Soil nutrient changes due to land use changes in Northern China: a case study in Zunhua County, Hebei Province

Abstract. Since the 1980s, land use in rural areas of China has changed greatly as the result of political initiatives. These changes have caused soil nutrient changes which are examined in this paper for Zunhua County, northern China from 1980 to 1999. The areas of farmland, grassland, and paddy decreased greatly and were replaced by increases in forest and residential land. The soils under forest in 1999 transformed from farmland in 1980 increased in organic matter by 21%, total nitrogen by 18%, available nitrogen by 65%, available phosphorus by 17% and available potassium by 17%. Similarly, in the area which was converted from farmland in 1980 to grassland in 1999, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium increased by 38%, 37%, 71%, 2% and 28%, respectively. Changes from farmland to forest and grassland not only changed land cover but also improved soil fertility and probably reduced soil nutrient losses.     

Can large-scale biofuels production be sustainable by 2020?

Worldwide, many nations impose blending of their transport fuels with biofuels, approximating 10% globally by 2020, to contribute to energy security while reducing emission of green house gasses (GHG). Food riots, scientific insights that question the GHG benefits and raised concern about the loss of biodiversity, have lead to the formulation by various governments of sustainability criteria for biofuels to comply with. In this paper, we assess this conditionality and argue that large-scale biofuels production will be unable to comply with these criteria in 2020, and can therefore not be qualified as sustainable.     

不同土地利用方式对土壤微生物生物量碳的影响

研究了长期定位试验不同土地利用方式下土壤微生物生物量碳的变化,结果表明:裸地处理的微生物生物量碳最低;不施肥种植作物(CK)或施肥种植作物(NPK)能显著提高土壤微生物量碳含量;NPK配合猪厩肥处理的微生物体碳含量显著高于CK和NPK处理;荒地处理由于返回的植物残体量很大,积累的有机物很多,所以其微生物量碳最大;其次为割草处理和林地处理。有机质含量高的土壤其土壤微生物量也高,土壤微生物碳的周转强度也大,周转时间短,周转速率为:荒地>割草>林地>NPK+C>NPK>CK>裸地。     

青藏高原高寒草甸土壤有机质、全氮和全磷含量对不同土地利用格局的响应

草地土地利用格局的变化强烈影响着其土壤营养元素的含量与垂直分布。对青藏高原东北隅高寒草甸不同土地利用格局（封育植被、放牧利用和人工种植）下不同深度（0—10cm、10—20cm和20—40cm）的土壤有机质、全氮和全磷含量的对比研究表明：封育植被下土壤营养元素在表层和深层之间有显著差异（P〈0．05）,与土壤深度表现出一定的负线性相关（R2〉0．40,P〈0．05）。放牧利用和人工种植对营养元素在不同土壤层次的分布无显著影响（P均值〉0．05）,前者的有机质和全氮含量与土壤深度略呈负线性,后者则无此关系。放牧利用和人工种植较显著地（P均值〈0．05）降低了土壤表层有机质和全氮的含量,但增加了土壤表层全磷的含量,对土壤深层的影响较小。人工种植对营养元素含量的影响效果略大于放牧利用,但两者差异不显著。     

不同土地利用方式对黑土有机无机复合体的影响

采用超声波分散、颗粒大小分组法研究不同土地利用方式下黑土有机无机复合体组成及有机碳的分布特征。不同土地利用方式下黑土均以细砂级复合体为主,有机碳含量随粒径增加而减少,C/N比随粒径增加而增加。NP和NPM处理比NF处理土壤<20μm粒级复合体含量减少,>20μm复合体含量增加;草地与裸地相比<20μm粒级复合体含量减少,>20μm复合体含量增加。土地利用方式不同,土壤固碳的机制是不同的,草地生态系统的土壤固碳潜力高于农田土壤。施肥和有机质的输入使土壤各粒级复合体中的有机碳含量增加;使>20μm粒级复合体固持的SOC量比例增加,表明在土壤有机质含量增加的情况下,有机质有向大粒级复合体的积累增加。     

