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

Similar land-use types usually have similar soil properties, and, most likely, similar microbial communities. Here, we assessed whether land-use types or soil chemical properties are the primary drivers of soil microbial community composition, and how changes in one part of the ecosystem affect another. We applied Ion Torrent sequencing to the bacterial and fungal communities of five different ...

To investigate processes that might affect chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) mixing ratios at the water table, a time series was obtained of unsaturated zone soil gas CFCs to depths of ca. 4 m at a site near New York City (NYC). Observed CFC 11, 12, and 113 mixing ratios were lower in winter than expected from either a local, high-resolution time series or remote atmospheric mixing ratios. A diffusion m...

The use of fungicides in crop protection still effectively eliminates fungal pathogens of plants. However, fungicides may dissipate to various elements of the environment and cause irreversible changes. Considering this problem, the aim of the presented study was to evaluate changes in soil biological activity in response to contamination with azoxystrobin. The study was carried out in the labo...

Biological activity can accelerate soil processes and can thus have profound effects on weathering and the transformation of phosphorus (P). Here we show that the transformation of P is closely linked to soil development across an about 9000 years old soil chronosequence formed through glacial rebound. Easily weathered forms of P such as apatite are rapidly lost from the surface mineral horizon...

Parameters characterizing the structure of the decomposer food web, biomass of the soil microflora (bacteria and fungi) and soil micro-, meso- and macrofauna were studied at 14 non-reclaimed 1- 41-year-old post-mining sites near the town of Sokolov (Czech Republic). These observations on the decomposer food webs were compared with knowledge of vegetation and soil microstructure development from...

Physical changes that occur on the surface of fired shots due to firing and impact with soil may increase the dissolution of muniton metals. Increased metal dissolution could potentially increase metal transport and leaching, affecting metal concentrations in surface and groundwater. This research describes the relationship between the surface changes on fired tungsten-nickel-iron (94% W:2% Ni:...

Theory argues that both soil conditions and aboveground trophic interactions are equally important for 14 determining plant species diversity. However, it remains unexplored how they modify the niche di erences 15 that stabilise species coexistence and the average fitness di erences driving competitive dominance. 16 We conducted a field study in Mediterranean annual grasslands to parameterise p...

Soil moisture influences and is influenced by water, climate, and ecosystem conditions, affecting associated ecosystem services in the landscape. This paper couples snow storage-melting dynamics with an analytical modeling approach to screening basin-scale, long-term soil moisture variability and change in a changing climate. This coupling enables assessment of both spatial differences and temp...

Theory argues that both soil conditions and aboveground trophic interactions have equivalent potential to limit or promote plant diversity. However, it remains unexplored how they jointly modify the niche differences stabilising species coexistence and the average fitness differences driving competitive dominance. We conducted a field study in Mediterranean annual grasslands to parameterise pop...