阿维菌素亚致死剂量下2种色型豌豆蚜解毒酶活力的研究

采用室内培养方法研究了阿维菌素亚致死剂量分别处理红色和绿色型豌豆蚜后,其乙酰胆碱酯酶(AChE)、谷胱甘肽S-转移酶(GSTs)和多功能氧化酶(MFO)比活力在不同时间内的变化。结果表明,亚致死剂量LC20、LC10和LC5分别处理2种色型豌豆蚜24 h后,3种酶比活力均高于对照,且GSTs和MFO比活力均随亚致死剂量升高而增大,但AChE比活力表现为2种色型均在LC10处理后达到最大值,分别为13.93 nmol·min-1·mg-1(pro)和53.93nmol·min-1·mg-1(pro)。各处理表现为AChE比活力绿色型大于红色型,GSTs比活力与前者相反,而MFO比活力红、绿色型间无明显规律。随着处理后取样时间的变化,对红、绿色型豌豆蚜AChE、GSTs和MFO比活力的影响均表现为诱导或抑制作用,其中,GSTs比活力绿色型在0 h均达到最大值[nmol·min-1·mg-1(pro)]且显著高于其余时间,分别为49.84(CK)、48.87(LC5)、42.74(LC10)和45.35(LC20)。2种色型豌豆蚜体内AChE、GSTs和MFO比活力变化不但受阿维菌素不同亚致死剂量的影响,还表现出明显的时间效应。     

Effect of nitrogen application on the A N value of soil

Pot experiments were conducted with two soils, from Rottenhaus and Seibersdorf in Austria, to ascertain whether the rate of fertilizer N application and the test crop would influence the amount of N available in the soil as assessed by the A-value method. ¹⁵N-labelled fertilizer was applied at rates of 10, 25, 40, 60, and 100 mg N kg^-1 soil, corresponding approximately to 20, 50, 80, 120 and 200 kg N ha^-1 respectively, and two crop species, barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) and non-nodulating soybean (Glycine max L.) were used to determine the soil A _N value under the various fertilizer regimes. The results showed that the Rottenhaus soil had a higher A _N value than the Seibersdorf soil, suggesting that the former was more fertile than the latter. The A _N values of both soils were significantly affected by the level of N application. When grown in the same soil, the two test crops showed significantly different fertilizer use efficiency and per cent N derived from fertilizer when the rate of N application exceeded 20 kg ha^-1. Thus, the A _N value as determined by the two test crops differed significantly for the same soil when the rate of N application was greater than 20 kg/ha. The difference was greater when the soil fertility level was high. The dependence of the A _N value on the level of N application and the species of crop seriously compromises the suitability of this method for determining plant-associated N₂ fixation. Hence, considerable caution is required when using this method to estimate plant-associated N₂ fixation.     

Effect of successive cuttings on uptake and partitioning of 15N among plant parts of Leucaena leucocephala

Summary We studied the effect of three successive cuttings on N uptake and fixation and N distribution in Leucaena leucocephala. Two isolines, uninoculated or inoculated with three different Rhizobium strains, were grown for 36 weeks and cut every 12 weeks. The soil was labelled with 50 ppm KNO₃ enriched with 10 atom % ¹⁵N excess soon after the first cutting. Except for the atom % ¹⁵N excess in branches of K28 at the second cutting, both the L. leucocephala isolines showed similar patterns of total N, fixed N₂, and N from fertilizer distribution in different parts of the plant at each cutting. The Rhizobium strain did not influence the partitioning of ¹⁵N among the different plant parts. Significant differences in ¹⁵N enrichment occurred in different parts. Live nodules of both isolines showed the lowest atom % ¹⁵N excess values (0.087), followed by leaves (0.492), branches (0.552), stems (0.591), and roots (0.857). The roots contained about 60% of the total plant N and about 70% of the total N derived from fertilizer over the successive cuttings. The total N₂ fixed in the roots was about 60% of that fixed in the whole plant, while the shoots contained only 20% of the fixed N₂. We conclude that N reserves in roots and nodules constitute another N source that must be taken into account when estimating fixed N₂ or the N balance after pruning or cutting plants. ¹⁵N enrichment declined up to about fivefold in the reference and the N₂-fixing plants over 24 weeks following the ¹⁵N application. The proportion and the amounts of N derived from fertilizer decreased, while the amount derived from N₂ fixation increased with time although its proportion remained constant.     

