Current Progress on the Geological Record of Microbialites and Microbial Carbonates

This paper reviews the current progress and problems in the study of microbialites and microbial carbonates. Microbialites and microbial carbonates, formed during growth of microbes by their calcification and binding of detrital sediment, have recently become one of the most popular geological topics. They occur throughout the entire geological history, and bear important theoretical and economic significances due to their complex structures and formative processes. Microbialites are in place benthic microbial buildups, whereas microbial carbonates can be classified into two categories： stabilized microbial carbonates（i.e., carbonate microbialites, such as stromatolites and thrombolites） and mobilized microbial carbonates（i.e., microbial carbonate grains, such as oncoids and microbial lumps）. Various texture, structures, and morphologies of microbialites and microbial carbonates hamper the systematic description and classification. Moreover, complex calcification pathways and diagenetic modifications further obscure the origin of some microbialites and microbial carbonates. Recent findings of abundant sponge spicules in previously identified ＂microbialites＂ challenge the traditional views about the origins of these ＂microbialites＂ and their implications to reef evolution. Microbialites and microbial carbonates did not always flourish in the aftermath of extinction events, which, together with other evidences, suggests that they are affected not only by metazoans but also by other geological factors. Their growth, development, and demise are also closely related to sea-level changes, due to their dependence on water depth, clarity, nutrient, and sunlight. Detailed studies on microbialites and microbial carbonates throughout geological history would certainly help understand causes and effects of major geological events as well as the coevolution of life and environment.

Distribution and depositional model of microbial carbonates in the Ordovician middle assemblage,Ordos Basin,NW China

Based on outcrop profiles,drilling cores,cast thin sections etc.,the types,microfacies combinations and distribution pattern of microbial carbonates in the Ordovician middle assemblage of the mid-eastern Ordos Basin have been systematically analyzed.The middle assemblage of Ordovician in the mid-eastern Ordos Basin has microbial carbonates formed by the calci-fication of cyanobacteria,including microbial biostromes and microbial mounds made of stromatolites,thrombolites,and on-colites.The distribution of the carbonates shows obvious“stratum-control”and“regional”characteristics.The microbial bio-stromes 2–3 m thick each are controlled by sequence cycles and sedimentary facies changes,and were mainly formed in the tidal flat environment during the depositional stages of the Ma56 and Ma55 sub-members.The microbial biostrome in the Ma55 sub-member occurring near the carbonate-evaporite transition interface in the early stage of the transgression is distributed mainly in the Mizhi subsag in the eastern part of the basin;the microbial biostrome in the Ma56 sub-member turns up near the carbonate-evoporite transition zone in ring shape in the east of the central uplift.The ancient landform had noticeable control on the distribution of microbial mounds.The microbial mounds or mound-shoal complexes developing mainly during the de-positional stages of Ma57_Ma510 sub-members are about 15–25 m thick in single layer and distributed largely in the Wushenqi-Jingbian paleouplift.The development model of the microbial carbonate rocks shows that the carbonate-evaporite lithologic transition zone and the Wushenqi-Jingbian paleouplift are favorable exploration zones of microbial carbonates in the Ordovician middle assemblages.

Petrography and origin of the Lower Ordovician microbial carbonates in the Songzi Area of Hubei Province,middle Yangtze region,China

