Development of microorganisms in the chernozem under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

A microbial succession was studied under aerobic and anaerobic conditions by means of experiments with microcosms in different horizons of a chernozem. It was revealed that, under aerobic conditions, all the microorganisms grow irrespective of the soil horizon; fungi and bacteria grow at the first succession stages, and actinomycetes grow at the last stages. It was shown that, in the case of a simulated anaerobiosis commonly used to study anaerobic populations of bacteria, the mycelium of micromycetes grows in the upper part of the chernozem’s A horizon. Under anaerobic conditions, the peak of the mycelium development is shifted from the 3rd to 7th days (typical for aerobic conditions) to the 7th to 15th days of incubation. The level of mycelium length’s stabilization under aerobic and anaerobic conditions also differs: it is higher or lower than the initial one, respectively. Under anaerobic conditions, the growth of fungal mycelium, bacteria, and actinomycetes in the lower part of the A horizon and in the B horizon is extremely weak. There was not any observed growth of actinomycetes in all the chernozem’s horizons under anaerobic conditions.     

Production of urease by microbial activity in soils under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Summary Several workers have reported that O₂ has little, if any, effect on hydrolysis of urea by soil urease, but others have reported that it has a marked effect, hydrolysis being significantly faster in soils under aerobic conditions than in O₂-depleted soils. In studies to account for these divergent results, we found that whereas plant residues and other readily decomposable organic materials markedly stimulated microbial production of urease in soils under aerobic conditions, they did not greatly stimulate production of urease in soils under anaerobic conditions. We also found that although anaerobic conditions retarded production of urease by soil microorganisms, they did not inhibit hydrolysis of urea by soil urease. These observations suggest that the divergent findings concerning the effect of O₂ on hydrolysis of urea by soil urease may have resulted from differences in the amounts of readily decomposable organic materials in the soils studied.     

Flow-microcalorimetry measurements of aerobic and anaerobic soil microbial activity

Heat output can be used as an indicator of microbial activity and is usually measured in a microcalorimeter with closed ampoules. In long-term experiments particularly, interpretation of the data is hindered by the changing environment in the closed ampoules because of O₂ consumption and CO₂ enrichment. We used a combination of a flow-microcalorimeter and a gas chromatograph to measure the heat flux and CO₂ and N₂O production rates under controlled conditions. Simultaneous detection of the heat output and CO₂ emission allowed calculation of the calorimetric: CO₂ (Cal/CO₂) ratio. A mean ratio of-435 kJ mol^-1 CO₂ was detected in six different soils amended with glucose and incubated under aerobic conditions. This ratio indicated that CO₂ was the end-product of catabolism. In wet 10–12 mm soil aggregates of a gleyic vertisol amended with glucose, values of-285 kJ mol^-1 CO₂ under an aerobic and-141 kJ mol^-1 CO₂ under a N₂ atmosphere was determined. These findings indicated that fermentative metabolism occurred. The Cal/CO₂ ratio was not affected when enough NO _inf3 ^sup- was available and denitrification processes (N₂O production) were possible.     

Effects of nitrite toxicity on soil bacteria under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Isolates of a soil Pseudoimonas, as well as other soil bacteria, showed a different sensitivity towards NO^?₂ when grown under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. The tolerance to NO^?₂ was increased in the presence of O₂: for instance, a concentration of $\text{200parts}\text{10}{}^6$ of NO^?₂-N proved to be toxic to a Pseudomonas sp. under anaerobic conditions, whereas over $\text{400 parts}\text{10}{}^6$ were needed aerobically to suppress its growth completely. The addition of NO^?₃ as an electron acceptor for anaerobic respiration did not overcome the inhibitive effect of NO^?₃. The pH range, at which NO^?₂ was utilized anaerobically, was narrowed with increasing NO^?₂ concentration (pH 6.8–8.8 at $\text{70 parts}\text{10}{}^6$ of NO^?₂-N and 7.4–8.5 and $\text{140 parts}\text{10}{}^6$ of NO^?₂-N).Tolerance to nitrite varied considerably among the bacteria tested. Each species was able to overcome the inhibitory effect of NO^?₂ up to a certain concentration, while the length of the lag phase was related to NO^?₂ concentration.     

