Effect of Municipal Wastewater as a Wetland Water Source on Soil Microbial Activity

Microbial activity levels of two soil materials, excavated from a wetland and irrigated with municipal wastewater effluent or Missouri River water, were compared. The wastewater had twice the electrical conductivity and four times the sodium concentration as river water. We performed activity assays on the soils before leaching, immediately after leaching, and after harvesting plants. Gas chromatography was used to measure carbon dioxide (CO₂) evolved in soil samples incubated for 7 d. Activity was significantly reduced in preleached wastewater–irrigated soils compared with river water–irrigated soils. Immediately after leaching, activity significantly increased and was similar to river water–irrigated soils. Activity decreased slightly after plant harvest in postleached treatments. Increased activity after leaching may be related to decreased salinity and sodicity, which probably lowered osmotic pressure in the soil. Our study demonstrated that soil salinity and sodicity induced by wastewater irrigation decreased microbial activity, which may impact nutrient cycling and glycophytic vegetation communities in wetlands.     

Nitrification activity and putative ammonia-oxidizing archaea in acidic red soils

Purpose  

Acidic red soils account for 21% of land area in China and contain low ammonia concentration due to ionization to ammonium. The unusual high affinity for ammonia of marine Nitrosopumilus maritimus and acidophilic soil Nitrosotalea devanaterra has suggested that ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) may have greater selective advantage over ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in ammonia-limited environment because ammonia rather than ammonium is thought to be the actual substrate for oxidation. The aim of this study was to assess whether nitrification activity can be attributed to AOA and/or AOB by relating community structures of AOA and AOB to nitrification activity in acidic red soils in southern China.     

模拟再生水灌溉下污灌土壤中盐分离子交换运移的试验研究

为研究再生水灌溉下原污灌区土壤中主要盐分离子交换运移规律,采用有污水灌溉背景的两种质地土壤,根据再生水的基本性质及其盐分离子组分,配制4种浓度水平的入渗液,进行土柱模拟试验。结果表明,不同质地土壤在低Na^＋配制液淋洗下的穿透曲线都出现下凹现象,但Na^＋在壤土中富集的表现并不显著,而在粉质砂壤土中部分Na^＋吸附累积时间较长;模拟再生水入渗溶液中不同组分的盐分离子在不同程度上影响污灌土壤中发生的离子化学反应的进行,导致各处理下Na穿透时间发生显著差异;长期再生水灌溉会对HCO3^-含量较高且粉粒比重大的土壤的入渗等性能产生更为不利的影响。     

水稻生育期内红壤稻田氨氧化微生物数量和硝化势的变化

利用荧光定量PCR(Real-timePCR)技术,通过特异引物检测amoA基因拷贝数分析了水稻不同生育期红壤稻田土壤中氨氧化细菌(Ammonia oxidizing bacteria,AOB)和氨氧化古菌(Ammonia oxidizing archaea,AOA)的数量变化,并测定了土壤潜在硝化势。结果显示:红壤稻田土壤中AOA数量显著高于AOB,二者比例在1.6～120.7之间;红壤稻田根层土中AOA数量显著高于表土,随水稻生长根层和表土中AOA数量均逐渐增加,且根层土中增加幅度更大;在水稻生长前期表土中AOB数量较多,孕穗期后根层土中AOB数量显著增加且高于表土。水稻生长期内土壤潜在硝化势也具有逐渐增加趋势,且根层土潜在硝化势增加幅度更大。根层土中潜在硝化势与AOB和AOA数量均呈显著正相关,而表土中潜在硝化势只与AOA数量存在显著正相关。研究表明,红壤稻田土壤中AOA数量更为丰富,且与硝化作用的关联程度更为密切,证实了氨氧化微生物在红壤稻田土壤微生物组成及其生态系统功能中的重要性。     

