Effect of the Degree of Soil Contamination with Cd, Zn, Cu i Zn on Its Content in the Forder Crops and Mobility in the Soil Profile

In the micro plot experiment, the effect of varying light and medium soil contamination with heavy metals on their content in rye green fodder, serradella forage and barley, and the migration of Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn in the soil profile was evaluated. Plants accumulated more heavy metals on light soil and soil with low organic matter content. Under the influence of increasing heavy metal contamination of soils, cadmium content increased more in fodder plants than lead content. After 14 years from the introduction of different rates of metals into the top layer (0–30 cm) of the two soils studied, a relatively large movement of heavy metals in the soil profile occurred. The amount of leached metals depends mainly on the rate of a given element. The more contaminated the soil, the heavier the metals that leached to lower genetic levels of soil. An increase in mobility was obtained alongside an increase in soil contamination with the heavy metals studied. By analyzing the mobility coefficients, they can be ranked in the following decreasing sequence: on light soils: Cd > Cu > Zn > Pb and on medium soils: Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu

Changes in relationships between humic substances and soil structure following different mineral fertilization of Vitis vinif-era L. in Slovakia

The quantity and quality of soil organic matter (SOM) depending on many edaphic and envi-ronmental factors may change in response to agriculture related practices. The SOM humification process can be supported by the application of mineral fertilizers, but in the production vineyards, such information is lacking. NPK fertilizer alters the soil quality, so the aim of this study was to: (1.) assess the extent and dynamics of different NPK (Control—no fertilization; 1st NPK and 3rd NPK levels) rates to the soil with grass sward cover in a productive vineyard on changes in SOM, humic substances (HS) and soil structure, and (2.) identify relationships between SOM, HS and soil structure. Results showed that the share of humic acids in soil organic carbon decreased only in NPK1 compared to Control and NPK3 treatments. The color quotient of humic substances values in NPK1 and NPK3 increased by 4 and 5%, respectively, compared to Control. Over a period of 14 years, the content of soil organic carbon increased by 0.71, 0.69 and 0.53 g kg–1 year–1 in Control, NPK1 and NPK3, respectively. The content of HS increased linearly with slight differences due to NPK application. The vulnerability of the soil structure decreased due to fertilization—more at the higher NPK-level. The rate of formed soil crust was decreasing in the following order: Control > NPK1 > NPK3. In Control treatment, the relations between SOM, HS and soil structure were most abundant and with the greatest significance, while with the increasing level of NPK, these relations lost their significance

Perinatal outcome according to chorionicity in twins — a Polish multicenter study

Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyze the perinatal outcome of twin gestations and estimate the influence of chorionicity on the outcome in a large cohort of twin pregnancies in Poland. Material and methods: A retrospective analysis of 465 twin deliveries in 6 Polish centers in 2012 was conducted. Baseline characteristics, the course of pregnancy and labor, as well as the neonatal outcome were analyzed in the study group and according to chorionicity. Results: A total of 356 twin pregnancies were dichorionic (DC group) (76.6%), and 109 were monochorionic (MC group) (23.4%). There were no differences in the occurrence of pregnancy complications according to chorionicity, except for IUGR of at least one fetus (MC 43.1% vs. DC 34.6%; p = 0.003). 66.5% of the women delivered preterm, significantly more in the MC group (78% vs. 62.9%; p = 0.004). Cesarean delivery was performed in 432 patients (92.9%). Mean neonatal birthweight was statistically lower in the MC group (2074 g vs. 2370 g; p < 0.001). Perinatal mortality of at least one twin was 4.3% (2.8% in the DC group vs. 9.2% in the MC group; p = 0.004). Neonatal complications, including NICU admission, respiratory disorders, and infections requiring antibiotic therapy, were significantly more often observed among the MC twins. Conclusions: The overall perinatal outcome in the presented subpopulation of Polish twins and its dependence on cho­rionicity is similar to the reports in the literature. Nevertheless, the rates of preterm and cesarean deliveries remain higher. It seems that proper counselling of pregnant women and education of obstetricians may result in reduction of these rates

Effect of the Degree of Soil Contamination with Heavy Metals on Their Mobility in the Soil Profile in a Microplot Experiment

