Taking advantage of the different histories of Hg deposition in Davos Seehornwald in E-Switzerland and Changbai Mountain in NE-China, the influence of atmospheric deposition on Hg soil dynamics in forest soil profiles was investigated. Today, Hg fluxes in bulk precipitation were similar, and soil profiles were generally sinks for atmospherically deposited Hg at both sites. Noticeably, a net release of 2.07 μg Hg m⁻² yr⁻¹ from the Bs horizon (Podzol) in Seehornwald was highlighted, where Hg concentration (up to 73.9 μg kg⁻¹) and soil storage (100 mg m⁻³) peaked. Sequential extraction revealed that organic matter and crystalline Fe and Al hydr (oxide)-associated Hg decreased in the E horizon but increased in the Bs horizon as compared to the Ah horizon, demonstrating the coupling of Hg dynamics with the podzolisation process and accumulation of legacy Hg deposited last century in the Bs horizon. The mor humus in Seehornwald allowed Hg enrichment in the forest floor (182–269 μg kg⁻¹). In Changbai Mountain, the Hg concentrations in the Cambisol surface layer with mull humus were markedly lower (<148 μg kg⁻¹), but with much higher Hg soil storage (54–120 mg m⁻³) than in the Seehornwald forest floor (18–27 mg m⁻³). Thus, the vertical distribution pattern of Hg was influenced by humus form and soil type. The concentrations of Hg in soil porewater in Seehornwald (3.4–101 ng L⁻¹) and in runoff of Changbai Mountain (1.26–5.62 ng L⁻¹) were all low. Moreover, the pools of readily extractable Hg in the soils at both sites were all <2% of total Hg. Therefore, the potential of Hg release from the forest soil profile to the adjacent aquatic environment is currently low at both sites.

Magnetic and geochemical parameters of soils are determined with respect to geology, pedogenesis and anthropopression. Depending on local conditions these factors affect magnetic and geochemical signals simultaneously or in various configurations. We examined four type of soils (Entic Podzol, Eutric Cambisol, Humic Cambisol and Dystric Cambisol) developed on various bedrock (the Tumlin Sandstone, basaltoid, amphibolite and serpentinite, respectively). Our primary aim was to characterize the origin and diversification of the magnetic and geochemical signal in soils in order to distinguish the most reliable methods for correct interpretation of measured parameters. Presented data include selected parameters, both magnetic (mass magnetic susceptibility – χ, frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility – χfd and thermomagnetic susceptibility measurement – TSM), and geochemical (selected heavy metal contents: Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn). Additionally, the enrichment factor (EF) and index of geoaccumulation (Igeo) were calculated. Our results suggest the following: (1) the χ/Fe ratio may be a reliable indicator for determining changes of magnetic signal origin in soil profiles; (2) magnetic and geochemical signals are simultaneously higher (the increment of χ and lead and zinc was noted) in topsoil horizons because of the deposition of technogenic magnetic particles (TMPs); (3) EF and Igeo evaluated for lead and zinc unambiguously showed anthropogenic influence in terms of increasing heavy metal contents in topsoil regardless of bedrock or soil type; (4) magnetic susceptibility measurements supported by TSM curves for soil samples of different genetic horizons are a helpful tool for interpreting the origin and nature of the mineral phases responsible for the changes of magnetic susceptibility values.

