This paper presents some results from a survey carried out in 2004 among 223 olive tree farmers from mountainous areas in the Spanish Southern provinces of Granada and Jaén regarding the adoption of soil conservation and management practices. Olive tree groves in mountainous areas are subject to a high risk of soil erosion and incur a higher cost of soil conservation. This results in greater di...

One of the main factors of water erosion is the natural characteristics of the soil called "erodibility" or"detachability". The present study aims to analyze the variations of soil erodibility factor in different plains and thefactors related to it. Erodibility is one the key factors in some models of erosion and sediment such as Universal SoilLoss Equation (USLE), Revised USLE (RUSLE), and Mod...

organic matter and its related soil properties are among the most important indicators of soil quality. despite the importance of soil organic carbon, no comprehensive study has been done on organic carbon changes in soils of the isfahan province. the objective of this research was to investigate factors affecting soil organic carbon in soils of this province. a total of 248 surface soil sample...

Heavy industrialization has resulted in the contamination of soil by metals from anthropogenic sources in Anniston, Alabama. This situation calls for increased public awareness of the soil contamination issue and better knowledge of the main factors contributing to the potential sources contaminating residential soil. The purpose of this spatial epidemiology research is to describe the effects ...

Rhizobia are bacteria that can fi xate atmospheric nitrogen in association within the root or the stem nodules of legume plants and transform atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. Soil environmental conditions are critical factors for the persistence and survival of rhizobia in the soil. Th e changes in the rhizosphere environment can aff ect both growth and saprophytic competence, which will infl u...

Relationships between soil factors and vegetation types in playa of Damghan was investigated. Six vegetationtypes including Artemisia.sieberi, Arundo. sp, Artemisia.sieberi-Peganum.harmala, Alhagi.cammelerom,Artemisia.sieberi-petropyron.sp, Tamarix.passerinoides-Halocnemum strobilaceum. One bare land was recognized inthe study area and the research was conducted within mentioned types. Canopy p...

Soil respiration (Rs) is a major pathway by which fixed carbon in the biosphere is returned to the atmosphere, yet there are limits to our ability to predict respiration rates using environmental drivers at the global scale. While temperature, moisture, carbon supply, and other site characteristics are known to regulate soil respiration rates at plot scales within certain biomes, quantitative f...

This paper reviews current remediation technologies that use chelating agents for the mobilization and removal of potentially toxic metals from contaminated soils. These processes can be done in situ as enhanced phytoextraction, chelant enhanced electrokinetic extraction and soil flushing, or ex situ as the extraction of soil slurry and soil heap/column leaching. Current proposals on how to tre...

Soil bacteria play a key role in the ecological and evolutionary responses of agricultural ecosystems. Domestic herbivore grazing is known to influence soil bacterial community. However, the effects of grazing and its major driving factors on soil bacterial community remain unknown for different plant community compositions under increasing grazing intensity. Thus, to investigate soil bacterial...

Interest in bioenergy is growing across the Western world in response to mounting concerns about climate change. There is a risk of depletion of soil carbon stocks in biomass production systems, because a higher proportion of the organic matter and nutrients are removed from the site, compared with conventional agricultural and forestry systems. This paper reviews the factors that influence soi...