Earthworm and microbe response to litter and soils of tropical forest plantations with contrasting C:N:P stoichiometric ratios

1

The stoichiometry of resources is increasingly acknowledged as a major control of consumer activity and abundance. Chemical properties of litter, the main source of food for decomposers, are likely to be important drivers of decomposer activity.

2

Theory predicts a high control of resource stoichiometry on the abundance of consumer organisms that maintain strict homeostasis, due to costs associated with the regulation of nutrient balance in their body tissue. Decomposer efforts in nutrient acquisition should be related to imbalances in resource stoichiometry.

3

A 21 year old experimental plantation of monospecific plots of trees with leaves of contrasting chemistry was used to test four hypotheses: (i) soil and litter nutrient stoichiometry (C, N, P) are linked; (ii); soil enzyme activity ratios and stoichiometry are linked; (iii) earthworms’ tissue stoichiometry does not depend on soil and litter stoichiometry (homeostasis); (iv) earthworm density is dependent upon phosphorus availability, the most limiting nutrient in soils at this site, and, to a lesser extent, to nitrogen availability.

4

We found (i) no relationship between litter and soil stoichiometry, (ii) microbial activity was linked to soil stoichiometry, (iii) earthworms showed strict homeostasis in their tissue and (iv) earthworm abundance increased with P availability.

5

We discuss the mechanisms that might lead to these patterns.

     

Synthesis: Thresholds in conservation and management

This paper is a brief overview of some of the key issues which have emerged from the preceding set of papers on ecological thresholds. These include:

•

Whether threshold relationships are common and widespread.

•

The potential for large variations in the use and application of the threshold concept to lead to adverse conservation outcomes, particularly when overly simplistic levels of vegetation cover are specified by policy makers and land managers.

•

The inherent multi-variate nature of landscape processes and responses of individual species and assemblages that creates variability in datasets. This may lead to a limited ability to make accurate predictions from threshold relationships, even when those relationships are highly statistically significant.

We believe that although the threshold concept is an appealing one and there is some empirical evidence to support it in some landscapes, it is not free of problems and a concerted research effort on the topic is needed. This is particularly important if it is to have value for robustly underpinning applied landscape management practices without unintentionally having negative impacts on rates of species loss or the loss of particular species.     

Biological hurdles to the control of TB in cattle: A test of two hypotheses concerning wildlife to explain the failure of control

Since the 1970s the control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle, predominantly in the SW of England has proved continually recalcitrant; it is currently increasing at an annual rate of 18%. This deterioration has occurred despite a succession of government schemes involving killing badgers, Meles meles, with the intention of reducing transmission of bTB to cattle. Of various hypotheses proposed to explain this failure of control, some concern agricultural practice, but two concern wildlife. The latter are, first, that wild mammalian species other than badgers are important in the transmission of bTB, and second, that a perturbation effect amongst those badgers surviving a cull countermands the hoped-for reduction of bTB transmission to cattle or even increases it. We review our own studies of these two hypotheses in the context of other findings. We conclude that the other species hypothesis does not provide a general explanation for the failure of bTB control. We also conclude that the perturbation hypothesis is supported by the data and does provide one plausible mechanism to explain why culling badgers has not generally achieved control of bTB in cattle. We have reviewed the relevance of perturbation with respect to three key questions:

(a)

is there evidence of a perturbation effect on badger behavioural ecology?

(b)

is there evidence of a perturbation effect on prevalence of bTB in badgers?

(c)

are any observed effects of a magnitude relevant to bTB control policy?

The results of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) and our own studies indicate that to have any prospect of contributing significantly to controlling bTB in cattle, a badger cull would have to be undertaken over a very large area. Considering the likely very important role of cattle-to-cattle transmission, and the opportunities for solutions in terms of farm management and surveillance, it would be inappropriate (and probably impractical) to undertake such a cull now.     

Soil fertility in a large dryland floodplain: Patterns,processes and the implications of water resource development

1.

Primary production on semiarid floodplains supports a diverse local and regional fauna. Reduced flooding from water resource development (WRD) may affect floodplain production by decreasing water and nutrient supply.     

Biosynthetic potential of actinomycetes in brown forest soil on the eastern coast of the aegean sea

The taxonomic and functional structures of the actinomycetal complex in the litter and upper horizon of the brown forest soil was studied in a Pinus brutia var. pendulifolia forest on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea. The complex of actinomycetes included representatives of the Streptomyces and Micromonospora genera and oligosporus forms. Streptomycetes predominated (73.8%) in the soil, and micromonospores (66.7%) were dominants in the litter. Thirty isolates of ten Streptomyces species from five series and three sections prevailed. In the upper soil horizon, species of the Helvolo-Flavus Helvolus section predominated (48%); the S. felleus species occurred most frequently. Among the isolated cultures, the S. globisporus and S. sindenensis species capable to produce antitumor antibiotics were found. The testing of the antimicrobial activity of the natural isolates showed that five strains inhibit the growth of pathogenic Fusarium sp., Alternaria sp., Acremonium sp., and Bipolaris sorokiniana fungi. When testing the effect of streptomycetes on the production of cellulases, a high-efficient strain belonging to the S. noboritoensis species was revealed. All the streptomycetes isolated from the brown forest soil produced auxins at the rate of 7.8 to 19.7 μg of indole acetic acid/mL of the liquid medium in the presence of 200 mg/L of tryptophan. Twelve isolates of streptomycetes were transferred to the collection of biotechnologically promising cultures for studying their properties.     

