Data indicates microbes have more difficulty adapting than previously thought.

plant diversity and low input biomass for biofuel

The National Society of Consulting Soil Scientists supports S. 2695, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006, as introduced, in that it reflects NSCSS goals regarding the free exchange of information, promoting soil science technology, and eliminating unfair competition from taxpayer supported entities.

The Godfather of Terra Preta, soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934 - 2003) enjoyed a lifelong fascination with enhanced soil. The importance of plaggen soil in his native Netherlands impressed him at an early age, and early in the 1960's, he recognized in the Amazonian Dark Earths something familiar and precious. Before his passing, he assembled specific soil scientists challenged them to discover the process for making and sustaining a modern equivalent of the bio-char enhanced terra preta, what he termed terra preta nova. A great opportunity in answering Sombroek's challenge lies is surmounting the opacity of mutualistic rhizospheric species to traditional analytical approaches: only 1% of rhizospheric species are cultureable ala petri dish. We don't have a robust body of culture-independent studies against which to compare Terra Preta, so we are doubly challenged to reverse-engineer the phenomenon. Considering Wim Somboek's many noteworthy accomplishments, the perspective of his international leadership, and the late-in-life timing of his challenge, one senses he is pointing us to a mystery fundamental to understanding soil in new and exciting ways. This happens at a time when the soil science profession is in dynamic transition and sorely in need of a unifying vision. Wim Sombroek has given soil scientists a most welcome and worthy quest.

VZJ articles are released to open access 18 months after online publication. These articles, from May 2005, became available on November 13, 2006. (1) Buckingham, 1907: An Appreciation: Buckingham articulated his findings mostly in written prose, without much reliance on mathematics. His foundational ideas are as valid today as when he proposed them. (2) Simplified Method to Estimate [hydraulic conductivity] ... A simple, innovative method is presented to estimate saturated hydraulic conductivity in soil. The only paired data points necessary for this proposed new method are the times when the permeameter is half full and when it reaches empty.

Research shows that invasive earthworms are damaging forest soils and are a menace to species diversity. The problem is most often associated with formerly glaciated regions, where native populations of earthworms are not present. Comparing soil in front of the invaders to post invasion conditions demonstrates that these worms cause soil compaction, reduced soil fertility, and increased erosion. It appears that these invaders are capable of alterations deep enough into the soil profile to result in a change in soil taxonomic classification at the order level. Other concerns are damage to rhizosphere functions, impairing soil carbon sequestration capacity.

Researchers find that soil phosphorus levels may affect plant phytate levels as much as plant breeding. Not only is the phosphorus in low-phytate grain crops more digestible by people, but low-phytate grains free up minerals essential to human nutrition: zinc, manganese and iron.

Supporters of open access to scientific research are pressuring the federal government to make open access mandatory, now that data suggest that the National Institutes of Health�s policy merely requesting open access to research it has financed within a year of publication is a failure

A hardy new grass called "HiMag" may help protect cattle, sheep, and goats from an affliction known as grass tetany. When ruminants�animals with four stomachs�have too little magnesium in their blood, grass tetany can result. Also known as hypomagnesemia, grass tetany causes an estimated $50 to $150 million in livestock production losses each year in the United States.

This article presents results of a survey undertaken as part of a series of work packages under a joint initiative by JISC and SURF to explore the attitudes of authors in the UK and the Netherlands towards Open Access. These and other results seem to reflect a desire on the part of academics to change the balance of rights within copyright between authors and publishers in scholarly communication journals. Libraries and academic institutes are already taking part in the scholarly communication copyright debate and could use these results to align their positions with the academics' views.