厌氧条件下水稻土中铁硫循环与光照的关系

采用恒温厌氧培养试验研究了黑暗、光照、黑暗转光照和光照转黑暗条件下水稻土中硫酸盐还原和铁的氧化还原.结果表明光照是调控土壤铁、硫生物化学转化的一个关键环境因素,光照对铁、硫还原的抑制作用体现在5d后.黑暗培养30 d土壤游离铁的70.07％可被还原;光照培养时35.60 μmol g-1Fe(Ⅲ)先被还原后被氧化,30 d后仍有32.70％的游离铁被还原,转黑暗后被氧化的铁可再次被还原.黑暗时土壤中99.50％的水溶性硫酸盐(WSS)在可5d内被还原,光照培养30 d有42.73％的WSS被还原.水溶性无机碳(WSIC)与体系中Fe(Ⅱ)和WSS之间存在显著相关关系.无光照转换时水溶性有机碳(WSOC)与Fe(Ⅱ)和WSS的转化速率存在显著正相关关系;黑暗条件下WSOC＞ 7.89 μmol g-1时,体系中Fe(Ⅲ)和WSS还原;光照条件下WSOC＞ 8.27 μmol g-1时体系中Fe(Ⅲ)还原,WSOC＞8.40μmol g-1时WSS还原.     

Hydrolysis of ammonium polyphosphate in soils under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Summary The hydrolysis of fertilizer-grade solid and liquid ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was studied on an aluvial (Entisol, Typic Ustifluvent), a sodic (Entisol Aquic Ustifluvent), and a laterite (Oxisol, Aquox) soil under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The hydrolysis rate was the fastest on laterite, intermediate on sodic, and slowest in the alluvial soil. Ammonium polyphosphate hydrolyzed more rapidly under anaerobic than under aerobic conditions. The hydrolysis of liquid ammonium polyphospahte was faster than that of solid ammonium polyphosphate in all soils. The half-life values for the polyforms of P in liquid ammonium polyphosphate ranged from 1.6 to 2.0 days under anaerobic and from 5.2 to 8.7 days under aerobic conditions. The corresponding values for solid ammonium polyphosphate were 3.9 to 9.2 days under anaerobic and 12.5 to 27.0 days under aerobic conditions.     

Nitrous oxide emission as affected by alternate anaerobic and aerobic conditions from soil suspensions enriched with ammonium sulfate

The effect of several anaerobic and aerobic cycles of varying duration on N₂O emission and labelled N loss was investigated in (¹⁵NH₄)₂SO₄ amended soil suspensions. No N₂O was evolved from the continuously-anaerobic treatment. The continuously-aerobic treatment produced approximately 0.8 μg N₂O-N g^?1 dry soil in 56 days. Alternate anaerobic-aerobic cycles increased the net N₂O evolution with 7.2 μg N₂O-N g^?1 dry soil produced in 56 days from the 7-day anaerobic, 7-day aerobic treatment. The net N₂O evolution increased further when the duration of the anaerobic and aerobic periods was increased from 7-7 days to 14-14 days (15.7μg N₂O-N g^?1 dry soil in 56 days), although the total ¹⁵N loss from the system was approximately the same for the two treatments. The results of this study show that N₂O evolution from soils is likely to be greater under fluctuating moisture conditions than under either continuously well-aerated conditions, or continuously excess-moisture conditions.     

Mineralization of organic contaminants under aerobic and anaerobic conditions in sludge-soil mixtures

Background and Main Features  The mineralization of eight organic chemicals (surfactants, substituted aromatic compounds, di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate and phenanthrene) was examined in sludge-soil mixtures under aerobic, denitrifying and methanogenic conditions. Results and Discussion  Most of the chemicals were extensively or partially mineralized under aerobic conditions with mineralization half-lives between 1.5 and 12.5 days. Linear tridecyl tetra ethoxylate, di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate and 2,4-dinitrophenol were also mineralized partially under denitrifying conditions. No mineralization of the chemicals was observed under methanogenic conditions, with the exception of a minor mineralization of linear tridecyl tetraethoxylate. Conclusion  This study indicates that the examined organic chemicals may be rapidly degraded in sludge-amended fields under aerobic conditions, and that some of the chemicals may also be degraded during denitrification. Recommendations and Outlook  When investigating the degradation of sludge-bound chemicals in soil, it is relevant to consider both aerobic and anaerobic soil regimes due to spatial and temporal variations in the redox conditions within sludge and soil. The approach presented in this article may be used for evaluation of the long-term fate of sludge-bound chemicals in soil.     

