Bacteriological studies on the mineralization of soil organic nitrogen in paddy soils

Anaerobes were isolated from both disrupted and undisrupted soil samples incubated under submerged condition. All isolates were divided into 9 groups based on their gram stain and morphological characteristics. Correlation coefficients between the amount of nitrogen mineralized and the number of each group were calculated. A significant correlation was observed only between the amount of nitrogen mineralized and the number of gram positive-rod shaped anaerobic microorganisms (r=0.768 at P=0.05). This result indicates that in this study system, sorne particular anaerobes may play an important role in the mineralization of soil organic nitrogen.     

Distributions and environmental drivers of archaea and bacteria in paddy soils

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the abundance, diversity, and distribution of archaea and bacteria as affected by environment parameters in paddy soils, with focus on putative functional microbial groups related to redox processes. Because there is generally a high iron content in the soil, we also want to test a hypothesis that soil iron concentration significantly affects microbial diversity and distribution.

Materials and methods

Quantitative PCR and barcoded pyrosequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA genes were employed to investigate the abundance and community composition of archaeal and bacterial communities in 27 surface paddy soil samples. Pearson’s correlation, analysis of variance, partial least squares regression, principal coordinates analysis, and structural equation models were performed for the analyses of gene copy numbers, α-diversity, β-diversity, and relative abundances of archaea and bacteria and their relationships with environmental factors.

Results and discussion

Archaeal abundance was correlated greatest with temperature, but bacterial abundance was affected mainly by soil organic matter and total nitrogen content. Soil pH and concentrations of different ions were associated with archaeal and bacterial β-diversity. The relative abundances of Euryarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota were 61.3 and 13.1% of archaea and correlated with soil pH, which may affect the availability of substrates to methanogens and ammonia oxidizers. Dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria (32.4%), Acidobacteria (17.8%), Bacteroidetes (9.3%), and Verrucomicrobia (6.0%). The relative abundances of putative bacterial reducers of nitrate, Fe(III), sulfate, and sulfur, and oxidizers of ammonia, nitrite, reduced sulfur, and C1 compounds had positive, negative, or non-significant correlations with the concentrations of their substrates. Soil iron concentration was correlated only with the distributions of some putative iron-reducing bacteria.

Conclusions

In paddy soils characterized by dynamic redox processes, archaea and bacteria differ in relationships of abundance, diversity, and distribution with environmental factors. Especially, the concentrations of electron donors or acceptors can explain the distributions of some but not all the putative functional microbial groups related to redox processes. Depending on pH range, soil pH has a strong impact on microbial ecology in paddy soils.

     

Changes in proteolytic bacteria in paddy soils in response to organic management

Proteolytic bacterial communities, which mineralize organic nitrogen, play a key role in agricultural systems. In this study, alkaline metalloprotease (apr) gene fragments from proteolytic bacteria were investigated in bulk and rhizosphere paddy soil from four fields under organic management (for 2, 3, 5, and 9 years), and from one field under conventional management (for 2 years). We analyzed the abundance and structure of the proteolytic bacterial communities using real-time quantitative PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Our results showed that the abundance of proteolytic bacteria ranged from 1.57?×?10⁸ to 8.02?×?10⁸?copies/g of soil. In addition, the abundance of the proteolytic bacteria in the paddy soils under organic management was significantly higher than those in the paddy soil under conventional management. Moreover, the gene copy numbers in the rhizosphere soils were significantly higher than those in the bulk soils. The abundance of proteolytic bacteria tended to increase with the duration of organic management, with the highest abundance being found in the soil that had been under organic management for 5 years. However, the proteolytic bacteria communities in the paddy soils were not significantly affected by management practices. Phylogeny analysis showed that all gel bands obtained represented genes from Pseudomonas. Additionally, correlation analysis and canonical correspondence analysis showed that C/N, C, and N were important factors that influenced the abundance and community structure of the proteolytic bacteria. These results suggest that proteolytic bacteria are indicators in organic management systems, depolymerize organic N and hence maintain soil sustainability.

