatures (300 °C to 400 °C), where substantial kinetic barriers to CH4 synthesis have been observed. Here, the potential for abiotic formation of CH4 from dissolved inorganic carbon during olivine serpentinization is reevaluated in a series of laboratory experiments conducted at 200 °C to 320 °C. A 13C-labeled inorganic carbon source was used to unambiguously determine the origin of CH4 generated in the experiments. Consistent with previous high-temperature studies, the results indicate that abiotic formation of CH4 from reduction of dissolved inorganic carbon during the experiments is extremely limited, with nearly all of the observed CH4 derived from background sources. The results indicate that the potential for abiotic synthesis of CH4 in low-temperature serpentinizing environments may be much more limited than some recent studies have suggested. However, more extensive production of CH4 was observed in one experiment performed under conditions that allowed an H2-rich vapor phase to form, suggesting that shallow serpentinization environments where a separate gas phase is present may be more favorable for abiotic synthesis of CH4. PMID:27821742

  1. Abiotic methane formation during experimental serpentinization of olivine.

    PubMed

    McCollom, Thomas M

    2016-12-06

    Fluids circulating through actively serpentinizing systems are often highly enriched in methane (CH 4 ). In many cases, the CH 4 in these fluids is thought to derive from abiotic reduction of inorganic carbon, but the conditions under which this process can occur in natural systems remain unclear. In recent years, several studies have reported abiotic formation of CH 4 during experimental serpentinization of olivine at temperatures at or below 200 °C. However, these results seem to contradict studies conducted at higher temperatures (300 °C to 400 °C), where substantial kinetic barriers to CH 4 synthesis have been observed. Here, the potential for abiotic formation of CH 4 from dissolved inorganic carbon during olivine serpentinization is reevaluated in a series of laboratory experiments conducted at 200 °C to 320 °C. A 13 C-labeled inorganic carbon source was used to unambiguously determine the origin of CH 4 generated in the experiments. Consistent with previous high-temperature studies, the results indicate that abiotic formation of CH 4 from reduction of dissolved inorganic carbon during the experiments is extremely limited, with nearly all of the observed CH 4 derived from background sources. The results indicate that the potential for abiotic synthesis of CH 4 in low-temperature serpentinizing environments may be much more limited than some recent studies have suggested. However, more extensive production of CH 4 was observed in one experiment performed under conditions that allowed an H 2 -rich vapor phase to form, suggesting that shallow serpentinization environments where a separate gas phase is present may be more favorable for abiotic synthesis of CH 4 .

  2. A Combination of Biochar–Mineral Complexes and Compost Improves Soil Bacterial Processes, Soil Quality, and Plant Properties

    PubMed Central

    Ye, Jun; Zhang, Rui; Nielsen, Shaun; Joseph, Stephen D.; Huang, Danfeng; Thomas, Torsten

    2016-01-01

    Organic farming avoids the use of synthetic fertilizers and promises food production with minimal environmental impact, however this farming practice does not often result in the same productivity as conventional farming. In recent years, biochar has received increasing attention as an agricultural amendment and by coating it with minerals to form biochar–mineral complex (BMC) carbon retention and nutrient availability can be improved. However, little is known about the potential of BMC in improving organic farming. We therefore investigated here how soil, bacterial and plant properties respond to a combined treatment of BMC and an organic fertilizer, i.e., a compost based on poultry manure. In a pakchoi pot trial, BMC and compost showed synergistic effects on soil properties, and specifically by increasing nitrate content. Soil nitrate has been previously observed to increase leaf size and we correspondingly saw an increase in the surface area of pakchoi leaves under the combined treatment of BMC and composted chicken manure. The increase in soil nitrate was also correlated with an enrichment of bacterial nitrifiers due to BMC. Additionally, we observed that the bacteria present in the compost treatment had a high turnover, which likely facilitated organic matter degradation and a reduction of potential pathogens derived from the manure. Overall our results demonstrate that a combination of BMC and compost can stimulate microbial process in organic farming that result in better vegetable production and improved soil properties for sustainable farming. PMID:27092104

  3. A Combination of Biochar-Mineral Complexes and Compost Improves Soil Bacterial Processes, Soil Quality, and Plant Properties.

    PubMed

    Ye, Jun; Zhang, Rui; Nielsen, Shaun; Joseph, Stephen D; Huang, Danfeng; Thomas, Torsten

    2016-01-01

    Organic farming avoids the use of synthetic fertilizers and promises food production with minimal environmental impact, however this farming practice does not often result in the same productivity as conventional farming. In recent years, biochar has received increasing attention as an agricultural amendment and by coating it with minerals to form biochar-mineral complex (BMC) carbon retention and nutrient availability can be improved. However, little is known about the potential of BMC in improving organic farming. We therefore investigated here how soil, bacterial and plant properties respond to a combined treatment of BMC and an organic fertilizer, i.e., a compost based on poultry manure. In a pakchoi pot trial, BMC and compost showed synergistic effects on soil properties, and specifically by increasing nitrate content. Soil nitrate has been previously observed to increase leaf size and we correspondingly saw an increase in the surface area of pakchoi leaves under the combined treatment of BMC and composted chicken manure. The increase in soil nitrate was also correlated with an enrichment of bacterial nitrifiers due to BMC. Additionally, we observed that the bacteria present in the compost treatment had a high turnover, which likely facilitated organic matter degradation and a reduction of potential pathogens derived from the manure. Overall our results demonstrate that a combination of BMC and compost can stimulate microbial process in organic farming that result in better vegetable production and improved soil properties for sustainable farming.

  4. Evidence that Soil Properties and Organic Coating Drive the Phytoavailability of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Layet, Clément; Auffan, Mélanie; Santaella, Catherine; Chevassus-Rosset, Claire; Montes, Mélanie; Ortet, Philippe; Barakat, Mohamed; Collin, Blanche; Legros, Samuel; Bravin, Matthieu N; Angeletti, Bernard; Kieffer, Isabelle; Proux, Olivier; Hazemann, Jean-Louis; Doelsch, Emmanuel

    2017-09-05

    The ISO-standardized RHIZOtest is used here for the first time to decipher how plant species, soil properties, and physical-chemical properties of the nanoparticles and their transformation regulate the phytoavailability of nanoparticles. Two plants, tomato and fescue, were exposed to two soils with contrasted properties: a sandy soil poor in organic matter and a clay soil rich in organic matter, both contaminated with 1, 15, and 50 mg·kg -1 of dissolved Ce 2 (SO 4 ) 3 , bare and citrate-coated CeO 2 nanoparticles. All the results demonstrate that two antagonistic soil properties controlled Ce uptake. The clay fraction enhanced the retention of the CeO 2 nanoparticles and hence reduced Ce uptake, whereas the organic matter content enhanced Ce uptake. Moreover, in the soil poor in organic matter, the organic citrate coating significantly enhanced the phytoavailability of the cerium by forming smaller aggregates thereby facilitating the transport of nanoparticles to the roots. By getting rid of the dissimilarities between the root systems of the different plants and the normalizing the surfaces exposed to nanoparticles, the RHIZOtest demonstrated that the species of plant did not drive the phytoavailability, and provided evidence for soil-plant transfers at concentrations lower than those usually cited in the literature and closer to predicted environmental concentrations.

  5. Bringing life to soil physical processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hallett, P. D.

    2013-12-01

    When Oklahoma's native prairie grass roots were replaced by corn, the greatest environmental (and social) disaster ever to hit America ensued. The soils lost structure, physical binding by roots was annihilated and when drought came the Great Dust Bowl commenced. This form of environmental disaster has repeated over history and although not always apparent, similar processes drive the degradation of seemingly productive farmland and forests. But just as negative impacts on biology are deleterious to soil physical properties, positive impacts could reverse these trends. In finding solutions to soil sustainability and food security, we should be able to exploit biological processes to improve soil physical properties. This talk will focus on a quantitative understanding of how biology changes soil physical behaviour. Like the Great Dust Bowl, it starts with reinforcement mechanisms by plant roots. We found that binding of soil by cereal (barley) roots within 5 weeks of planting can more than double soil shear strength, with greater plant density causing greater reinforcement. With time, however, the relative impact of root reinforcement diminishes due to root turnover and aging of the seedbed. From mechanical tests of individual roots, reasonable predictions of reinforcement by tree roots are possible with fibre bundle models. With herbaceous plants like cereals, however, the same parameters (root strength, stiffness, size and distribution) result in a poor prediction. We found that root type, root age and abiotic factors such as compaction and waterlogging affect mechanical behaviour, further complicating the understanding and prediction of root reinforcement. For soil physical stability, the interface between root and soil is an extremely important zone in terms of resistance of roots to pull-out and rhizosphere formation. Compounds analogous to root exudates have been found with rheological tests to initially decrease the shear stress where wet soils flow, but

  6. Effect of polyacrylamide on soil physical and hydraulic properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Albalasmeh, Ammar; Gharaibeh, Mamoun; Hamdan, Enas

    2017-04-01

    The effect of polyacrylamide (PAM), as a soil conditioner, on selected soil physical and hydraulic properties (infiltration rate (f(t)), hydraulic conductivity (HC), soil moisture content, aggregate stability (AS), and soil aggregation) was studied. Two types of anionic PAM were used: Low molecular weight (LPAM) (1×105 g/mol) with medium charge density (33-43) and high molecular weight (HPAM) (1-6×106 g/mol) with medium charge density (33-43). Sandy loam soil was packed into plastic columns; PAM solutions at different concentrations (100, 250, 500, and 1000 mg L-1) were used every two weeks in four wetting and drying cycles. The highest infiltration rate value was 0.16 mm s-1 at 1000 mg/L low molecular weight PAM while the highest value of infiltration rate in high PAM molecular weight was 0.11 mm s-1 compared to the control (0.01 mm s-1). Soil HC was about 3.00 cm h-1 for LPAM at 1000 mg L-1 PAM, while the highest value for HPAM was about 2 cm h-1 for the same concentration, compared to the control. The amount of water that can be held by soil increased with the addition of PAM compared to the control. Differences in water content were more pronounced in LPAM compared to HPAM. The addition of LPAM increased aggregate stability proportional to PAM concentration. Moreover, 1000 mg L-1 produced the highest aggregate stability (19{%}) compared to HPAM and control (7{%} and 5{%}), respectively. As PAM concentration increased, the geometric mean diameter (GMD) increased for both PAM molecular weights compared to control (0.4 mm). At 1000 mg L-1 the GMD values were 0.88 mm and 0.79 mm for LPAM and HPAM, respectively. The addition of PAM improved soil physical and hydraulic properties, with an advantage to LPAM owing that to its ability to penetrate soil aggregates and therefore stabilizing them.

  7. Soil physical properties: Key factors for successful reclamation of disturbed landscapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krümmelbein, Julia; Raab, Thomas

    2013-04-01

    The practice of open cast mining, e.g. for lignite, results in major landscape disturbances and especially affects soils because relocation and subsequent mixing of naturally developed soil horizons leads to areas with extremely altered soil properties compared to the undisturbed conditions. Various reclamation measures are applied to recover the reconstructed landscape for different land use options. Major parts of the post mining landscapes are used for agriculture, agroforestry or silviculture, the remaining voids of the coal mines fill successively with groundwater after mine closure and are or will be used mainly for touristic and leisure purposes. Small proportions of the post mining areas are left for natural succession, or habitats for endangered flora and fauna are initiated. In reclamation research, many studies have focused on soil chemical and biological constraints of post mining substrates and investigated factors such as unsuitable pH, in many cases very low pH, (poor) nutrient contents and (poor) biological activity. But the initial and developing soil physical parameters and functions are also key factors for the success of reclamation practices. The soil water and gas balance influence strongly the suitability of a site for the intended future land use. The mechanical stability of the soil determines the rigidity of the pore system against deforming forces and thereby the persistence of soil functions, such as water and air permeability over time. The amendment of unfavourable (initial) soil physical properties is in most cases more complex and time-consuming than e.g. optimization of pH or fertilization with nutrients. Moreover, regarding the suitability of a site e.g. as a habitat for plants or microorganisms, poor physical pre-conditions can turn substrates with perfect nutrient contents and composition and pH into infertile locations of very low productivity. We show results of an on-going field study where the effects of different

  8. Effect of soil properties on the toxicity of Pb: assessment of the appropriateness of guideline values.

    PubMed

    Romero-Freire, A; Martin Peinado, F J; van Gestel, C A M

    2015-05-30

    Soil contamination with lead is a worldwide problem. Pb can cause adverse effects, but its mobility and availability in the terrestrial environment are strongly controlled by soil properties. The present study investigated the influence of different soil properties on the solubility of lead in laboratory spiked soils, and its toxicity in three bioassays, including Lactuca sativa root elongation and Vibrio fischeri illumination tests applied to aqueous extracts and basal soil respiration assays. Final aim was to compare soil-dependent toxicity with guideline values. The L. sativa bioassay proved to be more sensitive to Pb toxicity than the V. fischeri and soil respiration tests. Toxicity was significantly correlated with soil properties, with soil pH, carbonate and organic carbon content being the most important factors. Therefore, these variables should be considered when defining guideline values. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Impacts of land use changes on physical and chemical soil properties in the Central Pyrenees

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nadal Romero, Estela; Hoitinga, Leo; Valdivielso, Sergio; Pérez Cardiel, Estela; Serrano Muela, Pili; Lasanta, Teodoro; Cammeraat, Erik

    2015-04-01

    Soils and vegetation tend to evolve jointly in relation to climate evolution and the impacts of human activity. Afforestation has been one of the main policies for environmental management of forest landscapes in Mediterranean areas. Afforestation has been based mainly on conifers because they are fast-growing species, and also because it was believed that this would lead to rapid restoration of soil properties and hydrological processes, and the formation of protective vegetation cover. This study analyses the effects of afforestation on physical and chemical soil properties. Specifically, we addressed this research question: (i) How do soil properties change after land abandonment? The 11 microsites considered were: Afforestation Pinus sylvestris (escarpment, terrace and close to the stem), Afforestation Pinus nigra (escarpment, terrace and close to the stem), natural shrubland, grasslands, bare lands, and undisturbed forest site (pine cover and close to the stem). An extensive single sampling was carried out in September 2014. We systematically collected 5 top soil samples (0-10 cm) and 3 deep soil samples (10-20 cm) per microsite (88 composite samples in total). These properties were analysed: (i) soil texture, (ii) bulk density, (iii) pH and electrical conductivity, (iv) total SOC, (v) Total Nitrogen, (vi) organic matter, (vii) CaCO3 and (viii) aggregate stability. Statistical tests have been applied to determine relationships between the different soil properties and are used to assess differences between different soil samples, land use areas and soil depths. Implications of reafforestation for soil development and environmental response are discussed. Acknowledgments This research was supported by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship in the project "MED-AFFOREST" (PIEF-GA-2013-624974).

  10. Influence of soil properties and soil moisture on the efficacy of indaziflam and flumioxazin on Kochia scoparia L.

    PubMed

    Sebastian, Derek J; Nissen, Scott J; Westra, Phil; Shaner, Dale L; Butters, Greg

    2017-02-01

    Kochia (Kochia scoparia L.) is a highly competitive, non-native weed found throughout the western United States. Flumioxazin and indaziflam are two broad-spectrum pre-emergence herbicides that can control kochia in a variety of crop and non-crop situations; however, under dry conditions, these herbicides sometimes fail to control this important weed. There is very little information describing the effect of soil properties and soil moisture on the efficacy of these herbicides. Soil organic matter (SOM) explained the highest proportion of variability in predicting the herbicide dose required for 80% kochia growth reduction (GR 80 ) for flumioxazin and indaziflam (R 2 = 0.72 and 0.79 respectively). SOM had a greater impact on flumioxazin phytotoxicity compared to indaziflam. Flumioxazin and indaziflam kochia phytotoxicity was greatly reduced at soil water potentials below -200 kPa. Kochia can germinate at soil moisture potentials below the moisture required for flumioxazin and indaziflam activation, which means that kochia control is greatly influenced by the complex interaction between soil physical properties and soil moisture. This research can be used to gain a better understanding of how and why some weeds, like kochia, are so difficult to manage even with herbicides that normally provide excellent control. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  11. Effects of spatial variability of soil hydraulic properties on water dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gumiere, Silvio Jose; Caron, Jean; Périard, Yann; Lafond, Jonathan

    2013-04-01

    Soil hydraulic properties may present spatial variability and dependence at the scale of watersheds or fields even in man-made single soil structures, such as cranberry fields. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and soil moisture curves were measured at two depths for three cranberry fields (about 2 ha) at three different sites near Québec city, Canada. Two of the three studied fields indicate strong spatial dependence for Ksat values and soil moisture curves both in horizontal and vertical directions. In the summer of 2012, the three fields were equipped with 55 tensiometers installed at a depth of 0.10 m in a regular grid. About 20 mm of irrigation water were applied uniformly by aspersion to the fields, raising soil water content to near saturation condition. Soil water tension was measured once every hour during seven days. Geostatistical techniques such as co-kriging and cross-correlograms estimations were used to investigate the spatial dependence between variables. The results show that soil tension varied faster in high Ksat zones than in low Ksatones in the cranberry fields. These results indicate that soil water dynamic is strongly affected by the variability of saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, even in a supposed homogenous anthropogenic soil. This information may have a strong impact in irrigation management and subsurface drainage efficiency as well as other water conservation issues. Future work will involve 3D numerical modeling of the field water dynamics with HYDRUS software. The anticipated outcome will provide valuable information for the understanding of the effect of spatial variability of soil hydraulic properties on soil water dynamics and its relationship with crop production and water conservation.

  12. Variation of soil hydraulic properties with alpine grassland degradation in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pan, Tao; Hou, Shuai; Wu, Shaohong; Liu, Yujie; Liu, Yanhua; Zou, Xintong; Herzberger, Anna; Liu, Jianguo

    2017-05-01

    Ecosystems in alpine mountainous regions are vulnerable and easily disturbed by global environmental change. Alpine swamp meadow, a unique grassland type in the eastern Tibetan Plateau that provides important ecosystem services to the upstream and downstream regions of international rivers of Asia and other parts of the world, is undergoing severe degradation, which can dramatically alter soil hydraulic properties and water cycling processes. However, the effects of alpine swamp meadow degradation on soil hydraulic properties and the corresponding influencing mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, soil moisture content (SMC), field capacity (FC) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) together with several basic soil properties under lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD) and severely degraded (SD) alpine swamp meadow were investigated; the variations in SMC, FC and Ks with alpine swamp meadow degradation and their dominant influencing factors were analysed. The results showed that SMC and FC decreased consistently from LD to SD, while Ks decreased from LD to MD and then increased from MD to SD, following the order of LD > SD > MD. Significant differences in soil hydraulic properties between degradation degrees were found in the upper soil layers (0-20 cm), indicating that the influences of degradation were most pronounced in the topsoils. FC was positively correlated with capillary porosity, water-stable aggregates, soil organic carbon, and silt and clay content; Ks was positively correlated with non-capillary porosity (NCP). Relative to other soil properties, soil porosity is the dominant factor influencing FC and Ks. Capillary porosity explained 91.1 % of total variance in FC, and NCP explained 97.3 % of total variance in Ks. The combined effect of disappearing root activities and increasing sand content was responsible for the inconsistent patterns of NCP and Ks. Our findings suggest that alpine swamp meadow degradation

  13. Soil properties in high-elevation ski slopes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filippa, Gianluca; Freppaz, Michele; Letey, Stéphanie; Corti, Giuseppe; Cocco, Stefania; Zanini, Ermanno

    2010-05-01

    The development of winter sports determines an increasing impact on the high altitude ecosystems, as a consequence of increased participation and an increasing demand of high quality standards for skiable areas. The construction of a ski slope is associated with a certain impact on soil, which varies as a function of the degree of human-induced disturbance to the native substrata. In this work, we provide a description of the characteristics of alpine tundra ski-slope soils and their nutrient status, contrasted with undisturbed areas. The study site is located in the Monterosaski Resort, Aosta Valley, NW Italy (45°51' N; 7°48' E). We chose 5 sites along an altitudinal gradient between 2700 and 2200 m a.s.l.. Per each site, one plot was established on the ski slope, while a control plot was chosen under comparable topographic conditions a few meters apart. Soils were described and samples were collected and analysed for main chemical-physical properties. In addition an evaluation of N forms, organic matter fractionation and microbial biomass was carried out. Soil depth ranged between 10 to more than 70 cm, both on the ski slope and in the undisturbed areas. A true organo-mineral (A) horizon was firstly identified at 2500 m a.s.l., while a weathering horizon (Bw) was detected at 2400 m a.s.l.. However, a Bw horizon thick enough to be recognised as diagnostic for shifting soil classification order from Entisols to Inceptisols (USDA-Soil Taxonomy) was detected only below 2400 m a.s.l.. Lithic Cryorthents were predominant in the upper part of the sequence (above 2500 m a.s.l.), both in the ski slope and the undisturbed areas; Typic Cryorthents were identified between 2500 and 2400 m a.s.l., while Inceptisols were predominant between 2400 and 2200 m a.s.l.. Chemical-physical properties will be discussed focusing on the main differences between ski slope and undisturbed soils, as determined by the ski slope construction. Pedogenetic processes at high altitude are

  14. Tree species distribution in temperate forests is more influenced by soil than by climate.

    PubMed

    Walthert, Lorenz; Meier, Eliane Seraina

    2017-11-01

    Knowledge of the ecological requirements determining tree species distributions is a precondition for sustainable forest management. At present, the abiotic requirements and the relative importance of the different abiotic factors are still unclear for many temperate tree species. We therefore investigated the relative importance of climatic and edaphic factors for the abundance of 12 temperate tree species along environmental gradients. Our investigations are based on data from 1,075 forest stands across Switzerland including the cold-induced tree line of all studied species and the drought-induced range boundaries of several species. Four climatic and four edaphic predictors represented the important growth factors temperature, water supply, nutrient availability, and soil aeration. The climatic predictors were derived from the meteorological network of MeteoSwiss, and the edaphic predictors were available from soil profiles. Species cover abundances were recorded in field surveys. The explanatory power of the predictors was assessed by variation partitioning analyses with generalized linear models. For six of the 12 species, edaphic predictors were more important than climatic predictors in shaping species distribution. Over all species, abundances depended mainly on nutrient availability, followed by temperature, water supply, and soil aeration. The often co-occurring species responded similar to these growth factors. Drought turned out to be a determinant of the lower range boundary for some species. We conclude that over all 12 studied tree species, soil properties were more important than climate variables in shaping tree species distribution. The inclusion of appropriate soil variables in species distribution models allowed to better explain species' ecological niches. Moreover, our study revealed that the ecological requirements of tree species assessed in local field studies and in experiments are valid at larger scales across Switzerland.

