Die Beeinflussung der Bodenlösung durch Saugkerzen aus Ni-Sintermetall und Keramik

Influencing soil solution by suction cup material (Ni, ceramics) The influence of suction cup material (ceramics, Ni) on the chemical composition of the soil solution was tested in the laboratory by percolating soil solutions of different concentration (pH ～ 4.0). Ceramic cups of P 80 material can be used for the collection of soil solution and its determination for the concentrations of H, Na, K, NH₄, Ca, Mg, Mn, Al, S, Cl and NO₃. They can't be used to determine P-concentrations. The cups must be prepared and preconditioned by leaching large amounts of equilibrium soil solution which should not be oversaturated with respect to the solubility product of AlOHSO₄. The changes in the concentration of extracted soil solution when it passes through the cups depend upon the extracted volume. The lower the volume, the greater are the changes. Sintered Ni-cups show many severe disadvantages (decreasing permeability, insufficient resistence against acid solutions, large variability among single cups), and can only be used for cases where Na, Ca, K, and S are to be determined. Ceramic cups of the type ‘Czeratzki’ are comparable with those of P 80. However, they can only be used, when the concentrations don't vary too much and large amounts of water can be extracted.     

The Transfer of Chemical Elements within a Heath-Ecosystem (Calluna vulgaris) in Northwest Germany

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the element budget of a heathland area in Northwest Germany by measuring the fluxes of elements within the ecosystem. The following fluxes were considered: input by precipitation, canopy-drip, mineralisation, ion uptake, litterfall, output with seepage water. The elements H, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Al, S, P, CI, NO, NH, N_org were analysed, the period of investigation was one year. The results demonstrate the high importance of deposited nutrients like N (especially No3), Ca and Mg for the element budget and the stability of a heath-ecosystem. The internal turnover of K, Ca, Mg and Mn within the ecosystem mainly took place by leaching. No leaching was found for N, P, AI, Fe, S, CI, Na. For these elements litterfall was the dominant internal way of cycling. The humus layer was a sink for total-N, NO, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe and S. NO, Ca, Mg, Mn and S were removed from the percolating solution, while for Fe and especially N and Mn an inhibition of mineralisation was found. The element balance for the mineral soil showed that this part is a sink for Hand a source mainly for Al, Ca and Mg, less for K and Na. From the cation/anion balance of the storage changes in mineral soil the ecosystem-internal H ion production was calculated as 0.4 keq per ha and year. It may be traced back to an uptake of NH, and dissociation of fulvic acids in the mineral soil. The results are discussed with respect to the development, stability and management of heath-ecosystems.     

Natural and anthropogenic components of soil acidification

The following 8 theses are theoretically founded and experimentally quantified. 1. Rocks contain only bases and no acid precursors. Therefore, with the exception of sulfide containing rocks, soils cannot acidify as a result of atmospheric rock weathering. 2. A consumption of protons in rocks and soils results in a decrease of their acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) and can result in the buildup of a base neutralizing capacity (BNC). Strong soil acidification leads to the formation of stronger acids from weaker acids in the solid phase; this may be connected with a decrease in the BNC. 3. Weak acids (carbonic acid) lead in geological times to the depletion of bases without a larger accumulation of labile cation acids. Strong acids (HNO₃, organic acids, H₂SO₄) can lead within a few decades to soil acidification, i.e. to leaching of nutrient cations and the accumulation of labile cation acids. 4. The acid input caused by the natural emission of SO₂ and NO_x can be buffered by silicate weathering even in soils low in silicates. 5. The cause of soil impoverishment and soil acidification is a decoupling of the ion cycle in the ecosystem. 6. Acid deposition in forest ecosystems which persists over decades leads to soil acidification. 7. Formation and deposition of strong acids with conservative anions (SO₄, NO₃) shifts soil chemistry into the Al or Al/Fe buffer range up to great soil depth. In such soils eluvial conditions prevail throughout the solum and even in upper part of the C horizon: in connection with the decomposition of clay minerals, Al and eventually Fe are being eluviated. The present soil classification does not include this soil forming process. 8. In the long run, soil acidification by acid deposition results in the retraction of the root system of acid tolerant tree species from the mineral soil, and in water acidification.     

Chemische Eigenschaften von Waldböden im Nordwestdeutschen Pleistocän und deren Gruppierungen nach Pufferbereichen

Chemical properties of forest soils in the pleistocene of Northwest Germany and their classification based on soil buffering systems In order to characterize the chemical characteristics of forest soils of Hamburg, 800 soil samples and 400 root samples from 172 sites were used to obtain suitable soil chemical and ecochemical parameters. A strong and deep reaching soil acidification was observed on all sites with exception of those on till. The sulfate concentration in the equilibrium soil solution allows the conclusion that deposition of acid plays a significant role in this acidification. Classification of sites based on edaphic factors did not provide useful information on the chemical status of soils. However, grouping of soil horizons using pH measured in 0.01 M CaCl₂ lead to a stratification according to the soil buffering systems. Distinction between the exchanger and the aluminium buffer ranges was, however, not quite satisfactory.     

Generation of gut-homing IgA-secreting B cells by intestinal dendritic cells

Normal intestinal mucosa contains abundant immunoglobulin A (IgA)-secreting cells, which are generated from B cells in gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT). We show that dendritic cells (DC) from GALT induce T cell-independent expression of IgA and gut-homing receptors on B cells. GALT-DC-derived retinoic acid (RA) alone conferred gut tropism but could not promote IgA secretion. However, RA potently synergized with GALT-DC-derived interleukin-6 (IL-6) or IL-5 to induce IgA secretion. Consequently, mice deficient in the RA precursor vitamin A lacked IgA-secreting cells in the small intestine. Thus, GALT-DC shape mucosal immunity by modulating B cell migration and effector activity through synergistically acting mediators.