Over half of the carbon (C) taking part in the global C cycle is held in terrestrial systems. Because of the sensitivity of the C cycle to changes in such soil-based pools of carbon, it is important to understand the ...

The increasing world population is putting pressure on global food production. Agriculture must meet these growing demands by increasing crop yields. One phenomenon which prevents seedling emergence and damages crop yield ...

A major uncertainty in soil carbon studies is how inputs of fresh plant-derived carbon affect the turnover of existing soil organic matter (SOM) by so-called priming effects. Priming may occur directly as a result of ...

In Malawian agriculture, the use of compost as a soil amendment has received much attention over the last few decades. Despite this, little is known about the commonly practiced composting systems in Malawi and their ...

Although plant-soil interactions are increasingly recognized as an important factor in ecosystem restoration, their effects on community assembly during de novo ecosystem establishment are largely unknown. In a heathland ...

In sports surface management, integrated disease management (IDM) is useful in identifying the parameters for which disease can occur. The host, pathogen and environment are factors that are intrinsically linked for disease ...

Manure and slurry are valuable resources that may enhance many soil properties. However, organic amendments can pose a significant health risk to both humans and livestock if not managed correctly due to pathogenic loads ...

Sewage sludge is a potentially valuable resource that can enhance both the structure and fertility of soil. However, it can also harbour enteric pathogens which pose a significant socio-economic risk to society. Therefore ...

According to the second law of thermodynamics, no process can be 100% efficient and all processes must increase the total entropy of the system they occupy. Therefore, living systems require a constant influx of low-entropy ...

Calcite formation in soils and other porous media generally occurs around a localised source of reactants, such as a plant root or soil macro-pore, and the rate depends on the transport of reactants to and from the ...