Straw mulching alters the composition and loss of dissolved organic matter in farmland surface runoff by inhibiting the fragmentation of soil small macroaggregates

Straw mulching is a widespread practice for reducing the soil carbon loss caused by erosion.However,the effects of straw mulching on dissolved organic matter(DOM)runoff loss from black soil are not well studied.How straw mulching affects the composition and loss of runoff DOM by changing soil aggregates remains largely unclear.Here,a straw mulching treatment was compared to a no mulching treatment(as a control)on sloping farmland with black soil erosion in Northeast China.We divided the soil into large macroaggregates(>2 mm),small macroaggregates(0.25-2 mm),and microaggregates(<0.25 mm).After five rain events,the effects of straw mulching on the concentration(characterized by dissolved organic carbon(DoC)and composition(analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy)of runoff and soil aggregate DOM were studied.The results showed that straw mulching reduced the runoff amount by 54.7%.Therefore,although straw mulching increased the average DOc concentration in runoff,it reduced the total runoff DOM loss by 48.3%.The composition of runoff DOM is similar to that of soil,as both contain humic-like acid and protein-like components.With straw mulching treatment,the protein-like components in small macroaggregates accumulated and the protein-like components in runoff declined with rain events.Fluorescence spectroscopy technology may help in understanding the hydrological paths of rain events by capturing the dynamic changes of runoff and soil DOM characteristics.A variation partitioning analysis(VPA)indicated that the DOM concentration and composition of microaggregates explained 68.2%of the change in runoff DOM from no mulching plots,while the change in runoff DOM from straw mulching plots was dominated by small macroaggregates at a rate of 55.1%.Taken together,our results demonstrated that straw mulching reduces the fragmentation of small macroaggregates and the loss of microaggregates,thus effecting DOM compositions in soil and reducing the DOM loss in runoff.These results provide a theoretical basis for reducing carbon loss in sloping farmland.

Paleoenvironmental changes recorded by grain size of loess/paleosol sequence from the Chifeng City,Northeastern China since the Last Glacial

The accumulation processes of loess in northeastern(NE)China record the varying characteristics of the East Asian Monsoons(EAM)and the evolution of the local environment.In this study,grain size end-member analysis of the Dajiugang(DJG)section deposited since the Last Glacial in Chifeng City,NE China was used to reveal the dynamic depositional characteristics of loess and environmental evolution of NE China.Results showed that the Chifeng loess comprises three grain size end-members(EM),EM1(7.38μm),EM2(49.4μm)and EM3(90.00μm),indicating the three transport dynamics of dust delivered to the region.The EM1 represents atmospheric dust as the background.The EM2,mainly derived from relatively distant-sources deposition,and EM3,material transported over a short distance,correspond to the intensity of southwesterly winds and the East Asian Winter Monsoon(EAWM),respectively.Results of climate reconstruction,combined with other records,showed that the climate was generally cold and dry with a strong EAWM and a weak East Asian summer monsoon(EASM)during the stadial-period[Marine Isotope Stage(MIS)4 and MIS 2 stage].The climate was predominantly warm and humid,with weak EAWM and surface winds and strong EASM in interstadial-period(MIS 3 and MIS 1 stage).Comparisons between indicators,e.g.,EM3,the LR04 benthicδ18O stack and summer insolation at 65°N suggest that the strong EAWM is induced by increasing the Northern Hemisphere ice volume and reduced summer solar radiation.

Do Geographically Isolated Grasslands Follow the Principle of Island Biogeography in a Landscape Scale? Taking Poyang Lake Grassland as an Example

