Zum Einfluß von pH und organischem Kohlenstoffgehalt auf die Löslichkeit von Eisen,Blei, Mangan und Zink in Waldböden

Influence of pH and organic carbon content on the solubility of iron, lead, manganese and zinc in forest soils Several soil factors determine the solubility of heavy metals in soils. The contents of exchangeable and in consequence potentially plant available heavy metals are mainly influenced by the pH and the content of organic carbon. Samples of the A_h-horizon from the stemflow area and from soil not influenced by stemflow water were investigated in beech forests. The solubility or iron, lead, manganese and zinc is described in relation to the pH and the content of organic carbon. Exchangeable iron and lead appear in significant amounts at pH below 3.5 and 4.5, respectively, regardless to the content of organic carbon. Manganese and zinc are exchangeable at pH below 5.0 and are leached for about 90% from the A_h-horizon at pH values below 3.0. The effects of higher soluble iron and lead contents on the distribution of herbaceous plants are discussed.     

Schwermetallgehalte in Waldböden Nordrhein-Westfalens -Klassifizierung und kartographische Auswertung

Heavy metal contents in forest soils of North Rhine-Westphalia - classification and cartographic evaluation Many forest areas in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) are contaminated with heavy metals. To evaluate this pollution of forest soils and its geographical distribution all available literature data on total heavy metal contents in forest soils of North Rhine-Westphalia were included in this study. The results show that an accumulation of heavy metals, especially of Pb, occurred in the litter layer and in the litter layer and in the topsoil. The highest values were measured in the vicinity of industrial areas and at elevated locations such as Egge Mountains and Teutoburger Forest. About 50 % of the samples from the litter layer and the topsoil have pH values below 3. 4. Since the translocation of heavy metals in the soil profile at this low pH increases, potential risk from the mobilization of high stores in the litter layer was estimated for several locations of North Rhine-Westphalia.     

Eine Kombination der Thermogravimetrie mit der 15N-Tracertechnik zur Untersuchung von Huminsäurepräparaten

A combination of thermal analyses and ¹⁵N tracer technique for investigation of humic acids Differences in humic acids of two extreme variants of three long-term trials due to a three years intensive fertilization in a pot experiment are also to be found by means of thermogravimetry. Additionally the ¹⁵N contents of humic acids were investigated at certain temperatures according to the peaks given by thermogravimetric study. The ¹⁵N isotope is also incorporated in higher molecular compounds. The ¹⁵N content varies due to differences in humus content and composition of the soils used.     

Isotopomer signatures of soil-emitted N2O under different moisture conditions—A microcosm study with arable loess soil

Soils represent the major source of the atmospheric greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O) and there is a need to better constrain the total global flux and the relative contribution of the microbial source processes. The aim of our study was to evaluate isotopomer analysis of N₂O (intramolecular distribution of ¹⁵N) as well as conventional nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratios (i) as a tool to identify N₂O production processes in soils and (ii) to constrain the isotopic fingerprint of soil-derived N₂O. We conducted a microcosm study with arable loess soil fertilized with 20 mg N kg⁻¹ of ¹⁵NO₃⁻-labeled or non-labeled ammonium nitrate. Soils were incubated for 16 d at varying moisture (55%, 75% and 85% water-filled pore space (WFPS)) in order to establish different levels of nitrification and denitrification. Dual isotope and isotopomer ratios of emitted N₂O were determined by mass spectrometric analysis of δ¹⁸O, average δ¹⁵N (δ¹⁵N^bulk) and ¹⁵N site preference (SP=difference in δ¹⁵N between the central and peripheral N-positions of the asymmetric N₂O molecule). Total rates and N₂O emission of denitrification and nitrification were determined by ¹⁵N analysis of headspace gases and soil extracts of the ¹⁵NO₃⁻ treatment. N₂O emission and denitrification increased with moisture whereas gross nitrification was almost constant. In the 55% WFPS treatment, more than half of the N₂O flux was derived from nitrification, whereas denitrification was the dominant N₂O source in the 75% WFPS and 85% WFPS treatments. Moisture conditions were reflected by the isotopic signatures since highly significant differences were observed for average δ¹⁵N^bulk, SP and δ¹⁸O. Experiment means of the 75% WFPS and 85% WFPS treatments gave negative δ¹⁵N^bulk (−18.0‰ and −34.8‰, respectively) and positive SP (8.6‰ and 15.3‰, respectively), which we explained by the fractionation during N₂O production and partial reduction to N₂. In the 55% WFPS treatment, mean SP was relatively low (1.9‰), which suggests that nitrification produced N₂O with low or negative SP. The observed influence of process condition on isotopomer signatures suggests that the isotopomer approach might be suitable for identifying N₂O source processes. However, more research is needed to determine the impact from process rates and microbial community structure. Isotopomer signatures were within the range reported from previous soil studies which supports the assumption that SP of soil-derived N₂O is lower than SP of tropospheric N₂O.     