Adjusting Polish law to EU standards, many studies were started in the 1990s on the harmfulness of presumably contaminating elements (PCE) to the environment and the quality of plants intended produced for food purposes. For this reason, in 1987, a unique microplate experiment was established on natural soils artificially contaminated with copper, zinc, lead and cadmium oxides (up to the pollution level of class I, II and III). The soils were diversified in terms of pH (through liming), organic matter content (through the addition of brown coal) and the grain size composition of the humus level (Ap) (strong clay sand and light silt clay). After 14 years from the introduction of different rates of metals into the top layer (0–30 cm) of the two soils studied, relatively large movement of heavy metals in the soil profile occurred. The amount of leached metals depended mainly on the rate of a given element. The more contaminated was the soil was, the heavier the metals that leached to lower genetic levels of soil. Contaminated soils always had a higher concentration of individual metals in Et than in Bt level. The content of the tested metals in the Et layer was determined in HCl (1 mol·dm−3) and compared to the humus level. Only at the soil depth below 50 cm (Bt), the content of the studied metals’ forms was much lower than in the surface levels. The calculated mobility coefficients of the tested metals determined in 1 M HCl indicate a larger movement of the tested metals in lighter soils than in medium soils. The highest displacement coefficients were obtained for cadmium, while the lowest were for lead. An increase in mobility was obtained alongside an increase in soil contamination with the heavy metals studied. By analyzing the mobility coefficients (heavy metal increase in the Bt and Et layers), they can be ranked in the following decreasing sequence: on light soils: Cd > Cu > Zn > Pb and on medium soils: Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu

The Composition of the Organic Matter Fractions of Loamy Sand after Long-Term FYM Application without Liming

The key to soil organic matter management is understanding the transformation processes of fresh organic matter to permanent humus that control soil organic carbon dynamics. This paper presents the results of the effect of long-term soil fertilization with increasing doses of (manure) FYM and ammonium nitrate on the composition of humus compounds not limed of loamy sand. The study showed that both crop rotation and manure fertilization significantly affected organic matter fractions and humus humification index. The soil in crop rotation B (with enriching effect) accumulated significantly larger amounts of soil organic carbon in 0–30 cm layer despite a lower soil pH, but had lower soil organic quality compared to the soil in crop rotation A (with depleting effect). In both rotations, FYM was applied once per 4-year rotation at a dose of 40 t·ha−1 which improved the soil organic carbon content. Depleting crop rotation (A) showed no increase in soil accumulation of humins fractions (H), while the “enriching” crop rotation (B) had such a tendency. Mineral nitrogen fertilization significantly affected the composition of the humic acids fraction. The soil in crop rotation B was characterized by a significantly higher content of fulvic acid (FA) and lower of humins (H) carbon fraction. The large input of organic matter into the soil under lower content pH conditions may hinder its transformation into permanent humus. Changes in the humification index were the consequence of changes in the carbon content of humic and fulvic acids, under the influence of plant selection in crop rotation and manure fertilization. According to the criterion of this parameter, soil in crop rotation A and soil fertilized with manure had lower loss of the more labile FA fraction (lower value of humification index—1.48)

Use of VIS-NIRS for land management classification with a support vector machine and prediction of soil organic carbon and other soil properties