As one of the basic theories of biodiversity conservation,island biogeography has been widely accepted in the past decades.Originally,island biogeography was put forward and applied in oceanic environments.But later on,it was found out that the application was not only limited to oceanic islands,but also in terrestrial environments with relatively isolated conditions.In terms of biodiversity level,island biogeography generally focuses on a small scale,such as species diversity and genetic diversity.The studies of biodiversity on a large-scale based on island biogeography,such as ecosystem and landscape scales,were seldomly conducted.Taking Poyang Lake,the largest fresh water lake in China as case study area,30 grasslands were randomly selected to study whether island biogeography can be applied to grasslands at a landscape level from three island attributes(area,distance and shape),and the most important ecological variable(flooding)in Poyang Lake.The results showed that in general,grasslands have the property of an island,and follow the basic principle of island biogeography.We found the area and flooding duration were the two most important determinants of landscape diversity.There was a significant positive correlation between the grassland area and the landscape diversity,which could be well expressed by logarithmic function model(R2=0.73).There was a negative correlation between flooding duration and landscape diversity,which could be described by an inverse model(R2=0.206).The distance to mainland and the shape of grassland were correlated with landscape diversity,but the fitting result of the models was not as good as expected.The possible reason could be that Poyang Lake is a seasonal lake,the water level varies with hydrological conditions,so that the grasslands are not strongly isolated and their shape is not stable enough required by island biogeography.Furthermore,it indicates that besides area,distance and shape attributes,flooding strongly affects the biodiversity of grassland vegetation,and should not be ignored when applying island biogeography theory to Poyang Lake.This study is expected to be a supplement for island biogeography in terrestrial environments,and the results are expected to benefit for the biodiversity conservation in Poyang Lake.

Spatial-temporal variations and driving factors of soil organic carbon in forest ecosystems of Northeast China

Forest soil carbon is a major carbon pool of terrestrial ecosystems,and accurate estimation of soil organic carbon(SOC)stocks in forest ecosystems is rather challenging.This study compared the prediction performance of three empirical model approaches namely,regression kriging(RK),multiple stepwise regression(MSR),random forest(RF),and boosted regression trees(BRT)to predict SOC stocks in Northeast China for 1990 and 2015.Furthermore,the spatial variation of SOC stocks and the main controlling environmental factors during the past 25 years were identified.A total of 82(in 1990)and 157(in 2015)topsoil(0–20 cm)samples with 12 environmental factors(soil property,climate,topography and biology)were selected for model construction.Randomly selected80%of the soil sample data were used to train the models and the other 20%data for model verification using mean absolute error,root mean square error,coefficient of determination and Lin's consistency correlation coefficient indices.We found BRT model as the best prediction model and it could explain 67%and 60%spatial variation of SOC stocks,in 1990,and 2015,respectively.Predicted maps of all models in both periods showed similar spatial distribution characteristics,with the lower SOC in northeast and higher SOC in southwest.Mean annual temperature and elevation were the key environmental factors influencing the spatial variation of SOC stock in both periods.SOC stocks were mainly stored under Cambosols,Gleyosols and Isohumosols,accounting for 95.6%(1990)and 95.9%(2015).Overall,SOC stocks increased by 471 Tg C during the past 25 years.Our study found that the BRT model employing common environmental factors was the most robust method for forest topsoil SOC stocks inventories.The spatial resolution of BRT model enabled us to pinpoint in which areas of Northeast China that new forest tree planting would be most effective for enhancing forest C stocks.Overall,our approach is likely to be useful in forestry management and ecological restoration at and beyond the regional scale.

Predicting and delineating soil temperature regimes of China using pedotransfer function

Soil temperature regime(STR)is important for soil classification and land use.Generally,STR is delineated by estimating the mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 50 cm(MAST50)according to the Chinese Soil Taxonomy(CST).However,delineating the STR of China remains a challenge due to the difficulties in accurately estimating MAST50.The objectives of this study were to explore environmental factors that influence the spatial variation of MAST50 and generate an STR map for China.Soil temperature measurements at 40 and 80 cm depth were collected from 386 National Meteorological Stations in China during 1971–2000.The MAST50 was calculated as the average mean annual soil temperature(MAST)from 1971–2000 between 40 and 80 cm depths.In addition,2048 mean annual air temperature(MAAT)measurements from 1971 to 2000 were collected from the National Meteorological Stations across China.A zonal pedotransfer function(PTF)was developed based on the ensemble linear regression kriging model to predict the MAST50 in three topographic steps of China.The results showed that MAAT was the most important variable related to the variation of MAST50.The zonal PTF was evaluated with a 10%validation dataset with a mean absolute error(MAE)of 0.66°C and root mean square error(RMSE)of 0.78°C,which were smaller than the unified model with MAE of 0.83°C and RMSE of 0.96°C,respectively.This study demonstrated that the zonal PTF helped improve the accuracy of the predicted MAST50 map.Based on the prediction results,an STR map across China was generated to provide a consistent scientific base for the improvement and application of CST and land use support.

