Establishing sorption isotherm to meet phosphorus requirement for tomato seedling growth 1

An Indiana silt loam soil was equilibrated with various amounts of Ca(H₂PO₄)₂ H₂O and a 0.01 M CaCl₂ solution to construct its phosphorus sorption isotherms. Using the isotherms, the P buffering capacity of the soil was calculated and amounts of fertilizer P necessary to give several levels of P in the soil solution, for experiments conducted over a 2 year period, were determined. Twenty‐four day old tomato seedlings were grown and measured for leaf area, root length, dry weights and P concentrations in leaf, petiole, stem and root.

Phosphorus concentration in soil solution increased slowly with the first increment of P added to the soil. Subsequent P additions increased the P concentrations in solution exponentially. The maximum P absorption by the soil was 324 μg P/g soil and the constant related to P binding energy was 1.37. In addition, the soil buffering capacity decreased with an increase in the amount of P in the soil solution.

Plant shoot dry weight increased linearly with P increase in the concentration range 0.65 to 6.5 μM P in soil solution. However, beyond this level the response was low. The leaf area rate of increase in the 0.65 to 6.5 μM P solution concentration range was 75 times that in the 6.5 to 84 μM P. The root length: shoot dry weight ratio decreased with increasing P supply in the soil solution. P uptake by the plants increased with increased P concentration in soil solution. At soil solution concentrations above 6.5 μMP the rate of P uptake in the shoot was 20 times less than the rate for concentrations below 6.5 μM P. Of the P taken up by tomato seedlings about 65% was in the leaf, 13% in the stem, 13% in the petiole and 9% in the root.     

Physiological and genetic responses to boron deficiency in Brassica napus: A review

Abstract

Boron (B) is an essential microelement for the growth and development of plants, and B deficiency affects many biochemical and physiological processes. Brassica napus L. has a high demand for B and is extremely sensitive to B deficiency. Seed yields and oil quality of B. napus are often limited by the low availability of B in soils. Developing new cultivars of B. napus with high B efficiency is therefore required, which requires a greater understanding of responses to B deficiency. Significant genotypic differences in response to low soil B have been observed among varieties of B. napus. B-efficient genotypes can grow and yield normally and usually have a larger root system than B-inefficient genotypes at low B conditions. The mechanisms for B efficiency in B. napus are attributed to B absorption, transportation and utilization. In addition, the cell wall component plays an important role in the tolerance of B. napus to B deficiency, and the B-efficient line presents fewer B-binding sites in the cell walls compared with the B-inefficient line. Genetic and proteomic analyses in B. napus revealed the modulation of a complex network in response to B deficiency. This review gives a comparative overview of the physiological and genetic responses to B deficiency in B. napus and discusses the possible underlying mechanisms of B efficiency.     

A new method to estimate species and biodiversity intactness using empirically derived reference conditions

Critical to the conservation of biodiversity is knowledge of status and trends of species. To that end, monitoring programmes have reported on the state of biodiversity using reference conditions as comparison. Little consensus exists on how reference conditions are defined and how such information is used to index intactness. Most use protected areas or an arbitrary year as reference. This is problematic since protected areas are often spatially biased, while arbitrarily defined reference years are often not sufficiently distant in time. We propose an alternative that relies on empirical estimates of reference conditions. Statistical ranges of reference are estimated and compared with observed occurrence and abundance to index status of individual species. When averaged among species, overall intactness is estimated. We demonstrate the approach using 202-winter mammal tracking sites from the boreal forest of Alberta, Canada. Intactness was estimated at 89 out of 100 with the southern boreal having lowest intactness and greatest human footprint. We suggest empirical predictions of reference conditions be used as baselines for comparing changes in the state of species and biodiversity. Reporting can occur at any spatial (e.g., ecosystem) or hierarchical (e.g., species, guilds, taxonomic group, or overall biodiversity) scale and is easily interpreted (scaled from 0-degraded to 100-intact). When used in a long-term monitoring framework, statistical trends in biodiversity intactness can be estimated, individual status of species assessed, and relevant policy evaluated.     

