Specificity between Neotropical tree seedlings and their fungal mutualists leads to plant-soil feedback

A growing body of evidence obtained largely from temperate grassland studies suggests that feedbacks occurring between plants and their associated soil biota are important to plant community assemblage. However, few studies have examined the importance of soil organisms in driving plant-soil feedbacks in forested systems. In a tropical forest in central Panama, we examined whether interactions between tree seedlings and their associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) lead to plant-soil feedback. Specifically, do tropical seedlings modify their own AMF communities in a manner that either favors or inhibits the next cohort of conspecific seedlings (i.e., positive or negative feedback, respectively)? Seedlings of two shade-tolerant tree species (Eugenia nesiotica, Virola surinamensis) and two pioneer tree species (Luehea seemannii, Apeiba aspera) were grown in pots containing identical AMF communities composed of equal amounts of inoculum of six co-occurring AMF species. The different AMF-host combinations were all exposed to two light levels. Under low light (2% PAR), only two of the six AMF species sporulated, and we found that host identity did not influence composition of AMF spore communities. However, relative abundances of three of the four AMF species that produced spores were influenced by host identity when grown under high light (20% PAR). Furthermore, spores of one of the AMF species, Glomus geosporum, were common in soils of Luehea and Eugenia but absent in soils of Apeiba and Virola. We then conducted a reciprocal experiment to test whether AMF communities previously modified by Luehea and Apeiba differentially affected the growth of conspecific and heterospecific seedlings. Luehea seedling growth did not differ between soils containing AMF communities modified by Luehea and Apeiba. However, Apeiba seedlings were significantly larger when grown with Apeiba-modified AMF communities, as compared to Apeiba seedlings grown with Luehea-modifed AMF communities. Our experiments suggest that interactions between tropical trees and their associated AMF are species-specific and that these interactions may shape both tree and AMF communities through plant-soil feedback.     

四种抗污染木本植物对锑的生理响应及积累特征研究

以臭椿（Ailanthus altissima）、构树（Broussonetia papyrifera）、大叶黄杨（Buxus megistophylla）和紫穗槐（Amorpha fruticosa）4种抗污染木本植物苗木为材料,在盆栽条件下设置0、250、500、1000和2000 mg·kg^-1 5个锑的质量分数梯度,分析胁迫过程中苗木苗高、地径、生物量、耐性指数、相对叶绿素含量、POD活性和SOD活性等指标的变化,探讨这4种苗木对锑胁迫的生理响应,并通过测定苗木地上、地下部分锑的质量分数,明确这几种植物对锑的积累特征,以期为锑污染植物修复材料筛选提供理论基础。结果表明：在不同质量分数锑胁迫下,4种木本植物的苗高、地茎、生物量及耐性指数出现不同程度的下降,其中大叶黄杨在不同质量分数锑处理下的耐性指数均大于90%,表现出对锑较强的抗性。除大叶黄杨外,在中、中高质量分数（500、1000 mg·kg^-1）锑处理后,其他3种木本植物叶片叶绿素含量较对照均显著下降。而在高质量分数锑胁迫下,4种木本植物的叶绿素含量与对照相比均显著下降,表明锑能通过影响植物的光合作用来降低这4种木本植物的生物量合成。在中高质量分数锑胁迫下,4种植物根系的POD和SOD活性均呈现不同程度的增加;在高质量分数锑胁迫下,臭椿、构树和紫穗槐的POD及SOD活性增加幅度减少或受到抑制,表明抗氧化酶系统在植物抵抗锑胁迫过程中发挥重要作用,同时高质量分数的锑胁迫又能降低抗氧化酶系统清除活性氧的能力。在不同质量分数的锑胁迫下,4种木本植物地上、地下部分锑的质量分数存在差异,分别为构树＞紫穗槐＞臭椿＞大叶黄杨,紫穗槐＞构树＞臭椿＞大叶黄杨,表明大叶黄杨可能通过对锑较强的排斥能力,减少锑对叶绿素合成、POD和SOD活性的抑制作用,近而增强了其对锑胁迫的抗性。固氮植物紫穗槐根系最大锑?     