Vegetation and Community Changes of Elm (Ulmus pumila) Woodlands in Northeastern China in 1983-2011

Elm （Ulmus pumila）, widely distributed in the north temperate zone, contributes to a special savanna-like woodland in typical grassland region in the northeastern China. This woodland performs a variety of ecological functions and environmental signifi- cance, such as decreasing soil erosion, stabilizing sand dunes, preserving species diversity. However, in the last approximate 30 years, the species composition, productivity and distribution area of elm woodland has decreased severely. A series of studies have been carried out to find out whether the climate changes or human disturbances caused the degradation of elm woodland and how these factors af- fected elm woodland. In this study, undisturbed, plowing and grazing elm woodland were investigated in 1983 and 2011 by using Point-Centered Quarter method. The relationship between vegetation changes and environmental factors was analyzed by Bray-Curtis ordination. The results show that in 2011, species diversity and understory productivity of undisturbed elm woodland decrease slightly compared to those of undisturbed elm woodland in 1983. However, nearly 60% of the species is lost in the plowing and grazing elm woodland relative to the species undisturbed elm woodland in 1983. Interestingly, plowing stimulates the growth of elm and certain understory species through furrowing soil and accelerating soil nutrient turnover rate. Grazing disturbance not only leads to species loss and productivity decrease, but also induces changes in elm growth （small, short and twisted）. The mean age of the elm was 29 -4- 2 yr in undisturbed and plowing elm woodland, while only 15 yr in the grazing elm woodland. The results of Bray-Curtis ordination analysis show that all sample stands clustered to three groups： Group I including the undisturbed sample stands of 83UE （undisturbed elm wood- land in 1983） and l lUE （undisturbed elm woodland in 2011）; Group II including sample stands of PE （elm woodland disturbed by plowing）; Group III including samples stands of GE （elm woodland disturbed by grazing）. The results indicate that the long time distur- bance of the plowing and grazing have converted elm woodland to different community types. Climate change is not the primary reason causing the degradation of elm woodland, but plowing and grazing disturbance. Both plowing and grazing decrease the vegetation composition and species diversity. Grazing further decreases vegetation productivity and inhibits the growth of elm tree. Therefore, we suggest that reasonable plowing and exclusive grazing would be favorable for future regeneration of degraded elm woodland.

Application of controlled-release urea increases maize N uptake,environmental benefits and economic returns via optimizing temporal and spatial distributions of soil mineral N

The creation of controlled-release urea (CRU) is a potent substitute for conventional fertilizers in order to preserve the availability of nitrogen (N) in soil,prevent environmental pollution,and move toward green agriculture.The main objectives of this study were to assess the impacts of CRU’s full application on maize production and to clarify the connection between the nutrient release pattern of CRU and maize nutrient uptake.In order to learn more about the effects of CRU application on maize yields,N uptake,mineral N (N_(min)) dynamics,N balance in soil-crop systems,and economic returns,a series of field experiments were carried out in 2018–2020 in Dalian City,Liaoning Province,China.There were 4 different treatments in the experiments:no N fertilizer input (control,CK);application of common urea at 210 kg ha^(-1)(U),the ideal fertilization management level for the study site;application of polyurethane-coated urea at the same N input rate as U (PCU);and application of PCU at a 20% reduction in N input rate (0.8PCU).Our findings showed that using CRU (i.e.,PCU and 0.8 PCU) may considerably increase maize N absorption,maintain maize yields,and increase N use efficiency (NUE) compared to U.The grain yield showed considerable positive correlations with total N uptake in leaf in U and 0.8 PCU,but negative correlations with that in PCU,indicating that PCU caused excessive maize absorption while 0.8 PCU could achieve a better yield response to N supply.Besides,PCU was able to maintain N fertilizer in the soil profile 0–20 cm away from the fertilization point,and higher N_(min)content was observed in the 0–20 cm soil layer at various growth stages,particularly at the middle and late growing stages,optimizing the temporal and spatial distributions of N_(min).Additionally,compared to that in U,the apparent N loss rate in PCU was reduced by 36.2%,and applying CRU (PCU and 0.8 PCU) increased net profit by 8.5% to 15.2% with less labor and fertilization frequency.It was concluded that using CRU could be an effective N fertilizer management strategy to sustain maize production,improve NUE,and increase economic returns while minimizing environmental risks.

