Landscape context mediates influence of local food abundance on wetland use by wintering shorebirds in an agricultural valley

While it is widely understood that local abundance of benthic invertebrates can greatly influence the distribution and abundance of wetland birds, no studies have examined if wetland landscape context can mediate this relationship. We studied the influence of wetland food abundance and landscape context on use of agricultural wetlands by wintering dunlin (Calidris alpina) and killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, USA, over two winters (1999-2000, 2000-2001) of differing rainfall and subsequent habitat distribution. We monitored bird use (frequency of occurrence and abundance) at a sample of wetlands differing in local food abundance (density and biomass) and landscape context [adjacent shorebird habitat (defined as ha of wet habitat with less than 50% vegetative cover and within a 2-km radius) and nearest neighbor distance]. We evaluated predictive models for bird use using linear regression and the Cp criterion to select the most parsimonious model. During the dry winter (2000-2001), dunlin exhibited greater use of sites with higher invertebrate density and biomass but also with more adjacent shorebird habitat and closest to a wetland neighbor. However, neither landscape context nor food abundance were important predictors of dunlin use during the wet winter (1999-2000). Use of sites by killdeer was unrelated to either local food abundance or landscape context measures during both winters. Our findings contribute to a growing recognition of the importance of landscape structure to wetland birds and highlight a number of implications for the spatial planning and enhancement of wetlands using a landscape approach.     

景电灌区几种土地利用方式土壤有机碳和养分特征研究

对景电灌区土壤次生盐渍化的1年生枸杞地和多年生枸杞地、未盐渍化的小麦地和苜蓿地4种土地利用方式土壤有机碳和养分状况进行对比研究,结果表明:在0~60cm土层,小麦地土壤有机碳含量及其密度、全氮和速效磷含量均最高,苜蓿地均最低;土壤全氮与有机碳含量呈极显著正相关(r=0.791,P0.01);4种利用方式C/N比值均较低,多年生枸杞地C/N比值最高,1年生枸杞地最低;4种利用方式速效钾含量无显著差异;苜蓿地容重显著高于其他3种利用方式,这与其低的有机碳含量密切相关(r=0.420,P0.01)。与小麦地相比,1年生枸杞地土壤有机碳含量及其密度显著降低,全氮和速效磷含量有所降低;与1年生枸杞地相比,多年生枸杞地土壤有机碳含量及其密度有所增加,全氮含量显著降低,速效磷含量显著增加。这意味着该区耕地土壤发生次生盐渍化以后,土壤性状恶化;种植枸杞使次生盐渍化土壤性状有所改善。     

亚铁对水平潜流人工湿地污染物去除能力的分层效应影响

通过模拟试验,考察并探讨不同浓度亚铁添加对水平潜流人工湿地中氮和COD去除能力的影响以及作用机理。结果表明:添加亚铁有利于水平潜流人工湿地各层中总氮、硝态氮和铵态氮的去除效果,而且添加亚铁浓度为50mg/L的人工湿地系统优于其他各处理组,但是过高的亚铁添加又限制了氮的去除效果,尤其是对下层铵态氮的去除能力有抑制作用,但是均高于对照组,而且亚铁添加影响了湿地系统这3种无机形态的氮分层效应。亚铁的添加促进试验初期人工湿地对COD的去除能力,在一定程度上影响了各层COD的去除效果。亚铁离子进入人工湿地后,系统中各层铁元素浓度迅速下降,但是由于铁元素的变价结构及其易水解特性,使得各处理系统出水pH先增加后趋于平稳,且下层pH低于上层和中层,同时也使得系统各层氧化还原电位(ORP)发生变化。亚铁添加促进了湿地系统中ORP的分层,却减缓了ORP的下降。     

Land restoration by fodder shrubs in a semi-arid agro-pastoral area of Morocco. Effects on soils

The present study assesses the effects of Atriplex nummularia Lindl. growth on soil chemical properties in a semi-arid area. The area is located in the Marrakech province (Morocco), in a degraded agropastoral region subjected to soil restoration actions based on fodder shrub plantations.     

