Southern highland of Amlash city including ophiolitic rocks of upper cretaceous age that pillow lavas and isotropic gabbros are make its major outcrops.Mica-bearing dikes (Alkaline dikes) without specified trend and in different direction have infiltrated in nominated rocks. Based on field evidences and microscopic study of dikes, this dikes are kind of alkaline lamprophyre feldspar-bearing which 6Cm idiomorphic megacryst make almost 10 percent of them. According to Guilan province industries and mines organization (2008) two amlsh's mica mines (Ya ali govabar & param sara) proved reserved is more than 240 thousand tones. Abounding of zoned PHLOGOPITE in alkaline dikes in different sizes according to their formation conditions (High water vapor pressure and more than 1100 oc temperature) probably dikes melt has made of molten mantle wedge in sub duction with low melt percent (at last 3 percents).

Introduction: Potassium is a macroelement essential for plant growth and its importance in agriculture is well understood. Potassium in clay minerals is an important source of potassium for plants in many soils. No precise information is available on the impact of lime on potassium uptake by plants. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of lime on K availability form PHLOGOPITE mineral in alfalfa rhizosphere. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement. Alfalfa was grown in media containing a mixture of quartz sand and PHLOGOPITE, different levels of lime (0, 2, 5, 12, 25%) and under two types of nutrient solutions (complete and potassium free) with three replications for a period of six months. Alfalfa shoots and roots were harvested and their potassium concentration was measured. The Data obtained from this experiment was statistically analyzed using SAS software and comparison of means was performed with the LSD test. Results and Discussion: The results showed that both shoot and root biomass was significantly affected by lime. Potassium concentration in shoot and root significantly reduced as the level of lime increased. The amount of soluble calcium increases as the level of lime in medium increases. This is mainly due to the hydrolysis of lime which also reduces the ratio of potassium to calcium and magnesium. This causes a great decline in potassium uptake by plant. Reduced uptake from the root surfaces of the plants in medium containing lime can also be caused by calcium oxalate precipitation on the root surfaces due to the abundance of calcium ions in the the root zone. Despite the fact that the amount of potassium supplied by different media has been the same, plants were not able to absorb equal quantity of potassium. Plants grown in lime-containing pots were indirectly deficient in potassium. Indirect exposure of plant to potassium deficiency means that, despite the high soil available K level, due to physiological reasons, potassium uptake by roots and its transfer to shoots is restricted. This is attributed to the negative effects of high concentration of magnesium and calcium compared to that of potassium in soil. Potassium concentration of plant roots was less than that of the shoots. This is mainly due to higher demand for K in shoots as compared to that in roots. Besides, the ability of plants to transfer potassium from root to shoot is very high. Shoot dry weight in plants with a complete nutrient solution major than the plants with a potassium free nutrient solution. Maximum dry weight was found in plants supplied with the complete nutrient solution with no lime added. In contrast, plants supplied with potassium free nutrient solution grown in pots containing 25% lime had the least dry weight. Lower root biomass could be caused by differences in physical characteristics of the root environment due to the presence of lime. Under potassium free nutrient solution, the amount of potassium uptake was significantly influenced by the amount of lime as such that the least potassium uptake of shoot and root occurred in treatments with %25 lime. The maximum K uptake (145. 84 mg/pot) was obtained in plants treated with the complete nutrient solution. There was a highly significant correlation between the shoot dry weight and potassium uptake and also between the shoot dry weight and potassium concentration indicating that the plant shoot yield increases as the K concentration and uptake increase. Conclusion: The results obtained in this study clearly indicate that the presence of lime in the root zone could be a limiting factor for potassium uptake by plants. Although the concentration of potassium in plants was in the sufficient range defined by standards, but potassium uptake significantly reduced as the level of lime in medium increased. The decreasing trend was more obvious in the plants treated with potassium free nutrition solution. Plants treated with potassium free nutrient solution with no lime added to the medium have been able to take up a high amount of potassium. It appears that plant roots can influence on clay minerals to release potassium by the secretion of H+. But the presence of lime in the medium could release high level of Ca2+ ions into the solution, which, in turn, could reduce the release of potassium from PHLOGOPITE and its uptake by plants. In general, in media containing micaceous minerals as the only source of potassium, the presence of lime can have a negative impact on potassium release from minerals and its uptake by plants. Therefore, in calcareous soils with high potassium storage, the level of lime should be considered when potassium fertilizer is recommended. Besides, the amendment of highly calcareous soils by organic matters is suggested to improve the soil physical properties in order to have a better K uptake.

