Although groundwater quality depends on microbial processes in the soil treatment area (STA) of onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS), our understanding of the development of these microbial communities is limited. We examined the bacterial communities of sand, sandy loam, and clay STAs at different depths in response to septic tank effluent (STE) addition using mesocosms. Terminal restric...

Radiocarbon dating of a wood sample from the upper part of a sequence of coarse fluvial gravels at Branchs Creek has confirmed that accumulation of coarse fluvial gravels continued into the late Mid Holocene, prior to an influx of up to 3 m of sand during the last two millenia. Ongoing erosion at Branchs Creek has revealed that clay previously interpreted as a separate unit beneath the gravels ...

This laboratory work examines the relationship between turbidity (NTU) and total suspended sediment concentration (TSS, mg/L) for a Cecil Ap soil, a common Southeastern Piedmont soil type. We show a 1:1 correlation between NTU and TSS for the silt and clay fractions, but a smaller ratio for clay and bulk-soil samples. These results suggest that NTU measurements can be used to estimate sediment ...

The interactive effects of soil texture and type of N fertility (i.e., manure vs. commercial N fertilizer) on N(2)O and CH(4) emissions have not been well established. This study was conducted to assess the impact of soil type and N fertility on greenhouse gas fluxes (N(2)O, CH(4), and CO(2)) from the soil surface. The soils used were a sandy loam (789 g kg(-1) sand and 138 g kg(-1) clay) and a...

It is widely recognized that global warming promotes soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition, and soils thus emit more CO2 into the atmosphere because of the warming; however, the response of SOC decomposition to this warming in different soil textures is unclear. This lack of knowledge limits our projection of SOC turnover and CO2 emission from soils after future warming. To investigate the CO...

Plant ecologists require spatial information on functional soil properties but are often faced with soil classifications that are not directly interpretable or useful for statistical models. Sand and clay content are important soil properties because they indicate soil water-holding capacity and nutrient content, yet these data are not available for much of the landscape. Remotely sensed soil r...

Seeds from Pachira brevipes from white-sand forest and Pachira insignis from clay forest were placed in a reciprocal transplant experiment that manipulated herbivore presence. Pachira insignis experienced 80 percent leaf loss in both habitats from herbivores, causing 79 percent mortality in white-sand compared with 47 percent in clay in just 3 mo. Pachira brevipes suffered pathogen attack in bo...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the production feasibility of triaxial whiteware using sand from cast iron moulds as a raw material instead of silica, and recycled glass in place of feldspar. Formulations were prepared using sand, glass waste, and white-firing clay such that only 50% of the composition was virgin material (clay). The ceramic bodies were formed by pressing and fired at...