Influence of irrigation on the distribution and control of the nematode Meloidogyne javanica by the biocontrol bacterium Pasteuria penetrans in the field

Pasteuria penetrans, a bacterial parasite of plant-parasitic nematodes, is used to control root-knot nematode Meloidogyne spp. populations in vegetable crops. But its efficiency is variable, mostly because of the patchy distribution of the bacteria in arable fields. As the infective P. penetrans are non-motile bacteria in soil, abiotic soil factors can affect the bacteria–nematode relationships. An epidemiological study, conducted in a vegetable field, showed that abiotic factors such as irrigation, soil water holding capacity and texture, affected the efficiency of P. penetrans. A correspondence analysis between these abiotic factors and the density of P. penetrans spores in the soil, and the proportion of Meloidogyne javanica juveniles infected by the bacteria, revealed that irrigation affected directly the distribution of the spores in soil pores related to their passive transport by water flow. Laboratory experiments conducted on the passive transport of spores confirmed that intensive irrigation leached the spores down the soil profile and decreased the percentage of infected Meloidogyne juveniles.     

Mechanisms of production of soil protease by proteolytic Bacillus subtilis in wetland rice soil

In sterile soil inoculated with proteolytic Bacillus subtilis, the correlation between variations in protease activity and cell numbers was investigated during incubation, and the results were compared with those obtained in different growth media. In sterile soil inoculated with B. subtilis, the extracted soil z-FLase activity (hydrolytic activity towards benzyloxycarbonyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-leucine extracted with 0.1 M phosphate buffer) was correlated with the extracted soil protein content (r=0.95; P<0.01) and the number of vegetative cells (r=0.88, P<0.05), while the extracted soil caseinase activity was well correlated with the number of spores (r=0.82, P<0.05) and not with the number of vegetative cells. Extracellular z-FLase activity in different growth media, inoculated with the proteolytic B. subtilis, was correlated with the extracellular protein concentration (r=0.73, P<0.01) and the number of cells (r=0.73, P<0.01), but extracellular caseinase activity was not correlated with either of these measurements. From these results, we concluded that soil z-FLase production might relate to vegetative growth of the proteolytic B. subtilis and soil caseinase might relate to B. subtilis sporulation.     

黄土半干旱区枣、榆水分利用效率的比较研究

在黄土半干旱区,采用人工控制水分的方法,选择生长良好的枣树和榆树幼树,在晴天利用LI-6400便携式光合作用测定系统对其净光合速率、蒸腾速率、气孔导度进行了测定,并应用遮荫法测定不同太阳有效辐射下净光合速率、蒸腾速率,比较其水分利用效率.结果表明:不同土壤水分条件下,枣树和榆树的净光合速率日变化明显不同,枣树变化幅度大于榆树,枣树对水分的利用效率高于榆树.对枣、榆幼树连续时间内日蒸散量的测定结果表明,影响蒸散量的主要因素是土壤含水量,枣树耗水能力高于榆树,但当土壤含水量升高时枣树耗水能力反而降低,相对于枣树而言黄土半干旱区更有利于榆树生长.     

Plant species traits regulate methane production in freshwater wetland soils

Ecosystem and biogeochemical responses to anthropogenic stressors are the result of complex interactions between plants and microbes. A mechanistic understanding of how plant traits influence microbial processes is needed in order to predict the ecosystem-level effects of natural or anthropogenic change. This is particularly true in wetland ecosystems, where plants alter the availability of both electron donors (e.g., organic carbon) and electron acceptors (e.g., oxygen and ferric iron), thereby regulating the total amount of anaerobic respiration and the production of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. In this study, we examined how plant traits associated with plant inputs of carbon (photosynthesis and biomass) and oxygen (root porosity and ferric iron on roots) to mineral soils relate to microbial competition for organic carbon and, ultimately, methane production. Plant productivity was positively correlated with microbial respiration and negatively correlated to methane production. Root porosity was relatively constant across plant species, but belowground biomass, total biomass, and the concentration of oxidized (ferric) iron on roots varied significantly between species. As a result the size of the total root oxidized iron pool varied considerably across plant species, scaling with plant productivity. Large pools of oxidized iron were related to high CO₂:CH₄ ratios during microbial respiration, indicating that as plant productivity and biomass increased, microbes used non-methanogenic respiration pathways, most likely including the reduction of iron oxides. Taken together these results suggest that increased oxygen input from plants with greater biomass can offset any potential stimulation of methanogenic microbes from additional carbon inputs. Because the species composition of plant communities influences both electron donor and acceptor availability in wetland soils, changes in plant species as a consequence of anthropogenic disturbance have the potential to trigger profound effects on microbial processes, including changes in anaerobic decomposition rates and the proportion of mineralized carbon emitted as the greenhouse gas methane.     

