M Fraction (m + fraction)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Aggregate-occluded black carbon in soil

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2006
S. Brodowski
Summary The great stability of black carbon (BC) in soils may not be solely attributable to its refractory structure but also to poor accessibility when physically enveloped by soil particles. Our aim was to elucidate the intensity of physical entrapment of BC within soil aggregates. For this purpose, the A horizon of a forest, and of a grassland soil, and of three soils under tillage, were sampled at the experimental station Rotthalmünster, Germany. Black carbon was assessed in water-stable aggregates and aggregate-density fractions using benzene polycarboxylic acids as specific markers. The greatest BC concentrations made up 7.2% of organic carbon and were found in the < 53 ,m fraction. The smallest BC concentrations occurred in the large macroaggregate fractions (> 2 mm). This pattern has been sustained even after tillage. The C-normalized BC concentrations were significantly greater (P < 0.05) in the occluded particulate organic matter (OPOM) fractions than in the free particulate organic matter (FPOM) and the mineral fractions. This enrichment of BC compared with organic carbon in the OPOM fractions amounted to factors of 1.5,2.7. Hence, BC was embedded within microaggregates in preference to other organic carbon compounds. Only 2.5,3.5% of BC was located in the OPOM fraction < 1.6 g cm,3, but 22,24% in the OPOM fraction with a density of 1.6,2.0 g cm,3. This suggests that BC possibly acted as a binding agent or was selectively enriched during decomposition of protected SOM, or both. Physical inclusion, particularly within microaggregates, could therefore contribute to the long mean-residence times of soil-inherent BC. [source]


Interaction of copper and zinc with allophane and organic matter in the B horizon of an Andosol

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2003
C. Latrille
Summary Andosols developed on basaltic material are naturally rich in metals. Organic matter and allophane, the key colloids of these soils, have a strong affinity for trace metals, but are intimately mixed so that speciation of trace metal is difficult to determine. We used three complementary approaches, namely physical fractionation, chemical extraction and potentiometric measurement, to distinguish them. Physical particle-size separations and chemical selective dissolution of allophanes and organic matter were combined to demonstrate relations between the occurrence of colloids and contents of Cu and Zn in an andic B horizon. About 22% of total soil Cu and 7% of total soil Zn were present in the < 5-,m fraction, associated with organic or amorphous mineral constituents. To support this association further, the affinity of soil colloids for Cu and Zn in a mimicked system was demonstrated. An Al-rich allophane was synthesized, and a portion of the organic matter was extracted from the clay fraction, and their reactivities towards Cu2+ or Zn2+ were studied by potentiometry. The two metallic cations displayed specific affinity towards allophane or soluble organic matter. Furthermore, the behaviour of copper and zinc in the ternary system, allophane + soluble organic matter + trace element, revealed a synergy in the surface complexation. The use of these three speciation approaches highlighted the linkage between metals and constituents, and showed how important the colloidal constituents are in the behaviour of Cu and Zn in Andosols. [source]


Variations of magnetic susceptibility and fine quartz accumulation rate in Daisen loam over the past 200 000 years: Interaction between winter and summer monsoons in south-west Japan

ISLAND ARC, Issue 2 2001
Jun-Ichi Kimura
Abstract A loam section near Daisen volcano, South-west Japan, has been examined for low-field magnetic susceptibility (MS) and fine quartz accumulation rate. Fission track dating of tephra layers interbedded in the deposit shows that the loam age ranges from about 200 ka to the Present. The MS was measured for both bulk sample and the < 63 ,m fine fraction. Fine quartz contents in the < 63 ,m fraction were also determined using acid-alkali digestions and recalculated to derive fine quartz accumulation rate (Rqz). Grain size analysis was then carried out on the separated fine quartz. Low-field MS varies from low frequency magnetic suspectibility (,(LF)) 5 to 100 (× 10,6 m3/kg) for bulk samples and from 1 to 30 for fine fractions. The fine fraction ,(LF) variation correlated with Chinese loess MS stratigraphy, which indicated changes in pedogenic enhancement of the MS and is reflected by summer monsoon intensity. The Rqz are high in cool climate stages, with volumes between 0.2 and 0.4 (× 10,2 kg/m2 per yr), whereas in warm stages the rate falls to about 0.1. These values compare well with those reported from the Hokkaido and Kanto areas, suggesting the fine quartz originates from tropospheric dust. The strong winter monsoons during glacial stages alternated with weak summer monsoons as a result of a southward shift of the jet stream. In interglacials, summer monsoons were stronger. Seasonal alternating monsoons appear to have operated in South-west Japan through the past 200 000 years. [source]


