The effect of soil texture and organic amendment on the hydrological behaviour of coarse-textured soils

To gain more insight into the hydrological behaviour of coarse-textured soils, the physical properties of artificially created soil mixtures with different texture were determined. The mixtures were prepared according to the specifications of the United States Golf Association (USGA) for constructing putting greens. In addition, the effect of 10 vol.% organic matter addition was studied. The soil moisture retention and hydraulic conductivity relationships of the different mixtures were determined and their hydrological behaviour was studied using the numerical model SoWaM. Both texture and organic matter addition substantially affected the hydraulic properties. Hydraulic conductivity significantly increased with increasing coarseness while moisture retention decreased. On the other hand, organic matter addition reduced saturated hydraulic conductivity by a factor of 10 to 100 and distinctly increased moisture retention capacity. The amounts of total available water were increased by the addition of organic matter between 144% (slightly coarse texture) and 434% (very coarse texture). Results indicate that the mixtures can contain only 2–16% plant available water and therefore need frequent irrigation to maintain plant growth. Addition of organic matter seems a good solution to reduce the irrigation water requirements but it increases the risk of ponding or runoff because of large reductions in the saturated hydraulic conductivity sometimes to below the rate of 3.6 m/day recommended by the USGA.     

Philosophy and mechanics of how we arrive at fertilizer and lime recommendations

Abstract

Our experience in soil analysis work began 40 years ago. In those early stages, this was part time work. Most of it stemmed from farm managers and large farm operations. For the past 30 years, soil analysis has been a major program with us.     

Soil microarthropods are only weakly impacted after 13 years of repeated drought treatment in wet and dry heathland soils

Studies of biological responses in the terrestrial environment to rapid changes in climate have mostly been concerned with aboveground biota, whereas less is known of belowground organisms. The present study focuses on mites and springtails of heathland ecosystems and how the microarthropod community has responded to simulated climate change in a long-term field experiment. Increased temperature and repeated drought was applied for 13 years to field plots located in Wales, The Netherlands and Denmark representing sites of contrasting climatic conditions with respect to precipitation and temperature. This approach provided an opportunity to study biological responses on a local (within sites) and regional scale. Warming treatments increasing night time temperature (0.3–1 °C higher than ambient at 5 cm soil depth) had no detectable effects on the microarthropod communities. Increased intensity and frequency of drought had only weak persistent effects on springtail species composition, but practically no effect on major mite groups (Oribatida, Prostigmata or Mesostigmata) suggesting that ecosystem functions of microarthropods may only be transiently impacted by repeated spring or summer drought.     

Excessive nitrogen application decreases grain yield and increases nitrogen loss in a wheat–soil system

Abstract

Excessive use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in wheat fields has led to elevated NO₃-N concentrations in groundwater and reduced N use efficiency. Three-year field and ¹⁵N tracing experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of N application rates on N uptake from basal and topdressing ¹⁵N, N use efficiency, and grain yield in winter wheat plants; and determine the dynamics of N derived from both basal and topdressing ¹⁵N in soil in high-yielding fields. The results showed that 69.5–84.5% of N accumulated in wheat plants derived from soil, while 6.0–12.5%and 9.2–18.1% derived from basal ¹⁵N and top ¹⁵N fertilizer, respectively. The basal N fertilizer recovery averaged 33.9% in plants, residual averaged 59.2% in 0–200 cm depth soil; the topdressing N fertilizer recovery averaged 50.5% in plants, residual averaged 48.2% in 0–200 cm soil. More top ¹⁵N was accumulated in plants and more remained in 0–100 cm soil rather than in 100–200 cm soil at maturity, compared with the basal ¹⁵N. However, during the period from pre-sowing to pre-wintering, the soil nitrate moved down to deeper layers, and most accumulated in the layers below 140 cm. With an increase of N fertilizer rate, the proportion of the N derived from soil in plants decreased, but that derived from basal and topdressing fertilizer increased; the proportion of basal and top ¹⁵N recovery in plants decreased, and that of residual in soil increased. A moderate application rate of 96–168 kg N ha^?1 led to increases in nitrate content in 0–60 cm soil layer, N uptake amount, grain yield and apparent recovery fraction of applied fertilizer N in wheat. Applying above 240 kg N ha^?1 promoted the downward movement of basal and top ¹⁵N and soil nitrate, but had no significant effect on N uptake amount; the excessive N application also obviously decreased the grain yield, N uptake efficiency, apparent recovery fraction of applied fertilizer N, physiological efficiency and internal N use efficiency. It is suggested that the appropriate application rate of nitrogen on a high-yielding wheat field was 96–168 kg N ha^?1.     

整地方式对杂种落叶松生长的影响

以4种整地方式下杂种落叶松试验林为研究对象,建立固定观测样地48块,连续观测地径、苗高和胸径生长,采用方差分析等研究方法,研究整地方式对杂种落叶松生长的影响,结果表明:杂种落叶松幼龄期间的地径及苗高生长,高台和穴状两种整地方式较好,另外两种整地方式差些;揭草皮方式在杂种落叶松幼龄时对其苗高生长及地径的作用不明显,但随着幼树的生长,效果越来越显著;在杂种落叶松11龄时,穴状与揭草皮两种整地方式下的平均胸径较大;杂种落叶松4种整地方式对生长的作用效果穴状揭草皮高台现整现造。     

