Soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stoichiometry is a main driver of ecosystem functioning. Global N enrichment has greatly changed soil C : N ratios, but how altered resource stoichiometry influences the complexity of direct and indirect interactions among plants, soils, and microbial communities has rarely been explored. Here, we investigated the responses of the plant-soil-microbe system to mu...

One of the ordinary methods to protect, rehabilitate, and enhance an ecosystemfunction in arid and semi-arid areas of the world is sand dune stabilization using biologicalpractices. Plantation of species on the soil plays a great role in sustainable management ofthe ecosystem. This research studies the effects of cultivation of Haloxylon ammodendronand Atriplex canescens on physical-chemical ch...

Organically grown products experienced a doubling in percent penetration of organic sales into retail markets during the period from 1997 to 2003; however, there is still a debate over the perceived quality advantage of organically grown fruits and vegetables. In a study focusing on commercial production of processing tomatoes, samples were analyzed from 4 growers with matched organic and conve...

Chemical reactions of organic compounds including pesticides at the interlayer and exterior surfaces of clay minerals and with soil organic matter are reviewed. Representative reactions under moderate conditions possibly occurring in natural soils are described. Attempts have been made to clarify the importance of the chemical nature of molecules, their structures and their functional groups, a...

The spread of vegetable production around Lhasa, Tibet, China, with high nitrogen fertiliser use may cause accelerated acidification which has consequences for soil productivity. In order to understand the different patterns of soil acidity in Lhasa, Tibet, China three patterns of land use were studied namely: grain, openfield vegetable, and greenhouse vegetable. Fertilizer application was high...

Farmed landscapes are engineered for productivity, and research suggests they contribute a disproportionate share of inorganic C to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. Here we use alkalinity and total organic C (TOC) measurements collected from the Raccoon River of Iowa to (i) evaluate inorganic and organic C concentrations and export patterns, (ii) compare current trends to historical co...

Soils vary widely in mineral nutrient availability and physical characteristics, but the influence of this variability on plant responses to elevated CO2 remains poorly understood. As a first approximation of the effect of global soil variability on plant growth response to CO2, we evaluated the effect of CO2 on tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) grown in soils representing 10 of the 12 global s...

Soil Ca depletion because of acidic deposition-related soil chemistry changes has led to the decline of forest productivity and carbon sequestration in the northeastern USA. In 1999, acidic watershed (WS) 1 at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), NH, USA was amended with Ca silicate to restore soil Ca pools. In 2006, soil samples were collected from the Ca-amended (WS1) and reference w...

The aim of the study was to estimate the influence of soil pH on the uptake of copper, zinc, and manganese by Valeriana officinalis. Preliminary studies involved soil analyses to determine acidity, organic matter content, and copper, zinc, and manganese total and bioavailable forms. The study involved atomic absorption spectrometry to determine the concentration of the elements, and mineral soi...