Background and Objectives: Soil is the thin layer of materials covering the Earth’ s surface and forms from the interaction of the atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere. Soil formation, development and functions influence the sustainability of ecosystem. The unique characteristics of soil have made it one of the key subjects of the Earth Science. Minerals are important components of the soil environment. They influence on the water-holding capacity of soils and affect their cation exchange capacity. Mineral weathering is an important process in soils, during which available forms of important nutrient elements are released from minerals structure into the soil system for root uptake. Micaceous minerals are common components of soils, sediments and minerals. Several studies have examined the characteristics of compost enriched with mineral compounds. While the mineralogical changes during the process of compost production have not yet been investigated. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the rate of biological weathering of PHLOGOPITE with time in PHLOGOPITE-enriched compost. Materials and methods: An experiment was run in petri dishes under laboratory conditions using 2 levels of PHLOGOPITE mineral (0 and 20% by weight) and four time periods (45, 90, 135 and 180 days) in 3 replications. Each petri dish contained 20 g of a mixture of cow manure and PHLOGOPITE mineral. In each period, 6 petri dishes were separated and their contents were oven dried at 30 ° C, powdered and passed through a 2 mm sieve. After preparing the contents of petri dishes, organic carbon content of the samples was measured by wet oxidation method and their total nitrogen by Kjeldahl method. The mineralogical changes were evaluated using X-ray diffraction analysis. Results: XRD patterns showed that during the composting process, PHLOGOPITE was partially weathered to vermiculite and smectite. The rate of weathering was higher at the early stages. The weathering of PHLOGOPITE was influenced considerably by the activity of microbial communities during organic matter decomposition process. At the end of the composting process, the weathering rate decreased and continued at a stable rate. Mineralogical changes occurred in phologopite during the composting were in line with the reduction of C/N ratio with time. The C/N ratio rapidly changes at the early stages of the composting process and gradually becomes constant. Conclusions: In general, the results indicate that the increase of availability of elements such as potassium in mica-enriched compost is in fact due to the weathering of micaceous minerals added. The weathering rate was influenced by the activities of microbial communities.

Several studies have been conducted to investigate the composition of micas (especially biotite) with the magmatic suites of the host rock (especially granitoid), thus to understand the tectonic environment of the host rock. This study deals with the issue of what compositional trends or elemental correlations exist in igneous micas when a large dataset with a given tectonic environment is used. In this regard, variations in the chemical composition of biotite, PHLOGOPITE, and muscovite from three tectonic environments were investigated, regardless of the composition of their host rock. Enrichment of Fe or Mg in micas, such as Mg-rich biotite or Fe-rich PHLOGOPITE, can make us wrong in determining whether a mineral is primary or secondary based solely on chemical composition. The negative and good correlation between FeO and MgO caused biotites and PHLOGOPITEs of all three tectonic environments to follow the trend of the calc-alkaline orogenic suites of Abdel-Rahman's classification. Considering the excellent and negative correlation between Al and Mg in muscovite, the substitution of 2Mg2+ = 3Al3+ is significant in this mineral. The data distribution shows that biotites and PHLOGOPITEs belonging to rift and convergent environments can be divided into Al-rich and Al-poor groups or Mg-rich and Mg-poor groups.

Low molecular weight carboxylic acids (LMW) play an important role in improving the bioavailability of soil nutrients. Nonexchangeable soil K, trapped between the interlayers of clay minerals, is an important source of K for plants in many soils. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of selected LMW organic acids on the release of K from micaceous minerals and to investigate the resulting mineralogical changes. A laboratory dissolution study was carried out using a completely randomized design with three replicates.Muscovite and PHLOGOPITE (< 60 mm size) were reacted with 0, 500, 2000 and 4000 mM solutions of oxalic, citric and malic acids for a period of 5 hours to 120 days. The amount of K released to the solution was determined with flame photometer. The rate of K release varied with the type of organic acids and also the kind of mica.Citric acid solution with a concentration of 4000 mM was able to release more K from minerals. The higher the concentration of organic acid, the higher the amount of K released. The amount of K released from minerals was in the order of PHLOGOPITE>muscovite. The kinetics of non-exchangeable K release from minerals consisted of two phases, the first phase was relatively rapid and then it had a constant rate until the end of experiment.Strongly coordinating LMW carboxylic acids enhance the mineral dissolution and weathering reactions through the detachment of surface complexes into solution. There was not any XRD detectable changes in minerals reacted with organic acids up to 4 months.

