Muck soils

Moor-boden, m. marshy soil, -erde, /, bog earth, peaty soil, muck soil, moorig, a. boggy, peaty. 

Studies on the Polysaccharide Constituents of an Acid Extract of a Fenland Muck Soil, P. Finch, M. H. B. Hayes, and M. Stacey, Trans. 9th Int. Congr. SoilSci., 3 (1968) 193-201. 

The SWRRB runoff model was used to determine the amount of CGA-72662 that would runoff of a hypothetical 3.2 acre watershed with a predominant muck soil type. The following were the SWRRB input data. 

The organic matter content of muck soil in Florida is about 80%.)... 

Aquatic safety factors ranged from 5.5 X 107 for rainbow trout in ponds to 9.3 X 108 for daphnia in lakes. These data emphasize that exposure levels of CGA-72662 are low and must be taken into account for a risk assessment. Although the persistence of CGA-72662 in eutrophic lakes is relatively long, the exposure is extremely low and of no environmental consequence. Overall, use of SWRRB runoff and EXAMS models show CGA-72662 to be very safe in aquatic habitats when used on vegetables in Florida muck soil. 

In sandy loam and muck soils, 2,4-D degraded under first-order kinetics. Half-lives were 36 d for aerobic sandy loam, 3.4 d for aerobic muck, and 9.3 d for anaerobic muck (Cheah et ah, 1998). 

Li GC, Felbeck Jr. GT (1972) A study of the mechanism of atrazine adsorption by humic acid from muck soil. Soil Sci 113 140-148... 

R.T. Kojima, Soil organic nitrogen, I, Nature of the organic nitrogen in a muck soil from Geneva, New York, Soil Sci. 64 (1947) 157-165. 

Both atrazine and simazine are very important herbicides in production of warm-season turfgrass sod. Many alternatives to the triazines used in established turf cannot be used in sod production due to root growth inhibition. Normal triazine use rates are 2.2kg/ha followed by 1.1 kg/ha on established turfgrasses or sod, except 4.5kg/ha followed by 2.2 kg/ha on Florida muck soils. See product labels for detailed instructions. 

Muck soils will probably take more drastic treatment yet to be perfected. This and the question of what happens during long residence times in soil—i.e., a year or more—are under investigation in connection with studies of persistence in soil. 

Aldrin from Corn. The most important use of aldrin is as a soil insecticide under corn. Here it is usually incorporated in the soil at application rates of 1-2 lb./acre to a depth of 3-4 inches. In muck soils the rate may be as high as 5 lb./acre. It is used to control the com rootworm and wireworm complexes plus other soil insects. 

Insecticides tend to persist longer in soils of high organic matter. In fact, in muck soils (50% or more organic matter), residues have been found bound to soil particles to such an extent that the same amount of toxicant is less effective in muck soil as compared with a sandy type. It has been noted that pesticides are absorbed into crops most readily from sandy soils and least from muck soils. Moisture enhances the release of volatile pesticides from soil particles and also influences the breakdown of other toxicants. Microbial attack has been found to oxidize aldrin to dieldrin, and parathion in the presence of yeast is reduced to the nontoxic aminoparathion in soil. As might be expected, increased soil temperatures can dramatically increase the rate of pesticide loss owing to volatilization and increased breakdown. Cover crops, such as alfalfa, can decrease pesticide volatility from soil whereas cultivation... 

Differences in river basin morphology, soil characteristics, rainfall, and land use in a watershed Influence phosphorus transport in a fluvial system. However, the dominance of iron oxides as an inorganic phosphate sink and the discharge dependent behavior of calcium carbonate-phosphate minerals found in this study would be expected to exist in other calcareous agricultural regions of New York State as well. Mountainous terrain and areas of sand and muck soil would probably not exhibit the same behavior. It would seem that the results of this study could also apply to other agricultural watersheds adjacent to the North American Great Lakes. 

Felbeck, G. T., Jr. (1965a). Studies on the high pressure hydrogenolysis of the organic matter from a muck soil. Soil Sci. Am. Proc. 29, 48-55. 

