The Infona portal uses cookies, i.e. strings of text saved by a browser on the user's device. The portal can access those files and use them to remember the user's data, such as their chosen settings (screen view, interface language, etc.), or their login data. By using the Infona portal the user accepts automatic saving and using this information for portal operation purposes. More information on the subject can be found in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By closing this window the user confirms that they have read the information on cookie usage, and they accept the privacy policy and the way cookies are used by the portal. You can change the cookie settings in your browser.
The fragmentation fractal dimension, D f , was used to characterise aggregate-size distribution, as an index of soil erodibility, of five soils with contrasting properties from semiarid and temperate areas. The D f was the slope of the regression of aggregate number vs. log of aggregate diameter/diameter of the largest aggregates using scale-variant bulk density and assuming a constant...
Evaluation of soil aggregate stability under managed fallow systems is very relevant in the assessment of their agricultural sustainability. It is also important to identify the parameters that are most responsive to the effects of these fallow systems on aggregate stability. This study was carried out in southwestern Nigeria to quantify the effects of various fallow management systems on the macroaggregate...
The objective of this study was to relate the major chemical and mineralogical properties of soils formed on sedimentary deposits in southeastern Nigeria to the stability of their aggregates at both the macro and micro (colloidal) levels. Five profiles and twenty-five topsoil samples representing four major geological formations were studied. The soils are classified as Entisols and Ultisols. The...
Not only the amount of organic carbon in soil is important for soil organic matter (SOM) stability, but also its physical and chemical properties. The appropriate technique for the assessment of SOM dynamics can vary between soil types, and information about this is lacking for Ferralsols of the central Amazon basin. First, this work identified SOM pools which are sensitive to land-use changes on...
Soil hydrophobicity is known to enhance runoff responses to rainstorms and to increase soil aggregate stability (AS). It has been widely reported for acidic soils particularly under burnt, but also unburnt pine forests following dry periods. Few studies have reported hydrophobicity from alkaline soils, but they have not established whether hydrophobicity also occurs in burnt or unburnt pine forests...
Prolonged cultivation may result in declines in total soil organic matter (SOM) and cause changes in the composition of its labile pools (carbohydrates) and in soil aggregation. The effects of long-term (19 years) tropical pasture (GP) and market-gardening (MG) on the distribution of carbon (C) and monosaccharides (MS) (individual carbohydrate monomers) across water-stable aggregates were investigated...
A greenhouse experiment was conducted in order to determine the influence of organic amendment, as compared with inorganic fertilization, and vegetation cover (Lolium perennne L.) on microbial biomass and aggregate stability in burnt soils. The study was performed with soil samples from the ash layer of three pine forests differing in their physicochemical and chemical properties and affected by high-intensity...
Use of soil archives provides the opportunity to retrospectively analyze changes in soil properties. We used the distribution of heavy metals between the exterior and interior of aggregates in recent and archived samples to derive (1) temporal trends in metal concentrations and distribution across aggregates and (2) to assess aggregate turnover times. We collected 11 topsoils under grassland and forest...
This study was carried out in a Mediterranean salt marsh from semiarid Southeastern Spain, to determine the influence of eight halophytes (Asteriscus maritimus (L.) Less., Arthrocnemum macrostachyum (Moric.) Moris, Frankenia corymbosa Desf., Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen, Limonium cossonianum O. Kuntze, Limonium caesium (Girard) O. Kuntze, Lygeum spartum L., and Suaeda vera Forsskål ex J.F....
The potential for using commercially available potassium humate (K-humate) derived from Victorian Brown Coal to improve soil structure and aggregate stability was assessed in this study. Laboratory experiments were conducted on two agricultural soils from the southeastern and northern parts of Victoria, Australia. Bulk surface soil (0–15 cm) samples of an acidic soil (pH 4.6) from Dixons Creek in...
In well-structured topsoils, part of the soil organic matter (SOM) is located in the interior of the soil aggregates. Because of its location, this part of the SOM is little accessible to micro-organisms, and consequently not readily mineralised. Additionally, the physico-chemical conditions on the aggregate surfaces, being the main habitat of the organisms, control the accessibility, and hence, the...
Soil enzyme activity can be used as an indicator of soil quality for assessing the sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of conservation tillage practices, such as no tillage and reduced tillage (subsoil-bedding and shred-bedding), and conventional tillage practices, such as mouldboard ploughing, on physical–chemical, biochemical and...
The morphology of soil pores is a crucial factor in the understanding of the ecology of soil microorganisms at a small scale. X-ray computer tomography (CT) enables to visualize the soil pore space in three dimensions. We aimed at exploring possible changes in porosity and pore morphology during the incubation of soil to which fresh residue was added. These changes were compared to changes in porosity...
Land disturbances (such as cultivation and overgrazing) and global warming have been decreasing soil organic C stocks in alpine regions of China. This study characterized changes in soil aggregation, bulk density, particle density, porosity and water holding capacity in relation to changes in total organic C and carbohydrate-C fractions under a long-term (28 years) annually-cultivated pasture (oats),...
Use of treated wastewater (TWW) for irrigation of semiarid and arid soils may lead to degradation of soil hydraulic properties, the magnitude of which may depend on the type of the irrigation system. Most studies evaluated the impact of irrigation with TWW on soil hydraulic conductivity (HC) using repacked samples, which do not necessarily represent soil field conditions. Our objectives were to (i)...
The Priorat region, a traditional area for wine production in the Mediterranean mountain environment of NE Spain, has been undergoing drastic changes since the 1990s, with the conversion of abandoned and natural vegetation areas into new terraced vineyard plantations. In most cases, these land cover changes involve land terracing, with risers more than 2 m high and benches with the soil surface structure...
Intensive cropping with conventional tillage results in a decline of soil organic carbon (SOC) with consequent deterioration of soil physical properties. Some studies indicate that this decline in SOC can be arrested by way of organic manure application and improved nutrient management practices. This study was conducted to find out the long-term effects of inorganic fertilizer, manure and lime application...
Water repellency (WR), the ability of a soil to slow the water entry (contact angle <90°), can be indispensable to stabilize soil aggregates and promote long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. Data on WR for agricultural soils are, however, extremely limited to ascertain the extent of this property. Thus, we assessed the WR in long-term no-till (NT) fields adjacent to plow tillage (PT)...
Understanding the effects of conservation-oriented tillage practices on soil structure is critical for sustainable soil management. We therefore investigated the effects of reduced tillage (RT) and conventional moldboard plough-based tillage (CT) on soil structure parameters in the 0–5 cm topsoil of a typical Danish morainic sandy loam Agrudalf. The experimental field had been under a 7 year tillage...
The large land area occupied by arid lands, roughly 36% to 40% globally, underscores the importance for understanding how these ecosystems function in the global carbon cycle. Few studies have directly examined soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and the effect of vegetation on SOC and microbial community structure in arid ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of vegetation...
Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.