Publications by authors named "Seguel O"

Copper mining drives economic growth, with the global demand expected to reach 120 million metric tons annually by 2050. However, mining produces tailings containing heavy metals (HMs), which poses environmental risks. This study investigated the efficacy of phytoremediation (Phy) combined with electrokinetic treatment (EKT) to increase metal uptake in grown in tailings from the Metropolitan Region of Chile.

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Polyphenols are compounds that have traditionally been related to sensory properties of wines. The synthesis of these secondary metabolites can be influenced by numerous factors, including the edaphoclimatic conditions of the growing area of vines. In this study, the effect of topography and cultivation location on the chemical composition and sensory perception of wines was determined.

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Article Synopsis
  • Biocrusts are crucial for primary production and nutrient cycling in drylands, yet their role in transferring biologically fixed carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) to mineral soil is not well understood.
  • Experimental studies showed that while biocrusts can modulate CO fluxes, drought severely limits their ability to uptake carbon, leading to a decline in net carbon gain.
  • Climate change, particularly warming, disrupts the beneficial effects of biocrusts on mineral soil composition and diminishes biological nitrogen fixation, threatening overall soil health and ecosystem functions.
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The water relation strategy is a key issue in climate change. Given the difficulty of determining water relations strategy, there is a need for simple traits with a solid theoretical basis to estimate it. Traits associated with resource allocation patterns along a 'fast-slow' plant economics spectrum are particularly compelling, reflecting trade-offs between growth rate and carbon allocation.

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The microbiota is attributed to be important for initial soil formation under extreme climate conditions, but experimental evidence for its relevance is scarce. To fill this gap, we investigated the impact of microbial communities and their interrelationship with biocrust and plants compared to abiotic controls on soil formation in initial arid and semiarid soils. Additionally, we assessed the response of bacterial communities to climate change.

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Spatially explicit soil information is crucial for comprehending and managing many of Earth´s processes related to carbon, water, and other biogeochemical cycles. We introduced a gridded database of soil physical properties and hydraulic parameters at 100 meters spatial resolution. It covers the continental area of Chile and binational basins shared with Argentina for six standardized depths following the specifications of the GlobalSoilMap project.

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As a consequence of the megadrought in Central Chile, it is expected that most of the distribution of woody species will be narrowed in the northern limits because of restrictions imposed by soil matric potential on seed germination. In this study, we analyzed the effect of the soil matric potential on seed germination and initial recruitment of the sclerophyllous species , and from contrasting geographic origins (i.e.

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Soil bacteria play a fundamental role in pedogenesis. However, knowledge about both the impact of climate and slope aspects on microbial communities and the consequences of these items in pedogenesis is lacking. Therefore, soil-bacterial communities from four sites and two different aspects along the climate gradient of the Chilean Coastal Cordillera were investigated.

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In spite of potentially being an important source of rhizobial diversity and a key determinant of common bean productivity, there is a paucity of data on Rhizobium genetic variation and species composition in the important bean producing area of Chile and only one species has been documented (Rhizobium leguminosarum). In this study, 240 Rhizobium isolates from Torcaza bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) nodules established in the highest bean producing area in Chile (33°34'S-70°38'W and 37°36'S-71°47'W) were characterized by PCR-RFLP markers for nodC gene, revealing eight banding patterns with the polymorphic enzyme Hinf I.

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The Apalta catchment is a wine-producing area of 1300 ha, lying south of Santiago, located in the Colchagua Valley, near Santa Cruz in the VI Region of Chile. The vineyards are planted on slopes of up to 22 degrees, the rows being aligned mainly down the slope. This cropping system and its management lead to a potential contamination of natural resources.

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