Agricultural factors affecting methane oxidation in arable soil

CH₄ oxidation activity in a sandy soil (Ardoyen) and agricultural practices affecting this oxidation were studied under laboratory conditions. CH₄ oxidation in the soil proved to be a biological process. The instantaneous rate of CH₄ consumption was in the order of 800 mol CH₄ kg^–1 day^–1 (13 mg CH₄ kg^–1 day^–1) provided the soil was treated with ca. 4.0 mmol CH₄ kg^–1 soil. Upon repeated supplies of a higher dose of CH₄, the oxidation was accelerated to a rate of at least 198 mg CH₄ kg^–1 day^–1. Addition of the plant-growth promoting rhizopseudomonad strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa 7NSK2 and Pseudomonas fluorescens ANP15 significantly decreased the CH₄ oxidation by 20 to 30% during a 5-day incubation. However, with further incubation this suppression was no longer detectable. Growing maize plants prevented the suppression of CH₄ oxidation. The numbers of methanotrophic bacteria and fungi increased significantly after the addition of CH₄, but there were no significant shifts in the population of total bacteria and fluorescent pseudomonads. Drying and rewetting of soil for at least 1 day significantly reduced the activity of the indigenous methanotrophs. Upon rewetting, their activity was regained after a lag phase of about 3 days. The herbicide dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) had a strong negative effect on CH₄ oxidation. The application of 5 ppm increased the time for CH₄ removal; at concentrations above 25 ppm 2,4-D CH₄–oxidizing activity was completely hampered. After 3 days of delay, only the treatments with below 25 ppm 2,4-D showed recovery of CH₄–oxidizing activity. This finding suggests that it can be important to include a CH₄–removal bioassay in ecotoxicology studies of the side effects of pesticides. Changes in the native soil pH also affected the CH₄–oxidizing capacity. Permanent inhibition occurred when the soil pH was altered by 2 pH units, and partial inhibition by 1 pH unit change. A rather narrow pH range (5.9–7.7) appeared to allow CH₄ oxidation. Soils pre-incubated with NH ₄ ⁺ had a lower CH₄–removal capacity. Moreover, the nitrification inhibitor 2-chloro-6-trichloromethyl pyridine (nitrapyrin) strongly inhibited CH₄ oxidation. Probably methanotrophs rather than nitrifying microorganisms are mainly responsible for CH₄ removal in the soil studied. It appears that the causal methanotrophs are remarkably sensitive to soil environmental disturbances.     

重塑Q3黄土K0三轴蠕变特性的试验研究

[目的]研究陕西省延安地区重塑Q_3黄土高填方工程的后期沉降变形特性,为高填方工程的设计、施工提供一定的技术和理论支撑。[方法]通过改进K0三轴蠕变仪,对所取黄土进行了不同压实度、不同含水量、不同竖向应力下的室内土的静止侧压力系数K_0三轴固结排水蠕变试验。[结果]重塑Q_3黄土具有明显的蠕变特性,在低应力条件下,呈现出典型的衰减蠕变;在K_0条件下,随着含水量增大、竖向应力的增大,压实度的减小,蠕变呈增强趋势,蠕变变形量增大;在低水平应力的条件下,土体所受侧向应力与竖向应力成线性关系。[结论]建立了重塑Q_3黄土关于竖向应力的自定义蠕变模型,通过试验数据拟合获得了模型参数,所建模型能很好地描述延安地区重塑Q_3黄土的蠕变特性。     

The Effects of Temperature, Suspended Solids, and Organic Carbon on Copper Toxicity to Two Aquatic Invertebrates

Ephemeral wetlands are characterized by temporal changes in abiotic characteristics that could ameliorate or exacerbate contaminant effects on resident species. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of temperature and naturally occurring suspended solids and organic carbon on the response of Daphnia pulex, and the calanoid copepod, Diaptomus clavipes, to a copper reference toxicant. Organisms were exposed to copper at 10, 20 and 30 ^°C in 48-h static renewal tests with a diluent of either reconstituted laboratory water or water from a wetland that had elevated levels of both suspended solids and organic carbon. 48-h LC₅₀ values were calculated for both total and free ion copper concentrations. When wetland water was used as the diluent, LC₅₀ values based on total copper concentrations were significantly greater than free ion LC₅₀s for both species. This difference was not as great in laboratory water, indicating that binding of the metal was greater in the wetland diluent and the free ion was largely responsible for toxicity. While D. clavipes was significantly less sensitive to the metal than D. pulex (48-h LC₅₀ for total copper in laboratory water at 20 ^°C 607.4 μg/L vs. 10.7 μg/L, respectively), the copepod exhibited a much greater response to increasing temperature. When the Biotic Ligand Model was used to generate free ion concentrations, it was found that measured concentrations exceeded the predicted values at each test condition; however measured LC₅₀ values for D. pulex were within a factor of two of the predicted LC₅₀'s at all temperatures and in both diluents.     