Vulnerability of Bavarian silty loam soil to compaction under heavy wheel traffic: impacts of tillage method and soil water content

Soil compaction caused by traffic of heavy vehicles and machinery has become a problem of world-wide concern. The aims of this study were to evaluate and compare the changes in bulk density, soil strength, porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and air permeability during sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) harvesting on a typical Bavarian soil (Regosol) as well as to assess the most appropriate variable factors that fit with the effective controlling of subsequent compaction. The field experiments, measurements and laboratory testing were carried out in Freising, Germany. Two tillage systems (conventional plough tillage and reduced chisel tillage) were used in the experiments. The soil water contents were adjusted to 0.17 g g⁻¹ (w₁), 0.27 g g⁻¹ (w₂) and 0.35 g g⁻¹ (w₃).Taking the increase in bulk density, the decrease in air permeability and reduction of wide coarse pore size porosity (−6 kPa) into account, it seems that CT (ploughing to a depth of 0.25 m followed by two passes of rotary harrow to a depth 0.05 m) of plots were compacted to a depth of at least 0.25 m and at most 0.40 m in high soil water (w₃) conditions. The trends were similar for “CT w₁” (low soil water content) plots. However, it seems that “CT w₁” plots were less affected than “CT w₃” plots with regard to bulk density increases under partial load. In contrast, diminishments of wide coarse pores (−6 kPa) and narrow (tight) coarse pores (−30 kPa) were significantly higher in “CT w₁” plots down to 0.4 m. Among CT plots, the best physical properties were obtained at medium soil water (w₂) content. No significant increase in bulk density and no significant decrease in coarse pore size porosity and total porosity below 0.2 m were observed at medium soil water content. The soil water content seemed to be the most decisive factor.It is likely that, CS (chiselling to a depth of 0.13 m followed by two passes of rotary harrow to a depth 0.05 m) plots were less affected by traffic treatments than CT plots. Considering the proportion of coarse pore size porosity (structural porosity) and total porosity, no compaction effects below 0.3 m were found. Medium soil water content (w₂) provides better soil conditions after traffic with regard to wide coarse pore size porosity (−6 kPa), air permeability (at 6 and 30 kPa water suction), total porosity and bulk density. Proportion of wide coarse pores, air permeability and bulk density seems to be suitable parameters to detect soil compaction under the conditions tested.     

Voucher specimens: A way to protect the value of your research

Summary Voucher specimens ensure that the identity of organisms studied in the field or in laboratory experiments can be verified, and ensure that new species concepts can be applied to past research. Guidelines on the collection, preparation, and deposition of voucher specimens and means of referral to them are given. Type specimens and the nomenclature of species names are briefly described.Dedicated to the late Prof. Dr. W. Kühnelt     

A yield-independent, 15N-isotope dilution method to estimate legume symbiotic dependence without a non-N2-fixing reference plant

The proportional contribution of atmospheric N₂ to the N nutrition of lupin (P _atm) was estimated in a field experiment following addition of NH₄Cl of KNO₃ to unconfined microplots (1.5 m²) at 2.5 g N m^-2 (10 atom% ¹⁵N). The integrated ¹⁵N enrichment, or mean pool abundance, of nitrate extracted from 0- to 15-cm samples taken under the lupin crop on eight occasion between 28 and 190 days after sowing was used as the reference criterion to estimate P _atm by the ¹⁵N-isotope dilution technique. Estimates of P _atm were similar to those obtained using canola as a non-fixing reference plant, but were higher than estimates obtained using a yield-dependent model. Use of mean pool abundance obviates the need for a non-fixing reference plant, and the frequent sampling and isotope-ratio analysis of the legume biomass required with the yield-dependent model is unnecessary. However, further work is needed to validate a sampling strategy commensurate with the growth of the legume roots.     

