This study summarizes the main results obtained by the research group from the Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla during ten years of study in the mine spill affected area of the Guadiamar river (SW Spain). This work is focussed on 1) trace element changes in soil (total and available concentrations) and plants (native and reforested), and 2) evaluation of the effectivene...

soil data can be very significantly informative in archeological and anthropological studies. bam citadel (bc), as the largest and oldest earthen (non baked brick) monument of the world has been restored for several times, but no data have yet been available surrounding the materials employed in the restoration work. bam citadel (bc) was almost totally destroyed by the severe earthquake of dece...

Artificial vegetation restoration can induce variations in accumulation and distribution of soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). However, little is known about variations in soil C, N and P nutrient fraction stratification following artificial vegetation in Loess Plateau China. Based on the hypothesis that re-vegetated can improve soil quality and stratification ratios (SR) can be ...

The study was undertaken to find out how crop farmers in the Techiman municipality of Ghana determine and manage the fertility of their soils. Data were obtained through questionnaire and interview of one hundred and ten randomly selected farmers from the municipality between January and February, 2010. Frequency count, percentage and correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data. The f...

The trait-based approach shows that plant functional diversity strongly affects ecosystem properties. However, few empirical studies show the relationship between soil fungal diversity and plant functional diversity in natural ecosystems. We investigated soil fungal diversity along a restoration gradient of sandy grassland (mobile dune, semifixed dune, fixed dune, and grassland) in Horqin Sand ...

Invasive species may undergo rapid change as they invade. Native species persisting in invaded areas may also experience rapid change over this short timescale relative to native populations in uninvaded areas. We investigated the response of the native Achillea millefolium to soil from Holcus lanatus-invaded and uninvaded areas, and we sought to determine whether differential responses between...

Hydrological restoration of historically isolated wetlands may mitigate phosphorus (P) loss. The objectives of this study were to quantify P in soil, determine effect of (1) soil characteristics on P release, and (2) antecedent soil hydrological conditions on P dynamics. Humic/fulvic acid bound P and residual P accounted for majority of P (>78%) in surface soils. Soils with highest nutrient sta...

7 Chapter Soil factors are an important consideration for successful wildland range development or improvement programs. Even though many soil improvement and amelioration practices are not realistic for wildlands, their evaluation is an important step in selection of adapted plant materials for revegetation. This chapter presents information for wildland managers on: the importance of soils ph...