Effect of Phosphorus Fertilization to P Uptake and Dry Matter Accumulation in Soybean with Different P Efficiencies

Phosphorus （P） is an essential element for plant growth and yield. Improving phosphorus use efficiency of crops could potentially reduce the application of chemical fertilizer and alleviate environmental damage. Soybean （Glycine max （L.） Merr.） is sensitive to phosphorus （P） in the whole life history. Soybean cultivars with different P efficiencies were used to study P uptake and dry matter accumulation under different P levels. Under low P conditions, the P contents of leaf in high P efficiency cultivars were greater than those in low P efficiency cultivars at the branching stage. The P accumulation in stems of high P efficiency cultivars and in leaves of low P efficiency cultivars increased with increasing P concentration at the branching stage. At the late podding stage, the P accumulation of seeds in high and low P efficiency cultivars were 22.5 and 26.0%, respectively; and at the mature stage were 69.8 and 74.2%, respectively. In average, the P accumulation in whole plants and each organ was improved by 24.4% in high P efficiency cultivars compared to low P efficiency cultivars. The biomass between high and low P efficiency cultivars were the same under extended P condition, while a significant difference was observed at late pod filling stage. At the pod setting stage, the biomass of high P efficiency cultivars were significant greater （17.4%） than those of low P efficiency cultivars under high P condition. Meanwhile, under optimum growth conditions, there was little difference ofbiomass between the two types of cultivars, however, the P agronomic efficiency and P harvest index were significant higher in high P efficiency cultivars than those in low P efficiency cultivars.

Effect of CO_2 Elevation on Root Growth and Its Relationship with Indole Acetic Acid and Ethylene in Tomato Seedlings

A hydroponic experiment was carried out to study the effect of elevated carbon dioxide(CO2) on root growth of tomato seedlings.Compared with the control(350 μL L-1),CO2 enrichment(800 μL L-1) significantly increased the dry matter of both shoot and root,the ratio of root to shoot,total root length,root surface area,root diameter,root volume,and root tip numbers,which are important for forming a strong root system.The elevated CO2 treatment also significantly improved root hair development and elongation,thus enhancing nutrient uptake.Increased indole acetic acid concentration in plant tissues and ethylene release in the elevated CO2 treatment might have resulted in root growth enhancement and root hair development and elongation.

Effects of Oxytetracycline on Methane Production and the Microbial Communities During Anaerobic Digestion of Cow Manure

The effects of different concentrations of oxytetracycline （OTC） on the dynamics of bacterial and archaeal communities during the mesophilic anaerobic digestion （37＆#176;C） of cow manure were investigated. Before anaerobic digestion, OTC was added to digesters at concentrations of 20, 50, and 80 mg L-1, respectively. Compared with no-antibiotic control, all methane productions underwent different levels of inhibition at different concentrations of OTC. Changes in the bacterial and archaeal communities were discussed by using PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE）. Results showed that OTC affected the richness and diversity of bacterial and archaeal communities. The bacterial genus Flavobacterium and an uncultured bacterium （JN256083.1） were detected throughout the entire process of anaerobic digestion and seemed to be the functional bacteria. Methanobrevibacter boviskoreani and an uncultured archaeon （FJ230982.1） dominated the archaeal communities during anaerobic digestion. These microorganisms may have high resistance to OTC and may play vital roles in methane production.

Vacuum diffusion bonding of Ti_(2)AlNb alloy and TC4 alloy

The Ti_(2)AlNb alloy was joined with TC4 alloy by vacuum diffusion bonding.The relationship between bonding parameters,and joint microstructure and shear strength was investigated.The results indicated that the diffusion of Al,Ti,Nb and V elements across bonding interface led to the formation of three reaction layers:B2/βlayer andα2 layer on the TC4 side,andα2+B2/βlayer on the Ti_(2)AlNb side.The bonding temperature determined the atomic activity,thus controlling the growth of reaction layers and influencing the shear strength of the joint.When the Ti_(2)AlNb alloy and TC4 alloy were bonded at 950℃for 30 min under 10 MPa,the shear strength of the joint reached the maximum of 467 MPa.The analysis on the fracture morphology showed that the fracture occurred within the B2/βlayer and the fracture model was ductile rupture.Meanwhile,the formation mechanism of the Ti_(2)AlNb/TC4 joint was discussed in depth.

