As soil is the basis of all terrestrial ecosystems, degraded soil means lower fertility, reduced biodiversity and reduced human welfare. Therefore the focus of this paper is on elucidating the influence of land use and land cover (LULC) change on two important soil quality indicators that are fundamental to effective measures for ameliorating soil degradation; namely soil acidity and soil salin...

Soil is one of our most precious natural resources. Proper soil management is a key to sustainable agricultural production. Soil management involves six essential practices: proper amount and type of tillage, maintenance of soil organic matter, maintenance of a proper nutrient supply for plants, avoidance of soil contamination, maintenance of the correct soil acidity, and control of soil loss (...

While pure rain is naturally slightly acidic, the higher level of acidity in acid rain makes it a threat to plant and aquatic life and to some manmade materials and structures. The slight natural acidity of pure rain is the result of carbon dioxide in the air dissolving in water to produce a weak carbonic acid solution. This natural acid in rainfall and snowmelt is partly responsible for the lo...

Sensitive responses among bacterial and fungal communities to pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) (biochar) addition in rhizosphere and bulk soils are poorly understood. We conducted a pot experiment with manure and straw PyOMs added to an acidic paddy soil, and identified the sensitive "responders" whose relative abundance was significantly increased/decreased among the whole microbial community f...

Annelid coenoses in wet soils reveal specific characteristics in relation to the prevailing complex of abiotic and biotic factors effective in these soils. Especially, the presence or lack of oxygen in the topsoil is of great influence for species composition and vertical distribution of annelids in wet soils. Some annelids, for example most of the smaller enchytraeids, avoid the anaerobic cond...

Field and greenhouse studies have confirmed that wattle brush ash may cause marked increases in yield . when sugarcane is grown in certain midland soils. This effect was associated with the following factors: (i) decreased soil acidity (ii) increased P and K uptake by the plant (iii) increased soil exchangeable Ca, Mg, P, K and base saturation values (iv) reduced soil levels of A1 and Mn (v) re...