Contributions of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria to nitrification in Oregon forest soils

Ammonia oxidation, the first step of nitrification, is mediated by both ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB); however, the relative contributions of AOA and AOB to soil nitrification are not well understood. In this study we used 1-octyne to discriminate between AOA- and AOB-supported nitrification determined both in soil-water slurries and in unsaturated whole soil at field moisture. Soils were collected from stands of red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Mirb. Franco) at three sites (Cascade Head, the H.J. Andrews, and McDonald Forest) on acidic soils (pH 3.9–5.7) in Oregon, USA. The abundances of AOA and AOB were measured using quantitative PCR by targeting the amoA gene, which encodes subunit A of ammonia monooxygenase. Total and AOA-specific (octyne-resistant) nitrification activities in soil slurries were significantly higher at Cascade Head (the most acidic soils, pH < 5) than at either the H.J. Andrews or McDonald Forest, and greater in red alder compared with Douglas-fir soils. The fraction of octyne-resistant nitrification varied among sites (21–74%) and was highest at Cascade Head than at the other two locations. Net nitrification rates of whole soil without NH₄⁺ amendment ranged from 0.4 to 3.3 mg N kg⁻¹ soil d⁻¹. Overall, net nitrification rates of whole soil were stimulated 2- to 8-fold by addition of 140 mg NH₄⁺-N kg⁻¹ soil; this was significant for red alder at Cascade Head and the H.J. Andrews. Red alder at Cascade Head was unique in that the majority of NH₄⁺-stimulated nitrifying activity was octyne-resistant (73%). At all other sites, NH₄⁺-stimulated nitrification was octyne-sensitive (68–90%). The octyne-sensitive activity—presumably AOB—was affected more by soil pH whereas the octyne-resistant (AOA) activity was more strongly related to N availability.     

河南长江流域防护林工程水土保持效益评价

涵养水源和保育土壤是森林的主要生态功能。通过采用森林生态系统服务功能实物量、价值量评估方法对长防林工程实施区域森林的水土保持效益进行的评价,结果表明,长防林工程实施后林地可调节水量12.936亿m3,固土0.135亿t,林地的水土保持效益价值达126.247亿元。经过20年的长防林工程建设,项目区内森林资源快速增长,水土流失面积大幅度减少,工程建设对生态环境的改善起到了明显的作用。     

Genome‐Wide Identification of MicroRNAs Responsive to High Temperature in Rice (Oryza sativa) by High‐Throughput Deep Sequencing

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to play important roles in plant growth and stress response. Heat stress is a severe abiotic stresses by adversely affecting plant growth and yield. To identify heat‐responsive miRNAs at the genome‐wide level in rice (Oryza sativa), we constructed two small RNA libraries from young panicles treated or not with heat conditions. Ion torrent sequencing of the two libraries identified 294 known miRNAs and 539 novel miRNAs. Differential expression analysis showed that 26 miRNAs were downregulated and 21 miRNAs were upregulated in response to heat stress. Among them, five heat‐responsive miRNAs, including miR162b, miR529a‐p5, PC‐5P‐62245‐9, miR171b and miR169n, were validated by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. A total of 44 target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted. These target genes are most significantly overrepresented in the cell growth process. The results demonstrated that rice miRNAs play critical roles in the heat stress response. This study opens up a new avenue for understanding the regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs involvement in the heat stress response in rice.     

放牧压力对草原砂质栗钙土微生物量C,N,P影响的研究

对不同放牧压力下草原砂质栗钙土微生物量C、N、P进行较为系统地研究。结果表明：就土壤原土来看,随着放牧压力的增大,土壤微生物量C,N先增加后减少;土壤微生物量C在放牧率2.67只羊/hm2时相对较高,微生物量P随着放牧压力的增大逐渐降低。     

Decreasing of methanogenic activity in paddy fields via lowering ponding water temperature: A modeling investigation

Methane (CH₄) is a potent greenhouse gas and the huge CH₄ fluxes emitted from paddy fields can prejudice the eco-compatibility of rice cultivation. CH₄ production in submerged rice crops is known to be highly influenced by water temperature. Hence, lowering ponding water temperature (LPWT) could be an option to mitigate CH₄ emissions from paddy environments when it is possible either to irrigate with slightly colder water or to increase ponding water depth. However, paddy soil is a complex environment in which many processes are simultaneously influenced by temperature, leading to a difficult prediction of LPWT effects. For this reason, LPWT efficiency is here theoretically investigated with a one-dimensional process-based model that simulates the vertical and temporal dynamics of water temperature in soil and the fate of chemical compounds that influence CH₄ emissions. The model is validated with literature measured data of CH₄ emissions from a paddy field under time-variable temperature regime. Based on modeling results, LPWT appears promising since the simulated reduction of CH₄ emissions reaches about −12% and −49% for an LPWT equal to −5 °C during the ripening stage only (last 30 days of growing season, when rice is less sensitive to temperature variations) and −2 °C over the whole growing season, respectively. LPWT affects CH₄ emissions either directly (decreasing methanogenic activity), indirectly (decreasing activity of bacteria using alternative electron acceptors), or both. The encouraging results provide the theoretical ground for further laboratory and field studies aimed to investigate the LPWT feasibility in paddy environments.     

Limited effects of land use on soil dissolved organic matter chemistry as assessed by excitation–emission fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular weight fractionation

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil solution represents a complex mixture of organic molecules and plays a central role in carbon and nitrogen cycling in plant–microbial–soil systems. We tested whether excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy can be used to characterize DOM and support previous findings that the majority of DOM is of high molecular weight (MW). EEM fluorescence spectroscopy was used in conjunction with MW fractionation to characterize DOM in soil solution from a grassland soil land management gradient in North Wales, UK. Data analysis suggested that three distinct fluorescence components could be separated and identified from the EEM data. These components were identified as being of humic‐like or fulvic‐like origin. Contrary to expectations, the majority of the fluorescence signal occurred in the small MW (<1 kDa) fraction, although differences between soils from the differently managed grasslands were more apparent in larger MW fractions. We conclude that following further characterization of the chemical composition of the fluorophores, EEM has potential as a sensitive technique for characterizing the small MW phenolic fraction of DOM in soils.     

化肥减氮及有机肥配施对水稻产量及土壤养分含量的影响

本文旨在研究等磷、钾量条件下，化肥减氮及有机肥不同用量配施对水稻产量及土壤养分的影响，试验共设6个处理，分别为T1∶80%N+20%有机肥；T2∶80%N+40%有机肥；T3∶70%N+60%有机肥；T4∶70%N+80%有机肥；T5∶60%化肥+100%有机肥；CK：100%N+0，对水稻生育期株高、群体动态、产量、构产因子以及秋季土壤养分含量进行分析，结果表明：1化肥减氮20%时，不会对水稻造成明显减产，且当有机肥配施量为500kg·mu-2时，水稻籽粒产量最高，为775.19kg·mu-2，比CK增产17.20%；2有机肥的施用能提高水稻基本苗，对水稻穗长有显著提高效果，对空秕率影响较大，对枝梗数影响最小；3化肥减氮+有机肥配施可以提高土壤肥力，增加土壤有机质含量，提高土壤碱解氮、速效钾含量。     

锅炉烟气余热用于木材干燥的节能改造

针对广东某胶合板企业2台蒸汽锅炉排烟温度高,不能根据工序用热需求实现能源梯级利用的问题,提出了锅炉烟气余热利用方案。根据干燥窑干燥木材的特点,将蒸汽锅炉的烟气引入干燥窑内的换热器用于干燥木材,每年通过回收利用的锅炉烟气余热折合标煤达439t。