Temporal Changes in Cadmium, Thallium, and Vanadium Mobility in Soil and Phytoavailability under Field Conditions

A field study was conducted over a 30 mo period to examine movement of Cd, Tl, and V through the profile of a Coastal Plain soil (Typic Kandiudult) and the availability of these trace metals to bush bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants. The metals were applied to field plots as dissolved salts and mixed into the surface 7.5 cm. The greatest concentration of all three metals was observed in the surface soils, with a steep decrease occurring down to the 7.5 to 15 cm depth. Thallium was the most mobile of the three metals; approximately 15% of the applied Tl and <3% of the applied Cd and V moved below the surface 7.5-cm region during the 30-mo experiment. Extractable concentrations of all three metals in the surface soils decreased significantly (P ≤0.05) during the initial 18 mo after treatment. No further decrease occurred between 18 and 30 mo. The presence of Al- and Fe-oxides and small amounts of clay minerals and organic matter in this highly-weathered, low cation-exchange soil were likely responsible for the retention of the trace metals. Bioavailability, as measured by concentrations and total amounts of metals in root and aboveground tissues of plants, did not change significantly between 18 and 30 mo. These data suggest that bioavailability of Cd, Tl, and V decreased over time as a result of transformation of these elements into unavailable forms and not to leaching. These changes in bioavailability occurred soon after application, becoming negligible after 18 mo.     

Changes in soil properties related to conversion of savannah woodland into pine and eucalyptus plantations,Northern Nigeria

Soil properties associated with six age-grade plantations of Pinus oocarpa Schiede and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., respectively, including nearby natural vegetation, were compared in the savannah zone of Nigeria. The soil organic matter, total nitrogen and exchangeable nutrients first show declining values with the increasing age of the plantation, then an increase and finally steady or declining values in the 0–15 cm soil depth. Usually the differences between the two youngest plantations and the oldest plantations, and the natural vegetation, were significant. In the 20–30 cm soil depth the properties showed a decrease or steady values over time, with the three oldest plantations showing significant differences from the natural vegetation. The soil pH showed an increased acidity over time. There was little difference in the soil properties between the two tree species. The implications of the results are discussed in relation to sustaining productivity and soil fertility. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Milled Rice Breakage Due to Environmental Conditions

Milled, long-grain rice was exposed to air at temperatures (T) of 20, 30, and 40°C, and relative humidities (RH) ranging from 25 to 85%. The kernels then were subjected to a breakage test to determine the extent of damage that occurred during each exposure condition. Increasing air T levels produced higher amounts of broken kernels across the RH range. Milled rice at higher moisture content (MC) levels sustained more extensive stress crack damage at low RH conditions and less stress crack damage at high RH conditions relative to milled rice at lower MC levels. Varietal differences were also present, but were overshadowed by MC effects.     

Factors Affecting the Slope of Head Rice Yield vs. Degree of Milling

Milling data of four long-grain rice cultivars were analyzed to determine the uniformity in the slope of their curves for head rice yield (HRY) versus the corresponding degree of milling (DOM). The data set for each cultivar comprised samples that had been subjected to various drying air conditions and durations and milled over a range of moisture contents. All treatment combinations were split and milled for either 15, 30, 45, or 60 sec in a McGill no. 2 laboratory mill to obtain HRY versus DOM data. Linear relationships between HRY and DOM, as observed in past research, were confirmed. This implies that as rice is milled to greater extents (higher DOM), the HRY decreases linearly. Within the bounds of the experimental levels tested, neither the drying air condition nor drying duration affected the rate at which HRY changed with DOM. However, the cultivar and the moisture content at which the rice was milled significantly (P < 0.05) influenced this rate. At higher milling moisture contents, the decrease in HRY per unit of increase in the DOM was greater than at lower moisture contents. While not conclusive, there was an indication of a relationship between the average kernel thickness of a cultivar and the HRY versus DOM slope.     

无定形锰氧化物在氮素损失中的作用

Studies have been made,by ^15N-tracer technique on nitrogen loss resulting from adding amorphous manganese oxide to NH4^ -N medium under anaerobic conditions.The fact that the total nitrogen recovery was decreased and that ^15NO2,^15N2O,^15N^14NO,^15NO,^15N2 and ^15N^14N were emitted has proved that,like amorphous iron oxide,amorphous manganese oxide can also act as an electron acceptor in the oxidation of NH4^ -N under anaerobic conditions and give rise to nitrogen loss.This once again illustrates another mechanism by which the loss of ammonium nitrogen in paddy soils is brought about by amorphous iron and manganese oxides.The quantity of nitrogen loss by amorphous manganese oxide increased with an increase in the amount of amorphous manganese oxide added and lessened with time of its aging.The nitrogen loss resulting from amorphous manganese oxide was less than that from amorphous iron oxide.And the nitrogen loss resulting from amorphous manganese oxide was less than that from amorphous iron oxide.And the nitrogen loss by cooperation of amorphous manganese oxide and microorganisms (soil suspension) was larger than that by amorphous manganese oxide alone.In the system,nitrogen loss was associated with the specific surface ares and oxidation-reduction of amorphous manganese oxide.However,their quantitative relationship and the exact reaction processes of nitrogen loss induced by amorphous manganese oxide remain to be further studied.     

