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The primary challenges in metropolitan planning, selection of sites, and developing preemptive safety measures lie in the characterization and precise appraisal of underground soil info from geotechnical and geological perspectives. In this context, this article addresses the utilization and evaluation of inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation techniques to characterize and construct geotechnical soil models (GSMs) through a conventional Geographic Information System (GIS). Soil data was dragged from 112 soil exploration reports, focusing on parameters such as undrained shear strength (S u) , soil types and standard penetration resistance (N-value). The GSMs based on N-value, soil types, and S u have been accomplished using the IDW method within ArcGIS. The findings revealed that the investigated region could be classified into four zones based on N-values, namely zone-A(7–15), zone-B(16–25), zone-C(50–65), and zone-D(> 100/Refusal). Higher N-values were attributed to the presence of gravel/shale/limestone/sandstone, while lower values were associated with the presence of alluvial strata. Empirical models with high correlation coefficients (up to 0.99) were developed for each zone to estimate soil stiffness and strength attributes based on N-values promptly. Shale/sandstone/limestone prevail on the east/west side of the study area, while the central-north section comprises silty-clay/lean-clay. Gravels underlain by sandy soils characterize the central-south side. S u within the study region ranged from 5 to 390 kPa, with correlation coefficients of 81% for S u prediction, 86% for N-values, and 82.3% for soil types. A thorough comprehension of geotechnical parameters would benefit structural designers as they aim to improve land-use planning and establish essential remedial actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance pomegranate production on marginal gravelly lands, standardized planting techniques were evaluated in an 8-year-old orchard. Trenching, wider pit excavation, pit digging, and auger digs with dimensions of 1 and 2 m were employed. Utilizing native soil from barren land, with or without spent wash, and mixing it with black soil up to 1 m deep, growth parameters, leaf nutrients, fruit production, and fruit quality were assessed. The trench and wider pit methods outperformed others, yielding greater above-ground biomass (>70.3 kg tree−1), root biomass (>24.5 kg, tree−1), and cross-sectional area (>3.30 m2 tree−1). These methods also produced longer roots (>4.0 m tree−1) and higher leaf phosphorus (>0.28%) and potassium (>1.81%) levels, fruit juice content (>48.50%), and total soluble solids (>16.05°) compared to other planting methods. This resulted in higher and more sustainable fruit yield production under the trench and wider pit planting methods (>7.21 t ha−1). Similarly, the native and black soil mixture produced healthy fruit trees, improved fruit quality, and sustainably higher fruit yield over the native soil alone. In summary, the trench and wider pit methods (2–3 m3), combined with a soil mixture, are recommended for sustainable, high-quality fruit production in shallow gravelly terrains, thereby improving food security and the livelihoods of farmers in arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication is fundamental in the animal kingdom, essential to interactions such as mating, defense, and parental care. Vibrational communication has often been overlooked in the past, but in recent decades, it has become clear that insects use substrate vibrations as a communication signal. In burying beetles of the genus Nicrophorus, which are known for their biparental brood care, both parents stridulate. Spending a considerable period of their lives underground, it is very likely the beetles utilize vibrations as part of their communication system. As playback experiments are challenging with this species, this study looked at the physical propagation of the signal of Nicrophorus vespilloides Herbst (Coleoptera: Siliphidae) through three soil types, as well as behavior, to see whether vibrational communication is possible. The aims were to determine: (1) whether the soils used in the laboratory compare to soil from the field, (2) whether the distance of propagation is enough for the range the beetles cover during brood care, (3) whether the two sexes show a difference in stridulation likelihood, (4) whether propagation of defensive signals differs from brood care signals, and (5) whether we can determine a behavior during stridulations that shows a clear and useable reaction to the signal. We manipulated beetles to induce stridulation and then used laser Doppler vibrometers to record the signals using three substrates and various distances, alongside behavioral observations. We showed that the three substrates tested, peat, coconut coir, and forest soil, displayed differences in terms of vibrational propagation, and that burying beetle stridulation signals can be transmitted up to about 25 cm in the soil. We also showed that the location where the animals stridulate exerts a significant influence on the total duration and number of stridulations. Overall, vibrational communication is in principle conceivable in this species, as the signals are transmitted far enough in the natural substrate to allow complex communication, opening possibilities for vibrational communication during this biparental brood care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyanobacterial biofertilizers provide soil fertility and productivity gains at varying levels in paddy rice cultivation. The colonization and influences of introduced strains in different soil types with characteristic compositions of native cyanobacteria remain largely unknown. In this work, seven paddy rice soils with the composition of indigenous cyanobacteria described by amplicon sequencing analysis were inoculated with the cyanobacterial biofertilizer. The microbial abundance and the cyanophage concentrations were evaluated under light-dark or continuous dark cycles using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays. The copies of cyanobacterial-16S rRNA gene markers varied from 5.65 × 106 to 9.22 × 107 g-1 soil, and their abundance increased significantly in the inoculated soils. The cyanophage concentrations, quantified using the capsid assembly protein gene g20 in the soils tested, ranged from 3.04 × 108 to 9.24× 108 g-1 soil on 30 days after incubation. There were significant increases in the abundance of the nifH gene copies, about 1.54×105 to 1.35×106 g-1, in the inoculated soils, albeit with soil type-specific responses. The gene markers of C and N cycling (i.e., cbbL and nifH, respectively), taxonomic markers (of archaea, bacteria, and cyanobacteria), and cyanophage-specific gene copies showed strong and positive correlation with the cyanobacterial biofertilizer inoculation. However, the genes related to nitrification (bacterial and archaeal amoA) and denitrification (nirS, nirK, narG, and nosZ) were clustered together in the uninoculated soils. The rice rhizospheres in three representative paddy soil types, using metatranscriptomics analysis, showed distinctive colonization by cyanobacteria, with several members yet to be described. These results indicate the potential for improving cyanobacterial biofertilizers for their contributions to plant growth and fertility gains in a soil-specific way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation restoration has an important effect on soil carbon (C) pool dynamics. Highly stable iron (Fe)‐associated C is an important component of the soil C pool and it plays a crucial role in the soil C cycle. However, a knowledge gap remains regarding the existence of Fe‐associated C variation during vegetation restoration. Herein, 0–60 cm soil samples of cropland, grassland, shrubland and forestland from three soil types (loam, loess and sandy soils) were collected to explore the response of Fe‐associated C to vegetation restoration. The results showed that soil Fe‐associated C proportion in the study area ranged from 2.2% to 26.3%. Surface soil (0–20 cm) Fe‐associated C content in loess and sandy soils increased following vegetation restoration, but decreased in loam soil. The accumulation efficiency of soil Fe‐associated C during vegetation restoration was higher in coarser soils. Moreover, the Fe‐associated C content and proportion of forestland