Added organic materials [1], composts and organic fertilisers are involved in building soil organic matter. They are a factor in soil property improvement, and can represent an important source of nutrients for both plants and soil organisms. Even a century ago [2], the composition of added organic materials was thought to have a direct influence on organic matter transformation. Intense work i...

To seek optimal network parameters of Radial Basis Function (RBF) Neural Network and improve the accuracy of this method on estimation of soil property space, this study utilizes genetic algorithm to optimize three network parameters of RBF Neural Network including the number of hidden layer nodes, expansion speed and root-mean-square error. Then, based on optimized RBF Neural Network, spatial ...

Alpine ecosystems are quite sensitive to global climatic changes. Drawing from two sets of remote sensing data (1986 and 2000) and field investigations, the ecological index method was used to document ecosystem changes in the Yangtze and Yellow River source regions of central Qinghai–Tibet. Although crucial to understanding alpine ecosystem responses to global climatic changes, and in assessin...

Introduction and Research Objectives Use of organic by-products as soil amendments in agricultural production exemplifies a strategy for converting wastes to resources. Paper mill sludge is one of the largest underutilized organic by-products in Wisconsin. Paper mill sludge (PS) generation in Wisconsin increases approximately 5% per year, and 70% of all PS generated currently (740,000 dry tons)...

Differential distribution of nutrients within an ecosystem can offer insight of ecological and physical processes that are otherwise unclear. This study was conducted to determine if enrichment of phosphorus (P) in tree island soils of the Florida Everglades can be explained by bird guano deposition. Concentrations of total carbon, nitrogen (N), and P, and N stable isotope ratio (δ(15)N) were d...

This study empirically estimates the multiple benefits of a subsidy policy that would offer payments to farmers in return for the adoption of conservation tillage, and compares the outcomes of alternative targeting designs for such a policy. The least-cost incentive payment policy schemes are simulated for the State of Iowa by using the data for roughly 12,000 National Resource Inventory (NRI) ...

The velocity of ultrasonic waves traveling in a media reflects the dynamic properties of that media, which should depend on the physical properties. Taking advantage of the easy-operation and non-destructive nature of the ultrasonic technology, it is possible to determine some physical properties of frozen soils indirectly by using this technique, either in the laboratory or in the field. A ser...

The response of soil properties to vegetation types is still not well understood and the relationship between vegetation types and soil properties has not been quantified in highland grasslands. A field experiment was conducted in highland grassland of the Loess Plateau in China to study the distribution of soil properties under different vegetation. 22 plant communities totaling 17 species tha...

Tillage has been reported to reduce organic matter concentrations and increase organic matter turnover rates to a variable extent. The change of soil climate and the incorporation of aboveground C inputs within the soil lead to no unique effect on biodegradation rates, because of their strong interaction with the regional climate and the soil physical properties. The periodical perturbation of ...