This study is the first systematic assessment of the Lower Ordovician microbial carbonates in Songzi,Hubei Province,China.This paper divides the microbial carbonates into two types according to growth patterns,namely nongranular and granular.The nongranular types include stromatolites,thrombolites,dendrolites,leiolites and laminites;the granular types are mainly oncolites and may include a small amount of microbiogenic oolite.According to their geometric features,the stromatolites can be divided into four types:stratiform,wavy,columnar and domal.Additionally,dipyramidal columnar stromatolites are identified for the first time and represent a new type of columnar stromatolite.The thrombolites are divided into three types:speckled,reticulated and banded.The grazing gastropod Ecculiomphalus and traces of bioturbation are observed in the speckled and reticulated thrombolites.This paper considers these two kinds of thrombolites to represent bioturbated thrombolites.These findings not only fill gaps in the field of domestic Ordovician bioturbated thrombolites but also provide new information for the study of thrombolites.Based on the analysis of the sedimentary characteristics of microbialites,the depositional environments of the various types of microbialites are described,and the distribution patterns of their depositional environments are summarized.The relationship between the development of microbialites and the evolution and radiation of metazoans during the Early to Middle Ordovician is discussed.Consistent with the correspondence between the stepwise and rapid radiation of metazoans and the abrupt reduction in the number of microbialites between the late Early Ordovician and the early Middle Ordovician,fossils of benthonic grazing gastropods(Ecculiomphalus)were found in the stromatolites and thrombolite of the study area.It is believed that the gradual reduction in microbialites was related to the rapid increase in the abundance of metazoans.Grazers not only grazed on the microorganisms that formed stromatolites,resulting in a continuous reduction in the number of stromatolites,but also disrupted the growth state of the stromatolites,resulting in the formation of unique bioturbated thrombolites in the study area.Hydrocarbon potential analysis shows that the microbialites in the Nanjinguan Formation represent better source rocks than those in the other formations.

Accumulation of residual soil microbial carbon in Chinese fir plantation soils after nitrogen and phosphorus additions

Nitrogen （N） and phosphorus （P） additions can affect soil microbial carbon （C） accumulation. However, the mechanisms that drive the changes in residual microbial C that occur after N and P additions have not been well-defined for Chinese fir plantations in subtropical China. We set up six different treatments, viz. a control （CK）, two N treatments （NI： 50kgha-1 a-1; N2： 100 kg ha-1 a-1）, one P treatment （P： 50 kg ha-1 a-1）, and two combined N and P treatments （NIP： 50kgha-1a-1 of N ＋50kgha-1a-1 of P; N2P：100 kg ha-1 a-1 of N ＋ 50 kg ha-1 a-1 of P）. We then investigated the influences of N and P additions on residual microbial C. The results showed that soil pH and microbial biomass decreased after N additions, while microbial biomass increased after P additions. Soil organic carbon （SOC） and residual microbial C contents increased in the N and P treatments but not in the control. Residual microbial C accumulation varied according to treatment and declined in the order： N2P 〉 N1P 〉 N2 〉 N1 〉 P 〉 CK. Residual microbial C contents were positively correlated with available N, P, and SOC contents, but were negatively correlated with soil pH. The ratio of residual fungal C to residual bacterial C increased under P additions, but declined under combined N1P additions. The ratio of residual microbial C to SOC increased from 11 to 14% under the N1P and N2P treatments, respectively. Our results suggest that the concentrations of residual microbial C and the stability of SOC would increase under combined applications of N and P fertilizers in subtropical Chinese fir plantation soils.

Types,Petrophysical Properties and Pore Evolution of Late Ediacaran Microbial Carbonates,Tarim Basin,NW China

The Upper Ediacaran microbial carbonates of the Tarim Basin are potential reservoir geobodies for future hydrocarbon exploration with rising interest in exploration for deeply-buried reserves.However,little knowledge has been acquired on the types of microbial carbonates that are present,the properties of the reservoir and the pore evolution,hampering predictions of high-quality reservoirs in these carbonates.Integrated with petrography and in-situ U-Pb dating geochronology analyses,this study aims to clarify the types of microbial carbonates present and to reconstruct the pore evolution processes of the potential reservoir rocks.The Upper Ediacaran microbial carbonates of the Tarim Basin can be divided into four types,based on their features in terms of different scales(macro-to micro-):microbial laminite,stromatolite,spongiomicrobialite and microbial-peloidal wackestone/mudstone.Petrophysical properties show that all these microbial carbonates have low porosity and very low permeability with poor connectivity.These carbonates were subject to long-term and complex diagenetic processes,mainly consisting of dissolution,compaction,pervasive dolomitization,cementation and fracturing.The most important reservoir spaces are contributed by vugs and dissolution-enlarged pores,which are likely to have been associated with the widespread uplift of the Aksu area in the terminal Ediacaran.In contrast,the cementation of the fine-to-medium crystalline dolomite greatly reduced the pre-existing pores.Pore types are closely related to different microbial fabrics,which played an important role in the pore evolution of the microbial carbonates.

