The Gas Push–Pull Test (GPPT) is a tool for measuring in situ soil processes including methane oxidation. To quantify methane oxidation, methane and non-reactive gases selected based on transport behaviour similar to methane, were injected into soil above a petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated aquifer and gas samples were extracted over time. The rate of loss of methane was compared to the loss o...

enzymes are so crucial in the mineralization process of organic material. information of the soil enzymes activity is used in determining of the soil microbial properties and they are also important in soil health and quality. topographic attributes, soil properties and soil enzymes are associated together. hence, it is essential to know how these parameters affect on the soil enzymes activity....

soil salinity induces a stressful environment for soil micro-organisms and reduces their number and activity. the objective of this research is investigating the effect of different levels of salinity on some of soil biological indicators and also assessing the effect of two types of halotolerant rhizospheric bacteria on the value of these indexes in soil. 35 strains were isolated from saline r...

Living roots and their rhizodeposits affect microbial activity and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) mineralization. This so-called rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) has been increasingly recognized recently. However, the magnitude of the RPE and its driving mechanisms remain elusive. Here we investigated the RPE of two plant species (soybean and sunflower) grown in two soil types (a farm or a pr...

The effects of irrigation with treated urban wastewater (WW) on the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) diversity and soil microbial activities were assayed on a long-term basis in a semiarid orange-tree orchard. After 43 years, the soil irrigated with fresh water (FW) had higher AMF diversity than soils irrigated with WW. Microbial activities were significantly higher in the soils irrigated wit...

Set-aside farmland can effectively improve the self-rehabilitation of arable soil. Long-term set-asides however cannot satisfy provisionment, therefore the use of short-term set-asides to restore cultivated soil is a better option. Few studies have compared short-term set-aside patterns, and the effects of set-asides on soil microbial community and enzyme enzymes. We analyzed the bacterial stru...

Due to the emerging environmental issues related to e-waste there is concern about the quality of paddy soils near e-waste workshops. The levels of heavy metals and PCBs and their influence on the enzyme activity and microbial community of paddy soils obtained from the immediate vicinity of an e-waste workshop were investigated in the present study. The results indicated that the heavy metal an...

This study examined the effects of soil physicochemical properties (including heavy metal pollution) and vegetation parameters on soil basal respiration, microbial biomass, and the activity and functional richness of culturable soil bacteria and fungi. In a zinc and lead mining area (S Poland), 49 sites were selected to represent all common plant communities and comprise the area's diverse soil...

Emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance, and specifically resistance to third generation cephalosporins associated with extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) activity, is one of the greatest epidemiological challenges of our time. In this study we addressed the impact of the third generation cephalosporin ceftriaxone on microbial activity and bacterial community composition of two physical...

Empirical studies show that nitrogen (N) addition often reduces microbial decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) and carbon dioxide (CO2) production via microbial respiration. Although predictions from theoretical models support these findings, the mechanisms that drive this response remain unclear. To address this uncertainty, we sampled soils of three grassland sites in the U.S. Central G...