麻栎林龄对土壤水稳性团聚体及其有机碳含量的影响

为了解林龄对土壤团聚体及其有机碳含量的影响,探求各级团聚体中碳含量与团聚体稳定性之间的关系,以17、26和65 a的麻栎人工林为对象,研究了林地0～40 cm土壤水稳性团聚体组成、团聚体水稳定性以及各级团聚体有机碳含量的变化规律和相互关系。结果表明:①林龄对土壤团聚体组成及其水稳定性影响显著,影响效果随林龄增加而增强,随土层加深而减弱;②林龄对土壤团聚体有机碳含量影响显著,影响程度随林龄增加而增强;③0.25 mm土壤团聚体有机碳含量与各级土壤有机碳含量密切相关,也是影响团聚体水稳定性的主要因素。     

不同有机物料接种蚯蚓对设施菜地土壤 培肥及作物生长的影响

设施蔬菜栽培长期施用过量化肥,往往导致土壤质量退化及作物产量降低等问题。因此,采用生态友好的农业生产方式已成为农业可持续发展的趋势。本研究在野外调控试验的第3年采集作物和土壤,研究了施用不同有机物料条件下,接种赤子爱胜蚓(Eisenia foetida)对设施菜地土壤性质和作物生长的影响。结果表明,在不同有机物料施用下接种赤子爱胜蚓均显著地提高了黄瓜和菠菜的产量,其中在施用腐熟牛粪+食用菌渣条件下接种赤子爱胜蚓效果最显著。此外,在腐熟牛粪和腐熟牛粪+食用菌渣施用条件下,接种赤子爱胜蚓显著地提高土壤的硝态氮(NO3–-N)、团聚体平均重量直径(MWD)、微生物生物量碳(MBC)、微生物生物量氮(MBN)和代谢熵(q CO2),而在施用商品有机肥的处理中,接种赤子爱胜蚓仅显著地提高了土壤NO3–-N和q CO2。本研究促进了对蚯蚓在设施农业生态系统中服务功能的理解,并为设施农业生产提供了理论基础。     

Impacts of particulate organic carbon and dissolved organic carbon on removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides, and nonylphenols in a wetland

Background, aim, and scope  The potential of wetlands for controlling point- and nonpoint-source pollution in surface water has attracted increasing interest. The partitioning process of organic contaminants between water, particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), impacts their behaviors in the aquatic environments. Meantime, the partitioning process of organic contaminants is closely related to their physicochemical properties, such as hydrophobicity (or K _ow), and their fates in wetlands may vary greatly depending on physicochemical properties. The aim of this study was to examine fates and removals of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and nonylphenols (NPs) in a wetland in Beijing, China, and provide useful information for ecological remediation. Materials and methods  Water samples, collected at five sites from inlet to outlet of the wetland once a month in summer 2006, were immediately filtered within 2 days through 0.45-μm glass fiber prefilters and enriched by solid-phase extraction. The filtered particulates were collected as the total suspended particulates (TSPs), freeze-dried, and Soxhlet-extracted. After extraction, samples were purified following a clean-up procedure and analyzed by GC-MS. Results  TSPs could be removed efficiently with a removal rate of 97.4%, and DOC could be moderately removed with a removal rate of 44.7% from inlet to outlet. The total removals of target contaminants varied widely from null to 82.0%. A good correlation between logK _ow and logK _oc (organic-carbon-normalized suspended-particulate partition coefficient) was observed (r ² = 0.84 for PAHs and r ² = 0.86 for OCPs, p < 0.01). Ratios of the POC-bound fraction of target contaminants (or DOC-bound fraction) to the freely dissolved fraction increased with their K _ow values. The removal of the POC fraction contributed more than 50% to the total removal for the contaminants with logK _ow > 5.0. Only a small portion of the removal was attributed to the removal of the freely dissolved fraction. Discussion  Hydrophobic compounds such as PAHs and OCPs with higher K _ow values would show stronger POC or DOC preference. Their removal depended greatly on their K _ow values and the removal of total suspended particulates. On the other hand, concentrations of NPs decreased little in the wetland, probably due to their production through degradation of their precursors and relatively low hydrophobicity. Conclusions  POC and DOC play essential roles on the fates and removals of hydrophobic organic contaminants in the wetland. The removal of target contaminants with a high K _ow should be mainly through association with the suspended particulates which were precipitated and retained in the wetland. The fates of the organic contaminants in the wetland greatly depended on their hydrophobicities. Recommendations and perspectives  Further work should be done to study the influence of hydraulic retention time and some other environmental factors, e.g., temperature, on removals and fates of organic contaminants. Behavior of NPs and their precursors in the wetland should also be investigated more thoroughly.     

