Methane oxidation activity and bacterial community composition in a simulated landfill cover soil is influenced by the growth of Chenopodium album L.

Oxygen availability in landfill cover soil is a major limitation to the growth and activity of methanotrophs as methane oxidation is an aerobic microbial process. Plants tolerant to high concentrations of landfill gas (LFG) may play an important role in improving methane oxidation within landfill cover soil and reducing emission of methane, a greenhouse gas, from it. In this study, the effect of an LFG tolerant plant Chenopodium album L. on methane oxidation activity (MOA) and bacterial community composition in landfill cover soil was investigated. Soil samples from four simulated lysimeters with and without LFG and plant vegetation were taken at 4 stages during the plant's development cycle. Results showed that the total number of culturable bacteria in soil could be significantly increased (P < 0.05) by the growth of C. album. The total number of methanotrophs and MOA in soils with LFG was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in soils without LFG on sampling days 90, 150 and 210. The total number of methanotrophs and MOA in lysimeters with LFG added increased in the presence of C. album when the plant entered the seed setting stage. Polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) gel patterns of 16S rDNA gene fragment and band sequencing analyses showed apparent differences in soil bacterial communities in the presence of LFG and plant vegetation. Members of the genus Methylosarcina were found to be the active and dominant methanotrophs in rhizosphere soil of C. album with LFG, while Methylococcus, Methylocystis, and Methylosinus were the primary methanotroph genera in LFG soil without C. album. Thus, C. album appears to select for specific methanotrophic bacteria in the presence of LFG. Soil MOA and microbial diversity can also be significantly affected by the presence of this plant.     

Accelerated methane oxidation cover system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from MSW landfills in cold, semi-arid regions

Many regional landfills for municipal solid waste (MSW) and industrial, commercial, institutional (ICI) wastes in cold, dry regions do not produce enough gas to support conventional gas extraction, treatment, and utilization or flaring. Yet, some solution is required to reduce emissions of methane and trace constituents to the atmosphere for the protection of the public and of the global climate. Methane oxidation, as a natural biochemical process, offers an opportunity to reduce methane emissions with a simple, passive alternative cover system. The goal of this article is to develop an effective design of Methane Oxidation Covers to achieve superior methane management performance while still producing equivalent closure conditions to conventional covers in semi-arid, cold climates. specifically, the goal is to reduce methane surface emissions by 50% to 80%, with no significant increase in leachate production compared with conventional covers of clay and topsoil. A field pilot test of an alternative cover system with gas collection, methane oxidation and heat extraction was conducted on an operating MSW/ICI waste landfill in Western Canada from August 2001 to February 2005. The cool, semi-arid region experiences cold winters (down to minus 40^?C) for up to 5 months of the year, and annual precipitation rates of 150 mm to 450 mm p.a., of which one third to one half falls as snow. The need to direct gas from large surface areas to gas control zones of minimal area led to the configuration of the system of gas collection trenches connected to a central methane oxidation (MethOx) bed. The need to keep the bed above 5^?C in winter required the development of a simple, passive heat transfer system. The maintenance of suitable moisture contents and the restriction of percolation were accomplished by the choice of filter material and the layering of the bed over the gas percolation layer. The test program was conducted in three phases from August 2001 to February 2005. In the first test phase, a methane oxidation bed of yardwaste compost performed well during the summer, but froze from November to April and did not resume oxidation until May. Oxygen was always present at or above 3%(vol.) and the moisture content remained above 25%(vol.) in the lower layer of the bed. The freezing temperature caused the most serious performance reduction. In the next phases of the study, a passive heating system was installed in an accelerated methane oxidation bed. Heat exchange from inside the landfill to the filter raised the bed temperature to 14 to 18^?C during the third winter of the test. The moisture contents of 25% to 50% (v/v) in the bed were high, but the percolation rate was only 7.3 mm/a, or about 2% of total precipitation. The methane oxidation performance increased with the heating of the bed, from a 33% emission reduction in an unheated bed, up to 89% in a well heated filter bed. The achievement of high oxidation performance (over 80%), the complete reduction of surface emissions from the test area (to zero), and the low percolation rate through the filter bed (less that 2%) constitute a proof of principle for MethOx covers in cool, semi-arid climates. The possible improvement of the Alternative Cover System's performance by adding vegetation to the filter bed is currently being tested in the ongoing research project.     

