Nitrogen availability and tree species selection play important roles in reforestation. However, long-term field studies on the effects and mechanisms of tree species composition on N transformation are very limited. Eight years after tree seedlings were planted in a field experiment, we revisited the site and tested how tree species composition affects the dynamics of N mineralization and nitr...

BACKGROUND The objectives of these laboratory experiments were: (1) to assess bromoxynil sorption, mineralization, bound residue formation and extractable residue persistence in a Dundee silt loam collected from 0-2 cm and 2-10 cm depths under continuous conventional tillage and no-tillage; (2) to assess the effects of autoclaving on bromoxynil mineralization and bound residue formation; (3) to...

Black spruce forests are a dominant covertype in the boreal forest region, and they inhabit landscapes that span a wide range of hydrologic and thermal conditions. These forests often have large stores of soil organic carbon. Recent increases in temperature at northern latitudes may be stimulating decomposition rates of this soil carbon. It is unclear, however, how changes in environmental cond...

In present day scenario, pesticides are widely used for pest control in agriculture, because of which, the drinking water sources (both surface and ground water) gets contaminated. Majority of the pesticides are defiant to biodegradation and are found to be carcinogenic in nature even at trace levels. Various conventional methods employed for removal of pesticide are surface adsorption, photo-c...

This study examined the photolytic degradation of C.I. Acid Red 73 AR73 diazo dye, in aqueous solution by combined UV, hydrogen peroxide and KMnO4. A continuous circulated photoreactor equipped with a low pressure mercury lamp 15 W, emission 253.7 nm was used. In the first step, potassium permanganate was used for decolourisation of AR73 dye solution. The effect of the key operating variables s...

[1] Inland waters, just as the world’s oceans, play an important role in the global carbon cycle. While lakes and reservoirs typically emit CO2, they also bury carbon in their sediment. The net CO2 emission is largely the result of the decomposition or preservation of terrestrially supplied carbon. What regulates the balance between CO2 emission and carbon burial is not known, but climate chang...

A bacterial community from Danish agricultural soil was enriched with linuron [N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N'-methoxy-N'-methylurea] as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. The community mineralized [ring-U-14C]linuron completely to 14CO2 and 14C-biomass. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis and cultivation revealed that a Variovorax sp. was responsible for the mineralization activity.

Ecosystem engineers change abiotic conditions, community assembly and ecosystem functioning. Consequently, their loss may modify thresholds of ecosystem response to disturbance and undermine ecosystem stability. This study investigates how loss of the bioturbating lugworm Arenicola marina modifies the response to macroalgal detrital enrichment of sediment biogeochemical properties, microphytobe...

The present investigation aimed to analyze the role of agroforestry systems in improving soil organic matter status, microbial activity and nitrogen availability with a view to effective management of the fertility of moderately alkaline soils. The study site was located at Karnal (29◦59′N, 76◦51′E, 250 m.s.l.) and the systems were characterized by a rice–berseem crop rotation; agrisilvicultura...

AIM To examine the effect of carbon dioxide laser irradiation on mineralization in dental pulp cells. METHODOLOGY Rat dental pulp cells were irradiated with a carbon dioxide laser at 2 W output power for 20, 40 and 60 s, and were cultured in ascorbic acid and beta-glycerophosphate containing media. Cell viability was examined 24 h after laser irradiation by a modified MTT assay. Alizarin Red ...