Impact on soil physical properties of using large-grain legumes for catch crop cultivation under different tillage conditions

In Central Europe, various plant species including large-grain legumes and their mixtures are grown as catch crops, particularly between grains harvested early and subsequent summer crops. This article investigates the question of how soil structure in the topsoil is influenced when catch cropping with large-grain legumes (experimental factor A: without catch crop, with catch crop) under different ploughless tillage conditions during catch crop seeding (experimental factor B: deep tillage/25–30 cm, shallow tillage/8–10 cm). Five one-year trials were performed using standard machinery at various sites in Germany. Soil core samples extracted from the topsoil in the spring after catch crop cultivation served to identify air capacity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and precompression stress. The above-ground and below-ground biomass yields of the catch crops were also determined at most of the sites. In addition, the soil compaction risk for the working steps in the experiments was calculated using the REPRO model.The dry matter yield of the catch crops varied considerably between the individual trial sites and years. In particular, high levels of dry matter were able to form in the case of early seeding and a sufficient supply of precipitation. The soil structure was only rarely affected positively by catch crop cultivation, and catch crops did not contribute in the short term to loosening already compacted topsoils. In contrast, mechanical soil stresses caused by driving over the ground and additional working steps used in cultivating catch crops often led to lower air capacity in these treatments. This is consistent with the soil compaction risks calculated using the REPRO model, which were higher in the treatments with catch cropping. Catch crop cultivation also only resulted in improved mechanical stability at one location. The positive effect of deep ploughless tillage on air capacity and saturated hydraulic conductivity, however, became more clearly evident regardless of catch crop cultivation. In order for catch crop cultivation with large-grain legumes to be able to have a favourable impact on soil structure, it is therefore important that cultivating them does not result in any new soil compaction. In the conditions evaluated, deep tillage was more effective at loosening compacted topsoil than growing catch crops.     

Long-term fertilization effects on active ammonia oxidizers in an acidic upland soil in China

The effects of long-term fertilization of acidic soils on ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) communities and its ecological implications remain poorly understood. We chose an acidic upland soil site under long-term (27-year) fertilization to investigate ammonia oxidizer communities under four different regimes: mineral N fertilizer (N), mineral NPK fertilizer (NPK), organic manure (OM) and an unfertilized control (CK). Soil net nitrification rates were significantly higher in OM soils than in CK, N or NPK soils. Quantitative analysis of the distribution of amoA genes by DNA-based stable isotope probing revealed that AOA dominate in CK, N and NPK soils, while AOB dominate in OM soils. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and clone library analyses of amoA genes revealed that Group 1.1a-associated AOA (also referred to as Nitrosotalea) were the most dominant active AOA population (>92%), while Nitrosospira Cluster 3 and Cluster 9 were predominant among active AOB communities. The functional diversity of active ammonia oxidizers in acidic soils is affected by long-term fertilization practices, and the responses of active ammonia oxidizers to mineral fertilizer and organic manure are clearly different. Our results provide strong evidence that AOA are more highly adapted to growth at low pH and low substrate availability than AOB, and they suggest that the niche differentiation and metabolic diversity of ammonia oxidizers in acidic soils are more complex than previously thought.     

广西5种人工林地土壤微生物数量及土壤酶活性分析

为当地珍贵速生树种人工林的发展及合理利用提供理论依据。分析广西5种珍贵树种人工林土壤微生物数量及土壤酶活性差异,以相同立地条件下12年生的黑木相思(Acacia melanoxylon)、老排(Mytilaria laosensis)、红椎(Castanopsis hystrix)、黧蒴椎(Castanopsis fissa)和火力楠(Michelia macelurei)人工纯林为研究对象,采用稀释平板涂布法和土壤酶活性测定法,测定和分析该5种人工林地土壤微生物数量及酶活性。结果表明:5种林地的土壤微生物总数和细菌数量大小均为:火力楠黧蒴锥红椎黑木相思米老排。但5种林地的土壤酶活性大小不一,蔗糖酶、脲酶、蛋白酶、酸性磷酸酶活性在5种林地之间的差异极其显著,而过氧化氢酶活性不显著。5种林地中土壤酶活性相对较强的是米老排人工林,较弱的是黑木相思林和火力楠林。土壤酶活性与微生物数量的相关分析表明,土壤中蔗糖酶活性与放线菌数量呈极显著正相关关系,其余相关性没有达到显著水平。     