污灌时间对土壤肥力及土壤酶活性的影响

通过时空互代、野外调查和采样分析的方法,研究了石家庄栾城县不同污水灌溉时间下（0~52 a）耕地土壤肥力及土壤酶活性特征。结果表明：与对照点相比,污水灌溉区土壤有机质、全氮、全磷含量,蔗糖酶、脲酶和磷酸酶活性均相对较高,而土壤阳离子交换量、过氧化氢酶和脱氢酶活性无明显的变化规律;污水灌溉区土壤全氮、蔗糖酶、磷酸酶与污灌时间之间表现出显著正相关性（P〈0.05）,其他指标与污灌时间之间均无显著相关性;土壤肥力（有机质和全氮）、重金属（总Cr和总Cd）与水解酶（脲酶和磷酸酶）之间表现出显著正相关性,交换态Cr与脱氢酶活性之间呈现出显著负相关性。上述特征反映了污水灌溉时间对土壤肥力及土壤酶活性具有复杂的影响效应,而这些效应是决定污水灌溉区土地生产力能否高产的重要因素。     

围垦对崇明东滩湿地全程氨氧化微生物的影响

全程氨氧化微生物（comammox）的发现根本改变了学术界对硝化过程的认识，但其地理分异规律及对氮转化过程的贡献仍不清楚。本研究选择长江口崇明东滩不同围垦年限（0、27、51、86年）稻田表层耕作土壤，采用好氧培养试验测定土壤硝化潜力；通过标靶功能基因amoA实时荧光定量硝化微生物的数量变异特征，包括全程氨氧化细菌（comammox）、氨氧化细菌（AOB）和古菌（AOA）。结果表明，与围垦0年的自然滩涂湿地相比，围垦27、51、86年的水稻土净硝化速率从2.24mg N /(kg·d)分别增加至19.3、11.6和11.4mg N /(kg·d)，增幅高达5.1-8.7倍。土壤氨氧化古菌AOA的丰度与围垦年限显著正相关。自然滩涂湿地中氨氧化古菌AOA和AOB的数量分别为0.34×107 copies/g和1.14×107 copies/g，围垦86年后增幅最高可达27.9倍。自然滩涂湿地中comammox Clade A和Clade B amoA基因拷贝数高于围垦稻田土壤，且Clade A随着围垦年限增加其丰度显著增加。统计分析发现，氨氧化细菌AOB与土壤硝化速率显著正相关，可能在围垦水稻土氨氧化过程中发挥了重要作用；而全程硝化细菌comammox Clade A和Clade B与土壤总有机碳（TOC）、铵含量（NH4+）呈显著负相关关系，可能更适应于营养贫瘠的滩涂自然湿地土壤。     

Influence of water potential on nitrification and structure of nitrifying bacterial communities in semiarid soils

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between soil water potential, nitrifier community structure and nitrification activity in semiarid soils. Soils were collected after a 5-month dry period (end of summer) and subsequently rewetted to specific water potentials and incubated for 7 days prior to analysis of nitrification activity and nitrifier community structure. The approach used in this study targeted a 491bp segment of the amoA gene which encodes the active site of the ammonia monooxygenase enzyme, which is the key enzyme for all aerobic ammonia oxidisers. amoA serves as a useful target for environmental studies since it is both specific and universal for all ammonia oxidisers and reflects the phylogeny of the ammonia oxidisers. Our results suggest that in semiarid soils water potential plays a key role in determining the structure of ammonia oxidising bacteria (AOB), and that additionally AOB community structure is correlated to potential nitrification rate in these soils.     

Impact of irrigation water quality on soil nitrifying and total bacterial communities

Disturbance induced by two contrasting irrigation regimes (groundwater versus urban wastewater) was evaluated on a sandy agricultural soil through chemical and microbial analyses. Contrary to wastewater, groundwater displayed very high nitrate contents but small amounts of ammonium and organic matter. Despite these strong compositional shifts, soil organic carbon and nitrogen, nitrate and ammonium contents were not significantly different in both types of irrigated plot. Moreover, neither microbial biomass nor its activity, determined as fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis activity, was influenced by irrigation regimes. Bacterial community structure, assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S ribosomal DNA fragments, was also weakly impacted as molecular fingerprints shared an overall similarity of 85%. Ammonia-oxidizing bacterial community (AOB) was monitored by DGGE of the functional molecular marker amoA gene (alpha subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase). Surprisingly, no amoA signals were obtained from plots irrigated with groundwater, whereas signal intensities were high in all plots under wastewater. Among the last, compositional shifts of the AOB community were weak. Overall, impact of irrigation water quality on soil chemistry could not be evidenced, whereas effects were low on the total bacterial compartment but marked on the AOB community.     

