Differential Expression of Genes Related to Fruit Development and Capsaicinoids Synthesis in Habanero Pepper Plants Grown in Contrasting Soil Types

Habanero pepper(Capsicum chinense Jacq.)is a crop of economic relevance in the Peninsula of Yucatan.Its fruits have a high level of capsaicinoids compared to peppers grown in other regions of the world,which gives them industrial importance.Soil is an important factor that affects pepper development,nutritional quality,and capsaicinoid content.However,the effect of soil type on fruit development and capsaicinoid metabolism has been little understood.This work aimed to compare the effect of soils with contrasting characteristics,black soil(BS)and red soil(RS),on the expression of genes related to the development of fruits,and capsaicinoid synthesis using a transcriptomic analysis of the habanero pepper fruits.Plants growing in RS had bigger fruits and higher expression of genes related to floral development,fruit abscission,and softening which suggests that RS stimulates fruit development from early stages until maturation stages.Fruits from plants growing in BS had enrichment in metabolic pathways related to growth,sugars,and photosynthesis.Besides,these fruits had higher capsaicinoid accumulation at 25 days post-anthesis,and higher expression of genes related to the branched-chain amino acids metabolism(ketol-acid reductisomerase KARI),pentose phosphate pathway and production of NADPH(glucose-6-phosphate-1-dehydrogenase G6PDH),and proteasome and vesicular traffic in cells(26S proteasome regulatory subunit T4 RPT4),which suggest that BS is better in the early stimulation of pathways related to the nutritional quality and capsaicinoid metabolism in the fruits.

Soil Organic Carbon Stock Variation under Different Soil Types and Land Uses in the Sub-Humid Noun Plain, Western Cameroon

This study was conducted to assess the current stock of soil organic carbon under different agricultural land uses, soil types and soil depths in the Noun plain in western Cameroon. Three sites were selected for the study, namely Mangoum, Makeka and Fossang, representative of the three dominant soil types of the noun plain (Andosols, Acrisols and Ferralsols). Three land uses were selected per site including natural vegetation, agroforest and crop field. Soil was sampled at three depths;0 - 20 cm, 20 - 40 cm, and 40 - 60 cm. Analysis of variance showed that soil type did not significantly influence carbon storage, but rather land uses and soil depth. SOCS decreased significantly with depth in all the sites, with an average stock of 66.3 ± 15.8 tC/ha at 0 - 20 cm, compared to an average stock of 33.3 ± 7.4 tC/ha at 40 - 60 cm. SOCS was significantly highest in the natural formation with 57.2 ± 19.7 tC/ha, and lowest in cultivated fields, at 37.7 ± 10.6 tC/ha. Andosols, with their high content of coarse fragments, stored less organic carbon than Ferralsols and Acrisols.

REGIONAL DIFFERENTIATION OF CRITICAL CONCENTRATION OF ARSENIC(As) AND CADMIUM (Cd) IN MAIN SOIL TYPES OF CHINA

Studies of critical concentration distribution features of polluted elements of Cd and As in main soil types of China, such as laterite, crimson soil, purplish soil, yellow brown soil, brunisolic soil, black soil, cinnamon soil and sierozem revealed that soil types vary in different zones, so do their critical concentrations.The critical concentration has a zonal differentiation with the distribution of soil types from south to north, and from east to west. The critical concentration of Cd increases from south to north (yellow brown soil,brunisolic soil and cinnamon soil),and from east to west (black soil and sierozem). This coincides With changes of climate zones and soil zones. On the contrary, the critical concentration of Asdecreases from south to north and from east to west.

Distribution of antibiotic resistant bacteria in different soil types following manure application

ARB was investigated in different soil types following manure application.CTC-manure induced more resistance of soil indigenous microbes in fluvo-aquic soil.Lactobacillus,Dyella,Ralstonia,and Bacillus were the key different genera.Manure control is an effective way to reduce the risk of soil ARB.