Grazing-induced spatial variability of soil bulk density and content of moisture, organic carbon and calcium carbonate in a semi-arid rangeland

The landscape of many semiarid rangelands is characterized by a two-phase, shrub–intershrub vegetation mosaic, each phase having different soil properties. However, this broad subdivision groups together types of intershrub surface cover that may also differ in their soil properties and play important roles in ecosystem functioning. In the northern Negev region of Israel, we examined the soil properties associated with flock trampling routes and rock fragment clusters, as well as those associated with the remainder of the intershrub area and shrub patches. Moisture content, organic carbon content, bulk density and calcium carbonate content of the soil were determined for the above four types of cover, inside and outside long-term grazing exclosures. Soil was sampled in the peak of the growing season and in the end of the dry season, on a north- and a south-facing hillside, and from two depths. The shrub patches exhibited the highest soil moisture and organic carbon contents, and the lowest bulk density and calcium carbonate contents. The trampling routes showed opposite trends. The rock fragment clusters and the remainder of the intershrub area did not generally differ and had intermediate values of these properties. Grazing did not have a significant effect on soil properties at the whole-plot scale, but there were highly significant interactions between grazing and type of cover. Compared with the former trampling routes in the exclosures, the active trampling routes outside them had higher bulk density and lower moisture and organic carbon contents. The intershrub area had higher moisture and organic carbon contents under grazing than in the exclosures. Grazing increased the spatial heterogeneity of the soil properties examined via the creation of a network of trampling routes on the hillsides. The routes themselves, which constituted over 20% of the landscape cover, had degraded soil properties but they led to the improvement of the properties of the remainder of the intershrub area via functionally important source–sink relationships. The study of the soil of regions in which such networks are apparent should be duly cognizant of this intershrub subdivision in addition to the widely recognized shrub–intershrub dichotomy.     

Small mammals in agricultural landscapes: Opposing responses to farming practices and landscape complexity

Organic farming often counteracts the decline of various taxa owing to agricultural intensification, but little is known about the relative importance of local management and landscape context for small mammals. We examined the abundance, species richness and diversity of small mammal communities in 22 organically and conventionally managed winter wheat fields pairwise located along a gradient of landscape structural complexity (41–94% arable land). Complex landscapes significantly increased small mammal abundance and (with marginal significance) species richness and diversity, but only in conventional fields, whereas organic farming increased small mammals in simple landscapes. These results indicate the importance of landscape complexity for small mammal populations in an intensified agriculture. Analyses at multiple spatial scales (100 m, 250 m, 500 m radii around focal fields), showed opposing responses of the three most abundant species to landscape complexity. Apodemus agrarius PALLAS abundance increased with increasing landscape complexity at a spatial scale of 100 m, whereas Microtus arvalis PALLAS and Sorex araneus L. abundances decreased with increasing landscape complexity at spatial scales of 100 m and 500 m, respectively, suggesting species-specific ecological needs as well as functional spatial scales for conservation management. In conclusion, agri-environmental measures for small mammals such as organic farming are most effective in simple landscapes, while complex landscapes presumably function as source habitats and can compensate for local agricultural intensification in conventional fields.     