Soils may be contaminated by human or veterinary pharmaceuticals. Their behaviour in soil environment is largely controlled by sorption of different compounds in a soil solution onto soil constituents. Here we studied the sorption affinities of 4 pharmaceuticals (atenolol, trimethoprim, carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole) applied in solute mixtures to soils taken from different horizons of 3 soil types (Greyic Phaeozem on loess, Haplic Luvisol on loess and Haplic Cambisol on gneiss). In the case of the carbamazepine (neutral form) and sulfamethoxazole (partly negatively charged and neutral), sorption affinity of compounds decreased with soil depth, i.e. decreased with soil organic matter content. On the other hand, in the case of atenolol (positively charged) and trimethoprim (partly positively charged and neutral) compound sorption affinity was not depth dependent. Compound sorption affinities in the four-solute systems were compared with those experimentally assessed in topsoils, and were estimated using the pedotransfer rules proposed in our previous study for single-solute systems. While sorption affinities of trimethoprim and carbamazepine in topsoils decreased slightly, sorption affinity of sulfamethoxazole increased. Decreases in sorption of the two compounds could be attributed to their competition between each other and competition with atenolol. Differences between carbamazepine and atenolol behaviour in the one- and four-solute systems could also be explained by the slightly different soil properties in this and our previous study. A great increase of sulfamethoxazole sorption in the Greyic Phaeozem and Haplic Luvisol was observed, which was attributed to elimination of repulsion between negatively charged molecules and particle surfaces due to cation sorption (atenolol and trimethoprim) on soil particles. Thus, our results proved not only an antagonistic but also a synergic affect of differently charged organic molecules on their sorption to soil constituents.

Glyphosate can be degraded by soil microorganisms rapidly and is impacted by temperature and soil properties. Enhanced temperature and total organic carbon (TOC) as well as reduced pH increased the rate of ¹³C₃¹⁵N-glyphosate conversion to CO₂ and biogenic non-extractable residues (bioNERs) in a Haplic Chernozem (Muskus et al., 2019) and in a Humic Cambisol (Muskus et al., 2020). To date; however, the combined effect of temperature and TOC or pH on microbial community composition and glyphosate degraders in these two soils has not been investigated. Phospholipid fatty acid [PLFA] biomarker analysis combined with ¹³C labeling was employed to investigate the effect of two soil properties (pH, TOC) and of three temperatures (10 °C, 20 °C, 30 °C) on soil microorganisms. Before incubation, the properties of a Haplic Chernozem and a Humic Cambisol were adjusted to obtain five treatments: (a) Control (Haplic Chernozem: 2.1% TOC and pH 6.6; Humic Cambisol: 3% TOC and pH 7.0), (b) 3% TOC (Haplic Chernozem) or 4% TOC (Humic Cambisol), (c) 4% TOC (Haplic Chernozem) or 5% TOC (Humic Cambisol), (d) pH 6.0 (Haplic Chernozem) or pH 6.5 (Humic Cambisol), and (e) pH 5.5 for both soils. All treatments were amended with 50 mg kg⁻¹ glyphosate and incubated at 10 °C, 20 °C or 30 °C. We observed an increase in respiration, microbial biomass and glyphosate mineralization with incubation temperature. Although respiration and microbial biomass in the Humic Cambisol was higher, the microorganisms in the Haplic Chernozem were more active in glyphosate degradation. Increased TOC shifted the microbiome and the ¹³C-glyphosate degraders towards Gram-positive bacteria in both soils. However, the abundance of ¹³C-PLFAs indicative for the starvation of Gram-negative bacteria increased with increasing TOC or decreasing pH at higher temperatures. Gram-negative bacteria thus may have been involved in earlier stages of glyphosate degradation.

Swine waste is a reservoir of microbial pollutants, including pathogens, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB); therefore, soil fertilized with swine waste is an essential pathway for the dissemination of microbial pollutants from concentrated swine farms to the public. To rationalize the intervals of swine wastes application and investigate the effects of soil type on the occurrences of microbial pollutants and antibiotic resistance, pot experiments were conducted with three typical soils, humic acrisol, calcaric cambisols and histosols, being collected from south, northwest and northeast China (soil-R, soil-Y and soil-B, respectively). The soils were amended with swine slurry, digestate and chemical fertilizers and then conducted for 172 days. The influence of microbial pollutants and antibiotic resistance in soil posed by digestate application was similar to that of the chemical fertilizers, while swine slurry posed high risks to the soil. Soil-B which had the highest organic matter and neutral pH was least influenced by the swine slurry amendment. tetG, tetM and ermF were persistent ARGs in the slurry treated soil, and their decay rates fitted to first-order kinetics in the order soil-B> soil-Y > soil-R. Putative pathogens showed strong correlations with ARGs, suggesting a risk of dissemination. The initial 43–82 days was the active phase of microbial pollution in slurry treated soil, during which time heavy metals, moisture content, total organic carbon and the microbial community were key factors contributing to changes in antibiotic resistance. Fertilization intervals of livestock wastes should be lengthened over the ARG active phase.

