Soil microbial functional diversity response following nematocide and biocide amendments in a desert ecosystem

The aim of the current study was to gain a better understanding of the changes that occur in soil microbial community and in its functional diversity as a result of the use of nematocide and biocide inhibitors in natural ecosystems. Both inhibitors are known to have a great effect on the nematode community and total biota, playing an important role in soil food web and biota interactions. The experiment was set up in the Negev Desert using sixteen 1×1 m soil plots, to which two chemical inhibitors were applied: (a) a biocide, to eliminate the whole biotic community; and (b) a nematocide, to eliminate the nematode community in soil. In addition, water treatment was applied to the same soil plots, while untreated soil plots were used as control. Microbial functional diversity, together with abiotic parameters such as soil moisture and total organic carbon, was tested monthly in soil samples collected from the 0-10 and 10-20 cm soil layers. The results of the abiotic parameters showed similar patterns in the two soil layers regardless of the inhibitor treatments. An increase in soil water content followed rainfall patterns. Total organic carbon was low during the wet season and increased during the dry seasons. The Shannon-Weaver index value for microbial functional diversity was found to increase in spring after the wet season in both soil layers. In the upper soil layer, an increase was observed both in the inhibitor and water treatments. However, the increase in the water treatment lasted longer compared to the increase observed in the inhibitor-treated soil plots. In the 10-20 cm soil layer, a different pattern was observed: an increase in microbial functional diversity was observed in the inhibitor-treated soil plots, while an increase in the water-treated soil plots was seen at a later stage. Principal Component Analysis was also conducted, revealing different patterns between inhibitors and water treatments on both a temporal scale, when changes from a homogeneous to heterogeneous consumption pattern were observed, and in the nature of communities that proliferate in the soil. Differences were also observed in the microbial community between the upper 0-10 and the lower 10-20 cm soil layers, where an opposite pattern of substrate consumption was observed. This study emphasizes the important role the biotic component plays in the soil of an arid climate, studying the long-term effects of key species elimination on the microbial community in desert soil.     

Developing environmental principles, criteria, indicators and norms for potato production in South Africa through field surveys and modelling

The sustainability of agricultural production is linked to the environment from which it draws its resources. Potato production in the Sandveld in the South African Western Cape occurs in the Cape Floral Kingdom: a vulnerable and globally significant biodiversity hotspot. A scientific approach defining and monitoring sustainability criteria and indicators is required to improve the sustainability of potato production in such a sensitive area. In this paper we propose principles related to the ecological impact of potato production (nature preservation, water preservation and the minimization of chemical and carbon-dioxide emissions) and their derived criteria related to land clearing, irrigation, emissions, and others. Next we defined calculable and measurable indicators of the efficiency with which resources are used, such as proportion of land cleared, water use by the crop, amount of biocides used, the embodied energy of biocides, and the energy needed for farming operations versus the potato yields obtained. In-depth interviews were held with 14 farmers representing 20% of the total potato production area to obtain the current values of these indicators. These were compared to model outcomes of two main sustainability indicators: land and water use efficiency. The land use efficiency varied least between growers, from (36 to 58 Mg (tonnes) ha⁻¹), water use efficiency returned values between 3 and 9 g potato l⁻¹ water, while chemical fertilizer phosphorus use efficiency varied most at 98 and 995 g potato g⁻¹ P applied. Model outcomes confirmed some of the trends revealed by the survey, e.g. growing potatoes in winter and growing them with less than optimal water offers possibilities to double water use efficiency. Ways to derive indicator threshold norms are proposed based on the knowledge of physical and biological processes determining resource availability, the observed variation among farmers and the model outcomes. Knowing indicator values, their range and the means to improve resource use efficiency will aid in establishing sustainability norms by providing a quantitative approach to any environmental certification scheme that wishes to licence the delivery of potatoes from the Sandveld.     

3种生物农药及植物源农药防治东亚飞蝗效果评价

通过2005—2006年在河南省中牟县黄河滩区利用生物农药、植物源农药和常用化学农药防治东亚飞蝗的田间笼罩试验结果表明:30%杀蝗绿僵菌油悬浮剂167ml/hm2、250ml/hm2,药后14d的平均防效可达到90%左右,1%苦皮藤素乳油300ml/hm2、0.3%苦参碱水剂900ml/hm2两个处理的平均防效均达到90%以上,与中毒化学农药氟虫腈的防效接近,而优于低毒化学农药马拉硫磷的防效。鉴于杀蝗绿僵菌、苦皮藤素、苦参碱三种药剂均为低毒的生物农药和植物源农药,可作为替代有机磷和菊酯类农药用于东亚飞蝗的防治。     

