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...

A field experiment with six treatments was conducted to study the nitrogen reserves in summer maize topsoil on the north China plain. Results showed that topdressing significantly increased topsoil nitrogen reserves. Summer corn topsoil nitrogen reserves were affected by several management measures. Shallow tillage, wheat straw no-returning and deep intertillage at the corn seedling stage signi...

Abstract The study was based on the distribution of soil carbon and nitrogen orders in a dryland farming system Aceh Besar District, Indonesia. Soil samples were taken to represent 6 (six) drylands Besar, namely: Andisols, Entisols, Inceptisols, Mollisols, Oxisols, Ultisols. For each order, 5 observation profiles made, profile sampled at 7 (seven) depths from 0-100 cm, 0-0.05 m; 0.05-0.10 0.10-...

The topsoil around Beijing metropolis, China, is experiencing impacts of rapid urbanization, intensive farming, and extensive industrial emissions. We analyzed the concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cr from 87 topsoil samples in the pre-rainy season and 115 samples in the post-rainy season. These samples were attributed to nine land use types: forest, grass, shrub, orchard, wheat, cotton...

Topsoil mining associated with informal mud brick making is common in rural villages of South Africa. The impact topsoil on soil quality, however has not been investigated. This study therefore assessed the unfired bricks selected quality indicators two KwaZulu-Natal, Firstly, local miners were interviewed to ascertain information related mining, brickfield site identification and suitability f...

The construction of linear transport infrastructure has severe effects on ecosystem functions and properties, and the restoration of the associated roadslopes contributes to reduce its impact. This restoration is usually approached from the perspective of plant cover regeneration, ignoring plant-soil interactions and the consequences for plant growth. The addition of a 30 cm layer of topsoil is...

One of the main steps in road and railway embankment restoration is the spreading of previously removed topsoil, which provides an input of seeds, organic matter and microorganisms and encourages the establishment of a vegetation cover, essential to stabilise the embankment and blend it with the landscape. However, topsoil is a scarce resource, prompting the search for economic alternatives wit...

Abstract Large distribution of roots in topsoil layers allow more uptake soil water and nutrients during the vegetative growth, but it may be disadvantageous if deficit develops reproductive stage. The relationship between (0–0.4 m) use, dry matter nitrogen (N) accumulations, grain yield was examined winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with contrasting root size topsoil. Two old landraces (CW13...

This study investigated soil development resulting from revegetation in a coal mining area northern Henan, China. The effectiveness of six distinct methods for reclaiming mine-degraded lands was assessed. These employed various species such as Ulmus pumila, Amorpha fruticosa, Robinia pseudoacacia, Jerusalem artichoke, and Sea buckthorn. Over three-year reclamation period, analyzed to identify t...