Effect of fire intensity on solution chemistry of surface soil under a Eucalyptus pauciflora forest

Soil Research ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 423 ◽  
Author(s):  
PK Khanna ◽  
RJ Raison

The chemical composition of soil solutions (field percolates collected in situ and laboratory saturation extracts) was measured at three sites subjected to widely varying fire intensity in subalpine Eucalyptus paucfiora forest near Canberra. The sites were unburnt forest, areas prescribed burnt resulting in almost complete canopy scorch, and ashbeds (intensely heated soil). Saturation extracts were obtained 1, 58, 375, 745 and 1095 days after the fire, and soil percolates were collected on 17 occasions during the initial year after burning. Large quantities of cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ , NH+4) and anions (Cl-, SO24-) and soluble silica were mobilized by burning, especially under ashbeds. Mobilization resulted from deposition of water-soluble elements in ash, immediate effects of soil heating, and enhanced rates of mineralisation of soil organic matter indicated by high concentrations of NH+4 which persisted for more than one year in surface soils under the ashbeds. After burning Ca2+ became the dominant cation in saturation extracts of surface (0-5 cm) soils for the entire 3-year study period. In the 5-15 cm soil layer, firstly NH+4 and later K+ replaced some of the Na+ in the solution phase. Most of the Cl- deposited in ash was leached below 15 cm depth within one year and was probably accompanied by transport of K+, Mg2+, Na+ and NH+4, but very little transfer of Ca2+ occurred. Concentrations of NO-3 and phosphate were always low in saturation extracts and soil percolates, and levels were unaffected by burning, despite the presence of large amounts of exchangeable NH+4 in the soil and the deposition of significant amounts of phosphate in ash. Burning increased the concentrations of soluble silica and SO24- in saturation extracts for at least 3 years after the fire. Most of the changes in soil solution chemistry measured would increase nutrient availability to the vegetation during the initial year after burning, but these changes must be balanced against losses of organic matter and nutrients during and after fires.


2012 ◽  
Vol 163 (9) ◽  
pp. 363-373
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Graf Pannatier ◽  
Anne Thimonier ◽  
Maria Schmitt ◽  
Peter Waldner ◽  
Lorenz Walthert

Impacts of atmospheric acid deposition on soil solutions in forests After a massive input of acidifying components on the environment in the middle of the 20th century, atmospheric acid deposition has decreased as a result of sulphur emission reduction. The continuous acid input might affect the chemistry of soils and drainage waters and accelerate soil acidification. In the framework of the Swiss Long-Term Forest Ecosystem Research (LWF), we examined whether acid deposition has continued to decline in the last ten years in different forest ecosystems and how the chemistry of soil water reacted to the improvement in air quality. Acid deposition decreased significantly at only three out of the nine study sites. Sulphur deposition declined at all sites, but due to the relatively low sulphur load compared to nitrogen deposition, it did not contribute to decrease acid deposition. Chemistry of soil solution remained quite constant since the beginning of the measurements about ten years ago. We did not observe any acidification of soil solution in six out of eight sites. In contrast, changes in soil solution chemistry at two sites showed a rapid acidification. At three sites, the deeper soil layer released large amount of sulphate coupled with base cations, which likely contributed to deplete the soil in nutrients. The analysis of the base saturation in 1039 soil profiles across Switzerland shows a high risk of relatively fast acidification of soil solution in almost 20% of sites.



2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-H. von Bonsdorff ◽  
L. Maunula ◽  
R.M. Niemi ◽  
R. Rimhanen-Finne ◽  
M.-L. Hänninen ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to monitor the levels of human enteric viruses and enteric protozoa and to relate their presence to the microbes used as hygienic quality indicators in domestic sewage from a small community in Finland during a period of one year. Genome-based sensitive detection methods for the pathogens selected (astro- and Norwalk-like viruses, Giardia and Cryptosporidium) have become available only recently and thus no earlier data was available. The effluent sewage is delivered into a river that serves as raw water for a larger town and the pathogens therefore constitute a health risk. The results showed that all the monitored pathogens could be detected, and that enteric viruses were present at considerable concentrations in sewage. High concentrations of astrovirus in raw sewage were observed during a diarrhea epidemic in the local day-care centre. The presence of viruses did not correlate with the monitored bacterial indicators of faecal contamination (coliforms, E. coli and enterococci) or with bacteriophages (somatic coliphages, F-specific RNA phages and B. fragilis phages). Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected from one sample (1/10) each.



