Indicators and trade-offs of ecosystem services in agricultural soils along a landscape heterogeneity gradient

Soil functions can be classified as supporting (nutrient cycling) and provisioning (crop production) ecosystem services (ES). These services consist of multiple and dynamic functions and are typically assessed using indicators, e.g. microbial biomass as an indicator of supporting services. Agricultural intensification negatively affects indicators of soil functions and is therefore considered to deplete soil ES. It has been suggested that incorporating leys into crop rotations can enhance soil ES. We examined this by comparing indicators of supporting soil services – organic carbon, nitrogen, water holding capacity and available phosphorous (carbon storage and nutrient retention); net nitrogen mineralisation rate and microbial biomass (nutrient cycling and retention) – in barley fields, leys and permanent pastures along a landscape heterogeneity gradient (100, 500 and 1000 m radii). In addition, barley yields (provisioning service) were analysed against these indicators to identify trade-offs among soil services. Levels of most indicators did not differ between barley and ley fields and were consistently lower than in permanent pastures. Leys supported greater microbial biomass than barley fields. Landscape heterogeneity had no effect on the indicators or microbial community composition. However, landscape heterogeneity correlated negatively with yield and soil pH, suggesting that soils in heterogeneous landscapes are less fertile and therefore have lower yields. No trade-offs were found between increasing barley yield and the soil indicators. The results suggest that soil ES are determined at the field level, with little influence from the surrounding landscape, and that greater crop yields do not necessarily come at the expense of supporting soil services.     

农业景观异质性对生物多样性及其 生态系统服务的影响

农业景观中生物多样性具有特殊重要的意义,本文首先综述了农业景观异质性的组成和特征。农业景观的异质性不仅包括空间组成和构型异质性以及时间异质性,更应包括基于物种或功能类群认识的农业景观功能异质性,这对于讨论景观异质性与生物多样性的关系十分关键。纵览景观空间异质性和时间异质性对生物多样性的多尺度影响发现,很多研究证实非农生境对于维持农业景观中生物多样性十分必要,由非农生境斑块和农田基质组成异质性较高的农业景观往往促进生物多样性,不同生物类群对景观异质性的响应尺度不同。景观结构和种间作用的复合影响是异质性农业景观维持生物多样性的机制。景观异质性通过生物多样性的组成和分布进而影响其提供的生物控制、授粉和物质循环等生态系统服务。结合黄河中下游平原农业景观异质性特征及其对生物多样性影响系列研究结果,在联产承包责任制下小田块管理的农业景观中,未来相关研究应基于功能景观的时空异质性深入讨论农业景观对生物多样性及其生态系统服务的影响机制,为可持续农业景观的构建提供科学依据。     

南亚热带森林演替过程土壤水分、有机质和交换性阳离子的变化格局

Information on the distribution patterns of soil water content （SWC）, soil organic matter （SOM）, and soil exchangeable cations （SEC） is important for managing forest ecosystems in a sustainable manner. This study investigated how SWC, SOM, and SEC were influenced in forests along a successional gradient, including a regional climax （monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest, or MEBF）, a transitional forest （coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, or MF）, and a pioneer forest （coniferous Masson pine （Pinus rnassoniana） forest, or MPF） of the Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve in the subtropical region of southern China. SWC, SOM, and SEC excluding Ca^2＋ were found to increase in the soil during forest succession, being highest in the top soil layer （0 to 15 cm depth） except for Na^＋. The differences between soil layers were largest in MF. This finding also suggested that the nutrients were enriched in the topsoil when they became increasingly scarce in the soil. There were no significant differences （P = 0.05） among SWC, SOM, and SEC. A linear, positive correlation was found between SWC and SOM. The correlation between SOM and cation exchange capacity （CEC） was statistically significant, which agreed with the theory that the most important factor determining SEC is SOM. The ratio of K^＋ to Na^＋ in the topsoil was about a half of that in the plants of each forest. MF had the lowest exchangeable Ca^2＋ concentration among the three forests and Ca^2＋：K^＋ in MPF was two times higher than that in MF. Understanding the changes of SWC, SOM, and CEC during forest succession would be of great help in protecting all three forests in southern China.     