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of a long-term experiment on soil spectral properties and to develop prediction models of these properties (soil organic carbon (SOC), N, pH, Hh, P2O5, K2O, Ca, Mg, K, and Na content) from texturally homogeneous samples (loamy sand). To this aim, chemometric techniques, such as partial least square (PLS) regression and support vector machine (SVM) classification, were used. Our results show that visible and near infrared spectroscopy (VIS-NIRS) is suitable for the prediction of properties of texturally homogeneous samples. The effects of fertilizer applications were sufficient to modify the soil chemical composition to a range suitable for using VIS-NIRS for calibration and modeling purposes. The best results were obtained for SOC and N content prediction using the full dataset with cross-validation (r² = 0.76, RMSECV = 0.04, RPD = 2.02 and r² = 0.81, RMSECV = 0.01, RPD = 2.20, respectively) and with an independent validation dataset (r² = 0.70, RMSEP = 0.04, RPD = 1.80 and r² = 0.73, RMSEP = 0.03, RPD = 1.22, for SOC and N content, respectively). The use of fertilizers and the type of crop rotation appear to have a significant impact on soil spectral properties; the SVM methodology with a linear kernel function was able to classify soil samples as functions of the applied doses of organic and inorganic fertilizers with 75% accuracy with cross-validation and the type of crop rotation with more than 90% accuracy with full validation of separate datasets.El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar los resultados de un experimento a largo plazo, concerniente a las propiedades espectrales del suelo y desarrollar un modelo de pronóstico de estas propiedades (el contenido del carbón orgánico del suelo, N, pH, pH, Hh, P2O5, K2O, Ca, Mg, K, y Na) a base de muestras homogéneas en términos de textura (arena arcillosa). Para este propósito se han aplicado métodos quimiométricos, tales como la regresión de mínimos cuadrados parciales y la clasificación de las máquinas de soporte vectorial. Los resultados demuestran que la espectroscopia visible y del infrarrojo cercano e espectroscopia (VIS-NIRS) constituye un método adecuado para el pronóstico de propiedades de las muestras homogéneas en términos de textura. Los efectos de la aplicación del fertilizante eran suficientes para la modificación de la composición química del suelo hasta alcanzar el rango que permitió el uso de VIS-NIRS para la calibración y modelización. Los mejores resultados para el pronóstico del contenido del carbón orgánico del suelo y N se obtuvieron utilizando el conjunto completo de datos con la validación cruzada (r² = 0,76, error cuadrático medio con validación cruzada (RMSECV) = 0,04, diferencia porcentual relativa (RPD) = 2,02 y r² = 0,81, RMSECV = 0,01, RPD = 2,20, respectivamente) y el conjunto de datos con validación independiente (r² = 0,70, error cuadrático medio de predicción (RMSEP) = 0,04, RPD = 1,80 y r² = 0,73, RMSEP = 0,03, RPD = 1,22, respectivamente). El uso de fertilizantes y el tipo de rotación de cultivos parecen tener impacto significativo sobre las propiedades espectrales den suelo, ya que con el uso de la metodología de máquinas de soporte vectorial con función lineal nuclea se logró la identificación de muestras del suelo como funciones de dosis administradas de fertilizantes orgánicos e inorgánicos con el 75% de exactitud con validación cruzada y el tipo de rotación de cultivos con la exactitud superior al 90% con validación completa de conjuntos de datos separados

A new leech species (Hirudinida: Erpobdellidae: Erpobdella) from a cave in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran

Cichocka, Joanna M., Bielecki, Aleksander, Kur, Jarosław, Pikuła, Dorota, Kilikowska, Adrianna, Biernacka, Beata (2015): A new leech species (Hirudinida: Erpobdellidae: Erpobdella) from a cave in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. Zootaxa 4013 (3): 413-427, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4013.3.

Multi‐modelling predictions show high uncertainty of required carbon input changes to reach a 4‰ target

International audienceSoils store vast amounts of carbon (C) on land, and increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in already managed soils such as croplands may be one way to remove C from the atmosphere, thereby limiting subsequent warming. The main objective of this study was to estimate the amount of additional C input needed to annually increase SOC stocks by 4‰ at 16 long-term agricultural experiments in Europe, including exogenous organic matter (EOM) additions. We used an ensemble of six SOC models and ran them under two configurations: (1) with default parametrization and (2) with parameters calibrated siteby-site to fit the evolution of SOC stocks in the control treatments (without EOM). We compared model simulations and analysed the factors generating variability across models. The calibrated ensemble was able to reproduce the SOC stock evolution in the unfertilised control treatments. We found that, on average, the experimental sites needed additional 1.5 ± 1.2 Mg C ha-1 year-1 to increase SOC stocks by 4‰ per year over 30 years, compared to the C input in the control treatments (multi-model median ± median standard deviation across sites). That is, a 119 % increase compared to the control. While mean annual temperature, initial SOC stocks and initial C input had a significant effect on the variability of the predicted C input in the default configuration (i.e., the relative standard deviation of the predicted C input from the mean), only water-related variables (i.e., mean annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration) explained the divergence between models when calibrated. Our work highlights the challenge of increasing SOC stocks in agriculture and accentuates the need to increasingly lean on multi-model ensembles when predicting SOC stock trends and related processes. To increase the reliability of SOC models under future climate change, we suggest model developers to better constrain the effect of water-related variables on SOC decomposition