  15. Flood quantiles scaling with upper soil hydraulic properties for different land uses at catchment scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peña, Luis E.; Barrios, Miguel; Francés, Félix

    2016-10-01

    Changes in land use within a catchment are among the causes of non-stationarity in the flood regime, as they modify the upper soil physical structure and its runoff production capacity. This paper analyzes the relation between the variation of the upper soil hydraulic properties due to changes in land use and its effect on the magnitude of peak flows: (1) incorporating fractal scaling properties to relate the effect of the static storage capacity (the sum of capillary water storage capacity in the root zone, canopy interception and surface puddles) and the upper soil vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity on the flood regime; (2) describing the effect of the spatial organization of the upper soil hydraulic properties at catchment scale; (3) examining the scale properties in the parameters of the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) probability distribution function, in relation to the upper soil hydraulic properties. This study considered the historical changes of land use in the Combeima River catchment in South America, between 1991 and 2007, using distributed hydrological modeling of daily discharges to describe the hydrological response. Through simulation of land cover scenarios, it was demonstrated that it is possible to quantify the magnitude of peak flows in scenarios of land cover changes through its Wide-Sense Simple Scaling with the upper soil hydraulic properties.

  16. Leachate Properties and Cadmium Migration Through Freeze-thaw Treated Soil Columns.

    PubMed

    Xu, Meng; Zheng, Yue; Chen, Weiwei; Mao, Na; Guo, Ping

    2017-01-01

    Soil column leaching experiments were conducted to study the effects of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on the vertical migration of cadmium (Cd). Three Cd-spiked leaching solutions of different properties were derived from snowmelt, sludge, and straw, designated as B, W and J, respectively. The leaching solutions varied in dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentrations in the order of J > W > B. Changes in leachate properties and Cd concentration were observed. The results showed that pH values of all the leachate solutions through freeze-thaw treated soil columns were higher than those of leachates through unfrozen soils. However, electrical conductivity (EC) values decreased compared with leachates in unfrozen treated soil columns. Although the concentrations of DOM in leachate solutions had no evident differences between the freeze-thaw and unfrozen treated soil columns, the concentrations of DOM in the leachate solutions B, W and J were different. Freeze-thaw cycles resulted in increased concentrations of Cd in the leachate solutions in the order J > W > B, and promoted a deeper migration of Cd in the soil columns. Thus, it was shown that freeze-thaw cycles may increase the risk of groundwater pollution by Cd.

  17. Effects of topography and soil properties on soil selenium distribution and bioavailability (phosphate extraction): A case study in Yongjia County, China.

    PubMed

    Xu, Yuefeng; Li, Yonghua; Li, Hairong; Wang, Li; Liao, Xiaoyong; Wang, Jing; Kong, Chang

    2018-08-15

    Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans. In order to investigate how soil Se is influenced by topography and soil properties, we selected Yongjia County, an area with mountainous topography, as a study area. This study used cultivated soil data to comprehensively analyze the effects of topography and soil properties on Se mobility and bioavailability and to identify the key factors influencing Se distribution in the environment. Factors considered in this study were elevation, slope, topographic wetness index, the coefficient of weathering and eluviation, pH, organic matter, and Fe 2 O 3 . The concentration of total soil Se (0.382±0.123mgkg -1 ) was far higher than the background value of soil in China, and 98% of the soil samples were classified as having moderate Se levels (>0.175mgkg -1 ), indicating Yongjia County is a Se-rich region in China. Phosphate extracted Se accounted for an average of 9% of the total Se and was significantly associated with soil total Se, Fe 2 O 3 , pH, and the coefficient of weathering and eluviation. Fe 2 O 3 primarily controlled Se adsorption, fixation, and availability in soil. Under the geo-environmental conditions in the study area, the total Se in the soil increased first and then decreased with increases in elevation, slope, and the topographic wetness index, and the phosphate extracted Se showed similar patterns except for the elevation. The findings showed that topographical attributes and soil physicochemical properties synthetically influenced the distribution and bioavailability of Se in soil. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. [Transgenic rice breeding for abiotic stress tolerance--present and future].

    PubMed

    Zhao, Feng-Yun; Zhang, Hui

    2007-01-01

    Environmental stresses and the continuing deterioration of arable land, along with an explosive increase in world population, pose serious threats to global agricultural production and food security. Improving the tolerance of the major crop plants to abiotic stresses has been a main goal in agriculture for a long time. As rice is considered one of the major crops, the development of new cultivars with enhanced abiotic stress-tolerance will undoubtedly have an important effect on global food production. The transgenic approach offers an attractive alternative to conventional techniques for the genetic improvement of rice cultivars. In recent years, an array of stress-related genes has already been transferred to rice to improve its resistance against abiotic stresses. Many transgenic rice plants with enhanced abiotic stress-tolerance have been obtained. This article focuses on the progress in the study of abiotic stress tolerance in transgenic rice breeding.

  19. Mass spectrometry-based plant metabolomics: Metabolite responses to abiotic stress.

    PubMed

    Jorge, Tiago F; Rodrigues, João A; Caldana, Camila; Schmidt, Romy; van Dongen, Joost T; Thomas-Oates, Jane; António, Carla

    2016-09-01

    Metabolomics is one omics approach that can be used to acquire comprehensive information on the composition of a metabolite pool to provide a functional screen of the cellular state. Studies of the plant metabolome include analysis of a wide range of chemical species with diverse physical properties, from ionic inorganic compounds to biochemically derived hydrophilic carbohydrates, organic and amino acids, and a range of hydrophobic lipid-related compounds. This complexitiy brings huge challenges to the analytical technologies employed in current plant metabolomics programs, and powerful analytical tools are required for the separation and characterization of this extremely high compound diversity present in biological sample matrices. The use of mass spectrometry (MS)-based analytical platforms to profile stress-responsive metabolites that allow some plants to adapt to adverse environmental conditions is fundamental in current plant biotechnology research programs for the understanding and development of stress-tolerant plants. In this review, we describe recent applications of metabolomics and emphasize its increasing application to study plant responses to environmental (stress-) factors, including drought, salt, low oxygen caused by waterlogging or flooding of the soil, temperature, light and oxidative stress (or a combination of them). Advances in understanding the global changes occurring in plant metabolism under specific abiotic stress conditions are fundamental to enhance plant fitness and increase stress tolerance. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 35:620-649, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Can the watershed non-point phosphorus pollution be interpreted by critical soil properties? A new insight of different soil P states.

    PubMed

    Lin, Chen; Ma, Ronghua; Xiong, Junfeng

    2018-07-01

    The physicochemical properties of surface soil play a key role in the fate of watershed non-point source pollution. Special emphasis is needed to identify soil properties that are sensitive to both particulate P (PP) pollution and dissolved P (DP) pollution, which is essential for watershed environmental management. The Chaohu Lake basin, a typical eutrophic lake in China, was selected as the study site. The spatial features of the Non-point Source (NPS) PP loads and DP loads were calculated simultaneously based on the integration of sediment delivery distributed model (SEDD) and pollution loads (PLOAD) model. Then several critical physicochemical soil properties, especially various soil P compositions, were innovatively introduced to determine the response of the critical soil properties to NPS P pollution. The findings can be summarized: i) the mean PP load value of the different sub-basins was 5.87 kg, and PP pollution is regarded to be the primary NPS P pollution state, while the DP loads increased rapidly under the rapid urbanization process. ii) iron-bound phosphorus (Fe-P) and aluminum-bound phosphorus (Al-P) are the main components of available P and showed the most sensitive responses to NPS PP pollution, and the correlation coefficients were approximately 0.9. Otherwise, the residual phosphorus (Res-P) was selected as a sensitive soil P state that was significantly negatively correlated with the DP loads. iii) The DP and PP concentrations were represented differently when they were correlated with various soil properties, and the clay proportion was strongly negatively related to the PP loads. Meanwhile, there is a non-linear relationship between the DP loads and the critical soil properties, such as Fe and Total Nitrogen (TN) concentrations. Specifically, a strong inhibitory effect of TN concentration on the DP load was apparent in the Nanfei river (NF) and Paihe (PH) river basins where the R 2 reached 0.67, which contrasts with the relatively poor

  1. Roots Withstanding their Environment: Exploiting Root System Architecture Responses to Abiotic Stress to Improve Crop Tolerance

    PubMed Central

    Koevoets, Iko T.; Venema, Jan Henk; Elzenga, J. Theo. M.; Testerink, Christa

    2016-01-01

    To face future challenges in crop production dictated by global climate changes, breeders and plant researchers collaborate to develop productive crops that are able to withstand a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. However, crop selection is often focused on shoot performance alone, as observation of root properties is more complex and asks for artificial and extensive phenotyping platforms. In addition, most root research focuses on development, while a direct link to the functionality of plasticity in root development for tolerance is often lacking. In this paper we review the currently known root system architecture (RSA) responses in Arabidopsis and a number of crop species to a range of abiotic stresses, including nutrient limitation, drought, salinity, flooding, and extreme temperatures. For each of these stresses, the key molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the RSA response are highlighted. To explore the relevance for crop selection, we especially review and discuss studies linking root architectural responses to stress tolerance. This will provide a first step toward understanding the relevance of adaptive root development for a plant’s response to its environment. We suggest that functional evidence on the role of root plasticity will support breeders in their efforts to include root properties in their current selection pipeline for abiotic stress tolerance, aimed to improve the robustness of crops. PMID:27630659

  2. Dielectric properties of soils as a function of moisture content

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cihlar, J.; Ulaby, F. T.

    1974-01-01

    Soil dielectric constant measurements are reviewed and the dependence of the dielectric constant on various soil parameters is determined. Moisture content is given special attention because of its practical significance in remote sensing and because it represents the single most influential parameter as far as soil dielectric properties are concerned. Relative complex dielectric constant curves are derived as a function of volumetric soil water content at three frequencies (1.3 GHz, 4.0 GHz, and 10.0 GHz) for each of three soil textures (sand, loam, and clay). These curves, presented in both tabular and graphical form, were chosen as representative of the reported experimental data. Calculations based on these curves showed that the power reflection coefficient and emissivity, unlike skin depth, vary only slightly as a function of frequency and soil texture.

  3. How do soil properties and soil carbon stocks change after land abandonment in Mediterranean mountain areas?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nadal Romero, Estela; Cammeraat, Erik; Pérez Cardiel, Estela; Lasanta, Teodoro

    2016-04-01

    Land abandonment and subsequent revegetation processes (due to secondary succession and afforestation practices) are global issues with important implications in Mediterranean mountain areas. Moreover, the effects of land use changes on soil carbon stocks are a matter of concern stated in international policy agendas on the mitigation of greenhouse emissions, and afforestation practices are increasingly viewed as an environmental restorative land use change prescription and are considered one of the most efficient carbon sequestration strategies currently available. The MED-AFFOREST project aims to gain more insight into the discussion by exploring the following central research questions: (i) what is the impact of land abandonment on soil properties? and (ii) how do soil organic carbon change after land abandonment? The main objective of this study is to assess the effects of land abandonment, land use change and afforestation practices on soil properties and soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. For this aim, five different land covers (bare soil, meadows, secondary succession, Pinus sylvestris (PS) and Pinus nigra (PN) afforestation), in the Central Spanish Pyrenees were analysed. Results showed that changes in soil properties after land abandonment were limited, even if afforestation practices were carried out and no differences were observed between natural succession and afforestation. The results on SOC dynamics showed that: (i) SOC contents were higher in the PN sites in the topsoil (10 cm), (ii) when all the profile was considered no significant differences were observed between meadows and PN, (iii) SOC accumulation under secondary succession is a slow process, and (iv) meadows should also be considered due to the relative importance in SOC stocks. The first step of SOC stabilization after afforestation is the formation of macro-aggregates promoted by large inputs of SOC, with a high contribution of labile organic matter. However, our respiration

  4. Effect of soil property uncertainties on permafrost thaw projections: A calibration-constrained analysis

    DOE PAGES

    Harp, Dylan R.; Atchley, Adam L.; Painter, Scott L.; ...

    2016-02-11

    Here, the effect of soil property uncertainties on permafrost thaw projections are studied using a three-phase subsurface thermal hydrology model and calibration-constrained uncertainty analysis. The Null-Space Monte Carlo method is used to identify soil hydrothermal parameter combinations that are consistent with borehole temperature measurements at the study site, the Barrow Environmental Observatory. Each parameter combination is then used in a forward projection of permafrost conditions for the 21more » $$^{st}$$ century (from calendar year 2006 to 2100) using atmospheric forcings from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) in the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 greenhouse gas concentration trajectory. A 100-year projection allows for the evaluation of intra-annual uncertainty due to soil properties and the inter-annual variability due to year to year differences in CESM climate forcings. After calibrating to borehole temperature data at this well-characterized site, soil property uncertainties are still significant and result in significant intra-annual uncertainties in projected active layer thickness and annual thaw depth-duration even with a specified future climate. Intra-annual uncertainties in projected soil moisture content and Stefan number are small. A volume and time integrated Stefan number decreases significantly in the future climate, indicating that latent heat of phase change becomes more important than heat conduction in future climates. Out of 10 soil parameters, ALT, annual thaw depth-duration, and Stefan number are highly dependent on mineral soil porosity, while annual mean liquid saturation of the active layer is highly dependent on the mineral soil residual saturation and moderately dependent on peat residual saturation. By comparing the ensemble statistics to the spread of projected permafrost metrics using different climate models, we show that the effect of calibration-constrained uncertainty in soil properties

  5. Effect of soil property uncertainties on permafrost thaw projections: A calibration-constrained analysis

    DOE PAGES

    Harp, D. R.; Atchley, A. L.; Painter, S. L.; ...

    2015-06-29

    The effect of soil property uncertainties on permafrost thaw projections are studied using a three-phase subsurface thermal hydrology model and calibration-constrained uncertainty analysis. The Null-Space Monte Carlo method is used to identify soil hydrothermal parameter combinations that are consistent with borehole temperature measurements at the study site, the Barrow Environmental Observatory. Each parameter combination is then used in a forward projection of permafrost conditions for the 21st century (from calendar year 2006 to 2100) using atmospheric forcings from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) in the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 greenhouse gas concentration trajectory. A 100-year projection allows formore » the evaluation of intra-annual uncertainty due to soil properties and the inter-annual variability due to year to year differences in CESM climate forcings. After calibrating to borehole temperature data at this well-characterized site, soil property uncertainties are still significant and result in significant intra-annual uncertainties in projected active layer thickness and annual thaw depth-duration even with a specified future climate. Intra-annual uncertainties in projected soil moisture content and Stefan number are small. A volume and time integrated Stefan number decreases significantly in the future climate, indicating that latent heat of phase change becomes more important than heat conduction in future climates. Out of 10 soil parameters, ALT, annual thaw depth-duration, and Stefan number are highly dependent on mineral soil porosity, while annual mean liquid saturation of the active layer is highly dependent on the mineral soil residual saturation and moderately dependent on peat residual saturation. As a result, by comparing the ensemble statistics to the spread of projected permafrost metrics using different climate models, we show that the effect of calibration-constrained uncertainty in soil properties

  6. Effect of soil property uncertainties on permafrost thaw projections: a calibration-constrained analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harp, D. R.; Atchley, A. L.; Painter, S. L.; Coon, E. T.; Wilson, C. J.; Romanovsky, V. E.; Rowland, J. C.

    2015-06-01

    The effect of soil property uncertainties on permafrost thaw projections are studied using a three-phase subsurface thermal hydrology model and calibration-constrained uncertainty analysis. The Null-Space Monte Carlo method is used to identify soil hydrothermal parameter combinations that are consistent with borehole temperature measurements at the study site, the Barrow Environmental Observatory. Each parameter combination is then used in a forward projection of permafrost conditions for the 21st century (from calendar year 2006 to 2100) using atmospheric forcings from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) in the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 greenhouse gas concentration trajectory. A 100-year projection allows for the evaluation of intra-annual uncertainty due to soil properties and the inter-annual variability due to year to year differences in CESM climate forcings. After calibrating to borehole temperature data at this well-characterized site, soil property uncertainties are still significant and result in significant intra-annual uncertainties in projected active layer thickness and annual thaw depth-duration even with a specified future climate. Intra-annual uncertainties in projected soil moisture content and Stefan number are small. A volume and time integrated Stefan number decreases significantly in the future climate, indicating that latent heat of phase change becomes more important than heat conduction in future climates. Out of 10 soil parameters, ALT, annual thaw depth-duration, and Stefan number are highly dependent on mineral soil porosity, while annual mean liquid saturation of the active layer is highly dependent on the mineral soil residual saturation and moderately dependent on peat residual saturation. By comparing the ensemble statistics to the spread of projected permafrost metrics using different climate models, we show that the effect of calibration-constrained uncertainty in soil properties, although significant, is

  7. The effects of vegetation and soil hydraulic properties on passive microwave sensing of soil moisture: Data report for the 1982 fiels experiments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oneill, P.; Jackson, T.; Blanchard, B. J.; Vandenhoek, R.; Gould, W.; Wang, J.; Glazar, W.; Mcmurtrey, J., III

    1983-01-01

    Field experiments to (1) study the biomass and geometrical structure properties of vegetation canopies to determine their impact on microwave emission data, and (2) to verify whether time series microwave data can be related to soil hydrologic properties for use in soil type classification. Truck mounted radiometers at 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz were used to obtain microwave brightness temperatures of bare vegetated test plots under different conditions of soil wetness, plant water content and canopy structure. Observations of soil moisture, soil temperature, vegetation biomass and other soil and canopy parameters were made concurrently with the microwave measurements. The experimental design and data collection procedures for both experiments are documented and the reduced data are presented in tabular form.

  8. Ground-based forest harvesting effects on soil physical properties and Douglas-fir growth.

    Treesearch

    Adrian Ares; Thomas A. Terry; Richard E. Miller; Harry W. Anderson; Barry L. Flaming

    2005-01-01

    Soil properties and forest productivity can be affected by heavy equipment used for harvest and site preparation but these impacts vary greatly with site conditions and operational practices. We assessed the effects of ground-based logging on soil physical properties and subsequent Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb) Franco] growth on a highly...

