Adsorption and desorption characteristics of endosulfan in four Indian soils were studied extensively. The soils used were clayey soil (CL--lean clay with sand), red soil (GM--silty gravel with sand), sandy soil (SM--silty sand with gravel) and composted soil (PT--peat) as per ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards. Adsorption and desorption rates were calculated from kinet...

Acidification and pollution are two major threats to agricultural ecosystems; however, microbial community responses to co-existed soil acidification and pollution remain less explored. In this study, arable soils of broad pH (4.26-8.43) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) gradients (0.18-20.68 mg kg-1) were collected from vegetable farmlands. Bacterial community characteristics including...

Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) - one of glyphosate's main metabolites - has been classified as persistent in soils, raising concern regarding the widespread use of glyphosate in agriculture and forestry. Glyphosate may have negative or neutral effects on soil biota, but no information is available on the toxicity of AMPA to soil invertebrates. Therefore our aim was to study the effect of AMP...

Asymbiotic and associative diazotropic bacteria such as Azotobacter and Azosprillum, respectively are widely distributed in different rhizospheric and nonrhizospheric soils and help in growth and development of plants. Sixty two soil samples were collected from different crop rotations namely Rice-Wheat, Vegetables, Agro forestry and Grassland from the districts Chandauli, Jaunpur,Ballia, Ghazi...

The rate of nonexchangeable NH/ release from soils can have a significant effect on N dynamics and environmental quality. Nonexchangeable NH/ is that N fraction which is fixed in the interlayers of clay minerals. The objective of this study was to determine the kinetics of nonexchangeable NH4 release from two topsoils from Germany [Giessen Ap (Aqualf) and Hungen Ap (Alfisol)] and from two subso...

We conducted a study for enhanced biological rehabilitation of chromium-contaminated soils using a chromium-reducing and nitrogen-fixing bacterial species (Bacillus megaterium-ASNF3). The bacterial species was isolated from a chromium-rich land area, characterized, and employed under optimum conditions for the treatment of artificially prepared chromium-rich soil. The bacterium reduced Cr(VI) u...

Pot experiments were conducted to investigate the changes of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the rhizosphere of hyperaccumulating ecotype (HE) and non-hyperaccumulating ecotype (NHE) of Sedum alfredii and its effects on Zn and Cd sorption by soils. After planted with HE, soil pH in the rhizosphere reduced by 0.5-0.6 units which is consistent with the increase of DOM. The hydrophilic fract...

Phosphorus deficiency affects around 80% of the acid soils of western Kenya, but fertilizer use is limited due to high prices. This paper explores the potential of local phosphate rocks (PR) as a remedy within the context on an integrated soil fertility management approach. A promising phosphate rock is Minjingu PR (MPR, Tanzania), a sedimentary/biogenic deposit which contains about 13% total P...

For modeling the sorption of organic compounds in soils it is typically assumed that the organic carbon/water partitioning coefficient (Koc) of neutral organic chemicals can be treated as a constant property that remains unaffected by the type of soil organic matter as well as pH in the soil solution. Here the validity of these assumptions is evaluated with a large and diverse experimental data...

The Nicobarese were the largest tribal group inhabiting 12 islands with major concentration in Car Nicobar. As there is no reliable information on the biophysical set up, socioeconomic and farming system characteristics of these Islands, the study aims to derive baseline information on the above aspects, which is essential for any planning process. The agricultural production in Nicobar Islands...