Search results for: soil samples

Authors: R. A. Mandour

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The physical, chemical, and microbiological analyses of fifty Quaternary water samples representing the different types of drinking water (surface and wells) in the governorate were carried-out. This paper aims to evaluate the drinking water in Dakahlia governorate in comparison with the national and international standards as a step to handle water pollutants affecting human health in this governorate. All investigated water samples were chemically considered suitable for drinking except two samples for iron, two samples for lead and one water sample for manganese having values higher than the permissible limit of EMH and WHO. Also microbiologically there were five water samples having a high total count of bacteria and three samples having high coli form than the permissible limit of EMH. Obviously, groundwater samples from Mit-Ghamr, El-Sinbillawin and Aga districts of Dakahlia governorate should have special attention for treatment.

Keywords: major ions, minor elements, microbiology, EMH, WHO

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Authors: E. Osazee, L. U. Bashir

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This study was conducted at the Department of Biological Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria, to determine the effects of different weights of cow dung on indigenous bacterial isolates in remediation of crude oil contaminated soils. The soil (1kg) was contaminated with 20g of crude oil and this was treated with three (40g, 80g and 120g) weights of cow dung. The soils were amended after two weeks of crude oil contamination. Soil samples were collected from the plastic bags for microbiological analyses. The isolates were cultured to test their ability to grow on crude oil. The ability of the isolates to utilize the crude oil was determined using media dilution technique. Bacteria such as Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus lacterosporus, Morganella morganii, Serratia marcescens and Bacillus alvei were isolated. The variables measured were heterotrophic bacterial populations, hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial populations and the percentage of crude oil degraded in the soils. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results obtained indicated that all the different weights of cow dung showed appreciable effect in crude oil decontamination. Based on the findings of the experiments, it could be deduced that 120g of cow dung promoted higher degradation of hydrocarbons. Thus, it should be recommended for remediation of crude oil contaminated soil in the study area.

Keywords: crude oil, cow dung, amendment, bioremediation, decontamination

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Authors: Adinda Syifa Azhari, Eleonora Agustine, Dini Fitriani

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This measurement has been done to analyze the impact of industrial pollution on the environment. Our research is to indicate the soil which has contained some pollution by industrial activity around the area, especially in Sumedang, West Java. The parameter phsyics such as total dissolved solid, volumetric water content, electrical conductivity bulk and FD have shown that the soil has polluted and measured by Decagon EM 50. Decagon EM 50 is one of the geophysical environment instrumentation that is used to interpret the soil condition. This experiment has given a result of these parameter physics, these are: Volumetric water content (m³/m³) = 0,154 – 0,384; Electrical Conductivity Bulk (dS/m) = 0,29 – 1,11 ; Dielectric Permittivity (DP) = 77,636 – 78, 339.Based on these data, we have got the conclusion that the area has, in fact, been contaminated by dangerous materials. VWC is parameter physics that has shown water in soil. The data show the pollution of the soil at the place, of which the specifications are PH, Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Electrical Conductivity (EC) bigger (>>) and Frequency Dependent (FD) smaller (<<); that means the soil is alkali with big grain and has high salt concentration.

Keywords: Decagon EM 50, electrical conductivity, industrial textiles, land, pollution

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Authors: Trung Le Thanh

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Soil permeability coefficient is an important parameter that affects the effectiveness of mortar restoration work to reinforce soft soil. Currently, there are many methods to determine the permeability coefficient of ground through laboratory and field experiments. However, the value of the permeability coefficient is determined very differently depending on the geology in general and the sand base in particular. This article presents how to determine the permeability coefficient of sand foundation in Phu My Ward, Tan Uyen City, Binh Duong. The author analyzes and evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of assessment methods based on the data and results obtained, and on that basis recommends a suitable method for determining the permeability coefficient for sand foundations. The research results serve the evaluation of the effectiveness of grouting to reinforce soft ground in general, and grouting of bored piles in particular.

Keywords: permeability coefficient, soft soil, shaft grouting, post grouting, jet grouting

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Authors: B. G. Muhammad, S. M. Jafar

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Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) were employed to analyze the level of trace elements concentrations in sediment samples and their bioaccumulation in some aquatic species selected randomly from surface water resources in the Northern peninsula of Malaysia. The NAA results of the sediment samples indicated a wide range in concentration of different elements were observed. Fe, K, and Na were found to have major concentration values that ranges between 61,000 ± 1400 to 4,500 ± 100 ppm, 20100±1000 to 3100±600 and 3,100±600 and 200±10 ppm, respectively. Traces of heavy metals with much more contamination health concern, such as Cr and As, were also identified in many of the samples analyzed. The average specific activities of 40K, 232Th and 226Ra in soil and the corresponding radium equivalent activity and the external hazard index were all found to be lower than the maximum permissible limits (370 Bq kg-1 and 1).