Effects of self-healing biomimetic subsoiler on tillage resistance, wearcorrosion performance and soil disturbance morphology under different soil types

Subsoiling has been widely used all over the world as an important operation method of no-tillage farming.For energy-saving and life-extension,the tillage resistance and wear-corrosion of subsoilers have attracted wide attention.In this study,the tillage resistance,soil disturbance,wear and corrosion of subsoiler with S-T-SK-2#biomimetic structures(S means subsoiler;T means tine;SK means shank;2#,h/s=0.57,h=5 mm andα=45°.)and self-healing coating under two seasons,two locations with different soil properties(black loam and clay soil)and subsoiling speeds(2 km/h and 3.6 km/h)were investigated.The soil moisture content and compactness affected the tillage resistance and wear-corrosion.The tillage resistance and degree of corrosion on all subsoilers were much larger in clay soil than that in black loam soil.Compared with S-T-SK-2#,the tillage reduction rate of C-S-T-SK-2#(S-T-SK-2#with self-healing coating)was up to 14.32%in clay soil under the speed of 2 km/h.The significance tests of regression equation results showed that subsoiler type and soil properties had a significant impact on soil disturbance coefficient,swelling of total soil layer,bulkiness of the plough pan.It is of a guiding significance for the analysis of soil disturbance.Synergism mechanism of subsoiler coupling with biomimetic structures and self-healing coating was analyzed in following.It depicted the guiding effect of biomimetic structure and the shield function of self-healing coating,resulting in anticorrosion and wear resistance of subsoiler.

Soil erosion types in the loess hill and gully area of China

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Study on strength properties and soil behaviour type classification of Huanghe River Delta silts based on variable rate piezocone penetration test

Fine-grained silt is widely distributed in the Huanghe River Delta(HRD)in China,and the sedimentary structure is complex,meaning that the clay content in the silt is variable.The piezocone penetration test(CPTu)is the most widely approved in situ test method.It can be used to invert soil properties and interpret soil behavior.To analyse the strength properties of surface sediments in the HRD,this paper evaluated the friction angle and its inversion formula through the CPTu penetration test and monotonic simple shear test and other soil unit experiments.The evaluation showed that the empirical formula proposed by Kulhawy and Mayne had better prediction and inversion effect.The HRD silts with clay contents of 9.2%,21.4%and 30.3%were selected as samples for the CPTu variable rate penetration test.The results show as follows.(1)The effects of the clay content on the tip resistance and the pore pressure of silt under different penetration rates were summarized.The tip resistance Q_t is strongly dependent on the clay content of the silt,the B_(q)value of the silt tends to 0 and is not significantly affected by the change of the CPTu penetration rate.(2)Five soil behavior type classification charts and three soil behavior type indexes based on CPTu data were evaluated.The results show that the soil behavior type classification chart based on soil behavior type index ISBT,the Robertson 2010 behavior type classification chart are more suitable for the silty soil in the HRD.

Change of soil productivity in three different soils after long-term field fertilization treatments

