The flat pampas in the state of Santa Fe in Argentina have soils with high silt content, variable carbon content, and diverse degrees of structural degradation. Aggregate stability has been used as an indicator of the structural condition of the soil. This study aimed to quantify the effect of the addition of crop residues and root activity on the agents of aggregation and mechanisms of aggrega...

The aim of poplar plantations is to achieve high biomass production over a short rotation period. This requires low mortality and fast development of the transplants. The experiment described in this paper examines methods aimed at enhancing survival and development of Populus trichocarpa plants by application of fertilizers, a hydrogel or a combination of both to dormant cuttings just before p...

Mathematical descriptions of classical particle size distribution (PSD) data are often used to estimate soil hydraulic properties. Laser diffraction methods (LDM) now provide more detailed PSD measurements, but deriving a function to characterize the entire range of particle sizes is a major challenge. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of eighteen PSD functions for fitting LD...

Environmental conditions influence patterns of local-scale plant productivity and species richness. We sampled soils and plant communities at a topographicallydiverse, mid-successional old field site in Kansas to better understand the abiotic factors underlying a natural plant productivity gradient. We related soil texture, pH, percent nitrogen and carbon, and soil moisture to elevation, plant ...

Vegetated buffer strips were evaluated for their ability to remove waterborne Cryptosporidium parvum from surface and shallow subsurface flow during simulated rainfall rates of 15 or 40 mm/h for 4 h. Log(10) reductions for spiked C. parvum oocysts ranged from 1.0 to 3.1 per m of vegetated buffer, with buffers set at 5 to 20% slope, 85 to 99% fescue cover, soil textures of either silty clay (19:...

Developing correlations between various soil parameters are considered the major challenge to diminish time and cost associated with field measurements. Soil hydraulic and physical properties were extensively characterized using tension disc infiltrometer and soil sampling in a silty clay agricultural field in Kalaat El-Andalous, Tunisia. Tension disc infiltrometer experiments were conducted at...

This paper illustrates the possibilities of applying what is essentially a physical soil-washing technique for treatment of soil contaminated by semi-volatile hydrocarbons in order to reduce the level of pollution to that permitted by Italian regulations. The ground around a factory producing lubricating-oil additives consists of silty-sandy soils, which have long been contaminated by heavy hyd...

Soil water repellency (SWR) was studied in 64 surface soil samples from Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), distributed over three different plant communities (natural and afforested Canarian pine forest, and high mountain legume scrub) and three types of soil parent materials (basaltic and salic rocks and basaltic tephra). Soils were studied for physicochemical properties (soil pH and salinity, ...

To evaluate the sensitivity of high-throughput DNA sequencing for monitoring biowarfare agents in the environment, we analysed soil samples inoculated with different amounts of Bacillus atrophaeus, a surrogate organism for Bacillus anthracis. The soil samples considered were a poorly carbonated soil of the silty sand class, and a highly carbonated soil of the silt class. Control soil samples an...