Characteristics of In-Situ Soil Water Hysteresis Observed through Multiple-Years Monitoring

A soil water retention curve (SWRC) is an essential soil physical property for analyzing transport and retention of water in a soil layer. A SWRC is often described as a single-valued function that relates the soil water potential ψ to volumetric water content θ of the soil. However, an in-situ ψ − θ relation should show soil water hysteresis, though this fact is often neglected in analyses of field soil water regimes while long-term in-situ soil water hysteresis is not well characterized. This study aimed at probing and characterizing in-situ ψ − θ relations. The developments of large hysteresis in the in-situ ψ − θ relations were observed only a few times during the study period of 82 months. Any of the large hysteretic behaviors in the ψ − θ relations began with an unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. The completion of a hysteresis loop required a recorded maximum rainfall. Because the study field had very small chances to meet such strong rainfall events, it took multiple years to restore the fraction of soil water depleted by the unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. While wetting-drying cycles had occurred within a certain domain of ψ, hysteretic behaviors tended to be so small that the in-situ ψ − θ relation can be approximated as a single-valued function of θ(ψ). These observed patterns of the in-situ ψ − θ relations were characterized by kinds of difference in dθ/dψ between a drying process and a wetting process at a given ψ. Thus, more amounts of experimental facts about wetting SWRCs in parallel with drying SWRCs should be needed for correct modelling, analyzing, and predicting soil water regimes in fields. It is also necessary to increase our understandings about the long-term trends of occurrences of extreme weather conditions associated with possible change in climate.

The effect of soil moisture on the response by fungi and bacteria to nitrogen additions for N_(2)O production

In addition to bacteria,the contribution of fungi to nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)production has been recognized but the responses of these two broad and unrelated groups of microorganisms to global environmental changes,atmospheric nitrogen(N)deposition,and precipitation in terms of N_(2)O production are unclear.We studied how these two microbial-mediated N_(2)O production pathways responded to soil moisture conditions and to N addition in an N-limited temperate forest.Soils from a long-term N addition experiment in Changbai Mountain,northeastern China were incubated.Varied concentrations of cycloheximide and streptomycin,both inhibitors of fungal and bacterial activity,were used to determine the contributions of both to N_(2)O production in 66%,98%and 130%water-filled pore spaces(WFPS).The results showed that N_(2)O production decreased significantly with increasing cycloheximide concentration whereas streptomycin was only inhibiting N_(2)O emissions at 98%and 130%WFPS.The bacterial pathway of N_(2)O production in N-addition(Nadd)soil was significantly more dominant than that in untreated(Namb)soil.The difference in the fungal pathway of N_(2)O production between the soil with nitrogen addition and the untreated soil was not significant.Net N_(2)O emissions increased with increasing soil moisture,especially at 130%WFPS,a completely flooded condition.Bacteria dominated carbon dioxide(CO_(2))and N_(2)O emissions in Nadd soil and at 130%WFPS regardless of N status,while fungi dominated CO_(2)and N_(2)O emissions in soil without N addition at 66%and 98%WFPS.The results suggest that flooded soil is an important source of N_(2)O emissions and that bacteria might be better adapted to compete in fertile soils under anoxic conditions.

A Comparative Study of the Cellular Microscopic Characteristics and Mechanisms of Maize Seedling Damage from Superabsorbent Polymers

Superabsorbent polymers(SAPs) as soil moisture conditioners have been increasingly used in agriculture, but conflicting results were reported regarding the effects of SAPs on crop growth. In this study, both laboratory cultivation and analysis were conducted to investigate the effects of different SAPs on the growth and physiology of crops under water-saving agricultural practices. Maize(Zea mays L.) seedlings were cultivated using distilled water or three different SAP hydrogels, sodium polyacrylate(SP), potassium polyacrylate(PP), and sodium polyacrylate embedded with phosphate rock powder(SPP), as growth media. Growth characteristics of the model plant and damage were assessed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The results showed that both the SP and PP treatments had pronounced negative effect on the hydrogels of growth of maize seedlings. The SPP treatment appeared to facilitate the stem-leaf growth and had no obvious adverse effect on root growth. All the three hydrogel treatments caused varying degrees of damage to the organizational structure and cellular morphology of the roots, with the SP and PP treatments causing the most severe damage; the membrane system of root cells was damaged by both SP and PP treatments. An excessive accumulation of sodium and reduction of calcium occurred in the roots may be responsible for the observed damage to the cell membrane system, which, in turn, may have promoted the wilting of the cells.