  9. Influence of soil properties and soil leaching on the toxicity of ionic silver to plants.

    PubMed

    Langdon, Kate A; McLaughlin, Mike J; Kirby, Jason K; Merrington, Graham

    2015-11-01

    Silver (Ag) has been shown to exhibit antimicrobial properties; as a result, it is being used increasingly in a wide range of consumer products. With these uses, the likelihood that Ag may enter the environment has increased, predominately via land application of biosolids or irrigation with treated wastewater effluent. The aim of the present study was to investigate the toxicity of Ag to 2 plant species: barley (Hordeum vulgare L. CV Triumph) and tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) in a range of soils under both leached and unleached conditions. The concentrations that resulted in a 50% reduction of plant growth (EC50) were found to vary up to 20-fold across the soils, indicating a large influence of soil type on Ag toxicity. Overall, barley root elongation was found to be the least sensitive to added Ag, with EC50 values ranging from 51 mg/kg to 1030 mg/kg, whereas the tomato plant height showed higher sensitivity with EC50 values ranging from 46 mg/kg to 486 mg/kg. The effect of leaching was more evident in the barley toxicity results, where higher concentrations of Ag were required to induce toxicity. Variations in soil organic carbon and pH were found to be primarily responsible for mitigating Ag toxicity; therefore, these properties may be used in future risk assessments for Ag to predict toxicity in a wide range of soil types. © 2015 SETAC.

  10. Mechanical properties of lunar regolith and lunar soil simulant

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Perkins, Steven W.

    1989-01-01

    Through the Surveyor 3 and 7, and Apollo 11-17 missions a knowledge of the mechanical properties of Lunar regolith were gained. These properties, including material cohesion, friction, in-situ density, grain-size distribution and shape, and porosity, were determined by indirect means of trenching, penetration, and vane shear testing. Several of these properties were shown to be significantly different from those of terrestrial soils, such as an interlocking cohesion and tensile strength formed in the absence of moisture and particle cementation. To characterize the strength and deformation properties of Lunar regolith experiments have been conducted on a lunar soil simulant at various initial densities, fabric arrangements, and composition. These experiments included conventional triaxial compression and extension, direct tension, and combined tension-shear. Experiments have been conducted at low levels of effective confining stress. External conditions such as membrane induced confining stresses, end platten friction and material self weight have been shown to have a dramatic effect on the strength properties at low levels of confining stress. The solution has been to treat these external conditions and the specimen as a full-fledged boundary value problem rather than the idealized elemental cube of mechanics. Centrifuge modeling allows for the study of Lunar soil-structure interaction problems. In recent years centrifuge modeling has become an important tool for modeling processes that are dominated by gravity and for verifying analysis procedures and studying deformation and failure modes. Centrifuge modeling is well established for terrestrial enginering and applies equally as well to Lunar engineering. A brief review of the experiments is presented in graphic and outline form.

  11. Assimilation of optical and radar remote sensing data in 3D mapping of soil properties over large areas.

    PubMed

    Poggio, Laura; Gimona, Alessandro

    2017-02-01

    Soil is very important for many land functions. To achieve sustainability it is important to understand how soils vary over space in the landscape. Remote sensing data can be instrumental in mapping and spatial modelling of soil properties, resources and their variability. The aims of this study were to compare satellite sensors (MODIS, Landsat, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2) with varying spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions for Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) of a set of soil properties in Scotland, evaluate the potential benefits of adding Sentinel-1 data to DSM models, select the most suited mix of sensors for DSM to map the considered set of soil properties and validate the results of topsoil (2D) and whole profile (3D) models. The results showed that the use of a mixture of sensors proved more effective to model and map soil properties than single sensors. The use of radar Sentinel-1 data proved useful for all soil properties, improving the prediction capability of models with only optical bands. The use of MODIS time series provided stronger relationships than the use of temporal snapshots. The results showed good validation statistics with a RMSE below 20% of the range for all considered soil properties. The RMSE improved from previous studies including only MODIS sensor and using a coarser prediction grid. The performance of the models was similar to previous studies at regional, national or continental scale. A mix of optical and radar data proved useful to map soil properties along the profile. The produced maps of soil properties describing both lateral and vertical variability, with associated uncertainty, are important for further modelling and management of soil resources and ecosystem services. Coupled with further data the soil properties maps could be used to assess soil functions and therefore conditions and suitability of soils for a range of purposes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Influence of soil properties on the bioaccumulation and effects of arsenic in the earthworm Eisenia andrei.

    PubMed

    Romero-Freire, A; Peinado, F J Martín; Ortiz, M Díez; van Gestel, C A M

    2015-10-01

    This study aimed at assessing the influence of soil properties on the uptake and toxicity effects of arsenic in the earthworm Eisenia andrei exposed for 4 weeks to seven natural soils spiked with different arsenic concentrations. Water-soluble soil concentrations (AsW) and internal As concentrations in the earthworms (AsE) were greatly different between soils. These two variables were highly correlated and were key factors in earthworm toxicity response. AsW was explained by some soil properties, such as the pH, calcium carbonate content, ionic strength, texture or oxide forms. Toxicity showed a clear variation between soils, in some cases without achieving 50 % adverse effect at the highest As concentration added (600 mg kg(-1)). Nevertheless, soil properties did not show, in general, a high relation with studied toxicity endpoints, although the high correlation with AsW could greatly reduce indirectly As bioavailability and toxicity risk for earthworms. Obtained results suggest that soil properties should be part of the criteria to establishing thresholds for contaminated soils because they will be key in controlling As availability and thus result in different degrees of toxicity.

  13. Microbial and physical properties as indicators of sandy soil quality under cropland and grassland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frac, Magdalena; Lipiec, Jerzy; Usowicz, Boguslaw; Oszust, Karolina; Brzezinska, Malgorzata

    2017-04-01

    Land use is one of the key factor driving changes in soil properties influencing on soil health and quality. Microbial diversity and physical properties are sensitive indicators for assessing soil health and quality. The alterations of microbial diversity and physical properties following land use changes have not been sufficiently elucidated, especially for sandy soils. We investigated microbial diversity indicators including fungal communities composition and physical properties of sandy acid soil under cropland and more than 20-yr-old grassland (after cropland) in Trzebieszów, Podlasie Region, Poland (N 51° 59' 24", E 22° 33' 37"). The study included four depths within 0-60 cm. Microbial genetic diversity was assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (t-RFLP) analysis, fungal community composition was evaluated by next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis and functional diversity was determined by Biolog EcoPlate method. Overall microbial activity was assessed by soil enzymes (dehydrogenases, β-glucosidase) and respiration test. At the same places soil texture, organic carbon content, pH, bulk density, water holding capacity were determined. Our results showed that grassland soil was characterized by higher activity of soil enzymes than cropland. The average well color development of soil microorganisms, the microbial functional diversity and the number of carbon source utilization were significantly affected by land use type and were differentiated among soil depths. In grassland compared to cropland soil a significant increase of carboxylic acids and decrease of amino acids utilization was observed. The quantitative and qualitative differences were found in community of ammonia oxidizing archaea in cropland and grassland soil. The results of fungal community composition help to explain the soil health of grassland and cropland based on the appearance of phytopathogenic and antagonistic fungi. In general bulk density and field water

  14. Correlation between soil physicochemical properties and vegetation parameters in secondary tropical forest in Sabal, Sarawak, Malaysia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karyati, K.; Ipor, I. B.; Jusoh, I.; Wasli, M. E.

    2018-04-01

    The tree growth is influenced by soil morphological and physicochemical properties in the site. The purpose of this study was to describe correlation between soil properties under various stage secondary forests and vegetation parameters, such as floristic structure parameters and floristic diversity indices. The vegetation surveys were conducted in 5, 10, and 20 years old at secondary tropical forests in Sarawak, Malaysia. Nine sub plots sized 20 m × 20 m were established within each study site. The Pearson analysis showed that soil physicochemical properties were significantly correlated to floristic structure parameters and floristic diversity indices. The result of PCA clarified the correlation among most important soil properties, floristic structure parameters, and floristic diversity indices. The PC1 represented cation retention capacity and soil texture which were little affected by the fallow age and its also were correlated by floristic structure and diversity. The PC2 was linked to the levels of soil acidity. This property reflected the remnant effects of ash addition and fallow duration, and the significant correlation were showed among pH (H2O), floristic structure and diversity. The PC3 represented the soil compactness. The soil hardness could be influenced by fallow period and it was also correlated by floristic structure.

  15. Effects of native forest restoration on soil hydraulic properties, Auwahi, Maui, Hawaiian Islands

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Perkins, Kimberlie S.; Nimmo, John R.; Medeiros, Arthur C.

    2012-01-01

    Over historic time Hawai'i's dryland forests have been largely replaced by grasslands for grazing livestock. On-going efforts have been undertaken to restore dryland forests to bring back native species and reduce erosion. The reestablishment of native ecosystems on land severely degraded by long-term alternative use requires reversal of the impacts of erosion, organic-matter loss, and soil structural damage on soil hydraulic properties. This issue is perhaps especially critical in dryland forests where the soil must facilitate native plants' optimal use of limited water. These reforestation efforts depend on restoring soil ecological function, including soil hydraulic properties. We hypothesized that reforestation can measurably change soil hydraulic properties over restoration timescales. At a site on the island of Maui (Hawai'i, USA), we measured infiltration capacity, hydrophobicity, and abundance of preferential flow channels in a deforested grassland and in an adjacent area where active reforestation has been going on for fourteen years. Compared to the nearby deforested rangeland, mean field-saturated hydraulic conductivity in the newly restored forest measured by 55 infiltrometer tests was greater by a factor of 2.0. Hydrophobicity on an 8-point scale increased from average category 6.0 to 6.9. A 4-point empirical categorization of preferentiality in subsurface wetting patterns increased from an average 1.3 in grasslands to 2.6 in the restored forest. All of these changes act to distribute infiltrated water faster and deeper, as appropriate for native plant needs. This study indicates that vegetation restoration can lead to ecohydrologically important changes in soil hydraulic properties over decadal time scales.

  16. Spatial discontinuity in the distribution of soil properties: underlying landscape properties or management

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Landscape responses to applied treatments have traditionally been accounted for in statistical analyses with blocking criteria (slope position, etc.), to compartmentalize variance and allow more accurate definition of treatment effects. However, within-unit distributions of soil properties can conta...

  17. Abiotic and Biotic Mechanisms Controlling In Situ Remediation of NDMA

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-05-01

    FINAL REPORT Abiotic and Biotic Mechanisms Controlling In Situ Remediation of NDMA SERDP Project ER-1421 MAY 2009 James E. Szecsody...00-2009 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Abiotic and Biotic Mechanisms Controlling In Situ Remediation of NDMA 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c...investigate whether in situ coupled abiotic/biotic degradation of N-nitrosodimethylamine ( NDMA , an emerging contaminant) could be used as a permeable

  18. Impacts of an integrated crop-livestock system on soil properties to enhance precipitation capture

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cropping/Livestock systems alter soil properties that are important in enhancing capture of precipitation by developing and maintaining water infiltration and storage. In this paper we will relate soil hydraulic conductivity and other physical properties on managed Old World Bluestem grassland, whea...

  19. Hillslope Soils and Life (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amundson, R.; Owen, J. J.; Heimsath, A. M.; Yoo, K.; Dietrich, W. E.

    2013-12-01

    That hillslope processes are impacted by biology has been long understood, but the complexities of the abiotic-biotic processes and their feedbacks are quantitatively emerging with the growing body of pertinent literature. The concept that plants modulate both the disaggregation and transport of soil particles on hillslopes was clearly articulated by G.K. Gilbert. Yet earlier, James Hutton (starting from very different intellectual boundary conditions) argued that soil, which results from the dynamic balance of rock destruction and removal, is a prerequisite for plants - a concept that underscores the need to more deeply examine the feedback of geomorphic processes on terrestrial ecosystems. We compiled the results of recent studies that have been conducted on gentle convex hillslopes across a broad range of rainfall. We found that vegetated landscapes appear to have strong controls on hillslope soil thickness, landscape denudation rates, and soil residence times. The restricted range in residence times - despite large differences in climate - appear in turn to sustain relatively high levels of both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertility, suggesting ecological resilience and resistance to non-anthropogenic environmental perturbations. At the most arid end of Earth's climate vegetation disappears, but not all water. The loss of plants shifts soil erosion to abiotic processes, with a corresponding thinning or loss of the soil mantle. This reinforces the hypothesis that a planet without vegetation, but with a hydrologic cycle, would be largely devoid of soil-mantled hillslopes and would be driven toward hillslope morphologies that differ from the familiar convex-up forms of biotic landscapes. While our synthesis of the effects of vegetation on soil production and soil thickness provides a quantitative view of the suggestions of Gilbert, it also identifies that vegetation itself responds to the geomorphic processes, as believed by Hutton. There is a complex

  20. Behaviour of oxyfluorfen in soils amended with edaphic biostimulants/biofertilizers obtained from sewage sludge and chicken feathers. Effects on soil biological properties.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Morgado, Bruno; Gómez, Isidoro; Parrado, Juan; Tejada, Manuel

    2014-09-01

    We studied the behaviour of oxyfluorfen herbicide at a rate of 4 l ha(-1) on biological properties of a Calcaric Regosol amended with two edaphic biostimulants/biofertilizers (SS, derived from sewage sludge; and CF, derived from chicken feathers). Oxyfluorfen was surface broadcast on 11 March 2013. Two days after application of oxyfluorfen to soil, both biostimulants/biofertilizers (BS) were also applied to the soil. An unamended soil without oxyfluorfen was used as control. For 2, 4, 7, 9, 20, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days of the application of herbicide to the soil and for each treatment, the soil dehydrogenase, urease, β-glucosidase and phosphatase activities were measured. For 2, 7, 30 and 120 days of the application of herbicide to the soil and for each treatment, soil microbial community was determined. The application of both BS to soil without the herbicide increased the enzymatic activities and soil biodiversity, mainly at 7 days of beginning the experiment. However, this stimulation was higher in the soil amended with SS than for CF. The application of herbicide in organic-amended soils decreased the inhibition of soil enzymatic activities and soil biodiversity. Possibly, the low-molecular-weight protein content easily assimilated by soil microorganisms is responsible for less inhibition of these soil biological properties.

  1. Fractal Scaling of Particle Size Distribution and Relationships with Topsoil Properties Affected by Biological Soil Crusts

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Guang-Lei; Ding, Guo-Dong; Wu, Bin; Zhang, Yu-Qing; Qin, Shu-Gao; Zhao, Yuan-Yuan; Bao, Yan-Feng; Liu, Yun-Dong; Wan, Li; Deng, Ji-Feng

    2014-01-01

    Background Biological soil crusts are common components of desert ecosystem; they cover ground surface and interact with topsoil that contribute to desertification control and degraded land restoration in arid and semiarid regions. Methodology/Principal Findings To distinguish the changes in topsoil affected by biological soil crusts, we compared topsoil properties across three types of successional biological soil crusts (algae, lichens, and mosses crust), as well as the referenced sandland in the Mu Us Desert, Northern China. Relationships between fractal dimensions of soil particle size distribution and selected soil properties were discussed as well. The results indicated that biological soil crusts had significant positive effects on soil physical structure (P<0.05); and soil organic carbon and nutrients showed an upward trend across the successional stages of biological soil crusts. Fractal dimensions ranged from 2.1477 to 2.3032, and significantly linear correlated with selected soil properties (R2 = 0.494∼0.955, P<0.01). Conclusions/Significance Biological soil crusts cause an important increase in soil fertility, and are beneficial to sand fixation, although the process is rather slow. Fractal dimension proves to be a sensitive and useful index for quantifying changes in soil properties that additionally implies desertification. This study will be essential to provide a firm basis for future policy-making on optimal solutions regarding desertification control and assessment, as well as degraded ecosystem restoration in arid and semiarid regions. PMID:24516668

  2. Periodic variation in physical and chemical properties of two central Washington soils.

    Treesearch

    Tom D. Anderson; Arthur R. Tiedemann

    1970-01-01

    Soils derived from two widely distributed parent materials in central Washington were examined periodically during 1968-69 for physical and chemical properties. Basalt soils showed significant periodic variation in cation exchange capacity, pH, and Na and K contents. In sandstone soils, cation exchange capacity and Ca, Na, and K contents varied significantly among...

  3. Soil biochemical properties of grassland ecosystems under anthropogenic emission of nitrogen compounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kudrevatykh, Irina; Ivashchenko, Kristina; Ananyeva, Nadezhda

    2016-04-01

    Inflow of pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems nowadays increases dramatically, that might be led to disturbance of natural biogeochemical cycles and landscapes structure. Production of nitrogen fertilizers is one of the air pollution sources, namely by nitrogen compounds (NH4+, NO3-, NO2-). Air pollution by nitrogen compounds of terrestrial ecosystems might be affected on soil biochemical properties, which results increasing mineral nitrogen content in soil, changing soil P/N and Al/Ca ratios, and, finally, the deterioration of soil microbial community functioning. The research is focused on the assessment of anthropogenic emission of nitrogen compounds on soil properties of grassland ecosystems in European Russia. Soil samples (Voronic Chernozem Pachic, upper 10 cm mineral layer, totally 10) were taken from grassland ecosystem: near (5-10 m) nitrogen fertilizer factory (NFF), and far from it (20-30 km, served as a control) in Tula region. In soil samples the NH4+ and NO3- (Kudeyarov's photocolorimetric method), P, Ca, Al (X-ray fluorescence method) contents were measured. Soil microbial biomass carbon (Cmic) was analyzed by substrate-induced respiration method. Soil microbial respiration (MR) was assessed by CO2 rate production. Soil microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2) was calculated as MR/Cmic ratio. Near NFF the soil ammonium and nitrate nitrogen contents were a strongly varied, variation coefficient (CV) was 42 and 86This study was supported by Russian Foundation of Basic Research Grant No. 14-04-00098, 15-44-03220, 15-04-00915.

  4. Boreal coniferous forest density leads to significant variations in soil physical and geochemical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bastianelli, Carole; Ali, Adam A.; Beguin, Julien; Bergeron, Yves; Grondin, Pierre; Hély, Christelle; Paré, David

    2017-07-01

    At the northernmost extent of the managed forest in Quebec, Canada, the boreal forest is currently undergoing an ecological transition between two forest ecosystems. Open lichen woodlands (LW) are spreading southward at the expense of more productive closed-canopy black spruce-moss forests (MF). The objective of this study was to investigate whether soil properties could distinguish MF from LW in the transition zone where both ecosystem types coexist. This study brings out clear evidence that differences in vegetation cover can lead to significant variations in soil physical and geochemical properties.Here, we showed that soil carbon, exchangeable cations, and iron and aluminium crystallinity vary between boreal closed-canopy forests and open lichen woodlands, likely attributed to variations in soil microclimatic conditions. All the soils studied were typical podzolic soil profiles evolved from glacial till deposits that shared a similar texture of the C layer. However, soil humus and the B layer varied in thickness and chemistry between the two forest ecosystems at the pedon scale. Multivariate analyses of variance were used to evaluate how soil properties could help distinguish the two types at the site scale. MF humus (FH horizons horizons composing the O layer) showed significantly higher concentrations of organic carbon and nitrogen and of the main exchangeable base cations (Ca, Mg) than LW soils. The B horizon of LW sites held higher concentrations of total Al and Fe oxides and particularly greater concentrations of inorganic amorphous Fe oxides than MF mineral soils, while showing a thinner B layer. Overall, our results show that MF store three times more organic carbon in their soils (B+FH horizons, roots apart) than LW. We suggest that variations in soil properties between MF and LW are linked to a cascade of events involving the impacts of natural disturbances such as wildfires on forest regeneration that determines the vegetation structure (stand density

  5. Geoelectrical Soil Properties of Farmlands Located on Ancient River Floodplains in EL Paso County Texas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pegues, J. G.; Kaip, G.; Doser, D. I.

    2013-12-01

    Farming in Rio Grande flood plain deposit soils has presented challenges concerning soil salinity, soil drainage and soil collapse. Typical soil forms include Saneli silted clay loam, Harkey loam, Harkey silky loam clay and Tigua silty clay. In the lower valley farmlands of Socorro, TX, cotton and alfalfa are the principal crops, but grain sorghum, corn and vegetable crops also are suitable. Pecan trees, as well as fruit trees suited to the climate, can be grown. Agrarians are faced with varying results of crop yields over relatively small stretches of land; for example, a 22 acre area can contain multiple soil inclusions. This study was conducted on a 22 acre tract of farmland which has recently undergone multiple geophysical testing analyses that include: magnetics, DC resistivity, gravity, and ground penetrating radar. Results will compare flood plain sedimentation qualities to agricultural soil classes through the identification of soil salinity and grain size. This investigation will focus on the testing of geo-electrical soil properties through resistivity assessment. Examination of the sight using a capacity coupled resistivity meter to measure the soil properties over various time periods will be conducted. The results will be compared with the other geophysical data to look for correlations that highlight soil properties.