A simple bioindication method to discriminate olive orchard management types using the soil arthropod fauna

Bioindication has proved to be a useful tool to evaluate the state of conservation of an ecosystem based on the living organisms it contains, and thus many studies have used arthropods as bioindicators. In the cultivation of olive (Olea europaea L.), several management methods are employed, from organic production to conventional intensive farming. This study uses arthropod fauna as a means of discriminating between management types and takes into account the features of sampling methods and the data set used in order to make the discriminant method more effective.A total of 15 olive orchards were considered under three types of management (organic production, conventional non-tillage, and traditional conventional farming). During the summer of 2007, sampling was undertaken fortnightly using pitfall traps in the interior (under the canopy) as well as exterior (in the orchards lanes) soil. The samples were identified to the order level or taxonomic categories easiest to recognise, and two datasets were built (“management type” and “organic/non-organic”). A Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) was applied with cross validation by the leave-one-out (LOO) method, for all the scenarios analysed.The olive orchards under organic management registered greater abundance, diversity, and richness of orders. Also, significant differences between management types were detected with respect to the main groups, particularly between organic and non-organic. Formicidae and Coleoptera predominated in the interior and exterior soil, respectively. The soil-arthropod community considered at the order level proved useful to discriminate between management types, especially between organic and non-organic approaches. In light of the results, sampling of the interior soil and the use of the set of orders that significantly differ in the test of mean differences are suggested in order to optimise the discriminant analysis. In this way, classification accuracy reaches 100%, and 99% using cross validation with LOO.     

A comparison of two colorimetric assays,based upon Lowry and Bradford techniques,to estimate total protein in soil extracts

Soil extracts usually contain large quantities of dissolved humified organic material, typically reflected by high polyphenolic content. Since polyphenols seriously confound quantification of extracted protein, minimising this interference is important to ensure measurements are representative. Although the Bradford colorimetric assay is used routinely in soil science for rapid quantification protein in soil-extracts, it has several limitations. We therefore investigated an alternative colorimetric technique based on the Lowry assay (frequently used to measure protein and humic substances as distinct pools in microbial biofilms). The accuracies of both the Bradford assay and a modified Lowry microplate method were compared in factorial combination. Protein was quantified in soil-extracts (extracted with citrate), including standard additions of model protein (BSA) and polyphenol (Sigma H1675-2). Using the Lowry microplate assay described, no interfering effects of citrate were detected even with concentrations up to 5 times greater than are typically used to extract soil protein. Moreover, the Bradford assay was found to be highly susceptible to two simultaneous and confounding artefacts: 1) the colour development due to added protein was greatly inhibited by polyphenol concentration, and 2) substantial colour development was caused directly by the polyphenol addition. In contrast, the Lowry method enabled distinction between colour development from protein and non-protein origin, providing a more accurate quantitative analysis. These results suggest that the modified-Lowry method is a more suitable measure of extract protein (defined by standard equivalents) because it is less confounded by the high polyphenolic content which is so typical of soil extracts.     

测定土壤有效钾的新方法—阳离子交换树脂膜法

对采自全国各地 2 0个土壤样品进行测定 .结果表明 ,阳离子交换树脂膜埋置法测定土壤有效钾的最佳埋置时间为 2 0min .树脂膜法测定的土壤钾值与中性醋酸铵法测定的土壤有效钾和植物实际吸钾量之间具有极显著的相关性 .国产树脂膜可代替进口树脂膜用于土壤有效钾测定     

A method of extracting earthworms from cores of soil with minimum damage to the soil

 Lumbricid earthworms have often been shown to increase the growth of plants. The earthworms and plants were generally grown together in the same soil, although sometimes earthworms were reluctant to enter the soil. It was not possible to isolate the mechanism for the increased growth, as no method was available to extract the earthworms with no damage to the soil before the plants were grown. A method is described which enabled Aporrectodea caliginosa, but not A. trapezoides, to enter all cores, and which extracted A. caliginosa from the cores probably with minimum damage to the soil. Received: 20 October 1998     

Increased supply of boron to swiss chard plants did not affect the level of boron in a cell wall-bound form: A possible application to the diagnosis of nutrition of plants

Swiss chard plants were water-cultured under various B levels ranging from 0.01 to 20 g B m^-3 culture solutions for 4 weeks. The B content of the shoot increased with the increase in the B supply. The increase, however, was entirely ascribed to acetate buffer (20 mol m^-3 pH 4.0)-soluble B, and the content of acetate buffer-insoluble, cell wall-bound B did not increase.. More than ca. 80% of the cell wall-bound B was associated with rhamnogalacturonan II under various B levels. The amount of acetate buffer-soluble B could be estimated from the B levels in the expressed leaf sap.     