生长调节物质对小豆豆芽营养成分影响和功能性评价

为筛选最适合芽菜培养的小豆品种,以‘白红8号’为试材,设置3种生长调节物质(乙酰水杨酸、乙烯利和6-苄氨基腺嘌呤(6-BA))的各6个浓度(0.0、0.1、0.2、0.3、0.4、0.5 mmol/L;0、20、30、40、50、60 mg/L和0、2、3、4、5、6 mg/L)喷施处理,测定其生物特性(上胚轴长度、上胚轴直径、萌发率、鲜重、干重和产出比)、营养成分(可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖)及抗氧化等特性。结果表明:3种生长调节物质喷施处理都能够提升其营养价值,在乙烯利喷施浓度为50 mg/L,‘白红8号’小豆芽苗菜中各营养成分、酶活性及抗氧化性等均可达到最大值,显著提高了其营养价值。因此,为提高生产中小豆芽苗菜的产量和营养价值,最终确定乙烯利喷施浓度为50 mg/L效果最佳。     

Sewage sludge processing determines its impact on soil microbial community structure and function

Composting and thermal drying are amongst the most commonly used post-digestion processes for allowing sanitation and biological stabilization of sewage sludge from municipal treatment plants, and making it suitable as soil conditioner for use in agriculture. To assess the impact of sludge-derived materials on soil microbial properties, fresh (LAF), composted (LAC) and thermally dried (LAT) sludge fractions, each resulting from a different post-treatment process of a same aerobically digested sewage sludge, were added at 1% (w/w) application rate on two contrasting (a loam and a loamy sand) soils and incubated under laboratory conditions for 28 days. Soil respiration, microbial ATP content, hydrolytic activities and arginine ammonification rate were monitored throughout the incubation period. Results showed that soil biochemical variables, including the metabolic quotient (qCO₂), were markedly stimulated after sludge application, and the magnitude of this stimulatory effect was dependent on sludge type (precisely LAT > LAF > LAC), but not on soil type. This effect was related to the content of stable organic matter, which was lower in LAT. Genetic fingerprinting by PCR–DGGE revealed that compositional shifts of soil bacterial and, at greater extent, actinobacterial communities were responsive to the amendment with a differing sludge fraction. The observed time-dependent changes in the DGGE profiles of amended soils reflected the microbial turnover dependent on the sludge nutrient input, whereas no indications of adverse effects of sludge-borne contaminants were noted. Our findings indicate that composting rather thermal drying can represent a more appropriate post-digestion process to make sewage sludge suitable for use as soil conditioner in agriculture.     

氮添加对天山高寒草原土壤酶活性和酶化学计量特征的影响

为探究氮添加对高寒草原生态系统土壤酶活性的影响,于2018年在中国科学院巴音布鲁克草原生态系统研究站,选择4个氮添加水平(对照,N0,0 kg·hm^-2·a^-1;低氮,N1,10 kg·hm^-2·a^-1;中氮,N3,30 kg·hm^-2·a^-1;高氮,N9,90 kg·hm^-2·a^-1),开展土壤酶活性对氮添加响应的研究,分析土壤酶活性对氮添加的响应特点,土壤酶化学计量比以及土壤酶活性与土壤环境因子的关系。结果表明:与对照相比,氮添加在N3水平显著增加β-1,4葡萄糖苷酶(βG)、β-D-纤维二糖水解酶(CBH)和β-1,4木糖苷酶(βX)酶活性(P<0.05),N1和N3水平显著增加碱性磷酸酶(AKP)活性(P<0.05),N3水平显著降低多酚氧化酶(PPO)活性(P<0.05),氮添加对亮氨酸氨基肽酶(LAP)活性影响不显著,N3水平下显著增加N-乙酰-β-D氨基葡萄糖苷酶(NAG)活性(P<0.05)。相关分析表明,8种土壤酶活性均与土壤有机碳(SOC、NAG除外)和总磷(TP)显著相关,与土壤总氮(TN)不相关。研究区土壤酶活性C∶N∶P化学计量比为1∶1∶1.2,与全球生态系统的土壤酶活性C∶N∶P的比值1∶1∶1相偏离,表明该研究区土壤微生物生长受磷素限制。冗余分析(RDA)进一步揭示出土壤有机碳和土壤全磷含量是影响土壤酶活性的主要因子。     

Organic farming fosters agroecosystem functioning in Argentinian temperate soils: Evidence from litter decomposition and soil fauna

