Accumulation and phytoavailability of benzo[a]pyrene in an acid sandy soil

Effects of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) on ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) growth, plant accumulation and dissipiation of B[a]P in a red sandy soil (Hapli-Udic Argosol) were studied in a pot experiment. The plants were grown for 61 days in soil spiked with B[a]P at 0, 12.5, 25 and 50 mg kg⁻¹. Control pots without plants were also set up. Soil extractable B[a]P, plant shoot and root biomass, and concentrations of B[a]P in plant shoots and roots were determined. Ryegrass biomass was increased by addition of B[a]P and root B[a]P concentrations were significantly correlated with B[a]P application rate, but no such correlation was found for shoot B[a]P concentrations. This indicates that B[a]P enhanced the growth of the ryegrass. The extractable B[a]P concentration in the planted soil was significantly lower than that in the unplanted control soil at the rate of 50 mg B[a]P kg⁻¹. This indicates that ryegrass may help to dissipate B[a]P in soil at concentrations over 50 mg kg⁻¹ soil although the mechanism for this is not understood.     

Effect of rhizosphere on soil microbial community and pyrene biodegradation

To access the influence of a vegetation on soil microorganisms toward organic pollutant biogegration, this study examined the rhizospheric effects of four plant species (sudan grass, white clover, alfalfa, and fescue) on the soil microbial community and in-situ pyrene (PYR) biodegradation. The results indicated that the spiked PYR levels in soils decreased substantially compared to the control soil without planting. With equal planted densities, the efficiencies of PYR degradation in rhizosphere with sudan grass, white clover, alfalfa and fescue were 34.0%, 28.4%, 27.7%, and 9.9%, respectively. However, on the basis of equal root biomass the efficiencies were in order of white clover >> alfalfa > sudan > fescue. The increased PYR biodegradation was attributed to the enhanced bacterial population and activity induced by plant roots in the rhizosphere. Soil microbial species and biomasses were elucidated in terms of microbial phospholipid ester-linked fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed significant changes in PLFA pattern in planted and non-planted soils spiked with PYR. Total PLFAs in planted soils were all higher than those in non-planted soils. PLFA assemblages indicated that bacteria were the primary PYR degrading microorganisms, and that Gram-positive bacteria exhibited higher tolerance to PYR than Gram-negative bacteria did.     

Effect of rhizosphere on soil microbial community and in-situ pyrene biodegradation

To access the influence of a vegetation on soil microorganisms toward organic pollutant biogegration, this study examined the rhizospheric effects of four plant species (sudan grass, white clover, alfalfa, and fescue) on the soil microbial community and in-situ pyrene (PYR) biodegradation. The results indicated that the spiked PYR levels in soils decreased substantially compared to the control soil without planting. With equal planted densities, the efficiencies of PYR degradation in rhizosphere with sudan grass, white clover, alfalfa and fescue were 34.0%, 28.4%, 27.7%, and 9.9%, respectively. However, on the basis of equal root biomass the efficiencies were in order of white clover >> alfalfa > sudan > fescue. The increased PYR biodegradation was attributed to the enhanced bacterial population and activity induced by plant roots in the rhizosphere. Soil microbial species and biomasses were elucidated in terms of microbial phospholipid ester-linked fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed significant changes in PLFA pattern in planted and non-planted soils spiked with PYR. Total PLFAs in planted soils were all higher than those in non-planted soils. PLFA assemblages indicated that bacteria were the primary PYR degrading microorganisms, and that Gram-positive bacteria exhibited higher tolerance to PYR than Gram-negative bacteria did.     

Biotic contexts alter metal sequestration and AMF effects on plant growth in soils polluted with heavy metals

