Micro-flood (MF) technology for sustainable manufacturing operations that are coolant less and occupationally friendly

This paper presents a new technology for minimizing the use of metalworking fluids (MWFs) during the machining process that is atomization-less and occupational friendly. Micro-flood (MF) technology utilizes direct contact between the cutting tool and the MWF without the interaction of a gas medium. Experiments were conducted in high volume mass production environment turning HSLA (high strength low alloy) SAE 070Y steel. Machining performance and total air mass particulates were investigated in dry machining, Near dry machining (NDM) via atomized spray mist and MF technology. Open-atmosphere air monitoring indicated that total mass particulates behaved in an almost linear fashion with respect to gas atomization pressure, whereas the MWF flow rate demonstrated logarithmic trends in NDM applications using an atomized spray. Nozzle orientations directed upward into the air also produced higher mg/m³ concentrations (such as flank) than chip and rake face orientations that were directed down. Greater separation existed at higher gas atomization pressures, MWF flow rates and by changing the MWF type. At extreme limits, nozzle orientation affected mg/m³ concentration as much as 4–5 mg/m³ for water-miscible MWFs and 15–22 mg/m³ for non-water-miscible MWFs. Tool-life performance varied greatly among MWF type and flow rate, and in all cases MF technology performed better than NDM using an atomized spray mist. Direct and consistent MWF penetration to cutting zone using MF technology lowered tool-wear on the average of 12–75% compared to NDM at the same MWF flow rate. Compared to dry machining, NDM improved tool-wear on the average by 20–243%. In one case, tool-wear performance was improved by 616% at 0.15 mm using MF technology compared to dry machining at a nominal 0.925 mm tool-wear. Overall, a large mass reduction of particulates can be achieved employing MF technology that would have been unrealistic for an open-atmosphere machining environment employing an atomized spray mist. On the average, MF technology can maintain a total air mass particulate of less than 0.4 mg/m³ in the occupational work zone using MWF flow rates up to 1260 ml/h, regardless of the MWF classification. Atomized spray mist applications are capable meeting the 5 mg/m³ OSHA limit if MWF flow rates are less than 160 ml/h, air pressures are less than 0.137 MPa (20 psi) using water-miscible MWFs and air pressures are less than 0.0344 MPa (5 psi) using non-water-miscible MWFs.     

On wear resistance of tool steel

Maintaining a reasonably low cutting tool wear when producing forming tools is a general challenge in the development of new forming tool materials. The tool life of a hot forming tool steel (H13) has been significantly improved by reducing its Si-content from 1.0 to 0.06 wt.%. However, this modified H13 (MH13) also displays a reduced cutting tool life due to higher cutting forces and a stronger tendency to form built up layers (BUE) on the cutting edge. This paper explains why.Gleeble tests of MH13 revealed a significantly higher flow stress in the 820–900 °C temperature interval in MH13 compared to H13. Thermo-Calc simulations showed that when reducing the Si-content from 1.0 to 0.06 wt.% the initial temperature for ferrite-to-austenite transformation (A1) was reduced from 900 °C to 820 °C. Knowing that austenite has totally different mechanical and thermal properties than ferrite, the difference in A1 between the two steels explains the higher cutting forces and higher tendency for BUE-formation. The conclusion is that the difference in machinability between H13 and MH13 is primarily related to their difference in A1.An attempt was also made to find a new tool material composition that can combine the wear resistance of MH13 and the good machinability of H13. Thermo-Calc simulations were performed with slightly modified alloying content without changing its properties as a good forming tool material, with the aim to increase A1. For instance, reducing the Mn content from 0.5 to 0.05 wt.% proved to increase A1 from 820 to 850 °C.     