Soil productivity(SP) without external fertilization influence is an important indicator for the capacity of a soil to support crop yield.However,there have been difficulties in estimating values of SPs for soils after various long-term field treatments because the treatment without external fertilization is used but is depleted in soil nutrients,leading to erroneous estimation.The objectives of this study were to estimate the change of SP across different cropping seasons using pot experiments,and to evaluate the steady SP value(which is defined by the basal contribution of soil itself to crop yield) after various longterm fertilization treatments in soils at different geographical locations.The pot experiments were conducted in Jinxian of Jiangxi Province with paddy soil,Zhengzhou of Henan Province with fluvo-aquic soil,and Gongzhuling of Jilin Province with black soils,China.Soils were collected after long-term field fertilization treatments of no fertilizer(control;CK-F),chemical fertilizer(NPK-F),and combined chemical fertilizer with manure(NPKM-F).The soils received either no fertilizer(F0) or chemical fertilizer(F1) for 3-6 cropping seasons in pots,which include CK-P(control;no fertilizer from long-term field experiments for pot experiments),NPK-P(chemical fertilizer from long-term field experiments for pot experiments),and NPKM-P(combined chemical and organic fertilizers from long-term field experiments for pot experiments).The yield data were used to calculate SP values.The initial SP values were high,but decreased rapidly until a relatively steady SP was achieved at or after about three cropping seasons for paddy and fluvo-aquic soils.The steady SP values in the third cropping season from CK-P,NPK-P,and NPKM-P treatments were 37.7,44.1,and 50.0% in the paddy soil,34.2,38.1,and 50.0% in the fluvo-aquic soil,with the highest value observed in the NPKM-P treatment for all soils.However,further research is required in the black soils to incorporate more than three cropping seasons.The partial least squares path mode(PLS-PM) showed that total N(nitrogen) and C/N ratio(the ratio of soil organic carbon and total N) had positive effects on the steady SP for all three soils.These findings confirm the significance of the incorporation of manure for attaining high soil productivity.Regulation of the soil C/N ratio was the other main factor for steady SP through fertilization management.

THE INFLUENCE OF FERTILIZERS, NaHCO_3,SOIL TYPE ON CHEMISTRY OF FLOODED SOILS AND RICE PLANT GROWTH

This research was conducted to study the influence of NaHCO3and fertilizer treatments on flooded soils tothe chemistry of soil and rice plant growth.The experiment was done in a greenhouse using a split-split plot design ofthree factors: two types of soil,three doses of fertilizers and three levels of NaHCO3with three replications.The firstfactor was two kind of soils Fluvaquent and Calciquert,the factor was without nutrient(blank),macro nutrients,andcompletely nutrients(second macro and micro nutrients),and the third factor was 0 mg/kg,200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kgof NaHCO3or equivalent with 0 mg,1 200 mg and 2 400 mg NaHCO3per pot.Each experimental unit used a pot of 10L capacity and filled with soil mud equivalent with 6 kg of dried soil.After each of treatment combination mixed into themud soil,two plants of IR-32 variety were grown,and flooded at5 cm high accordingly with growth period.Parametersobserved were the growth of tillers,electrical conductivity(E.C.) and pH.The experiment results showed that the treatment of NaHCO3increased the soluble salt content(E.C.) and soilacidity(pH) during flooding on Calciquerts and Fluvaquents.The content of soluble salt decreased to 2.0 mmhos/cm,while pHon Calciquert decreased towards the neutral pH.Anyhowthe pHon Fluvaquents increased approach to neutral.The treatments of NaHCO3inhibited the tiller growth,either macro fertilizer and completely fertilizer increased thetillers,but did not improve the negative effect of alkalinity due to of NaHCOtreatment.

RATIONAL UTILIZATION OF MOUNTAIN SOILS IN SOUTHEAST QINGHAI-XIZANG (TIBETAN) PLATEAU

The southeast Qinghaicozang (Tibetan) Plateau is a physcal mpon ofvery complicated eco-envirorunent with optimum hydrothermal conditions. Thisregon conains not ouly vast expanse of alpine soils but also abounds in mosttypes of Chinese forest soils. The distributon and tallization of soils presents avery evident horizontal-vertical zonality. At present, panial soil resources arebeing damaged and the mountain ecology also tends to be instable. So rationalcuttin and forest conservation, barren mountain afferestation, retuming thecultivated land on stop slopes to forest, controlled graking, and soil ameliorationconstitute importan means for rational use of soil resources and improvement andstabilization of mountain ecology in tyis region

Soil carbon pool in China and its global significance

Soil organic carbon density and its related characteristics of 41 soil types all over China were analyzed by using data of 745 soil profiles , and size of soil carbon pool was estimated. As a result, area-weighted averages of these 41 soil types for bulk density, profile depth, organic carbon content and profile carbon were 1. 24 tC/m3, 86. 2 cm, 3. 04% and 19. 7 kg C/m2 respectively. Total size of soil carbon pool was 185. 68 × 1009tC, which is 29 times of that in terrestrial biomass of China and 12. 6% of global soil carbon pools. Because of its huge carbon pool, soil of China plays an important role in global carbon cycle.

