Carbon sequestration and soil microbes in purple paddy soil as affected by long-term fertilization

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration impacts on food security and climate change and may be affected by soil microbes in fertilized croplands. A 12-year field experiment under the rice–wheat system was used to evaluate the effect of the long-term fertilization on the SOC accumulation, culturable soil microbes, and their interaction in purple paddy soil. Results showed that varied fertilizations resulted in a significant increase of the SOC content and stock in the plow layer, as well as rise in populations of major soil microbes, including bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi compared with no fertilization. Soil with combined application of chemical NPK fertilizer and organic amendment (pig manure or rice straw return) on average had the highest organic carbon content and stock, amounts of bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi, which were 7.8%, 5.8%, 75.8%, 130.5%, and 16.2% higher than the NPK fertilization alone. Fertilization differentially altered populations of the functional anaerobic bacteria in paddy soil. With the combined application of chemical NPK fertilizer and organic amendment, soil displayed higher amounts of anaerobic cellulolytic bacteria, anaerobic fermentative bacteria, hydrogen-producing acetogen, methanogenic bacteria, denitrifying bacteria, and sulphate-reducing bacteria than that with the NPK fertilization alone or no fertilization. Populations of all three major soil microbes showed significantly positive correlations with the SOC content, indicating their interaction was of mutual promotion. Data suggest that the combined application of the NPK fertilizer with organic amendment especially by the rice straw return is recommended to sustain the soil biological fertility and mitigate the emission of the greenhouse gas by the SOC sequestration in purple paddy soil.     

Three-dimensional fluorescence spectral characterization of soil dissolved organic matters in the fluctuating water-level zone of Kai County, Three Gorges Reservoir

Three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy was used to investigate the fluorescent properties of soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the water-level-fluctuation zone (WLFZ) of Kai County, Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). Most of the soil DOM analyzed in this study was found to contain four fluorescence peaks. Peaks A and C represent humic-like fluorescence, whereas peaks B and D represent tryptophan-like fluorescence. Peaks E and F, which represent tyrosine-like fluorescence, only appeared in certain soils. Soil humus was the main source of DOM in soil, and higher concentration of soil DOM was found in the exposed soil than submerged soil. Compared to the peaks A and B, the fluorescence intensities of peaks C and D were strongly influenced by the fluctuating water level. Analysis of fluorescence intensities of different peaks in soil DOM showed that WLFZ soil was not contaminated significantly. Soil DOM contained at least two types of humic-like fluorescence groups and two types of protein-like fluorescence groups. The proportion of the content of peak A in soil organic matter was quite stable. The soil DOM in exposed soil had relatively high humification and aromaticity, and periodic submerging and exposure of soil had an impact on the humification of soil DOM.     

长期定位施肥土壤有效磷与速效钾的剖面分布及对作物产量的影响

通过25年的长期定位试验研究不同的施肥方式对土壤有效磷与速效钾质量分数及水稻产量的影响。研究结果表明：有机肥配合施用氮、磷、钾肥能够大大提高土壤耕层有效磷的质量分数,施肥主要影响土壤耕层有效磷的质量分数,对其它土层影响不明显。有机肥配合施用氮、磷、钾肥能够提高土壤耕层速效钾的质量分数,对20~40 cm土层土壤速效钾质量分数也有提高作用。化肥配合有机肥施用稻谷的产量高于单施化肥或单施有机肥,单施化肥或单施有机肥稻谷的产量高于不施肥的对照。因此,为了提高土壤肥力与作物产量,最好的培肥方式是有机肥配施氮磷钾肥。     

Comparative effects of different maize straw returning modes on soil humus composition and humic acid structural characteristics in Northeast China

