Soil water repellency (SWR) has a drastic impact on soil quality resulting in reduced infiltration, increased runoff, increased leaching, reduced plant growth, and increased soil erosion. One of the causes of SWR is hydrophobic fungal structures and exudates that change the soil-water relationship. The objective of this study was to determine whether SWR and infiltration could be manipulated through inoculation with fungi. The effect of fungi on SWR was investigated through inoculation of three fungal strains (hydrophilic -Fusarium proliferatum, chrono-amphiphilic -Trichoderma harzianum, and hydrophobic -Alternaria sp.) on a water repellent soil (WR-soil) and a wettable soil (W-soil). The change in SWR and infiltration was assessed by the water repellency index and cumulative infiltration respectively. F. proliferatum decreased the SWR on WR-soil and slightly increased SWR in W-soil, while Alternaria sp. increased SWR in both the W-soil and the WR-soil. Conversely T. harzianum increased the SWR in the W-soil and decreased the SWR in the WR-soil. All strains showed a decrease in infiltration in W-soil, while only the F. proliferatum and T. harzianum strain showed improvement in infiltration in the WR-soil. The ability of fungi to alter the SWR and enmesh soil particles results in changes to the infiltration dynamics in soil.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2012.10.004 | DOI Listing |
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
January 2025
Department of Ecology and Coastal Management, Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN - CSIC), Puerto Real 11519, Spain. Electronic address:
The presence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment is increasing due to their growing use for human health. Although most studies are based on short exposures to these contaminants, the present study has emerged from the need to study pharmaceuticals in aquatic organisms over a long-term exposure to understand any multi-generational chronic effects and alterations regarding habitat selection. Therefore, this study shows: (1) the ability of Daphnia magna to colonize environments contaminated with caffeine, ibuprofen and fluoxetine, and (2) the effect of these pharmaceuticals on reproduction and habitat selection (under two scenarios: with and without food) after a long-term exposure period of three generations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomater Sci
January 2025
Research Institute for Biomimetics and Soft Matter, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Soft Functional Materials Research, Department of Physics, College of Physical Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Nature-inspired superhydrophobic materials have attracted considerable interest in blood-contacting biomedical applications due to their remarkable water-repellent and self-cleaning properties. However, the interaction mechanism between blood components and superhydrophobic surfaces remains unclear. To explore the effect of trapped air on platelet adhesion, we designed four distinct hydrophobic titanium dioxide (TiO) nanostructures with different fractions of trapped air.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA.
Small
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India.
Altering the edge sites of 2D MXenes for electrochemical dinitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR) is widely reported, whereas activation of its relatively inert basal planes is neglected. Herein, the activation and the optimization of the basal planes of TiCT (T = *F, *O, and *OH) MXenes toward enhanced ENRR to ammonia is reported. The balanced surface functionalization in TiCT regulates the ENRR kinetics by regulating the potential of zero charge (E) and the electrochemical work function ( ).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, P. R. China.
Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction offers a sustainable and efficient pathway for ammonia synthesis. Maintaining satisfactory Faradaic efficiency for long-term nitrate reduction under ampere-level current density remains challenging due to the inevitable hydrogen evolution, particularly in pure nitrate solutions. Herein, we present the application of electron deficiency of Ru metals to boost the repelling effect of counter K ions via the electric-field-dependent synergy of interfacial water and cations, and thus largely promote nitrate reduction reaction with a high yield and well-maintained Faradaic efficiency under ampere-level current density.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!