The Estimation of Soil Trace Elements Distribution and Soil-Plant-Animal Continuum in Relation to Trace Elements Status of Sheep in Huangcheng Area of Qilian Mountain Grassland,China

The purpose of the present study was to survey contents of trace elements of Cu, Mn, Fe, and Zn in the surface layer （0-20 cm） in the soil, pasture and serum of sheep in Huangcheng area of Qilian mountain grassland, China. Also the soil-plantanimal continuum was analyzed. Soil （n=300）, pasture （n=60）, and blood serum samples from sheep （n=480） were collected from Huangcheng area of Qilian mountain grassland, China. The contents of trace element in the samples were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer after digestion. The soil trace elements density distribution shows a ladder-like pattern distribution. Equations developed in the present study for prediction of Fe （R2=0.943） and Zn （R2=0.882） had significant R2 values.

Influence of water potential and soil type on conventional japonica super rice yield and soil enzyme activities

We carried out a pool culture experiment to determine the optimal water treatment depth in loam and clay soils during the late growth stage of super rice. Three controlled water depth treatments of 0-5, 0-10 and 0-15 cm below the soil surface were established using alternate wetting and drying irrigation, and the soil water potential （0 to -25 kPa） was measured at 5, 10 and 15 cm. A 2-cm water layer was used as the control. We measured soil enzyme activities, root antioxidant enzyme activities, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and rice yield. The results showed that the 0-5-cm water depth treatment significantly increased root antioxidant enzyme activities in loam soil compared with the control, whereas soil enzyme activities, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and yield did not differ from those of the control. The 0-10- and 0-15-cm water depth treatments also increased root antioxidant enzyme activities, whereas soil enzyme activities, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and yield decreased. In clay soil, the soil enzyme activities, root antioxidant enzyme activities, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and yield did not change with the 0-5-cm water treatment, whereas the 0-10- and 0-15-cm water treatments improved these parameters. Therefore,the appropriate depths for soil water during the late growth period of rice with a 0 to -25 kPa water potential were 5 cm in loam and 15 cm in clay soil.

Spatial patterns of insect herbivory within a forest landscape:the role of soil type and forest stratum

Background:Insect herbivory has profound impacts on ecosystem processes and services.Although many efforts have been made to recognize the main drivers of insect herbivory at different scales,the results are inconsistent.One likely reason is that studies have insufficiently captured the spatially heterogeneous factors such as soil type and forest stratum within the stand that may significantly affect insect herbivory.In particular,there is a lack of studies that address the detailed spatial patterns of insect herbivory which are influenced by these factors.Methods:We measured the detailed spatial patterns of insect herbivory on cork oak(Quercus variabilis Bl.)in response to soil type(gravel soil and loam)and forest stratum(the upper,lower,and sapling stratum),and correlated these patterns with a set of influencing factors(litter coverage,coverage of shrubs and herbs,soil nutrients,soil moisture,and leaf traits)in a forest landscape.Results:Generally,insect herbivory was spatially heterogeneous within stands.Herbivory was significantly lower in gravel soil areas than in loam soil areas and the highest herbivory occurred in the lower stratum.However,there were also 41 individual plots in which the highest herbivory occurred in the upper stratum and 29 plots in which the highest herbivory occurred in the sapling stratum.There were significant differences in soil nutrient and water status between soil types,but no significant differences in leaf traits.The effects of forest stratum on leaf traits were also inconsistent with those on insect herbivory.Conclusions:Leaf traits may not be the main factors influencing insect herbivory in the field.Soil type may have major effects on herbivory patterns by influencing litter coverage while higher coverage of shrubs and herbs may reduce herbivory in the sapling stratum.These findings may advance our understanding of tree-herbivore interactions in real-world situations and have important implications for the sustainable management of forest ecosystems.