Single and Combined Effects of As (Ⅲ) and Acetochlor on Phosphatase Activity in Soil

The actions and interactions of acetochlor and As on the soil phosphatase activity were investigated after 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 30 and 60 d of exposure under control conditions. The soils were exposed to various concentrations of acetochlor and As individually and simultaneously. The results showed that acetochlor, As only, and combined pollution all clearly inhibited soil phosphatase activity. The maximum inhibition ratios of soil phosphatase activity by acetochlor, As only and combined pollution were 36.44, 74.12 and 61.29%, respectively. Two kinetic models, ν=c/（1＋bi） （model 1） and ν=c（1＋ai）/（l＋bi） （model 2）, were used to describe the relationship between the concentrations of As and acetochlor and the activity of soil phosphatase. The semi-effect dose （ED 50 ） values induced by As and acetochlor stress based on the inhibition of soil phosphatase were 18.1 and 33.11 mg kg-1, respectively, according to calculation by model 1. The interactive effect of acetochlor with As on soil phosphatase primarily consisted of significant antagonism effects at the higher concentrations tested. The step regression results show that the toxicity order was As （III）〉acetochlor〉As （III）×acetochlor throughout the incubation period.

Effects of Combination of Straw Returning and a Microbial Agent on Microorganisms and Enzyme Activity in Rhizosphere Soil and Yield of Late Rice

By using red soil and late rice Wufengyou T025 as the tested materials,the influences of straw returning with a microbial agent on the quantity of microorganisms and enzyme activity in rhizosphere soil in fields were studied,and soil productivity was tested with yield and agricultural traits of late rice. The results showed that straw returning with the microbial agent could significantly improve the quantity of bacteria,fungi and actinomyces in soil,enhance the activity of sucrase,urease,catalase and cellulase,and improve the number of grains per spike,setting percentage,thousand seed weight and yield of late rice. The combination of rice straw returning and the microbial agent has a good prospect of application.

Accumulation of residual soil microbial carbon in Chinese fir plantation soils after nitrogen and phosphorus additions

Nitrogen （N） and phosphorus （P） additions can affect soil microbial carbon （C） accumulation. However, the mechanisms that drive the changes in residual microbial C that occur after N and P additions have not been well-defined for Chinese fir plantations in subtropical China. We set up six different treatments, viz. a control （CK）, two N treatments （NI： 50kgha-1 a-1; N2： 100 kg ha-1 a-1）, one P treatment （P： 50 kg ha-1 a-1）, and two combined N and P treatments （NIP： 50kgha-1a-1 of N ＋50kgha-1a-1 of P; N2P：100 kg ha-1 a-1 of N ＋ 50 kg ha-1 a-1 of P）. We then investigated the influences of N and P additions on residual microbial C. The results showed that soil pH and microbial biomass decreased after N additions, while microbial biomass increased after P additions. Soil organic carbon （SOC） and residual microbial C contents increased in the N and P treatments but not in the control. Residual microbial C accumulation varied according to treatment and declined in the order： N2P 〉 N1P 〉 N2 〉 N1 〉 P 〉 CK. Residual microbial C contents were positively correlated with available N, P, and SOC contents, but were negatively correlated with soil pH. The ratio of residual fungal C to residual bacterial C increased under P additions, but declined under combined N1P additions. The ratio of residual microbial C to SOC increased from 11 to 14% under the N1P and N2P treatments, respectively. Our results suggest that the concentrations of residual microbial C and the stability of SOC would increase under combined applications of N and P fertilizers in subtropical Chinese fir plantation soils.