The influence of soil community density on plant-soil feedbacks: An important unknown in plant invasion

Plant-soil feedbacks have been implicated in several successful plant invasions. However, simple identification of a feedback alone may not be enough to establish feedbacks as a mechanism behind plant invasion. I suggest that the relationship between soil community density and plant growth is an important unknown that strongly influences the impact of plant-soil feedbacks. I developed a mathematical model of two-plant species competition with plant-soil feedbacks. Each plant species obligately generates its own soil community. Each soil community then influences both plant species’ growth. The model allows for every possible combination of positive and negative effects of the soil community on plant growth. I model the relationship between soil community density and plant growth with non-linear functional responses. I use a range of plant competitive abilities and feedback scenarios from the literature to explore how different functional responses influence the outcome of plant competition. Sensitivity analysis of the model reveals that altering the relationship between feedback strength and soil community development can reverse the outcome of plant competition. Analysis of the model also shows how the importance of different feedback scenarios depends on the strength of plant competition.     

Janzen-Connell effects are widespread and strong enough to maintain diversity in grasslands

Crop rotation schemes are believed to work by preventing specialist soil-borne pests from depressing the future yields of similar crops. In ecology, such negative plant-soil feedbacks may be viewed as a type of Janzen-Connell effect, which promotes species coexistence and diversity by preventing the same species from repeatedly occupying a particular site. In a controlled greenhouse experiment with 24 plant species and using soils from established field monocultures, we reveal community-wide soil-based Janzen-Connell effects between the three major functional groups of plants in temperate European grasslands. The effects are much stronger and more prevalent if plants are grown in interspecific competition. Using several soil treatments (gamma irradiation, activated carbon, fungicide, fertilizer) we show that the mechanism of the negative feedback is the buildup of soil pathogens which reduce the competitive ability of nearly all species when grown on soils they have formerly occupied. We further show that the magnitude of the change in competitive outcome is sufficient to stabilize observed fitness differences between functional groups in reasonably large communities. The generality and strength of this negative feedback suggests that Janzen-Connell effects have been underestimated as drivers of plant diversity in temperate ecosystems.     

The behaviour of Ailanthus altissima weed and its effects on natural ecosystems

Ailanthus altissima is an invasive species for the native flora of Greece and it could pose a serious threat to the biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the spreading of Ailanthus altissima in urban and non urban areas of North and Central Greece and also to evaluate the effects of its spreading on species composition and floristic diversity in natural ecosystems. The spreading of Ailanthus altissima in urban areas is very intense, mainly in abandoned places (35.29%). It is commonly found in non urban areas of Greece, especially in hedgerows of arable lands (36%) and adjacent wetlands (17%). It is less common in forests (4%), shrublands (11%) and grasslands (9%). The spread of Ailanthus altissima in urban and natural ecosystems is relatively recent. Although it has been recorded at altitudes of up to 640 m, it usually appears at low altitudes of up to 200 m. Floristic diversity was found to be higher in the stands that it dominated (H' = 1.574, H' = 1.890) in comparison to stands that were dominated by Quercuspubescens (H' = 1.468) or Q. coccifera (H' = 1.716). This may be contributed to the fact that in those stands synanthropic species, which are usually found in regions of intense human activity, were present together with typical forest vegetation species.     

