Effects of a cover crop versus soil cultivation on the fate and vertical distribution of insecticide residues in soil 7 to 11 years after soil treatment.
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Appropriate pH-related permissible soil-limit concentrations for cadmium in sewage sludge-treated agricultural soils were estimated from the proportional changes in concentrations of cadmium in potatoes, oats and ryegrass grown on two sludge-amended soils and at different pH values. Implications for potential human dietary intake of cadmium were also assessed. Yields of crops increased with increasing soil pH, probably in response to decreasing uptake of zinc as soil pH value was raised. In general, cadmium concentrations in peeled potato tubers, potato peelings, oat straw and ryegrass decreased as simple linear functions of increasing soil pH over the range of pH values measured (pH 3.9-7.6). Cadmium concentrations in potato peel were particularly sensitive to changing pH conditions, whereas cadmium levels in oat grain were independent of soil pH. On the basis that a highly precautionary approach is adopted in setting soil standards for heavy metals, appropriate permissible concentrations of cadmium in sludge-treated agricultural soil which protect the human food chain were determined as 2.0 and 2.5 mg Cd Kg(-1) for banded pH ranges of 5.0-5.5 and 5.5-6.0, respectively.
Studies using seeds of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and corn (Zea mays L.) indicated that the adverse effect of urea fertilizer on seed germination in soil is due to ammonia formed through hydrolysis of urea by soil urease and is not due to urea itself, to urea fertilizer impurities such as biuret, or to nitrite formed by nitrification of urea nitrogen. Support for this conclusion was obtained from (i) comparison of the effects on seed germination in soil of purified urea, urea fertilizers, urea fertilizer impurities, and compounds formed by enzymatic and microbial transformations of urea in soil; (ii) studies showing that ammonia volatilized from soils treated with urea completely inhibited germination of seeds close to, but not in contact with, these soils; and (iii) experiments showing that the adverse effect of urea fertilizer on seed germination in soil was completely eliminated when the soil was autoclaved to destroy urease or was treated with phenylphosphorodiamidate to inhibit soil urease activity before treatment with urea fertilizer.
In anoxically incubated slurries of Italian rice field soil, CH(4) production is initiated after a lag phase during which ferric iron and sulfate are reduced. The production of CH(4) was affected by the size of soil aggregates used for the preparation of the soil slurry. Rates of CH(4) production were lowest with small aggregates (<50 and 50-100 µm), were highest with aggregates of 200-2000 µm size and were intermediate with aggregates of 2000-15000 µm size. The different amounts of CH(4) accumulated were positively correlated to the concentrations of acetate, propionate and caproate that transiently accumulated in the slurries prepared from different aggregate sizes and also to the organic carbon content. The addition of organic debris that was collected from large-size aggregates to the aggregate size fractions <200 and <50 µm resulted in an increase of CH(4) production to amounts that were comparable to those measured in unamended aggregates of 200-2000 µm size, indicating that CH(4) production in the different aggregate size fractions was limited by substrate. The distribution of archaeal small-subunit rRNA genes in the different soil aggregate fractions was analyzed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism which allowed seven different archaeal ribotypes to be distinguished. Ribotype-182 (consisting of members of the Methanosarcinaceae and rice cluster VI), ribotype-389 (rice cluster I and II) and ribotype-820 (undigested DNA, rice cluster IV and members of the Methanosarcinaceae) accounted for >20, >30 and >10% of the total, respectively. The other ribotypes accounted for <10% of the total. The relative quantity of the individual ribotypes changed only slightly with incubation time and was almost the same among the different soil aggregate fractions. Ribotype-389, for example, slightly decreased with time, whereas ribotype-182 slightly increased. At the end of incubation, the relative quantity of ribotype-182 seemed to be slightly higher in soil fractions with larger than with smaller aggregates, whereas it was the opposite with ribotype-80 (Methanomicrobiaceae) and ribotype-88 (Methanobacteriaceae). Ribotype-280 (Methanosaetaceae and rice cluster V), ribotype-375 (rice cluster III), ribotype-389 and ribotype-820, on the other hand, were not much different among the different soil aggregate size fractions. However, the differences were not significant relative to the errors encountered during the extraction of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplifiable DNA from soil. In conclusion, soil aggregate size and incubation time showed a strong effect on the function but only a small effect on the structure of the methanogenic microbial community.