Sedimentary filling characteristics and controlling factors of lacustrine microbial carbonates sequence in the Santos Basin,Brazil

Based on comprehensive analysis of seismic,logging,core,thin section data,and stable isotopic compositions of carbon and oxygen,the sedimentary filling characteristics of the Lower Cretaceous Barra Velha Formation sequence in H oil field,Santos Basin,are studied,and the high-frequency sequence stratigraphic framework is established,and the spatial distribution of reef-shoal bodies are predicted and the controlling factors are discussed.During the depositional period of the Barra Velha Formation,the study area is a slope-isolated platform-slope sedimentary pattern from southwest to northeast and the change of climate background from rift to depression periods has resulted in the variation of sedimentary characteristics from the lower third-order sequence SQ1(BVE 300 Member)of low-energy deep water to the upper third-order sequence SQ2(BVE 200 and 100 members)of high-energy shallow water in the Barra Velha Formation.The activities of extensional faults and strike-slip faults in rift period and the sedimentary differentiation from platform margin to intra-platform in depression period made the sedimentary paleogeomorphology in these two periods show features of“three ridges and two depressions”.The reef-shoal bodies mainly developed in the SQ2-LHST period,with vertical development positions restricted by the periodic oscillation of the lake level,and developed on the top of each high-frequency sequence stratigraphic unit in SQ2-LHST in the platform.The strike-slip fault activity controlled the distribution of the reef-shoal bodies on the plane by changing the sedimentary paleogeomorphology.The positive flower-shaped strike-slip faults made the formation of local highlands at the margins of and inside the shallow water platforms and which became high-energy sedimentary zones,creating conditions for the development of reef-shoal bodies.

Review and Significance of Microbial Carbonate Reservoirs in China

1 Introduction Numerous studies on the Meso-Neoproterozoic life evolution show that the cyanobacteria which thrived and dominated the biological world in the Proterozoic Era is closely related to the genesis of microbial carbonate rocks.Considerable oil and gas resources can be found in microbial carbonate rocks and many related oil and gas

Autochthonous Dolomitization and Dissolution in the Microbial Carbonate Rocks of the Fengjiawan Formation in the Ordos Basin

Many euhedral dolomite crystals and related pores are found in the microbial siliceous stromatolite dolomite and siliceous oolitic dolomite in the Fengjiawan Formation of the Mesoproterozoic Jixian System in the southern Ordos Basin.With the application of the microscope,scanning electron microscope,cathodoluminescence and in-situ trace element imaging,it can be seen that different from the phase I dolomite that was damaged by silicification,the intact euhedral phase II dolomite occurred through dolomitization after silicification,concentrated mainly in the organic-rich dark laminae of the stromatolite and the dark spheres and cores of the ooids.A considerable number of phase II dolomite crystals were dissolved,giving rise to mold pores and vugs which constituted the matrix pores and also the major pore space of the Fengjiawan Formation.The formation and dissolution of the dolomite were controlled by the microenvironment favorable,respectively,for carbonate precipitation and dissolution under the influence of microbial biological activities and related biochemical reactions.The driving force and material supply of dolomitization and dissolution were confined to the fabrics enriched with microorganisms,which are highly autochthonous.This mechanism may be a key factor for the development of Precambrian dolomite and related reservoirs,in the context of the domination of microbial rocks.

Proterozoic to Phanerozoic case studies of laser ablation microanalysis for microbial carbonate U–Pb geochronology

Some of the earliest bio-sedimentary records of life on Earth are represented by microbial carbonates,which are also critical geochemical archives of ancient seawater chemistry and the environmental circumstances in which they precipitated.Reconstructing paleo-microbial environments on Earth and potentially other planets requires precise determination of the depositional ages of these materials.The(abiogenic)carbonate geochemistry communities can now use developments in in-situ laser ablation U-Pb dating using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(LA-ICP-MS).Due to the effects of impurity mixing and diagenesis,microbial carbonates have received little geochronological study despite their broad relevance for understanding ancient seawater’s environmental conditions and geochemical compositions.This study demonstrates using time-of-flight mass spectrometry(TOF-MS)to perform quick,quantitative elemental mapping before U-Pb spot dating to improve experiment success rates and data reliability and offers four practical application examples.

