Plant–soil interactions in metal contaminated soils

The legacy of industrialization has left many soils contaminated. However, soil organisms and plant communities can thrive in spite of metal contamination and, in some cases, metabolize and help in remediation. The responses of plants and soil organisms to contamination are mutually dependent and dynamic. Plant–soil feedbacks are central to the development of any terrestrial community; they are ongoing in both contaminated and healthy soils. However, the theory that governs plant–soil feedbacks in healthy soils needs to be studied in contaminated soils. In healthy soils, negative feedbacks (i.e. pathogens) play a central role in shaping plant community structure. However to our knowledge, the nature of feedback relationships has never been addressed in contaminated soils. Here we review literature that supports a plant–soil feedback approach to understanding the ecology of metal-contaminated soil. Further, we discuss the idea that within these soils, the role of positive as opposed to negative plant–soil feedbacks may be more important. Testing this idea in a rigorous way in any ecosystem is challenging, and metal contamination imposes an additional abiotic constraint. We discuss research goals and experimental approaches to study plant–soil interactions applicable to metal-contaminated soils; these insights can be extended to other contaminated environments and restoration efforts.     

低碳背景下县域经济发展方式转变的对策研究

加强节能减排,实现低碳发展,不仅是国家“十二五”规划纲要所提出的约束性目标,更是促进经济提质增效升级的必经途径.目前,我国县域经济仍以“高投入、高消耗、高排放”为主要特征,转变经济发展方式已成为县级政府所面临的迫切任务.为此,必须依据低碳发展理念和《2014 ～2015年节能减排低碳发展行动方案》的具体要求,培育有利于经济发展方式转变的要素基础和制度基础,加快推进产业结构的优化和升级,深化经济管理体制改革,不断进行制度创新,实施有利于科技进步的政策,完善环境管理制度,实现县域经济又好又快发展.     

Influence of biomineralization on the physico-mechanical profile of a tropical soil affected by erosive processes

Most of the soils of tropical countries are affected by erosion processes. As a result, much attention has been dedicated to the use of microorganisms to improve the geotechnical properties and stability of soils in the context of “bioengineering”. This work was carried out to analyze the effects of the use of a CaCO₃ precipitating nutrient on native microbiota with the aim of mitigating the erosion processes in a tropical soil profile. We observed that the use of nutrient B4 enabled native bacteria present in the soil to precipitate calcium carbonate, resulting in improvements in the physical, chemical, mineralogical and mechanical properties of the soil, which allowed the mitigation of the erosion processes that characterize the soil profile studied.     

重庆南温泉洗浴废水用作植物灌溉水的可行性研究

重庆市温泉资源丰富,温泉洗浴废水运用于绿地灌溉可以节约成本,缓解城市的水危机。温泉洗浴废水对植物生长有正负两方面的影响,与植物的种类,温泉洗浴废水的水质等因素有关。实验以重庆市常见的两种绿地植物——冷水花木春菊为研究对象,对温泉洗浴废水中影响植物生长的pH、固体悬浮物、高锰酸钾,总溶解性固体4个常见指标进行了浓度值对比实验。运用对相对电导率拟合Logistic方程求半致死浓度值的方法,确定绿地植物所能耐受的上限阀值。以此为基础对温泉废水进行相关处理,使温泉废水既可以达到灌溉绿地的水质标准,又能最大限度地降低废水处理成本,从而充分利用水资源。     

Effects of organic matter addition on phosphorus availability to flooded and nonflooded rice in a P‐deficient tropical soil: a greenhouse study

Addition of organic matter (OM) to flooded soils stimulates reductive dissolution of Fe(III) minerals, thereby mobilizing associated phosphate (P). Hence, OM management has the potential to overcome P deficiency. This study assessed if OM applications increases soil or mineral fertilizer P availability to rice under anaerobic (flooded) condition and if that effect is different relative to that in aerobic (nonflooded) soils. Rice was grown in P‐deficient soil treated with combinations of addition of mineral P (0, 26 mg P/kg), OM (0, ~9 g OM/kg as rice straw + cattle manure) and water treatments (flooded vs nonflooded) in a factorial pot experiment. The OM was either freshly added just before flooding or incubated moist in soil for 6 months prior to flooding; blanket N and K was added in all treatments. Fresh addition of OM promoted reductive dissolution of Fe(III) minerals in flooded soils, whereas no such effect was found when OM had been incubated for 6 months before flooding. Yield and shoot P uptake largely increased with mineral P addition in all soils, whereas OM addition increased yield and P uptake only in flooded soils following fresh OM addition. The combination of mineral P and OM gave the largest yield and P uptake. Addition of OM just prior to soil flooding increased P uptake but was insufficient to overcome P deficiency in the absence of mineral P. Larger applications of OM are unlikely to be more successful in flooded soils due to side effects, such as Fe toxicity.     