  6. Plant diversity and root traits benefit physical properties key to soil function in grasslands.

    PubMed

    Gould, Iain J; Quinton, John N; Weigelt, Alexandra; De Deyn, Gerlinde B; Bardgett, Richard D

    2016-09-01

    Plant diversity loss impairs ecosystem functioning, including important effects on soil. Most studies that have explored plant diversity effects belowground, however, have largely focused on biological processes. As such, our understanding of how plant diversity impacts the soil physical environment remains limited, despite the fundamental role soil physical structure plays in ensuring soil function and ecosystem service provision. Here, in both a glasshouse and a long-term field study, we show that high plant diversity in grassland systems increases soil aggregate stability, a vital structural property of soil, and that root traits play a major role in determining diversity effects. We also reveal that the presence of particular plant species within mixed communities affects an even wider range of soil physical processes, including hydrology and soil strength regimes. Our results indicate that alongside well-documented effects on ecosystem functioning, plant diversity and root traits also benefit essential soil physical properties. © 2016 The Authors Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Long-Term Application of Bioorganic Fertilizers Improved Soil Biochemical Properties and Microbial Communities of an Apple Orchard Soil

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Lei; Yang, Fang; E, Yaoyao; Yuan, Jun; Raza, Waseem; Huang, Qiwei; Shen, Qirong

    2016-01-01

    Soil biochemical properties and microbial communities are usually considered as important indicators of soil health because of their association with plant nutrition. In this study, we investigated the impact of long-term application of bioorganic fertilizer (BOF) on soil biochemical properties and microbial communities in the apple orchard soil of the Loess Plateau. The experiment included three treatments: (1) control without fertilization (CK); (2) chemical fertilizer application (CF); and (3) bioorganic fertilizer application (BOF). The high throughput sequencing was used to examine the bacterial and fungal communities in apple orchard soil. The results showed that the BOF treatment significantly increased the apple yield during the experimental time (2009–2015). The application of BOF significantly increased the activities of catalase and invertase compared to those in CK and CF treatments. The high throughput sequencing data showed that the application of BOF changed the microbial community composition of all soil depths considered (0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm), e.g., the relative abundance of bio-control bacteria (Xanthomonadales, Lysobacter, Pseudomonas, and Bacillus), Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Ohtaekwangia, Ilyonectria, and Lecanicillium was increased while that of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gp4, Gp6 and Sphaerobacter was decreased. The increase in apple yield after the application of BOF might be due to increase in organic matter, total nitrogen and catalase and invertase activities of soil and change in the bacterial community composition by enriching Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Lysobacter, and Ohtaekwangia. These results further enhance the understanding on how BOFs alter soil microbial community composition to stimulate soil productivity. PMID:27965631

  8. Long-Term Application of Bioorganic Fertilizers Improved Soil Biochemical Properties and Microbial Communities of an Apple Orchard Soil.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lei; Yang, Fang; E, Yaoyao; Yuan, Jun; Raza, Waseem; Huang, Qiwei; Shen, Qirong

    2016-01-01

    Soil biochemical properties and microbial communities are usually considered as important indicators of soil health because of their association with plant nutrition. In this study, we investigated the impact of long-term application of bioorganic fertilizer (BOF) on soil biochemical properties and microbial communities in the apple orchard soil of the Loess Plateau. The experiment included three treatments: (1) control without fertilization (CK); (2) chemical fertilizer application (CF); and (3) bioorganic fertilizer application (BOF). The high throughput sequencing was used to examine the bacterial and fungal communities in apple orchard soil. The results showed that the BOF treatment significantly increased the apple yield during the experimental time (2009-2015). The application of BOF significantly increased the activities of catalase and invertase compared to those in CK and CF treatments. The high throughput sequencing data showed that the application of BOF changed the microbial community composition of all soil depths considered (0-20 cm, 20-40 cm, and 40-60 cm), e.g., the relative abundance of bio-control bacteria ( Xanthomonadales, Lysobacter, Pseudomonas , and Bacillus ), Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Ohtaekwangia, Ilyonectria , and Lecanicillium was increased while that of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gp4, Gp6 and Sphaerobacter was decreased. The increase in apple yield after the application of BOF might be due to increase in organic matter, total nitrogen and catalase and invertase activities of soil and change in the bacterial community composition by enriching Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Lysobacter , and Ohtaekwangia . These results further enhance the understanding on how BOFs alter soil microbial community composition to stimulate soil productivity.

  9. Spatiotemporal predictions of soil properties and states in variably saturated landscapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Franz, Trenton E.; Loecke, Terrance D.; Burgin, Amy J.; Zhou, Yuzhen; Le, Tri; Moscicki, David

    2017-07-01

    Understanding greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from landscapes with variably saturated soil conditions is challenging given the highly dynamic nature of GHG fluxes in both space and time, dubbed hot spots, and hot moments. On one hand, our ability to directly monitor these processes is limited by sparse in situ and surface chamber observational networks. On the other hand, remote sensing approaches provide spatial data sets but are limited by infrequent imaging over time. We use a robust statistical framework to merge sparse sensor network observations with reconnaissance style hydrogeophysical mapping at a well-characterized site in Ohio. We find that combining time-lapse electromagnetic induction surveys with empirical orthogonal functions provides additional environmental covariates related to soil properties and states at high spatial resolutions ( 5 m). A cross-validation experiment using eight different spatial interpolation methods versus 120 in situ soil cores indicated an 30% reduction in root-mean-square error for soil properties (clay weight percent and total soil carbon weight percent) using hydrogeophysical derived environmental covariates with regression kriging. In addition, the hydrogeophysical derived environmental covariates were found to be good predictors of soil states (soil temperature, soil water content, and soil oxygen). The presented framework allows for temporal gap filling of individual sensor data sets as well as provides flexible geometric interpolation to complex areas/volumes. We anticipate that the framework, with its flexible temporal and spatial monitoring options, will be useful in designing future monitoring networks as well as support the next generation of hyper-resolution hydrologic and biogeochemical models.

  10. Roles of melatonin in abiotic stress resistance in plants.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Na; Sun, Qianqian; Zhang, Haijun; Cao, Yunyun; Weeda, Sarah; Ren, Shuxin; Guo, Yang-Dong

    2015-02-01

    In recent years melatonin has emerged as a research highlight in plant studies. Melatonin has different functions in many aspects of plant growth and development. The most frequently mentioned functions of melatonin are related to abiotic stresses such as drought, radiation, extreme temperature, and chemical stresses. This review mainly focuses on the regulatory effects of melatonin when plants face harsh environmental conditions. Evidence indicates that environmental stress can increase the level of endogenous melatonin in plants. Overexpression of the melatonin biosynthetic genes elevates melatonin levels in transgenic plants. The transgenic plants show enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses. Exogenously applied melatonin can also improve the ability of plants to tolerate abiotic stresses. The mechanisms by which melatonin alleviates abiotic stresses are discussed. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Abiotic Supramolecular Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-05-02

    REPORT Abiotic Supramolecular Systems 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: The goal of this research project was to develop new concepts for the...decision, unless so designated by other documentation. 12. DISTRIBUTION AVAILIBILITY STATEMENT Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited UU...9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 6. AUTHORS 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAMES AND ADDRESSES U.S. Army Research Office P.O

  12. Effect on Soil Properties of BcWRKY1 Transgenic Maize with Enhanced Salinity Tolerance

    PubMed Central

    Zeng, Xing; Zhou, Yu; Zhu, Zhongjia; Zu, Hongyue

    2016-01-01

    Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most important cereal crop in the world. However, soil salinity has become a major problem affecting plant productivity due to arable field degradation. Thus, transgenic maize transformed with a salinity tolerance gene has been developed to further evaluate its salt tolerance and effects on agronomic traits. It is necessary to analyze the potential environmental risk of transgenic maize before further commercialization. Enzyme activities, physicochemical properties, and microbial populations were evaluated in saline and nonsaline rhizosphere soils from a transgenic maize line (WL-73) overexpressing BcWRKY1 and from wild-type (WT) maize LH1037. Measurements were taken at four growth stages (V3, V9, R1, and R6) and repeated in three consecutive years (2012–2014). There was no change in the rhizosphere soils of either WL-73 or WT plants in the four soil enzyme activities, seven soil physicochemical properties, and the populations of three soil organisms. The results of this study suggested that salinity tolerant transgenic maize had no adverse impact on soil properties in soil rhizosphere during three consecutive years at two different locations and provided a theoretical basis for environmental impact monitoring of salinity tolerant transgenic maize. PMID:27990421

  13. Short- and long-term influence of stand density on soil microbial communities in ponderosa pine forests

    Treesearch

    Steven T. Overby

    2009-01-01

    Soil microbial communities process plant detritus and returns nutrients needed for plant growth. Increased knowledge of this intimate linkage between plant and soil microbial communities will provide a better understanding of ecosystem response to changing abiotic and biotic conditions. This dissertation consists of three studies to determine soil microbial community...

  14. Relationships between soil properties and toxicity of copper and nickel to bok choy and tomato in Chinese soils.

    PubMed

    Li, Bo; Zhang, Hongtao; Ma, Yibing; McLaughlin, Mike J

    2013-10-01

    The toxicity of copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) to bok choy and tomato shoot growth was investigated in a wide range of Chinese soils with and without leaching with artificial rainwater. The results showed that the variations of Ni toxicity induced by soil properties were wider than those of Cu toxicity to both tomato and bok choy plant growth. Leaching generally decreased the toxicity of Cu and Ni added to soils, which also depended on soils, metals, and test plant species. Soil factors controlling metal phytotoxicity were found to be soil pH and soil organic carbon content for Cu, and soil pH for Ni. It was also found that soil pH had stronger effects on Ni toxicity than on Cu toxicity. Predictive toxicity models based on these soil factors were developed. These toxicity models for Cu and Ni toxicity to tomato plant growth were validated using an independent data set for European soils. These models could be applied to predict the Cu and Ni phytotoxicity in not only Chinese soils but also European soils. © 2013 SETAC.

  15. Effects of Gravel Mulch Properties and Thickness on Evaporation from Underlying Soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Z.; Smits, K. M.

    2017-12-01

    Evaporation is the process of mass and heat transfer between the atmosphere and the shallow subsurface, and it is critical to many natural and industrial applications. In arid areas with very little rainfall, gravel has been widely used as a mulch layer to suppress evaporation from the underlying soil. The properties of mulch layers have a significant effect on the evaporation process, and the effect of grain size and mulch thickness has been previously studied experimentally. However, there is debate on the effect of the gravel mulch hydraulic properties on the evaporation suppression and role of the gravel mulch layer just after precipitation has not been discussed. The goal of this work is to investigate in more depth the impact of the gravel mulch hydraulic properties and the thickness of the mulch layer on evaporation from underlying soil with the combination of experiments and theoretical models. For this work, we developed a fully coupled numerical model of layered porous media that solves for heat, liquid water and water vapor flux under both wet and dry soil conditions. Various mulch layers with different texture and thickness were employed in the numerical simulation to study the effect of the hydraulic properties and thickness on the underlying soil evaporation. The water and heat transport in the soil and across the soil-atmosphere interface were presented and analyzed. In addition, results from numerical simulations were also compared with a series of mulch layer experiments performed using bench-scale porous media tanks interfaced with an open-return wind tunnel. Results demonstrated that gravel mulch is effective in significantly delaying and suppressing evaporation from underlying soil, and the evaporation behavior varies from different mulch types and thicknesses. The reason for evaporation suppression is that the gravel mulch retards the evaporation from the underlying soil first, and then cuts the hydraulic connection between the drying front and

  16. The effect of total carbon on microscopic soil properties and implications for crop production

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Soil structure is a dynamic property affected by physical, chemical, and microbiological processes. Addition of organic matter to soils and the use of different management practices have been reported to impact soil structure and crop production. Moderation in soil temperature and increases in mic...

  17. Impact of alpine meadow degradation on soil hydraulic properties over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeng, Chen; Zhang, Fan

    2015-04-01

    Alpine meadow is one of widespread vegetation types of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It is undergoing degradation under the background of global climate change, human activities and overgrazing. Soil moisture is important to alpine meadow ecology for its water and energy transfer processes, therefore soil hydraulic properties become key parameters for local eco-hydrological processes studies. However, little research focus on the changes and it's mechanisms of soil hydraulic properties during the degradation processes. In this study, soil basic and hydraulic properties at 0-10 cm and 40-50 cm soil layer depths under different degraded alpine meadow were analyzed. Pearson correlations were adopted to study the relationships among the investigated factors and principal component analysis was performed to identify the dominant factor. Results show that with increasing degree of degradation, soil sand content increased while soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) as well as soil clay content, soil porosity decreased in the 0-10 cm soil layers, and organic matter and root gravimetric density decreased in both the 0-10 cm and 40-50 cm soil layers. For soil unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, it reduced more slowly with decreasing pressure head under degraded conditions than non-degraded conditions. However, soil moisture showed no significant changes with increasing degradation. Soil Ks was significantly correlated (P = 0.01) with bulk density, soil porosity, soil organic matter and root gravimetric density. Among these, soil porosity is the dominant factor explaining about 90% of the variability in total infiltration flow. Under non-degraded conditions, the infiltration flow principally depended on the presence of macropores. With increasing degree of degradation, soil macropores quickly changed to mesopores or micropores. The proportion of total infiltration flow through macropores and mesopores significantly decreased with the most substantial decrease observed for

  18. Analysis of soil hydraulic and thermal properties for land surface modeling over the Tibetan Plateau

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Hong; Zeng, Yijian; Lv, Shaoning; Su, Zhongbo

    2018-06-01

    Soil information (e.g., soil texture and porosity) from existing soil datasets over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is claimed to be inadequate and even inaccurate for determining soil hydraulic properties (SHP) and soil thermal properties (STP), hampering the understanding of the land surface process over TP. As the soil varies across three dominant climate zones (i.e., arid, semi-arid and subhumid) over the TP, the associated SHP and STP are expected to vary correspondingly. To obtain an explicit insight into the soil hydrothermal properties over the TP, in situ and laboratory measurements of over 30 soil property profiles were obtained across the climate zones. Results show that porosity and SHP and STP differ across the climate zones and strongly depend on soil texture. In particular, it is proposed that gravel impact on porosity and SHP and STP are both considered in the arid zone and in deep layers of the semi-arid zone. Parameterization schemes for porosity, SHP and STP are investigated and compared with measurements taken. To determine the SHP, including soil water retention curves (SWRCs) and hydraulic conductivities, the pedotransfer functions (PTFs) developed by Cosby et al. (1984) (for the Clapp-Hornberger model) and the continuous PTFs given by Wösten et al. (1999) (for the Van Genuchten-Mualem model) are recommended. The STP parameterization scheme proposed by Farouki (1981) based on the model of De Vries (1963) performed better across the TP than other schemes. Using the parameterization schemes mentioned above, the uncertainties of five existing regional and global soil datasets and their derived SHP and STP over the TP are quantified through comparison with in situ and laboratory measurements. The measured soil physical properties dataset is available at https://data.4tu.nl/repository/uuid:c712717c-6ac0-47ff-9d58-97f88082ddc0.

  19. In Situ Measurement of Some Soil Properties in Paddy Soil Using Visible and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

    PubMed Central

    Wenjun, Ji; Zhou, Shi; Jingyi, Huang; Shuo, Li

    2014-01-01

    In situ measurements with visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (vis-NIR) provide an efficient way for acquiring soil information of paddy soils in the short time gap between the harvest and following rotation. The aim of this study was to evaluate its feasibility to predict a series of soil properties including organic matter (OM), organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK) and pH of paddy soils in Zhejiang province, China. Firstly, the linear partial least squares regression (PLSR) was performed on the in situ spectra and the predictions were compared to those with laboratory-based recorded spectra. Then, the non-linear least-square support vector machine (LS-SVM) algorithm was carried out aiming to extract more useful information from the in situ spectra and improve predictions. Results show that in terms of OC, OM, TN, AN and pH, (i) the predictions were worse using in situ spectra compared to laboratory-based spectra with PLSR algorithm (ii) the prediction accuracy using LS-SVM (R2>0.75, RPD>1.90) was obviously improved with in situ vis-NIR spectra compared to PLSR algorithm, and comparable or even better than results generated using laboratory-based spectra with PLSR; (iii) in terms of AP and AK, poor predictions were obtained with in situ spectra (R2<0.5, RPD<1.50) either using PLSR or LS-SVM. The results highlight the use of LS-SVM for in situ vis-NIR spectroscopic estimation of soil properties of paddy soils. PMID:25153132

  20. ABIOTIC IN SITU TECHNOLOGIES FOR GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION CONFERENCE: PROCEEDINGS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The USEPA conference on Abiotic In Situ Technologies for Groundwater Remediation was held in Dallas, TX, 8/31-9/2/99. The goal of the meeting was to disseminate current information on abiotic in situ groundwater treatment echnologies. Although much information is being provided a...

  1. Sorption of Cu and Zn in low organic matter-soils as influenced by soil properties and by the degree of soil weathering.

    PubMed

    Antoniadis, V; Golia, E E

    2015-11-01

    Copper and Zn sorption and desorption, among other factors, depend on soil pH, but in soils with different degree of weathering the role of other soil properties (e.g., oxides content and the level of their crystallinity) has not been thoroughly examined. We conducted batch sorption and desorption tests using 21 low-organic C soils that belonged to the soil orders of Entisols, newly developed soils, Inceptisols, and Alfisols, the most weathered soils. Zinc sorption was lower than that of Cu, and its desorption faster, confirming that it is a highly mobile metal. Alfisols had the weaker affinity for metals, due to the lower soil pH typical of this soil order, but also due to the low reactivity colloids they contained. Correlation analyses showed that Fe oxides in Alfisols increased metal release from soils, while they decreased metal desorption from Entisols. We conclude that in low organic matter-content soils, where the protective role of organic colloids is not to be expected, high soil pH alone is not sufficient to protect against metal contamination, but the degree of soil weathering is also important, due to the dominant role of other mineral phases (here, Fe oxides). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Using Multispectral and Elevation Data to Predict Soil Properties for a Better Management of Fertilizers at Field Scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drouin, Ariane; Michaud, Aubert; Sylvain, Jean-Daniel; N'Dayegamiye, Adrien; Gasser, Marc-Olivier; Nolin, Michel; Perron, Isabelle; Grenon, Lucie; Beaudin, Isabelle; Desjardins, Jacques; Côté, Noémi

    2013-04-01

    This project aims at developing and validating an operational integrated management and localized approach at field scale using remote sensing data. It is realized in order to support the competitiveness of agricultural businesses, to ensure soil productivity in the long term and prevent diffuse contamination of surface waters. Our intention is to help agrienvironmental advisors and farmers in the consideration of spatial variability of soil properties in the management of fields. The proposed approach of soil properties recognition is based on the combination of elevation data and multispectral satellite imagery (Landsat) within statistical models. The method is based on the use of the largest possible number of satellite images to cover the widest range of soil moisture variability. Several spectral indices are calculated for each image (normalized brightness index, soil color index, organic matter index, etc.). The assignation of soils is based on a calibration procedure making use of the spatial soil database available in Canada. It includes soil profile point data associated to a database containing the information collected in the field. Three soil properties are predicted and mapped: A horizon texture, B horizon texture and drainage class. All the spectral indices, elevation data and soil data are combined in a discriminant analysis that produces discriminant functions. These are then used to produce maps of soil properties. In addition, from mapping soil properties, management zones are delineated within the field. The delineation of management zones with relatively similar soil properties is created to enable farmers to manage their fertilizers by taking greater account of their soils. This localized or precision management aims to adjust the application of fertilizer according to the real needs of soils and to reduce costs for farmers and the exports of nutrients to the stream. Mapping of soil properties will be validated in three agricultural regions in

  3. A persuasive concept of research-oriented teaching in Soil Biochemistry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blagodatskaya, Evgenia; Kuzyakova, Irina

    2013-04-01

    One of the main problems of existing bachelor programs is disconnection of basic and experimental education: even during practical training the methods learned are not related to characterization of soil field experiments and observed soil processes. We introduce a multi-level research-oriented teaching system involving Bachelor students in four-semesters active study by integration the basic knowledge, experimental techniques, statistical approaches, project design and it's realization.The novelty of research-oriented teaching system is based 1) on linkage of ongoing experiment to the study of statistical methods and 2) on self-responsibility of students for interpretation of soil chemical and biochemical characteristics obtained in the very beginning of their study by analysing the set of soil samples allowing full-factorial data treatment. This experimental data set is related to specific soil stand and is used as a backbone of the teaching system accelerating the student's interest to soil studies and motivating them for application of basic knowledge from lecture courses. The multi-level system includes: 1) basic lecture course on soil biochemistry with analysis of research questions, 2) practical training course on laboratory analytics where small groups of students are responsible for analysis of soil samples related to the specific land-use/forest type/forest age; 3) training course on biotic (e.g. respiration) - abiotic (e.g. temperature, moisture, fire etc.) interactions in the same soil samples; 4) theoretical seminars where students present and make a first attempt to explain soil characteristics of various soil stands as affected by abiotic factors (first semester); 5) lecture and seminar course on soil statistics where students apply newly learned statistical methods to prove their conclusions and to find relationships between soil characteristics obtained during first semester; 6) seminar course on project design where students develop their

  4. Sorption of citalopram, irbesartan and fexofenadine in soils: Estimation of sorption coefficients from soil properties.

