scholarly journals Ecosystem engineering by digging mammals: effects on soil fertility and condition in Tasmanian temperate woodland

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 180621 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. T. O. Davies ◽  
J. B. Kirkpatrick ◽  
E. Z. Cameron ◽  
S. Carver ◽  
C. N. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Soil Condition ◽  
Ecosystem Engineering ◽  
Sclerophyll Forest ◽  
Poor Soil ◽  
Infertile Soil

Many small- and medium-sized mammals dig for their food. This activity potentially affects soil condition and fertility. Digging is well developed especially in Australian mammals, many of which have recently become rare or extinct. We measured the effects of digging by mammals on soil in a Tasmanian temperate dry sclerophyll forest with an intact mammal community. The density of diggings was 5812 ha −1 , affecting 11% of the forest floor. Diggings were created at a rate of around 3113 diggings ha −1 yr −1 , disturbing 6.5% of the forest floor and displacing 7.1 m 3 ha −1 of soil annually. Most diggings were made by eastern bettongs ( Bettongia gaimardi) and short-beaked echidnas ( Tachyglossus aculeatus ). Many (approx. 30%) fresh diggings consisted of re-excavations of old diggings. Novel diggings displaced 5 m 3 ha yr −1 of soil. Diggings acted as traps for organic matter and sites for the formation of new soil, which had higher fertility and moisture content and lower hardness than undisturbed topsoil. These effects on soil fertility and structure were strongest in habitats with dry and poor soil. Creation of fine-scaled heterogeneity by mammals, and amelioration of dry and infertile soil, is a valuable ecosystem service that could be restored by reintroduction of digging mammals to habitats from which they have declined or gone extinct.

DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF ORIBATID MITE FAUNA(ACARI: ORIBATIDA) IN THE FOREST FLOOR OF SATKOSIA BASIPALLY WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ODISHA, INDIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
SHELLEY ACHARYA ◽  
ADITI DUTTA
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Oribatid Mite ◽  
Soil Condition ◽  
Silica Content ◽  
Soil Mites ◽  
The Core ◽  
Humid Condition ◽  
Core Areas ◽  
Wild Life

The studies were mostly concentrated in Nine forest ranges of the WLS including the core areas. The soil of this region mostly is dry, red and with iron and silica content. Though the soil mites are prevalent in moist humid condition, we got a diversed population of 20 different species under 14 genera which is less than average probably due to the soil condition. Protoribates magnus is the dominant species in this study. The species with larger ranges were Scheloribates curvialatus.

Establishment theoretical of recommendation fertilization guide of vegetable crops in Algeria: concept and validation

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 606-620
Author(s):  
Mahtali Sbih ◽  
Zoubeir BENSID ◽  
Zohra BOUNOUARA ◽  
Fouad DJAIZ ◽  
Youcef FERRAG
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Soil Analysis ◽  
Critical Value ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Fertilizer Recommendation ◽  
Continuous Models ◽  
Poor Soil

