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Topic Review
World-Wide Data of Organochlorine Pesticide in Agricultural Soils
Soil constitutes the central environmental compartment that, primarily due to anthropogenic activities, is the recipient of several contaminants. Among these are organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), which are of major concern, even though they were banned decades ago due to their persistence and the health effects they can elicit. Soil pollution by OCPs should be an essential aspect of the characterization of whole soil quality, considering that a significant percent of soils on a global scale are in the borderline of suitability for cultivation and pertinent activities. The latter, to an extent, is attributed to the presence of organic contaminants, especially those of persistent chemical natures.
  • 533
  • 30 May 2022
Topic Review
Water Land Resources Degradation Index
Natural resources are gradually coming under continuous and increasing pressure due to anthropogenic interventions and climate variabilities. The result of these pressures is reflected in the sustainability of natural resources. Significant scientific efforts during the recent years focus on mitigating the effects of these pressures and on increasing the sustainability of natural resources. Hence, there is a need to develop specific indices and indicators that will reveal the areas having the highest risks. The Water and Land Resources Degradation Index (WLDI) was developed for this purpose. WLDI consists of eleven indicators and its outcome results from the spatiotemporal performance of these indicators. The WLDI is based on the Standardized Drought Vulnerability Index (SDVI) and the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Index (ESAI). 
  • 840
  • 27 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Transformation of Organic Soils Due to Artificial Drainage
Organic soils that had been drained in order to obtain fertile agricultural land underwent changes leading to the formation of mursh (also known as moorsh). The mursh-forming process is a generic soil process that occurs in drained (artificially or naturally) organic soils, and leads to the changes in soil morphology, soil physical properties (including water retention capability), physicochemical properties, and chemical and biological properties. 
  • 284
  • 27 Mar 2023
Topic Review
The Occurrence of Microorganisms in Grassland Soils
Soil microorganisms are responsible for the mineralization of organic compounds and the course of various biogeochemical cycles. They have an influence on the biodiversity of entire ecosystems, including the plant cover. They are responsible for the productivity of soil and its structure, and they also affect the circulation of elements in nature. The count and species composition of soil microorganisms depend mainly on the physicochemical properties of the pedon, the amount of nutrients, the type of soil, and the species composition of the plant community. Plants significantly influence the species composition of soil microbial communities through the release or loss of compounds from plant roots to the surrounding soil environment and decomposition of litter and roots.
  • 1.6K
  • 19 May 2022
Topic Review
The Impact of Microplastics on Global Food Production
Microplastics (MPs), a new class of pollutants, are extremely varied and their effects are particular to each organism, making the qualitative assessment and evaluation of their effects on the global food industry extremely complex. MPs are present in air, earth, and water, and hence can access all sectors of the food production industry.
  • 110
  • 29 Nov 2023
Topic Review
The Effect of Biochar on Soil Properties
Biochar, a product of biomass pyrolysis, is recognized for its positive effects on soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Biochar acts as a soil conditioner, improving physical, chemical, and biological properties and enhancing soil fertility and crop yield. Furthermore, it aids in mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide. However, the long-term behavior of biochar and its interactions with various factors require further field research for optimal utilization, as the aging process of biochar in soil is complex, involving physical, chemical, and biological interactions that influence its impact on the agroecosystem.
  • 137
  • 24 Aug 2023
Topic Review
The Ancient Peat Plateaus' Vulnerability in Western Siberia
Based on the data of the plant macrofossil and palynological composition of the peat deposits, the evolution and current state of polygonal peatlands were analyzed at the southern limit of continuous permafrost in the Pur-Taz interfluve. Paleoreconstruction shows that peat accumulation began in the Early Holocene, about 9814 cal. year BP, in the Late Pre-Boreal (PB-2), at a rate of 1 to 1.5 mm year−1. Intensive peat accumulation continued in the Boreal and early Atlantic. The geocryological complex of polygonal peatlands has remained a stable bog system despite the predicted warming and increasing humidity. However, a rather rapid upper permafrost degradation and irreversible changes in the bog systems of polygonal peatlands occur with anthropogenic disturbances, in particular, a change in the natural hydrological regime under construction of linear objects.
  • 400
  • 19 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Sources of Microplastic Pollution in Soil
Microplastics (MPs) are the most versatile, inexpensive, and non-biodegradable materials widely used in daily life. Regardless of their enormous applications, MPs have developed into a critical ecological issue. Major sources of MPs in soil ecosystems are sewage sludge, mulching plastic films, inappropriate dumping of plastic waste, agricultural amendments, etc. which pose a severe environmental threat to the different ecosystems of the earth. Soil has become the reservoir of various micropollutants released from several potential sources over decades of applications, harming the soil and the environment.
  • 402
  • 14 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Sources of Bioavailable Water in Desert Ecosystems
Water availability is the dominant driver of microbial community structure and function in desert soils. However, these habitats typically only receive very infrequent large-scale water inputs (e.g., from precipitation and/or run-off). In light of studies, the paradigm that desert soil microorganisms are largely dormant under xeric conditions is questionable. Gene expression profiling of microbial communities in desert soils suggests that many microbial taxa retain some metabolic functionality, even under severely xeric conditions.
  • 243
  • 24 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Soil, Humipedon, Forest Life and Management
Three sections (Humipedon, Copedon and Lithopedon) were recognized in the soil profile. It was then possible to link the first and most biologically active section to the characteristics of the environment and soil genesis. In particular, it is now possible to distinguish organic horizons, mainly produced by arthropods and enchytraeids in cold and acidic or dry and arid environments, from organo-mineral horizons produced by earthworms in more temperate and mesotrophic environments. Each set of horizons can be associated with a humus system or form, with important implications for forestry. Anecic/endogeic earthworms and Mull or Amphi systems are more abundant in the early and late stages of sylvogenesis; by completely recycling litter, earthworms accelerate the availability of organic and inorganic soil nutrients to roots and pedofauna. On the other hand, arthropods and Moder or Tangel systems characterize the intermediate stages of sylvogenesis, where thickening in the organic horizons and the parallel impoverishment/reduction in the underlying organo-mineral horizons are observed. Recognizing the humus system at the right spatial and temporal scale is crucial for the biological management of a forest.
  • 342
  • 31 Jul 2023
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