Quantifying soil carbon stocks and humification through spectroscopic methods: A scoping assessment in EMBU-Kenya.

A soil carbon assessment was performed comparing agricultural cropping systems with natural vegetation along a sampling transect spanning different agro-ecologies on the eastern foot slopes of Mount Kenya in Embu county, 125 km from Nairobi, Kenya. The aim was to determine differences in soil carbon stocks and carbon recalcitrance and relate these to soil textural class, altitude, climatic parameters and land use. Soils from main agricultural systems as tea, coffee and maize-based intercropping, as well as from natural vegetation cover were sampled in triplicates, in five layers from 0 to 30 cm in depth and processed for total carbon analysis.

Nickel Availability in Soil as Influenced by Liming and Its Role in Soybean Nitrogen Metabolism.

Nickel (Ni) availability in soil varies as a function of pH. Plants require Ni in small quantities for normal development, especially in legumes due its role in nitrogen (N) metabolism. This study investigated the effect of soil base saturation, and Ni amendments on Ni uptake, N accumulation in the leaves and grains, as well as to evaluate organic acids changes in soybean.

Characterization of organic matter from composting of different residues by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods.

Chemical and spectroscopic methods were used to characterize organic matter transformations during the composting process. Four different residue mixtures were studied: P1--garden trimmings (GT) only, P2 - GT plus fresh cattle manure, P3--GT plus orange pomace and P4--GT plus filter cake. The thermophilic phase was not reached in P1 compost, but the P2, P3 and P4 composts showed all three typical process phases.

Sensitive and reproducible quantification of Cu2+ by stripping with a carbon paste electrode modified with humic acid.

The preparation of a humic acid modified carbon paste electrode (HA-MCPE) as well as the behavior of its surface as complexing agent toward Cu2+ cations are described. Electrochemical studies of the reduction of the complexed cations and of the anodic stripping oxidation of the resulting copper are outlined. The anodic stripping current was correlated to the Cu2+ concentrations.