The goal of fertilization is to meet the nutritional needs of plants by completing the supply of soil nutrients in an economically profitable and environmentally friendly. Achieving on-farm optimum economic crop yields of marketable quality with minimum adverse environmental impact requires close attention to fertilization guide. The recommendations seek to do this by ensuring that the available supply of plant nutrients in soil is judiciously supplemented by additions of nutrients in fertilizers. The objective is that crops must have an adequate supply of nutrients, and many crops show large and very profitable increases in yield from the correct use of fertilizers to supply nutrients. The main objective of this work is to establishing a reference guide of fertilization of vegetable crops and cereal in Algeria. To meet this objective, we have processes in two steps: 1) Establishment of theoretical fertilizer recommendation from international guide of crop fertilization; 2) Validation of these developed theoretical fertilizer recommendation by trials in the fields. Sixteen fertilization guides of vegetable crops from the Canadian provinces (5 guides), USA (10 guides) and countries of northern Europe England (1 guide). Generally, the rating of these recommendation is ranging from poor soil to soil exceedingly rich; however, the numbers of fertility classes are very different. Indeed, Quebec Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin New England, Maryland and Kentucky and Florida guides are subdivided into 5 fertility classes, ranging from poor soil to soil exceedingly rich. The recommendation of New Brunswick and Manitoba contain six classes. The recommendation of Michigan, Nova Scotia and England contain 10 and 7 fertility classes respectively. The recommendation fertilizer of New York and New Jersey have 3classes. Unlike the systems of fertilization recommendation mentioned above, the recommendation fertilizer of Pennsylvania is based on continuous models of P, K and contains 34 classes for P and 22 classes K. Then we standardized the P soil analysis with conversion equations (Olsen method) and units of measurement (kg/ha, mg/kg…).Following this procedure we transformed discontinued systems of fertility classes in to continuous models to facilitate comparison between the different fertilization recommendation models in one hand, in other hand to obtain critical value (CV).Finally, we used statistics of the conditional expectation in order to generate the theoretical recommendation fertilization guide of fertilization with 7 fertility classes (VL, L, M, MH, OP, H and VH). The next step was calibrating soil tests against yield responses to applied nutrient in field experiments. A database (not published data) from agriculture and agri-food Canada, were used. Production of pumpkin responded positively and significantly to P or K soil fertility levels, increases being observed with P more often than with K. According to the Cate-Nelson methods, the critical value of Olsen-P in the top 20 cm of soil was about 25 mg/kg: at values of greater than or equal to 25 mg/kg, crops achieved about 80% of their maximal yield in the absence of fertilizer application. The CV of K in soil for this crop was about 140 mg/kg. The CV found was very close to this generated by the theoretical method for recommendation of fertilization guide. Finally, we used the procedure of Cope and Rouse in both sides of the CV in order to make subdivisions of different groups of soil fertility. One calibrates the soil-test value against yield response to tile nutrient to predict fertilizer requirement.

scholarly journals Soil fertilization synergistically enhances the impact of pollination services in increasing seed yield of sunflower under dryland conditions

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Dolapo Bola Adelabu ◽  
Emile Bredenhand ◽  
Sean van der Merwe ◽  
Angelinus Cornelius Franke
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Seed Yield ◽  
Synergetic Effect ◽  
Insect Pollination ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Degraded Soil ◽  
Soil Fertilization ◽  
Fertilized Soil ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Poor Soil

Abstract To exploit the potential of ecological intensification during sunflower cropping, it is crucial to understand the potential synergies between crop management and ecosystem services. We therefore examined the effect of pollination intensification on sunflower yield and productivity under various levels of soil fertilization over two seasons in the eastern Free State, South Africa. We manipulated soil fertility with fertilizer applications and pollination with exclusion bags. We found a synergetic effect between pollination and soil fertilization whereby increasing pollination intensity led to a far higher impact on sunflower yield when the soil had been fertilized. Specifically, the intensification of insect pollination increased seed yield by approximately 0.4 ton/ha on nutrient poor soil and by approximately 1.7 ton/ha on moderately fertilized soil. Our findings suggest that sunflower crops on adequate balanced soil fertility will receive abundant insect pollination and may gain more from both synergies than crops grown in areas with degraded soil fertility.

scholarly journals Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Protease Activity in Forest Floor of Norway Spruce Stand

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 665
Author(s):  
Ladislav Holik ◽  
Jiří Volánek ◽  
Valerie Vranová
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Proteolytic Activity ◽  
Protease Activity ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Soil Microbial Activity ◽  
Inhibitory Effects ◽  
Chlorocholine Chloride ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Native Soil ◽  
Transformation Processes

