Temporal and environmental factors drive community structure and function of methanotrophs in volcanic forest soils

Methanotrophs,organisms that obtain oxygen by oxidizing methane,are recognized as the only known biological sink for atmospheric CH_4,and forest soil methanotrophs play crucial roles in mitigating global warming.The succession patterns of methanotrophic communities and functions in Wudalianchi volcano forest soils could provide a basis for the study of evolutionary mechanisms between soil microorganisms,the environment,and carbon cycling of temperate forest ecosystems under climate change.In this study,the characteristics and drivers of methanotrophic community structure and function of two volcanic soils at different stages of development are analyzed,including an old volcano and a new volcano,which most recently erupted 300 years and 17-19×10^(5)years ago,respectively,and a non-volcano hills as control,based on space for time substitution and Miseq sequencing and bioinformation technology.The results showed that CH_(4) fluxes were significantly higher in old-stage volcano forest soils than new-stage forest soils and non-volcano forest soils.There were significant differences in the community composition and diversity of soil methanotrophs from different volcano forest soils.Methylococcus was the dominant genus in all soil samples.Additionally,the relative abundance of Methylococcus,along with Clonothrix,Methyloglobulus,Methylomagum,Methylomonas and Methylosarcina,were the important genera responsible for the differences in methanotrophic community structure in different volcano forest soils.The relative abundance of methanotroph belonging toγ-proteobacteria was significantly higher than that belonging toα-proteobacteria(P<0.05).Chao1,Shannon and Simpson indices of soil methanotrophic community were significantly lower in new-stage volcanos and were significantly affected by bulk density,total porosity,p H,nitrate,dissolved organic carbon and dissolved organic nitrogen.There were significant differences in community structure between new-stage and old-stage volcanoes.Bulk density and p H are important soil properties contributing to the divergence of methanotrophs community structure,and changes in soil properties due to soil development time are important factors driving differences in methanotrophs communities in Wudalianchi volcanic soils.

Effects of soil moisture and temperature on CH_4 oxidation and N_2O emission of forest soil

Soil samples were taken from depth of 0-12cm in the virgin broad- leaved/Korean pine mixed forest in Changbai Mountain in April, 2000. 20 μL·L-1 and 200 μL·L-1 CH4 and N2O concentration were supplied for analysis. Laboratory study on CH4 oxidation and N2O emission in forest soil showed that fresh soil sample could oxidize atmospheric methane and product N2O. Air-dried soil sample could not oxidize atmospheric methane, but could produCt N2O. However, it could oxidize the supplied methane quickly when its concentration was higher than 20 μL·L-1. The oxidation rate of methane was increased with its initial concentration. An addition of water to dry soil caused large pulse of N2O emissions within 2 hours. There were curvilinear correlations between N2O emission and temperature (r2=0.706, p <0.05), and between N2O emission andtwater content (r2=0.2968. p <0.05). These suggested temperature and water content were important factors controlling N2O emission. The correlation between CH4 oxidization and temperature was also found while CH4 was supplied 200 μL·L-1 (r2 =0.3573, p<0.05). Temperature was an important f8Ctor controlling CH4 oxidation. However, when 20 μL·L-1 CH4 was supplied, there was no correlation among CH4 oxidization, N2O emission, temperature and water content.

Nitrification and denitrification as sources of gaseous nitrogen emission from different forest soils in Changbai Mountain

The contributions of nitrification and denitrification to N2O and N2 emissions from four forest soils on northern slop of Changbai Mountain were measured with acetylene inhibition methods. In incubation experiments, 0.06% and 3% C2H2 were used to inhibit nitrification and denitrification in these soils, respectively. Both nitrification and denitification existed in these soils except tundra soil, where only denitrification was found. The annually averaged rates of nitrification and denitrification in mountain dark brown forest soil were much higher than that in other three soils. In mountain brown coniferous soil, contributions of different processes to gaseous nitrogen emissions were Denitrification N2O>nitrification N2O>Denitrification N2. The same sequence exists in mountain soddy soil as that in the mountain brown coniferous soil. The sequence in mountain tundra soil was Denitrification N2O>Denitrification N2.