Modulation-assisted high speed machining of compacted graphite iron (CGI)

The application of controlled, low-frequency modulation (～100 Hz) superimposed onto the cutting process in the feed-direction – modulation-assisted machining (MAM) – is shown to be quite effective in reducing the wear of cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools when machining compacted graphite iron (CGI) at high machining speeds (>500 m/min). The tool life is at least 20 times greater than in conventional machining. This significant reduction in wear is a consequence of the multiple effects realized by MAM, including periodic disruption of the tool–workpiece contact, formation of discrete chips, enhanced fluid action and lower cutting temperatures. The propensity for thermochemical wear of CBN, the principal wear mode at high speeds in CGI machining, is thus reduced. The tool wear in MAM is also found to be smaller at the higher cutting speeds (730 m/min) tested. The feed-direction MAM appears feasible for implementation in industrial machining applications involving high speeds.     

Study on machinability of a stellite alloy with uncoated and coated carbide tools in turning

Stellite alloys, which have been widely used in the aerospace, automotive and chemical industries, are hard-to-cut cobalt-based materials. This study investigates the machinability of stellite 12 alloys with uncoated carbide cutting tool grades YG610 (K01-K10) and YT726 (K05-K10/M20) and SANDVIK coated carbide tool SNMG150612-SM1105 under dry cutting conditions. Both wear mechanisms and failure modes of the uncoated and coated tools were investigated with turning experiments. The results show that the coated tool SM1105 remarkably outperforms the uncoated tools; and the cutting tool YG610 generally outperforms YT726 under all cutting conditions. Built-up edge was found with YG610 in some cutting conditions and with SM1105 at cutting speed of 16 m/min. Tool surface burning marks were observed on YT726 at relatively higher cutting speeds. Wear develops slowly with coated tools SM1105 until VB reaches 0.2 mm at most conditions (except at v = 43 m/min, f = 0.25 mm/r). Excessive tool flank typically resulted in tool breakage at the cutting edge for uncoated tools. Abrasive and adhesive wear of cutting tools were observed at low cutting speeds while diffusion and chemical wear occurred at higher cutting speeds.     

Soil-profile organic carbon and total nitrogen during 12 years of pasture management in the Southern Piedmont USA

Soil organic C (SOC) and total soil N (TSN) sequestration estimates are needed to improve our understanding of management influences on soil fertility and terrestrial C cycling related to greenhouse gas emission. We evaluated the factorial combination of nutrient source (inorganic, mixed inorganic and organic, and organic as broiler litter) and forage utilization (unharvested, low and high cattle grazing pressure, and hayed monthly) on soil-profile distribution (0–150 cm) of SOC and TSN during 12 years of pasture management on a Typic Kanhapludult (Acrisol) in Georgia, USA. Nutrient source rarely affected SOC and TSN in the soil profile, despite addition of 73.6 Mg ha^?1 (dry weight) of broiler litter during 12 years of treatment. At the end of 12 years, contents of SOC and TSN at a depth of 0–90 cm under haying were only 82 ± 5% (mean ± S.D. among treatments) of those under grazed management. Within grazed pastures, contents of SOC and TSN at a depth of 0–90 cm were greatest within 5 m of shade and water sources and only 83 ± 7% of maximum at a distance of 30 m and 92 ± 14% of maximum at a distance of 80 m, suggesting a zone of enrichment within pastures due to animal behavior. During 12 years, the annual rate of change in SOC (0–90 cm) followed the order: low grazing pressure (1.17 Mg C ha^?1 year^?1) > unharvested (0.64 Mg C ha^?1 year^?1) = high grazing pressure (0.51 Mg C ha^?1 year^?1) > hayed (?0.22 Mg C ha^?1 year^?1). This study demonstrated that surface accumulation of SOC and TSN occurred, but that increased variability and loss of SOC with depth reduced the significance of surface effects.     

