The installation of underground pipelines: effects on soil properties

Since the 1970s a network of underground pipes, up to 1200 mm diameter, has been installed in the UK to transmit crude oil to refineries and gas from onshore terminals for distribution. Chosen routes are subject to significant constraints. Current techniques for pipe installation involve topsoil removal and storage. Trench depth is set to allow a cover of 1200 mm overburden after pipes have been installed. The heavy machinery involved results in severe compaction of exposed subsoil. Subsoil is loosened comprehensively and topsoil replaced. Existing field drains are reconnected, and, if necessary, new drains with gravel backfill installed. Pipe installation usually takes place between April and October. Preventative measures to limit compaction during installation are not a practical option. If subsequent arable crops or grass are poorer or drainage more defective than before disturbance, the loss is assessed and compensation paid. To determine the cause of the loss >60, investigations have been made throughout the UK. Soil physical properties were assessed in an open trench using visual and tactile methods. Consistently, severe compaction in the subsoil was identified as the cause of poor crop growth or drainage; it was not observed in the topsoil. Specific recommendations for remedial action were made based on location, depth and severity of the compaction. These included the installation of additional land drains, increasing the amount of gravel above the drains, or further subsoil loosening orientated to cross gravel backfill. After appropriate remedial action, net compensation for crop losses was frequently small or negligible.     

基于GIS的不同种植模式下凉州区日光温室土壤养分分析

采用GPS定位取样测试、ACIGIS软件数据分析和地统计分析方法,对凉州区日光温室土壤养分状况进行了分析评价。结果表明,在0~20 cm表层土壤中,不同种植模式的氮、磷、钾养分分布趋势基本一致。种植番茄—架豆、番茄—辣椒电导率最大,为1.97 ms/cm;种植番茄—架豆盐分最高,为11.9 g/kg;种植人参果CEC最大,为16.87%。在20~40 cm土壤中,种植番茄—辣椒电导率最高,为2.59 ms/cm;种植小乳瓜盐分最大,其值为17.9 g/kg;种植人参果CEC最大,为19.94%。     

连作及轮作土壤微生物菌群对黄瓜幼苗生长及土壤酶活性的影响

通过植物-土壤反馈试验,研究连作及轮作土壤微生物菌群对黄瓜幼苗生长和土壤酶活性的影响。结果表明,轮作土壤微生物处理黄瓜植株鲜质量、叶绿素含量、土壤中性磷酸酶、蔗糖酶活性显著高于连作土壤微生物处理;连作及轮作土壤微生物处理增加了黄瓜幼苗干质量、鲜质量、叶绿素含量及总叶面积,显著提高了土壤中性磷酸酶、蔗糖酶、脲酶活性。综上,连作及轮作土壤微生物菌群对黄瓜幼苗生长均产生正反馈作用,并且轮作土壤微生物的正反馈作用大于连作土壤微生物。     

Comparative soil distribution and dissipation of phoxim and thiamethoxam and their efficacy in controlling Bradysia odoriphaga Yang and Zhang in Chinese chive ecosystems

Bradysia odoriphaga Yang and Zhang (the chive gnat) is the major insect pest affecting Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum Rottl. ex Spreng.) in Northern China. Only three insecticide products are registered for its control. In the present study, we compared the persistence and distribution of thiamethoxam and phoxim in soil and determined their long-acting control effects against B. odoriphaga and two other secondary pests, Thrips alliorum Priesner and the Asiatic onion leaf miner Acrolepia alliella Semenov and Kuznetsov (Lepidoptera: Acrolepiidae), after a single soil application using the directional spray-washing method during the early Chinese chive root-rearing period. Under the same applied dosage, the rhizosphere soil at a depth of 4.0–10.0 cm had concentrations of thiamethoxam and phoxim ranging from 2.21 to 7.44 mg/kg and 0.09–0.44 mg/kg, respectively, at the 7th day after application. The half-lives of thiamethoxam and phoxim in the soil were 27.5 and 6.7 days, respectively. Thiamethoxam persisted for 210 days, whereas phoxim only persisted for 45 days in the soil and plants. In addition, thiamethoxam applied at 6.0 kg a.i./ha maintained a low population density of B. odoriphaga, T. alliorum and A. alliella for nine months longer than phoxim. In conclusion, thiamethoxam may help farmers more effectively manage B. odoriphaga and other secondary pests on Chinese chive and reduce the costs of insecticide use while sustaining protection.     

