Successful implementation of site-specific crop management relies on accurate quantification of spatial variation of important factors. Data collection on a finer spatial resolution than is feasible with manual and/or laboratory methods is often required but cost prohibitive. Therefore, there is a need for the development of sensors to more accurately characterize within-field variability. The ...

concerns about nitrate pollution in groundwater and downstream systems cause development of surface water management system to reduce losses of agricultural drainage water nitrate in subsurface drainage using subsurface irrigation from existing drainage lines, drainage water during the growing season and out of season is controlled. the overall objective of this study was to evaluate the effect...

This study compares a traditional agricultural approach to minimise N pollution of groundwater (incorporation of crop residues) with applications of small amounts of biodiesel co-product (BCP) to arable soils. Loss of N from soil to the aqueous phase was shown to be greatly reduced in the laboratory, mainly by decreasing concentrations of dissolved nitrate-N. Increases in soil microbial biomass...

Iodine biofortification of vegetables can become an alternative (to iodized salt) method of introducing this element into human diet. Development of agronomic rules concerning its application requires detailed evaluation of iodine influence on plant physiological and biological processes including mineral nutrition and quality of yield. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of iodine...

The short-term responses of soil microbial processes and community structure to perturbation constitute one aspect of soil quality. Such responses are often associated with an increase in the emissions of greenhouse gases (i.e., CO2, NO, or N2O) and the accumulation and potential loss of nitrate by leaching. Here we describe our recent work on responses of soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics, mic...

A laboratory incubation study was conducted on a temperate grassland soil to quantify the main mineral nitrogen (N) transformation rates and pathways via a15N tracing approach. Soil samples were taken from long-term phosphorus (P) trial investigate effects gross N-transformations under high low amendment. The soils incubated over 2-week period treated with ammonium-nitrate (NH4NO3) which applie...

Tropical forests are renowned for their high diversity, yet in many sites a single tree species accounts for the majority of the individuals in a stand. An explanation for these monodominant forests remains elusive, but may be linked to mycorrhizal symbioses. We tested three hypotheses by which ectomycorrhizas might facilitate the dominance of the tree, Oreomunnea mexicana, in montane tropical ...

Organic farming avoids the use of synthetic fertilizers and promises food production with minimal environmental impact, however this farming practice does not often result in the same productivity as conventional farming. In recent years, biochar has received increasing attention as an agricultural amendment and by coating it with minerals to form biochar-mineral complex (BMC) carbon retention ...

The aim of this work was to couple a nitrogen (N) sub-model to already existent hydrological lumped (LU4N) and semi-distributed (LU4-R-N and SD4-R-N) conceptual models, to improve our understanding of the factors and processes controlling nitrogen cycling and losses in Mediterranean catchments. The N model adopted provides a simplified conceptualization of the soil nitrogen cycle considering mi...