Selected in-®eld physical, chemical and biological indicators were measured for the rapid assessment of soil quality changes in a Sorrento silty clay loam as a result of compost and ammonium nitrate application to a broccoli ®eld (San Benito County, CA). Plots were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications of 0, 22 and 44 Mg haÿ1 compost treatments which were split t...

There is great concern worldwide about air and water pollution arising from N-fertilizer. Considering the expansion of agriculture and fertilization practices in Argentina, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of Nfertilizers on soil N dynamics and then relationship with nitrate concentration in aquifers. Soil samples were taken during a maize crop cycle in two agricultural f...

OBJECTIVE To study the impacts of abundance of woodlice, termites, and mites on some functional aspects of soil in order to elucidate the specific role of soil fauna in improving soil fertility in desert. METHODS Fauna-rich sites were selected as experimental sites and adjacent areas were taken as control. Soil samples were collected from both sites. Soil respiration was measured at both site...

Soil nitrate is important for crop growth, but it can also leach to groundwater causing nitrate contamination, a threat to human health. Here, we report a significant accumulation of soil nitrate in Chinese semi-humid croplands based upon more than 7000 samples from 141 sites collected from 1994 to 2015. In the 0-4 meters depth of soil, total nitrate accumulation reaches 453 ± 39, 749 ± 75, 119...

When applied to soils, it is unclear whether and how biochar can affect soil nutrients. This has implications both to the availability of nutrients to plants or microbes, as well as to the question of whether biochar soil amendment may enhance or reduce the leaching of nutrients. In this work, a range of laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effect of biochar amendment on sorpt...

The effect of agricultural practices on nitrate accumulation in soils of different farmland systems in the Jordan Valley (JV) is not yet documented. This study aims at quantifying nitrate concentrations in top-soil and investigating its spatial distribution in the JV in order to help developing a nitrogen management plan for the JV. Results showed that nitrate concentrations range from 88.2 to ...

During three consecutive years (1991-93), a field experiment was conducted in 3n intensively irrigated agricultural sail in SW Spain. The maio objective of tbis study was to determine the water flow and nitrate leaching below tbe root zone~ under an irrigated maize crop and after the growing season (bare soil and rainy periad). The experiment was carried out on a furrow irrigated maize crop usi...

To evaluate the process of nitrate accumulation and leaching in surface and ground water, we conducted simulated rainfall experiments. The experiments were performed in areas of 5.3 m2 with bare slopes of 3° that were treated with two nitrogen fertilizer inputs, high (22.5 g/m2 NH4NO3) and control (no fertilizer), and subjected to 2 hours of rainfall, with. From the 1st to the 7th experiments, ...

The effects of global environmental changes on soil nitrogen (N) pools and fluxes have consequences for ecosystem functions such as plant productivity and N retention. In a 13-year grassland experiment, we evaluated how elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2 ), N fertilization, and plant species richness alter soil N cycling. We focused on soil inorganic N pools, including ammonium and nitrat...