Effects of soil biota from different ranges on Robinia invasion: acquiring mutualists and escaping pathogens

The net effects of soil biota on exotic invaders can be variable, in part, because net effects are produced by many interacting mutualists and antagonists. Here we compared mutualistic and antagonistic biota in soils collected in the native, expanded, and invasive range of the black locust tree, Robinia pseudoacacia. Robinia formed nodules in all soils with a broad phylogenetic range of N-fixing bacteria, and leaf N did not differ among the different sources of soil. This suggests that the global expansion of Robinia was not limited by the lack of appropriate mutualistic N-fixers. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) from the native range stimulated stronger positive feedbacks than AMF from the expanded or invasive ranges, a biogeographic difference not described previously for invasive plants. Pythium taxa collected from soil in the native range were not more pathogenic than those from other ranges; however, feedbacks produced by the total soil biota were more negative from soils from the native range than from the other ranges, overriding the effects of AMF. This suggests that escape from other pathogens in the soil or the net negative effects of the whole soil community may contribute to superior performance in invaded regions. Our results suggest that important regional evolutionary relationships may occur among plants and soil biota, and that net effects of soil biota may affect invasion, but in ways that are not easily explained by studying isolated components of the soil biota.     

Plant-soil feedback: testing the generality with the same grasses in serpentine and prairie soils

Plants can alter soil properties in ways that feed back to affect plant performance. The extent that plant-soil feedback affects co-occurring plant species differentially will determine its impact on plant community structure. Whether feedback operates consistently across similar plant communities is little studied. Here, the same grasses from two eastern U.S. serpentine grasslands and two midwestern tallgrass prairie remnants were examined for plant-soil feedback in parallel greenhouse experiments. Native soils were homogenized and cultured (trained) for a year with each of the four grasses. Feedback was evaluated by examining biomass variation in a second generation of (tester) plants grown in the trained soils. Biomass was lower in soils trained by conspecifics compared to soils trained by heterospecifics in seven of 15 possible cases; biomass was greater in conspecific soils in one other. Sorghastrum nutans exhibited lower biomass in conspecific soils for all four grasslands, so feedback may be characteristic of this species. Three cases from the Hayden prairie site were explained by trainer species having similar effects across all tester species so the relative performance of the different species was little affected; plants were generally larger in soils trained by Andropogon gerardii and smaller in soils trained by S. nutans. Differences among sites in the incidence of feedback were independent of serpentine or prairie soils. To explore the causes of the feedback, several soil factors were measured as a function of trainer species: nutrients and pH, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) spore communities, root colonization by AM fungi and putative pathogens, and functional diversity in bacterial communities as indicated by carbon substrate utilization. Only variation in nutrients was consistent with any patterns of feedback, and this could explain the greater biomass in soils trained by A. gerardii at Hayden. Feedback at Nottingham (one of the serpentine sites) differed, most notably for A. gerardii, from that of similar past studies that used different experimental protocols. To understand the consequences of feedback for plant community structure, it is important to consider how multiple species respond to the same plant-induced soil variation as well as differences in the feedback detected between greenhouse and field settings.     

Decoupling of component and ensemble density feedbacks in birds and mammals

A component density feedback represents the effect of change in population size on single demographic rates, whereas an ensemble density feedback captures that effect on the overall growth rate of a population. Given that a population's growth rate is a synthesis of the interplay of all demographic rates operating in a population, we test the hypothesis that the strength of ensemble density feedback must augment with increasing strength of component density feedback, using long-term censuses of population size, fertility, and survival rates of 109 bird and mammal populations (97 species). We found that compensatory and depensatory component feedbacks were common (each detected in approximately 50% of the demographic rates). However, component feedback strength only explained <10% of the variation in ensemble feedback strength. To explain why, we illustrate the different sources of decoupling between component and ensemble feedbacks. We argue that the management of anthropogenic impacts on populations using component feedbacks alone is ill-advised, just as managing on the basis of ensemble feedbacks without a mechanistic understanding of the contributions made by its components and environmental variability can lead to suboptimal decisions.     

Species Migrations and Ecosystem Stability During Climate Change: The Belowground Connection

Abstract: Compatibility between the belowground mutualists of resident species and the needs of immigrant species will strongly influence the successful transition from one perennial plant community to another during climate change. A hiatus in the overlap between plant species that maintain a positive link with the soil ecosystem could result in site capture by weeds and rapid degradation of the productive capacity of soils. We discuss instances in which such rapid degradation has occurred and argue for the crucial importance of protecting plant-soil links in the coming decades through maintaining biodiversity and utilizing management practices that help plants keep a firm grip on the soil. Examples of the latter include partial and dispersed cutting in forestry, use of green cover crops in agriculture and grazing intensities that permit degraded range to rebuild.     

