Carbon mineralization in saline soils as affected by residue composition and water potential

In saline soils under semi-arid climate, low matric and osmotic potential are the main stressors for microbes. But little is known about the impact of water potential (sum of matric and osmotic potential) and substrate composition on microbial activity and biomass in field collected saline soils. Three sandy loam soils with electrical conductivity of the saturated soil extract (EC_e) 3.8, 11 and 21 dS m^?1 (hereafter referred to EC3.8, EC11 and EC21) were kept at optimal water content for 14 days. After this pre-incubation, the soils were either left at optimal water content or dried to achieve water potentials of ?2.33, ?2.82, ?3.04 and ?4.04 MPa. Then, the soils were amended with 20 g?kg^?1 pea or wheat residue to increase nutrient supply. Carbon dioxide emission was measured over 14 days; microbial biomass C was measured at the end of the experiment. Cumulative respiration decreased with decreasing water potential and was significantly (P?<?0.05) lower in soils at water potential ?4 MPa than in soils at optimal water content. The effect of residue type on the response of cumulative respiration was inconsistent; with residue type having no effect in the saline soils (EC11 and EC21) whereas in the non-saline soil (EC3.8), the decrease in respiration with decreasing water potential was less with wheat than with pea residue. At a given water potential, the absolute and relative (in percentage of optimal water content) cumulative respiration was lower in the saline soils than in the non-saline soil. This can be explained by the lower osmotic potential and the smaller microbial biomass in the saline soils. However, even at a similar osmotic potential, cumulative respiration was higher in the non-saline soil. It can be concluded that high salt concentrations in the soil solution strongly reduce microbial activity even if the water content is relatively high. The stronger relative decrease in microbial activity in the saline soils at a given osmotic potential compared to the non-saline soil suggests that the small biomass in saline soils is less able to tolerate low osmotic potential. Hence, drying of soil will have a stronger negative effect on microbial activity in saline than in non-saline soils.     

Eine Vegetationstechnik zur quantitativen Bestimmung der Wasseraufnahme durch Wurzeln aus versalzten Rhizoböden

A vegetation technique to study the water uptake by roots from salinized rhizospheric soils The paper presents a vegetation technique to study the water uptake rate by roots, which are exposed to rhizospheric soils (soil in close vicinity of roots) of different combinations of soil osmotic and soil matrix water potential. The vegetation technique consists of two growth periods, a period of preculture and an experimental period. The aim of the preculture is to obtain series of homogenous plants growing each in a small pot filled with a densely rooted soil. At the end of the preculture all plants are very similar with respect to shoot and root development. The aim of the experimental period is to study the effects of various combinations of soil osmotic and matrix water potential on the water supply of plants. Thus the experimental period starts with supplying all pots with the same amount of water up to field capacity. In order to obtain different osmotic water potentials of the soil solutions, the water is differently salinized. Then the plants are exposed to constant climatical growth conditions. During the following days the water loss of the pots is determined hourly. The development of the matrix, osmotic and total soil water potential, the water uptake rate of the roots, the transpiration rate and growth rate of the shoots can be calculated from the water losses.     

Wasseraufnahme junger Zuckerrüben in Beziehung zur Salzkonzentration der wurzelnahen Bodenlösung

Water uptake of young sugar beets in relation to the salt concentration of the rhizospheric soil solution When plants absorb soil water from saline soils salts translocated to the roots surface accumulate in the soil solution close to the roots. Due to the salt dissolved in the rhizospheric soil solution its osmotic potential is several times lower than the osmotic potential of the soil solution far from the roots thus affecting their water uptake. Shoots of young sugar beets transpired about 3,0 resp. 1 ml/h/g shoot dry matter, when the roots were surrounded by soil solutions of –0,5 MPa resp. –2,0 MPa. There was nearly no water, uptake from soil solutions of –2,5 to –3,0 MPa. Ψ-values of this range are supposed to occur only around roots of highly salt adapted sugar beets. In a wide range the water content of a sandy soil did not affect the Ψ-value preventing water uptake.     

