Two field experiments were conducted for two years with the aim of studying the effects of deep tillage and straw returning on soil microorganism and enzyme activity in clay and loam soil. Three treatments, (1) conventional tillage (CT), shallow tillage and straw returning; (2) deep tillage (DT), deep tillage and straw returning; and (3) deep tillage with no straw returning (DNT), were carried ...

In order to evaluate the effects of parent material on clay mineralogy in northface of the Elborz mountain area that is covered with deciduous trees, five mountain physiographical units with dolomite, sandstone, marl, limestone and conglomera parent material were selected and in each physiographical unit some soil profiles were studied. Soil samples were taken from different horizons and leyers...

Soils sequester and release substantial atmospheric carbon, but the contribution of fungal communities to soil carbon balance under rising CO2 is not well understood. Soil properties likely mediate these fungal responses but are rarely explored in CO2 experiments. We studied soil fungal communities in a grassland ecosystem exposed to a preindustrial-to-future CO2 gradient (250 to 500 ppm) in a ...

Soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) (SCN) a major pest of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in the southeastern USA. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of wet and dry silt loam and clay soils on SCN development and corresponding soybean yield response in a greenhouse study. ’Tracy-M’ soybean was grown in pots that contained either Dubbs ilt loam (fine-silty,...

Slow release formulations of the anionic herbicide sulfosulfuron (SFS) were prepared by incorporating it in micelles of an organic cation octadecyltrimethylammonium, which adsorb on the clay-mineral montmorillonite. The fraction of SFS adsorbed on the micelle-clay complex reached 98%, whereas for monomer-clay complexes, its adsorption was insignificant. Fluorescence studies showed surface conta...

Modeling and mapping of soil properties has been identified as key for effective land degradation management and mitigation. The ability to model and map soil properties at sufficient accuracy for a large agriculture area is demonstrated using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) imagery. Soil samples were collected in the El-Tina Plain, Sinai, Egypt, concurren...

Soil activity is a term generally applied to the ability of a soil to take in and dispose water under changing moisture conditions. It is due to presence of clay minerals with a net negative charge to neutralise which, water is attracted to the mineral surface. The water molecules are incorporated in the clay structure in between the clay plates and with increased water; both the exchangeable c...

BACKGROUND In the lower Mekong Basin and coastal zones of Southern Vietnam, forests dominated by the genus Melaleuca have two notable features: most have been substantially disturbed by human activity and can now be considered as degraded forests; and most are subject to acute pressures from climate change, particularly in regards to changes in the hydrological and sodicity properties of forest...

Eutrophication, a major problem in many fresh and brackish waters, is largely caused by nonpoint-source pollution by P from agricultural soils. This lysimeter study examined the influence of P content, physical properties, and sorption characteristics in topsoil and subsoil on P leaching measured during 21 mo in 1-m-long, undisturbed soil columns of two clay and two sandy soils. Total P losses ...