Effects of Sesbania rostrata and Azolla microphylla incorporation on transformation of applied zinc and copper in lateritic rice soils with different flooding regimes

Fixation of Zn and Cu applied to tropical rice-growing lateritic soils rich in Fe-oxides may be reduced if the soils are kept flooded for a few days before their application. There may be a further reduction if such flooding is combined with incorporation of green manures. To investigate this effect, a laboratory experiment was conducted to study the effect of different periods (0 and 15 days) of preflooding combined with (0 and 0.50% of soil weight) Sesbania rostrata and Azolla microphylla incorporation as green manures on the transformation of applied Zn and Cu in two lateritic rice-growing soils. Recovery of added Zn/Cu in DTPA (diethylene triamine pentaacetate)-extractable form was always found to be higher when they were applied after the soils were maintained in a flooded state for 15 days than when applied immediately after flooding; this effect was more prominent in respect of Cu. Contrary to expectations, green manure incorporation along with preflooding caused a significant decrease in recovery of Zn/Cu; the effect, however, showed a decreasing trend as incubation progressed. The effect was more marked with A. microphylla than with S. rostrata, particularly with Cu. Possible causes of such changes and their implications on the Zn/Cu nutrition of rice are discussed. Received: 7 August 1995     

Infection potential of farm soils as mycorrhizal inocula for Leucaena leucocephala

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi inoculum potential for Leucaena leucocephala in a range of nutrient-depleted farm soils in western Kenya. Leucaena was grown in 12 uninoculated farm soils with pH 5.0–6.7, with or without rock P and farmyard manure. Root infection, nodulation, and shoot and root weight were determined 25, 46, and 69 days after planting. Spore concentrations in the farm soils at the start of the experiment ranged from 44 to 126 live spores per 100 g dry soil with 6–10 species per soil, principally Scutellospora spp. and Acaulospora spp. Nodulation was absent or poor in all soils, indicating the need for rhizobial inoculation of species belonging to the leucaena crossinoculation group in this agrosystem. Rock-P alone increased final shoot dry weight by a factor of 1.4, manure alone by 1.8, and rock-P plus manure by 1.9, compared with no ameliorant. Root infection with AM fungi was detected in all soils 25 days after planting and increased linearly in the different farm soils to values of 33–65% 69 days after planting. Soil pH and root infection 25 days after planting accounted for much of the variation in final shoot weight among soils with no amelioront (87%). As early root infection increased from 20 to 40% at soil pH 5.0, the predicted final shoot dry weight was doubled, and the response to ameliorants was reduced by two-thirds. The growth responses to increased infection became smaller as pH increased from 5.0 to 6.5.     

The influence of nitrogen on atrazine and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid mineralization in grassland soils

The influence of fertilizer N on the mineralization of atrazine [2-chloro-4(ethylamino)-6(isopropylamino)-s-triazine] and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) in soils was assessed in microcosms using radiometric techniques. N equivalent to 0, 250, and 500 kg N as NH₄NO₃ ha^-1 was added to three grassland soils. Compared to the control, the 250- and 500-kg treatments suppressed mineralization of atrazine by 75 and 54%, respectively, and inhibited mineralization of 2,4-D by 89 and 30%, respectively. Active fungal biomass responded to the N treatments in an opposite manner to herbicide mineralization. Compared to the control, the 250- and 500-kg treatments increased the active fungal biomass by more than 300 and 30%, respectively. These results agree with other observations that N can suppress the decomposition of resistant compounds but stimulate the primary growth of fungi. The degree of suppression was not related to the amount of N added nor to the inherent soil N levels before treatment. The interaction between the N additions and the active fungal biomass in affecting herbicide mineralization suggests that N may alter microbial processes and their use of C sources and thus influence rates of herbicide degradation in the field.     