Methanotrophic communities in a landfill cover soil as revealed by [13C] PLFAs and respiratory quinones: Impact of high methane addition and landfill leachate irrigation

The soil microbial communities of a landfill cover substrate, which was treated with landfill gas (100 l CH₄ m^?2 d^?1) and landfill leachate for 1.5 years, were investigated by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA), ergosterol and respiratory quinone analyses. The natural ¹³C depletion of methane was used to assess the activity of methanotrophs and carbon turnover in the soil system. Under methane addition, the soil microbial community was dominated by PLFAs (14:0 and 16:1 isomers) and quinones (ubiquinone-8 and 18-methylene-ubiquinone-8) related to type I methanotrophs, and 18:1 PLFAs contained in type II methanotrophs. While type I methanotrophic PLFAs were ¹³C depleted, i.e. type I methanotrophs were actively oxidising and assimilating methane, ¹³C depletion of 18:1 PLFAs was low and inconsistent with their abundance. This, possibly reflects isotopic discrimination, assimilation of carbon derived from type I methanotrophs and a high contribution of non-methanotrophic bacteria to the 18:1 isomers. Landfill leachate irrigation caused the methanotrophic community to shift closer to the soil surface. It also decreased 18:1 PLFAs, while type I methanotrophs were probably stimulated. Gram positive bacteria, but not fungi, were also ¹³C depleted and consequently involved in the secondary turnover of carbon originating from methanotrophic bacteria. Cy17:0 PLFA was ¹³C depleted in deep soil layers, indicating anaerobic methane oxidation.     

填埋场生物炭-甲烷氧化菌改性覆层的甲烷氧化特性

填埋场覆盖层是一种控制甲烷逃逸的最简单可行办法,然而一般的土质覆盖层工程特性差,与微生物甲烷氧化菌的甲烷氧化效能低。生物炭施加到土体中能够改变土体的微环境和微生物活性,进而可影响生物氧化甲烷的效能。为了研究生物炭-甲烷氧化菌改性土的甲烷氧化效率,使用甲烷检测仪,测定不同pH、甲烷浓度、土样干密度和生物炭掺量下,有菌和无菌土样的甲烷降低率的变化规律。结果表明：当无机盐培养液的pH值为7时,甲烷氧化菌具有较高的氧化效能;pH值为9时,甲烷氧化菌的甲烷降低小于pH值为7时。在一定初始甲烷浓度下,甲烷氧化菌的氧化效能随着初始甲烷浓度的增大而增大,但当初始甲烷浓度超过一定值时会抑制甲烷氧化菌的氧化效能,生物炭掺量和干密度均会影响甲烷氧化菌甲烷削减效能。随着生物炭掺量的增加,生物炭-甲烷氧化菌改性土的甲烷氧化效率是逐渐增大的;在干密度和生物炭掺量为1.20 g/cm³和15%时,无菌和有菌两种工况的甲烷降低率降幅较明显,分别为10.38%和39.72%。由此表明添加生物炭改变了填埋场覆盖层土体的微环境,提高了甲烷氧化菌的甲烷氧化效能,该研究对填埋场温室气体减排、大气污染防治及土体固碳减排具有重要学术意义和实际价值。     

Relevance of soil physical properties for the microbial oxidation of methane in landfill covers

The microbial oxidation of methane in landfill cover soils offers great potential to reduce methane emissions from landfills. High methane degradation rates can only be accomplished if the supply of atmospheric oxygen to the methanotrophic community is adequate. Thus, if environmental variables such as pH or nutrient status are not limiting, system performance is suggested to be governed by the share of pores available for gas transport. Diffusion tests as well as column studies were conducted to investigate the effect of air-filled porosity and degree of compaction on diffusivity and methane oxidation efficiency. Results show that the effective diffusion coefficient governing oxygen migration through soil is exponentially related to air-filled porosity space and can be significantly decreased by compaction. Discontinuity and tortuosity of the pore system strongly impeded diffusive migration at air-filled porosities below 10%. In the column study, soil gas composition and methane oxidation rates correlated with both the degree of compaction and the magnitude of advective bottom flux. Low aeration and hence low methane oxidation rates prevailed at high compaction rates and/or high bottom fluxes whereas high rates could be maintained at lower fluxes and/or low compaction rates. At a low degree of compaction (75% of the Proctor density), fluxes of 3.5 g CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹ could be fully oxidized at all times by a sandy loam, the capacity limit of which was not reached during the experiment. Our studies suggest that soils intended for use as methane-oxidizing biocovers are to maintain an air-filled porosity of at least 14 vol.%. At low and medium degree of compaction, this is provided by sands, loamy sands, sandy loams and some of the coarsely textured loams.     