Soil proteases are involved in organic matter transformation processes and, thus, influence ecosystem nutrient turnovers. Phytohormones, similarly to proteases, are synthesized and secreted into soil by fungi and microorganisms, and regulate plant rhizosphere activity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of auxins, cytokinins, ethephon, and chlorocholine chloride on spruce forest floor protease activity. It was concluded that the presence of auxins stimulated native proteolytic activity, specifically synthetic auxin 2-naphthoxyacetic acid (16% increase at added quantity of 5 μg) and naturally occurring indole-3-acetic acid (18%, 5 μg). On the contrary, cytokinins, ethephon and chlorocholine chloride inhibited native soil protease activity, where ethephon (36% decrease at 50 μg) and chlorocholine chloride (34%, 100 μg) showed the highest inhibitory effects. It was concluded that negative phytohormonal effects on native proteolytic activity may slow down organic matter decomposition rates and hence complicate plant nutrition. The study enhances the understanding of rhizosphere exudate effects on soil microbial activity and soil nitrogen cycle.

scholarly journals Assessment of Potato Farmland Soil Nutrient Based on MDS-SQI Model in the Loess Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3957
Author(s):  
Yingying Xing ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Xiaoli Niu ◽  
Wenting Jiang ◽  
Xiukang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Soil Nutrients ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Soil Organic Matter Content ◽  
Farmland Soil

Soil nutrients are essential nutrients provided by soil for plant growth. Most researchers focus on the coupling effect of nutrients with potato yield and quality. There are few studies on the evaluation of soil nutrients in potato fields. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soil nutrients of potato farmland and the soil vertical nutrient distributions, and then to provide a theoretical and experimental basis for the fertilizer management practices for potatoes in Loess Plateau. Eight physical and chemical soil indexes were selected in the study area, and 810 farmland soil samples from the potato agriculture product areas were analyzed in Northern Shaanxi. The paper established the minimum data set (MDS) for the quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland by principal component analysis (PCA), respectively, and furthermore, analyzed the soil nutrient characteristics of the cultivated layer adopted soil quality index (SQI). The results showed that the MDS on soil quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland soil included such indicators as the soil organic matter content, soil available potassium content, and soil available phosphorus content. The comprehensive index value of the soil quality was between 0.064 and 0.302. The SPSS average clustering process used to classify SQI was divided into three grades: class I (36.2%) was defined as suitable soil fertility (SQI < 0.122), class II (55.6%) was defined as moderate soil fertility (0.122 < SQI < 0.18), and class III (8.2%) was defined as poor soil fertility (SQI > 0.186). The comprehensive quality of the potato farmland soils was generally low. The proportion of soil nutrients in the SQI composition ranged from large to small as the soil available potassium content = soil available phosphorus content > soil organic matter content, which became the limiting factor of the soil organic matter content in this area. This study revolves around the 0 to 60 cm soil layer; the soil fertility decreased gradually with the soil depth, and had significant differences between the respective soil layers. In order to improve the soil nutrient accumulation and potato yield in potato farmland in northern Shaanxi, it is suggested to increase the fertilization depth (20 to 40 cm) and further study the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer.

scholarly journals Soil fertility relates to fungal‐mediated decomposition and organic matter turnover in a temperate mountain forest

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Mayer ◽  
Boris Rewald ◽  
Bradley Matthews ◽  
Hans Sandén ◽  
Christoph Rosinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Mountain Forest ◽  
Organic Matter Turnover

Multi-algorithm comparison to predict soil organic matter and soil moisture content from cell phone images

Geoderma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 385 ◽  
pp. 114863
Author(s):  
Perry Taneja ◽  
Hitesh Kumar Vasava ◽  
Prasad Daggupati ◽  
Asim Biswas
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Cell Phone ◽  
Soil Moisture Content ◽  
Algorithm Comparison

scholarly journals Soil fertility status of some of the intensive crop growing areas under major agroecological zones of Bangladesh

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 735-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
NC Shil ◽  
MA Saleque ◽  
MR Islam ◽  
M Jahiruddin
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Calcareous Soils ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Exchangeable K ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Fertility Status ◽  
Agroecological Zones ◽  
High Level