有机化合物Koc分子拓扑-极性校正模型的稳健性检验

用修正的ｊａｃｋｋｎｉｆｅ检验了估算有机化合物吸着系数（Ｋｏｃ）的分子拓扑极性校正模型及模型参数的稳健性,检验分四利不同方式进行;随机抽除单一化合物（１００次）、农一抽除异常化合物（做算值与实测值差别在０．９个对数单位以上者,２７次）,随机抽除５０个化合物（３０次）以及逐一抽除特定化合物类别（１７类）。检验结果表明,对所研究的模型,不同检验方式得到的结果一般具有相似的趋势,即多元回归模型的可决系数     

模拟干旱和盐碱胁迫对碱蓬、盐地碱蓬种子萌发的影响

为研究干旱和盐碱胁迫对碱蓬(Suaeda glauca)、盐地碱蓬(Suaeda salsa)种子萌发的影响,比较碱蓬和盐地碱蓬逆境生理特性的异同,本研究利用PEG6000、NaCl和Na_2CO_3分别模拟干旱、盐和碱胁迫,配制相同渗透势的PEG6000、NaCl、Na_2CO_3处理液,以蒸馏水处理为对照,对碱蓬、盐地碱蓬种子的萌发与胚的生长进行比较研究。结果表明:1)低渗处理(-0.46 MPa)对碱蓬、盐地碱蓬种子的萌发无显著影响;高渗处理(-1.38MPa、-1.84 MPa)抑制碱蓬、盐地碱蓬种子的萌发。2)当溶液渗透势相等时,NaCl处理下碱蓬种子的萌发率显著大于PEG、Na_2CO_3处理;而等渗PEG、NaCl、Na_2CO_3处理对盐地碱蓬种子萌发率的影响无显著差异。3)PEG、NaCl、Na_2CO_3处理组碱蓬、盐地碱蓬种子的最终萌发率与对照无显著差异。4)在幼苗形成阶段,PEG、Na_2CO_3处理对碱蓬、盐地碱蓬胚的抑制作用显著大于等渗NaCl处理。5)碱蓬、盐地碱蓬胚的生长对NaCl、Na_2CO_3胁迫的响应存在差异。-0.92 MPa NaCl处理抑制碱蓬胚的生长,却对盐地碱蓬产生促进作用;-0.46 MPa Na_2CO_3处理对碱蓬胚的抑制作用小于盐地碱蓬。综合分析表明:碱蓬、盐地碱蓬均具有很强的抗盐性。在种子萌发阶段,碱蓬种子的抗旱、抗碱能力低于盐地碱蓬;在幼苗形成阶段,碱蓬胚的抗盐性小于盐地碱蓬,但对轻度碱胁迫的抗性高于盐地碱蓬。     

Variation for cadmium uptake among Nicotiana species

Fifty nine species of Nicotiana were tested for the potential to take up cadmium from soil either with a natural cadmium content of 0.15 ppm or enriched with 8 mg Cd per 1 kg soil added as Cd(NO₃)₂. When grown on the soil with natural cadmium content the highest leaf absorbers of cadmium were N. raimondii (6.15 ppm), N. bigelovii (5.47 ppm) and the botanical varieties of N. tabacum (3.92 – 5.75 ppm); the highest root absorber was N. rosulata (3.17 ppm). On the soil with an addition of 8 mg cadmium/kg the highest leaf cadmium contents were in N. langsdorfii (116.28 ppm), N. plumbaginifolia (99.49 ppm), N. setchellii (94.16 ppm) N. debneyi (69.12 ppm), N. velutina (62.15 ppm) and the highest root cadmium contents in N. miersii (32.2 ppm), N. clevelandii (30.45 ppm) and N. nudicaulis (30.45 ppm). Significant differences between sections were most frequently shown for the cadmium enriched soil and rarely for the control treatments. No significant differences were found between the botanical varieties of the same species when grown on the cadmium enriched vs. natural cadmium soil.     

