The progressive degradation of useful soils for agriculture and farm animal husbandry is a growing environmental and social problem, given that it endangers the food safety of an increasing world population.

Landfilled waste decomposes in the absence of oxygen and results in the production of methane. Landfills are classified as the second-largest human-made source of CH4 in the U.S. Additionally, landfill gas contains numerous non-methane hydrocarbons that are either volatilized directly from waste materials or produced through biochemical reactions during waste degradation.

Crop growth, drinking water and recreational water sports could all be adversely affected if predicted changes in rainfall patterns over the coming years prove true, according to research published this month in Biology and Fertility of Soils.

In the rogues' gallery of microscopic infectious agents, the prion is the toughest hombre in town.

Geologists, archeologists, anthropologists, ecologists, engineers, and natural resource managers routinely use National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) data across field sciences.

Recent Research published in the January–February issue of Soil Science Society of America Journal shows that soil acidification poses a continuing threat to the health of forests in the northeastern United States.

A University of the Basque Country PhD thesis has analysed the application of waste sludge from EDAR (Estación Depuradora de Aguas Residuales - Waste Water Purification Plant) to acid soils which have limited capacity for neutralising the acidity.

Learn about a new calibration tool to help students and soil scientists calibrate their thumb and forefinger for the correct amount of pressure.

Abundant tiny particles of diamond dust exist in sediments dating to 12,900 years ago at six North American sites, adding strong evidence for Earth's impact with a rare swarm of carbon-and-water-rich comets or carbonaceous chondrites, reports a nine-member scientific team.

Growers in southeastern Georgia have the perfect combination of climate and soil to produce some of the world's best onions: the famous Vidalia sweet onions. Prized for their mild taste and sweetness, Vidalia onions are shipped throughout North America for use in recipes and relishes.

Researchers at MIT recently found an elegant solution to a sticky scientific problem in basic fluid mechanics: why water doesn't soak into soil at an even rate, but instead forms what look like fingers of fluid flowing downward.

A handful of sand contains countless grains, which interact with each other via friction and impact forces as they slip through your fingers. When a handful becomes a load in an excavator bucket, those interactions multiply exponentially.