Historical tillage promotes grass-legume mixtures establishment and accelerates soil microbial activity and organic carbon decomposition

Perennial grass-legume mixtures have been extensively used to restore degraded grasslands,increasing grassland productivity and forage quality.Tillage is crucial for seedbed preparation and sustainable weed management for the establishment of grass-legume mixtures.However,a common concern is that intensive tillage may alter soil characteristics,leading to losses in soil organic carbon(SOC).We investigated the plant community composition,SOC,soil microbial biomass carbon(MBC),soil enzyme activities,and soil properties in long-term perennial grass-legume mixtures under two different tillage intensities(once and twice)as well as in a fenced grassland(FG).The establishment of grass-legume mixtures increased plant species diversity and plant community coverage,compared with FG.Compared with once tilled grassland(OTG),twice tilled grassland(TTG)enhanced the coverage of high-quality leguminous forage species by 380.3%.Grass-legume mixtures with historical tillage decreased SOC and dissolved organic carbon(DOC)concentrations,whereas soil MBC concentrations in OTG and TTG increased by 16.0%and 16.4%,respectively,compared with FG.TTG significantly decreased the activity of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase(NAG)by 72.3%,whereas soil enzymeβ-glucosidase(βG)in OTG and TTG increased by 55.9%and 27.3%,respectively,compared with FG.Correlation analysis indicated a close association of the increase in MBC andβG activities with the rapid decline in SOC.This result suggested that MBC was a key driving factor in soil carbon storage dynamics,potentially accelerating soil carbon cycling and facilitating biogeochemical cycling.The establishment of grass-legume mixtures effectively improves forage quality and boosts plant diversity,thereby facilitating the restoration of degraded grasslands.Although tillage assists in establishing legume-grass mixtures by controlling weeds,it accelerates microbial activity and organic carbon decomposition.Our findings provide a foundation for understanding the process and effectiveness of restoration management in degraded grasslands.

Linking microbial carbon pump capacity and efficacy to soil organic carbon storage and stability under heavy metal pollution

Heavy metal pollution can lead to a great loss of soil organic carbon(SOC).However,the microbial mechanisms that link heavy metal pollution to SOC remain poorly understood.Here,we investigated five apple-orchard soils at different distances from a Pb-Zn smelter.After assessing the heavy metal pollution level based on Grade Ⅱ of the national soil environmental quality standard(China),we found SOC stocks and microbial carbon pump(MCP)capacity(i.e.,microbial residue carbon)under medium and heavy pollution levels were significantly lower than those under safe,cordon and light pollution levels.The structural equation model showed causality in the SOC variations linked to pollution level through MCP capacity,which could contribute 77.8% of the variance in SOC storage.This verified MCP capacity can serve as a key parameter for evaluation of SOC storage under heavy metal pollution.Soil MCP efficacy,i.e.,the proportion of microbial residue carbon to SOC,also decreased under medium and heavy pollution.This suggested that,with a heavier pollution level,there was a higher rate of reduction of microbial residue carbon in soil than the rate of reduction of SOC.As MCP efficacy can be a useful assessment of SOC stability,the significantly positive relationship between MCP efficacy and clay content in correlation analysis implied that lower MCP efficacy was correlated with SOC stability under the heavier pollution level.Our study provides valuable insights to identify the mechanisms of microbially mediated C transformation processes that are influenced by heavy metal pollution in agroecosystems.

Erosion effects on soil microbial carbon use efficiency in the mollisol cropland in northeast China