Plant canopy effects on litter accumulation and soil microbial biomass in two temperate forests

The objective of this study was to determine whether differences in canopy structure and litter composition affect soil characteristics and microbial activity in oak versus mixed fir-beech stands. Mean litter biomass was greater in mixed fir-beech stands (51.9t ha⁻¹) compared to oak stands (15.7t ha⁻¹). Canopy leaf area was also significantly larger in mixed stands (1.96m² m⁻²) than in oak stands (1.73m² m⁻²). Soil organic carbon (C _org) and moisture were greater in mixed fir-beech stands, probably as a result of increased cover. Soil microbial biomass carbon (C _mic), nitrogen (N _mic), and total soil nitrogen (N _tot) increased slightly in the mixed stand, although this difference was not significant. Overall, mixed stands showed a higher mean C _org/N _tot ratio (22.73) compared to oak stands (16.39), indicating relatively low rate of carbon mineralization. In addition, the percentage of organic C present as C _mic in the surface soil decreased from 3.17% in the oak stand to 2.26% in the mixed stand, suggesting that fir-beech litter may be less suitable as a microbial substrate than oak litter.     

Phenylpyrazoles impact on Folsomia candida (Collembola)

Effects of the broad-spectrum insecticide fipronil were investigated on a non-target insect living in the soil, the springtail Folsomia candida Willem. Fipronil induced a significant reduction in juvenile production (PNEC = 250 μg kg⁻¹ dry soil), which seemed to be linked with an impact on the first stages of springtail development: juveniles and 7-day-old adults. These young organisms have a thinner integument, a smaller mass body and a weaker detoxification efficiency and were more sensitive than adults (14 days old) to fipronil and phenylpyrazole derivatives. Contact toxicity for juveniles was measured (LC₅₀(96 h)) giving the following values: fipronil, 450 μg l⁻¹; sulfone-fipronil, 430 μg l⁻¹; sulfide-fipronil, 160 μg l⁻¹. F. candida organisms were able to avoid contaminated food because phenylpyrazoles decreased food appetency. However, F. candida could bioaccumulate fipronil through trans-tegumental penetration (BAF_96 h = 160) and its high biotransformation rate inside springtail bodies (1 ng fipronil metabolized day⁻¹ individual⁻¹) was suspected to increase this process. Under natural conditions, phenylpyrazoles risk assessment on springtails seems to be weak due to their capacity of avoiding high contaminated zones and their biochemical tolerance to this class of insecticides.     

Effect of the herbicide MCPA on VA mycorrhizal infection and growth of Pisum sativum

The effect of the hormonal herbicide MCPA on VA mycorrhizal infection and on pea plant growth was examined. Plant growth was decreased by MCPA applied at the rate of 120 ppm. The VA infections of pea roots inoculated with G. mosseae was decreased by the MCPA when applied at high dosis (120 ppm), but those of indigenous endophytes were decreased at the rate of 12 and 120 ppm. MCPA applied to VA inoculated pots eight weeks before pea planting also decreased the VA infection of these plants. These results suggest that VA mycorrhizas was affected not only through the plant but also directly by the application of the herbicide. Glomus mosseae may help plants recover from the deleterious effect of MCPA when applied at intermediary (12 ppm) but not at high dosis (120 ppm).     

The role of laboratory, glasshouse and field scale experiments in understanding the interactions between genetically modified crops and soil ecosystems: A review of the ECOGEN project

