Substrate type is a key-factor in nest-site selection and nest architecture of burrowing birds. However, little is known about which factors drive nest-site selection for these species, especially in the tropics. We studied the influence of soil attributes on nest-site selection by the campo miner Geositta poeciloptera, an open grassland bird that builds its nests within soil cavities. For all ...

Quantifying critical conditions of rill formation can be useful for a better understanding of soil erosion processes. Current studies lack a consensus and related rationale on how to describe these conditions. This study was based on the concepts that (1) the shear stress available for erosion at any given point is a function of the runoff rate, the slope steepness, and hydraulic characteristic...

Defining sustainable agricultural practices requires an understanding of both aboveand below-ground consequences to management strategies. While alternatives to biocides are sought for the control of weeds, insects and pathogens, biocide use will continue with the goal of reducing quantities used in an integrated approach. The impact of three fungicides on plant growth, seed yield, seed nutrien...

Soil compactibility which basically depends on soil texture, organic matter and soil water content during farm machinery traf®cking are major factors affecting soil conservation. In a ®eld experiment, cattle farmyard manure was applied to a silty clay loam soil (®ne-loamy, mixed, thermic Typic Haplargids, USDA; Calcaric Cambisols, FAO) in Isfahan, Iran. Three rates, 0, 50, 100 Mg haÿ1 (on oven ...

Matter turnover in soil is tightly linked to soil structure which governs the heterogeneous distribution of habitats, reaction sites and pathways in soil. Thereby, the temporal dynamics of soil structure alteration is deemed to be important for essential ecosystem functions of soil but very little is known about it. A major reason for this knowledge gap is the lack of methods to study soil stru...