Laboratory methods for the estimation of infiltration rate of soil crusts in the Tabernas Desert badlands

Soil crusting is a crucial factor for runoff generation in the Tabernas Desert badlands; however, very few methods have been developed for the measurement of infiltration in crusts, which are often distributed on steep slopes where experimental devices are very difficult to install, making measurement difficult. We have used the trickle irrigation (TI) method and mini-disk infiltrometers (MDI) in the laboratory to measure steady infiltration rate under nearly saturated condition and tensions, respectively, in soil crust samples removed from the field. Steady infiltration rate under tensions were performed at three water pressure heads (h=−0.5, −2.0, and −6.0 cm).Steady infiltration rate of soil crusts in the Tabernas Desert badlands ranged from 21.3 to 30.7 mm h⁻¹ measured by TI method. Steady infiltration rate under tensions decreased with increasing tensions; it was 9.9–18.4 mm h⁻¹, 0.4–5.7 mm h⁻¹, and 0.2–3.3 mm h⁻¹ at −0.5-, −2.0-, and −6.0-cm pressure heads, respectively. Steady infiltration rate measured by TI method and that at a tension of 0.5 cm by the MDI is consistent with the results from the previous simulated rainfall studies in the same soil crust surfaces, suggesting that the TI and MDI methods may be potentially a useful lab measurement for approximating field infiltration rate.     

土壤有机碳储量及其变化评估的研究方法

土壤作为陆地生态系统中最大的碳库和碳循环的关键要素,其碳储量和变化直接影响全球碳平衡和气候变化过程。分析和总结土壤有机碳(SOC)储量影响因素及其大小、变化的研究方法,半定量的相关性分析和荟萃分析等可以用来确定SOC 储量的主要影响因子;定量化的实测实验方法如容量法、燃烧法和稳定同位素法等可较为准确地测算SOC 含量并用于区域储量估算,但存在耗时费力等成本缺陷;基于经验模型、机器学习、遥感反演等技术实现大尺度、快速测量SOC 及其变化的方法获得较快的发展,但需要解决精度较低和结果不确定性等突出问题;基于过程的模型方法需要根据具体的研究目标进行抉择和改进,重点是模型的验证和校准;SOC-生态系统模型需要重点开发涡流协方差(EC)系统与生命周期评估(LCA)的耦合方法和标准程序;SOC-景观模型需要在景观三维表征、SOC 转移流在单元间相互作用过程模拟等方面多学科攻关。     

Microbial indicators for soil quality

The living soil is instrumental to key life support functions (LSF) that safeguard life on Earth. The soil microbiome has a main role as a driver of these LSF. Current global developments, like anthropogenic threats to soil (e.g., via intensive agriculture) and climate change, pose a burden on soil functioning. Therefore, it is important to dispose of robust indicators that report on the nature of deleterious changes and thus soil quality. There has been a long debate on the best selection of biological indicators (bioindicators) that report on soil quality. Such indicators should ideally describe organisms with key functions in the system, or with key regulatory/connecting roles (so-called keystone species). However, in the light of the huge functional redundancy in most soil microbiomes, finding specific keystone markers is not a trivial task. The current rapid development of molecular (DNA-based) methods that facilitate deciphering microbiomes with respect to key functions will enable the development of improved criteria by which molecular information can be tuned to yield molecular markers of soil LSF. This review critically examines the current state-of-the-art in molecular marker development and recommends avenues to come to improved future marker systems.     

A comparison of molecular methods for monitoring soil nematodes and their use as biological indicators

Soil fauna, especially soil nematode communities may be used as indicators for monitoring soil biodiversity and ecological processes. A major drawback facing ecologists is the specialised taxonomic knowledge and labour intensive nature of the work required for traditional morphological identification of soil fauna. We review rapid molecular methods, including: DNA Barcoding or sequencing, PCR-DGGE, PCR-TRFLP and real-time PCR, which could enable an empirical assessment of soil nematode assemblages, in relation to their use as monitoring tools. Based on advantages of: high-throughput; ease of comparison between samples; and rapid data analysis, we argue that PCR-TRFLP is well suited to monitoring purposes.     