Salinity effects on carbon mineralization in soils of varying texture

In salt-affected soils, soil organic carbon (SOC) levels are usually low as a result of poor plant growth; additionally, decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) may be negatively affected. Soil organic carbon models, such as the Rothamsted Carbon Model (RothC), that are used to estimate carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission and SOC stocks at various spatial scales, do not consider the effect of salinity on CO₂ emissions and may therefore over-estimate CO₂ release from saline soils. Two laboratory incubation experiments were conducted to assess the effect of soil texture on the response of CO₂ release to salinity, and to calculate a rate modifier for salinity to be introduced into the RothC model. The soils used were a sandy loam (18.7% clay) and a sandy clay loam (22.5% clay) in one experiment and a loamy sand (6.3% clay) and a clay (42% clay) in another experiment. The water content was adjusted to 75%, 55%, 50% and 45% water holding capacity (WHC) for the loamy sand, sandy loam, sandy clay loam and the clay, respectively to ensure optimal soil moisture for decomposition. Sodium chloride (NaCl) was used to develop a range of salinities: electrical conductivity of the 1:5 soil: water extract (EC_1:5) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 dS m⁻¹. The soils were amended with 2% (w/w) wheat residues and CO₂ emission was measured over 4 months. Carbon dioxide release was also measured from five salt-affected soils from the field for model evaluation. In all soils, cumulative CO₂-C g⁻¹ soil significantly decreased with increasing EC_1:5 developed by addition of NaCl, but the relative decrease differed among the soils. In the salt-amended soils, the reduction in normalised cumulative respiration (in percentage for the control) at EC_1:5 > 1.0 dS m⁻¹ was most pronounced in the loamy sand. This is due to the differential water content of the soils, at the same EC_1:5; the salt concentration in the soil solution is higher in the coarser textured soils than in fine textured soils because in the former soils, the water content for optimal decomposition is lower. When salinity was expressed as osmotic potential, the decrease in normalised cumulative respiration with increasing salinity was less than with EC_1:5. The osmotic potential of the soil solution is a more appropriate parameter for estimating the salinity effect on microbial activity than the electrical conductivity (EC) because osmotic potential, unlike EC, takes account into salt concentration in the soil solution as a function of the water content. The decrease in particulate organic carbon (POC) was smaller in soils with low osmotic potential whereas total organic carbon, humus-C and charcoal-C did not change over time, and were not significantly affected by salinity. The modelling of cumulative respiration data using a two compartment model showed that the decomposition of labile carbon (C) pool is more sensitive to salinity than that of the slow C pool. The evaluation of RothC, modified to include the decomposition rate modifier for salinity developed from the salt-amended soils, against saline soils from the field, suggested that salinity had a greater effect on cumulative respiration in the salt-amended soils. The results of this study show (i) salinity needs to be taken into account when modelling CO₂ release and SOC turnover in salt-affected soils, and (ii) a decomposition rate modifier developed from salt-amended soils may overestimate the effect of salinity on CO₂ release.     

Effects of N‐fertilization on shoots and roots of rape (Brassica napus L.) and consequences for the soil matric potential

The underlying question of these investigations asked, how and to which extent rape plants react with transpiration and soil water uptake to different degrees of nitrogen fertilization. Therefore repeated campaigns with concurrent measurements of plant surfaces (leaves, stems, pods), diurnal courses of leaf transpiration and root length density of rape plants growing on heavily (240 kg ha^—1), moderately, (120 kg ha^—1), and nil N‐fertilized plots of an experimental field in northern Germany were performed during two growing seasons. Additionally, matric potentials at different soil depths were measured. In the first year (1994) investigations were concentrated primarily on shoot area development and transpiration, whereas in the subsequent year (1995) root measurements were mainly undertaken. Also, the influence of soil management (ploughing, conservation tillage) was taken into consideration. The plots where the shoot measurements were carried out were ploughed in 1994 and rotovated in 1995. Matric potentials were measured in both years in ploughed soil and, for comparison, also in soils with conservation tillage. Shoot area index, as measure of the transpiratory capacity of the canopy, increased on ploughed soil and reached a maximum before flowering. Thereafter it decreased until harvest when the relative amount of green stems and pods was increasing. Then, the measured transpiration rate per pod surface area was equal to, or higher than, the transpiration rate per leaf surface area. Plant surface area was smaller in plots with conservation tillage and decreased generally with decreasing N‐fertilization. Increasing plant surface area was joined by an increasing density of plant canopy. Light interception was thus highest in the plots receiving 240 kg N ha^—1. Although the shading effect may cause a reduction of transpiration per plant, the total plant mass per area generally resulted in a greater water loss from these plots. Roots reached at least 110 cm depth. Root length density was significantly higher in the upper 10—30 cm of soil than at greater depths. Root mass was smaller in soil with conservation tillage than in ploughed soil. Oscillations of soil matric potentials in the diurnal and long‐term periods were highest in the upper 10 cm of soil. Here, they corresponded well with the cumulative diurnal transpiratory water loss. It is concluded that the soil water dynamics depends largely on the distribution of plant roots. As a result, rape plants did not change their specific transpiration capacity as a response to increased nitrogen fertilization. However, the transpiring plant surface and root length density increased the turnover rate of water by a higher plant density per plot. This effect was more pronounced in ploughed than in rotovated plots.     

