Soil fertility depletion in smallholder agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa presents a formidable challenge both for food production and environmental sustainability. A critical constraint to managing soils in sub-Saharan Africa is poor targeting of soil management interventions. This is partly due to lack of diagnostic tools for screening soil condition that would lead to a robust and r...

Background: Barapukuria coal mine which has been operating from 2002 is situated in such a location that is dependent on agriculture. Pollution from Coal mining poses a huge risk to the ecosystem and surrounding soil. So, there could be some impact of the Barapukuria coal mine on the surrounding soil. The main aim of this study is to identify the soil quality of the study area and also see how ...

Present study report on biodegradation of starch grafted polyethylene (PE), successfully synthesized by graft copolymerization method using benzoyl peroxide as the radical initiator. Biodegradable behavior of the grafted PE was ascertained by soil burial test. Percent weight loss was measured as a function of number of days and observed that it increased with increasing number of days. Microana...

Repeated application may increase rates of pesticide dissipation in soil and reduce persistence. The potential for this to occur was investigated for the fungicide, tebuconazole (alpha-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]-alpha-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-ethanol), when used for peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production. Soil samples were collected from peanut plots after each of four tebuconazo...

background: soil structure is mainly composed of sand, silt, clay, and organic materials. organisms can live in the soil. the large number of stray cats in the cities of iran is a major environmental and health problem. toxoplasma oocysts are shed with the feces of cats, so soil is known as a potential source of transmission of toxoplasmosis. the aim of this study was to determine the soil cont...

One hundred thirty soil samples from agricultural fields and animal-inhabited areas were examined for the presence of Listeria. The microorganism was identified in 23 (17.7%) samples. L. monocytogenes was detected in 7 samples (5.4%), L. ivanovii in 2 (1.5%), L. innocua in 10 (7.7%) and L. welshimeri in 4 samples (3.1%). Prevalence of Listeria in soil from agricultural fields (17.5%) did not di...

This study evaluated lead, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in the residential communities adjacent to the Sydney, Nova Scotia, tar ponds, the area considered Canada's worst contaminated site. The tar pond remediation policy has been limited to the site and some residential properties. We compared background concentrations in 91 soil samples taken 5-20 km from th...

The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of keratinophilic and keratinolytic fungi in the soil of recreational areas in Lodz, with a particular emphasis on species potentially pathogenic for humans. The material consisted of 104 soil samples collected from the surface layer and 10-15 cm below the surface at 26 recreational areas in Lodz. Soil samples were inoculated on Sabouraud, Cz...

In this study, effects of continuous cropping on soil properties, enzyme activities, and relative abundance, community composition and diversity of fungal taxa were investigated. Rhizosphere soil from field continuously cropped for one-year, three-year and five-year by Coptis chinensis Franch. was collected and analyzed. Illumina high-throughput sequencing analysis showed that continuous croppi...

Cement dust deposition on soil has been implicated in the heavy metal (HM) contamination of soil, leading to adverse effects on plants and humans. This study assessed the impact of cement dust deposition on the HM content of the soil samples in the vicinity of a cement factory and its implication on the public health of the host community. Topsoil samples were collected at varying distances and...