A quantitative laboratory assessment of the different C and N forms in soil humus fractions was carried out by incubation of a mineral substrate after the addition of (15)N-labeled compost. The experimental design included (i) preparation of the (15)N-labeled organic matter (city refuse compost, 640 g kg(-1) wheat straw and K(15)NO(3) composted for 80 days), (ii) a further 80 day incubation of ...

The wide use of metal-based nanomaterials such as zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) has generated concerns regarding their environmental and health risks. For ZnO NPs, their toxicity in aquatic systems often depends on the release of dissolved zinc species, and the rate of dissolution is influenced by water chemistry, including the presence of zinc-chelating ligands. A challenge, however, re...

A class of organic molecules extracted from atmospheric aerosol particles and isolated from fog and cloud water has been termed HUmic-LIke Substances (HULIS) due to a certain resemblance to terrestrial and aquatic humic and fulvic acids. In light of the interest that this class of atmospheric compounds currently attracts, we comprehensively review HULIS properties, as well as laboratory and fie...

Four types of soil (red, yellow, cinnamon, and paddy soil) from China were used to conduct experiments in pots to study the influence of humic acid (humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA)) on the accumulation of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in tobacco leaves. In non-polluted soils, the tobacco leaf uptake of Cd was dramatically influenced by the total soil metal concentration and soil properties, w...

The nonequilibrium-phase distribution of the pesticide derivative 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) was studied in the context of two surface soils. DCP sorption was evaluated for five different initial aqueous concentrations of the solute -5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 μM. Solute-soil contact times were 0.02, 1, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 84 days. Uniformly ring-14C-labelled DCP was used to improve detection limits ...

In aquatic systems, dissolved organic matter (DOM) constitutes a key component of the carbon cycle controlling the transport, speciation, bioavailability and toxicity of trace metals. In this work, we study the spatio-temporal variability of the MO in terms of both quality and quantity from upstream to downstream the Parisian conurbation. Urban discharges which are the main source of allochthon...