Vegetation strategies for soil water consumption along a pluviometric gradient in southern Spain

Changes in vegetation and soil hydrological resources occur in southern Spain because of the presence of a pluviometric gradient from west (1100 mm year^?1) to east (240 mm year^?1). Five hillslopes under different rainfall regimes were selected along this gradient and studied over a 4-year period. The objectives of the work were to analyze variation in soil moisture, water availability for plants, and drying processes on the hillslopes, and relationships between these factors and the annual variability of vegetation cover. The results show that clay content is a key factor defining the limit of water availability in the soil (the wilting point). Significant differences between soil moisture/available water and vegetation cover were observed, defining a positive feedback process that varied in nature along the pluviometric gradient. The more arid the climatic conditions the weaker the feedback between water content and vegetation cover. These observations can be explained by the greater water requirements of plant species growing on the more humid hillslopes, resulting in a rapid uptake of available water and higher water stress. However, at the driest sites the vegetation species were better adapted to the lack of water and more independent of rainfall. Available water at these sites did not decrease, because the lower number of days with a water deficit resulted in water availability for plants over a longer period of time.     

Optimum temperatures for soil respiration along a semi-arid elevation gradient in southern California

Soil respiration (R) has not been adequately studied at temperatures above 35 °C, which are common temperatures for soils in the southwestern United States and may be important for C dynamics in semi-arid regions. While frequently excluded from ecosystem models or set to 35 °C, the optimum temperature for soil R is poorly understood. Optimum temperatures are likely controlled by substrate availability, soil moisture content, and previous climate. To quantify the optimal temperature for soil R and hypothesized relationships, we collected soils from beneath and between plant canopies at three sites along a semi-arid elevation gradient. Processed soil samples were incubated at three soil moisture contents and soil R was measured at 6 temperatures, successively (25–55 °C). From these data, an activation energy for reaction kinetics and deactivation energy for enzyme functionality model was used to generate soil R curves from which two parameters were derived: R_max, the maximum rate of soil R and T_opt, the optimum temperature for soil R. R_max was significantly greater for soils at the highest elevation and at medium soil moisture content. T_opt was greater than 35 °C at all locations. In addition, T_opt was significantly greater for soils with greater amounts of SOM but not significantly different along the elevation gradient or at different moisture contents. These results support inclusion of much higher optimum temperatures than currently used in many ecosystem and land-surface models and provide support for explaining variation in T_opt as regulated by substrate quantity within a site and general insensitivity across climate differences.     

Effects of organic versus conventional arable farming on soil structure and organic matter dynamics in a marine loam in the Netherlands

Abstract. We compared the effects of conventional and organic arable farming on soil organic matter (SOM) content, soil structure, aggregate stability and C and N mineralization, which are considered important factors in defining sustainable land management. Within one soil series, three different farming systems were selected, including a conventional and an organic arable system and permanent pasture without tillage. The old pasture represents optimal conditions in terms of soil structure and organic matter inputs and is characterized by high earthworm activity. More than 70 years of different management has caused significant differences in soil properties. SOM content, mineralization, earthworm activity and water-stable aggregation decreased as a result of tillage and arable cropping when compared with pasture, but were significantly greater under organic farming than under conventional farming. Total SOM contents between 0 and 20 cm depth amounted to 15, 24 and 46 g kg⁻¹ for the conventional arable, organic arable and permanent pasture fields, respectively. Although less sensitive to slaking than the conventionally managed field, the soil under organic farming was susceptible to compaction when high pressures were exerted on the soil under wet conditions. The beneficial effects of organic farming are generally associated with soil biochemical properties, but soil physical aspects should also be considered. Depending on soil type and climate, organic farmers need to be careful not to destroy the soil structure, so that they can enjoy maximum advantage from their organic farming systems.     

Soil carbohydrates along a topoclimatic gradient in a Judean desert ecosystem

Soil carbohydrates, which include polysaccharides, are partly of microbial origin, contributing to soil structure and improving soil aggregates. This study examined the effect of climate along a topoclimatic gradient in the Judean desert. Soil was sampled at four locations representing different abiotic environments along the transect during the 1994 and 1995 study period. Significant differences in soil organic matter between the locations were obtained, decreasing towards the dry extreme desert sites. Carbohydrates, which probably are mainly composed of microbial extracellular polysaccharides, were found to increase during the dry season reaching maximum values by the end of autumn. The spatial and temporal changes in carbohydrate content are of great importance, representing biological activity that contributes to bonding between soil particles and helps promote nutrient accessibility to microorganisms. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatio-temporal heterogeneity of soil microbial properties in a conventionally managed arable field

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Knowledge about the spatio-temporal variability of soil microbial properties is crucial in evaluating their structure-function relationship and their impact on...     

