Acidic deposition caused by fossil fuel combustion has degraded aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in North America for over four decades. The only management option other than emissions reductions for combating the effects of acidic deposition has been the application of lime to neutralize acidity after it has been deposited on the landscape. For this reason, liming has been a part of acid rai...

We tested the hypothesis that moisture stress affects fine root dynamics during and after the stress. To this end, we investigated the effects of soil moisture on annual and seasonal fine root production and mortality over 4 years in a mature balsam fir (Abies balsamea L. Mill.) stand using a minirhizotron and soil coring. Droughting and irrigating treatments were imposed for 17 weeks during th...

Quantification of the Nitrogen (N)-supplying capacity of organic manures provides an important insight into more effective N management practices. The aims of this study were to determine the potential N mineralization of cow manure (CM), poultry manure (PM), urea fertilizer (UF) and the combined use of cow manure + urea fertilizer (CM + UF) for silage maize (Zea mays L.) in a calcareous so...

Erosion from forest roads is an important contribution to the sediment budget of many forested basins, particularly over short time scales. Sediment production from 74 road segments was measured over three years to examine how road slope, segment length, cutslope height, and soil texture affect sediment production and how these relationships change with time. In the first year, differences in s...

The need for identification of soil microbial community mainly depends on direct extraction of DNA from soil, a multifaceted environment that is a major pool for microbial genetic diversity. The soil DNA extraction procedures usually suffer from two major problems, namely, inappropriate rupturing of cells and contamination with humic substances. In the present study, five protocols for single t...

The inactivation of radioactively labeled poliovirus type 1 and coxsackievirus B 1 in soils saturated with surface water, groundwater, and septic tank liquor was directly proportional to temperature. Virus persistence was also related to soil type and the liquid amendment in which viruses were suspended. At 37 degrees C, no infectivity was recovered from saturated soil after 12 days; at 4 degre...

Many dams in the U.S. are reaching the ends of their lifespans and dam removal as a form of river ecosystem restoration is becoming more prevalent. Revegetation of newly exposed sediments is an important aspect of ecosystem recovery after dam removal. Understanding the soil environment left behind after dam removal is important for understanding revegetation and ecosystem recovery trends. Physi...

Soils play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle; they represent a carbon reservoir larger than the atmosphere, they are the site of a number of key carbon transformations (e.g. mineralization and humification), and contain a number of unique carbon pools (e.g. plant litter, humic substances, dissolved organic matter, etc.). Land disturbance associated with surface coal mining results in co...

A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of soil type on the response of ‘Russell’ bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] to broiler litter applications. Soils included Leeper clay loam (fine, smectitic, nonacid, thermic Vertic Epiaquept), Marietta silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, active, thermic Oxyaquic Fraglossudalf), and Ruston sandy loam (fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive...