Arbuscular mycorrhizal-like fungi (AM-like fungi) are crucial for ecosystem functioning and soil organic matter (SOM) is an indicator of soil quality. However, the spatial distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal-like fungi, glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) and SOM in a large scale is still unclear. The objectives of this study were to investigate the spatial distribution of SOM, arbuscular mycorrhizal-like fungi and GRSP, and reveal the potential relationship among them in a large scale across China.
Materials and methods
Soil samples (different in vegetation type, climate, and soil variables) were collected from 26 sites in a large scale across China. The soil properties including pH, total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and SOM were determined. Quantitative PCR amplification of the 18S rRNA gene was conducted to evaluate the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal-like fungi. The contents of easily extractable GRSP (EE-GRSP), difficultly extractable GRSP (DE-GRSP), and total GRSP (T-GRSP) were measured.
Results and discussion
Arbuscular mycorrhizal-like fungi abundance was significantly affected by the vegetation type and dramatically correlated with the soil TN and mean annual precipitation (MAP). EE-GRSP and DE-GRSP were more associated with the TC and TN content, respectively. The abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal-like fungi significantly but weakly correlated with the T-GRSP and EE-GRSP. The SOM content positively correlated with the DE-GRSP and T-GRSP. Those results suggested that the arbuscular mycorrhizal-like fungi are a larger contributor to regulating the content of GRSP, which is an important indicator of the soil organic carbon pool.
Conclusions
Our results indicated that arbuscular mycorrhizal-like fungi abundance has a greater contribution to driving the distribution of soil C and N in a large scale by affecting the content of glomalin-related soil protein.
A field study was undertaken to investigate runoff and leaching loss of the herbicide pendimethalin in turfgrass land of loamy sand soil. A series of plots constructed in a golf course fairway were surface-applied with pendimethalin SC formulation at the rate of 2. 25 or 4.50 kg a.i./ha and subjected to simulated rainfall at 2.0 cm/day for 10 consecutive days. Runoff losses of pendimethalin were the highest at the first rainfall and then gradually decreased with time. The first runoff event contained pendimethalin in its highest concentration, and in subsequent runoff samples the concentration decreased exponentially. The ranges of pendimethalin concentration were 80.9-18.2 and 177.4-48.6 microgram/L in the standard and double doses, respectively. Total losses by 20 cm of rainfall for 10 days reached 0.81 and 1.22% of the initial deposits at 2.25 and 4.50 kg a. i./ha, respectively. Pendimethalin concentration in the leachate collected at 30-cm soil depth was quite lower than that in the runoff, and the concentration rapidly decreased from 4.3-4.7 to 0. 2-0.4 microgram/L during the 10 days of rainfall treatment. Soil residue analysis at 45 and 90 days after pendimethalin treatment showed that more than 90% of the residue remained at the top 10 cm of soil depth. Low runoff and leaching confirmed that lateral and downward movement of the herbicide should be limited in turf soil. The half-life of pendimethalin under field conditions was 23-30 days and was not affected by application dose and rainfall treatment, but longer persistence was observed under laboratory conditions. Considering low runoff and leaching, as well as relatively short persistence in soil, it is concluded that little environmental carryover of pendimethalin would be expected in turfgrass land. 相似文献