Variability of methane emissions from an old landfill over different time‐scales

Methane (CH₄) emission patterns were investigated at an old landfill in northern Germany during a 2‐year campaign over three different time‐scales (seasonal, daily and diurnal) using modified static chambers. Emissions were not uniformly distributed over the cover soil, but occurred through localized preferential pathways (hotspots). The range of emissions from the 14 investigated hotspots at any one measurement event was large, reflecting large spatial variability of emissions from the landfill. In addition, the individual hotspots showed a large temporal variability of emissions (0–9.7 mol CH₄ day^?1 over a range of 20 months). Environmental variables effectively modified either the biological process of methane oxidation in the soil (temperature) or the physical gas transport process (moisture and atmospheric pressure). During the seasonal campaign, emissions generally were greater in winter (moister and cooler) and smaller during the summer period (dryer and warmer). Under dry conditions, emissions were independent of soil moisture but correlated negatively with soil temperature. A positive correlation of emissions with moisture was found for moisture levels relating to a matric potential of ?30 to ?6 kPa, reflecting impeded diffusive oxygen ingress and hence reduced methanotrophic activity. Under very moist conditions, more than ?6 kPa, emissions were negatively correlated with moisture content because of decreased gas permeability in the soil. In addition, a pressure decrease preceding the measurement was at all time‐scales often related to large emissions, whereas constant or rising pressure prior to measurement resulted in small emissions. The particular importance of the different effects depends on the type of gas transport at the specific emission location and whether it is advective or diffusive gas transport or a mixture of both, and varies at the temporal scale both between and within locations.     

δ34S variations in vegetation and soil exposed to intense biogenic sulphide emissions near Paige mountain,N.W.T., Canada

Sulphur isotope abundances demonstrate that natural emissions of biogenic H₂S and its oxidation products from springs near Paige Mountain, N.W.T., Canada, can be incorporated into surrounding soil and vegetation. δ³⁴S values as low as ? 33‰ for soil and vegetation are the result of dominant uptake of biogenic atmospheric compounds. In contrast, vegetation on a gypsum outcrop remote from the springs, has δ³⁴S values as high as + 26‰ indicating nearly exclusive derivation of S from the soil. Near the springs, soil with vegetative cover is less depleted in ³⁴S than soil lacking cover. Lower needles on a Black Spruce were found to be less depleted in ³⁴S than the upper needles. These observations suggest that upper foliage exerts a canopy effect on lower foliage and in turn, interception by vegetation reduces the flux of atmospheric S compounds to the soil. Clearly, natural emissions of S compounds can interfere in studies of long range transport of industrial emissions; S isotope analyses might identify such interferences and reduce the chance of misinterpretation.     

Landfill Methane Oxidation in Engineered Soil Columns at Low Temperature

Though engineered covers have been suggested for reducing landfill methane emissions via microbial methane oxidation, little is known about the covers' function at low temperature. This study aimed to determine the methane consumption rates of engineered soil columns at low temperature (4–12°C) and to identify soil characteristics that may enhance methane oxidation in the field. Engineered soils (30 cm thick) were mixtures of sewage sludge compost and de-inking waste, amended with sand (SDS soil) or bark chips (SDB soil). At 4–6°C, we achieved rates of 0.09 gCH₄ kgTS^?1d^?1 (0.02 m³ m^?2d^?1) and 0.06 gCH₄ kgTS^?1d^?1 (0.009 m³ m^?2d^?1) with SDS and SDB soils, respectively. With SDS, good movement and exchange of oxygen in porous soil moderated the slowdown of microbial activity so that the rate dropped only by half as temperature declined from 21–23°C to 4–6°C. In SDB, wet bark chips reduced the soil's air-filled porosity and intensified non-methanotrophic microbial activity, thus reducing the methane consumption rate at 4–6°C to one fourth of that at 21–23°C. In conclusion, soil characteristics such as air-filled porosity, water holding capacity, quantity and stabilization of organic amendments that affect the movement and exchange of oxygen are important variables in designing engineered covers for high methane oxidation at low temperature.     