厌氧和好气条件下油菜秸秆腐解的红外光谱特征研究

采用尼龙网袋法,研究了油菜(Brassica campestris L.)秸秆在厌氧和好气条件下的腐解规律及其红外光谱特征。结果表明:油菜秸秆还田后,腐解速率表现为前期快、后期较慢的规律。在360 d培养时间内,厌氧和好气条件下的油菜秸秆腐解率分别为60.50%和68.20%,腐解速率常数(k)分别为0.004-d-1和0.010-d-1,腐解1/2时所需时间分别为229 d和117 d。在厌氧和好气条件下,油菜秸秆的碳释放率分别为70.33%和77.43%,厌氧条件下的释放速率常数(0.025-d-1)低于好气条件(0.026-d-1)。油菜秸秆中氮的释放率分别为82.20%和87.48%,油菜秸秆在厌氧条件下的氮残留量比其在好气条件下高38.25%,且达到显著性差异水平(P0.05)。厌氧条件下的氮残留率始终高于好气条件下,且在60~90 d培养期内差异最大。红外图谱分析显示,油菜秸秆腐解过程最明显的变化在波数为3 430~3 410 cm-1、2 930 cm-1处,吸收峰吸收强度降低,表明油菜秸秆的脂族性下降。在波数为1 740 cm-1、1 419~1 425 cm-1处的吸收峰吸收强度降低,表明油菜秸秆木质素含量下降,且厌氧条件下的吸收强度高于其在好气条件下,表明厌氧条件的木质素残留较多。结果表明,油菜秸秆中羟基、甲基、亚甲基含量随腐解时间延长而降低,碳水化合物减少,脂族性下降,芳构化程度增强。好气条件有利于秸秆中纤维素、半纤维素和脂肪族化合物的分解,提高其芳香性,对土壤碳、氮的补充作用更大。     

自然培养条件下全球变暖对山毛榉林土壤微生物活性的影响

Microbial activity in soil is known to be controlled by various factors. However, the operating mechanisms have not yet been clearly identified, particularly under climate change conditions, although they are crucial for understanding carbon dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, a natural incubation experiment was carried out using intact soil cores transferred from high altitude(1 500 m) to low(900 m) altitude to mimic climate change scenarios in a typical cold-temperate mountainous area in Japan. Soil microbial activities, indicated by substrate-induced respiration(SIR) and metabolic quotient(q CO2), together with soil physicalchemical properties(abiotic factors) and soil functional enzyme and microbial properties(biotic factors), were investigated throughout the growing season in 2013. Results of principal component analysis(PCA) indicated that soil microbial biomass carbon(MBC) andβ-glucosidase activity were the most important factors characterizing the responses of soil microbes to global warming. Although there was a statistical difference of 2.82 ℃ between the two altitudes, such variations in soil physical-chemical properties did not show any remarkable effect on soil microbial activities, suggesting that they might indirectly impact carbon dynamics through biotic factors such as soil functional enzymes. It was also found that the biotic factors mainly controlled soil microbial activities at elevated temperature,which might trigger the inner soil dynamics to respond to the changing environment. Future studies should hence take more biotic variables into account for accurately projecting the responses of soil metabolic activities to climate change.     