Benefits of organic farming on soil fauna have been widely observed and this has led to consider organic farming as a potential approach to reduce the environmental impact of conventional agriculture. However, there is still little evidence from field conditions about direct benefits of organic agriculture on soil ecosystem functioning. Hence, the aims of this study were to compare the effect of organic farming versus conventional farming on litter decomposition and to study how this process is affected by soil meso- and macrofauna abundances. Systems studied were: (1) organic farming with conventional tillage (ORG), (2) conventional farming with conventional tillage (CT), (3) conventional farming under no-tillage (NT), and (4) natural grassland as control system (GR). Decomposition was determined under field conditions by measuring weight loss in litterbags. Soil meso- and macrofauna contribution on decomposition was evaluated both by different mesh sizes and by assessing their abundances in the soil. Litter decomposition was always significantly higher after 9 and 12 months in ORG than in CT and NT (from 2 to 5 times in average), regardless decomposer community composition and litter type. Besides, mesofauna, macrofauna and earthworm abundances were significantly higher in ORG than in NT and CT (from 1.6 to 3.8, 1.7 to 2.3 and 16 to 25 times in average, respectively for each group). These results are especially relevant firstly because the positive effect of ORG in a key soil process has been proved under field conditions, being the first direct evidence that organic farming enhances the decomposition process. And secondly because the extensive organic system analyzed here did not include several practices which have been recognized as particularly positive for soil biota (e.g. manure use, low tillage intensity and high crop diversity). So, this research suggests that even when those practices are not applied, the non-use of agrochemicals is enough to produce positive changes in soil fauna and so in decomposition dynamics. Therefore, the adoption of organic system in an extensive way can also be suggested to farmers in order to improve ecosystem functioning and consequently to achieve better soil conditions for crop production.     

Impact of soil engineering by two contrasting species of earthworms on their dispersal rates

By burrowing galleries and producing casts, earthworms are constantly changing the structure and properties of the soils in which they are living. These changes modify the costs and benefits for earthworms to stay in the environment they modify. In this paper, we measured experimentally how dispersal behaviour of endogeic and anecic earthworms responds to the cumulative changes they made in soil characteristics. The influence of earthworm activities on dispersal was studied in standardised mesocosms by comparing the influence of soils modified or not modified by earthworm activities on earthworm dispersal rates.The cumulative use of the soil by the earthworms strongly modified soil physical properties. The height of the soil decreased over time and the amount of aggregates smaller than 2 mm decreased in contrast to aggregates larger than 5 mm that increased. We found that: (i) earthworm activities significantly modified soil physical properties (such as bulk density, soil strength and soil aggregation) and decreased significantly the dispersal rates of the endogeic species, whatever the species that modified the soil; (ii) the decreasing in the dispersal proportion of the endogeic species suggests that the cost of engineering activities may be higher than the one of dispersal; (iii) the dispersal of the anecic species appeared to be not influenced by its own activities (intra-specific influences) or by the activities of the endogeic species (inter-specific influences). Overall these results suggest that the endogeic species is involved in a process of niche construction, which evolved jointly with its dispersal strategy.     

论孔子的休闲活动及休闲理念

孔子不仅是我国的思想家和教育家，而且还是一位善于休闲的大家。孔子一生有着丰富的休闲活动，且其休闲活动蕴含着颇有价值的休闲理念。孔子认同并践行休闲活动，并在休闲实践中用礼制教化和休闲淡然的方式规范休闲，提倡人与自然和谐的休闲理念，继而在休闲中发展了休闲的美学、哲学意境。孔子的休闲活动及休闲理念对于我们今天的休闲有着启示和借鉴的作用。     

煮熟和干燥处理对黄藤笋抗氧化活性的影响

通过测定黄藤熟笋、生笋(鲜切笋)、熟笋干和生笋干的水和4种不同浓度乙醇提取物中的自由基清除能力、总还原能力、总多酚含量和总黄酮含量,研究了煮熟、干燥加工方法对黄藤笋提取物抗氧化活性的影响。结果表明,煮熟处理能保持或提高提取物的抗氧化活性,干燥处理则相反。乙醇提取物比水提取物具有更高的抗氧化活性,以50%~75%的乙醇提取溶剂效果最好。熟笋在所有溶剂中的自由基清除能力、总还原能力、总多酚含量和总黄酮含量均表现出最高水平,表明煮熟是黄藤笋适宜的加工利用方式。