Calcareous Soil (calcareous + soil)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Acidification of sandy grasslands , consequences for plant diversity

APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 3 2009
Pĺl Axel Olsson
Abstract Questions: (1) Does soil acidification in calcareous sandy grasslands lead to loss of plant diversity? (2) What is the relationship between the soil content of lime and the plant availability of mineral nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in sandy grasslands? Location: Sandy glaciofluvial deposits in south-eastern Sweden covered by xeric sand calcareous grasslands (EU habitat directive 6120). Methods: Soil and vegetation were investigated in most of the xeric sand calcareous grasslands in the Scania region (136 sample plots distributed over four or five major areas and about 25 different sites). Environmental variables were recorded at each plot, and soil samples were analysed for exchangeable P and N, as well as limestone content and pH. Data were analysed with regression analysis and canonical correspondence analysis. Results: Plant species richness was highest on weakly acid to slightly alkaline soil; a number of nationally red-listed species showed a similar pattern. Plant species diversity and number of red-listed species increased with slope. Where the topsoil had been acidified, limestone was rarely present above a depth of 30 cm. The presence of limestone restricts the availability of soil P, placing a major constraint on primary productivity in sandy soils. Conclusions: Acidification of sandy grasslands leads to reduced abundance of desirable species, although the overall effect is rather weak between pH 5 and pH 9. Slopes are important for high diversity in sandy grasslands. Calcareous soils cannot be restored through shallow ploughing, but deep perturbation could increase the limestone content of the topsoil and favour of target species. [source]


Rapid decomposition of phytate applied to a calcareous soil demonstrated by a solution 31P NMR study

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2010
A. L. Doolette
myo -Inositol hexakisphosphate (phytate) is widely regarded as an abundant form of soil organic phosphorus (P) in many soils. Its abundance is believed to be because of its resistance to microbial degradation. We examined the fate of phytate added to a calcareous soil as a solution at a concentration of 58 mg P kg,1, with and without the addition of wheat straw. The soil was incubated for 13 weeks, with phytate concentrations determined at 0, 1, 4, 7 and 13 weeks using NaOH-EDTA soil extraction followed by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The phytate concentration declined rapidly, with 18% (phytate + wheat straw) and 12% (phytate) of the initial phytate remaining after 13 weeks. This coincided with an increase in the proportion of orthophosphate relative to total NaOH-EDTA extractable P (from 65 to 81%) and a small increase in , - and , -glycerophosphate concentration, providing evidence for the microbial degradation of phytate. The decrease in phytate concentration was consistent with a first-order decay with a half-life for phytate of 4,5 weeks. This study demonstrates that in the calcareous soil examined, phytate was not highly stable, but a potentially biologically available form of P. In order to quantify the concentration of P species, we developed an improved method of spectral deconvolution. This method accounted for a broad signal (3.5,6.5 ppm) in the monoester region of the spectra that represented up to 23% of the total extractable P. We found that when this broad signal was not included, phytate concentrations were over-estimated by up to 54%. [source]


Effects of glucose and rhizodeposits (with or without cysteine-S) on immobilized- 35S, microbial biomass- 35S and arylsulphatase activity in a calcareous and an acid brown soil

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2004
O. Dedourge
Summary Our aim was to study the effects of C (as glucose and artificial rhizodeposits) on S immobilization, in relation to microbial biomass-S and soil arylsulphatase (ARS) activity, in contrasting soils (a calcareous and an acid brown soil). The glucose-C and artificial rhizodeposit-C with or without cysteine were added at six rates (0, 100, 200, 400, 600 and 800 mg kg,1 soil) to the two soils and then incubated with Na235SO4 for 1 week prior to analysis. The percentages of 35S immobilized increased when C as glucose and rhizodeposit (without cysteine) were added to both soils. With cysteine-containing rhizodeposit, the percentages of 35S immobilized remained relatively stable (23.5% to 29.9%) in the calcareous soil, but decreased in the acid brown soil (52.7% to 31.5%). For both soils, cysteine-containing rhizodeposit additions showed no significant correlation between immobilized- 35S and microbial biomass- 35S, suggesting that microorganisms immobilized cysteine-S preferentially instead of 35S from the tracer (Na235SO4). In the calcareous soil, a positive and significant correlation was found between ARS activity and microbial biomass- 35S (r = 0.85, P < 0.05) when glucose was added. We also saw this correlation in the acid brown soil when rhizodeposit-C without cysteine was added (r = 0.90, P < 0.05). Accordingly, the results showed the presence of extracellular arylsulphatase activity of 48.7 mg p -nitrophenol kg,1 soil hour,1 in the calcareous soil and of 27.0 mg p -nitrophenol kg,1 soil hour,1 in the acid brown soil. [source]


