TY  - JA
AU  - Rahkonen,J.
AU  - Pietikäinen,J.
AU  - Jokela,H.
TI  - The effects of flame weeding on soil microbial biomass
SN  - 0144-8765
PY  - 1999///
CY  - United Kingdom
PB  - Taylor & Francis
KW  - Weeding
KW  - AGROVOC
KW  - Soil
KW  - Biomass
KW  - Petroleum
N1  - Peer review
N2  - The effects of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) flaming on soil microbial biomass and soil temperature were studied in a laboratory trial. The trial was arranged to imitate the most common weed flaming practice, non-selective flaming pre-emergence of the crop. Soil samples were taken, without disturbing the soil surface, before the germination of the crop from a field cultivated and sown in the spring. The microbial biomass in the 0–5 mm depth, measured by substrate induced respiration (SIR), was decreased by 19% when the soils were flamed with open flame burners using a flaming intensity of 4600 MJ ha−1. The treatment was quite extreme, corresponding to a propane dose of 100 kg ha−1, while the usual dose in practice is 20–80 kg ha−1. Flaming had little effect on microbial biomass deeper in the soil (5–10 mm). The soil temperature at 5 mm depth was raised by 4.0°C and at 10 mm by 1.2°C. It is concluded that the threat that flaming poses to soil microorganisms is small
T2  - Biological Agriculture & Horticulture
DO  - https://doi.org/10.1080/01448765.1999.9755239
ER  -