Abbreviations: CM: conventional management; OM: organic management; DGGE: denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis; qPCR: real-time quantitative PCR detecting system; COFCC: China organic food certification center; CCA: canonical correspondence analysis     

Hexadecane mineralization activity in hydrocarbon-contaminated soils of Ross Sea region Antarctica may require nutrients and inoculation

Hydrocarbon spills on Antarctic soils occur mainly near settlements where fuel is stored and aircraft and vehicles are refuelled. To investigate those factors that may preclude hexadecane mineralization activity in long-term hydrocarbon-contaminated soils from the Ross Sea Region, samples were collected from Scott Base, the site of former bases (Cape Evans, Marble Point, Vanda Station), and two oil spill sites in the Wright Valley (Bull Pass and Loop Moraine). The soils had low levels of nitrogen (<0.1% total N) and a high C/N ratio (>24) reflecting hydrocarbon contamination. Following soil water adjustment to 10% (v/w), the influence of nutrient addition (250 mg/kg N added as monoammonium phosphate) and inoculation (spiking with Antarctic soil containing high numbers of hydrocarbon degraders) as required on hexadecane mineralization activity was determined. Hexadecane mineralization activity occurred in contaminated soils from Marble Point, Cape Evans and one sample from Vanda Station without nutrient addition. In contrast soils from Scott Base, Cape Evans, another sample from Vanda Station and Loop Moraine required nutrients, whereas Bull Pass soil required inoculation and nutrients before hexadecane mineralization proceeded. Hydrocarbon degrader numbers were highest in coastal soils from Scott Base and Marble Point (10⁷ per gram) and less prevalent in inland soils from Wright Valley (<10⁵ per gram). The bacterial community structure of the soils differed between sites, but soils from the same sites tended to cluster together more closely, except for those from Vanda Station. Addition of nutrients did not cause large shifts in the soil bacterial communities. Results from this study indicate that hydrocarbon degradation may occur at some sites in summer when water is available. Long-term hydrocarbon-contaminated Antarctic soils may provide a valuable resource of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria that can serve as inocula for more recent oil spills on land.     

Effect of grinding on the decomposition of soil organic matter—I. The mineralization of organic nitrogen in relation to soil type

The effect of grinding on aerobic nitrogen mineralization in ten soils of widely different properties was studied. The aerobic mineralization of nitrogen was increased in seven of ten soils when they were ground to < 0.18 mm and < 0.05 mm; these seven soils contained more clay than the other three soils. Five soils with montmorillonite clay showed larger proportional increases in mineralization due to grinding than did the two soils with kaolin clay. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the inability of some previous workers to find increases in the rate of organic matter decomposition when soils are physically disrupted and the importance of clay protection in the resistance of soil organic matter to decomposition.     

不同类型水稻土微生物群落结构特征及其影响因素

选取基于我国土壤地理发生分类的不同类型土壤发育的四种水稻土,利用¹⁵N₂气体示踪法测定生物固氮速率,采用实时荧光定量PCR（Real-time PCR）技术测定细菌丰度,通过16S rRNA基因高通量测序分析微生物群落组成和多样性。结果表明：变形菌门（Proteobacteria）、酸杆菌门（Acidobacteria）、绿弯菌门（Chloroflexi）和蓝藻门（Cyanobacteria）是水稻土中优势微生物类群。四种类型土壤发育的水稻土细菌群落结构差异显著（Stress<0.001）,群落结构分异（NMDS1）与土壤pH存在极显著正相关关系（P<0.01）。土壤有机碳和碱解氮含量显著影响水稻土中细菌丰度和群落多样性（P<0.01）。红壤发育的水稻土细菌16S rRNA基因拷贝数显著高于其他三种类型水稻土,但OTU数量、Chao1指数和PD指数均低于其他三种类型水稻土。土壤pH对水稻土生物固氮速率有显著影响（P<0.01）,紫色土发育的水稻土具有最高的生物固氮速率（3.2±0.7 mg×kg^-1×d^-1）,其中优势类群细鞘丝藻属（Leptolyngbya）可能是生物固氮的主要贡献者。研究结果丰富了对水稻土微生物多样性的认识,为通过调控土壤pH和微生物群落组成来提高稻田生物固氮潜力提供了理论依据。     

Characteristics of bacteria in the forest soils under natural vegetation

Characteristics of the predominant bacteria isolated in November and May from the forest soils of both dry and wet types under natural vegetation were studied.

Although Gram-negative rods were the most abundant bacteria in both soil types and in both seasons, their contents were less and other bacteria especially spore-forming ones increased in May.