Methane dynamics of landfill cover soils and aspects of their classification

The methane dynamics of soils covering a landfill in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, was investigated in 1996. The methane concentration was often < 20 nmol (dry g)^?1 within the cover layer and up to 9950 nmol (dry g)^?1 within the refuse body. The methane production rates correlated positively with the methane concentrations and were mostly < 10 nmol (dry g)^?1 d^?1 within the cover layer and up to 1090 nmol (dry g)^_1 d^_1 within the refuse body. The methane oxidation rates varied between 38.0–2310 nmol (dry g)^?1 d^?1. The methane emission rates showed values of up to 574 mol m^?2 h^?1, but in two cases no emission of methane was found. The data indicate that the methano-genesis of the deep refuse layers did not substantially affect the methane behaviour of the upper soil sections. It is likely that the emission of methane from landfills can be reduced by thick well aerated cover layers. The term “Reduktosol” for landfill soils is critically discussed.     

古尔班通古特沙漠人工梭梭林群落生态特征研究

为探究古尔班通古特沙漠南缘莫索湾地区33年来人工梭梭林群落(依靠天然降水)的生态特征,本文对两种造林技术(积雪-客沙造林和秋灌造林)人工梭梭林地梭梭的长势、草本植物、土壤水分进行了调查和监测。结果表明:(1)积雪-客沙造林和秋灌造林梭梭至今生长良好,目前植株高度和冠幅均大于2 m和2 m~2,当年新生枝条长度均大于20 cm;初始造林梭梭存活率较高,分别为40%和63%;经过自然更新,现有密度均有所提高,人工林形成异龄复层混交林,林下生长有不同优势种的草本植物;土壤含水量均2.00%,能够满足梭梭生长。(2)由于两种造林技术的土地处理方式和初期水分供给量不同,导致两种林地梭梭生长、林下草本植物盖度和多样性以及天然更新梭梭植株数量均有很大差异,整体秋灌造林地的状况优于积雪-客沙造林地。(3)两种造林技术对于当地生态条件均有很好的适应性,虽然积雪-客沙造林密度相对较低,但优于自然植被状况,且造林成本低;秋灌造林密度较大,天然更新植株数量较多,但造林成本高,后期生长较缓慢,需要采取一定的人工措施调整密度。综上可知,积雪-客沙造林和秋灌造林梭梭目前生长均较稳定,后者对该区生态条件适应性更强。     

陕北沙区不同利用方式风沙土的养分特征

通过分析陕北沙区榆林市不同利用方式形成的流动风沙土、半固定风沙土、固定风沙土(紧沙土)和由人类生产活动形成的耕种固定风沙土、耕灌固定风沙土的养分特征,发现随着植被的增加,流动沙丘逐渐被固定,流动风沙土、半固定风沙土、固定风沙土含有较多养分的细颗粒增多使表层养分逐渐增加。耕种固定风沙土由于生产活动,加速了土壤有机质的矿化,使土壤有机质、氮素含量降低;而磷肥的使用,使土壤有效磷增加。耕灌固定风沙土作为当地的基本农田受人类活动影响,引水拉沙,增加土壤细颗粒含量,且大量施肥,使这种土壤的肥力有了较大地提高。     

