Long-term charcoal-induced changes to soil properties in temperate regions of northern Iran

The long-term performance and benefits of charcoal application on the carbon sequestration and properties of forest soils in temperate or non-tropical regions has not been studied in detail in spite of its important role in global warming. This study was conducted to describe the long-term charcoal-induced changes in organic carbon (OC) content and other soil properties of temperate deciduous forests in Mazandaran province, northern Iran. Three sites were sampled to collect composite soil samples from two depths (0–20 and 20–40 cm) inside and outside of a plot of charcoal-enriched soils surrounding a historical charcoal production site (abandoned for more than 120 years). The presence of charcoal in soils for about 120 years elevated significantly the black carbon, total OC, natural soil OC, total nitrogen, dissolved organic matter, soil OC density, exchangeable bases, saturated hydraulic conductivity, available water capacity and available Fe, Mn and Zn compared to the adjacent reference soils. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) and pH were 15.5 cmolc kg^-1 and 0.5 units, respectively, higher than the adjacent reference soils at 0–20 cm soil depth. However, electrical conductivity (EC), bulk density and available Cu were higher in the adjacent reference soil. The aged charcoal had no significant effect on the microbial respiration rate of studied soils. The results of this study provide new insights and strong support for the long-term benefits of biochar application as a management strategy for improving soil productivity as well as sequestering large quantities of durable carbon in soils of the region and mitigating global warming.     

Studying the physiological and yield responses of sunflower inbred lines to full and limited irrigation

In order to study the physiological and yield responses of sunflower inbred lines to full and limited irrigation, an experiment was conducted in the growing season of 2014–2015 in the research field of the Agricultural Research Station in Khoi, Iran. Water withholding was imposed in the flowering stages from R4 (initial flowering) to R6 (full flowering). The results showed that the main effect of irrigation and inbred lines and the interaction effect between irrigation and inbred lines in terms of the proline and protein contents, the catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activities, and seed yield in all inbred lines, and relative water content(RWC) were significant at 1% level. Water withholding in the flowering stage increased the proline content and the catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activities, whereas limited irrigation decreased the protein content and seed yield in all inbred lines and RWC. The lowest protein content and the highest catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activities were observed in BGK 39 under limited irrigation condition, while BGK 37 revealed the highest proline content in such circumstances. The highest seed yield was seen in BGK 1 and BGK 375 in full irrigation condition. Limited irrigation increased the proline content by 49.51%, compared to that of full irrigation condition.     

水分对苹果园土壤呼吸季节性与年际变化的影响

[目的]了解果园土壤呼吸的季节和年际变化及其影响因素,为退耕还果条件下黄土高原地区土壤碳源汇功能变化研究提供依据。[方法]在长武农田生态系统国家野外站,以盛产期果园为对象,利用土壤碳通量监测系统(Li-COR,Lincoln,NE,USA)连续3 a原位监测了土壤呼吸、土壤水分和温度变化,分析了土壤呼吸的季节性和年际间的变化及其与水分、温度变化之间的关系。[结果]土壤呼吸具有明显的季节和年际变异特征:最高值出现在雨季(7—9月),3 a分别为3.14,3.98,4.71μmol/(m~2·s),最低值出现在11月后,3 a依次为0.99,0.88,0.69μmol/(m~2·s);年际间累积呼吸量变异约21%。土壤呼吸与温度呈显著指数关系,而不同水分状况下土壤呼吸及温度敏感性(Q_(10))不同,当土壤水分含量11.12%时,土壤呼吸为2.01μmol/(m~2·s),当土壤含水量变化于11.12%～23.63%之间时,土壤呼吸为2.24μmol/(m~2·s),当土壤含水量23.63%时,土壤呼吸则为1.38μmol/(m~2·s);相应地不同水分条件下Q_(10)值分别为1.57,1.63和1.38。[结论]土壤水分显著影响黄土区苹果园土壤呼吸和Q_(10),研究结果为黄土区果园生态系统碳汇功能的估算提供了依据。     

Modeling of maximum dry density and optimum moisture content of stabilized soil using artificial neural networks

