Long-term field experiments that test a range of treatments and are intended to assess the sustainability of crop production, and thus food security, must be managed actively to identify any treatment that is failing to maintain or increase yields. Once identified, carefully considered changes can be made to the treatment or management, and if they are successful yields will change. If suitable...

The concentrations of lead, cadmium and copper in roadside soil and plants in Elazig, Turkey were investigated. Soil samples were collected at distances of 0, 25 and 50 m from the roadside. The concentrations of lead, cadmium and copper were measured by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (FAAS). A slotted tube atom trap (STAT) was used to increase the sensitivity of lead and cadmium in F...

The measurement of soil carbon dioxide respiration is a means to gauge biological soil fertility. Test methods for respiration employed in the laboratory vary somewhat, and to date the equipment and labor required have somewhat limited more widespread adoption of such methodologies. The purpose of this research is to compare the results of measured soil CO2 respiration using three methods: (1) ...

The diversity of diazotrophic bacteria in the rhizosphere of Melastoma malabathricum L. was investigated by cloning-sequencing of the nifH gene directly amplified from DNA extracted from soil. Samples were obtained from the rhizosphere and bulk soil of M. malabathricum growing in three different soil types (acid sulfate, peat and sandy clay soils) located very close to each other in south Kalim...

BACKGROUND Deserts are the main sources of emitted dust, and are highly responsive to wind erosion. Low content of soil moisture and lack of vegetation cover lead to fine particle's release. One of the semi-arid bare lands in Iran, located in the South-West of Iran in Khoozestan province, was selected to investigate Sand and Dust storm potential. METHODS This paper focused on the metrological...

High numbers of mycobacteria, including known pathogenic species such as Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium intracellulare, and Mycobacterium chelonae, were recovered from aerosols produced by pouring commercial potting soil products and potting soil samples provided by patients with pulmonary mycobacterial infections. The dominant mycobacteria in the soil samples corresponded to the dominant s...

This research examines the simultaneous retrieval of surface soil moisture and salt concentrations using hyperspectral reflectance data in an arid environment. We conducted laboratory and outdoor field experiments in which we examined three key soil variables: soil moisture, salt and texture (silty loam, clay and silty clay). The soil moisture content models for multiple textures (M_SMC models)...

This study assessed the concentrations of three falcarinol-type polyacetylenes (falcarinol, falcarindiol, falcarindiol-3-acetate) in carrots and the correlations between these and different soil traits. A total of 144 carrot samples, from three different harvests taken a single season, were analysed in terms of their polyacetylene concentrations and root development. On one of the harvesting oc...

This paper presents a very accurate sensor for the measurement of the moisture of undisturbed soil samples. The sensor relies on accurate estimation of the permittivity which is performed independently of the soil type, and a subsequent calibration. The sensor is designed as an upgrade of the conventional soil sampling equipment used in agriculture--the Kopecky cylinder. The detailed descriptio...

Background: Soil structure is mainly composed of sand, silt, clay, and organic materials. Organisms can live in the soil. The large number of stray cats in the cities of Iran is a major environmental and health problem. Toxoplasma oocysts are shed with the feces of cats, so soil is known as a potential source of transmission of toxoplasmosis. The aim of this study was to determine the soil cont...