The effect of pitting corrosion on split sleeve cold hole expanded,bare 7075-T651 aluminium alloy

As part of an aircraft fleet fatigue life improvement program, investigation has been carried out into the effect pitting corrosion has on bare 7075-T651 which had undergone split sleeve cold hole expansion. Constant amplitude sinusoidal loading was applied to fatigue test coupons which had pitting corrosion induced upon them by a modified cyclic immersion process using a 3.5% NaCl solution. A pit depth of 39–58 μm was found to significantly reduce the increased fatigue life gains achieved by carrying out cold hole expansion. At 137.9 MPa fatigue life was reduced from achieving run out of ten million cycles to an average 371 × 10³ cycles, while at 165.5 MPa average fatigue life was reduced from 810 × 10³ to 65 × 10³ cycles. The fracture surfaces were analysed under a scanning electron microscope where each displayed an individual crack initiation site located on the material surface within the zone of residual circumferential stress.     

Aero-lap polishing of poly crystalline diamond inserts using Multicon media

Increasing use of poly crystalline diamond (PCD) inserts as cutting tools and wear parts is vividly seen in automobile, aerospace, marine and precision engineering applications. The PCD inserts undergo series of manufacturing processes such as: grinding that forms the required shape and polishing that gives a fine finish. These operations are not straight forward as PCD is extremely resistant to grinding and polishing. Single crystal diamond can easily be polished by choosing a direction of easy abrasion, but polishing a PCD imposes serious difficulties as the grains are randomly oriented. Prior research on polishing of PCD inserts includes electro discharge grinding (EDG), dynamic friction polishing and grinding by a vitrified bonded diamond wheel. The surface textures of PCD produced using an EDG process often contains: micro cavities, particle pullout, micro-grooves, chipped edges, cracks and gouch marks. While applying the dynamic friction polishing method the PCD material undergoes phase transformation and hence increased polishing rate was apparently seen. However the phase transformation of PCD deteriorates the strength of the insert. Furthermore the inserts produced using the dynamic polishing method often exhibits cracks, chip off and edge damage while using as a cutting tool. Therefore, a new method “aero-lap polishing” was attempted as it applies controlled amount of impinging force by which the surface damage can be significantly reduced. The study did establish an improvement of surface finish of PCD from R_a = 0.55 μm, R_t = 4.5 μm to R_a = 0.29 μm, R_t = 1.6 μm within 15–25 min of polishing time along with significant reduction in surface defects.     

Water jet guided laser as an alternative to EDM for micro-drilling of fuel injector nozzles: A comparison of machined surfaces

To characterize the inner surface of the fuel injector nozzle holes drilled by EDM and water jet guided laser drilling (Laser Micro-Jet) a specifically conceived scanning probe microscopy technique with true non-contact operating mode was used. A difference in morphology of the drilled surfaces is evident from the acquired surface topography along the hole axis for the two compared drilling techniques. Results showed that the surface texture can be characterized by (i) maximum peak-to-valley distance and (ii) periodicity. Acquired maps confirm that electro-eroded surfaces are an envelope of craters randomly distributed with total excursion up to 1.7 μm with a crater size of 15 μm. While, the efficient melt expulsion and immediate cooling of water jet guided laser generates a peak to valley distance of 800 nm with a periodicity of 18 μm. Average R_q derived from the measured cylindrical surfaces was 450 nm and 150 nm for EDM and Laser Micro-Jet, respectively. Water jet guided laser drilling has proved to be a reliable alternative to EDM from the point of view of repeatability of the results and surface quality to facilitate the atomization of the fuel jet.     

Second generation diesel fuel from renewable sources

The study is devoted to the issue of direct transformation of triacylglycerols (TAG) to diesel fuels applying a commercially available NiMo and NiW hydrorefining catalysts. It was proved that during hydrodesulphurisation also hydrodeoxygenation occurs and TAG can be converted to the fuel biocomponent by adding 6.5 % vol. of TAG to atmospheric gas oil. In this way, after hydroprocessing at mild conditions (temperature 320–360 °C, pressure 3.5–5.5 MPa, LHSV: 1.0 h^?1 and ratio H₂:HC = 500–1000 Nm³/m³, catalyst presence), gas oil containing 5–5.5% of biocomponent was prepared, characterized with standard performance and emission parameters. Performance and emission tests documented that even 5% vol. portion of bio-components reduces the controlled and uncontrolled emissions.     