Composition and ecological distribution of forest soil animalin Confucian graveyard of Qufu

Soil animal communities of Secondary forest,Platycladus forest andQuercus acutissima forest in Confucian graveyard of Qufu were investigated. 3583 specimens were collected, belonging separately to 5 Phylums, 11 Classes and 23 Orders. Two dominant groups and 9 common groups account for 94.45% of the total numbers. The soil animals in these three forest habitats differ in composition, ecological distribution and important indices. The dominant groups of soil animals in the three forests were the same, but other groups differ more greatly. Diversity index (H′) and evenness index (E) of soil animal in Secondary forest are the highest, and yet dominance index (C) inQuercus acutissima forest is the highest. Most soil animals in each forest habitats congregate to the surface soil layer. Their sorts and individual numbers are all layer I>II>III. It is very similar for composition of soil animals in the three forests.

Effect of Rock Fragments on Tracer Transport in Broadleaved and Coniferous Forest Soils: Column Study

This study investigated the effect of rock fragments on tracer transport in broadleaved and coniferous forest soils from the 0 - 100 cm depth of Gongga Mountain in eastern margin of Qinghai Tibetan Plateau. Using repacked soil columns (20 cm in height and 10 cm in diameter) with different rock fragments contents (0%, 5%, and 15% in v/v), breakthrough curves of bromide (as non-reactive tracer) were obtained under saturated condition. A two-region model was applied and the parameters were estimated by inverse modeling. Results show that with increasing rock fragment content the dispersivity (λ) generally increased while the mobile-immobile partition coefficient (β) and the mass transfer coefficient (ω) decreased. The presence of rock fragments led to an increase in the fraction of immobile domain as well as soil tortuosity. A plausible explanation is that the soil beneath the rock fragments behaved as immobile domain and soil-rock interfaces could serve as preferential flow paths.

The Research of Forest Soil Organic Carbon Accumulation in Dabie Mountain

In subtropical to warm temperate transitional zone of the Dabie Mountains hinterland forest topsoil as the research object this text,through the different levels of soil bulk density,organic carbon content of the determination of analytical studies in the area of forest surface soil organic carbon density.Because of the ecological role of small environment,the study area within the soil bulk density increased with depth,surface soil porosity,and bulk density from top to bottom in 0.8.All measuring points are the 0-10 cm surface layer soil organic carbon content are highest,content between 67.232-61.940 g/kg,this,because the forest soil organic carbon important source withers and falls in the vegetation stack and rotten.Different measuring point organic carbon along with depth change characteristic slightly different,low elevation the measuring point soil organic carbon content increases the monotonous drop along with the depth,the elevation is high,the measuring point slightly has in the 30-40 cm depth content increases.The comprehensive bulk specific gravity factor computation,the 0-40 cm soil organic carbon total content slightly has along with altitude above sea level’s rise increases,each square meter organic carbon content between 16 560.5-18 354.6 g,studies the region 0-40 cm soil organic carbon content mean value by 3 measuring points mean value achievement,then this region 0-40 cm soil organic carbon density approximately 174.3 t/hm2;Refers to the related research between the surface layer and the 0-100 cm soil layer organic carbon content relational reckoning,studies the region 0-100 cm soil organic carbon density to be possible to reach 233.9 t/hm2,it indicated that the Dabie Mountain area forest soil system has the giant organic carbon capacity.

Assessment of Forest Soil Fertility in Yunfu City based on Grey Correlation

Due to the spatial heterogeneity of forest soil,it is a difficult problem to evaluate the forest soil fertility on a large scale.This study conducted a grid survey of forest soil in Yunfu City,Guangdong Province,and used the the gray correlation system to evaluate forest soil fertility in each county.The results showed that the effect of using the gray correlation analysis to evaluate soil fertility in Yunfu city was ideal,and the fertilizer strength in each county was in order of Yunan,Yun'an,Yuncheng,Xinxing,and Luoding.The results can provide an appropriate scientific basis for forestry division within the county scale.

Effect of Simulated Acid Rain on Potential Carbon and Nitrogen Mineralization in Forest Soils

Acid rain is a serious environmental problem worldwide. In this study, a pot experiment using forest soils planted with the seedlings of four woody species was performed with weekly treatments of pH 4.40, 4.00, 3.52, and 3.05 simulated acid rain (SAR) for 42 months compared to a control of pH 5.00 lake water. The cumulative amounts of C and N mineralization in the five treated soils were determined after incubation at 25 ℃ for 65 d to examine the effects of SAR treatments. For all five treatments, cumulative CO2-C production ranged from 20.24 to 27.81 mg kg-1 dry soil, net production of available N from 17.37 to 48.95 mg kg-1 dry soil, and net production of NO-3 -N from 9.09 to 46.23 mg kg-1 dry soil. SAR treatments generally enhanced the emission of CO2-C from the soils; however, SAR with pH 3.05 inhibited the emission. SAR treatments decreased the net production of available N and NO3-N. The cumulative CH4 and N2O productions from the soils increased with increasing amount of simulated acid rain. The cumulative CO2-C production and the net production of available N of the soil under Acmena acuminatissima were significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) than those under Schima superba and Cryptocarya concinna. The mineralization of soil organic C was related to the contents of soil organic C and N, but was not related to soil pH. However, the overall effect of acid rain on the storage of soil organic matter and the cycling of important nutrients depended on the amount of acid deposition and the types of forests.