Among Gram-negative rods in the soil of the dry type in November, the most predominant was those with nonchromogenic rods motile with polar flagella which grew in a simple synthetic media containing glucose or p-hydroxybenzoate and ammonium as the sole carbon and nitrogen sources. In May, the ratio of the bacteria which require amino nitrogen or those with more chomplex nutritional requirement increased. In the soil of moderately wet type, the difference in kinds of bacteria between the two seasons was not so clear as that in the dry type.

Most of Bacillus species obtained in these soils were those requiring amino acids or other growth factors among which B. cereus was most abundant.     

Effects of soil,grass and legume root extracts on heterotrophic bacteria,nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in soil

The effects of root extracts of four grasses and two legumes and extracts of soils supporting these plants on the growth of five strains of heterotrophic soil bacteria, and on the rate of nitrogen mineralization and nitrification were measured in culture and in soil. All the root extracts inhibited the growth in culture of the five bacteria by 9–98 per cent. The legume-soil and one of the grass-soil extracts did not inhibit bacterial growth. Only two of the grass-soils, Andropogon lectorum and Pennisetum purpureum markedly inhibited the five bacteria. Incubation of soils with extracts of grass roots or grass-soil increased the rates of nitrogen mineralization and nitrification and incubation with legume root and soil extracts increased the rates of nitrogen mineralization and nitrification even further.     

Nitrogen mineralization in sub‐tropical paddy soils in relation to soil mineralogy,management, pH,carbon, nitrogen and iron contents

The nitrogen (N) requirement for paddy rice cultivated in Bangladesh amounts to approximately 80 kg N ha^?1. Lack of knowledge on N mineralization from soil organic matter leads farmers to meet this N requirement exclusively by costly mineral fertilizers, which have typically an efficiency of less than 40%. We assessed to what extent routinely analysed soil properties (N and carbon (C), texture, pH, extractable iron (Fe), aluminium (Al) and manganese (Mn), soil mineralogy and length of the annual inundation period) are able to predict net aerobic and anaerobic N mineralization in paddy soils. Both soil N and C correlated positively with the aerobic but not with the anaerobic N mineralization rate. Instead, relative anaerobic N mineralization showed a significant negative correlation with soil N content. We observed no significant influence of clay mineralogy on soil N mineralization. Aerobic but not anaerobic N mineralization increased with length of the annual inundation period while the proportion of the soil N that was mineralized during 120 days decreased. The large clay content of fields that are inundated for 9–10 months annually explains the co‐occurrence of large soil N contents and relatively small N mineralization rates in these fields. However, variation in texture did not explain variation in N mineralization of soils with inundation periods of 3–8 months. Instead, the anaerobic N mineralization correlated positively with Na pyrophosphate‐extractable Fe and negatively with pH (both at P < 0.01). Thus, pH and Fe content, rather than soil N content, clay mineralogy or texture, explained the substantial variation in anaerobic N mineralization of paddy soils in Bangladesh inundated for 3–8 months. It is not known if these relationships between net evolution of ammonium in soil and pH and Fe content are causal or indirect. Elucidation of these mechanisms would greatly further our comprehension of the biochemistry of the young ‘floodplain soils' with relatively low content of pedogenic oxides throughout southeast Asia.     