In order to evaluate the effects of different maize straw returning modes on humus composition and humic acid (HA) structural, a field experiment was designed to have five treatments, i.e. Treatment CK (no straw returned), Treatment EIS (straw incorporated evenly into the soil using the crashing-ridging technique), Treatment SP (straw plowed into the soil), Treatment SM (straw returned as mulch) and Treatment SG (straw returned as pellets). Our results showed that Treatment EIS significantly increased the content of soil organic carbon (SOC), soil humus substances (HEC), soil humic acid carbon (HAC) and fulvic acid carbon (FAC) by 27.8%, 47.6%, 63.3% and 33.8%, respectively, as compared with CK. Among all the straw returning treatments, Treatment EIS was the most significant in effect of increasing the content of HEC, HAC and FAC. Moreover, Treatment EIS altered the composition of humus more significantly than all the other treatments, by increasing the proportion of alkyl C and the ratio of aliphatic C/aromatic C. These results suggest that straw returning accelerated the accumulation of soil organic C and various components of humus, significantly improved the structure of soil HA, with the practice of EIS in particular.     

添加不同营养助剂对石油污染土壤生物修复的影响

实验室条件下研究NPK复合肥、诺沃肥和腐殖酸三种物质不同配比添加对石油污染土壤的生物修复效果.在60d的修复实验中,定期取样测定土壤含油量、总异养菌数、石油烃降解菌数和脱氢酶活性,并采用PCR-DGGE技术研究修复过程中微生物多样性变化.结果表明,NPK肥的添加和NPK肥-诺沃肥-腐殖酸复合添加能够提高土壤中微生物的数量、微生物多样性和脱氢酶活性.在含油量为84600mg.kg-1的土壤中,添加营养助剂的处理60d后石油烃降解率为31.3%—39.5%,不添加营养助剂的石油烃降解率仅为3.5%.NPK肥-诺沃肥-腐殖酸复合添加对石油烃的降解率要高于NPK肥的单独添加(高8%),其原因可能是诺沃肥-腐殖酸能够有效提高土著微生物的活性,增加微生物的多样性,增强石油烃的降解.     

Photosensitivity sources of dissolved organic matter from wastewater treatment plants and their mediation effect on 17α-ethinylestradiol photodegradation

● EE2 photodegradation behavior in the presence of four WWTPs’ DOM was explored. ● The ³DOM* played a major role in the EE2 photodegradation mediated by WWTPs’ DOM. ● The A²/O process DOM contained more aromatic and oxygen-containing substances. ● Possible photosensitivity sources of DOM in the A²/O process were proposed. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) from each treatment process of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) contains abundant photosensitive substances, which could significantly affect the photodegradation of 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). Nevertheless, information about EE2 photodegradation behavior mediated by DOM from diverse WWTPs and the photosensitivity sources of such DOM are inadequate. This study explored the photodegradation behavior of EE2 mediated by four typical WWTPs’ DOM solutions and investigated the photosensitivity sources of DOM in the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A²/O) process. The parallel factor analysis identified three varying fluorescing components of these DOM, tryptophan-like substances or protein-like substances, microbial humus-like substances, and humic-like components. The photodegradation rate constants of EE2 were positively associated with the humification degree of DOM (P < 0.05). The triplet state substances were responsible for the degradation of EE2. DOM extracted from the A²/O process, especially in the secondary treatment process had the fastest EE2 photodegradation rate compared to that of the other three processes. Four types of components (water-soluble organic matter (WSOM), extracellular polymeric substance, humic acid, and fulvic acid) were separated from the A²/O process DOM. WSOM had the highest promotion effect on EE2 photodegradation. Fulvic acid-like components and humic acid-like organic compounds in WSOM were speculated to be important photosensitivity substances that can generate triplet state substances. This research explored the physicochemical properties and photosensitive sources of DOM in WWTPs, and explained the fate of estrogens photodegradation in natural waters.     

