of Research Findings Soil quality parameters were assessed at several long-term dryland cropping systems research sites in eastern Washington to further define management practices that are soil building rather than degrading. The objective was to characterize soil quality changes over time as affected by no-till versus traditional tillage-based management systems. Soil organic carbon slowly in...

The microbial ecology of the nitrogen cycle in agricultural soils is an issue of major interest. We hypothesized a major effect by farm management systems (mineral versus organic fertilizers) and a minor influence of soil texture and plant variety on the composition and abundance of microbial nitrifiers. We explored changes in composition (16S rRNA gene) of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), bact...

Soil quality assessment may be one of the most contentious topics ever debated by the soil science community. Our objective is to examine the history, present status, and potential for using soil quality assessment as a tool to monitor soil physical, chemical, and biological effects of management decisions that may affect soil and water resources. Differences between inherent and dynamic soil q...

Fertilized soils have large potential for production of soil nitrogen oxide (NOx=NO+NO2), however these emissions are difficult to predict in high-temperature environments. Understanding these emissions may improve air quality modelling as NOx contributes to formation of tropospheric ozone (O3), a powerful air pollutant. Here we identify the environmental and management factors that regulate so...

irrigation with saline water needs to the different managements to reduce the harmful effects of salinity on plants, soil and the environment. simulation models are the useful tool to irrigation management in conditions of soil and water salinity because, they can predict crop yield and soil conditions considering to different climate, plant and management practices. in this study, the saltmed ...

Page Introduction 1 Alteration of the environment 2 Keduced sunlight 3 Shading with tall-growing plants 4 Shading with muslin tents 6 Shading with low and densely growing plants 7 Spraying and dusting 9 Soil management 10 Irrigation and fertilization 11 Page Soil management—Continued. Soil dryness and preirrigation 13 Green manuring _ 13 Green manure with lime and fertilizers.. 14 Time of plant...

Data on metal concentrations present in the soils of the Azores (Portugal) are scarce. The goal of this study was to measure the current levels of several metals in the top horizon of soils of two areas, distinguishable by their volcanic activity and physical characteristics, in order to establish some baseline concentrations of these elements. Soil samples were taken in similar ways from five ...

Evaluating agricultural land management practices requires knowledge of soil spatial variability and understanding their relationships. Spatial distributions for fourteen soil physical and chemical properties were examined in a wheat field in Sorkhankalateh district, in Golestan province, Iran. 101 soil samples at the distances of 5m, 10m and 20m as nested grid were collected at the depth of 0-...

A project of the CGIAR systemwide program on Soil, Water and Nutrient Management (SWNM), concerned with improving integrated nutrient management practices on small-scale farms in Africa, has been carried out in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for last two years (September 1999 to September 2001). The project aims to enable small-scale farmers to profitably reverse nutrient depletion of their soils b...