Turnover of microbial tissue in soil under field conditions

The microbial population of a Brown Chernozemic soil was labelled in situ by adding ¹⁴C-glucose and ¹⁵NH₄¹⁵NO₃ to the plow layer. The loss of ¹⁴C, nitrogen immobilization-mineralization reactions, bacterial numbers (plate count, direct count) and fungal hyphal lengths were determined periodically throughout the growing period in amended and unamended microplots and in the surrounding field soil. After 5 days, 90 per cent of the labelled N occurred in the organic form with little subsequent mineralization. Of the labelled C added, 63, 56 and 39 per cent, remained in the soil after 3, 14 and 104 days, respectively.The ratio of fungal C to bacterial C increased as soil moisture decreased. Viable (plate count) and total numbers of bacteria in samples from unamended plots and field soil were significantly correlated with each other and with soil moisture. Fungal hyphal lengths from amended soil were also significantly related to moisture but the rate of loss of ¹⁴C and mineralization of ¹⁵N were not. The synthesized microbial material (tissue and metabolites) exhibited a high degree of stability throughout the study. The half-life of labelled C remaining in the soil after 30 days was calculated to be 6 months compared to only 4 days for the added glucose C. The amount of energy used for maintenance by the soil population under field conditions was calculated from measurements of biomass C, respired labelled C and respired soil C.     

Degradation and sorption of commonly detected PPCPs in wetland sediments under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Purpose

Wetlands are a popular tool to treat/polish wastewater by reducing nutrient loading into the environment. In addition to nutrients, organic contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), are commonly detected in treated wastewater. Treatment wetlands may reduce concentrations of PPCPs before the treated effluent enters rivers and streams. Oxygen status may greatly affect the attenuation of PPCPs in wetland sediments by influencing microbial makeup and activity. An understanding of the effect of redox conditions on the degradation of PPCPs and the factors influencing PPCP sorption to wetland sediments is needed to maximize PPCP removal in treatment wetlands.

Materials and methods

Three wetland sediments from the San Diego Creek and Newport Bay watershed in Southern California, USA, were incubated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions to assess the degradation of several regularly occurring PPCPs and their phase distribution as a function of time.

Results and discussion

Under aerobic conditions, ibuprofen, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), and gemfibrozil generally had half-life values around 20?days, while the half-life of carbamazepine was substantially longer (between 165 and 264?days). The anaerobic half-lives of gemfibrozil and ibuprofen increased by factors of 11?C34 and carbamazepine increased by factors of 1.5?C2.5. There was no detectable anaerobic degradation of DEET. The apparent phase distribution coefficient increased over time for DEET, carbamazepine and gemfibrozil, indicating that sorption of PPCPs to wetland sediments may be more limited than that predicted using equilibrium sorption coefficient values.

Conclusions

Knowledge of the capacity of wetland sediments for degrading and sorbing PPCPs is vital to the design of treatment wetlands. Degradation of the selected PPCPs was enhanced under aerobic conditions as compared to anaerobic conditions. Sorption to sediments increased with contact time, indicating that longer hydraulic retention will increase wetland capabilities for removing PPCPs.     

Fluctuations in the population density of Gram-negative bacteria in a chernozem in the course of a succession initiated by moistening and chitin and cellulose introduction

The role has been studied of Gram-negative bacteria in the destruction of polymers widely spread in soils: chitin and cellulose. The introduction of chitin had no positive effect on the population density of Gram-negative bacteria, but it advanced the date of their appearance: the maximum population density of Gram-negative bacteria was recorded not on the 7th?C15th day as in the control but much earlier, on the 3rd?C7th day of the experiment. Consequently, the introduction of chitin as an additional source of nutrition promoted revealing of the Gram-negative bacteria already at the early stages of the succession. In the course of the succession, when the fungal mycelium begins to die off, the actinomycetic mycelium increases in length, i.e., Gram-negative bacteria are replaced at this stage with Gram-positive ones, the leading role among which belongs to actinomycetes. The growth rate of Gram-negative bacteria is higher than that of actinomycetes, so they start chitin utilization at the early stages of the succession, whereas actinomycetes dominate at the late stages. The population density of Gram-negative bacteria was lower under the anaerobic conditions as compared with that in the aerobic ones. The population density of Gram-negative bacteria in the lower layer of the A horizon and in the B horizon was slightly higher only in the case of the chitin introduction. When cellulose was introduced into the soil under aerobic conditions, the population density of Gram-negative bacteria in all the layers of the A horizon was maximal from the 14th to the 22nd day of the experiment. Cellulose was utilized in the soil mostly by fungi, and this was suggested by the increase of the length of the fungal mycelium. Simultaneously, an increase in the length of the actinomycetal mycelium was observed, as these organisms also perform cellulose hydrolysis in soils. The Gram-negative bacteria began to develop at the stage of the fungal mycelium destruction, which indirectly confirmed the chitinolytic activity of these bacteria.     

