5
votes
Accepted
Why does frost increase soil fertility?
I found this article on why frost increase soil fertility - specifically nutrient density in the soil. 101 years old!
The Occurrence of Bacteria in Frozen Soil
E. C. Harder Botanical Gazette Vol. ...
4
votes
Spruce growing high up in a maple trunk: Can a partially rotted trunk completely sustain another tree?
Well, holes in rotting trees are not only going to contain rotten tree matter (aka compost :p), but they will also slowly gather fallen leaves, dead insects, dirt, dust and other debris. Even ...
4
votes
Accepted
Spruce growing high up in a maple trunk: Can a partially rotted trunk completely sustain another tree?
Note This answer makes the presumption that the crotch in the maple's trunk is indeed a breach through its bark, and does reach the inner woody tissues.
The heartwood of most trees consists of the ...
3
votes
Odds of finding superbug in soil?
What is the deepest place in the crust that has been found to harbor life?
The deepest living animal:
That award goes to the "Devil Worm" (Halicephalobus ...
3
votes
Spruce growing high up in a maple trunk: Can a partially rotted trunk completely sustain another tree?
In the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National park, there are many "nurse trees" and "nurse logs"; the latter are trees that have fallen and now act as a nutrient source for smaller trees growing on them.
...
2
votes
Odds of finding superbug in soil?
It's an interesting question and I hope this answer doesn't seem flippant, because that is not my intention. The odds of finding a microorganism that has never encountered humans (or any mammal) but ...
2
votes
What is the standard method for measuring soil and substrate acidity
Soil should first be processed by drying the soil to ensure a standard "dry" sample is analyzed. 55$^o$C in drying ovens for 24 hours works for most non-water-zone soils, but more time at 50 ...
2
votes
What is carbon in the soil?
It refers to organic carbon, i.e. the carbon present in proteins, carbohydrates and other molecules as consequence of the metabolism of living creatures. Carbon rich soil is an indication that ...
2
votes
What bacteria shed harvestable energy from root zone organic matter?
Short answer
It is known that a great variety of soil micro-organisms is able to use solid anodes as electron acceptor for their metabolism, thus creating some electrical current. Geobacter spp., ...
2
votes
Accepted
Why do soil bacteria produce nitrous oxide as a result of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer application?
Addressing the first part of your question:
Is it common for most soil bacteria to make significant quantities of
nitrous oxide after ammonia is added, or is there only a small subset
of ...
2
votes
What options are available for high-throughput isolation and identification of microbes from soil?
Hard to know what you would consider "high-throughput", but it might be worth checking out the work by Kim Lewis at Northeastern University — see for example his 2020 Perspective in Cell1.
...
2
votes
Accepted
Giving a sign to Pressure Potential, Osmotic Potential And Other Similar Quantities
I think you already know the sign convention in calculating the water potential: the addition of solutes lowers the potential (negative vector), while an increase in pressure increases the potential (...
2
votes
Alternative to distilled water for pH test
The h2co3 content of unadulterated rain is 15 micromoles of H+/Kg at room temp. The pHBC of average field soil from a 3000km transect in asia varied from 10 to 188 - mmol-kg-ph unit... from 40 ...
1
vote
scientific reasons behind a a sudden yet temporary growth sprout of the plant when the soil has No depth?
Normally a seed would germinate (start to grow) when there is enough damp and warmth beneath the surface of the soil, and the shoot would push upwards at the same time as the root pushes downwards. ...
1
vote
Alternative to distilled water for pH test
Rainwater might not be the best option.
Rain water is naturally acidic due to the reaction of CO2 forming some weak carbonic acid [see here for explanation].
Source: Wikipedia
As a result, pH ...
1
vote
Recommendation for book about soil and their food webs
I really enjoyed reading "Essential Soil Science" by M.R Ashman and G.Puri.
https://g.co/kgs/SCjpSi
Seems to be easy to get online as a pdf as well.
1
vote
Accepted
Recommendation for book about soil and their food webs
A very good resource can be found here:
http://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/content/global-soil-biodiversity-atlas
If you focus on soil analysis this resource could be helpful:
http://www.geokniga.org/...
1
vote
Why do soil bacteria produce nitrous oxide as a result of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer application?
if I give you a can of anhydrous ammonia, and I drop in a match, it will blow up, yielding nitrous oxides.
it is an exothermic energy releasing reaction.
bacteria figured this out, and use this same ...
1
vote
What is carbon in the soil?
If you take an average soil sample, it contains lots of organic matter, unless it is completely mineral like desert sand. Oganic matter always has C, H, O elements, and often N. Peat bogs for example, ...
1
vote
Why does frost increase soil fertility?
From the introduction (bottom of page 167 and top of page 168) of the paper you linked (Masters and McMillan 2001)
We use newly available worldwide climate data to quantify the prevalence of ...
1
vote
Watering plants with soaked forest soil
You are thinking about something like "compost tea".
http://www.homecompostingmadeeasy.com/composttea.html
The problem is that a random piece of forest soil may or may not be rich in nutrients. If ...
1
vote
Requirements for soil sample transportation over long distance
We did a soil sampling expedition around farms in the UK a few years ago. We took with us some insulated plastic picnic drinks cool boxes, and a lot of pre-frozen camping freezer blocks. We bagged ...
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