甘肃秦王川灌区种植豆禾混播牧草的农田生态保育效应

以裸地(CK)、种植小麦(Triticum aestivum)和苜蓿/无芒雀麦(Medicago sativa/Bromus inermis)豆禾混播牧草地为研究对象,通过测定地表植被特征指标、土壤风蚀量及理化性质等指标,探究秦王川灌区农田风蚀规律及种植春小麦和牧草对土壤及养分流失的影响。结果表明:农田表土损失呈秋末冬初流失较多,冬季较少,春季又明显增强的"U"形曲线模式,从9月至翌年6月,出现2个风蚀高峰期(9—11月和3—5月);耕地裸露造成表土年均流失1.7 kg/m~2,即每年被风吹蚀1.3 mm厚表土,土壤有机质损失236.2 kg/hm~2,而种植小麦和牧草后在地表植被(根茬)覆盖作用下表土流失减少20.1%和52.3%,有机质损失减少12.2%和50.7%;由于风蚀季牧草植被(根茬)的盖度、高度和地表生物量均较小麦大,使得牧草地的地表粗糙度和湿度及表土(0—5 cm)含水率较小麦地高,从而造成土壤和有机质流失较小麦地少;相关和回归分析显示,地表植被特征指标与地表粗糙度和土壤含水率间呈显著正相关,而与地表土壤和有机质流失量呈极显著负相关;植被盖度每提高1%,将使表土和有机质流失减少4.1 g/m~2和59.3 mg/m~2,地表生物量每提高1 g/m~2,将使表土和有机质流失减少2.3 g/m~2和34.0 mg/m~2;春季春播小麦地的表土流失量与裸地相同,而种植多年生豆禾混播牧草可显著减少表土流失和有机质损失。综合以上,甘肃灌区农田春季播种农作物易引起土壤退化,而种植多年生豆禾混播牧草可实现农田生态保育,从而提高耕地质量和区域环境质量。     

N2O emissions from an irrigated and non‐irrigated organic soil in eastern Canada as influenced by N fertilizer addition

Drainage and cultivation of organic soils often result in large nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on N₂O emissions from a cultivated organic soil located south of Montréal, QC, Canada, drained in 1930 and used since then for vegetable production. Fluxes of N₂O were measured weekly from May 2004 to November 2005 when snow cover was absent in irrigated and non‐irrigated plots receiving 0, 100 or 150 kg N ha⁻¹ as NH₄NO₃. Soil mineral N content, gas concentrations, temperature, water table height and water content were also measured to help explain variations in N₂O emissions. Annual emissions during the experiment were large, ranging from 3.6 to 40.2 kg N₂O‐N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. The N₂O emissions were decreased by N fertilizer addition in the non‐irrigated site but not in the irrigated site. The absence of a positive influence of soil mineral N content on N₂O emissions was probably in part because up to 571 kg N ha⁻¹ were mineralized during the snow‐free season. Emissions of N₂O were positively correlated to soil CO₂ emissions and to variables associated with the extent of soil aeration such as soil oxygen concentration, precipitation and soil water table height, thereby indicating that soil moisture/aeration and carbon bioavailability were the main controls of N₂O emission. The large N₂O emissions observed in this study indicate that drained cultivated organic soils in eastern Canada have a potential for N₂O‐N losses similar to, or greater than, organic soils located in northern Europe.     

Willow stands as an alternative method for the reduction of leachate at contaminated sites — numerical investigations

The commonly used multiple‐liner‐system of modern top sealings of contaminated sites is expensive and in many cases (minor hazardousness of pollutants), not necessary. As an alternative, we investigated the performance of willow stands as the only measure to reduce percolating soil water and therewith pollutant transport to underlying ground water resources. It is well accepted that willows have a high water demand and may considerably reduce percolation. On the basis of experimentally determined soil physical properties of a landfill site, we performed water balance calculations with the physically based HYDRUS‐code and a simple bucket approach. The 20 yr annual leachate rate for bare soil was calculated to vary from 336 (HYDRUS) to 451 mm yr^—1 (bucket‐model). Willows were able to reduce the annual leachate to 146 (HYDRUS) and 186 mm yr^—1 (bucket‐model), indicating their great performance compared to a grass‐ or beechwood cover. However, legal regulations (TASi) in Germany cannot be met with the proposed method. In minor hazardous cases, official authorities may accept willow stands as an alternative system for protection.     

