Comparative assessment of the biological tolerance of chernozems in the south of Russia towards contamination with Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb in a model experiment

The biological properties of chernozems in the south of Russia worsen under the impact of contamination with Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb compounds. The tolerance of chernozems towards contamination decreases in the following sequence: ordinary chernozems > typical chernozems > southern chernozems > leached vertic chernozems. This sequence is specified by the soil reaction and the organic matter content. The high humus content determines the high buffer capacity of chernozems towards contamination with chromium, whereas the high pH values ensure the soil tolerance towards contamination with copper, nickel, and lead. With respect to their adverse effect on the biological properties of the chernozems, the studied heavy metals can be arranged into the following sequence: CrO₃ > CuO > PbO ≥ NiO.     

The maps of soil tolerance toward pollution with oil products and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Methodological aspects

Natural factors ensuring soil tolerance toward pollution with technogenic hydrocarbons, particularly, oil products and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are considered. The maps of the self-purification capacity of the soils of Russia and its particular humid and arid regions with respect to their contamination with technogenic hydrocarbons are analyzed. The principles lying in the basis of these maps are discussed. It is argued that the cartographic assessment of soil tolerance toward pollution with technogenic hydrocarbons is necessary for setting the values of maximum permissible concentrations of hydrocarbons in soils, for the choice of adequate soil rehabilitation procedures, and for the organization of soil monitoring.     

The effect of model soil contamination with Cr,Cu, Ni,and Pb on the biological properties of soils in the dry steppe and semidesert regions of southern Russia

Model soil contamination with Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb in the dry steppes and semideserts of southern Russia has worsened the biological soil properties. With respect to the degree of deterioration of the biological properties, the soils can be arranged in the following sequence: dark chestnut soils > chestnut soils > light chestnut soils > brown semidesert soils > sandy brown semidesert soils. The sequence of metal oxides according to the adverse effect on the biological soil properties is as follows: CrO₃ > CuO ≥ PbO ≥ NiO.     

The effect of oil contamination on bacteria in a soddy-podzolic soil

The effect of oil contamination on bacteria in a soddy-podzolic soil was studied. Oil was introduced into the soil 8, 11, and 17 years ago. It was found that oil contamination has exerted long-term negative effects on the number and biomass of the soil bacteria. The deficiency of available phosphorus was one of the major negative factors affecting these parameters in the old-contaminated soils. The application of Na₂HPO₄ to the contaminated soils eliminated this negative effect. The effect of oil contamination on the taxonomic diversity and structure of the bacterial community in the studied soil was determined with the help of denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis.     

Plant contamination by heavy metals in the impact zone of Novocherkassk Power Station in the south of Russia

Journal of Soils and Sediments - The aim of this study is the assessment of Ni, Mn, Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr and Zn accumulation by different herbaceous species and soils on the technogenic areas around...     

Assessment of soil contamination by the content of heavy metals in the soil profile

A new soil-ecological definition of the maximal permissible concentration (MPC) of heavy metals in soils is suggested that regulates the sampling in contaminated territories. Instead of the shallow pits usually used for collecting surface samples for soil-hygienic and other investigations, it is proposed to fulfill a detailed analysis along the entire soil profile including not only the determination of the heavy element content in certain horizons but also the soil density in these horizons. For the polyelemental contamination Zc (according to the Saet equation) based on the background (clarke) excess, the established Zc values ranging from 1 to 128, may reach absurd values of 800–900 upon taking into consideration only one surface layer. At the same time, the use of the weighted average content of the metals in the soil profile adjusts the Zc values for the existing natural conditions. Upon aerial impact, the consideration of the heavy metal contents along the soil profile instead of their contents in the surface horizon only leads to a decrease in the indices of the soil contamination degree. Upon the hydrogenic impact, the transition from the heavy metal contents in the surface horizon to their contents in the soil profile gives higher values of the soil contamination.     

