The effects of biochar application to calcareous soils are not well documented. In a laboratory incubation study, a hardwood-based, fast pyrolysis biochar was applied (0, 1, 2, and 10% by weight) to a calcareous soil. Changes in soil chemistry, water content, microbial respiration, and microbial community structure were monitored over a 12-mo period. Increasing the biochar application rate incr...

The mountainous massif of Sicó, in the centre of Portugal, is an extensive area composed of calcareous Jurassic formations. Hillside calcareous soils, with high pH, present chemical restrictions to support plant growth and are subjected to important erosion processes leading to their degradation if not protected by vegetation. In a first year of study some soil physicochemical characteristics h...

Iron deficiency chlorosis in plants is often associated with soil conditions that appear to restrict exchange of gases with the atmosphere, such as fine texture, lack of aggregation, excessive moisture, or discontinuity in the profile in the form of plowsole, hardpan, claypan, or stratified deposits. These conditions can cause CO2 to accumulate in the soil and, particularly in calcareous soils,...

ABSTRACT-This experiment was carried out to study particle size distribution (PSD) of carbonates in soils and its effect on some calcareous soil properties in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Soil samples (n=72) were collected from different regions. To evaluate the effect of carbonates on water contents at pressure head of -1500kpa and PSD of soil samples, these properties were determined before and ...

The drought- and thermo-tolerant Quercus pubescens, a tree species growing on both acidic and calcareous soils in the sub-Mediterranean region, was exposed to soil drought (-60% to -80% soil water content) and air warming (+1.2 °C daytime temperature), singly and in combination. The experiment was conducted on two natural forest soils with similar texture but different pH (acidic and calcareous...

The decomposition of organic matter in coarse sandy calcareous soils (beach sand) is thought to be much higher than in acid fine sandy soils but relatively little research is performed on these soils. Laboratory incubation experiments in which the release of soil carbon (C) is determined may overestimate the release of the soil organic C, as part of the measured C may have been released from th...

Iron availability in calcareous soils, and Fe uptake and translocation in plants are major factors limiting the agricultural use of land. The nutritional value of crops as Fe sources for humans is often reduced due to Fe-deficiency in plants. Agronomic approaches to overcome these shortcomings include: (i) methods aimed at increasing the availability of indigenous soil-Fe; (ii) soil and/or foli...

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