Effects of water and nitrogen addition on vegetation carbon pools in a semi-arid temperate steppe

Global change will lead to increases in regional precipitation and nitrogen（N） deposition in the semi-arid grasslands of northern China. We investigated the responses of vegetation carbon（C） pools to simulated precipitation and N deposition increases through field experiments in a typical steppe in Inner Mongolia. The treatments included NH4NO3 addition at concentrations of 0（CK）, 5（LN, low nitrogen）, 10（middle nitrogen, MN）, and 20（HN,high nitrogen）（g m^（-2）a^（-1）） with and without water. After three consecutive years of treatment, from 2010 to 2012,water addition did not significantly change the size of the total vegetation C pools, but it significantly decreased the ratio of root：shoot（R：S）（P = 0.05） relative to controls. By contrast, N addition significantly increased the total vegetation C pools. The C pools in the LN, MN and HN treatments increased by 22, 39 and 44 %, respectively. MN produced the largest effect among the N concentrations,although differences between N-added treatments were not significant（P ？ 0.05）. N addition significantly reduced the ratio of root：shoot（R：S）（P = 0.03）. However, there were no significant interactive effects of water and N addition on the vegetation C pools.

Estimation of forest parameters based on TM imagery and statistical analysis

One of the primary forestry research interests lies in estimating forest stand parameters by applying empirical or semi-empirical model to establish the relationship between the forest stand parameters and remote sensing data. Using remote sensing image and the inventory data from 2 compartments in northeast Florida, U.S.A., this paper explored the correlation between forest stand parameters and Landsat TM spectral digital number （DN） value. Results showed that less than 50% of the total variance could be explained by linear regression models with only either a single band or such vegetation indices as vegetation index （VI） or normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） as predicators. In consequence, multi-linear regression models which synthesized more predicators were introduced to estimate forest parameters. Regression results were tested in terms of the other group of data, and verification showed a better capability of explaining over 75% variance except for forest density. The weakness and further improvement of prediction models were also discussed in the article. This paper is expected to provide a better understanding of the relationship between TM spectral and forest characteristics

Seedling defoliation of cereal crops increases peanut growth and yield in an intercropping system

Intercropping cereals and legumes is practiced widely in the world for improving yields and economic benefits. Shorter legume crops in intercropping are shaded by taller cereals, substantially reducing legume growth and yield. Reducing shade in intercropping by shortening the plant height of cereals by seedling defoliation has been proposed as a practical approach to increase crop yields and land productivity. A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of defoliation of cereal crops at seedling stage on the growth and yield of peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.) intercropped with corn(Zea mays L.) or millet(Setaria italica L.). In comparison with non-defoliation controls, defoliation reduced final plant height by 29 cm on average for corn and 18 cm for millet. Photosynthetically active radiation on peanut in intercropping systems with corn or millet intercropping was respectively 27.0% and 22.8% higher than those in controls, significantly improving the light environment of intercropped peanut. Net photosynthetic rates of peanut were on average 25.5% higher in corn and peanut intercropping and 19.6% higher in millet and peanut intercropping than those in non-defoliation controls. Total biomass of intercropped peanut increased owing to increased root growth. Across two years, yield of peanut intercropped with corn was 27.7% and with millet 32.8% higher than those of controls. Defoliation of cereal crops did not affect corn yield but significantly decreased millet yield by 24.5%. Our results suggest that applying seedling defoliation in intercropped corn could increase peanut yield without compromising corn yield in an intercropping system.

Responses of Soil Bacterial Diversity to Fertilization are Driven by Local Environmental Context Across China

Soil microbial diversity is extremely vulnerable to fertilization,which is one of the main anthropogenic activities associated with global changes.Yet we know little about how and why soil microbial diversity responds to fertilization across contrasting local ecological contexts.This knowledge is fundamental for predicting changes in soil microbial diversity in response to ongoing global changes.We analyzed soils from ten 20-year field fertilization(organic and/or inorganic)experiments across China and found that the national-scale responses of soil bacterial diversity to fertilization are dependent on ecological context.In acidic soils from regions with high precipitation and soil fertility,inorganic fertilization can result in further acidification,resulting in negative impacts on soil bacterial diversity.In comparison,organic fer-tilization causes a smaller disturbance to soil bacterial diversity.Despite the overall role of environmental contexts in driving soil microbial diversity,a small group of bacterial taxa were found to respond to fer-tilization in a consistent way across contrasting regions throughout China.Taxa such as Nitrosospira and Nitrososphaera,which benefit from nitrogen fertilizer addition,as well as Chitinophagaceae,Bacilli,and phototrophic bacteria,which respond positively to organic fertilization,could be used as bioindicators for soil fertility in response to fertilization at the national scale.Overall,our work provides new insights into the importance of local environmental context in determining the responses of soil microbial diver-sity to fertilization,and identifies regions with acidic soils wherein soil microbial diversity is more vul-nerable to fertilization at the national scale.