Approaches to modernization of the state soil map of Russia on the basis of the methods of digital soil mapping

The ways of further development of the State Soil Map (SSM) of the Russian Federation are discussed. This map represents the most valuable product of soil mapping projects in Russia. It has been developed since the 1930s. A long duration of the map compilation has resulted in certain differences in the methods of mapping, topographic base, and classification decisions applied on separate pages of the map. Another specific feature of the SSM is related to different amounts of soil information available for different parts of the country. At present, two major challenges face researchers working on this map. First, it is necessary to preserve rich information collected by several generations of Russian pedologists and reflected on the map. Second, this information has to be renewed on the basis of new information sources (satellite images, modern topographic base, and new data on soils and their geography), common ideology of the map, and new digital technologies of the map compilation. The analysis of several pages of the map on the territory of the North Caucasus is discussed. An algorithm of introducing corrections to the map and its renewal is suggested. In the course of our work, a digitized version of two pages of the map, the digital elevation model, and Landsat imagery were used. The cartographic work was performed using GeoDraw software. Our experience in the correction and renewal of the SSM attests to the high potential of the methods of digital soil mapping for these purposes. The analysis of the map in the GIS environment makes it possible to reveal possible drawbacks in the initial map pages and to suggest feasible methods of their correction and further development of the SSM.     

黑土区坡耕地横坡垄作措施防治土壤侵蚀的土槽试验

为了研究黑土区坡耕地横坡垄作防治坡面土壤侵蚀的效应,该文利用8 m×1.5 m的试验土槽,设计3个降雨强度(50、75和100 mm/h)、1个典型坡度(5°)以及横坡垄作和无垄作(平坡裸地对照试验)的试验处理进行模拟降雨试验,研究东北黑土区横坡垄作坡面在不同降雨强度下的防治坡面侵蚀效应。结果表明:横坡垄作在50 mm/h降雨强度下坡面基本不发生土壤侵蚀,但在75和100 mm/h降雨强度下会发生断垄,造成防蚀效应急剧降低。横坡垄作坡面的径流和侵蚀过程均明显存在以断垄时间为界的突变,在3个降雨强度下,横坡垄作断垄前可使坡面径流量和侵蚀量分别减少97.7%和99.1%以上,坡面蓄渗率达到97.2%以上;而断垄后坡面径流量和侵蚀量分别增加23.3~25.9倍和136.8~171.5倍,蓄渗率下降至50%以下。试验研究表明横坡垄作在≤50 mm/h的降雨强度下具有很好的坡面防治侵蚀效应,但当遇到强降雨时易发生断垄,防蚀效应急剧降低。     

Plant effects on the soil community: A microcosm experiment

An experiment was carried out in microcosms for testing the hypothesis that a higher level of primary production should maintain a decomposer community with higher biomass and activity. Microcosms with coniferous forest humus and a diverse microbial and faunal community were divided into three sets: (1) control without plants, (2) with birch seedlings in full illumination, and (3) with birch seedlings, shaded to reduce the net primary production. During 16 weeks of incubation at +16 °C, no treatment effects were found in numbers or biomass of taxonomic or functional groups of soil organisms, nor in the system respiration in darkness. The community structure of the shaded systems differed from that of the other two treatments (CCA analysis). High organic content of the soil and long time-lag in the system response were considered the main reasons for the small difference between the treatments.     

农田黑土肥力综合评价研究

对土壤肥力评价是认识农田生产力的重要基础。采用经典统计学方法,对黑龙江省整个黑土区农田土壤肥力性状、现状、空间变异特性进行了综合评估,为黑土农田可持续发展提供依据。     

Effect of the water temperature and soil moisture on the erodibility of chernozem samples: A model experiment

The close almost functional relationship of the erosion rate and, hence, the erodibility of model soil samples with the temperature of the water used in the experiments has been shown. This suggests that the rupture of bonds between the particles of eroded soil samples is due to the electrostatic forces appearing between the monomolecular water layers around the adjacent soil aggregates similarly oriented with respect to the soil solid phase rather than to the hydraulic forces. The erosion parameters of the samples also strongly depend on the soil moisture. The lowest erosion rate of the heavy loamy chernozem samples is observed at an initial water content of 22–24%. The erosion rate increases and the variability of the results is reduced with both decreasing and increasing the initial water content.     

Effect of oil contamination on the properties of leached chernozem under model experimental conditions

A model experiment was performed to study the effect of soil contamination with oil on the growth of wheat plants. Neither significant downward migration of oil or oil components, including the most mobile aromatic hydrocarbons, in a column with leached chernozem nor removal of these compounds from the column were observed when the initial oil concentration was below 0.75%. These data confirmed the previous results that oil at a concentration of 0.3% had no negative effect on the growth of wheat. The synergetic effect of oil, soluble salts, and exchangeable sodium should be taken into account in the determination of maximum permissible residual oil content in soils.     