Investigating how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)-plant interactions vary with edaphic conditions provides an opportunity to test the context-dependency of interspecific interactions. The relationship between AMF and their host plants in the context of other soil microbes was studied along a gradient of heavy metal contamination originating at the site of zinc smelters that operated for a century. The site is currently under restoration. Native C3 grasses have reestablished, and C4 grasses native to the region but not the site were introduced. Interactions involving the native mycorrhizal fungi, non-mycorrhizal soil microbes, soil, one C3 grass (Deschampsia flexuosa), and one C4 grass (Sorghastrum nutans) were investigated using soils from the two extremes of the contamination gradient in a full factorial greenhouse experiment. After 12 weeks, plant biomass and root colonization by AMF and non-mycorrhizal microbes were measured. Plants from both species grew much larger in soil from low-contaminated (LC) origin than high-contaminated (HC) origin. For S. nutans, the addition of a non-AMF soil microbial wash of either origin increased the efficacy of AMF from LC soils but decreased the efficacy of AMF from HC soils in promoting plant growth. Furthermore, there was high mortality of S. nutans in HC soil, where plants with AMF from HC died sooner. For D. flexuosa, plant biomass did not vary with AMF source or the microbial wash treatment or their interaction. While AMF origin did not affect root colonization of D. flexuosa by AMF, the presence and origin of AMF did affect the number of non-mycorrhizal (NMF) morphotypes and NMF root colonization. Adding non-AMF soil biota reduced Zn concentrations in shoots of D. flexuosa. Thus the non-AMF biotic context affected heavy metal sequestration and associated NMF in D. flexuosa, and it interacted with AMF to affect plant biomass in S. nutans. Our results should be useful for improving our basic ecological understanding of the context-dependency of plant-soil interactions and are potentially important in restoration of heavy-metal-contaminated sites.     

Plant-soil microorganism interactions: heritable relationship between plant genotype and associated soil microorganisms

Although soil microbial communities are known to play crucial roles in the cycling of nutrients in forest ecosystems and can vary by plant species, how microorganisms respond to the subtle gradients of plant genetic variation is just beginning to be appreciated. Using a model Populus system in a common garden with replicated clones of known genotypes, we evaluated microbial biomass and community composition as quantitative traits. Two main patterns emerged. (1) Plant genotype influenced microbial biomass nitrogen in soils under replicated genotypes of Populus angustifolia, F1, and backcross hybrids, but not P. fremontii. Genotype explained up to 78% of the variation in microbial biomass as indicated by broad-sense heritability estimates (i.e., clonal repeatability). A second estimate of microbial biomass (total phospholipid fatty acid) was more conservative and showed significant genotype effects in P. angustifolia and backcross hybrids. (2) Plant genotype significantly influenced microbial community composition, explaining up to 70% of the variation in community composition within P. angustifolia genotypes alone. These findings suggest that variation in above- and belowground traits of individual plant genotypes can alter soil microbial dynamics, and suggests that further investigations of the evolutionary implications of genetic feedbacks are warranted.     

Nutrient subsidies to belowground microbes impact aboveground food web interactions

Historically, terrestrial food web theory has been compartmentalized into interactions among aboveground or belowground communities. In this study we took a more synthetic approach to understanding food web interactions by simultaneously examining four trophic levels and investigating how nutrient (nitrogen and carbon) and detrital subsidies impact the ability of the belowground microbial community to alter the abundance of aboveground arthropods (herbivores and predators) associated with the intertidal cord grass Spartina alterniflora. We manipulated carbon, nitrogen, and detrital resources in a field experiment and measured decomposition rate, soil nitrogen pools, plant biomass and quality, herbivore density, and arthropod predator abundance. Because carbon subsidies impact plant growth only indirectly (microbial pathways), whereas nitrogen additions both directly (plant uptake) and indirectly (microbial pathways) impact plant primary productivity, we were able to assess the effect of both belowground soil microbes and nutrient availability on aboveground herbivores and their predators. Herbivore density in the field was suppressed by carbon supplements. Carbon addition altered soil microbial dynamics (net potential ammonification, litter decomposition rate, DON [dissolved organic N] concentration), which limited inorganic soil nitrogen availability and reduced plant size as well as predator abundance. Nitrogen addition enhanced herbivore density by increasing plant size and quality directly by increasing inorganic soil nitrogen pools, and indirectly by enhancing microbial nitrification. Detritus adversely affected aboveground herbivores mainly by promoting predator aggregation. To date, the effects of carbon and nitrogen subsidies on salt marshes have been examined as isolated effects on either the aboveground or the belowground community. Our results emphasize the importance of directly addressing the soil microbial community as a factor that influences aboveground food web structure by affecting plant size and aboveground plant nitrogen.     