with a higher soil organic matter (SOM) pool were the highest among the land use types. Vegetation restoration affects soil Fe‐associated C in two different ways: (1) increasing the SOM and dissolved organic C and improving the efficiency of C and Fe binding to promote the accumulation of Fe‐associated C; (2) decreasing the total soil Fe content, reducing the trivalent iron (Fe(III)) to bivalent iron (Fe(II)) and breaking the binding of C and Fe to decrease soil Fe‐associated C content, and these two different ways were found in all three soil types. Additionally, higher SOM accumulation efficiency and less root destruction caused by vegetation restoration in coarse soils resulted in a higher Fe‐associated C accumulation efficiency. Synthesis and applications. Vegetation and soil type strongly regulated the effects of vegetation restoration on soil Fe‐associated C. Forestlands may be the optimum vegetation type to provide soil C sequestration benefits, effectively increasing soil C pool and maximising Fe‐associated C content. This study has addressed the knowledge gap regarding the effects of vegetation restoration on soil Fe‐associated C and provides scientific basis for a better understanding of the soil C cycle and developing scientific vegetation restoration measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil microorganisms are a crucial component of forest ecosystems because of their involvement in the decomposition of organic matter and nutrient cycling and their influence on plant growth and development. Soil type is a fundamental characteristic of soil. In the transitional forest regions from subtropical to temperate zones in China, various soil types can be found, including yellow-brown soils, brown soils, and cinnamon soils. However, the composition and distribution patterns of soil bacterial and fungal communities in different soil types remain uncertain. This study selected a 4.8-hectare plot in Baiyun Mountain Forest National Park, China. To explore the spatial distribution and ecological processes of soil microbial communities across three different soil types, Illumina sequencing was conducted. Results showed that the composition and assembly of bacterial and fungal communities varied substantially among different soil types. Bacteria were more influenced by environmental factors than fungi. Fungal communities consistently demonstrated greater stability compared to bacterial communities across the three soil types. Light was the main environmental factor driving the variation in the assembly of microbial communities among different soil types. This study demonstrates that there are differences in the composition and structure of soil microbial communities among different soil types, providing important insights into the management and sustainable development of soil microorganisms in temperate forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring soil organic carbon (SOC) is essential for assessing the sustainability of soil usage. This study explores the spatial variability and mapping of SOC in Lithuania's Nevėžis Plain using various interpolation methods, with an emphasis on understanding the impacts of soil typological units, moisture regimes, and erosion on SOC distribution. A total of 275 soil samples were collected from agricultural croplands at depths of 0–10 cm, supplemented by 38 samples from previous studies. The SOC map was created based on the contours of the Lithuanian soil geodatabase. Statistical analysis revealed that the distribution of SOC in the studied area was significantly influenced by soil moisture and the degree of erosion. Based on these findings, SOC mapping was conducted according to the contours of Lithuanian soils. Comparing the interpolation methods that were analyzed, it was found that the kriging, RBF, and EBK methods fail to adequately capture the minimum and maximum values of SOC, while the IDW fails to adequately capture only the minimum values. In summary, the integrated geographical approach is complex but applicable to SOC mapping. This method facilitates the creation of adaptable SOC maps that are both geographically and pedologically informed. Key principles to apply this approach for future research and practical application should include establishing a statistically reliable data foundation, categorizing samples based on contrasting soil moisture regime, degrees of erosion, and land use patterns, and developing contouring principles along with a criteria algorithm that enables accurate spatial interpolation of average SOC values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some soil characteristics, such as the shear wave velocity, the shear modulus, the Poisson ratio, and the porosity, affect how clay soils behave. The soil design parameters under loading, such as soil liquefaction induced by dynamic earthquake loading, employ the shear wave velocity and shear module with modest stress. In order to understand the pore saturation, the Poisson ratio and seismic velocity ratio are also utilized. Additionally, one of the most crucial physical characteristics for assessing permeability at the base of any engineering structure, resolving consolidation issues that may arise at the foundation of an engineering structure, and influencing the deformation behavior of soils is soil porosity. Predicting the porosity of clay soils is a crucial first step in tackling engineering and environmental issues that may arise in the soil after an earthquake or not. With the use of dynamic soil metrics such as seismic velocities, shear modules, bulk modules, seismic velocity ratios, and Poisson ratios, the current work aims to estimate soil porosity. Seismic refraction was used by various studies in the past to conduct in-situ geophysical research. The lithological characteristics of the soil (such as the grain size, shape, type, compaction, consolidation, and cementation of the grains) and the physical characteristics of the soil (such as porosity, permeability, density, anisotropy, saturation level, liquid–solid transition, pressure, and temperature), as well as the elasticity characteristics of the soil (such as shear modulus (G), bulk modulus (K), Young modulus (E), Poisson ratio (μ) and Lamé constants (λ )) all have an impact on seismic waves passing through a medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

【Objective】 Membrane-regulated subsurface irrigation is a water-saving irrigation technique for water-scarce areas, and this paper is to experimentally determine its technical parameters for irrigation in soils with different textures. 【Method】 The studies were based on laboratory experiment and the HYDRUS-2D model. Infiltration of irrigation water into sandy soil, loam soil, sandy clay loam and silt soil under membrane -regulated irrigation was conducted experimentally with the dripping rate ranging from 0.9 to 3.2 L/h. The measured data were used to calibrate the HDYDRUS-2D model. 【Result】 The HDYDRUS-2D model can accurately simulate water flow in all soils under membrane regulated irrigation, with the relative errors less than 5%, the coefficient of determination and root mean square deviation being 0.97 and 0.007, respectively. The sandy soil was prone to leakage due to its elaborated hydraulic conductivity. In the membrane-regulated irrigation, adjusting the flow rate in the drip irrigation pipe was needed to improve irrigation efficiency in different soils. On average, the membrane-regulated irrigation worked well for all three soil types. At the end of the irrigation, the ratio of the water on the membrane to the total irrigation amount was more than 70% in all soils, indicating a reduction in water leakage loss. As the dripping rate increased, the proportion of water on the film in the loam soil decreased gradually; the dripping rate in irrigation for this soil should be controlled below a critical value. In the sandy soil, it was required to adjust the buried depth of the drip irrigation pipes to reduce leakage loss. The optimal dripping rate for the sandy clay loam soil and the loam soil was 2 L/h. As the flow rate increased, there was no significant change in the proportion of water on the membrane in the silt soil; the optimal dripping rate for the silt soil was 3 L/h. 【Conclusion】 Our experimental and numerical studies showed the optimal dripping rate for the membrane - regulated surface drip irrigation was 2 L/h for the sandy clay loam soil and the loam soil, and 3 L/h for the silt soil.

