GUO HC, WANG WB, LUO XH & WU XP. 2015. Characteristics of rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities in rubber plantations in Hainan Island, China. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis was used to investigate spatial variations in microbial communities of rhizosphere and bulk soil in rubber plantations in Hainan Island. Rhizosphere and bulk soil were collected from immature and mature rubber t...

Under conditions of high vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and soil drying, restricting transpiration is an important avenue to gain efficiency in water use. The question we raise in this article is whether breeding for agro-ecological environments that differ for the rainfall have selected for traits that control plant water use. These are measured in pearl millet materials bred for zones varying i...

In many places in the world, soil information is difficult to obtain and can be non-existent. When no detailed map or soil observation is available in a region of interest, we have to extrapolate from other parts of the world. This chapter will discuss the Homosoil method, which assumes homology of soil-forming factors between a reference area and the region of interest. This includes: climate,...

background soil pollution due to toxic metals released by industrial activities such as cement production is a serious problem from the standpoints of the environment and public health, because they tend to persist, circulating indefinitely and, eventually, accumulating throughout the food chain. objectives this paper presents the results of the first research study into the distribution of cad...

The minerals from which a soil is formed partly determine whether it is acid or alkaline. Soils formed from acidic rocks have a lower pH than those formed from basic rocks or alkaline parent material. Rainfall affects soil acidity development by leaching basic elements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium from the soil profile, leaving the acidic elements: hydrogen, aluminum and ma...

Soil heavy metal pollution is one of the main environmental problems in Pearl River Delta Economic Zone of China. Based on multi-purpose regional geochemical survey, regional eco-geochemical assessment, local eco-geochemical assessment and comprehensive appraisal, the eco-geochemical survey and assessment in Pearl River Delta Economic Zone of 41,698 km2 were completed. Samples from soils were c...