http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- A recent study has confirmed that although there was a large reduction of organic carbon and total nitrogen pools when prairies were first cultivated and drained, there has been no consistent pattern in these organic matter pools during the period of synthetic fertilizer use, that is, from 1957-2002. http://www.physorg.com/news151261782.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:09:42 EST news151261782 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the rogues' gallery of microscopic infectious agents, the prion is the toughest hombre in town. http://www.physorg.com/news151169843.html Biology Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:37:23 EST news151169843 Responding to sub-Saharan Africa's soil health crisis, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) announced today an ambitious new effort to produce the first-ever, detailed digital soil map for all 42 countries of the region. This project combines the latest soil science and technology with remote satellite imagery and on-the-ground efforts to analyze thousands of soil samples from remote areas across the continent to help provide solutions for poor farmers, who suffer from chronically low-yielding crops largely because of degraded soils. http://www.physorg.com/news151055461.html Space & Earth Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:51:01 EST news151055461 With recent increase in the cost of energy and subsequent explorations into alternative energy sources, the increased harvest of corn residue for cellulosic ethanol production is likely in the future. This may be especially true in fields where corn is grown continuously, in part because perennially high residue amounts favor annual harvests, and also because corn residue left on the soil surface is a source of inoculum for corn diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news150991878.html Space & Earth Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:11:18 EST news150991878 Following the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 and 1990 acidic deposition in North America has declined significantly since its peak in 1973. Consequently, research has shifted from studying the effects of acidic deposition to the recovery of these aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Regional-scale studies have focused primarily on aquatic systems and while many of these ecosystems are showing signs of chemical recovery (increases in acid neutralizing capacity and pH, decreases in sulfate and aluminum concentrations), recovery is slower than expected based on the magnitude of the decline in acid deposition. http://www.physorg.com/news150988084.html Space & Earth Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:08:04 EST news150988084 As a chemical for industrial processes, butanol is used in everything from brake fluid, to paint thinners, to plastics. According to a University of Illinois researcher, butanol made from plant material could displace butanol made from petroleum, just not at the fuel pump. http://www.physorg.com/news150653472.html Biology Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:11:12 EST news150653472 Mercury pollution has already spurred public health officials to advise eating less fish, but it could become a more pressing concern in a warmer world. http://www.physorg.com/news150560491.html Space & Earth Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:21:31 EST news150560491 A new calibration tool was recently developed to help students and soil scientists calibrate their thumb and forefinger for the correct amount of pressure. http://www.physorg.com/news150374256.html Space & Earth Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:37:36 EST news150374256 Farmers, home gardeners, golf course managers and other growers now have access to a new type of microbial fertilizer that dramatically increases plant size and yield, thanks to a licensing agreement between Michigan State University and Bio Soil Enhancers Inc. http://www.physorg.com/news148816002.html Biology Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:46:42 EST news148816002 (PhysOrg.com) -- The Martian arctic soil that NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander dug into this year is very cold and very dry. However, when long-term climate cycles make the site warmer, the soil may get moist enough to modify the chemistry, producing effects that persist through the colder times. http://www.physorg.com/news148581442.html Space & Earth Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:37:22 EST news148581442 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at MIT recently found an elegant solution to a sticky scientific problem in basic fluid mechanics: why water doesn't soak into soil at an even rate, but instead forms what look like fingers of fluid flowing downward. http://www.physorg.com/news148225444.html Physics Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:44:04 EST news148225444 (PhysOrg.com) -- Looking at the site today, it's easy to forget that a dam and pond stood for 43 years on the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Franbrook Farm Research Station in southwestern Wisconsin. All traces of the structure are gone, and acres of plants, both native and weedy, now carpet the floor of the former basin. http://www.physorg.com/news147542380.html Space & Earth Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:59:40 EST news147542380 Soil researchers pay close attention to bulk density, as it is one of the most common soil measurements and it is often used as a measure of soil quality. A soil's bulk density can be indicative of the ease of root penetration, water movement, and soil strength. Measuring this value with traditional methods has been difficult in the past, but researchers have developed a new method using laser scanning technology. http://www.physorg.com/news147530769.html Space & Earth Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:46:09 EST news147530769 Converting forests or fields to biofuel crops can increase or decrease greenhouse gas emissions, depending on where - and which - biofuel crops are used, University of Illinois researchers report this month. http://www.physorg.com/news147443911.html Biology Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:38:31 EST news147443911 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research shows that we should be looking to the ground, not the sky, to see where climate change could have its most perilous impact on life on Earth. http://www.physorg.com/news146746338.html Space & Earth Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:52:18 EST news146746338 One of the biggest threats to today's farmlands is the loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil organic matter (SOM) from poor land-management practices. The presence of these materials is essential as they do everything from providing plants with proper nutrients to filtering harmful chemical compounds to the prevention of soil erosion. Sustainable management practices for crop residues are critical for maintaining soil productivity, but being able to measure a loss in the quality of soil can be difficult. http://www.physorg.com/news146314199.