Metal hyperaccumulator plants like Alyssum murale have a remarkable ability to hyperaccumulate Ni from soils containing mostly insoluble Ni. We have shown some rhizobacteria increase the phytoavailability of Ni in soils, thus enhancing Ni accumulation by A. murale. Nine bacterial strains, originally isolated from the rhizosphere of A. murale grown in serpentine Ni-rich soil, were examined for t...

Badland soils-which have high silt and clay contents, bulk density, and soil electric conductivity- cover a large area of Southern Taiwan. This study evaluated the amelioration of these poor soils by thorny bamboo, one of the few plant species that grows in badland soils. Soil physiochemical and biological parameters were measured from three thorny bamboo plantations and nearby bare lands. Resu...

The effects of Dactylella oviparasitica strain 50 applications on sugarbeet cyst nematode (Heterodera schachtii) population densities and plant weights were assessed in four agricultural soils. The fungus was added to methyl iodide-fumigated and nonfumigated portions of each soil. The soils were seeded with Swiss chard. Four weeks later, soils were infested with H. schachtii second-stage juveni...

The legacy of industrialization has left many soils contaminated. However, soil organisms and plant communities can thrive in spite of metal contamination and, in some cases, metabolize and help in remediation. The responses of plants and soil organisms to contamination are mutually dependent and dynamic. Plantesoil feedbacks are central to the development of any terrestrial community; they are...

Fertilization affects bacterial communities and element biogeochemical cycling in flooded paddy soils and the effect might differ among soil types. In this study, five paddy soils from Southern China were subjected to urea addition to explore impacts of fertilization on nitrogen oxide (N2O) emission and bacterial community composition under the flooding condition. 16S rRNA gene-based illumina s...

Concern over nonpoint source P losses from agricultural lands to surface waters in frigid climates has focused attention on the role of freezing and thawing on P loss from catch crops (cover crops). This study evaluated the effect of freezing and thawing on the fate of P in bare soils, soils mixed with dairy manure, and soils with an established catch crop of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum...

Soil pH may influence speciation and extractability of Pb, depending on type of vegetation in urban soil environments. We investigated the relationship between soil pH and Pb extractability at forest and turf grass sites in Baltimore, Maryland. Our two hypotheses were: (1) due to lower pH values in forest soils, more Pb will be in exchangeable forms in forested than in turfgrass soils and (2) d...

The concentrations of cadmium in agricultural soils depend upon the amounts present in the parent rocks from which the soils form, the amounts added in the form of fertilizers and soil amendments, the amounts deposited onto soils from the atmosphere, and the amounts removed by harvested crops and by leaching. On average, sedimentary rocks contain greater concentrations of Cd than either igneous...

This study characterises the total As concentrations and As bioaccessibility in 109 soils from Devon Great Consols Mine, an abandoned Cu-As mine in Devon, SW England, UK and discusses the soil and mineralogical factors that influence the bioaccessibility of this element. These data provide the basis for developing more accurate exposure estimates for use in human health risk assessments. The me...

Degradative strains of fast-growing Mycobacterium spp. are commonly isolated from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soils. Little is known, however, about the ecology and diversity of indigenous populations of these fast-growing mycobacteria in contaminated environments. In the present study 16S rRNA genes were PCR amplified using Mycobacterium-specific primers and separated by...