Figure 6.1. Linear adsorption of cadmium by the organic component of a muck soil. (From Turner et al., 1984.)...

A comparison of the adsorption of several acidic herbicides by an acid (pH = 4) muck soil is useful in beginning to generalize the factors that control retention in soil organic matter. The common names, structures, and significant chemical properties of these herbicides are listed in Table 10.2. Since adsorption by the muck soils follows the order of preference ... 

The importance of molecular volume in driving hydrophobic adsorption is apparent in a comparison of the sorption of several chlorinated hydrocarbons by a muck soil, shown in Figure 10.19. These C-type (linear) isotherms, described by... 

Figure 10.19. Adsorption of chlorinated hydrocarbons on a muck soil. Relative molecular sizes are indicated by the molecular diagrams. (Data from R. G. LaPoe. 1985. Sorption and desorption of volatile chlorinated aliphatic compounds by soil and soil components. Ph.D. Thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.)...

Moderate amounts of acidic pesticides were adsorbed to organic soil colloids, such as are present in muck soils, (51,143,147,175, 179) and to charcoal (53, 57,147,182,183). For both adsorption depended upon pH, being greater under acid conditions where the pesticides were adsorbed in the molecular form. The compounds were readily desorbed from the adsorbents with water (51, 57). Adsorption probably occurred through hydrogen bonding or weak physical adsorption. 

The uracils, bromacil, isocil, and terbacil are mobile and persist in soil systems (189, 190, 191), Recent studies by the author (63) showed that bromacil moved laterally over the soil surface in surface waters and that it leached vertically into the soil profile. The compound also persisted in the soil for over four years after 2 pounds per acre or higher were applied. The uracils were much less mobile in muck soils than in mineral soils, suggesting that the compounds are partially adsorbed by organic soil colloids (189, 191),... 

CDAA, molinate, EPTC, vernolate, pebulate, CDEC, and cycloate are all relatively mobile in soil systems (123, 385, 386, 387, 388 389, 390, 391). The herbicides leached more readily in coarse textured soils than in fine textured ones and did not significantly leach in peat or muck soils (386, 387, 388, 391), Leachability of the compounds was related to their water solubilities (compounds of higher solubilities moved more than less soluble ones) and to the organic matter and clay contents of the soils (less movement as the organic matter and clay content increased). 

Soil organic matter (SOM) is often referred to as humus and is derived primarily from the degradation of plant material lignin, carbohydrates, protein, fats, and waxes. Mineral soils may contain 0.5-3.0% of soil organic matter while muck soils and peat contain 50% and higher. Operationally, the material that cannot be extracted by alkaline agents is called humin. The material that precipitates from the alkaline extract on acidification is called humic acid, and what remains in solution fulvic acid. Felback summarized some of the properties of these complex polymeric materials as follows ... 

Bog soils, commonly described as peat or muck, are discussed in some detail in Chapters 29 and 30, but need to be mentioned here because most of the chemical studies of humus have been made on humus extracted from these soils rather than from mineral soils. This is in some respects unfortunate because humus from the two sources is not exactly the same, although similar. Bog humus is used in such studies chiefly for practical reasons it is more readily obtained in quantity from peat or muck soils and contains much less clay. In mineral soils much of the 1—5% humus usually present is there in stable combinations with the inorganic portion of the soil and cannot be removed except by very drastic chemical treatments that may markedly decompose or otherwise change the organic matter. 

The conversion of exposed subsoils and mine spoils into soils that are suitable for either forestry or cultivated crops is a rather special problem that is discussed in Chapter 26 similarly, peat and muck soils are considered in Chapters 29 and 30. The special problems involved in the development and use of soils in The Netherlands are adequately discussed by Meijers (1959) and will not be considered here. 

Peat and muck soils are very subject to blowing if and when they become very dry. Mineral soils vary markedly in their susceptibility to wind movement but sandy loams are likely to be readily moved when dry and bare. Clay soils are moved less readily if tightly held as clods that produce surface roughness. Clay soils also hold more water, and wet soils are not much affected by the wind. If clay soils are dry and dusty the surface layer is easily carried away by the wind. 

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