Evaluation of microbial methods as potential indicators of soil quality in historical agricultural fields

In agricultural ecosystems that have had consistent cropping histories, standard microbial methods may be used to evaluate past and present practices. Our objective was to evaluate several microbial methods that best indicate cropping histories and soil quality on long-term plots. We selected soil microbial carbon (C), phospholipid analyses, direct counts of total fungal and bacterial biomass, and soil enzymes (phosphatases) to measure direct and indirect microbial activity on the Sanborn Field and Tucker Prairie. The Sanborn Field has been under various cropping and management practices since 1888 and the Tucker Prairie is an uncultivated site. Seven different plots were chosen on the Sanborn Field and random samples were taken in the summit area on the Tucker Prairie, which represented a reference site. Soil microbial biomass C, phospholipids, and enzyme activity were reflective of the cropping and management histories observed on the Sanborn Field. Enzymatic activity was highly correlated to soil organic matter. The direct counts of fungal and bacterial biomass showed that fungal populations dominated these soils, which may be attributed to soil pH. Soil microbial biomass C and enzyme assays seemed to be better potential indicators of cropping histories than the other methods tested in the long-term plots.This paper has been assigned by the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station to Journal Series no. 12043     

高光谱估算土壤有机质含量的波长变量筛选方法

土壤高光谱数据量大、波段维数高,存在光谱信息无效、冗余和重叠现象,导致基于全波段构建的土壤有机质含量反演模型不稳定、精度难以提升。因此,探寻筛选关键波长变量的方法,通过滤除干扰、冗余、共线信息,提高模型预测性能,是目前土壤高光谱研究的热点之一。该文对江汉平原公安县的土壤样本进行室内理化分析、光谱测量与处理等工作获取了实证数据,采用无信息变量消除法(uninformative variables elimination,UVE)剔除无效变量,利用竞争性自适应重加权算法(competitive adaptive reweighted sampling,CARS)滤除冗余变量,运用连续投影算法(successive projections algorithm,SPA)消除共线变量,并尝试将不同类型的筛选方法进行耦合筛选关键波长变量,应用偏最小二乘回归(partial least squares regression,PLSR)分别建立土壤有机质含量估算模型,对比各种变量筛选方法的优缺点,最终,构建筛选土壤高光谱数据关键变量的方法体系。研究结果表明,除SPA方法的模型精度低于全波段外,其他6种变量筛选方法的建模效果均优于全波段;在3种单个变量筛选方法中,CARS方法优于UVE、SPA变量筛选方法,能有效地筛选出重要波长变量,其预测集相对分析误差RPD值为2.84;综合比较各种变量筛选方法,发现CARS-SPA方法从全波段2 001个波长中筛选出37个特征波长建立的土壤有机质含量的PLSR模型效果最好,其模型预测集的决定系数R2和相对分析误差RPD值分别为0.92、3.60,所选波段仅为全波段的1.85%。CARS-SPA-PLSR模型简单、预测效果好,可作为该区域土壤有机质含量估测的重要方法,对今后土壤近地传感器设备的开发具有一定的指导作用。     

Characterization of phytotoxic aluminum in soil solutions from phosphogypsum amended soils

