Cent Soil Research Articles

Assesment of Boron in Soil, Plant and Irrigation Water under Cotton-wheat Cropping System of Northern India

Background: The use of high yielding varieties, high analysis fertilizers and intensive cultivation has depleted the fertility of soils particularly with respect to micronutrients. The deficiency of B is expected to be high in coarse-textured soils having low organic matter, high CaCO3 and high pH. Methods: Geo-referenced surface (0-15 cm, n=155) soil samples, cotton leaves at pre flowering stage (n=75), wheat flag leaves (n=80) and tube well water (n=75) samples were collected from Bathinda, Mansa and Mukatsar districts of Punjab. Result: About 5, 18 and 20 per cent of soil, cotton and wheat samples were deficient in B, respectively. Hot water soluble B in soil was significantly positively correlated with pH (r= 0.230*), ESP (0.680**), B concentration in leaves of cotton (r=0.259*) and wheat (r=0.531**) but negatively with CaCO3 in soil (r= -0.210*). About 40 per cent of tubewell waters had greater than 2.0 mg B l-1. On an average, one cm ha of tube well water may add up to 93g B ha-1 to soil.

Nutritional Status of Sweet orange-Growing soil of YSR district, Andhra Pradesh, India

The soil samples at 0-30 cm and sub-surface 30-60 cm from fifty sweet orange orchards aged between 12 to 13 years were collected and analysed to know the nutrient status of orchards in YSR district of Andhra Pradesh. The results showed that, about 82 per cent of soils were deficient in available nitrogen and 20 per cent in available phosphorus, however, 68 per cent of samples were high in available potassium. Though these samples had adequate exchangeable calcium and magnesium but were low in DTPA- Fe (24%) and Zn (78%).

Global Distribution of Cryosols with Mountain Permafrost: An Overview

About 30 per cent of the mountain soils with permafrost have an active layer depth (ALD) of less than 1 or 2 m and, therefore, can be classified as Cryosols. Mountain Cryosols have a total area of approximately 1.26 million km2 and account for approximately 12 per cent of the Cryosols worldwide. An ALD of less than 2 m appears to occur only where the mean annual air temperature is < -6 °C. There is a negative correlation (R = 0.86; p <0.001) between latitude (°N) and elevation (m) at which the ALD occurs at less than 2 m. Mountain Cryosols are most abundant in the western Cordillera of the USA and Canada (360 000 km2), the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China (280 000 km2), Greenland (185 000 km2), the Yablonoi-Sayan-Stanovoi Mountains of Russia (153 000 km2) and the Ural Mountains of Russia (90 000 km2). Despite that the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau contains 70 per cent of the world's mountain permafrost, only about 20 per cent of the soils are Cryosols, because they are limited to areas above 5100 m asl. Cryosols occur in the central Andes above 4900 m asl and in the southern Andes above 1000 m asl. Potential impacts of recent climate warming on mountain permafrost and Cryosols are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mineralisation and Changes in the Fractions of Soil Organic Matter in Soils of the Permafrost Region, Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China

ABSTRACTTo determine the relationship between soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and chemistry in the permafrost region of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP), 300‐day laboratory incubations at 25°C and chemical fractionation were performed to characterise the mineralisation dynamics of organic carbon from soils under five vegetation conditions. The respiration rates in wet meadows were the highest, followed by the Kobresia pygmaea meadow and K. robusta meadow. After the incubation period, all four fractions of SOM – non‐polarity soluble, water soluble, holocellulose and lignin contents – showed some decline, and the SOM decreased by 16–20 per cent in soils of the steppe, meadow and wet meadow. These results suggest that a large proportion of the organic matter in soils of the permafrost region in the QTP is mineralisable. Based on the changes in chemical fractions of organic matter, it could be determined that soils with higher water‐soluble fractions had higher rates of carbon mineralisation, while the mechanisms involved in the respiration of different chemical fractions are complicated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation of infiltration models with different numbers of fitting parameters in different soil texture classes

