BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Urban farming makes a substantial influence on the household economy of the urban poor especially in developing countries. Urban soil the hot spot of urban farming is a natural sink for contaminants especially the trace elements derived mainly from anthropogenic activities. This study’s aim was to quantify the concentrations of selected trace elements...

To determine root growth and grain yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L) under moderate drought stress, a nursery experiment and a field trial were conducted with or without water stress using three representative cultivars released in different years: CW134 (old landrace), CH58 (modern cultivar) and CH1 (new release). In the nursery experiment, plants were grown in soil-filled rhizoboxes...

Artificial vegetation restoration can induce variations in accumulation and distribution of soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). However, little is known about variations in soil C, N and P nutrient fraction stratification following artificial vegetation in Loess Plateau China. Based on the hypothesis that re-vegetated can improve soil quality and stratification ratios (SR) can be ...

Marton (Argillic Perched-gley Pallic, Typic Endoaqualf), Ohakune (Typic Orthic Allophanic, Typic Hapludand), and Westmere (Mottled Mafic Melanic, Mollic Hapludalf) soils with differing structural vulnerability were compared at matched sites under different land uses. Topsoil samples (0-10 cm) from indigenous forest (>50 yr), permanent pasture (>50 yr), pine plantation (>20 yr), or arable croppi...

The Wangyang River (WYR) basin is a typical wastewater irrigation area in Hebei Province, North China. This study investigated the concentration and distribution of six priority phthalate esters (PAEs) in the agricultural soils in this area. Thirty-nine soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected along the WYR to assess the PAE residues in soils. Results showed that PAEs are ubiquitous environmental ...

The riverine transport of particulate organic matter (POM) is a significant flux in the carbon cycle, and affects macronutrients and contaminants. We used radiocarbon to characterise POM at 9 riverine sites of four UK catchments (Avon, Conwy, Dee, Ribble) over a one-year period. High-discharge samples were collected on three or four occasions at each site. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) was...

The grain size composition of topsoil characterizes the soil texture and other physical properties. The coarsening of topsoil grain size is a visible symbol of land degradation; thereby the change in topsoil grain size can be potentially used to monitor desertification using remote sensing. This study proposes a new index for detecting topsoil grain size composition through ground in situ soil ...

the concentrations of potentially toxic elements (as, sb, and hg) and some trace elements in 36 topsoil samples and 18 agricultural soil samples were measured at the aq-darreh river watershed, nw iran. based on the results of the chemical analysis and comparing them with different standards, it seems that the soils of the aq-darreh river watershed are polluted with as and sb. this pollution res...

The forest litter and underlying mineral topsoil are typically sampled analyzed separately although they in a dynamic balance, which ensures macro- microelement cycling the ecosystem, including flux accumulation of xenobiotics contaminated sites. Although national legal regulations specify single limits element concentration for entire “topsoil” layer, irrespectively kind materials resting at e...