Variable inhibition of iron uptake by oat phytosiderophore in five soybean cultivars

Abstract

Greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on plant growth, and nutrient uptake in saline soils with different salt and phosphorus (P) levels. The following treatments were included in this experiment: (i) Soil A, with salt level of 16.6 dS m^?1 and P level of 8.4 mg kg^?1; (ii) Soil B, with salt level of 6.2 dS m^?1 and P level of 17.5 mg kg^?1; and (iii) Soil C, with salt level of 2.4 dS m^?1 and P level of 6.5 mg kg^?1. Soils received no (control) or 25 mg P kg^?1 soil as triple super phosphate and were either not inoculated (control) or inoculated with a mixture of AM (AM1) and/or with Glomus intraradices (AM2). All pots were amended with 125 mg N kg^?1 soil as ammonium sulfate. Barley (Hordeum vulgar L., cv. “ACSAD 6”) was grown for five weeks. Plants grown on highly saline soils were severely affected where the dry weight was significantly lower than plants growing on moderately and low saline soils. The tiller number and the plant height were also lower under highly saline condition. The reduced plant growth under highly saline soils is mainly attributed to the negative effect of the high osmotic potential of the soil solution of the highly saline soils which tend to reduce the nutrient and water uptake as well as reduce the plant root growth. Both the application of P fertilizers and the soil inoculation with either inoculum mixture or G. intraradices increased the dry weight and the height of the plants but not the tiller number. The positive effect of P application on plant growth was similar to the effect of AM inoculation. Phosphorus concentration in the plants was higher in the mycorrhizal plant compared to the non mycorrhizal ones when P was not added. On the other hand, the addition of P increased the P concentration in the plants of the non mycorrhizal plants to as high as that of the mycorrhizal plants. Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) uptake increased with AM inoculation. The addition of P had a positive effect on micronutrient uptake in soil with low level of soil P, but had a negative effect in soil with high level of soil P. Micronutrient uptake decreases with increasing soil salinity level. Inoculation with AMF decreases sodium (Na) concentration in plants grown in soil of the highest salinity level but had no effect when plants were grown in soil with moderate or low salinity level. The potassium (K) concentration was not affected by any treatment while the K/Na ratio was increased by AM inoculation only when plant were grown in soil of the highest salinity level.     

Soil microbial activity and community composition: Impact of changes in matric and osmotic potential

As saline soils dry, the salt in the remaining solution phase is concentrated and the microbes are subjected to both water and osmotic stress. However, little is known about the interactive effect of matric potential (MP) and osmotic potential (OP) on microbial activity and community structure. We conducted an experiment in which two non-saline soils, a sand and a sandy loam, were pre-incubated at optimal water content (for microbial activity) but different osmotic potentials achieved by adding NaCl. The EC of the saturated paste (ECe) ranged between 1.6 and 11.6 dS m⁻¹ in the sand and between 0.6 and 17.7 dS m⁻¹ in the sandy loam. After the 14-day pre-incubation, the soils were dried to different water contents: 25-35 g kg⁻¹ in the sand and 95-200 g kg⁻¹ in the sandy loam. Water potential (WP, the sum of osmotic + matric potential) ranged from −0.7 to −6.8 MPa in the sand and from −0.1 to −4.4 MPa in the sandy loam. After addition of ground pea straw to increase the concentration of readily available substrate, respiration was measured over 14 days and microbial community composition was assessed by phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) at the end of the experiment. In both soils, cumulative respiration at a given soil water content (WC) decreased with decreasing osmotic potential, but the effect of decreasing water content differed between the two soils. In the sand, cumulative respiration at the two lowest water contents (WC25 and WC28) was always significantly lower than that at the highest water content (WC35). In the sandy loam, cumulative respiration was significantly lower at the lowest water content (WC95) compared to the highest water content (WC200) only in treatments with added salt. The reduction of cumulative respiration at a given WP was similar in the two soils with a 50% reduction compared to the control (optimal water content, no salt added) at WP −3 MPa. In the sand at WP <−2 MPa, the reduction in fungal fatty acids was greater than that of bacterial fatty acids whereas in the sandy loam, the response of bacteria and fungi to decreasing WP was similar. In both soils, microbial biomass decreased by 35-50% as WP decreased to about −2 MPa but then remained stable with further decreases of WP. Microbial community composition changed with WP in both soils. Our results suggest that there are two strategies by which microbes respond to water potential. A decrease in WP up to −2 MPa kills a proportion of the microbial community, but the remaining microbes adapt and maintain their activity per unit biomass. At lower WP however, the adaptation mechanisms are not sufficient and although the microbes survive, their activity per unit biomass is reduced.     