A simple approach to soil loss prediction: a revised Morgan–Morgan–Finney model

A revised version of the Morgan–Morgan–Finney model for prediction of annual soil loss by water is presented. Changes have been made to the way soil particle detachment by raindrop impact is simulated, which now takes account of plant canopy height and leaf drainage, and a component has been added for soil particle detachment by flow. When tested against the same data set used to validate the original version at the erosion plot scale, predictions made with the revised model gave slopes of a reduced major-axis regression line closer to 1.0 when compared with measured values. The coefficient of efficiency, for sites with measured runoff and soil loss, increased from 0.54 to 0.65. When applied to a new data set for erosion plots in Denmark, Spain, Greece and Nepal, very high coefficients of efficiency of 0.94 for runoff and 0.84 for soil loss were obtained. The revised version was applied to two small catchments by dividing them into land elements and routing annual runoff and sediment production over the land surface from one element to another. The results indicate that, when used in this way, the model provides useful information on the source areas of sediment, sediment delivery to streams and annual sediment yield.     

Rapid urbanization in China: A real challenge to soil protection and food security

To feed its 1.3 billion population with a per capita cultivated land far below the world average, China is already facing a great challenge of land scarcity. Accelerated urbanization along with explosive economic growth has further worsened the shortage of agricultural land over the last two decades. Increasing concern over land is expressed in terms of soil availability for grain production and soil quality degradation. Based on official statistics and data derived from satellite imagery, dynamics of China's cultivated land over the past two decades is outlined and the causes and destinations of cultivated land loss are analyzed in this paper. Particularly, urbanization-related land-use changes and their spatial variation across the country are demonstrated. Furthermore, impacts of urbanization and associated waste disposals, consequent shifts of soil utilization on areal soil quality are expatiated. It is initially concluded that China's cultivated land is shrinking at a rather shocking rate. Although conversion to urban and industrial uses took up a comparatively small share of total cultivated land loss, urbanization should still be considered as a great threat to future agricultural production for several reasons. Urbanization is increasing the risk of soil pollution through waste disposal and acid deposition derived from urban air pollution. Facing rapid urbanization, China is making positive policy responses to the challenge of decreasing availability of cultivated land and offering unremitting efforts towards the goal of national food security.     

Root and rhizomicrobial respiration: A review of approaches to estimate respiration by autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms in soil

Partitioning the root‐derived CO₂ efflux from soil (frequently termed rhizosphere respiration) into actual root respiration (RR, respiration by autotrophs) and rhizomicrobial respiration (RMR, respiration by heterotrophs) is crucial in determining the carbon (C) and energy balance of plants and soils. It is also essential in quantifying C sources for rhizosphere microorganisms and in estimation of the C contributing to turnover of soil organic matter (SOM), as well as in linking net ecosystem production (NEP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE). Artificial‐environment studies such as hydroponics or sterile soils yield unrealistic C‐partitioning values and are unsuitable for predicting C flows under natural conditions. To date, several methods have been suggested to separate RR and RMR in nonsterile soils: 1) component integration, 2) substrate‐induced respiration, 3) respiration by excised roots, 4) comparison of root‐derived ¹⁴CO₂ with rhizomicrobial ¹⁴CO₂ after continuous labeling, 5) isotope dilution, 6) model‐rhizodeposition technique, 7) modeling of ¹⁴CO₂ efflux dynamics, 8) exudate elution, and 9) δ¹³C of CO₂ and microbial biomass. This review describes the basic principles and assumptions of these methods and compares the results obtained in the original papers and in studies designed to compare the methods. The component‐integration method leads to strong disturbance and non‐proportional increase of CO₂ efflux from different sources. Four of the methods (5 to 8) are based on the pulse labeling of shoots in a ¹⁴CO₂ atmosphere and subsequent monitoring of ¹⁴CO₂ efflux from the soil. The model‐rhizodeposition technique and exudate‐elution procedure strongly overestimate RR and underestimate RMR. Despite alternative assumptions, isotope dilution and modeling of ¹⁴CO₂‐efflux dynamics yield similar results. In crops and grasses (wheat, ryegrass, barley, buckwheat, maize, meadow fescue, prairie grasses), RR amounts on average to 48±5% and RMR to 52±5% of root‐derived CO₂. The method based on the ¹³C isotopic signature of CO₂ and microbial biomass is the most promising approach, especially when the plants are continuously labeled in ¹³CO₂ or ¹⁴CO₂ atmosphere. The “difference” methods, i.e., trenching, tree girdling, root‐exclusion techniques, etc., are not suitable for separating the respiration by autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms because the difference methods neglect the importance of microbial respiration of rhizodeposits.     

