annual fires might change many soil physical properties in semi steppe rangeland.the objective of this study was to investigate the impact of fire on soil physical properties and soil water infiltration parameters in semi-steppe rangeland of karsanak region in chaharmahal and bakhtiari province. therefore, several sites were chosen which were affected by fire at three, two and one years prior t...

This study evaluates the spatial heterogeneity of the soil chemical properties of surface soils across a 1 ha old-growth subtropical karst forest in southwest China.

Microbial functional diversity in four soils sampled in the vicinity of Wanda Glacier, Antarctic Peninsula, was determined using Biolog EcoPlates at 5°C and 25°C. Comparisons of the patterns of substrate utilization and the diversity index showed differences in community composition, reflecting the heterogeneous distribution of microorganisms in this environment. Differences in microbial divers...

Transpiration, a process by which plants extract water from soil and transmit it to the atmosphere, is a vital (yet least quantified) component of the hydrological cycle. We propose a root-scale model of water uptake, which is based on first principles, i.e. employs the generally accepted Richards equation to describe water flow in partially saturated porous media (both in a root and the ambien...

LEACHP is a modular package for calculating the one-dimensional vertical water and solute ̄ux in horizontally layered soils under transient conditions. Data from ®eld studies conducted in a sandy soil (Vredepeel, The Netherlands) and in a loamy soil (Weiherbach, Germany) were used by ®ve groups to simulate water ̄ow and bromide and pesticide transport with the LEACHP model. Calibrated outputs w...

Factors governing the turnover of organic matter (OM) added to soils, including substrate quality, climate, environment and biology, are well known, but their relative importance has been difficult to ascertain due to the interconnected nature of the soil system. This has made their inclusion in mechanistic models of OM turnover or nutrient cycling difficult despite the potential power of these...

The true efficacy of a programme of agricultural mitigation measures within a catchment to improve water quality can be determined only after a certain hydrologic time lag period (subsequent to implementation) has elapsed. As the biophysical response to policy is not synchronous, accurate estimates of total time lag (unsaturated and saturated) become critical to manage the expectations of polic...

Numerical models can be valuable tools in the prediction of seepage. The results can often be misleading if proper variational analysis is not performed. Measurement of the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) or saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity information is often neglected or minimized. The modeller is therefore forced to develop a seepage model based on estimated soil prop...