Study on Variation in ^(15)N Natural Abundance. Ⅰ. Characteristics of Variation in ^(25)N Natural Abundance of Forest Soils

INTRODUCTION A lot 0fwork has been done on the variation of natural ^(15)N abundance in soils andtheir N components (Chen et al., 1964). However, these reports mostly concerned thegeochemical mean of natural ^(15)N abundance, and only a little work has been done on thecharacteristics of variation of the natural ^(15)N abundance in different ecosystems and itsrelationship with the properties and conditions of soil, which is the aim of our recent re-

Quantification of 3D macropore networks in forest soils in Touzhai valley(Yunnan,China)using X-ray computed tomography and image analysis

The three dimensional(3D) geometry of soil macropores largely controls preferential flow, which is a significant infiltrating mechanism for rainfall in forest soils and affects slope stability. However, detailed studies on the 3D geometry of macropore networks in forest soils are rare. The intense rainfall-triggered potentially unstable slopes were threatening the villages at the downstream of Touzhai valley(Yunnan, China). We visualized and quantified the 3D macropore networks in undisturbed soil columns(Histosols) taken from a forest hillslope in Touzhai valley, and compared them with those in agricultural soils(corn and soybean in USA; barley, fodder beet and red fescue in Denmark) and grassland soils in USA. We took two large undisturbed soil columns(250 mm×250 mm×500 mm), and scanned the soil columns at in-situ soil water content conditions using X-ray computed tomography at a voxel resolution of 0.945 × 0.945 × 1.500 mm^3. After reconstruction and visualization, we quantified the characteristics of macropore networks. In the studiedforest soils, the main types of macropores were root channels, inter-aggregate voids, macropores without knowing origin, root-soil interface and stone-soil interface. While macropore networks tend to be more complex, larger, deeper and longer. The forest soils have high macroporosity, total macropore wall area density, node density, and large macropore volume, hydraulic radius, mean macropore length, angle, and low tortuosity. The findings suggest that macropore networks in the forest soils have high interconnectivity, vertical continuity, linearity and less vertically oriented.

Determination of forest soil organic nitrogen determination using technique of X-ray absorption near-edge structure

森林土器官的 N 用 N 小锚 X 光检查 absorptionnear 边结构(XANES ) 被调查在数量获得卓见进在 N 种形成和它的转变之间的关系。土壤样品在中央台湾从云杉，铁杉和松森林被收集。结果证明各种各样的器官的 N 类型能被 XANES 系列揭示。酰胺和 pyrrolic N 是在腐殖的物质，可溶的有机氮和原来的土壤的作文的主要部分。N 种形成的相对分发在处理和植被样品不同。云杉在可溶的有机氮(儿子) 从铁杉有重要差别在 402.3 eV 精力的系列达到顶点。在 A 地平线土壤，相对数量 ofpyridinic N 在 O 地平线土壤比那高得多，显示在在矿物质地平线的数量的 N 转变在器官的地平线与那不同，它可能在森林生态系统骑车的 N 起一个重要作用。

Forest Soil Management: A Mexican Experience

Forests improve the livelihoods and resilience of communities in diverse ways. In particular, soils provide important environmental services for communities in addition to performing many essential ecological functions in forest ecosystems, such as nutrient uptake, organic matter decomposition, water storage, and provision of anchorage for plant growth. The sound management of forest soils, although often disregarded, is a key element of sustainable forest management. From 2002 to 2016 the Forest Soil Conservation and Restoration Sub-Program was designed and implemented by the National Forest Commission (CONAFOR) in Mexico. Forests in Mexico have high biological diversity and are often owned, governed, and managed by communities or, in some cases, community forestry is practiced. Despite the importance of periodic monitoring to ensure that policies are both effective and suitable for diverse conditions and decision making, the policies implemented by this program were not evaluated during its years of operation. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to identify the deficiencies of this policy as well as opportunities based on a review of the official information available on the Forest Soil Conservation and Restoration Sub-Program of CONAFOR during the 2002-2016 period and interviews with key informants. In addition, we aimed to highlight experiences that may be useful for similar soil conservation policies in tropical forest regions. The identified limitations ranged from conceptual problems such as policy weakness and lack of understanding of local drivers of soil degradation to an overly rigid implementation of soil conservation measures across diverse forest ecosystems and socio-ecological contexts. These deficiencies had several unintended outcomes: perhaps the most relevant was the inability of forest communities to build capacities for soil conservation. Another important limitation was the complete lack of monitoring of the program and its outcomes, which could have prevented its poor results. Finally, a lack of transparency in the distribution and determination of funding was noted. In conclusion, the hierarchical approach of this policy appears to have compromised its long-term efficacy.

