An understanding of the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) as affected by farming practices is imperative for maintaining soil productivity and mitigating global warming. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of long-term fertilization on SOC and SOC fractions for the whole soil profile (0-100 cm) in northwest China. The study was initiated in 1979 in Gansu, China and ...

soil water content. Mackie-Dawson et al. (1989) studied the evolution of the cracking system in the first 10 cm Electrical resistivity measurements at high resolution (1.5-cm elecof soil by using vertical image analysis. They observed trode spacing) were performed to detect, from the soil surface, small cracks developing within the soil. We recorded a vertical electrical significant soil struct...

The relationship between toxicity and soil contamination must be understood to develop reliable indicators of environmental restoration for bioremediation. Two bacterial rapid bioassays, SOS chromotest and the umu test with and without metabolic activation (S-9 mixture), were used to evaluate the genotoxicity of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil following bioremediation treatment. The soi...

[1] A minimalist stochastic model of primary soil salinity is proposed, in which the rate of soil salinization is determined by the balance between dry and wet salt deposition and the intermittent leaching events caused by rainfall events. The long term probability density functions of salt mass and concentration are found by reducing the coupled soil moisture and salt mass balance equation to ...

With increasing demand for better yield in agricultural areas, soil physical property representative measurements are more and more essential. Nuclear techniques such as computerized tomography (CT) and gamma-ray attenuation (GAT) have been widely employed with this purpose. The soil mass attenuation coefficient (μ(s)) is an important parameter for CT and GAT analysis. When experimentally deter...

An intercomparison study of two methods for estimating forest soil CO2 efflux was conducted during a 3-week period in summer. An empirical model established from nearly 2 years of chamber measurements predicted that the soil CO2 efflux ranged from 1.2 to 1.4 mmol m−2 s−1. This small range was due to the lack of variability in the model parameters (soil temperature and moisture) during the study...

Sulphur (S) deficiencies are widespread in lodgepole pine stands in the British Columbia central interior. Low soil S availability can limit tree growth responses to nitrogen (N) fertilization. Refined diagnostic criteria and decision-making tools enable more reliable identification of stands that will respond to inclusion of S in fertilizer prescriptions. Most research and large-scale aerial f...

Understanding N soil fertility in grass seed crops will lead to improved fertilizer practices and preserve water quality in Willamette Valley, Oregon. This study determined the effects of conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT) on N dynamics and grass seed crop growth and seed yield on moderately well-drained (MWD) and a welldrained (WD) soils either in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Sc...

To elucidate the factors that affect the performance of plants in their natural environment, it is essential to study interactions with other neighboring plants, as well as with above- and belowground higher trophic organisms. We used a long-term field experiment to study how local plant community diversity influenced colonization by the biennial composite Senecio jacobaea in its native range i...