The desiccation of upper soil horizons is a common phenomenon, leading to a decrease in soil microbial activity and mineralization. Recent studies have shown that fungal communities and fungal-based food webs are less sensitive and better adapted to soil desiccation than bacterial-based food webs. One reason for a better fungal adaptation to soil desiccation may be hydraulic redistribution of w...

To investigate the influence of different growing substrates (two mineral, two organic) on root xylem ABA concentration ([ABA](root)) and the contribution of the drying root system to total sap flow during partial rootzone drying (PRD), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) shoots were grafted onto the root systems of two plants grown in separate pots. Sap flow through each hypocotyl was measured be...

This study investigates the role of soil moisture on the threshold runoff response in a small headwater catchment in the Italian Alps that is characterised by steep hillslopes and a distinct riparian zone. This study focuses on: (i) the threshold soil moisture-runoff relationship and the influence of catchment topography on this relation; (ii) the temporal dynamics of soil moisture, streamflow ...

Forest soil ecosystems are associated with large pools and fluxes of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), which could be strongly affected by variation in rainfall events under current climate change. Understanding how dry and wet cycle events might influence the metabolic state of indigenous soil microbes is crucial for predicting forest soil responses to environmental change. We used 454 pyrosequenci...

Soil porosity (ϕ) is of a great deal for environmental studies due to the fact that water infiltrates and suffers redistribution in the soil pore space. Many physical and biochemical processes related to environmental quality occur in the soil porous system. Representative determinations of ϕ are necessary due to the importance of this physical property in several fields of natural sciences. In...

The pupal development of Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) was studied at various combinations of thermo-hygrometric soil conditions (temperatures of 16, 18, and 20 C and soil water content levels of 0.37, 0.56, and 0.73 m water per cubic meter of dry soil) representative of southeastern Canada. Survivorship and development duration of A. tumida pupae, as well as sex ratio and lif...

Soil compaction is a common problem that affects several soil properties and plant growth. In order to assess the effects of soil strength expressed by its mechanical resistance on roots, a growth chamber experiment was conducted at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, in 1994, during 35 days (530 GDD, 0oC base temperature) on a typical Paleudult soil. Treatments, using ...

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of soil moisture content on the absorbance spectra of sandy soils with different phosphorus (P) concentrations using ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), and near-infrared (NIR) absorbance spectroscopy. Sieve sizes were 125, 250, and 600 m for fine, medium, and coarse, respectively. The medium size of the samples was used for the study. Investigat...

BACKGROUND Large spatial, seasonal and annual variability of major drivers of the carbon cycle (precipitation, temperature, fire regime and nutrient availability) are common in the Sahel region. This causes large variability in net ecosystem exchange and in vegetation productivity, the subsistence basis for a major part of the rural population in Sahel. This study compares the 2005 dry and wet ...

Earthworms play key roles in soils and sub-lethal effects of environmental toxicants on these organisms should be taken seriously, since they might have detrimental effects on higher ecological levels. In laboratory experiments we have assessed sub-lethal effects (body mass change and cast production) of imidacloprid on two earthworm species commonly found in different agricultural soils (Lumbr...