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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Degradation and persistence of metolachlor in soil: effects of concentration, soil moisture, soil depth, and sterilization.

The present study evaluated the influence of soil depth, soil moisture, and concentration on the persistence and degradation of metolachlor in soil. Greater percentages of metolachlor persisted in subsurface soils than in surface soil regardless of the soil moisture or initial herbicide concentration. Larger quantities of bound residues and extractable degradation products were found in the surface soils as a result of the increased soil sorption and biodegradation of metolachlor associated with the surface soil, which had more organic matter. Saturated soil favored the dissipation of metolachlor and the formation of soil-bound residues. Significantly greater quantities of a dechlorinated metabolite were measured in the saturated surface soil compared to the unsaturated soil. Mineralization of metolachlor to CO2 and volatilization of metolachlor or metolachlor degradates was minimal in surface and subsurface soils at both soil moistures and herbicide concentrations. Increased metolachlor concentrations did not inhibit microbial activity; however, the greater rate of application did result in the reduced percentage of applied [14C]metolachlor that was bound to surface or subsurface soil. A significant reduction in the quantity of extractable metolachlor degradates and unextractable soil-bound residues in sterile soil revealed the significance of biodegradation to the dissipation of metolachlor in soil.

Acetamides↗
PubMed2002

Prediction of the effects of soil-based countermeasures on soil solution chemistry of soils contaminated with radiocesium using the hydrogeochemical code PHREEQC.

For agriculturally used areas, which are contaminated by the debris from a nuclear accident, the use of chemical amendmends (e.g. potassium chloride and lime) is among the most common soil-based countermeasures. These countermeasures are intended to reduce the plant uptake of radionuclides (mainly 137Cs and 90Sr) by competitive inhibition by chemically similar ions. So far, the impacts of countermeasures on soil solution composition - and thus, their effectiveness - have almost exclusively been established experimentally, since they depend on mineral composition and chemical characteristics of the soil affected. In this study, which focuses on caesium contamination, the well-established code PHREEQC was used as a geochemical model to calculate the changes in the ionic compositions of soil solutions, which result from the application of potassium or ammonium in batch equilibrium experiments. The simple ion exchange model used by PHREEQC was improved by taking into account selective sorption of Cs+, NH4+ and K+ by clay minerals. Calculations were performed with three different initial soil solution compositions, corresponding to particular soil types (loam, sand, peat). For loamy and sandy soils, our calculational results agree well with experimental data reported by Nisbet (Effectiveness of soil-based countermeasures six months and one year after contamination of five diverse soil types with caesium-134 and strontium-90. Contract Report NRPB-M546, National Radiation Protection Board, Chilton, 1995.). For peat, discrepancies were found indicating that for organic soils a reliable set of exchange constants of the relevant cations still has to be determined experimentally. For cesium, however, these discrepancies almost disappeared if selective sites were assumed to be inaccessible. Additionally, results of sensitivity analyses are presented by which the influence of the main soil parameters on Cs+ concentrations in solution after soil treatment has been systematically studied. It is shown that calculating the impacts of soil-based chemical countermeasures on soil solution chemistry using geochemical codes such as PHREEQC offers an attractive alternative to establishing these impacts by often time-consuming and site-specific experiments.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2001

Prediction of soil depth using a soil-landscape regression model: a case study on forest soils in southern Taiwan.