Bestimmung von hydraulischen Parametern für die Wasserhaushaltsuntersuchungen im natürlich gelagerten Boden. Ein Vergleich von Feld- und Laboratoriumsmethoden

Determination of hydraulic parameters to estimate water movement and water storage in undisturbed soil. A comparison of field and laboratory methods. The soil moisture characteristics and the unsaturated conductivity were measured under field and laboratory conditions. In an undisturbed soil monolith in continous connection with the underlying loess-soil-layer 60 tensiometer and a neutronprobe-accestube were used respectively to determine the matric potential and water content changes during a transient drainage experiment. Within the matric potential range of 0 to approximately ?50 to ?100 mbar the soil moisture characteristics determined in the laboratory and in the field are substantially different. When the matric potential is more negative than ?100 mbar the slope of these curves and hence the specific moisture capacities are relatively well comparable. The field-measured conductivity functions differ considerably from those values which were either measured under lab-conditions or computed from the soil moisture characteristics data. The conductivities are expressed as a function of the matric potential which is possibly the major reason for these remarkable differences. However, the changes in water content in this dense silty clay loam are too small to express the unsaturated conductivity as a function of the absolute water content. The most serious problems in extrapolating the results of the less time consuming laborcalculation methods to field conditions arise in that range of matric potentials where water movement is significant.     

Pressure plate studies to determine how moisture affects access of bacterial-feeding nematodes to food in soil

Nematode activity in the soil depends on the presence of free water. We conducted pressure plate experiments to understand better how soil matric potential and structural degradation affect the population growth of three bacterial‐feeding nematodes (Cephalobus, Pristionchus, Rhabditis). We took undisturbed cores from six soils (sand, silt loam and silty clay loam with four management regimes), and removed all fauna from them. Ten or 30 nematodes were added, and pressures corresponding to soil matric potentials of ?10, ?33, ?50, ?100 or ?1500 kPa were applied for 35 days. The nematodes were then counted. Significant reproduction of all bacterial‐feeding nematodes occurred when the diameters of water‐filled pores were approximately 1 μm. This confirms observations using repacked soils and field manipulations. Only for Pristionchus did declining populations match the reduction in total soil porosity related to intensification of land use on the silty clay loam. We had not expected Cephalobus to have the fastest increase in population of the three nematodes in intact soil cores, and our evidence questions the relative importance given to the three nematode families in soil processes. The differing rates of population increase of the three nematodes in the various soils reflect both habitable pore space and trophic interactions. This suggests that the very diversity of nematode assemblages is crucial in the resilience of biological soil processes. That water‐filled pores as small as 1 μm provide suitable spaces for sizeable populations of bacterial‐feeding nematodes accords with the observed migration of infective juveniles of trichostrongylid nematodes and mermithids in water films on herbage. Our results imply that assessment of the role of nematodes in soil processes may be a key to the understanding of biological interactions in water films, and the selection pressures on nematode morphology.     

Verification of freezing point depression method for measuring matric potential of soil water

The matric potential of soil water was determined using the freezing point depression method for a range of soil types. Soil water characteristic curves of these soils were obtained and compared with those obtained by the pressure plate, psychrometer, and vapor pressure methods resulting in excellent agreement between the freezing point depression method and the other methods over the range of -10.0 to -0.1 MPa in matric potential (i.e., temperature range of -8.00 to -0.08°C for freezing point) in all soil types. Over those ranges of matric potentials and temperatures, the effect of temperature-dependence on the freezing point of soils both in terms of specific volume of water and latent heat of water freezing was negligibly small. Freezing point of soils was independent of the bulk density of soils due to the fact that soil water in the range of matric potentials less than -0.1 MPa was affected predominantly by adsorptive forces between water and the soil matrix. The results from this study indicate that the freezing point depression method is a simple and practical technique to determine the soil water content in the vicinity of the wilting point     