ABSTRACTUnderstanding soil types in a specific region is crucial for developing effective approaches to control irrigation water usage and promote sustainable agriculture. This research aimed to characterize and classify the soils of Ajacho Lintala irrigation scheme located in Soro woreda of Southern Ethiopia. Through the analysis of 25 auger observations, 4 pedons, a comprehensive reconnaissance survey, and laboratory analysis, this study examined the morphological, and physicochemical characteristics of the soils in the irrigation. The study identified 16 soil samples from four pedons, consisting of both undisturbed and disturbed soil profiles, which were collected for laboratory analysis. The soils in the research irrigation scheme were classified using the FAO/WRB 2015 classification system. The findings revealed that the texture classes of the study irrigation scheme’s soils varied from loam to clay loam for Nitisols, silt loam to clay loam for Luvisols, and clay for Vertisols. Moreover, the available phosphorus, total nitrogen, and organic carbon in the soils were categorized as very low to low range, while cation exchange capacity and basic cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, and Na+) were in the medium to high range. Based on morphological and physicochemical investigations, the soils were classified as Humic Nitisols, Rhodic Luvisols, Haplic Luvisols, and Pellic Vertisols. These classifications align with the equivalent USDA classification of Ultisols (Typic Haplustults), Alfisols (Typic Haplustalfs), and Vertisols (Typic Haplusterts), respectively. To maintain and enhance soil fertility a sustainable soil management system is recommended, which includes practices such as continuous crop cover, mulching, and organic manuring with suitable inorganic fertilizers. Additionally, implementing physical land management measures to control soil erosion in slope areas is crucial.

Summary: Rhizosphere microbiomes are pivotal for crop fitness, but the principles underlying microbial assembly during root–soil interactions across soils with different nutrient statuses remain elusive.We examined the microbiomes in the rhizosphere and bulk soils of maize plants grown under six long‐term (≥ 29 yr) fertilization experiments in three soil types across middle temperate to subtropical zones.The assembly of rhizosphere microbial communities was primarily driven by deterministic processes. Plant selection interacted with soil types and fertilization regimes to shape the structure and function of rhizosphere microbiomes. Predictive functional profiling showed that, to adapt to nutrient‐deficient conditions, maize recruited more rhizobacteria involved in nutrient availability from bulk soil, although these functions were performed by different species. Metagenomic analyses confirmed that the number of significantly enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Orthology functional categories in the rhizosphere microbial community was significantly higher without fertilization than with fertilization. Notably, some key genes involved in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling and purine metabolism were dominantly enriched in the rhizosphere soil without fertilizer input.In conclusion, our results show that maize selects microbes at the root–soil interface based on microbial functional traits beneficial to its own performance, rather than selecting particular species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate prediction of soil liquefaction potential is crucial for evaluating the stability of structures in earthquake regions. This study focuses on predicting soil liquefaction using a dataset that included historical liquefaction cases from the 1999 Turkey and Taiwan earthquakes. The dataset was divided into three subsets: Dataset A (fine-grained), Dataset B (coarse-grained), and Dataset C (all samples). Through the analysis of these subsets, the study aims to assess the performance of machine learning algorithms in predicting soil liquefaction potential. This study applied ensemble machine learning algorithms, including extreme gradient boosting, adaptive boosting, extra trees, bagging classifiers, light gradient boosting machine, and random forest, to accurately classify the liquefaction potential of fine-grained and coarse-grained soils. A comparison between the genetic algorithm approach for hyperparameter optimization and traditional methods such as grid search and random search revealed that genetic algorithms outperformed both in terms of average test and train accuracy. Specifically, the light gradient boosting machine yielded the best predictions of soil liquefaction potential among the algorithms tested. The study demonstrated that Dataset B achieved the highest learning performance with accuracy of 0.92 on both the test and training sets. Furthermore, Dataset A showed a training accuracy of 0.88 and a test accuracy of 0.84, while Dataset C exhibited a training accuracy of 0.87 and a test accuracy of 0.87. Future studies could build on these findings by evaluating the performance of genetic algorithms on a wider range of machine learning algorithms and datasets, thus advancing our understanding of soil liquefaction prediction and its implications for geotechnical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Climate change requires the introduction of alternative crops in certain temperate areas due to the warmer and drier growing seasons. Maize, one of the most important crops, is projected to become less tolerant of a drier climate. Therefore, it is necessary to find an alternative species that is less susceptible to environmental stressors. This study compared the germination, growth vigour, and stress tolerance of maize and sorghum grow in six types of soil under three water regimes. The results indicate that sorghum germination is faster and more uniform. The most significant differences in germination rates were found in chernozem (88.9% and 72.2% for sorghum and maize, respectively) and saline solonetz (74.4% and 63.3% for sorghum and maize, respectively). Maize exhibited higher growth vigour only in three cases, i.e., under solonetz–flooding, shifting sand–drought, and brown forest floor–flooding conditions. An ANOVA showed a significant difference between sorghum and maize stress conditions due to soil conditions and water availability (p < 0.0001). Sorghum can be a suitable alternative to maize, but only in areas with hot, dry periods and in areas where the soil is not too prone to waterlogging, regardless of its quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All.) is a perennial herbaceous medicinal plant species that has not yet been thoroughly researched in terms of the influence of growing conditions on its morphological characteristics, flower yield, and the content and quality of its essential oil (EO). The plant material was harvested in the subsequent two production years at three localities in Southeast Serbia, differing in soil type (Alluvial soil, Rendzina, and Calcomelanosol). Based on two-year average values, the best results were obtained from plants grown on Rendzina, including the yield of fresh flowers (1850.2 g/m2), the highest plant height (49.3 cm), the number of branches (4.1), leaves (11.6), and flower heads (3.6), the flower diameter (1.6 cm), and the essential oil content (1.6%). The major EO constituent obtained from the plants growing on Rendzina and Calcomelanosol was 3-methyl pentyl angelate (20.8% and 15.2%, respectively). In the EO obtained from the plants growing on Alluvial soil, the major EO constituent was isobutyl angelate (13.0%), while