Effect of Sodium Chloride-induced Salinity on Phyto-availability and Speciation of Cd in Soil Solution

A greenhouse experiment with two levels of Cd (0.5 and 10 mg Cd kg^?1, in the form of CdCl₂), and five salinity levels of irrigation water (0, 8.6, 17.1, 34.2 and 68.4 mM NaCl) in triplicate was conducted to determine the effect of NaCl-induced salinity on the solubility and availability of Cd in clay loam and sandy calcareous soils. Corn seeds (Zea mays L.) were sown in pots. Forty-five days after planting, the shoots were harvested, and their Cd concentration was determined. The post-harvest electrical conductivity (EC_e), pH, and concentrations of cations and anions were determined in soil saturation paste extracts. Increasing irrigation water salinity resulted in significant increases in the total soluble Cd concentration in both studied soils. A positive correlation was found between the total soluble Cd and the chloride concentration in the soil solution.Solution speciation, calculated with MINEQL+ (a chemical equilibrium modeling system), predicted that Cd was present mainly as free Cd²⁺ ions followed by CdCl⁺ and $ {\text{CdSO}}^{0}_{4} $ in the soils irrigated with deionized water. However, Cd species in the soil solution were significantly altered by increasing chloride concentration, with Cd–chloro complexes becoming the dominant Cd species in the soil solution. Increasing the salinity level resulted in significant decreases in the shoot dry matter and increases in the shoot Cd concentration. Shoot Cd concentration was positively correlated with both the total Cd and Cd–chloro complexes in the soil solution.     

土地利用方式对万木林土壤氨氧化微生物丰度的影响

以我国亚热带地区典型花岗岩发育酸性红壤为研究对象,选取福建建瓯万木林自然保护区封禁保护下5种自然植被和1种人工种植植被土壤,采用荧光实时定量PCR(Real-time PCR)技术测定了土壤氨氧化细菌(AOB)和氨氧化古菌(AOA)的群落丰度,采用15N稳定同位素成对标记和数值模型相结合的方法测定了土壤初级硝化速率。结果显示,长期封禁保护下的自然植被土壤pH低,土壤AOB数量偏低。人为种植和管理显著提高了土壤pH,促进了AOB的生长,其丰度比自然条件下提高了2个数量级,土壤初级硝化速率也显著提高,并与AOB数量存在显著的相关性,表明AOB是硝化作用的主要贡献者。5种自然植被条件下AOA的amoA基因拷贝数占泉古菌16S rRNA基因的比例都小于1%(0.01%～0.64%),在农业利用方式下上升到5.32%,表明并非所有泉古菌都具备氨氧化功能基因amoA,氮肥施用可能促进了氨氧化古菌的生长。     

液体培养研究不同土壤中硝化活性

A red soil, a fluvo-aquic soil and a permeable paddy soil were used in a long-term investigation to study changes in nitrification with treatments: 1) soil incubation, 2) liquid incubation inoculated with soil samples, and 3) liquid incubation inoculated with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) from the soils. There were significant differences (P < 0.001) in nitrification rates among the three soils when measured for 28 days by adding (NH4)2SO4 at the rate of 154 mg N kg-1 dry soil to fresh soil. However, the amounts of nitrifying bacteria in the three soils were not related to soil nitrification capacity. When the soil samples or the isolates of AOB enriched from the corresponding soil were incubated in liquid with pH 5.8, 7.0 and 8.0 buffers and 10 mmol L-1 ammonium nitrogen, there were no significant nitrification differences in the same soil type at each pH. The ability to oxidize ammonia through AOB from different types of soils in a homogeneous culture medium was similar, and the soil nitrification capacity could reflect the inherent properties of a soil. Altering the culture medium pH of individual soil type also showed that acidification of an alkaline fluvo-aquic soil decreased nitrification capacity, whereas alkalinization of the acidic red soil and permeable paddy soil increased their nitrification. For a better insight into factors influencing soil nitrification processes, soil properties including texture and clay composition should be considered.     

