. MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS SOILS OF THE BELIGATIVE STRUCTURES OF THE KAMIANETS-PODILSKYI KAMIANETS-PODILSKYI STATE HISTORICAL RESERVE MUSEUM

The article presents micromorphological descriptions of soil profiles of key areas of the research territory. The results of micromorphological analysis and synthesis of selected soil samples are illustrated. For the first time the process-and-genetic features of urborendzins of beligerative structures were studied through the evaluation of their micromorphological structure. Urborendzins of the beligerative landscape complex of the Kamianets-Podilskyi State Historical Preserve Museum are intrazonal biolithogenic polygenetic soils with complex phylogeny exposed to a long-term anthropogenic influence. It is important to establish their genesis, which is accompanied by a number of obstacles caused by the significant amplitude of the soil profile, morphological features, physical-and-chemical features and the presence of buried horizons in such soils. To solve the problem of age and ontogenesis staging of urborendzins, along with comparative-and-geographical, we use a complex paleopedological method with active application of micromorphological analysis, which allows to establish process-and-genetic features of soils by diagnosing elementary soil processes according to sustainable features at the micro level of solid phase formation. Micromorphological structure evaluation makes it possible to consider soil as a system at the microscopic level and observe the natural flow of soil-forming processes in their interaction and ratio at all morphological levels - from microscopically small volumes of soil mass to soil profile in general. Consequently, micromorphological analysis is a unique one and possesses significant advantages over other methods of physical geography. Urborendzins of the object under study have a complex problematic genesis and the use of micromorphological analysis and micromorphological synthesis is acceptable to solve these problems. The evaluation of the micromorphological structure of these soils was carried out for the first time, their micromorphological features were not previously determined as well as the genesis in general. Our micromorphological analysis allowed us to establish the process-and-diagnostic features of the studied soils and shows that in comparison with the background soil, the deposits of the «Day Tower» are more carbonated. Under the conditions of the washing regime, fragments of limestone deposits provide constant involvement of new weathered carbonated material in soil formation processes, which promotes saturation of soil solutions with calcium cations and, accordingly, formation of more stable microaggregation of soil mass and reduction of mobility of silty particles downwards the profile, fixed through by micromorphological researches in the form of the presence of high-order microaggregates. Comparing the background soil with the sediments of the «Day Tower», it can be stated that the agrorendzin typical, in contrast to urborendzin, leached from carbonates, is characterized by the practical absence of microorshteins, humic substances are mainly in a dispersed state and signs of movement of organo-clay substances downwards the profile can be traced much more clearly. This indicates that the background agrorendzin is formed under conditions of active biogenic and accumulative processes, carbonate leaching and illimerization. Key words: micromorphological analysis, synthesis, soil, beligerative complex.

Differential Response of Groundnut Genotypes for Varying CaCO3 Concentrations

Background: Soil calcareousness is the major problem in arid and semi arid regions globally since lime induced chlorosis lead to the deficiency of many essential plant nutrients which in turn resulted in reduced growth and yield loss of many crops. To explore the effects of various concentrations of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) on seed germination and seedling growth of groundnut genotypes and to identify CaCO3 stress tolerant and sensitive groundnut genotypes. Methods: The seed germination and seedling growth of ten groundnut genotypes (CO 6, CO 7, TMV 2, TMV 10, TMV 13, TMV 14, VRI 7, VRI 8, ALR 2 and BSR 2) was investigated with CaCO3 concentrations ranging from 1 to 100 mM L-1 for a period of 14 days. Result: The genotypes VRI 8 and TMV 10 showed higher seed germination and seedling growth even at higher CaCO3 concentration (upto 20 mM L-1) and considered as tolerant genotypes. Whereas TMV 2 and VRI 7 exhibited drastic reduction even at 1 mM L-1 and confirms their susceptibility to CaCO3 stress. Higher concentrations of CaCO3 in the growing medium greatly decreased the germination rate, germination index and vitality index but the impact differs with potentials of genotypes studied.

Plant mixture balances terrestrial ecosystem C:N:P stoichiometry

Plant and soil C:N:P ratios are of critical importance to productivity, food-web dynamics, and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Plant diversity continues to decline globally; however, its influence on terrestrial C:N:P ratios remains uncertain. By conducting a global meta-analysis of 2049 paired observations in plant species mixtures and monocultures from 169 sites, we show that, on average across all observations, the C:N:P ratios of plants, soils, soil microbial biomass and enzymes did not respond to species mixture nor to the species richness in mixtures. However, the mixture effect on soil microbial biomass C:N changed from positive to negative, and those on soil enzyme C:N and C:P shifted from negative to positive with increasing functional diversity in mixtures. Importantly, species mixture increased the C:N, C:P, N:P ratios of plants and soils when background soil C:N, C:P, and N:P were low, but decreased them when the respective background ratios were high. Our results demonstrate that plant mixtures can balance terrestrial plant and soil C:N:P ratios dependent on background soil C:N:P. Our findings highlight that plant diversity conservation does not only increase plant productivity, but also optimizes ecosystem stoichiometry for the diversity and productivity of today’s and future vegetation.

