The colonization of the terrestrial environment by land plants transformed the planetary surface and its biota, and shifted the balance of Earth's biomass from the subsurface towards the surface. However there was a long delay between the formation of palaeosols (soils) on the land surface and the key stage of plant colonization. The record of palaeosols, and their colonization by fungi and lic...

Biochars (n=94) were found to have ash contents from 0.4% to 88.2%, volatile matter from 13.2% to 70.0%, and fixed carbon from 0% to 77.4% (w/w). Greater pyrolysis temperature for low-ash biochars increased fixed carbon, but decreased it for biochars with more than 20% ash. Nitrogen recovery varied depending on feedstock used to a greater extent (12-68%) than organic (25-45%) or total C (41-76%...

The objective of this work was to study Cr(VI) sorption/desorption on two by-products from the wood industry: pine sawdust and oak wood ash. The retention/release experiments were carried out using standard batch-type trials. In the sorption-phase experiments, pine sawdust showed 23% sorption when a concentration of 100 mg Cr(VI)ŸL-1 was added, whereas sorption on oak wood ash was 17%. In the d...

The use of zeolitic material synthesized from coal fly ash for the immobilization of pollutants in contaminated soils was investigated in experimental plots in the Guadiamar Valley (SW Spain). This area was affected by a pyrite slurry spill in April 1998. Although reclamation activities were completed in a few months, residual pyrite slurry mixed with soil accounted for relatively high leachabl...

Current study concerns measurement of radioactivity levels in areas surrounding a 2420 MW thermal power plant fueled predominantly by bituminous coal. The concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K in onsite bottom-ash were found to be 139 Bq/kg, 108 Bq/kg and 291 Bq/kg, respectively, the levels for these radiolnuclides in soil decreasing with distance from the power plant. At the plant perim...

Black ash (Fraxinus nigra) is a species used for basketmaking by several Native American Tribes in Eastern North America. In recent years, there has been a decline in availability of quality ‘basket trees’, and the purpose of this study was to determine what site characteristics allow for the growth of appropriate ring widths required for black ash splints used to make baskets. Three ecosystems...

Due to rapidly growing energy needs and the resultant rise in the use of coal to meet them, exploration and exploitation of coal resources has seen exponential growth. Global concerns about the environmental impact of coal exploitation have led to an increasing shift to open-cast mining of coal, in place of the traditional deep-pit mining. This has led to search for a suitable method of handlin...

Silicone (polydimethylsiloxanes, or PDMS) fluids are widely used in industrial and consumer products, and may find their way into municipal biosolids that are eventually applied to the land. In soil PDMS breaks down into dimethylsilanediol which is then either volatilized or biodegraded. Since biosolids are often composted prior to land application, this paper investigates fate and effects of P...

Increasing the share of renewable energies is among the prime policies of the European Union. Among the options are the incineration of wood in combined heat and power plants as well as the anaerobic digestion of organic materials to obtain biogas. Both processes leave behind residual matter – wood ash and anaerobic sludge. These residual materials contain chemical elements with considerable fe...