桂西北不同植被恢复阶段土壤氨氧化细菌遗传多样性研究

以桂西北喀斯特不同植被恢复阶段(草丛、灌木林、次生林、原生林)生态系统为研究对象,运用分子生物学技术分析了土壤氨氧化细菌amoA功能基因多样性,探讨了其与脲酶活性和土壤理化性质的关系.结果显示,随着植被的恢复,土壤氨氧化细菌多样性指数与均匀度指数呈增大趋势(灌木林例外),且土壤中氨氧化细菌群落结构发生了改变:主要表现在因Nitrosospira3簇种群对铵态氮浓度敏感度差异导致其在3a、3b簇中分布不一致;相关分析表明;土壤脲酶活性与铵态氮浓度呈正相关关系,土壤脲酶可能通过影响铵态氮浓度改变氨氧化细菌多样性,但植被恢复后期土壤铵态氮浓度减少并未降低土壤氨氧化细菌多样性.LIBSHUFF和RDA分析揭示,植被类型和土壤脲酶活性及pH与氨氧化细菌群落结构紧密相关,说明植被和土壤氮素有效性以及pH可能是决定土壤氨氧化细菌多样性的主要因子,为深入理解喀斯特地区土壤氮素循环提供了一定的科学依据.     

pH regulates key players of nitrification in paddy soils

Increasing lines of evidence have suggested the functional importance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) rather than bacteria (AOB) for nitrification in upland soils with low pH. However, it remains unclear whether niche specialization of AOA and AOB occurs in rice paddy wetlands constrained by oxygen availability. Using DNA-based stable isotope probing, we conclude that AOA dominated nitrification activity in acidic paddy soils (pH 5.6) while AOB dominated in alkaline soils (pH 8.2). Nitrification activity was stimulated by urea fertilization and accompanied by a significant increase of AOA in acid soils and AOB in alkaline soils. DNA-based stable isotope probing indicated significant assimilation of ¹³CO₂ for AOA only in acidic paddy soil, while AOB was the solely responsible for ammonia oxidation in the alkaline paddy soil. Phylogenetic analysis further indicated that AOA members within the soil group 1.1b lineage dominated nitrification in acid soils. Ammonia oxidation in the alkaline soil was catalyzed by Nitrosospira cluster 3-like AOB, suggesting that the physiological diversity of AOA is more complicated than previously thought, and soil pH plays important roles in shaping the community structures of ammonia oxidizers in paddy field.     

Uptake of Uranium by Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in Natural Uranium Contaminated Soils in Order to Assess Chemical Risk for Consumers

Uranium mining activity in Cunha Baixa (Portugal) village has left a legacy of polluted soils and irrigation water. A controlled field experiment was conducted with lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in an agricultural area nearby the abandoned mine in order to evaluate uranium uptake and distribution in roots and leaves as well as ascertain levels of uranium intake by the local inhabitants from plant consuming. Two soils with different average uranium content (38 and 106 mg/kg) were irrigated with non-contaminated and uranium contaminated water (<20 and >100 μg/l). A non-contaminated soil irrigated with local tap water (<1 μg/l uranium) was also used as a control. Uranium in lettuce tissues was positively correlated with soil uranium content, but non-significant differences were obtained from contaminated soils irrigated with different water quality. Uranium in plants (dry weight) growing in contaminated soils ranged from 0.95 to 6 mg/kg in roots and 0.32 to 2.6 mg/kg in leaves. Lettuce bioconcentration is more related to available uranium species in water than to its uranium concentration. Translocated uranium to lettuce leaves corresponds to 30% of the uranium uptake whatever the soil or irrigation water quality. A maximum uranium daily intake of 0.06 to 0.12 μg/kg bodyweight day was estimated for an adult assuming 30 to 60 g/day of lettuce is consumed. Although this value accounts for only 10% to 20% of the recommended Tolerable Daily Intake for ingested uranium, it still provides an additional source of the element in the local inhabitants’ diet.     

