Steam-treatment-based soil remediation promotes heat-tolerant, potentially pathogenic microbiota.

We investigated microbiota in surface and subsurface soil from a site, above steam-treated deep sub-soil originally contaminated with chlorinated solvents. During the steam treatment, the surface soil reached temperatures c. 30 degrees C higher than the temperature in untreated soil; whereas the subsurface soil, at a depth of about 40 cm, reached a temperature c.

Interspecific relationships among soil invertebrates influence pollutant effects of phenanthrene.

Five mesofauna communities varying in both structure and composition were exposed to phenanthrene in mesocosms for up to four months. Effects of phenanthrene were assessed on mesofauna population dynamics, fungal biomass (ergosterol concentrations), and litter decomposition (litter mass loss, nitrogen concentration). The effects of each community on the fate of phenanthrene were also assessed.

Production of trichothecenes and other secondary metabolites by Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium equiseti on common laboratory media and a soil organic matter agar: an ecological interpretation.

Fusarium culmorum and F. equiseti were characterized with regard to production of trichothecenes and other secondary metabolites. Results following growth on laboratory media are interpreted with the aim of increasing the understanding of fungal metabolism in the field environment.