Temporary B deficiency can be triggered by liming of acid soils because of increased B adsorption at higher soil pH. Plants respond directly to the activity of B in soil solution and only indirectly to B adsorbed on soil constituents. Because the range between deficient and toxic B concentration is relatively narrow, this poses difficulty in maintaining appropriate B levels in soil solution. Th...

This study aimed to investigate the effects of mixed biochar on the nitrification rate in acidic soils. A 15N tracer experiment with (15NH4)2SO4 was conducted to determine the nitrification rates of four acidic agricultural soils with pH 4.03–6.02 in Yunnan Province, Southern China. The accumulation of 15N-NO3− and nitrification rates decreased with the addition of biochar at the end of incubat...

Acid rain is still an issue of environmental concerns. This study investigated the impacts of simulated acid rain (SAR) upon earthworm activity from the Latosol (acidic red soil). Laboratory experiment was performed by leaching the soil columns grown with earthworms (Eisenia fetida) at the SAR pH levels ranged from 2.0 to 6.5 over a 34-day period. Results showed that earthworms tended to escape...

The effects of environmental factors such as pH and nutrient content on the ecology of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) in soil has been extensively studied using experimental fields. However, how these environmental factors intricately influence the community structure of AOB and AOA in soil from farmers' fields is unclear. In the present study, the abundance and diversity of...

Surface characteristics of soils are one of the main factors controlling processes at the soil-water interface like wetting, sorption or dissolution processes and, thereby, have a high impact on natural soil functions like habitat, filter, buffer, storage and transformation functions. Since surface characteristics, like wettability or repellency, are not static soil properties but continuously ...

After decades of research, we are starting to understand more about why the number of species varies from place to place on the planet. However, little is known about spatial variation in abundance, especially for soil-dwelling organisms. In this study, we aimed to disentangle the relative influences of climatic factors, soil properties, and plant diversity on the abundance of soil-dwelling inv...

The subarctic region is highly responsive and vulnerable to climate change. Understanding the structure of subarctic soil microbial communities is essential for predicting the response of the subarctic soil environment to climate change. To determine the composition of the bacterial community and its relationship with soil properties, we investigated the bacterial community structure and proper...

The widespread occurrence of soil Pb contamination requires a good understanding of the factors controlling Pb solubility. Pb solubility will often be controlled by phosphates, which are used to reduce environmental risks of Pb-contaminated soils. The solubility equilibria of two different synthetic lead phosphate minerals were determined electrochemically across a wide range of pH and Pb and p...

Boron (B) adsorption on two arid-zone soils from the San Joaquin Valley of California was investigated as a function of equilibrium solution B concentration (0–250 mg L), solution pH (3–12), and electrical conductivity (EC, 0.3 or 7.8 dS m). Boron adsorption on both soils increased with increasing pH, reached a maximum near pH 9, and decreased with further increases in pH. Boron adsorption as a...

Microbial phenol oxidases and peroxidases mediate biogeochemical processes in soils, including microbial acquisition of carbon and nitrogen, lignin degradation, carbon mineralization and sequestration, and dissolved organic carbon export. Measuring oxidative enzyme activities in soils is more problematic than assaying hydrolytic enzyme activities because of the non-specific, free radical nature...