长期施肥对水稻土酶活性及理化特性的影响

为了明确不同施肥种类对水稻土土壤肥力与酶活性的影响,以30年（1981年至今）长期定位试验地为基础,研究不同施肥处理（CK,N,P,K,NPK,2倍NPK,NPK＋猪粪）水稻田耕层（0-20cm）土壤酶活性与养分的变化趋势及其相关性。结果表明：1）施P（配施或单施）增加土壤全P、速效P含量,平衡施肥配施有机肥（NPK＋猪粪处理）土壤的有机质、全P、速效P、全N、速效N均显著增加,所有施肥处理间pH值差异均不显著;2）除了NPK处理土壤脲酶活性最高外,平衡施肥配施有机肥土壤转化酶、酸性磷酸酶、过氧化氢酶活性均较其他处理显著增加;3）酸性磷酸酶活性与土壤全P量呈负相关,过氧化氢酶、脲酶、转化酶与全N、有机质、速效N、速效P呈显著或极显著正相关;因此,水田土壤长期平衡施肥配施有机肥,能显著提高土壤肥力,增加土壤酶活性,有益于土壤生产力的持续提高。     

Characterization of the dissolved organic matter in sewage effluent of sequence batch reactor: the impact of carbon source

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) transformation in sequence batch reactor (SBR) fed with carbon sources of different biodegradability was investigated. During the biologic degradation process, the low molecular weight (MW) fraction (< 1 kDa) gradually decreased, while the refractory compounds with higher aromaticity were aggregated. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and fluorescence of excitation emission matrices (EEM) demonstrated that more biopolymers (polysaccharides or proteins) and humic-like substances were presented in the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) extracted from the SBR fed with sodium acetate or glucose, while the EPS from SBR fed with slowly biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (DOC) substratestarch had relatively less biopolymers. Comparing the EfOM in sewage effluent of three SBRs, the effluent from SBR fed with starch is more aromatic. Organic carbon with MW>1 kDa as well as the hydrophobic fraction in DOM gradually increased with the carbon sources changing from sodium acetate to glucose and starch. The DOC fractionation and the EEM all demonstrated that EfOM from the effluent of the SBR fed with starch contained more fulvic acid-like substances comparing with the SBR fed with sodium acetate and glucose.     

Bioremediation of highly contaminated oilfield soil: Bioaugmentation for enhancing aromatic compounds removal

This study evaluated the effectiveness of different amendments--including a commercial NPK fertilizer, a humic substance （HS）, an organic industrial waste （NovoGro）, and a yeast-bacteria consortium--in the remediation of highly contaminated （up to 6% of total petroleum hydrocarbons） oilfield soils. The concentrations of hydrocarbon, soil toxicity, physicochemical properties of the soil, microbial population numbers, enzyme activities and microbial community structures were examined during the 90-d incubation. The results showed that the greatest degradation of total petroleum hydro- carbons （TPH） was observed with the biostimulation using mixture of NPK, HS and NovoGro, a treatment scheme that enhanced both dehydrogenase and lipase activities in soil. Introduction of exogenous hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria （in addition to biostimulation with NPK, HS and NovoGro） had negligible effect on the removal of TPH, which was likely due to the competition between exogenous and autochthonous microorganisms. None- theless, the addition of exogenous yeast-bacteria consor- tium significantly enhanced the removal of the aromatic fraction of the petroleum hydrocarbons, thus detoxifying the soil. The effect of bioaugmentation on the removal of more recalcitrant petroleum hydrocarbon fraction was likely due to the synergistic effect of bacteria and fungi.     

有机无机肥料对土壤肥力和作物产量的影响研究初报

研究有机无机肥料对土壤肥力及作物产量的影响．５年的定位监测结果表明，施无机Ｎ、Ｐ、Ｋ结合冬蔬菜残茎叶还田，不但能增加作物产量和提高经济效益．而且还能培肥土壤．而无机肥料加猪粪或冬绿肥还田的增产效果及土壤培肥效果与全无机肥相近．稻秆还田是增加土壤有机质的一项比较明显的有效措前，这一结论得到了再次验证．施用有机肥料可以增加土壤有效态微量元素的含量．     

Rapid incorporation and short-term distribution of a nonylphenol isomer and the herbicide MCPA in soil-derived organo-clay complexes