Impact of Soil Type Used in Tunneling on Land Subsidence and Mobility Effective Time under Different Earthquake Records

During recent decades, tunnels construction in urban environments has been recognized as a useful factor in improving transportation situation in cities. Construction of underground structures like tunnels has a direct impact on the above-ground structures. The most important impacts are soil crust movement of the structure movement), acceleration change of the earthquake on structures, and land subsidence. The present research aims at seismic evaluation of the effect of soil type in land subsidence and effective mobility time in tunneling projects. For this purpose, two different soil types are chosen to model and assess factors using numerical methods. The outcome of this research concludes that tunneling changes in the dominant frequency record if these changes reach to the extent that structure frequency equals to record frequency, resonance phenomenon happens.

Soil organic carbon storage in forest restoration models and environmental conditions

The scale of forest and landscape restoration is expected to increase during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and its contribution to the provision of critical ecosystem services to society.Several models of forest restoration may improve ecosystem services,including soil organic carbon(SOC)storage.A review was carried out to access:(1)the variability of SOC storage between worldwide forest restoration models and,(2)the effects of climate,soil class,soil texture,and vegetation type on SOC storage.We reviewed 119 primary studies with information on SOC and soil texture for different forest restoration models.The restoration models were grouped into four categories:natural regeneration,monocultures,agroforestry,and mixed forest.SOC data was extracted from these four restoration models,other land uses(cropland,bare land,grassland,and natural forest),climate regimes,and soil properties.The SOC storage in the forest restoration models and other land uses at a global scale ranged between 0.1 to 514 Mg ha^(-1).The overall mean value for SOC storage was higher for natural regeneration(112 Mg ha^(-1)),followed by agroforestry(74 Mg ha^(-1)),mixed forest(73 Mg ha^(-1)),and monocultures(68 Mg ha^(-1)).However,the average SOC storage was similar among the four restoration models in the moist warm climate zone.The SOC storage mean value in the moist cool zone was 23%higher than the dry cool zone(81 and 62 Mg ha^(-1),respectively),and 50%higher for the moist warm zone when compared to the dry warm climatic zone(74 and 38 Mg ha^(-1),respectively).The SOC storage of the restoration models was positively related to soil depth(0.59;p<0.01),clay content(0.29;p<0.01),and stand age(0.17;p<0.01).Globally,the mean values of SOC storage were 26,66,and 139 Mg ha^(-1) at zero-10,zero-30,and zero-100 cm depths,respectively.In addition,sandy soils showed smaller mean values of SOC storage than medium to clay soils,especially in deeper soil layers.Furthermore,SOC storage was positively related between restoration models and other land uses(0.93;p<0.01),suggesting a prominent effect of climate and soil properties on SOC.Forest restoration models showed larger SOC storage when compared to croplands and bare land,but in general it was smaller or similar when compared to pasture and natural forest.

Variations in shoot and root growth of three provenances of Faidherbia albida in clay and sand soil

The variation in shoot and root seedling growth traits was compared among three Faidherbia albida （Del）. A. Chev. provenances originating from Kenya （Taveta）, Malawi （Bolero） and Ghana （Bolgatanga）; representing east, south and west Africa, respectively. Bulked seeds from three provenances were grown in two soil types （clay and sand） at the World Agroforestry Centre nursery, Nairobi. Seedlings grown in clay soil had high shoot growth and shoot to root ratios but shorter root length, lower number of nodules and specific root length compared to seedlings in sand soil. Shoot to root ratios reduced with time and this was more pronounced in sand soil. Overall, the Bolero and Taveta provenances had higher growth than the Bolgatanga provenance. This was probably because plants grown in nutrient-rich clay soil invest more in shoot growth as compared to root growth. Longer root growth in sand soil shows a better adaptive mechanism that increases competitive ability and survival in nutrient-poor systems. Variations observed among the seedling variables such us shoot and root growth could be used for early selection for reforestation and agroforestry in predominantly clay and sand soil areas.