Measurement of dew,fog, and rime with a high‐precision gravitation lysimeter

Exact information about soil water flow is needed to quantify solute transfer within the unsaturated zone. Water flux densities are often measured indirectly, e.g., with water‐balance, water content–change, or tracer methods, and, therefore, often predicted with notable uncertainties. Over the last years, direct lysimetry methods have been increasingly used to study water and solute migration in soil profiles. A large weighable lysimeter is the best method to obtain reliable drainage data, but it requires relatively high investment and maintenance expenses. To reduce cost and improve comparability with undisturbed sites, a new technology to collect large monolithic soil columns with a surface area of 0.5–2 m² and a depth of 1–3 m as well as a containerized polyethylene (PE‐HD) lysimeter station were developed. In addition, the station was fitted with a new high‐precision weighing technique. In this paper, the latter is demonstrated with data from a newly constructed gravitation lysimeter. Besides recording rainfall and seepage, its weighing precision makes it possible to register mass input by dew, fog, or rime. It also permits a very accurate calculation of actual evapotranspiration. Because this new type of lysimeter allows a very high temporal resolution, it is ideally suited to develop and test models for soil hydrologic processes.     

Development of antibodies for the detection of N-acetyl-glufosinate

Glufosinate is a widely used herbicide, which is difficult to detect by conventional analytical techniques. For many other herbicides, suitable antibodies have been raised for immunoassay development. Unfortunately, glufosinate is a very small molecule and difficult to immunize with. Thus, a derivatization-assisted immunoassay (DAIA) using the target analyte N-acetyl-glufosinate (NAG) was constructed. The activated hapten was synthesized by a new approach, using a homobifunctional cross-linker suberic acid bis(N-hydroxysuccinimide ester). The preparation of a suitable conjugate, the immunization, and the characterization of polyclonal antibodies are shown. The determination of the conjugation density (hapten density) of the immunogens was performed by four different methods (high-performance liquid chromatography with a refractive index detector, total reflection X-ray fluorescence, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry), which gave similar results. The limit of detection was 17 mug/L NAG in water for the direct competitive enzyme immunoassay. NAG is also a main metabolite of glufosinate in resistant transgenic plants. The antibodies might be useful for the selective detection of NAG in the presence of the parent compound glufosinate (cross-reactivity 0.13%) and other metabolites.     

Die Interpretation des Eindringwiderstands zur flächenhaften Darstellung physikalischer Unterschiede in Böden

The interpretation of penetration resistance in use of spatial discrimination of physical differences in soils Penetration resistance (PR) was measured for two natural Loess-Parabraunerden (Udalfs) and a reclaimed Loess-Parabraunerde. Concerning these measurements two methods of interpretation of PR are compared: 1. sums and means of PR for each point for all depths. 2. typified PR-depth-functions for each point. They are deduced from the differences of PR for each depth increment. Means and PR-depth-functions are rarely comparable in their spatial distribution: The same means are correlated with different PR-depth-functions and vice versa. The correlation is higher on the reclaimed area. The different contents and the lag of spatial correlation are interpreted as the need for doing both: calculating means as well as PR-depth-functions. Both methods complement each other. To discriminate spatially between top soil compactions, plowpans, high densities in the underground, flat sola above rocks PR-depth-functions are suggested as a method of interpretation.     

Evaluation of PCR-based beef sexing methods

Analysis of the sex of beef meat by fast and reliable molecular methods is an important measure to ensure correct allocation of export refunds, which are considerably higher for male beef meat. Two PCR-based beef sexing methods have been optimized and evaluated. The amelogenin-type method revealed excellent accuracy and robustness, whereas the bovine satellite/Y-chromosome duplex PCR procedure showed more ambiguous results. In addition, an interlaboratory comparison was organized to evaluate currently applied PCR-based sexing methods in European customs laboratories. From a total of 375 samples sent out, only 1 false result was reported (female identified as male). However, differences in the performances of the applied methods became apparent. The collected data contribute to specify technical requirements for a common European beef sexing methodology based on PCR.