Implications of iron solubilization on soil phosphorus release in seasonally flooded forests of the lower Orinoco River, Venezuela

The microbial reduction of Fe oxides is thought to contribute with the release of P in sedimentary environments. However, secondary reactions of the bioproduced Fe(II) with P in solution, can lead to a decrease in the soluble P concentration. In this study, we examined how the reduction of Fe(III) affects the soluble P concentration, when the soils of a seasonally flooded forest gradient are subjected to anaerobic conditions. Soil samples were collected during the dry season from two zones subjected to different flooding intensity: MAX and MIN zones that were inundated 8 and 2 months per year, respectively. When anaerobic conditions were applied to soils from both zones, a clear stimulatory effect on the Fe(III) reduction was observed. However, bioproduced Fe(II) underwent secondary chemical reactions, masking the extend of Fe(III) reduction of these soils. Iron was reduced mainly during the first 15 days of the anaerobic incubation and it was stimulated by a pulse of labile carbon. Iron dissolution did not lead to an increase of the soluble P content. However, in both zones P was high and positively correlated with Fe(II), implying that soil P mobilization was linked to Fe dissolution. In the MIN zone, soluble P concentration decreased, probably as a consequence of the secondary reactions of solubilized P with other non-redox sensitive soils elements. Fe solubilization also had an effect on the activity of acid phosphatase and consequently in the solubilization of P from the organic pool. In conclusion, the P cycle in these soils is strongly coupled to C and Fe cycles.     

Variation in 15N natural abundance of soil, humic fractions and plant materials in a disturbed and an undisturbed grassland

The natural abundance of δ¹⁵N in disturbed and undisturbed pasture soils was examined. From the disturbed soil, the top 10 cm of the profile was examined and the soil split into fractions based on particle size. Plant shoot and root material contained similar low enrichments in ¹⁵N, whereas recently deposited shoot residues were highly enriched. Differences between the soil fractions in observed total N did not reflect similar ¹⁵N variation. However, the enrichment of humic material extracted from the largest soil fraction was considerably lower in ¹⁵N relative to that from the smaller fractions. The complexity of the humic material from the larger fractions was less according to the E ₄ /E ₆ ratio. Analysis of the profile from the undisturbed soil showed increasing ¹⁵N enrichment with depth which corresponded well with visible soil horizons and showed an inverse relationship with total soil N. This ¹⁵N enrichment was mirrored by the enrichment in humic materials down the profile and also corresponded with an increasing chemical complexity as shown by the E ₄ /E ₆ ratio. Received: 15 March 1996     

Relationship between the characteristics of Mediterranean Red soils and the age of the geomorphological surfaces in central-western Spain

A study was conducted of the Mediterranean Red soils of a region in Central Western Spain with a goal of describing the relationship between their main characteristics and the age of the geomorphic surfaces over which they have developed. The main macromorphological characteristics of the soils were analyzed, with a statistical study of the analytical data on 70 samples of Mediterranean Red soils. The oldest surfaces contain Palexerults and Ultic Palexeralfs, Calcic Rhodoxeralfs, Calcic-vertic Palexeralfs, Typic Rhodoxeralfs, Typic Palexeralfs, Vertic Haploxeralfs and Typic Haploxeralfs have been observed in a chronosequence on terraces of the River Tormes. The soil typology changes with the age of the surfaces, from soils with a sharp textural contrast at the upper limit of the argillaceous horizon, with a dark red very clayey and very thick Bt horizon (on the oldest surface) to not very thick brown soils without a clear clay illuviation and with a lower content in clay (on the youngest surface).The effect of recent erosion on the morphology of the soils located on a single surface has caused new soils to form superimposed on pre-existing soils.     

Grazing and plant-canopy effects on semiarid soil microbial biomass and respiration

The major objectives of this study were to determine the influence of grazing on the soil microbial biomass and activity in semiarid grassland and shrubland areas and to quantify the canopy effect (the differences in soil microbial biomass and activities between soils under plant canopies and soils in the open between plants). We also quantified changes in microbial biomass and activity during seasonal transition from dry to moist conditions. Chronosequences of sites withdrawn from grazing for 0, 11, and 16 years were sampled in a grassland (Bouteloua spp.) area and a shrubland (Atriplex canescens) area on and near the Sevilleta National Wildlife Reguge in central New Mexico, USA. Samples were obtained from beneath the canopies of plants (Yucca glauca in the grassland and A. canescens in the shrubland) and from open soils; they were collected three times during the spring and summer of a single growing season. Organic C, soil microbial biomass C, and basal respiration rates (collectively called the soil C triangle) were measured. We also calculated the microbial: organic C ratio and the metabolic quotient (ratio of respiration to microbial C) as measures of soil organic C stability and turnover. Although we had hypothesized that individual values of the soil C triangle would increase and that the ratios would decrease with time since grazing, differences in microbial parameters between sites located along the chronosequences were generally not significant. Grazing did not have a consistion effect on organic C, microbial C, and basal respiration in our chronosequences. The microbial: organic C ratio and the metabolic quotient generally increased with time since grazing on the shrubland chronosequence. The microbial: organic C ratio decreased with time since grazing and the metabolic quotient increased with time since grazing on the grassland chronosequence. The canopy effect was observed at all sites in nearly all parameters including organic C, microbial C, basal respiration, the microbial: organic C ratio, and the metabolic quotient which were predominantly higher in soils under the canopies of plants than in the open at all sites. Microbial biomass and activity did not increase during the experiment, even though the availability of moisture increased dramatically. The canopy effects were approximately equal on the shrubland and grassland sites. The microbial: organic C ratios and the metabolic quotients were generally higher in the shrubland soils than in the grassland soils.     