The interactions of genetically modified (GM) crops with soil species and ecosystems is complex, requiring both specific and broad spectrum assessments. In the ECOGEN project we undertook experiments at three scales of increasing complexity, using Bt maize expressing the Cry1Ab protein from Bacillus thuringiensis as an example. Test species were selected for laboratory-scale experiments to represent taxonomic groups that we could also monitor at glasshouse and field scales (e.g., nematodes, protozoa, micro-arthropods, earthworms, and snails). In the laboratory, single species were exposed to purified Cry1Ab protein or to Bt maize leaf powder incorporated into simplified diets under controlled conditions. In the glasshouse, multiple test species and soil microbial communities taken from ECOGEN's field sites were exposed to Bt maize plants growing under glasshouse or mesocosm conditions. In the field, evaluations were conducted on our selected indicator groups over multiple sites and growing seasons. Field evaluation included assessment of effects due to the local environment, crop type, seasonal variation and conventional crop management practice (tillage and pesticide use), which cannot be assessed in the glasshouse. No direct effects of Cry1Ab protein or Bt leaf residues were detected on our laboratory test organisms, but some significant effects were detected in the glasshouse. Total nematode and protozoan numbers increased in field soil under Bt maize relative to conventional maize, whilst microbial community structure and activity were unaffected. Field results for the abundance of nematodes and protozoa showed some negative effects of Bt maize, thus contradicting the glasshouse results. However, these negative results were specific to particular field sites and sampling times and therefore were transient. Taking the overall variation found in maize ecosystems at different sites into account, any negative effects of Bt maize at field scale were judged to be indirect and no greater than the impacts of crop type, tillage and pesticide use. Although the ECOGEN results were not predictive between the three experimental scales, we propose that they have value when used with feedback loops between the scales. This holistic approach can used to address questions raised by results from any level of experimentation and also for putting GM crop risk:benefit into context with current agricultural practices in regionally differing agro-ecosystems.     

Effect of increasing oxygen concentration on total denitrification and nitrous oxide release from soil by different bacteria

Summary The effect of increasing oxygen concentrations (0, 5, 10 and 20 Vol% O₂) on total denitrification and N₂0 release was studied in model experiments using a neutral pH loamy soil relatively rich in easily decomposable organic matter and supplied with nitrate (300 g nitrate N/g dry soil). The sterilized soil was inoculated with three different denitrifying bacteria (Bacillus licheniformis,Aeromonas denitrificans andAzospirillum lipoferum) and incubated (80% WHC, 30°C). The gas volume was analysed for O₂, CO₂, N₂O, NO and N₂ by gas chromatography and the soil investigated for changes in ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, pH, total N and C as well as water-extractable C. WithB. licheniformis andAeromonas denitrificans total denitrification increased remarkably with increasing pO₂ as the result of intensified mineralization.Azospirillum lipoferum, however, showed the highest activity at 5 vol% O₂. WithB. licheniformis N₂O was released only in anaerobic conditions and at 5 Vol% O₂ (maximum) or 10 Vol% 02, but not at 20 Vol%, whereasAeromonas denitrificans produced N₂O only in the presence of He gas (maximum) or at 5 Vol% O₂. In contrast to these bacteria, N₂O production withAzospirillum lipoferum was restricted to 10 Vol% O₂ (maximum) and to 20 Vol% 02, with some traces at 5 vol% O₂. With a certain set of conditions, total denitrification and N₂O formation seem to be governed by the mineralization rate of the organisms in question. The increased demand for electron acceptors by a high turnover rate rather than the presence of anaerobic conditions seems to have determined the rate of denitrification.     

Hydrogen oxidation in soil following rhizobial H2 production due to N2 fixation by a Vicia faba-Rhizobium leguminosarum symbiosis

Summary The rate of H₂ release from broad beans (Vicia faba) infected with Rhizobium leguminosarum Hup^- was much faster than from beans infected with the Hup⁺ strain. Acetylene reduction and H₂ release were abolished by cutting the plants down, by incubation in darkness, or after the addition of ammonium, indicating that the H₂ was released by N₂-fixing bacterial symbionts. In laboratory cultures using non-sterile soil, the bean plants released H₂ until an equilibrium between H₂ production and H₂ oxidation was reached. The H₂ equilibrium concentration was higher in Hup^--infected bean cultures (about 3 ppm H₂ in the gas phase) than in Hup⁺-infected cultures (0.3 ppm H₂) because of the higher H₂ production. The H₂ release from Hup^--infected bean cultures in sterile soil did not reach equilibrium. An equilibrium occurred, if Knallgas bacteria were added. However, the equilibrium value was higher (13 ppm H₂) than in non-sterile soil, which seemed to be more efficient at H₂ oxidation. The Knallgas bacteria exhibited a relatively high K _m for H₂ (> 1300 ppmv H₂); this activity was observed in unplanted non-sterile soil, and in nonsterile soil planted with Hup⁺-infected beans or planted with Hup^--infected beans which had been cut down before being assayed. All these soils also showed a second, low-K _m (<50 ppm) level of H₂ oxidation activity, which was presumably due to abiontic soil enzymes. In contrast, only one level of activity, which had an intermediate K _m (about 200 ppm H₂), was observed when the soil was planted with Hup^--infected beans. The origin of this activity, which was only observed in the presence of intact, H₂-producing beans, is still unknown.     