Investigation of chipping and wear of silicon wafer dicing

Wafer dicing chipping and blade wear processes in transient and steady stages were investigated. Dicing blades with two different diamond grit sizes were used to cut wafers. In the cutting experiments, the dicing blades with two different diamond grit sizes were used to cut wafers and for a given type of wafer, the cooling water temperature, cutting feed speed, and rotational speed were fixed. The chipping size, blade surface wear area and surface roughness of the wafer were measured at cutting distances of 50, 150, 300, 975, 1350, and 1900 m, respectively. Cutting debris of cutting distances of 300 m and 1900 m was collected and analyzed. The correlation between blade surface properties and chipping size was investigated. Based on this experimental system, attention is to pay to examine the correlation between blade surface properties and chipping size for transient stage and steady stage. In transient stage, the roughness of dicing blade increases rapidly. This will rapidly increase the chipping size. In steady stage, the chipping size decreases slowly with the decreasing roughness of blade surface. This concludes that blade surface condition is an important factor that affects the chipping size. Moreover, in transient stage, diamond grits that are salient or less bonded to the blade detach leave caves on the blade surface which increases surface roughness of the blade and the chipping size. In steady stage, the heights of grits become even and the chipping size decreases accordingly.     

Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions through the application of solar thermal energy in industrial processes

The analysis of industrial energy usage indicates that low temperature processes (20 ≈ 200 °C) are used in nearly all industrial sectors. In principle there is the potential to use solar thermal energy in these lower temperature processes thus, reducing the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. Using the model of an Austrian dairy plant, this research investigated the potential for, and the economic viability of, using solar energy heat processes in industry.Some industrial sectors such as food, chemistry, plastic processing, textile industry, building materials industry and business establishments can be identified as potential sectors for the application of solar energy heat processes. When assessing the (economic) feasibility of solar thermal energy, the investigation of these industries’ energy systems has to focus on an integrated analysis of cooling and heating demands and to take into account competing technologies. Amongst these are heat integration, cogeneration, new technologies and heat pumps. Pinch analysis was used to investigate industrial energy systems and heat integration possibilities and proved to be a viable tool. Working from the basis of energy balances, Sankey diagrams, pinch analysis and environmental cost accounting, a newly developed investigation tool was applied in the case study of an Austrian dairy plant. This enabled a fast optimization of the system. Two different options for the integration of solar thermal energy into the production line were calculated, option 1 with a solar field of 1000 m² and option 2 with a solar field of 1500 m². Natural gas savings of 85,000 for option 1 and 109,000 m³/a for option 2 can be achieved, resulting in a reduction of 170 tons of CO₂ per year, or 218 tons for options 1 and 2 respectively. Based upon option 1, return on investment is realised after less than three years of implementation. This research thus, indicates promising technical and economical feasibility of using solar thermal energy for industrial processes and provides an important step towards sustainable zero emission production in industry.     

Long-term impact of a gliricidia-maize intercropping system on carbon sequestration in southern Malawi

Tree/crop systems under agroforestry practice are capable of sequestering carbon (C) in the standing biomass and soil. Although studies have been conducted to understand soil organic C increases in some agroforestry technologies, little is known about C sequestered in simultaneous tree/crop intercropping systems. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of agroforestry practice on C sequestration and CO₂-C efflux in a gliricidia-maize intercropping system. The experiment was conducted at an experimental site located at the Makoka Agricultural Research Station, in Malawi. The studies involved two field plots, 7-year (MZ21) and 10-year (MZ12), two production systems (sole-maize and gliricidia-maize simultaneous intercropping systems). A 7-year-old grass fallow (Grass-F) was also included. Gliricidia prunings were incorporated at each time of tree pruning in the gliricidia-maize. The amount of organic C recycled varied from 0.8 to 4.8 Mg C ha⁻¹ in gliricidia-maize and from 0.4 to 1.0 Mg C ha⁻¹ in sole-maize. In sole-maize, net decreases of soil carbon of 6 Mg C ha⁻¹ at MZ12 and 7 Mg C ha⁻¹ at MZ21 in the topsoil (0–20 cm) relative to the initial soil C were observed. After 10 years of continuous application of tree prunings C was sequestered in the topsoil (0–20 cm) in gliricidia-maize was 1.6 times more than in sole-maize. A total of 123–149 Mg C ha⁻¹ were sequestered in the soil (0–200 cm depth), through root turnover and pruning application in the gliricidia-maize system. Carbon dioxide evolution varied from 10 to 28 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹ in sole-maize and 23 to 83 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹ in gliricidia-maize. We concluded that gliricidia-maize intercropping system could sequester more C in the soil than sole-maize.     