黄河三角洲不同土地利用方式对土壤的改良效应

通过对黄河三角洲地区棉田、果园、林地和荒地4种不同土地利用方式下土壤样品的采集与理化指标的分析,研究了该区域不同土地利用方式对轻度盐渍化土壤的改良功能。结果显示:果园土壤的容重、pH值和全盐含量等物理性状要优于其它3种用地方式;棉田土壤有机质与全N、全P和全K含量超过果园与林地土壤,而速效N和速效P含量以果园土壤最高,速效K含量以棉田最高,果园土壤最低;果园土壤C/N比值明显高于其它3种用地方式,以荒地土壤的C/N比值最低。综合分析认为:种植果树对土壤的物理性状改良效果较好,种植棉花对土壤的化学性状具有较好的改良效果。     

Land-use history has a stronger impact on soil microbial community composition than aboveground vegetation and soil properties

The response of soil microbial communities following changes in land-use is governed by multiple factors. The objectives of this study were to investigate (i) whether soil microbial communities track the changes in aboveground vegetation during succession; and (ii) whether microbial communities return to their native state over time. Two successional gradients with different vegetation were studied at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan. The first gradient comprised a conventionally tilled cropland (CT), mid-succession forest (SF) abandoned from cultivation prior to 1951, and native deciduous forest (DF). The second gradient comprised the CT cropland, early-succession grassland (ES) restored in 1989, and long-term mowed grassland (MG). With succession, the total microbial PLFAs and soil microbial biomass C consistently increased in both gradients. While bacterial rRNA gene diversity remained unchanged, the abundance and composition of many bacterial phyla changed significantly. Moreover, microbial communities in the relatively pristine DF and MG soils were very similar despite major differences in soil properties and vegetation. After >50 years of succession, and despite different vegetation, microbial communities in SF were more similar to those in mature DF than in CT. In contrast, even after 17 years of succession, microbial communities in ES were more similar to CT than endpoint MG despite very different vegetation between CT and ES. This result suggested a lasting impact of cultivation history on the soil microbial community. With conversion of deciduous to conifer forest (CF), there was a significant change in multiple soil properties that correlated with changes in microbial biomass, rRNA gene diversity and community composition. In conclusion, history of land-use was a stronger determinant of the composition of microbial communities than vegetation and soil properties. Further, microbial communities in disturbed soils apparently return to their native state with time.     

重庆市永川区耕地地力评价结果及其利用对策

将重庆市永川区耕地地力划分为5个等级,归入全国耕地地力等级体系相应为四、五、五、六、七等,表明全区耕地土壤地力水平在全国耕地地力等级体系中属于中等偏下水平,明晰了全区耕地生产潜能,为完善种植业区域划分,优化资源配置,加速农业结构调整奠定基础。通过土样检测汇总分析,查明自1982年第二次土壤普查以来,永川区耕地土壤呈现酸化现象较重,有机质和碱解氮含量虽有所提高、但仍处于三级中等偏下的较低水平,有效磷和速效钾含量下降、且处于三至四级中等偏下水平,尤其是速效钾含量处于极度缺乏状态。     

Relative abundance and activity of melanized hyphae in different soil ecosystems

Here we report on the frequency of melanized fungal hyphae in 323 soils, covering different land use types. The proportion of total hyphae that was melanized averaged 61%. Arable fields with loamy sand, heathlands and city parks on sandy soils had the highest percentage of melanized hyphae. In addition to the frequency determinations, a microcosm study was performed on the role of melanized hyphae in two different ecosystems: an ex-arable field and a forest. Melanized hyphae appeared to be part of the active hyphae in the forest soil but not in the ex-arable soil. In conclusion, our results indicate that (1) melanized hyphae represent a large proportion of the total fungal biomass in soils and that (2) their function might differ between ecosystems.