Soil feedback of exotic savanna grass relates to pathogen absence and mycorrhizal selectivity

Enemy release of exotic plants from soil pathogens has been tested by examining plant-soil feedback effects in repetitive growth cycles. However, positive soil feedback may also be due to enhanced benefit from the local arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Few studies actually have tested pathogen effects, and none of them did so in arid savannas. In the Kalahari savanna in Botswana, we compared the soil feedback of the exotic grass Cenchrus biflorus with that of two dominant native grasses, Eragrostis lehmanniana and Aristida meridionalis. The exotic grass had neutral to positive soil feedback, whereas both native grasses showed neutral to negative feedback effects. Isolation and testing of root-inhabiting fungi of E. lehmanniana yielded two host-specific pathogens that did not influence the exotic C. biflorus or the other native grass, A. meridionalis. None of the grasses was affected by the fungi that were isolated from the roots of the exotic C. biflorus. We isolated and compared the AMF community of the native and exotic grasses by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel elecrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), targeting AMF 18S rRNA. We used roots from monospecific field stands and from plants grown in pots with mixtures of soils from the monospecific field stands. Three-quarters of the root samples of the exotic grass had two nearly identical sequences, showing 99% similarity with Glomus versiforme. The two native grasses were also associated with distinct bands, but each of these bands occurred in only a fraction of the root samples. The native grasses contained a higher diversity of AMF bands than the exotic grass. Canonical correspondence analyses of the AMF band patterns revealed almost as much difference between the native and exotic grasses as between the native grasses. In conclusion, our results support the hypothesis that release from soil-borne enemies may facilitate local abundance of exotic plants, and we provide the first evidence that these processes may occur in arid savanna ecosystems. Pathogenicity tests implicated the involvement of soil pathogens in the soil feedback responses, and further studies should reveal the functional consequences of the observed high infection with a low diversity of AMF in the roots of exotic plants.     

Ecological consequences of carbon substrate identity and diversity in a laboratory study

Plants return a wide range of carbon (C) substrates to the soil system. The decomposition rate of these substrates is determined by their chemical nature, yet few studies have examined the relative ecological role of specific substrates (i.e., substrate identity) or mixtures of substrates. Carbon substrate identity and diversity may alter soil chemistry and soil community composition, resulting in changes in belowground ecosystem functions such as decomposition and nutrient transfer, creating feedbacks that may affect plant growth and the aboveground community. A laboratory experiment was set up in which eight C substrates of varying chemical complexity were added to a base soil singly, in pairs, fours, or with all eight together every four days over a 92-day period. After 92 days these soils were analyzed for changes in chemistry, microbial community structure, and components of ecosystem functioning. The identity of the added C substrates significantly affected soil chemistry, microbial basal and substrate-induced respiration, and soil microbial community structure measured by either the catabolic response profile (CRP) technique or phospholipid fatty acid composition. These belowground changes strongly affected the ability of the soil microflora to decompose cellulose paper, probably because of differential effects of the C substrates on soil energy supplies and enzyme activities. The addition of C substrates to soils also reduced plant growth compared to the unamended control soil, but less so in soils amended with a tannin than those amended with other substrates. Carbon substrate diversity effects saturated at low diversity levels, tended to have neutral or negative effects on ecosystem functions, and depended strongly on which C substrates were added. It increased CRP compound use but had little effect on other measures of the soil microbial community. Overall, results showed that the chemical nature of C substrates added to soil, and sometimes their diversity, can affect the soil microbial community and soil chemistry, which subsequently affect other ecosystem processes such as decomposition and plant growth. The identity and diversity of substrates that plants add to soil may therefore have important consequences for both above- and belowground ecosystem functions.     

