Effects of cuvette surface material on ammonia‐, nitrous oxide‐, carbon dioxide‐, and methane‐concentration measurements

Closed‐chamber systems are commonly used to determine gaseous C and N emissions from agricultural soils. We investigated the effects of eight cuvette surfaces on two standard gas concentrations of NH₃, N₂O, CO₂, and CH₄ under laboratory conditions. Cuvette surface materials differentially affected gas adhesion or recovery as a function of the type and the concentration of the gases. Given the strong effects on results of gas measurements in closed‐chamber systems, both the type and the concentration of the measured gases need to be considered in selecting cuvette surface materials.     

Verformungsverhalten künstlicher Makroporen unter variierenden Druck‐ und Bodenfeuchtebedingungen

Structural deformation of artificial macropores under varying load and soil moisture In the present study, the stability and deformation behavior of artificial macropores under varying load and soil moisture levels was investigated by means of X‐ray computed tomography (CT). The results should be a reference for similar studies on soil samples from field trials. The soil tested was a well structured humic silt loam with a bulk density of 1 g cm^—3. Round‐shaped pores of vertical and 45 degree angle orientation were drilled into the samples with a plastic needle (∅︁ 5 mm). These samples were compacted in an uniaxial compression device at four different moisture levels and four pressure stages each. Stepwise CT imaging and its 3‐dimensional reconstruction enabled us to study systematically the mode and intensity of pore deformation. As a result four different deformation stages could be identified in dependence from load, soil moisture, and pore orientation. The deformation stage ”︁stable” was characterized by mostly unaffected pore dimensions and shapes. Increasing load and/or moisture content led to prominent bottle necks within the pores which was named ”︁structure deformation”. Due to the shape and size of these bottle necks it seems to be most likely that still intact aggregates were moved into the inner pore space, reducing the mean cross sectional areas. The deformation stage ”︁total deformation” appeared with further increase of load and/or moisture. The aggregated structure disappeared while the inner roughness of the pores became smoother again. This represents a viscoplastic deformation. Cross sectional areas, pore lengths, and volumes significantly decreased. The stage ”︁extinction” was finally reached at water contents around the liquid limit, where the pore structure was completely lost, at least on CT resolution level. The deformation stages could be attributed to load stages depending from pore orientation. Unexpectedly, all pores kept their originally round shape over all stages until extinction.     

Conservation Agriculture Had a Poor Impact on the Soil Porosity of Veneto Low‐lying Plain Silty Soils after a 5‐year Transition Period

Conservation agriculture practices have been proposed as a set of techniques for improving soil structure properties and related ecosystem services. This study compared conservation agriculture (CA) practices (no‐tillage, cover crop and residue retention) and conventional intensive tillage system in order to evaluate their effects on total porosity, pore size distribution, pore architecture and morphology. The experiment was set up in 2010 on four farms of the low‐lying Veneto Region plain characterized by silty soils. Almost hundred soil samples were collected in 2015 at four depths down to 50‐cm layer and investigated for porosity from micrometre (0·0074 μm) to macrometre (2·5 mm) by coupling mercury intrusion porosimetry and X‐ray computed microtomography (μCT). Indices of soil morphology and architecture were derived by analysing 3D images and mercury intrusion porosimetry pore size curves. Results suggested that silty soils of Veneto plain are microstructured because much (82%) of the porosity ranged between 0·0074 and 30 μm. CA practices positively influenced the ultramicroporosity class (0·1–5 μm) (1·86E‐01 vs 1·67E‐01 μm³ μm⁻³) that is strictly linked to soil organic carbon stabilization while no effects were observed in X‐ray μCT porosity domain (> 26 μm). Silty soils of Veneto plain showed a slow reaction to CA because of the poor aggregate stability and low soil organic carbon. However, the positive response of the ultramicropore fraction indicates that a virtuous cycle was initiated between soil organic carbon and porosity, hopefully leading to well‐developed macropore systems and, in turn, enhanced soil functions and ecosystem services. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring the CO2 production from maize‐straw‐amended soil columns— a comparison of four methods

