Ratios of microbial biomass estimates to evaluate microbial physiology in soil

Soil microbial biomass data derived from fumigation–extraction (FE), substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and ATP estimations differed significantly and were significantly correlated, which agrees to previous studies. In a second step, the SIR/FE, ATP/FE and SIR/ATP ratios were calculated to evaluate the glucose-responsive and active component of the microbial (active and resting) biomass and the glucose-responsive component of the active microbiota. Soils were sampled along gradients within and between associated ecosystems in Northern Germany, Denmark and along a gradient of heavy metal pollution in Finland. The ratios indicated that the active portion and glucose-responsive component decreased with proceeding litter decomposition, higher degree of sustainable land management practices and higher degree of heavy metal contamination. This work was presented at the workshop ‘Non-molecular manipulation of soil microbial communities’ at the University of Udine, Udine, Italy, 17–20 October 2004; convened by P.C. Brookes and M. De Nobili and supported by European Science Foundation.     

Effect of soil acidification on the soil microflora

The effects of short and long term acidification on a few Alberta soils were studied with respect to bacterial numbers and total soil respiration. Significant reductions in bacterial numbers were observed in both short and long term acidified soils. Total soil activity was severely affected in an acid soil (pH 3.0, longterm) adjacent to a S block. A soil (pH 6.8) 200 m away from this S block when artificially acidified to pH 2.9 significantly reduced soil activity but not as drastically as found in the long term pH 3.0 soil. A garden soil (pH 7.7) which was also acidified to pH 3.2 showed no significant reduction in total soil respiration rate as compared to its unacidified control soil. These acid soils when amended with organic substrates demonstrated that certain physiological groups of organisms were severely inhibited by this acid condition. The importance of examining more than one parameter when assessing the effect of a potential pollutant on soil activity is discussed.     

Enantioselective oxidative damage of chiral pesticide dichlorprop to maize

To investigate the enantioselective oxidative damage of the pesticide dichlorprop (DCPP) to maize, young seedlings were exposed to solutions of DCPP enantiomers and racemate at different concentrations. Early root development was more influenced by (R)-DCPP than racemic (rac)- and (S)-DCPP. Inhibition rates of seed germination, seedling biomass, and root and shoot elongation were all in the order of (R)-DCPP > (rac)-DCPP > (S)-DCPP treatments. The antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were significantly upregulated by exposure to lower concentrations of (R)-DCPP than (rac)- and (S)-DCPP. Direct determination of the formation of hydroxyl radical (?OH) with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy indicated that the ?OH level in maize roots followed the order of (R)-DCPP > (rac)-DCPP > (S)-DCPP treatments. All of these results provide solicited evidence of the significant enantioselective phytotoxicity of DCPP to maize with a higher toxicity of (R)-DCPP than (S)- and (rac)-DCPP.     

Use of stable tracer studies to evaluate pesticide photolysis at elevated temperatures

New methods were developed to determine photolysis rates of medium-weight pesticides in the gas phase using elevated air temperatures and solid-phase microextraction (SPME). A 57-L glass chamber was constructed that utilized collimated xenon arc irradiation that could heat chamber air to increase the amount of pesticide in the gas phase. Gas-phase photolysis rates were determined at various air temperatures by comparing the rate of loss of each of the tested pesticides to a photochemically stable tracer, hexachlorobenzene. Interval sampling of gas-phase constituents was performed using SPME immediately followed by GC-ECD or GC-MSD analysis. The two pesticides under examination were the dinitroaniline herbicide trifluralin and the organophosphorus insecticide chlorpyrifos. The gas-phase photolysis for trifluralin was found to be rapid with half-lives of 22-24 min corrected for sunlight. These results were comparable to photochemical lifetime estimates from other investigators under sunlight conditions. Elevating temperatures from 60 to 80 degrees C did not affect photolysis rates, and these rates could be extrapolated to environmental temperatures. From 60 to 80 degrees C, gas-phase chlorpyrifos photolysis lifetimes were observed to range from 1.4 to 2.2 h corrected for sunlight and will thus be important together with hydroxyl radical reactions for removing this substance from the atmosphere. At these elevated temperatures, pesticides and tracer compounds were found to be substantially in the gas phase, and possible effects on reaction rates from wall interactions were minimized.     

