The present work was conducted to elucidate the effect of different soil mediums in various ratios on seed germination efficiency and growth of seedling of Simmondsia chinensis under in vivo conditions. The highest germination (94%) was recorded for seeds cultivated in S1 medium containing desert soil and Farm Yard Manure (FYM) (2:1) followed by S4 medium (90%) having desert soil, clay, FYM (1:...

The objective of this research was to identify the vegetation-soil relationships in Nodushan arid rangelands of Yazd. 5 sites were selected for measuring the cover of plant species and soil attributes. Soil samples were taken in 0-10 and 10-80 cm layers. The species studied were Salsola tomentosa, Salsola arbuscula, Peganum harmala, Zygophylum eurypterum and Eurotia ceratoides. Canonical corres...

Accurate descriptions of P leaching are important because excess P applied to soils can enter surface water via leaching and subsurface transport, thereby negatively impacting water quality. The objectives of this study were to monitor P leaching in soils with a long-term history of waste application, relate soil solution P concentrations to soil P status, and quantify P leaching losses. Soil s...

Bisphenol A (BPA, 2,2'-Bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane) is an artificial pollutant that is easily detected in soil and water environments. BPA decomposition and removal from the environment is relatively difficult due to its stability. This study evaluated the BPA decomposition and removal activities of the microbial community existing in the soil with or without Sphingomonas bisphenolicum AO1, a...

The principle of enzyme kinetics suggests that the temperature sensitivity (Q10) of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition is inversely related to organic carbon (C) quality, i.e., the C quality-temperature (CQT) hypothesis. We tested this hypothesis by performing laboratory incubation experiments with bulk soil, macroaggregates (MA, 250-2000 μm), microaggregates (MI, 53-250 μm), and mineral f...

The entomogenous nematode Steinernema feltiae was encapsulated in an alginate matrix containing a tomato seed. When these capsules were placed on 0.8% agar for 7 days, the seed germinated and ca. 20% of the nematodes escaped from the capsules, whereas only 0.1% escaped from capsules without seeds. When capsules containing nematodes and a seed were planted into sterilized or nonsterilized soil, ...

Soil respiration, a major component of the global carbon cycle, is significantly influenced by land management practices. Grasslands are potentially a major sink for carbon, but can also be a source. Here, we investigated the potential effect of land management (grazing, clipping, and ungrazed enclosures) on soil respiration in the semiarid grassland of northern China. Our results showed the me...

Continuous measurements of soil respiration and its components help us understand diurnal and seasonal variations in soil respiration and its mechanism. We continuously measured CO2 concentration at various depths in the soil and calculated surface CO2 efflux based on CO2 gradients and diffusivity in a young ponderosa pine plantation in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. We determined s...

This is a preliminary study of the depth distribution of (137)Cs radionuclides in cultivated anthrosol soil of a 15-year old peach tree plantation at the experimental field "Radmilovac" near Belgrade. Before planting, the soil was ploughed at the depth of 1 m. The soil had not been annually ploughed, irrigated and treated with mineral fertilizers for three years before sampling. Activity concen...

In this experiment, 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 ml of each oil dissolved in 1 ml of 95 % ethanol was added to 1 kg of soil containing 370 P. penetrans per kg, and incorporated by shaking. After 10 days at 22 ± 3 C, a four-week-old tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill cv. Bonny Best) seedling was planted in each of six 5-cm-diam plastic pots containing 100 g of treated or untreated infested soi...