A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-021-02986-z
Sewage sludge land application is strongly recommended to improve soil quality and fertility despite the presence of pollutants, pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. This study aimed to assess the fertilization value of low and recommended by law sewage sludge dose (15 t ha−1). In a 540-day field study, the effect of sewage sludge on the soil physicochemical and microbial...
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the key elements leading to eutrophication, and it is important to jointly control N and P release from sediments into the water column. Different mixed materials including P sorbent, natural organic carbon (C), and an oxidizing agent were applied in a 1-year pilot-scale experiment. The addition of iron-rich (IR) clay and Phoslock agent...
The analysis of n-alkanes in palaeoenvironmental studies of peatlands is mainly limited to ombrogenous peatlands which are a rare feature in the environment. Using n-alkane and plant macrofossil analysis, we have tracked changes in the environment in the valley of a large Central European river. We tested the possibilities for applying such studies to low-moor bogs which are the...
The aims of the study were to investigate the interaction between fractions of organic matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bottom sediments and to use mussels as passive biomonitors and consensus-based sediment quality guidelines for ecological risk assessment in sediments. Bottom sediment samples were taken from 46 points located in the Rożnów reservoir (Poland...
The successful implementation of a plant protection product depends on its effectiveness against a target species and its safety for the environment. Risk assessment schemes have therefore been devised to facilitate classification and regulation. These guidelines, however, are directed towards chemical substances and are in many cases less suitable for the assessment of products...
Intensive livestock grazing has been associated with an increased risk of soil erosion and concomitant negative impacts on the ecological status of watercourses. Whilst various mitigation options are promoted for reducing livestock impacts, there is a paucity of data on the relationship between stocking rates and quantified sediment losses. This evidence gap means there is...
The study was undertaken to determine the effect of amendments used in remediation of cobalt-contaminated soil on the macroelement content of all organs of spring barley (the main crop) and white mustard (the after-crop). In the experiment, six blocks were selected: without amendments; with manure (bovine, granulated); clay; charcoal; zeolite; and with calcium oxide (50%). In...
This work deals with the application of a solidification/stabilization process with the aim to obtain safe and reusable granular materials from a polluted soil and to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the retention of several heavy metals. The High Performance Solidification/Stabilization (HPSS®) process was applied to the selected contaminated soil by using both ordinary...
The close association of Fe-oxyhydroxides and clay minerals might influence the sorption properties of these components. We aimed to study the effect of removing the pedogenic Fe-oxyhydroxides on the sorption of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn by the clay mineral particles in soils with contrasting pH. Competitive batch sorption experiments before and after Fe-oxyhydroxide extraction in soils...
The relics of the industry are widely used for educational and touristic purposes. There are many examples of brownfield sites turned into tourist attractions. Interest in post-industrial areas concerns not only an infrastructure and ruins but also the soil cover. Soils in such areas should be also considered as important element of this type of landscape due to the artefacts...
Numerous sites contaminated with fiber emissions from pulp and paper industries are found in coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, but there is limited knowledge about the magnitude of dispersal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from these anthropogenic, organic-rich sediments called fiberbanks. The aim of this study was to quantify and compare different POP dispersal pathways...
Urbanisation causes changes in land use, from natural or rural to urban, leading to the sealing of soil and the replacement of vegetation by buildings, roads and pavements. The sealing process impacts soil properties and services and can lead to negative consequences for microbial attributes and processes in soil. At present, information about the microbial community following...
The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of lake disappearance, groundwater table fluctuations, and some aspects of human pressure on stages of soil cover development in the catchment of Lake Rakutowskie. Research was conducted in soil chronosequence composed of eight soil profiles located in 785-m-long transect. Soils were sampled every 10 cm. Physical and chemical...
Microplastics have become a ubiquitous pollutant in marine, terrestrial and freshwater systems that seriously affects aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Common methods for analysing microplastic abundance in soil or sediments are based on destructive sampling or involve destructive sample processing. Thus, substantial information about local distribution of microplastics is...
A novel concept of suspended sediment (SS) routing through a small reservoir is proposed that relies on the particle properties in the reservoir inflow. The SS routing through the reservoir is described following the single continuous stirred tank reactor concept with only one model parameter, the SS decay coefficient. This parameter is linked to the sediment settling velocity...
This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02853-3 .
This study aims to evaluate temporal trends of Tantalum (Ta) and Niobium (Nb) concentrations in northern Baltic Sea sediments with focus on the potential impact from the Rönnskär sulfide ore smelter, located 15 km east of Skellefteå in northern Sweden. The potential of Ta or Nb to serve as tracers for environmental pollution caused by the electronic waste is compared. Lastly...
Although litter decomposition and nutrient release patterns have been studied in cocoa agroforestry systems in general, studies focusing on organic and conventional cocoa systems are lacking which is critical as organic farms are particularly dependent on nutrient returns from decomposing litter. Dynamics in leaf litter decomposition and the mineralisation of macro- and micro...
In urban areas, humans shape the surface, (re-)deposit natural or technogenic material, and thus become the dominant soil formation factor. The 2015 edition of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) describes anthropogenic urban soils as Anthrosols or Technosols, but the methodological approaches and classification criteria of national soil classification systems are...
We investigated the magnetic properties (abundance, grain size, and mineralogy) of iron oxides present in Lake L-55 sediments, Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica, with an aim to understand their spatial distribution and the underlying mechanisms that control their formation and distribution. Twenty-five surficial sediments retrieved from different parts of Lake L-55 were...
Engineering and dredging strategies to manage sediment, along with river-scouring, can reveal older sediments. These present a unique opportunity to assess past sources of phosphorus (P) inputs into river sediments. We used the sediment concentrations of P, lead (Pb) and 206/207Pb isotopes to produce ‘first-order’ estimates of the source (diffuse agricultural or sewage treatment...