Three-source-partitioning of microbial biomass and of CO2 efflux from soil to evaluate mechanisms of priming effects

We propose and successfully applied a new approach for 3-source-partitioning based on a combination of ¹⁴C labeling with ¹³C natural abundance. By adding ¹⁴C-labeled glucose to soil after C₃ - C₄ vegetation change, we partitioned three C sources in three compartments, namely CO₂, microbial biomass and dissolved organic C (DOC). This enabled us to estimate mechanisms and sources of priming effects (PE).Glucose application at low and high rate (GL: 100 and GH: 1000 μg C g⁻¹, respectively) caused positive PE both short-term (during 1-3 days) and long-term (3-55 days). Despite a 10-fold difference in the amount of substrate added, the PE observed was larger by a factor of only 1.6 at the high versus low rate of glucose. The real and apparent priming effects were distinguished by partitioning of microbial C for glucose-C and SOM-derived C. As the amount of primed CO₂ respired during short-term PE was 40% lower than microbial C, and the contribution of soil C in microbial biomass did not increase, we concluded that such short-term PE was apparent and was mainly caused by accelerated microbial turnover (at GL) and by pool substitution (at GH). Both the amount of primed CO₂-C, which was 1.3-2.1 times larger than microbial C, and the increased contribution of soil C in microbial biomass allowed us to consider the long-term PE as being real. The sole source of real PE (GL treatment) was the “recent” soil organic matter, which is younger than 12-year-old C. The real PE-induced by a glucose amount exceeding microbial biomass (GH) was due to the almost equal contribution of ‘recent’ (<12 years) and ‘old’ (>12 years) C. Thus, the decomposition of old recalcitrant SOM was induced only by an amount of primer exceeding microbial C. We conclude that combining ¹⁴C labeling with ¹³C natural abundance helped disentangle three C sources in CO₂, microbial biomass and DOC and evaluate mechanisms and sources of PE.     

Effects of lead on the soil bacterial microflora

The sensitivity of soil bacteria towards Pb was investigated. Soil suspensions from fourteen different soil types with a high or low Pb content were plated out on soil extract agar containing various concentrations of PbCl₂.In agar with a high Pb content, higher bacterial counts were found with suspensions from Pb-containing soils than with those of soils with a low Pb content. In the Pb-containing soils, proportionally more gram-negative rods were present while coryneform bacteria decreased. In an additional experiment, in which Pb was added to a sandy soil, more Pb-tolerant bacterial strains were found 3 years later than in the same soil without Pb.When pure cultures of the bacteria isolated from the soils were tested in liquid media for Pb tolerance, a higher proportion of tolerant strains was found in Pb-containing soils. Among strains of gram-negative bacteria isolated from these soils a higher proportion of tolerant strains was found than in corneform bacteria.It was concluded that as a consequence of Pb pollution of soil a selection of Pb-tolerant bacteria may take place.     

Cultivation and the soil biomass

The fumigation-respirometric determination of soil biomass was modified to assess the effects of cultivation on the biomass in the upper 5 cm of intact soil samples. We found the method suitable for comparative studies, but not for providing an absolute measure. The soil biomass increased during the growth of a wheat crop and then decreased to an approximately constant amount. The biomass was significantly greater where the soil had been direct-drilled than where it had been ploughed, probably because plant roots were more abundant after direct drilling. The size of the oil biomass in relation to substrate input is discussed.     

Response of soil microbial biomass to straw incorporation

The response of the soil microbial biomass to cereal straw incorporation was assessed for three sites in Eastern Scotland. Increases in the C:N ratio of the biomass, due to straw inputs, were greater for soil with a history of straw incorporation than soil with no previous incorporation history. The biomass C:N ratio response to straw inputs was associated with increases in the fungal component of soil microbial respiration, fungal plate count (total and cellulolytic) and FDA-active lengths of fungal hyphae.     

Heat output of the soil biomass

Amending soils with glucose (5 mg g^?1) resulted in an immediate increase in microbial activity and within 30 min the rates of heat output and respiration at 22° C were increased by up to 17.8 and 23.4 times, respectively. The increased rate of heat output remained stable for up to 6 h and there was good correlation with the amount of CO₂ respired. The soil biomass was calculated by the method of Anderson and Domsch (1978). The rate of heat output of the biomass varied in different soils and ranged from 11.5 to 83.7 Jh^?1 g^?1 biomass C. In glucose-amended soils, however, the rate of heat output was much more consistent; the soils were in two groups having between 169–265 Jh^?1g^?1 biomass C or 454–482 J h^?1 g^?1 biomass C, both the latter two soils were from pasture. The increased rate of heat output from the amended soils was lower than expected from the respiration rate and the heat of oxidation of glucose, suggesting that a proportion of the CO₂ respired was from catabolism of substrates other than glucose. Use of ¹⁴C-glucose confirmed that between 57–91% of the CO₂ was derived from the glucose substrate.     

