ALBERT

Description: Eight soils in Manitoba, varying in texture, Great Soil Group and Subgroup, and amount of clay movement were analyzed for concentration of HNO3 + HClO4-extractable Zn, Fe, Al and Mn and percent sand, silt and clay. Soils were categorized into three textural groups, coarse, medium to fine and very fine. Statistical analyses were conducted to investigate the inherent associations between concentration of native Zn and concentrations of Fe, Al and Mn as well as sand, silt and clay contents for each textural group independently. Native soil Zn concentration was highly correlated with HNO3 + HClO4-extractable concentrations of Fe (r = 0.80, 0.89 and 0.90 for coarse, medium to fine and very fine-textured soils, respectively) and Al (r = 0.68, 0.79 and 0.81 for coarse, medium to fine and very fine-textured soils, respectively) and with clay content (r = 0.69, 0.64 and 0.82 for coarse, medium to fine and very fine-textured soils, respectively). Significant correlation between Zn concentration and clay content likely resulted from Fe and Al oxides coatings on silicate clays and from a large proportion of free Fe and Al oxides being clay-size. Correlation between Zn and Mn concentration was not significant for medium to fine and very fine-textured soils and was significant at only 5% level for coarse-textured soils. Large quantities of Zn (45–71% of HNO3 + HClO4-extractable Zn) were extracted along with the amorphous and organic complexed Fe and Al from four other Manitoba soils indicating, once again, that Zn was in some manner associated with oxides of Fe and Al in Manitoba soils.

Description: The effluents and ochreous deposits in several partly blocked field drains in Ontario were microbiologically and chemically assayed. The effluents contained several million per milliliter of the iron-oxidizing bacterium Gallionella. Sphaerotilus, a sheath-forming bacterium, was also numerous. Both microorganisms were generally encrusted with amorphous ferric iron oxides. They were also found in the ochreous deposits inside the tiles and also in the deposits adjacent to plugged filters surrounding the tiles. The iron-oxidizing bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was not found. Filamentous structures resembling the iron-oxidizing bacterium Metallogenium were frequently observed but the experimental evidence indicated them to be aggregates of colloidal Fe(OH)3. Calcite, dolomite, quartz and feldspar were common constituents of the effluents and the ochreous deposits. In some cases, one or more of gypsum, plagioclase, chlorite and illite were present. The ochreous deposits were generally high in iron and contained elements normally found in soil. Occasionally the materials were found to contain traces of magnetite. Except for the iron in the silicates the remaining iron was non-crystalline, present as amorphous ferric oxyhydroxide. Amorphous manganese oxide was also found. It was recognized that chemical oxidation might be an important agent in oxidizing the FE+2; however, the results and a literature survey indicated that Gallionella plays a major role. It is theorized that following oxidation, a ferric hydroxide sol is produced, which in the presence of electrolytes forms aggregates of colloidal Fe(OH)3 that combine with microbes and ions in the tile water to produce an amorphous precipitate. In association with carbonates, quartz and clay minerals, the precipitate forms ochreous substances. The paucity of dissolved ferrous and ferric iron, the presence of organic matter and adsorbed anions inhibits crystallization of the amorphous ferric oxyhydroxide. Roots in conjunction with large numbers of Sphaerotilus formed effective plugs.

Description: Fresh soil (0- to 7.5-cm depth) was collected at intervals of approximately 2 wk during the growing season from a maple woodlot and an abandoned pasture. When samples were perfused with a solution of (NH4)2SO4 containing 20 ppm N, the rate of nitrification diminished during the summer and, for both soils, halved between mid-June and mid-July. Nitrification in the woodlot soil was nearly twice as rapid as in the pasture soil. Perfusion of soil, that had been stored for 2 mo at 0 C and to the surface of which granular fertilizer was then added, showed that urea and (NH4)2SO4 were nitrified very rapidly in woodlot soil but more slowly in pasture soil. Ureaform was nitrified slowly in both soils. It was concluded from these laboratory experiments that for experimental trials of fertilization (of sugar maple) in the field, the most suitable nitrogenous fertilizer to apply to woodlot soil could be ureaform, and to pasture soil could be (NH4)2SO4. Probably the most effective time at which to apply the fertilizer would be mid-June.