The microbial activity of Pahokee muck, a lithic medisaprist, and the effect of various environmental factors, such as position in the profile and type of plant cover, were examined. Catabolic activity for [7-C]salicylic acid, [1,4-C]succinate, and [1,2-C]acetate remained reasonably constant in surface (0 to 10 cm) soil samples from a fallow (bare) field from late in the wet season (May to September) through January. Late in January, the microbial activity toward all three compounds decreased approximately 50%. The microbial activity of the soil decreased with increasing depth of soil. Salicylate catabolism was the most sensitive to increasing moisture deep in the soil profile. At the end of the wet season, a 90% decrease in activity between the surface and the 60- to 70-cm depth occurred. Catabolism of acetate and succinate decreased approximately 75% in the same samples. Little effect of crop was observed. Variation in the microbial activity, as measured by the catabolism of labeled acetate, salicylate, or succinate, was not significant between a sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) field and a fallow field. The activity with acetate was insignificantly different in a St. Augustine grass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt) Kuntz] field, whereas the catabolism of the remaining substrates was elevated in the grass field. These results indicate that the total carbon evolved from the different levels of the soil profile by the microbial community oxidizing the soil organic matter decreased as the depth of the soil column increased. However, correction of the amount of carbon yielded at each level for the bulk density of that level reveals that the microbial contribution to the soil subsidence is approximately equivalent throughout the soil profile above the water table.
Exploration of environmental factors governing soil microbial community composition is long overdue and now possible with improved methods for characterizing microbial communities. Previously, we observed that rice soil microbial communities were distinctly different from tomato soil microbial communities, despite management and seasonal variations within soil type. Potential contributing factors included types and amounts of organic inputs, organic carbon content, and timing and amounts of water inputs. Of these, both soil water content and organic carbon availability were highly correlated with observed differences in composition. We examined how organic carbon amendment (compost, vetch, or no amendment) and water additions (from air dry to flooded) affect microbial community composition. Using canonical correspondence analysis of phospholipid fatty acid data, we determined flooded, carbon-amended (+C) microcosm samples were distinctly different from other +C samples and unamended (-C) samples. Although flooding without organic carbon addition influenced composition some, organic carbon addition was necessary to substantially alter community composition. Organic carbon availability had the same general effects on microbial communities regardless of whether it was compost or vetch in origin. In addition, flooded samples, regardless of organic carbon inputs, had significantly lower ratios of fungal to bacterial biomarkers, whereas under drier conditions and increased organic carbon availability the microbial communities had higher proportions of fungal biomass. When comparing field and microcosm soil, flooded +C microcosm samples were most similar to field-collected rice soil, whereas all other treatments were more similar to field-collected tomato soil. Overall, manipulating water and carbon content selected for microbial communities similar to those observed when the same factors were manipulated at the field scale.
We investigated the effects of changes in soil C and N availability on N mineralization, nitrification, denitrification, NH(3) volatilization, and soil respiration in the Mojave Desert. Results indicate a C limitation to microbial N cycling. Soils from underneath the canopies of Larrea tridentata (DC.) Cov., Pleuraphis rigida Thurber, and Lycium spp. exhibited higher rates of CO(2 ) flux, lower rates of NH(3) volatilization, and a decrease in inorganic N (NH(4)(+)-N and NO(3)(-)-N) with C addition. In addition to C limitation, soils from plant interspaces also exhibited a N limitation. Soils from all locations had net immobilization of N over the course of a 15-day laboratory incubation. However, soils from interspaces had lower rates of net nitrification and potential denitrification compared to soils from under plant canopies. The response to changes in C availability appears to be a short-term increase in microbial immobilization of inorganic N. Under controlled conditions, and over a longer time period, the effects of C and N availability appear to give way to larger differences due to spatial location. These findings have implications for ecosystems undergoing changes in soil C and N availability due to such processes as desertification, exotic species invasions, or elevated atmospheric CO(2) concentration.
Intensification of agricultural production in south-central Chile since the 1970s has caused problems of increased soil erosion and associated soil degradation. These problems have prompted a shift from conventional tillage to no-till management practices. Faced with the need to establish the impact of this shift in soil management on rates of soil loss, the use of caesium-137 (137Cs) measurements has been explored. A novel procedure for using measurements of the 137Cs depth distribution to estimate rates of soil loss at a sampling point under the original conventional tillage and after the shift to no-till management has been developed. This procedure has been successfully applied to a study site at Buenos Aires farm near Carahue in the 9th region of Chile. The results obtained indicate that the shift from conventional tillage to no-till management has caused net rates of soil loss to decrease to about 40% of those existing under conventional tillage. This assessment of the impact of introducing no-till management at the study site must, however, be seen as provisional, since only a limited number of sampling points were used. A simplified procedure aimed at documenting the reduction in erosion rates at additional sampling points, based solely on measurements of the 137Cs inventory of bulk cores and the 137Cs activity in the upper part of the soil has been developed and successfully tested at the study site. Previous application of 137Cs measurements to estimate erosion rates has been limited to estimation of medium-term erosion rates during the period extending from the beginning of fallout receipt to the time of sampling. The procedures described in this paper, which permits estimation of the change in erosion rates associated with a shift in land management practices, must be seen as representing a novel application of 137Cs measurements in soil erosion investigations.