Einsatz der Taupunktmethode zur Charakterisierung von Matrix- und osmotischem Potential in einer Gefäßkultur mit unterschiedlichen Salzgehalten

Use of the dew point method to determine matrix- and osmotic soil water potentials in pot cultures under different salt stress Water consumption of festuca rubra was investigated under different salt stress as measured by the dew point method. Water content of the soil, total tension and water consumption was measured daily. At the end of the growing season the low salt stress plants had used nearly completely all water available and were under water stress. Plants under medium salt stress reduced transpiration in time and showed highest water content in the soil and in the plants after growing season. For the high salt stress plants the total water potential remained low due to the osmotic component. Dew point measurements were compared with other methods (Cl-concentration; electric conductivity). A close correlation was found in all cases, demonstrating the usefulness of the dew point method.     

轻质土壤水分特征曲线估计的简便方法

以黄淮海平原封丘地区的潮土和风沙土为研究对象,根据大量的土壤基本物理性质和土壤持水数据,利用多元逐步回归分析方法,建立了轻质土壤在不同基质势下土壤含水量(θ)的传递函数模型,并进行了模型验证。结果表明,利用轻质土壤的基本物理性质估计其水分特征曲线是一种简便可行的方法,并且,在回归方程中,增加-30kPa含水量项可提高-30kPa以上土壤含水量的估计精度;增加-1500kPa含水量项可以明显提高-100kPa至-1500kPa间土壤含水量的估计精度。     

滨海重度盐碱地微咸水滴灌水盐调控及月季根系生长响应研究

滨海盐碱地是滨海地区重要的土地资源,随着滨海地区城镇化进程及生态文明建设的发展,迫切需要低成本、快速、可持续的滨海盐碱地原土植被构建技术。针对滨海盐碱地原土建植与咸水/微咸水资源的利用,该研究以月季(Rosa chinensis)为例,采用微咸水滴灌技术进行滨海盐碱地水盐调控植被构建。试验在渤海湾曹妃甸区吹沙造田形成的典型沙质滨海盐渍土上进行,设计了灌溉水电导率(ECiw)为0.8、3.1、4.7、6.3、7.8 dS/m的5个处理,研究滴灌水盐调控对土壤盐分淋洗及月季根系生长和分布特征的影响。结果表明:在渤海湾滨海地区气候条件下,先进行淡水滴灌盐分强化淋洗和缓苗灌溉,随后采用7.8 dS/m的微咸水滴灌,0～100 cm土层土壤盐分得到了有效的淋洗,尤其是根层0～40 cm土壤盐分经过一个月左右,由初始28.33 dS/m降低到均小于4 dS/m,一个低盐适生的土壤环境得到快速营造;随着ECiw的增加,0～40 cm土层土壤最终趋于稳定的盐分呈增加趋势,土壤脱盐过程可以被logistic方程描述,脱盐过程可划分为快速脱盐、缓慢脱盐和盐分趋于稳定3个阶段;94%以上的月季根系主要分布在0～20cm的表层土壤中,随着ECiw的增加,根系生物量显著降低,根系受盐分胁迫生理干旱影响向土壤深处生长以扩大水分空间。研究认为,采用短期淡水滴灌盐分强化淋洗和缓苗淡水滴灌、随后进行微咸水滴灌的方法,可以实现土壤盐分的快速淋洗并维持在较低水平,但受盐分对根系生长的影响会作用于植物地上部分生长及植物存活,因此需要结合植物耐盐性及生产目标(产量、景观)确定适宜灌溉水矿化度阈值。     