Multi-site validation of a soil organic matter model for arable fields based on generally available input data

The paper describes a simplified carbon balance model, derived from the CANDY model, which works in annual time steps requiring only clay content, soil type of the German classification system “Reichsbodenschätzung”, average air temperature and rainfall as site characteristics, a value for organic carbon content as the initial value as well as crop yield and organic matter amendments as management data.The Candy Carbon Balance (CCB) model has been validated using a dataset from 40 long-term experiments situated in Central Europe including 391 treatments with a total number of 4794 C_org observations. Statistical measures to prove model validity were mean error (ME = − 0.001) and root mean square error (RMSE = 0.119). In addition a number of tests were performed to make sure that the model has no systematic error for different types of site conditions and management activities. After this successful validation the CCB model is considered applicable for advisory service for arable fields on a wide range of site conditions. Due to the poor representation of clay soils in this study some more model tests on these soils would be recommendable.     

Comparison of organic and conventional stockless arable systems: A multidisciplinary approach to soil quality evaluation

Soil quality in Mediterranean conventional and organic stockless arable systems was assessed by a multidisciplinary approach. At the end of the first cycle of a 5-year crop rotation (2002–2006) in the Mediterranean Arable Systems Comparison Trial (MASCOT) long-term experiment, the effects of organic and conventional management systems were evaluated by using soil chemical, biochemical and biological parameters. Chemical and biochemical parameters linked to soil C cycle, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and microarthropod communities were analysed according to a comparative approach. Results suggested a higher soil carbon sequestration in the organic respect to the conventional system, as shown by the values of total organic C (9.5 and 7.8 g kg^?1, for organic and conventional system, respectively) and potentially mineralisable C (277 and 254 mg kg^?1, for organic and conventional system, respectively). AMF population, AMF root colonisation and diversity of microarthropod population were slightly influenced by management system. On the other hand, mites/collembolans ratio was higher in conventionally than in organically managed soil (2.67 and 1.30, respectively), indicating as organic managed soils were more disturbed than conventional ones, probably as the consequence of the more frequent soil tillage performed for mechanical weeds control.The overall results demonstrated that, even in the short-term, the implementation of organically managed stockless systems in Mediterranean areas determined significant changes of some attributes for soil quality evaluation.     

Avian assemblages along a gradient of urbanization in a highly fragmented landscape

Our goal was to evaluate how avian assemblages varied along a gradient of urbanization in the highly fragmented landscape of coastal southern California. We measured species richness and abundance of birds within continuous blocks of habitat, within urban habitat fragments that varied in landscape and local habitat variables, and within the urban matrix at different distances from the wildland interface. These comparisons allowed us to characterize patterns of avifaunal response to a gradient of urban fragmentation. At the fragment scale, we found that fragment area was a strong, positive predictor of the total number of breeding species detected per fragment; total bird abundance per point count also increased with fragment size. Tree cover was higher in small fragments, as was the abundance of birds that typically occupy wooded habitats. Comparisons between core, fragment, and urban transects revealed differing patterns of response of individual bird species to urbanization. In unfragmented habitat, we recorded a relatively high diversity of urbanization-sensitive birds. In urban transects, these species were rare, and a relatively few species of non-native and anthropophilic birds were common. These urbanization-enhanced birds were also recorded in previous urban gradient studies in northern California and Ohio. Bird communities along the urban gradient reached their highest richness and abundance in fragments. The marked difference in vegetation structure between urban and natural landscapes in this arid shrubland system likely contributed to this pattern; the presence of native shrubs and exotic trees in fragments enabled both shrub and arboreal nesters to co-occur. As is characteristic of biotic homogenization, urban fragmentation in coastal southern California may increase local diversity but decrease overall regional avifaunal diversity.     

Spatial heterogeneity of a microbial community in a sandy soil ecosystem

A fieldwork was carried out in Caesarea sand dunes, Israel, to determine the influence of fine-scale landscape-patch abiotic-factor heterogeneity on microbial activity in a Mediterranean region. Soil organisms in terrestrial systems are unevenly distributed in time and space, and are often aggregated. Spatio-temporal patchiness in the soil environment is thought to be crucial for the maintenance of soil biodiversity, providing diverse microhabitats that are tightly interwoven with resource partitioning. Determination of a ‘scale unit’ to help understand ecological processes has become one of the important and most debatable problems in recent years. To better understand the distribution of soil microbial communities at multiple spatial scales, a survey was conducted to examine the spatial organization of the community structure in two sandy soil ecosystems. One-hundred forty-four soil samples were collected from two patches 4000 m apart from each other. Basal respiration (CO₂ evolution without the addition of any external substrate), microbial biomass, functional diversity, and community-level physiological profile (CLPP) in soil were measured with a MicroResp? system. Soil abiotic analysis was performed by soil standard analytical methods. The results demonstrated that bacterial distributions can be highly structured, even within a habitat that appears to be relatively homogeneous at the plot and field scale. Different subsets of the microbial community were distributed differently across the plot. This is due to spatial heterogeneity associated with soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. Although spatial variability in the distribution of soil microorganisms is generally regarded as random, this variability often has a predictable spatial structure. This study provided evidence that a spatially explicit approach to soil ecology can enable the identification of factors that drive the spatial heterogeneity of populations and activities of soil organisms, at scales ranging from meters to hundreds of meters. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that spatial soil ecology can yield new insights into the factors that maintain and regulate soil biodiversity, as well as on how the spatial distribution of soil organisms influences plant growth and plant community structure.     