Volatilization may represent a major dissipation pathway for pesticides applied to soils or crops. A field experiment (September, 2002), consisted in volatilization fluxes measurements during 6 days, covering the periods before and after soil incorporation carried out 24 h after trifluralin spraying on bare soil. Evolution of concentration in soil was measured during 101 days, together with soil physical and meteorological variables. Volatilization fluxes were very high immediately after application (1900 ng m(-2) s(-1)), decreased down to 100 ng m(-2) s(-1) in the following 24 h. Soil incorporation strongly abated trifluralin concentration in the air. 99% of the total volatilization losses recorded over the 6 days following application occurred before incorporation. Volatilization fluxes evidenced a diurnal cycle driven by environmental conditions. Soil trifluralin residues could still be quantified 101 days after application. Our results highlight the caution required when using soil degradation half-life values in the field for volatile compounds.
The present study aimed to quantify the influence of soil parameters on uranium uptake by ryegrass. Ryegrass was established on eighteen distinct soils, spiked with (238)U. Uranium soil-to-plant transfer factors (TF) ranged from 0.0003 to 0.0340kgkg(-1). There was no significant relation between the U soil-to-plant transfer (or total U uptake or flux) and the uranium concentration in the soil solution or any other soil factor measured, nor with the U recovered following selective soil extractions. Multiple linear regression analysis resulted in a significant though complex model explaining up to 99% of variation in TF. The influence of uranium speciation on uranium uptake observed was featured: UO(2)(+2), uranyl carbonate complexes and UO(2)PO(4)(-) seem the U species being preferentially taken up by the roots and transferred to the shoots. Improved correlations were obtained when relating the uranium TF with the summed soil solution concentrations of mentioned uranium species.
A greenhouse study was conducted to determine if concentrations of fluoride (F), which would be added to acid soils via P fertilisers, were detrimental to barley root growth. Increasing rates of F additions to soil significantly increased the soil solution concentrations of aluminium (Al) and F irrespective of the initial adjusted soil pH, which ranged from 4.25 to 5.48. High rates of F addition severely restricted root growth; the effect was more pronounced in the strongly acidic soil. Speciation calculations demonstrated that increasing rates of F additions substantially increased the concentrations of Al-F complexes in the soil. Stepwise regression analysis showed that it was the combination of the activities of AlF2(1+) and AlF(2+) complexes that primarily controlled barley root growth. The results suggested that continuous input of F to soils, and increased soil acidification, may become an F risk issue in the future.
A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of EDTA on the extractability of Cd in the soil and uptake of Cd by Indian mustard (Brassica juncea). Twenty levels of soil Cd concentration ranging from 10 to 200 mg kg(-1) were produced by spiking aliquots of a clay loam paddy soil with Cd(NO3)2. One week before the plants were harvested EDTA was applied to pots in which the soil had been spiked with 20, 40, 60...200 mg Cd kg(-1). The EDTA was added at the rate calculated to complex with all of the Cd added at the 200 mg kg(-1) level. Control pots spiked with 10, 30, 50... 190 mg Cd kg(-1) received no EDTA. The plants were harvested after 42 days' growth. Soil water- and NH4NO3-extractable Cd fractions increased rapidly following EDTA application. Root Cd concentrations decreased after EDTA application, but shoot concentrations increased when the soil Cd levels were >130 mg kg(-1) and Cd toxicity symptoms were observed. The increases in soil solution Cd induced by EDTA did not increase plant total Cd uptake but appeared to stimulate the translocation of the metal from roots to shoots when the plants appeared to be under Cd toxicity stress. The results are discussed in relation to the possible mechanisms by which EDTA may change the solubility and bioavailability of Cd in the soil and the potential for plant uptake and environmental risk due to leaching losses to groundwater.