Keywords: external hazard index, Neutron Activation Analysis, radium equivalent, trace elements concentrations

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Authors: Ali Chitgar

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Respiratory infections including diseases in camels are important not only because of the threat of animal health but also to reduce their production. Since that deal with respiratory problems and their treatment requires adequate knowledge of the existing respiratory problems, unfortunately, there is limited information about the species of camels. This study aimed to identify lung lesions camels slaughtered in a slaughterhouse more important was performed using histopathology. Respiratory camels (n = 477) was examined after the killing fully and tissue samples were placed in 10% formalin. The samples and histological sections using hematoxylin and eosin staining and color were evaluated. In this study 79.6 % (236 of 477 samples) of the samples was at least a lung lesion. Rate acute interstitial pneumonia, chronic interstitial pneumonia, bronchopneumonia, bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the pleura and 52.8 % respectively atelectasis (236 of 477 samples), 5.4 % (24 of 477 samples), 7.8 % (35 of 477 samples), 6.7 % (30 of 477 samples), 3.4 % (15 of 477 samples) and 15.2% (68 of 477 samples). The lung lesions, acute interstitial pneumonia and bronchopneumonia in autumn winter rather than spring and summer (p <0/05) and as a result, this study showed that high rates of lung lesions in the camel population. Waste higher results in cold seasons (fall and winter) shows.

Keywords: camel, surgery, histopathology, breathing organ

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Authors: Katalin Juhos, Enikő Papdi, Flórián Kovács, Vasileios P. Vasileiadis, Andrea Veres

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Mulching techniques can be a solution for better utilization of precipitation and irrigation water and for mitigating soil degradation and drought damages. Waste fibres as alternative biodegradable mulch materials are increasingly coming to the fore. The effect of wool mulch (WM) on water use efficiency of pepper seedlings were investigated in different soil types (sand, clay loam, peat) in a pot experiment. Two semi-field experiments were also set up to investigate the effect of WM-plant interaction on sweet pepper yield in comparison with agro-textile and straw mulches. Soil parameters (moisture, temperature, DHA, β-glucosidase enzymes, permanganate-oxidizable carbon) were measured during the growing season. The effect of WM on yield and biomass was more significant with less frequent irrigation and the greater the water capacity of soils. The microbiological activity was significantly higher in the presence of plants, because of the water retention of WM, the metabolic products of roots and the more balanced soil temperature caused by plants. On the sandy soil, the straw mulch had a significantly better effect on microbiological parameters and yields than the agro-textile and WM. WM is a sustainable practice for improving soil biological parameters and water use efficiency on soils with a higher water capacity.

Keywords: β-glucosidase, DHA enzyme activity; labile carbon, straw mulch; plastic mulch, evapotranspira-tion coefficient, soil temperature

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Authors: John Eric C. Bargas, Maria Cecilia M. Marcos

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One of the most common ground improvement techniques is Deep Soil Mixing (DSM). As the technique progresses, there is still lack in the development when it comes to depth control. This was the issue experienced during the installation of DSM in one of the National projects in the Philippines. This study assesses the feasibility of using equipment drilling parameters such as hydraulic pressure, drilling speed and rotational speed in determining the Standard Penetration Test N-value of a specific soil. Hydraulic pressure and drilling speed with a constant rotational speed of 30 rpm have a positive correlation with SPT N-value for cohesive soil and sand. A linear trend was observed for cohesive soil. The correlation of SPT N-value and hydraulic pressure yielded a R²=0.5377 while the correlation of SPT N-value and drilling speed has a R²=0.6355. While the best fitted model for sand is polynomial trend. The correlation of SPT N-value and hydraulic pressure yielded a R²=0.7088 while the correlation of SPT N-value and drilling speed has a R²=0.4354. The low correlation may be attributed to the behavior of sand when the auger penetrates. Sand tends to follow the rotation of the auger rather than resisting which was observed for very loose to medium dense sand. Specific Energy and the product of hydraulic pressure and drilling speed yielded same R² with a positive correlation. Linear trend was observed for cohesive soil while polynomial trend for sand. Cohesive soil yielded a R²=0.7320 which has a strong relationship. Sand also yielded a strong relationship having a coefficient of determination, R²=0.7203. It is feasible to use hydraulic pressure and drilling speed to estimate the SPT N-value of the soil. Also, the product of hydraulic pressure and drilling speed can be a substitute to specific energy when estimating the SPT N-value of a soil. However, additional considerations are necessary to account for other influencing factors like ground water and physical and mechanical properties of soil.

