In this work, the dispersive effect of low molecular weight sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) on serpentine, and its dispersion mechanism were systematically investigated through zeta potential measurements, micro and batch flotation as well as adsorption tests. At pH 5, where flotation of iron sulphide was routinely performed, pyrite and serpentine minerals were oppositely charged, and therefore they...

Accumulation of heavy metals is a concerning issue due to their known persistence in the ecosystem, and there are standard limits established for maximum allowable concentrations soils. However, metal accumulation coming from serpentinite soils often exceeds regulatory values, lack knowledge regarding bioavailability, mobility, toxicity environment. This research applied novel selective sequent...

Serpentine soil generates distinct plant assemblages, but it is not known how this edaphically extreme environment affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) assembly or how this may contribute to plant adaptation to serpentine. Our previous studies showed that serpentine and non-serpentine adapted ecotypes of Collinisa sparsiflora associates with distinct AMF assemblages, but a common garden ...

Plant communities in abiotically stressful, or 'harsh', habitats have been reported to be less invaded by non-native species than those in more moderate habitats. Here, we synthesize descriptive and experimental evidence for low levels of invasion in habitats characterized by a variety of environmental stressors: low nitrogen; low phosphorus; saline, sodic or alkaline soils; serpentine soils; l...

Polyploidization is one of the leading forces in the evolution of land plants, providing opportunities for instant speciation and rapid gain of evolutionary novelties. Highly selective conditions of serpentine environments act as an important evolutionary trigger that can be involved in various speciation processes. Whereas the significance of both edaphic speciation on serpentine and polyploid...

Aims Serpentine soils are rare globally, covering <1% of the land surface, but frequently harbouring large numbers narrow endemic species. Many serpentine areas endangered and would benefit from actions informed by species distribution models (SDMs). Here, we assessed, for first time, potential use remotely sensed descriptors water carbon cycles derived Copernicus Sentinel 2 images fine-scale h...

This paper presents analytical and experimental results of an investigation of joint actuators and their suitability for a particular class of complex mechanisms: serpentine robots. In practice, serpentine robots usually comprise of multiple segments connected by joints. Some serpentine robots provide legged, wheeled, or tracked propulsion, and, in addition, actuation for the joints. We compare...