An optimized method, based on the coupling of two commercial kits, is described for the extraction of soil nucleic acids, with simultaneous extraction and purification of DNA and RNA following a cascade scheme and avoiding the use of harmful solvents. The protocol canmonitor the variations in the recovery yield of DNA and RNA from soils of various types.The quantitative version of the protocol ...

Soil amendments can improve the sustainability of agricultural systems by building soil carbon and improving numerous other soil health indicators, including soil structure, water infiltration and retention, bulk density, nutrient availability, and microbial activity. This chapter covers some general considerations relevant to the use of soil amendments followed by a discussion of biosolids, an...

[1] Traditionally, analytical solutions for heat transport in soils have been used in combination with heat pulse probe (HPP) measurements to estimate soil thermal properties. Although the analytical method has resulted in accurate estimation of soil thermal properties, we suggest that parameter estimation using inverse modeling (IM) provides new and unique opportunities for soil thermal charac...

Management strategies that minimize P transfer from agricultural land to water bodies are based on relationships between P concentrations in soil and runoff. This study evaluated such relationships for surface runoff generated by simulated sprinkler irrigation onto calcareous arable soils of the semiarid western United States. Irrigation was applied at 70 mm h(-1) to plots on four soils contain...

Approaches to soil management, including problems of soil degradation and low soil fertility, have recently undergone major changes. The former view was to concentrate on achieving high levels of production from the more fertile areas, leaving the marginal lands for extensive use only. Steeply sloping and highly drought-prone areas were preferably not to be cultivated at all. Soil constraints w...

Executive Summary Soil quality is an account of the soil's ability to provide ecosystem and social services through its capacities to perform its functions under changing conditions (after Tóth et al. 2007.) The concept of soil quality expressed by this definition allows practical applications with regards to targeted social and/or ecosystem services, including agri-environmental services. The ...

AIM Application of organic materials into agricultural systems enhances plant growth and yields, and improves soil fertility and structure. This study aimed to examine the effects of "compost extract (CE)", a soil conditioner, and bio-organic manure (BOM) on the growth of lucerne (Medicago sativa), and compare the efficiency between BOM (including numbers of microorganisms) and CE (including no...

Various inorganic and organic pollutants in industrial soils may adversely affect soil microorganisms and terrestrial ecosystem functioning. The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between the microbial activity, microbial biomass, and functional diversity of soil bacteria and the metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) in the Upper Silesian Industrial Region (Poland). We co...

It is well known that the world is rich with soil data resulting from the efforts of past soil surveys. However, the majority of these data is largely unused. These legacy soil data come in the form of soil maps, soil survey reports, soil profile descriptions, and/or in the format of antiquated “card catalogue”. These data provide many benefits including soil information preservation or as a ma...