Phosphogypsum (PG), an industrial by-product from phosphoric acid plants, is being used as an ameliorant for acid soil infertility. Phosphogypsum is primarily CaSO₄ and contains F among several impurities. An increase in SO₄ ^2– and F^– ligands in soil solutions following amendment with PG is important for the alleviation of Al toxicity. In soil solutions containing abundant SO₄ ^2– and F^–, a measure of Al that is not complexed with either of the ligands represents phytotoxic Al. Alleviation of Al toxicity by SO₄ ^2– in some instances is due to SO₄ ^2–-induced precipitation and/or sorption of Al. Some studies have demonstrated a decrease in Al toxicity by SO₄ ^2– even though precipitation of Al was not evident.In such cases, formation of the Al-SO₄ ⁺ ion-pair (predicted by speciation models) has been attributed as the reason for alleviation of Al toxicity. Recent evidence has indicated that the proportion of Al complexed with SO₄ ^2– was much greater than that predicted by using speciation models, which suggests that alleviation is not fully attributable to the formation of AlSO₄ ⁺ species. The existing colorimetric Al assay techniques have failed to discriminate Al complexed with SO₄ ^2– and have therefore, proved to be unsuitable for determination of phytotoxic Al in solutions containing SO₄ ^2–. Fractionation of Al complexed with SO₄ ^2– by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) has permitted a more precise characterization of Al complexed with SO₄ ^2– which has been demonstrated as less phytotoxic than the uncomplexed Al. Therefore, size exclusion chromatography is a promising technique for characterization of phytotoxic Al in solutions in the presence of SO₄ ^2–. In solutions containing F^–, alleviation of Al toxicity is due to formation of Al-F complexes which are less phytotoxic. The 8-hydroxyquinoline method with a 15 second reaction time excludes Al-F complexes and, therefore is a measure of phytotoxic Al in solutions containing F^–.     

延河流域三种土壤可蚀性K值估算方法比较

土壤可蚀性因子K是表征土壤侵蚀作用的敏感指标。采用3种土壤可蚀性K值估算方法(Torri.D模型、EPIC模型、Shirazi公式法)对延河流域土壤可蚀性进行对比研究,以实测K值为依据,采用相关性分析和模型估算筛选出符合该区侵蚀特点的土壤可蚀性估算方法。结果表明:延河流域土壤中有机碳、黏粒、粉粒含量随植被覆盖度的变化由北向南逐渐增加,平均质量直径(D_(MW))表现为森林森林草原草原,K_(EPIC)和Kshirazi与D_(MW)呈正相关,而Torri.D模型估算K值(K_(Torri.D))与D_(MW)呈相反的变化趋势,即从草原到森林草原再到森林,土壤团聚体稳定性和抗侵蚀性逐渐增加。K_(Torri.D)的变化范围为0.068~0.147 5,高于真实K值(0.031 2~0.079 6),相比于其他两种方法,Torri.D模型平均绝对误差(MAE)、平均相对误差(MRE)和均方根误差(RMSE)更接近于0,而精度因子(Af)更接近1,具有更高的可信度,更加适用于延河流域土壤侵蚀敏感性评价和土壤流失量预测。     

Assessment of soil erosion indicators for maize-based agro-ecosystems in Kenya

Measuring soil loss is costly, must cover a range of field situations, is not standardized, and is season dependent. In addition, use of sparse soil loss data (from other studies) compromises the integrity of many erosion models. Easily assessable soil erosion indicators to monitor the cumulative effect of erosion between tillage/weeding and harvesting called eroding clods, flow surfaces, pre-rills, and rills were surveyed directly after the 1995 rainy season in the Taita Taveta district of Kenya, to assessed the utility of each indicator. Their incidences were modeled using CPA. In the area, 70 maize plots in 11 map units, having considerable variation in altitude, land cover, rainfall, and geomorphology, were surveyed. Soil loss was considered variable between plots due to differences in surface soil, land cover, infrastructure (trash lines, grass strips, and Fanya-juu), crop management, slope, and map unit. The eroding clods indicator proved of little significance because the initial clods cover was unknown; the indicator probably relates better to soil erodibility then to soil loss. Flow surfaces, formed during erosive showers, were less present on fields with a higher ground and canopy cover, if the area of eroding clods was high, and if the topsoil had no loam which reduces chances of sealing; no impact of infrastructure, tillage, and weeding were detected. Fewer pre-rills were present where the fraction of groundcover was high, where Pigeon Peas were not grown (they cause micro-relief and concentrated flows), where weeding ended late (time effect), where more flow surfaces occurred, where Fanya-juu was constructed (less steep slopes), where the top-soil contained little sand (less sediment entrainment), and where maize was intercropped with vegetables (positive canopy cover effects). The model was not map unit specific and had an Adjusted R² of 67%. The log-linear relationship indicates that combined positive conditions exponentially reduce the occurrence of pre-rills. The “pre-rill” indicator related best to management-affected site conditions and seems to reflect best the cumulative effects of soil loss over time. Rills were found at 18 sites located in drier areas on sandy–clay soils. The model suggested more rills if the topsoil contains no silt; this makes the soil susceptible to compaction, peptisation when wet, and rill formation.     

