Simulating in situ ammonia volatilization losses in the North China Plain using a dynamic soil‐crop model

Ammonia (NH₃) volatilization is an important N loss pathway in intensive agriculture of the North China Plain (NCP). Simulation models can help to assess complex N and water processes of agricultural soil–crop systems. Four variations (Var) of a sub‐module for the deterministic, process‐based HERMES model were implemented ranging from simple empirical functions (Var 3 and 4) to process‐oriented approaches (Var 1 and 2) including the main processes of NH₃ volatilization, urea hydrolysis, nitrification from ammonium‐based N fertilizer, and changes in soil solution pH. Ammonia volatilization, plant growth, and changes in ammonium and nitrate pools in the soil over several winter wheat–summer maize double‐crop rotations at three locations in the NCP were simulated. Results were calibrated with two data sets (Dongbeiwang 1, Shunyi) and validated using two data sets (Dongbeiwang 2, Quzhou). They showed that the ammonia volatilization sub‐module of the HERMES model worked well under the climatic and soil conditions of N China. Although the simpler equations, Var 3 and 4, showed lower deviations to observed volatilization across all sites and treatments with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.8 and 1.4 in % of applied N, respectively, compared to process‐oriented approaches, Var 1 and 2, with a MAE of 2.2 and 1.9 in % of applied N, respectively. Environmental conditions were reflected better by the process‐oriented approaches. Generally, simulation results were satisfying but simulated changes in topsoil pH need further verification with measurements.     

Nitrogen Release from Slow-Release Fertilizers in Soils with Different Microbial Activities

Soil microbial activity is recognized as an important factor affecting nitrogen (N) release from slow-release fertilizers. However,studies on the effect of size and activity of soil microflora on fertilizer degradation have provided contrasting results. To date, no clear relationships exist between soil microbial activity and the release of N from slow-release fertilizers. Hence, the aim of this study was to better understand such relationships by determining the release of N from three slow-release fertilizers in soils with different microbial activities. Soils were amended with urea-formaldehyde (UF), isobutylidene diurea (IBDU), and crotonylidene diurea (CDU). Urea, a soluble fertilizer, was used as the control. Fertilized soil samples were placed in a leaching system, and the release of N was determined by measuring ammonium-N and nitrate-N concentrations in leachates during 90 d of incubation. Non-linear regression was used to fit N leaching rate to a first-order model. In all the treated soils, N was released in the order: urea (89%–100%) IBDU (59%–94%) UF (46%–73%) CDU (44%–56%). At the end of incubation, N released from CDU did not differ (P 0.05) among soils. On the contrary, UF and IBDU released significantly lower (P 0.05) amounts of N in the soil with higher microbial activity and lower pH.The rate constant (K_0) for UF was lower (P 0.05) in the soil with lower pH. Taken together, our results indicated that soil microbial size and microbial activity had a marginal effect on fertilizer mineralization.     

Presence and genetic variability of Piscine orthoreovirus genotype 1 (PRV‐1) in wild salmonids in Northern Europe and North Atlantic Ocean

Piscine orthoreovirus genotype 1 (PRV‐1) is widespread in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) populations in northern Europe, Canada and Chile. PRV‐1 occurs in wild fish in Norway and Canada; however, little information of its geographical distribution in wild populations is currently available, and the effect of PRV‐1 infection in wild populations is currently unknown. In this study, we present the findings of a survey conducted on 1,130 wild salmonids sampled in Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Faroe Islands, France, Belgium and Greenland between 2008 and 2017. PRV‐1 is reported for the first time in wild salmonids in Denmark, Sweden, Faroe Island and Ireland. The annual PRV‐1 prevalence ranged from 0% in France, Belgium and Greenland to 43% in Faroe Islands. In total, 66 samples tested positive for PRV‐1, including Atlantic salmon broodfish returning to spawn and Atlantic salmon collected at the feeding ground north of Faroe Islands. The phylogenetic analysis of S1 sequences of the PRV‐1 isolates obtained in this survey did not show systematic geographical distribution. This study sheds light on the spread and genetic diversity of the virus identified in populations of free‐living fish and provides rationale for screening wild broodfish used in restocking programmes.     

Population differentiation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Puccinia coronata</Emphasis> between hosts –implications for the epidemiology of oat crown rust

The fungus Puccinia coronata Corda. is the causal agent of crown rust on oats (Avena sativa) and grasses and the disease is a major problem in oat production causing devastating yield losses. The population biology of P. coronata in oat fields and on the aecial host in central Sweden was studied to get a deeper understanding of the role of the aecial hosts in the epidemiology of the disease. Samples were collected from the aecial hosts common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus), and three adjacent spring oat (Avena sativa) fields. Microsatellite markers were used to evaluate the relationships between populations sampled from the different hosts. According to our results F. alnus can be excluded as a part of the oat crown rust disease cycle. The results further show that samples collected from the aecial host were genetically separate from the population sampled in adjacent oat fields. Concurrently, the genotypic variation of P. coronata observed within oat fields was high. No population differentiation was observed within or between samples collected from different fields within the region, suggesting that airborne spores from other than the sampled specimens of the aecial hosts were contributing to the genetic diversity of P. coronata f. sp. avenae in the selected oat fields.     

Assessing the Potential of Rhizobacteria to Survive under Phenanthrene Pollution

Rhizobacteria possess a wide variety of qualities governing their pollutant-catabolic and rhizospheric competences. We investigated how the abilities to degrade phenanthrene and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), to synthesize surfactants and the phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), to be motile, and to perform chemotaxis toward phenanthrene and some potential root-exudate components were manifested in rhizobacteria isolated from oil-polluted sites. We observed that most of the examined rhizobacteria had the abilities under consideration and that in some strains, these were strongly affected by the bacterial environment. Only one strain—Sinorhizobium meliloti P221—exhibited increased PAH-degrading, surfactant-producing, and IAA-synthesizing activities, as well as distinct behavioral responses. We conclude that S. meliloti P221 can be used as a model to assess the contributions of all these activities to plant-inoculation-induced reduction in the soil PAH contents. This strain also may be useful for phytoremediation applications.