Energy balance and partition in Inner Mongolia steppe ecosystems with different land use types

Land use change and grassland degradation are two of the most critical problems ubiquitously found in arid and semi-arid areas in Northern China. Energy fluxes, including net radiation (R_n), latent heat flux (LE), sensible heat flux (H) and soil heat flux (G), were examined over an entire year (December 2005 to November 2006) in different steppe ecosystems – the steppe and cropland in Duolun and the fenced and grazed steppe in Xilinhot – in Inner Mongolia based on direct measurements from four eddy-covariance flux towers. The seasonal changes in R_n, LE, H and G of the four sites were similar, with very low values during the period of snow cover from December to February, followed by a gradual increase in the growing season. The opposite seasonal patterns of the LE and H fraction resulted in significant seasonal changes in Bowen ratio (β). Human activity in cropland ecosystems not only resulted in a rapidly shift between LE and H, but also triggered a decrease in latent heat fraction because of a shortened growing season of crop plants. The significantly positive relationships between canopy surface conductance (g_c) and LE/LE_eq of all of the study sites suggested that a lack of precipitation coupled with high VPD conduced remarkable decreases of stomatal conductance. This could impede the latent heat partitioning of available energy (R_n − G) in semi-arid ecosystems, Inner Mongolia. The obvious decrease in the values of g_c and the decoupling factor (Ω) in both the cropland and the degraded steppe suggested that land use change could depress latent flux fraction and increase its sensitivity to air and soil drought.     

Isotope 15N enrichment of soil-ammonium N as a reference to estimate N2 fixation by stem and root-inoculated S. rostrata

Summary A pot experiment in the greenhouse was conducted to compare the contribution of N derived from the atmosphere or from biological N₂ fixation by Sesbania rostrata inoculated with Azorhizobium caulinodans, applied either to roots or to roots and stems (single or multiple stem inoculation). Two subsequent crops were grown for 50 days under flooded conditions. N derived from air was estimated by ¹⁵N dilution using ¹⁵N enrichment of soil NH _inf4 ^sup+ -N and of Echinochloa crusgalli as the non-N₂-fixing reference datum and compared with estimates obtained by the N-difference method. The first crop was grown to stabilize the ¹⁵N into the soil organic N fraction. The ¹⁵N enrichment of soil NH _inf4 ^sup+ -N in the second crop declined slowly. The extractability ratio (¹⁵N enrichment of extractable soil N to ¹⁵N enrichment of total soil N) decreased from 4.8 to 4.1 50 days after planting. The enrichment of soil NH _inf4 ^sup+ -N was comparable to that of E. crus-galli, resulting in similar estimates of N derived from air when either soil NH _inf4 ^sup+ -N or enrichment of E. crus-galli was used as a non-fixing reference. The N-difference method did not always provide reliable estimates of N derived from air; percentages ranged from 75 to more than 80 by 50 days after planting in both crops and did not differ among treatments. The study demonstrates the potential of using ¹⁵N enrichment of soil NH _inf4 ^sup+ -N as a non-N₂-fixing reference for reliable BNF estimates of crops in lowland puddled soil.     

Influence of reference trees on N2-fixation estimates inLeucaena leucocephala andAcacia albida using15N-labelling techniques

Summary We examined the suitability of four reference crops, i.e., two non-fixing trees,Cassia siamea andEucalyptus grandis, and two uninoculated fixing trees,Leucaena leucocephala andAcacia albida, for measuring fixed N₂ fixed in inoculatedL. leucocephala andA. albida grown for 36 weeks in pots. The¹⁵N isotope-dilution (involving the addition of equal amounts of labelled N fertilizer to the non-fixing and the fixing plants) and theA-value (with different amounts of labelled N fertilizer added to the fixing and the non-fixing crops) methods were used. The isotope dilution approach gave several large negative estimates of fixed N₂ inA. albida. Positive and similar values of fixed N₂ were measured in all four reference crops using theA-value approach. ForL. leucocephala the isotope-dilution approach gave different estimates of fixed N₂, with the different reference crops; the uninoculated N₂-fixing crops indicated significantly less fixed N₂ than the non-fixing reference crops. Similar values for N₂ fixed inL. leucocephala were obtained using the two non-fixing trees, either by the isotope-dilution or theA-value method. On average,A. albida derived about twice as much N from fertilizer asL. leucocephala. In both species, the atom %¹⁵N excess declined by about 50% in successive harvests.     

