Subtropical recent alluvial soils are low in organic carbon (C). Thus, increasing C is a major challenge to sustain soil fertility. Biochar amendment could be an option as biochar C-rich pyrolyzed material, which slowly decomposed soil. We investigated mineralization (CO2-C evolution) two types of (recent and old soils) amended with feedstocks (sugarcane bagasse rice husk) (1%, weight/weight), ...

Abstract Purpose Tackling the global carbon deficit through soil organic (SOC) sequestration in agricultural systems has been a focal point recent years. However, we still lack comprehensive understanding of actual on-farm SOC potentials order to derive effective strategies. Methods Therefore, chose 21 study sites North-Eastern Austria covering wide range relevant arable types and determined po...

A total of 650 arable soil samples were collected from the suburbs of Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China to identify the concentrations and the sources of heavy metals and to assess the environmental quality of soil. Subsequently, the contents of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the samples were analyzed. The investigation revealed that the mean concentrations of As, Cd, Hg, Ni, Hg, and C...

Fungi are prominent drivers of ecological processes in soils, so that fungal communities across different soil ecosystems have been well investigated. However, for arable soils taxonomically resolved fine-scale studies including vertical itemization of fungal communities are still missing. Here, we combined a cloning/Sanger sequencing approach of the ITS/LSU region as marker for general fungi a...

We tested experimentally if photoautotrophic microorganisms are a carbon source for invertebrates in temperate soils. We exposed forest or arable soils to a (13)CO2-enriched atmosphere and quantified (13)C assimilation by three common animal groups: earthworms (Oligochaeta), springtails (Hexapoda) and slugs (Gastropoda). Endogeic earthworms (Allolobophora chlorotica) and hemiedaphic springtails...