    PubMed

    Klement, Aleš; Kodešová, Radka; Bauerová, Martina; Golovko, Oksana; Kočárek, Martin; Fér, Miroslav; Koba, Olga; Nikodem, Antonín; Grabic, Roman

    2018-03-01

    The sorption of 3 pharmaceuticals, which may exist in 4 different forms depending on the solution pH (irbesartan in cationic, neutral and anionic, fexofenadine in cationic, zwitter-ionic and anionic, and citalopram cationic and neutral), in seven different soils was studied. The measured sorption isotherms were described by Freundlich equations, and the sorption coefficients, K F (for the fixed n exponent for each compound), were related to the soil properties to derive relationships for estimating the sorption coefficients from the soil properties (i.e., pedotransfer rules). The largest sorption was obtained for citalopram (average K F value for n = 1 was 1838 cm 3  g -1 ) followed by fexofenadine (K F  = 35.1 cm 3/n μg 1-1/n g -1 , n = 1.19) and irbesartan (K F  = 3.96 cm 3/n μg 1-1/n g -1 , n = 1.10). The behavior of citalopram (CIT) in soils was different than the behaviors of irbesartan (IRB) and fexofenadine (FEX). Different trends were documented according to the correlation coefficients between the K F values for different compounds (R IRB,FEX  = 0.895, p-value<0.01; R IRB,CIT  = -0.835, p-value<0.05; R FEX,CIT  = -0.759, p-value<0.05) and by the reverse relationships between the K F values and soil properties in the pedotransfer functions. While the K F value for citalopram was positively related to base cation saturation (BCS) or sorption complex saturation (SCS) and negatively correlated to the organic carbon content (Cox), the K F values of irbesartan and fexofenadine were negatively related to BCS, SCS or the clay content and positively related to Cox. The best estimates were obtained by combining BCS and Cox for citalopram (R 2  = 93.4), SCS and Cox for irbesartan (R 2  = 96.3), and clay content and Cox for fexofenadine (R 2  = 82.9). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Zinc fractionation in contaminated soils by sequential and single extractions: influence of soil properties and zinc content.

    PubMed

    Voegelin, Andreas; Tokpa, Gerome; Jacquat, Olivier; Barmettler, Kurt; Kretzschmar, Ruben

    2008-01-01

    We studied the fractionation of zinc (Zn) in 49 contaminated soils as influenced by Zn content and soil properties using a seven-step sequential extraction procedure (F1: NH4NO3; F2: NH4-acetate, pH 6; F3: NH3OHCl, pH 6; F4: NH4-EDTA, pH 4.6; F5: NH4-oxalate, pH 3; F6: NH4-oxalate/ascorbic acid, pH 3; F7: residual). The soils had developed from different geologic materials and covered a wide range in soil pH (4.0-7.3), organic C content (9.3-102 g kg(-1)), and clay content (38-451 g kg(-1)). Input of aqueous Zn with runoff water from electricity towers during 26 to 74 yr resulted in total soil Zn contents of 3.8 to 460 mmol kg(-1). In acidic soils (n = 24; pH <6.0), Zn was mainly found in the mobile fraction (F1) and the last two fractions (F6 and F7). In neutral soils (n = 25; pH > or =6.0), most Zn was extracted in the mobilizable fraction (F2) and the intermediate fractions (F4 and F5). The extractability of Zn increased with increasing Zn contamination of the soils. The sum of mobile (F1) and mobilizable (F2) Zn was independent of soil pH, the ratio of Zn in F1 over F1+F2 plotted against soil pH, exhibited the typical shape of a pH sorption edge and markedly increased from pH 6 to pH 5, reflecting the increasing lability of mobilizable Zn with decreasing soil pH. In conclusion, the extractability of Zn from soils contaminated with aqueous Zn after decades of aging under field conditions systematically varied with soil pH and Zn content. The same trends are expected to apply to aqueous Zn released from decomposing Zn-bearing contaminants, such as sewage sludge or smelter slag. The systematic trends in Zn fractionation with varying soil pH and Zn content indicate the paramount effect of these two factors on molecular scale Zn speciation. Further research is required to characterize the link between the fractionation and speciation of Zn and to determine how Zn loading and soil physicochemical properties affect Zn speciation in soils.

  6. Spatial distribution of soil properties on a landslide in Taiwan: effects of movement types and vegetation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Pei-Chen; Cheng, Chih-Hsin

    2017-04-01

    Landslides are critical natural disturbances in tropical and temperate areas and exert immense impacts on forest ecosystems and soil properties. The impacts of landslides on soil properties not only vary with their movement type, scale, or location but also have great spatial variation inside landslide. In this study, the effects of movement type (erosion and deposition) and succeeding vegetation on soil properties inside a landslide scar were evaluated. The study site was located in Chiufenernshan, central Taiwan. The landslide was triggered by the Chi-Chi Earthquake (Ritch magnitude 7.3) in 1999. A huge amount of waste debris (30 million m3) was moved along the sliding slope (with a tipping degree at 26o) and deposited in the lower parts. Total area size of landslide scar was 200 ha and about 30 - 50 m depth waste material was eroded/deposited in the upper/lower scar areas. After 17 years, the succeeding vegetation varied inside landslide scar. The erosion areas were covered with grass (Miscanthus floridulus) or left barren in some slopes. In contrast, a secondary forest, dominated with Trema orientalis, Lithocarpus konishii, Mallotus paniculatus, and Smilax bracteata, developed in the deposition areas. We collected soil samples in different landscape areas including (i) erosion areas without vegetation, (ii) erosion areas with grass vegetation, (iii) deposition areas, and (iv) adjacent undisturbed areas. Our results indicated that the erosion areas had higher bulk density, rock fragment and pH value, but less soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and N-mineralization rate than both deposition and adjacent undisturbed areas. The soil properties without vegetation even showed the extreme end compared to the soils with grass vegetation. Soils at the deposition zone had similar rock fragment, bulk density, soil pH, soil organic carbon and N-mineralization rate values to the undisturbed site (p > 0.05). We speculate that movement types could determine

  7. Effects of climate-change induced vegetation die-off on soil biodiversity and functioning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Curiel Yuste, Jorge; Garcia Angulo, Daniel; Barba, Josep; Poyatos, Rafael

    2017-04-01

    Climate change-induced vegetation die-off is nowadays a widespread phenomenon responsible for limiting the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to provide essential services worldwide. Less is known, however, about how vegetation die-off relates with changes in the biodiversity and ecology of the soil compartment, which accounts for many of the vital ecosystem functions such as providing essential nutrients for plant growth (nitrogen, N; or phosphorous, P), or long-term carbon (C) sequestration. The death of the vegetation alters soil abiotic (microclimate) conditions and limits the supply of the energy (carbohydrates specially) demanded by the soil biological communities. These abiotic and biotic changes triggers a cascade of causal-effect processes that may result in irreversible losses in soil biodiversity and in the stability of the trophic webs that sustain soil functions such as N fixation, mineralization of essential nutrients or C stabilization. However, to date, information on the potential impacts of climate-change induced vegetation die-off over soil biodiversity and functioning is fragmented (e.g. case-studies) and not very conclusive. We here want to summarize the state of the knowledge on all potential effects of climate-change induced vegetation die-off over soil biodiversity and soil functioning. Additionally, we also discuss the functional resilience of soils to climate-change vegetation die-off and how management practices could improve the resilience and the sustainability of the soil functioning.

  8. Topography effect on soil organic carbon pool in Mediterranean natural areas (Southern Spain)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parras-Alcántara, Luis; Lozan-García, Beatriz; Galán-Espejo, Arantxa

    2014-05-01

    Soils are important reservoirs of carbon, in fact, the primary terrestrial pool of organic carbon (OC) that accounts more than 75% of the Earth's terrestrial OC are the soils. In addition, soils have the ability to store carbon for a long time, playing a crucial role in the overall carbon cycle. In Spanish soils, climate, use and management are very influential in the carbon variability, mainly in the soils in Mediterranean dry climate, characterized by its low OC content, weak structure and readily degradable. Generally, the capacity to soil carbon store depends on abiotic factors such as the climate and mineralogical composition, but also depends on soil use and management. The principal factors that affect to forest soils carbon concentration and stock are: climate, landscape, landscape position, slope, latitude, chemical properties, texture and aggregation, anthropogenic factors, natural disturbance - wind, fire, drought, insects and diseases…etc. The soil organic matter (SOM), given by the total organic carbon content (TOC) is one of the main indicators of soil quality. Several studies have been carried out to estimate differences in SOC in relation to soil properties, land uses and climate. Although the impact of topographic aspect on soil properties is widely recognized, relatively few studies have been conducted to examine the role of aspect on SOC content globally. Studies indicate some variations in soil properties related to topographic. Topographic aspect induces local variation in temperature and precipitation solar radiation and relative humidity, which along with chemical and physical composition of the substrate, are the main regulators of decomposition rates of SOM. The spatial variation of soil properties is significantly influenced by some environmental factors such as topographic aspect that induced microclimate differences, topographic (landscape) positions, parent materials, and vegetation communities. Many attempts have been made to

  9. On the acid-base properties of humic acid in soil.

    PubMed

    Cooke, James D; Hamilton-Taylor, John; Tipping, Edward

    2007-01-15

    Humic acid was isolated from three contrasting organic-rich soils and acid-base titrations performed over a range of ionic strengths. Results obtained were unlike most humic acid data sets; they showed a greater ionic strength dependency at low pH than at high pH. Forward- and back-titrations with the base and acid revealed hysteresis, particularly at low pH. Previous authors attributed this type of hysteresis to humic acid aggregates-created during the isolation procedure-being redissolved during titration as the pH increased and regarded the results as artificial. However, forward- and back-titrations with organic-rich soils also demonstrated a similar hysteretic behavior. These observations indicate (i) that titrations of humic acid in aggregated form (as opposed to the more usual dissolved form) are more representative of the acid-base properties of humic acid in soil and (ii) that the ionic strength dependency of proton binding in humic acid is related to its degree of aggregation. Thus, the current use of models based on data from dissolved humic substances to predictthe acid-base properties of humic acid in soil under environmental conditions may be flawed and could substantially overestimate their acid buffering capacity.

  10. Effects of Forest Gaps on Soil Properties in Castanopsis kawakamii Nature Forest.

    PubMed

    He, Zhongsheng; Liu, Jinfu; Su, Songjin; Zheng, Shiqun; Xu, Daowei; Wu, Zeyan; Hong, Wei; Wang, James Li-Ming

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of forest gaps on the variations of soil properties in Castanopsis kawakamii natural forest. Soil physical and chemical properties in various sizes and development stages were studied in C. kawakamii natural forest gaps. The results showed that forest gaps in various sizes and development stages could improve soil pore space structure and water characteristics, which may effectively promote the water absorbing capacity for plant root growth and play an important role in forest regeneration. Soil pore space structure and water characteristics in small gaps showed more obvious improvements, followed by the medium and large gaps. Soil pore space structure and water characteristics in the later development stage of forest gaps demonstrated more obvious improvements, followed by the early and medium development stages. The contents of hydrolysable N and available K in various sizes and development stages of forest gaps were higher than those of non-gaps, whereas the contents of total N, total P, available P, organic matter, and organic carbon were lower. The contents of total N, hydrolysable N, available K, organic matter, and organic carbon in medium gaps were higher than those of large and small gaps. The disturbance of forest gaps could improve the soils' physical and chemical properties and increase the population species' richness, which would provide an ecological basis for the species coexistence in C. kawakamii natural forest.

  11. Interrelationships between soil biota and soil physical properties in forest areas of the Pieniny National Park (Poland)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Józefowska, Agnieszka; Zaleski, Tomasz; Sokołowska, Justyna; Dzierwa, Agata

    2017-04-01

    The study area was located in the Pieniny National Park (PNP) in the Carpathian Mountain (Southern Poland). Investigated soil belonged to Eutric Cambisols and had silt or silt loam texture. The purpose of this research was to investigated relationship between soil biota, such as microbial activity, soil Oligochaeta (Lumbricidae and Enchytraeidae) and soil physical properties, such as water retention or aggregates stability. This research was conducted at six forest monitoring areas of the PNP. Sampling was collected in the September 2016. For each of the 6 places, undisturbed and disturbed soil samples were taken from the 0-15-cm and 15-30-cm layer in 3 to 5 replicates. Undisturbed soil was taken: i) into Kopecky cylinders to determined soil physical properties; ii) a soil cores to determined enchytraeids and fine roots biomass (RB). Disturbed soil was collected in 3 reps and homogenized. Next such soil samples were divided into three parts: i) fresh one to determined dehydrogenase activity (ADh), microbial carbon biomass (MC) and labile carbon (LC); ii) air-dried, passed through a sieve (2-mm mesh size) and used for analysis: pH, organic carbon and bulk density; iii) last part air dried was used to determined stability of different size aggregates. In field, earthworms were collected in 3 reps using hand sorting method. Investigated soils were strongly acidic to neutral (pH 4.8-6.8). Organic carbon (Corg) content was varied from 0.8% to 4.5% and was higher in 0-15-cm layers than in 15-30-cm layers. Higher Corgcontent was connected with lower bulk density. Enchytraeids density was ranged from 1807 ind. m-2 to 88855 ind. m-2 and was correlated with microbial activity (ADh and MB) and RB. Earthworms density (ED) was ranged from 7 ind. m-2to 507 ind. m-2. In investigated soil was 6 genus and 7 species (Octolasion lacteum, Aporrectodea caliginosa, Aporrectodea rosea, Aporrectodea jassyensis, Lumbricus rubellus, Eisenia lucens, and Fitzingeria platyura depressa). ED was

  12. A membraneless single compartment abiotic glucose fuel cell

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slaughter, Gymama; Sunday, Joshua

    2014-09-01

    A simple energy harvesting strategy has been developed to selectively catalyze glucose in the presence of oxygen in a glucose/O2 fuel cell. The anode consists of an abiotic catalyst Al/Au/ZnO, in which ZnO seed layer was deposited on the surface of Al/Au substrate using hydrothermal method. The cathode is constructed from a single rod of platinum with an outer diameter of 500 μm. The abiotic glucose fuel cell was studied in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4) containing 5 mM glucose at a temperature of 22 °C. The cell is characterized according to its open-circuit voltage, polarization profile, and power density plot. Under these conditions, the abiotic glucose fuel cell possesses an open-circuit voltage of 840 mV and delivered a maximum power density of 16.2 μW cm-2 at a cell voltage of 495 mV. These characteristics are comparable to biofuel cell utilizing a much more complex system design. Such low-cost lightweight abiotic catalyzed glucose fuel cells have a great promise to be optimized, miniaturized to power bio-implantable devices.

  13. Abiotic gene transfer: rare or rampant?

    PubMed Central

    Kotnik, Tadej; Weaver, James C.

    2016-01-01

    Phylogenetic studies reveal that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) plays a prominent role in evolution and genetic variability of life. Five biotic mechanisms of HGT among prokaryotic organisms have been extensively characterized: conjugation, competence, transduction, gene-transfer-agent (GTA) particles, and transitory fusion with recombination, but it is not known whether they can account for all natural HGT. It is even less clear how HGT could have occurred before any of these mechanisms had developed. Here, we consider contemporary conditions and experiments on microorganisms to estimate possible roles of abiotic HGT – currently and throughout evolution. Candidate mechanisms include freeze-and-thaw, microbeads-agitation, and electroporation-based transformation, and we posit that these laboratory techniques have analogues in nature acting as mechanisms of abiotic HGT: freeze-and-thaw cycles in polar waters, sand-agitation at foreshores and riverbeds, and lightning-triggered electroporation in near-surface aqueous habitats. We derive conservative order-of-magnitude estimates for rates of microorganisms subjected to freeze-and-thaw cycles, sand-agitation, and lightning-triggered electroporation, at 1024, 1019, and 1017 per year, respectively. Considering the yield of viable transformants, which is by far the highest in electroporation, we argue this may still favor lightning-triggered transformation over the other two mechanisms. Electroporation-based gene transfer also appears to be the most general of these abiotic candidates, and perhaps even of all known HGT mechanisms. Future studies should provide improved estimates of gene transfer rates and cell viability, currently and in the past, but to assess the importance of abiotic HGT in nature, will likely require substantial progress – also in knowledge of biotic HGT. PMID:27067073

  14. Designing cooperatively folded abiotic uni- and multimolecular helix bundles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de, Soumen; Chi, Bo; Granier, Thierry; Qi, Ting; Maurizot, Victor; Huc, Ivan

    2018-01-01

    Abiotic foldamers, that is foldamers that have backbones chemically remote from peptidic and nucleotidic skeletons, may give access to shapes and functions different to those of peptides and nucleotides. However, design methodologies towards abiotic tertiary and quaternary structures are yet to be developed. Here we report rationally designed interactional patterns to guide the folding and assembly of abiotic helix bundles. Computational design facilitated the introduction of hydrogen-bonding functionalities at defined locations on the aromatic amide backbones that promote cooperative folding into helix-turn-helix motifs in organic solvents. The hydrogen-bond-directed aggregation of helices not linked by a turn unit produced several thermodynamically and kinetically stable homochiral dimeric and trimeric bundles with structures that are distinct from the designed helix-turn-helix. Relative helix orientation within the bundles may be changed from parallel to tilted on subtle solvent variations. Altogether, these results prefigure the richness and uniqueness of abiotic tertiary structure behaviour.

  15. Decreases in Soil Moisture and Organic Matter Quality Suppress Microbial Decomposition Following a Boreal Forest Fire

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Holden, Sandra R.; Berhe, Asmeret A.; Treseder, Kathleen K.