Prolegomena to sediment and flow connectivity in the landscape: A GIS and field numerical assessment

This paper presents two new definitions of sediment and water flux connectivity (from source through slopes to channels/sinks) with examples of applications to sediment fluxes. The two indices of connectivity are operatively defined, one (IC) that can be calculated in a GIS environment and represents a connectivity assessment based on landscape's information, and another that can be evaluated in the field (FIC) through direct assessment. While IC represent a potential connectivity characteristic of the local landscape, since nothing is used to represent the characteristics of causative events, FIC depend on the intensities of the events that have occurred locally and that have left visible signs in the fields, slopes, etc.IC and FIC are based on recognized major components of hydrological connectivity, such as land use and topographic characteristics. The definitions are based on the fact that the material present at a certain location A reaches another location B with a probability that depends on two components: the amount of material present in A and the route from A to B. The distance to B is weighted by the local gradient and the type of land use that the flow encounters on its route to B, while the amount of material present in A depends on the catchment surface, slope gradient and type of land use of said catchment.Although IC and FIC are independent from each other, and are calculated using different equations and different inputs, they complement each other. In fact, their combined use improves IC's accuracy. Hence, connectivity classes can afterward be rated using IC alone.This procedure has been applied in a medium-size watershed in Tuscany (Italy) with the aim of evaluating connectivity, identifying connected sediment sources and verifying the effects of mitigation measures.The proposed indices can be used for monitoring changes in connectivity in areas with high geomorphological or human induced evolution rates.     

A preliminary assessment of the potential for using Pbex measurement to estimate soil redistribution rates on cultivated slopes in the Sichuan Hilly Basin of China

In order to assess its potential for estimating soil redistribution rates, the naturally occurring fallout radionuclide ²¹⁰Pb_ex has been used in parallel with ¹³⁷Cs, derived from the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapon testing in the 1950s to 1970s, to estimate rates of soil redistribution on a sloping field with traditional erosion control measures located near Jiajia Village, Jianyang County, in the Sichuan Hilly Basin of China. The local ²¹⁰Pb_ex reference inventory of 12,860 Bq m^− 2 is higher than those reported for many other areas of the world and may reflect the influence of cloudy weather in preventing ²¹⁰Pb released to the atmosphere across the local region moving up into the upper troposphere, where is would be more widely dispersed. The mean ²¹⁰Pb_ex and ¹³⁷Cs inventories measured in cores collected from the upper part of the field with an average slope of 10° were 8028 Bq m^− 2 and 993 Bq m^− 2, respectively, and the equivalent values for the lower part of the field, where the slopes are steeper (20°) were 11,388 Bq m^− 2 and 1299 Bq m^− 2. The pattern of post-fallout ²¹⁰Pb_ex and ¹³⁷Cs redistribution on the sloping field reflects not only the effects of water erosion and redistribution by tillage, but also the local traditional practice of “Tiaoshamiantu”, whereby sediment trapped in the ditches is returned to the fields by the farmer. The estimates of annual rates of soil loss provided by the ²¹⁰Pb_ex measurement are closely comparable with those derived from the ¹³⁷Cs measurements and are consistent with existing knowledge for the study area. The results obtained from this study confirm the potential for using ²¹⁰Pb_ex measurement to estimate soil erosion rates over medium-term timescale of 50–100 years. By combining the estimates of erosion rates provided by the ²¹⁰Pb_ex and ¹³⁷Cs measurements, the weighted mean net soil loss was estimated to be 48.7 t ha^− 1 year^− 1 from the upper subfield and 16.9 t ha^− 1 year^− 1 from the lower subfield. These rates are considerably lower than the erosion rates obtained from runoff plot measurements in the local area. It is suggested that the traditional erosion control practices and the practice of “Tiaoshamiantu” have a significant effect in reducing soil loss and conserving valuable cultivated soil on sloping fields in the Sichuan Hilly Basin.     