Characterisation of the dynamics of C-partitioning within Lolium perenne and to the rhizosphere microbial biomass using 14C pulse chase

The dynamics of C partitioning with Lolium perenne and its associated rhizosphere was investigated in plant-soil microcosms using ¹⁴C pulse-chase labelling. The ¹⁴CO₂ pulse was introduced into the shoot chamber and the plants allowed to assimilate the label for a fixed period. The microcosm design facilitated independent monitoring of shoot and root/soil respiration during the chase period. Partitioning between above- and below-ground pools was determined between 30 min and 168 h after the pulse, and the distribution was found to vary with the length of the chase period. Initially (30 min after the pulse), the ¹⁴C was predominantly (99%) in the shoot biomass and declined thereafter. The results indicate that translocation of recent photoassimilate is rapid, with ¹⁴C detected below ground within 30 min of pulse application. The translocation rate of ¹⁴C below ground was maximal (6.2% h^-1) between 30 min and 3 h after the pulse, with greatest incorporation into the microbial biomass detected at 3 h. After 3 h, the microbial biomass ¹⁴C pool accounted for 74% of the total ¹⁴C rhizosphere pool. By 24 h, approximately 30% of ¹⁴C assimilate had been translocated below ground; thereafter ¹⁴C translocation was greatly reduced. Partitioning of recent assimilate changed with increasing CO₂ concentration. The proportion of ¹⁴C translocated below ground almost doubled from 17.76% at the ambient atmospheric CO₂ concentration (450 ppm) to 33.73% at 750 ppm CO₂ concentration. More specifically, these changes occurred in the root biomass and the total rhizosphere pools, with two- and threefold ¹⁴C increases at an elevated CO₂ concentration compared to ambient, respectively. The pulselabelling strategy developed in this study provided sufficient sensitivity to determine perturbations in C dynamics in L. perenne, in particular rhizosphere C pools, in response to an elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration.     

Estimating N2 fixation by Sesbania rostrata and S. cannabina (syn. S. aculeata) in lowland rice soil by the 15N dilution method

Summary A field experiment in concrete-based plots was conducted to estimate the contribution of N derived from air (Ndfa) or biological N₂ fixation in Sesbania rostrata and S. cannabina (syn. S. aculeata), using various references, by the ¹⁵N dilution method. The two Sesbania species as N₂-fixing reference plants and four aquatic weed species as non-N₂-fixing references were grown for 65 days after sowing in two consecutive crops, in the dry and the wet seasons, under flooded conditions. Soil previously labeled with ¹⁵N at 0.26 atom % ¹⁵N excess in mineralizable N was further labeled by ammonium sulfate with 3 and 6 atom % ¹⁵N excess. The results showed that ¹⁵N enrichment of soil NH ₄ ⁺ -N dropped exponentially in the first crop to half the original level in 50 days while in the second crop, it declined gradually to half the level in 130 days. The decline in ¹⁵N enrichment, in both N₂-fixing and non-fixing species, was also steeper in the first crop than in the second crop. Variations in ¹⁵N enrichment among non-fixing species were smaller in the second crop. The ratio of the uptake of soil N to that of fertilizer N in N₂-fixing and non-fixing species was estimated by the technique of varying the ¹⁵N level. In the second crop, this ratio in non-fixing species was higher than that in N₂-fixing species. Comparable estimates of % Ndfa were obtained by using ¹⁵N enrichment of various non-fixing species. There was also good agreement between the estimates obtained by using ¹⁵N enrichment of non-fixing species and those by using soil NH ₄ ⁺ -N, particularly in the second crop. By 25 days after sowing, the first crop of both Sesbania spp. had obtained 50% of total N from the atmosphere and the second crop had obtained 75%. The contribution from air increased with the age of the plant and ranged from 70% to 95% in 45–55 days. S. rostrata fixed substantially higher amounts of N₂ due to its higher biomass production compared with S. cannabina. Mathematical considerations in applying the ¹⁵N dilution method are discussed with reference to these results.