Effects of different ridge-furrow mulching systems on yield and water use efficiency of summer maize in the Loess Plateau of China

Ridge-furrow film mulching has been proven to be an effective water-saving and yield-improving planting pattern in arid and semi-arid regions.Drought is the main factor limiting the local agricultural production in the Loess Plateau of China.In this study,we tried to select a suitable ridge-furrow mulching system to improve this situation.A two-year field experiment of summer maize(Zea mays L.)during the growing seasons of 2017 and 2018 was conducted to systematically analyze the effects of flat planting with no film mulching(CK),ridge-furrow with ridges mulching and furrows bare(RFM),and double ridges and furrows full mulching(DRFFM)on soil temperature,soil water storage(SWS),root growth,aboveground dry matter,water use efficiency(WUE),and grain yield.Both RFM and DRFFM significantly increased soil temperature in ridges,while soil temperature in furrows for RFM and DRFFM was similar to that for CK.The largest SWS was observed in DRFFM,followed by RFM and CK,with significant differences among them.SWS was lower in ridges than in furrows for RFM.DRFFM treatment kept soil water in ridges,resulting in higher SWS in ridges than in furrows after a period of no water input.Across the two growing seasons,compared with CK,RFM increased root mass by 10.2%and 19.3%at the jointing and filling stages,respectively,and DRFFM increased root mass by 7.9%at the jointing stage but decreased root mass by 6.0%at the filling stage.Over the two growing seasons,root length at the jointing and filling stages was respectively increased by 75.4%and 58.7%in DRFFM,and 20.6%and 30.2%in RFM.Relative to the jointing stage,the increased proportions of root mass and length at the filling stage were respectively 42.8%and 94.9%in DRFFM,63.2%and 115.1%in CK,and 76.7%and 132.1%in RFM,over the two growing seasons,showing that DRFFM slowed down root growth while RFM promoted root growth at the later growth stages.DRFFM treatment increased root mass and root length in ridges and decreased them in 0-30 cm soil layer,while RFM increased them in 0-30 cm soil layer.Compared with CK,DRFFM decreased aboveground dry matter while RFM increased it.Evapotranspiration was reduced by 9.8%and 7.1%in DRFFM and RFM,respectively,across the two growing seasons.Grain yield was decreased by 14.3%in DRFFM and increased by 13.6%in RFM compared with CK over the two growing seasons.WUE in CK was non-significantly 6.8%higher than that in DRFFM and significantly 22.5%lower than that in RFM across the two growing seasons.Thus,RFM planting pattern is recommended as a viable water-saving option for summer maize in the Loess Plateau of China.

Variation of Potential Nitrification and Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterial Community with Plant-Growing Period in Apple Orchard Soil

In this study, we investigated the potential nitrification and community structure of soil-based ammonia-oxidizing bacteria （AOB） in apple orchard soil during different growth periods and explored the effects of environmental factors on nitrification activity and AOB community composition in the soil of a Hanfu apple orchard, using a culture-dependent technique and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE）. We observed that nitrification activity and AOB abundance were the highest in November, lower in May, and the lowest in July. The results of statistical analysis indicated that total nitrogen （N） content, NH4＋-N content, NO3-N content, and pH showed significant correlations with AOB abundance and nitrification activity in soil. The Shannon-Winner diversity, as well as species richness and evenness indices （determined by PCR-DGGE banding patterns） in soil samples were the highest in September, but the lowest in July, when compared to additional sampled dates. The DGGE fingerprints of soil-based 16S rRNA genes in November were apparently distinct from those observed in May, July, and September, possessing the lowest species richness indices and the highest dominance indices among all four growth periods. Fourteen DGGE bands were excised for sequencing. The resulting analysis indicated that all AOB communities belonged to the 13-Proteobacteria phylum, with the dominant AOB showing high similarity to the Nitrosospira genus. Therefore, soil-based environmental factors, such as pH variation and content of NHa＋-N and NO3--N, can substantially influence the abundance of AOB communities in soil, and play a critical role in soil-based nitrification kinetics.