矿山废水灌溉区农田土壤N2O的产生及释放机制研究

农田系统是温室气体N₂O的主要排放源,目前对酸性矿山废水（acid mine drainage,AMD）灌溉影响下,农田土壤剖面N₂O的来源识别、转换机制及其控制因子缺乏深入研究。本文选择广东省大宝山矿区下游沿岸水稻田和甘蔗田两种典型农田,针对酸性矿山废水灌溉区（上坝村）和天然来水灌溉区（连心村）,对土壤理化性质、重金属含量及包气带N₂O浓度、同位素特征值进行了测定,定量计算了硝化和反硝化作用对土壤中N₂O的贡献比和N₂O转化为N₂的还原比,评价了其相关影响因素。结果表明：在AMD影响下,灌区农田土壤剖面N₂O浓度均高于同种作物类型天然来水区土壤,同种灌溉处理下甘蔗田土壤N₂O浓度高于水稻田。甘蔗田表层土壤（0~30 cm）反硝化作用对N₂O产生量的贡献比高于硝化作用,约71.29% N₂O由反硝化作用产生。AMD灌区甘蔗田土壤剖面中N₂O还原成N₂的比例随深度增加逐渐减小,在N₂O浓度峰值处仅有15.54% N₂O被还原成为N₂,而天然来水区N₂O还原成N₂的平均比率高达49.80%。这表明较弱的土壤N₂O还原能力导致较高浓度的N₂O残留在土壤中。相关性分析表明,AMD灌溉通过改变上坝村土壤的pH、重金属含量、含水率从而改变了土壤N₂O的来源途径及还原能力。组合同位素特征值溯源法有效地揭示了农田土壤N₂O的来源和AMD灌区土壤的潜在生态风险,为日后的治理修复工作提供了科学依据。     

Responses of soil nitrous oxide production and abundances and composition of associated microbial communities to nitrogen and water amendment

Soil moisture and nitrogen (N) are two important factors influencing N₂O emissions and the growth of microorganisms. Here, we carried out a microcosm experiment to evaluate effects of soil moisture level and N fertilizer type on N₂O emissions and abundances and composition of associated microbial communities in the two typical arable soils. The abundances and community composition of functional microbes involved in nitrification and denitrification were determined via quantitative PCR (qPCR) and terminal restriction length fragment polymorphism (T-RFLP), respectively. Results showed that N₂O production was higher at 90% water-filled pore (WFPS) than at 50% WFPS. The N₂O emissions in the two soils amended with ammonium were higher than those amended with nitrate, especially at relatively high moisture level. In both soils, increased soil moisture stimulated the growth of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite reducer (nirK). Ammonium fertilizer treatment increased the population size of AOB and nirK genes in the alluvial soil, while reduced the abundances of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and denitrifiers (nirK and nosZ) in the red soil. Nitrate addition had a negative effect on AOA abundance in the red soil. Total N₂O emissions were positively correlated to AOB abundance, but not to other functional genes in the two soils. Changed soil moisture significantly affected AOA rather than AOB community composition in both soils. The way and extent of N fertilizers impacted on nitrifier and denitrifier community composition varied with N form and soil type. These results indicate that N₂O emissions and the succession of nitrifying and denitrifying communities are selectively affected by soil moisture and N fertilizer form in the two contrasting types of soil.     

Contrasting response of nitrification capacity in three agricultural soils to N addition during short-term incubation

Purpose

Human disturbance is a major culprit driving imbalances in the biological transformation of nitrogen from the nonreactive to the reactive pool and is therefore one of the greatest concerns for nitrogen (N) cycling. The objective of this study was to compare potential nitrification rates and the abundance of ammonia oxidizers responsible for nitrification, with the amendment of external N in different agricultural soils.

Materials and methods

Three typical Chinese agricultural soils, QiYang (QY) acid soil, ShenYang (SY) neutral soil, and FengQiu (FQ) alkaline soil, were amended with 0, 20, 150, and 300 μg NH₄ ⁺-N g^?1 soil and incubated for 40 days. The abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) at the end of incubation in the soil microcosms was determined using the real-time PCR.