Organo-clay complexes in soil are a major sink for xenobiotics and, thus, often enhance their persistence dramatically. However, the knowledge on environmental processes of non-extractable residue formation on a short time scale is very restricted. Therefore, this study examined the distribution of 4-(3,5-dimethylhept-3-yl)phenol (NP) and 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) in soil over a short time period of 48 h and in different soil sub-fractions. The overall proportion of organo-clay-associated bound residues was not only abundant but also in the same range for both substances (MCPA: 8%; NP: 11% of applied ¹⁴C-radioactivity). However, a more detailed view revealed two different distribution patterns: a higher proportion of clay-associated NP was accompanied by a lower content of bound residues, whereas a smaller fraction of clay-associated MCPA was characterized by a higher proportion of non-extractable residues. Further on, a selective accumulation of bound residues among clay-associated humic fractions was observed. NP residues were linked predominantly to humic acids, whereas MCPA residues tended to be incorporated more into fulvic acids. It was evident that the overall distribution was influenced primarily by the physico-chemical properties of the contaminants. This study demonstrates in detail a rapid initial incorporation accompanied by a specific distribution into soil sub-fractions for selected xenobiotics in soil and points to a complex interaction of clay-associated organic matter with low molecular weight compounds.     

Phenanthrene adsorption by soils treated with humic substances under different pH and temperature conditions

The mobility of phenanthrene (PHE) in soils depends on its sorption and is influenced by either the existing soil humus or exogenous humic substances. Exogenous humic acids (HAs) were added to soil to enhance the amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) by 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 g kg⁻¹. PHE desorption of the treated soils was determined at two pH levels (3.0 and 6.0) and temperatures (15 and 25 °C). Soil PHE adsorption was related to pH and the type and quantity of added HAs. Humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) derived from peat had different effects on adsorption of PHE. Adsorption increased at first and then decreased with increasing quantity of exogenous FA. When the soil solution pH (in 0.005 M CaCl₂) was 4.5 or 3.0, the turning points were 2.5 g FA kg⁻¹ at pH 3.0 and 5 g FA kg⁻¹ at pH 4.5. When soil solution pH was 6, the amount of adsorbed PHE was enhanced with increasing exogenous HAs (HA or FA) and amount of adsorption by soil treated with FA was higher than with HA. Adsorption of PHE in the FA treatment at 10.0 g kg⁻¹ was lower than the controls (untreated soil or treatment with HAs at 0 g kg⁻¹) when the soil solution pH was 3.0. This suggests that FA adsorbed by soil was desorbed at low pH and would then increase PHE solubility, and PHE then combined with FA. PHE adsorption was usually higher under lower pH and/or lower temperature conditions. PHE sorption fitted the Freundlich isotherm, indicating that exogenous humic substances influenced adsorption of phenanthrene, which in turn was affected by environmental conditions such as pH and temperature. Thus, exogenous humic substances can be used to control the mobility of soil PAHs under appropriate conditions to decrease PAH contamination.     

广州城郊菜地土壤磷素特征及流失风险分析

通过化学分析和土壤淋洗试验对广州城郊菜地土壤磷素特征和流失风险进行了研究和分析。结果表明.广州城郊菜地土壤全磷含量极高;与自然土壤相比较,菜园土壤无机磷比例增大、有机磷比例降低;无机磷中的AI-P、Fe-P比例增加.O-P比例降低,Ca-P比例基本一致;土壤Olsen P、Bray-1 P、Mehlich-1 P、0.01mol/L CaCl_2和H_2O提取的磷含量相当高;土壤淋洗液中溶解态磷和总磷持续保持很高的浓度,土壤磷供应强度大。菜园土壤中磷进入水体引起水体磷浓度增加,导致水体富营养化风险大;土壤磷的测定值可作为土壤磷流失风险和对水环境影响程度的评估依据。菜地应作为农业非点源磷污染的优先控制区、应通过严格控制磷肥的投入和合理施肥等控制磷的流失。     

Aluminium in tea plantations: mobility in soils and plants, and the influence of nitrogen fertilization

