............................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION ...................................................... 1 Dissertation Organization .................................................................................... 2 Literature Cited ..................................................................

Awareness of the effects of fire on various aspects of an ecosystem after the fire,is important for range management. Changes in soil physical and chemical propertiescaused by fire can be the cause of changes in the vegetation. In this study, effects of fire onphysical and chemical characteristics of soil were investigated. This research was carriedout in a randomized block design method in the...

the objective of this work was to study the effects of tillage and liquid manure applications on some physical and chemical properties as well as on the carbon and nitrogen mineralization potential of a meadow soil. our results indicated that tillage and manure applications had no effect on the concentration of cu, mn, total n and organic c in 0-15 cm layer of soil after 15 years of treatment. ...

Organic pollutants (e.g. polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)) strongly sorb to carbonaceous sorbents such as black carbon and activated carbon (BC and AC, respectively). For a creosote-contaminated soil (Sigma15PAH 5500 mg kg(dry weight(dw))(-1)) and an urban soil with moderate PAH content (Sigma15PAH 38 mg kg(dw)(-1)), total organic carbon-water distribution coefficients (K(TOC)) were up to a fact...

Inland valleys are becoming increasingly important agricultural production areas for rural households in sub-Saharan Africa due to their relative high and secure water availability and soil fertility. In addition, inland valleys are important as water buffer and biodiversity hot spots and they provide local communities with forest, forage, and fishing resources. As different inland-valley ecosy...

Changes in the carbon stocks of stem biomass, organic layers and the upper 50 cm of the mineral soil during succession and afforestation of spruce (Picea abies) on former grassland were examined along six chronosequences in Thuringia and the Alps. Three chronosequences were established on calcareous and three on acidic bedrocks. Stand elevation and mean annual precipitation of the chronosequenc...