Latest Soil Stories
The number of sugar maples in Upper Great Lakes forests is likely to decline in coming decades, according to University of Michigan ecologists and their colleagues, due to a previously unrecognized threat from a familiar enemy: acid rain. Over the past four decades, sugar maple abundance has declined in some regions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, due largely to acidification of calcium-poor granitic soils in response to acid rain. Sugar maple forests in the...
Ridge-furrow-ridge system proves efficient, economical method for agricultural production Ridge and furrow rainwater-harvesting (RFRH) systems with mulches were first researched in the flat, lowland, semiarid conditions of northwest China to improve water availability and to increase crop production. In RFRH systems, plastic-covered ridges serve as rainwater harvesting zones, and bare or mulched furrows serve as planting zones. The systems are becoming increasingly recognized and are being...
Adding a charred biomass material called biochar to glacial soils can help reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists. Studies by scientists with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are providing valuable information about how biochar-the charred biomass created from wood, plant material, and manure-interacts with soil and crops. As part of this effort, ARS scientists in St. Paul, Minn.,...
The practice of deep banding fertilizer is growing in popularity as more growers turn to strip-till. However, this method may be costing growers more than it is worth. A new University of Illinois study revealed that strip-till was superior to no-till and increased yield in soybean. However, the results showed no difference in yield between fertilizer application methods. "Strip-till is usually talked about in corn, not soybean," said Fabian Fernandez, U of I assistant professor of crop...
Trees are dying in the Sahel, a region in Africa south of the Sahara Desert, and human-caused climate change is to blame, according to a new study led by a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. "Rainfall in the Sahel has dropped 20-30 percent in the 20th century, the world's most severe long-term drought since measurements from rainfall gauges began in the mid-1800s," said study lead author Patrick Gonzalez, who conducted the study while he was a visiting scholar at UC...
San Jose medical cannabis club Elemental Wellness Center continues its weekly series of grow classes with a month of sessions dedicated to recycling, organic growing, composting, and soil amendment techniques. San Jose, CA (PRWEB) December 09, 2011 The Crop Circle Grow Club, a free weekly class for everyone from beginners to experienced growers, continues to be one of the most popular free services at Elemental Wellness Center, a San Jose medical cannabis dispensary. Every Sunday at 3pm,...
Too Many Dead Leaves a Bad Sign for Sugar Maples Scientists have discovered that nitrogen that falls from the atmosphere in acid rain can influence large tracts of sugar maples in North America. The atmospheric nitrogen in acid rain can affect forest ecosystems by acidifying soils and causing nutrient imbalances. Sugar maples in northeastern North America are especially vulnerable. Vast maple areas have been affected by this acidification process, which depletes soil calcium in...
NAIROBI, Kenya, December 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Soil fertilizer subsidy programmes run by many African governments are heading for failure unless Integrated Soil Fertility Management and good agricultural practice are promoted at the same time, says the Africa Soil Health Consortium (ASHC), a group of scientific and agricultural experts led by the international science and development organization, CABI....
- DRILLING ON TARGETS UNDERWAY - KELOWNA, BC, Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Tiex Inc. ("Tiex" or the "Company") (TSX-V: TIX) is pleased to announce the results from the soil sampling and induced-polarization ("IP") components of the exploration work on its 79,379 ha Gold Creek, Cedar-Louis and Horsefly properties in the Quesnel Trough area, central British Columbia. Tiex is very encouraged with the results from the 2011 exploration work and will conduct follow-up work on...
The record-breaking drought in Texas that has fueled wildfires, decimated crops and forced cattle sales has also reduced groundwater levels in much of the state to the lowest levels in more than 60 years, according to new national maps produced by NASA using data from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) mission. The map are distributed by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The latest groundwater map,...
Latest Soil Reference Libraries
Desertification is a form of land degradation in which a comparatively dry land area becomes more and more arid, normally losing its bodies of water along with its wildlife and vegetation. This is a result of a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities. Desertification is an important global, ecological, and environmental issue. There is substantial controversy over the proper definition of the term “desertification”. The most broadly accepted of these is that of...
Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combination of human-induced processes acting on the land. It is also the gradual destruction or reduction of the quality and quantity of human activities, animal activities or natural means. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or unwanted. Natural hazards are not included in the causes; however, human activities can indirectly affect...
Erosion is the process by which rock and soil are taken from the surface of the Earth by exogenetic processes like wind or the flow of water, and then transported and deposited in another location. While erosion is a natural process, human activities have increased by 10 to 40 times the rate at which erosion is happening globally. Excessive erosion results in problems such as desertification, decreases in agricultural productivity because of land degradation, sedimentation of waterways,...
Soil salinity is the salt content within the soil; the process of increasing the content of salt is known as salination. Salt is a natural element of water and soils. Salination can be a result of natural processes such as the gradual withdrawal of an ocean or mineral weathering. It can be caused by artificial processes such as irrigation as well. Soils that are affected by salt are a result of excess accumulation of salts, normally most obvious at the surface of the soil. Salts can be...
Vermicompost is composting with the use of special earthworms. Red wigglers and white worms are the more common worms used, although European night crawlers can be used as well. Red wigglers can be found living in manure piles and in rotting vegetation and adapt the best in covered worm bins. Common earthworms burrow deeply and are not recommended for use in compost bins. Blue worms are commonly used in the tropics. Worms are used to decompose vegetable and food waste along with bedding...