Changbai larch (Larix olgensis A. Henry) seedlings growing in a Haplic Cambisol and receiving 0 (Ck), 25, 50, 100, 250, or 500 mg L⁻¹ graphene oxide (GO) were incubated for 30, 40, or 50 days, and the effects of applying GO on the growth and physiological characteristics of the seedlings and soil chemical properties and enzyme activities were investigated. The superoxide anion (except for 25 mg L⁻¹ at 40 days and 50 mg L⁻¹ at 50 days) and hydrogen peroxide contents of the leaves increased at 25–100 mg L⁻¹ GO; however, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) (except for 100 mg L⁻¹ at 50 days) activities, soluble protein (except for 100 mg L⁻¹ at 30 and 40 days), proline (except for 100 mg L⁻¹ at 50 days), as well as seedling biomass (except for stems at 25–100 mg L⁻¹, and leaves and roots at 50–100 mg L⁻¹ for 30 days) all decreased. However, when the seedlings were exposed to 250–500 mg L⁻¹ GO, especially at 40 and 50 days, these trends for tree growth and physiological parameters were reversed, suggesting the beneficial effect of GO at high concentrations on the seedlings. GO decreased the organic matter, alkali-hydrolyzale nitrogen, available phosphorus, and potassium contents of the soil at 40 and 50 days (except for available phosphorus at 50 days), as well as the acid phosphatase, urease (except for 30 days), dehydrogenase, and catalase activities (except for 30 and 40 days); thus, GO may inhibit nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in Haplic Cambisols (except for nitrogen at 30 days).

To elucidate the inhibitory effects of different herbicides on soil nitrification, eight widely used herbicides, i.e., acetochlor, atrazine, dicamba, isoproturon, paraquat, puma, tribenuron-methyl, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid butyl ester (2,4-Dbe), which represent different chemical taxonomy were selected. Our results indicated that herbicide 2,4-Dbe displayed the best inhibitory effect on nitrification, followed by puma and tribenuron-methyl, whereas the remaining five herbicides exhibited less effect when 10 mg of active ingredient (A.I.) of every herbicide per kg of soil was applied in vegetable-planting soil. The inhibition appeared when 5–100 mg of A.I. 2,4-Dbe was employed, which was enhanced with an increment in its dose in both vegetable-planting and fluvo-aquic soils. However, the inhibitory effect of 10 mg of A. I. 2,4-Dbe exhibited obvious differences in these two types of soils, where the duration of inhibition was shorter as it only continued about a week in fluvo-aquic and calcic cambisols soils with strong nitrification activity but poorer effect as compared to 10 mg of dicyandiamide (DCD). In contrast, the duration of inhibition exceeded 2 months in dryland red and shajiang black soils with a weak nitrification activity which was equivalent to DCD. In addition, comparing with five nitrification inhibitors, 10 mg of 2,4-Dbe had better inhibition than the substituted pyrimidine (AM) and sulfocarbamide (SU), but was equivalent to DCD, nitrapirin, and 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) at their recommended application rates in dryland red soil. These obtained data clearly indicated that 2,4-Dbe could play a stronger role as a nitrification inhibitor in soils.