Pollution of carbonate soils in a Mediterranean climate due to a tailings spill

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2002
M. Simón
Summary The retention walls in a pond containing the residues from the pyrite mine of Aznalcóllar (southern Spain) broke open on 25 April 1998, spilling approximately 6 × 106 m3 of polluted water and toxic tailings, which affected some 55 km2. Drying and aeration of the tailings resulted in oxidation, forming an acidic solution with high pollutant contents, the effects of which were studied in a calcareous soil. The infiltration of this solution markedly affected only the first 12 mm of the soil, where strong acidification caused the weathering of the carbonates, and where the fine mineral particles were hydrolysed. The SO42, ions in the acidic solution precipitated almost entirely at this depth, forming gypsum, hydroxysulphates and complex sulphates. The Fe3+ ions also precipitated there, mainly in amorphous or poorly crystallized forms, adsorbing to As, Sb, Tl and Pb dissolved in the acidic solution. The Al3+ ions, though partly precipitating in the acidic layer, accumulated mostly where the soil pH exceeded 5.5 (12,14 mm in depth). They did so primarily as amorphous or poorly crystallized forms, adsorbing to Cu dissolved in the acidic solution. The Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions accumulated mainly at pH > 7.0 (19,21 mm in depth), being adsorbed chiefly by clay mineral. After 15 months, only the first 20 mm of the soil were acidified by the oxidation of the tailings and most of the pollutants did not penetrate deeper than 100 mm. Consequently, the speed of the cleanup of the toxic spill is not as important as a thorough removal of tailings together with the upper 10 cm of the soil. [source]


The response of manured forage maize to starter phosphorus fertilizer on chalkland soils in southern England

GRASS & FORAGE SCIENCE, Issue 2 2000
Withers
The impact of various starter phosphorus (P) fertilizers on the growth, nutrient uptake and dry-matter (DM) yield of forage maize (Zea mais) continuously cropped on the same area and receiving annual, pre-sowing, broadcast dressings of liquid and semi-solid dairy manures was investigated in two replicated plot experiments and in whole-field comparisons in the UK. In Experiment 1 on a shallow calcareous soil (27 mg l,1 Olsen-extractable P) in 1996, placement of starter P fertilizer (17 or 32 kg ha,1) did not benefit crop growth or significantly (P > 0ˇ05) increase DM yield at harvest. However, in Experiment 2 on a deeper non-calcareous soil (41 mg l,1 Olsen-extractable P) in 1997, placement of starter P fertilizer (19 or 41 kg P ha,1), either applied alone or in combination with starter N fertilizer (10 or 25 kg N ha,1), significantly increased early crop growth (P < 0ˇ01) and DM yield at harvest by 1ˇ3 t ha,1 (P < 0ˇ05) compared with a control without starter N or P fertilizer. Placement of starter N fertilizer alone did not benefit early crop growth, but gave similar yields as P, or N and P, fertilizer treatments at harvest. Large treatment differences in N and P uptake by mid-August had disappeared by harvest. In field comparisons over the 4-year period 1994,97, the addition of starter P fertilizer increased field cumulative surplus P by over 70%, but without significantly (P > 0ˇ05) increasing DM yield, or nutrient (N and P) uptake, compared with fields that did not receive starter P fertilizer. The results emphasized the extremely low efficiency with which starter P fertilizers are utilized by forage maize and the need to budget manure and fertilizer P inputs more precisely in order to avoid excessive soil P accumulation and the consequent increased risk of P transfer to water causing eutrophication. [source]


Root exudates of the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens do not enhance metal mobilization

NEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 3 2001
F. J. Zhao
Summary ,,To examine whether root exudates of the Zn/Cd hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens play a role in metal hyperaccumulation, we compared the metal mobilization capacity of root exudates collected from two ecotypes of T. caerulescens, and from the nonaccumulators wheat (Triticum aestivum) and canola (Brassica napus). ,,Plants were grown hydroponically and three treatments (control, ,Fe and ,Zn) were later imposed for 2 wk before collection of root exudates. ,,On a basis of root d. wt, the total soluble organic C in the root exudates of T. caerulescens was similar to that of wheat, and significantly higher than that of canola. In all treatment, the root exudates of T. caerulescens and canola mobilized little Cu and Zn from Cu- or Zn-loaded resins, and little Zn, Cd, Cu or Fe from a contaminated calcareous soil. By contrast, the root exudates of wheat generally mobilized more metals from both resin and soil. In particular, the ,Fe treatment, and to a lesser extent the ,Zn treatment, elicited large increases in the metal mobilization capacity of the root exudates from wheat. ,,We conclude that root exudates from T. caerulescens do not significantly enhance mobilization of Zn and Cd, and therefore are not involved in Zn and Cd hyperaccumulation. [source]


Fresh insights into long-term changes in flora, vegetation, land use and soil erosion in the karstic environment of the Burren, western Ireland

JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2009
Ingo Feeser
Summary 1. ,The study focuses on species-rich, upland, heathy vegetation with arctic-alpine floristic affinities and Sesleria grasslands in the karstic Burren region, western Ireland. The investigations aimed at reconstructing the long-term development of these high conservation-value communities and the role of farming in their formation and long-term survival. 2. ,The methods used included pollen analysis and 14C-dating of short monoliths and investigation of grykes (fissures in karstic limestone) for evidence of soil erosion. Special attention was paid to fossil, coprophilous fungal spores as indicators of local grazing. The strong local character of the pollen records facilitated identification of inter-site differences as well as regional patterns. It is shown that open pine woodland characterized the Cappanawalla uplands between c. 1500 BC and 500 BC. It is proposed that such woodlands, with floristic affinities to Scandinavian open pine woodlands on calcareous soils, provided a suitable environment for the present-day, open heath vegetation with species such as Dryas octopetala, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Geranium sanguineum and Empetrum nigrum. 3. ,Burning of vegetation as a management tool was important in the uplands over most of the last two millennia. Firing seems to have ceased with the onset of more intensive grazing regimes in the 18th century. 4. ,Synthesis. Upland palaeoarchives, derived from shallow peaty deposits, show that the upland Burren supported mainly plagioclimax Corylus -dominated woody vegetation and grasslands from c. 1500 BC (beginning of present record), until possibly as late as the 17th century AD. In the uplands of the north-western Burren, open, species-rich pinewoods with hazel dominated. The northern-arctic elements in the present-day upland flora survived clearances, involving initially Pinus sylvestris (c. 500 BC) and subsequently Corylus avellana (c. AD 1600). Colluvial material retrieved from grykes supports the idea of considerable soil loss occurring as late as the first and early 2nd millennium AD. The investigations highlight the potential of upland palaeoarchives, consisting of short sequences, for elucidating vegetation and land-use dynamics in karstic environments such as the Burren. [source]


Compositional nutrient diagnosis and main nutrient interactions in yellow pepper grown on desert calcareous soils

JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2004
José Luis García-Hernández
Abstract Mineral-nutrient stress is one of the main factors limiting crop production, especially in arid lands. The mineral requirement of a crop is difficult to determine, and the interpretation of foliar chemistry composition is not easy. This study was conducted to compute the minimum yield target for fresh fruit of yellow pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and the corresponding Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis (CND) as well as to identify significant nutrient interactions of this crop in desert calcareous soils. Preliminary CND norms were developed using a cumulative variance-ratio function and the chi-square distribution function. From a small database, we computed means and standard deviations of row-centered log ratios, VX, of five nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) and a filling value, R, which comprises all nutrients not chemically analyzed and quantified them in 54 foliar samples of the popular yellow pepper cv. ,Santa Fé'. This cultivar is widely grown in northwest Mexico under arid conditions. These norms are associated to fresh fruit yields higher than 15.04 t ha,1. Principal-component analyses, performed using estimated CND nutrient indexes, allowed us to identify four interactions: negative P-Ca, P-Mg, and N-K, and positive Ca-Mg. Pepper plants growing on calcareous soils tend to take up more Ca and Mg than considered as optimum in other soil conditions. [source]