Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) is one of the main fodder crops of Punjab, India. But due to the heavy metal contamination of agricultural soils by anthropogenic activities, there is rise in metal bioaccumulation in crops like Berseem. In addition to human influence, heavy metal contents in soil are highly dependent on soil characteristics also. Therefore a study was conducted in areas having ...

Pedogenesis and clay mineralogy of soils and rock samples were studied in a transect of calcareous, gypsiferous, saline soils and sediments of Bakhtegan lake bank in southern Iran. The main objectives of study were to determine the occurrence of clay minerals and factors controlling their distribution pattern and relative abundance in soils and parent materials. The soil parent material is high...

introduction: soil structural stability affects the profitability and sustainability of agricultural systems. particle size distribution (psd) and aggregate stability are the important characteristics of soil. aggregate stability has a significant impact on the development of the root system, water and carbon cycle and soil resistance against soil erosion. soil aggregate stability, defined as t...

The present investigation aimed to analyze the role of agroforestry systems in improving soil organic matter status, microbial activity and nitrogen availability with a view to effective management of the fertility of moderately alkaline soils. The study site was located at Karnal (29◦59′N, 76◦51′E, 250 m.s.l.) and the systems were characterized by a rice–berseem crop rotation; agrisilvicultura...

In 1962 an investigation was conducted to measure the reduction in hydrogen ion concentration of a weak acid (0.02N H,SO,) after it had been in contact with different soils. The acid-soil mixture was shaken, filtered and an aliquot titrated against 0.02N NaOH to neutrality. Of some 2,000 soils treated in this way, four were characterised by the formation of a clear gelatinous precipitate (consi...

Soil management has great potential to affect soil respiration. In this study, we investigated the effects of organic versus conventional soil management on soil respiration.  We measured the main soil physical-chemical properties from conventional and organic managed soil in Ecuador. Soil respiration was determined using alkaline absorption according to Witkamp.  Soil properties such as organi...

3A1 Electrical conductivity (EC) of 1:5 soil/water extract This test on milled air-dry sample at a soil/water ratio of 1:5 for 1 h is suitable for use on all soils, irrespective of whether acidic or alkaline. It usually underestimates the soluble salt status of soils containing natural or added gypsum, particularly if ≥ 1% of gypsum is present. Such soils would have an EC of about 2 dS/m. Soil ...

In the Senegal valley, it is commonly considered that the Acid Sulfate Soils of the delta are fossil soils overlain by more recent sediments, and that the Vertisols, which abruptly overlie a thick sandy horizon, result from a change in the sedimentation mode of the river. However, we show that both soils belong to the same pedological system extending from the delta to the limit of the last mar...