토양은 직 간접적으로 인간의 삶과 질에 영향을 미치게 된다. 일반적으로 비옥한 토양을 가진 지역은 척박한 지역에 비해 상대적으로 풍요한 삶을 누리게 되며 풍습, 관습, 문화 등이 달라진다. 제주지역은 육지부와 기후가 다르지만 토양은 더욱 다르다. 특히 좁은 제주도 내에서도 지역마다 자연비옥도와 토지생산성이 달라서 화학비료가 없었던 과거에는 토양의 성질이 마을의 형성, 풍습, 제사습관 등에 직접적으로 영향을 미쳤을 것으로 보고 있다. 제주해역은 대만에서부터 폭 60km의 구로시오(黑潮) 해류가 3노트의 속도로 흐르다가 나뉘어 지는 기점이다. 이 해류는 옛사람들이 육지에서 제주로 해류를 거슬러 오는 것을 매우 힘들게 하였으며, 제주만의 독자적인 문화와 풍습을 낳게 하는 원인이 되었다. 제주에서 고고학, 민속학을 연구하는 인문 사회학자들이 갖고 있는 의문은 동서 73km, 남부 31km, 면적 $1,825\;km^2$의 작은 섬에서 고인돌과 유적이 발견되는 지역이 한정되어 있고, 지역마다 풍습과 민요가 다르다는 것이다. 심지어 1 km 이내의 짧은 거리의 마을도 다른 것이 매우 많다. 필자는 우연히 '90년대 말 인문 사회학자와 유적, 풍습 등을 조사하는 과정에서 제주를 설명하는 데 토양학적인 접근이 인문 사회분야의 여러 가지 의문점을 풀어내는데 중요한 실마리를 제공하고 있다는 것을 알았다. 그 내용의 일부를 강의에 이용하였으며, 원고 작성방식도 인문학 방식을 많이 따랐다.

Consortia demonstrated the high capacities of anaerobic degradation of various aromatic compounds, which were successfully enriched from gley paddy soils under different conditions. Phenol and cresol was decomposed anaerobically using nitrate, ferric oxide or sulfate as electron acceptors. Biphenyl was degraded to $CO_2$, especially without addition of external electron acceptor. Alkylphenols with middle length of alkyl chain, were co-metaboliocally degraded with the presence of hydroxylbenzoate as the co-substrate under nitrate reducing conditions. The microorganisms responsible for the anaerobic co-metabolism was Thauera sp. Reductive dechlorination activity was also observed for polychlorophenols, fthalide, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins with the presence of lactate, formate or $H_2$ as electron donor. The fthalide dechlorinator was classified as Dehalobacter sp. Coupling of two physiologically-distinct anaerobic consortia, aromatic ring degrader and reductive dechlorinator, resulted in the mineralization of pentachlorophenol under anaerobic conditions. These results suggested that gley paddy soils harbored anaerobic microbial community with versatile capacity degrading aromatic compounds under anaerobic conditions.

This study was conducted to determine some physical and chemical properties of the soil and their relationship to spectroscopic-based (visible range) analytical methods while evaluating soil organic matter fractions and soil quality in degraded and non-degraded soils in a wide range of environments. Soil samples were collected from the different landscape positions of cultivated and noncultivated soils, and the latter from the same landscape positions but with different vegetation, at Songco, Lantapan, Bukidnon. The physical and chemical properties of the soils were determined at the SPAL, CMU, Musuan, Bukidnon while the metagenomic properties were determined at the Laboratory of the University of Missourri, Missourri, USA. Bulk density and air dry soil strength values of the soils from the cultivated areas were generally higher than those of the uncultivated areas. Also, soils at the summit generally had lower bulk density and soil strength values than the other landscape positions. Moreover, soils planted to camote (Ipomoea batatas) had higher bulk density and soil strength values compared to soils grown to pepper under the trees. Exchangeable calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and potassium (K) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soils were generally higher in uncultivated areas than those of the cultivated areas. A similar trend was observed for the potassium permanganate ($KMnO_4$)-oxidizable organic C contents determined by spectroscopic method and the total C contents determined by the Walkley-Black method. The $KMnO_4$-oxidizable organic C contents determined by spectroscopic method and the total C contents determined by the Walkley-Black method were closely related ($r=0.631^{**}$). Hence, the former method shows promise in assessing soil quality as it is a rapid test, relatively low cost and can be distributed as a field kit either with a portable spectrometer or with a color chart.

Red lateritic soils are typically low in total organic carbon (TOC) and available phosphorus (AP) content and continuous fertilization is required to obtain desired crop yield. In this experiment, cattle manure in three forms (air-dried, composted and vermicomposted) were applied to red lateritic soil to study their effect on TOC and AP content of soil and probable mechanism of P-solubilization as affected by these treatments were also studied. Vermicompost was the most effective to solubilize insoluble P in red lateritic soil (Alfisols) as compared to other organic amendments (air-dried cattle manure and compost). The highest SPA in vermicompost-treated soil attributed to the comparatively higher concentration of all the three SPA isozymes in these soils. The maximum P-solubilization in these soils might be attributed to the highest SPA and presence of several organic acids like citric, lactic and oxalic acids in vermicompost-treated soils. Since, vermicompost application also increased TOC, mineralizable N and exchangeable K content of soil, vermicompost could be considered as the most rational organic amendment to improve chemical properties of red lateritic soils.

Abiotic stress is the primary cause of crop loss worldwide, reducing average yields for most major crop plants by more than 50%. In addition, future agricultural production and management will encounter multifaceted challenges from global climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to study the molecular response of crop plants to the stresses in order to develop appropriate strategies to sustain food production under adverse environmental conditions. We carried out a large scale proteomic analysis of soybean plants in response to various abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, waterlogging and their interactions. Proteins were analyzed by two dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. The identified proteins are involved in a wide range of cellular functions. In addition to the well known stress-associated proteins, we identified several novel proteins, which were not reported before. In many cases our proteomic data bridges the gap between mRNA and metabolite data. Our studie provides new insights into identification of abiotic stress responsive proteins in soybean, and demonstrates the advantages of proteomic analysis in dissecting metabolic and regulatory networks.

Relationships between soil saturated hydraulic conductivity ($K_s$) and porosity (${\phi}$) have been developed over many years; however, use of these relationships for evaluating rain-induced seals is limited mainly because of difficulties in estimating seal pore-size characteristics. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the $K_s$ of soil surface seals over a range of thicknesses, where seal thickness was determined using a High-Resolution-Computed-Tomography (HRCT) scanner, and to investigate relationships between $K_s$ and ${\phi}$ of developing seals in samples with equivalent diameters (e.d.) ${\geq}15\;{\mu}m$. A Mexico silt loam soil was packed to a bulk density (${\rho}_b$) of $1.1\;Mg\;m^{-3}$ in cylinders 160-mm i.d. by 160-mm long and subjected to $61-mm\;h^{-1}$ simulated rainfall having a kinetic energy (KE) of $25\;J\;m^{-2}\;min^{-1}$ for 7.5, 15, 30, and 60 min to create a range in seal development. Thicknesses of the seal layers were determined by analysis of HRCT images of seals. The $K_s$ values of the seals were estimated using an effective $K_s$ value ($K_{s-eff}$). The $K_s-{\phi}$ relationship was described by a Kozeny and Carmen equation, $K_s=B{\phi}^n$; where B and n are empirical constants and n = 31. This approach explained 86% of the variation between $K_s$ and ${\phi}$ within the soil seals. Knowledge of surface seal information and hydraulic conductivity can provide useful information to use in management of sites prone to sealing formation.