The effect of disturbance by Phellinus weirii on decomposition and nutrient mineralization in a Tsuga mertensiana forest

Summary Microbial biomass in the upper 7 cm of soil and needle decomposition on the forest floor were measured seasonally for 10 months in a mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) old-growth forest and in a regrowth forest after Phellinus weirii, a root-rot pathogen infection, had caused disturbance. The microbial biomass was higher in the old-growth forest soil than in the regrowth forest soil. However, T. mertensiana needle decomposition rates were higher in the regrowth than in the old-growth forest. Total N, Ca, Fe, Cu, and Zn concentrations in needles increased during the 1st year of decomposition in both the old and the regrowth forests, but P, K, Mg, Mn, and B concentrations decreased. N, P, K, Mg, Cu, and Zn concentrations were lower in regrowth than in old-growth decomposing needles. During mineralization, needles in the regrowth forests released more N, P, and K as a result of higher needle decomposition rates. Our results suggest that higher needle decomposition rates increased the mineralization of N, P, and K, which may lead to increased soil fertility and faster tree growth rates in the regrowth forest.     

Influence of soil properties on the vertical movement of genetically-marked Pseudomonas fluorescens through large soil microcosms

Summary Vertical translocation of the introduced transposon Tn5-tagged Pseudomonas fluorescens cells was studies after irrigation of 50-cm long soil columns of loamy sand. The soil in the columns was slowly brought to saturation using groundwater, and enough water was then slowly added to permit collection of the percolated water. Introduced bacteria were transported to lower soil layers to a significantly higher degree in undisturbed soil cores than in repacked cores; water transport was hampered in both core types due to high soil bulk densities. Soil bulk density affected the degree of transport of the introduced cells; progressively more cells were translocated to deeper soil layers and into the percolation water at decreasing soil bulk densities. Repeated percolation of soil at a bulk density of 1.25 caused an increase in Tn5-tagged cell numbers in the lower soil layers and in the percolated water. Further, cells initially introduced into a dry (5.3% moisture) soil were translocated to a lesser extent than cells introduced into a wetter (13% moisture) soil. Finally, wheat roots enhanced the water-induced transport of introduced cells to the 40- and 50-cm deep soil layers and into the effluent, but not to the remaining soil layers. Large soil columns such as those used in the present study are useful in assessing the transport and survival of introduced bacterial cells in soils under a variety of simulated environmental conditions.     

Litter microarthropod responses to canopy herbivory,season and decomposition in litterbags in a regenerating conifer ecosystem in Western Oregon

Summary The microarthropod community response to season, change in foliage litter quality during decomposition, and manipulated canopy herbivory by insects was measured in litterbags under 10-year-old Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, in western Oregon. Collembola accounted for 35% of the total fauna, oribatid mites for 29%, and fungivorous actinedids for 22%.The community structure was affected by responses to canopy defoliation, season, and changes in litter quality. Of 33 taxa, three were significantly more abundant under trees subject to lepidopteran defoliation (20% foliage removal), compared to other treatments, indicating responses to defoliator-induced changes in litter environment. Most taxa (23) showed seasonal fluctuations in abundance related to the seasonal pattern of temperature and precipitation and to the pattern of N and Ca mobilization from litterbags. Five taxa showed significant longterm trends in abundance, indicating responses to changes in litter quality, perhaps a loss of P and K.These data indicate that microarthropod communities respond qualitatively to environmental changes, including canopy defoliation. The qualitative changes can affeet decomposition processes.     

Modified gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric method for determination of daminozide in high protein food products

A modified version of the Conditt and Baumgardner gas chromatographic/mass spectroscopic (GC/MS) method for determination of daminozide in peanut butter and raw peanuts is described. Daminozide in the food product is hydrolyzed to unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) by sodium hydroxide digestion. The generated UDMH is distilled from the food matrix and captured by reaction with salicylaldehyde in a condensation trap. Resulting high pH distillates generated by peanuts and peanut products are adjusted back to a pH of 5-6 through addition of glacial acetic acid. After thermal incubation and extraction into methylene chloride, salicylaldehyde dimethylhydrazone is separated from interferences by capillary GC and quantitated by MS using the selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Quantitation of daminozide is based on the ratio of the salicylaldehyde dimethylhydrazone molecular ion (m/z 164) to the molecular ion (m/z 153) of the internal standard, 4-nitroanisole. Confirmation of daminozide identity is determined by relative intensity of the m/z 164 ion to the m/z 120 (C7H4ON) ion. Improved m/z 164 ion intensity and reduction of neighboring interferences due to acetic acid treatment permitted a daminozide detection limit of 0.005 ppm in a 50 g sample and an associated 0.02 ppm limit of quantitation. This modification is specific for high protein samples that generate high pH distillates such as peanuts and peanut products and is not specifically intended for analysis of low protein samples.     

Simulation of solute leaching in soils of differing permeabilities

Abstract. The model described divides the soil into layers and considers two categories of water, mobile and immobile, in each layer. It has two main parameters, one a measure of the soil's capacity to hold water and thence to retain solutes against leaching, and the other a measure of the ease with which water can pass through the soil and carry solutes with it. These are, in effect, capacity and rate parameters, and the model is unusual in having both. They can be estimated from the percentages of clay and other soil components. The rate parameter varied appreciably between plots in the field but in a consistent manner. The model has been validated against field experiments following the vertical movement of solute applied to the soil surface and allowed to leach, and the paper includes one such test.