Fungal but not bacterial soil communities recover after termination of decadal nitrogen additions to boreal forest

The rate at which formerly nitrogen loaded forests will return to their natural nitrogen-limited state is of considerable scientific and societal interest. Yet the sensitivity of soil microorganisms to these putative changes is mainly unknown. We report effects on fungal and bacterial communities caused by two decades of chronic nitrogen fertilization and subsequent changes 14 years after termination of nitrogen load. We compare these changes in community composition with those observed in natural nitrogen supply and pH gradients using DNA fingerprinting methods and Sanger sequencing.Soil fungal ITS length-heterogeneity profiles correlated equally well to carbon-to-nitrogen ratios and pH. Sequencing results indicated a clear decrease in the relative abundance of amplicons ascribed to known ectomycorrhizal fungi in both natural and experimental high nitrogen conditions, and a recovery of species in the terminated nitrogen treatment. The dominant sequences in low nitrogen soils were identified as members of Piloderma spp. Terminal restriction fragment length profiles of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene were linked to carbon-to-nitrogen ratios and pH in the natural locations but to soil nitrogen in the nitrogen addition experiment that had low variability in pH. Sequencing revealed the dominance of Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria in all soils but also showed a marked increase in Bacteroidetes in high nitrogen treatment not evident in the natural high nitrogen and high pH environments. Proteobacteria sequences included described strains from high-organic and low-pH systems that are believed be involved in degradation of complex plant material.There were signs of recovery of fungal but not of bacterial communities in the sense that community's in terminated nitrogen addition plots did not differ significantly from those in control plots or from the low nitrogen stands in the natural nitrogen supply gradient. The need of further examination of the seemingly functionally redundant bacterial communities is stressed.     

Successional trends in the characteristics of soil nematode communities in cropped and fallow lands in Senegal (Sonkorong)

Soil nematode communities in the 0–15 cm soil layer are used as indicators for describing the processes of fallow succession in the semi-arid zone of West Africa (Senegal). Abundance of plant feeding nematodes, non-plant feeding nematodes, plant parasite index (PPI), species richness and Shannon evenness of plant parasitic nematodes were measured at five stages of succession: fields, early (1–3 years), intermediate (8–10 years), old (18–20 years) fallows, and forest stage. These nematological indexes were analyzed simultaneously by multivariate analysis to show the indicative properties of nematode communities. Overall, changes in abundance of nematode groups, PPI and diversity, show continuous trends from early fallow to mature stages of the succession; these trends parallel theoretical trends in secondary succession. In addition, soil nematode parameters were meaningful and expressed interactions of various uncontrolled factors with successional processes, such as environmental conditions or cropping history. During the 3 years of the survey, the structure of nematode communities, described by index analysis, showed little temporal change and supported the use of nematodes as stable indicators.     

Structure and function of microbial communities in the rhizosphere of Scots pine after tree-felling

We evaluated changes occurring in the rhizosphere microbial communities of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) due to tree-felling and decrease of the photosynthetic C flow into the soil under field conditions over one growing season. Samples were taken from tree rhizospheres, freshly felled stump rhizospheres and bulk soil. We used culture dependent (CFU counts, community level physiological profiles, CLPPs) and independent methods (fluorogenic MUF-substrates, PLFA pattern and PCR-DGGE) to monitor the microbial communities in soil samples. The numbers of cultivable bacteria and amounts of phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere of trees were significantly higher compared with those in the bulk soil. The organic C consuming community measured by CLPP was stimulated directly after the tree-felling in stump rhizospheres; utilization of the disintegration components of cellulose, hemicellulose and chitin increased. Furthermore, bacterial and fungal biomass as well as chitin decomposers (CFU) increased in the stump rhizosphere. After 11 weeks of tree-felling the stump rhizosphere soluble PO₄-P and NH₄-N as well as amounts of total C and N began to resemble the concentrations measured in the bulk soil. However, the stump rhizosphere community structure detected by PLFA and PCR-DGGE still resembled that of the tree rhizosphere.     