Techniques for conventional forest soil surveys in Taiwan need to be further developed in order to save time and money. Although some soil-landscape regression models have been developed to describe and predict soil properties and depths, they have seldom been studied in Taiwan. This study establishes linear soil-landscape regression models related to soil depths and landscape factors found in the forest soils of southern Taiwan. These models were evaluated by validating the models according to their mean errors and root mean square errors. The study was carried out at the 60,000 ha Chishan Forest Working Circle. About 310 soil pedons were collected. The landscape factors included elevation, slope, aspect, and surface stone contents. Sixty percent of the total field samples were used to establish the soil-landscape regression models, and forty % were used for validation. The sampling strategy indicated that each representative pedon covers an area of about 147 ha. The number of samples was appropriate considering the available time and budget. The single variate and/or multivariate linear regression soil-landscape models were successfully established. Those models revealed significant inter-relations among the soil depths of the B and B+BC horizons, solum thickness, and landscape factors, including slope and surface stone contents (p < 0.003). The mean errors in the validation of the soil-landscape model were low and acceptable for this case study. In addition, the slope data derived from the DEM (digital elevation model) database in this case study were used to predict the soil depths of the B, B+BC horizons and the solum thickness without carrying out a field survey. Surface stone should be collected in a field soil survey to increase the precision of soil depth prediction of the B and B+BC horizons, and the solum thickness.

Geography↗
PubMed2000

Soil solution Zn and pH dynamics in non-rhizosphere soil and in the rhizosphere of Thlaspi caerulescens grown in a Zn/Cd-contaminated soil.

Temporal changes in soil solution properties and metal speciation were studied in non-rhizosphere soil and in the rhizosphere of the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens J. & C. Presl (population from Prayon, Belgium) grown in a Zn- and Cd-contaminated soil. This paper focuses on soil solution Zn and pH dynamics during phytoextraction. The concentration of Zn in both non-rhizosphere and rhizosphere soil solutions decreased from 23 mg/l at the beginning to 2 mg/l at the end of the experiment (84 days after transplanting of seedlings), mainly due to chemical sorption. There was no significant difference in overall Zn concentration between the planted and the unplanted soil solutions (P > 0.05). Soil solution pH decreased initially and then increased slightly in both planted and unplanted soil zones. From 60 to 84 days after transplanting, the pH of the rhizosphere soil solution was higher than that of non-rhizosphere soil solution (P<0.05). Zn uptake by the hyperaccumulator plants was 8.8 mg per pot (each containing 1 kg oven-dry soil) on average. The data indicate that the potential of T. caerulescens to remove Zn from contaminated soil may not be related to acidification of the rhizosphere.

Cadmium↗
PubMed2002

Effect of rainfall patterns on soil surface CO2 efflux, soil moisture, soil temperature and plant growth in a grassland ecosystem of northern Ontario, Canada: implications for climate change.

BACKGROUND: The effect of rainfall patterns on soil surface CO2 efflux, soil moisture, soil temperature and plant growth was investigated in a grassland ecosystem of northern Ontario, Canada, where climatic change is predicted to introduce new precipitation regimes. Rain shelters were established in a fallow field consisting mainly of Trifolium hybridum L., Trifolium pratense L., and Phleum pratense L. Daytime ambient air temperatures within the shelters increased by an average of 1.9 degrees C similar to predicted future increases in air temperatures for this region. To simulate six precipitation regimes which cover the maximum range to be expected under climate change, a portable irrigation system was designed to modify the frequency of monthly rainfall events with a constant delivery rate of water, while maintaining contemporary average precipitation volumes. Controls consisted of blocks irrigated with frequencies and total monthly precipitation consistent with the 25 year average rainfall for this location. RESULTS: Seasonal soil moisture correlated with soil surface CO2 efflux (R = 0.756, P < 0.001) and above ground plant biomass (R = 0.447, P = 0.029). By reducing irrigation frequency, soil surface CO2 efflux decreased by 80%, P < 0.001, while soil moisture content decreased by 42%, P < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Manipulating the number of precipitation events and inter-rainfall intervals, while maintaining monthly rainfall averages impacted CO2 efflux and plant growth. Even with monthly rainfall averages that are similar to contemporary monthly precipitation averages, decreasing the number of monthly rainfall events reduced soil surface CO2 efflux and plant growth through soil moisture deficits. Although many have speculated that climate change will increase ecosystem productivity, our results show that a reduction in the number of monthly rainfall events while maintaining monthly averages will limit carbon dynamics.

