This article deals with the principles of soil formation and shows the problems to recognize and visualize the many effects of man made stress in soils. Soils are transformation products of minerals and organic matter with a defined organization, morphology and structure. They are closely related to site factors and for this, the soil properties vary considerably in time and space. Due to many ...

Repeated application of manures to agricultural soils could cause the accumulation of phosphorus (P) in soils. However, it is unclear if manure P can behave similar to P in soluble fertilizers in accumulation Olsen-P (0.5 mol L-1 NaHCO3 at pH 8.5) in soils. A long-term wheat-maize rotation experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of repeated application of manures on P accumulation i...

Soils in ice-free areas of Livingston Island have been forming since the last deglaciation in a maritime warmer climate that is more humid than in interior Antarctica. A soil survey was carried out on Byers and Hurd peninsulas to characterize the soils and investigate the processes. Soils were sampled on two different substrates, mudstones and volcanic rocks in Byers Peninsula

Two common manure storage practices are stockpiles and lagoons. The manure from stockpiles is applied to soils in solid form, while lagoon manure is applied as a liquid. Soil amendment with manure in any form introduces a significant amount of phosphorus (P) that exists in both organic and inorganic forms. However, little is known about P speciation in manure stored under different conditions, ...

Site geology: The geology of the Oak Park site is one of limestone-drift materials overlying regional limestone-bedrock (over which two broad groups of soils occur: light-textured gravelly soils derived from limestone, and more heavy-textured soils derived from till). The soil underlying Miscanthus-plantations used in the experiments the former type, with a perched clay/subsoil layer under the ...

Special Antarctic Blend (SAB) is a diesel fuel dominated by aliphatic hydrocarbons that is commonly used in Antarctic and subantarctic regions. The past and present use of SAB fuel at Australia's scientific research stations has resulted in multiple spills, contaminating soils in these pristine areas. Despite this, no soil quality guidelines or remediation targets have been developed for the re...

There is increasing evidence that microbial volatiles (VOCs) play an important role in natural suppression of soil-borne diseases, but little is known on the factors that influence production of suppressing VOCs. In the current study we examined whether a stress-induced change in soil microbial community composition would affect the production by soils of VOCs suppressing the plant-pathogenic o...

Dense hyphal mats formed by ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi are prominent features in Douglas-fir forest ecosystems, and have been estimated to cover up to 40% of the soil surface in some forest stands. Two morphotypes of EcM mats have been previously described: rhizomorphic mats, which have thick hyphal rhizomorphs and are found primarily in the organic horizon, and hydrophobic mats, which occur i...

1. Organic matter decomposition is the main process by which carbon (C) is lost from terrestrial ecosystems, and mycorrhizal associations of plants (i.e. arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) and ectomycorrhizas (ECM)) may have different indirect effects on this loss pathway. AM and ECM plants differ in the soil decomposers they promote and the quality of litter they produce, which may result in differen...

The retention of nutrients in narrow, vegetated riparian buffer strips (VBS) is uncertain and underlying processes are poorly understood. Evidence suggests that buffer soils are poor at retaining dissolved nutrients, especially phosphorus (P), necessitating management actions if P retention is not to be compromised. We sampled 19 buffer strips and adjacent arable field soils. Differences in nut...