Hyper-spectral characteristics and classification of farmland soil in northeast of China

The physical and chemical heterogeneities of soils make the soil spectral different and complicated, and it is valuable to increase the accuracy of prediction models for soil organic matter（SOM） based on pre-classification. This experiment was conducted under a controllable environment, and different soil samples from northeast of China were measured using ASD2500 hyperspectral instrument. The results showed that there are different reflectances in different soil types. There are statistically significant correlation between SOM and reflectence at 0.05 and 0.01 levels in 550–850 nm, and all soil types get significant at 0.01 level in 650–750 nm. The results indicated that soil types of the northeast can be divided into three categories： The first category shows relatively flat and low reflectance in the entire band; the second shows that the spectral reflectance curve raises fastest in 460–610 nm band, the sharp increase in the slope, but uneven slope changes; the third category slowly uplifts in the visible band, and its slope in the visible band is obviously higher than the first category. Except for the classification by curve shapes of reflectance, principal component analysis is one more effective method to classify soil types. The first principal component includes 62.13–97.19% of spectral information and it mainly relates to the information in 560–600, 630–690 and 690–760 nm. The second mainly represents spectral information in 1 640–1 740, 2 050–2 120 and 2 200–2 300 nm. The samples with high OM are often in the left, and the others with low OM are in the right of the scatter plot（the first principal component is the horizontal axis and the second is the longitudinal axis）. Soil types in northeast of China can be classified effectively by those two principles; it is also a valuable reference to other soil in other areas.

Evaluation on abundance or deficiency of avai－lable trace elements in soil of middle area in China and the effect of applying trace element fertilizer

The authors selected the west part of Xinxiang City,Henan Province in the north China plain as a typical region and carried out assessments of the abundanca or deficiency of the trace ele- ments(B,Mn,Mo,Zn,Cu,Fe)in soil.It can be seen from results that more than 80% of the farmland is deficiency of zinc(<1.0ppm),40% of molybdenum(0.15ppm),38% of boron(0.5ppm),29% of manganese(100ppm)and 13% of iron(7.0ppm)and that the content of available trace ele- ments in soil are related to the topography closely.Next the proper application of trace elements on grain crops is presented.

Land-Use Change on Soil C and N Stocks in the Humid Savannah Agro-Ecological Zone of Ghana

Land-use conversion and unsustainable farming practices are degrading native forest ecosystems of Ghana’s humid savannah agro-ecological zone. This study assessed the impact of land-use change on soil C and N stocks in different land-use systems and soil types. A total of eighty (80) composite soil samples at two depths (0 - 20 cm and 20 - 50 cm) were sampled from five land use types (Forest, Woodland savannah, Grassland, Fallow and Cropland) for laboratory analyses. Particle size distribution, bulk density, pH, SOC and TN were determined using standard procedures. Results of the study indicated that C and N stocks were significantly lower in croplands (p < 0.05) compared to other land-use systems. There were significant interactions (p < 0.05) within land-use systems, soil types, and soil depth for soil C and N stocks. Acrisol and associated soils had the highest C and N stocks. A strong positive significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between C and N stocks with an R2 value of 0.85 and 0.93 for the 0 - 20 and 20 - 50 cm depth, respectively. Soil C and N stocks in the study area were estimated to be 34.56 kg/m2 and 4.63 kg/m2 for soil types and 26.89 kg/m2 and 3.39 kg/m2 for land use types, respectively for the 0 to 50 cm soil depth. Our findings indicated that the conversion of native forest to arable land has significantly reduced soil C and N stocks in the top 50 cm (0.50 m) soil layer by 50.77% and 47.77%, respectively. Therefore, we conclude that land-use change, soil type, and soil depth influenced soil C and N stocks of land-use systems in the humid savannah agro-ecological zone of Ghana.