The use of fast growing trees could be an alternative in trace element contaminated soils to stabilize these elements and improve soil quality. In this study we investigate the effect of Paulownia fortunei growth on trace element contaminated soils amended with two organic composts under semi-field conditions for a period of 18 months. The experiment was carried out in containers filled with tr...

Autotrophic ammonia oxidation occurs in acid soils, even though laboratory cultures of isolated ammonia oxidizing bacteria fail to grow below neutral pH. To investigate whether archaea possessing ammonia monooxygenase genes were responsible for autotrophic nitrification in acid soils, the community structure and phylogeny of ammonia oxidizing bacteria and archaea were determined across a soil p...

De-esterification is an initial step in the metabolism of certain herbicides, for example, fenoxaprop-ethyl [(+/-)-ethyl 2-[4-[(6-chloro-2-benzoxaolyl)oxy]phenoxy]propanoate] (FE). The ethyl-ester bond cleavage of FE to fenoxaprop acid (FA) by purified enzymes, crude bacterial enzyme preparations, and soils was investigated. In similar experiments fluorescein diacetate (FDA) was used as an alte...

Soil fungal communities involved in the biodegradation of polyester polyurethane (PU) were investigated. PU coupons were buried in two sandy loam soils with different levels of organic carbon: one was acidic (pH 5.5), and the other was more neutral (pH 6.7). After 5 months of burial, the fungal communities on the surface of the PU were compared with the native soil communities using culture-bas...

Soil acidity is a major constraint on plant productivity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi support plant colonization in acidic soil, but soil acidity also constrains fungal growth and diversity. Fungi in extreme environments generally evolve towards specialists, suggesting that AM fungi in acidic soil are acidic-soil specialists. In our previous surveys, however, some AM fungi detected in str...

Sorption of sulfamethazine (SMN) and sulfathiazole (STZ) was investigated in three soils, a North Carolina loamy sand, an Iowa sandy loam, and a Missouri loam, under various pH conditions. A significant increase in the sorption coefficient (KD) was observed in all three soils, as the sulfonamides converted from an anionic form at higher pH to a neutral/cationic form at lower pH. Above pH 7.5, s...

When incubated with acid, alkaline, and neutral soils, a variety of synthetic sulfate esters representing the various classes of these compounds was hydrolyzed by enzymes, probably of microbial origin. The appearance of sulfate in the soil water occurred immediately after introduction into the soils with some esters, whereas with others it occurred only after lag periods. Heat treatment destroy...

Accumulation of phosphorus (P) for Florida soils under citrus production may have an impact on groundwater and nearby streams and lakes. Six extracting solutions including Mehlich3, Bray1, double-acid, ammonium bicarbonate-DTPA (ABDTPA), neutral NH4OAc, and water were used to investigate P accumulation for 44 surface soils. The samples have been collected from old groves in 7 major citrus produ...

Understanding bioavailability and toxicity is essential for effective ecological assessment of contaminated soils. Total, water and 0.01 M CaCl2 extractable and porewater Pb concentrations and soil properties in different shooting field soils were investigated. Three artificial soils containing different pH and organic matter contents and two natural soils were included as controls. Survival, r...