t The effect of sesquioxidic i i ic gravels (>2 mm size fraction) on phosphorus sorption by two gravelly lateritic soils was investigated by phosphorus sorption experiments, X-ray diffraction, ti , autoradiography and electron microscopy. In one soil the abundance and size of gravels l decreased downslope. As the gravel content of both soils increased (13-61%), ), the proportion of large (>8 mm...

Fairy Circles (FCs) are barren circular patches of soil surrounded by grass species, the origin of which is poorly understood. FCs feature in both the gravel plains and dune fields of the Namib Desert. While a substantial number of hypotheses to explain the origin and/or sustainability of fairy circles have been presented, none are completely consistent with either their properties or distribut...

UNLABELLED Fairy circles (FCs) are barren circular patches of soil surrounded by grass species. Their origin is poorly understood. FCs feature in both the gravel plains and the dune fields of the Namib Desert. While a substantial number of hypotheses to explain the origin and/or maintenance of fairy circles have been presented, none are completely consistent with either their properties or thei...

abstract saturated hydraulic conductivity (ks) is one of the most important physical properties of soils which is expensive and time-consuming to directly measure. hence, indirect methods, such as pedotransfer functions (ptfs), were developed to predict the ks. previous studies showed that most of the ptfs common in the literature can not suitably predict the ks. hence, this study was conducted...

Soil gravel content affects many soil physical properties, as well as crop yield. Little is known regarding the influence of soil gravel content on growth and nutrient uptake of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.). The accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorous during the vegetative and reproductive periods and the contribution of pre-anthesis assimilates to grain N and P content have been evaluat...

The Namib Desert in southwest Africa is hyperarid and composed of distinct microbial communities affected by a longitudinal aridity gradient. Here, we report four soil metaviromes from the Namib Desert, assessed using deep sequencing of metavirome libraries prepared from DNA extracted from gravel plain surface soils.

a r t i c l e i n f o Layers cemented by iron and manganese have been observed in soils of putting greens at golf courses throughout the USA. They result in reduced water infiltration, saturated conditions in the root zone, and a decline in turfgrass density and quality. The physical and chemical properties of these layers have not been investigated nor described in detail. Here we present a de...

J. D. M ollard Graduate Assistant, Joint Highway Research Project Purdue University Here are described the techniques and methods developed for mak­ ing a soil map of Montgomery County, Indiana, to be used for engi­ neering purposes. This work is an integral part of a current program to map the soils and drainage of the entire state from aerial photo­ graphs. These two mapping programs, which a...

Abstract The presence of gravel in soils modifies the porosity, pore connectivity and size distribution soil matrix as well matrix-gravel interfaces. aim present study is to investigate effect relative volume samples with mass fractions 5,10, 20 wt% varying bulk densities (1.3, 1.45, 1.55, 1.60, 1.65 g cm –3 ) on (i) total field capacity, plant available water holding (ii) (iii) thermal capacit...