Soil nitrogen availability and herbivore attack influence the chemical defenses of an invasive plant (Linaria dalmatica; Plantaginaceae)

Chemical defenses are thought to contribute to the invasion success and impacts of many introduced plants; however, for most of these species, little is known about these compounds and how they vary in natural environments. Plant allelochemical concentrations may be affected by a variety of abiotic and biotic factors, including soil nutrients and herbivores. Moreover, such quantitative variation is likely to play an important role in species interactions involving these invasive plants. The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of variation in iridoid glycoside concentrations of the invasive plant Linaria dalmatica (Plantaginaceae). We conducted a greenhouse experiment to investigate the effect of soil nitrogen availability on iridoid glycoside concentrations. Results from this experiment showed that plant iridoid glycoside concentrations decreased with increased nitrogen availability. Additionally, plants were collected from multiple field sites in order to characterize the influence of population, soil nitrogen availability, and herbivore attack on iridoid glycoside variation. Results from field studies indicated that plants demonstrated considerable seasonal variation, as well as variation within and among populations, with iridoid glycoside concentrations ranging from approximately 1 to 15% dry weight. The relationship between soil nitrogen and plant iridoid glycosides varied among populations, with a strong negative correlation in one population, a marginally significant negative relationship in a second population, and no relationship in the remaining two populations. Additionally, we found a negative relationship between iridoid glycoside concentrations and plant injury by an introduced biocontrol agent, the stem-mining weevil Mecinus janthinus (Cucurlionidae). These results show that plant allelochemical concentrations can vary widely in natural environments and suggest that levels of plant defense may be reduced by increased soil nitrogen availability and herbivore attack in this invasive plant species.     

N fertilization effects on denitrification and N cycling in an aggrading forest.

We investigated N cycling and denitrification rates following five years of N and dolomite amendments to whole-tree harvested forest plots at the long-term soil productivity experiment in the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia, USA. We hypothesized that changes in soil chemistry and nutrient cycling induced by N fertilization would increase denitrification rates and the N2O:N2 ratio. Soils from the fertilized plots had a lower pH (2.96) than control plots (3.22) and plots that received fertilizer and dolomite (3.41). There were no significant differences in soil %C or %N between treatments. Chloroform-labile microbial biomass carbon was lower in fertilized plots compared to control plots, though this trend was not significant. Extractable soil NO3- was elevated in fertilized plots on each sample date. Soil-extractable NH4+, NO3-, pH, microbial biomass carbon, and %C varied significantly by sample date suggesting important seasonal patterns in soil chemistry and N cycling. In particular, the steep decline in extractable NH4+ during the growing season is consistent with the high N demands of a regenerating forest. Net N mineralization and nitrification also varied by date but were not affected by the fertilization and dolomite treatments. In a laboratory experiment, denitrification was stimulated by NO3- additions in soils collected from all field plots, but this effect was stronger in soils from the unfertilized control plots, suggesting that chronic N fertilization has partially alleviated a NO3- limitation on denitrification rates. Dextrose stimulated denitrification only in the whole-tree-harvest soils. Denitrification enzyme activity varied by sample date and was elevated in fertilized plots for soil collected in July 2000 and June 2001. There were no detectable treatment effects on N2O or N2 flux from soils under anaerobic conditions, though there was strong temporal variation. These results suggest that whole-tree harvesting has altered the N status of these soils so they are less prone to N saturation than more mature forests. It is likely that N losses associated with the initial harvest and high N demand by aggrading vegetation is minimizing, at least temporarily, the amount of inorganic N available for nitrification and denitrification, even in the fertilized plots in this experiment.     