●Soil erosion decreased soil microbial CUE and increased microbial uptake of carbon.●Soil erosion decreased microbial CUE by decreasing substrate C,N and MBC and increasing soil pH.●Soil microbes had to increase their uptake rate to cope with the loss of substrates with increasing erosion rate.●Soil microbial respiration increased with increasing degree of erosion.●Soil microbial growth rate remained relative stable under different degrees of soil erosion.●Microbial CUE in soil surface was less responsive to erosion than that in deeper soil.Soil microbial carbon use efficiency(CUE)is an important synthetic parameter of microbial community metabolism and is commonly used to quantify the partitioning of carbon(C)between microbial growth and respiration.However,it remains unclear how microbial CUE responds to different degrees of soil erosion in mollisol cropland.Therefore,we investigated the responses of soil erosion on microbial CUE,growth and respiration to different soil erosion rates in a mollisol cropland in northeast China based on a substrate independent method(18O-H2O labeling).Soils were sampled at four positions along a down-slope transect:summit,shoulder,back and foot.We found microbial CUE decreased significantly with increasing soil erosion rate in 5−20 cm soil,but did not change in 0−5 cm.The decrease of microbial CUE in subsoil was because microbes increased C uptake and allocated higher uptake C to microbial basal respiration with increasing soil erosion rate.Microbial respiration increased significantly with soil erosion rate,probably due to the more disturbance and unbalanced stoichiometry.Furthermore,soil microbes in surface soil were able to maintain their growth rates with increasing degree of erosion.Altogether,our results indicated that soil erosion could decrease microbial CUE by affecting soil physical and chemical properties,resulting in more decomposition of soil organic matter and more soil respiration,which had negative feedbacks to soil C sequestration and climate changes in cropland soil.

Research status, hot spots, difficulties and future development direction of microbial geoengineering

Microbial geoengineering technology,as a new eco-friendly rock and soil improvement and reinforcement technology,has a wide application prospect.However,this technology still has many deficiencies and is difficult to achieve efficient curing,which has become the bottleneck of large-scale field application.This paper reviews the research status,hot spots,difficulties and future development direction microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation(MICP)technology.The principle of solidification and the physical and mechanical properties of improved rock and soil are systematically summarized.The solidification efficiency is mainly affected by the reactant itself and the external environment.At present,the MICP technology has been preliminarily applied in the fields of soil solidification,crack repair,anti-seepage treatment,pollution repair and microbial cement.However,the technology is currently mainly limited to the laboratory level due to the difficulty of homogeneous mineralization,uneconomical reactants,short microbial activity period and large environmental interference,incidental toxicity of metabolites and poor field application.Future directions include improving the uniformity of mineralization by improving grouting methods,improving urease persistence by improving urease activity,and improving the adaptability of bacteria to the environment by optimizing bacterial species.Finally,the authors point out the economic advantages of combining soybean peptone,soybean meal and cottonseed as carbon source with phosphogypsum as calcium source to induce CaCO3.

The soil Microbial Carbon Pump as a new concept for terrestrial carbon sequestration

Soil is a huge terrestrial carbon pool, which has higher carbon storage than the sum of atmospheric and terrestrial vegetation carbon. Small fluctuations in soil carbon pool can affect regional carbon flux and global climate change. As soil organic carbon plays key roles in soil carbon storage and sequestration, studying its composition, sources and stability mechanism is a key to deeply understand the functions of terrestrial ecosystem and how it will respond to climate changes. The recently-proposed concept of soil Microbial Carbon Pump(MCP) emphasizes the importance of soil microbial anabolism and its contributions to soil carbon formation and stabilization, which can be applied for elucidating the source, formation and sequestration of soil organic carbon. This article elaborates MCP-mediated soil carbon sequestration mechanism and its influencing factors, as well as representative scientific questions we may explore with the soil MCP conceptual framework.

Soil microbial carbon pump:Mechanism and appraisal

The soil microbial carbon pump(MCP)conceptualizes a sequestration mechanism based on the process of microbial production of a set of new organic compounds,which carry the carbon from plant,through microbial anabolism,and enter into soil where it can be stabilized by the entombing effect.Understanding soil MCP and its related entombing effect is essential to the stewardship of ecosystem services,provided by microbial necromass in the formation and stabilization of soil organic matter as well as its resilience and vulnerability to global change.The mechanism and appraisal of soil MCP,however,remain to be elucidated.This lack of knowledge hampers the improvement of climate models and the development of land use policies.Here,I overview available knowledge to provide insights on the nature of the soil MCP in the context of two main aspects,i.e.,internal features and external constraints that mechanistically influence the soil MCP operation and ultimately influence microbial necromass dynamics.The approach of biomarker amino sugars for investigation of microbial necromass and the methodological limitations are discussed.Finally,I am eager to call new investigations to obtain empirical data in soil microbial necromass research area,which urgently awaits synthesized quantitative and modeling studies to relate to soil carbon cycling and climate change.

