Soil Systems, Volume 2, Issue 2

Soil mineral assemblage influences the abundance and mean residence time of soil organic matter both directly, through sorption reactions, and indirectly, through influences on microbial communities. Though organo-mineral interactions are at the hear...

Soil organic carbon (SOC) turnover in subsoils is assumed to be limited to spatially restricted microsites where fresh substrate inputs occur. Vice versa, the growth and activity of microorganisms outside of such hotspots may be limited by easily ava...

Antimony (Sb) is an understudied pollutant with potentially toxic effects at particularly low concentrations. The fate of Sb in the environment is complicated because of its many chemical forms at varying oxidation states. Here, we validated an extra...

In view of recent reports of critical declines of microbes, plants, insects and other invertebrates, birds and other vertebrates, the situation pertaining to neglected earthworms was investigated. Entomological reports found the probable cause of gen...

Mechanisms of protecting soil carbon (C) are still poorly understood despite growing needs to predict and manage the changes in soil C or organic matter (OM) under anticipated climate change. A fundamental question is how the submicron-scale interact...

This study focused on revealing the correlations between rock phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) counts and differing properties of the rhizosphere soil. One hundred and thirty-two samples of rhizosphere soil of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) were coll...

Soils, sediments and rock are natural sources of radon (Rn), which poses an ongoing threat to human health. Numerous studies have measured Rn release from bulk earth materials, yet few have examined microscale controls on Rn flux from solids (emanati...

Interaction of organic matter (OM) with soil mineral components plays a critical role in biophysical organization (aggregate structure) as well as in biogeochemical cycling of major elements. Of the mineral components, poorly-crystalline phases rich...

Rhizosphere priming by terrestrial plants comprises increased or repressed efflux of CO₂ and N from soil organic matter (SOM), decaying under the impact of temperature, moisture, and the composition of rhizodeposits. Contemporarily, increases in wate...

Arsenic (As) is one of the most widespread, toxic elements in the environment, and human activities have resulted in a large number of contaminated areas. However abundant, the potential of As toxicity from exposure to contaminated soils is limited t...

The bioavailability of nitrogen (N) in soil relies on the progressive breakdown of necromass protein to peptide and amino acid components and conversion to inorganic N forms. We understand the fluxes and pathways of the N cycle downstream from amino...

Much attention has been paid to switchgrass’s potential for conversion to cellulosic ethanol and its ability to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC). Soil samples from switchgrass farms in East Tennessee were collected at depths of 0–5, 15...

Long-term bare fallow (LTBF) experiments with historical sample archives offer unique opportunities to study long-term impacts of anthropogenic activities on mineral soil fractions. In natural agro- and ecosystems, such impacts are often masked by or...

The neotropical agroecosystems are important areas in the global scene in terms of livestock production. Therefore, a good conservation of their soils is crucial in order to both guarantee food safety and reduce the impact of land degradation process...

Soluble lead (Pb) can be immobilized in pure systems as pyromorphite through the addition of phosphorus (P) sources; however, uncertainties remain in natural systems. Knowledge of point zero charge (PZC) is important to predict the ionization of func...

The precipitation of mixed metal–aluminum-layered double hydroxides (Me(II)–Al(III)-LDH)) may be an important control of the solubility of Mn(II), Fe(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), and Co(II) in soils, but assessment of this process is hindered by a lack of th...

β-glucosidase is a key enzyme in the C-cycle, and its activity is strongly influenced by soil management practices and by extrinsic factors such as weather conditions. However, the variability of β-glucosidase activity (BGa) over time and how this va...

The sorptive reactivity of layered manganese (Mn) oxides is controlled by their layer and interlayer structure, which can be affected by processes such as metal coprecipitation. This study investigated the effects of Zn coprecipitation on the sorptiv...

The transportation and immobilization of potentially toxic metals in near-surface environments may be partially controlled by sorption processes at the solid-water interface. Myriad studies have shown that iron (oxyhydr)oxides have large sorption cap...