Functional activity of soil microbial communities in post-fire pine stands of Tolyatti,Samara oblast

The state of microbial communities in gray-humus soils (Eutric Fluvic Arenosols (Ochric)) of pine stands in the city of Tolyatti after forest fires of 2010 is analyzed. It is shown that fires exert negative effects on the structure and metabolic activity of microbial communities in the postpyrogenic soils. The content of the carbon of microbial biomass and the intensity of microbial respiration in the upper organic horizons of the post-fire plots decrease by 6.5 and 3.4 times, respectively, in comparison with those in the soils of background plots. However, the fire has not affected the studied microbiological parameters of the soils at the depths of more than 10 cm. The maximum content of the carbon of microbial biomass carbon and the maximum intensity of microbial respiration have been found in the subsurface AY2 and АС horizons two–three years the fire. An increase in the microbial metabolic quotient (the ratio of soil respiration to microbial biomass) attests to the disturbance of the ecophysiological state of soil microbial communities after the pyrogenic impact.     

Fungal biomass and nitrogen in decomposing scots pine needle litter

The development of fungal biomass and increase of amounts of N was studied in decomposing pine needle litter for about 3 yr. After a relatively rapid increase of the amount of mycelium the fungal biomass became rather constant after about 2 yr. The absolute amount of N in the needles increased between the 4th and the 16th months and this increase was correlated to the increase of fungal biomass in the needles.     

Fungal flora of soil polluted with copper

The effects of copper pollution on the soil fungal flora was investigated. Soils treated with 100, 200, 400, 800 or 1600 μg Cu g^?1 were used for experiments to study changes in fungal populations, especially the development and dominance of copper-tolerant fungi. Fungi were sampled 1, 3 and 5 months after copper treatment.All the correlation coefficients between the copper contents and the number of fungal colonies plated were positive. The higher the copper concentration in soil, the more 1000 μ Cu ml^?1 tolerant fungi were isolated. The relative number of 1000 μg Cu mr^?1 tolerant fungi from the soil treated with 1600 μg Cu g^?1 was about 30% of those of the control 14 days after treatment. Within the limits of this experiment, the increase in fungal populations was directly correlated with the increase of dominant Cu-tolerant fungi.From control soils, containing low quantities of copper, 1000 μg Cu ml^?1 tolerant fungi were also isolated; whereas, from soils containing high amounts of copper, some Cu-sensitive fungi were isolated. Most of the 1000 μg Cu ml^?1 tolerant fungi were Penicillium spp. It was concluded that the genus Penicillium may be dominant in soils polluted with copper.     

松木屑发酵过程中松节油含量及堆体理化性质变化

为利用生物发酵技术改善松木屑作为食用菌培养基质的性质,尤其是在降低松节油含量及植物毒性的研究,试验采用哈茨木霉（Trichoderma harzianum）RM80和苏云芽孢金杆菌（Bacillus thuringiensis）FJ26组成的复合微生物菌剂处理松木屑,系统评估发酵前后松木屑中松节油含量、理化性质、营养成分、酶活性及种子发芽指数的变化情况。结果表明,添加复合菌剂后松木屑中松节油含量明显降低,其中α-蒎烯减少至（1.67 ± 0.09） μg/g,降低80%,β-蒎烯未检出,降低100%,种子发芽指数提高至94.52%,木屑腐熟程度高,植物毒性低,食用菌菌丝萌发正常,生长速率快,说明发酵后的松杉木屑可作为食用菌的栽培基质。发酵初期微生物分解有机物产生有机酸,pH值降低,随着有机酸挥发,含氮有机物产生,促使氨的形成,堆料pH值升高,基质中铵态氮含量上升。此外,整个发酵过程中半纤维素酶、中性木聚糖酶、甘露聚糖酶与松节油变化呈正相关性,以中性木聚糖酶贡献度最大,揭示松木屑发酵过程中微生物菌群对半纤维素的利用较多,中性木聚糖酶活性对整个发酵进程起到关键性作用,为发酵工艺优化提供了理论依据。该研究为松木屑的有效利用和食用菌产业的可持续发展提供了重要的科学依据和技术支持,促进了废弃生物质资源的循环利用和食用菌产业的绿色发展。     

The effect of mixing ground leaf litters to soil on the development of pitch pine ectomycorrhizal and soil arthropod communities in natural soil microcosm systems