A soil‐column experiment with maize‐straw application at different depths was carried out to investigate the accuracy of CO₂‐measurement systems in a greenhouse experiment with sandy and loamy soils. The classical approach of CO₂ absorption in NaOH solution was compared with three other methods using dynamic chambers. These methods were gas chromatography (GC), a portable infrared analyzer (IR), and a portable photo‐acoustic system (PAS). The cumulative CO₂ production over the 57‐day incubation period was significantly affected by the method and soil‐specifically by the treatments. The NaOH and GC method always formed a pair of lowest cumulative CO₂ production in all treatments with maize‐straw addition. In the treatments with bottom application of the maize straw, IR and PAS methods gave values at identical levels in both soils. In the treatments with top application of the maize straw, the IR method gave significantly highest values in the sandy soil and the PAS method in the loamy soil. The correlation coefficients between the cumulative CO₂ production of the three dynamic‐chamber methods (GC, IR, and PAS) and the static NaOH method were all significant, with r values between 0.90 and 0.93. The C balance can be used for testing the plausibility of CO₂‐production data. Roughly 102% (NaOH and GC) and 114% (IR and PAS) were recovered, including the CO₂‐production data in the C balance of the sandy soil. The respective data were 97% (NaOH and GC) and 104% (IR and PAS) for the loamy soil.     

Effects of porous clay ceramic rates on aeration porosity characteristics in a structurally degraded soil under greenhouse vegetable production

Soil structure degradation in greenhouse vegetable fields reduces vegetable production. Increasing aeration porosity is the key to ameliorating soil structure degradation. Thus, we tested the effect of a porous material, porous clay ceramic(PLC), on the amelioration of soil structure degradation under greenhouse vegetable production. A 6-month pot experiment was conducted with four PLC application levels based on volume, i.e., 0%(control), 5%(1 P), 10%(2 P), and15%(3 P) using Brassica chinensis as the test plant. At the end of the experiment, soil columns were sampled, and the aeration pore network was reconstructed using X-ray computed tomography(CT). The degree of anisotropy(DA), fractal dimension(FD), connectivity, aeration porosity, pores distribution, and shape of soil aeration pores and plant biomass were determined. The DA, FD, and connectivity did not significantly differ as the PLC application rate increased.Nonetheless, aeration porosity significantly linearly increased. The efficiency of PLC at enhancing soil aeration porosity was 0.18% per Mg ha~(-1). The increase in aeration porosity was mainly due to the increase in pores 2 000 μm, which was characterized by irregular pores. Changes in aeration porosity enhanced the production of B. chinensis. The efficiency of PLC at increasing the plant fresh weight was 0.60%, 3.06%, and 2.12% per 1% application rate of PLC for the 1 P, 2 P, and 3 P treatments, respectively. These results indicated that PLC is a highly efficient soil amendment that improves soil structure degradation by improving soil aeration under greenhouse conditions. Based on vegetable biomass, a 10% application rate of PLC was recommended.     

Growth and photosynthesis of salt‐stressed sunflower (Helianthus annuus) plants as affected by foliar‐applied different potassium salts

In order to assess the effectiveness of foliar‐applied potassium (K⁺, 1.25%) using different salts (KCl, KOH, K₂CO₃, KNO₃, KH₂PO₄, and K₂SO₄) in ameliorating the inhibitory effect of salt stress on sunflower plants, a greenhouse experiment was conducted. Sodium chloride (150 mM) was applied through the rooting medium to 18 d–old plants and after 1 week of salt treatment; different K⁺‐containing salts were applied twice in 1‐week interval as a foliar spray. Salt stress adversely affected the growth, yield components, gas exchange, and water relations, and also caused nutrient imbalance in sunflower plants. However, foliar‐applied different sources of potassium improved shoot and root fresh and shoot dry weights, achene yield, 100‐achene weight, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, water‐use efficiency, relative water content, and leaf and root K⁺ concentrations of sunflower plants grown under saline conditions. Under nonsaline conditions, improvement in shoot fresh weight, achene yield, 100‐achene weight, photosynthetic and transpiration rates, and root Na⁺ concentration was observed due to foliar‐applied different K sources. Of the different salts, K₂SO₄, KH₂PO₄, KNO₃, and K₂CO₃ were more effective than KCl and KOH in improving growth and some key physiological processes of sunflower plants.     