    Climate warming is projected to increase the frequency and severity of wildfires in boreal forests, and increased wildfire activity may alter the large soil carbon (C) stocks in boreal forests. Changes in boreal soil C stocks that result from increased wildfire activity will be regulated in part by the response of microbial decomposition to fire, but post-fire changes in microbial decomposition are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the response of microbial decomposition to a boreal forest fire in interior Alaska and test the mechanisms that control post-fire changes in microbial decomposition. We used a reciprocal transplant between a recently burnedmore » boreal forest stand and a late successional boreal forest stand to test how post-fire changes in abiotic conditions, soil organic matter (SOM) composition, and soil microbial communities influence microbial decomposition. We found that SOM decomposing at the burned site lost 30.9% less mass over two years than SOM decomposing at the unburned site, indicating that post-fire changes in abiotic conditions suppress microbial decomposition. Our results suggest that moisture availability is one abiotic factor that constrains microbial decomposition in recently burned forests. In addition, we observed that burned SOM decomposed more slowly than unburned SOM, but the exact nature of SOM changes in the recently burned stand are unclear. Finally, we found no evidence that post-fire changes in soil microbial community composition significantly affect decomposition. Taken together, our study has demonstrated that boreal forest fires can suppress microbial decomposition due to post-fire changes in abiotic factors and the composition of SOM. Models that predict the consequences of increased wildfires for C storage in boreal forests may increase their predictive power by incorporating the observed negative response of microbial decomposition to boreal wildfires.« less

  16. Influence of Disturbance on Soil Respiration in Biologically Crusted Soil during the Dry Season

    PubMed Central

    Feng, Wei; Zhang, Yu-qing; Wu, Bin; Zha, Tian-shan; Jia, Xin; Qin, Shu-gao; Shao, Chen-xi; Liu, Jia-bin; Lai, Zong-rui; Fa, Ke-yu

    2013-01-01

    Soil respiration (Rs) is a major pathway for carbon cycling and is a complex process involving abiotic and biotic factors. Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are a key biotic component of desert ecosystems worldwide. In desert ecosystems, soils are protected from surface disturbance by BSCs, but it is unknown whether Rs is affected by disturbance of this crust layer. We measured Rs in three types of disturbed and undisturbed crusted soils (algae, lichen, and moss), as well as bare land from April to August, 2010, in Mu Us desert, northwest China. Rs was similar among undisturbed soils but increased significantly in disturbed moss and algae crusted soils. The variation of Rs in undisturbed and disturbed soil was related to soil bulk density. Disturbance also led to changes in soil organic carbon and fine particles contents, including declines of 60–70% in surface soil C and N, relative to predisturbance values. Once BSCs were disturbed, Q 10 increased. Our findings indicate that a loss of BSCs cover will lead to greater soil C loss through respiration. Given these results, understanding the disturbance sensitivity impact on Rs could be helpful to modify soil management practices which promote carbon sequestration. PMID:24453845

  17. Responses of soil respiration to soil management changes in an agropastoral ecotone in Inner Mongolia, China.

    PubMed

    Xue, Haili; Tang, Haiping

    2018-01-01

    Studying the responses of soil respiration ( R s ) to soil management changes is critical for enhancing our understanding of the global carbon cycle and has practical implications for grassland management. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) quantify daily and seasonal patterns of R s , (2) evaluate the influence of abiotic factors on R s , and (3) detect the effects of soil management changes on R s . We hypothesized that (1) most of daily and seasonal variation in R s could be explained by soil temperature ( T s ) and soil water content ( S w ), (2) soil management changes could significantly affect R s , and (3) soil management changes affected R s via the significant change in abiotic and biotic factors. In situ R s values were monitored in an agropastoral ecotone in Inner Mongolia, China, during the growing seasons in 2009 (August to October) and 2010 (May to October). The soil management changes sequences included free grazing grassland (FG), cropland (CL), grazing enclosure grassland (GE), and abandoned cultivated grassland (AC). During the growing season in 2010, cumulative R s for FG, CL, GE, and AC averaged 265.97, 344.74, 236.70, and 226.42 gC m -2  year -1 , respectively. The T s and S w significantly influenced R s and explained 66%-86% of the variability in daily R s . Monthly mean temperature and precipitation explained 78%-96% of the variability in monthly R s . The results clearly showed that R s was increased by 29% with the conversion of FG to CL and decreased by 35% and 11% with the conversion of CL to AC and FG to GE. The factors impacting the change in R s under different soil management changes sequences varied. Our results confirm the tested hypotheses. The increase in Q 1 0 and litter biomass induced by conversion of FG to GE could lead to increased R s if the climate warming. We suggest that after proper natural restoration period, grasslands should be utilized properly to decrease R s .

  18. Effects of biochar produced from different feedstocks on soil properties and sunflower growth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alburquerque, J. A.; Calero, J. M.; Villar, R.; Barrón, V.; Torrent, J.; del Campillo, M. C.; Gallardo, A.

    2012-04-01

    The use of biochar obtained from biomass pyrolysis as a soil amendment has potential benefits, such as reduction in gas emissions, increase in soil carbon sequestration and improvements in soil fertility and crop yield. These constitute a great incentive for the implementation of biochar-based strategies, which could contribute to improvement of the sustainability of agricultural systems. However, to date, the results of research studies show great variability as a result of differences in both the raw materials and the pyrolysis conditions used to produce biochar, as well as in the experimental setting (crop, soil type, pedo-climatic conditions, etc.). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of five types of biochar produced from representative agricultural and forestry wastes (olive husk, almond shell, wheat straw, pine woodchips and olive tree prunings), and applied to soil at different rates, on soil properties and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) growth. The biochars had a high organic matter content, alkaline pH, variable soluble salt content and non-phytotoxic properties. The addition of biochar to soil increased pH, electrical conductivity and water retention capacity, and decreased soil bulk density compared to control (unamended soil). However, these effects differed depending on biochar type. In contrast, no consistent effects on sunflower growth variables were observed due to the addition of biochar: increases were observed in some variables (plant dry weight, leaf area and height), but these increases were, in general, not statistically significant when compared to the unamended soil. This can be explained by the nature of biochar, being rich in carbon but relatively poor in nutrients. In summary, our results indicate that biochar is capable of improving soil properties which can impact positively on soil-plant water relations, without negative effects on sunflower growth, and therefore it is suitable for use as a long-term carbon sink in

  19. Systems biology approach in plant abiotic stresses.

    PubMed

    Mohanta, Tapan Kumar; Bashir, Tufail; Hashem, Abeer; Abd Allah, Elsayed Fathi

    2017-12-01

    Plant abiotic stresses are the major constraint on plant growth and development, causing enormous crop losses across the world. Plants have unique features to defend themselves against these challenging adverse stress conditions. They modulate their phenotypes upon changes in physiological, biochemical, molecular and genetic information, thus making them tolerant against abiotic stresses. It is of paramount importance to determine the stress-tolerant traits of a diverse range of genotypes of plant species and integrate those traits for crop improvement. Stress-tolerant traits can be identified by conducting genome-wide analysis of stress-tolerant genotypes through the highly advanced structural and functional genomics approach. Specifically, whole-genome sequencing, development of molecular markers, genome-wide association studies and comparative analysis of interaction networks between tolerant and susceptible crop varieties grown under stress conditions can greatly facilitate discovery of novel agronomic traits that protect plants against abiotic stresses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  20. Changes in soil hydrological and chemical properties of vineyard soils after composted cattle manure application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Concepción Ramos, Maria

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes soil chemical and physical properties (organic matter content, nitrogen and phosphorus, water retention capacity and infiltration) when composted organic waste were applied in vineyard soils. The effect on soil properties after two repeated applications at a rate of 10t/ha compared with the control (without treatment) were evaluated. The analysis was carried out in vineyard soils, located in the Penedès area (NE Spain). In this area, vines are the main agricultural land use and during the last decades, important land levelling operations have been carried out to facilitate the mechanizations of the labours. After levelling, the application of organic matter is a common practice in order to increase the organic matter levels. According to SSS (1998), the soils are classified as Typic Calcixerepts, with slopes between 5 and 15%. Organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus content were evaluated in one control plot and in another plot in which successive applications of compost were done, separated between them 2 years. The changes in infiltration were evaluated using simulated rainfall, applied at 60 mm/h. The simulated rainfall consisted of 2.5 mm diameter drops of deionised water freely falling from droppers positioned 2.5 m above the soil surface. Each simulation lasted for 40 min. Runoff generated was collected at 5 minute intervals. Differences between treatments were analysed using the Duncan test. The results confirmed the beneficial effect of compost application to improve organic matter and nutrients in the treated soils. The organic matter content increased from 1 to 2.9%; Nitrogen increased from < 1% to 0.25% and P (Olsen) increased from 45 to 164 mg/kg. The infiltration also improved, respectively 13 and 20% after the successive compost application. The effect on water retention capacity was significantly different after the second application. Keywords: compost, infiltration, nutrients, organic matter, water

  1. Bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soil using aged refuse from landfills.

    PubMed

    Liu, Qingmei; Li, Qibin; Wang, Ning; Liu, Dan; Zan, Li; Chang, Le; Gou, Xuemei; Wang, Peijin

    2018-05-10

    This study explored the effects and mechanisms of petroleum-contaminated soil bioremediation using aged refuse (AR) from landfills. Three treatments of petroleum-contaminated soil (47.28 mg·g -1 ) amended with AR, sterilized aged refuse (SAR) and petroleum-contaminated soil only (as a control) were tested. During 98 days of incubation, changes in soil physicochemical properties, residual total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), biodegradation kinetics, enzyme activities and the microbial community were investigated. The results demonstrated that AR was an effective soil conditioner and biostimulation agent that could comprehensively improve the quality of petroleum-contaminated soil and promote microbial growth, with an 74.64% TPH removal rate, 22.36 day half-life for SAR treatment, compared with the control (half-life: 138.63 days; TPH removal rate: 22.40%). In addition, the petroleum-degrading bacteria isolation results demonstrated that AR was also a petroleum-degrading microbial agent containing abundant microorganisms. AR addition significantly improved both the biotic and abiotic conditions of petroleum-contaminated soil without other additives. The cooperation of conditioner addition, biostimulation and bioaugmentation in AR treatment led to better bioremediation effects (half-life: 13.86 days; TPH removal rate: 89.83%). In conclusion, AR amendment is a cost-effective, easy-to-use method facilitating in situ large-scale application while simultaneously recycling huge amounts of AR from landfills. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. [Effects of soil properties on the stabilization process of cadmium in Cd alone and Cd-Pb contaminated soils].

    PubMed

    Wu, Man; Xu, Ming-Gang; Zhang, Wen-Ju; Wu, Hai-Wen

    2012-07-01

    In order to clarify the effects of soil properties on the stabilization process of the cadmium (Cd) added, 11 different soils were collected and incubated under a moisture content of 65%-70% at 25 degrees C. The changes of available Cd contents with incubation time (in 360 days) in Cd and Cd-Pb contaminated treatments were determined. The stabilization process was simulated using dynamic equations. The results showed that after 1.0 mg x kg(-1) Cd or 500 mg x kg(-1) Pb + 1.0 mg x kg(-1) Cd were added into the soil, the available Cd content decreased rapidly during the first 15 days, and then the decreasing rate slowed down, with an equilibrium content reached after 60 days' incubation. In Cd-Pb contaminated soils, the presence of Pb increased the content of available Cd. The stabilization process of Cd could be well described by the second-order equation and the first order exponential decay; meanwhile, dynamic parameters including equilibrium content and stabilization velocity were used to characterize the stabilization process of Cd. These two key dynamic parameters were significantly affected by soil properties. Correlation analysis and stepwise regression suggested that high pH and high cation exchange capacity (CEC) significantly retarded the availability of Cd. High pH had the paramount effect on the equilibrium content. The stabilization velocity of Cd was influenced by the soil texture. It took shorter time for Cd to get stabilized in sandy soil than in the clay.

  3. Soil properties and soil nitrogen dynamics of prairie-like forest openings and surrounding forests in Kentucky's Knobs Region

    Treesearch

    C.C. Rhoades; S.P. Miller; M.M. Shea

    2004-01-01

    Herbaceous communities located within forest openings increase plant species diversity of forests in the Knobs Region of Kentucky. Although these grass-dominated communities are protected and managed for rare plant species conservation, it is unclear how soil conditions may delineate the grassland-forest boundary. We compared soil chemical and physical properties and...

  4. Dynamics of Soil Properties and Plant Composition during Postagrogenic Evolution in Different Bioclimatic Zones

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Telesnina, V. M.; Kurganova, I. N.; Lopes de Gerenyu, V. O.; Ovsepyan, L. A.; Lichko, V. I.; Ermolaev, A. M.; Mirin, D. M.

    2017-12-01

    The postagrogenic dynamics of acidity and some parameters of humus status have been studied in relation to the restoration of zonal vegetation in southern taiga (podzolic and soddy-podzolic soils ( Retisols)), coniferous-broadleaved (subtaiga) forest (gray forest soil ( Luvic Phaeozem)), and forest-steppe (gray forest soil ( Haplic Phaeozem)) subzones. The most significant transformation of the studied properties of soils under changing vegetation has been revealed for poor sandy soils of southern taiga. The degree of changes in the content and stocks of organic carbon, the enrichment of humus in nitrogen, and acidity in the 0- to 20-cm soil layer during the postagrogenic evolution decreases from north to south. The adequate reflection of soil physicochemical properties in changes of plant cover is determined by the climatic zone and the land use pattern. A correlation between the changes in the soil acidity and the portion of acidophilic species in the plant cover is revealed for the southern taiga subzone. A positive relationship is found between the content of organic carbon and the share of species preferring humus-rich soils in the forest-steppe zone.

  5. Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans).

    PubMed

    Ni, Xue; Song, Weiting; Zhang, Huanchao; Yang, Xiulian; Wang, Lianggui

    2016-01-01

    Different mulches have variable effects on soil physical properties and plant growth. This study aimed to compare the effects of mulching with inorganic (round gravel, RG), organic (wood chips, WC), and living (manila turf grass, MG) materials on soil properties at 0-5-cm and 5-10-cm depths, as well as on the growth and physiological features of Osmanthus fragrans L. 'Rixianggui' plants. Soil samples were collected at three different time points from field plots of O. fragrans plants treated with the different mulching treatments. Moisture at both soil depths was significantly higher after mulching with RG and WC than that in the unmulched control (CK) treatment. Mulching did not affect soil bulk density, pH, or total nitrogen content, but consistently improved soil organic matter. The available nitrogen in the soil increased after RG and WC treatments, but decreased after MG treatment during the experimental period. Mulching improved plant growth by increasing root activity, soluble sugar, and chlorophyll a content, as well as by providing suitable moisture conditions and nutrients in the root zone. Plant height and trunk diameter were remarkably increased after mulching, especially with RG and WC. However, while MG improved plant growth at the beginning of the treatment, the 'Rixianggui' plants later showed no improvement in growth. This was probably because MG competed with the plants for water and available nitrogen in the soil. Thus, our findings suggest that RG and WC, but not MG, improved the soil environment and the growth of 'Rixianggui' plants. Considering the effect of mulching on soil properties and plant growth and physiology, round gravel and wood chips appear to be a better choice than manila turf grass in 'Rixianggui' nurseries. Further studies are required to determine the effects of mulch quality and mulch-layer thickness on shoot and root growths.

  6. Salicylic acid-induced abiotic stress tolerance and underlying mechanisms in plants

    PubMed Central

    Khan, M. Iqbal R.; Fatma, Mehar; Per, Tasir S.; Anjum, Naser A.; Khan, Nafees A.

    2015-01-01

    Abiotic stresses (such as metals/metalloids, salinity, ozone, UV-B radiation, extreme temperatures, and drought) are among the most challenging threats to agricultural system and economic yield of crop plants. These stresses (in isolation and/or combination) induce numerous adverse effects in plants, impair biochemical/physiological and molecular processes, and eventually cause severe reductions in plant growth, development and overall productivity. Phytohormones have been recognized as a strong tool for sustainably alleviating adverse effects of abiotic stresses in crop plants. In particular, the significance of salicylic acid (SA) has been increasingly recognized in improved plant abiotic stress-tolerance via SA-mediated control of major plant-metabolic processes. However, the basic biochemical/physiological and molecular mechanisms that potentially underpin SA-induced plant-tolerance to major abiotic stresses remain least discussed. Based on recent reports, this paper: (a) overviews historical background and biosynthesis of SA under both optimal and stressful environments in plants; (b) critically appraises the role of SA in plants exposed to major abiotic stresses; (c) cross-talks potential mechanisms potentially governing SA-induced plant abiotic stress-tolerance; and finally (d) briefly highlights major aspects so far unexplored in the current context. PMID:26175738

  7. Studying soil properties using visible and near infrared spectral analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moretti, S.; Garfagnoli, F.; Innocenti, L.; Chiarantini, L.

    2009-04-01

    This research is carried out inside the DIGISOIL Project, whose purposes are the integration and improvement of in situ and proximal measurement technologies, for the assessment of soil properties and soil degradation indicators, going form the sensing technologies to their integration and their application in digital soil mapping. The study area is located in the Virginio river basin, about 30 km south of Firenze, in the Chianti area, where soils with agricultural suitability have a high economic value connected to the production of internationally famous wines and olive oils. The most common soil threats, such as erosion and landslide, may determine huge economic losses, which must be considered in farming management practices. This basin has a length of about 23 km for a basin area of around 60,3 Km2. Geological formations outcropping in the area are Pliocene to Pleistocene marine and lacustrine sediments in beds with almost horizontal bedding. Vineyards, olive groves and annual crops are the main types of land use. A typical Mediterranean climate prevails with a dry summer followed by intense and sometimes prolonged rainfall in autumn, decreasing in winter. In this study, three types of VNIR and SWIR techniques, operating at different scales and in different environments (laboratory spectroscopy, portable field spectroscopy) are integrated to rapidly quantify various soil characteristics, in order to acquire data for assessing the risk of occurrence for typically agricultural practice-related soil threats (swelling, compaction, erosion, landslides, organic matter decline, ect.) and to collect ground data in order to build up a spectral library to be used in image analysis from air-borne and satellite sensors. Difficulties encountered in imaging spectroscopy, such as influence of measurements conditions, atmospheric attenuation, scene dependency and sampling representation are investigated and mathematical pre-treatments, using proper algorithms, are applied and

  8. Rice husk ash (RHA) as a partial cement replacement in modifying peat soil properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Daud, Nik Norsyahariati Nik; Daud, Mohd Nazrin Mohd; Muhammed, Abubakar Sadiq

    2018-02-01

    This paper describes the effect of rice husk ash (RHA) and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as a potential binder for modifying the properties of peat soil. The amounts RHA and OPC added to the peat soil sample, as percentage of the dry soil mass were in the range of 10-15% and 15%, respectively. Observations were made for the changes in the properties of the soil such as maximum dry density (MDD), optimum moisture content (OMC) and shear strength. Scanning Electron Micrograph-Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX) test were also conducted to observe the microstructure of treated and untreated peat soil. The results show that the modified soil of MDD and OMC values are increased due to the increment amount of binder material. Shear strength values of modified peat showing a good result by assuming that it is relative to the formation of major reaction products such as calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H). The presence of C-S-H formation is indicated by the results produced from microstructural analysis of peat before and after modification process. This depicts the potential usage of RHA as a partial cement replacement in peat soil which is also improving its engineering properties.

  9. Soil properties and not inputs control carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus ratios in cropped soils in the long-term

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frossard, E.; Buchmann, N.; Bünemann, E. K.; Kiba, D. I.; Lompo, F.; Oberson, A.; Tamburini, F.; Traoré, O. Y. A.

    2015-09-01

    Stoichiometric approaches have been applied to understand the relationship between soil organic matter dynamics and biological nutrient transformations. However, very few studies explicitly considered the effects of agricultural management practices on soil C : N : P ratio. The aim of this study was to assess how different input types and rates would affect the C : N : P molar ratios of bulk soil, organic matter and microbial biomass in cropped soils in the long-term. Thus, we analysed the C, N and P inputs and budgets as well as soil properties in three long-term experiments established on different soil types: the Saria soil fertility trial (Burkina Faso), the Wagga Wagga rotation/stubble management/soil preparation trial (Australia), and the DOK cropping system trial (Switzerland). In each of these trials, there was a large range of C, N and P inputs which had a strong impact on element concentrations in soils. However, although C : N : P ratios of the inputs were highly variable, they had only weak effects on soil C : N : P ratios. At Saria, a positive correlation was found between the N : P ratio of inputs and microbial biomass, while no relation was observed between the nutrient ratios of inputs and soil organic matter. At Wagga Wagga, the C : P ratio of inputs was significantly correlated to total soil C : P, N : P and C : N ratios, but had no impact on the elemental composition of microbial biomass. In the DOK trial, a positive correlation was found between the C budget and the C to organic P ratio in soils, while the nutrient ratios of inputs were not related to those in the microbial biomass. We argue that these responses are due to differences in soil properties among sites. At Saria, the soil is dominated by quartz and some kaolinite, has a coarse texture, a fragile structure and a low nutrient content. Thus, microorganisms feed on inputs (plant residues, manure). In contrast, the soil at Wagga Wagga contains illite and haematite, is richer in clay and

  10. Soil properties and not inputs control carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus ratios in cropped soils in the long term

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frossard, Emmanuel; Buchmann, Nina; Bünemann, Else K.; Kiba, Delwende I.; Lompo, François; Oberson, Astrid; Tamburini, Federica; Traoré, Ouakoltio Y. A.

