mortiz085

Anthropocene is the term coined in 2000 by Paul Crutzen, the Nobel laureate from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, to refer to the current geological epoch characterized by the global impact of human activity. The Anthropocene Working Group of the International Commission on Stratigraphy defines it as the present time interval, in which many geologically significant conditions and processes are profoundly altered by human activities (www.quaternary.stratigraphy.org).  The conditions and processes include changes in: erosion and sediment transport associated with a variety of anthropogenic processes, including colonisation, agriculture, urbanisation and global warming; the chemical composition of the atmosphere, oceans and soils, with significant anthropogenic perturbations of the cycles of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and various metals; environmental conditions generated by these perturbations which include global warming, ocean acidification...

The gently rolling topography which typifies a large portion of the volcanic landscape in Claveria makes it ideal for intensive large-scale vegetable production. The widely grown vegetables include cabbage, beans, tomato, sweet pepper and eggplant. The breathtaking volcanic landscape of Claveria, Misamis Oriental But the strongly weathered soils which range from Oxisols in the lower slopes (about 400 to 600 m above sea level or asl) to Ultisols in the upper slopes (about 600 to 900m asl) are a major constraint to vegetable production in the area. Oxisols (also called Ferralsols) and Ultisols (also called Alisols and Acrisols) are clayey, reddish, acidic and nutrient-poor soils although they generally have good physical properties like good structure and moderate to high porosity. As in other volcanic landscapes, the oldest and most infertile soils (Oxisols) are formed on the older and stable lower slopes. Dr. Apol & Nelds Gonzaga, Ruby Gabaca, Dr. Steve Harper & myself in fro...

Prof. Neal Menzies , professor of soil and environmental science and head of the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the prestigious University of Queensland, Australia, visited the Visayas State University (VSU), Leyte, Philippines from September 16-19, 2014.  The purpose of his visit was to attend, as a collaborating scientist, the meeting of the ACIAR (Australian Center for International Agricultural Research) - funded Soils Project (Soil and Nutrient Management Strategies for Sustainable Vegetable Production in Southern Philippines- SMCN/2012/029) attended by scientists from the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Dr. Stephen Harper and Ms. Zara Hall) and partners from the Visayas State University, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Bureau of Soil and Water Management, Landcare Foundation Philippines Incorporated, Misamis Oriental State College of Agriculture and Technology (MOSCAT) and the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF).  Prof. N...

The renowned Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) established in 1966 by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) announced in its website (www.searca.org) the 2014 winners of the prestigious  SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair awards. Below is the complete press release: SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair honors champions of sustainable agricultural and rural development For their outstanding contribution to agricultural research and development, five outstanding Southeast Asian academicians have been conferred the SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair in April 2014. They are Dr. Orville L. Bondoc , Dr. Virginia C. Cuevas , and Dr. Dinah Pura T. Depositari o, from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB); Dr. Victor B. Asio from the Visayas State University (VSU); and Dr. Mohd. Razi Ismail from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Dr. Bondoc, a Professor of Animal Breeding, has been awarded the Bangko...

Potassium (K) is second to nitrogen in terms of the amount absorbed by higher plants. Optimum K level for plant growth ranges from 2 to 5% of plant dry weight (Marschner, 1995). Unlike P, K is present in relatively large quantities in soils coming from the weathering of primary minerals such as feldspars, mica and others. But it is commonly deficient in highly weathered or old soils. Total K contents of soils range between 3000 and 100,000 kg/ha in the upper 20 cm of the soil profile (Sparks, 2000). The behavior of K in the soil is influenced primarily by CEC and mineral weathering and not by biological processes. Interrelationship of various forms of soil K (modified from Sparks, 2000) K in the soil occurs in 4 forms: solution K, exchangeable K, nonexchangeable K, and mineral K (Sparks, 2000). a) Solution K . This is the K dissolved in the soil solution. It is the form of K that is readily available to plants and soil microorganisms and also is the form of K most subject to leaching ...

In 1979, Bernhard Ulrich was the first researcher to discover the connection between air pollution and the forest decline or dieback (Waldsterben) in Germany. He hypothesized that acid rain results in soil acidification which in turn causes the forest dieback phenomenon. According to his soil acidification hypothesis, as soil becomes more acidic there is a release of aluminum that damages the roots of the trees. This leads to the following effects: reduction in uptake and transport of some cations, reduction in root respiration, damage to fine feeder roots and root morphology, and reduction in elasticity of the cell walls. The discovery was first published by Ulrich and co-workers in " Deposition von Luftverunreinigungen und ihre Auswirkungen in Waldökosystemen im Solling ." Schriften Forstl. Fak. Univ. Goettigen 58, Sauerländer Verlag, Frankfurt a.M., 291pp.  Photo source: www.museumplatkow.de In 1986, Ulrich put forward his 8 theses on soil acidification which appeared in ...

Weathering is the alteration by chemical, mechanical, and biological processes of rocks and minerals at or near the Earth’s surface, in response to environmental conditions. Highly weathered soils (or strongly weathered soils) are soils that have undergone prolonged and intense weathering under the net leaching environment of the humid tropics. They are commonly found on stable and old geomorphic surfaces underlain by easily weatherable rocks such as ultrabasic and basic rocks as well as by pre-weathered sediments (Beinroth, 1982). These soils are clayey, deep, reddish, acidic, and have low nutrient status. According to Jackson et al. (1948), highly weathered soils are characterized by weathering stages of 10 to 12 wherein the clay fraction is dominated by 1:1 phyllosilicates (kaolinite & halloysite), aluminum oxide (gibbsite), and iron oxides (goethite and hematite). This mineralogical characteristic is also predicted by the “residua hypothesis” of Chesworth (1973) which states th...