Respiration parameters determined by the ISO-17155 method as potential indicators of copper pollution in vineyard soils after long-term fungicide treatment.

This study seeks to determine the impact of copper-based fungicides on the respiration of vineyard soils. The ISO-17155 is an international standard recommended for monitoring soil quality by the evaluation of the effects of pollutants on soil microbial activity. Respiration curves and derived parameters [i.

In situ remediation of metal-contaminated soils with organic amendments: role of humic acids in copper bioavailability.

The purposes of this study were to determine the Cu(II) binding behavior of humic acids (HAs) isolated from biosolid compost (BI), leonardite (LE), a metal-contaminated soil, and the soil remediated with either BI or LE in relation to their structural properties, and to explore the role exerted by the HA fractions in controlling soil Cu(II) bioavailability. Potentiometric titrations at pH 5 and ionic strength 0.1M and the Langmuir model were used to obtain the Cu(II) complexing capacity of the HAs examined and the conditional stability constant of the Cu(II)-HA complexes.

Composition and structural characteristics of humified fractions during the co-composting process of spent mushroom substrate and wheat straw.

A spent mushroom substrate (SMS) was mixed with wheat straw (WS) in three proportions, C1 (2:1), C2 (4:1), and C3 (6:1), and composted for 90 days in static piles with periodic turning to ensure adequate aeration. Samples from each pile were collected periodically (after 0, 30, 60, and 90 days), and the humic acid-like fractions (HAs) were isolated to determine their elemental composition (C, H, N, S, and O), acidic functional group (carboxylic and phenolic) content, and structural and functional characteristics using spectroscopic methods including ultraviolet-visible, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and fluorescence. The results of elemental and functional group analyses show that, with increasing time of composting, the N, O, and acidic functional group contents of HAs increase, whereas their C and H contents and C/N ratio decrease.