Plant, Soil and Environment, 2017 (vol. 63), issue 10

Soil respiration depending on different agricultural practices before maize sowingOriginal Paper

Jolanta BOJARSZCZUK, Jerzy KSIĘŻAK, Anna GAŁĄZKA

Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(10):435-441 | DOI: 10.17221/597/2017-PSE  

The aim of the study was to compare soil respiration depending on different agricultural practices before sowing of maize (Zea mays L.). Results of the study were derived from the field experiment that was carried out in 2013-2015; the research indicates that soil respiration depends on cultivation method. The highest soil respiration was recorded in maize cultivation in monoculture using full tillage. The simplifications in maize cultivation caused a decrease of soil respiration, especially in direct sowing. The lowest level of this parameter was recorded in monoculture in direct sowing. Compared with other treatments, such as direct sowing,...

Sustainability of denitrifying bioreactors with various fill mediaOriginal Paper

Jitka MALÁ, Zuzana BÍLKOVÁ, Karel HRICH, Kateřina SCHRIMPELOVÁ, Michal KRIŠKA, Michal ŠEREŠ

Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(10):442-448 | DOI: 10.17221/372/2017-PSE  

Nitrogen losses from utilised agricultural areas are responsible for water quality degradation and eutrophication. Denitrifying bioreactors can be used to reduce high nitrate concentrations in agricultural runoff in situ. The main factors affecting their function are the bioreactor fill medium and process parameters such as hydraulic retention time, temperature and inlet concentration of nitrates. The paper presents the results of laboratory experiments achieved with bioreactors filled with eight different wood-based materials, namely mulch, a mixture of spruce and pine sawdust, a mixture of pine and larch bark, and chips made of oak, poplar,...

Effects of maize and winter wheat grown under different cultivation techniques on biological activity of soilOriginal Paper

Karolina FURTAK, Karolina GAWRYJOŁEK, Anna M. GAJDA, Anna GAŁĄZKA

Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(10):449-454 | DOI: 10.17221/486/2017-PSE  

The aim of the study was to compare the activity and functional biodiversity in soil under two different cereals: common maize and winter wheat, both grown in the same pattern of cultivation techniques: conventional (to 25 cm depth) and reduced (to 10 cm depth). Soil samples for comparative analysis were collected at the same time (July 2016) at a long-term field experiment, which was carried out in 2013-2016. Soil biological activity was determined by measurement of dehydrogenases activity (DHa) with TTC (2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride) application, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) content by fumigation-extraction method, and...

The contents of free amino acids and elements in As-hyperaccumulator Pteris cretica and non-hyperaccumulator Pteris straminea during reversible senescenceOriginal Paper

Daniela PAVLÍKOVÁ, Veronika ZEMANOVÁ, Milan PAVLÍK

Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(10):455-460 | DOI: 10.17221/606/2017-PSE  

The objectives of this study were to analyse the relationship between the contents of elements and free amino acids (AAs) in fronds of As-hyperaccumulator Pteris cretica cv. Albo-lineata (PC) and non-hyperaccumulator Pteris straminea (PS) during reversible senescence. The time-course effect on senescence was also investigated. The two ferns were grown in a pot experiment with soil containing 16 mg As_total/kg soil for 160 days. The contents of elements and AAs in both ferns and in individual sampling periods differed. The highest accumulation of elements and AAs was measured in PS fronds after 83 days; however, the accumulation...

Leaf area index assessment for tomato and cucumber growing period under different water treatmentsOriginal Paper

Shaikh Abdullah Al MAMUN HOSSAIN, Lixue WANG, Taotao CHEN, Zhenhua LI

Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(10):461-467 | DOI: 10.17221/568/2017-PSE  

The aim of this study was to assess the leaf area index (LAI) of tomato and cucumber using an AccuPAR-LP-80-ceptometer to find the influence of irrigation. LAI was also determined by destructive sampling for comparison. The research was conducted at the Liaoning Water Conservancy Institute, North China in 2016. A randomized block design was used to test the influence of four treatments corresponding to field water capacity. Full irrigation (W_1.0), 15% (W_0.85), 25% (W_0.75) and 35% (W_0.65) water deficit were applied using the drip system. Regression model was developed to estimate LAI in response to irrigation....

Impacts of fertilizer application rates on phosphorus dynamics in salt-affected soilOriginal Paper

Ling-An NIU, Jin-Min HAO

Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(10):468-474 | DOI: 10.17221/580/2017-PSE  

As a new rebuilding agricultural soil on the North China plains, the salt-affected soil had a short soil-forming process of about 30 years. This paper describes the effect of different fertilization systems on phosphorus (P) dynamics in saline-alkali uncultivated land, in the reserved natural salt-vegetation back zone, and in different phases of fertilization for 24 years on the North China plains. The treatments included control (or check, CK), N₁, N₂, P₁, P₂, N₁P₁, N₁P₂, N₂P₁, N₂P₂. The contents of total phosphorus (TP)...

Phosphorus effects of recycled products from municipal wastewater on crops in a field experimentOriginal Paper

Telse VOGEL, Michael NELLES, Bettina EICHLER-LÖBERMANN

Plant Soil Environ., 2017, 63(10):475-482 | DOI: 10.17221/513/2017-PSE  

In this study, the phosphorus (P) fertilizing effects of struvite, one thermochemical-treated sewage sludge ash (SSA) based on Ca-P (Ca-SSA) and one full sulfuric acid-digested SSA based on Al-P (Al-SSA) were analysed in comparison to triple superphosphate (TSP) and a control treatment (CON) without P application in a two-year field experiment. In the field experiment, the effects of the recycling products on crop yield, P uptake and labile soil P fractions were analysed. In addition, the effect of nitrogen and magnesium contained in struvite was investigated in the second year of the experiment compared to TSP and CON. In the first year, spring barley...