Diplopods as Bioindicators of Soils: Analysis of Midgut of Individuals Maintained in Substract Containing Sewage Sludge

Diplopods feed organic matter in decomposition; however, some environmental factors can promote changes in tissues of these animals. Sewage sludge has been applied for recuperation of physical structure of degraded soil. This work analyzed the influence of the sludge from a city of So Paulo in the midgut of the diplopod Rhinocricus padbergi. After the exposition to sludge, the midgut was prepared for histological and ultra-structural analyses. After 1 week of exposition, there were various glycoprotein globules in the fat body, which appeared, ultrastructurally, little electron dense. In the animals exposed for 2 weeks, there was an intensive renovation of the epithelium with the invasion of regenerative cells, which was observed in the histological and ultra-structural analyses. These data showed that the sludge present various substances that were very hazardous for these animals; more studies were necessary before the application of this in agriculture.

Investigation about the efficiency of the bioaugmentation technique when applied to diesel oil contaminated soils

Este trabalho investigou a eficiência da técnica do bioaumento quando aplicada a solos contaminados com óleo diesel coletados em três postos de combustíveis. Experimentos de biodegradação foram realizados em frascos de Bartha (250 mL), usados para medir a produção microbiana de CO2. A eficiência de biodegradação também foi quantificada pela concentração de hidrocarbonetos. Conjuntamente aos experimentos de biodegradação, a capacidade das culturas estudadas e dos microrganismos nativos em biodegradar óleo diesel comprado de um posto de combustíveis local, foi verificada utilizando-se a técnica baseada no indicador redox 2,6 - diclorofenol indofenol (DCPIP). Resultados obtidos com esse teste mostraram que os inóculos empregados nos experimentos de biodegradação foram capazes de biodegradar óleo diesel e os testes com os microrganismos nativos indicaram que estes solos previamente apresentavam uma microbiota adaptada para degradar hidrocarbonetos. em suma, nenhum ganho foi obtido com a adição dos microrganismos ou mesmo efeitos negativos foram observados nos experimentos de biodegradação.

U-ages in soils and groundwater evidencing wet periods 400-600 kyr ago in southeast Brazil

U-238 and its radiogenic daughter U-234 have been utilized for dating soil formation and groundwater residence time during the last 1.5 million years, in this case based on the U-clissolution/precipitation occurring during modifications of the oxidation-reduction conditions. In this paper, we report a 400-600 kyr proxy of wet periods from sediments occurring in a soil profile developed over rocks outcropping at the Parana sedimentary basin in Brazil, and from groundwater exploited of Guarani aquifer at the same basin. The approaches indicated successful use of the U-modeled ages for suggesting wet periods exceeding the past 116-210 kyr from previous studies. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical properties of soils treated with biological sludge from gelatin industry

O impacto dos resíduos orgânicos agroindustriais no ambiente pode ser reduzido com o seu uso agrícola. do ponto de vista da fertilidade do solo, o que se deseja com a aplicação dos resíduos é aumentar o teor de matéria orgânica e fornecer nutrientes para as plantas. Neste trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar o efeito do lodo biológico de indústria de gelatina em atributos químicos de dois Argissolos Vermelho-Amarelos (PVA-arenoso e PVA-textura média) e de um Latossolo Vermelho (LV-argiloso). O experimento foi conduzido por 120 dias em laboratório, em delineamento inteiramente casualizado e esquema fatorial combinando os três solos e seis doses de lodo (0, 100, 200, 300, 400 e 500 m³ ha-1), com três repetições. A aplicação de até 500 m³ ha-1 de lodo diminui a acidez do solo e aumenta a CTC efetiva e a disponibilidade de N, Ca, Mg e P, sem ultrapassar o limite de tolerância para Na. O aumento do teor de bases, maior do que o da CTC efetiva, indica que a maior parte dos cátions adicionados pelo lodo permanece em solução e pode ser perdida por lixiviação.

Factors affecting Hg (II) adsorption in soils from the Rio Negro basin (Amazon)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mercury in soils and sediments from gold mining liabilities in Southern Amazonia

The 1980-1990 Amazonian gold rush left an enormous liability that increasingly has been substituted by developing fish aquaculture. This work aimed at the identification of the mercury levels in the environment, associated with fish farms located in the North of Mato Grosso State, Southern Amazon. Sediment and soil samples were analyzed for total organic carbon and total mercury. Results indicate that the chemical characteristics of the sediment largely depend on the management procedures of the fish pond (liming, fish food used and fish population). The soils presented relatively low concentrations when compared with other data from the literature.

Seasonal fluctuations of bacterial population and microbial activity in soils cultivated with eucalyptus and pinus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Transfer of radon and parent nuclides U-238 and U-234 from soils of the Mendip Hills area, England, to the water phase

Laboratory time scale experiments were conducted on soils from the Mendip Hills area, England, with the purpose of evaluating the release of Rn-222 and their parent nuclides U-238 and U-234 to the water phase and to determine the influence of parameters that can affect the geochemical behaviour of these nuclides in natural systems. The specific surface area of the samples ranged from 43.8 to 52.5 cm(2) g(-1), where the particle size for all soil horizons is lognormally distributed, with modal values of the particle radius undersize ranging from 107 up to 203 mu m. The values for the released radon were between 26 and 194 pCi, which allowed to estimate emanation coefficients for these materials between 0.1 and 0.2, within the context of other values reported elsewhere. Soils derived from Carboniferous limestone and characterized by higher pH, exchangeable calcium, and the presence of U, but with a lower U-231/U-238 activity ratio, yielded the highest values for released Rn; however, this trend was not observed for dissolved U and its respective U-234/U-238 activity ratio, when considering the less aggressive etchant. Uranium is mobilized from rock matrix to A and B horizons in the analysed soil profiles, where its enrichment is about 10 times higher in soils derived from Carboniferous limestone. These data also permitted an evaluation of a theoretical model for the generation of Rn in soils and its transfer to water, in order to interpret the radioactivity due to this gas in groundwaters from the Mendip Hills district, England. (C) 1999 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All lights reserved.

FRACTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT OF WATER IN SOILS

Observed deviations from traditional concepts of soil-water movement are considered in terms of fractals. A connection is made between this movement and a Brownian motion, a random and self-affine type of fractal, to account for the soil-water diffusivity function having auxiliary time dependence for unsaturated soils. The position of a given water content is directly proportional to t(n), where t is time, and exponent n for distinctly unsaturated soil is less than the traditional 0.50. As water saturation is approached, n approaches 0.50. Macroscopic fractional Brownian motion is associated with n < 0.50, but shifts to regular Brownian motion for n = 0.50.