the content of 3-methyl pentyl angelate was close to it (12.2%). The outcomes of this study provide guidelines for further research related to the cultivation of a Roman chamomile genotype on various soil types in a hilly region of Southeast Serbia, where most cultivated plants cannot be grown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Pseudostellaria heterophylla of the Caryophyllaceae family is an important medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine, but it encounters continuous cropping obstacle during cultivation. This study aimed to study the differences in the response of Pseudostellaria heterophylla cultivation to soil microorganisms and phenolic substances in different types of soil (Loamy soil and Clayey soil). The analysis of soil metabolites using HPLC-ESI-Q/TOF-MS and HPLC-DAD techniques revealed that the content of various phenolic components in the rhizosphere soil increased significantly after Pseudostellaria heterophylla cultivation. Pseudostellaria heterophylla cultivation in yellow soil could increase the abundance of Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, and Thermoplasmatota, while in brown soil, the abundance of Ascomycota significantly decreased. In addition, Pseudostellaria heterophylla cultivation could increase the α-diversity of bacteria and fungi in yellow soil, while reducing the α-diversity of archaea, and the impact on diversity in brown soil was relatively small. Correlation analysis showed that phenolic compounds were more likely to regulate the genera Bradyrhizobium, Calcarisporiella, Boothiomyces and Methanocella. Pseudostellaria heterophylla may regulate rhizosphere microbial diversity and community structure by secreting phenolic. However, in different types of soil environments, the response mechanism of soil microorganisms to Pseudostellaria heterophylla planting might vary. Our study provides new insights that the variability in the response of different soil types to Pseudostelariae heterophylla cultivation should be taken into account when developing strategies for reducing continuous cropping obstacles in medicinal plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the changes in winter wheat yield and quality under global warming. The winter wheat variety 'Zhenmai 168' and twelve typical farmland soils, including yellow brown soil, sandy black soil, aeolian sandy soil, red soil, fluvo-aquic soil, black soil, loess, sierozem, purple soil, latosol, saline-alkali soil and brown soil were used as test materials. An open temperature increase system was carried out a simulated atmospheric warming frame experiment. The experiment established normal temperature control (CK) and warming of 1.5°C (eT) treatment, and the warming treatment throughout the whole growth period. The changes in production during the ripening stage was reflected by indicators such as the number of kernels per panicle and the weight of 1000 grains, and nutritional indicators such as the grain starch, protein and its components reflect the quality composition. The results showed as follows: (1) the open warming during the whole growth period decreased the yield of winter wheat grown in yellow-brown soil, sandy soil, black soil, loess, sierozem and purple soil by 33.82%, 20.96%, 16.60%, 55.92%, 28.45% and 21.19%, respectively. While the winter wheat yield in fluvo-aquic soil increased by 16.13% (P<0.05), and had no significant effect in other soils. (2) In terms of nutritional quality of winter wheat, for starch and its components, the contents of amylose and amylopectin decreased to varying degrees under the effect of warming, and the decrease in amylose was greater than that of amylopectin. The total starch content of winter wheat in red soil, black soil, loess, sierozem, purple soil, saline-alkali soil and brown soil decreased significantly (P<0.05). For grain protein and its components, albumin and globulin showed a significant increase trend, while gliadin and glutenin decreased significantly, and the decrease was greater than the increase of the first two. Except for the total protein content of winter wheat in red soil, which had no significant change, the winter wheat under other eleven types of soil all decreased significantly (P<0.05). The total soluble sugar of winter wheat showed a significant increasing trend only under fluvo-aquic soil, sierozem and purple soil conditions (P<0.05). (3) The membership function was used to comprehensively rank the quality of the normal temperature control and warming treatments. The best performers were black soil winter wheat in the normal temperature group (U=0.707), followed by the brown soil (U=0.691), sierozem (U=0.647), purple soil(U=0.644) and loess(U=0.644) winter wheat in the normal temperature control group, and the worst quality is the red soil in the normal temperature group (U=0.364) and warming group (U=0.368). Except for the fluvo-aquic soil, the quality of winter wheat in the other eleven types of soils showed that warming was worse than the control. (4) The path analysis results show that under normal temperature conditions, the biggest influencing factor on winter wheat yield is the number of kernels per panicle, with a direct path coefficient of 0.630, followed by the effective number of panicles and globulin, both of which have direct effects, with path coefficients of 0.538 and -0.118, respectively. Under warming conditions, the largest influence on factor of winter wheat is the number of kernels per panicle, with a direct path coefficient of 0.603, followed by the effective panicle number, the weight of 1000 grains and total starch. The effective panicle number and total starch have an indirect effects through the number of kernels per panicle, with path coefficients of 0.322 and 0.381, respectively. In summary, warming affected the quality of winter wheat through the combined effects of yield composition and grain nutritional composition. Among the twelve typical farmland soils, winter wheat in fluvo-aquic soil had a positive effect on warming, while in other soils had a negative effect, suggesting that the response of winter wheat yield and quality formation to climate warming was regulated by soil types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are the two most important greenhouse gases (GHG) from flooded paddy fields in Indonesia. This review aims to characterise CH4 and N2O emissions from flooded paddy fields by published data analysis and to examine the potential of biochar from rice straw (RSB) and rice husk (RHB) to mitigate the emissions in Indonesia. A comparison of various box-plot datasets of CH4 emissions showed that the different types of flooded paddy field soil cause varying amounts of CH4 emissions from various regions in Indonesia. Sequentially, CH4 emissions of flooded paddy fields from highest to lowest are Alluvial of Kalimantan and Sulawesi, Andisols of Java, Ultisols of Sumatra, Alfisols of Java and Bali and Inceptisols of Java and Bali, with a mean of 1062, 505, 446, 135 and 64 kg ha-1 season-1, respectively. The organic amendments application combined with chemical fertilisers is the principal driver of anthropogenic CH4 emissions from paddy fields. However, N chemical fertiliser application contributes only about 0.37% of the N2O flux, 0.69 kg ha-1 season-1. The produced biochar number was insufficient effectively to reduce CH4 and N2O emissions, at least 20 tonnes ha-1 year-1, in addition to the pyrolysis process to produce biochar, releasing CH4 emissions. Yet, with its recalcitrant properties and continuous application, RSB and RHB potentially reduce CH4 and N2O emissions from paddy fields.

Habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) is a crop of economic relevance in the Peninsula of Yucatan. Its fruits have a high level of capsaicinoids compared to peppers grown in other regions of the world, which gives them industrial importance. Soil is an important factor that affects pepper development, nutritional quality, and capsaicinoid content. However, the effect of soil type on fruit development and capsaicinoid metabolism has been little understood. This work aimed to compare the effect of soils with contrasting characteristics, black soil (BS) and red soil (RS), on the expression of genes related to the development of fruits, and capsaicinoid synthesis using a transcriptomic analysis of the habanero pepper fruits. Plants growing in RS had bigger fruits and higher expression of genes related to floral development, fruit abscission, and softening which suggests that RS stimulates fruit development from early stages until maturation stages. Fruits from plants growing in BS had enrichment in metabolic pathways related to growth, sugars, and photosynthesis. Besides, these fruits had higher capsaicinoid accumulation at 25 days post-anthesis, and higher expression of genes related to the branched-chain amino acids metabolism (ketol-acid reductisomerase KARI), pentose phosphate pathway and production of NADPH (glucose6-phosphate-1-dehydrogenase G6PDH), and proteasome and vesicular traffic in cells (26S proteasome regulatory subunit T4 RPT4), which suggest that BS is better in the early stimulation of pathways related to the nutritional quality and capsaicinoid metabolism in the fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a serious constraint to crop growth and production of important staple crops such as maize. Improved understanding of the responses of crops to drought can be incorporated into cropping system models to support crop breeding, varietal selection and management decisions for minimizing negative impacts. We investigate the impacts of different soil types (stony and silty) and water regimes (irrigated and rainfed) on hydraulic linkages between soil and plant, as well as root: shoot growth characteristics. Our analysis is based on a comprehensive dataset measured along the soil-plant-atmosphere pathway at field scale in two growing seasons (2017, 2018) with contrasting climatic conditions (low and high VPD). Roots were observed mostly in the topsoil (10-20 cm) of the stony soil while more roots were found in the subsoil (60-80 cm) of the silty soil. The difference in root length was pronounced at silking and harvest between the soil types. Total root length was 2.5 - 6 times higher in the silty soil compared to the stony soil with the same water treatment. At silking time, the ratios of root length to shoot biomass in the rainfed plot of the silty soil (F2P2) were 3 times higher than those in the irrigated silty soil (F2P3) while the ratio was similar for two water treatments in the stony soil. With the same water treatment, the ratios of root length to shoot biomass of silty soil was higher than stony soil. The observed minimum leaf water potential (ψleaf) varied from around -1.5 MPa in the rainfed plot in 2017 to around -2.5 MPa in the same plot of the stony soil in 2018. In the rainfed plot, the mimimum ψleaf in the stony soil was lower than in silty soil from -2 to -1.5 MPa in 2017, respectively while these were from -2.5 to -2 MPa in 2018, respectively. Leaf water potential, water potential gradients from soil to plant roots, plant hydraulic conductance (Ksoil_plant), stomatal conductance, transpiration, and photosynthesis were considerably modulated by the soil water content and the conductivity of the rhizosphere. When the stony soil and silt soil are compared, the higher 'stress' due to the lower water availability in the stony soil resulted in less roots with a higher root tissue conductance in the soil with more stress. When comparing the rainfed with the irrigated plot in the silty soil, the higher stress in the rainfed soil resulted in more roots with a lower root tissue conductance in the treatment with more stress. This illustrates that the 'response' to stress can be completely opposite depending on conditions or treatments that lead to the differences in stress that are compared. To respond to water deficit, maize had higher water uptake rate per unit root length and higher root segment conductance in the stony soil than in the silty soil, while the crop reduced transpired water via reduced aboveground plant size. Future improvements of soil-crop models in simulating gas exchange and crop growth should further emphasize the role of soil textures on stomatal function, dynamic root growth, and plant hydraulic system together with aboveground leaf area adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop residue ashes exhibit significant capacity to adsorb pesticides and affect their adsorption behaviour in soils. The present study evaluated the effect of sugarcane trash ash (STA), the third most important crop whose residues are burnt in fields in India, on atrazine and fipronil leaching behaviour in three sugarcane growing soils. The STA reduced downward mobility of atrazine in soils but, effect varied with the soil type. No atrazine residues were detected in the leachate. Atrazine was fairly mobile in the sandy loam soil than the loam and the clay loam soils and increasing leaching intensity from 64 to 128 mm, further increased herbicide's downward mobility. Significant atrazine degradation was observed during leaching process and 38–43, 1.5–12.5 and 27–41% of column applied atrazine was degraded in the silty clay loam, the sandy clay loam and the loam soils, respectively. Higher atrazine degradation in the clay loam and the loam soils was attributed to slow water percolation rate and longer time to complete leaching process. Hydroxyatrazine, deethylatrazine and deisopropylatrazine metabolites of atrazine were detected in the soil samples, but their amounts varied in different treatments. Compared to atrazine, fipronil was highly retained in the surface layer (0–5 cm) in the control and STA-mixed soil columns and no fipronil was detected in the leachate. Trash burning is a regular practice; therefore, continuous mixing of STA in soils can reduce leaching of mobile pesticides applied in sugarcane crop. This study has implications in identifying the role of crop residue burning on fate of pesticides applied in soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riau is one of the susceptible regions in Indonesia, which faces frequent land and forest fires. Fires occur in various land covers and soil types, both peat and mineral soils, which emitted huge carbon to the atmosphere. Forest fires emit greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2). The objective of the research was to quantify CO2 from land and forest fires. The quantification emission was for 2016 – 2018 based on the fire radiant power (FRP) dataset along with the buffer methodology for assessing fire-affected land extents across different land covers. The FRP dataset we used to be only at a confidence level of 70% or higher, which represents hotspots. The results revealed large numbers of FRP focal points (> 1000) that can be identified as fires for 2016 and 2018, whereas only small numbers (121) were identified for 2017. Then we quantified the area burned of 95,396 Ha in Riau for 2016, which was double to the 2018’s area burned. Further, this burning contributed to CO2 emission equal to 313,456 tCO2 for 2016. Emission in 2017 was a relatively low as not many observed fires detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though the concentrations of the total cadmium (Cd) in paddy soils from different countries have been reported, the exchangeable-Cd (Ex-Cd) concentrations in these soils are unknown despite its importance in agriculture. This study was conducted with a total of 5460 soil samples collected in Sri Lanka, representing six agro-climatic zones, six soil orders, and three irrigation types. The Ex-Cd concentrations in soil samples were extracted using 0.01 ​M CaCl2 and analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrophotometry. The Ex-Cd concentrations were

Monitoring nitrogen utilization is crucial in agricultural practices, emphasizing the interrelationship between soil health, nutrient management, and human health.The study was conducted to evaluate the impact of N fertilizer on the nutritional characteristics of diverse S. bicolor varieties, namely Alföldi 1, ES Föehn (Lidea Seeds) with a red pericarp, ES Albanus, Albita, and Farmsugro 180 (all white varieties), the study was conducted in sorghum-producing areas where the crop is non-native. Specifically, the study investigated two soil types: loam clay and sandy soil. Furthermore, the respective varieties were grown under N (27% N CAN) fertilizer conditions, involving 60 kg/ha−1 and 120 kg/ha−1 of the treatment rates applied at each experiment site. We measured the specific element concentration in each sample using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) technology. Certainly, the results demonstrated that the different S. bicolor varieties had unique nutritional characteristics attributed to several factors such as soil type, variety, and treatment, which showed a significance value of (P 0.05) when considering the year factor, which supported the data analysis's reliability and accuracy.In summary, to enhance the nutritional value of sorghum grain and supply nutrient-rich food choices for individuals, consider factors such as fertilizer response, nutrient uptake by grain, element mineral accumulation, and advisory variety. Additional research could enhance the nutritional properties of sorghum to provide the required dietary stuff, such as grain processing, which can render sorghum a proper addition to a healthy and balanced human diet.

