2008 NOV 10 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from the United States, "To determine whether recent or projected increases in atmospheric [CO2] favor cultivated rice or its weedy relative, red rice, we examined the initial growth and vegetative characteristics of these two groups using six weedy red rice (RR) biotypes and six cultivated rice (CR) varieties at CO2 concentrations that corresponded to the 1940s, current levels, and that projected for the middle of this century (300, 400, and 500 mu mol mol(-1), respectively). Increasing [CO2] resulted in significant increases in initial leaf area and root weight for the RR, as early as 27 d after sowing (DAS) at 500 mu mol mol(-1). ...read more

  2008 OCT 20 - (VerticalNews.com) -- "In order to investigate the paleoclimatic changes in S China during the late Quaternary and their influence on pedogenesis and soil classification, a yellow-brown earth (YBE)-red clay (RC) profile in Langxi County, Anhui Province was studied. The grain-size distribution and the major- and trace-element compositions of the profile indicate that the YBE of the profile shares the same origin with the YBE in Jiujiang and Xuancheng and the Xiashu loess in Zhenjiang, and the underlying RC also has aeolian characteristics and shares the same origin with the Xiashu loess," investigators in Shanghai, People's Republic of China report ...read more

  2008 SEP 1 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, "Acid rain is a serious environmental problem worldwide. In this study, a pot experiment using forest soils planted with the seedlings of four woody species was performed with weekly treatments of pH 4.40, 4.00, 3.52, and 3.05 simulated acid rain (SAR) for 42 months compared to a control of pH 5.00 lake water."

  "The cumulative amounts of C and N mineralization in the five treated soils were determined after incubation at 25 degrees C for 65 d to examine the effects of SAR treatments. For all five treatments, cumulative CO2-C production ranged from 20.24 to 27.81 mg kg(-1) dry soil, net production of available N from 17.37 to 48.95 mg kg(-1) dry soil, and net production of NO3- -N from 9.09 to 46.23 mg kg(-1) dry soil. SAR treatments generally enhanced the emission of CO2-C from the soils; however, SAR with pH 3.05 inhibited the emission. SAR treatments decreased the net production of available N and NO3-N. The cumulative CH4 and N2O productions from the soils increased with increasing amount of simulated acid rain. The cumulative CO2-C production and the net production of available N of the soil under Acmena acuminatissima were significantly higher (P <= 0.05) than those under Schima superba and Cryptocarya concinna. The mineralization of soil organic C was related to the contents of soil organic C and N, but was not related to soil pH," wrote X.J. Ouyang and colleagues ...read more