Cägliche Durchmesserschwankungen der Zweige

European Journal of Forest Research -     

Carbon Depletion by Plowing and its Restoration by No‐Till Cropping Systems in Oxisols of Subtropical and Tropical Agro‐Ecoregions in Brazil

The continuous use of plowing for grain production has been the principal cause of soil degradation. This project was formulated on the hypothesis that the intensification of cropping systems by increasing biomass‐C input and its biodiversity under no‐till (NT) drives soil restoration of degraded agro‐ecosystem. The present study conducted at subtropical [Ponta Grossa (PG) site] and tropical regions [Lucas do Rio Verde, MT (LRV) site] in Brazil aimed to (i) assess the impact of the continuous plow‐based conventional tillage (CT) on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock vis‐à‐vis native vegetation (NV) as baseline; (ii) compare SOC balance among CT, NT cropping systems, and NV; and (iii) evaluate the redistribution of SOC stock in soil profile in relation to soil resilience. The continuous CT decreased the SOC stock by 0·58 and 0·67 Mg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ in the 0‐ to 20‐cm depth at the PG and LRV sites, respectively, and the rate of SOC sequestration was 0·59 for the PG site and ranged from 0·48 to 1·30 Mg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ for the LRV site. The fraction of C input by crop residues converted into SOC stock was ~14·2% at the PG site and ~20·5% at the LRV site. The SOC resilience index ranged from 0·29 to 0·79, and it increased with the increase in the C input among the NT systems and the SOC sequestration rates at the LRV site. These data support the hypothesis that NT cropping systems with high C input have a large potential to reverse the process of soil degradation and SOC decline. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detection of anticoagulant rodenticides (4-hydroxycoumarins) by thin-layer chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

The detection of 4-hydroxycoumarin rodenticides in poisoned domestic animals requires a highly sensitive method as tissue and serum levels of anticoagulants may be very low owing to rapid elimination, metabolism or post-mortem degradation. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with fluorescence detection were used to identify the anticoagulants in spiked tissues and in suspicious samples. The analysis of ten suspicious samples highlighted the limitations of both methods. Only the three samples of baits were found positive by TLC whereas one of the five anticoagulants was detected in eight samples by RP-HPLC with fluorescence detection. Therefore, RP-HPLC with fluorescence detection proved to be the more sensitive method for detecting low levels of 4-hydroxycoumarins in blood serum, liver and ingesta, whereas TLC is usually sufficient for analysing baits.Abbreviations RP-HPLC reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography - TLC thin-layer chromatography     

Validation of a real-time PCR for the quantitative estimation of a G143A mutation in the cytochrome bc1 gene of Pyrenophora teres

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the cytochrome b gene confers resistance to strobilurin fungicides for several fungal pathogens. Therefore, on the basis of a change at amino acid position 143 from glycine to alanine, a real-time PCR assay was established for the quantitative detection of the analogous SNP in the cytochrome b sequence of Pyrenophora teres Drechsler, which causes barley net blotch. Allelic discrimination was achieved by using allele specific primers with artificially mismatched nucleic acid bases and minor groove binding probes. Validation parameters for the lower limits of the working range, namely limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ), were statistically determined by the variance of calibration data, as well as by the variance of the 100% non-strobilurin-resistant allele DNA sample (blank values). It was found that the detection was limited by the variance of blank values (five in 801 458 copies; 0.0006%), whereas the quantification was limited by the variance of calibration data (37 in 801 458 copies; 0.0046%). The real-time PCR assay was finally used to monitor strobilurin-resistant cytochrome b alleles in barley net blotch field samples, which were already classified in in vivo biotests to be fully sensitive to strobilurins. All signals for strobilurin-resistant cytochrome b alleles were below the LOD, and therefore the results are in total agreement with the phenotypes revealed by biotests.     

Über Schäden durchThaumetopoea pityocampa Schiff. in Gebieten des Mittelmeerraumes

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Influence of soil acidity on depth gradients of microbial biomass in beech forest soils

The objectives of the study were to investigate mineral soil profiles as a living space for microbial decomposers and the relation of microbial properties to soil acidity. We estimated microbial biomass C on concentration (g g^–1 DW) as well as on volume basis (g m^–2) and the microbial biomass C to soil organic C ratio along a vertical gradient from L horizon to 20 cm in the mineral soil and along a gradient of increasing acidity at five beech forest stands in Germany. Microbial biomass C concentration ranged from 17,000–34,000 g C_mic g^–1 DW in the litter layer and decreased dramatically down the profile to 29–264 g C_mic g^–1 DW at 15–20 cm depth in the mineral soil. This represents depth gradients of microbial biomass C concentrations ranging from a factor of 65 in slightly acidic and up to 875 in acidic soils. In contrast, microbial biomass C calculated on a volume basis (g C_mic m^–2) showed a different pattern since a considerable part of the microbial biomass C was located in the mineral soils. In the soil profile 22–34% of the microbial biomass C was found in the mineral soil at strictly acidic sites and as much as 64–88% in slightly acidic soils. The microbial biomass C to soil organic carbon ratios decreased in general down from the L horizon in the forest floor to 0–5 cm depth in the mineral soils. In strongly acidic mineral soils however, the C to soil organic carbon ratio increased with depth, suggesting a positive relation to increasing pH. We conclude from depth gradients of soil pH and microbial biomass C to soil organic carbon ratio that pH affects this ratio at acidic sites. The inter-site comparison indicates that acidity restricts microbial biomass C in the mineral soils.     

