Should Soil Testing Services Measure Soil Biological Activity?

Soil Fauna Diversity – Function , Soil Degradation , Biological Indices , Soil Restoration

Soil biodiversity, biological indicators and soil ecosystem services - an overview of European approaches

max 200 words) Soil biota are essential for many soil processes and functions, yet there is an increasing pressure on soil biodiversity and soil degradation remains a pertinent issue. Therefore, the sustainable management of soils requires soil monitoring, including biological indicators able to relate land use and management to soil functioning and ecosystem services. Since the 1990’s, biologi...

Measure Soil Erodibility in Situ

The assessment of the erodibility of soil materials is essential for analyzing and modeling rill, gully, streambed, streambank, spillway, and embankment erosion. A submerged jet−testing apparatus has been developed and used for characterizing soil erodibility in several applications as cited in the literature. The apparatus has been developed based on knowledge of the hydraulic characteristics ...

Biological Activity of Autochthonic Bacterial Community in Oil-Contaminated Soil

Soil microbial communities play an important role in the biodegradation of different petroleum derivates, including hydrocarbons. Also other biological factors such as enzyme and respiration activities and microbial abundance are sensitive to contamination with petroleum derivates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of autochthonic microbial community and biological parameters (...

Biological activity of soil contaminated with cobalt, tin, and molybdenum

In this age of intensive industrialization and urbanization, mankind's highest concern should be to analyze the effect of all metals accumulating in the environment, both those considered toxic and trace elements. With this aim in mind, a unique study was conducted to determine the potentially negative impact of Sn(2+), Co(2+), and Mo(5+) in optimal and increased doses on soil biological proper...