Ecological characteristics and ratings for soils of Arctic Canada

This paper presents results from the terrestrial research group from the Swedish-Canadian expedition "Tundra Northwest 1999" (TNW99). Sites were chosen with respect to the ecological states mesic and dry. Soils show a great variability with regard to local aspects. Elevated contents of organic matter (>2% TOC) are abundant, especially at mesic sites with full vegetation cover. C/N-values lower than 14 correspond with a dominance of annual plant species. Strong differences in the contents of oxalate extractable iron are observed. Most soils have low salt contents and react alkaline due to higher contents of carbonates with respect to their parent material. Soils are strongly influenced by climate conditions, some of them are enriched with salts, due to an influence of the sea shore in the neighbourhood. Surface layers show high amounts of bacteria, extremes are above 10^9 cells g^(-1). All communities show mostly small sized organisms, and reveal low values of mean cell volumes and surfaces, and thus low biomass. The most important group of bacterial cells can be seen in small rod shaped cells (0.25-0.75μm). A concept of ecological ratings is used to describe the regional and local differences. The TNW99 sites are compared to those from other locations from Arctic Canada taken from literature

Soils and their microbiological properties from a transect from Cape Horn to the Antarctic Peninsula

Soils of the southernmost islands of South America (Cape Horn), the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Orkneys, South Shetlands, the Antarctic Peninsula and Poulet Island are described and analyzed for soil properties, soil taxonomy and microorganisms. Results showed a great variety of soils. Leptosols, gleysols, regosols, cambisols, podzols, andosols and histosols are described. Podzolization was found in all climatic regions. Influences of bird colonies can be demonstrated by extractable phosphate and low C/N ratios. The bacterial flora is described via total counts (range between 0.06-10.45・10^9g^d. wt.) and biomass distributions (range between 0.47-102.7μgCg^ d. wt.) in different soil layers. Total number or total biomass are not related to geographic or internal soil patterns but to contents of organic matter. Similarly, mean cell volumes of bacteria (range between 0.06 and 0.1μm^3) are found to be related to nutrient levels. Distributions of bacterial communities show individual patterns of soil profiles and are not related to an overall geographical pattern

Effects of Basic Slag, Aggregate Size and Groundwater Treatments on the Production of Chilli in Acid Sulfate Soils in a Simulation Study

A simulation study was conducted to evaluate the effects of basic slag (BS10 and BS20: basic slag 10 and 20 t ha-1), aggregate size (A20 and A30: aggregate sizes of soil, less than 20 and 20-30 mm) and groundwater depth (Gw0: no influence of groundwater and Gw50: groundwater beneath 50 cm of the soil surface) as physico-chemical amendments in two pre-leached (leached for a week through tap water to remove excessive acidity and salinity from the soil before transplantation) acid sulfate soils of Badarkhali (Salidic Sulfaquept) and Cheringa (Typic Sulfic Halaquept) series in relation to the production of Chilli (Capsicum annum L.). Maximum growth and yield of chilli were recorded by the treatment combining A30Gw50BS20 in both the Cheringa (green chilli weight: 4.82 t ha-1) and Badarkhali (4.51 t ha-1) soils. The application of basic slag (BS20) was found to be the most effective among the individual treatments, followed by the BS10 > A30 > Gw50 treatments. The application of BS20 increased the yield in combination with the Gw0 treatment by 40% for A20, while by 107% for A30 in the Badarkhali soil. On the other hand, in the case of Gw50, these increments were 49 and 141% for A20 and A30, respectively. The application of BS at the highest rate (BS20) to the Cheringa soil was more effective compared with the A20 and A30 treatments in the Badarkhali soil. The same rate of BS20 in combination with the Gw50 treatment increased the yield by 59 to 147% in the Cheringa soil compared with 49 to 141% in the Badarkhali soil. Almost similar and significant (p≤0.05) effects were observed for the other growth parameters of chilli cultivated in both soil series

Richard Thun (1899 - 1945) als Forscher und Lehrer der Agrikulturchemie

Der Agrikulturchemiker Richard Thun (1899-1945) wurde als Sohn eines Bauern in Wapelfeld bei Hohenweststedt/Schleswig-Holstein geboren. Nach dem Abitur 1918 in Kiel und kurzer Militärzeit in Jüterbog studierte er von 1919 – 1924 in Kiel und Halle Chemie. 1924 promovierte er mit der unter dem Organiker Aladar Skita (1876-1953) erstellten Arbeit. Die Einwirkung von Äthylen-monobromacetat auf Basen (eine neue Reaktion des Anilins)..

Die Bedeutung von Eilhard Alfred Mitscherlich für die Entwicklung der Bodenkunde

Eilhard Alfred Mitscherlich (1874 – 1956)wurde am 29. August 1874 als Sohn von Alfred Mitscherlich, Professor der Chirurgie, und Valeska geb. Ackermann in Berlin geboren. Nach dem Abitur im Frühjahr 1895 studierte er in Kiel zwei Semester Landwirtschaft bei Hermann Rodewald (1856-1938) und Physik bei seinem Schwager Hermann Ebert

Source and Sink Strength of Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Distribution of Sulfate in Salt-marsh Soils at the Wadden Sea Coast of Northern Germany

A field study was conducted at Schleswig-Holstein of Kiel in Germany to evaluate the factors controlling carbon and sulfate dynamics along a toposequence of coastal salt marsh soils. The soil at the top end of the salt marsh was salic silty to clayic Typic Sulfaquent (Salzrohmarsh) and the bottom end was sandy to silty Haplic Sulfaquent ( cbergangsmischwatt). The mean (depth: 0-100 cm) values of pH and rH were 6.8-6.9; 6.8-7.0 and 17.3-8.1; 15-8.6 for the Typic Sulfaquent (TS) and Haplic Sulfaquent (HS) throughout the year, respectively. The net-emission of CO2 was negative (-14.0 g m-2 yr-1) for the HS but highly positive (857 g m-2 yr-1) for the TS throughout the year. The annual emissions of CH4 were almost 10 fold higher in HS (0.3 g m-2 yr-1) than that of the TS (0.03 g m-2 yr-1). The concentrations of CH4 at different seasons showed almost inverse relationships with the concentrations of CO2, varied significantly (p 640.05) with the seasons and depth function, and showed no dependence to temperature. The SO4 contents were observed maximum in the TS than that of HS during all the seasons. There was no noticeable correlation (r=- 0.09) between SO4 and CH4 concentrations. Moreover, even CH4 was determined at depths where the SO4 concentration was about 1200 mg SO4 L-1