Soil carbon and nitrogen storage in alluvial wet meadows of the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains,USA

Purpose

Wet meadows formed on alluvial deposits potentially store large amounts of soil carbon (C) but its stability is subject to the impacts of management practices. The objective of this study was to quantify and characterize soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) in mountain wet meadows across ranges of meadow hydrology and livestock utilization.

Materials and methods

Eighteen wetlands in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains representing a range of wetness and livestock utilization levels were selected for soil sampling. In each wetland meadow, whole-solum soil cores delineated by horizon were analyzed for total and dissolved organic C (DOC) total (TN) and mineral nitrogen and soil water content (SWC). Multiple regression and GIS analysis was used to estimate the role of wet meadows in C storage across the study area landscape.

Results and discussion

Average solum SOC contents by wetland ranged from 130 to 805 Mg ha^?1. All SOC and TN components were highly correlated with SWC. Regression analyses indicated subtle impacts of forage utilization level on SOC and TN concentrations, but not on whole-solum, mass-per-area stocks of SOC and TN. Proportions of DOC and TN under seasonally wet meadows increased with increasing utilization. GIS analysis indicated that the montane landscape contains about 54.3 Mg SOC ha^?1, with wet meadows covering about 1.7% of the area and containing about 12.3% of the SOC.

Conclusions

Results indicate that soil organic C and N content of meadows we sampled are resilient to current light to moderate levels of grazing. In seasonally wet meadows, higher proportions of DOC and N with increasing utilization indicate vulnerability to loss. Partial drying of the wettest and seasonally wet meadows could result in losses of over five % of landscape SOC.     

Abundance of transcripts of functional gene reflects the inverse relationship between CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> and N<Subscript>2</Subscript>O emissions during mid-season drainage in acidic paddy soil

Agricultural management significantly affects methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from paddy fields. However, little is known about the underlying microbiological mechanism. Field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the water regime and straw incorporation on CH₄ and N₂O emissions and soil properties. Quantitative PCR was applied to measure the abundance of soil methanogens, methane-oxidising bacteria, nitrifiers, and denitrifiers according to DNA and mRNA expression levels of microbial genes, including mcrA, pmoA, amoA, and nirK/nirS/nosZ. Field trials showed that the CH₄ and N₂O flux rates were negatively correlated with each other, and N₂O emissions were far lower than CH₄ emissions. Drainage and straw incorporation affected functional gene abundance through altered soil environment. The present (DNA-level) gene abundances of amoA, nosZ, and mcrA were higher with straw incorporation than those without straw incorporation, and they were positively correlated with high concentrations of soil exchangeable NH₄⁺ and dissolved organic carbon. The active (mRNA-level) gene abundance of mcrA was lower in the drainage treatment than in continuous flooding, which was negatively correlated with soil redox potential (Eh). The CH₄ flux rate was significantly and positively correlated with active mcrA abundance but negatively correlated with Eh. The N₂O flux rate was significantly and positively correlated with present and active nirS abundance and positively correlated with soil Eh. Thus, we demonstrated that active gene abundance, such as of mcrA for CH₄ and nirS for N₂O, reflects the contradictory relationship between CH₄ and N₂O emissions regulated by soil Eh in acidic paddy soils.     

The Influence of Edaphic and Orographic Factors on Algal Diversity in Biological Soil Crusts on Bare Spots in the Polar and Subpolar Urals

The influence of edaphic and orographic factors on the formation of algal diversity in biological soil crusts was studied in mountain tundras of the Polar and Subpolar Urals. Bare spots developed in the soils on different parent materials and overgrown to different extents were investigated. Overall, 221 algal species from six divisions were identified. Among them, eighty-eight taxa were new for the region studied. The Stigonema minutum, S. ocellatum, Nostoc commune, Gloeocapsopsis magma, Scytonema hofmannii, Leptolyngbya foveolarum, Pseudococcomyxa simplex, Sporotetras polydermatica species and species of the Cylindrocystis, Elliptochloris, Fischerella, Leptosira, Leptolyngbya, Myrmecia, Mesotaenium, Phormidium, Schizothrix genera were permanent components of biological soil crusts. The basis of the algal cenoses in soil crusts was composed of cosmopolitan cyanoprokaryotes, multicellular green algae with thickened covers and abundant mucus. The share of nitrogen fixers was high. The physicochemical properties of primary soils forming under the crusts of spots are described. The more important factors affecting the species composition of algae in the crusts are the elevation gradient, temperature, soil moisture, and the contents of Ca, Mg, mobile phosphorus, and total nitrogen.     