Enzymative Activity of Soils in the Activity Territory of the Dzhida Tungsten-Molybdenum Combine (Western Zabaikalie)

The enzymatic activity (catalase, cellulase) of soils and technogenic sand on the territory of the former Dzhida tungsten-molybdenum combine (Western Transbaikalia) was studied. The objects of the study were the surface 0-10 cm layers of alluvial dark humus soil (Fluvisols) as a background, man-made sand (waste after mining and processing of tungsten and molybdenum ores) and soils of recultivated contours № 1, 3, 4. At the same depth, linen cloths were laid to assess the activity of cellulase. Differences in the activity of soil enzymes of the background soil and soils on the studied contours were established, depending on the level of heavy metals content in them and the technologies used for reclamation.

Effective hydraulic properties of virtual stony soils: Forward 3D simulations evaluated by 1D inverse modeling

<p>Measuring hydraulic properties of stony soils and interpretation of the measured data is a challenge in vadose zone hydrology. The reason is not only the problem of installing suitable sensors but also the systematic measurement errors when sensors are only located in the background soil. A common approach to calculate the hydraulic properties of stony soils is by scaling the properties of the background soil according to the rock fragment content. Such modeling approaches are primarily developed for saturated flow conditions and only consider the amount of rock fragments as an input parameter. However, there is still a gap in knowledge regarding the effective properties of stony soils under unsaturated flow conditions.</p><p>Recently, 3D numerical simulation has become a convenient alternative tool to study the transport properties of heterogeneous porous media. The generation of data by numerical models is fast, measurements are repeatable and the simulation of the system under different initial and boundary conditions is easily achievable. We simulated three-dimensional unsaturated water flow in laboratory columns with stony soil material using the Hydrus 2D/3D software. Geometries were generated by assuming different volume fractions of impermeable rock fragments with spherical, cylindrical, or prolate shapes embedded in sandy loam soil. Time series of mean water contents, local pressure heads, and fluxes across the upper boundary were generated in an evaporation experiment, and a multi-step unit gradient simulation was applied to obtain values of hydraulic conductivity near saturation.</p><p>The synthetic measurement data were evaluated by inverse modeling, assuming a homogeneous system, and the effective hydraulic properties of stony soils were identified. The results were used to evaluate the scaling approaches for different volumes of rock fragments. A non-linear reduction in hydraulic conductivity by the increase of rock fractions was visible. The results also highlighted the effects of the orientation and shape of rock fragments. The orientation of rock fragments towards flow has a significant effect on the flow reduction, and in the case of prolate spheroids oriented along the flow direction, the reduction in conductivity was less significant. </p>

Effect of Deadwood Decomposition on the Restoration of Soil Cover in Landslide Areas of the Karpaty Mountains, Poland

Disturbances play an essential role in the shaping of temporal and spatial heterogeneity in natural community structures. The aim of this study was to provide an assessment of the deadwood influence on the chemical and biochemical properties of soils in a landslide area. The samples used to determine soil properties were collected from the entire landslide area, with locations distributed on a regular grid (50 × 50 m). The soil samples were collected from directly under the logs, and background soil samples were taken 1 m from the deadwood logs. The effect of the deadwood decomposition process was visible in the total organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content and microbial activity of the soil. An increase in the enzyme activity and microbial biomass of the soil from directly beneath the deadwood was noted. In this study, it was found that a greater stock of deadwood was present in the accumulation zone, which resulted in a stronger effect of the released components on the soil cover. In order to restore landslide soils, microbial activity can be effectively stimulated by leaving deadwood on the landslide surface.

Soil Test Based Fertilizers Application for Targeted Yield of Soybean (Glycin max L.) in Saurashtra Region of Gujarat

Background: Soil test based application of plant nutrients helps to realize higher response ratio and benefit: cost ratio as the nutrients are applied in proportion to the magnitude of the deficiency of a particular nutrient and the correction of the nutrients imbalance in soil helps to harness the synergistic effects of balanced fertilizationMethods: Soil test crop response correlation studies were conducted to formulate the fertilizer adjustment equations for soybean (Var. GS-3) under integrated plant nutrition system on medium black calcareous soils during year 2016 and 2017 in kharif season following Ramamoorthy’s inductive-cum-targeted yield approach.Result: The nutrients requirement for producing one quintal of soybean was 5.65, 0.91 and 2.53 kg of N, P2O5 and K2O, respectively in presence of FYM (indicate dose). The per cent contributions from soil and fertilizer nutrients were found to be 35.03 and 74.5 for nitrogen, 55.13 and 27.6 for phosphorus and 10.36 and 51.6 per cent for potassium with FYM, Similarly, the per cent contribution of fertilizers was 65.25 for nitrogen, 22.49 for phosphorus and 43.89 for potassium without FYM. The per cent nutrient contribution of FYM was 28.27 for nitrogen, 4.97 for phosphorus and 10.48 for potassium.