干旱区农田不同类型土壤盐碱化发生规律

为明晰西北干旱区平原农田典型土壤发生盐碱化的规律,2014年在新疆代表性平原农场采集砾砂、粉土/粉砂、粉土/粉细砂、粉土和亚黏土5类主要土壤进行试验,分析其岩性组成、毛细管作用及土壤表层积盐之间的内在关系,寻求3者相互影响机理。结果表明:土壤中粗颗粒含量越大,早期毛细管现象越明显,土壤表面积盐越多。细颗粒含量越多,早期毛细管作不明显,地表积盐量较少但持续时间较长,最终积盐量大于粗颗粒土壤。5类土壤在盐碱化发生早期(12 d左右)毛细现象最为突出,尤其1~4 d内地表的积盐大,速度最快。粗颗粒的砂性土发生盐碱化时,表面容易形成3~4 mm厚盐痂,阻止了地表盐碱化的发展。当土壤中粉粒和黏粒较多时,地表积盐主要以晶体形式出现。土壤的颗粒级配较好、压实度较大时,土壤表面的积盐量就较少。研究成果可为西北地区不同类型的土壤盐碱化治理方法、治理时段的选取等提供参考。     

Improvement in the Adaptation of Lygeum Spartum L. to Salinity In the Presence of Calcium

Lygeum spartum L. has been recently introduced in areas where salinity is high in soils. However, there are no studies about the physiological response of these plants to salt excess. The effect of sodium chloride (NaCl) on plant growth and water status was studied. Also, the effect of calcium (Ca) addition to salinity conditions was analyzed because of the coexistence of salinity and calcareous soils. Dry weight (DW), transpiration, and osmotic potential (Ψπ) decreased with elevated NaCl and were restored with Ca²⁺, whereas moderate salinity had no effect. Fresh weight (FW), water potential (Ψω), and root hydraulic conductance (L ₀) decreased with salinity; Ca²⁺ supply had an ameliorative effect at moderate salinity. Sodium (Na⁺) increased in leaf sap at high levels of NaCl and was decreased by Ca²⁺. Lygeum spartum showed a resistance to moderate salinity, but the effect of Ca²⁺ depends on salinity intensity. Thus, the role of Ca²⁺ in the tolerance to salinity was emphasized.     

Subsoil water available in suction and poor in amount under continuous grassland use

Soil water storage in grassland is critical to regulate herbage yield while it may be threatened by continuous land use without plowing because of the progress of soil compaction associated with worsening soil hydraulic properties. This study aimed at contrasting the quantity and the availability of soil water in a meadow which had not been renovated for 13 years. We monitored matric potentials and mass soil water contents to 100 cm depth from autumn to winter in which plant transpiration was dormant. Soil water capacities were determined with soil water characteristics. The measurements were made in both a harvesting area in which agricultural vehicles had been operated, and a tree cover area which had experienced almost no vehicle loads. The soil layer in the tree cover area had a larger capacity for readily available moisture than that in the harvesting area. The matric potentials in the tree cover area varied in time between 0 and -1000 cm regardless of depth while those in the harvesting area were rather steady. These suggested better pore water continuity in the tree cover area. In the subsoil layers in both the harvesting and the tree cover areas, the soil water contents in terms of actually stored water did not reach as high a level as those expected from the soil moisture characteristics of the matric potential of -1000 cm. On the other hand, the measured matric potentials were consistently readily available for plants during the entire period of measurement. The apparent discrepancy between the matric potentials in readily available vs. actually stored water implied that the subsoil layers had become drier than observed during the study period, and that soil water hysteresis had prevented the full recovery of the water storage.     

Eine Methode zur Ermittelung der wasserspannungsabhängigen Änderung des Sauerstoffpartialdruckes und der Sauerstoffdiffusion in einzelnen Bodenaggregaten

A method to determine oxygen partial pressure and oxygen diffusion in single soil aggregates as a function of soil moisture tension Anaerobic zones occur even in unsaturated soils of silty or clayey texture, that are aerated sufficiently in their macropore system. These zones can be related to the inner parts of soil aggregates. To describe the oxygen balances in soils it is necessary to measure not only in soil profiles but as well in single soil aggregates within a range of soil matrix potentials. Therefore oxygen partial pressure in single soil aggregates of different texture was measured continuously as a function of soil matrix potential. For that purpose we developed an oxygen sensitive microelectrode with a tip diameter of 0.5 mm, that is sturdy enough to measure even in sandy soils. One microtensiometer (diameter of the tip < 0.5 mm) and one oxygen microelectrode were placed in water saturated soil aggregates. Soil water potential and oxygen partial pressure were measured continuously during soil drying. The results show an aeration of primarily anoxic soil aggregates at different soil matrix potentials due to different texture and structure. The clayey polyhedral aggregates of the Vertisol were aerated at significantly lower soil matrix potentials than the loamy prisms of the Fluvisol. These show higher values of oxygen partial pressure even at soil water potentials less than 150 hPa. In the aggregates of the Vertisol, that have a fine texture, values of rel. aparent diffusion D_s/D_o were in the range of 1 · 10^?3 at soil water potentials < ?     