Potassium (K) is an essential element for plant growth and development and its importance in agriculture is well known. It plays an important role in improving the quality of agricultural products. Besides, micaceous minerals are abundant in Iranian soils. The role of plant species in potassium uptake from minerals is significant, but not well investigated. Therefore, the objective of this research was to compare the ability of various plant species (alfalfa, barley and tall fescue) to utilize non-exchangeable and structural potassium from PHLOGOPITE. Barley, alfalfa and tall fescue are known as second major crop in Iran, the most important forage crop worldwide and natural forage grass, respectively. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with factorial combinations and all treatments were triplicate. Experimental factors were three plant types (barley, alfalfa and tall fescue), 2 culture medium (PHLOGOPITE+quartz sand, and quartz sand) and two nutrient solutions (K-free and complete). Culture media was a mixture of quartz sand (as filling material) and PHLOGOPITE. Pots were irrigated with distilled water and nutrient solutions during a period of 140 days. At the end of experiment, shoots and roots were separated and plant samples were prepared with dry ashing method and the concentration of K was determined with flame photometer. The K concentration was in sufficient limit for both barley and alfalfa in pots amended with PHLOGOPITE under K-free solution. But K concentration was not in sufficient limit for tall fescue under K-free condition. Among plants tested, K uptake followed the order: barley>alfalfa>tall fescue (P<0.05). In pots amended with PHLOGOPITE under K-free nutrient solution, K remove by barley, alfalfa and tall fescue was calculated as 50, 41 and 28, respectively. The net potassium release was greatly influenced by plant species. Plant demands for K and root morphology are important factors for these differences among plants. Although, micaceous minerals are abundant in Iranian soils, these sources can be removed by plants under intensive cropping, therefore under these conditions potassium fertilization is recommended.

The release rate of potassium (K) from micaceous minerals plays a significant role in supplying K to plants. The objective of this study was to determine the most appropriate kinetic equation to describe potassium release from micaceous minerals as influenced by organic acids. Muscovite and PHLOGOPITE were made to react with 0, 500, 2000 and 4000 mM solutions of oxalic, citric and malic acids for six different periods of time with the level of released K determined through a flame photometer. Pseudo second order, Elovich, power function and parabolic diffusion models were tested to describe the K release data. The rate of K release varied with the type of organic acids and also with the kind of mica. The kinetics of K release from minerals through an application of oxalic acid was best described by a parabolic diffusion model. On the other hand, Elovich and power function models could describe potassium release from PHLOGOPITE when citric and malic acid treatments applied.

Plio-Quaternary potassic to high potassic basaltic rocks are found in northern part of Uromieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Arc in NW Iran. The mineralogical composition of these rocks characterized with phenocrysts of Cpx, PHLOGOPITE, leucite and olivine in groundmass of plagioclase, sanidine, Cpx and biotite. PHLOGOPITE phenocrysts display a euhedral platy form with reaction rims. Based on the International Mineralogical Association scheme, the phologopite compositions plot between siderophyllite and eastonite end members and show Fe/ (Fe+Mg) ratios <0.33. Based on their TiO2, MgO, MnO and AlVI content, they are primary magmatic micas. The micas contain up to 5 wt% BaO and 8.62 wt% TiO2 and indicate similarity in composition with barian titanian PHLOGOPITEs from other potassic volcanic rocks in the world. As BaO, Al2O3 and TiO2 increase, the SiO2, FeO, MgO and K2O decrease. In this regard, Different substitutions deduced from such variations, which is common to most magmatic barian micas are discussed. In comparison with other potassic and high potassic volcanic rocks, the studied PHLOGOPITEs display similarity with PHLOGOPITEs of Italian Roman type volcanic rocks.

The production of compost and vermicompost from manure and different organic residues and also, their enrichment with some fertilizers and other treatments have been extensively investigated. However, no study has yet been conducted on the enrichment of composted and vermicomposted manure with clay minerals. This research was, therefore, carried out to investigate the selected properties of PHLOGOPITE enriched manure during the composting process with and without earthworm activity. The experiment was conducted in plastic containers with the lid under an average temperature of 27. 5° C and the humidity of 42. 5% using a factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design with 3 replications. Factors included levels of PHLOGOPITE addition (0%, 20% and 40% by weight), with or without the earthworm Eisenia fetida for different time periods of 1. 5, 3, 4. 5 and 6 months. At the end of the experiment, the total of organic carbon, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, and iron, as well as the contraction the available magnesium, potassium and iron, was determined. The results showed that the percent of organic carbon was decreased while the total nitrogen, the total and available potassium, iron and magnesium were increased with time. The results also indicated that a significant percentage of the total content of the elements in all treatments without PHLOGOPITE was available. However, in treatments containing PHLOGOPITE, the amount of the available elements was increased slowly with time. This was Due to the weathering of PHLOGOPITE mineral and the decomposition of manure. In general, it seems that the enrichment of composted and vermicomposed manure with PHLOGOPITE can guarantee the supply of nutrients such as potassium, iron and magnesium in a longer period, as compared with the ordinary composts.

Introduction: Iron is one of the essential micronutrients for plant growth. The total amount of iron in soil is often more than plant iron requirement, but the low solubility of iron compounds in many of soils leads to low uptake of this element by plant and eventually, results in iron deficiency symptoms in plant. Iron is the structural component of cytochromes, leghemoglobines and ferredoxins. This element participates in many vital activities of plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration and fixation of molecular nitrogen. Some of micaceous minerals including muscovite and PHLOGOPITE which contain significant amounts of iron are plentiful in soils of arid and semiarid regions of Iran. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of two plant species (alfalfa and barley) to uptake structural iron from muscovite and PHLOGOPITE. …