This study investigated the effects of grassland conversion to croplands on soil organic carbon (SOC) in a typical grassland-dominated basin of the Inner Mongolia using direct field samplings. The results indicated that SOC contents decreased usually with increasing soil depth, with significant differences between the upper horizons (0-30cm) and the underlying horizons (30-100cm). Also, SOC den...

Accurate descriptions of P leaching are important because excess P applied to soils can enter surface water via leaching and subsurface transport, thereby negatively impacting water quality. The objectives of this study were to monitor P leaching in soils with a long-term history of waste application, relate soil solution P concentrations to soil P status, and quantify P leaching losses. Soil s...

The staking (elevating creeping vines above the ground with poles) of yam is practiced to optimize crop yield, but its effect on soil loss due harvesting (SLCH-soil adhering harvested tubers) and associated carbon has not been investigated globally. A 3-year field experiment was conducted study (Dioscorea rotundata) SLCH examine environmental loss. Staking reduced by 55.6% increased yield 33.3%...

Long-term depositions of animal manures affect P dynamics in soils and can pose environmental risks associated with P losses. Laboratory studies were done on P solubility characteristics in a manure-impacted Immokalee soil (sandy, siliceous, hyperthermic Arenic Alaquod) and the effectiveness of water treatment residual (WTR) in controlling P leaching. Soil samples with contrasting initial total...

Field trials were established to compare alum-treated poultry litter (ATPL), normal poultry litter (NPL), and triple superphosphate (TSP) as fertilizer sources for corn (Zea mays L.) when applied at rates based on current litter management strategies in Virginia. Trials were established in the Costal Plain and Piedmont physiographic regions near Painter and Orange, VA, respectively. Nitrogen-ba...

A measure of soil P status in agricultural soils is generally required for assisting with prediction of potential P loss from agricultural catchments and assessing risk for water quality. The objectives of this paper are twofold: (i) investigating the soil P status, distribution, and variability, both spatially and with soil depth, of two different first-order catchments; and (ii) determining v...

Rhizosphere bioremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) offers a potentially inexpensive approach to remediating contaminated soils that is particularly attractive in remote regions including the Arctic. We assessed the abilities of two tree species native to Alaska, Salix alaxensis (felt-leaf willow) and Picea glauca (white spruce), to promote microbial biodegradation of PCBs via the re...

Farmers must perceive soil erosion as a problem before they will invest in preventing it. However, perceptions are often overlooked in the conservation literature. This study analyzes the levels and determinants of farmer perceptions of soil erosion in northern Ethiopia. Results are based on a survey of 250 farmers managing 900 fields during the 1995-96 cropping season. Farmer perceptions of th...

The increasing use and capability of geocomputation tools, as well as increasing availability of land resource information, offer opportunities to utilise such tools for the effective management of information for planning purposes. One among those is the development of spatially-based models that may be used for efficiently undertaking land suitability assessment based on available information...