Australian Journal of Soil Research articles from December 2002

Australian Journal of Soil Research archives from December 2002

Hydraulic properties of rain impact surface seals on three clay soils--influence of raindrop impact frequency and rainfall intensity during steady state.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Studying surface sealing helps in understanding soil hydrology and water entry capabilities of soils under various land management practices, as the seal can be the most limiting layer controlling water entry. Current research...

Sorption of pesticides used in banana production on soils of Ecuador.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Banana production and aquaculture are two important sources of export income for Ecuador, together constituting about 50% of the total export. The majority of banana plantations are located along the Guayas River Basin in La...

Laboratory and field studies on the degradation of fipronil in a soil.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Fipronil with its IUPAC name as ([+ or-])-5-amino-1-(2,6-dichloro-[alpha],[alpha],[alpha]-trifluoro-p-tolyl) -4-trifluoromethyl-sulfinylpyrazole-3-carbonitrile is a member of the phenyl pyrazole class of pesticides. It is a...

Is there evidence of arsenic movement at cattle tick dip sites?
December 1, 2002... Introduction The cattle tick was first detected in northern Australia in 1872. Within 33 years, they had spread south-east through the Northern Territory and Queensland, to the New South Wales border. The cattle tick can transmit protozoal...

Improvements to peroxide oxidation methods for analysing sulfur in acid sulfate soils.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Acid sulfate soil (ASS) methods are used to analyse a diverse range of soils and materials--from sands, coffee rock, and peats, through to silts and heavy clays, as well as stockpiled dredge material and spoil. These materials...

The measurement of actual acidity in acid sulfate soils and the determination of sulfidic acidity in suspension after peroxide oxidation.
December 1, 2002... Introduction The characterisation of soil acidity is a complex task. The most common index for soil acidity is pH. However, pH gives no indication of a soil's buffering capacity, making it a poor predictor of lime requirement or...

Layer charge characteristics of smectites from Vertosols (Vertisols) of New South Wales.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Layer charge is a fundamental structural property of 2:1 phyllosilicates and the magnitude of the layer charge forms the basis for the classification of 2:1 layer silicate minerals (Bailey 1980). The layer charge controls...

The use of Ca-modified, brown-coal-derived humates and fulvates for treatment of soil acidity.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Soil acidity, particularly in the subsoil of the root-zone, has been identified as a major limiting factor in crop productivity in Australia. Acidic soils are deficient in Ca and Mg (Leeper and Uren 1993). Traditional...

Effect of soil variability, within and between soil taxonomic units, on simulated nitrate leaching under arable farming, New Zealand.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Nitrate in groundwater is a major environmental contaminant internationally and in New Zealand. A recent OECD report (2000) highlighted that, unlike most other countries, New Zealand's agricultural nitrogen surplus had...

Reduced leaching of nitrate, ammonium, and phosphorus in a sandy soil by fly ash amendment.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Nutrients in fertilisers applied to horticultural crops and other managed plant systems on sandy soils can be leached from the topsoil, and this may lead to contamination of ground waters. Leaching of N[O.sub.3.sup.-] can be...

Changes in bicarbonate-extractable phosphorus over time when P fertiliser was withheld or reapplied to pasture soils.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Phosphorus (P) is widely regarded as the limiting nutrient for productive agriculture in Australia's highly weathered soils (Leeper and Uren 1993). These soils require the application of P fertiliser for profitable plant...

Short-term effects of incubated legume and grass materials on soil acidity and C and N mineralisation in a soil of north-east Australia.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Perennial grass growth forms the basis of beef production systems in northern Australia. Stylosanthes (stylo), a tropical woody legume shrub, has been introduced into these native pastures in order to improve pasture quality...

Simulating the effectiveness of surface film on water evaporation and ammonia volatilisation.
December 1, 2002... Introduction Nitrogen use efficiency in flooded rice fields is generally as low as 35% due to losses through many pathways (De Datta and Buresh 1989). Previous results show that gaseous loss of N is the main loss pathway in rice systems...

