Does Sago palm respond to nitrogen application?

Sago palm ( Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) is widely found in the tropical lowland forest and freshwater swamps across Southeast Asia and New Guin...

Sofja Kovalevskaja Award for Top Level Junior Scientists and Scholars

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation based in Bonn , Germany , announces that it now accepts application for the prestigious Sofja Kovalev...

Report on the 12th PSSST Conference held on May 21-22, 2009 in Davao City

Contributed by Judith Carla P. dela Torre (PhilRice) The 12 th Annual Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Philippine Society of Soil...

Continuous cultivation does not always decrease soil organic carbon content

It is generally known that continuous cultivation causes a decline in soil organic carbon and nutrient contents. This has been shown by ...

Organic fertilization improves soil fungi population

While organic fertilization is now widely known to improve the general soil quality, more data from field experiments are still needed to su...

Leaf decomposition of exotic and native tree species: rates and effect on soil

Decomposition of organic materials on the forest floor is a vital link between the various components of the forest ecosystem. Through...

PSSST holds 12th national scientific conference

The Philippine Society of Soil Science and Technology (PSSST), the country’s national professional organization of soil scientists and soil ...

Are the tropical soils in Southeast Asia unique?

The soils in the tropical islands of SE Asia may be distinct from those in other tropical areas like Africa and the Americas because of the...

Weathering of basalt and clay mineral formation in Leyte, Philippines

Weathering is the physical, chemical, and biological alteration of minerals in rocks, sediments, and soils at or near the Earth’s surface. I...

Soil distribution in the Philippines

The distribution of soils in the Philippines is largely controlled by parent material, relief, and vegetation. In general, Philippine soils...

Concentration affects plant uptake of inorganic and organic forms of N

It is now recognized that plants take up N from the soil in three forms: nitrate , ammonium , and amino acids (dissolved organic N) . Althou...

Effects of elevation on N cycling in tropical forests

Scientists predict that tropical regions will receive the most dramatic increase in nitrogen (N) deposition over the next decades. This is d...

Relation between nutrient status of rainforest trees and environmental factors

The mineral nutrition of native plant species is still poorly understood. This is particularly true for the various tree species in rain for...

Nitrate and phosphate leaching from Lake Danao soil (Leyte, Philippines)

Nitrogen and phosphorus are the most important nutrients that also function as environmental pollutants ( Logan , 2000). The natural lev...

The original Handbook of Soil Science by E. Blanck

One of the most influential books on soil science in the 20 th century was the Handbuch der Bodenlehre (Handbook of Soil Science), a 10-vo...

The importance of N:P ratio

Soil fertility in terrestrial ecosystems has received increased attention from ecologists since it is now widely recognized that nutrient av...

Relation between N mineralization and latitude

The global distribution of soils is a function of climate and thus is related to latitude. Consequently, soil processes are known to vary wi...

Fate of nitrate in the capillary fringe and shallow groundwater

Nitrate pollution of groundwater systems is a serious problem in many countries. Application of nitrogen-containing fertilizers to irrigated...

Land use change decreases carbon, nitrogen, and sugar contents of tropical soil

Land use change is an important ecological driver in the Philippines and other parts of the tropics. It is the major cause of the widespread...

Clay minerals in soil have antibacterial properties

Clay minerals are a major component of soils. They are an important source of negative charge which enable the soil to hold nutrients and po...

Effects of warfare on soil development

The influence of the physical environment on the outcome of battle is well-known but not the effects of warfare upon the environment particu...

The "home field advantage" in plant litter decomposition

If you collect leaf litter from a Mahogany plantation and put it beaneath Gmelina trees or vice versa, the rate of litter decomposition will...

Soil and human health

People living in areas with fertile soils are better nourished than those living in degraded soils due to the higher quantity and quality of...

Soil as component of landscapes and ecosystems

Landscape is a three dimensional section of the Earth’s surface with specific pattern of topography, rocks, soil, water and flora and fauna....

Functions of soil

Soil is not dirt. It is a vital life-support system for human survival. Below are the major functions of soil: a) Production function. Soil ...

Soil science is a natural science

Soil science or pedology ( pedo is Greek for ground or soil) is a scientific discipline at the meeting point of physical, biological, geolo...