紫茎泽兰堆肥的质量及对土壤有机质、养分和微生物的影响

为紫茎泽兰是我国危害最严重的外来入侵植物,具有生物毒性,无害化处理与资源化利用可经济、有效地防除紫茎泽兰。试验检测了紫茎泽兰生物堆肥的质量,并将紫茎泽兰生物堆肥(M)、化肥(CF)和生物堆肥+化肥(CFM)分别施入土壤,利用培养试验比较了它们对土壤有机质、养分和微生物的影响,为客观评价紫茎泽兰生物堆肥质量、微生物毒性和肥效提供有益信息。结果表明,紫茎泽兰生物堆肥质量符合NY525-2011国家标准(水分除外),且优于自然堆肥。在120 d的培养期间,CF处理降低土壤真菌和放线菌数量,对细菌数量无显著影响;CFM和M处理可提高土壤有机质和微生物量碳、氮,增加土壤细菌、真菌和放线菌数量。在添加化肥的土壤中,培养前期的碱解氮、脲酶和蔗糖酶活性高于CK(不施肥),后期与CK无显著差异。在CFM和M处理的土壤中,碱解氮变化平缓,但持续高于CK,蔗糖酶、脲酶、酸性磷酸酶和过氧化氢酶活性显著高于CF和CK。因此,紫茎泽兰生物堆肥对土壤有机质、氮、微生物生物量及土壤酶活性的影响类似于普通有机肥。     

玉米残体分解对不同肥力棕壤团聚体组成及有机碳分布的影响

  目的  为了对土壤资源的合理利用与管理提供指导,研究不同土地利用方式土壤有机碳组分和微生物群落对植物残体的响应。  方法  以枣树林、撂荒地和玉米地为研究对象,分别设置添加沙达旺、苦豆子、二者混合植物残体及空白共计12个处理,并进行室内培养试验,测定了土壤总有机碳（TOC）、可溶性有机碳（DOC）、微生物量碳（MBC）、颗粒有机碳（ POC）以及微生物群落含量等指标。  结果  在三种土地利用方式下,沙打旺、苦豆子和混合植物残体输入后土壤TOC、DOC、MBC及POC均显著增加,枣树林地 > 玉米地 > 撂荒地。不同利用方式的土壤总磷脂脂肪酸、革兰氏阳性细菌（G⁺） 、革兰氏阴性细菌（G⁻）及放线菌含量在植物残体输入下均呈现不同程度的增加。三种植物残体对不同土地利用方式下PLFAs含量的影响表现为：枣树林地 > 玉米地 > 撂荒地。土壤G⁺/G⁻的比值范围为0.96 ~ 1.15。在三种土地利用方式下,植物残体输入并没有显著影响G⁺/G⁻的比值。  结论  植物残体输入改变了三种土地利用方式的土壤有机碳组分及微生物群落的含量,土壤TOC、DOC、MBC和POC等有机碳组分含量与土壤G⁺、G⁻ 、放线菌和真菌数量呈显著正相关关系,而与土壤G ⁺ /G⁻无明显相关关系。本研究结果为不同土地利用方式的土壤肥力提升与绿色可持续利用提供了科学参考。     

Effects of nitrogen fertiliser and pesticide management on floodwater ecology in a wetland ricefield

We investigated the effects of N fertiliser and pesticide applications on the population dynamics of benthic molluscs in a tropical wetland rice field. Populations were monitored for two consecutive dry seasons in selected treatments during a study on the effects of agricultural practices on the floodwater ecology of tropical rice fields. The most abundant species recorded in the ricefields were the snailsMelanoides tuberculata andMelanoides granifera. Population densities and biomass values in planted plots ranged between 0 and 1530 individuals m^-2 and 0 and 1060 kg ha^-1, respectively. Snails were more abundant in unplanted than planted plots (1991: 170–2040 versus 0–1040 individuals m^-2, respectively). Populations in planted plots declined as the crop season progressed. Snail populations were significantly reduced by the broadcast application of mineral N fertiliser at 110 kg N ha^-1. There was little evidence that snails were affected by carbofuran or butachlor applications.     

长期外源有机物料添加对川中丘陵区农田土壤养分和有机碳组分的影响

有机肥和秸秆等有机物料添加是调控土壤肥力的重要手段，可促进农田土壤有机碳的数量和质量发生变化。研究选取盐亭紫色土农业生态试验站长期（16a）6种不同施肥处理试验小区，探究两种形式的外源有机物料（猪粪堆肥和秸秆还田）添加对土壤有机碳及总氮、总磷、硝态氮和速效磷养分含量的影响，并基于固态13C核磁共振波谱技术(13C-NMR)分析其对土壤有机碳化学组分的影响。研究发现，添加有机物料可显著增加0~30 cm土壤有机碳和各养分含量；猪粪堆肥施用对土壤总磷、速效磷和硝态氮含量的影响大于秸秆还田。结果还表明两种有机物料添加改变了耕层土壤有机碳化学组成及其稳定性，有机物料添加增加了0~10 cm表层土壤有机碳中烷氧基碳和羧基碳的比例，降低了烷基碳的比例，同时降低了10~20 cm土层羧基碳比例，增加了烷基碳比例。本研究可为区域旱耕地有机碳库稳定性及其碳汇功能评估提供科学依据。     