土壤微生物体氮的季节性变化及其与土壤水分和温度的关系

以杨陵土垫旱耕人为土(中等肥力红油土)为供试土壤进行田间试验和室内培养试验,研究土壤微生物体氮的动态变化及其土壤含水量和温度的关系。结果表明,田间土壤微生物体氮的变化有明显的季节性;夏季最高,冬季最低,其它时期居中;且与土壤温度有显著或极显著的正相关性,相关系数在0.855以上;试验期间土壤水分含量在10%以上,基本能满足微生物活动所需,因而微生物体氮的变化与水分关系并不密切。应用培养试验结果进一步证明了田间试验结果,即在4～36℃范围内,微生物体氮与温度呈线性相关,而在土壤含水量为6.75%～23.23%范围内,与水分呈指数相关关系,当土壤水分小于10.87%时,水分对微生物体氮有突出结果,当超过10.87%后,几乎没有影响。频繁的干湿交替会使微生物体氮显著减少,但冻融交替却无明显影响。     

Ecophysiology of the soil microbial biomass and its relation to the soil microbial N pool

Abstract. Microbial osmoregulation as a factor regulating the nitrogen and carbon contents of soil microbial biomass was studied in two experiments. In the first the percentages of the carbon and nitrogen occurring in the cytoplasm of Aspergillus flavus and Pseudomonas sp. were shown to be strongly influenced by osmotic stress. In the second, biomass carbon and nitrogen initially increased with increasing water stress (osmotic and matric) up to −1.0 and −1.5 MPa, respectively, but declined under greater osmotic stress. As the soil microbial carbon and nitrogen pools are affected by these stresses, allowance must be made for them when interpreting biomass measurements in water-stressed soils.     

Integration of multiple soil parameters to evaluate soil quality: a field example

Development of a method to assess and monitor soil quality is critical to soil resource management and policy formation. To be useful, a method for assessing soil quality must be able to integrate many different kinds of data, allow evaluation of soil quality based on alternative uses or definitions and estimate soil quality for unsampled locations. In the present study we used one such method, based on non-parametric geostatistics. We evaluated soil quality from the integration of six soil variables measured at 220 locations in an agricultural field in southeastern Washington State. We converted the continous data values for each soil variable at each location to a binary variable indicator transform based on thresholds. We then combined indicator transformed data for individual soil variables into a single integrative indicator of soil quality termed a multiple variable indicator transform (MVIT). We observed that soil chemical variables, pools of soil resources, populations of microorgansims, and soil enzymes covaried spatially across the landscape. These ensembles of soil variables were not randomly distributed, but rather were systematically patterned. Soil quality maps calculated by kriging showed that the joint probabilities of meeting specific MVIT selection were influenced by the critical threshold values used to transform each individual soil quality variable and the MVIT selection criteria. If MVIT criteria adequately reflect soil quality then the kriging can produce maps of the probabilty of a soil being of good or poor quality.     

基于局部离群指数的土壤重金属污染评价方法

为评价土壤重金属污染,该文提出了一种局部离群指数方法。局部离群指数方法计算监测样点的局部离群指数,监测样点的局部离群指数越大,则该样点是污染样点的趋势越大。为确保算法的准确性,定义了深度离群点以及广度离群点;为减少算法处理海量数据的计算复杂性,开发了基于密度取样的数据过滤方法,以过滤数据分布致密的数据点而保留稀疏区域的数据点。以京郊农田重金属监测数据为实例,比较局部离群指数方法与内梅罗污染指数方法的评价结果的准确性,结果显示局部离群指数方法的评价结果与内梅罗污染指数方法的结果吻合,表明局部离群指数方法可作为一种有效的重金属污染评价方法。     

Effect of the insecticide methidathion on agricultural soil microflora

Summary We studied the effects of the organophosphorus insecticide methidathion, at concentrations of 10, 50, 100, 200 and 300 g g^-1 in an agricultural soil, on fungi, total bacterial populations, aerobic N₂-fixing bacteria, denitrifying bacteria, nitrifying bacteria (phases I and II), and nitrogenase activity (acetylene reduction assay). The presence of 10–300 g g^-1 of methidathion significantly increased fungal populations (colony-forming units). Denitrifying bacteria, aerobic N₂-fixing bacteria and N₂ fixation were significantly increased at concentrations of 50–300 g g^-1. The total number of bacteria increased significantly at concentrations of 100–300 g g^-1. Nitrifying bacteria decreased initially at concentrations of 300 g g^-1, but recovered rapidly to levels similar to those in the control soil without the insecticide.     