    2016-02-01

    Stoichiometric approaches have been applied to understand the relationship between soil organic matter dynamics and biological nutrient transformations. However, very few studies have explicitly considered the effects of agricultural management practices on the soil C : N : P ratio. The aim of this study was to assess how different input types and rates would affect the C : N : P molar ratios of bulk soil, organic matter and microbial biomass in cropped soils in the long term. Thus, we analysed the C, N, and P inputs and budgets as well as soil properties in three long-term experiments established on different soil types: the Saria soil fertility trial (Burkina Faso), the Wagga Wagga rotation/stubble management/soil preparation trial (Australia), and the DOK (bio-Dynamic, bio-Organic, and "Konventionell") cropping system trial (Switzerland). In each of these trials, there was a large range of C, N, and P inputs which had a strong impact on element concentrations in soils. However, although C : N : P ratios of the inputs were highly variable, they had only weak effects on soil C : N : P ratios. At Saria, a positive correlation was found between the N : P ratio of inputs and microbial biomass, while no relation was observed between the nutrient ratios of inputs and soil organic matter. At Wagga Wagga, the C : P ratio of inputs was significantly correlated to total soil C : P, N : P, and C : N ratios, but had no impact on the elemental composition of microbial biomass. In the DOK trial, a positive correlation was found between the C budget and the C to organic P ratio in soils, while the nutrient ratios of inputs were not related to those in the microbial biomass. We argue that these responses are due to differences in soil properties among sites. At Saria, the soil is dominated by quartz and some kaolinite, has a coarse texture, a fragile structure, and a low nutrient content. Thus, microorganisms feed on inputs (plant residues, manure). In contrast, the soil at

  11. Vegetation-induced spatial variability of soil redox properties in wetlands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Szalai, Zoltán; Jakab, Gergely; Kiss, Klaudia; Ringer, Marianna; Balázs, Réka; Zacháry, Dóra; Horváth Szabó, Kata; Perényi, Katalin

    2016-04-01

    Vegetation induced land patches may result spatial pattern of on soil Eh and pH. These spatial pattern are mainly emerged by differences of aeration and exudation of assimilates. Present paper focuses on vertical extent and temporal dynamics of these patterns in wetlands. Two study sites were selected: 1. a plain wetland on calcareous sandy parent material (Ceglédbercel, Danube-Tisza Interfluve, Hungary); 2. headwater wetland with calcareous loamy parent material (Bátaapáti, Hungary). Two vegetation patches were studied in site 1: sedgy (dominated by Carex riparia) and reedy (dominated by Phragmites australis). Three patches were studied in site2: sedgy1 (dominated by C vulpina), sedgy 2 (C. riparia); nettle-horsetail (Urtica dioica and Equisetum arvense). Boundaries between patches were studied separately. Soil redox, pH and temperature studied by automated remote controlled instruments. Three digital sensors (Ponsell) were installed in each locations: 20cm and 40cm sensors represent the solum and 100 cm sensor monitors the subsoil). Groundwater wells were installed near to triplets for soil water sampling. Soil Eh, pH and temperature values were recorded in each 10 minutes. Soil water sampling for iron and DOC were carried out during saturated periods. Spatial pattern of soil Eh is clearly caused by vegetation. We measured significant differences between Eh values of the studied patches in the solum. We did not find this kinds horizontal differences in the subsoil. Boundaries of the patches usually had more reductive soil environment than the core areas. We have found temporal dynamics of the spatial redox pattern. Differences were not so well expressed during wintertime. These spatial patterns had influence on the DOC and iron content of porewater, as well. Highest temporal dynamics of soil redox properties and porewater iron could be found in the boundaries. These observations refer to importance patchiness of vegetation on soil chemical properties in

  12. Characterizing scale- and location-dependent correlation of water retention parameters with soil physical properties using wavelet techniques.

    PubMed

    Shu, Qiaosheng; Liu, Zuoxin; Si, Bingcheng

    2008-01-01

    Understanding the correlation between soil hydraulic parameters and soil physical properties is a prerequisite for the prediction of soil hydraulic properties from soil physical properties. The objective of this study was to examine the scale- and location-dependent correlation between two water retention parameters (alpha and n) in the van Genuchten (1980) function and soil physical properties (sand content, bulk density [Bd], and organic carbon content) using wavelet techniques. Soil samples were collected from a transect from Fuxin, China. Soil water retention curves were measured, and the van Genuchten parameters were obtained through curve fitting. Wavelet coherency analysis was used to elucidate the location- and scale-dependent relationships between these parameters and soil physical properties. Results showed that the wavelet coherence between alpha and sand content was significantly different from red noise at small scales (8-20 m) and from a distance of 30 to 470 m. Their wavelet phase spectrum was predominantly out of phase, indicating negative correlation between these two variables. The strong negative correlation between alpha and Bd existed mainly at medium scales (30-80 m). However, parameter n had a strong positive correlation only with Bd at scales between 20 and 80 m. Neither of the two retention parameters had significant wavelet coherency with organic carbon content. These results suggested that location-dependent scale analyses are necessary to improve the performance for soil water retention characteristic predictions.

  13. Impact of anthropomorphic soil genesis on hydraulic properties: the case of cranberry production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Periard, Yann; José Gumiere, Silvio; Rousseau, Alain N.; Caron, Jean; Hallema, Dennis W.

    2014-05-01

    The construction of a cranberry field requires the installation of a drainage system which causes anthropic layering of the natural sequence of soil strata. Over the years, the soil hydraulic properties may change under the influence of irrigation and water table control. In fact, natural consolidation (drainage and recharge cycles), filtration and clogging soil pores by colloidal particle accelerated by water management will alter the hydrodynamic behavior of the soil (Gaillard et al., 2007; Wildenschild and Sheppard, 2013; Bodner et al., 2013). Today, advances in the field of tomography imagery allows the study a number of physicals processes of soils (Wildenschilds and Sheppard, 2013) especially for the transport of colloidal particles (Gaillard et al., 2007) and consolidation (Reed et al, 2006; Pires et al, 2007). Therefore, the main objective of this work is to analyze the temporal evolution of hydrodynamic properties of a sandy soil during repeated drainage and recharge cycles using a medical CT-scan. A soil columns laboratory experiment was setup in fall 2013, pressure head, input and output flow, tracer monitoring (KBr and ZrO2) and tomographic analyses have been used to quantify the temporal variation of the soil hydrodynamic properties of these soil columns. The results showed that the water management (irrigation and drainage) has strong effect on soil genesis and causes significant alteration of soil hydraulic properties, which may reduce soil drainage capacity. Knowledge about the mechanisms responsible of anthropic cranberry soil genesis will allow us to predict soil evolution according to several conditions (soil type, drainage system design, water management) to better anticipate and control their future negative effects on cranberry production. References: Bodner, G., P. Scholl and H.P. Kaul. 2013. Field quantification of wetting-drying cycles to predict temporal changes of soil pore size distribution. Soil and Tillage Research 133: 1-9. doi

  14. Invasive scotch broom alters soil chemical properties in Douglas-fir forests of the Pacific Northwest, USA

    Treesearch

    Robert A. Slesak; Timothy B. Harrington; Anthony W. D′Amato

    2016-01-01

    Backgrounds and aims Scotch broom is an N-fixing invasive species that has high potential to alter soil properties. We compared soil from areas of Scotch broom invasion with nearby areas that had no evidence of invasion to assess the influence of broom on soil P fractions and other chemical properties. Methods The study was...

  15. Short-Term Changes in Physical and Chemical Properties of Soil Charcoal Support Enhanced Landscape Mobility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pyle, Lacey A.; Magee, Kate L.; Gallagher, Morgan E.; Hockaday, William C.; Masiello, Caroline A.

    2017-11-01

    Charcoal is a major component of the stable soil organic carbon reservoir, and the physical and chemical properties of charcoal can sometimes significantly alter bulk soil properties (e.g., by increasing soil water holding capacity). However, our understanding of the residence time of soil charcoal remains uncertain, with old measured soil charcoal ages in apparent conflict with relatively short modeled and measured residence times. These discrepancies may exist because the fate of charcoal on the landscape is a function not just of its resistance to biological decomposition but also its physical mobility. Mobility may be important in controlling charcoal landscape residence time and may artificially inflate estimates of its degradability, but few studies have examined charcoal vulnerability to physical redistribution. Charcoal landscape redistribution is likely higher than other organic carbon fractions owing to charcoal's low bulk density, typically less than 1.0 g/cm3. Here we examine both the physical and chemical properties of soil and charcoal over a period of two years following a 2011 wildfire in Texas. We find little change in properties with time; however, we find evidence of enhanced mobility of charcoal relative to other forms of soil organic matter. These data add to a growing body of evidence that charcoal is preferentially eroded, offering another explanation for variations observed in its environmental residence times.

  16. Seasonal and annual changes in soil respiration in relation to soil temperature, water potential and trenching.

    PubMed

    Lavigne, M B; Foster, R J; Goodine, G

    2004-04-01

    Soil respiration (rs), soil temperature (Ts) and volumetric soil water content were measured in a balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) ecosystem from 1998 to 2001. Seasonal variation in root and microbial respiration, and covariation in abiotic factors confounded interpretation of the effects of Ts and soil water potential (Psis) on rs. To minimize the confounding effect of temperature, we analyzed the effect of Psis on rs during the summers of 1998-2000 when changes in Ts were slight. Soil respiration declined 25-50% in response to modest water stress (minimum Psis of -0.6 to -0.2 MPa), and between years, there was substantial variation in the relationship between rs and Psis. In the summer of 2000, 2-m2 plots were subjected to drought for 1 month and other plots were irrigated. The relationship between summertime rs and Psis in the experimental plots was similar to that estimated from the survey data obtained during the same summer. In late spring and early autumn of 2001, 2-m2 trenched and untrenched plots were subjected to drought or exposed to rainfall. It was dry in the early autumn and there was severe soil drying (Psis of -10 MPa in untrenched plots and -2 MPa in trenched plots). In spring, rs in untrenched plots responded more to modest water stress than rs in trenched plots, indicating that root respiration is more sensitive than microbial respiration to water stress at this time of year. The response to abiotic factors differed significantly between spring and autumn in untrenched plots but not in trenched plots, indicating that root activity was greater in early autumn than in late spring, and that roots acclimated to the sustained, severe water stress experienced before and during the autumn.

  17. Polyamines and abiotic stress in plants: a complex relationship1

    PubMed Central

    Minocha, Rakesh; Majumdar, Rajtilak; Minocha, Subhash C.

    2014-01-01

    The physiological relationship between abiotic stress in plants and polyamines was reported more than 40 years ago. Ever since there has been a debate as to whether increased polyamines protect plants against abiotic stress (e.g., due to their ability to deal with oxidative radicals) or cause damage to them (perhaps due to hydrogen peroxide produced by their catabolism). The observation that cellular polyamines are typically elevated in plants under both short-term as well as long-term abiotic stress conditions is consistent with the possibility of their dual effects, i.e., being protectors from as well as perpetrators of stress damage to the cells. The observed increase in tolerance of plants to abiotic stress when their cellular contents are elevated by either exogenous treatment with polyamines or through genetic engineering with genes encoding polyamine biosynthetic enzymes is indicative of a protective role for them. However, through their catabolic production of hydrogen peroxide and acrolein, both strong oxidizers, they can potentially be the cause of cellular harm during stress. In fact, somewhat enigmatic but strong positive relationship between abiotic stress and foliar polyamines has been proposed as a potential biochemical marker of persistent environmental stress in forest trees in which phenotypic symptoms of stress are not yet visible. Such markers may help forewarn forest managers to undertake amelioration strategies before the appearance of visual symptoms of stress and damage at which stage it is often too late for implementing strategies for stress remediation and reversal of damage. This review provides a comprehensive and critical evaluation of the published literature on interactions between abiotic stress and polyamines in plants, and examines the experimental strategies used to understand the functional significance of this relationship with the aim of improving plant productivity, especially under conditions of abiotic stress. PMID:24847338

  18. Weaker soil carbon-climate feedbacks resulting from microbial and abiotic interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Jinyun; Riley, William J.

    2015-01-01

    The large uncertainty in soil carbon-climate feedback predictions has been attributed to the incorrect parameterization of decomposition temperature sensitivity (Q10; ref. ) and microbial carbon use efficiency. Empirical experiments have found that these parameters vary spatiotemporally, but such variability is not included in current ecosystem models. Here we use a thermodynamically based decomposition model to test the hypothesis that this observed variability arises from interactions between temperature, microbial biogeochemistry, and mineral surface sorptive reactions. We show that because mineral surfaces interact with substrates, enzymes and microbes, both Q10 and microbial carbon use efficiency are hysteretic (so that neither can be represented by a single static function) and the conventional labile and recalcitrant substrate characterization with static temperature sensitivity is flawed. In a 4-K temperature perturbation experiment, our fully dynamic model predicted more variable but weaker soil carbon-climate feedbacks than did the static Q10 and static carbon use efficiency model when forced with yearly, daily and hourly variable temperatures. These results imply that current Earth system models probably overestimate the response of soil carbon stocks to global warming. Future ecosystem models should therefore consider the dynamic interactions between sorptive mineral surfaces, substrates and microbial processes.

  19. Improving the spatial representation of soil properties and hydrology using topographically derived watershed model initialization processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Easton, Z. M.; Fuka, D.; Collick, A.; Kleinman, P. J. A.; Auerbach, D.; Sommerlot, A.; Wagena, M. B.

    2015-12-01

    Topography exerts critical controls on many hydrologic, geomorphologic, and environmental biophysical processes. Unfortunately many watershed modeling systems use topography only to define basin boundaries and stream channels and do not explicitly account for the topographic controls on processes such as soil genesis, soil moisture distributions and hydrological response. We develop and demonstrate a method that uses topography to spatially adjust soil morphological and soil hydrological attributes [soil texture, depth to the C-horizon, saturated conductivity, bulk density, porosity, and the field capacities at 33kpa (~ field capacity) and 1500kpa (~ wilting point) tensions]. In order to test the performance of the method the topographical adjusted soils and standard SSURGO soil (available at 1:20,000 scale) were overlaid on soil pedon pit data in the Grasslands Soil and Water Research Lab in Resiel, TX. The topographically adjusted soils exhibited significant correlations with measurements from the soil pits, while the SSURGO soil data showed almost no correlation to measured data. We also applied the method to the Grasslands Soil and Water Research watershed using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to 15 separate fields as a proxy to propagate changes in soil properties into field scale hydrological responses. Results of this test showed that the topographically adjusted soils resulted better model predictions of field runoff in 50% of the field, with the SSURGO soils preforming better in the remainder of the fields. However, the topographically adjusted soils generally predicted baseflow response more accurately, reflecting the influence of these soil properties on non-storm responses. These results indicate that adjusting soil properties based on topography can result in more accurate soil characterization and, in some cases improve model performance.

  20. Probability Models Based on Soil Properties for Predicting Presence-Absence of Pythium in Soybean Roots.

    PubMed

    Zitnick-Anderson, Kimberly K; Norland, Jack E; Del Río Mendoza, Luis E; Fortuna, Ann-Marie; Nelson, Berlin D

    2017-10-01

    Associations between soil properties and Pythium groups on soybean roots were investigated in 83 commercial soybean fields in North Dakota. A data set containing 2877 isolates of Pythium which included 26 known spp. and 1 unknown spp. and 13 soil properties from each field were analyzed. A Pearson correlation analysis was performed with all soil properties to observe any significant correlation between properties. Hierarchical clustering, indicator spp., and multi-response permutation procedures were used to identify groups of Pythium. Logistic regression analysis using stepwise selection was employed to calculate probability models for presence of groups based on soil properties. Three major Pythium groups were identified and three soil properties were associated with these groups. Group 1, characterized by P. ultimum, was associated with zinc levels; as zinc increased, the probability of group 1 being present increased (α = 0.05). Pythium group 2, characterized by Pythium kashmirense and an unknown Pythium sp., was associated with cation exchange capacity (CEC) (α < 0.05); as CEC increased, these spp. increased. Group 3, characterized by Pythium heterothallicum and Pythium irregulare, were associated with CEC and calcium carbonate exchange (CCE); as CCE increased and CEC decreased, these spp. increased (α = 0.05). The regression models may have value in predicting pathogenic Pythium spp. in soybean fields in North Dakota and adjacent states.

  1. Serpentine endophytic bacterium Pseudomonas azotoformans ASS1 accelerates phytoremediation of soil metals under drought stress.

    PubMed

    Ma, Ying; Rajkumar, Mani; Moreno, António; Zhang, Chang; Freitas, Helena

    2017-10-01

    This study evaluates the potential of serpentine endophytic bacterium to foster phytoremediation efficiency of Trifolium arvense grown on multi-metal (Cu, Zn and Ni) contaminated soils under drought stress. A drought resistant endophytic bacterial strain ASS1 isolated from the leaves of Alyssum serpyllifolium grown in serpentine soils was identified as Pseudomonas azotoformans based on biochemical tests and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. P. azotoformans ASS1 possessed abiotic stress resistance (heavy metals, drought, salinity, antibiotics and extreme temperature) and plant growth promoting (PGP) properties (phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, production of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase, siderophore and ammonia). Inoculation of T. arvense with ASS1 considerably increased the plant biomass and leaf relative water content in both roll towel assay and pot experiments in the absence and presence of drought stress (DS). In the pot experiments, ASS1 greatly enhanced chlorophyll content, catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase activities, and proline content (only in the absence of drought) in plant leaves, whereas they decreased the concentrations of malondialdehyde. Irrespective of water stress, ASS1 significantly improved accumulation, total removal, bio-concentration factor and biological accumulation coefficient of metals (Cu, Zn and Ni), while decreased translocation factors of Cu. The effective colonization and survival in the rhizosphere and tissue interior assured improved plant growth and successful metal phytoremediation under DS. These results demonstrate the potential of serpentine endophytic bacterium ASS1 for protecting plants against abiotic stresses and helping plants to thrive in semiarid ecosystems and accelerate phytoremediation process in metal polluted soils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. The Effects of Wideband Complex Electromagnetic Properties of Soils on Geophysical Sensor Performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    North, Ryan Elliot

    Common near-surface geophysical methods such as time domain electromagnetic induction (TDEM) metal detectors and ground penetrating radar (GPR) suffer performance degradation as a function of site specific complex electromagnetic soil properties (permittivity, permeability and conductivity). Knowledge of these soil properties from the kHz to the GHz frequency range can be used to predict and improve sensor performance. A prototype permittivity probe was used to measure the complex permittivity and conductivity of the soil and calculate the GPR velocity and attenuation of the from the in-situ measurements. The prototype probe was capable of accurately predicting the GPR velocities when compared with the GPR measurement and could easily predict the attenuation which is difficult to determine from actual GPR data. Unfortunately the prototype probe here has one primarily deficiency which is the assumption that the soils where it is used are non-magnetic. To illustrate the problems with using this probe in magnetic soils I made soil analogues from commercially available magnetite and crushed silica powder then measured them using a common open ended coaxial probe followed by measurements with coaxial air- line fixture which can also calculate magnetic properties. The calculated permittivities are up to twice as high when measured with the coaxial probe as they are when measured with a coaxial airline fixture which will lead to incorrect estimates of GPR velocity and attenuation. To address the performance issues of metal detectors in magnetically viscous soils I created a magnetically viscous soil analogue that could be used in mine detection training lanes instead of importing soil from sites exhibiting magnetic viscosity. Five commercially available iron oxide nano-powders were tested as additives to create the soil analogues by measuring the magnetic viscosity of these iron oxides with a new prototype instrument and compared them to samples of magnetically viscous

  3. Using Remote Sensing Data to Evaluate Surface Soil Properties in Alabama Ultisols

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sullivan, Dana G.; Shaw, Joey N.; Rickman, Doug; Mask, Paul L.; Luvall, Jeff

    2005-01-01

    Evaluation of surface soil properties via remote sensing could facilitate soil survey mapping, erosion prediction and allocation of agrochemicals for precision management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between soil spectral signature and surface soil properties in conventionally managed row crop systems. High-resolution RS data were acquired over bare fields in the Coastal Plain, Appalachian Plateau, and Ridge and Valley provinces of Alabama using the Airborne Terrestrial Applications Sensor multispectral scanner. Soils ranged from sandy Kandiudults to fine textured Rhodudults. Surface soil samples (0-1 cm) were collected from 163 sampling points for soil organic carbon, particle size distribution, and citrate dithionite extractable iron content. Surface roughness, soil water content, and crusting were also measured during sampling. Two methods of analysis were evaluated: 1) multiple linear regression using common spectral band ratios, and 2) partial least squares regression. Our data show that thermal infrared spectra are highly, linearly related to soil organic carbon, sand and clay content. Soil organic carbon content was the most difficult to quantify in these highly weathered systems, where soil organic carbon was generally less than 1.2%. Estimates of sand and clay content were best using partial least squares regression at the Valley site, explaining 42-59% of the variability. In the Coastal Plain, sandy surfaces prone to crusting limited estimates of sand and clay content via partial least squares and regression with common band ratios. Estimates of iron oxide content were a function of mineralogy and best accomplished using specific band ratios, with regression explaining 36-65% of the variability at the Valley and Coastal Plain sites, respectively.

  4. Abiotic regulation: a common way for proteins to modulate their functions.

    PubMed

    Zou, Zhi; Fu, Xinmiao

    2015-01-01

    Modulation of protein intrinsic activity in cells is generally carried out via a combination of four common ways, i.e., allosteric regulation, covalent modification, proteolytic cleavage and association of other regulatory proteins. Accumulated evidence indicate that changes of certain abiotic factors (e.g., temperature, pH, light and mechanical force) within or outside the cells directly influence protein structure and thus profoundly modulate the functions of a wide range of proteins, termed as abiotic regulatory proteins (e.g., heat shock factor, small heat shock protein, hemoglobin, zymogen, integrin, rhodopsin). Such abiotic regulation apparently differs from the four classic ways in perceiving and response to the signals. Importantly, it enables cells to directly and also immediately response to extracellular stimuli, thus facilitating the ability of organisms to resist against and adapt to the abiotic stress and thereby playing crucial roles in life evolution. Altogether, abiotic regulation may be considered as a common way for proteins to modulate their functions.