Soil fungal community structure along a soil health gradient in pea fields examined using deep amplicon sequencing

Soil fungi and oomycetes (syn. peronosporomycetes) are the most common causes of pea diseases, and these pathogens often occur in complexes involving several species. Information on the dynamics within this complex of pathogens, and also between the complex of pathogens and other fungi in the development of root disease is limited. In this study, next-generation sequencing of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer-1 was used to characterize fungal communities in agricultural soils from nine pea fields, in which pea roots showed different degrees of disease. Fungal species richness, diversity, and community composition were analyzed and compared among the different pea soils. After filtering for quality and excluding non-fungal sequences, 55,460 sequences clustering into 434 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), were obtained from the nine soil samples. These sequences were found to correspond to 145–200 OTUs in each soil. The fungal communities in the nine soils were strongly dominated by Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Phoma, Podospora, Pseudaleuria, and Veronaea, at genus level, correlated to the disease severity index of pea roots; Phoma was most abundant in soils with diseased plants, whereas Podospora, Pseudaleuria, and Veronaea were most abundant in healthy soils. No correlation was found between the disease severity index and the abundance of some of the other fungi and oomycetes normally considered as root pathogens in pea.     

Comparisons of earthworm populations and cast properties in conventional and organic arable rotations

Abstract. Earthworms influence a wide range of soil properties. They are affected by practices that perturb the soil or change organic inputs. This study compared populations in UK organic and conventional rotations differing in such practices. Three farm pairs, ranging from stockless to arable-grassland systems, were sampled on three occasions in each of two crop years. Additional farm pairs were sampled on a single occasion. Nine common earthworm species were grouped into three classes based on the depth ranges from which they were recovered. Cast and soil samples were taken from leys to compare aggregate stability, organic and nutrient content, and microbial biomass.   For similar rotation stages, populations of surface and shallow species classes were often larger in organic systems. In some comparisons the reverse was the case, particularly as the proportion of ley within each pair increased. System differences in biomass, but not abundance, could be attributed to the proportion of leys in rotations; individual earthworm weights were larger in conventional systems. Casts from both systems had markedly higher organic contents, stability, available P and K concentrations, and microbial biomass than underlying soil. This trend was more pronounced in conventional sites for nutrients and microbial biomass. Differences in populations and cast properties may have implications for soil fertility and wider ecosystem function.     

土壤有机碳活性组分沿中国长白山海拔坡度的分布情况

Understanding the responses of soil organic carbon(SOC) fractions to altitudinal gradient variation is important for understanding changes in the carbon balance of forest ecosystems.In our study the SOC and its fractions of readily oxidizable carbon(ROC),water-soluble carbon(WSC) and microbial biomass carbon(MBC) in the soil organic and mineral horizons were investigated for four typical forest types,including mixed coniferous broad-leaved forest(MCB),dark coniferous spruce-fir forest(DCSF),dark coniferous spruce forest(DCS),and Ermans birch forest(EB),along an altitudinal gradient in the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in Northeast China.The results showed that there was no obvious altitudinal pattern in the SOC.Similar variation trends of SOC with altitude were observed between the organic and mineral horizons.Significant differences in the contents of SOC,WSC,MBC and ROC were found among the four forest types and between horizons.The contents of ROC in the mineral horizon,WSC in the organic horizon and MBC in both horizons in the MCB and EB forests were significantly greater than those in either DCSF or DCS forest.The proportion of soil WSC to SOC was the lowest among the three main fractions.The contents of WSC,MBC and ROC were significantly correlated(P < 0.05) with SOC content.It can be concluded that vegetation types and climate were crucial factors in regulating the distribution of soil organic carbon fractions in Changbai Mountain.     