Selection for improved adaptation of white clover to low phosphorus and acid soils

Summary A total of 490 white clover genotypes were grown in competition withAgrostis tenuis and repeatedly defoliated, in a glasshouse trial. The percentage change in shoot yield from the first to the last harvest (harvest 6) was negatively correlated with the soil-P level from which ecotypes were collected. High- and low-yielding genotypes were selected from this study and compared in a field trial on a low-P soil (12 mg Olsen P/kg soil), in a grazed mixed species sward. Over the first year there was no significant difference in spread into the sward, and over three years no significant difference in persistence. Selection in glasshouses for yield is unlikely to improve edaphic stress tolerance in the field.In a field study in New Zealand, comparison of six ecotype populations showed that after one year the highest-spreading population had been collected from a low-P soil while the lowest spreading population came from a high-P soil, although the correlation between spread and soi-P from which ecotypes were collected was not significant (r=–0.67 p>0.05). However, in another field trial in England it was shown that populations collected from low-P soils not only outyielded those, collected from high-P soils but that they also responded less to added P.It was concluded that populations collected from low-P soils will be a useful source of germplasm to identify genotypes adapted to low-P soils. Successful identification of such genotypes is most likely to be made in the field rather than in controlled more artificial environments.     

在不同的土地利用方式下石碴地水分性质研究

通过对湖北省郧县杨溪铺石灰岩母质发育的石碴地土壤的水分研究,结果表明:不同的土石比及不同的土地利用方式下土壤的持水性存在一定差异。砾石量少、土粒含量多的土壤持水性能强。在本试验的六种利用方式下,持水性从强到弱依次为:本试验的园地、草地、林地、小麦地、荒草地、荒地的土壤。而水分扩散率、饱和导水率从高到低依次为果园地、草地、小麦地、荒草地、林地、荒地的土壤。     

紫色土丘陵坡地恢复过程中土壤微生物及生化特性

[目的]为了研究湖南省衡阳市紫色土丘陵坡地植被恢复过程中土壤微生物及生化特征的演变.[方法]以典型的紫色土丘陵坡地不同植被恢复阶段为研究对象,采用空间代替时间序列的方法,选用立地条件基本相似的裸荒地阶段(Ⅰ)、草地阶段(Ⅱ)、灌丛阶段(Ⅲ)、灌木阶段(Ⅳ)和乔木阶段(Ⅴ).通过调查取样和试验分析,分析不同恢复阶段土壤微生物、土壤酶活性以及生化作用强度的变化.[结果]随着植被恢复的进行,土壤微生物总数显著上升(P＜0.05),细菌、真菌和放线菌等微生物优势类群的比例也发生变化,氨化细菌、硝化细菌、纤维素分解菌和固氮菌等土壤徽生物主要生理类群数量显著上升(P＜0.05);随着植被恢复的进行,土壤脲酶、蔗糖酶、蛋白酶、碱性磷酸酶、过氧化氢酶和多酚氧化酶活性显著增强(P＜0.05);随着植被恢复的进行,土壤氨化作用、硝化作用、固氮作用、纤维素分解强度和呼吸作用等生化强度显著升高(P＜0.05).[结论]土壤微生物活性是表征湖南省衡阳市紫色土丘陵坡地植被恢复过程中生态功能的重要标志之一.