Cultivation Influences on Soil Organic Carbon Associated with Texture in Seasonally Frozen Zones

[Objective] This study aimed to examine indicative roles of texture representing soil organic carbon presence and variability subsequent to cultivation under cold temperate climates with seasonal freeze-thaw events.[Method] Three chronosequences were selected for paired comparisons.Soil samples were collected at six depths with a 10 cm increment.Analysis of variance with general linear model and regression was performed for statistical analysis.[Result] In seasonally frozen soils where fragmentation of macroaggregates was stimulated,soil organic carbon level was positively associated with clay ＋ silt proportion due to a wider textural range,better than sole clay content.Exponential function better fitted the experimental data to present progressively increased effectiveness of clay ＋ silt content in maintaining carbon.Clay content explained 12％-41％ and 14％-43％ of variation via linear and exponential functions,respectively.Accordingly,clay ＋ silt content explained 47％-65％ and 46％-70％.[Conclusion] Texture reflected soil organic carbon occurrence as consequences of reclamation.For seasonally frozen soils with wider textural ranges,it is robust to adapt clay ＋ silt content as dependent variable and exponential function.The generated algorithms provided an available pathway to estimate soil organic carbon losses following cultivation and to evaluate soil fertility.     

便携式XRF仪现场快速测定土壤中Pb的可行性研究

便携式XRF分析仪具有轻便、快速和可测对象较多与测量元素较广等特点而广泛应用于矿石、土壤等方面快速检测,但土壤的现场快速测定结果的准确性有待进一步研究与探讨。以安宁河谷平原土壤中Pb为研究对象,通过对便携式XRF仪现场快速检测结果与实验室分析结果的对比和影响因素的分析,建立基于安宁河谷平原表层土壤快速测定结果的线性函数为y=1.170 9x-17.326 0(R~2=0.992 9,x为现场检测结果),探讨其影响因素,为该区域表层土壤中Pb快速检测结果提供依据。     

土壤温度对作物根区环境及玉米根冠生长的调控研究进展

土壤温度对作物的生长发育具有很强的调控作用。在全球气候变化背景下,根区土壤温度对玉米生长的影响及其调控机制已成为当前研究的一个热点。结合目前农业生产中土壤低温和高温对玉米造成危害的现状,从土壤温度对作物根区土壤环境以及玉米根系生长、冠层发育与产量形成的影响方面,综述土壤温度对玉米生长发育调控作用的研究进展,介绍改变土壤温度的措施以及对玉米土壤温度研究的发展方向进行展望,为今后的研究提供参考。     

日粮补充苹果渣或有机矿对鹅生产性能、蛋品质及繁殖性能的影响

本研究旨在评估日粮单独添加苹果渣或补充苹果渣和有机微量元素对鹅生产、繁殖性能及蛋品质的影响。试验将产蛋期的360只鹅随机分为3组,每组120只(30只/重复),对照组饲喂基础日粮,处理组分别饲喂苹果渣日粮和苹果渣+有机微量元素日粮,试验持续14周。结果:苹果渣补充或不补充有机矿较对照组显著提高了孵化率和仔鹅存活率(P<0.05),苹果渣+有机矿组较其他两组显著提高了蛋长度、蛋壳尖端和钝端厚度(P<0.05),但显著降低了蛋型指数、蛋壳重量和蛋黄重量(P<0.05)。日粮添加苹果渣同时补充有机矿较对对照组显著提高了鹅蛋中甘油二酯、胆固醇、胆固醇酯的含量(P<0.05),但苹果渣补充或不补充有机矿磷脂含量较对照组显著降低了13.17%和20.08%(P<0.05)。与苹果渣组相比,日粮添加苹果渣补充有机矿非酯化脂肪酸含量显著提高了31.76%(P<0.05)。结论:日粮添加苹果渣同时补充有机铜和锌可显著改善鹅的繁殖性能、蛋品质及蛋中脂肪组分。     

Indicators and trade-offs of ecosystem services in agricultural soils along a landscape heterogeneity gradient