Characterizing the relationships between soil organic matter components and microbial function and composition along a tillage disturbance gradient

We studied the effect of no-till (disc seeder), conventional-till (tine scarifier+disc seeder) and rotary-till (rotary hoe+disc seeder) management on soil organic matter (SOM) components, rates of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling, substrate utilization and microbial community composition. We hypothesized that labile SOM fractions are sensitive to changes in tillage techniques and, in turn mediate any tillage-induced changes in microbial function and composition. A replicated field site was established in May 1998 in the semi-arid agricultural region of Western Australia and soils were collected in September 2004. We found soil pH varied between different tillage techniques as an initial lime application was mixed to deeper soil depths in rotary-till soil than no-till and conventional-till soil. Total-C was greater in surface soil and lower in subsurface soil from no-till and conventional-till plots than from rotary-till plots, but there was no effect of tillage technique on total-C when averaged across soil depths. Light (specific density <1.0 g cm^?3) fraction organic matter (LFOM), dissolved organic matter (DOM) and microbial biomass (MB) C and N pools, and rates of C and N cycling all tended to decrease with soil depth. In general, LFOM-C and N, dissolved organic C (DOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MB-C), soil respiration, cellulase activity, gross immobilization rates were positively correlated (r>0.50) and were greater in no-till and conventional-till soil than rotary-till soil both within, and across soil depths. These soil variables generally increased (r>0.5) with increasing soil pH. Dissolved organic N and gross N mineralization were positively correlated (r>0.90) but neither was affected by tillage techniques. No-till soil had greater utilization of carboxylic acids and lower utilization of amino acids and carbohydrates than conventional-till and rotary-till soil; surface soil also had greater utilization of carboxylic acids than subsurface soil. In turn, substrate utilization differed between soil depths, and between no-till soil and conventional-till and rotary-till soil; these differences were correlated with soil pH, total-N, DOC, LFOM-N and microbial biomass nitrogen (MB-N). Bacterial and fungal biomasses generally decreased with soil depth and were greater in no-till and conventional-till soil than rotary-till soil. Microbial community composition differed between all tillage techniques and soil depths; these differences were correlated with soil textural classes, soil pH, and total, LFOM, DOM and microbial C and N pools. These results indicate that most tillage-induced changes to soil properties were associated with the greater soil disturbance under rotary-till than under no-till or conventional-till management. Our results indicate that tillage-induced changes to soil pH, and LFOM, DOM and microbial biomass pools are likely to be important regulators of the rates of C and N cycling, substrate utilization and microbial community composition in this coarse textured soil.     

Increased fungal dominance in N2O emission hotspots along a natural pH gradient in organic forest soil

Drained organic forest soils represent a hotspot for nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, which are directly related to soil fertility, with generally higher emissions from N-rich soils. Highest N₂O emissions have been observed in organic forest soils with low pH. The mechanisms for these high emissions are not fully understood. Therefore, the present study was conducted to gain a deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms that drive high N₂O emissions from acid soils. Specifically, we investigated the microbial community structure, by phospholipid fatty acid analysis, along a natural pH gradient in an organic forest soil combined with measurements of physico-chemical soil properties. These were then statistically related to site-specific estimates of annual N₂O emissions along the same natural pH gradient. Our results indicate that acidic locations with high N₂O emissions had a microbial community with an increased fungal dominance. This finding points to the importance of fungi for N₂O emissions from acid soils. This may either be directly via fungal N₂O production or indirectly via the effect of fungi on the N₂O production by other microorganisms (nitrifiers and denitrifiers). The latter may be due to fungal mediated N mineralization, providing substrate for N₂O production, or by creating favourable conditions for the bacterial denitrifier community. Therefore, we conclude that enhanced N₂O emission from acid forest soil is related, in addition to the known inhibitory effect of low pH on bacterial N₂O reduction, to a soil microbial community with increased fungal dominance. Further studies are needed to reveal the exact mechanisms.     

Current trends of soil organic carbon in English arable soils

Abstract. A model of the impact of land management changes upon soil organic carbon (SOC) was constructed, and the total amount of topsoil organic carbon was estimated for the arable area of England from 1940 to 2000. The largest influence on the overall mean SOC in arable topsoils proved to be a decline in the area of both permanent and temporary grassland. SOC declined over a prolonged period (60 years), but has now reached a plateau. Modelling changes in mean values enabled a statistical evaluation to be made between a measured decline in the number of sites with 'high' SOC levels between 1980 and 1995, and the decline predicted by the model. The SOC content of arable soils in England was measured at National Soil Inventory sites twice in recent decades: in 1980 and 1995. The proportion of fine textured soils in the lowest SOC class (<2.3%) rose from just over 40% to about 50% over the same period. There was a significant difference between the observed values of 1995 and those expected from modelling the decline from 1980 values, in the category of 'low SOC' fine textured soils. The variation in the fine textured soils represents a significant and widespread decline in topsoil organic carbon concentrations, which was greater than the underlying long-term trend.