Abstract Pastoral farming on hill country landscapes influences nitrogen (N) dynamics and its losses to freshwater. This study reviewed the current literature identifying key effects of pastoral hill country landscape features and land management practices on nitrate losses to receiving waters. The review also highlighted the potential effects of inherent landscape features on nitrate attenuation pathways for better water quality outcomes. Intensive land use activities involving high rates of fertiliser application, higher stocking rates and cattle grazing, relative to sheep grazing, are more likely to increase nitrate loss, especially on lower slopes. However, soils with a high carbon (C) storage capacity such as allophanic soils potentially limit nitrate loss via denitrification in subsoil layers. Hill country seepage wetlands also offer an opportunity to attenuate nitrate loss, though their efficacy is largely impacted by hydrological variations in their inflows and outflows. By enhancing the natural nitrate attenuation capacity of seepage wetlands, mapping and strategic use of high subsoil denitrification potential, effective riparian management, efficient fertiliser and grazing practices and the incorporation of these farm management strategies into Freshwater Farm Plans (FWFPs), wider environmental and farm productivity/profitability goals, including improved water quality, would be achieved on pastoral hill country landscapes.

Plastic mulching and organic amendments are prevalent agricultural practices worldwide. Plastic mulching has long been suspected as a significant source of DEHP contamination in terrestrial ecosystems. However, effects of DEHP contamination on greenhouse gas emissions and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) remain unclear. Here, a microcosm experiment was set up to assess the impact of DEHP exposure on MBC and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in two different soils (acidic and alkaline) with the inclusion of alfalfa straw. The treatment includes: (i) control with no amendment (T1); (ii) alfalfa straw addition (20 g kg−1) (T2); (iii) DEHP (10 mg kg−1) + alfalfa straw (T3); and (iv) DEHP (100 mg kg−1) + alfalfa straw (T4). Against the background of alfalfa inclusion, DEHP exposure led to a potential reduction in cumulative CO2 emissions by 16.35 % and 6.91 % in alkaline soil and 12.27 % and 13.65 % in acidic soil for T3 and T4, respectively. The addition of DEHP triggered CO2 emissions and manifested a detrimental negative priming effect in both soil types. In both soils, average CO2 emission fluxes were highest for the T2 treatment. The MBC fluctuated at around 80 mg kg−1 for the control group, alfalfa straw alone (T2) treatment considerably enhanced MBC contents, whereas DEHP contamination in T3 and T4 treatments suppressed the stimulatory effect of alfalfa on MBC in both alkaline and acidic soils. Furthermore, a positive relationship was observed between soil CO2 emissions and MBC in both soils. Overall, these findings highlight the toxic impact of DEHP on MBC and its role in mitigating CO2 emissions in diverse soils. DEHP exposure counters the CO2 emissions induced by alfalfa straw. In addition, the inhibitory effect of DEHP on CO2 fluxes in alkaline soil is less pronounced than in acidic soil. Therefore, further cutting-edge research is crucial since DEHP contamination poses serious ecological threats to agroecosystems.

This study focuses on the effect of agricultural soil management on soil organic matter (SOM) composition. The addition of manure and crop residues was tested under different pedoclimatic conditions. The quality of SOM was assessed using diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy. The following parameters were calculated from the spectra: sum of aliphatic bands (ΣAL), aromatic bands at wave numbers 1 620 and 1 520 cm-1 (AR1620 and AR1520), potential wettability (PWI), organic matter quality (OMQ), and decomposability (DI) indexes. The addition of manure or crop residues may not cause fundamental changes in the qualitative composition of SOM. Rather, pedoclimatic conditions determine which components are fixed in the soil on a long-term scale. A dominant effect of soil type was found in the distribution of all spectral parameters studied using main effect ANOVA. The main differences between the soil types concern the aromatic, oxygen and nitrogen groups contained in the SOM. Chernozems are soils with higher OMQ and DI, whereas Cambisols are soils with low OMQ and DI and the highest PWI. The stabilisation of SOM in soils can thus be based on the biochemical persistence of organic molecules, their specific affinity for minerals and the formation of aggregates that protect enclosed SOM.

As a country, Pakistan is mostly dependent on fossil fuels for fulfilling its energy demand, which is expensive, as well as being environmentally unfriendly. It is high time that the country decides to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources like geothermal, wind, solar, etc., to cater for global warming issues. Pakistan has a lot of potential geothermal sites, as the location of Pakistan lies on several fault lines and hot springs, thus making it very easy to extract the temperature from deep inside the earth and harness it for Geothermal Energy. Also, a sound knowledge of ground temperature is essential to use geothermal energy, which is obtained by drilling boreholes and putting in sensors. However it becomes a very expensive and labor intensive procedure. Therefore, to avoid the huge cost for drilling boreholes, particularly for ground temperature analysis, a numerical approach has been considered for determining ground temperature. Furthermore, correlation charts between air and ground temperatures have been developed, as there were no proper studies on the ground temperature of Pakistan. Then, with the help of a boreholes drilled in the National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan, the actual ground and numerically calculated temperatures have been compared. The results show a temperature error margin in the range between 0.27% for higher depths of about 5.6 m and 7.3% near the surface of about 2.7 m. Thus, it is shown that the proposed method is easy to implement and better than large scale testing methods for the depths at which geothermal energy is extracted.