Soil functions can be classified as supporting (nutrient cycling) and provisioning (crop production) ecosystem services (ES). These services consist of multiple and dynamic functions and are typically assessed using indicators, e.g. microbial biomass as an indicator of supporting services. Agricultural intensification negatively affects indicators of soil functions and is therefore considered to deplete soil ES. It has been suggested that incorporating leys into crop rotations can enhance soil ES. We examined this by comparing indicators of supporting soil services – organic carbon, nitrogen, water holding capacity and available phosphorous (carbon storage and nutrient retention); net nitrogen mineralisation rate and microbial biomass (nutrient cycling and retention) – in barley fields, leys and permanent pastures along a landscape heterogeneity gradient (100, 500 and 1000 m radii). In addition, barley yields (provisioning service) were analysed against these indicators to identify trade-offs among soil services. Levels of most indicators did not differ between barley and ley fields and were consistently lower than in permanent pastures. Leys supported greater microbial biomass than barley fields. Landscape heterogeneity had no effect on the indicators or microbial community composition. However, landscape heterogeneity correlated negatively with yield and soil pH, suggesting that soils in heterogeneous landscapes are less fertile and therefore have lower yields. No trade-offs were found between increasing barley yield and the soil indicators. The results suggest that soil ES are determined at the field level, with little influence from the surrounding landscape, and that greater crop yields do not necessarily come at the expense of supporting soil services.     

Can differences in 15N natural abundance be used to quantify the transfer of nitrogen from legumes to neighbouring non-legume plant species?

Natural variations in the stable isotope ¹⁵N are often exploited in studies of N cycling in ecosystems. Lower ¹⁵N natural abundance in non-legume plants growing in association with legumes, compared with the non-legume grown alone in pure stands have been observed in cropping, forage, and agroforestry systems. Such observations have frequently been attributed to the transfer of biologically-fixed nitrogen (N) from the legume to the companion non-legume, and various methodologies have been employed to calculate the extent of the N transfer. While some of these ¹⁵N natural abundance-based estimates of N transfer were within the range previously reported using equivalent ¹⁵N-enriched techniques (<20% of non-legume plant N and <10 kg N ha⁻¹ derived from fixed N contributed by neighbouring legumes), many of the values obtained using natural abundance were much higher (30%–83% of the non-legume N derived from fixed N representing up to 30–40 kg N ha⁻¹) than generally measured by ¹⁵N-enriched methods; with even greater estimates being determined where data were available to allow N transfer to be re-calculated on the basis of total legume N rather than fixed N (42% to >100%, and up to 110 kg N ha⁻¹ per year). This review raises concerns about the assumptions behind the natural abundance approach, and provides some alternative interpretations for the observed differences in natural ¹⁵N abundance between plants grown in the presence and absence of legumes. It was concluded that simple comparative measures of non-legume δ¹⁵N alone cannot provide a quantitative estimate of N transfer between plant species if the dominant source and the isotopic identity of the transferred N cannot be validated, and if the extent of any isotopic fractionation associated with relevant N transformations occurring during transfer cannot be defined. To date this information is not forthcoming. There is a need to greatly improve our understanding of the transfer processes before the real value of the δ¹⁵N technology can be realized. In the first instance this will primarily be achieved by carefully executed experiments under controlled conditions, and in the field, employing both ¹⁵N natural abundance and enrichment approaches so estimates of transfer can be compared, and the data interrogated using modelling approaches to explore isotopic fractionation.     

Cross‐linked polyacrylates in post‐mining substrates: persistence and effects on plant growth

Application of hydrophilic polymers composed of cross‐linked polyacrylate can improve soil water‐holding capacity and accelerate the restoration of post‐mining substrates. In this work, we studied the persistence of a polyacrylate polymer incorporated into a soil and its impact on plant nutrients at a reclamation site of former lignite mining in Lusatia (Germany). In contrast to autumn application, the incorporation of the polymer enhanced the sequestration of plant‐derived carbon in the soil, which was reflected by a significant increase in the concentration of a lignin marker. Attenuated total reflexion–Fourier transform infrared spectra (ATR‐FTIR) and total elemental contents in the applied polymer suggested an intensive cation exchange between the polymer framework and the soil‐forming substrate. In addition, there was an enrichment of carbonaceous material, which seems to reduce the swelling and thus the water‐holding capacity of the cross‐linked polyacrylate. Conversely, this process protected the polymer structure from rapid decomposition.     