氮肥水平对稻田细菌群落及N2O排放的影响

作为土壤氮素转化的驱动者,微生物群落结构关系着稻田氮素利用及温室气体N_2O排放等问题。本研究分别基于高通量测序和荧光定量PCR技术,分析了不同氮肥水平[CK(不施氮)、N(施N 180 kg·hm-2)、2/3N(施N 120 kg·hm-2)、1/3N(施N 60 kg·hm-2)]下稻田细菌群落及硝化反硝化关键微生物功能基因丰度的变化。结果显示:氮肥水平提高增加了稻田细菌物种丰富度Chao1指数和群落多样性Shannon指数,改变了细菌群落组成,其中与硝化作用相关的硝化螺菌门Nitrospirae和嗜酸的醋杆菌门Acidobacteria的相对丰度随氮肥水平提高而增加,但甲烷氧化菌Methylosinus的相对丰度随氮肥水平提高而降低。氮肥水平对稻田硝化作用关键微生物氨氧化细菌amo A基因丰度的影响较大,0~5 cm和10~20 cm深度土层中的amo A基因丰度均随氮肥用量增加而提高;反硝化作用关键微生物功能基因nir S、qno B和nos Z的丰度在不施肥处理(CK)中显著低于施肥处理(1/3N、2/3N和N)(P0.05),但1/3N、2/3N和N处理的稻田nir S基因丰度没有明显差异;0~5 cm土层中qno B和nos Z基因丰度存在随氮肥水平提高而增加的趋势,10~20 cm土层中nos Z基因丰度在2/3N和N处理下显著高于1/3N处理(P0.05)。N处理的稻田N_2O排放通量显著高于2/3N及1/3N处理(P0.05),后者又显著高于CK处理(P0.05)。相关分析结果表明稻田N_2O排放通量与0~5 cm土层中硝化螺菌门Nitrospirae相对丰度及10~20 cm土层中amo A基因丰度存在显著相关性(P0.05,n=10)。综上所述,氮肥水平提高增加了稻田细菌群落多样性,促进了稻田N_2O排放,且本研究稻田中硝化作用微生物群落及丰度变化与稻田N_2O排放的关系更为密切。     

Soil suppressiveness and functional diversity of the soil microflora in organic farming systems

Arable fields of 10 organic farms from different locations in The Netherlands were sampled in three subsequent years. The soil samples were analysed for disease suppressiveness against Rhizoctonia solani AG2.2IIIB in sugar beet, Streptomyces scabies in radish and Verticillium longisporum in oilseed rape. In addition, a variety of microbial, chemical and physical soil characteristics were assessed. All data were correlated by multiple regression and multivariate analyses with the objective to find correlations between soil suppressiveness and biotic or abiotic soil characteristics. Significant differences in soil suppressiveness were found between the fields for all three diseases. Multiple regression indicated a significant correlation between suppressiveness against Rhizoctonia and the number of antagonistic Lysobacter spp., as well as with % active fungi and bacterial diversity. Grass-clover stimulated Rhizoctonia suppression as well as the presence of antagonistic Lysobacter spp. (mainly L. antibioticus and L. gummosus) in clay soils. Streptomyces suppression correlated with the number of antagonistic Streptomyces spp., % of active fungi and bacterial population size. The presence of antagonistic Streptomyces spp. correlated with a high fungal/bacterial biomass ratio. Verticillium suppression was only measured in 2004 and 2005, due to the inconsistent suppressiveness along the years. Nevertheless, a significant correlation with pH, potential nitrogen mineralization and bacterial biomass was found. Bacterial and fungal PCR-denaturing gel electrophoresis fingerprinting of bacterial and fungal communities, in general, did not significantly correlate with disease suppression. Highly significant explanatory factors of the composition of the dominating bacterial and fungal populations were % lutum, pH, C/N quotient, biomass and growth rate of bacteria. Additionally, the % of organic matter and years of organic farming were explaining significantly the composition of the bacterial population.Thus, significant correlations between several soil characteristics and suppressiveness of different soil-borne pathogens were found. For two of the three pathogens, suppression correlated with biotic soil characteristics combined with the presence of specific bacterial antagonists. Probably the soil suppressiveness measured in the organic fields is a combined effect of general and specific disease suppression.     

Nitrogen Mineralization in Soils Used for Biofuel Crops

Perennial biofuel crops such as Miscanthus and switchgrass are thought to increase soil organic matter and therefore may increase soil nitrogen (N) mineralization rates. Our objective was to evaluate a range of N-mineralization indices for soils with established biofuel crops and compare these results with soils in a traditional corn and soybean rotation. We sampled surface soil (0–10 cm deep) from switchgrass (6 years after establishment) and Miscanthus plots (5 years) in a high-organic-matter Mollisol. The longest potential N mineralization index, a 24-day incubation, was significantly greater in Miscanthus soils compared to switchgrass and corn–soybean. In addition, 7-day anaerobic N and potassium chloride–extractable ammonium N were both greater in Miscanthus soils compared to switchgrass and corn–soybean. Our results do support our hypothesis that N-mineralization rates are greater in soils under biofuel production.     