Biomass↗
PubMed2003

Predicting the bioavailability of copper and zinc in soils: modeling the partitioning of potentially bioavailable copper and zinc from soil solid to soil solution.

This research produced statistically based, semimechanistic models describing partitioning of Cu and Zn in 40 soils from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), The Netherlands, and Chile with widely varying characteristics. Two different types of models were constructed, partitioning models and competitive adsorption models. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was employed to prioritize over 30 different soil characteristics. Multiple linear regression yielded equations predicting the partitioning of Cu and Zn. Equations were also created that estimated the potentially bioavailable fraction of Cu and/or Zn. Data from plant uptake studies (which are reported separately) governed the choice of a suitable chemical soil extraction that estimated bioavailable Cu (0.01 M HCl) and bioavailable Zn (0.01 M CaCl2). Soil pH (1:1 soil:deionized water [DI H2O]) and percent organic matter accounted for approximately 70% of the variability in Cu partitioning and 80% of the variability in bioavailable Cu in the 40 soils studied. For Zn, soil pH alone accounted for roughly 75% of the partitioning variability and 80% of the variability for the estimated bioavailable portion. The results presented here were used in conjunction with results from the plant uptake studies for the creation of models to assess the potential bioavailable metal associated with any given soil from a wide variety of locations.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2003

[Soil basal respiration and enzyme activities in the root-layer soil of tea bushes in a red soil].

Soil basal respiration potential, metabolic quotient (qCO2), and activities of urease, invertase and acid phosphomonoesterase were investigated in the root-layer of 10-, 40-, and 90-yr-old tea bushes grown on the same type of red soil. The soil daily basal respiration potential ranged from 36.23 to 58.52 mg.kg-1.d-1, and the potentials in the root-layer of 40- or 90-yr-old were greater than that of 10-yr old tea bushes. The daily qCO2, ranging from 0.30 to 0.68, was in the reverse trend. The activities of test three enzymes changed differently with tea bushes' age. Urease activity in the root-layer of all age tea bushes ranged from 41.48 to 47.72 mg.kg-1.h-1 and slightly decreased with tea bushes' age. Invertase activity was 189.29-363.40 mg.kg-1.h-1 and decreased with tea bushes' age, but its activity in the root-layer of 10-year old tea bushes was significantly greater than that in the root-layer soil of 40- or 90-year old tea bushes. Acid phosphomonoesterase activity (444.22-828.32 mg.kg-1.h-1) increased significantly with tea bushes' age. Soil basal respiration potential, qCO2 and activities of 3 soil enzymes were closely related to soil pH, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and C/N ratio, total soluble phenol, and microbial biomass carbon, respectively.

Glycoside Hydrolases↗
PubMed1991

A guide to interpreting soil ingestion studies. I. Development of a model to estimate the soil ingestion detection level of soil ingestion studies.

This paper provides a model with which to predict soil ingestion recovery values in soil ingestion studies either retrospectively or prospectively. The predictive equations generated from the model can be used to estimate minimum soil ingestion detection levels from soil ingestion studies which use mass-balance methods. The model is derived from data assessing soil recovery efficiencies in adults using eight different predictive tracer elements. The results constitute a methodology for determining minimum detection levels of soil ingestion and hence have important regulatory significance.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

[Changes of crop yield and soil fertility under long-term application of fertilizer and recycled nutrients in manure on a black soil III. Soil nutrient budget].

The nutrient budget of fertilization models under different treatments was calculated using data from a field experiment over the period of 1985-1999. The results indicated that application of nitrogen fertilizer accelerated a large deficit of soil phosphorus, and the use of nitrogen and phosphorus accelerated the deficit of potassium. The experimental data demonstrated the appearance of a large area of soil deficit of phosphorus from 1970s and of potassium from 1980s in China. Nutrient recycled in farming system improved soil nutrient budget, but could not meet the nutrient requirements from high-yield crops. The use of recycled nutrients with an appropriate use of fertilizers according to the soil fertility could produce higher crop yields, balance soil nutrient budget, and not cause surplus nutrients to emit into environment.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2002

Changes in toxicity and bioavailability of lead in contaminated soils to the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Savigny 1826) after bone meal amendments to the soil.