The addition of leaf litter to soil influences both the nutrients and polyphenols of soil. It is likely that contrasting nutrient and polyphenolic composition of different plant litters may affect plant growth, mycorrhizal and soil arthropod communities. We report results from a microcosm experiment of effects of incorporation of three single leaf litter species and a mixture of all three on pitch pine seedling growth, their ectomycorrhizal community and soil arthropod community. The three litter species (pine, oak and huckleberry) represent co-dominant species within the New Jersey pine barrens ecosystem. We show that the leaf litters have different composition of nutrients and polyphenols, with rooting matrix containing pine litter having lower inorganic nitrogen content (1.6 μg g⁻¹) than oak (19.9 μg g⁻¹) and huckleberry (4.4 μg g⁻¹), but oak litter having the highest extractable phosphorus (13.3 cf. 0-0.08 μg g⁻¹) and total phenol content and lowest condensed tannin content. These differences were imparted to rooting matrix of homogenized humic (Oa) layer of pine barrens soil to which milled leaf litter was added and used in the microcosms. Pitch pine seedlings grew significantly better in un-amended rooting matrix (0.33±0.02 g) than any of the litter treatments (0.15±0.02-0.17±0.01 g) and tissue P concentrations tracked phosphate concentrations in the rooting matrix. Total P accumulation into plant tissue was higher in oak than control, attributable to a significantly higher (P<0.05) accumulation in roots (3.3±0.19 mg g⁻¹) compared to other species (1.1±0.04-2.3±0.08 mg g⁻¹). No relationship was seen between tissue N concentration and soil N, but seedlings growing in huckleberry litter amended soil accumulated less N than control. The effect of leaf litters on the ectomycorrhizal community composition were determined by PCA (first two axes accounted for 81% of the variance) and stepwise multiple regression analysis. These analyses showed that huckleberry leaf litter had a significant impact on mycorrhizal community composition with morphotypes Cg and DB being more abundant in the presence of huckleberry litter (178±13 cf. 68±15-106±15 for Cg and 141±11 cf. 88±23-111±18 for DB) and its influence of elevating nitrate nitrogen, organic nitrogen, total phenols and protein precipitation content of the rooting matrix. Mycorrhizal morphotypes BS and SB were significantly more abundant in the community where these soil factors were low in the absence of leaf litter addition. Total ectomycorrhizal abundance was negatively related to hydrolysable tannin concentration in the rooting matrix (r²=0.132, P<0.05). There was no influence of leaf litter type on mite density (dominated by non-burrowing phthiracarids), but collembolan density (dominated by Folsomia spp) showed a greater than threefold reduction in population density in the presence of leaf litter (F=6.47, P<0.05). Collembolan density was positively correlated with mycorrhizal morphotypes GS and SB (P<0.05) and negatively related to morphotypes DB (P<0.05) and soil extractable NH₄-N (P<0.05), suggesting a possible selection of fungal species in their diet and a relationship between collembola and nitrification.     

长期撂荒对黑土土壤有机碳组分的影响

为明确长期撂荒对黑土不同土层土壤有机碳及其组分的影响,以吉林公主岭黑土长期定位试验为对象,选取不施肥和撂荒2个处理,采用改良的Walkley-Black土壤有机碳分组方法,研究不同层次(0～0.2、0.2～0.4和0.4～0.6 m)土壤有机碳及其组分的变化.结果表明:(1)0～0.6 m土壤剖面中,撂荒处理下土壤有机...     

适宜操作条件提高松木屑超临界水气化制氢效果

为了解操作条件对生物质在超临界水中气化制氢过程的影响,该文以松木屑作为原料,在反应温度500℃、反应压力30 MPa、停留时间30 min、木屑质量分数8%、粒径8~16目的条件下,探索了Fe、Na2CO3、Cu SO4 3种催化剂对制氢过程的催化活性:FeNa2CO3Cu SO4。选用Fe催化剂,考察了反应压力30 MPa、停留时间30 min、反应温度(420~500℃)、木屑质量分数(8%~40%)、粒径(2~1 000目)对制氢过程的影响。试验结果表明:Fe催化剂质量分数增大,能显著提高制氢效果;随着温度的升高,气化率、碳气化率、氢气化率及氢气产量均相应增大;木屑质量分数越低,气化率和氢气化率越高;粒径对气化结果影响不大;在优化后的操作条件下(反应温度500℃、反应压力30 MPa、停留时间30 min、Fe质量分数2%、松木屑质量分数8%、粒径8~16目),H2的摩尔分数、氢气化率、氢气产量分别达到42.1%、98.1%、6.62 mol/kg。该文研究结果可为该技术今后的工业化发展和应用提供参考。     