Terrestrial gamma radiation is the major source of outdoor radiation exposure to human being. Because of the variation of underlying geological characteristics of surface soil, the terrestrial gamma radiation dose (TGRD) rates vary significantly with the soil type. This work performed in situ measurements of the TGRD rate for a range of geological formation and soils of Katsina State, Nigeria by using a portable hand-held radiation survey metre, RADOS. The TGRD rates ranged between 45 and 271 nGyh−1 with an overall mean value of 116 nGyh−1, which is two times higher than the world average value of 59 nGyh−1. Geological formation (Silicified sheared rock) was found to have the highest mean TGRD value of 163 nGyh−1. Likewise, soil type (lithosols, ferruginous crusts and ferruginous tropical soils) appeared to have the highest mean TGRD value of 134 nGyh−1. One-way ANOVA was used to investigate the variation of the significant difference between the geological formations and soil types with TGRD, which shows the influence of geological formation and soil types on the measured TGRD values of the study area. Measured data could further be used to evaluate the public radiation exposure and in formulating safety standards and radiological guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil, a significant natural resource, plays a crucial role in supporting various ecosystems and serves as the foundation of Pakistan's economy due to its primary use in agriculture. Hence, timely monitoring of soil type and salinity is essential. However, traditional methods for identifying soil types and detecting salinity are time-consuming, requiring expert intervention and extensive laboratory experiments. The objective of this study is to propose a model that leverages MODIS Terra data to identify soil types and detect soil salinity. To achieve this, 195 soil samples were collected from Lahore, Kot Addu, and Kohat, dating from October 2022 to November 2022. Simultaneously, spectral data of the same regions were obtained to spatially map soil types and salinity of bare land. The spectral reflectance of band values, salinity indices, and vegetation indices were utilized to classify the soil types and predict soil salinity. To perform the classification and regression tasks, the study employed three popular techniques in the research community: Random Forest (RF), Ada Boost (AB), and Gradient Boosting (GB), along with Decision Tree (DT), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), and Extra Tree (ET). A 70–30 test train validation split was used for the implementation of these techniques. The efficacy of the multi-class classification models for soil types was evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, and f1-score. On the other hand, the regression models' performances were evaluated and compared using R-squared (R 2 ), Mean Squared Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE). The results demonstrated that Random Forest outperformed other methods for both predicting soil types (accuracy = 65.38, precision = 0.60, recall = 0.57, and f1-score = 0.57) and predicting salinity (R 2 = 0.90, MAE = 0.56, MSE = 0.98, RMSE = 0.97). Finally, the study designed a web portal to enable real-time prediction of soil types and salinity using these models. This web portal can be utilized by farmers and decision-makers to make informed decisions regarding soil, crop cultivation, and agricultural planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land-use systems (LUSs) and soil types (STs) are strongly related to factors that influence soil degradation and carbon (C) loss. However, the way in which land use and soil type affects the soil organic C (SOC) pools, and soil aggregation in the Sanjiang Plain, has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate soil physic–ochemical properties, soil aggregates, and C management index (CMI) in three different LUSs (grassland, dryland, and paddy field) under two STs (meadow soil and albic soil) of the Sanjiang Plain in northeast China. A total of 60 composite soil samples were collected for laboratory analyses. The results were as follows: soil properties were affected by LUS and ST, especially soil chemical properties; ST had no significant effect on soil aggregates but significantly affected its SOC content, while LUS had a significant effect on soil aggregates (p < 0.01), except for small macro-aggregates (2–0.25 mm); the mean weight diameter (MWD) and SOC in meadow soil was significantly different under different land uses, with grassland being the highest and dryland the lowest. However, there was no significant difference in albic soil. The heterogeneity of grassland, dryland, and paddy field showed that different LUSs had particular effects on SOC and its active components because LUS had significant effects on C pool index (CPI) and CMI, but ST and its interaction had no significant effects on CPI and CMI. Overall, the results showed that LUS was an important factor affecting CMI in the Sanjiang Plain, rather than ST, and the paddy field CMI was optimal in the Sanjiang Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacteria that dominate and become enriched in the rhizosphere during continuous cropping are of increasing interest, as they can greatly adapt to the rhizosphere. However, there are still little knowledge about the general composition and function of these bacteria. In this study, we planted tomatoes in three different soils for three planting cycles and used both high-throughput sequencing and culture-dependent workflows. Despite significant differences in bacterial communities from the initial soils, we observed a similar succession in the rhizosphere bacterial community compositions. We identified certain bacteria that were gradually enriched and potentially beneficial, such as Rhizobium and Flavobacterium. However, some other potentially beneficial bacteria, such as Massilia and Lysobacter, were gradually depleted. Additionally, we found that predicted functions related to xenobiotic biodegradation, nutrient metabolism and antibiotic biosynthesis were enriched in different rhizosphere soils. Beijerinckia fluminensis GR2, which was gradually enriched in all tested soils, significantly inhibited the growth of Ralstonia solanacearum and protected the host from infection. Our study provides new insights into the assembly mechanism of gradually enriched bacteria and their role as plant-beneficial microbes that adapt well to the rhizosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the effect of agricultural soil management on soil organic matter (SOM) composition. The addition of manure and crop residues was tested under different pedoclimatic conditions. The quality of SOM was assessed using diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy. The following parameters were calculated from the spectra: sum of aliphatic bands (ΣAL), aromatic bands at wave numbers 1 620 and 1 520 cm--1 (AR1620 and AR1520), potential wettability (PWI), organic matter quality (OMQ), and decomposability (DI) indexes. The addition of manure or crop residues may not cause fundamental changes in the qualitative composition of SOM. Rather, pedoclimatic conditions determine which components are fixed in the soil on a long-term scale. A dominant effect of soil type was found in the distribution of all spectral parameters studied using main effect ANOVA. The main differences between the soil types concern the aromatic, oxygen and nitrogen groups contained in the SOM. Chernozems are soils with higher OMQ and DI, whereas Cambisols are soils with low OMQ and DI and the highest PWI. The stabilisation of SOM in soils can thus be based on the biochemical persistence of organic molecules, their specific affinity for minerals and the formation of aggregates that protect enclosed SOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of chelation of Copper (Cu) toxicity on growth, survival and development by growing plumed cockscomb (Celosia argentea) cultivar (TLV 8) in 4 kg each of clay, loamy, sandy, garden topsoil and red earth contaminated with 500 mgL-1 . Cu and 5M Methylene diaminetetaacetic acid (EDTA) in the following combinations: 500 mg Cu L-1 as CuSO4·5H2O and 500 mgL-1 Cu + 5M EDTA with a control (absence of Cu and EDTA). This application was performed two weeks after planting (WAP) and was repeated at 6 WAP. Variations were observed in soil pH and organic matter content. Using the American soil texture triangle five soil types had the following soil textures: sandy-clay-loam (clay soil), sandy (garden-top soil), sandy (sandy soil), loamy-sandy (loamy soil) and sandy-loamy (red-earth). In the course of ten weeks of growth, growth parameters and morphometric characteristics were determined. Cu toxicity caused a significant reduction in growth parameters (plant height, dry root weight, dry stem weight, leaf area, leaf area ratio, and absolute growth rate) in all soil types but the maximum reduction was observed in sandy soil while the highest growth exhibited by plants grown in a loamy soil. Increasing soil copper concentration by a second