Soil Science

The current research aims to study the impacts of adding corncob biochar to a sandy soil irrigated with drainage water on wheat productivity, heavy metals fate, and some soil properties that reflect healthy soil conditions. This research consists of two separate experiments under field (lysimeters) and pot incubation conditions conducted on sandy soil irrigated with drainage water and treated with corncob biochar at the rate of 0.0, 1, 2, and 3% as mixing or mulching. Results specified that drainage water electrical conductivity value (5.89 dS m−1) lies under the degree of restriction on use of “Severe”, indicating that nonstop irrigation with such drainage water may cause a severe salinity problem in soil in the long run. A comparison of heavy metal concentrations of biochar-treated soils with the control showed that total heavy metals had accumulated significantly in the topsoil layer. Most of the available heavy metal concentrations in all soil leachate fractions were below the m...

This researchconducted to evaluate the relationship between status of total and available Cr,Cd, Ni and Pb and physiochemical properties of different agricultural soils of El-Minia Governorate, Egypt. To realize this goal, combined twenty one surface soil samples (30-cm depth) signifying the main soil great groups of El-Minia Governorate were collected and tested for different soil properties in relation toheavy metals status of soil.Positive and negative high significant correlations were found between total and available soil contents of all studied heavy elements and soil physiochemical properties.Statistical analyses show that, total and available Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb are positively high significant correlated with CEC cmol c kg-1 , OM %, WHC%, silt % and clay % but negatively significant correlated with sand % and soil reaction (pH). The total and available Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb were positively but not significantly correlated with the soil property of EC (dSm-1), while negatively but not significantly correlated with CaCO 3 %, indicating difficulty of predicting the availability of these heavy metals from these soil properties. Concentrations of total and available Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb in the cultivated soilscollected from Nile West and Nile East were less than the critical values for plant growth. However, concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb in cultivated soils collected from the Nile Valley surpassed the critical values for plant growth in general. Attentions should be alarmed to prevent the continuous accumulation of these metals in agricultural soils by anthropogenic activities and agricultural management, which may lastlyinitiate the soil pollution at a toxic level. In the future, using such agricultural soils for cultivation of edible crops may give rise to chronic health risks to human if not managed properly.

This researchconducted to evaluate the relationship between status of total and available Cr,Cd, Ni and Pb and physiochemical properties of different agricultural soils of El-Minia Governorate, Egypt. To realize this goal, combined twenty one surface soil samples (30-cm depth) signifying the main soil great groups of El-Minia Governorate were collected and tested for different soil properties in relation toheavy metals status of soil.Positive and negative high significant correlations were found between total and available soil contents of all studied heavy elements and soil physiochemical properties.Statistical analyses show that, total and available Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb are positively high significant correlated with CEC cmol c kg-1 , OM %, WHC%, silt % and clay % but negatively significant correlated with sand % and soil reaction (pH). The total and available Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb were positively but not significantly correlated with the soil property of EC (dSm-1), while negatively but not significantly correlated with CaCO 3 %, indicating difficulty of predicting the availability of these heavy metals from these soil properties. Concentrations of total and available Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb in the cultivated soilscollected from Nile West and Nile East were less than the critical values for plant growth. However, concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb in cultivated soils collected from the Nile Valley surpassed the critical values for plant growth in general. Attentions should be alarmed to prevent the continuous accumulation of these metals in agricultural soils by anthropogenic activities and agricultural management, which may lastlyinitiate the soil pollution at a toxic level. In the future, using such agricultural soils for cultivation of edible crops may give rise to chronic health risks to human if not managed properly.