Long-term fertilisation regimes affect the composition of the alkaline phosphomonoesterase encoding microbial community of a vertisol and its derivative soil fractions

Alkaline phosphomonoesterase (ALP) mainly originates from soil microbial secretion and plays a crucial role in the turnover of soil phosphorus (P). To examine the response of ALP-encoding microbial communities (analysed for the biomarker of the ALP gene, phoD) of soils and derivative soil fractions to different fertilisation regimes, soil samples were collected from a long-term experimental field (over 35 years). The different organic P (Po) pools of soil fractions and the ALP activity of soil were also determined. Compared with chemical-only fertilised soils, the ALP activity was 232–815% higher in organic-amended soils, and the highest enzyme activity was observed in the organic-only fertilised treatment. The abundance of the phoD gene harbouring in soil fractions, determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR), was affected by different fertilisations. The highest abundance of the phoD gene was generally detected in the 2–63-μm-sized fraction (silt), but most phoD-encoding microbial species were associated to the 0.1–2-μm-sized fraction (clay) in the chemical-only fertilised soil. The contents of labile Po (LPo), moderately labile Po (MLPo) and fulvic acid-associated Po (FAPo) were significantly correlated with the phoD gene abundance, whereas only LPo content was significantly correlated with the ALP activity. The dominant phoD-encoding phylas were Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria, according to a high-throughput sequencing. Bradyrhizobium, a N₂-fixer identified as a phoD-encoding genus, showed the highest abundance in fertilised soils. The abundance of Bradyrhizobium, Streptomyces, Modestobacter, Lysobacter, Frankia and Burkholderia increased with the organic-only amendment and was significantly correlated with the ALP activity. According to structure equation models (SEM), pH and LPo content significantly and directly affected the ALP activity; the soil organic C (C_org) content was related to composition and abundances of phoD-harbouring microbial communities; since both microbial properties were correlated to the ALP activity, the C_org content was indirectly related to the ALP activity. In conclusion, soil management practices can be used to optimise the contents of soil available P and the organic P with regulation of soil ALP activity and the community composition of corresponding microbes.     

Profile analysis of microbiomes in soils of solonetz complex in the Caspian Lowland

The taxonomic structure of the microbiota in two associated soils—solonetz on a microhigh and meadow-chestnut soil in a microlow—was studied in the semidesert of the Caspian Lowland. A highthroughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used for the soil samples from genetic horizons. A considerable reduction in the bacterial diversity was found in the lower horizons of the solonetz and compact solonetzic horizon with a high content of exchangeable sodium. In the meadow-chestnut soil, the microbial diversity little decreased with the depth. In both soils, a portion of archaea from the Thaumarchaeota group also decreased in the deeper horizons. In the soil horizons with the lower total bacterial diversity, a share of proteobacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Sphingomonadaceae families became higher. The difference between the structure of the microbial population in the solonetz and meadow- chestnut soil can be first explained by the different water regimes and soil consistence.     

Agronomic Implications of the Application of Lime plus Gypsum By‐products to a Hyperdistric Acrisol from Western Spain

Abstract: A laboratory experiment involving the use of leaching columns reproducing the topmost portion of a Hyperdystric Acrisol (FAO 1998 FAO. 1998. World reference base for soil resources, Rome: FAO, ISRIC, and ISSS. (World Soil Resources Report No. 84) [Google Scholar]) or plinthic Palexerult (Soil Survey Staff 2003 Soil Survey Staff. 2003. Soil taxonomy: A basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. (Agriculture Handbook No. 436) [Google Scholar]) treated in its Ap horizon with sugar foam wastes and phosphogypsum was conducted. The amendments increased the contents in exchangeable calcium (Ca) of the Ap horizon and, to a lesser extent, also that of the AB horizon. However, the contents in exchangeable magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na) decreased as much in Ap as they did in AB; by contrast, the potassium (K) content exhibited a less marked decrease. The potassium chloride (KCl)–extractable aluminium (Al) of the Ap horizon was dramatically decreased much more than that of the AB horizon by the amendments. In the soil solution from Ap, the amendments raised the pH and decreased the Al concentration; in that from AB, however, they caused an initial pH decrease, a tendency that reversed as the gypsum was leached and eventually led to the pH exceeding that in the soil solution from control. The first few water extractions exhibited increased Mg concentration. This trend was reversed in the second leaching cycle, where the concentrations of Mg in the amended columns were lower than those in the controls. In the soil solution, the variation of the Ca and sulphate (SO₄ ^2–) concentrations was influenced by the salt‐sorption effect. The total Al content in soil solution from AB increased during the first leaching cycle and then decreased during the second. The amendments decreased the activities of Al³⁺, AlOH⁺², and Al(OH)₂ ⁺ in the Ap horizon and increased those of Al³⁺, AlSO₄ ⁺, Al(SO₄)₂ ^?, and AlF⁺² in the first leaching cycle in the AB horizon. The productivity of the Ap horizon after the treatments was assessed using a wheat crop (T. aestivum, var. ‘Jabato’) in a greenhouse.