Engineered nanoparticles (NP) like Ag and TiO₂ offer unique properties for various applications. Thus, the entry of the NP in soil environments is expected to increase in the future due to their growing industrial use. To avoid potential hazards due to these anthropogenic products, NP behavior in the environment should be well understood. In natural soil solutions, we investigated NOM adsorption onto Ag and TiO₂ NP and its influence on NP colloidal stability. Therefore, we extracted soil solutions from a floodplain soil (Fluvisol) and a farmland soil (Cambisol) differing in NOM quality and inorganic ion concentration. We measured the amount of adsorbed organic carbon as well as changes in aromaticity and molecular weight of NOM upon adsorption onto NP. Additionally, the size and zeta potential of NP in both soil solutions were investigated. We observed that the highly hydrophilic NOM of floodplain soil solution rich in inorganic ions strongly adsorbed to Ag but not to TiO₂ NP. Instead, sorption to TiO₂ NP was observed for the more hydrophobic NOM of the farmland soil with low ionic strength which did not sorb to Ag NP. These differences had a strong effect on NP stability, leading to Ag NP destabilization in case of floodplain soil solution and TiO₂ NP stabilization in the presence of farmland soil solution. Our results point out the necessity of studies in more complex systems and suppose that oxic and metallic NP might show very different fate depending on the environment they are exposed to.

The difference in effect on acidification and species of aluminum speciation between HNO₃ and H₂SO₄for two contrasting types of soils in surface charge was investigated. The results show that the effect of H₂SO₄ on acidification of variable charge soils (Ferric Acrisol and Haplic Acrisol) of subtropical regions wasweaker than that of HNO₃, due to the specific adsorption of SO₄ ²⁻ and the accompanied release of OH⁻. For two constant charge soils, Haplic Luvisol andEutric Cambisol, the difference in effect between the two acids is small. The concentrations of total inorganic monomeric aluminum, Al³⁺, Al-F complexes and Al-SO₄complexes in the extract from variable charge soils are alsolower in H₂SO₄ systems than those in HNO₃ systems, whereas the reverse is true for constant charge soils, except the concentration of Al³⁺. For variable charge soils, Al-F complexes are the major species of inorganic monomeric aluminum at high pH butAl³⁺ might contribute to a largepart at low pH, while for constant charge soils Al-F complexes contribute almost exclusively to the inorganic monomeric aluminum. The presence of a large amount of SO₄ ²⁻ in the extract from the constant charge soilsleads to a higher proportion of Al-SO₄ complexes in totalinorganic monomeric aluminum than that from variable charge soil, although the numerical value of proportion is small.

Biochar (BC) as a soil amendment has found considerable interest in global agriculture and food production. However, BC application to agricultural soils requires knowledge about side-effects on leachate composition potentially affecting deeper soil layers and groundwater. We investigated the effects of BC application on leachate water characteristics in a greenhouse pot experiment with two crops cultivated in series, mustard (Sinapis alba L., cv. Serval) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Xanadu). The experiment was set up with three agricultural soils (Planosol, Cambisol, Chernozem), four different BC types, derived from three different feedstocks (wheat straw, woodchips, and vineyard pruning), added at two application rates of 1 % (w/w) and 3 % (w/w). Leachate sampling was performed five times from November 2010 to May 2011 by excess watering. The leachates were analyzed for their pH, electrical conductivity (EC), as well as their nitrate (NO₃ ⁻), dissolved phosphorus (PDISS), potassium (K⁺), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. The application of all BCs caused a significant pH increase in the leachates; EC increased most noticeably in the straw biochar treatment. All BC types significantly decreased leachate NO₃ ⁻ loads (by up to 80 % for woodchip-derived BC) compared to the control, while PDᵢₛₛ and K⁺ loads most significantly increased in the straw-derived BC treatment. The results show that BC may be suitable as soil amendment in soils prone to NO₃ ⁻ leaching; moreover, whereas straw-derived BC in particular may support soil nutrient status by introducing P and K.