Pesticide use in agriculture can cause undesirable effects to the natural environment as well as to humans. A field trial to determine residues of 2,4-D and paraquat in the ricefield soil and surface water of the drainage canals in the Kerian district of Perak, Malaysia, was conducted during 2006/2007. Analyses of 2,4-D and paraquat in the soil and water samples were carried out using a high pe...

Composted municipal solid wastes (CMSW) could potentially be used as a mulching material to control runoff and soil erosion. The effects of mulching with CMSW on water percolation and rate of compost decomposition were studied using laboratory rainfall simulator. Samples of typical loess soil (Calcic Haploxeralf) were packed in boxes and either covered with 0, 100,200 and 300 m' ha-' of CMSW, o...

Objective: Soil salinity is one of the major worldwide environmental constraints affecting agricultural production in arid and semiarid regions. Lack of proper management of water and soil resources lead to increase soil salinity and reduce soil fertility. On the other hand, it seems simple and cheap method of measuring soil salinity is necessary. The aim of this study was to determine the rela...

Surface and soil core samples from northeast China were analyzed for Pu isotopes. The measured (240)Pu/(239)Pu atomic ratios and (239 + 240)Pu/(137)Cs activity ratios revealed that the global fallout is the dominant source of Pu and (137)Cs at these sites. Migration behavior of Pu varying with land type and human activities resulted in different distribution of Pu in surface soils. A sub-surfac...

Soil nitrate and mineralizable nitrogen are used to predict the root yield potential and N fertilizer needs of sugarbeets. Predicting the required N fertilizer for optimum refined sucrose production based on soil test procedures is needed because inadequate N limits root yield and high levels of N may reduce both extractable sucrose and sucrose yield. Sugarbeets (Beta vulgaris L.) were grown at...

annual fires might change many soil physical properties in semi steppe rangeland.the objective of this study was to investigate the impact of fire on soil physical properties and soil water infiltration parameters in semi-steppe rangeland of karsanak region in chaharmahal and bakhtiari province. therefore, several sites were chosen which were affected by fire at three, two and one years prior t...

Introduction: Natural radioactivity in the soil is considered a major indicator of radiological contamination. Primordial radionuclides are the main source of natural radioactivity. Natural radioactivity transfers radionuclides into the environment and poses radiation hazards to people's health. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the radon concentration an...

Soil profiles are often many meters deep, but with the majority of studies in soil microbiology focusing exclusively on the soil surface, we know very little about the nature of the microbial communities inhabiting the deeper soil horizons. We used phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis to examine the vertical distribution of specific microbial groups and to identify the patterns of microbial ...

The veredas (a type of wetlands) are wet ecosystems usually associated with the presence of hydromorphic soils, which often occur in the vicinity of springs and watercourses of the Cerrado region in Brazil. This study aimed to assess microbiological and biochemical soil properties in wetlands (veredas) located in preserved and disturbed environments (in farming and grazing areas) in the Cerrado...