Keywords: ground improvement, equipment drilling parameters, standard penetration test, deep soil mixing

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Authors: E. Tskitishvili, L. Jgenti, I. Eliava, T. Tskitishvili, N. Bagathuria, M. Gigolashvili

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The nematode fauna of 20 agrocenosis (soil, tuber of potato, green parts of plant, roots) was studied in four regions in South Georgia (Akhaltsikhe, Aspindza, Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda). In all, there were registered 173 forms of free-living and Phyto-parasitic nematodes, including 132 forms which were specified according to their species. A few exemplars of potato root nematode (Ditylenchus destructor) were identified in soil samples taken in Ninotsminda, Akhalkalaki and Aspinda stations, i.e. invasion is weak. Based on our data, potato Ditylenchus was not found in any of the researched tubers, while based on the data of previous years the most of tubers were infested. The cysts of 'golden nematodes' were not found during inspection of material for detection of Globoderosis

Keywords: ditylenchus, monitoring, nematoda, potato

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Authors: V. K. Arora, Amit Rastogi

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To understand the anchor pile behaviour and to predict the capacity of piles under uplift loading are important concerns in foundation analysis. Experimental model tests have been conducted on single anchor pile embedded in cohesionless soil and subjected to pure uplift loading. A gravel-filled geogrid layer was located around the enlarged pile base. The experimental tests were conducted on straight-shafted vertical steel piles with an outer diameter of 20 mm in a steel soil tank. The tested piles have embedment depth-to-diameter ratios (L/D) of 2, 3, and 4. The sand bed is prepared at three different values of density of 1.67, 1.59, and 1.50gm/cc. Single piles embedded in sandy soil were tested and the results are presented and analysed in this paper. The influences of pile embedment ratio, reinforcement, relative density of soil on the uplift capacity of piles were investigated. The study revealed that the behaviour of single piles under uplift loading depends mainly on both the pile embedment depth-to-diameter ratio and the soil density. It is believed that the experimental results presented in this study would be beneficial to the professional understanding of the soil–pile-uplift interaction problem.

Keywords: flat under-reamer anchor pile, geogrid, pullout reinforcement, soil reinforcement

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Authors: Adetunji Olusegun Aderigibigbe

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Shales, especially black shales, are of great geological significance, in the study of heavy/trace metal contamination. This is due to their abundance in occurrence and high concentration of heavy metals embedded which are released during their weathering. Heavy metals constitute one of the most dangerous pollution known to human because they are toxic (i.e., carcinogenic), non-biodegradable and can enter the global eco-biological circle. In the past, heavy metal contamination in aquatic environment and agricultural top soil has been attributed to industrial wastes, mining extractions and pollution from traffic vehicles; only a few studies have focused on weathering of shale as possible source of heavy metal contamination. Based on the above background, this study attempts to establish weathering of shale as possible source of trace/heavy metal contaminations. This was done by carefully selecting fresh and their corresponding weathered shale samples from selected localities in Bida and Anambra Basins. The samples were analysed in Activation Laboratories Ltd; Ontario, Canada for trace/heavy metal. It was observed that some major and trace metals were released during weathering, i.e., some were depleted and some enriched. By this contamination of water zones and agricultural top soils are not only traceable to biogenic processes but geogenic inputs (weathering of shale) as well.

Keywords: contamination, fresh samples, heavy metals, pollution, shales, trace metals, weathered samples

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Authors: Menuka Maharjan

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In the name of food security, agriculture intensification through conventional farming is being implemented in Nepal. Government focus on increasing agriculture production completely ignores soil as well human health. This leads to create serious soil degradation, i.e., reduction of soil fertility and microbial activity and health hazard in the country. On this note, organic farming is sustainable agriculture approach which can address challenge of sustaining food security while protecting the environment. This creates a win-win situation both for people and the environment. However, people have limited knowledge on significance of organic farming for environment conservation and food security especially developing countries like Nepal. Thus, the objective of the study was to assess the impacts of organic farming on soil fertility and microbial activity compared to conventional farming and forest in Chitwan, Nepal. Total soil organic carbon (C) was highest in organic farming (24 mg C g⁻¹ soil) followed by conventional farming (15 mg C g⁻¹ soil) and forest (9 mg C g⁻¹ soil) in the topsoil layer (0-10 cm depth). A similar trend was found for total nitrogen (N) content in all three land uses with organic farming soil possessing the highest total N content in both 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depth. Microbial biomass C and N were also highest under organic farming, especially in the topsoil layer (350 and 46 mg g⁻¹ soil, respectively). Similarly, microbial biomass phosphorus (P) was higher (3.6 and 1.0 mg P kg⁻¹ at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth, respectively) in organic farming compared to conventional farming and forest at both depths. However, conventional farming and forest soils had similar microbial biomass (C, N, and P) content. After conversion of forest, the P stock significantly increased by 373% and 170% in soil under organic farming at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth, respectively. In conventional farming, the P stock increased by 64% and 36% at 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depth, respectively, compared to forest. Overall, organic farming practices, i.e., crop rotation, residue input and farmyard manure application, significantly alters soil fertility and microbial activity. Organic farming system is emerging as a sustainable land use system which can address the issues of food security and environment conservation by increasing sustainable agriculture production and carbon sequestration, respectively, supporting to achieve goals of sustainable development.