A modified method based on arsenomolybdate complex to quantify cellulase activities: Application to litters

In this study a simplified methodology adapted from that of Somogyi-Nelson is described in order to quantify cellulase activities in natural environments such as litters. We recommend (i) reducing drastically Na₂SO₄ amounts (from 90 to 4 g) to improve solubility and (ii) reading absorbance at 870 nm since the highest values for the reduced arsenomolybdate complex were obtained for this wavelength.     

Plough marks as a tool to assess soil erosion rates: A case study in Axum (Ethiopia)

From the antiquity, the hilly landscape around the city of Axum in northern Ethiopia has been terraced and extensively used for agriculture purposes. Impacts of the “ard” plough on protruding and/or buried boulder at a depth less than the tillage depth produce scratches on their sides or their top. The spatial relationship among plough marks and rock surface orientations gives information on the ploughing direction, whereas the relative height from the present ground surface to the top of the marks and information on the age of cultivation can be used to assess soil loss rates. Parameters to define plough mark orientation were defined and measured in the field on boulders with plough marks within a study terrace located in an archaeological area with an approx of 2040 year age. These parameters are height from the ground, dip, slope and frequency.     

A model for estimating soil moisture changes as an aid to irrigation scheduling and crop water-use studies: I. Operational details and description

Abstract. A model was developed to predict evapotranspiration and soil moisture changes, which could be used either for scheduling irrigation or crop water-use studies. The general form of the model is reported here, and its validation for sugarbeet and potatoes is described in a subsequent paper. The soil characteristics required are depth of topsoil, texture or available water capacity of topsoil and subsoil, and whether a significant slope exists. The plant characteristics required are species and planting date. Meteorological data used to calculate potential evapotranspiration are obtained from the Meteorological Office synoptic network, but local rainfall data are preferred.
The model estimates potential evapotranspiration of a reference crop, and uses this to model canopy and root development for all crops at each location. Available options allow for observed data on canopy or root development to be incorporated into the simulations. Estimates of potential evapotranspiration for each crop are then adjusted to allow for the effects of water stress, taking soil characteristics, root depth and evapotranspiration demand into account.
The model enables growers to reduce the risks of under- or over-watering their crops and has proved successful in irrigation management.     

Stratified vegetation cover index: A new way to assess vegetation impact on soil erosion

Vegetation cover is an important parameter used in assessing the relationship between vegetation and soil erosion. However, the intensity of soil erosion actually changes not only with vegetation cover but also with differences in vegetation type and structure. How to integrate the cumulative effect of the different growth forms making up a vegetation community into one index for inclusion in soil loss predictive equations is an open research question. This paper proposes a method to separately measure the cover of different vegetation strata, estimate their contribution to reducing soil loss, and then to integrate this into a single vegetation index called the stratified vegetation cover index (C_s). The results show that C_s is more effective than projected vegetation cover for the assessment of soil erosion and also can overcome the disadvantages of vegetation indices such as NDVI. This means that C_s is a good substitute for vegetation cover or cover-related vegetation indices in studies on the relationship between vegetation and soil erosion. The concept of Cs may help the local governors or forest department understand the importance of vegetation structure and make right management decisions.