Release of mobile forms of hazardous elements from glassworks fly ash into soils

The release of hazardous elements from the wastes of high-temperature processes represents a risk to the environment. We focused on the alteration of fly ash (FA) from glassworks collected from an electrostatic filter. FA contains elevated concentrations of Zn and Ba, among other elements. Overtime, small amounts of FA have been emitted from the factory and settled into the surrounding environment (soil). In order to assess the possible risks to the environment, samples of FA were placed in small nylon bags and deposited in 11 different soil horizons (containing diverse vegetation cover such as spruce and beech and also unforested areas). Samples of the FA in bags were exposed in the soils for 1 year. Then, the bags were collected, and the exposed soils in the direct vicinity of the FA bags were sampled. The total concentrations of Zn and Ba in the FA, as well as in the soil samples (original and exposed), were determined by ICP MS. The “mobile fraction” was determined as the exchangeable (acid extractable) fraction of the modified BCR sequential extraction procedure (SEP). The SEP results indicate that Zn and Ba may pose a potential environmental risk. Their concentrations in the first, most mobile, and bioavailable fraction increased in all the exposed soils. The most significant increases were observed in the upper soil horizons (litter and A horizon). The risk to the environment was evaluated on the basis of the Risk Assessment Code.     

Soil and plant concentrations of cadmium and zinc in the vicinity of a smelter

Cadmium, zinc and lead concentrations in soils and plants near a smelter at Avonmouth are reported for samples collected in May 1979 and in May 1980. The total metal soil concentrations fall as distance from the smelter increases and decrease rapidly with depth for cadmium and zinc. The concentrations of these two metals are highly correlated at all depths. Near the smelter, where the carbon content and pH values of the soils are lowest, almost all the cadmium, as measured by EDTA extraction, is available. Concentration of metals in plants also decrease with distance from the smelter, with concentrations being lower in samples collected in 1980. This is possibly due to a seasonal variation in biomass, producing a dilution effect. We conclude that uptake of cadmium and that of zinc by grass species have different relationships to the carbon content of the soil.     

Field tests to study the dynamics of weed inhibition of allelopathic rice and microbial physiological traits of rice rhizospheric soils北大核心CSCD

The weed inhibition of allelopathic rice PI312777 and nonallelopathic rice Lemont, allelopathic potential of rice rhizospheric soils, as well as the microbial physiological traits of rice rhizospheric soils, were studied by field tests after weedremoving and weed treatments. The results showed that the inhibitory rate of PI312777 at the 7-leaf stage on paddy weeds was 85.82%. Results of the Soil-Agar Sandwich method revealed that the allelopathic potential of PI312777 rhizospheric soils on the inhibitory rate of plant dry weight of barnyard grass was significantly higher at the 5-leaf stage than that at the 3-leaf stage, and increased by 20.16% from the 3-leaf stage to the 5-leaf stage after weed treatment. When at the same leaf stage, the soil microbe biomass carbon and soil respiration, the number of soil bacteria, and activity of soil enzymes (urease, protease, and sucrase) were significantly higher in PI312777 rhizospheric soils than in Lemont rhizospheric soils; they were also higher after the weed-removing treatment than after weed treatment. The largest increase of soil allelopathic potentials and soil microbial physiological indexes in PI312777 rhizospheric soils appeared from the 3-leaf stage to the 5-leaf stage. In case of weed treatment, the allelopathic potential of PI312777 rhizospheric soils on the soil microbe biomass carbon, soil respiration, the number of soil bacteria, activity of urease, activity of protease, and activity of sucrase increased by 53.11%, 51.56%, 38.97%, 44.83%, 60.00%, and 41.92%, respectively, from the 3-leaf stage to the 5-leaf stage. These results indicated that rice allelopathy had a close relationship with the activity of rhizospheric soils. Rice allelochemicals lead to the change of soil microbes; rice allelopathy is a process based on plant-soil interaction. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

On the rubidium and lithium content and availability in the sub-arid south-eastern Mediterranean: potential health implications