applications (2 and 6 WAP) reduced the number of leaves (37% - 56%) and plant height (10% - 21%) in all soil types. Presence of EDTA in the medium effectively alleviates growth reduction induced by Cu toxicity in plants by increasing the physiological growth parameters of Celosia argentea. The performance of plant grown in the various toxic soil sample appeared to be inhibited by copper in the following order: Cu > Cu + EDTA > Control. Furthermore, loamy soil stimulated better growth of Celosia in a Cu-toxic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a country, Pakistan is mostly dependent on fossil fuels for fulfilling its energy demand, which is expensive, as well as being environmentally unfriendly. It is high time that the country decides to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources like geothermal, wind, solar, etc., to cater for global warming issues. Pakistan has a lot of potential geothermal sites, as the location of Pakistan lies on several fault lines and hot springs, thus making it very easy to extract the temperature from deep inside the earth and harness it for Geothermal Energy. Also, a sound knowledge of ground temperature is essential to use geothermal energy, which is obtained by drilling boreholes and putting in sensors. However it becomes a very expensive and labor intensive procedure. Therefore, to avoid the huge cost for drilling boreholes, particularly for ground temperature analysis, a numerical approach has been considered for determining ground temperature. Furthermore, correlation charts between air and ground temperatures have been developed, as there were no proper studies on the ground temperature of Pakistan. Then, with the help of a boreholes drilled in the National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan, the actual ground and numerically calculated temperatures have been compared. The results show a temperature error margin in the range between 0.27% for higher depths of about 5.6 m and 7.3% near the surface of about 2.7 m. Thus, it is shown that the proposed method is easy to implement and better than large scale testing methods for the depths at which geothermal energy is extracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The best approach to avoid collisions between adjacent structures during earthquakes is to provide sufficient spacing between them. However, the existing formulas for calculating the optimum seismic gap preventing pounding were found to provide inaccurate results upon the consideration of different soil types. The aim of this paper is to propose new equations for the evaluation of the sufficient in-between separation gap for buildings founded on different soil conditions. The double-difference formula has been taken into account in this study. The seismic gap depends on the correlation factor and on the top displacements of adjacent buildings. The correlation factor depends on the ratio of the periods of adjacent buildings (smaller period to larger period). The modification of the correlation factor has been introduced for buildings founded on five different soil types. Five soil types were taken into account in this study, as defined in the ASCE 7-10 code, i.e., hard rock, rock, very dense soil and soft rock, stiff soil, and soft clay soil. The normalized root mean square errors have been calculated for the proposed equations. The results of the study indicate that the error ranges between 2% and 14%, confirming the accuracy of the approach. Therefore, the proposed equations can be effectively used for the determination of the optimum seismic gap preventing earthquake-induced pounding between buildings founded on different soil types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was carried out during two successive growing seasons of 2019 and 2020 from January to April, on the North coast of Egypt at Marsa Matroh Governorate, Sidi Abd-Alrahman Gulf, 130 km from Alexandria and 193 km from Matroh in a Multinational real estate company resort (Marassi) to examine the extent to which the international compliance obligation is applicable under Egyptian conditions (in the North-Western Coast tourist resorts) as well as studying the new plants used in landscaping and the best standards in the landscape constructions. The experiment was carried out where 108 plants representing 6 plant species were used, each plant variety represented by 18 individuals, then divided the number of plants into two halves, the first one was placed in an open area exposed to winds from all sides without any cover and the second half was placed in an area protected from the direct influence of the winds. The plants of each half were divided into three groups, the first group was cultivated in white sea sand, the second one was cultivated in loamy soils and the third one was cultivated in clean red soil. With reference to the landscape survey at the site, three usual plant varieties were used, namely Nerium oleander, N. oleander 'Petite Salmon' and Bougainvillea sanderiana comparing them with three new varieties, namely, Bougainvillea 'California Gold', Lantana camara and Lantana × money. The experimental layout was designed to provide a split-split plot design containing three replicates. The main plot was the wind exposure, different media represented subplots, while different species were the sub-subplot. Three pots were used as a plot for each treatment. The results of this study showed that the type of soil used, as well as the influence of climatic changes, the most important of which is wind, plays an important role in the morphological characteristics of various ornamental plants in the northern coastal region. The cultivar Bougainvillea 'California Gold' excelled in the different characteristics of plant height, leaf area, number of branches and leaves, and the percentage of chlorophyll in the leaves, under all the conditions used, including the influence of soil and wind types.

Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All.) is a perennial herbaceous medicinal plant species that has not yet been thoroughly researched in terms of the influence of growing conditions on its morphological characteristics, flower yield, and the content and quality of its essential oil (EO). The plant material was harvested in the subsequent two production years at three localities in Southeast Serbia, differing in soil type (Alluvial soil, Rendzina, and Calcomelanosol). Based on two-year average values, the best results were obtained from plants grown on Rendzina, including the yield of fresh flowers (1850.2 g/m2), the highest plant height (49.3 cm), the number of branches (4.1), leaves (11.6), and flower heads (3.6), the flower diameter (1.6 cm), and the essential oil content (1.6%). The major EO constituent obtained from the plants growing on Rendzina and Calcomelanosol was 3-methyl pentyl angelate (20.8% and 15.2%, respectively). In the EO obtained from the plants growing on Alluvial soil, the major EO constituent was isobutyl angelate (13.0%), while the content of 3-methyl pentyl angelate was close to it (12.2%). The outcomes of this study provide guidelines for further research related to the cultivation of a Roman chamomile genotype on various soil types in a hilly region of Southeast Serbia, where most cultivated plants cannot be grown.

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of chelation of Copper (Cu) toxicity on growth, survival and development by growing plumed cockscomb (Celosia argentea) cultivar (TLV 8) in 4 kg each of clay, loamy, sandy, garden topsoil and red earth contaminated with 500 mgL-1. Cu and 5M Methylene diaminetetaacetic acid (EDTA) in the following combinations: 500 mg Cu L-1 as CuSO4·5H2O and 500 mgL-1 Cu + 5M EDTA with a control (absence of Cu and EDTA). This application was performed two weeks after planting (WAP) and was repeated at 6 WAP. Variations were observed in soil pH and organic matter content. Using the American soil texture triangle five soil types had the following soil textures: sandy-clay-loam (clay soil), sandy (garden-top soil), sandy (sandy soil), loamy-sandy (loamy soil) and sandy-loamy (red-earth). In the course of ten weeks of growth, growth parameters and morphometric characteristics were determined. Cu toxicity caused a significant reduction in growth parameters (plant height, dry root weight, dry stem weight, leaf area, leaf area ratio, and absolute growth rate) in all soil types but the maximum reduction was observed in sandy soil while the highest growth exhibited by plants grown in a loamy soil. Increasing soil copper concentration by a second applications (2 and 6 WAP) reduced the number of leaves (37% - 56%) and plant height (10% - 21%) in all soil types. Presence of EDTA in the medium effectively alleviates growth reduction induced by Cu toxicity in plants by increasing the physiological growth parameters of Celosia argentea. The performance of plant grown in the various toxic soil sample appeared to be inhibited by copper in the following order: Cu > Cu + EDTA > Control. Furthermore, loamy soil stimulated better growth of Celosia in a Cu-toxic environment.