Although carbon (C) additions to soil have been used in restoration to combat invasive species through changes in soil nitrogen (N) availability, carbon amendments to soil derived from plant material can impact soil N availability in a species-specific manner. As such, amendment-driven feedbacks on ...

The invasive aquatic plant Elodea nuttallii was subjected to hydrothermal carbonization at 200°C and 240°C to produce biochar. About 58% w/w of the organic carbon of the pristine plant was translocated into the solid biochar irrespectively of the operating temperature. The process water rich in...

Oil pollution is one of the most serious current environmental problems. In this study, four strategies of bioremediation of oil-polluted soil were tested in the laboratory over a period of 84 days: (A) aeration and moistening; (B) amendment with 1% biochar (w/w) in combination with A; amendment...

Introduced, invasive plants can alter local soil chemistry and microbial communities, but the underlying mechanisms and extent of these changes are largely unknown. Based on characteristics associated with invasiveness in plants, it was hypothesized that introduced species that produce large...

Plants differ in their capacity to use various forms of nitrogen (N). Although previous studies have suggested invasive plants alter N availability, few distinguish their responses to various forms and different concentrations of inorganic N. In order to understand how plant preference for N...

Biodiversity decline is a major concern for ecosystem functioning. Recent research efforts have been mostly focused on terrestrial plants, while, despite their importance in both natural and artificial ecosystems, little is known about soil microbial communities. This work aims at investigating the ...

Acacias are invasive Fabaceae species that can be composted to produce organic amendments and horticultural substrates. With this aim, big piles were set up with ground and screened acacia residues and pine bark, and managed with different turning frequency, to analyze the physicochemical...

Veterinary antibiotics are frequently detected in soils posing potential contamination of food crops. Sulfamethazine (SMT) uptake was investigated by lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown in the soils treated with/without biochar derived from an invasive plant, burcucumber (Sicyos angulatus L.)...

Post-fire recovery of arid shrublands is typically slow, and planting greenhouse-raised seedlings may be a means of jump-starting this process. Recovery can be further accelerated by understanding the factors controlling post-planting survival. In fall 2007 and 2009, we outplanted seedlings of two...

We conducted a three-year field experiment to determine if amending soils with mulched European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) can limit reinvasion, and whether two methods of incorporation - tilling or surface application - produce similar results. Mulch (a high carbon:nitrogen [C:N] material) may ...