Keywords: organic farming, soil fertility, micobial biomas, food security

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Authors: Vaclav Novak, Katerina Krizova, Petr Sarec

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Modern agriculture has to face many issues from which soil degradation and lack of organic matter in the soil are only a few of them. Apart from Climate Change, human utilization of landscape is the cause of a majority part of these problems. Cattle production in Czechia has been reduced by more than half in recent 30 years. However, cattle manure is considered as staple organic fertilizer, and its role in attempts for sustainable agriculture is irreplaceable. This study aims to describe the impact of so-called activators of biological manure transformation (Z´fix, Olmix Group) mainly on physical soil properties but also on crop status. The experiment has been established in 2017; nevertheless, initial measurements of implement draft have been performed before the treated manure application. In 2018, the physical soil properties and crop status (sugar beet) has been determined and compared with the untreated manure and control variant. Significant results have been observed already in the first year, where the implement draft decreased by 9.2 % within the treated manure variant in comparison with the control variant.

Keywords: field experiment, implement draft, vegetation index, sugar beet

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Authors: Paata Sitchinava

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It has been studied phenomena subjected on the water physical (hydrophysical, mineralogy containing, specific hydrophysical) class of heavy clay soils of the Colchis lowland, according to various categories and forms of the porous water, which will be the base of the distributed used methods of the engineering practice and reclamation effectiveness evaluation. According to of clay grounds data, it has been chosen three research bases section in the central part of lowland, where has implemented investigation works by using a special program. It has been established, that three of cuts are somewhat identical, and by morphological grounds separated layers are the difference by Gallic quality. It has been implemented suitable laboratory experimental research at the samples taken from the cuts, at the base of these created classification mark of physical-technical characteristic, which is the base of suitable calculation of hydrophysical researches.

Keywords: Colchis lowland, drainage, water, soil-ground

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Authors: Alemayehu Agizew Woldeamanuel, Mekonnen Maschal Tarekegn, Raj Mohan Balakrishina

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Composting is one of the conventional techniques adopted for organic waste management, but the practice is very limited in emerging cities despite the most of the waste generated is organic. This paper aims to examine the viability of composting for organic waste management in the emerging city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by addressing the composting practice, quality of compost, and application of compost in urban agriculture. The study collects data using compost laboratory testing and urban farm households’ survey and uses descriptive analysis on the state of compost production and application, physicochemical analysis of the compost samples, and regression analysis on the urban farmer’s willingness to pay for compost. The findings of the study indicated that there is composting practice at a small scale, most of the producers use unsorted feedstock materials, aerobic composting is dominantly used, and the maturation period ranged from four to ten weeks. The carbon content of the compost ranges from 30.8 to 277.1 due to the type of feedstock applied, and this surpasses the ideal proportions for C:N ratio. The total nitrogen, pH, organic matter, and moisture content are relatively optimal. The levels of heavy metals measured for Mn, Cu, Pb, Cd and Cr⁶⁺ in the compost samples are also insignificant. In the urban agriculture sector, chemical fertilizer is the dominant type of soil input in crop productions but vegetable producers use a combination of both fertilizer and other organic inputs, including compost. The willingness to pay for compost depends on income, household size, gender, type of soil inputs, monitoring soil fertility, the main product of the farm, farming method and farm ownership. Finally, this study recommends the need for collaboration among stakeholders’ along the value chain of waste, awareness creation on the benefits of composting and addressing challenges faced by both compost producers and users.

Keywords: composting, emerging city, organic waste management, urban agriculture

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Authors: Sultan Haji Shube

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Woodland ecosystems of semiarid rift valley of Ethiopia play a significant role in climate change mitigation by sequestering and storing more carbon. This study was conducted in Gidabo river sub-basins southeastern rift-valley escarpment of Ethiopian. It aims to estimate biomass and carbon stocks of woodlands and its implications for climate change mitigation. A total of 44 sampling plots (900m²each) were systematically laid in the woodland for vegetation and environmental data collection. A composite soil sample was taken from five locations main plot. Both disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were taken at two depths using soil auger and core-ring sampler, respectively. Allometric equation was used to estimate aboveground biomass while root-to-shoot ratio method and Walkley-Black method were used for belowground biomass and SOC, respectively. Result revealed that the totals of the study site was 17.05t/ha, of which 14.21t/ha was belonging for AGB and 2.84t/ha was for BGB. Moreover, 2224.7t/ha total carbon stocks was accumulated with an equivalent carbon dioxide of 8164.65t/ha. This study also revealed that more carbon was accumulated in the soil than the biomass. Both aboveground and belowground carbon stocks were decreased with increase in altitude while SOC stocks were increased. The AGC and BGC stocks were higher in the lower slope classes. SOC stocks were higher in the higher slope classes than in the lower slopes. Higher carbon stock was obtained from woody plants that had a DBH measure of >16cm and situated at plots facing northwest. Overall, study results will add up information about carbon stock potential of the woodland that will serve as a base line scenario for further research, policy makers and land managers.