Relationship between mineralization and immobilization of nitrogen influenced by various conditions of submerged soils

The relationship between mineralization of soil nitrogen and immobilization of added nitrogen in submerged soils were studied under various soil conditions in a laboratory experiment. Selected factors which constituted soil conditions were content of soil organic nitrogen, quantity of nitrogen addition, temperature, soil drying, puddling, and period of incubation. Each factor contained some treatments in it.

The ratio of mineralization to immobilization, M/I, was relatively constant under various soil conditions. The values of M/I were around 2 except the soil drying treatments, indicating that the amount equivalent to about half of mineralized nitrogen is immobilized simultaneously under nitrogen added condition. Even so, if considered in detail, treatments that stimulate the microbial activities were observed to have increasing effect on M/I.

The ratio of additional mineralization caused by nitrogen addition to immobilization, ΔM/I, is considered to be an index to know the influence of nitrogen addition on the quantitative change of soil nitrogen level. This value was around 1 in the soil without any application of organic matters, and around 0.6 in the soil receiving straw compost for 10 years. Factors that have close relations with the value of ΔM/I were soil organic nitrogen level, temperature, soil drying, and period of incubation.     

植烟土壤中微生物特性及氨化、亚硝化菌分离鉴定与活性研究

针对烤烟生产中施用有机肥后植烟土壤有机态氮素分解速率不易调控的问题,并为配制有机氮分解微生物菌剂提供优良菌株,本研究以化肥、牛粪、玉米秸秆、油枯处理下的烤烟根区土壤为材料,分离筛选出高活性氨化、亚硝化土著菌,并分别测定其对有机氮降解及氨氮分解的效果。结果表明:在烤烟生长旺长期,施用有机肥处理的土壤可培养细菌、真菌、放线菌、氨化菌数量均高于单施化肥处理;在烤烟成熟期,施用有机肥处理,烤烟根区土壤氨化菌、亚硝化菌、真菌、放线菌数量均高于单施化肥。通过各类菌株的土样来源分析,氨化作用强度较高的优势菌株均来源于有机肥处理的土样,植烟土壤施用有机肥较单施化肥能够获得较高活性的氨化细菌。各类菌活性研究显示,短小芽孢杆菌(Bacillus pumilus)、嗜热脂肪地芽孢杆菌(Geobacillus stearothermophilus)、巨大芽孢菌(B.megaterium)培养液有机氮含量降幅最大,较初始有机氮含量分别降低84.74%、92.74%、79.52%;寡养单胞菌(Stenotrophomonas sp.)兼具有亚硝化作用及硝化作用,培养7 d后,培养液中硝态氮含量增加了0.617 mg·L~(-1);嗜麦芽寡单胞菌(S.maltophilia)亚硝化作用最强,培养7 d后,培养液中亚硝态氮含量为0.518 mg·L~(-1)。氨化菌培养48 h后有机氮分解速率降低,具有亚硝化及硝化作用的菌株培养到第7 d活性仍处于较高水平。因此,试验分离出的不同功能细菌在配制解氮复合微生物菌剂时需在不同时间加入菌株进行发酵,以获得高活性微生物菌剂。根据分解有机氮、解氨试验及相关文献中各菌株作用功能分析,筛选出纳西杆菌(Naxibacter sp.)、寡养单胞菌、短小芽孢杆菌、嗜热脂肪地芽孢杆菌、同温层芽孢杆菌(B.stratosphericus)、纤维菌(Cellulosimicrobium cellulans)、高地芽孢杆菌(B.altitudinis)和巨大芽孢菌8株高效氮素功能菌株用于有机氮分解微生物菌剂的配制。     

Long‐term field fertilization affects soil nitrogen transformations in a rice‐wheat‐rotation cropping system

