EURASIAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE

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Authors: Coşkun Gülser, Feride Candemir, Yasemin Kanel, Salih Demirkaya

Effects of farmyard manure treatments on some soil structural parameters such as, aggregate stability (AS), geometric mean weight (GMWD) and mean weight (MWD) diameters, fragmentation (D) and mass (Dm) fractal dimensions, bulk density (BD) and organic C (OC) contents of aggregates were determined in a clay soil. Application of 67 Mg ha-1 farmyard manure to Vertic Haplustoll soil decreased AS 12.14% compared with the control. Manure treatment increased the proportion of microaggregates in the fractions <1.00 mm in size and decreased the proportion of macroaggregates in the fractions >1.00 mm in size. While OC contents of aggregates increased between 22.8% and 123.4%, BD values decreased between 0.8% and 16.6% with the manure treatment. Fragmentation (D) and mass (Dm) fractal dimensions were increased with decreasing numbers of macroaggregates of the clay soil. GMWD (1.16 mm) and MWD (1.86 mm) obtained in the manure treatment were lower than that in the control treatment (1.20 mm and 1.95 mm, respectively). Although OC content of the aggregates increased with the manure treatment, the number of macroaggregates of clay soil decreased with decreasing AS.

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Authors: Svetlana Sushkova, Tatiana Minkina, Saglara Mandzhieva, Nikolay Borisenko, Galina Vasilyeva, Rıdvan Kızılkaya, Tayfun Aşkın

The benzo[a]pyrene accumulation and migration regularities in chernozemic soils under the aerotechnogenic emission zone were revealed on the basis of long-term monitoring researches. A new method of subcritical water extraction has been developed for determination of benzo[a]pyrene from soils of the emissions zone of Novocherkassk Power Station one of the largest thermal power enterprises in Russian Federation. It is shown that the soils adjacent to a source of emission are polluted by benzo[a]pyrene at distance to 5 km. Trends in the accumulation of benzo[a]pyrene in soil zones of the thermal power plant influence have been researched over a 5-year period of monitoring observations. The assessment of soils pollution extent by benzo[a]pyrene is given.

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Authors: Tatiana Paramonova, Ekaterina Machaeva, Vladimir Belyaev

The estimation of modern parameters of 137Cs root uptake was conducted in natural meadow and agricultural ecosystems of post-Chernobyl landscapes of Tula region. The agrosystems with main crops of field rotation (barley, potatoes, rape, maize) occupying watersheds and slopes with arable chernozems are contaminated at a level 460-670 Bq/kg (4.7-6.0 Ci/km2); natural meadow ecosystems occupying lower parts of slopes and floodplains are contaminated at a level 620-710 Bq/kg (5.8-7.6 Ci/km2). In the arable soils 137Cs uniformly distributed to a depth of Ap horizon (20-30 cm of thickness), while in meadow soils 70-80% of the radionuclide is concentrated within the top Ad horizon (9-13 cm of thickness). These topsoil layer accords with rhizosphere zone, where >80-90% of plant roots are concentrated, and from which 137Cs is mostly consumed by vegetation. Total amount of 137Cs root uptake depends on the level of soil radioactive contamination (correlation coefficient 0.61). So 137Cs activity in meadow vegetation (103-160 Bq/kg) is generally more than one in agricultural vegetation (9-92 Bq/kg). The values of 137Cs transfer factor in the studied ecosystems vary from 0.01 (rape) to 0.20 (wet meadow), that confirms the discrimination of the radionuclide’s root uptake. The larger are the volume of roots and their absorbing surface, the higher are the values of transfer factor from soil to plant (correlation coefficients 0.71 and 0.64 respectively). 137Cs translocation from roots to shoots is also determined by biological features of plants. At the same level of soil contamination above-ground parts of meadow herbs accumulate more 137Cs than Gramineae species, and in agrosystems above-ground parts of weeds concentrate more 137Cs than cultivated cereals. Thus, the level of soil radioactive pollution and biological features of plants are determinants in the process of 137Cs root uptake and translocation and should be considered in land use policy.

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Authors: Palaninaicker Senthilkumar, Duraisamy Prabha, Subpiramaniyan Sivakumar, Chandra Venkatasamy Subbhuraam

Metal contamination of soil due to industrial and agricultural activities is increasingly becoming a global problem, thereby affecting animal and human life, thus rendering soil unsuitable for agricultural purposes. Remediation of cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil (Vertisol) using agricultural by products as source of organic amendments, Coir pith- a by-product of the coir industry and Prosopis charcoal- prepared by burning Prosopis plant wood (Prosopis juliflora L.) was investigated. The alleviation potential of Prosopis charcoal and Coir pith on the negative effects of Cd in soil was evaluated in pot culture experiments with Vigna radiata as the test plant, a Cd accumulator. Cadmium addition to soil resulted in accumulation of Cd in all plant parts of V. radiata predominantly in roots. The influence of Cd in the presence and absence of organic amendments on the various biological and chemical parameters of the soil, on the levels of Cd accumulation and on the growth attributes of V. radiata has been assessed. Among the organic amendments, Prosopis charcoal was found to be more effective in reducing the bioavailable levels of Cd in the soil artificially spiked with Cd in graded concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 µg g-1 and its accumulation in V. radiata, thus resulting in an increase in the root, leaf and stem biomass. Coir pith, however, was effective in increasing the total mycorrhizal colonization of roots and second in reducing Cd levels in plants. Therefore, Prosopis charcoal was considered best for stabilization of Cd in soil.

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Authors: Tsetska Simeonova, Dimitranka Stoicheva, Petra Alexandrova

The purpose of this study is to focus on the nitrogen balance and losses in agricultural system. The influence of precipitation, irrigation and fertilizer application on some soil parameters, N-uptake by plant production and N-output by lysimetric water are evaluated in this paper.The study is carried out on Fluvisol, near Plovdiv in Southern Bulgaria under the conditions of field experiments with different vegetable crops (eggplant, green beans and carrots) over the period 2009-2011. The experimental design includes 3 treatments with nitrogen application –N0, N80 and N160 on the background of P80K80 kg.ha-1. The field plots are equipped with modification of Ebermayer type of lysimeters, which collect water from 100 cm depth of soil profile.According the received data it was observed that compensation between the amounts of N input and output was achieved in two variants (N80, N160) for all crops growing. Reducing the nitrogen input to the amount applied by precipitation and irrigation waters is the most ecological-friendly technological decision and very important factor for environment protection.