Keywords: allometric equation, climate change mitigation, soil organic carbon, woodland

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Authors: M. Lebrini, L. Salhi, C. Deyrat, C. Roos, O. Nait-Rabah

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The paper presents a large experimental study on the corrosion of zinc in tropical soil and in the ground water at the various depths. Through this study, the corrosion rate prediction was done on the basis of two methods the electrochemical method and the gravimetric. The electrochemical results showed that the corrosion rate is more important at the depth levels 0 m to 0.5 m and 0.5 m to 1 m and beyond these depth levels, the corrosion rate is less important. The electrochemical results indicated also that a passive layer is formed on the zinc surface. The found SEM and EDX micrographs displayed that the surface is extremely attacked and confirmed that a zinc oxide layer is present on the surface whose thickness and relief increase as the contact with soil increases.

Keywords: soil corrosion, galvanized steel, electrochemical technique, SEM and EDX

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Authors: Meenakshi Srivastava, A. K. Mishra

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This study characterizes the metabolic versatility of denitrifying bacterial communities residing in the paddy soil using the GC-MS based Phospholipid Fatty Acid (PLFA) analyses simultaneously with nosZ gene based PCR-DGGE (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) and real time Q-PCR analysis. We have analyzed the abundance of nitrous oxide reductase (nosZ) genes, which was subsequently related to soil PLFA profile and DGGE based denitrifier community structure. Soil denitrifying bacterial community comprised majority or dominance of Ochrobactrum sp. following Cupriavidus and uncultured bacteria strains in paddy soil of selected sites. Initially, we have analyzed the abundance of the nitrous oxide reductase gene (nosZ), which was found to be related with PLFA based lipid profile. Chandauli of Eastern UP, India represented greater amount of lipid content (C18-C20) and denitrifier’s diversity. This study suggests the positive co-relation between soil PLFA profiles, DGGE, and Q-PCR data. Thus, a close networking among metabolic abilities and taxonomic composition of soil microbial communities existed, and subsequently, such work at greater extent could be helpful in managing nutrient dynamics as well as microbial dynamics of paddy soil ecosystem.

Keywords: denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, DGGE, nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, PLFA, Q-PCR

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Authors: Walid El Kamash

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Sand columns (or granular piles) can be employed as soil strengthening for flexible constructions such as road embankments, oil storage tanks in addition to multistory structures. The challenge of embedding the sand columns in soft soil is that the surrounding soft soil cannot avail the enough confinement stress in order to keep the form of the sand column. Therefore, the sand columns which were installed in such soil will lose their ability to perform needed load-bearing capacity. The encasement, besides increasing the strength and stiffness of the sand column, prevents the lateral squeezing of sands when the column is installed even in extremely soft soils, thus enabling quicker and more economical installation. This paper investigates the improvement in load capacity of the sand column by encasement through a comprehensive parametric study using the 3-D finite difference analysis for the soft clay of soil in Egypt. Moreover, the study was extended to include a comparison study between encased sand column and Deep Mixed columns (DM). The study showed that confining the sand by geosynthetic resulted in an increment of shear strength. That result paid the attention to use encased sand stone rather than deep mixed columns due to relative high permeability of the first material.

Keywords: encased sand column, Deep mixed column, numerical analysis, improving soft soil

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Authors: Nurul Izzati Abd Karim, Samira Albati Kamaruddin, Rozaimi Che Hasan

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The appropriate petrophysical relationship is needed for Soil Water Content (SWC) estimation especially when using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). Ground penetrating radar is a geophysical tool that provides indirectly the parameter of SWC. This paper examines the performance of few published petrophysical relationships to obtain SWC estimates from in-situ GPR common- offset survey measurements with gravimetric measurements at peat soil area. Gravimetric measurements were conducted to support of GPR measurements for the accuracy assessment. Further, GPR with dual frequencies (250MHhz and 700MHz) were used in the survey measurements to obtain the dielectric permittivity. Three empirical equations (i.e., Roth’s equation, Schaap’s equation and Idi’s equation) were selected for the study, used to compute the soil water content from dielectric permittivity of the GPR profile. The results indicate that Schaap’s equation provides strong correlation with SWC as measured by GPR data sets and gravimetric measurements.

Keywords: common-offset measurements, ground penetrating radar, petrophysical relationship, soil water content

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Authors: Kaleeswari R. K., Seevagan L .