Heavy Metal Fluxes in Tropical Urban Forest Soil in Abidjan District (Côte d’Ivoire)

In Western Africa, the growth of cities has led to natural resource pollution, especially air pollution. Urban forests play a key role in filtering atmospheric particles and pollutants through the canopy before reaching the soil. This study aims to quantify heavy metal fluxes in an urban forest in the district of Abidjan in order to assess its role in the protection of natural resources. A monitoring of wet deposition (throughfall and open field rain) and litterfall was carried out for six months in the urban forest of the National Floristic Center located in Abidjan, C?te d’Ivoire. The results show that the soil of this urban forest is a ferralsol type characterized by a sandy-clay texture and a low load of coarse elements. The annual litterfall is estimated to 12.16 ± 0.71 t·ha-1·yr-1, similar to other tropical forests. Annual quantities of rain and throughfall are in the range of the rainfall recorded in the district of Abidjan (2013 ± 152 and 1773 ± 51 mm). Chemical analyses showed that litter and rainfall contain Mn, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd and Hg. Manganese and Zn are the most abundant elements and Hg the least abundant in both rainfall and litter. The main source of input of the heavy metals into the urban forest soil is associated with biological recycling through the litter. The litterfall contributes to metal fluxes in soil 109 times greater than metal fluxes carry by wet depositions (open field rain and throughfall). However, a detailed study of rainfall showed that the forest canopy constitutes a barrier for the transfer of heavy metal to urban soil. This is indicated by a decrease in heavy metal content from open field rain to throughfall. Consequently, this study recommends the creation and maintenance of urban forests to increase biomass canopy and improve atmospheric air quality for West African cities undergoing constant change and development.

A STUDY ON BUFFERING CAPACITY OF THE FOREST SOIL AGAINST ACIDIC PRECIPITATION IN SEVERAL AREAS OF CHINA

Soil samples from several forest areas in China were analyzed by X-ray powder diffractometry after mineral separation and enrichment. The density gradient separation method with sequential extraction by acetone-methylene iodide mixtures was applied for the separation of fine sand fraction of soil samples. The clay fraction (【 2μm) was separated from silt fraction of soil samples prior to examination. Mineral components in some fine sand and clay samples were compared, and their weathering potentiality and buffering capacity against acidic precipitation were discussed.

Effect of Compaction on Physical and Micromorphological Properties of Forest Soils

The objective of this research was to assess the effect of skidding machinery on soil physical and micromorphological properties. The different positions (control or non-traffic areas, left wheel track, right wheel track and log track) and two soil depths (0 - 10 and 10 - 20 cm) in three repetitions were investigated. The results showed that average soil dry bulk density in four positions and two soil depths were significantly different. Comparison of average total porosity percentage and soil saturated hydraulic conductivity revealed that there were significant differences in four positions and two soil depths. Soil thin section studies using Image Tool software showed that in compacted samples there was an increase in the number of vughs voids and channels voids were in low occurrence. Micromorphological studies showed that soil compaction caused void size to decrease. In compacted samples voids bigger than 10 μm were very rare and dominant voids size was 2 μm. In compacted samples soil structure were damaged and aggregates were compressed. Also soil matrix was compressed and microstructure was massive. Results from this study confirmed that skidding machinery had a significant effect on soil physical and morphological properties. These changes causes soil and environmental degradation due to reduction in water infiltration increasing soil erosion risk.

How does organic matter affect the physical and mechanical properties of forest soil?