Effect of amending materials on growth of radish plant in salinized soil

The critical Na levels in soil which restricted seed germination and growth of radish, and effect of the amending materials on reducing the salinity hazard were determined by performing petri dish and pot experiments. The plants were grown in amended salinized soil in a phytotron for 21 days. Excess accumulation of Na in cells suppressed seed germination and plant growth. The critical Na level in control soil which restricted germination and growth was 12.5mg Na/g soil. At the same salinity level, amending materials promoted seed germination and plant growth mainly by inhibiting the excess flow of Na into the cell through ion holding mechanism. Among the materials used, the commercial manure of 4 months old held greater amount of Na(3.7mg/g) and thus more efficiently reduced the ion damage. Plants grown under such treatment had the highest dry matter yield (28.Gmg/plant), water content was normal(84%), and the ratio for Na in root to Na in plant's shoot was 2.4. As for the case of plant grown in control soil the respective data were 8. 5mg, 54%, and 4.8.     

玉米秸秆生物炭对休耕期农田地表反照率及热物理性质的影响

为了探究生物炭输入后对休耕期农田地表反照率及土壤热物理性质的影响,通过田间小区试验,研究在休耕期生物炭影响下农田地表反照率、土壤温度及土壤热物理性质的变化情况.本试验共设置3个处理:CK处理(不施用生物炭)、BC10处理(生物炭施用量为1.0 kg·m-2·年-1)、BC40处理(生物炭施用量为4.0?kg·m-2·年...     

Effects of sulfamethoxazole on soil microbial communities after adding substrate

The effect of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) on soil bacteria was studied using two methods (leucine incorporation and Biolog plates) of estimating pollution-induced community tolerance (PICT). SMX was added to an agricultural soil in a microcosm setup. The addition of different substrates (manure and alfalfa), and a non-amended soil, were also studied over 5 weeks. PICT measurements were validated by comparison with other measurements. Community structure was assessed using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and community-level physiological profiling (CLPP), and bacterial growth was estimated using leucine incorporation. Increased PICT was found at SMX concentrations of 20 and 500 mg SMX kg⁻¹ soil in samples containing manure and alfalfa, and at 500 mg SMX kg⁻¹ soil in non-amended soil (only concentration tested) using leucine incorporation. No effect was seen at 1 mg SMX kg⁻¹ soil. It was not necessary to add any substrate to increase the microbial activity in order to detect the effects of a bacteriostatic toxicant such as SMX when using measures based on bacterial growth. Direct inhibition of bacterial growth 2 days after SMX addition was correlated to PICT. No major changes in PICT due to SMX addition were found when using Biolog plates. However, there was a tendency towards increased PICT at the higher SMX concentrations in the manure-amended soil. Thus, different methods of detecting PICT have different sensitivities in detecting the toxic effects of SMX. The effects of substrate amendment were reflected by changes in the microbial community, estimated using both PLFA and CLPP. SMX was found to have a clear effect at the two highest levels of SMX in the manure- and alfalfa-amended soils, with an increase in fungal and a decrease in bacterial PLFAs. Little difference in the PLFA composition was found in the non-amended soil. CLPP was only affected at the highest SMX concentration. Although different variables showed different sensitivities to the effects of SMX, the results were consistent with an initial decrease in bacterial growth rates of sensitive species, which eventually transformed into more tolerant species, altering the community composition.     

Changes in the structure of soil microbial biomass under fallow

The number and biomass of various groups of microorganisms in fallow soils is greater as compared to plowed soils. The microbial biomass in all fallow and plowed soils is dominated by fungal mycelium (from 90% in the top horizons to 97% in the lower ones). The part of spores in the fungal biomass is higher in plowed soils (from 9% in the top horizons to 4% in the lower ones) as compared to fallow soils (3.5?C6%). The fallow soils are characterized by the greater part of prokaryotic microorganisms in the biomass, and the reserves and structure of the microbial biomass are more similar to those in the undisturbed soils. These characteristics changed during a ten-year-long period in a soddy-calcareous soil and during a 25-year-long period in a leached chernozem.     