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Soil quality in an agroecosystem is influenced by the cropping system, water and soil fertility management. A valid soil quality index would help to assess the soil and crop management practices for desired productivity and soil health. The soil quality indices also provide an early indication of soil degradation and needy remedial and rehabilitation measures. Imbalanced fertilization and inadequate organic carbon dynamics deteriorate soil quality in an intensive cropping system. The rice soil ecosystem is different from other arable systems since rice is grown under submergence, which requires a different set of key soil attributes for enhancing soil quality and productivity. Assessment of the soil quality index involves indicator selection, indicator scoring and comprehensive score into one index. The most appropriate indicator to evaluate soil quality can be selected by establishing the minimum data set, which can be screened by linear and multiple regression factor analysis and score function. This investigation was carried out in intensive rice cultivating regions (having >1.0 lakh hectares) of Tamil Nadu viz., Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Villupuram, Thiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Ramanathapuram districts. In each district, intensive rice growing block was identified. In each block, two sampling grids (10 x 10 sq.km) were used with a sampling depth of 10 – 15 cm. Using GIS coordinates, and soil sampling was carried out at various locations in the study area. The number of soil sampling points were 41, 28, 28, 32, 37, 29 and 29 in Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Thiruvannamalai and Ramanathapuram districts, respectively. Principal Component Analysis is a data reduction tool to select some of the potential indicators. Principal Component is a linear combination of different variables that represents the maximum variance of the dataset. Principal Component that has eigenvalues equal or higher than 1.0 was taken as the minimum data set. Principal Component Analysis was used to select the representative soil quality indicators in rice soils based on factor loading values and contribution percent values. Variables having significant differences within the production system were used for the preparation of the minimum data set. Each Principal Component explained a certain amount of variation (%) in the total dataset. This percentage provided the weight for variables. The final Principal Component Analysis based soil quality equation is SQI = ∑ i=1 (W ᵢ x S ᵢ); where S- score for the subscripted variable; W-weighing factor derived from PCA. Higher index scores meant better soil quality. Soil respiration, Soil available Nitrogen and Potentially Mineralizable Nitrogen were assessed as soil quality indicators in rice soil of the Cauvery Delta zone covering Thanjavur, Thiruvavur and Nagapattinam districts. Soil available phosphorus could be used as a soil quality indicator of rice soils in the Cuddalore district. In rain-fed rice ecosystems of coastal sandy soil, DTPA – Zn could be used as an effective soil quality indicator. Among the soil parameters selected from Principal Component Analysis, Microbial Biomass Nitrogen could be used quality indicator for rice soils of the Villupuram district. Cauvery Delta zone has better SQI as compared with other intensive rice growing zone of Tamil Nadu.

Keywords: soil quality index, soil attributes, soil mapping, and rice soil

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Authors: Celia Marilia Martins, Sonia I. V. Guilundo, Iris M. Victorino, Antonio O. Quilambo

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In Mozambique rapid industrialization (mining, aluminium and cement activities) and urbanization processes has led to the incorporation of heavy metals on soil, thus degrading not only the quality of the environment, but also affecting plants, animals and human healthy. Several methods have been used to remediate contaminated soils, but most of them are costly and difficult to get optimum results. Currently, phytoremediation is an effective and affordable technological solution used to extract or remove inactive metals from contaminated soil. Phytoremediation is the use of plants to clean up a contamination from soils, sediments, and water. This technology is environmental friendly and potentially cost effective. The present investigation summarised the potential of edible vegetable to grow under the high level of heavy metals such as lead and zinc. The plants used in these studies include Tomatoes, lettuce and Soya beans. The studies have shown that edible plants can be grown under the high level of heavy metals on the soil. Further investigations are identifying mechanisms used by plants to ensure a safe and sustainable use for remediation of contaminated soils by heavy metals.

Keywords: contaminated soil, edible plants, heavy metals, phytoremediation

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Authors: Jakub Elbl, Lukáš Plošek, Antonín Kintl, Jaroslav Hynšt, Soňa Javoreková, Jaroslav Záhora, Libor Kalhotka, Olga Urbánková, Ivana Charousová

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This work presents the first results from the long-term laboratory experiment dealing with impact of drought on soil properties. Three groups of the treatment (A, B and C) with different regime of irrigation were prepared. The soil water content was maintained at 70 % of soil water holding capacity in group A, at 40 % in group B. In group C, soil water regime was maintained in the range of wilting point. Each group of the experiment was divided into three variants (A1 = B1, C1; A2 = B2, C2 etc.) with three repetitions: Variants A1 (B1, C1) were controls without addition of another fertilizer. Variants A2 (B2, C2) were fertilized with mineral nitrogen fertilizer DAM 390 (0.140 Mg of N per ha) and variants A3 (B3, C3) contained 45 g of Cp per a pot. The significant differences (ANOVA, P<0.05) in the leaching of mineral nitrogen and values of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) were found. The highest values of Ksat were found in variants (within each group) with addition of compost (A3, B3, C3). Conversely, the lowest values of Ksat were found in variants with addition of mineral nitrogen. Low values of Ksat indicate an increased level of hydrophobicity in individual groups of the experiment. Moreover, all variants with compost addition showed lower amount of mineral nitrogen leaching and high level of microbial activity than variants without. This decrease of mineral nitrogen leaching was about 200 % in comparison with the control variant and about 300 % with variant, where mineral nitrogen was added. Based on these results, we can conclude that changes of soil water content directly have impact on microbial activity, soil hydrophobicity and loss of mineral nitrogen from the soil.

