Sorption-desorption experiments of fluorene (FLU) and fluoranthene (FLT) in soils were carried out and correlated to their removal from aged contaminated soils using aqueous solutions in the absence and in the presence of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) as the extraction agent. FLU became more resistant to extraction in aged contaminated soils due to its initial adsorption onto the mineral...

The Optical Microscope (OM) on the Phoenix Mars lander (operated from May through October 2008) was used to search for visible-wavelength luminescence of soil particles excited by ultraviolet (UV) illumination (l1⁄4360–390 nm). No luminescent particles were found, with the possible exception of a few potentially luminescent features comprising about 0.02% of the total soil volume. The luminesce...

Hundred surface soil samples representing eighteen villages of the recently tsunami affected areas of Sirkali taluk of Tamilnadu in India were analyzed for the distribution of basic soil parameters viz., pH, EC, OC and OM and macronutrients viz., N, P, K by using standard methods. The available micronutrients (DTPA extractable) viz., Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn were investigated by using Atomic Absorptio...

An investigation was conducted on the effect of organic matter (OM) and pH on mercury (Hg) release from soils. Hg release flux was measured using the dynamic flux chamber (DFC) combined with the Lumex multifunctional mercury analyzer in both laboratory experiment and field monitoring. The results showed that Hg emission from the OM-added soils was apparently low because of the high affinity of ...

The biogeochemical fate of organic matter (OM) entering soils is an important issue that must be examined to better understand its roles in nitrogen cycling and as a natural modulator of soil-atmospheric carbon fluxes. Despite these critical roles, there are uncertainties in estimating the contribution of this feedback mechanism due in part to a lack of molecular-level information regarding the...

Sorption of two s-triazines, atrazine and ametryn, by carbonatic soils, Histosols, Spodosols and Oxisols was examined. Linear isotherms were observed and sorption coefficients (K(d)) of both compounds were significantly lower (α = 0.05) onto carbonatic soils compared to non-carbonatic soils. Furthermore, among carbonatic soil types, the marl-carbonatic soils had the lowest sorption affinities. ...

The extent of the soil organic carbon pool doubles that present in the atmosphere and is about two to three times greater than that accumulated in living organisms in all Earth's terrestrial ecosystems. In such a scenario, one of the several ecological and environmental impacts of fires is that biomass burning is a significant source of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Neverthel...

To understand the effects of effective microorganisms (EMs) containing multiple strains on microbes and nutrients in kiwifruit planting soil, EMs prepared with four different strains were added to kiwifruit planting soil monthly from April to August. The counts of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, and total microbes were determined. The pH, total nitrogen (TN), alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (A-N),...

An area near the city of Chihuahua has been traditionally irrigated with wastewater to grow forage crops. It has been hypothesized that metal levels could be found in these soils high enough to cause potential health problems to the population. The objective of this study was to determine heavy metal concentrations in different soils due to irrigation practices. Four soil types were evaluated; ...

S-Metolachlor is a promising alternative to metolachlor; however, there are concerns about its environmental fate following soil application. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of several environmental factors on the degradation rate of S-metolachlor in soil. The rate of S-metolachlor degradation in soil under different conditions was determined by extracting and detecti...