Changes in the Rate of Soil Loss in River Basins within the Southern Part of European Russia

Eurasian Soil Science - Four river basins located in the forest, forest-steppe, and steppe zones of European Russia were evaluated for two time intervals (1960–1985 and 1986–2015) based...     

Productivity of herbaceous stands of different ages under landscape conditions of a terminal moraine ridge

Yield formation of uneven-aged herbaceous stands under various weather and lanscape conditions is investigated in a multifactor experiment. It is shown that yield and adaptive properties of the stands depend in many respects on their age and climatic situation as well as on the properties of the landscape and soil environment.     

Absorption capacity of blood neutrophils after injecting heifer calves with chitosan sulfate at different times relative to vaccination against leptospirosis

Subcutaneous injection of an aqueous chitosan succinate solution into heifer calves promotes an increase of the adaptation reserve of absorption capacity of neutrophils 1 month after vaccination against leptospirosis, which creates the prerequisites for a favorable state of the calves 2 months after vaccination. Injection of the preparation 3 days before vaccination is found to be most effective.     

Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Diffraction in the Determination of Macroelements in Soil and Plants

Sample preparation is a crucial stage in obtaining correct results for micro- and macro-elements in soil and plants. The current study is a part of systematic research on the methods for soil and plant sample preparation for analysis of the most important macro-elements. The purpose is to determine the limits of the application of the most widely spread standardized and non-standardized methods for sample preparation and to shed more light on the possibilities of using scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) in soil and plant analysis. The most common methods for extracting macro- elements in soil and plants (dry ashing, acid digestion, and microwave digestion in different variants) were compared using three certified soil samples and the Polish reference material CTR-VTL-2 (Virginia tobacco leaves). Three macro-elements (K, Ca and Mg) in the digest were analyzed using flame AAS and the insoluble fraction after digestion were analysed using XRD and SEM-EDS. It is concluded, that the degree of extraction of the elements from soil and plant materials is highly dependent on the mineralisation method. The X-ray investigation showed the formation of KClO₄ when HClO₄ was used as a part of the acids mixture. The use of HF at Ca and Mg determination led to the formation of CaF₂ and MgF₂. The result was verified by SEM-EDS.     

Phosphorus Sorption Capacity of Gray Forest Soil as Dependent on Fertilization System

In this paper, the results of the study of changes in the phosphorus sorption capacity of gray forest soils of Vladimir opolie under the impact of different fertilization systems are discussed. The quantitative parameters of the potential buffer capacity of soils for phosphorus (PBC^P) and Langmuir sorption isotherms have been calculated. It is shown that the application of organic fertilizers results in a stronger decrease in PBC^P than the application of mineral fertilizers. The portion of phosphorus of mineral compounds considerably increases, and the high content of available phosphates is maintained. In the variants with application of mineral phosphorus in combination with manure, the portions of organic and mineral phosphorus are at the level typical of unfertilized soils. The energy of phosphate bonds with the soil is minimal upon the application of a double rate of mineral phosphorus at the maximum capacity in relation to phosphate ions.     

Esterase spectra and adaptive plasticity in rice varieties

Analysis of the esterase spectra was performed on 27 rice varieties which differ in the duration of the vegetation period (early, medium-, and late-ripening varieties) and in the roots, stem, and leaf blades. Organ-and variety-specific differences were found in 5 esterase loci. Late-ripening rice varieties were characterized by lower resistance to salinization and thickening of crops, but not to higher temperatures. A definite correlation was revealed between these differences and those observed in the tissue-specific esterase spectra. Typical for early and medium-ripening varieties were genotypes with nonzero activity by esterase locus 1 (isoferment with the highest electrophoretic mobility), as well as its expression in various tissues simultaneously.     

Influence of landscape conditions on efficiency of winter rye

Features of spatio-temporal dynamics of efficiency of the winter rye sort Dymka in limits of the moraine hill agrolandscape are investigated. The factors influencing productivity of culture in various landscape and agroclimatic conditions are revealed. Recommendations on adaptation of farm production to agrolandscape features are given.     

Formation of the productivity of a legume-grass mixture under conditions of agrolandscapes in the central region of the non-Chernozem Zone of the Russian federation

The landscape approach to developing perennial grass cultivation practices made it possible to reveal ecologically homogeneous sections and to create the basis for organizing sustainable fodder production under the complex landscape conditions of the region. The adaptation characteristics of perennial grasses and their productivity are different in agromicrolandscapes characterized by the same geochemical association of relief features but on different hill slopes (southern and northern).     

Martian meteorite launch: high-speed ejecta from small craters

We performed high-resolution computer simulations of impacts into homogeneous and layered martian terrain analogs to try to account for the ages and characteristics of the martian meteorite collection found on Earth. We found that craters as small as approximately 3 kilometers can eject approximately 10(7) decimeter-sized fragments from Mars, which is enough to expect those fragments to appear in the terrestrial collection. This minimum crater diameter is at least four times smaller than previous estimates and depends on the physical composition of the target material. Terrain covered by a weak layer such as an impact-generated regolith requires larger, therefore rarer, impacts to eject meteorites. Because older terrain is more likely to be mantled with such material, we estimate that the martian meteorites will be biased toward younger ages, which is consistent with the meteorite collection.