Rubidium and lithium are rather rare elements in environmental research, despite their affiliation with a group of chemically active metals and the abundance of Rb in the environment. A growing body of evidence, although controversial, has indicated that both elements possess unique essential and neurophysiological characteristics in biota and humans. Both elements may concentrate in soil and vegetation of sub-arid environments. We investigated the content and (potential) availability of Rb and Li in the soils and natural waters of Galilee, the Coastal Plain, and the northern Negev of Israel. A newly developed chromatographic technique for the separation of truly dissolved Rb and Li compounds has been applied. High concentrations of Rb, together with high values of the potentially vital Rb-to-K ratio, were found in the soils, the soil solutions, rainwater, throughfall water, and the plant litter leachates, but not in the surface and spring waters. This may indicate a sequestration of Rb in the local soils and a semi-closed Rb turnover in the soil–plant system with a major input from sea aerosols. Low Li bulk and available concentrations were determined in all the natural compartments. Possible implications of such specific environmental features on the local population health were discussed.     

Toxic effects of the ingestion of water-soluble elements found in soil under the atmospheric influence of an industrial complex

In this study, we investigated the toxic effects of water-soluble elements from a contaminated soil via gavage in a single dose, simulating a geophagy event. The contaminated soil was collected in a field located in an industrial complex, and the control soil was collected in a reference area. Metabolic and behavioral parameters in Wistar male rats were measured after 24 and 96 h of gavage. After 96 h, the major organs were weighed, blood was collected to check hematological parameters, the bone marrow was taken for the micronucleus test, and the liver was used for evaluating the total antioxidant capacity, lipoperoxidation and protein carbonylation. Animals exposed to contaminated soil presented a few significant alterations by comparison with control animals: TBARS and protein carbonyl levels increased, the relative weight of the kidneys increased, metabolic parameters (body weight gain, food intake, water consumption, urine and feces production) depressed and there was behavioral alteration. These findings suggest that soils impacted by atmospheric contaminants can affect the organism physiological status jeopardizing the health of populations living in industrial areas. Finally, this study reassures that ingestion of potentially contaminated soils, even for short periods of time, can cause health risks.     

Nitrous oxide nitrification and denitrification 15N enrichment factors from Amazon forest soils.

The isotopic signatures of 15N and 18O in N2O emitted from tropical soils vary both spatially and temporally, leading to large uncertainty in the overall tropical source signature and thereby limiting the utility of isotopes in constraining the global N2O budget. Determining the reasons for spatial and temporal variations in isotope signatures requires that we know the isotope enrichment factors for nitrification and denitrification, the two processes that produce N2O in soils. We have devised a method for measuring these enrichment factors using soil incubation experiments and report results from this method for three rain forest soils collected in the Brazilian Amazon: soil with differing sand and clay content from the Tapajos National Forest (TNF) near Santarém, Pará, and Nova Vida Farm, Rond?nia. The 15N enrichment factors for nitrification and denitrification differ with soil texture and site: -111 per thousand +/- 12 per thousand and -31 per thousand +/- 11 per thousand for a clay-rich Oxisol (TNF), -102 per thousand +/- 5 per thousand and -45 per thousand +/- 5 per thousand for a sandier Ultisol (TNF), and -10.4 per thousand +/- 3.5 per thousand (enrichment factor for denitrification) for another Ultisol (Nova Vida) soil, respectively. We also show that the isotopomer site preference (delta15Nalpha - delta15Nbeta, where alpha indicates the central nitrogen atom and beta the terminal nitrogen atom in N2O) may allow differentiation between processes of production and consumption of N2O and can potentially be used to determine the contributions of nitrification and denitrification. The site preferences for nitrification and denitrification from the TNF-Ultisol incubated soils are: 4.2 per thousand +/- 8.4 per thousand and 31.6 per thousand +/- 8.1 per thousand, respectively. Thus, nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria populations under the conditions of our study exhibit significantly different 15N site preference fingerprints. Our data set strongly suggests that N2O isotopomers can be used in concert with traditional N2O stable isotope measurements as constraints to differentiate microbial N2O processes in soil and will contribute to interpretations of the isotopic site preference N2O values found in the free troposphere.