Structural and functional features of microbial communities in a soddy-podzolic soil under self-remediation conditions

The microbial component is one of the key factors responsible for soil fertility and soil quality. The sensitivities of some structural and functional parameters of soil microbial communities in soddy-podzolic soils under long-term self-remediation conditions were compared. The suitability of the parameters studied for quantifying the resilience of soil biota to agricultural intervention was studied.     

Manipulation of the soil pore and microbial community structure in soil mesocosm incubation studies

Soil pore structure exerts a profound influence on distribution of moisture, O₂ and micro-organisms, thereby potentially controlling organic matter (OM) decomposition in soils. Although pore space is the habitat for soil micro-organisms and the actual location of soil biochemical processes, to date, very few studies looked into this relation mainly because of practical constraints. New experimental designs need to be developed which allow specific investigations of the relation between soil pore network structure, the microbial community and OM decomposition. We therefore subjected a sandy loam soil to a number of artificial manipulations namely i) compaction, ii) artificial change in particle size distribution, iii) addition of different substrates and iv) change in soil pH to manipulate soil pore structure and the decomposer community for use in lab incubation set-ups. Moisture retention data showed that compaction and artificial change in particle size distribution decreased volumes of large (9–300 μm) and small (<0.2 and 3–9 μm) pore size classes, respectively. PLFA signature analysis showed that acidification promoted fungi, while an effect of application of either sawdust or grass on the decomposer community was smaller. Acidification significantly reduced C mineralization and microbial biomass C. Surprisingly, the largest shift in microbial community (with promotion of fungi and protozoa relative to bacteria) over all treatments was observed in the treatments with artificially changed particle size distribution. We conclude that it is possible to ‘tailor’ soil pore structure and the decomposer community in soil mesocosm incubation experiments by such manipulations. However, non-targeted effects on microbial community structure, microbial biomass and gross C mineralization seem unavoidable.     

对间隙淋洗长期通气培养条件下黄土高原土壤供氮能力的评价

采用间隙淋洗长期通气培养法,通过对黄土高原物理化学性质差异较大的10种农田土样起始矿质氮、起始提取态总氮、起始可溶性有机氮,以及培养期间淋洗矿质氮、淋洗总氮、可溶性有机氮含量及其与作物吸氮量关系的研究,分析并评价黄土高原主要农田土壤氮素矿化能力以及包括和不包括培养淋洗可溶性有机氮对土壤供氮能力的影响。结果表明,供试土样起始可溶性有机氮平均为N 23.9 mg/kg,是起始提取态总氮的28.8%,土壤全氮的2.4%。在通气培养淋洗总氮中,可溶性有机氮所占比例不高,经过217 d通气培养,淋洗出的可溶性有机氮平均为N 28.8mg/kg,占淋洗总氮量的19.8%。相关分析表明,淋洗可溶性有机氮量与第1季作物吸氮量相关不显著,但与连续2季作物总吸氮量显著相关。淋洗矿质氮、淋洗总氮与两季作物总吸氮量的相关系数明显高于与第一季作物吸氮量的相关系数;与第一季作物吸氮量达显著相关水平,与连续两季作物吸氮量达极显著相关水平。总体上看,可溶性有机氮和土壤全氮、土壤微生物氮不能作为反映短期可矿化氮的指标;间隙淋洗通气培养淋洗液中淋洗矿质氮、淋洗总氮是评价可矿化氮的较好指标,不仅适宜于第一季作物,而且也适用于对连续两季作物土壤供氮能力的评价。     

Laboratory study of phosphorus forms and test procedures on soils under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

