Pine growth response to management of the subterranean clover understory

Management of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) understory grown with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) resulted in differences in both clover yield and pine diameter. Loblolly and slash pines were planted into a subterranean clover pasture in 1984. Suppression of warm season herbaceous vegetation by applying herbicides or disking the site in late summer resulted in significantly greater subterranean clover production than on the control site where no additional understory management was applied. Pine species had no effects on clover yield. The N content of the pine foliage on the blocks managed with herbicide application or disking generally was significantly greater than the control from the 5th through 7th growing seasons (1988–1990). The dbh of the pine trees in the disked and herbicide treatments was greater than the control after the 7th growing season (1990).     

Effects of single and dual inoculation with selected microsymbionts (rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) on field growth and nitrogen fixation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calliandra calothyrsus</Emphasis> Meissn

Our study aimed to assess the effect of dual inoculation with the selected Rhizobium strain KWN35 and the arbuscular mycorrhizal isolate BEG 176 (Glomus etunicatum) on the growth of Calliandra calothyrsus cultivated under irrigation in the field in Senegal (Dakar) over a period of 24 months. Although plants inoculated with both microsymbionts grew better (height and root collar diameter) than plants from three other inoculation treatments (control, single inoculation with KWN35 or BEG 176), these results were not statistically different except at 1 and 5 months after field transplantation. KWN35 was present in a relatively high percentage of nodules harvested from plants inoculated with this rhizobial strain either alone or with mycorrhiza (approximately 60% and 40% 1 and 2 years after field transplantation respectively). The percentage of mycorrhizal root infections was around 60% in the inoculated plants after 12 months with significantly higher N, P and K foliar contents of trees compared with the non-inoculated controls. However, as for nodulation, by 24 months after transplantation, there were no significant differences between treatments. We conclude that field inoculation of C. calothyrsus with Rhizobium strain KWN35 and arbuscular mycorrhizal isolate BEG 176 did not have a long-lasting effect on the growth of trees, even when a majority of nodules were occupied by the inoculated rhizobia and the roots infected by the mycorrhiza. Several reasons can be postulated for these results, such as a possible effect of soil fertility on the efficiency of the nodules.     

沙柳集束沙障固沙技术探讨

风蚀沙埋是制约沙区人工造林成活率的主要因子之一。设置沙障是防止风蚀沙埋，提高造林成活率的主要措施。本文通过对沙区人工造林设置不同类型沙障的对比试验，筛选出沙柳集束沙障。该沙障具有明显的效益，可在高大流动沙区人工造林中加以推广。     

Achieving food and nutritional security through agroforestry: a case of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Faidherbia albida</Emphasis> in sub-Saharan Africa

Faidherbia albida is an ideal agroforestry tree commonly intercropped with annual crops like millet and groundnuts in the dry and densely populated areas of Africa. With its peculiar reverse phenology, it makes growth demands at a different time from that of crops. In addition, it deposits great amount of organic fertilizer on food crops. Leaves entering soils are comparable to fertilization of almost 50 t·ha 1 ·year 1 of manure in dense stands of 50 large trees per ha. These nutrients help maximize agricultural production and reduce the need for a fallow period on poorer soils. Research has shown that millet grown under F. albida yielded 2.5 and 3.4 fold increases in grain and protein, respectively. Animals eat pods which contain mean amounts of crude protein of 20.63% and carbohydrate of 40.1% in seeds. Moreover, the continued existence of F. albida in agroforestry parklands as in Ethiopia and Mali signifies the success of traditional conservation measures. Modern scientists have also developed much interest in the role of agroforestry in maintaining long-term biological balance between agriculture and livestock production systems. To ensure food security, which still remains a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, and concurrently minimize environmental degradation, promotion of agroforestry that specifically involves indigenous trees is crucial. We discuss the prospective role of F. albida in alleviating poverty while simultaneously protecting the environment from factors associated with, for example, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. The overall aim is to promote wide-scale adoption of F. albida as a valuable tree crop in farming systems, particularly in those areas where it remains unexploited.     

Cloning and characterization of a NADP+-malic enzyme gene from Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110

Malic enzymes have been considered to play a key role in energy metabolism for nitrogenase reaction in bacteroids. To elucidate the physiological role of the malic enzymes in Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroids, a putative malic enzyme gene Bjtme1 was cloned by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using degenerated primers from conserved regions of the protein sequences of bacterial malic enzymes and draft sequence data of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110 genome sequence project. To confirm the characteristics of the Bjtme1 gene, the protein encoded by this gene was over-expressed using a pET32a(+) system and it exhibited a NADP⁺-malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40) activity, indicating that Bjtme1 was the gene of the NADP⁺-malic enzyme. This is the first report on the cloning and characterization of the NADP⁺-malic enzyme gene from B. japonicum, and the gene structure was compared with that of NADP⁺-malic enzyme genes of other rhizobia.     

