Successive annual applications of organic manures for cut grass: short-term observations on utilization of manure nitrogen

Abstract The recovery of nitrogen (N) from, and the fertilizer‐N value of, low dry‐matter (DM) cattle slurry and farm yard manure (FYM), applied annually to perennial ryegrass swards grown at two sites, on sandy loam and shallow calcareous silty clay loam soils, were studied over a 4‐year period. Slurry or FYM, applied at target rates of either 150 kg N ha^?1 or 300 kg N ha^?1 in either October, February or May/June, in combination with 150 kg N ha^?1 inorganic fertilizer‐N (applied as split dressings before the first and second grass cut), were compared with a set of inorganic fertilizer‐N response treatments. DM yield, N offtake, apparent manure‐N recovery (in herbage) and manure‐N efficiency (compared with inorganic fertilizer‐N) were determined at two silage cuts each summer. Soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) measurements in autumn and spring were used to assess potential N leaching loss over winter and to quantify available N residues in the soil in spring. Apparent manure‐N recovery and manure‐N efficiency were usually greater from slurry applications in February than from those in October, but the timing of the application of FYM had a much smaller effect, compared with the timings of the application of slurry, on the utilization of N from manure by grass. Spring assessment of SMN was useful in quantifying available N residues from October slurry applications. Manure‐N recovery for all application timings was, on average, higher from the sandy loam than the shallow calcareous clay loam. The application of slurry to grass in early spring, at a rate of 150 kg total N ha^?1, with the addition of a supplementary 50 kg inorganic fertilizer‐N ha^?1, was the most suitable strategy for utilizing slurry‐N effectively and for supplying the N requirement for first‐cut silage.     

太谷地区耕作土壤转化酶活性的研究初报

土壤酶参与了土壤中许多重要的生物化学过程,对土壤中营养元素的生物循环,有机质的转化和积累以及腐植质的合成与分解等,都起着十分重要的作用,与土壤其他性状相比,能较综合地反映土壤状况。由于转化酶广泛存在于高等植物,微生物中以及以孢外酶的形式存在于土壤中,因此,国内外许多学者如 Woksman,Hofman,周礼恺等均主张以转化酶活性作为土壤肥力的量度。本项研究通过对太谷地区耕作土壤转化酶活性的测定,应用太谷县土壤地力评价资料,对土壤转化酶活性及其与有关因子的相关性进行了分析探讨,结果表明,土壤转化酶活性与土壤有机质含量以及土壤全氮含量均有较好的正相关,而与土壤 pH 值有一定的负相关;以土壤转化酶的活性作为土壤肥力水平的量度是可靠的。     

森林经营对土壤动物影响研究进展

森林经营是实现森林可持续发展的根本途径,土壤动物是森林生态系统的重要组成部分,可对森林经营及其带来的变化及时做出反应。为了探讨土壤动物对森林经营措施的响应,归纳总结了森林经营理念的发展以及森林经营对土壤动物影响的文献资料。结果表明森林经营主要通过对地上结构和微环境的改变对地下土壤动物的群落组成、分解功能及生物指示功能等方面产生影响。在今后研究中应加强森林经营对土壤动物连续长期的动态影响研究,同时利用现代研究技术与方法深入探讨森林经营对土壤动物影响的机制研究。     

Simulating the vegetation-producing process in small watersheds in the Loess Plateau of China

Small watersheds are the basic composition unit of the Loess Plateau in China. An accurate estimation of vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) is of great significance for eco-benefit evaluation in small watershed management in this region. Here we describe the development and testing of a vegetation-producing process model (VPP) of a small watershed in the Loess Plateau. The model couples three modules: radiation adjustment; soil hydrological processes; and vegetation carbon assimilation. Model validation indicates that the VPP model can be used to estimate the NPP of small watersheds in the region. With the VPP model, we estimated the spatial NPP distributions in the Yangou watershed for 2007. The results show that in the Yangou watershed the NPP is relatively low, averaging 168 g C/(m 2 ·a). Trees and shrubs have a higher NPP than crops and grasses. The NPP is larger on the partly shaded and shaded slopes than on the partly sunny and sunny slopes. The NPP on the slopes increases gradually on 0-20° slopes and decreases slightly on slopes steeper than 20°. Our simulation indicates that the vegetation type is the most important factor in determining the NPP distribution in small watersheds in the Loess Plateau.     

miRNA在植物适应土壤胁迫中的作用

基本养分缺乏和含有有毒元素的土壤全球范围内广泛存在,严重影响作物生产。为了减少土壤胁迫的伤害,植物进化了适应不良土壤环境的机制。研究发现植物miRNA在植物适应土壤胁迫中具有重要作用。总结了在植物响应土壤养分缺乏胁迫和土壤元素毒害胁迫中植物miRNA的作用,强调植物miRNA在胁迫响应调控网络中的作用,提出改良植物不良土壤适应能力的思路。     

Distribution of biomass and carbon in even‐aged stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.): A case study on spacing and thinning effects in northern Denmark

The main objective of this case study was to explore the possible influence of forest management on the levels and distribution of biomass and carbon (C) in even-aged stands of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] in Denmark. Data originated from a long-term thinning experiment and an adjacent spacing experiment at stand ages of 58 and 41 years, respectively. Biomass of 16 trees from different thinning and spacing treatments was measured or partly estimated, and soils were sampled for determination of C stocks. All trees in each plot were measured for stem diameter and some for total height, to allow for scaling-up results to stand-level estimates. For trees of similar size, foliage biomass tended to be higher in the spacing experiment, which was located on slightly more fertile land. Foliage biomass increased with increasing thinning grade, but the effect could not be separated from that of tree size. At stand level, foliage biomass tended to increase with increasing spacing as well as with increasing thinning grade. For branchwood, stems and roots (including below-ground stump), the biomass increased with increasing tree size and stand volume at tree and stand level, respectively, but no differences between stands, spacings or thinning grades were observed, apart from that expressed by tree size or stand volume. At stand level, C stocks of all biomass compartments decreased with increasing thinning grade, while the distribution between compartments was hardly influenced. The ratio between above-ground and stem biomass was about 1.21 at stand level, while the ratio between below- and above-ground biomass was about 0.17. Thinning influenced the C stock of the forest floor and mineral soil oppositely, resulting in no effect of thinning on total soil C.     

Management of Nitrogen-Rich Legume Cover Crops as Mulch in Traditional Olive Orchards

A low-input agricultural system needs a natural source of nitrogen (N). Legume species can fix great amounts of N that can be subsequently used by a nonlegume crop. In this study three legume cover crops were grown in traditional olive orchards in northeastern Portugal from October 2009 to May 2010, and the aboveground biomass was mechanically destroyed and left on the ground as a mulch. In the following growing season, from October 2010 to May 2011, two nitrophilic plant species were grown in circular microplots of 154 mm surrounded by polyvinyl chloride rings to assess the soil N availability. The N fixed by the legume cover crops, estimated by the difference technique, was shown to vary from 79.7 to 187.5 kg N ha^?1. The nitrophilic plant species identified a small peak of soil available N in the autumn of 2010, probably resulting from the mineralization of the root system of the legume species. In the next spring, the increase of soil-available N in the plots where the legume cover crops had been grown, in comparison to the control plot, was residual. The great amounts of N present in the mulched materials seem to disappear without having entered the soil. Mulching with high-N content biomass may be troublesome due to the high risk of N losses probably by ammonia (NH₃) volatilization.