The levels of extractable aluminum (Al) in soils of tea plantations, Al concentrations in tea leaves and the impact of nitrogen fertilization on these two parameters were investigated. In addition, the properties of soils from tea plantations were compared to those from soils of adjacent non-tea fields to evaluate the effect of land use conversion (from non-tea soils to tea soils). Exchangeable Al (extracted in 1 mol l⁻¹ KCl) ranged from 0.03 to 7.32 cmol_c kg⁻¹ in 94 tea fields and decreased rapidly with increasing soil pH. In comparison with non-tea soils, tea soils had a significantly lower pH and exchangeable Mg²⁺ concentration but higher organic matter contents and exchangeable K⁺ concentration. Contents of extractable Al were not different (P > 0.05) between these two soils. The concentrations of Al in mature tea leaves correlated significantly with exchangeable Al in soil samples taken at a depth of 20–40 cm and with exchangeable Al saturations in soil sampled at␣depths of 0–20 and 20–40 cm. In the pot experiment, nitrogen fertilization significantly increased extractable Al levels but decreased soil pH and the levels of exchangeable base cations. Nevertheless, the levels of Al in mature leaves and young shoots were significantly reduced by the application of large amounts of N fertilizer.     

Flocculation behaviors of a novel papermaking sludge-based flocculant in practical printing and dyeing wastewater treatment

•PSBF performed better than PAC and PAM in CODCr removals. •PSBF was more insensitive to changing pH than PAC and PAM. •PAC could remove humic acid-like pollutants and dye particles. •PSBF was efficient in removing tryptophan-like pollutants from PPDW. •A secondary coagulation-flocculation process (PAC→PSBF) is proposed here. In our previous studies, several papermaking sludge-based flocculants (PSBFs) were synthesized from wood pulp papermaking sludge. The structure-activity relationships of the PSBFs have been investigated in simulated dye wastewater treatment, but their efficiencies in practical printing and dyeing wastewater (PPDW) treatment are unknown. Herein, an PSBF was prepared, and its performance is discussed in comparison to polyaluminium chloride (PAC) and polyacrylamide (PAM) in PPDW treatment. The PSBF was used in three ways: as an independent flocculant, as a PAC aid, or used to treat the effluent of the PAC system. The results indicated that adding PSBF alone produced similar color and chemical oxygen demand (COD_Cr) removals as the PAC system alone, but PSBF performed better than PAC when the pH of PPDW was higher than 7.0. Adding PSBF as a PAC aid improved the color, COD_Cr and turbidity removals, but the elimination efficiencies were slightly lower than those of the PAC+ PAM system. However, when PSBF was used as a flocculant to treat the effluent of the PAC system (PAC→PSBF), the effluent qualities were enhanced. Compared with the PAC system, the color and COD_Cr removals of PAC→PSBF system increased by 16.21% and 13.26%, respectively. The excitation and emission matrix fluorescence results indicated that PSBF removed tryptophan-like pollutants more efficiently than PAC. Considering the pH requirements of the subsequent bioreactor treatment in practice, the PAC→PSBF system were also investigated at the PPDW pH level of 7.0. Its maximum removal efficiencies of color, COD_Cr and turbidity were 90.17%, 32.60% and 82.50%, respectively.     

Variation in humic and fulvic acids during thermal sludge treatment assessed by size fractionation,elementary analysis,and spectroscopic methods

Thermal pretreatment can be applied to sludge anaerobic digestion or dewatering. To analyze the variation in humic substances during thermal sludge treatment, sludge humic and fulvic acids were extracted before and after 30-min thermal treatment at 180℃, and then their contents, molecular weight distributions, elementary compositions, and spectral characteristics were compared. The results showed that the total contents of humic and fulvic acids in the sludge almost remained constant during thermal treatment, but 35% ofhumic and fulvic acids were dissolved from the sludge solids. Moreover, both humic and fulvic acids were partly decomposed and 32% of humic acids were converted to fulvic acids. The median value of the molecular weights of humic acids decreased from 81 to 41 kDa and that of fulvic acids decreased from 15 to 2 kDa. Besides the reduction in molecular size, the chemical structures of humic and fulvic acids also exhibited a slight change, i.e. some oxygen functional groups disappeared and aromatic structures increased after thermal sludge treatment.     

