A study of the chemistry and hydraulic conductivity of mound materials and soils from different habitats of some Nigerian termites

Soil Research ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
SLO Malaka

Some aspects of the chemical characteristics of the crusts of the mounds of four Nigerian termites and physical properties of the crust of the mound of one were studied. It was found generally that the mound crust of Macrotermes bellicosus was poorer in chemical constituents than the surrounding soils. The reverse was the case in the mounds of Amitermes evuncifer Silverstri, Cubitermes sp., and Trinervitermes sp. The hydraulic conductivities of the crust of the mound of A. evuncifer was also determined.

RSC Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 10212-10223
Author(s):  
Abhijit Rudra Paul ◽  
Bapi Dey ◽  
Sudip Suklabaidya ◽  
Syed Arshad Hussain ◽  
Swapan Majumdar

In this article, we demonstrate the design, synthesis and physico-chemical characteristics, including electrical switching behaviours of long alkoxy-appended coumarin carboxylate/carboxylic acid in thin films.


Soil Research ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Sargeant ◽  
C. Tang ◽  
P. W. G. Sale

Landholder observations indicate that the growth of Distichlis spicata in saline discharge sites improves the soil condition. An extensive soil sampling survey was conducted at the Wickepin field site in Western Australia, where D. spicata had been growing for 8 years, to test the hypothesis that this halophytic grass will make improvements in chemical and physical properties of the soil. Soil measurements included saturated hydraulic conductivity, water-stable aggregates, root length and dry weight, electrical conductivity, pH, and soil nitrogen and carbon. Results confirm that marked differences in soil properties occurred under D. spicata. For example, a 12-fold increase in saturated hydraulic conductivity occurred where D. spicata had been growing for 8 years, compared to adjacent control soil where no grass had been growing. There were also improvements in aggregate stability, with the most notable improvements in the top 0.10 m of soil, again with the greatest improvements occurring where 8 years of growth had occurred. Soil nitrogen and carbon increased under the sward, with the biggest increases occurring in the top 0.10 m of soil. Electrical conductivity measurements were more variable, mostly due to the large spatial and temporal variation encountered. However, the findings generally support the proposition that the growth of D. spicata does not lead to an accumulation of salt within the rooting zone.


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 1281-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Alberto Lozano ◽  
Carlos Germán Soracco ◽  
Vicente S. Buda ◽  
Guillermo O. Sarli ◽  
Roberto Raúl Filgueira

The area under the no-tillage system (NT) has been increasing over the last few years. Some authors indicate that stabilization of soil physical properties is reached after some years under NT while other authors debate this. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the last crop in the rotation sequence (1st year: maize, 2nd year: soybean, 3rd year: wheat/soybean) on soil pore configuration and hydraulic properties in two different soils (site 1: loam, site 2: sandy loam) from the Argentinean Pampas region under long-term NT treatments in order to determine if stabilization of soil physical properties is reached apart from a specific time in the crop sequence. In addition, we compared two procedures for evaluating water-conducting macroporosities, and evaluated the efficiency of the pedotransfer function ROSETTA in estimating the parameters of the van Genuchten-Mualem (VGM) model in these soils. Soil pore configuration and hydraulic properties were not stable and changed according to the crop sequence and the last crop grown in both sites. For both sites, saturated hydraulic conductivity, K0, water-conducting macroporosity, εma, and flow-weighted mean pore radius, R0ma, increased from the 1st to the 2nd year of the crop sequence, and this was attributed to the creation of water-conducting macropores by the maize roots. The VGM model adequately described the water retention curve (WRC) for these soils, but not the hydraulic conductivity (K) vs tension (h) curve. The ROSETTA function failed in the estimation of these parameters. In summary, mean values of K0 ranged from 0.74 to 3.88 cm h-1. In studies on NT effects on soil physical properties, the crop effect must be considered.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bouthaina Hasnaoui ◽  
Adama Zan Diarra ◽  
Jean-Michel Berenger ◽  
Hacène Medkour ◽  
Ahmed Benakhla ◽  
...  

AbstractMatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has proved effective for the identification of many arthropods. A total of 432 termite specimens were collected in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Senegal, Switzerland and France. Morphologically, 22 species were identified, including Ancistrotermes cavithorax, Amitermes evuncifer, Cryptotermes brevis, Cubitermes orthognathus, Kalotermes flavicollis, Macrotermes bellicosus, Macrotermes herus, Macrotermes ivorensis, Macrotermes subhyalinus, Microcerotermes parvus, Microtermes sp., Odontotermes latericius, Procubitermes sjostedti, Promirotermes holmgreni, Reticulitermes grassei, Reticulitermes lucifugus, Reticulitermes santonensis, Trinervitermes geminatus, Trinervitermes occidentalis, Trinervitermes togoensis, Trinervitermes sp., Trinervitermes trinervoides and Trinervitermes trinervius. Analysis of MALDI-TOF MS spectra profiles from termites revealed that all were of high quality, with intra-species reproducibility and inter-species specificity. Blind testing of the spectra of 389 termites against our updated database with the spectra of 43 specimens of different termite species revealed that all were correctly identified with log score values (LSVs) ranging from 1.65 to 2.851, mean 2.290 ± 0.225, median 2.299, and 98.4% (383) had LSVs > 1.8. This study is the first on the use of MALDI-TOF for termite identification and shows its importance as a tool for arthropod taxonomy and reinforces the idea that MALDI-TOF MS is a promising tool in the field of entomology.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1615-1617
Author(s):  
Jyoti Prabha Bishnoi ◽  
Rakesh Gehlot ◽  
S. Siddiqui

