Minable rock phosphate is a finite resource. Replacing mineral phosphorus (P) fertilizer with P-rich secondary resources is one way to manage P more efficiently, but the importance of physicochemical and microbial soil processes induced by secondary resources for plant P uptake is still poorly understood. Using radioactive-labeling techniques, the fertilization effects of dairy manure, fish slu...

A composting toilet, using charcoal and rice husk as matrixes, requires inactivation treatment against pathogenic microorganisms derived from human feces before agricultural reuse. High pH conditions by adding calcium oxide (CaO) and wood ash is effective for lethal inactivation of pathogenic bacteria. However, quantitative information about application is limited. Therefore this study investig...

Understanding the cause of patchy bone distributions in archaeological sites requires that one distinguish bone decomposition in place from ‘‘empty’’ areas where bones were never present. Marked horizontal variations in bone abundance are found in the thick Mousterian layer (E) of Hayonim Cave, a large Paleolithic site in northern Israel. Infra-red analyses of minerals in the sediments identify...

In order to assess the effects of wood ash application to forests on small mammals, we collected bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and common shrews (Sorex araneus) from a forest area in southern Finland. Part of the sample population was from sites that had been treated with ash 1.5 years earlier, part from untreated control sites. The ash increased the soil pH and gave an average cadmium l...

The non-target effects of an azadirachtin-based systemic insecticide used for control of wood-boring insect pests in trees were assessed on litter-dwelling earthworms, leaf-shredding aquatic insects, and microbial communities in terrestrial and aquatic microcosms. The insecticide was injected into the trunks of ash trees at a rate of 0.2 gazadirachtin cm(-1) tree diameter in early summer. At th...

Acid soils with pH values below 5.5 have a negative effect on agricultural production. For this reason, liming is applied as measure to raise the soil optimum (pH = 6–7). The aim of our research was evaluate and compare effectiveness four materials (wood ash from biomass powerplant, filter dust cement factory, blast furnace slag iron carbocalk (limestone, by-product sugar factory)) in combinati...