Soil aggregate stability influences a wide range of physical and biogeochemical processes in the agricultural and natural environments, including soil erosion [3]. The relative prepon‐ derance of aggregates of various sizes in the soil and their stability to external forces are, therefore, an issue of major concern to soil scientists. By definition, an aggregate is a compo‐ site body or granule...

Soil biological activity has important implications for soil carbon (C) sequestration. However, very little is known about the environmental factors, particularly the effect of soil mineralogy on availability of C for soil microorganisms. In this study, we have investigated the influences of soil type (clay mineralogy) on C mineralization and its effects on biological activity at different leve...

The integrated soil fertility management paradigm, currently advocated in Sub-Saharan Africa for rehabilitating its soils, recognizes the possible interactive benefits of combining organic residues with mineral fertilizer inputs on agroecosystem functioning. Residue quality may be a controlling factor for any beneficial interactions. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of ...

The generation times of a strain of Pseudomonas grown on a mineral salts medium in the presence of various amounts of naphthalene did not vary with the amount of solid present, and these generation times were the same as the generation time on mineral salts medium containing only dissolved naphthalene. The generation time of a soil isolate grown on mineral salts medium in the presence of 0.5 g ...

Soil represents the largest store of mercury (Hg) in terrestrial ecosystems, and further study of the factors associated with soil Hg storage is needed to address concerns about the magnitude and persistence of global environmental Hg bioaccumulation. To address this need, we compared total Hg and methyl Hg concentrations and stores in the soil of different landscapes in two watersheds in diffe...

[1] Despite in situ analyses by several landers, the composition of the Martian soil remains unclear. Recently, constituent minerals in the soil have been proposed from thermal emissivity and Mössbauer spectroscopic data from Mars. These data were interpreted to show spectral evidence for carbonate and an unspecified mineral containing bound water, as well as olivine. Here we present an alterna...

Cyanide is commonly found as ferrocyanide [Fe(II)(CN)(6)](-4) and in the more mobile form, ferricyanide [Fe(III)(CN)(6)](-3) in contaminated soils and sediments. Although soil minerals may influence ferrocyanide speciation, and thus mobility, the possible influence of soil enzymes has not been examined. In a series of experiments conducted under a range of soil-like conditions, laccase, a pheno...

Soil carbon accumulation is largely dependent on net primary productivity. To our knowledge, there have been no studies investigating the dynamics of carbon accumulation in weathered subtropical soils, especially in managed eucalyptus plantations. We quantified the seasonal input of leaf litter, the leaf decomposition rate and soil carbon stocks in an commercial plantation of Eucalyptus saligna...

Biological activity can accelerate soil processes and can thus have profound effects on weathering and the transformation of phosphorus (P). Here we show that the transformation of P is closely linked to soil development across an about 9000 years old soil chronosequence formed through glacial rebound. Easily weathered forms of P such as apatite are rapidly lost from the surface mineral horizon...

Parameters characterizing the structure of the decomposer food web, biomass of the soil microflora (bacteria and fungi) and soil micro-, meso- and macrofauna were studied at 14 non-reclaimed 1- 41-year-old post-mining sites near the town of Sokolov (Czech Republic). These observations on the decomposer food webs were compared with knowledge of vegetation and soil microstructure development from...