Submitted: Jul 10, 2013; Accepted: Aug 12, 2013; Published: Aug 18, 2013 Abstract: Gray forest soils are one of the typical agricultural soils in European part of Russia, but their role as a sink for atmospheric methane is poorly documented. We have investigated variability of CH uptake process 4 of agricultural gray forest soils, Moscow region, Russia, at different time scales (monthly, daily,...

In this study, we collected rhizosphere soils and root samples from a post-mining area and a natural forest area in Jecheon, Korea. We extracted spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) from rhizospheres, and then examined the sequences of 18S rDNA genes of the AMF from the collected roots of plants. We compared the AMF communities in the post-mining area and the natural forest area by sequ...

The net fluxes of carbonyl sulfide (COS) and carbon disulfide (CS2) to the atmosphere from nitrogen amended and unamended deciduous and coniferous forest soils were measured during the spring of 1986. We found that emissions of these gases from acidic forest soils were substantially increased after nitrogen fertilization. The total (COS + CS 2) emissions were increased by nearly a factor of thr...

Different forest types exert essential impacts on soil physical-chemical characteristics by dominant tree species producing diverse litters and root exudates, thereby further regulating size and activity of soil microbial communities. However, the study accuracy is usually restricted by differences in climate, soil type and forest age. Our objective is to precisely quantify soil microbial bioma...

Concern regarding the impacts of continued nitrogen and sulfur deposition on ecosystem health has prompted the development of critical acid load assessments for forest soils. A critical acid load is a quantitative estimate of exposure to one or more pollutants at or above which harmful acidification-related effects on sensitive elements of the environment occur. A pollutant load in excess of a ...

Recent studies have observed enhanced degradation of methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) from repeated fumigation in agricultural soils. Little is known about fumigant degradation in forest and nursery soils. This study was conducted to determine degradation rates of MITC and chloropicrin (CP) in two forest soils and the impacts of nursery management on degradation of MITC and CP. The half-life values...

The fate of (137)Cs derived from the Fukushima nuclear accident fallout and associated radiological hazards are largely dependent on its mobility in the surface soils of forest ecosystems. Thus, we quantified microbial and adsorptive retentions of (137)Cs in forest surface (0-3 cm) soils. The K(2)SO(4) extraction process liberated 2.1%-12.8% of the total (137)Cs from the soils. Two soils with a...

Intersite variation in ectomycorrhizal (ECM) inoculum potential in soils from 16 sites located in arid subalpine areas of the White Mountains of California was quantified. The study sites included valleys dominated by big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) and mountainsides dominated by ancient Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva Bailey). ECM inoculum potential was not detected at ...

Changes in temperature and moisture resulting from climate change are likely to strongly modify the ecosystem carbon sequestration capacity in high-latitude areas, both through vegetation shifts and via direct warming effects on photosynthesis and decomposition. This paper offers a synthesis of research addressing the potential impacts of climate warming on soil processes and carbon fluxes at t...

Within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota, soils were collected from 116 sites in areas of primarily virgin forest with fire-origin stand years (year of last recognizable stand-killing wildfire) that range from the 1759 to 1976. Median concentrations for total mercury in soils for this span of 217 years range from 0.28 +/- 0.088 ppm (1759) to 0.09 +/- 0.047 ppm ...