Determining the physical and mechanical properties of soil and its behavior for engineering projects is essential for road construction operations. One of the most important principles in forest road construction, which is usually neglected, is to avoid mixing organic matter with road materials during excavation and embankment construction. The current study aimed to assess the influence of organic matter on the physical properties and mechanical behaviors of forest soil and to analyze the relation between the amount of organic matter and the behavior of forest soil as road material. A typical soil sample from the study area was collected beside a newly constructed roadbed. The soil was mixed with different percentages of organic matter（control treatment, 5, 10, and 15% by mass） and different tests including Atterberg limits, standard compaction, and California bearing ratio（CBR） tests were conducted on these different soil mixtures. The results showed that soil plasticity increased linearly with increasing organic matter.Increasing the organic matter from 0%（control） to 15%resulted in an increase of 11.64% of the plastic limit and 15.22% of the liquid limit after drying at 110 ℃. Also,increasing the organic matter content reduced the soil maximum dry density and increased the optimum moisture content. Increasing the organic matter from 0 to 15% resulted in an increase of 11.0% of the optimum moisture content and a decrease of 0.29 g/cm;of the maximum dry density. Organic matter decreased the CBR, which is used as the index of road strength. Adding 15% organic matter to the soil resulted in a decrease of the CBR from 15.72 to 4.75%. There was a significant difference between the two drying temperatures（60 and 110 ℃） for the same organic matter mixtures with lower water content values after drying at 60 ℃. The results revealed the adverse influence of organic matter on soil engineering properties and showed the importance of organic matter removal before excavation and fill construction.

Simulating study on the effect of acid precipitation on forest soil weathering

The effect of acid rain on the forest soils in China was discussed on the basis of simulating studies. The soils were collected from five typical areas, including Chongqing in Sichuan Province and Guiyang in Guizhou Province, where there has been heavier acid rain in southwest China, and Huitong in Hunan Province, Zhouzhi in Shaanxi Province, and Xinglong in Hebei Province, all of which were selected as control. Field investigation and sampling were made in the typical forests in all the above five areas. The relationship between pH values in precipitation and rates of soil weathering, the difference between the rates of soil weathering in different areas, and the cause of such a difference, have been worked out. The prediction was also conducted on the supply dynamics of nutrient and toxic elements in various forest ecosystems which were affected by acid deposition in order to understand the long-term effects of acid precipitation on the forest ecosystems studied.

Effects of Sawdust, Forest Soil and Cow Dung Mixtures on Growth Characteristics of Blue Gum (<i>Eucalyptus saligna</i>) Seedlings in South Kinangop Forest, Nyandarua, Kenya

Forestation programs, in Kenya have been hindered by, among others, high cost of tree seedling production and longtime seedlings stay in the nursery. This has been attributed to poor quality of forest soil and unavailability of alternative growth media. Study was carried out in South Kinangop forest station to evaluate the potential of mixing sawdust and cow dung with forest soil to form a nutrient rich growth media. Using forest soil;sawdust, cow dung and mixture of these components, this study sought to determine growth characteristics of Eucalyptus saligna seedlings under different conditions available in the nursery. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with six treatments comprising of Saw dust alone (Tr 1), Forest soil alone (Tr 2);Sawdust: Cow dung mixture in the ratio of 1:1 (Tr 3);Forest soil to Sawdust-Cow dung mixture (1:1) in ratio of 1:1 by weight (Tr 4);Forest soil to Sawdust-Cow dung mixture (1:1) in ratio of 1:2 by weight (Tr 5) and Forest soil to Sawdust-Cow dung (1:1) in ratio of 1:3 by weight (Tr 6). Treatments were replicated three times and an experimental unit consisted of 110 seedlings of which 15 were tagged for height and root collar diameter measurement. The remaining 95 were used for biomass determination by destructive sampling. The results showed that Sawdust: Cow dung mixtures (Tr 3) had the highest measurements for height, root collar diameter and biomass at week 20 when compared to the rest of growth mixtures. Height measurements were significantly high (13.81 cm) for the Sawdust: Cow dung mixtures while the variation in root collar diameter and biomass were not significantly different among the treatments. Sawdust alone did not favor seedling growth and recorded the lowest measurements in height, root collar diameter and biomass. Nutrient release from the growth media during the experimental period was equally high for the Saw dust: Cow dung mixture (Tr 3) which was ideal media for raising tree seedlings. The findings of this study illustrate the usability of sawdust and cow dung in enhancing the productivity of tree nurseries and shortening the time taken for raising seedlings in the tree nursery. The findings also propose a safe disposal of saw dust that poses as an environmental waste.

Effect of acid precipitation on leaching of nutritions and aluminium from forest soils

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