腐殖酸存在下镉和铅对土壤脱氢酶活性的影响

采用室内培养试验研究Cd和Pb污染红壤添加不同组分腐殖酸后,其脱氢酶活性的变化,结果表明,红壤遭受镉和铅污染后,脱氢酶活性显著降低,然而腐殖酸特别是胡敏酸的存在能够使脱氢酶活性得到显著回升,说明腐殖酸与重金属的相互作用对重金属污染土壤微生物活性的改善和修复功能,对土壤有一定的去污降毒作用.不同腐殖酸组分的效应大小为:灰色胡敏酸(GHA)>棕色胡敏酸(BHA)>富里酸(FA),表明分子量愈大、芳构化程度愈高的腐殖酸组分,其对重金属的钝化愈强,从而解除土壤重金属对生物毒害的能力愈强.     

Soil organic matter chemistry. Part 1. Characterization of several humic preparations by proton and carbon‐13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Both laboratory and commercial preparations of humic substances (HSs) such as fulvic acids and humic acids along with HC1‐HF preparation of Manitoba peat soil organic matter were characterized using Fourier Transformation (FT) proton (¹H) and carbon‐13 (¹³C) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. All the samples were dissolved in a solution of 0.4 N NaOD in D₂O. In the case of ‘H‐NMR spectroscopy, all the investigated humic samples displayed resonance absorption peaks in the region of 1–4 ppm indicating the likely presence of aliphatic protons in the preparations. However, with the exception of one fulvic acid preparation (extracted from Manitoba Carrol clay‐loam soil with 0.5 N NaOH), ¹H‐NMR spectra of all other samples provided evidence for strong aromatic character. The aliphatic and aromatic characteristics of such samples of HSs were further confirmed with the aid of ¹³C‐NMR spectra.     

长期施肥对旱地红壤肥力和酶活性的影响

为了明确不同施肥种类对旱地红壤肥力与酶活性的影响,以30年（1981年至今）长期定位试验地为基础,研究不同施肥处理（CK,N,NP,NPK,2倍NPK,猪粪,NPK＋猪粪）旱地红壤玉米田耕层（0～20 cm）土壤酶活性与养分的变化趋势及其相关性。结果表明：1）全N含量各处理间差异不显著,单施N肥显著增加土壤速效N,施有机肥处理（NPK＋猪粪,猪粪）土壤的pH值、有机质、全P、速效P均显著增加;2）除了2倍NPK处理土壤脲酶活性最高外,施有机肥土壤的转化酶、脱氢酶、酸性磷酸酶、过氧化氢酶活性也较其他处理显著增加;3）酸性磷酸酶、过氧化氢酶、脱氢酶、脲酶与全N、有机质、速效N呈显著或极显著正相关;因此,红壤旱地通过长期施用有机肥或与无机肥配施,不仅能显著提高土壤肥力,而且能增加土壤酶活性,从而显著提高土壤持续生产力。     

Molecular changes of aquatic humic substances formed from four aquatic macrophytes decomposed under different oxygen conditions

Aquatic macrophytes’ decomposition is a source of recalcitrant carbon in the long term contributing to humic substances (HS) formation. Understanding the influence of plant detritus quality and oxygen availability over molecular changes of these compounds provides ecological information related to their cycling. This study described the molecular variation of dissolved HS from Eichhornia azurea, Egeria najas, Oxycaryum cubense and Salvinia molesta decomposition under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The aquatic HS formed from the four aquatic macrophytes showed similar features (e.g. molecular weight and aromaticity). This fact indicates little influence of the detritus quality or availability of oxygen on the fulvic acids (FA) and humic acid characteristics. Under aerobic condition a decrease in the polysaccharides content in FA occurred. HS from E. najas were related to less-recalcitrant features, while HS from S. molesta were related to recalcitrant.