Phosphorus speciation of forest‐soil organic surface layers using P K‐edge XANES spectroscopy

The phosphorus (P) speciation of organic surface layers from two adjacent German forest soils with different degree of water‐logging (Stagnosol, Rheic Histosol) was analyzed by P K‐edge XANES and subsequent Linear Combination Fitting. In both soils, ≈ 70% of the P was inorganic phosphate and ≈ 30% organic phosphate; reduced P forms such as phosphonate were absent. The increased degree of water‐logging in the Histosol compared to the Stagnosol did not affect P speciation.     

Impact of tillage intensity on carbon and nitrogen pools in surface and sub‐surface soils of three long‐term field experiments

Management options such as the intensity of tillage are known to influence the turnover dynamics of soil organic matter. However, less information is available about the influence of the tillage intensity on individual soil organic matter pools with different turnover dynamics in surface as compared with sub‐surface soils. This study aimed to analyse the impact of no tillage (NT), reduced tillage (RT) and conventional tillage (CT) on labile, intermediate and stable carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools in surface and sub‐surface soils. We took surface and sub‐surface soil samples from the three tillage systems in three long‐term field experiments in Germany. The labile, intermediate and stable C and N pool sizes were determined by using the combined application of a decomposition experiment and a physical‐chemical separation procedure. For the surface soils, we found larger stocks of the labile C and N pool under NT and RT (C, 1.7 and 1.3 t ha^?1; N, 180 and 160 kg ha^?1) than with CT (C, 0.5 t ha^?1; N, 60 kg ha^?1). In contrast, we found significantly larger stocks of the labile C pool under CT (2.7 t ha^?1) than with NT and RT (2 t ha^?1) for the sub‐surface soils. The intermediate pool accounted for 75–84% of the soil organic C and total N stocks. However, the stocks of the intermediate N and C pools were only distinctly larger for NT than for CT in the surface soils. The stocks of the stable C and N pools were not affected by the tillage intensity but were positively correlated with the stocks of the clay‐size fraction and oxalate soluble aluminum, indicating a strong influence of site‐specific mineral characteristics on the size of these pools. Our results indicate soil depth‐specific variations in the response of organic matter pools to tillage of different intensity. This means that the potential benefits of decreasing tillage intensity with respect to soil functions that are closely related to organic matter dynamics have to be evaluated separately for surface and sub‐surface soils.     

不同温度下水稻秸秆多孔生物炭结构与电化学性能

针对一步热解活化技术制备的秸秆多孔生物炭的表面活性位点偏少、孔隙结构不发达和电化学性能欠佳的问题,该研究以水稻秸秆微波磷酸水热炭为前驱体,开展500～900 ℃下多孔生物炭的制备试验,探讨不同温度下多孔生物炭的结构及电化学性能。结果表明,随着活化温度的升高,水稻秸秆多孔生物炭产率由50.31%降低到33.47%,800 ℃多孔生物炭的C含量最高,为74.09%。多孔生物炭表面上含有的-OH、C-O-C等含O基团和吡啶氮、吡咯氮、石墨氮和氮的氧化物等含N基团,有利于其在电解质中的润湿性,降低离子转移电阻。随着活化温度的升高,多孔生物炭的碳的无序度和缺陷程度先增加后降低。800 ℃多孔生物炭的表面缺陷较多,其比表面积为1 002.20 m2/g,总孔体积最大为0.79 cm3/g,中孔体积率为45.57%。在三电极的KOH电解质体系下,800 ℃多孔生物炭电极的比电容最大,倍率性能较好,电阻较小,且其在1 A/g电流密度下的比电容为312.81 F/g。800 ℃多孔生物炭制备的对称电容器在228 W/kg功率密度下的能量密度达到10.73 W·h/kg,且在10 A/g电流密度和5 000次循环充放电后,其比电容保持率为95.82%。     

Field investigations of soil hydrological properties of fen soils in North‐East Germany

To investigate the changes of hydrological properties of peat soil in course of soil development, field measurements at 84 fen sites (Histosols) in 19 fen regions of North‐East Germany were carried out. Capillary water supply at all the stages of soil development was not limited up to 70 cm of ground water level. Worsening of plant water supply was the result of mud accumulation in the capillary fringe, ground water levels located deeper than 70 cm below soil surface, low hydraulic conductivity in the ground water zone, and hysteresis effects, affected by high dynamics of ground water level during the day.     