Temporal and Spatial Variations of Microbial Carbon Utilization in Water Bodies from the Dajiuhu Peatland, Central China

To investigate the microbial utilization of organic carbon in peatland ecosystem, water samples were collected from the Dajiuhu Peatland and nearby lakes, central China across the year of 2014. The acridine orange （AO） staining and Biolog Eco microplates were used to numerate microbial counts and determine the carbon utilization of microbial communities. Meanwhile, physicochemical characteristics were measured for subsequent analysis of the correlation between microbial carbon utilization and environmental factors. Results indicated that total microbial counts were between 106107 cells/L. Microbial diversities and carbon utilization rates showed a similar pattern, highest in September and lowest in November. Microbial communities in the peat pore waters preferred to utilize N-bearing carbon sources such as amines and amino acids compared with microbial communities in lakes. The network analysis of microbial utilization of 31 carbon substrates clearly distinguished microbial communities from peat pore waters and those from lakes. Redundancy analysis （RDA） showed the total organic nitrogen content （P=-0.03, F=2.5） and daily average temperature （P=0.034, F=2.4） significantly controlled microbial carbon utilization throughout the sampling period. Our report is the first one to address the temporal and spatial variations of carbon uti- lization of microbial communities which are closely related to the decomposition of organic matter in the Dajiuhu Peatland in context of climate warming.

Application of microbially induced carbonate precipitation to form biocemented artificial sandstone

It is difficult to collect and characterise well-preserved samples of weakly-cemented granular rocks as conventional sampling techniques often result in destruction of the cementation.An alternative approach is to prepare synthetic geomaterials to match required specifications.This paper introduces microbially induced carbonate precipitation(MICP)as a method to reliably deliver artificiallycemented specimens with customised properties,closely resembling those of soft carbonate sandstones.The specimens are generated from materials with two highly different particle size distributions(PSDs)to access a range of achievable combinations of strengths and porosities.The MICP parameters are kept constant across all samples to obtain similar calcium carbonate characteristics(size of individual crystals,type,etc.),while injected volume is varied to achieve different cementation levels.Although uniform cementation of very coarse sands has been considered very difficult to achieve,the results show that both the fine and coarse sand specimens present high degrees of uniformity and a good degree of repeatability.The unconfined compressive strengths(UCSs)(less than 3000 kPa)and porosities(0.25e0.4)of the artificial specimens fall in the same range of values reported for natural rocks.The strength gainwas greater in the fine sand than that in the coarse sand,as the void size in the latter was significantly larger compared to the calcium carbonate crystals’size,resulting in precipitation on less effective locations,away from contacts between particles.The strengths and porosities obtained for the two sands in this work fall within ranges reported in the literature for natural soft rocks,demonstrating theMICP technique is able to achieve realistic properties and may be used to produce a full range of properties by varying the grain sizes,and possibly the width of PSD.

Experimental study on mitigating wind erosion of calcareous desert sand using spray method for microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation

Wind erosion is one of the significant natural calamities worldwide, which degrades around one-third of global land. The eroded and suspended soil particles in the environment may cause health hazards, i.e.allergies and respiratory diseases, due to the presence of harmful contaminants, bacteria, and pollens.The present study evaluates the feasibility of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation(MICP)technique to mitigate wind-induced erosion of calcareous desert sand(Thar desert of Rajasthan province in India). The temperature during biotreatment was kept at 36℃ to stimulate the average temperature of the Thar desert. The spray method was used for bioaugmentation of Sporosarcina(S.) pasteurii and further treatment using chemical solutions. The chemical solution of 0.25 pore volume was sprayed continuously up to 5 d, 10 d, 15 d, and 20 d, using two different concentration ratios of urea and calcium chloride dihydrate viz 2:1 and 1:1. The biotreated samples were subjected to erosion testing(in the wind tunnel) at different wind speeds of 10 m/s, 20 m/s, and 30 m/s. The unconfined compressive strength of the biocemented crust was measured using a pocket penetrometer. The variation in calcite precipitation and microstructure(including the presence of crystalline minerals) of untreated as well as biotreated sand samples were determined through calcimeter, scanning electron microscope(SEM), and energydispersive X-ray spectroscope(EDX). The results demonstrated that the erosion of untreated sand increases with an increase in wind speeds. When compared to untreated sand, a lower erosion was observed in all biocemented sand samples, irrespective of treatment condition and wind speed. It was observed that the sample treated with 1:1 cementation solution for up to 5 d, was found to effectively resist erosion at a wind speed of 10 m/s. Moreover, a significant erosion resistance was ascertained in15 d and 20 d treated samples at higher wind speeds. The calcite content percentage, thickness of crust,bulk density, and surface strength of biocemented sand were enhanced with the increase in treatment duration. The 1:1 concentration ratio of cementation solution was found effective in improving crust thickness and surface strength as compared to 2:1 concentration ratio of cementation solution. The calcite crystals formation was observed in SEM analysis and calcium peaks were observed in EDX analysis for biotreated sand.

Effect of Different Irrigation Methods on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Biomass Carbon in the Greenhouse Soil

The objective of this study was to investigate the contents and distribution of dissolved organic carbon （DOC） and microbial biomass carbon （MBC） at 0-100 cm soil depth under three irrigation treatments, viz., subsurface, drip and furrow irrigation in the greenhouse soil. The soil samples were collected at different depths （0-100 cm）, and the contents of soil total organic carbon （TOC）, DOC and MBC were analysed. The experiment was conducted for 10 yr, during which period the application of fertilizers and crop management practices were kept identical. The results showed that the contents of TOC, DOC and MBC were significantly affected by different irrigation regimes, decreased with the increase of soil depth. TOC at 0-10 and 80-100 cm soil depths followed the order of furrow irrigation 〉 subsurface irrigation 〉 drip irrigation, whereas at the depth of 10-80 cm followed the order of subsurface irrigation 〉 furrow irrigation 〉 drip irrigation. DOC and MBC contents at 0-100 cm soil depths followed the order of furrow irrigation 〉 drip irrigation 〉 subsurface irrigation, and drip irrigation 〉 furrow irrigation 〉 subsurface irrigation, respectively. The ratios of DOC and MBC to TOC accounted for 4.98-12.87% and 1.48-2.82%, respectively, which were the highest in the drip irrigation treatment, followed were in the furrow irrigation treatment, and the lowest in subsurface irrigation treatment. There were significant positive correlations among the contents of DOC, MBC and TOC in all irrigation treatments. The furrow irrigation facilitated the accumulation of TOC and DOC, while drip irrigation increased the MBC. The content of TOC and the ratios of DOC to TOC were the lowest in subsurface irrigation treatment.

Seasonal variation in soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in an artificial sand-binding vegetation area in Shapotou, northern China

In this study, seasonal variation characteristics of surface soil microbial biomass carbon （MBC） and soil microbial biomass nitrogen （MBN） of an artificial vegetation area located in Shapotou for different time periods were studied using the chloroform fumigation method, and the results were compared with those of near-natural vegetation areas and mobile dunes. Results showed that the MBC and MBN levels in the 0-5 cm soil layer were higher in autumn than in summer and spring. As the prolongation of vegetation restoration raised the MBC and MBN levels in summer and autumn, no clear variation was found in spring. However, the MBC and MBN in 5-20 cm had no obvious seasonal variation. During summer and autumn, the variation trend of MBC and MBN in the vertical direction was shown to be 0-5 〉 5-10 〉 10-20 cm in the vegetation area, while for mobile dunes, the MBC and MBN levels increased as the depth increased. The natural vegetation area was shown to possess the highest MBC and MBN levels, and yet mobile dunes have the lowest MBC and MBN levels. MBC and MBN levels in artificial sand-binding vegetation increased with the prolongation of vegetation restoration, indicating that the succession of sand-binding vegetation will result in the ac- cumulation of soil carbon and nitrogen, as well as the restoration of soil fertility.