Environmental consequences of different beef production systems in the EU

The aim of this paper is to examine the environmental consequences of beef meat production in the EU, using a life cycle approach. Four beef production systems were studied – three from intensively reared dairy calves and one from suckler herds. According to the results of the analysis, the contributions from the production of 1 kg beef meat (slaughter weight) to global warming, acidification, eutrophication, land use and non-renewable energy use were lower for beef from dairy calves than from suckler herds (16.0–19.9 versus 27.3 kg CO₂e, 101–173 versus 210 g SO₂e, 622–1140 versus 1651 g NO₃e, 16.5–22.7 versus 42.9 m²year, and 41.3–48.2 versus 59.2 MJ, respectively). The breakdown analysis helped identify the key areas in the “cradle to farm gate” beef production system where sustainable management strategies are needed to improve environmental performance. The study also included a sensitivity analysis to preliminarily estimate GHG emissions from beef production systems if land opportunity cost and land use change related to grazing and feed crop production for beef were taken into account. If so, the contribution from the production of 1 kg beef to global warming would increase by a factor of 3.1–3.9, based on a depreciation period of 20 years. This highlights the importance of taking into account the impacts of land use in assessing the environmental impacts of livestock production.     

Disaggregated greenhouse gas emission inventories from agriculture via a coupled economic-ecosystem model

Estimates of regional greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems are needed to evaluate possible mitigation strategies with respect to environmental effectiveness and economic feasibility. Therefore, in this study, we used the GIS-coupled economic-ecosystem model EFEM–DNDC to assess disaggregated regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from typical livestock and crop production systems in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Southwest Germany. EFEM is an economic farm production model based on linear programming of typical agricultural production systems and simulates all relevant farm management processes and GHG emissions. DNDC is a process-oriented ecosystem model that describes the complete biogeochemical C and N cycle of agricultural soils, including all trace gases.Direct soil emissions were mainly related to N₂O, whereas CH₄ uptake had marginal influence (net soil C uptake or release was not considered). The simulated N₂O emissions appeared to be highly correlated to N fertilizer application (R² = 0.79). The emission factor for Baden-Württemberg was 0.97% of the applied N after excluding background emissions.Analysis of the production systems showed that total GHG emissions from crop based production systems were considerably lower (2.6–3.4 Mg CO₂ eq ha⁻¹) than from livestock based systems (5.2–5.3 Mg CO₂ eq ha⁻¹). Average production system GHG emissions for Baden-Württemberg were 4.5 Mg CO₂ eq ha⁻¹. Of the total 38% were derived from N₂O (direct and indirect soil emissions, and manure storage), 40% were from CH₄ (enteric fermentation and manure storage), and 22% were from CO₂ (mainly fertilizer production, gasoline, heating, and additional feed). The stocking rate was highly correlated (R² = 0.85) to the total production system GHG emissions and appears to be a useful indicator of regional emission levels.     