The effect of bone meal (Ca5(PO4)3OH) amendments on lead (Pb) bioavailability to Eisenia fetida (Savigny 1826) was investigated. A standard uncontaminated soil was amended with Pb(NO3)2 solution to give Pb concentrations of 7,000 microg/g of soil. After one week, bone meal was added to one half of the soil in the ratio 1:20 bone meal:soil. Immediately after addition of the bone meal, survival times of E. fetida were 23 and 41 h in the bone meal-free and bone meal-amended soil, respectively. Twenty-eight days after addition of the bone meal, survival times of Eisenia fetida were 67 h in the bone meal-free soil and more than 168 h in the bone meal-amended soil. In a second experiment, a standard Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reproduction toxicity test was carried out, but in addition to Pb(NO3)2 solution, bone meal was added to the soil in the ratio 1:20 bone meal:soil. The bone meal-free soil was left for five weeks before addition of E. fetida. In the bone meal-amended soil, bone meal was added to the soil one week after addition of the Pb. The soil was left for a further four weeks before addition of Eisenia fetida. Calculated toxicities were significantly lower for the bone meal-amended soil than those calculated for the bone meal-free soil. Twenty-eight-day median lethal concentrations (LC50s; concentration that is statistically likely to kill 50% of the exposed test organism within a given time period +/- 95% confidence intervals) of Pb were 4,379 +/- 356 microg/g of soil for bone meal-free soil and 5,203 +/- 401 microg/g of soil for bone meal-amended soil. Twenty-eight-day median effect concentrations (EC50s; concentration causing a reduction by 50% of a stated parameter) of Pb for weight change were 1,408 +/- 198 microg/g of soil for bone meal-free soil and 3,334 +/- 731 microg/g of soil for bone meal-amended soil and EC50s for cocoon production were 971 +/- 633 microg/g of soil for bone meal-free soil and 1,814 +/- 613 microg/g of soil for bone meal-amended soil. Significant mortalities occurred at Pb concentrations of 2,000 microg/g of soil in the bone meal-free soil and 5,000 microg/g of soil in the bone meal-amended soil. Earthworm Pb body load was lower in the bone meal-treated soil than in the bone meal-free soil up to a Pb concentration of 5,000 microg/g of soil. Earthworm Pb body load was approximately 100 microg/g of worm in surviving earthworms in both experiments when significant mortality occurred. Water and diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-extractable soil Pb showed good correlations with earthworm Pb body load. These extractions could be used as estimates for Pb bioavailability.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

A comparison of root growth dynamics of silver maple and flowering dogwood in compacted soil at differing soil water contents.

Many bottomland tree species are tolerant of compacted soil and perform well in urban environments; however, the mechanism underlying this tolerance is unknown. Increased soil water content has been shown to alleviate some of the effects of soil compaction on plant growth, presumably because increasing soil water reduces soil strength. We hypothesized that tree species tolerant of very wet soils would have opportunities for root growth in compacted soil when high soil water contents reduced soil strength, whereas species intolerant of bottomland conditions would not. We tested this hypothesis on flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.), a mesic species intolerant of inundation, and silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.), a bottomland species. Seedlings of both species were grown in pots for 21 and 30 days, respectively, in a growth chamber in native loam soil maintained at various combinations of soil strength and soil water tension. Downward root growth rate decreased in response to increasing soil strength in both species. At low soil strength (0.6 MPa), downward root growth rate of dogwood seedlings slowed when soil was either excessively wet or dry, whereas root growth rate of silver maple seedlings increased linearly with soil water content. In moderately compacted soil (1.5 g cm(-3) bulk density), silver maple seedlings had greater root growth rate, root length per plant, and ratio of root length to root dry weight in wet soil (0.006 MPa soil water tension) than in moist and dry soils (0.026 and 0.06 MPa, respectively), even though mean oxygen diffusion rate (ODR) was only 0.28 &mgr;g cm(-2) (SE = 0.05). No such effect was detected in highly compacted soil (1.7 g cm(-3) bulk density) in either species. Mean ODR showed a weak positive correlation with soil water tension (r = 0.40, P = 0.07), but was unrelated to soil strength. We conclude that silver maple roots can grow in moderately compacted soil when high soil water content decreases soil strength, whereas dogwood is unable to take advantage of this opportunity.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