氯化钠影响下蓝藻Anabaena 7120的固氮活性和去铵阻抑

正常培养液中NaCl浓度增高时,蓝藻固氮活性明显下降,去铵阻抑速率也减慢。NaCl浓度越高,阻抑程度越大。如果NaCl浓度过高,固氮酶活性即完全丧失,铵阻抑效应也不能消除。低光照度、光合抑制剂、O_2、N_2以及N_2+CO_2都加剧高浓度NaCl对蓝藻固氮酶活性和去铵阻抑的阻抑,而外源蔗糖、H_2和H_2+O_2则有一定程度的促进。     

Nitrogen cycling involving non-exchangeable ammonium in a gray luvisol

 There is considerable interest in determining the bio-availability of non-exchangeable NH₄ ⁺ (NEA) because it constitutes nearly 10% of the total N in the top 1 m of soil. NEA is NH₄ ⁺ present in the soil that is not extractable with neutral K salt solutions, e.g. 1M KCl. This study was conducted in 1994 and 1995 to quantify the amount of NEA released by a gray luvisolic clay loam soil in Alberta, Canada, during the growing season. Replicated plots under: (1) continuous bromegrass, (2) continuous barley, and (3) barley since 1991 but previously under a continuous forage legume, were sampled four times through the growing season to a depth of 80 cm. The first sampling was done before seeding of barley. Cropping systems and their interaction with time of sampling had no effect on NEA. The NEA-N pool in the soil decreased significantly during grain-filling and maturing of barley, and had returned to approximately its initial level by the following spring. The maximum amount of NEA-N released was 15 g m^–2 at barley grain-filling in 1994, and 10 g m^–2 3 weeks after barley had matured in 1995. Approximately 24% of the released NEA accumulated as 1M-KCl-extractable NH₄ ⁺ in 1994, 20–30% was absorbed by the barley crop, and most of the remainder was probably assimilated by soil micro-organisms and immobilized in soil organic matter. The release of significant amounts of NEA during crop growth has implications for N cycling and measurements of mineralization/immobilization turnover rates. Received: 21 July 1997     

滨海沙地不同固氮树种叶片氮、磷重吸收与生物固氮的耦合关系

福建滨海沙地氮磷养分匮乏,季节性干旱严重。养分重吸收可以减弱植物对土壤养分供应的依赖,从而增强植物适应逆境的能力。以福州市滨海后沿沙地人工营造的木麻黄、肯氏相思和纹荚相思人工林为研究对象,进行不同叶龄(成熟叶、衰老叶)叶片N、P浓度及稳定氮同位素丰度值(δ15 N)的测定,通过统计手段研究叶片N、P重吸收效率(NRE、PRE)、重吸收度(NRP、PRP)及其与生物固氮率的关系。结果表明:(1)滨海沙地不同固氮树种叶片NRE表现为纹荚相思(52.80%)>肯氏相思(28.27%)>木麻黄(24.63%),纹荚相思叶片NRE显著高于肯氏相思和木麻黄,但后两者间无显著差异;PRE表现为肯氏相思(74.08%)>纹荚相思(63.99%)>木麻黄(40.47%),且相互之间差异显著。(2)滨海沙地不同固氮树种生物固氮率表现为肯氏相思(69.45%)>纹荚相思(69.15%)>木麻黄(34.59%),2种相思树种生物固氮率无显著差异,但显著高于木麻黄99.88%～100.77%。(3)滨海沙地不同固氮树种生物固氮率与NRE、PRE和NRP呈负相关关系,与叶片PRP呈正相关关系。因而,滨海沙地不同固氮树种生物固氮与叶片的氮、磷重吸收存在耦合关系,并显著影响氮、磷重吸收效率和重吸收度。研究结果为揭示滨海沙地不同固氮树种对贫瘠土壤和季节性干旱的适应机制提供依据,也为滨海沙地营林管理提供参考。     

Influence of liquid cattle manure on reduction processes in soil

Summary Reduction processes in cultivated soil during the decomposition of liquid cattle manure were studied in laboratory experiments. Anoxic slurries of soil and manure in different proportions or alone were followed over 5 weeks. Upon NO _inf3 ^sup- depletion, ferrous Fe appeared in solution in soil-manure slurries. Sulfide levels were generally low in the presence of both soil and manure, probably because of precipitation by Fe²⁺; Fe thereby counteracted the production of free hydrogen sulfide. Methane formation was the quantitatively most important electron sink under prolonged anoxic conditions. When extra sulfate was added to soil-manure slurries, the concentration of Fe²⁺ remained low and less methane was produced. The detection of Fe²⁺ was examined in a model system with a gel-stabilized soil-manure mixture sandwiched between two soil phases with a water content near field capacity. Large methodological problems made it impossible to quantify Fe²⁺ in this oxic-anoxic environment, but the results indicated that reducing conditions were maintained in the manure-saturated zone for the 20-day period of this experiment.     

Species effects on earthworm density in tropical tree plantations in Hawaii

Summary Tree species differ in the quantity and quality of litter produced, and these differences may significantly affect ecosystem structure and function. I examined the importance of tree species in determining earthworm densities in replicated stands of Eucalyptus saligna Sm. and Albizia falcataria (L.) Fosberg, and in mixed stands (25% albizia and 75% eucalyptus). Mean earthworm densities ranged from 92 m^-2 in the pure eucalyptus, to 281 m^-2 in the mixture, and a maximum of 469 m^-2 in the pure albizia stands. Only two earthworm species were present, Pontoscolex corethrurus and Amynthas gracilis. Leaf biomass on the forest floor was highest in the pure eucalyptus and lowest in the pure albizia stands, whereas the annual fine litterfall production was lowest in the pure eucalyptus and highest in the albizia stands. The N content of fine litterfall was correlated positively with earthworm density, and the fine litterfall biomass: N ratio was correlated negatively with earthworm density. Greater leaf biomass on the forest floor under eucalyptus stands despite lower rates of litterfall suggests that litter quality, rather than litter quantity, was primarily responsible for the greater earthworm density in the albizia stands. Some biogeochemical effects of tree species in the tropics may be mediated through effects on earthworm populations.