In this study, the ability of eight different infiltration models (i.e. Green and Ampt, Philip, SCS (US-Soil Conservation Service), Kostiakov, Horton, Swartzendruber, Modified Kostiakov (MK) and Revised Modified Kostiakov (RMK) models) were evaluated by least-squares fitting to measured infiltration data. Six comparison criteria including coefficient of determination (R2), mean root mean square error (MRMSE), root mean square error (RMSE), the F-statistic (F), Cp statistic of Mallows (Cp) and Akaike information criterion (AIC) were used to determine the best performing model with the least number of fitting parameters. Results indicated that R2 and MRMSE were not suitable for model selection. A more valid comparison was achieved by F, Cp, AIC and RMSE statistics. The RMK model including four parameters had the best performance with the majority of soils studied. RMK was better than the MK model in approximately 51.6, 57, 68.5 and 70.6% of soils, when using F, Cp, AIC and RMSE statistics, respectively, and for the other models, a higher per cent of soils was obtained. The RMK model was the best for loam, clay loam and silty clay loam soils, but the MK model was the best for silty loam soils.

Fertility status, trace elements and heavy metal pollution of agricultural land irrigated from the Gediz River

The effect of the Gediz River, polluted by industrial and domestic wastes, on fertility status and trace elements and heavy metal pollution of agricultural land irrigated from this river was investigated. For this purpose, soil samples were collected in August 1998 between the source of the Gediz River (Murat Mountain) and its mouth (Aegean Sea). Soil samples were collected from 12 different sites along the length of the river basin from 0-30 cm depth. The soils were slightly alkaline, with no salt problem and were poor in organic matter. Total N and available P, K, Mg, Fe and Zn levels were low or average, whereas available Ca, Na, Cu, Mn were present at good and sufficient levels. Thirty three per cent of soils had available B and S of soils had total B levels above the phytotoxic lower boundary. Because of the geographical/geological structure, soil samples from the Gediz source (Sample Site 1) had high amounts of total Fe, Zn, Mn, B, Cd, Ni, Cr and Co. At the second sampling site, total Ni content was also higher than is acceptable according to the national standards set. In addition, in some soil samples the amount of total Cd was above the lower phytotoxic boundary value.

Environmental conditions and chemical time bomb hazards in Poland

AbstractObservations on the state of the environment, soil properties, soil hazards and some possible changes in soil parameters are discussed. Sandy and light loamy soils cover more than 50 per cent of the arable land in Poland. About 58 per cent of soils are acid (pH&lt;5‐5) in the surface layer and 25 per cent in the layer from 100 to 150 cm. About 51‐3 per cent of soils are very vulnerable to pollution. According to a BIGLEB‐SOWEP prognosis, in the year 2000 about 13 per cent of soils will be seriously at risk from chemical degradation. Acidification will proceed due to increases in the emission of SO2 and NOx, and the end of liming. the environmental conditions in Poland favour delayed responses to environmental hazards: chemical time bombs.

Mineral status of grazing beef cattle in the warm climate region of Florida.

An experiment was conducted to determine the mineral status of purebred Brahman beef cattle grazing Bermuda--Bahia pastures grown on sandy, well-drained soils in Central Florida. Soil, plant, blood serum and liver tissue concentrations of calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, manganese and cobalt were generally adequate. Sixty-nine per cent of forages and 40% of serum samples were deficient in phosphorus. Seventy-five per cent of soils, 38% of forages and 18% of liver samples were deficient in copper. Sixty-nine per cent of forage samples were low, less than 30 ppm, in iron. All samples of forage, liver and serum were deficient in selenium. Likewise, all soil and forage samples and 47 and 88% of serum and liver samples, respectively, were deficient in zinc. Mineral elements most likely deficient and needed in supplements for grazing cattle on sandy, well-drained soils in the warm climate region of Central Florida are phosphorus, copper, selenium and zinc.