Methane Fluxes from Alpine Wetlands of Zoige Plateau in Relation to Water Regime and Vegetation under Two Scales

Methane fluxes in alpine ecosystems remain insufficiently studied, especially in terms of the magnitude, temporal, and spatial patterns. To quantify the mean methane emission of alpine ecosystems, methane fluxes were measured among six ecosystems and microsites within each ecosystem at Zoige National Wetland Reserve. The average methane emission from Zoige Plateau was 2.25 mg CH₄ m^?2?h^?1, which fell into the range of methane emission rate reported by a number of studies in other alpine wetlands. Prevailing ecosystem types had important impacts on the methane flux on the landscape scale. In the wet ecosystems, the microsites had different methane emissions resulting from the differences in the depth of water table and associated vegetation characteristics. The identification of the microsites based on their vegetation characteristics thus allows upscaling of methane emissions in these ecosystems. However, in the dry ecosystems showing even methane uptake, the spatial variation in the methane fluxes was low and the vegetation has a poor predicative value for the methane fluxes. There, the soil porosity linked to the gas diffusion rate in soil would be the key factor explaining methane fluxes.     

Effects of 30-year-old Aleppo pine plantations on runoff,soil erosion,and plant diversity in a semi-arid landscape in south eastern Spain

Forest management policies in Mediterranean areas have traditionally encouraged land cover changes, with the establishment of tree cover (Aleppo pine) in natural or degraded ecosystems for soil conservation purposes: to reduce soil erosion and to increase the vegetation structure. In order to evaluate the usefulness of these management policies on reduced erosion in semi-arid landscapes, we compared 5 vegetation cover types (bare soil, dry grassland, shrublands, afforested dry grasslands and afforested thorn shrublands), monitored in 15 hydrological plots (8 × 2 m), in the Ventós catchment (Alicante, SE Spain), over 4 years (1996 to 1999). Each cover type represented a different dominant patch of the vegetation mosaic on the north-facing slopes of this catchment. The results showed that runoff coefficients of vegetated plots were less than 1% of the precipitation volume; whereas runoff in denuded areas was nearly 4%. Soil losses in vegetation plots averaged 0.04 Mg ha^− 1 year^− 1 and increased 40-fold in open-land plots. The evaluation of these forest management policies, in contrast with the natural vegetation communities, suggests that: (1) thorn shrublands and dry grassland communities with vegetation cover could control runoff and sediment yield as effectively as Aleppo pine afforestation in these communities, and (2) afforestation with a pine stratum improved the stand's vertical structure resulting in pluri-stratified communities, but reduced the species richness and plant diversity in the understorey of the plantations.     

BGB微生物菌剂对黄土高原区域土壤与油松的影响

[目的]研究黄土高原区域油松造林中施用BGB微生物菌剂对油松造林成活率、树高、地径生长的影响,以及土壤养分与水分的变化,为BGB微生物菌剂在黄土丘陵地区的植被恢复应用提供理论依据和技术支持。[方法]在不同坡面处施用3种量的BGB微生物菌剂,观察不同量的处理对油松及土壤养分的影响。[结果]BGB微生物菌剂能够显著提高苗木的成活率,促进苗木树高、地径的增长;可以显著地提高土壤中各养分的含量,增加土壤含水量,且影响随着土壤深度的增加而减小,随坡度的降低而变大。其中对土壤中速效磷和有机质的影响最显著;BGB微生物菌剂能够明显改善土壤的含水量,并且在土壤20—40cm处作用较明显。[结论]BGB微生物菌剂对油松造林成活率、生长量与土壤养分有显著的影响。     