烤烟套种甘薯对烟叶质量、烟薯产量及土壤温湿度的影响

为筛选出适宜与烤烟套种的甘薯品种,解决部分烟区烤烟种植调茬难度大与综合效益低等问题,通过田间大区试验,研究烤烟套种不同甘薯品种对烟叶质量、烟薯产量及土壤温湿度的影响。结果表明,烟薯套种能够明显提升土壤相对含水率和烟叶产量,其相对含水率提高幅度介于12.03%~91.88%,烤烟产量增幅为12.29%~31.26%。烤烟套种甘薯以紫薯产量最高,块根产量达29400 kg/hm ²,且单薯质量大于100 g占总薯重的比例在紫薯中最高。烤烟套种甘薯提升了烤烟中上部烟叶的总糖和还原糖含量,降低了烟碱和总氮含量,有利于改善烟叶内在品质。烤烟套种甘薯降低了上部烟叶含梗率,但增大了上部烟叶叶面密度,以烤烟套种紫薯表现突出。烤烟与紫薯套种,可作为一种烟田增产、烟叶增值和烟农增收的种植模式。     

Phosphorus availability and farm structural factors: examining scarcity and oversupply in north‐east Germany

Assessing factors influencing phosphorus (P) availability in soils is important in preventing its overexploitation and excessive application in agricultural systems. Despite high historical P applications in the federal state of Brandenburg (Germany), county data on soil test P (STP) reveal considerable disparities in soil available P. In addition, negative soil balances as a result of small mineral P and manure inputs have been observed, raising questions about the factors leading to this situation. Our work focused on identifying possible causes operating at the farm management level by conducting a letter survey in two administrative districts of Brandenburg, the counties Barnim and Uckermark, linking farm management factors (ownership type, farm size, land tenure, animal husbandry with or without grassland and its intensity, presence of a biogas plant and organic production) to farmers’ self‐indicated levels of STP. Small‐ to medium‐sized individual farms tended to have (very) high STP, while large partnership farms and companies/cooperatives were sensitive to factors resulting in low STP. Farms with low shares of land ownership, the presence of grassland, extensive cattle farming and stockless organic farming had lower STP. On the other hand, biogas plants, partly in combination with intensive livestock (cattle) farming, were associated with larger STP. It was concluded that more care should be devoted to the design of agricultural policies and that further (inter‐ and transdisciplinary) research on this topic is needed.     

Organic input quality is more important than its quantity: C turnover coefficients in different cropping systems

Annual C input to soil is a major factor affecting soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. However different types of C-sources can have different behaviour, in relation to their chemical characteristics and how they interact with soil. Root-derived C, in particular, should be more efficient than other organic materials as a result of the physicochemical and biological characteristics of the surrounding environment, leading to a reduction in the C decomposition rate.To test this hypothesis, we considered a long-term experiment underway in Northern Italy since 1962, comparing permanent meadow and 6 different crop rotations over a wide range of nutrient inputs, in both organic and inorganic forms. C inputs from amendments were measured and those from crops were calculated using allometric functions and crop and residues yields. The time evolution of SOC was studied through a single-pool, first-order kinetic model, allowing the estimation of humification coefficients for residues, roots, farmyard manure and cattle slurries.The highest value of the humification coefficient was estimated for farmyard manure, which confirmed its high efficiency in stabilising SOC content. Root C presented a humification coefficient 1.9 times higher than above-ground plant materials while slurries were intermediate, with a humification coefficient roughly half that of farmyard manure and even lower that of roots.The quality of C input thus seems of fundamental importance for evaluating the sustainability of different cropping systems in terms of SOC dynamics.     