3种生物农药及植物源农药防治东亚飞蝗效果评价

通过2005—2006年在河南省中牟县黄河滩区利用生物农药、植物源农药和常用化学农药防治东亚飞蝗的田间笼罩试验结果表明：30%杀蝗绿僵菌油悬浮剂167ml/hm2、250ml/hm2,药后14d的平均防效可达到90%左右,1%苦皮藤素乳油300ml/hm2、0.3%苦参碱水剂900ml/hm2两个处理的平均防效均达到90%以上,与中毒化学农药氟虫腈的防效接近,而优于低毒化学农药马拉硫磷的防效。鉴于杀蝗绿僵菌、苦皮藤素、苦参碱三种药剂均为低毒的生物农药和植物源农药,可作为替代有机磷和菊酯类农药用于东亚飞蝗的防治。     

Earthworms and enchytraeids in conventional and no-tillage agroecosystems: A biocide approach to assess their role in organic matter breakdown

Summary Earthworm and enchytraeid densities and biomass were sampled over an 18-month period in conventional and no-tillage agroecosystems. Overall, earthworm densities and biomass in the no-till system were 70% greater than under conventional tilling, and enchytraeid densities and biomass in the no-till system were 50%–60% greater. To assess the role of annelids in the breakdown of soil organic matter, carbofuran was applied to field enclosures and target (earthworm and enchytraeid biomass, standing stocks of organic matter) and non-target effects (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematode and microarthropod densities, litter decay rates, plant biomass) were determined in two 10-month studies. In the winter-fall study, carbofuran reduced the annelid biomass, and total soil organic matter standing stocks were 47% greater under no-till with carbofuran compared to control enclosures. Twelve percent of the difference could have been due to non-target effects of carbofuran, as determined from litterbag decay rates. In the summer-spring study, carbofuran again significantly reduced the annelid biomass, and treated pens in the no-till area had significantly greater standing stocks of fine organic matter (43%–45%). Although the densities of bacteria and nematodes were reduced in carbofuran-treated litterbags under a no-till system, the rates of decay were not reduced and estimates of the amount of organic matter processed could not be adjusted for non-target effects. A 76% difference in the standing stock of coarse organic matter between control and carbofuran-treated pens in the conventional-till system indicated further non-target effects. We concluded that our estimates of the amount of organic matter processed by annelids in no-till and conventionally tilled agroecosystems represented a maximum potential because of the confounding non-target effects of carbofuran.     

Toxicity of Diazinon 60 EC for Cyprinus carpio and Poecilia reticulata

Diazinon 60 EC (chemical insecticide, organophosphate, active substance diazinon at a concentration of 600 g l⁻¹) is used in fish-farming in well-founded cases as a biocide to suppress excessive propagation of coarse Daphnia zooplankton. At the concentration of 10 μg l⁻¹ (i.e., 100 g per 1 ha at a mean depth of the pond of 1 m), Diazinon 60 EC can highly selectively eliminate Daphnia zooplankton, causes no harm to fish, and relatively quickly decomposes in the aquatic environment. This has been corroborated by results of acute toxicity tests in fish: the 96 h LC50 is 3 mg l⁻¹ for the guppy (Poecilia reticulata) and 10–25 mg l⁻¹ for the common carp (Cyprinus carpio). As demonstrated by embryonic and larval tests of toxicity for the common carp (C. carpio), Diazinon 60 EC at the concentration of 10 μg l⁻¹ causes no harm to the tested, individuals even in these sensitive (critical) stages of ontogeny.     

Activity and degradation of streptomycin and cycloheximide in soil

Streptomycin and cycloheximide were added (3 and 2 mg g^-1 dry soil, respectively) single and in combination to a forest soil to follow their possible degradation and their effects on soil mineralization-immobilization processes. After 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, and 10 days of incubation at 25°C and 60% water-holding capacity, measurements were taken of microbial biomass C and N, the evolution of CO₂, exchangeable NH _inf4 ^sup+ , 0.5M K₂SO₄-extractable organic C, and total N in both unfumigated and CHCl₃-fumigated soil. The results indicated that during the first 2 days of incubation, soil microorganisms were killed by the antibiotics and/or by CHCl₃ and used subsequently as a substrate by the survivors. Thereafter, surviving microorganisms probably also started to use biocidal molecules as an energy and nutrient source. The ratios of biomass C to biomass N and of CO₂ evolved to net NH _inf4 ^sup+ produced indicated that both biocides had non-target effects for most of the incubation. Thus, streptomycin and cycloheximide are not suitable in determining the relative contribution from fungi and bacteria to mineralization-immobilization processes in soils.