This study considers the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict the maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) of soil‐stabilizer mix. Multilayer perceptron (MLP), one of the most widely used ANN architectures in the literature, is utilized to construct comprehensive and accurate models relating the MDD and OMC of stabilized soil to the properties of natural soil such as particle‐size distribution, plasticity, linear shrinkage, and the type and quantity of stabilizing additives. Five ANN models are constructed using different combinations of the input parameters. Two separate sets of ANN prediction models, one for MDD and the other for OMC, and also a combined ANN model for multiple outputs are developed using the potentially influential input parameters. Relative‐importance values of various inputs of the models are calculated to determine the significance of each of the predictor variables to MDD and OMC. Inferring the most relevant input parameters based on Garson's algorithm, modified ANN models are separately developed for MDD and OMC. The modified ANN models are utilized to introduce explicit formulations of MDD and OMC. A parametric study is also conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of MDD and OMC due to the variation of the most influencing input parameters. A comprehensive set of data including a wide range of soil types obtained from the previously published stabilization test results is used for training and testing the prediction models. The performance of ANN‐based models is subsequently analyzed and compared in detail. The results demonstrate that the accuracy of the proposed models is satisfactory as compared to the experimental results.     

Determination of unsaturated soil hydraulic properties at different applied tensions and water qualities

Irrigation with low-quality water may change soil hydraulic properties due to excessive electrical conductivity (EC_w) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR_w). Field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of water quality (EC_w of 0.5–20 dS m^?1 and SAR_w of 0.5–40 mol^0.5 l^?0.5) on the hydraulic properties of a sandy clay loam soil (containing ～421 g gravel kg^?1 soil) at applied tensions of 0–0.2 m. The mean unsaturated hydraulic conductivity [K(ψ)], sorptive number (α) and sorptivity coefficient (S) varied with change in EC_w and SAR_w as quadratic or power equations, whereas macroscopic capillary length, λ, varied as quadratic or logarithmic equations. The maximum value of K(ψ) was obtained with a EC_w/SAR_w of 10 dS m^?1/20 mol^0.5 l^?0.5 at tensions of 0.2 and 0.15 m, and with 10 dS m^?1/10 mol^0.5 l^?0.5 at other tensions. Changes in K(ψ) due to the application of EC_w and SAR_w decreased as applied tension increased. Analysis indicated that 13.7 and 86.3% of water flow corresponded to soil pore diameters <1.5 and >1.5 μm, respectively, confirming that macropores are dominant in the studied soil. The findings indicated that use of saline waters with an EC of <10 dS m^?1 can improve soil hydraulic properties in such soils. Irrigation waters with SAR_w < 20 mol^0.5 l^?0.5 may not adversely affect hydraulic attributes at early time; although higher SAR_w may negatively affect them.     

Growth performance,immune response and disease resistance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed Thymus vulgaris essential oils

Efficacy of Thymus vulgaris essential oils was assessed on growth, immune response and disease resistance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish weighing 10 g were fed with dietary supplemented of the oils at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 ml/kg feed for 2 months. Fish fed with the oils at 0.5 ml/kg feed demonstrated a better weight gain and specific growth rate, compared to other treatments (p < .05). Fish fed with 1.0 ml the oils showed the highest up‐regulation of complement component 3 (C3) and (cluster of differentiation 4) (CD4) genes expression (p < .05), while lysozyme gene expression level significantly increased in fish fed with 2.0 ml of the oils. In addition, at the end of the experiment, the expression of C3 and CD4 genes were significantly up‐regulated in fish fed with 1.0 and 2.0 ml of the oils, while IL‐1ß and lysozyme genes expression levels were significantly decreased in fish fed 2.0 ml oils, towards the end of the trial (p < .05). There was a fluctuation in the levels of Alanine aminotransferase, Aspartate aminotransferase and Alkaline phosphatase in all treatments during the experiment. When treated fish were challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila, the highest survival rate was observed in 0.5 ml/kg treatment, followed by 2 and 1 mg/kg treatments. Overall, these findings demonstrated that dietary administration of T. vulgaris oils especially at 0.5 mg/kg feed can be considered as a potential component for enhancing of the growth, immune responses and disease resistance of trout against motile Aeromonas septicemia caused by A. hydrophila.     