Influence of phosphorus application on growth and cadmium uptake of spinach in two cadmium‐contaminated soils

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of phosphate (P) application on diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)–extractable cadmium (Cd) in soil and on growth and uptake of Cd by spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Two soils varying in texture were contaminated by application of five levels of Cd (NO₃)₂ (0, 20, 30, 40, and 60 mg Cd kg^–1). Three levels of KH₂PO₄ (0, 12, and 24 mg P kg^–1) were applied to determine immobilization of Cd by P. Spinach was grown for 60 d after seeding. Progressive contamination of soils through application of Cd affected dry‐matter yield (DMY) of spinach shoot differently in the two soils, with 67% reduction of DMY in the sandy soil and 34% in the silty‐loam soil. The application of P increased DMY of spinach from 4.53 to 6.06 g pot^–1 (34%) in silty‐loam soil and from 3.54 to 5.12 g pot^–1 (45%) in sandy soil. The contamination of soils increased Cd concentration in spinach shoots by 34 times in the sandy soil and 18 times in the silty‐loam soil. The application of P decreased Cd concentration in shoot. The decrease of Cd concentration was higher in the sandy soil in comparison to the silty‐loam soil. Phosphorus application enhanced DMY of spinach by decreasing Cd concentration in soil as well as in plants. The results indicate that Cd toxicity in soil can be alleviated by P application.     

Decontamination of Chromium by Farm Yard Manure Application in Spinach Grown in Two Texturally Different Cr-Contaminated Soils

ABSTRACT

Chromium (Cr) is an environmental pollutant and its accumulation up to toxic levels in the soil and plants by applying irrigation with untreated industrial effluents has become a major problem throughout the world, especially in developing countries like India. Various inorganic as well as organic compounds are known for their ability to reduce mobilization of heavy metals in soils for plant uptake and leaching to ground water. The present study was undertaken under controlled glasshouse conditions to assess the effectiveness of farm yard manure (FYM) applications (equivalent to 0, 1, and 2% organic matter on w/w basis) to ameliorate Cr toxicity in spinach grown in two texturally different soils (silty loam and sandy) contaminated artificially with five levels of Cr (0, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg Cr kg^{? 1} soil as K₂Cr₂O₇). The diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable Cr in soil (before seeding and after harvest), Cr concentration, and its uptake by shoots and roots of spinach increased with increasing level of applied Cr. Roots accumulated more Cr than shoots, which depicts limited translocation of Cr from roots to shoots. A significant decrease was observed in dry matter yield (DMY) of shoots as well as roots by raising levels of applied Cr (0 to 10 mg Cr kg^{? 1} soil) in both soils, but the extent of the DMY decrease was higher in the sandy loam soil. Application of FYM showed mitigating effects on Cr toxicity. The DMY was higher in the presence of FYM, than its absence, at all rates of applied Cr in both soils. The FYM application caused decline in the DTPA-extractable Cr in soil, and concentration of Cr and its uptake by shoots and roots of spinach at a given level of applied Cr. The magnitude of Cr toxicity and its amelioration by FYM application was higher in sandy soil compared to silty loam soil. The results of this study indicated that FYM application to the soil could be used as an effective measure for reducing Cr toxicity to crop plants in Cr-contaminated soils irrigated by untreated industrial effluents.     

Field measurement of time to ponding

Abstract. Field measurements of cumulative infiltration and of the matric potential prior to infiltration were made with double-ring infiltrometers and tensiometers, respectively, on two sandy loams in north-east Scotland. The time to ponding for constant-rate infiltration was also measured in the same infiltrometers by applying water at a constant rate until ponding commenced. Under the range of initial potentials studied (-2 to - 17 kPa), an exponential relation was adequate to describe the relation between sorptivity and initial matric potential. The time to ponding was also strongly dependent on initial matric potential and increased dramatically as the soil became drier. Measurements of time to ponding were in good agreement with values predicted from the theory of Clothier et al. (1981) using values for sorptivity and the A parameter obtained from the cumulative infiltration experiments. Measurements and predictions clearly showed the importance of the sorptivity versus initial matric potential relation in controlling the time to ponding of such sandy soils. These results have implications for determining the generation of runoff and the establishment of stream flows, as well as determining optimum rates and design of irrigation.