Soil organic matter (SOM) is known to play vital roles in the maintenance and improvement of many soil properties and processes. These roles, which largely influence soil functions, are a pool of specific contributions of different components of SOM. The soil functions, in turn, normally define the level of soil degradation, viewed as quantifiable temporal changes in a soil that impairs its qua...

BACKGROUND Patents have been granted for a number of techniques for petroleum biodegradation including use of micro-organisms for degradation of hydrocarbon-based substances and for hydrocarbon degradation in oil reservoirs, but there is a dearth of information on hydrocarbon degradation in different soil textures. OBJECTIVE Hence, this work investigated the effects of different soil textures...

the objective followed in this study was to investigate the transport and degradation of herbicides under different herbigation vs. conventional spraying systems in soil. metribuzin and potassium bromide (kbr) were applied in soil plots by four application methods, including conventional spraying without delay in initial irrigation (cs1), conventional spraying with an initial 24-h delay in irri...

The degradation of various formulations of the racemic mixture and the enantiomers (including mefenoxam) of metalaxyl in typical soils from Germany and Cameroon in controlled incubation experiments was studied. The kinetics of the degradation or transformation was determined by means of reversed phase HPLC, while the enantiomeric ratios were measured by HPLC with a chiral Whelk O1 column. The d...

The mixture of 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) and chloropicrin (CP) is used as a preplant soil fumigant. In comparison with individual fumigants, application of a mixture may affect the environmental dissipation and fate of each chemical, such as emission and degradation. We investigated the degradation of CP, 1,3-D, and their mixture in fresh soils and sterile soils, and evaluated the competitive...

Propargyl bromide is being investigated for its potential as a soil fumigant. Characterization of the fate of propargyl bromide in soil is important in determining both efficacy and the threat of environmental contamination. These experiments investigated some of the factors affecting the rate of propargyl bromide degradation in soil and quantified some of the products formed as a result of pro...

Determining the influence of soil environmental factors on degradation of Cry1Ac protein from Bt cotton residues is vital for assessing the ecological risks of this commercialized transgenic crop. In this study, the degradation of Cry1Ac protein in leaves and in buds of Bt cotton in soil was evaluated under different soil water content and temperature settings in the laboratory. An exponential ...

Chemical and microbial degradation of the nematicides-insecticides aldicarb and ethoprop has been studied extensively in both laboratory and field studies. These studies show that temperature is the most important variable affecting the degradation rate of aldicarb and its carbamate metabolites in surface soils. Temperature and organic matter appear to be the most important variables affecting ...

Many attempts have been made worldwide to develop methods to identify the areas most threatened by soil degradation. Some soils in afflicted areas may be irreversibly degraded and thus have very little resilience (the ability to restore themselves). For the purpose of assessing the current state of soil degradation in the Czech Republic (CZ) we have developed an overall indicator of land vulner...