Biochar can potentially increase soil fertility and sequester carbon by incorporating nutrients and stable black carbon into the soil; however its effect on soil nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) processes is not well understood. A defined methodology to characterize biochar is necessary to predict how specific biochars will affect C and N mineralization. We amended a Tifton soil (Fine-loamy, siliceo...

Climate warming and land use change are some of the drivers affecting soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. The Grain for Green Project, local natural resources, and geographical conditions have resulted in farmland conversion into tea plantations in the hilly region of Western Sichuan. However, the effect of such land conversion on SOC mineralization remains unknown. In order to understand the t...

The damming of rivers represents one of the most far-reaching human modifications of the flows of water and associated matter from land to sea. Dam reservoirs are hotspots of sediment accumulation, primary productivity (P) and carbon mineralization (R) along the river continuum. Here we show that for the period 1970-2030, global carbon mineralization in reservoirs exceeds carbon fixation (P<R);...

Glyphosate isopropylamine and trifluralin are herbicides widely used in Turkish agriculture. The recommended field dose (RFD) (480 g of active ingredient l for both glyphosate and trifluralin) and 2 × RFD of these herbicides were added to the soil of olive trees (Olea europaea L., Oleaceae) growing on the Çukurova University Campus (Adana) under Mediterranean climate conditions in order to dete...

[1] Understanding factors that control methane exchange between soils and the atmosphere remains one of the highest priorities for climate change research. Here we use a novel isotope-based technique to investigate the relative importance of three mechanisms for explaining landscape-scale variations in soil methane emissions: (1) consumption of methane by methanotrophic bacteria, (2) quantity o...

Understanding the controls on soil carbon dynamics is crucial for modeling responses of ecosystem carbon balance to global change, yet few studies provide explicit knowledge on the direct and indirect effects of forest stands on soil carbon via microbial processes. We investigated tree species, soil, and site factors in relation to soil carbon density and mineralization in a temperate forest of...

Carbon sources supporting benthic mineralization in mangrove and adjacent seagrass sediments (Gazi Bay, Kenya) S. Bouillon, T. Moens, and F. Dehairs Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Mangrove Management Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium Biology Department, Marine Biology Section, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/Sterre S8, B-9000 Gent, ...

The effects of select monoterpenes on nitrogen (N) mineralization and nitrification potentials were determined in four separate laboratory bioassays. The effect of increasing monoterpene addition was an initial reduction in NO3 -N production (nitrification inhibition), followed by a reduction in the sum of N N N-N and N -N (inhibition of net N mineralization and net immobilization at high monot...

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the mineralization of metsulfuron-methyl (MSM) in paddy soils in response to soil moisture, temperature and soil properties. The results indicated that MSM mineralization was relatively limited in the paddy soils when soil temperature was low. Only 2.2-6.0% of the applied (14)C mineralized after 84d of incubation at 15 degrees C. The mineralizatio...

The long-term burial of organic carbon in sediments results in the net accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere, thereby mediating the redox state of the Earth's biosphere and atmosphere. Sediment microbial activity plays a major role in determining whether particulate organic carbon is recycled or buried. A diverse consortium of microorganisms that hydrolyze, ferment, and terminally oxidize or...