The inorganic forms of phosphorus in nine samples of surface soils from the Nainital Tarai of India were determined by a series of extractions with different reagents after incubation for 45 days under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. The forms of phosphorus in samples incubated under aerobic conditions and the pH range of 7.2–8.5 indicated that the soils had been subject to slight chemical weathering. Anaerobic incubation to simulate conditions in lowland rice paddies converted part of the inorganic phosphorus into more labile forms, based on changes in amounts of isotopically exchangeable phosphorus. Amounts of the element converted to more labile forms differed among the nine soil samples.A better correlation was found between amounts of phosphorus extracted by 0.5M NaHCO³ (Olsen's method) than by 0.03N NH₄F in 0.25N HCl (Bray's method) and the isotopically exchangeable phosphorus. The better correlation suggests that the bicarbonate extraction would be the better method for estimating “availablelrd phosphorus in soils of lowland rice paddies. Recalibration of the test prior to such use seems desirable to allow for increases in amounts of phosphorus in labile forms after soils have been shifted from aerobic to anaerobic conditions.     

淹水厌氧培养对水稻土中酶活性的影响

An incubation experiment with soil water content treatments of 0.15 （W1）, 0.20 （W2）, and 0.40 （W3） g g^-1 soil was carried out for two months to investigate the activities of important enzymes involved in C, N, P, and S cycling in a paddy soil from the Taihu Lake region, China, under waterlogged and aerobic conditions. Compared with air-dried soil, waterlogging resulted in a significant decrease （P ≤ 0.05） of fluorescein diacetate （FDA） and /3-D-glucosidase activities, and this effect was enhanced with increasing waterlogging time. Waterlogging also significantly inhibited （P ≤ 0.05） arylsulfatase as well as alkaline and acid phosphatase activities, but did not decrease the activities with the increase in waterlogging time. Short-term waterlogging did not affect urease activity, but prolonged waterlogging decreased it markedly. In contrast, the aerobic incubation （W1 and W2 treatments） significantly increased （P ≤ 0.05） FDA, alkaline phosphatase, and /3-D-glucosidase activities. With aerobic treatments the activities of FDA and alkaline phosphatase increased with incubation time, whereas /3-D-glucosidase activity decreased. A significant difference （P ≤ 0.05） was usually observed between the W1 and W2 treatments for the activities of FDA as well as alkaline and acid phosphatase; however,/3-D-glucosidase and urease were usually not significant （P ≤ 0.05）. No activity differences were observed between waterlogging and aerobic incubation for arylsulfatase and urease.     

Effect of alternate aerobic and anaerobic conditions on redox potential,organic matter decomposition and nitrogen loss in a flooded soil

The effect of several cycles of varying length of alternate aerobic and anaerobic conditions on redox potential, organic matter decomposition and loss of added and native nitrogen was investigated under laboratory conditions in flooded soil incubated for 128 days. Redox potential decreased rapidly when air was replaced with argon for the short-time cycles, but decreased more slowly where the aerobic period was long enough to permit build-up of nitrate. The minimum redox potential reached during the anaerobic period was generally lower for the longer cycles, but in all cases was low enough for denitrification to occur. Rate of decomposition of organic matter was faster in the treatments with a greater number of alternate aerobic and anaerobic periods. Total N (native and applied) losses as high as 24.3 per cent occurred in the treatment with the maximum number of cycles and with alternate aerobic and anaerobic periods of 2 and 2 days. Increasing the durations of the aerobic-anaerobic periods decreased the loss of N. A maximum loss of 63.0 per cent of applied ¹⁵NH₄-N resulted from the shortest (2 and 2 day) aerobic and anaerobic incubation. For soil undergoing frequent changes in aeration status the only labelled N that remained at the end of incubation was found in the organic fraction. Loss of N may have been even greater if labelled inorganic N had not been immobilized by microorganisms decomposing the added rice straw. The greater loss of N resulting from the 2 and 2 day aerobic-anaerobic incubation shows that, in soils where the redox potential falls low enough for denitrification to occur, increasing the frequency of changing from aerobic to anaerobic conditions will increase the loss of N.