Assessment of soil contamination by potentially toxic elements in the aljustrel mining area in order to implement soil reclamation strategies

Land pollution due to past mining activities is a major environmental issue in many European countries. The Aljustrel mine (SW Portugal), located in the western sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IBP) presents a negative visual and environmental impact as a consequence of the mining activity that has developed since the Roman era. Its impacts are also a restraint on the life quality of the population. The exposure of pyrite and other sulphides to air are responsible for the pollution observed in soils, surface water and stream sediments. This paper investigates the pollution load of potential toxic elements in soil samples collected around the Aljustrel mining area. The aim is to assess the levels of soil contamination with respect to average concentrations of toxic elements in the region and to understand the partitioning and availability of pollutants in the area. The results showed severe soil contamination (mainly As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn). The concentrations of As (up to 3936 mg kg⁻¹) and certain heavy metals (up to 5414 mg kg⁻¹ Cu, 61·6 mg kg⁻¹ Cd, 20 000 mg kg⁻¹ Pb and 20 000 mg kg⁻¹ Zn) are two orders of magnitude above the regional South Portuguese Zone (SPZ) background values. The median concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn exceed the values established for world soils, the European Union, Portugal and Andalusia. The results suggest that the distribution patterns of Co, Cr and Ni element concentrations in the Aljustrel area are primarily influenced by the lithology and geochemistry nature of bedrock. The soil background of this geological domain is characterized by relatively high heavy metal contents, essentially derived from the parent rocks. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of ecological and conventional arable management systems on chemical and biological soil quality indices in Nicaragua

We measured the activity and soil microbial biomass in volcanic ash soils from 10 sites under ecological farming (no pesticides, shallow ploughing, mulching, organic fertilizers, crop rotation) and 15 sites under conventional farming (pesticides, mineral fertilizers, deep ploughing). Our aim was to determine the effects of management system on soil quality and soil fertility in tropical Nicaragua in relation to soil type. None of these sites were irrigated. Conventional management led to significantly increased amounts of total soil P and a significantly larger biomass C-to-P ratio compared to ecological management. Almost all of the other microbial properties, i.e. soil basal respiration, ergosterol and biomass C were significantly improved by ecological management. Also the biomass C-to-soil C ratio was significantly increased, but not the metabolic quotient qCO₂ or the ergosterol-to-biomass C ratios, indicating that the positive effects of ecological management were mainly due to increased C input rates. Biomass C, ergosterol, and basal respiration rate were significantly larger at the loamy sites than at the sandy sites. The same was true for the biomass C-to-soil C ratio, but the ergosterol-to-biomass C ratio and the metabolic quotient qCO₂ were larger at the sandy sites. Our results demonstrate that ecological management is an important tool for soil conservation and sustainable management of arable land in Nicaragua. However, the decline in total P and the low P availability to soil microorganisms need attention as a precaution against P deficiency. The improvement was greatest at the loamy sites, although the effects of management system were in most cases independent of the soil type. For this reason, ecological management should be preferably promoted on loamy soils.     

黏重黑土条件下马铃薯挖掘铲仿生减阻特性分析与试验

针对黏重黑土地区马铃薯挖掘铲挖掘阻力大、能耗高等问题,以白茅根膜质叶鞘为仿生原型,设计了一种基于仿生波纹结构的马铃薯减阻挖掘铲。基于离散元（DEM）法仿真和土槽试验,确定减阻性能最优的设计参数;通过田间试验以油耗和阻力为指标验证仿生挖掘铲的减阻效果和挖掘性能。离散元仿真得到仿生挖掘铲最佳布置方式为纵向布置;在相同纵向布置方式下,通过土槽试验得到仿生挖掘铲的波纹参数在幅值为2.5 mm、频率为0.5时表现出较为优异的减阻性能。根据最佳参数研制仿生纵波纹铲,进行普通平铲和仿生纵波纹铲的作业对比试验,结果表明仿生纵波纹铲阻力减少了14.45%,单位油耗减少了17.15%。研究表明仿生纵波纹铲具有较好的减阻特性,仿生结构设计合理,能实现黏重黑土条件下马铃薯收获挖掘作业,可为整机节能减耗的研究奠定基础。     