农户田块尺度冬小麦不同产量水平土壤细菌群落差异

为了明确土壤细菌群落对小麦产量的影响，以河南省济源市冬小麦种植户田块为研究对象，通过采集扬花期麦田土壤样品，利用Illumina高通量测序技术测定细菌16S rRNA V3+V4区序列，分析冬小麦不同产量水平土壤的细菌群落差异。结果表明，高产组土壤铵态氮含量显著高于低产组(P<0.05),土壤有机质含量、速效钾含量、有效磷含量、硝态氮含量、pH值在组间均无显著差异，土壤酸性磷酸酶、碱性磷酸酶、脲酶和过氧化氢酶活性在组间也均无显著差异。酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)和变形菌门(Proteobacteria)是土壤细菌群落的主导菌门。门水平上，小麦产量与芽单胞菌门(Gemmatimonadetes)、装甲菌门(Armatimonadetes)、纤维杆菌门(Fibrobacteres)、Latescibacteria、Dadabacteria相对丰度显著相关。属水平上，Bryobacter、黄杆菌属(Flavisolibacter)、芽单胞菌属(Gemmatimonas)、丰佑菌属(Opitutus)、黏液杆菌属(Mucilaginibacter)、Dongia、Chryseo...     

Effects of soil water availability on development of suberin lamellae in the endodermis and exodermis and on cortical cell wall thickening in red bayberry (Myrica rubra Sieb. et Zucc.) tree roots

The effects of soil water availability on suberin lamellae formation in the endodermis and exodermis and the occurrence of cell wall thickening in the cortex in red bayberry (Myrica rubra Sieb. et Zucc.) tree roots were examined during tissue aging. For several months, red bayberry trees were grown in small baskets under dry, normal, and waterlogged soil water conditions. Transverse sections of roots from 5 mm from the tip to the basal portion were stained with several staining solutions and the cell structure was observed. Root anatomical development was significantly changed by soil water conditions. The suberin lamellae in the endodermis formed later in plants grown under dry conditions than in those grown under waterlogged conditions. Cell wall thickening in the cortex near the endodermis was promoted by drought, but apparently not by waterlogged conditions.     

Temporal changes of soil physical quality under two residue management systems

Although crop residue management is known to affect near‐surface soil physical quality, little is known about the temporal variability of these indicators over short time intervals. This study evaluates the temporal changes of nine indicators of soil physical quality. These are organic carbon content, structural stability index, bulk density, macroporosity, air capacity, relative field capacity, plant available water capacity, Dexter's S‐index and saturated hydraulic conductivity. A second set of soil physical indicators, based on the distribution of soil pore volume, was also evaluated. The indicators were determined in three different times during the growing cycle of winter durum wheat cultivated within a long‐term field research carrying out in Southern Italy and comparing two types of crop residue management, that is, burning (B) and soil incorporation (I). Only the bulk density changed over time for both treatments, although the air capacity also changed for the incorporation of wheat residues. Residual effects of the autumnal soil tillage and soil compaction were a common source of variability, irrespective of which treatment was used. Based on the existing guidelines for evaluating the physical quality of these agricultural soils, optimal or near‐optimal values were detected in about half of the cases under consideration. This suggests that both B and I create sufficiently good conditions for crop growth during the crop cycle. The comparison between observed and optimal soil pore distribution function was always poor. The pore volume distributions showed lower densities of small pores and relatively higher densities of large pores than the proposed optimal distribution. This study also suggests that the considered optimal or references curves probably cannot be applied successfully to a wide range of agricultural soils.     

根土空间对花生生长发育和产量的影响

为明确花生生长过程中是否存在生长冗余,探讨花生高产的适宜生长度,以高产花生品种青花7号为试材,设长×宽×深分别为40 cm×20 cm×20 cm、40 cm×20 cm×40 cm、40 cm×20 cm×60 cm、40 cm×20 cm×80 cm4种规格不等的根土空间,采用网袋法,研究了根系生长空间对花生生长发育和产量的影响。结果表明,随着根土空间增大,株高逐渐增高,分枝数逐渐增多,根系干质量和茎叶干质量逐渐增大,其生育进程的推进差异越来越大。根土空间过小显著影响各时间段花生开花数、下针和结果;根土空间过大则中前期开花数、下针和结果少,中后期开花数、下针和结果多;适当的根土空间(如限根深度60 cm)则中前期开花数、下针和结果多,中后期开花数、下针少。说明根土空间过小影响产量提高的主要原因是生长量不足,而根土空间过大影响产量提高的主要原因是冗余生长。适当空间则既能保证足够的生长量,产生的冗余生长又少,从而提高荚果产量和籽仁产量,为花生高产新品种的选育和栽培提供理论依据。     

两种林龄中山杉(Taxodium hybrid 'Zhongshanshan')林地土壤质量评价

以江苏省靖江市牧城公园和东湖公园两种种植年限分别为5 a和9 a的中山杉(Taxodium hybrid'Zhongshanshan')人工林土壤和无林地为研究对象,对0~15 cm、15~30 cm和30~45 cm深度土层土壤理化性质、养分含量和微生物生物量进行了分析。典型相关分析表明,土壤微生物生物量的变化是一个复杂的过程,是土壤各因子共同作用的结果,3种土壤U、V值均表现出层次性,随着土壤深度的增加逐渐降低;不同取样点相同深度土层U、V值为9 a林5 a林对照;单相关分析表明,土壤微生物生物量与速效磷、速效钾、有机质和全氮呈极显著正相关(P0.01),因此土壤微生物可以作为评价中山杉人工林在促进林地土壤质量改善过程中的重要生物指标;主成分分析表明,综合得分最高的9 a林为2.993,其次是5 a林为0.748,作为对照的无林地则为-3.742,说明9 a林地土壤质量最高。可见,中山杉对林下土壤质量有显著提高作用。