Considering their key role for ecosystem processes, it is important to understand the response of microbial communities in unpolluted soils to pollution with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Phenanthrene, a model compound for PAH, was spiked to a Cambisol and a Luvisol soil. Total community DNA from phenanthrene-spiked and control soils collected on days 0, 21, and 63 were analyzed based...

The influence of two organic amendments consisting of an urban waste compost (SUW) and a commercial amendment from olive mill wastes (OW) was assessed on the sorption properties and leaching of the ionizable herbicide imazaquin on four soils with different physicochemical characteristics. A loamy sand soil (CR), a loam soil (P44), a silt loam soil (AL), and a clay soil (TM), with low-medium org...

This article deals with the principles of soil formation and shows the problems to recognize and visualize the many effects of man made stress in soils. Soils are transformation products of minerals and organic matter with a defined organization, morphology and structure. They are closely related to site factors and for this, the soil properties vary considerably in time and space. Due to many ...

Repeated application of manures to agricultural soils could cause the accumulation of phosphorus (P) in soils. However, it is unclear if manure P can behave similar to P in soluble fertilizers in accumulation Olsen-P (0.5 mol L-1 NaHCO3 at pH 8.5) in soils. A long-term wheat-maize rotation experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of repeated application of manures on P accumulation i...

A low-density clay ceramic syntactic foam (CSF) composite material was successfully synthesized from illitic clay added by fly ash cenospheres (CS) using the semi-dry formation method. The content of CS varied in the range of 10, 30, 50 and 60 vol %. Furthermore, reference samples without cenospheres were produced for property comparison. The materials comprising different amount of the additiv...

Soils in ice-free areas of Livingston Island have been forming since the last deglaciation in a maritime warmer climate that is more humid than in interior Antarctica. A soil survey was carried out on Byers and Hurd peninsulas to characterize the soils and investigate the processes. Soils were sampled on two different substrates, mudstones and volcanic rocks in Byers Peninsula

Two common manure storage practices are stockpiles and lagoons. The manure from stockpiles is applied to soils in solid form, while lagoon manure is applied as a liquid. Soil amendment with manure in any form introduces a significant amount of phosphorus (P) that exists in both organic and inorganic forms. However, little is known about P speciation in manure stored under different conditions, ...

Chemical activity diagraoas , prepared to illustrate the properties expected if mixed-layer montmorillonite/illite is regarded as a solid solution, are compared to those derived from a treatment of these materials as a mixture of two phases. If the system is a solid solution, the coexisting aqueous solution should range from higher dissolved silica contents in the presence of kaolinite and a mo...

Site geology: The geology of the Oak Park site is one of limestone-drift materials overlying regional limestone-bedrock (over which two broad groups of soils occur: light-textured gravelly soils derived from limestone, and more heavy-textured soils derived from till). The soil underlying Miscanthus-plantations used in the experiments the former type, with a perched clay/subsoil layer under the ...

Special Antarctic Blend (SAB) is a diesel fuel dominated by aliphatic hydrocarbons that is commonly used in Antarctic and subantarctic regions. The past and present use of SAB fuel at Australia's scientific research stations has resulted in multiple spills, contaminating soils in these pristine areas. Despite this, no soil quality guidelines or remediation targets have been developed for the re...