Simulated Leaching Research on the Effects of Sewage Sludge on Nutrients and Heavy Metals in Aeolian Sandy Soil

[ Objective] The study aims at discussing the feasibility of urban sewage sludge applied to desertification forestland. [ Method] Through the simulated leaching test, the effects of sewage sludge application on the content of nutrients and heavy metals in aeolian sandy soil were ana- lyzed. [ Result] After the simulated leaching with sewage sludge, the contents of total nitrogen （TN）, total phosphorus （TP）, available nitrogen （AN） and available phosphorus （AP） in each layer of aeolian sandy soil increased significantly, and the increase in 0 -20 cm soil was more signifi- cant than that in 20 -40 and 40 -60 cm soil. Meanwhile, the content of each heavy metal in 0 -20 cm soil rose significantly, while the increase was small in 40 -60 cm soil. In addition, after the application of sewage sludge, the Nemrew Index of aeolian sandy soil was 0.67, lower than the na- tional soil quality standard of forestland （0.70）, and the short-time application of sewage sludge to sandy soil did not cause serious pollution. How- ever, if sewage sludge has been applied to aeolian sandy soil for a long term, the potential hazard of heavy metals （especially Cd） caused by loneterm accumulation should be paid more attention to.

Continuous cropping of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) reduces bacterial diversity and simplifies cooccurrence networks in aeolian sandy soil

Alfalfa is a perennial herbaceous forage legume that is remarkably and negatively affected by monocropping.However,the contribution of the changes in bacterial communities to soil sickness in alfalfa have not been elucidated.Therefore,we investigated bacterial community structures in response to monocropped alfalfa along the chronosequence.Continuous cropping remarkably reduced bacterial alpha diversity and altered community structures,and soil pH,total P and available P were strongly associated with the changes of bacterial diversity and community structures.Intriguingly,10 years of monocropped alfalfa might be a demarcation point separating soil bacterial community structures into two obvious groups that containing soil samples collected in less and more than 10 years.The relative abundances of copiotrophic bacteria of Actinobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria significantly increased with the extension of continuous cropping years,while the oligotrophic bacteria of Armatimonadetes,Chloroflexi,Firmicutes and Gemmatimonadetes showed the opposite changing patterns.Among those altered phyla,Actinobacteria,Chloroflexi,Alphaproteobacteria and Acidobacteria were the most important bacteria which contributed 50.86%of the community variations. Additionally, the relative abundances of nitrogen fixation bacteria ofBradyrhizobium and Mesorhizobium obviously increased with continuous cropping years, while theabundances of Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Burkholderiaceae and Microbacterium with potential functionsof solubilizing phosphorus and potassium remarkably decreased after long-term continuouscropping. Furthermore, bacterial cooccurrence patterns were significantly influenced by continuouscropping years, with long-term monocropped alfalfa simplifying the complexity of the cooccurrencenetworks. These findings enhanced our understandings and provided references for forecasting howsoil bacterial communities responds to monocropped alfalfa.

The Characters and Effect of Potassium in the Aeolian Sand Soil on Growth and Quality of Wine-Grapes in Ningxia

The paper reports the study on validity, absorbing and using in potassium of wine-grapes grown on aeolian sandy soil in Ningxia. The result shows that the content of slow release potassium and available potassium is low. The amount of available potassium and fixed potassium increases with raising amount of applied potash. Slow release potassium can be quickly replenished when available potassium is depleted, but slow release potassium is exhausted too, and the buffering capacity of supplying potassium is low. The content of potassium in grains and plants increases with the increasing amount of applied K in different treatments. The sequence of potassium recovery rate in different soil is as follows: sand-loam>fine-sand>coarse-sand. The capacity of supplying potassium in high-fertility soil is better than that in low-fertility soil, and rate of potassium recovery is high. Potassium nutrient affects growth and quality of wine-grapes.

Distribution of 137Cs and 60Co in plough layer of farmland: Evidenced from a lysimeter experiment using undisturbed soil columns

Radionuclide fallout during nuclear accidents on the land may impair the atmosphere, contaminate farmland soils and crops, and can even reach the groundwater. Previous research focused on the field distribution of deposited radionuclides in farmland soils, but details of the amounts of radionuclides in the plough layer and the changes in their proportional distribution in the soil profile with time are still inadequate. In this study, a lysimeter experiment was conducted to determine the vertical migration of 137Cs and 60Co in brown and aeolian sandy soils, collected from the farmlands adjoining Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant(NPP) in eastern China, and to identify the factors influencing their migration depths in soil. At the end of the experiment(800 d), >96% of added 137Cs and 60Co were retained in the top 0–20 cm soil layer of both soils;very little 137Cs or 60Co initially migrated to 20–30 cm, but their amounts at this depth increased with time. The migration depth of 137Cs was greater in the aeolian sandy soil than in the brown soil during 0–577 d, but at the end of the experiment, 137Cs migrated to the same depth(25 cm) in both soils. Three phases on the vertical migration rate(v) of 60Co in the aeolian sandy soil can be identified: an initial rapid movement(0–355 d, v = 219 ± 17 mm year-1), followed by a steady movement(355–577 d, v = 150 ± 24 mm year-1) and a very slow movement(577–800 d, v = 107 ± 7 mm year-1). In contrast, its migration rate in the brown soil(v = 133 ± 17 mm year-1) was steady throughout the 800-d experimental period. The migration of both 137Cs and 60Co in the two soils appears to be regulated by soil clay and silt fractions that provide most of the soil surface area, soil organic carbon(SOC), and soil pH, which were manifested by the solid-liquid distribution coefficient of 137Cs and 60Co. The results of this study suggest that most 137Cs and 60Co remained within the top layer(0–20 cm depth) of farmland soils following a simulated NPP accident, and little reached the subsurface(20–30 cm depth). Fixation of radionuclides onto clay minerals may limit their migration in soil, but some could be laterally distributed by soil erosion and taken up by crops, and migrate into groundwater in a high water table level area after several decades.Remediation measures, therefore, should focus on reducing their impact on the farmland soils, crops, and water.