[Change of organic carbon pools and the responses to soil warming during laboratory incubations under different temperatures of 3 kinds of paddy soils in Tai Lake Region, China].

Change of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage under global warming scenarios was paid much attention of the soil and global change studies. To address the features of SOC loss of paddy soils in response to global warming, the authors used 3 representative paddy soils from the Tai Lake region, China to incubate at laboratory respectively under 20 degrees C and 25 degrees C and the change dynamics of total organic carbon(TOC), soluble organic carbon (DOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were monitored in time intervals. The TOC dynamics could be described with primary reaction equations with the constants varied with soil types and incubation temperature. While soil warming strengthened TOC loss of a Fe-leached Stagnic Anthrosol and a Gleyic Stagnic Anthrosol, no significant difference of TOC was detected in a Fe-accumulic Stagnic Anthosol under different temperature incubations. Q10 quotient, a measurement of soil SOC sensitivity to warming, of the studied soils decreased in the order: 11.1-14.1 for the Gleyic Stagnic Anthrosol < 4.4-4.6 for Fe-leached Stagnic Anthrosol < 0.63-0.73 for the Fe-accumulic Stagnic Anthosol. This indicated that paddy soils could be a group of human managed soils with sensitive response to global warming, whereas the inter-soil group difference in this sensitivity may be greater than that existing between the soils from different eco-zones. The different patterns of DOC and MBC change during the incubation of the 3 studied soils were indicative of different features of soil microbial community of the studied 3 types of paddy soils, which influenced the carbon bio-availability under different temperatures. Thus, change of SOC pools due to soil warming can be accounted for not only by nature of SOC of the soils but changes of microbial activity and even the community associated with soil properties. This study evidences that SOC loss due to soil warming is not a temperature-controlled kinetically decomposition process at least. Further studies should be dedicated on the SOC loss in relation to the interactions between SOC-soil minerals-soil micro-biota.

Carbon↗
PubMed2001

The effect of initial concentration of carbofuran on the development and stability of its enhanced biodegradation in top-soil and sub-soil.

Carbofuran was incubated in top-soil and sub-soil samples from a pesticide-free site at a range of initial concentrations from 0.1 to 10 mg kg-1. Amounts of the incubated soils were removed at intervals over the subsequent 12 months, and the rate of degradation of a second carbofuran dose at 10 mg kg-1 was assessed. An applied concentration as low as 0.1 mg kg-1 to top-soil resulted in more rapid degradation of the fresh addition of carbofuran for at least 12 months. The degree of enhancement was generally more pronounced with the higher initial concentrations. When the same study was conducted in sub-soil samples from the same site, an initial dose of carbofuran at 0.1 mg kg-1 resulted in only small increases in rates of degradation of a second carbofuran dose. However, degradation rates in the sub-soil samples were, in many instances, considerably greater than in the corresponding top-soil samples, irrespective of pre-treatment concentration or pre-incubated period. Initial doses of 0.5 mg kg-1 and higher applied to sub-soil successfully activated the sub-soil microflora. Application of the VARLEACH model to simulate carbofuran movement through the soil profile indicated that approximately 0.01 mg kg-1 of carbofuran may reach a depth of 70 cm 400 days after a standard field application. The results therefore imply that adaptation of the sub-soil microflora (c 1 m depth) by normal field rate applications of carbofuran is unlikely to occur. In experiments to investigate this in soils exposed to carbofuran in the field, there was no apparent relationship between top-soil exposure and degradation rates in the corresponding sub-soils. The results further confirmed that same sub-soil samples have an inherent capacity for rapid biodegradation of carbofuran. The high levels of variability observed between replicates in some of the sub-soil samples were attributed to the uneven distribution of a low population of carbofuran-degrading micro-organisms in sub-surface soil. There was no apparent relationship between soil microbial biomass and degradation rates within or between top-soil and sub-soil samples.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2003