三峡库区不同植被覆盖对土壤氮的影响

不同植被类型影响着土壤养分的积累、分布与循环,而土壤氮素是植被生长的重要限制性元素。通过分析宜昌点军区3种植被类型(柏树地、橘树地、菜地)覆盖下土壤氮素的变化情况,研究了不同植被对土壤氮素各形态的影响。结果表明,土壤全氮、硝态氮和微生物氮都是柏树地显著大于菜地和橘树地,而菜地和橘树地之间无显著性的差异;土壤矿化氮和微生物氮/全氮的变化顺序是柏树地橘树地菜地。说明不同植被覆盖对土壤氮有显著的影响,柏树地更有利于土壤氮的积累,氮的有效性也最高,由此认为柏树长期生长有益于土壤氮的改善。     

SoilFlex‐LLWR: linking a soil compaction model with the least limiting water range concept

Soil compaction impacts growing conditions for plants: it increases the mechanical resistance to root growth and modifies the soil pore system and consequently the supply of water and oxygen to the roots. The least limiting water range (LLWR) defines a range of soil water contents within which root growth is minimally limited with regard to water supply, aeration and penetration resistance. The LLWR is a function of soil bulk density (BD), and hence directly affected by soil compaction. In this paper, we present a new model, ‘SoilFlex‐LLWR’, which combines a soil compaction model with the LLWR concept. We simulated the changes in LLWR due to wheeling with a self‐propelled forage harvester on a Swiss clay loam soil (Gleyic Cambisol) using the new SoilFlex‐LLWR model, and compared measurements of the LLWR components as a function of BD with model estimations. SoilFlex‐LLWR allows for predictions of changes in LLWR due to compaction caused by agricultural field traffic and therefore provides a quantitative link between impact of soil loading and soil physical conditions for root growth.     

Soil organic and inorganic carbon sequestration by consecutive biochar application: Results from a decade field experiment

Biochar addition can expand soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and has potential ability in mitigating climate change. Also, some incubation experiments have shown that biochar can increase soil inorganic carbon (SIC) contents. However, there is no direct evidence for this from the field experiment. In order to make up the sparseness of available data resulting from the long‐term effect of biochar amendment on soil carbon fractions, here we detected the contents and stocks of the bulk SIC and SOC fractions based on a 10‐year field experiment of consecutive biochar application in Shandong Province, China. There are three biochar treatments as no‐biochar (control), and biochar application at 4.5 Mg ha^?1 year^?1 (B4.5) and 9.0 Mg ha^?1 year^?1 (B9.0), respectively. The results showed that biochar application significantly enhanced SIC content (3.2%–24.3%), >53 μm particulate organic carbon content (POC, 38.2%–166.2%) and total soil organic carbon content (15.8%–82.2%), compared with the no‐biochar control. However, <53 μm silt–clay‐associated organic carbon (SCOC) content was significantly decreased (14%–27%) under the B9.0 treatment. Our study provides the direct field evidence that SIC contributed to carbon sequestration after the biochar application, and indicates that the applied biochar was allocated mainly in POC fraction. Further, the decreased SCOC and increased microbial biomass carbon contents observed in field suggest that the biochar application might exert a positive priming effect on native soil organic carbon.     

Responses of soil nematode community structure to soil carbon changes due to different tillage and cover crop management practices over a nine-year period in Kanto,Japan

The response of the soil food web structure to soil quality changes during long-term anthropogenic disturbance due to farming practices has not been well studied. We evaluated the effects of three tillage systems: moldboard plow/rotary harrow (MP), rotary cultivator (RC), and no-tillage (NT), three winter cover-crop types (fallow, FL; rye, RY; and hairy vetch, HV), and two nitrogen fertilization rates (0 and 100 kg N ha⁻¹ for upland rice, and 0 and 20 kg N ha⁻¹ for soybean production) on changes in nematode community structure. Sixty-nine taxa were counted, total nematode abundance (ALL), bacterial feeders (BAC), predators (PRD), omnivores (OMN), and obligatory root feeders (ORF) were more abundant in NT than in MP and RC, but fungal feeders and facultative root feeders (FFR) were more abundant in RC than in NT and MP. Cover crop also influenced nematode community structure; rye and hairy vetch were always higher in ALL, BAC, FFR, ORF, and OMN than fallow. Seasonal changes in nematode community structure were also significant; in particular, as soil carbon increased, nematode abundance also increased. The relationship between nematode indices and soil carbon was significant only in NT, but not in MP and RC. In NT, with increasing soil carbon, enrichment index and structure index (SI) were positive and significant and channel index was negative. Bulk density was significantly negatively correlated with FFR and ORF. Seasonal difference in nematode community between summer and autumn was larger in an upland rice rotation than in a soybean rotation. Over the nine-year experiment, SI increased not only in NT but also in MP and RC, suggesting that repeated similar tillage inversions in agroecosystems may develop nematode community structures adapted to specific soil environmental conditions. Because NT showed the highest values of both SI and soil carbon, the increase of soil carbon in NT is expected to have a great impact on developing a more diverse nematode community structure.