Strong functional stability of soil microbial communities under semiarid Mediterranean conditions and subjected to long-term shifts in baseline precipitation

We investigated the effect of soil microclimate on the structure and functioning of soil microbial communities in a Mediterranean Holm-oak forest subjected to 10 years of partial rain exclusion manipulations, simulating average drought conditions expected in Mediterranean areas for the following decades. We applied a high throughput DNA pyrosequencing technique coupled to parallel measurements of microbial respiration (R_H) and temperature sensitivity of microbial respiration (Q₁₀). Some consistent changes in the structure of bacterial communities suggest a slow process of community shifts parallel to the trend towards oligotrophy in response to long-term droughts. However, the structure of bacterial communities was mainly determined by short-term environmental fluctuations associated with sampling date (winter, spring and summer) rather than long-term (10 years) shifts in baseline precipitation. Moreover, long-term drought did not exert any chronic effect on the functioning of soil microbial communities (R_H and Q₁₀), emphasizing the functional stability of these communities to this long-term but mild shifts in water availability. We hypothesize that the particular conditions of the Mediterranean climate with strong seasonal shifts in both temperature and soil water availability but also characterized by very extreme environmental conditions during summer, was acting as a strong force in community assembling, selecting phenotypes adapted to the semiarid conditions characterizing Mediterranean ecosystems. Relations of climate with the phylogenetic structure and overall diversity of the communities as well as the distribution of the individual responses of different lineages (genera) to climate confirmed our hypotheses, evidencing communities dominated by thermotolerant and drought-tolerant phenotypes.     

Soil conditions and land use intensification effects on soil microbial communities across a range of European field sites

Intensive land use practices necessary for providing food and raw materials are known to have a deleterious effect on soil. However, the effects that such practices have on soil microbes are less well understood. To investigate the effects of land use intensification on soil microbial communities we used a combined T-RFLP and pyrosequencing approach to study bacteria, archaea and fungi in spring and autumn at five long term observatories (LTOs) in Europe; each with a particular land use type and contrasting levels of intensification (low and high). Generally, due to large gradients in soil variables, both molecular methods revealed that soil microbial communities were structured according to differences in soil conditions between the LTOs, more so than land use intensity. Moreover, variance partitioning analysis also showed that soil properties better explained the differences in microbial communities than land use intensity effects. Predictable responses in dominant bacterial, archaeal and fungal taxa to edaphic conditions (e.g. soil pH and resource availability) were apparent between the LTOs. Some effects of land use intensification at individual field sites were observed. However, these effects were manifest when land use change affected soil conditions. Uniquely, this study details the responses of different microbial groups to soil type and land use intensification, and their relative importance across a range of European field sites. These findings reinforce our understanding of drivers impacting soil microbial community structure at both field and larger geographic scales.     

动态细分饲粮营养供给对肉鸡生产性能、肉品质、氮与磷代谢率及血清生化指标的影响

本试验旨在根据肉鸡生长曲线及动态营养需要,研究动态细分饲粮营养供给对肉鸡生产性能、肉品质、氮、磷代谢率及血清生化指标的影响。选取1日龄爱拔益加(AA)肉鸡240只(公母各占1/2),随机分为3个组,分别为A组:每3.5 d 1个营养标准(1~7日龄1个营养标准);B组:每7 d 1个营养标准;C组:每14 d 1个营养标准。每组8个重复,每个重复10只鸡,试验期42 d。结果表明:1)C组肉鸡的平均日增重(ADG)显著高于A、B组(P0.05),料重比(F/G)显著低于A组(P0.05)。A、B组肉鸡生产性能指标差异均不显著(P0.05)。不同动态细分饲粮营养供给方式对肉鸡肉品质的影响无显著差异(P0.05)。2)不同动态细分饲粮营养供给方式对肉鸡氮、磷代谢率的影响无显著差异(P0.05)。3)肉鸡28日龄时,C组肉鸡血清尿素氮(UREA)含量显著高于A组(P0.05);42日龄时,C组肉鸡血清UREA含量显著高于A、B组(P0.05),但A、B组肉鸡血清UREA含量差异不显著(P0.05)。4)不同动态细分饲粮营养供给方式对肉鸡血清皮质酮(CORT)含量及总抗氧化能力(T-AOC)的影响差异不显著(P0.05)。综上所述,每14 d 1个营养标准可使肉鸡的生产性能达到最佳,从实际操作的复杂性考虑,每7 d 1个营养标准可更好地满足饲粮的氨基酸平衡。