A method to generate soilscapes from soil maps

Digital soil mapping for large areas is challenging if mapping resolution should be as high as possible and sampling should be as sparse as possible. Generally, the more complex the soil associations in a landscape, the more samples are required to systematically cover the entire feature space. Moreover, regions should be modeled separately if the patterns of spatial variation vary on subregion level. A systematic segmentation of a landscape into soilscapes is additionally important for a feasible application of soil‐sensing approaches. In this paper, we introduce a semiautomated approach to segment nominal spatial datasets based on the local spatial frequency distribution of the mapping units. The aim is to provide homogeneous and nonfragmented segments with smoothed boundaries. The methodological framework for the segmentation comprises different spatial and nonspatial techniques and focuses mainly on a moving‐window analysis of the local frequency distribution and a k‐means cluster analysis. Based on an existing soil map (1:50,000), we derived six segments for the Nidda catchment (Central Hesse, Germany), comprising 1600 km². As segmentation is based on a soil map, soilscapes are derived. In terms of the feature space, these soilscapes show a higher homogeneity compared to the entire landscape. Advantages compared to an existing map of landscape units are discussed. Segmenting a landscape as introduced in this study might also be of importance for other disciplines and can be used as a first step in biodiversity analysis or setting up environmental‐monitoring sites.     

Pesticide and Heavy Metals Residue in Wastewater, Soil and Plants in Wastewater Disposal Site Near Al-Lajoun Valley, Karak / Jordan

Disposal of raw wastewater and sludge creates thepotential for pesticides and heavy metal contamination. Afield study was conducted to determine the residueconcentration level of chlorinated pesticides and four heavymetals (Zn, Pb, Cu and Ni) in raw wastewater, soils andplants at Karak raw wastewater disposal site. The resultsindicated that the investigated area was heavily contaminatedwith various types of pesticides. The distribution of different pesticides in soils and wastewater was influencedby the solubility of these pesticides such that the higherthe solubility the more is present in water phase and viceversa. Vinclozoline was the dominant pesticide in most of thesamples. Some pesticides of which application is restrictedto be used in Jordan, such as DDT and its metabolites, weredetected in the investigated area.Heavy metals existed in relatively higher concentrationsin soils than in wastewater, which was due to the high pH ofthe wastewater enhancing its precipitation. Zinc was thehighest among the analyzed heavy metals in both wastewaterand soils.The residue level of both heavy metals and chlorinatedpesticides were highest at the emission source decreasinggradually with distance.     

Temperaturbedingte Chromosomensegmentierung bei Sommer- und Wintergersten

Zusammenfassung Die Gerstensorte Heines Haisa und die PrimitivformHordeum agriocrithon sind sommerannuell. Beide reagieren auf den Einfluß niedriger Temperaturen während der Keimung mit der Ausbildung einer spezialsegmentartigen Einschnürung im kurzen Arm des VII. Chromosoms in Wurzelspitzen-Metaphasen. Im Gegensatz dazu ist bei der winterannuellen Form Friedrichswerther Berg und dem annähernd winterannuellenHordeum spontaneum die Tendenz zu der gleichen Reaktion bedeutend geringer oder überhaupt nicht vorhanden. Die Möglichkeit, daß die Eigenschaft sommer- bzw. winterannuell in Beziehung zur Funktion heterochromatischer Segmente steht, wird kurz diskutiert.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy for analysis of chemical and microbiological properties of forest soil organic horizons in a heavy-metal-polluted area

In industrial areas, heavy metals may accumulate in forest soil organic horizons, affecting soil microorganisms and causing changes in the chemical composition of the accumulated organic matter. The objectives of this study were to test the ability of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to detect heavy metal effects on the chemical composition of forest soil O horizons and to test whether NIRS may be used to quantitatively determine total and exchangeable concentrations of Zn and Pb (Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, Pb_ex) and other chemical and microbial properties in forest soil O horizons polluted with heavy metals. The samples of O horizons (n = 79) were analyzed for organic C (C_org), total N and S (N_t, S_t), Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, Pb_ex, basal respiration (BR), microbial biomass (C_mic) and C_mic-to-C_org ratio. Spectra of the samples were recorded in the Vis-NIR range (400–2,500 nm). To detect heavy-metal-induced changes in the chemical composition of O horizons principal components (PC1–PC7) based on the spectral data were regressed against Zn_t + Pb_t values. A modified partial least squares method was used to develop calibration models for prediction of various chemical and microbial properties of the samples from their spectra. Regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between PC3 and PC5 (r = −0.27 and −0.34, respectively) and Zn_t + Pb_t values, indicating an effect of heavy metal pollution on the spectral properties of the O horizons and thus on their chemical composition. For quantitative estimations, the best calibration model was obtained for C_org-to-N_t ratio (r = 0.98). The models for C_org, N_t, and microbial properties were satisfactory but less accurate. NIRS failed to accurately predict S_t, C_org-to-S_t, Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, and Pb_ex.