The IVIA, established in 1984 as heir of a long tradition of agricultural
research beginning in 1881, is located at Moncada, 10 km northwards of Valencia,
in the Mediterranean shore. It is an Autonomous Institution of the Valencian
Government, attached to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Council. Its
major aim is to promote scientific research and technological development
in the Valencian Food and Agriculture sector. Nowadays, there are eight research
departments in the IVIA:
- Citriculture and other Fruit Trees
- Horticulture
- Rice
- Plant Protection and Biotechnology
- Biometry
- Natural Resources
- Postharvest
- Agricultural Economics
More than 250 people are currently working in the Institute, 46 of which are scientists
with permanent tenures. If you want to learn more about the IVIA history and functioning, please press this link
The IVIA group working in Soil Enzymology is integrated into the Department
of Natural Resources, and is composed of the following scientific staff:
- Fernando Pomares-García, PhD in Agronomy-Soil Science
- María del Remedio Albiach-Vila, PhD in Biology-Biochemistry
- Rodolfo Canet-Castelló, PhD in Biology-Biochemistry
- María Estela-Solsona, BSc in Agronomy
- Francisco Tarazona-Pascual, BSc in Agronomy
From its establishment on, the major lines of research of the Group have been:
- Soil fertilization
- Composting of different organic residues (MSW, sewage sludges, etc.)
- Agricultural use of organic residues
- Soil contamination and reclamation
- Organic cropping
- Integrated production
Our research on organic fertilization and, especially, on organic farming,
clearly accounts for our interest on biological activity in soils. The consideration
of soil as a complex system, in dynamic equilibrium, in which living beings
play an essential role in the sustainment of its fertility, is one of the
ideological foundations of any variety of organic management. Measurement
of biological activity, in all the different kinds, is therefore key in every
investigation on the various aspects shaping the organic management of agricultural
soils. Especially in a system where nearly all fertilization depends on both
biological nutrient fixation and further decomposition of produced or added
organic matter, a deep knowledge of the nutrient cycles is undoubtedly crucial
to obtain the highest yields possible. Determination of microbial biomass
content and, particularly, the levels of different enzymatical activities
is therefore a very useful tool in the diagnostic of fertility, both actual
as potential, of a soil under organic cropping. Soil Enzymology may be very
important as well to investigate different aspects of soil contamination
and organic refuses management.
During the last years, our group has developed an intense activity of
research, with projects funded by diverse agencies such as the European Community
or the Spanish and Valencian Governments, and of teaching, with more than
one hundred conferences. In the last year, from 21st to 26th of September,
we organized the III Congress of the Spanish Society of Organic Cropping
(SEAE), Fernando Pomares being Coordinator of the Organizer Comitee.
Our most relevant publications related with soil biological activity
and enzimology are the following. If you are interested on getting any of
these papers, please send us an email.
- Albiach, R., Pomares, F. y Canet, R. 1996. Actividades enzimáticas como
índices de la actividad biológica del suelo en huertos ecológicos de cítricos.
Agricultura ecológica y desarrollo rural. Actas del II Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Agricultura Ecológica. Pamplona, 1996. pp. 405-412.
- Herrero, O., Canet, R., Albiach, R. & Pomares, F. 1998. Enzymatical
activities and content of mineral nitrogen in soil after the application
of two rates of different organic products. Agrochimica, XLII:296-303.
- Gómez, A., Albiach, R., Pomares, F. y Canet, R. 1998. Efecto del tipo
de fertilización sobre la actividad biológica del suelo en reconversión a
la agricultura ecológica. Una alternativa para el mundo rural del Tercer Milenio. Actas del III Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Agricultura Ecológica. Valencia, 21-26 de septiembre de 1998. pp. 231-238.
- Roccuzzo, G., Pomares, F. Estela, M., Tarazona, F., Sala, M. O., Albiach,
R., Campos, T., Diego, C., Borrás, V., Yuste, D. 1998. Calidad del suelo
en huertos de cítricos ecológicos. Una alternativa para el mundo rural del Tercer Milenio. Actas del III Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Agricultura Ecológica. Valencia, 21-26 de septiembre de 1998. pp. 239-246.
- Canet, R., Lopez-Real, J. M. and Beck, A. J. 1999. Overview of Polycyclic
Aromatic Hydrocarbon Biodegradation by White-rot Fungi. Land Contamination & Reclamation, 7:191-197.