Description: Nitrogen isotopic fractionation during ammonium adsorption by clay colloids was shown to occur in two time-dependent stages. A rapid 15N enrichment of the NH4+ in solution was followed by a gradual depletion until, after an 8- to 10-h equilibrium period, the δa15N of the NH4+ in solution was approximately 1; this value was significantly lower than the initial value of 2.3 for the NH4Cl used in these experiments. The isotopic equilibrium constant (ke) for the ammonium adsorption reaction was greater than unity, and higher for the Ca2+- than K+-saturated clay colloids.

Description: In field experiments conducted on a poorly drained clay loam soil from 1974 to 1976, inclusive, 21–44% of added chloride was lost from the 0- to 75-cm layer by the end of September, whereas NO3−-N increased in this layer in both the control and fertilized plots. Mineralization during the summer masked any N losses by leaching or denitrification. N losses were highest between late fall and early spring. NO3−-N and chloride tended to show similar distribution patterns in the profile but not necessarily similar leaching losses, since simultaneous denitrification occurred in an adjacent experimental site. Chloride distribution in the profile and leaching losses did not appear to coincide with expectations of typical transport theory, since losses were associated with diffuse bulges near the surface instead of distinct peaks or slugs of chloride moving steadily downward.

Description: Wind is one of the mechanisms causing saline soil in Saskatchewan. This type of salinity is always adjacent to intermittant saline ponds or lakes.

Description: The objective of this work was to determine the effect of sampling time and field heterogeneity on the soil fertility tests (pH, organic matter, N, P, K, Ca, Mg). The sampling on Ap horizons was repeated in May, July and October of 1976 at 25 locations of a clay loam soil (Kamouraska Series) and a sandy soil (Vien Series). The results indicated that the coefficients of variation were lower than 7% for the pH analyses but exceeded 30% for the other analyses. For the latter, sampling time showed a significant decrease in the P, K and Mg values from May to October on the sandy soil but showed no effect on the clay loam soil. Field heterogeneity was found to be a greater factor of variation than sampling time. It explained an average of 26% of the variation obtained on the sandy soil and 74% on the clay loam soil where the cultural practice of raising the center of the field, for better surface drainage, caused great variations in the depth of the Ap horizons in relation to the width of the field.

Description: In a pot experiment with additions of Zn, Cu and Ni to a loam soil (pH, 6.3) at rates up to 480 ppm, sewage sludge eliminated the toxic effect of Cu and reduced the toxic effect of Ni on corn, reduced the concentrations of Zn and Ni in the plants, and reduced the amounts of DTPA-extractable metals and of 0.01 M CaCl2-soluble Zn and Ni in the soil. Lettuce grown with the metals and sludges was more susceptible than corn to the toxic effects of the three metals in the loam soil and to Zn in a clay soil (pH 5.9). In the latter soil, Ni was less toxic to lettuce than to corn. The concentrations of metals were considerably higher in lettuce than in corn. Liming of the clay soil to a pH of 6.5 eliminated the toxic effect of Ni on corn and of Zn and Ni on lettuce and reduced the concentrations of the metals in the plants and the amounts of DTPA-extractable and CaCl2-soluble metals in the soil. The order of magnitude of the DTPA-extractable metals was Cu 〉 Zn 〉 Ni whereas the order for CaCl2-soluble metals was Ni 〉 Zn〉 Cu. Variability in the effect of the metals between crops and soils precluded the use, except as a preliminary guide, of a Zn equivalent concept based on the assumption that Cu is twice as toxic and Ni is eight times as toxic as Zn.

Description: Hydrocarbon residues from crude oil storage tanks were incorporated into field plots of a Red River Clay soil. The oil content immediately after application was 1.45% based on the weight of air-dried soil. The plots were sampled after application and after 106, 476 and 833 days. Hydrocarbons were extracted from samples with tetrahydrofuran at room temperature and fractionated by a combination of solvent extraction and column chromatography into the following fractions: (1) saturates, (2) monoaromatics, (3) diaromatics, (4) polyaromatics and polar compounds and (5) high molecular weight material such as asphaltenes. Fractions (1) to (4) were examined by gas–liquid chromatography. The results showed that 50.4% of the total applied residues were degraded within 833 days. The individual fractions were degraded to varying extents: (1) 54.6%, (2) 50.0%, (3) 57.1%, (4) 44.4% and (5) 11.1%. The alkanes in fraction (1) degraded to low levels during the first 106 day s.

Description: Seven soil supplement products did not affect grain or straw yields, or any of the measured yield components of unstressed wheat or of wheat subjected to an 8-bar soil water stress at early heading. Soil water stress reduced yields by reducing the number of spikes per plant and, to a lesser but significant degree, the number of kernels per spike and the average kernel weight.