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The authors looked at how soil temperature changes with fire to develop a sensor system that could aid in earlier detection of fires.

Here, the authors investigated the ability to use fruit peels to help soil retain moisture, a property that is essential to agriculture. Across a 96-hour observation period, orange, banana, and kiwi peel water emulsions were evaluated for their effects on soil moisture. They found that orange peels retained the most moisture, but banana and kiwi peels also offered improvements over their control sample.

Soil stores three times more carbon than the atmosphere, making small changes in its storage and release crucial for carbon cycling and climate models. This study examined the impact of the 2020 California Silverado Fire on pyrogenic carbon (PyC) deposits using nitrogen and carbon isotopes as proxies. While the results showed significant variability in δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C, total carbon, and total nitrogen across sites, they did not support the hypothesis that wildfire increases δ¹⁵N while keeping δ¹³C constant, emphasizing the need for location-based controls when using δ¹⁵N to track PyC.

This study hypothesized that sodium chloride was taken up through plant root structures to facilitate water transportation, and that sodium chloride accumulation was directly proportional to the soil salinity. Results showed that most cells within the “bulb” structures were isotonic at a concentration approximately twice as high as that of root tissue and ambient soil salinity, therefore supporting the presented hypothesis.

Household detergents have surfactants that can potentially harm the soil and broader ecosystems. In this study, the authors investigate whether eco-friendly and less-eco-friendly detergents affect soil pH, phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium levels.

In this study, the authors investigate whether the addition of microbes from native soil enhanced the seed germination and growth of mung beans, pumpkins, and pea flower plants.

In this article, the authors investigate whether coolant temperature affects soil cooling curves of soil with otherwise identical properties. The coolant temperature is representative of environmental temperature, and the authors hypothesized that differences in this temperature would not affect the freezing temperature of soil. Their findings validated their hypothesis providing helpful information relevant to understanding how frost heaves happen and how to predict their occurrence more accurately.

Previously established data indicate that cemeteries have contributed to groundwater and soil pollution, as embalming fluids can impact the microbiomes that exist in decomposing remains. In this study, Caputo et al hypothesized that microbial variation would be high between cemeteries from different eras due to dissimilarities between embalming techniques employed, and furthermore, that specific microbes would act as an indication for certain contaminants. Overall, they found that there is a variation in the microbiomes of the different eras’ cemeteries according to the concentrations of the phyla and their more specific taxa.

The study explored converting Gracilaria seaweed waste—known for releasing toxic hydrogen sulfide when decomposed—into biochar as a sustainable solution for waste management and soil improvement.

Here, the authors aimed to apply home soil testing to identify the cause of the growth differences between two lemon trees. They hypothesized that differences in physical and chemical soil characteristics were influencing differences in soil productivity and plant growth. Overall, the study demonstrated the effectiveness of home soil testing to characterize soils and help homeowners solve common gardening problems.