Temperature, water content and wet-dry cycle effects on DOC production and carbon mineralization in agricultural peat soils

Agricultural peat soils in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California have been identified as an important source of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and trihalomethane precursors in waters exported for drinking. The objectives of this study were to examine the primary sources of DOC from soil profiles (surface vs. subsurface), factors (temperature, soil water content and wet-dry cycles) controlling DOC production, and the relationship between C mineralization and DOC concentration in cultivated peat soils. Surface and subsurface peat soils were incubated for 60 d under a range of temperature (10, 20, and 30 °C) and soil water contents (0.3-10.0 g-water g-soil⁻¹). Both CO₂-C and DOC were monitored during the incubation period. Results showed that significant amount of DOC was produced only in the surface soil under constantly flooded conditions or flooding/non-flooding cycles. The DOC production was independent of temperature and soil water content under non-flooded condition, although CO₂ evolution was highly correlated with these parameters. Aromatic carbon and hydrophobic acid contents in surface DOC were increased with wetter incubation treatments. In addition, positive linear correlations (r²=0.87) between CO₂-C mineralization rate and DOC concentration were observed in the surface soil, but negative linear correlations (r²=0.70) were observed in the subsurface soil. Results imply that mineralization of soil organic carbon by microbes prevailed in the subsurface soil. A conceptual model using a kinetic approach is proposed to describe the relationships between CO₂-C mineralization rate and DOC concentration in these soils.     

土壤质地对柱花草生长发育、生物量及土壤肥力变化的影响

采用大田试验的方法,在云南省元谋县小雷宰流域内壤土、砂壤土和重壤土3种质地土壤上,以热研5号柱花草为材料,研究土壤质地对柱花草生长发育、生物量及土壤有机质、有机碳、全氮和全磷的影响。试验结果表明:3种土壤质地上种植柱花草,柱花草地上部和地下部生长量和生物量表现幼苗期增加缓慢,而分枝期后增加快的趋势。壤土耕性好,兼有砂土和重壤土的优点,有利柱花草地上部分的生长发育,柱花草地上部生长量、生物量及改善土壤肥力方面显著高于重壤土。砂壤土有利于柱花草根系向深层土壤生长,柱花草地下部生长量、生物量及根瘤显著高于种植在重壤土。在3种土壤质地种植柱花草后,土壤有机质、有机碳、全氮和全磷均有上升趋势。综合而言,通气性和保肥保水能力居中的壤土更适合柱花草的生长发育及干物质的积累。     

Effects of inoculation with N2-fixing cyanobacteria on the nitrogenase activity in soil and rhizosphere of wetland rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Summary A greenhouse experiment was conducted with wetland rice (Oryza sativa cv. IR-50) in a clay-loam soil (Fluventic Eutrochrept) to study the effect of cyanobacterial inoculation a mixed culture of Aulosira fertilissima, Nostoc muscorum, Nostoc spp., and Anabaena spp., applied at the rate of 0.15 g (dry weight pot^-1 or 43 kg ha^-1) on acetylene reduction activity in soil and the root system (excised root), and the grain and straw yield. The effects of applying P (40 kg ha^-1), N (60 kg ha^-1), and P+N to the soil were also evaluated. Cyanbacterial inoculation significantly increased (more than 200% on average) photo-dependent acetylene reduction activity in soils, particularly where the indigenous activity was considerably low, i.e. under unfertilized and N-fertilized conditions. The effect of inoculation was prominent at the maximum tillering and grain formation stages of the crop. This inoculation benefit was, however, marginal in P-applied soils (P and P+N), where the indigenous activity was stimulated more than threefold. The inoculation led to a remarkable increase in root-associative acetylene reduction activity after the maximum tillering stage of the crop, particularly with applied N but for other treatments this inoculation effect was not significant. Cyanobacterial inoculation also increased the grain and straw yield of the crop when N was not applied. The grain and straw yield was significantly correlated with the acetylene reduction activity in flooded soils and in the root system during the tillering and maximum tillering stages of rice growth, respectively.