Evaluation of methods for field diagnosis of sodicity in soil and irrigation water in the sugarcane growing districts of Queensland, Australia.
December 15, 2002... Introduction Soil sodicity is a major factor limiting sustainable crop production in semi-arid and sub-humid areas of the world, especially under irrigation (Gupta and Abrol 1990). High exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) increases the...

Effects of agricultural management on Vertosols in Tasmania.
December 15, 2002... Introduction Vertosols are clay textured soils with shrink-swell properties that exhibit strong cracking when dry (Isbell 1996). In the northern Midlands of Tasmania, these soils are formed in alluvium on modern floodplains as well as on...

Effects of site preparation on runoff, erosion, and nutrient losses from Pinus plantations established on the coastal lowlands of south-east Queensland, Australia.
December 15, 2002... Introduction The Queensland Department of Primary Industries Forestry (QDPIF) has established some 110000 ha of Pinus plantations in the coastal lowlands of the State's south-east, mostly on acidic, coarse-textured soils of low fertility....

Afforestation of pastures with Pinus radiata influences soil carbon and nitrogen pools and mineralisation and microbial properties.
December 15, 2002... Introduction Land management affects the C content of soils, which are the main reservoir of terrestrial C (Bouwman 1990; Batjes 1996). Carbon losses from cultivation and increases from conversion of arable land to grasslands or forests...

Diversity and symbiotic effectiveness of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii isolates from pasture soils in south-western Australia.
December 15, 2002... Introduction In south-western Australia, subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) has been used as a pasture legume for many years (Chatel and Parker 1973; Chatel et al. 1973). As subterranean clover is not native to Australia,...

Cadmium accumulation by willow clones used for soil conservation, stock fodder, and phytoremediation.
December 15, 2002... Introduction Willows are used extensively in New Zealand for soil conservation and supplementary stock fodder during times of drought (Wilkinson et al. 1999). Both foliage and small twigs can be browsed by sheep and cattle (Hathaway 1986;...

The rapid assessment of concentrations and solid phase associations of macro- and micronutrients in alkaline soils by mid-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.
December 15, 2002... Introduction Alkaline soils represent an important proportion of world soils but are often associated with fertility problems such as sodicity and nutrient deficiencies (Matar et al. 1992; Ford et al. 1993). Calcarosols, Vertosols, and...

Mineral sources of potassium to plants for seven soils from south-western Australia.
December 15, 2002... Introduction An important consideration influencing the availability to plants of non-exchangeable K ([K.sub.nex]) in soils is the rate of release of this form of K to exchangeable and dissolved K pools (Feigenbaum et al. 1981). Particle...

Use and abuse of isotopic exchange data in soil chemistry.
December 15, 2002... Introduction The use of radioisotopes has significantly assisted study of the behaviour of both nutrient and toxic elements in soil. Many elements have useful radioisotopes that can be used to study retention and plant uptake processes in...

Interferences in the determination of isotopically exchangeable P in soils and a method to minimise them.
December 15, 2002... Introduction The isotopic dilution technique has been widely employed for estimating the total available pool of P in soils, often termed the `E-value' (e.g. Russell et al. 1954; Talibudeen 1957; Fardeau and Jappe 1976; Scott Tran et al....

An improved calibration curve between soil pH measured in water and Ca[Cl.sub.2].
December 15, 2002... Introduction The 2 most common measurements of soil pH made in Australian laboratories are in 0.01 M Ca[Cl.sub.2] and in water, both typically at a soil to solution ratio of 1:5. We denote these by p p[H.sub.Ca] and p[H.sub.w]...

Assessing the viability of recharge reduction for dryland salinity control: Wanilla, Eyre Peninsula.
December 15, 2002... Introduction Dryland salinity in Australia is estimated to cost around AU$600 million annually in lost farm production alone. Approximately 2.5 Mha of land are currently salt-affected and there is potential for this to rise to 15 Mha with...