Gelation Characteristics of Surimi Gel from Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) by Application of Acid-Alkali Processes

Textural characteristics of silver carp surimi gel prepared from acid- and alkali-produced protein isolates were investigated and compared to the surimi gels derived by conventional methods. The acid-aided method showed the most efficiency to recover proteins (86.2%) in comparison to the alkaline-aided (79.8%) and conventional (76.7%) methods. In the washing of fish mince, every step resulted in reduction of sarcoplasmic protein, and consequently the myofibrillar fraction became more concentrated, as shown by the protein patterns in wash water. Some myofibrillar proteins (mainly actin and myosin) were removed along with sarcoplasmic proteins during washing, reducing yield efficiency during the conventional method of making surimi. During the pH shifting process, myosin heavy chain (MHC) was degraded during low (2.5) pH solubilization, whereas there was only a minimal loss of MHC by either hydrolysis or proteolysis during alkaline solubilization. The breaking force and breaking distance of surimi gel prepared in the pH-shifting processes were significantly (p < 0.05) greater than those of surimi gel made by conventional methods, as were expressible moisture, cohesiveness, and springiness. In conclusion, the pH-shifting technique can be considered as an efficient alternative process in recovery of greater quantities of functional protein from silver carp fillet.     

Encapsulation rates of the parasitoid <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Anagyrus</Emphasis> sp. nr. <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">pseudococci</Emphasis>, by three mealybug species (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Laboratory studies assessing the degree of suitability of the mealybugs Planococcus ficus (Signoret), Planococcus citri (Risso) and Pseudococcus calceolariae (Maskell), towards the Sicilian ecotype of the encyrtid parasitoid Anagyrus sp. nr. pseudococci were carried out. All three species of mealybugs were shown to encapsulate the eggs of the encyrtid; however, significant differences were revealed among them in rates of encapsulation and/or superparasitism. The level of aggregate encapsulation and effective encapsulation of the parasitoid eggs by P. citri (74.95 ± 0.87 and 60.19 ± 1.70, respectively) was significantly higher than that recorded for P. ficus (aggregate encapsulation = 58.43 ± 0.83 and effective encapsulation = 31.31 ± 1.55) and significantly lower than the values found in Ps. calceolariae (93.99 ± 0.97 and 88.61 ± 2.03, respectively). As such, rates of parasitism were significantly lower for P. ficus compared with both P. citri and Ps. calceolariae. The two latter species of mealybugs showed similar rates of parasitism by A. sp. nr. pseudococci. Moreover, a significantly higher rate of superparasitism was found for Ps. calceolariae compared with both P. citri and P. ficus, whereas no significant differences were found between the two species of Planococcus for this parameter.     

Sulfide Production by Sulfate Reducing Bacteria with Lactate as Feed in an Upflow Anaerobic Fixed Film Reactor

The sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) have the capability of reducing sulfate (SO4-2) under anaerobic conditions into sulfide (S-2) which can precipitate metals as metal sulfides. The optimum conditions for sulfide production by SRB utilizing lactate, in an upflow anaerobic fixed film reactor (UAFFR) were not previously established. The main objective of this research was to investigate these conditions for the growth of SRB to ensure the highest sulfide production under consistent behaviour of the system. Substrate containing lactate as the organic carbon source along with sulfate, nitrogen and phosphorus as the required nutrients was used as a feed to the UAFER which was seeded with SRB. It was found that an optimum sulfide production occurred with an organic loading rate (OLR) of 6 kg d-1 m-3, while the theoretical oxygen demand to sulfate ratio (ThOD/SO4) ranged from 1.5 to 2.25. Also, the optimum total nitrogen and phosphorus demands were determined to be about 250 and 50 mg L-1 respectively. A total nitrogen concentration above 600 mg L-1 started showing toxicity and lowered the sulfide production. The optimum ThOD:N:P for sulfide production and growth of SRB in the UAFFR was 100:5:1 under optimum conditions.