Keywords: drought, microbial activity, mineral nitrogen, soil hydrophobicity

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Authors: R. Ziaie Moayed, M. Mortezaee

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An important and influential factor in design and determining the safety factor in Soil Nailing is the ultimate pullout capacity, or, in other words, bond strength. This important parameter depends on several factors such as material and soil texture, method of implementation, excavation diameter, friction angle between the nail and the soil, grouting pressure, the nail depth (overburden pressure), the angle of drilling and the degree of saturation in soil. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a customary regulation in the design of nailing, is considered only the effect of the soil type (or rock) and the method of implementation in determining the bond strength, which results in non-economic design. The other regulations are each of a kind, some of the parameters affecting bond resistance are not taken into account. Therefore, in the present paper, at first the relationships and tables presented by several valid regulations are presented for estimating the ultimate pullout capacity, and then the effect of several important factors affecting on ultimate Pullout capacity are studied. Finally, it was determined, the effect of overburden pressure (in method of injection with pressure), soil dilatation and roughness of the drilling surface on pullout strength is incremental, and effect of degree of soil saturation on pullout strength to a certain degree of saturation is increasing and then decreasing. therefore it is better to get help from nail pullout-strength test results and numerical modeling to evaluate the effect of parameters such as overburden pressure, dilatation, and degree of soil saturation, and so on to reach an optimal and economical design.

Keywords: soil nailing, pullout capacity, federal highway administration (FHWA), grout

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Authors: Ghazal Horiat, Alireza Hajiani Bushehrian

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leakage of contamination from fuel or oil reservoirs can alter the geotechnical properties of the soil under their foundation and finally affect their performance in their service life. This article investigates the behavior of shallow foundations on the soil contaminated with diesel and kerosene using the Plaxis Tunnel3D V1.2 software. The information required for the numerical modeling in the paper was obtained from a similar experimental study. The present study seeks to compare the behavior of square foundations on sandy soil without contamination and the soil contaminated with different percentages of diesel and crude oil. The study was conducted on a small square foundation. The depth of the contamination was assumed constant, and the soil was evaluated with four different percentages of both contaminants. The results of analyses were plotted and assessed in the form of load-displacement curves for the foundation. The results indicate reduced bearing capacity of the foundation with the rise in the contamination percentage.

Keywords: bearing capacity, contaminated soils, shallow foundations, 3D numerical analysis

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Authors: Honggang Qu, Rongmei Liu, Bin Wang, Yong Xu, Zhenji Gao

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There is a big gap in the ability and level of the informatization technology innovation of cores and samples compared with developed countries. Under the current background of promoting the technology innovation, how to strengthen the informatization technology innovation of cores and samples for National Cores and Samples Archives, which is a national innovation research center, is an important research topic. The paper summarizes the development status of cores and samples informatization technology, and finds the gaps and deficiencies, and proposes the innovation research directions and content, including data extraction, recognition, processing, integration, application and so on, so as to provide some reference and guidance for the future innovation research of the archives and support better the geological technology innovation in China.

Keywords: cores and samples;, informatization technology;, innovation;, suggestion

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Authors: Zermina Q., Wasif Y., Naeem S., Urooj S., Sajid R. A.

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Land degradation, a leading environemtnal problem and a decrease in the quality of land has become a major global issue, caused by human activities. By land degradation, more than half of the world’s drylands are affected. The worldwide scope of main saline soils is approximately 955 M ha, whereas inferior salinization affected approximately 77 M ha. In irrigated areas, a total of 58% of these soils is found. As most of the vegetation types requires fertile soil for their growth and quality production, salinity causes serious problem to the production of these vegetation types and agriculture demands. This research aims to identify the salt affected areas in the selected part of Indus Delta, Sindh province, Pakistan. This particular mangroves dominating coastal belt is important to the local community for their crop growth. Object based image analysis approach has been adopted on Landsat TM imagery of year 2011 by incorporating different mathematical band ratios, thermal radiance and salinity index. Accuracy assessment of developed salinity landcover map was performed using Erdas Imagine Accuracy Assessment Utility. Rain factor was also considered before acquiring satellite imagery and conducting field survey, as wet soil can greatly affect the condition of saline soil of the area. Dry season considered best for the remote sensing based observation and monitoring of the saline soil. These areas were trained with the ground truth data w.r.t pH and electric condutivity of the soil samples. The results were obtained from the object based image analysis of Keti bunder and Kharo chan shows most of the region under low saline soil.Total salt affected soil was measured to be 46,581.7 ha in Keti Bunder, which represents 57.81 % of the total area of 80,566.49 ha. High Saline Area was about 7,944.68 ha (9.86%). Medium Saline Area was about 17,937.26 ha (22.26 %) and low Saline Area was about 20,699.77 ha (25.69%). Where as total salt affected soil was measured to be 52,821.87 ha in Kharo Chann, which represents 55.87 % of the total area of 94,543.54 ha. High Saline Area was about 5,486.55 ha (5.80 %). Medium Saline Area was about 13,354.72 ha (14.13 %) and low Saline Area was about 33980.61 ha (35.94 %). These results show that the area is low to medium saline in nature. Accuracy of the soil salinity map was found to be 83 % with the Kappa co-efficient of 0.77. From this research, it was evident that this area as a whole falls under the category of low to medium saline area and being close to coastal area, mangrove forest can flourish. As Mangroves are salt tolerant plant so this area is consider heaven for mangrove plantation. It would ultimately benefit both the local community and the environment. Increase in mangrove forest control the problem of soil salinity and prevent sea water to intrude more into coastal area. So deforestation of mangrove should be regularly monitored.