Laboratory studies on soil fertility evaluation was carried out across major agroecological zones (AEZs) of Bangladesh to know the nutrient status of soils and to relate those with soil properties like pH, organic matter, CEC, and clay content. Thirty five composite soil samples were collected from intensive crop growing sites, which covered 17 AEZs of Bangladesh. After proper processing, the samples were analyzed for texture, pH, organic carbon, CEC, exchangeable cations (K, Ca, Mg and Na), total N, available P and S following standard methods. The textural class of the soils collected from AEZ 12 and 13 appeared to be mostly clay. Clay loam soil was found in AEZ 4, 8, 9, 11, 25 and 28. Loamy soil was seen in AEZ 1 while AEZ 22, 23 and 29 were mostly sandy textured. The results revealed that 65.7% of the tested soil was acidic while 25.7% was alkaline in nature. All the tested soils showed lower pHKCl compared to pHH2O thus possessed negative charge. About 68.6% of the collected soils contained low (1.10-1.70%) level of organic matter, 25.7% soils retained it at medium level (1.71-2.40) and 5.7% soils at very low level (<1.0%). All the tested soils appeared to be deficient (< 0.12%) in nitrogen content. 68.6% soil samples had the low level of available P while only 8.6% retained it an optimum amount. About 80% of the tested soils contained low level of available S (7.9- 14.7 mg kg -1) although coastal regions soils hold higher amount of available S. High CEC (20-38 cmol kg-1) was found in clay rich soils of AEZ 10, 11, 12, and 13. Study revealed that 40% of the collected soils were very low, 31.4% were low, 8.6% each of medium and optimum, and 11.4% contained high level of exchangeable K. The calcareous soils (AEZ 10, 11, 12 and 13) contained very high level of Ca. Non calcareous soils also showed fairly good level of Ca content except AEZ 1, 3, 23 and 29. Sandy textured soils of greater Dinajpur, Rangpur, Moulvibazar showed lower level of exchangeable Mg. About 86% of the tested soils had the lower (< 2%) potassium saturation percentage (KSP), which needs K application for sustainable crop production. Estimate showed that 44% variability for CEC may be attributed by clay content and the relationship was significant (p = 0.05). Again, 50.4 and 65.6% variability in exchangeable K and Mg, respectively may be governed by clay content of the soils, while such relationship for Ca was non-significant. CEC may contribute 62.2, 92.3 and 83.9% variability for exchangeable K, Ca and Mg content in soils, respectively. The fertility status of most of the studied soils (except AEZ 10, 12, 13 and to some extent 11) appeared to be low to very low, which demand judicious management in order to achieve food security and to conserve the soil fertility.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 41(4): 735-757, December 2016

scholarly journals Effect of Botanical Pesticides on Soil Fertility of Coffee-Orchards

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 16-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhanu B. Panthi ◽  
Bhupendra Devkota ◽  
Jyoti U. Devkota
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Soil Nutrients ◽  
Soil Texture ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
High Positive Correlation ◽  
Botanical Pesticides ◽  
Agriculture And Environment ◽  
Commercial Crop

Coffee (Coffea arabica; Rubiaceae) is a potential and emerging commercial crop. Coffee is planted in the midhills of Nepal (800 to 1250 meter above mean sea level) in Gulmi and Lalitpur districts. To control the major insect pests of coffee plant, locally prepared ‘jaibik bishadi’ (botanical pesticides) are used as alternatives of the synthetic insecticides. This study was undertaken to see the contribution of ‘jaibik bishadi’ in the fertility of the coffee orchards soil, for which soil samples from botanicals used and not used coffee orchards were collected to see the level of soil characteristics and soil nutrients such as soil texture, organic matter, soil nutrients (phosphorous and potassium). There was some difference in the soil texture of topsoil, but no difference could be seen in sand, silt and clay content of the subsoils from botanical used and not used orchards. The pH was significantly different between botanical used and not used soils, but such difference could not be observed between the topsoil and subsoil from the same sites. Jaibik bishadi used to control the coffee pests significantly contributed in the soil fertility, which could be seen in high positive correlation (r=0.9886) between organic matter and nitrogen in the soil.Keywords: Coffee, jaibik bishadi, topsoil, subsoil, soil fertilityThe Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:9, Jun.2008 page: 16-22

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