Ascorbic acid and total phenol in frozen aonla pulp on zero day of storage was found to be 365.5 mg/100g and 2.1 mg/g while in dehydrated aonla pulp it was 2.3 mg/100mg and 14.7 mg/g which was found to decrease with the increase in storage duration. However, significant increase (CD at 5% Level) in total soluble solids (TSS) and non-enzymatic browning was noticed with the advancement in storage duration. The decrease and increase in physico-chemical characteristics were more significant in dehydrated aonla pulp as compared to frozen aonla pulp. Mean score for sensory attributes of dehydrated aonla pulp at zero month of storage was fairly less than frozen aonla pulp. Moreover, there was more significant decrease in value of sensory attributes of dehydrated aonla pulp during six months storage period compared to frozen aonla pulp. Thus, present study was first in its kind to determine and compare chemical composition and overall acceptability of frozen and dehydrated aonla pulp obtained from aonla fruits cv. Chakaiya during storage for optimizing there use in further development of value added aonla product.


2021 ◽  
pp. 44-57
Author(s):  
Kh. A. Shaban ◽  
M. A. Esmaeil ◽  
A. K. Abdel Fattah ◽  
Kh. A. Faroh

A field experiment was carried out at Khaled Ibn El-waleed village, Sahl El-Hussinia, El-Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, during two summer seasons 2019 and 2020 to study the effect of NPK nanofertilizers, biofertilizers and humic acid combined with or without mineral fertilizers different at rates on some soil physical properties and soybean productivity and quality under saline soil conditions. The treatments consisted of: NPK-chitosan, NPK-Ca, humic acid, biofertilzer and control (mineral NPK only). In both seasons, the experiment was carried out in a split plot design with three replicates. The results indicated a significant increase in the soybean yield parameters as compared to control. There was also a significant increase in dry and water stable aggregates in all treatments as compared to control. The treatment NPK-Chitosan was the best in improving dry and stable aggregates. Also, hydraulic conductivity and total porosity values were significantly increased in all treatments due to increase in soil aggregation and porosity that led to increase in values of hydraulic conductivity. Values of bulk density were decreased, the lowest values of bulk density were found in NPK-chitosan treatment as a result of the high concentration of organic matter resulted from NPK-chitosan is much lighter in weight than the mineral fraction in soils. Accordingly, the increase in the organic fraction decreases the total weight and bulk density of the soil. Concerning soil moisture constants, all treatments significantly increased field capacity and available water compared to control. This increase was due to improvement of the soil aggregates and pores spaces which allowed the free movement of water within the soil thereby, increasing the moisture content at field capacity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 20008
Author(s):  
Koki Yamada ◽  
Chiemi Iba ◽  
Tomoko Uno ◽  
Kazuma Fukui ◽  
Daisuke Ogura

The former Koshien Hotel is an historic Japanese architectural structure, where two different tuffs called Nikkaseki and Tatsuyamaishi were used to build the exterior. Despite its cultural significance, the building’s exterior is deteriorating in many ways, with water permeation being the main factor. In this study, the hygrothermal properties of both Nikkaseki and Tatsuyamaishi were measured in order to examine the correlation between deterioration mechanisms and the tuff characteristics in detail. The basic physical properties, pore size distribution, vapor permeability, hydraulic conductivity, and sorption isotherm were measured. The results of a comparison of two tuffs led us to hypothesize that the main reason behind Nikkaseki’s deterioration is expansive freezing, while that of Tatsuyamaishi is caused by repeating dehydration or dry-wet cycles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 9-20
Author(s):  
Roman Bleha ◽  
Tetiana Shevtsova Shevtsova ◽  
Vojtěch Kružík ◽  
Tereza Škorpilová ◽  
Ivan Saloň ◽  
...  

Five samples of polyfloral bee bread originated from two regions of Eastern Ukraine were characterised by microscopic (SEM) and spectroscopic (FT MIR ATR, FT NIR, FT Raman and Vis) methods. Identification of pollens was based on the SEM images. Spectral differences were interpreted in terms of specific contribution of the main chemical constituents (proteins, phenolics, sugars, etc.) and pigments (flavonoids and carotenoids) of bee breads. PCA of FT NIR and Vis data was used for discrimination of bee bread samples according to botanical sources. The morphometric parameters, antioxidant capacity and prebiotic ef fects of bee breads were also studied. Obtained results expand the knowledge in the composition and properties of this beekeeping product.


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