-The use of powdered activated carbon treatment (PACT), based on simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation, is effective for treating organic toxic pollutants, present in industrial wastewaters. Removal of phenol and aniline from aqueous solutions by biological treatment alone, by adsorption on powdered activated carbon (PAC) alone and by simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation were compare...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soils are of concern to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to their mutagenic and carcinogenic nature. Bioremediation of PAHs is aimed at increasing the overall rate of natural degradation. Microbial bioremediation promotes processes by which microorganisms can take up and/or degrade organic molecules and their metabolites. Microorga...

Terrestrial desert ecosystems are strongly structured by the distribution of plants, which concentrate resources and create islands of fertility relative to interplant spaces. Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition resulting from urbanization has the potential to change those spatial patterns via resource inputs, resulting in more homogeneous soil resource availability. We sampled soils at 12 dese...

Grassland managements can affect carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage in grassland ecosystems with consequent feedbacks to climate change. We investigated the impacts of compound fertilization and clipping on grass biomass, plant and soil (0-20 cm depth) C, N storage, plant and soil C: N ratios, soil microbial activity and diversity, and C, N sequestration rates in grassland in situ in the Natio...

Flooding affects both aboveand below-ground ecosystem processes. While the below-ground changes may be less obvious, they are as important as the above-ground changes. Soil microorganisms are sensitive to disturbance, and shifts in soil microbial community structure are expected when anaerobic conditions develop from flooding. The primary objective of these studies was to determine the effect o...

Higher plant diversity is often associated with higher soil microbial biomass and diversity, which is assumed to be partly due to elevated root exudate diversity. However, there is little experimental evidence that diversity of root exudates shapes soil microbial communities. We tested whether higher root exudate diversity enhances soil microbial biomass and diversity in a plant diversity gradi...

Experiments with potted plants and removed understories have indicated that understory vegetation often affects the chemical and microbial properties of soil. In this study, we examined the mechanism and extent of the influence of understory vegetation on the chemical and microbial properties of soil in plantation forests. The relationships between the vegetational structure (diversity for diff...

Apple orchard surface soils in Japan are polluted with copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) due to long-term use of metal-based pesticides. We investigated the effects of heavy metals accumulated in the surface soils in apple orchards on the microbial biomass and the microbial communities. Soil samples were taken from a chestnut orchard (unpolluted control) and five apple orchards with diff...

This study was initiated to explore the effects of ozone (O3) exposure on potted wheat roots and soil microbial community function. Three treatments were performed: (1) Air with daily averaged O3 concentration of 4–10 ppb (control situation, CK), (2) Air plus 8 h averaged O3 concentration of 76.1 ppb (O3-1), and (3) Air plus 8 h averaged O3 concentration of 118.8 ppb (O3-2). In treatments with ...

We measured organic carbon input and content of soil in two wetland areas of Chongming Dongtan (Yangtze River Estuary) to evaluate variability in organic carbon accumulation capability in different wetland soils. Observed differences were investigated based on the microbial activity and environmental factors of the soil at the two sites. Results showed that the organic carbon content of wetland...