温度对不同生态系统土壤甲烷氧化过程和甲烷氧化细菌的影响

温室气体的大量人为排放导致了近百年来的全球气候变化。甲烷是重要的温室气体,随着全球气温升高,甲烷排放量会随之增加,进一步加剧了全球温室效应。土壤是甲烷重要的源和汇,土壤中的甲烷氧化细菌在平衡甲烷的释放过程中发挥着关键作用。探究温度变化对土壤甲烷氧化能力的影响成为近年来的研究热点。本文综述了温度对土壤甲烷氧化过程以及甲烷氧化细菌的影响,分析了在不同温度下,各生态系统中的土壤甲烷氧化及甲烷氧化细菌响应特点和规律,比较了不同生态系统中土壤发生甲烷氧化的温度范围以及甲烷氧化菌株的生长温度范围。综述结果表明,不同生态系统能够发生甲烷氧化的温度范围不同;在能发生甲烷氧化的温度范围内,甲烷氧化速率随温度升高而增加;培养温度与土壤原位温度越相近时,甲烷氧化响应较为灵敏。与温度对甲烷氧化过程的影响类似,甲烷氧化细菌的丰度也随着温度升高而增加,并与增温幅度、优势甲烷氧化细菌的原位生长温度密切相关。土壤中的II型甲烷氧化细菌对温度较敏感,随着温度升高,II型甲烷氧化细菌丰度增加,因此,温度会通过影响甲烷氧化细菌的丰度和群落结构,从而影响甲烷氧化过程。但温度是否仅通过调控优势菌种更替来改变土壤甲烷氧化能力目前还尚未定论,未来需要进一步探究。本文讨论了土壤甲烷氧化过程对温度的响应及其微生物机制,可为全面解析全球变暖下的土壤甲烷氧化过程的变化提供参考。     

Temporal and spatial variability of the CH4 dynamics of landfill cover soils

Landfills are regarded as important sources of the atmospheric methane (CH₄), one of the major greenhouse gases. In this study we investigated the CH₄ dynamics of landfill cover soils in a long‐term field experiment. The CH₄ emission rates were low, mostly ranging from —100 to 100 μmol m^—2 h^—1, with prevailing negative values. Higher values of up to 130,000 μmol m^—2 h^—1, obtained concurrently, were due to mice burrows, connecting the reduced soil sections with the aerated ones. Thus, the appearance of spatial dissimilarity was the most important factor influencing temporal variability. Reducing the soil cover from 120 cm to at least 60 cm caused a tendency of increased CH₄ emission. The oxidation rates were also low and differed with low temporal variability from 1.0—11.9 nmol g^—1 h^—1 in 0—10 cm soil depth and 0—5.3 nmol g^—1 h^—1 in 40—50 cm, respectively. Highest rates were obtained at 25—30 % soil water content. A mapping of CH₄ concentrations over the whole landfill showed a large spatial variation with values of 3.1—343 nmol g^—1. Subsequent CH₄ emission rates were between —0.2 and 120,000 mmol m^—2 d^—1 and showed a positive correlation to the CH₄ concentrations (r = 0.993, P < 0.05). Thus, by a large scale mapping of CH₄ concentrations a low‐cost procedure is proposed to identify the hot spots of CH₄ release which should be treated with additional thick and well aerated cover soil materials.     

The Impact of Simulated Acid Rain and Fertilizer Application on a Mature Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum Marsh.) Forstt in Central Ontario Canada

The effects of two year's addition of simulated acid precipitation, with and without added fertilizer, on mycorrhizae, litter decomposition and soil and tree chemistry in a sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) dominated forest were investigated. The forest floor beneath mature sugar maple trees was irrigated at monthly intervals between May and September with local lake water acidified to pH 3, pH 4 or untreated lakewater of pH 4.9. In addition, a commercial organic slow-release fertilizer (Maple Gro) was added to the soil prior to irrigation with pH 3 spray. Trees to which no experimental spray was applied were also included as controls. Eight trees were used for each of the five treatments. Application of the acid spray alone did not acidify surface soil nor cause visible symptoms of decline in trees. The pH of the soil solution and soil leachate was increased by addition of acidified lakewater. An increase in the concentration of sulphate (SO₄ ^2-), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) in soil leachate was only recorded in plots irrigated with water acidified to pH 3 + Maple Gro. The initial rate of litter decomposition tended to be higher following application of the acid sprays, although mycorrhizal infection of sugar maple roots was reduced in the pH 3 and pH 4 treatments. Concentrations of zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) were highest in wood formed during the period irrigated with water acidified to pH 3. Foliar nitrogen (N) concentrations tended to be higher in all irrigated treatments, although there were no differences between treatment in any of the other nutrients measured in foliage after two years of treatment. It is concluded that the application of simulated acid rain under field conditions results in a complex interaction of events which are not reproduced in pot trials and must be fully understood before the impact of acid rain on sugar maple forests can be evaluated.