Aim: The study evaluated the heavy metals and contamination status of soil around active abandoned waste dumpsites in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria.
 Methodology: Five samples were collected at topsoil (0-15cm depth) a regular distance 20m, 40m, 60m, 80m 100m from center control plot. analysed for (Cu, Cr, Cd, Fe, Pb Zn), pH total Organic C (TOC) using standard laboratory analyses indi...

Aims: Soil black carbon (BC) has been shown to possess large amounts of cation exchange sites and surface charge, and is viewed as a potential soil amendment to improve nutrient retention and for pollutant remediation. This study investigated the nanoscale distribution of reactive functional groups and the binding of cations on the surface of micron-size BC particles, identified the key process...

Scatterometer Contamination Mitigation

BACKGROUND Biological soil crusts are common components of desert ecosystem; they cover ground surface and interact with topsoil that contribute to desertification control and degraded land restoration in arid and semiarid regions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To distinguish the changes in topsoil affected by biological soil crusts, we compared topsoil properties across three types of succe...

In recent years, North American prairie vegetation has served as a design model for highly attractive, low-cost and low-maintenance plantings in German urban green spaces. Where mixed-planting techniques, gravel mulch toppings and non-selective maintenance techniques such as mowing are used, prairie plantings are considered to be cost-effective alternative design concepts for public green space...

Freshwater resources are scarce in desert regions. Highly saline groundwater of different salinity is being used to drip irrigate the Taklimakan Desert Highway Shelterbelt with a double-branch-pipe system controlling the irrigation cycles. In this study, to evaluate the dynamics of soil moisture and salinity under the current irrigation system, soil samples were collected to a 2-m depth in the ...

Calculations are reported for ambient dose equivalent rates [H˙*(10)] at 1 m height above the ground surface before and after remediating radiocesium-contaminated soil at wide and open sites. The results establish how the change in H˙*(10) upon remediation depends on the initial depth distribution of radiocesium within the ground, on the size of the remediated area, and on the mass per unit are...

To evaluate the outcome of restoration projects, an overall goal, reformulated to specific subgoals or targets, must be explicit and translated into scientifically measurable ecological attributes. Monitoring ecological attributes is necessary to assess restoration progress. Data from long-term monitoring are rarely available when restoration interventions are planned and implemented. In this s...

The metal concentrations and isotopic compositions (13C, 207/206Pb) of urban dust, topsoil, PM10 samples were analyzed in a residential area near Donghae port, Korea, which is surrounded by various types industrial factories raw material stockpiled on empty land, to determine the contributions main pollution sources (i.e., Mn ore, Zn cement, coal, coke, topsoil). dust port approximately 85~112 ...

Fungi play fundamental ecological roles in terrestrial ecosystems. However, their distribution and diversity remain poorly described in natural communities, particularly in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. In order to identify environmental factors determining fungal community structure in these systems, we assessed their diversity in conjunction with soil physicochemical characteristics in a sem...