Management Options to Conserve and Sequester Carbon in the Agricultural Sector of the Former Soviet Union

Several management practices are available to conserve and sequester C in the agricultural sector of the former Soviet Union (FSU). The highest rate of C accumulation would result from the implementation of a no-till management option which will only continue during the first ten years until new C equilibrium is reached. Agroforestry management options provide a longer period for C accumulation, but at a lower rate. It is possible that the longest period of C conservation may be achieved by increasing the area under perennial grasses in the crop rotation. During the first decade of implementation of the management practices, the amount of C conserved or sequestered would be approximately equal to the current rate of net C sequestration in FSU forest sector. At present, agricultural soils and vegetation of the FSU store approximately 120 Pg C; the accumulation of soil organic matter is 0.032 Pg C yr^-1. The annual C loss in the FSU agricultural sector was estimated at 0.21 Pg C yr^-1.     

Influence of chlorsulfuron herbicide on size of microbial biomass in the soil

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Cobalt in alluvial Egyptian soils as affected by industrial activities

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＩｎｎａｔｕｒｅＣｏｏｃｃｕｒｓｉｎｔｗｏｏｘｉｄａｔｉｏｎｓｔａｔｅｓ ,Ｃｏ2 + ａｎｄＣｏ3+ ,ａｎｄｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅｃｏｍｐｌｅｘａｎｉｏｎＣｏ(ＯＨ) - 3 ｉｓａｌｓｏｐｏｓｓｉｂｌｅ .ＤｕｒｉｎｇｗｅａｔｈｅｒｉｎｇＣｏｉｓｒｅｌａｔｉｖｅｌｙｍｏｂｉｌｅｉｎｏｘｉｄｉｚｉｎｇａｃｉｄｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔ,ｂｕｔｄｕｅｔｏａｈｉｇｈｓｏｒｐｔｉｏｎｂｙＦｅａｎｄＭｎｏｘｉｄｅｓ,ａｓｗｅｌｌａｓｂｙｃｌａｙｍｉｎｅｒａｌｓ,ｔｈｉｓｍｅｔａｌｄｏｅｓｎｏｔｍ…     

肯尼亚退化红树林港湾悬浮泥沙交换和输移动力机制

本文主要研究了肯尼亚姆瓦彻湾(属于浅潮滩红树林湿地)泥沙交换的动力机制.该港湾属于半日潮,大、小潮的潮差分别为.2m和1.4m,大潮高水位的水面面积为17km2.     

Studies on the use of power ultrasound in solid–liquid myrobalan extraction process

Focus on eco-friendly processing techniques makes vegetable tanning a viable option in leather processing and establishes the subsequent need for the more efficient methods of extraction in tannin manufacture. Application of ultrasound has been tried in the extraction of tannins from myrobalan nuts in order to improve the extraction efficiency, to perform the extraction under milder process conditions and to reduce the process time. The influence of process parameters such as ultrasonic output power, time and temperature has been studied. Scale-up trials and the use of ultrasound in pulse mode have also been attempted. The results show that a three- to fivefold improvement is possible with ultrasonic output from 20 to 100 W. Extraction efficiency has been calculated from the maximum extractable materials from myrobalan nuts. Extraction efficiency is found to be 90% for ultrasound, 100 W without external heating as compared to 77% for control process at 70 °C for 4 h. Therefore, ultrasound could be employed even dispensing with provision for temperature controls. The use of ultrasound in pulse mode offered 70% extraction efficiency of continuous mode. Scale-up trials indicate that there exists an optimum ultrasonic output power depending on the amount of nuts used, to achieve better extraction efficiency. The effectiveness of ultrasonically extracted tannin solution has also been tested in the tanning process for its applicability. The degree of tanning efficacy has been assessed by shrinkage temperature measurement. The results indicate that ultrasonically extracted tannin solution is suitable for tanning process. Therefore, application of ultrasound in tannin extract manufacture is a viable option with added advantages.     

Heavy metal contamination of soils and crops from auto traffic,sewage sludge,pig manure and chemical fertilizer

The present paper describes heavy metal contamination of soils and crops resulting from auto traffic, sewage sludge, pig manure and chemical fertilizers, in three separate experiments.The first experiment revealed that although the ADDT (average annual daily traffic) value of the Agricultural Area was lower, higher concentrations of Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb and Mn were obtained in soil when compared with the Commercial-Residential Area. Contaminations of trace metals from various source, e.g., chemical fertilizer, animal manure, night soil and pesticides of the nearby agricultural land were suspected.The second experiment compared the effects of adding a commercial fertilizer and digested sludge which contain substantial amounts of various trace metals to a sandy loam for growing Chinese radish. The results indicated that repeated applications of the fertilizer elevated the contents of various trace metals in the roots of Chinese radish. The phenomenon was further aggravated when digested sludge was also incorporated.The third experiment compared the contents of trace metals in the root and leaf tissues of tree seedlings (Acacia confusa) added with a single dose of the trace metalenriched fertilizer, and different portions of pig manure compost. It was revealed that the fertilizer-treated tree seedlings had a higher content of trace metals in the tissues than those amended with manure compost. Although the metal contents of soil increased as more manure compost was added, the contents in plant tissues did not increase correspondingly.