Evaluation of soil test methods for estimation of available phosphorus in some Portuguese soils: A greenhouse study

Abstract

The Egnér‐Riehm method for estimating plant‐available soil phosphorus (P) has been used as the standard soil testing method in Portugal for making fertilizer recommendations. However, this method does not accurately reflect the available P status for wheat in some representative soils from the South Region of the country. Therefore, a pot experiment was established with four Luvisols (LVx, LVv, and two different LVh soils) from the South Region of Portugal in order to evaluate the Egnér‐Riehm, Bray I, Bray II, Olsen, and Anion Exchange Resin (AER) methods for their ability to estimate available P in those soils. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Panda) was used as test the crop. The experiment was arranged into a randomized complete block design with three replications and five rates (0, 50, 100,150, and 200 mg kg^‐1) of P added to each soil. Critical soil P levels for LVx were established in case for Bray I (27.9 mg kg^‐1), Bray II (33.5 mg kg^‐1), Egnér‐Riehm (25.4 mg kg^‐1), and AER (14.7 mg kg^‐1) soil test procedures. Regarding the other soils, the critical soil P levels could not be estimated. The obtained results confirm that the development of an universal soil test P exti action is of great importance, and that further research should be conducted in order to evaluate routine soil fertility tests in different pedoclimatic environments.     

Development of key soil health indicators for the Australian banana industry

To improve the sustainability and environmental accountability of the banana industry there is a need to develop a set of soil health indicators that integrate physical, chemical and biological soil properties. These indicators would allow banana growers, extension and research workers to improve soil health management practices. To determine changes in soil properties due to the cultivation of bananas, a paired site survey was conducted comparing soil properties under conventional banana systems to less intensively managed vegetation systems, such as pastures and forest. Measurements were made on physical, chemical and biological soil properties at seven locations in tropical and sub-tropical banana producing areas. Soil nematode community composition was used as a bioindicator of the biological properties of the soil. Soils under conventional banana production tended to have a greater soil bulk density, with less soil organic carbon (C) (both total C and labile C), greater exchangeable cations, higher extractable P, greater numbers of plant-parasitic nematodes and less nematode diversity, relative to less intensively managed plant systems. The organic banana production systems at two locations had greater labile C, relative to conventional banana systems, but there was no significant change in nematode community composition. There were significant interactions between physical, chemical and nematode community measurements in the soil, particularly with soil C measurements, confirming the need for a holistic set of indicators to aid soil management. There was no single indicator of soil health for the Australian banana industry, but a set of soil health indicators, which would allow the measurement of soil improvements should include: bulk density, soil C, pH, EC, total N, extractable P, ECEC and soil nematode community structure.     

Biological indicators for evaluating soil quality improvement in a soil degraded by erosion processes

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Erosion is one of the main soil degradation problems. It diminishes soil biological activity and therefore its quality. The aim of the study was to evaluate if the...     

Selection of soil physical quality indicators in relation to soil erodibility

Soil quality indices based on soil characteristics can be used to assess the sustainability of soil and to assist in soil management decisions. Principal component analysis (PCA) technique was used to identify dominant soil characteristics in relation to soil erodibility in watersheds of submontane Punjab (India). Soil physical and chemical characteristics were evaluated for four locations with four land uses at each location whereas runoff, soil loss and soil erodibility were determined at two locations under natural rainfall conditions and at four locations under simulated rainfall conditions. PCA was performed on 22 physical and chemical soil characteristics, which grouped these soil characteristics into five distinct principal components (PCs). These five PCs namely soil hydraulic factor, density factor, structural factor, sand factor and cation factor, explained 86% variability in data. These PCs also explained 86, 96 and 93% variability under natural rainfall conditions and 75, 76 and 77% variability under simulated rainfall conditions in relation to runoff, soil loss and soil erodibility, respectively. Soil total organic carbon content can be considered as dynamic soil physical quality indicator and can be used to monitor temporal and spatial changes in soil quality.     