Mineralization and nitrification are the key processes of the global N cycle and are primarily driven by microorganisms. However, it remains largely unknown about the consequence of intensified agricultural activity on microbial N transformation in agricultural soils. In this study, the ¹⁵N‐dilution technique was carried out to investigate the gross mineralization and nitrification in soils from a long‐term field fertilization experiment starting from 1988. Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) analysis was used to determine soil microbial communities, e.g., biomasses of anaerobic bacterial, bacterial, fungi, and actinobacteria. The abundance of ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) were measured using real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results have demonstrated significant stimulation of gross mineralization in the chemical‐fertilizers treatment (NPK) ([6.53 ± 1.29] mg N kg^–1 d^–1) and chemical fertilizers–plus–straw treatment (NPK+S1) soils ([8.13 ± 1.68] mg N kg^–1 d^–1) but not in chemical fertilizers–plus–two times straw treatment (NPK+S2) soil when compared to the control‐treatment (CK) soil ([3.62 ± 0.86] mg N kg^–1 d^–1). The increase of anaerobic bacterial biomass is up to 6‐fold in the NPK+S2 compared to that in the CK soil ([0.7 ± 0.5] nmol g^–1), implying that exceptionally high abundance of anaerobic bacteria may inhibit gross mineralization to some extent. The gross nitrification shows upward trends in the NPK+S1 and NPK+S2 soils. However, it is only significantly higher in the NPK soil ([5.56 ± 0.51] mg N kg^–1 d^–1) compared to that in the CK soil ([3.70 ± 0.47] mg N kg^–1 d^–1) (p < 0.05). The AOB abundance increased from (0.28 ± 0.07) × 10⁶ copies (g soil)^–1 for the CK treatment to (4.79 ± 1.23) × 10⁶ copies (g soil)^–1 for the NPK treatment after the 22‐year fertilization. In contrast, the AOA abundance was not significantly different among all treatment soils. The changes of AOB were well paralleled by gross nitrification activity (gross nitrification rate = 0.263 AOB + 0.047 NH ‐N + 2.434, R² = 0.73, p < 0.05), suggesting the predominance of bacterial ammonia oxidation in the fertilized fields.     

Fluctuations in the abundance of ammonia oxidizers and the contents of inorganic nitrogen in solarized soil

Solarization makes a great impact on the abundance of ammonia oxidizers and nitrifying activity in soil. To elucidate fluctuations in the abundance of ammonia oxidizers and nitrification in solarized soil, copy numbers of amoA gene of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), viable number of ammonia oxidizers and inorganic nitrogen contents were investigated in greenhouse experiments. The copy number of amoA gene and the viable number of ammonia oxidizers were determined by the quantitative polymerase chain reaction and most probable number methods, respectively. Abundance of AOB based on the estimation of amoA gene copy numbers and viable counts of ammonia oxidizers was decreased by the solarization treatment and increased during the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivation period following the solarization. Effect of solarization on the copy number of amoA gene of AOA was less evident than that on AOB. The proportion of nitrate in inorganic nitrogen contents was declined by the solarization and increased during the tomato cultivation period following the solarization. Positive correlations were found between the proportion of nitrate in inorganic nitrogen content and the copy number of bacterial or archaeal amoA gene or the viable number of ammonia oxidizers; the copy number of bacterial amoA gene showed a strong correlation with the viable number of ammonia oxidizers. The present study revealed influences of solarization on the fluctuation in the abundance of ammonia oxidizers and dynamics of inorganic nitrogen contents in soil and the results indicate that the determination of amoA gene of AOB is possibly a quick and useful diagnostic technique for evaluating suppression and restoration of nitrification following solarization.     

Potential N mineralization and availability to maize in black soils in response to soil fertility improvement in Northeast China

Purpose

Understanding the soil nitrogen (N) mineralization potential (N₀) and crop N availability during the growing season is essential for improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and preventing over-fertilization, which lead to negative environmental impacts.

Methods

Five black soils with different levels of fertility were selected in Northeast China. The N₀ and kinetics of these soils were estimated through laboratory experiments at different incubation temperatures (15, 25, and 35 °C). N mineralization dynamics were simulated using field soil temperature according to the incubation results. Moreover, the N uptake dynamics of maize were simulated according to the literature.

Results

Compared with the very low-fertility soils, the cumulative mineralized nitrogen increased under all incubation temperatures (15, 25, and 35 °C), by 48–136%, 8–61%, and 24–59%, respectively, in the medium- and high-fertility soils. The highest N₀ values (96.90, 115.31, and 121.33 mg/kg at the three different temperatures) were recorded in the very high-fertility soils. The soil N mineralization dynamics and N uptake of maize in the growing season were highly consistent over time, although the soil N supply could not meet the maize growth requirements. The higher the soil fertility, the lower the N fertilizer requirement.