Keywords: indus delta, object based image analysis, soil salinity, thematic mapper

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Authors: Muzamir Hasan, Anas Bazirgan

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Granular columns is a technique that has the properties of improving bearing capacity, accelerating the dissipation of excess pore water pressure and reducing settlement in a weak soft soil. This research aims to investigate the role of Polypropylene column in improving the shear strength and compressibility of soft reconstituted kaolin clay by determining the effects of area replacement ratio, height penetrating ratio and volume replacement ratio of a singular Polypropylene column on the strength characteristics. Reinforced kaolin samples were subjected to Unconfined Compression (UCT) and Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) triaxial tests. The kaolin samples were 50 mm in diameter and 100 mm in height. Using the PP column reinforcement, with an area replacement ratio of 0.8, 0.5 and 0.3, shear strength increased approximately 5.27%, 26.22% and 64.28%, and 37.14%, 42.33% and 51.17%, for area replacement ratios of 25% and 10.24%. Meanwhile, UU testing showed an increase in shear strength of 24.01%, 23.17% and 23.49% and 28.79%, 27.29 and 30.81% for the same ratios. Based on the UCT results, the undrained shear strength generally increased with the decrease in height penetration ratio. However, based on the UU test results Mohr-Coulomb failure criteria, the installation of Polypropylene columns did not show any significant difference in effective friction angle. However, there was an increase in the apparent cohesion and undrained shear strength of the kaolin clay. In conclusion, Polypropylene column greatly improved the shear strength; and could therefore be implemented in reducing the cost of soil improvement as a replacement for non-renewable materials.

Keywords: polypropylene, UCT, UU test, Kaolin S300, ground improvement

Procedia PDF Downloads 325

Authors: Khalifa Alatresh, Mirac Aydin

Abstract:

This research explores the impacts of irrigation by treated wastewater (TWW) on the mineralogical and chemical attributes of sandy calcareous soils in the Southern region of Misurata. Soil samples obtained from three horizons (A, B, and C) of six TWW-irrigated pedons (29years) and six other pedons from nearby non-irrigated areas (dry-control). The results demonstrated that the TWW-irrigated pedons had significantly higher salinity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), cation exchange capacity (CEC), available phosphor (AP), total nitrogen (TN), and organic matter (OM) relative to the control pedons. Nonetheless, all the values of interest (EC < 4000 µs/cm < SAR < 13, pH < 8.5 and ESP < 15) remained lower than the thresholds, showing no issues with sodicity or salinity. Irrigated pedons contained significantly higher amounts of total clay and showed an altered distribution of particle sizes and minerals identified (quartz, calcite, microcline, albite, anorthite, and dolomite) within the profile. The observed results included the occurrence of Margarite, Anorthite, Chabazite, and Tridymite minerals after the application of TWW in small quantities that are not enough to influence soil genesis and classification.0,51 cm.

Keywords: treated wastewater, sandy calcareous soils, soil mineralogy, and chemistry

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Authors: Maryam Salehi, Gholamreza Bonyadinejad

Abstract:

The application of agricultural plastic products like mulch, greenhouse covers, and silage films is increasing due to their economic benefits in providing an early and better-quality harvest. In 2015, the 4 million tons (valued a 10.6 million USD) global market for agricultural plastic films was estimated to grow by 5.6% per year through 2030. Despite the short-term benefits provided by plastic products, their long-term sustainability issues and negative impacts on soil health are not well understood. After their removal from the field, some plastic residuals remain in the soil. Plastic residuals in farmlands may fragment to small particles called microplastics (d<5mm). The microplastics' exposure to solar radiation could alter their surface chemistry and make them susceptible to fragmentation. Thus, this study examined the photodegradation of low density polyethylene as the model microplastics that are released to the agriculture farmland. The variation of plastic’s surface chemistry, morphology, and bulk characteristics were studied after accelerated UV-A radiation experiments and sampling from an agricultural field. The Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrated the formation of oxidized surface functional groups onto the microplastics surface due to the photodegradation. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed an increased crystallinity for the photodegraded microplastics compared to the new samples. The gel permeation chromatography (GPC) demonstrated the reduced molecular weight for the polymer due to the photodegradation. This study provides an important opportunity to advance understanding of soil pollution. Understanding the plastic residuals’ variations as they are left in the soil is providing a critical piece of information to better estimate the microplastics' impacts on environmental biodiversity, ecosystem sustainability, and food safety.

Keywords: soil health, plastic pollution, sustainability, photodegradation

Procedia PDF Downloads 211