Environmental surveys on soil viruses are still rare and mostly anecdotal, i. e., they mostly report on viruses at one location or for only a few sampling dates. Detailed time-series analysis with multiple samples can reveal the spatio-temporal dynamics of viral communities and provide important input as to how viruses interact with their potential hosts and the environment. Such surveys, howev...

Copper (Cu)-based fungicides have been used in viticulture to prevent downy mildew since the end of the 19th century, and are still used today to reduce fungal diseases. Consequently, Cu has built up in many vineyard soils, and it is still unclear how this affects soil functioning. The present study aimed to assess the short and medium-term effects of Cu contamination on the soil fungal communi...

The effects of specific environmental factors on abundance and distribution of some individual soil insect taxa is known, but how scale influences spatial distribution is less well evaluated, particularly at the community level. However, given that many soil insects are pests or beneficial natural enemies, and that collectively they play a role in soil processes, this information is of potentia...

The spatial pattern of soil moisture varies at different scales due to evapo-transpiration and precipitation which are transformed by topography, soil texture, and vegetation. The mapping of soil moisture by remote sensing has several advantages over conventional field measurement techniques especially in the case of heterogeneous landscapes. However, validation of low resolution satellite soil...

The presented study deals with the interpretation of soil quality monitoring data using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal components analysis (PCA). Both statistical methods contributed to the correct data classification and projection of the surface (0-20 cm) and subsurface (20-40 cm) soil layers of 36 sampling sites in the region of Burgas, Bulgaria. Clustering of the variable...

Suppose that a residential neighborhood may have been contaminated by a nearby abandoned hazardous waste site. The suspected contamination consists of elevated soil concentrations of chemicals that are also found in the absence of site-related contamination. How should a risk manager decide which residential properties to sample and which ones to clean? This paper introduces an adaptive spatial...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of biochar amendment on soil aggregate formation and stability, and soil hydraulic properties. Biochar produced from dairy manure was added to two different soils (a silty clay and a sandy loam soil) at a ratio of 2% (w/w in dry weight basis). Incubation experiments were conducted within a 90-d period with the soils (the controls) and the soi...