Experimental investigation and characterization of nano-scale dry electro-machining

This paper presents an experimental investigation and characterization of a novel technique of nanoscale electro-machining (EM) in atmospheric air, named dry nano-EM, by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) as the platform for nanomachining. The electro-machining has been conducted in near field by maintaining a gap distance of 1–2 nm between the Platinum–Iridium [Pt–Ir (80:20)] tool electrode and atomically flat gold substrate with the air as dielectric medium. An in situ process of evaluating the tool quality before and after machining has been used by monitoring the current–displacement (I–Z) spectroscopy curves. The mechanism of dry nano-EM has been presented as well as the machining performance of the process has been evaluated. Based on the observations, it has been established that field induced evaporation due to intense heat generated at the gap width is the primary mechanism of material removal in dry nano-EM. The experimental results show that dry nano-EM is capable of fabricating consistent nano-features with good repeatability. The volume of material removal increases almost linearly with increasing number of features machined and machining time, indicating the consistency in the dimensions of the nano-features. Finally, dry nano-EM is established as a technique capable of machining 50–100 features in a pre-defined manner with average feature size of 7.5–10 nm in a single pass, thus suitable for nano-patterning in atomically flat electrically conducting surfaces.     

Life cycle greenhouse gases,energy and cost assessment of automobiles using magnesium from Chinese Pidgeon process

Magnesium (Mg) has a great potential to reduce vehicle weight, fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. The Chinese Mg industry has developed rapidly since the 1990s. The output of Mg reached 700,000 tons in 2006, accounting for more than 70% of global Mg production. Most of Mg is produced in China through the Pidgeon process that has an intensive energy usage and generates a large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which may offset the potential advantage of using Mg parts in automobiles. It is critical to quantify the energy usage and GHG emissions through entire life cycle when the Mg are applied to automobiles. It is also essential to evaluate cost implications of the Mg parts application in automobiles and ensure it to be cost competitive. The objectives of this study are (1) Build a life cycle inventory (LCI) of Mg produced by Pidgeon process; (2) Establish an LCA model that can evaluate GHG emissions and energy usage for the Mg automotive application; (3) Estimate the cost implications of the Mg parts application in automobiles.An Mg LCI was built based on interviews and surveys and the GREET model was adapt for this study. The results indicated that, for each kilogram of Mg produced by Pidgeon process, GHG emissions and energy usage would be 27 kg CO₂eq and 280 MJ, which are five times higher than steel production. Replacing steel with 82 kg Mg on a base automobile would lower curb weight by 5.7%, but only reduce life cycle GHG emissions and energy usage by 0.8% and 1.3%. Scenario analyses indicated that potential reduction of life cycle GHG emissions and energy usage could reach to 15%, if secondary weight saving and a smaller engine were included. Cost analyses also show 18% reduction when the additional weight saving and a smaller displacement engine were included, under a 100,000 km driving distance and gasoline price at $1.0/l.     

Effect of fluid concentration in titanium machining with an atomization-based cutting fluid (ACF) spray system

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of metal-working fluid (MWF) concentration on the machining responses including tool life and wear, cutting force, friction coefficient, chip morphology, and surface roughness during the machining of titanium with the use of the ACF spray system. Five different concentrations from 5 to 15% of a water-soluble metalworking fluid (MWF) were applied during turning of a titanium alloy, Ti–6Al–4V. The thermo-physical properties such as viscosity, surface tension and thermal conductivity of these concentrations were also measured. The test results demonstrate that the tool life first extends with the increase in MWF concentration and then drops with further increase. At low concentration (e.g., 5%), a lack of the lubrication effect causes to increase in a higher friction at the tool–chip interface resulting in severe chipping and tool nose/flank wear within a short machining time. On the other hand, at high concentration, the cooling effect is less. This increases cutting temperature and a faster thermal softening/chipping/notching of the tool material and higher friction at the tool–chip–workpiece interaction zones resulting in early tool failure. A good balance between the cooling and the lubrication effects seems to be found at the 10% MWF concentration as it offers the best machining performance. However, machining with flood coolant is observed to perform the best in the range of 5–7%.     