1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Shigeo Fujii ◽  
Chiaki Niwa ◽  
Mitsuo Mouri ◽  
Ranjna Jindal

Applicability of the rock-bed filtration technique was investigated through pilot-plant experiments in Bangkok, Thailand. Polluted canal water was used as horizontal flow influent to two reactor channels filled with rocks. During one year operation, HRT, filter media, and aeration mode, were changed in several runs. The results showed that 1) the rock-bed filtration with aeration and the HRT more than 6 h can successfully improve polluted klong water by reducing the pollutants (e.g. 60-120mg/L of SS to 20-40 mg/L and 15-30 mg/L of BOD to 5-20 mg/L); 2) main removal mechanism seems to be the sedimentation resulting from the settleability enhanced by aeration, and the biofilm attached onto rocks also works in the reduction of soluble organic matter; 3) a combination of three rock sizes arranged in descending order showed best results; 4) longer HRT (13 h) produces better effluent but is not so effective if it exceeds 9 hours; 5) 60-70% of sediment IL was decomposed in a year, and porosity in rock beds reduced approximately 16%.





2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mizuki Ogata ◽  
Reiji Masuda ◽  
Hiroya Harino ◽  
Masayuki K. Sakata ◽  
Makoto Hatakeyama ◽  
...  

AbstractEnvironmental DNA (eDNA) can be a powerful tool for detecting the distribution and abundance of target species. This study aimed to test the longevity of eDNA in marine sediment through a tank experiment and to use this information to reconstruct past faunal occurrence. In the tank experiment, juvenile jack mackerel (Trachurus japonicus) were kept in flow-through tanks with marine sediment for two weeks. Water and sediment samples from the tanks were collected after the removal of fish. In the field trial, sediment cores were collected in Moune Bay, northeast Japan, where unusual blooms of jellyfish (Aurelia sp.) occurred after a tsunami. The samples were analyzed by layers to detect the eDNA of jellyfish. The tank experiment revealed that after fish were removed, eDNA was not present in the water the next day, or subsequently, whereas eDNA was detectable in the sediment for 12 months. In the sediment core samples, jellyfish eDNA was detected at high concentrations above the layer with the highest content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reflecting tsunami-induced oil spills. Thus, marine sediment eDNA preserves a record of target species for at least one year and can be used to reconstruct past faunal occurrence.



1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Angers ◽  
N. Bissonnette ◽  
A. Légère ◽  
N. Samson

Crop rotations and tillage practices can modify not only the total amount of organic matter (OM) in soils but also its composition. The objective of this study was to determine the changes in total organic C, microbial biomass C (MBC), carbohydrates and alkaline phosphatase activity induced by 4 yr of different rotation and tillage combinations on a Kamouraska clay in La Pocatière, Quebec. Two rotations (continuous barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) versus a 2-yr barley–red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) rotation) and three tillage treatments (moldboard plowing (MP), chisel plowing (CP) and no-tillage (NT)) were compared in a split-plot design. Total organic C was affected by the tillage treatments but not by the rotations. In the top soil layer (0–7.5 cm), NT and CP treatments had C contents 20% higher than the MP treatment. In the same soil layer, MBC averaged 300 mg C kg−1 in the MP treatment and up to 600 mg C kg−1 in the NT soil. Hot-water-extractable and acid-hydrolyzable carbohydrates were on average 40% greater under reduced tillage than under MP. Both carbohydrate fractions were also slightly larger in the rotation than in the soil under continuous barley. The ratios of MBC and carbohydrate C to total organic C suggested that there was a significant enrichment of the OM in labile forms as tillage intensity was reduced. Alkaline phosphatase activity was 50% higher under NT and 20% higher under CP treatments than under MP treatment and, on average, 15% larger in the rotation than in the continuous barley treatment. Overall, the management-induced differences were slightly greater in the top layer (0–7.5 cm) than in the lower layer of the Ap horizon (7.5–15 cm). All the properties measured were highly correlated with one another. They also showed significant temporal variations that were, in most cases, independent of the treatments. Four years of conservation tillage and, to a lesser extent, rotation with red clover resulted in greater OM in the top soil layer compared with the more intensive systems. This organic matter was enriched in labile forms. Key words: Soil management, soil quality, organic matter, carbohydrates, microbial biomass, phosphatase



2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. A. Gutorova ◽  
A. Kh. Sheudzhen ◽  
A. G. Ladatko


Chemosphere ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 65 (8) ◽  
pp. 1426-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.V. Shamrikova ◽  
M.A. Ryazanov ◽  
E.V. Vanchikova


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