砂壤土上甘蔗管理的土壤质量指示评估

An important factor for the sustainability of soils highly susceptible to degradation is the use of monitoring tools that promptly and realistically reflect changes imposed on soil by different cropping systems. To select soil quality indicator variables in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) production areas that fulfill the criteria of sensitivity to management practices and between-season consistency in the management discrimination, ten composite soil samples (0-10 cm) were collected in July 2005 (rainy season) and again in March 2006 (dry season) from areas under cultivation of organic sugarcane (OS), green sugarcane (GS), burned sugarcane (BS) and from an adjacent native forest (NF) area at Usina Triunfo, Boca da Mata, Alagoas, Brazil. Microbial biomass-C (MBC), total organic C (TOC), soil enzyme activity expressed as the rate of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis, mean weight diameter of water-stable soil aggregates (MWD), and percentage of water-stable macroaggregates (PWSA) were analyzed. Although MBC and TOC were higher in NF than in the cultivated areas, no differences were observed in these C pools between the three sugarcane systems. The response of FDA to the site management was dependent on the sampling time. In the rainy period, the activity followed the order: NF > OS > GS > BS, whereas in the dry season, only NF differed from the other treatments. Irrespective of the sampling time, MWD and PWSA decreased in the order NF > OS = GS > BS. The variables MWD and PWSA are quite sensitive for discriminating between site management histories regardless the sampling season.     

Comparisons of the agar-film and membrane-filter methods for the estimation of hyphal lengths in soil,with particular reference to the effect of magnification

The agar-film and membrane filter methods were used to measure total hyphal length in ten different soils. The former method resulted in values 1.1 to 3.9 times those of the latter.Choice of magnification strongly influenced the results. The value for fungal length found at a magnification of 1250 × was 2 times that found at 800 × or 500 ×. The measured mean hyphal diameter was significantly smaller at 1250 × and 800 × compared to 500 ×.     

新疆艾比湖湿地土壤有机碳含量的光谱测定方法对比

干旱半干旱地区湿地土壤中的有机碳是影响土壤质量,制约植物生长的重要因素之一,其含量的变化会影响生态系统的安全和稳定。为快速估测湿地土壤有机碳含量,在新疆艾比湖湿地保护区采集140个荒漠土壤样品,利用土壤可见/近红外光谱数据以及化学分析获取的土壤有机碳数据,在对土壤原始光谱反射率进行卷积平滑的基础上,获取了一阶微分、倒数对数一阶微分2种光谱预处理指标,采用蚁群-区间偏最小二乘法、基于支持向量机的回归特征消去法,选择土壤有机碳含量近红外光谱特征波长,在此基础上构建土壤有机碳含量偏最小二乘回归、支持向量回归模型。结果表明:1)利用原始一阶微分建立的模型,预测能力优于倒数对数一阶微分建立的模型。2)4种建模结果比较显示,利用原始一阶微分经基于支持向量机的回归特征消去法进行特征变量选择后建立的土壤有机碳含量模型,预测精度最高。训练集的相关系数以及均方根误差分别为0.9687、0.158%;测试集的相关系数和均方根误差分别为0.9091以及0.268%。因此,经过卷积平滑以及一阶微分预处理、并利用基于支持向量机的回归特征消去法建立的模型具有较高的预测精度和较好的稳健性,可以作为有效手段估算荒漠湿地土壤有机碳含量。     

酸性土壤有机碳两种测定方法的比较

土壤有机质虽然占矿质土壤总量的比例很小,但对土壤质量及功能的调节起着关键作用。因此,寻求合适的土壤有机碳测定方法十分重要。本研究以4个长期定位试验(A、B、C、D)为基础,在灵敏度、相关性等方面对外加热法和碳氮仪法作了比较。结果表明:对于酸性土而言无论测定整土还是团聚体有机碳,两种方法的准确度和灵敏度都很高,但外加热法能更灵敏地反应处理间的差异性;两种方法测定结果有很好相关性,但碳氮仪法测定结果较外加热法偏高;由于测定结果存在差异,在科研工作中两种方法不能混用,以免得出错误结论。