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:49:59 EST news146314199 A new study led by Duke University researchers finds that restoring degraded wetlands -- especially those that had been converted into farm fields -- actually decreases their soil bacterial diversity. http://www.physorg.com/news145708238.html Space & Earth Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:30:38 EST news145708238 Why are the number of students studying soil science as a major declining across the United States? Mary Collins, University of Florida, Gainesville, writes about this in an article published in the 2008 Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education. http://www.physorg.com/news144928384.html Other Sciences Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:53:04 EST news144928384 The fight against climate warming has an unexpected ally in mushrooms growing in dry spruce forests covering Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and other northern regions, a new UC Irvine study finds. http://www.physorg.com/news144912822.html Biology Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:33:42 EST news144912822 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a race against time and the elements, engineers with NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission hope to extend the lander's survival by gradually shutting down some of its instruments and heaters, starting today. http://www.physorg.com/news144511029.html Space & Earth Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:57:09 EST news144511029 (PhysOrg.com) -- Current models of global climate change predict warmer temperatures will increase the rate that bacteria and other microbes decompose soil organic matter, a scenario that pumps even more heat-trapping carbon into the atmosphere. But a new study led by a University of Georgia researcher shows that while the rate of decomposition increases for a brief period in response to warmer temperatures, elevated levels of decomposition don't persist. http://www.physorg.com/news144414973.html Space & Earth Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:16:13 EST news144414973 Earthworms can change the chemical nature of the carbon in North American forest litter and soils, potentially affecting the amount of carbon stored in forests, according to Purdue University researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news144333709.html Space & Earth Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:41:49 EST news144333709 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has finished scooping soil samples to deliver to its onboard laboratories, and is now preparing to analyze samples already obtained. Scientists are anxious to analyze the samples as the power Phoenix generates continues to drop. The amount of sunlight is waning on Mars' northern plains as late-summer turns to fall. http://www.physorg.com/news143909255.html Space & Earth Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:47:35 EST news143909255 The practice of no-till has increased considerably during the past 20 yr. The absence of tillage coupled with the accumulation of crop residues at the soil surface modifies several soil properties but also influence nitrogen dynamics. Soils under no-till usually host a more abundant and diverse biota and are less prone to erosion, water loss, and structural breakdown than tilled soils. Their organic matter content is also often increased. In addition, no-till is proposed as a measure to mitigate the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. To assess the net effect of no-till on greenhouse gas emissions, other gases also have to be examined. http://www.physorg.com/news143892747.html Space & Earth Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:12:27 EST news143892747 (PhysOrg.com) -- The Mars Phoenix Lander's robotic arm successfully delivered soil into oven six of the lander's thermal and evolved-gas analyzer (TEGA) on Monday, Oct. 13, or Martian day (sol) 137 of the mission. http://www.physorg.com/news143735202.html Space & Earth Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:26:42 EST news143735202 Union County New Mexico is a landscape of striking diversity. Out of expansive rangelands rise sporadic yet majestic cinder cone volcanoes and mesas preserved by basalt, part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field. Capulin volcano, formed approximately 62,000 years ago, is the youngest volcano in the field. The cone rises 396 m from the plain, reaching an altitude of 2,495 m above sea level. The base of the volcano is 6.4 km in circumference, and the crater is 126 m deep and 442 m across. http://www.physorg.com/news143723517.html Space & Earth Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:11:57 EST news143723517 For decades, scientists and resource managers have known that wildfires affect forest soils, evidenced, in part, by the erosion that often occurs after a fire kills vegetation and disrupts soil structure. But, the lack of detailed knowledge of forest soils before they are burned by wildfire has hampered efforts to understand fire's effects on soil fertility and forest ecology. http://www.physorg.com/news143381502.html Space & Earth Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:11:42 EST news143381502 The ability to estimate soil texture-by-feel is an important skill that students and registered soil scientists should learn. http://www.physorg.com/news143287143.html Space & Earth Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:59:03 EST news143287143 (PhysOrg.com) -- As fall approaches Mars' northern plains, NASA's Phoenix Lander is busy digging into the Red Planet's soil and scooping it into its onboard science laboratories for analysis. http://www.physorg.com/news142785747.html Space & Earth Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:42:27 EST news142785747 In one of the first comparisons of its kind, researchers have demonstrated that wetlands in tropical areas are able to absorb and hold onto about 80 percent more carbon than can wetlands in temperate zones. http://www.physorg.com/news142676727.html Space & Earth Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:25:27 EST news142676727