Phosphorus in the soil microbial biomass

Phosphorus in the soil microbial biomass (biomass P) and soil biomass carbon (biomass C) were linearly related in 15 soils (8 grassland, 6 arable, 1 deciduous woodland), with a mean P concentration of 3.3% in the soil biomass. The regression accounted for 82% of the variance in the data. The relationship was less close than that previously measured between soil biomass C and soil ATP content and indicates that biomass P measurements can only provide a rough estimate of biomass C content. Neither P concentration in the soil biomass, nor the amount of biomass P in soil, were correlated with soil NaHCO₃-extractable inorganic, organic or total P.The calculated mean annual flux of P through the biomass (in a soil depth of 10 cm) in 8 grassland soils was large, 23 kg P ha^?1 yr^?1, and more than three times the mean annual P flux through 6 arable soils (7 kg P ha^?1 yr^?1), suggesting that biomass P could make a significant contribution to plant P nutrition in grassland.About 3% of the total soil organic P in the arable soils was in microbial biomass and from 5 to 24% in the grassland soils. The decline in biomass P when an old grassland soil was put into an arable rotation for about 20 yr was sufficient to account for about 50% of the decline in total soil organic P during this period. When an old arable soil reverted to woodland, soil organic P doubled in 100 yr; biomass P increased 11-fold during the same period.     

Control of carbohydrate utilization by soil microflora

The control mechanisms regulating the utilization of carbohydrates by soil populations were examined. Glucose, fructose, galactose, lactose, cellobiose and xylose were added to the soil either separately or in combination with glucose and the formation and activity of enzymes catabolizing the individual carbohydrates were studied. No specific repression of the formation of carbohydrate-degrading enzyme by glucose was observed in the soil. The activity of galactose-degrading enzymes was inhibited in the presence of glucose, resulting in a sequential utilization of the two sugars. Similarly, the rate of utilization of lactose and, in part, of cellobiose was inhibited in the presence of glucose. The activity, rather than the synthesis, of the enzymes was thus inhibited by glucose; the inhibition was reversible.     

Effects of methanol on the microflora of an arctic soil

The effect of 36 lm^?2 of 20% and 100% methanol spillage on the microflora of a soil near Inuvik, N.W.T. was assessed. Gas-liquid chromatography was used to monitor the residual methanol in the soil. Associated with residual methanol determination were measurements of changes in numbers of bacteria, fungal standing crop, respiration and isolation of methanol utilizing bacteria. Twenty percent methanol spillage had two different effects on the surface vegetation, in that the vegetation was killed in some plots and not others. The applied methanol disappeared completely between 1 and 4 weeks. No increased soil activity (as indicated by respiration, bacterial numbers, fungal standing crop) was detected when methanol was present in the soil. Because only one bacterium (i.e. pink gram negative rods) metabolized only very small concentrations of methanol, it was concluded that biodegradation of methanol was not a significant agent affecting methanol loss from the soil.     

植物内生菌影响土壤微生物区系的研究进展

土壤微生物区系是土壤生态环境的重要组分,其结构的稳定性对作物的健康生长至关重要。本文重点综述了植物内生菌对土壤微生物区系的调节作用,调节机制及潜在应用,指出了植物内生菌影响土壤微生物区系研究中出现的问题。一些植物内生菌不仅对植物生长有益,还可以显著改善土壤微生物区系,主要表现在对土壤微生物种类及数量、微生物生物量、酶活性及相关酶基因表达的影响,这可能是内生菌在土壤中和植物体内引发的多种效应的综合。植物内生菌可以在土壤中作为腐生菌与土壤微生物存在生态位竞争,通过产生某些抗菌活性物质和有机酸影响土壤微生物生长,通过降解复杂有机物如木质素、酚类化感物质等调节微生物区系,并吸收和转运重金属降低其对土壤微生物区系的危害等等。最后提出了今后的研究方向。