Surfactants may be used in remediation of subsoil and aquifer contaminated with hydrophobic compounds. The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of soil texture on hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC; toluene, or 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene [TCB]) removal from six soils and to evaluate the optimal composition of soil texture for maximum HOC removal using aqueous surfactant solution. Selected surfactants were 4% (vol/vol) sodium diphenyl oxide disulfonate (DOSL) and 4% (wt/vol) sodium lauryl sulfate (LS). Toluene and TCB were selected as the lighter-than-water nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) and denser-than-water nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) model substances, respectively. Soil types used for this study were Ottawa sand and five Iowa soils (Fruitfield, Keomah, Crippin, Webster, and Galvar). The greatest recovery of toluene and TCB in batch tests was 73% and 84%, respectively, which was obtained with DOSL surfactant in Ottawa sand. The toluene removal of 95% in column tests has been achieved in the Ottawa sand and three Iowa soils (Fruitfield, Keomah, Crippin) with DOSL after effluent volume of 3750 ml (about 32 pore volume) passed. TCB removal of 98% in column tests has been achieved in Ottawa sand and three Iowa soils (Fruitfield, Keomah, Crippin) with DOSL after effluent volume of 2500 ml (about 21 pore volume) passed. These results were related with soil texture (clay content 30%), clay mineralogy (kaolinite and smectite), as a function of transported pore volume.
Two heavy metal contaminated calcareous soils from the Mediterranean region of Spain were studied. One soil, from the province of Murcia, was characterised by very high total levels of Pb (1572 mg kg(-1)) and Zn (2602 mg kg(-1)), whilst the second, from Valencia, had elevated concentrations of Cu (72 mg kg(-1)) and Pb (190 mg kg(-1)). The effects of two contrasting organic amendments (fresh manure and mature compost) and the chelate ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on soil fractionation of Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn, their uptake by plants and plant growth were determined. For Murcia soil, Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. was grown first, followed by radish (Raphanus sativus L.). For Valencia soil, Beta maritima L. was followed by radish. Bioavailability of metals was expressed in terms of concentrations extractable with 0.1 M CaCl2 or diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA). In the Murcia soil, heavy metal bioavailability was decreased more greatly by manure than by the highly-humified compost. EDTA (2 mmol kg(-1) soil) had only a limited effect on metal uptake by plants. The metal-solubilising effect of EDTA was shorter-lived in the less contaminated, more highly calcareous Valencia soil. When correlation coefficients were calculated for plant tissue and bioavailable metals, the clearest relationships were for Beta maritima and radish.
On-farm field experiments were carried out at two sites having 38- and 10-year-old orchard cropping systems under sub-tropical climatic regions to evaluate changes in organic carbon accumulation and chemical and microbiological properties of the soils. Under a system of different intercropped fruit trees, the cultivation of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) intercropped with guava (Psidium guajava L.) enhanced the soil microbial activity approximately 2-fold after 38 yrs over 10 yrs of the same intercropped system. Soil organic carbon increased from 3.4 to 7.8 and 2.4 to 6.2 g kg-1 after 38 and 10 yrs, respectively, following the establishment of orchards. The increase was attributed to greater recycling of bio-litters. Levels of dehydrogenase, phosphatase and soil microbial biomass under field conditions generally depended more on the nature of the cropping system than on soil types. Similarly, average carbon inputs of bio-litter to the soil in monocrop (0.98 Mg ha-1 yr-1) was less than intercropped fruit trees (2.07 Mg ha-1 yr-1). The average level of soil microbial biomass carbon was 1158 kg ha-1 (0-0.15 m depth) and the organic carbon turnover rate was 8.5 yr-1 after 38 yrs of intercropped fruit trees, which resulted in a lower ratio (1.81) of carbon inputs to soil microbial biomass carbon.
Adsorption-desorption of triazole fungicides, hexaconazole [2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-(1H-1,2,4,-triazol-1-yl) hexan-2-ol], triadimefon [1-(4-chlorophenoxy)-3,3-dimethyl-1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) butan-2-one], and penconazole[1-(2,4-dichloro-beta-propyl phenethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole] was studied in five Indian soils using batch method. The adsorption isotherms fitted very well to the Freundlich equation. Adsorption of various triazole fungicides increased in this order: triadimefon > hexaconazole > penconazole. The product of the Freundlich adsorption constants, K(f)(1/n), showed good correlation with the soil organic carbon (OC) content, suggesting that soil OC is the main controlling factor for triazoles adsorption. Clay and silt content of the soil also affected the adsorption constants. Adsorption of hexaconazole and triadimefon was nearly reversible in two low OC soils (soil 3, soil 5) where 90-100% of the sorbed fungicides was released in a single washing step. Otherwise, desorption of triazole fungicides showed hysteresis, and 30-60% of the triazole fungicides were retained by the soil after single washing. IR spectra showed that H-bonds and charge-transfer bonds between humic acid and fungicides probably operated as mechanisms of adsorption.