The mechanisms underlying the retention of inorganic N in acidic forest soils in southern China are not well understood. Here, we simultaneously quantified the gross N transformation rates of various subtropical acidic forest soils located in southern China (southern soil) and those of temperate forest soils located in northern China (northern soil). We found that acidic southern soils had sign...

We evaluated the ability of As-hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata (PV) to remove As from As-contaminated soils over five harvests in 2.5 years in raised beds (162 kg soil/bed). We tested the hypothesis that a P-limiting environment would enhance PV growth and As uptake owing its unique ability to uptake P under As-rich environment. In Dec. 2009, PV was transplanted to three As-contaminated soils (...

Many studies have examined the application of soil amendments, including pH change-induced immobilizers, adsorbents, and organic materials, for soil remediation. This study evaluated the effects of various amendments on trace element stabilization and phytotoxicity, depending on the initial soil pH in acid, neutral, and alkali conditions. As in all types of soils, Fe and Ca were well stabilized...

In the present investigation, physicochemical properties, lime requirement, fertility status and DTPA extractable Zn of soils of Dimapur district of Nagaland were studied. The soils of study area were strong to moderate acidic in reaction with pH ranged from 4.12 to 5.30 and were normal in total soluble salts. The CEC of the soils was quite low, varied from 10.4 to 14.0 cmol (P) kg . The averag...

Sodium salicylate (1,000 mug/ml) was delivered through a drip irrigation system to agricultural field soils planted to tomato and infested with Pseudomonas putida PpG7, the host of the salicylate catabolic plasmid NAH7. In nonfumigated soils infested with approximately 10 CFU of PpG7 per g in the top 30 cm, population densities were increased up to 112-fold within 14 days of the initial applica...

Due to changing climate, flooding (waterlogged soils and submergence) becomes a major problem in agriculture and crop production. In the present study, the effect of waterlogging was investigated on peroxidases of maize (Zea mays L.) leaves. The plants showed typical adaptations to flooding stress, i.e., alterations in chlorophyll a/b ratios and increased basal shoot diameter. Seven peroxidase ...

The increasing number of roles discovered for Al3+ in physiological processes demands an understanding of how Al3+ interacts with compounds in biological systems. Al3+ is expected to complex with oxygen donor ligands, especially phosphates, and it does so in soils, in the gastrointestinal tract, and in cells. The stability of Al3+ complexes has generally been misjudged because of lack of recogn...

A mesocosm experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the addition of Aspergillus niger-treated sugar beet waste, in the presence of rock phosphate, and inoculation with a native, metal-tolerant bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, on the stabilisation of soil aggregates of two mine tailings, with differing pH values, from a semiarid Mediterranean area and on the stimulation of growth ...

Phytoextraction of mercury-contaminated soils is a new strategy that consists of using the higher plants to make the soil contaminant nontoxic. The main problem that occurs during the process is the low solubility and bioavailability of mercury in soil. Therefore, some soil amendments can be used to increase the efficiency of the Hg phytoextraction process. The aim of the investigation was to u...

Naturally occurring dissolved organic matter (DOM) and biosolids-derived DOM have been implicated in the mobility of metals in soils and aquifer materials. To investigate the effect of DOM on copper mobility in aquifer material, DOM derived from sewage biosolids was separated into two apparent molecular-weight (MW) fractions, 500 to 3500 Da (LMW) and > 14 000 Da (HMW). In each MW fraction, the ...