Soil classification systems organize soil variability into useful groupings that can be identified by field investigation and documented in soil survey, and form the basis for the exchange and extension of soil science research and soil resources management. Fuzzy clustering analysis may be used whenever a composite classification of soil incorporates multiple parameters. In this paper, seventy...

The distribution of antimony (Sb) in topsoil and moss (Dicranum angustum) in disturbed and undisturbed areas, as well as coal and gangue, in Ny-Ålesund, Arctic was examined. Results show that the weathering of coal bed could not contribute to the increase of Sb concentrations in topsoil and moss in the study area. The distribution of Sb is partially associated with traffic and historical mining...

1. ABSTRACT Thc effects of adding various soil amendments and a pyrite oxidation inhibitor to aid in the establishment of vegetation and to reduce acid drainage (AD) from coal fly ash and coal reject (FA + CR*) were assessed in an outdoor mesocosm study. Preliminary greenhouse experiments and field observations at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) indicated that plants w...

Despite a multitude of studies, overall erosion rates as well as the contribution of different erosion processes on Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) remain uncertain, which hampers a correct assessment of the impact of soil erosion on carbon and nutrient cycling as well as on crop productivity. In this paper we used a novel approach, based on field evidence, to reassess erosion rates on the CLP befo...

Heavy metals in urban soils continue to attract attention because of their potential long-term effects on human health. During a previous investigation of urban soils in Galway City, Ireland, a pollution hotspot of Pb, Cu, Zn and As was identified in the sports ground of South Park in the Claddagh. The sports ground was formerly a rubbish dumping site for both municipal and industrial wastes. I...

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) was investigated using a 1H NMR-based metabolomics approach. The caps and stems were studied separately, revealing different metabolic compositions. Additionally, multivariate data analyses of the fungal basidiomata and the type of soil were performed. Compared to the stems, A. muscaria caps exhibited higher concentrations of isoleucine, leucine, valine, alanine, a...

Combustion-derived black carbon has received attention as a form of refractory organic carbon that may be preferentially preserved in soils and sediments. However, little is understood about the environmental roles of black carbon in urban soils. This investigation represented the preliminary study to characterize black carbon (BC) concentrations and enrichment ratios in Xuzhou urban roadside t...

Restoring biological soil crusts (biocrusts) in degraded drylands can contribute to recovery of ecosystem functions that have global implications, including erosion resistance and nutrient cycling. To examine techniques for restoring biocrusts, we conducted a replicated, factorial experiment on recently abandoned road surfaces by applying biocrust inoculation (salvaged and stored dry for two ye...

Topsoil is the preferred substrate for areas requiring rehabilitation after bauxite mining. However, topsoil is sometimes lacking and so there is a need to test the suitability of other, locally available substrates. In an abandoned bauxite mine in Southeastern Brazil, small patches of native vegetation spontaneously established in shallow depressions over weathered laterite, suggesting that gr...

Soil microbes provide important ecosystem services. Though the effects of changes in nutrient availability due to fertilization on the soil microbial communities in the topsoil (tilled layer, 0-20 cm) have been extensively explored, the effects on communities and their associations with soil nutrients in the subsoil (below 20 cm) which is rarely impacted by tillage are still unclear. 16S rRNA g...