Biochar (BC) application to agricultural soils could potentially sequester recalcitrant C, increase N retention, increase water holding capacity, and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Biochar addition to soils can alter soil N cycling and in some cases decrease extractable mineral N (NO and NH) and NO emissions. These benefits are not uniformly observed across varying soil types, N ferti...

The yield of rainfed crops is commonly limited by the availability of soil water during the summer growing season. Channels produced by cover crop roots in fall/winter when soils are relatively moist may facilitate the penetration of compacted soils by subsequent crop roots in summer when soils are relatively dry and hard. Our objective was to determine the effects of fall cover crops on maize ...

The availability of phosphorus (P) fertilizer applied to soil can diminish rapidly because the complex P immobilization processes. However, quantitative distribution in fractions is not fully understood. Here, two experiments were conducted a greenhouse using 32P-labelled KH2PO4 (i) quantify fractions, microorganisms and maize shoots grown contrasting soils; (ii) characterize effect planting on...

Agricultural soil is typically an important component of urban ecosystems, contributing directly or indirectly to the general quality of human life. To understand which factors influence metal accumulation in agricultural soils in urban ecosystems is becoming increasingly important. Land use, soil type and urbanization indicators all account for considerable differences in metal accumulation in...

The application of crop residues combined with Nitrogen (N) fertilizer has been broadly adopted in China. Crop residue amendments can provide readily available C and N, as well as other nutrients to agricultural soils, but also intensify the N fixation, further affecting N2O emissions. N2O pulses are obviously driven by rainfall, irrigation and fertilization. Fertilization before rainfall or fo...

a r t i c l e i n f o Fragipans are dense subsurface soil layers that severely restrict water flow and root penetration. They are considered a pedogenic horizon, but their exact genesis is not well understood. In Soil Taxonomy (2010) a fragipan is defined as a layer that is at least 15 cm thick, contains a coarse structure, and is reversibly cemented. We examined 362 pedons with fragipans in th...

Sedimentological studies of ancient fluvial systems commonly do not consider in detail palaeosols floodplain deposits. This is the case upper Paleocene Esplugafreda Formation (Pyrenees, Spain), a 100–340 m thick alluvial succession, which represent more than 80% its thickness. unit closely predates climate crisis Paleocene/Eocene transition, PETM (Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum). The purpose ...

The no-tillage system is perceived as having lower soil temperatures, wetter soil conditions, and greater surface penetration resistance compared with conventional and other conservation tillage systems. Concerns associated with the effect of the no-tillage system on certain soil physical properties (i.e. soil temperature, moisture, and compaction) prompted this study to evaluate the effect of ...

Microbial-mediated nitrogen (N) dynamics is not only a key process for crop productivity, but also driver N losses. Therefore, better understanding of and controlling factors in different soil types needed to manage fertilization fields. To achieve this, 15N tracing approach was used quantify simultaneously occurring transformation rates four agricultural trials (>20 years chemical fertilize...