局地尺度高寒草原土壤真菌多样性对地上植物多样性与生产力关系的调控作用

为研究局地尺度高寒草原土壤真菌多样性对地上植物多样性与生产力关系的调控作用，本研究以青海省湟源县局地尺度高寒草原为研究对象，对不同植物多样性梯度的地上生产力、土壤理化性状和土壤真菌多样性等指标进行调查、采样和分析。通过偏回归分析（partial least squares regression，PLSR）、方差分解分析（variance partitioning analysis，VPA）、构建结构方程模型（structural equation model，SEM）等分析手段，分析了土壤真菌多样性对地上植物多样性与生产力关系的调控作用。结果表明，高寒草原植物多样性与地上生产力存在显著线性正相关关系；土壤真菌多样性分别与植物多样性和地上生产力呈显著正相关关系；通过PLSR，VPA，SEM等方法控制土壤非生物因子效应后，真菌多样性与二者的显著正相关关系仍存在。综上所述，局地尺度下青海省湟源县高寒草原土壤真菌多样性是调控地上植物多样性与生产力正向关系的关键生物因子。     

Ecological implications of motor oil pollution: Earthworm survival and soil health

The nontarget effects of fresh and used motor oil were studied in a soil test system involving such criteria as earthworm survival, response of soil dehydrogenase and urease, and nitrification. When earthworms were exposed to motor oil-contaminated soil for 4 weeks, the observed median lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) were 40.33 and 3.88 g kg⁻¹ soil for fresh and used oil, respectively. Only fresh motor oil application increased earthworms' body weight even at the higher dose of 19 g kg⁻¹ soil. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry revealed that used motor oil contained more of aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals than fresh oil. This disparity in the chemical composition might be the factor responsible for the significant toxicity of used motor oil towards earthworms. Activities of soil dehydrogenase and urease were significantly enhanced in presence of both the motor oils, while there was a significant inhibition in nitrification by the used motor oil even at a low concentration of 0.2 g kg⁻¹ soil. This study clearly demonstrated that earthworm survival and nitrification could serve as suitable indices to assess motor oil pollution in soil.     

Vineyard soil bacterial diversity and composition revealed by 16S rRNA genes: Differentiation by geographic features

Here, we examine soil-borne microbial biogeography as a function of the features that define an American Viticultural Area (AVA), a geographically delimited American wine grape-growing region, defined for its distinguishing features of climate, geology, soils, physical features (topography and water), and elevation. In doing so, we lay a foundation upon which to link the terroir of wine back to the soil-borne microbial communities. The objective of this study is to elucidate the hierarchy of drivers of soil bacterial community structure in wine grape vineyards in Napa Valley, California. We measured differences in the soil bacterial and archaeal community composition and diversity by sequencing the fourth variable region of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (16S V4 rDNA). Soil bacterial communities were structured with respect to soil properties and AVA, demonstrating the complexity of soil microbial biogeography at the landscape scale and within the single land-use type. Location and edaphic variables that distinguish AVAs were the strongest explanatory factors for soil microbial community structure. Notably, the relationship with TC and TN of the <53 μm and 53–250 μm soil fractions offers support for the role of bacterial community structure rather than individual taxa on fine soil organic matter content. We reason that AVA, climate, and topography each affect soil microbial communities through their suite of impacts on soil properties. The identification of distinctive soil microbial communities associated with a given AVA lends support to the idea that soil microbial communities form a key in linking wine terroir back to the biotic components of the soil environment, suggesting that the relationship between soil microbial communities and wine terroir should be examined further.