Influence of plants and the microbial activity on the metal content in soil solutions of a soddy-podzolic soil in a model experiment

The influence of plants and microorganisms on the migration of metals in a soddy-podzolic loamy sandy soil was studied in a simulation experiment. It was shown that the biota has a great influence on the release of metal compounds into the soil and lysimetric solutions. In most cases, the metal content was reliably higher in the variants of the experiment with the presence of biota than in the control. The microorganisms maintained a high concentration of metals in the soil solution in the course of the experiment. The influence of the plants on the metal migration begins from the third week of the experiment as the biomass grows. The dose of the introduced metals also influences the concentration of the elements in the solutions and the ratios of the Me in the soil solutions: Me in the lysimetric solutions. In all the variants of the experiment, the ratios become narrower with the increase in the dose; i.e., the migration of the metals becomes more active. The dose of 7 APC (the approximate permissible concentration) has an inhibiting influence on the activity of the microorganisms and mustard plants.     

光谱预处理及不同光谱区对黑土有机碳近红外光谱模型的影响

在目前土壤有机碳(Soil organic carbon,SOC)的测量方法中,定量燃烧法虽具有很高的精度,但是价格比较昂贵;烧失法和湿氧化法比较费时,且测定中使用的化学药剂容易产生环境问题。化学试剂的使用和测定条件的专一也使得化学方法容易产生偏差,因此,需要一种快速、准确、低耗和环保的方法来测量土壤样品SOC含量。近红外光谱(Near infrared spectroscopy,NIRS)技术作为一种无损、快速的分析手段,在农业很多领域都有广泛的应用[1-2],但是利用NIRS对土壤成分进行定量分析最近才刚刚开始[3][5]。近红外光谱由被测样品的近红外特征光谱主导,包含了噪声、各种外界干扰     

Effects of six grassland plant species on soil nematodes: A glasshouse experiment

The effects of six individual plant species on the abundance and composition of nematode communities were studied in a glasshouse experiment during 16 weeks. The effect of the presence of plants, the correlation between nematode abundance and plant biomass, the response of plant-feeding nematodes and other nematode groups to different plant species was examined and also whether the effect differed between plant species within a plant functional group. The total number of nematodes increased during the study period in all treatments, although in some treatments, the increase levelled off after 8 or 12 weeks. The identity of the plant species affected both the total abundance of nematodes and the nematode community composition. The number of bacterial-feeding nematodes was greatest under grasses and legumes and was positively correlated with shoot biomass and negatively with root biomass. The response of the plant-feeding nematodes, which differed in abundance under both the investigated legume and the forb species, suggests that the identity of the plant species is more important than the plant functional group. A possible explanation could be related to differences in plant secondary metabolites. Despite some differences in the nematode species pool, the effects of plant species appear quite consistent between the present glasshouse study and previous field experiments.     

从长期定位试验论红壤施磷的效应

本文利用 2 3年连续施肥长期定位试验的资料 ,研究了磷肥在红壤旱地上施用的效果。缺磷是红壤的主要障碍因子之一 ,适当补施磷肥 ,既能大幅度增加作物产量 ,又能促进作物对氮、钾的吸收 ;配合施用农家肥及适当补钾才能保证红壤旱地的高产稳产     

Effects of soil erosion on long-term soil productivity in the black soil region of northeastern China

China's northeastern Black Soil Region, one of the country's most important crop production areas, has been seriously affected by soil erosion. This study evaluated the effects of soil erosion on the long-term productivity of this region. We used a modified productivity index (MPI) model (MPI is a number between 0 and 1, with 1 indicating highest productivity) to assess the current effects of soil erosion on soil productivity, as well as to predict long-term change in productivity. Samples from 21 black soil profiles yielded varying MPI values, although most MPI values were indicative of moderate productivity. Organic matter content and available water capacity impact MPI values in the region, whereas soil clay content and pH were less important. Overall, organic matter content and available water capacity of soil profiles decreased consistently as depth of erosion increased. Modeling indicated that MPI in the region will decrease by 0.0052 for each centimeter of topsoil eroded; this rate represents 1% of the current average MPI for the study area. The model predicts a 9.6% productivity reduction over 100 years and a 48.3% reduction over 500 years.