Finite element modeling of microstructural changes in turning of AA7075-T651 Alloy

The surface characteristics of a machined product strongly influence its functional performance. During machining, the grain size of the surface is frequently modified, thus the properties of the machined surface are different to that of the original bulk material. These changes must be taken into account when modeling the surface integrity effects resulting from machining. In the present work, grain size changes induced during turning of AA7075-T651 (160 HV) alloy are modeled using the Finite Element (FE) method and a user subroutine is implemented in the FE code to describe the microstructural change and to simulate the dynamic recrystallization, with the consequent formation of new grains. In particular, a procedure utilizing the Zener–Hollomon and Hall–Petch equations is implemented in the user subroutine to predict the evolution of the material grain size and the surface hardness when varying the cutting speeds (180–720 m/min) and tool nose radii (0.4–1.2 mm). All simulations were performed for dry cutting conditions using uncoated carbide tools. The effectiveness of the proposed FE model was demonstrated through its capability to predict grain size evolution and hardness modification from the bulk material to machined surface. The model is validated by comparing the predicted results with those experimentally observed.     

Evidence of rich microbial communities in the subsoil of a boreal acid sulphate soil conducive to greenhouse gas emissions

The largest areas of acid sulphate (AS) soils in Europe are located in Finland, where 67,000–130,000 ha of AS soils are in agricultural use. In addition to their acidifying effects on waters, AS soils might be a significant source of greenhouse gases. In this pilot research, carbon and nitrogen content and microbial activity were studied in an AS and a non-AS soil. Large carbon and nitrogen stocks (110 Mg C_org ha^?1 and 15 Mg N_tot ha^?1) as well as high substrate induced respiration (33 μg CO₂–C g^?1h^?1) were found in the C horizons of the AS soil but not in the non-AS soil. High microbial activity in these horizons of the AS soil was further confirmed by the measurement of dehydrogenase activity, basal respiration, the numbers of culturable bacterial cells, and the ratio of culturable to total numbers of cells. Still, the denitrifying enzyme activity was very low in the anaerobic horizons of the AS soil, indicating the prevalence of microbes other than denitrifiers. We suspect that the microbial community originated with the genesis of AS soil and has been supported by the large stocks of accumulated carbon and mineral nitrogen in the C horizons. If these permanently water-saturated subsoils are exposed to oxygen and their microbial activity consequently increases, large carbon and nitrogen stocks are likely to be mobilised, resulting in increased emission of greenhouse gases. Additional studies of boreal AS soils are needed to assess their potential contribution to increases in greenhouse gas fluxes at the local, regional, and global scales.     

Inequality,agro-pastoral exchanges,and soil fertility gradients in southern Mali

Nutrient balances aggregated at the continental, national, or regional levels for African farming systems are usually reported as strongly negative. At the landscape or farm scale, the most commonly reported variability is the gradient of decreasing soil fertility from intensively managed “home” fields to more extensively managed “bush” fields. Case study evidence from an agro-pastoral community of southern Mali’s cotton zone showed that “home” and “bush” fields differed significantly in nutrient balances and soil fertility status but that inter-household differences related to household practice and social factors were even more important.Plot and household-level soil nutrient balances were calculated in 1996–1997 from participatory exercises such as resource flow mapping, participant observation, and soil sampling. The overall community-level nutrient balances averaged −9.2 kg N ha⁻¹, +0.8 kg P ha⁻¹, and −3.4 kg K ha⁻¹, with significant inter-household variation. Soil analysis confirmed significant variation in soil nutrient status at both the landscape and plot levels. Comparing the scale and patterns of input use inequality using Gini coefficients showed the range of coefficients attributable to household behaviours matched or surpassed those attributable to distance factors alone. Input use intensity declined with increasing distance from nutrient sources but field level nutrient balances were better explained by household practice than by distance. Systemic differences in household asset ownership, use, and resource allocation behaviour suggested that much of the diversity seen in the nutrient balances and soil analyses was due to persistent inter-household inequality and the consequent exchanges of agro-pastoral resources. Inter-household negotiations for inputs (such as exchanges of manure and carts) and household-level decisions about input allocation created, exploited, and reinforced a mosaic of soil fertility “hotspots” surrounded by less fertile and less intensively managed patches.