  5. Use of LANDSAT images of vegetation cover to estimate effective hydraulic properties of soils

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eagleson, Peter S.; Jasinski, Michael F.

    1988-01-01

    The estimation of the spatially variable surface moisture and heat fluxes of natural, semivegetated landscapes is difficult due to the highly random nature of the vegetation (e.g., plant species, density, and stress) and the soil (e.g., moisture content, and soil hydraulic conductivity). The solution to that problem lies, in part, in the use of satellite remotely sensed data, and in the preparation of those data in terms of the physical properties of the plant and soil. The work was focused on the development and testing of a stochastic geometric canopy-soil reflectance model, which can be applied to the physically-based interpretation of LANDSAT images. The model conceptualizes the landscape as a stochastic surface with bulk plant and soil reflective properties. The model is particularly suited for regional scale investigations where the quantification of the bulk landscape properties, such as fractional vegetation cover, is important on a pixel by pixel basis. A summary of the theoretical analysis and the preliminary testing of the model with actual aerial radiometric data is provided.

  6. Differential effects of abiotic factors and host plant traits on diversity and community composition of root-colonizing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a salt-stressed ecosystem.

    PubMed

    Guo, Xiaohong; Gong, Jun

    2014-02-01

    Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were investigated in roots of 18 host plant species in a salinized south coastal plain of Laizhou Bay, China. From 18 clone libraries of 18S rRNA genes, all of the 22 AMF phylotypes were identified into Glomus, of which 18 and 4 were classified in group A and B in the phylogenetic tree, respectively. The phylotypes related to morphologically defined Glomus species occurred generally in soil with higher salinity. AMF phylotype richness, Shannon index, and evenness were not significantly different between root samples from halophytes vs. non-halophytes, invades vs. natives, or annuals vs. perennials. However, AMF diversity estimates frequently differed along the saline gradient or among locations, but not among pH gradients. Moreover, UniFrac tests showed that both plant traits (salt tolerance, life style or origin) and abiotic factors (salinity, pH, or location) significantly affected the community composition of AMF colonizers. Redundancy and variation partitioning analyses revealed that soil salinity and pH, which respectively explained 6.9 and 4.2 % of the variation, were the most influential abiotic variables in shaping the AMF community structure. The presented data indicate that salt tolerance, life style, and origin traits of host species may not significantly affect the AMF diversity in roots, but do influence the community composition in this salinized ecosystem. The findings also highlight the importance of soil salinity and pH in driving the distribution of AMF in plant and soil systems.

  7. Property-tax incentives for implementing soil-conservation programs under constitutional taxing limitations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Massey, D.T.; Silver, M.B.

    1982-01-01

    This article describes how property-tax incentives can be used to implement soil-conservation programs on agricultural and open-space lands under the differential-assessment statutes and other exceptions to constitutional limitations on taxation powers. The article describes restrictions imposed on taxing powers by the constitutional uniformity clauses and methods for circumventing those limitations; various property-tax incentives available for conservation programs; types of differential or use-value assessments providing property-tax relief for farm, forest, and open-space land preservation; eligibility of lands for differential assessments; methods available to landowners for participation in differential assessments; and determination of value under differential assessment. The article next details howmore » each of the three primary types of differential or use-value assessment statutes for farm, forest, and open-space land preservation provides exceptions to the uniformity clauses for property tax incentives to implement soil-conservation programs. Other methods available for providing exceptions to the uniformity clauses to permit property-tax incentives are also described for each of the three states. Each of these states has statutes giving favorable tax treatment to certain types of property, such as pollution-abatement equipment, alternative energy-producing devices, and even country clubs. These statutes can be used as examples of finding a constitutional method for providing favorabe tax treatment to promote participation in soil-conservation programs.« less

  8. Recent Molecular Advances on Downstream Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress

    PubMed Central

    dos Reis, Sávio Pinho; Lima, Aline Medeiros; de Souza, Cláudia Regina Batista

    2012-01-01

    Abiotic stresses such as extremes of temperature and pH, high salinity and drought, comprise some of the major factors causing extensive losses to crop production worldwide. Understanding how plants respond and adapt at cellular and molecular levels to continuous environmental changes is a pre-requisite for the generation of resistant or tolerant plants to abiotic stresses. In this review we aimed to present the recent advances on mechanisms of downstream plant responses to abiotic stresses and the use of stress-related genes in the development of genetically engineered crops. PMID:22942725

  9. Quantifying the effects of wildfire on changes in soil properties by surface burning of soils from the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wieting, Celeste; Ebel, Brian A.; Singha, Kamini

    2017-01-01

    Study regionThis study used intact soil cores collected at the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory near Boulder, Colorado, USA to explore fire impacts on soil properties.Study focusThree soil scenarios were considered: unburned control soils, and low- and high-temperature burned soils. We explored simulated fire impacts on field-saturated hydraulic conductivity, dry bulk density, total organic carbon, and infiltration processes during rainfall simulations.New hydrological insights for the regionSoils burned to high temperatures became more homogeneous with depth with respect to total organic carbon and bulk density, suggesting reductions in near-surface porosity. Organic matter decreased significantly with increasing soil temperature. Tension infiltration experiments suggested a decrease in infiltration rates from unburned to low-temperature burned soils, and an increase in infiltration rates in high-temperature burned soils. Non-parametric statistical tests showed that field-saturated hydraulic conductivity similarly decreased from unburned to low-temperature burned soils, and then increased with high-temperature burned soils. We interpret these changes result from the combustion of surface and near-surface organic materials, enabling water to infiltrate directly into soil instead of being stored in the litter and duff layer at the surface. Together, these results indicate that fire-induced changes in soil properties from low temperatures were not as drastic as high temperatures, but that reductions in surface soil water repellency in high temperatures may increase infiltration relative to low temperatures.

  10. Soil Properties and the Conditions for Recurring Earthflow Failure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davila Olivera, S.; Nereson, A. L.; Finnegan, N. J.

    2017-12-01

    In the California Coast Ranges, earthflows are major contributors to sediment transport on hillslopes and have dramatic impacts on rivers and infrastructure. Earthflows are notable for slow-movement (1-10 m/yr) that can be persistent or recurring over long periods of time (102 -103 yrs). While the physical underpinnings for this type of movement remain difficult to determine in natural settings, the slow, steady motion of an earthflow implies that at least two mechanisms must be at work: 1) a mechanism that localizes failure at the same place on the hillslope year-after-year, and 2) a mechanism that arrests the motion of the landslide and prevents runaway acceleration. In this study, we focused on the first mechanism and test the "bathtub model" (Baum and Reid,2000). According to this model, a concentration of fine-grained material in the shear zone of a slide locally reduces soil shear strength and lowers hydraulic conductivity. These effects result in the hydrologic and mechanical isolation of the slide mass, causing the landslide to fill with water (like a bathtub) during precipitation events. We wanted to investigate the role of `bathtub-like" conditions at a long-lived (>80 yrs) earthflow located 20 km northeast of San Jose, CA known as the Oak Ridge Earthflow. Towards that end, we collected and analyzed soil samples. Our work included 1) measurements of the soil particle size distribution in the shear zone, landslide body, and stable ground (given that soil grain size exerts a first-order control on hydraulic conductivity), 2) measurements of water content at the end of the dry season to observe patterns of water retention within the slide and 3) determination of Atterberg limits and soil textures that can be empirically correlated with other useful soil properties, such as strength and hydraulic conductivity, two qualities that define this hypothesis. In the shear zone, we found the soil to be weak, fine-grained (D10 = 0.04 mm), and of low

  11. Fractionation of Fe isotopes by soil microbes and organic acids

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brantley, Susan L.; Liermann, Laura; Bullen, Thomas D.

    2001-01-01

    Small natural variations in Fe isotopes have been attributed to biological cycling. However, without understanding the mechanism of fractionation, it is impossible to interpret such variations. Here we show that the δ56Fe of Fe dissolved from a silicate soil mineral by siderophore-producing bacteria is as much as 0.8% lighter than bulk Fe in the mineral. A smaller isotopic shift is observed for Fe released abiotically by two chelates, and the magnitude of the shift increases with affinity of the ligand for Fe, consistent with a kinetic isotope effect during hydrolysis of Fe at the mineral surface. Fe dissolved abiotically without chelates shows no isotopic shift. The δ56Fe of the exchange fraction on soil grains is also lighter by ~0.6%-1% than Fe from both hornblende and iron oxyhydroxides. The kinetic isotope effect is therefore preserved in open systems such as soils. when recorded in the rock record, Fe isotopic fractionation could document Fe transport by organic molecules or by microbes where such entities were present in the geologic past.

  12. De novo transcriptome sequence assembly and identification of AP2/ERF transcription factor related to abiotic stress in parsley (Petroselinum crispum).

    PubMed

    Li, Meng-Yao; Tan, Hua-Wei; Wang, Feng; Jiang, Qian; Xu, Zhi-Sheng; Tian, Chang; Xiong, Ai-Sheng

    2014-01-01

    Parsley is an important biennial Apiaceae species that is widely cultivated as herb, spice, and vegetable. Previous studies on parsley principally focused on its physiological and biochemical properties, including phenolic compound and volatile oil contents. However, little is known about the molecular and genetic properties of parsley. In this study, 23,686,707 high-quality reads were obtained and assembled into 81,852 transcripts and 50,161 unigenes for the first time. Functional annotation showed that 30,516 unigenes had sequence similarity to known genes. In addition, 3,244 putative simple sequence repeats were detected in curly parsley. Finally, 1,569 of the identified unigenes belonged to 58 transcription factor families. Various abiotic stresses have a strong detrimental effect on the yield and quality of parsley. AP2/ERF transcription factors have important functions in plant development, hormonal regulation, and abiotic response. A total of 88 putative AP2/ERF factors were identified from the transcriptome sequence of parsley. Seven AP2/ERF transcription factors were selected in this study to analyze the expression profiles of parsley under different abiotic stresses. Our data provide a potentially valuable resource that can be used for intensive parsley research.

  13. De Novo Transcriptome Sequence Assembly and Identification of AP2/ERF Transcription Factor Related to Abiotic Stress in Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Feng; Jiang, Qian; Xu, Zhi-Sheng; Tian, Chang; Xiong, Ai-Sheng

    2014-01-01

    Parsley is an important biennial Apiaceae species that is widely cultivated as herb, spice, and vegetable. Previous studies on parsley principally focused on its physiological and biochemical properties, including phenolic compound and volatile oil contents. However, little is known about the molecular and genetic properties of parsley. In this study, 23,686,707 high-quality reads were obtained and assembled into 81,852 transcripts and 50,161 unigenes for the first time. Functional annotation showed that 30,516 unigenes had sequence similarity to known genes. In addition, 3,244 putative simple sequence repeats were detected in curly parsley. Finally, 1,569 of the identified unigenes belonged to 58 transcription factor families. Various abiotic stresses have a strong detrimental effect on the yield and quality of parsley. AP2/ERF transcription factors have important functions in plant development, hormonal regulation, and abiotic response. A total of 88 putative AP2/ERF factors were identified from the transcriptome sequence of parsley. Seven AP2/ERF transcription factors were selected in this study to analyze the expression profiles of parsley under different abiotic stresses. Our data provide a potentially valuable resource that can be used for intensive parsley research. PMID:25268141

  14. Constitutive Soil Properties for Unwashed Sand and Kennedy Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thomas, Michael A.; Chitty, Daniel E.; Gildea, Martin L.; T'Kindt, Casey M.

    2008-01-01

    Accurate soil models are required for numerical simulations of land landings for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. This report provides constitutive material models for one soil, unwashed sand, from NASA Langley's gantry drop test facility and three soils from Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The four soil models are based on mechanical and compressive behavior observed during geotechnical laboratory testing of remolded soil samples. The test specimens were reconstituted to measured in situ density and moisture content. Tests included: triaxial compression, hydrostatic compression, and uniaxial strain. A fit to the triaxial test results defines the strength envelope. Hydrostatic and uniaxial tests define the compressibility. The constitutive properties are presented in the format of LS-DYNA Material Model 5: Soil and Foam. However, the laboratory test data provided can be used to construct other material models. The four soil models are intended to be specific to the soil conditions discussed in the report. The unwashed sand model represents clayey sand at high density. The KSC models represent three distinct coastal sand conditions: low density dry sand, high density in-situ moisture sand, and high density flooded sand. It is possible to approximate other sands with these models, but the results would be unverified without geotechnical tests to confirm similar soil behavior.

  15. [Dynamics of soil physical properties and biological soil crust during the vegetation restoration process of abandoned croplands in the Ordos Plateau, China].

    PubMed

    Cai, Wen Tao; Li, He Yi; Lai, Li Ming; Zhang, Xiao Long; Guan, Tian Yu; Zhou, Ji Hua; Jiang, Lian He; Zheng, Yuan Run

    2017-03-18

    A series of typical abandoned croplands in the regions of Ruanliang and Yingliang in the Ordos Plateau, China, were selected, and dynamics of the surface litter, biological soil crust and soil bulk density, soil texture, and soil moisture in different soil layers were investigated. The results showed that in the abandoned cropland in Ruanliang, the clay particle content and surface litter of the surface soil layer (0-10 cm) increased during the restoration process, while that of soil bulk density substantially decreased and soil water content slightly increased in the surface soil. In the medium soil layer (10-30 cm), the clay particle content increased and the soil water content slightly decreased. In the deep soil layer (30-50 cm), there was a relatively large variation in the physical properties. In the abandoned cropland in Yingliang, the coverage of litter and the coverage and thickness of the biological soil crust increased during the abandonment process. The surface soil bulk density, soil clay particle content and soil water content remained constant in 0-10 cm soil layer, while the physical properties varied substantially in 10-40 cm soil layer. The shallow distribution of the soil water content caused by the accumulation of the litter and clay particles on the soil surface might be the key reason of the replacement of the semi-shrub Artemisia ordosica community with a perennial grass community over the last 20 years of the abandoned cropland in Ruanliang. The relatively high soil water content in the shallow layer and the development of the biological soil crust might explain why the abandoned cropland in Yingliang was not invaded by the semi-shrub A. ordosica during the restoration process.

  16. Proximal Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy to Predict Soil Properties Using Windows and Full-Spectrum Analysis Methods

    PubMed Central

    Mahmood, Hafiz Sultan; Hoogmoed, Willem B.; van Henten, Eldert J.

    2013-01-01

    Fine-scale spatial information on soil properties is needed to successfully implement precision agriculture. Proximal gamma-ray spectroscopy has recently emerged as a promising tool to collect fine-scale soil information. The objective of this study was to evaluate a proximal gamma-ray spectrometer to predict several soil properties using energy-windows and full-spectrum analysis methods in two differently managed sandy loam fields: conventional and organic. In the conventional field, both methods predicted clay, pH and total nitrogen with a good accuracy (R2 ≥ 0.56) in the top 0–15 cm soil depth, whereas in the organic field, only clay content was predicted with such accuracy. The highest prediction accuracy was found for total nitrogen (R2 = 0.75) in the conventional field in the energy-windows method. Predictions were better in the top 0–15 cm soil depths than in the 15–30 cm soil depths for individual and combined fields. This implies that gamma-ray spectroscopy can generally benefit soil characterisation for annual crops where the condition of the seedbed is important. Small differences in soil structure (conventional vs. organic) cannot be determined. As for the methodology, we conclude that the energy-windows method can establish relations between radionuclide data and soil properties as accurate as the full-spectrum analysis method. PMID:24287541

  17. Comparing the performance of various digital soil mapping approaches to map physical soil properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laborczi, Annamária; Takács, Katalin; Pásztor, László

    2015-04-01

    Spatial information on physical soil properties is intensely expected, in order to support environmental related and land use management decisions. One of the most widely used properties to characterize soils physically is particle size distribution (PSD), which determines soil water management and cultivability. According to their size, different particles can be categorized as clay, silt, or sand. The size intervals are defined by national or international textural classification systems. The relative percentage of sand, silt, and clay in the soil constitutes textural classes, which are also specified miscellaneously in various national and/or specialty systems. The most commonly used is the classification system of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Soil texture information is essential input data in meteorological, hydrological and agricultural prediction modelling. Although Hungary has a great deal of legacy soil maps and other relevant soil information, it often occurs, that maps do not exist on a certain characteristic with the required thematic and/or spatial representation. The recent developments in digital soil mapping (DSM), however, provide wide opportunities for the elaboration of object specific soil maps (OSSM) with predefined parameters (resolution, accuracy, reliability etc.). Due to the simultaneous richness of available Hungarian legacy soil data, spatial inference methods and auxiliary environmental information, there is a high versatility of possible approaches for the compilation of a given soil map. This suggests the opportunity of optimization. For the creation of an OSSM one might intend to identify the optimum set of soil data, method and auxiliary co-variables optimized for the resources (data costs, computation requirements etc.). We started comprehensive analysis of the effects of the various DSM components on the accuracy of the output maps on pilot areas. The aim of this study is to compare and evaluate different

  18. The shifting influence of abiotic drivers during landslide succession in Puerto Rico

    Treesearch

    L. R. Walker; A. B. Shiels; P. J. Bellingham; A. D. Sparrow; N. Fetcher; F. H. Landau; D. J. Lodge

    2013-01-01

    Summary 1. Abiotic variables are critical drivers of succession in most primary seres, but how their influence on biota changes over time is rarely examined. Landslides provide good model systems for examining abiotic influences because they are spatially and temporally heterogeneous habitats with distinct abiotic and biotic gradients and post-landslide erosion. 2. In...

  19. Burn Severity and Its Impact on Soil Properties: 2016 Erskine Fire in the Southern Sierra Nevada

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haake, S.; Guo, J.; Krugh, W. C.

    2017-12-01

    Wildfire frequency in the southern Sierra Nevada has increased over the past decades. The effects of wildfires on soils can increase the frequency of slope failure and debris flow events, which pose a greater risk to people, as human populations expand into foothill and mountainous communities of the Sierra Nevada. Alterations in the physical properties of burned soils are one such effect that can catalyze slope failure and debris flow events. Moreover, the degree of a soil's physical alteration resulting from wildfire is linked to fire intensity. The 2016 Erskine fire occurred in the southern Sierra Nevada, burning 48,019 acres, resulting in soils of unburned, low, moderate, and high burn severities. In this study, the physical properties of soils with varying degrees of burn severity are explored within the 2016 Erskine fire perimeter. The results constrain the effects of burn severity on soil's physical properties. Unburned, low, moderate, and high burn severity soil samples were collected within the Erskine fire perimeter. Alterations in soils' physical properties resulting from burn severity are explored using X-ray diffractometry analysis, liquid limit, plastic limit, and shear strength tests. Preliminary results from this study will be used to assess debris flow and slope failure hazard models within burned areas of the Kern River watershed in the southern Sierra Nevada.

  20. Degradation mechanisms of DDX induced by the addition of toluene and glycerol as cosubstrates in a zero-valent iron pretreated soil.

    PubMed

    Velasco, Antonio; Aburto-Medina, Arturo; Shahsavari, Esmaeil; Revah, Sergio; Ortiz, Irmene

    2017-01-05

    Abiotic and biotic processes can be used to remediate DDX (DDT, DDD, DDE, and DDNS) contaminated soils; these processes can be fostered using specific carbon-amendments to stimulate particular soil indigenous microbial communities to improve rates or extent of degradation. In this study, toluene and glycerol were evaluated as cosubstrates under aerobic and anoxic conditions to determine the degradation efficiencies of DDX and to elucidate possible degradation mechanisms. Slurry microcosms experiments were performed during 60 days using pretreated soil with zero-valent iron (ZVI). Toluene addition enhanced the percentage of degradation of DDX. DDNS was the main compound degraded (around 86%) under aerobic conditions, suggesting cometabolic degradation of DDX by toluene-degrading soil bacteria. Glycerol addition under anoxic conditions favored the abiotic degradation of DDX mediated by sulfate-reducing bacteria activity, where DDT was the main compound degraded (around 90%). The 16S rDNA metagenomic analyses revealed Rhodococcus ruber and Desulfosporosinus auripigmenti as the predominant bacterial species after 40 days of treatment with toluene and glycerol additions, respectively. This study provides evidence of biotic and abiotic DDX degradation by the addition of toluene and glycerol as cosubstrates in ZVI pretreated DDX-contaminated soil. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.