To degrade chrysene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) found in crude oil contaminated soil by bioremediation the Polyporus sp. S133, a fungus collected from soil was used. Maximal degradation (86%) was obtained when Polyporus sp. S133 was incubated in 0.5% tween 80 for 30 days, as compared to 30% degradation rate without tween 80. Chrysene was indeed degraded by Polyporus sp. S133 throug...

Soil concentrations and degradation rates of methyl isothio-cyanate (MITC), chloropicrin (CP), 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D), and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) were determined under fumigant application scenarios representative of commercial raised bed, plastic mulched vegetable production systems. Five days after application, 1,3-D, MITC, and CP were detected at concentrations up to 3.52, 0.72, and ...

Livestock waste composts with minimum inorganic fertilizer as a soil amendment in low-input intensive farming are a feasible agricultural practice to improve soil fertility and productivity and to mitigate soil degradation. The key benefits of the practice rely on the activities of soil microorganisms. However, the role of different livestock composts [composted cattle manure (CCM) vs. composte...

Two bioassay methods were modified to evaluate persistence, adsorption and biological availability of the fungicide benomyl in soil. The amount of biologically-available fungicide was assayed using the fungus Penicillium expansum Link ex Gray. The bioassay results were not significantly different from those obtained by spectrophotometry. The bioassays detected methyl 2-benzimidazole carbamate (...

Almendros, G., Martín, F. and González-Vila, F.J., 1987. Depolymerization and degradation of humic acids with sodium perborate. Geoderma, 39: 235-247. Two humic acids of different origin (peat and soil) were degraded with a 5 % sodium perborate solution (140 OC). This degradation process consists mainly of a stoichiometric production of hydrogen peroxide while the perborate is reacting with car...

Discontinuous permafrost in the North American boreal forest is strongly influenced by the effects of ecological succession on the accumulation of surface organic matter, making permafrost vulnerable to degradation resulting from fire disturbance. To assess factors affecting permafrost degradation after wildfire, we compared vegetation composition and soil properties between recently burned and...

Soil spiked with diesel oil was mixed with biowaste (vegetable, fruit and garden waste) at a 1:10 ratio (fresh weight) and composted in a monitored composting bin system for 12 weeks. Pure biowaste was composted in parallel. In order to discern the temperature effect from the additional biowaste effect on diesel degradation, one recipient with contaminated soil was hold at room temperature, whi...

* Corresponding author Abstract – Land degradation processes in the subtropical Thicket Biome in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, are observed and monitored. As a result, a significant loss of soil quality on such sites has been recorded. This study focuses on the determination of fundamental soil parameters like organic carbon, iron, and clay in order to assess ecosystem degradation. T...