再生水灌溉对土壤表层大孔隙的影响

再生水是农业灌溉重要的水资源，但作为灌溉用水，因其所富含的营养物质含量和有害物质浓度不同，其对土壤基本物理性质及土壤内部孔隙的影响也存在一定差异，为探明不同水质再生水灌溉下土壤的退化情况，该研究进行了为期1.5a的室外大田灌溉试验，对比4种不同水质（W1：预处理后的生活污水，W2：再生水1，W3：再生水2，W4：自来水）灌溉后土壤的多项基本理化性质的变化情况，包括：pH值、电导率（electrical conductivity，EC）、钠吸附比（sodium adsorption ratio， SAR）及土壤大孔隙和大孔隙结构等。结果表明：1）再生水灌溉1.5a后与淡水灌溉相比，土壤SAR和Na⁺含量等理化指标均有一定提高，但除SAR及pH值指标有显著提高外，其他指标变化差异并不显著（P<0.05）不同水质再生水短期灌溉均不会造成表层土壤盐碱化。2）再生水灌溉后土壤的总孔隙度变化并不显著，但不同水质再生水灌溉显著增加了表层土壤的大孔隙度和大孔隙连通性（P<0.05），较W4处理，W1、W2和W3处理的大孔隙度（等效孔隙直径D>50 μm）分别增加了120.76%、131.23%和49.69%，连通孔隙占比和连通性指数也均有所增加，但再生水灌溉也显著堵塞土壤内微小孔隙，进而影响土壤水力性质。3）土壤孔隙网络模型结果表明，再生水灌溉后土壤连通性出现了明显改善，孔隙间的连接通道数量显著提高，孔隙网络发育更加复杂，土壤透气性有所增强。综上所述，短期再生水灌溉并不会导致土壤的严重退化，但从长远灌溉发展的角度看，W1水质处理对土壤是有害的，而适当的调低水质标准，对土壤的负面影响并不显著，甚至在一定程度上改善了土壤的通气性。     

地貌演替序列特征对土壤生物群动态的季节效应

Numerous studies have been devoted to the physical-chemical weathering processes leading to the creation of unique soil formations having their own history that induce soil-biotic diversity. However, the extent to which unique geomorphic formations influence soil biotic seasonal variation is not clear. Our aim was to define seasonal variations of soil biota in soils of different-aged terraces of the Makhtesh Ramon anticline erosional cirque in southern Israel. The strong effect of Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater) erosional fluvial terrace age initiated by climatic changes during the Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene period on seasonal variations in both soil properties and the abundance and composition of soil biota were demonstrated. However, age dependence was not constant and values for observed soil properties and microbial activity were negligible between younger and older terraces for certain seasons, while free-living nematodes along with bacteria-feeding group were strongly dependent on the geomorphic features of the ages throughout the study period.     

Separation of kafirins on surface porous reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography columns

Surface porous high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns were investigated for the separation of kafirins, storage proteins of grain sorghum. Kafirins were successfully separated using C3, C8, and C18 surface porous stationary phases in less than 17 min. Separations using a monolithic C18 stationary phase were also developed and were slightly faster than those achieved on the surface porous C18 stationary phase. However, the resolution was higher on the latter column. Using an ammonium hydroxide/acetonitrile mobile phase, separations were performed on a novel, alkaline stable surface porous C18 stationary phase. The resolution at alkaline pH was not as high, however, as with the traditional acidic acetonitrile mobile phases. In comparison to fully porous stationary phases, the surface porous phases provided higher resolution with much lower separation times (17 versus 40 min). Total peak areas were correlated to total protein content of sorghum (r(2) = 0.96; n = 10), and a method to measure in vitro pepsin digestibility using reversed-phase (RP)-HPLC peak areas showed good correlation to the traditional nitrogen combustion method (r(2) = 0.82; n = 20). Thus, the surface porous stationary phases could be used not only for more rapid separations but also to provide simultaneous information on total protein content and digestibility.