Conclusions

Different fertilizer strategies were developed based on the cumulative mineralized N, N uptake by maize, and NUE in soils with different fertility levels. We suggested a reduction of 50–65 kg N/ha in N fertilizer in the two highest fertility soils. This study provided basic data to reduce chemical N fertilizer to improve NUE and reduce negative environmental impacts.

     

Fluctuations in bacterial populations on the root surface of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown under different soil conditions

Summary Populations of several bacterial groups on the root surface of wheat and in root-free soil were investigated in volcanic ash soil and non-volcanic ash soil throughout a series of predetermined intervals. Over time, the populations changed similarly both on the root surface and in root-free soil. The numbers of total bacteria, fluorescent Pseudomonas spp., phosphate-solubilizing bacteria, and NH _inf+ ^sup4 -oxidizing bacteria, were consistently lower in the plots with volcanic ash soil than with nonvolcanic ash soil, but the numbers of cellulose-decomposing bacteria were opposite to those of the other groups. Superphosphate application improved the growth of wheat in the volvanic ash soil. It did not, however, bring about any significant changes in the bacterial populations among the volcanic ash soils supplemented with three different levels of superphosphate, though there were some variations with plant age.     

Combined effect of bioaugmentation and bioturbation on atrazine degradation in soil

Earthworms, because they change soil physical and chemical properties, are efficient engineers that act on soil microbial community and activity. Thus they may drive pollutant biodegradation in soil such as atrazine mineralization. We hypothesized that earthworms modify the abundance of indigenous soil bacteria and the fate and activity of atrazine-degraders in the soil they engineer by bioturbation. Two bacterial strains were used as bioaugmentation agents: Pseudomonas sp. ADP and Chelatobacter heintzii, which have acquired the capacity to metabolize atrazine by carrying plasmidic atz A, B, C, D, E, F and atzA, B, C, trzD genes, respectively. We analyzed the interactions between earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) and the indigenous and atrazine-degrading (indigenous and inoculated) bacterial communities by quantifying the 16S rRNA and the atzA gene sequence copies numbers, respectively, in different earthworm microsites. The kinetics of atrazine mineralization were measured to link the bacterial community changes with the degradation function. Digestion by earthworms significantly impacted the number of indigenous bacteria and atrazine mineralization in bioaugmented soils. Regarding the fate of the two atrazine-degraders tested, Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP survived better within the 10 days of experiment than C. heintzii in the bulk soil but the surviving fraction of C. heintzii was still metabolically active and able to mineralize atrazine. A positive “burrow-lining” effect on the atzA sequence copies number was observed in soil whether bioaugmented with C. heintzii or not (i.e. native indigenous atzA) thereby indicating that burrow-linings form a specific ‘hot spot’ for atrazine-degraders. The present study is the first to report the role of earthworms in selecting native catabolic key-genes in soil (indigenous atzA). This catabolic gene selection through earthworm soil bioturbation could be important in sustaining the degradation (detoxification) function of soil.     

华中地区旱地氮素矿化的能力

Nitrogen mineralization potentials of 15 soil samples were studied by the methods of soil aerobic incubation, and the correlation between the potentials and the amounts of nitrogen taken up by rye grass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) in pot culture was calculated. The soils were collected from Hubei Province in Central China. Soil nitrogen mineralization potentials (N_O) were calculated and optimized by a quick-BASIC program. N_O ranged from 60 mg kg^-1 to 340 mg kg^-1, which accounted for 9.1% to 34.6% of the total nitrogen content. Among the examined soils, yellow-brown soil collected from Wuhan had the largest N_O and brown-red soil from Xianning had the smallest one. The mineralization rate constants (k) ranged from 0.00556 d^-1 to 0.01280 d^-1, in average 0.00882 d^-1. Chao soil from Wuhan had the greatest k while yellow-cinnamon soil from Zhaoyang had the smallest one. There were apparent differences between mineralization parameters (N_O and k) optimized and non-optimized ones. Optimized N_O had a better correlation than non-optimized N_O with the amount of nitrogen accumulated in the aerial parts of rye grass. N_O, N_O × k and N_t(accumulated mineralized nitrogen within time t) could be used as indexes of soil nitrogen supply. Among them N_t was the best, which was significantly correlated with the amounts of nitrogen accumulated in the aerial parts of rye grass harvested at three different times.