Results and discussion

There was a significant decrease in ammonium concentration in the QY soil from the highest to the lowest N-loading treatments, while no significant difference in ammonium concentrations was detected among the different N-loading treatments for the SY and FQ soils. A significantly higher potential nitrification rate (PNR) was observed in the FQ soil while lowest PNR was found in the QY soil. Quantitative PCR analysis of AOB amoA genes demonstrated that AOB abundance was significantly higher in the high N-loading treatments than in the control for the QY soil only, while no significant difference among treatments in the SY and FQ soils. A significant positive correlation between PNR and AOB amoA abundance, however, was found for the SY and FQ soils, but not for the QY soil. Little difference in AOA amoA abundance between different N-loading treatments was observed for all the soils.

Conclusions

This study suggested that ammonia oxidation capacity in the FQ and SY soils was higher than those in the QY soil with the addition of ammonium fertilizer for a short-term. These findings indicated that understanding the differential responses of biological nitrification to varying input levels of ammonium fertilizer is important for maximizing N use efficiency and thereby improving agricultural fertilization management.     

Abiotic factors regulating nitrification in a Swedish arable soil

Summary The effects of temperature, water potential and ammonium concentrations were studied in field and laboratory experiments on arable soil. The two field experiments used different sampling intervals, one at daily (short-term) and the other at monthly (long-term) intervals. In the short-term field experiment, the numbers and activities of nitrifiers were assessed before and after natural rain or irrigation. The nitrifiers were apparently outcompeted by heterotrophs during the first days after wetting the soil. Potential nitrification was affected only slightly by changes in water potential, whereas the numbers of ammonium and nitrite oxidizers appeared more sensitive to these changes. The numbers of ammonium and nitrite oxidizers correlated strongly during the daily samplings. The potential nitrite-oxidation rates correlated with water potentials whereas the potential ammonium oxidation rates did not. Extractable ammonium decreased in proportion to increasing nitrate concentrations in both the rain-fed and the irrigated plots. In the long-term field experiments, the numbers of ammonium oxidizers correlated with water potentials but not with in situ temperature or with ammonium concentrations. The potential ammonium-oxidation rates correlated with water potentials and with ammonium-oxidizer numbers. The potential nitrite-oxidation rates correlated strongly with the potential ammonium-oxidation rates. The field experiments implied that nitrite oxidizers obtained substrate from ammonium oxidizers but also from nitrate reduction. In laboratory experiments nitrate accumulated at a Q ₁₀ of about 2 and the V _max for nitrification was observed at a water potential of –0.11 MPa (65% of water-holding capacity). The K _m for ammonium oxidation at pH 8.2 was 1.72 mg l^–1 soil water.     

石灰和双氰胺对红壤酸化和硝化作用的影响及其机制

施用石灰是改良酸性土壤的重要措施,但其对土壤硝化作用的增强不仅加速土壤酸化,也增加硝态氮流失风险.传统的硝化抑制剂双氰胺(Dicyandiamide,DCD)能否在石灰改变pH的条件下始终有效抑制硝化是当前红壤区生产中亟需解决的问题.采用短期土壤培养试验,探讨了不同用量石灰与DCD配合施用对土壤酸化和硝化作用的影响及其...     

微咸水灌溉条件下含黏土夹层土壤的水盐运移规律

黏土夹层影响着土壤水盐运移及分布,为了研究在含黏土夹层的土壤中进行微咸水灌溉时土壤的水盐运移规律,进行了春小麦微咸水灌溉大田试验,并在此基础上运用数值模型对土壤盐分累积趋势进行了模拟预测。结果表明,黏土夹层对土壤水盐运移具有显著的阻碍作用,黏土夹层以上土壤平均含水量、含盐量呈随灌溉水矿化度增大而增加的趋势,黏土夹层以下各处理土壤水盐分布几乎不受微咸水灌溉的影响;大定额冬溉洗盐后,各处理0～70 cm土层最大积盐率仍高达65.7%,部分盐分滞留在黏土夹层以上;土壤盐分分布预测结果表明,微咸水连续灌溉5 a后,灌溉水矿化度为4和5 g/L的处理土壤盐渍化倾向明显,不宜在含黏土夹层地区长期使用矿化度>3 g/L的微咸水进行灌溉,否则将对土壤环境产生严重危害。