- Albiach, R., Canet, R., Pomares, F. and Ingelmo, F. 1999. Structure,
organic components and biological activity in citrus soils under organic
and conventional management. Agrochimica, XLIII:235-242.
- Albiach, R., Canet, R., Pomares, F. and Ingelmo, F. 2000. Microbial biomass
content and enzymatic activities after the application of organic amendments
to a horticultural soil. Bioresource Technology, 75:43-48.
- Albiach, R., Canet, R., Pomares, F. and Ingelmo, F. 2000. Organic matter
components, aggregate stability and biological activity in a horticultural
soil fertilized with different rates of two sewage sludges during ten years.
Bioresource Technology (in press).
Other relevant papers by our Group during these last years are listed
below. If you are interested on getting any of these papers, please send us an email
- Pomares, F. and P.F. Pratt, 1978. Recovery of N15 labeded fertilizer from manured and sludge-amended soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 42: 717-720.
- Pomares, F. and P.F. Pratt, 1978. Value of manure and sewage sludge as N fertilizer. Agronomy J. 70: 1065-1069.
- Pomares, F., F. Tarazona and J. Roca, 1987. Crop response to sewage sludges and mineral fertilizer as nitrogen sources. Fourth International Symposium of CIEC on Agricultural Waste Management and Environmental Protection. Braunschweig-Volkenrode. 393-401.
- Monzo, J., F. Pomares and M. De La Guardia, 1987. Spectrophotometric
determination of boron previous distillation and hydrolysis of the methyl
boric ester. Analyst, 113: 1069-1072.
- Morales, A., F. Pomares and M. De La Guardia, 1989. Determination of
cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, lead and zinc in sewage sludges with prior
acid digestion in a microwave oven and slurry introduction. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 4: 329-332.
- Roca, J. and F. Pomares, 1989. Soil and plant heavy metals in sewage sludges amended crop-land. Alternative Uses for Sewage Sludge International Workshop. University of York. 7-20.
- Gimeno, M.C., F. Pomares and M. De La Guardia, 1990. Determination of
total heavy metals in sewage sludges after a pressurized acid digestion.
Microchemical Journal, 42:274-282.
- Roca, J. and F. Pomares, 1991. Prediction of Available Heavy Metals
by Six Chemical Extractants in a Sewage Sludge-Amended Soil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 22:2119- 2136.
- Serna, M.D. and F. Pomares, 1991. Indexes of Assessing N Availability in Sewage Sludges. Plant and Soil, 139:15-21.
- Serna, M.D. and F. Pomares, 1991. Comparison of Biological and Chemical
Methods to Predict Nitrogen Mineralization in Animal Wastes. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 12: 89-94.
- Pomares, F., F. Tarazona and M. Estela, 1992. Effect of Different Nitrogen Sources and Application on Citrus Groves. Agrochimica, 37:243-252.
- Pomares, F., F. Tarazona, M. Estela, R. Bartual and L. Arciniaga, 1992.
Response of Globe Artichoke to Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium Fertilizer.
Agrochimica, 37:111-121.
- Serna, M.D., and F. Pomares, 1992. Nitrogen Mineralization of Sludge-Amended Soil. Bioresource Technology, 39:285-290.
- Serna, M. D. and F. Pomares, 1992. Evaluation of Chemical Indices of Soil Organic Nitrogen Availability in Calcareous Soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 56:1486-1491.
- Serna, M.D. and Pomares, F., 1993. Biological and chemical methods to predict nitrogen mineralization in organic wastes. Comm. Soil Sci. and Plant Analysis, 24:1833-1844.
- Canet, R. and Pomares, F., 1995. Evolution of physical, chemical and
physico-chemical parameters in the composting of urban solid wastes in two
recycling plants at Valencia. Bioresource Technology, 51:259-264.
- Canet, R, Pomares, F. and Tarazona, F., 1997. Chemical extractability
and availability of heavy metals after a seven years application of organic
wastes to a citrus soil. Soil Use and Management, 13:117-121.
- Ingelmo, F., Canet, R., Ibañez, A., Pomares, F. and García, J., 1997.
Use of MSW compost dried sewage sludge and other wastes as partial substitutes
for peat and soil. Bioresource Technology, 63:123-129.
- Canet, R., Pomares, F., Tarazona, F. and Estela, M. 1998. Sequential
fractionation and plant availability of heavy metals as affected by sewage
sludge applications to soil. Commun. Soil. Sci. Plant Anal., 29:697-716.
|