The allergen Bet v 1 in fractions of ambient air deviates from birch pollen counts

ALLERGY, Issue 7 2010
J. T. M. Buters
To cite this article: Buters JTM, Weichenmeier I, Ochs S, Pusch G, Kreyling W, Boere AJF, Schober W, Behrendt H. The allergen Bet v 1 in fractions of ambient air deviates from birch pollen counts. Allergy 2010; 65: 850,858. Abstract Background:, Proof is lacking that pollen count is representative for allergen exposure, also because allergens were found in nonpollen-bearing fractions of ambient air. Objective:, We monitored simultaneously birch pollen and the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 in different size fractions of ambient air from 2004 till 2007 in Munich, Germany. Methods:, Air was sampled with a ChemVol® high-volume cascade impactor equipped with stages for particulate matter (PM)>10 ,m, 10 ,m>PM>2.5 ,m, and 2.5 ,m>PM>0.12 ,m. Allergen was determined with a Bet v 1-specific ELISA. Pollen count was assessed with a Burkard pollen trap. We also measured the development of allergen in pollen during ripening. Results:, About 93 ± 3% of Bet v 1 was found in the PM,>,10 ,m fraction, the fraction containing birch pollen. We did not measure any Bet v 1 in 2.5 ,m,>,PM,>,0.12 ,m. Either in Munich no allergen was in this fraction or the allergen was absorbed to diesel soot particles that also deposit in this fraction. Pollen released 115% more Bet v 1 in 2007 than in 2004. Also within 1 year, the release of allergen from the same amount of pollen varied more than 10-fold between different days. This difference was explained by a rapidly increasing expression of Bet v 1 in pollen in the week just before pollination. Depending on the day the pollen is released during ripening, its potency varies. Conclusion:, In general, pollen count and allergen in ambient air follow the same temporal trends. However, because a 10-fold difference can exist in allergen potency of birch pollen, symptoms might be difficult to correlate with pollen counts, but perhaps better with allergen exposure. [source]


Community composition and activity of prokaryotes associated to detrital particles in two contrasting lake ecosystems

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
Charles Lemarchand
Abstract The composition, distribution and extracellular enzyme activities of bacteria attached to small (2,50 ,m in size) transparent exopolymer and Coomassie-stained proteinaceous particles (TEP and CSP) were examined in two lakes of different trophic status located in the Massif Central of France. TEP concentrations (104,106 particle per L) were significantly higher in the more productive lake and were significantly related to chlorophyll a concentrations. The majority of TEP and CSP were colonized by bacteria that constituted 2.6% and 7.4% of the total 4,,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole-stained bacteria in lakes Pavin and Aydat, respectively. In both lakes, the composition of particle-associated bacteria was different from that of free-living bacteria, the Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes (i.e. former Cytophaga,Flavobacteria group) being the dominant groups on particles. We also found that 2,5 ,m TEP were more colonized than 2,5 ,m CSP in the two lakes, and that TEP colonization was higher in the less productive lake. Measurements of Leucine aminopeptidase and ,-glucosidase activities in fractionated lake water (0.2,1.2, 1.2,5 and >5 ,m fractions) indicated that proteolytic activity was always higher and that particle-associated bacteria have higher enzymatic activities than free-living bacteria. The glycolytic activities in the 1.2,5 and >5 ,m fractions were related to the abundance of TEP. We conclude that small freshwater detrital organic particles constitute microhabitats with high bacterial activities in pelagic environments and, undoubtedly, present significant ecological implications for the prokaryotic community structure and function in aquatic ecosystems. [source]