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Soils with Chemical Problems
Published in Manorama K.C. Thampatti, Problem Soils, 2023
Under extremely acid conditions, the plant growth will be restricted. The chemical changes consequent to lowering of soil pH can restrict the availability of essential plant nutrients and increase the availability of toxic elements. Most of the problems are either due to the direct or indirect effects of acidity. Problematic acid soils have a pH of less than 5.6 and usually below pH 5.0. The low soil pH is associated with a number of soil chemical and biological characteristics that manifest themselves as the components of the problem acid soil syndrome. These components may adversely affect plant growth. To establish wheather a problem related to acidity exists, first soil pH should be measured and if the pH is low enough, more detailed soil / plant test should be undertaken.
Compost utilization in turfgrass and lawn management
Published in Monica Ozores-Hampton, Compost Utilization in Production of Horticultural Crops, 2021
Turfgrass is an excellent indicator of soil health and is often considered the cornerstone of an adequate fertility program. According to Landschoot (1997), consider the use of compost as a soil amendment to increase the turfgrass performance. Good quality compost use in clay soils will improve structure, reduce surface crusting and compaction, promote drainage and provide nutrients. In sandy soils, compost increases water and nutrient retention, supplies additional nutrients and increases microbial activity. Desirable physical and chemicals characteristics for compost in turfgrass are shown in Table 8.2. Physical and chemical compost attributes promote faster turfgrass establishment, improved turf density and color, increased rooting and less need for fertilizer and irrigation. Soil microorganisms are also affected by soil pH. Despite most fungi having adapted to a wide range of pH values, the bacteria and actinomycetes function best when soils are moderately acid to slightly alkaline. While there are many beneficial fungi, most turfgrass diseases resulting from pathogens are caused by fungi. Additionally, soil bacteria play a significant role in decomposition of OM and N transformations such as nitrification and denitrification.
Environmental and Health Effects of Acid Mine Drainage
Published in Geoffrey S. Simate, Sehliselo Ndlovu, Acid Mine Drainage, 2021
In the natural environment, soil pH influences myriads of soil biological, chemical and physical properties and processes that affect plant growth and biomass yield (Neina, 2019). For example, the soil pH affects the abundance and activity of soil organisms (from microorganisms to arthropods) responsible for transformations of nutrients (De Boer and Kowalchuk, 2001; Nicol et al., 2008; Soti et al., 2015). However, the diversity of plant species has been found to be low in most acidic soils (Dupré et al., 2002; Soti et al., 2015) as essential nutrients (such as Ca, Mg, K, PO4 and Mo) exist in unavailable forms to plants thus causing nutrient deficiency (Larcher, 2003; Soti et al., 2015). Additionally, acidic soils have high cation exchange capacity and promote leaching of nutrients which results in soil being unfavourable for plant growth (Johnson, 2002; Soti et al., 2015).
Microplastics and nanoplastics in the soil-plant nexus: Sources, uptake, and toxicity
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2023
Nisha Singh, Meshal M. Abdullah, Xingmao Ma, Virender K. Sharma
A change in soil pH by MPs/NPs can disturb the bioavailability, interaction, precipitation, and transport of essential nutrients and heavy metals due to the influence of pH on chemical speciation and particle surface charge. An increase in soil pH by polycarbonate, PA, PE, PET, PS and PU has been reported (Gharahi & Zamani-Ahmadmahmoodi, 2022; Zhao et al., 2021). On the contrary, another study reported a decrease in soil pH with the addition of PE (F. Wang et al., 2021). Besides the direct impact on soil properties, soil pH indirectly regulates the soil enzyme activity and microbial communities. Higher soil pH results in a rise of dissolved organic carbon, followed by increasing pH and cation exchange capacity (F. Wang et al., 2021). MPs/NPs can also affect the decomposition of organic matter by the soil microbial community or soil enzymatic activities (Q. Q. Guo et al., 2021; H. Liu et al., 2017). Higher organic carbon in soil due to MPs/NPs can affect the N and P cycle. In co-exposure experiments, MPs and other contaminants can lead to synergistic or antagonistic effects. For instance, an increase in soil organic matter content is found in rice exposed to As, however, co-present PS MP and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) reduced the organic matter content (Y. Dong, Gao, et al., 2021).
Impact of greywater on germination and physiological responses of Triticum aestivum L. HD 2967 in soil amended with poultry biochar
Published in Environmental Technology, 2023
Rekha Kumari, Rozi Sharma, Neeraj Kumar Sharma, Deepak Pant, Piyush Malaviya
The soil used in the study was alkaline, this alkalinity along with nutrients decreased with time, and the decline was prominent for 50% GW irrigation. Accordingly, greater nutrients were found in soil with 100 per cent GW irrigation particularly, for soil and 10 g biochar amendments. The pH between 6 and 7.5 is considered optimum for plant and soil microorganisms, care is needed when soil pH is more than 8.2 or drops below 6. As GW irrigation resulted in higher EC and soil pH; therefore, regular monitoring of GW irrigated soil is necessary and if soil pH is above 7.5 it needs to be neutralized by the addition of gypsum. Increasing the pH of alkaline soil may have an impact on nutrient solubility and bioavailability [24]. It causes an accumulation of salts [24], which can be prevented by repeatedly backwashing with freshwater which leads to the dilution of salt content. The data revealed that fewer variations were observed on the 14th day after sowing as compared to the initial day. Greywater has proven to be a useful substitute for freshwater, especially in non-potable uses such as toilet flushing and irrigation.
Spectrochemical Analytical Follow up of Phytoremediation of Oil-Contaminated Soil
Published in Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, 2018
Manar Hassan, Mahmoud Abdelhamid, Olodia Aied Nassef, Mohamed Abdel Harith
Soil analysis in terms of pH and conductivity (μs/cm) measurements for contaminated and treated soil samples were performed and illustrated in Figure 2. At the start of the experiment, high value of pH was recorded 7.46 after four weeks of treatment; its value was reduced to pH 7.14 (Figure 2a). The decrease in soil pH may help plants to absorb nutrients by increasing their availability in the soil. As commonly known, applying fertilizers can be helpful to reduce the soil pH. In this work N as ammonium-based products have the greatest potential to acidify soil. Phosphorus fertilization is small compared to that attributed to nitrogen, while potassium fertilization have little or no effect on soil pH.