休闲与施肥对夏玉米生长季节土壤矿质氮的影响

采用田间试验方法研究了休闲、施肥与夏玉米生长季土壤矿质氮动态的关系.结果表明:种植玉米可明显降低0～200cm土层硝态氮残留量,且主要减少100cm土层以下的硝态氮残留量,但对铵态氮残留量及其剖面分布无明显影响.夏玉米吐丝期,种植玉米0～200cm土层的硝态氮残留量是198.1kg·hm-2,休闲小区的残留量是562.2kg·hm2,前者比后者降低364.1kg·hm-2.施肥可明显增加土壤中硝态氮残留,并影响其剖面分布,但对铵态氮的影响较小.夏玉米出苗期施用氮肥处理的0～200cm土层的硝态氮残留量是857.3kg·hm-2,而不施氮肥处理仅为165.7kg·hm-2,前者比后者增加4.2倍;与不施肥相比,出苗期施肥不仅增加表层土壤硝态氮含量,且表层硝态氮随降水和灌水淋失到200cm土层;施肥处理收获期60cm以下土层硝态氮含量明显增加,特别是在180～200cm存在硝态氮的累积峰.     

Temporal changes in soil aggregates and water erosion after a wildfire in a Mediterranean pine forest

The evolution of soil structure after a forest fire was studied on two zones representatives of a typical Mediterranean Pine forest. These zones were in opposite slope orientation but with similar topographical and pedological characteristics. Changes in soil macro-aggregation and water stable micro-aggregation were monitored seasonally during a year after the fire. The water erosion patterns were also studied from August 1993, immediately after the fire, to the end of 1996.The first 5 cm of soil depth were the most affected by fire temperature, showing clear differences on aggregate distribution and temporal variability between zones. In the north-facing soil, a substantial and gradual recovery on soil aggregation was observed mainly in the fraction greater than 5-mm diameter; this reached an increase of 27% in mass of aggregates. In the south slope, the evolution of aggregation was smooth and restricted to the fraction minor than 0.1 mm. These differences between zones are reflected also in their values on soil cohesiveness and compaction, being lesser in the south-oriented soils. Values of erosion parameters show that both zones have the higher soil losses during the immediate period (4 months) after the fire, being more important in the south zone. This zone produced more sediment and runoff (52.42% and 29.95%, respectively) than north-facing soils for the whole period studied.     

Disturbance and resilience in soil animal communities

I discuss basic ecological concepts on disturbance and resilience, and give examples from forest soils. There are basically three types of disturbances: (i) pulse disturbances that are parts of ecosystem dynamics and to which most organisms are adapted, (ii) large infrequent disturbances, and (iii) press disturbances, which are usually anthropogenic and to which organisms are seldom pre-adapted. Resilience has two meanings, engineering resilience and ecological resilience. Ecological resilience recognizes that ecosystems have several stability domains and no fixed global equilibria. It is often the most relevant in ecology, and is defined as the magnitude of disturbance that can be absorbed by an ecosystem before its structure and the processes controlling its behaviour change, and it moves into another stability domain. Diversity and heterogeneity are necessary for long-term ecological resilience. I propose that reorganization of soil communities usually takes a long time and involves dynamic interactions between many species. Single snapshots are insufficient to examine resilience. Small-scale studies and experiments are not necessarily relevant for large-scale landscape changes. Key questions deal with the ability of species to recolonize disturbed areas by dispersal, the survival of species and structures in disturbed areas, and how these processes contribute to ecological resilience.     

Influence of soil properties on the population and activity of geophagous earthworms after five years of bare fallow

Many soil properties influence earthworm populations and activity. To determine which properties are of significance, a broad collection of soils was investigated. Samples from these different soils were kept bare at one site in large plots (3 Mg soil per plot) to liminate crop and weather interference and to isolate the dominating mechanisms of earthworm effects. Earthworm density, biomass, and tunnelling activity were assessed after 5 years of bare fallow. All earthworm parameters varied strongly. Earthworms increased soil respiration by their tunnelling activity, and in turn increased microbial activity and propagated the loss of organic C. Earthworm abundance ranged from 12 to 274 m^-2 and was about 10 times greater than on cropped soils. The range in abundance was mainly caused by variations in the numbers of juveniles. The average soil moisture content was the only soil property among the many properties investigated that was consistently correlated with earthworm abundance and biomass. Even after 5 years of bare fallow with almost no addition of fresh plant biomass and with little water loss by plant transpiration, the earthworm population was controlled by water stress and not by food stress. We therefore conclude that high water consumption by productive crops may degrade the habitat for geophagous earthworms.