Exopolysaccharide-Producing Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Under Salinity Condition

Salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can play an important role in alleviating soil salinity stress during plant growth and bacterial exopolysaccharide (EPS) can also help to mitigate salinity stress by reducing the content of Na + available for plant uptake.In this study,native bacterial strains of wheat rhizosphere in soils of Varanasi,India,were screened to identify the EPS-producing salt-tolerant rhizobacteria with plant growth-promoting traits.The various rhizobacteria strains were isolated and identified using 16S rDNA sequencing.The plant growth-promoting effect of inoculation of seedlings with these bacterial strains was evaluated under soil salinity conditions in a pot experiment.Eleven bacterial strains which initially showed tolerance up to 80 g L -1 NaCl also exhibited an EPS-producing potential.The results suggested that the isolated bacterial strains demonstrated some of the plant growth-promoting traits such as phosphate solubilizing ability and production of auxin,proline,reducing sugars,and total soluble sugars.Furthermore,the inoculated wheat plants had an increased biomass compared to the un-inoculated plants.

Microbial Biomass C,N and P in Disturbed Dry Tropical Forest Soils,India

Variations in microbial biomass C (MB-C),N (MB-N) and P (MB-P) along a gradient of different dominant vegeta- tion covers (natural forest,mixed deciduous forest,disturbed savanna and grassland ecosystems) in dry tropical soils of Vindhyan Plateau,India were studied from January 2005 to December 2005.The water holding capacity,organic C,total N,total P and soil moisture content were comparatively higher in forest soils than in the savanna and grassland sites.Across different study sites the mean annual MB-C,MB-N and MB-P at 0-15 cm soil depth varied from 312.05 ± 4.22 to 653.40 ± 3.17,32.16 ± 6.25 to 75.66 ± 7.21 and 18.94 ± 2.94 to 30.83 ± 23.08 μg g ?1 dry soil,respectively.At all the investigated sites,the maximum MB-C,MB-N and MB-P occurred during the dry period (summer season) and the minimum in wet period (rainy season).In the present study,soil MB-C,MB-N and MB-P were higher at the forest sites compared to savanna and grassland sites.The differences in MB-C,MB-N and MB-P were significant (P < 0.001) among sites and seasons.The MB-C (P < 0.0001),MB-N (P < 0.001) and MB-P (P < 0.0001) were positively correlated with organic C,while the relationship between soil moisture and MB-C,MB-N and MB-P (P < 0.001,P < 0.01 and P < 0.0001,respectively) was negative.The decreasing order of MB-C,MB-N and MB-P along study ecosystems was natural forest > mixed deciduous forest > savanna > grassland.The results suggested that deforestation and land use practices (conversion of forest into savanna and grassland) caused the alterations in soil properties,which as a consequence,led to reduction in soil nutrients and MB-C,MB-N and MB-P in the soil of disturbed sites (grassland and savanna) compared to undisturbed forest ecosystems.

Carbon fluxes and species diversity in grazed and fenced typical steppe grassland of Inner Mongolia, China

Aim Grasslands are dominant vegetation of China,support outstanding biodiversity and sequester bulk amount of atmospheric CO_(2).These grasslands are highly degraded and fragmented due to remarkable anthropogenic and grazing loads.Chinese Government has made great attempt to restore by grazing exclusion.The relations of carbon fluxes with species composition and diversity in the communities sensitive to grazing by large herbivores are needed to be analysed under the global climate change scenario.The objective of present study was to comprehend the effects of grazing and fencing on the ecosystem structure and function of the typical steppe grassland.Methods To meet the objectives,overgrazed and fenced(since year 2001)sys-tems were selected in typical steppe grassland at the Duolun Restoration Ecology Research Station,Inner Mogolia,China.Within each system,three dominant communities with three replicates were selected.In each replicate community,three 1×1 m plots,were randomly located.Each plot was divided into four 50×50 cm quadrats.A total of 216,50×50 cm quadrats were sampled.From each quadrat,number of individuals and above-ground herbaceous biomass for each species,soil respiration(SR),ecosystem respira-tion(ER),net(NEE)as well as gross(GEE)ecosystem CO_(2) exchanges were recorded in June 2015.Data were well analysed using statistical software.Canonical correspondence analysis showed dif-ferential responses of communities to the structure and function of the typical steppe grassland.Important Findings Across the communities,fencing reduced the soil tempera-ture by 12%and at the same time increased the soil moisture by 44.30%,thus,increased the species richness by 28%,evenness by 21%,above-ground biomass by 19%and plant carbon by 20%.Interestingly,fencing increased NEE by 128%,GEE by 77%,SR by 65%and ER by 39%.Under fencing,species composition partially governed the CO_(2) exchange processes.Conclusions Fencing reduces soil temperature and thereby improves species diversity and more efficient CO_(2) sequestration and long-term and in-depth study is desirable for a better understanding of the relation-ship between species diversity and ecosystem carbon uptake.

Relative effects of different leaf attributes on sapling growth in tropical dry forest

Aims Soil moisture content(SMC)influences establishment,survival and development of plant species and is considered as the most important limiting factor in tropical dry forest(TDF).In this study we attempt to establish the relationship between leaf attributes and of tree saplings in TDF and address the following questions:(i)how are the functional attributes of dominant tree saplings of TDF affected by seasonal changes in SMC at different habitats?,(ii)what is the relationship of functional attributes with each other?,(iii)how are the functional attributes and their plasticity affected by habitat con-ditions?and(iv)can the functional attributes in single or in com-bination predict the growth rate of tree saplings of TDF?The study was conducted on four sites(Hathinala,Gaighat,Harnakachar and Ranitali,listed in order of decreasing SMC)within the tropical dry deciduous forest in northern India.Methods We analysed eight leaf attributes,specific leaf area(SLA);leaf dry matter content(LDMC);leaf nitrogen concentration(leaf N);leaf phosphorus concentration(leaf P);chlorophyll concentration(Chl);mass-based photosynthetic rate(Amass);mass-based stomatal con-ductance(Gsmass);intrinsic water use efficiency(WUEi)and three growth attributes,relative diameter increment(RDI);relative height increment(RHI);relative growth rate(RGR)of the 10 dominant tree saplings(viz.,Acacia catechu,Anogeissus latifolia,Boswellia serrata,Buchanania lanzan,Diospyros melanoxylon,Hardwickia binata,Lagerstroemia parviflora,Lannea coromandelica,Shorea robusta and Terminalia tomentosa)of a TDF and observed the effects of site,season and species for a period of 2 years.Saplings were selected in gradients of deciduousness.Step-wise multiple regression was performed to predict RDI,RHI and RGR from mean values of SMC and leaf attributes.Important Findings All the 11 attributes were interrelated and differed significantly among the 10 saplings.Species response varied across sites and seasons.Across the SMC gradient,the attributes showed variable plasticity that differed across species.Among the 10 saplings,the highly deciduous Boswellia serrata showed the maximum plasticity in seven functional attributes.According to the step-wise multiple regressions,65%variability in RDI and 67%variability in RGR were due to Gsmass,and for RHI,61%variability was due to Amass.SMC and the other attributes,viz.,SLA,Chl,WUEi and LDMC in combination could contribute only for~2-6%of the variability in RDI,RHI and RGR,which indicates that other traits/factors,not accounted in this study are also important in modulating the growth of tree saplings in TDFs.In conclusion,growth of the tree saplings in the tropical dry environment is determined by soil moisture,whereas the response of saplings of different tree species is modulated by alterations in key functional attributes such as SLA,Chl,WUEi and LDMC.