Metal uptake from soils and soil-sediment mixtures by larvae of Tenebrio molitor (L.) (Coleoptera).

Bioassays were performed to evaluate the impact of soil characteristics on Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn uptake by larvae of Tenebrio molitor. Metal accumulation was determined in 13 natural field soils, one metal-spiked field soil, four soil-sediment mixtures, and Cd- or Zn-spiked OECD artificial soil. Statistical analyses were used to investigate covariation of accumulation patterns with various soil metal pools and soil properties. Body concentrations of Cu and Zn in Zn-spiked OECD soils, field soils, and soil-sediment mixtures mostly remained constant. Considerable variation was noted for all Cd and Pb steady-state body concentrations among field soils and soil-sediment mixtures. For the spiked field soil and in the Cd-spiked OECD soil, body concentrations increased almost linearly with time. For the nonessential metals Cd and Pb, larval body concentrations correlated mainly to the total metal pool of the soil. Cd uptake at similar total Cd concentrations was within the same range among spiked OECD soils, field soils, and mixtures. A comparison of the findings with studies on other soil-inhabiting species shows that metal uptake patterns depend on metal type, soil type, and exposed species. It is suggested that soil organisms can be categorized according to gross divergence in ecophysiological characteristics, determined by, for instance, (non)permeability of the outer integument. These characteristics appear as similarities among multivariate functions as derived for the beetle.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Enantioselective degradation of metalaxyl in soils: chiral preference changes with soil pH.

Chiral pesticides are often degraded enantio-/stereoselectively in soils. Degradation is typically studied with one or a small number of soils so that it is not possible to extrapolate the findings on chiral preference to other soils. For this study, the fungicide metalaxyl was chosen as a "chiral probe" to investigate its enantioselective degradation in 20 different soils, selected primarily to cover a wide range of soil properties (e.g., acidic/alkaline, aerobic/ anaerobic) rather than to consider soils of agricultural importance. Racemic metalaxyl was incubated in these soils under laboratory conditions, and the degradation of the enantiomers as well as the enantioselective formation/ degradation of the primary major metabolite, metalaxyl acid, was followed over time, using enantioselective GC-MS after ethylation with diazoethane. In aerobic soils with pH > 5, the fungicidally active R-enantiomer was degraded faster than the S-enantiomer (k(R) > k(S)), leading to residues with a composition [S] > [R]. However, in aerobic soils with pH 4-5, both enantiomers were degraded at similar rates (k(R) approximately k(S)), and in aerobic soils with pH < 4 and in most anaerobic soils, the enantioselectivity was reversed (k(R) < k(S)). These considerable soil-to-soil variations were observed with soils from locations close to each other, in one case even within a single soil profile. Liming and acidification of a "nonenantioselective" soil prior to incubation resulted in enantioselective degradation with k(R)> k(S) and k(R) < k(S), respectively. While the enantioselectivity (expressed as ES = (k(R) - k(S))/(k(R) + k(S))) of metalaxyl degradation in aerobic soils apparently correlated with soil pH, no such correlation was found for metalaxyl acid. Reevaluation of published kinetic data for the herbicides dichlorprop and mecoprop indicated similar correlations between soil pH and ES as for metalaxyl.

Alanine↗