植物群落对铜尾矿废弃地土壤微生物量和酶活性的影响

以铜尾矿废弃地为对象,研究了铜尾矿废弃地上植物群落发展与表层尾矿微生物量C、N和脱氢酶、过氧化氢碱性磷酸酶和脲酶活性的变化,探讨了植物群落-微生物量C、N_土壤酶活性之间的相互关系.结果表明,随着植物群落的发展,铜尾矿废弃地表层尾矿微生物量和酶活性在不断增加;铜官山老尾矿废弃地白茅群落下表层尾矿(TBM)微生物量和酶活性与杨山冲尾矿废弃地及铜官山新尾矿废弃地表层尾矿微生物量和酶活性存在显著差异性(p<0.05).相关分析表明铜尾矿废弃地表层尾矿微生物量C、N与土壤有机质、总氮之间呈显著正相关(P<0.01);脱氧酶、碱性磷酸酶及脲酶与微生物量C、微生物量N、土壤有机质、总氮之问呈显著正相关(P<0.01),但过氧化氢酶与微生物量C、微生物量N、土壤有机质、总氮之间呈显著负相关(P<0.01).     

Interactive effects of plant species diversity and elevated CO2 on soil biota and nutrient cycling

Terrestrial ecosystems consist of mutually dependent producer and decomposer subsystems, but not much is known on how their interactions are modified by plant diversity and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Factorially manipulating grassland plant species diversity and atmospheric CO2 concentrations for five years, we tested whether high diversity or elevated CO2 sustain larger or more active soil communities, affect soil aggregation, water dynamics, or nutrient cycling, and whether plant diversity and elevated CO2 interact. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pools, symbiotic N2 fixation, plant litter quality, soil moisture, soil physical structure, soil nematode, collembola and acari communities, soil microbial biomass and microflora community structure (phospholipid fatty acid [PLFA] profiles), soil enzyme activities, and rates of C fluxes to soils were measured. No increases in soil C fluxes or the biomass, number, or activity of soil organisms were detected at high plant diversity; soil H2O and aggregation remained unaltered. Elevated CO2 affected the ecosystem primarily by improving plant and soil water status by reducing leaf conductance, whereas changes in C cycling appeared to be of subordinate importance. Slowed-down soil drying cycles resulted in lower soil aggregation under elevated CO2. Collembola benefited from extra soil moisture under elevated CO2, whereas other faunal groups did not respond. Diversity effects and interactions with elevated CO2 may have been absent because soil responses were mainly driven by community-level processes such as rates of organic C input and water use; these drivers were not changed by plant diversity manipulations, possibly because our species diversity gradient did not extend below five species and because functional type composition remained unaltered. Our findings demonstrate that global change can affect soil aggregation, and we advocate that soil aggregation should be considered as a dynamic property that may respond to environmental changes and feed back on other ecosystem functions.     

Potential nitrogen constraints on soil carbon sequestration under low and elevated atmospheric CO2

The interaction between nitrogen cycling and carbon sequestration is critical in predicting the consequences of anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 (hereafter, Ca). The progressive N limitation (PNL) theory predicts that carbon sequestration in plants and soils with rising Ca may be constrained by the availability of nitrogen in many ecosystems. Here we report on the interaction between C and N dynamics during a four-year field experiment in which an intact C3/C4 grassland was exposed to a gradient in Ca from 200 to 560 micromol/mol. There were strong species effects on decomposition dynamics, with C loss positively correlated and N mineralization negatively correlated with Ca for litter of the C3 forb Solanum dimidiatum, whereas decomposition of litter from the C4 grass Bothriochloa ischaemum was unresponsive to Ca. Both soil microbial biomass and soil respiration rates exhibited a nonlinear response to Ca, reaching a maximum at approximately 440 micromol/mol Ca. We found a general movement of N out of soil organic matter and into aboveground plant biomass with increased Ca. Within soils we found evidence of C loss from recalcitrant soil C fractions with narrow C:N ratios to more labile soil fractions with broader C:N ratios, potentially due to decreases in N availability. The observed reallocation of N from soil to plants over the last three years of the experiment supports the PNL theory that reductions in N availability with rising Ca could initially be overcome by a transfer of N from low C:N ratio fractions to those with higher C:N ratios. Although the transfer of N allowed plant production to increase with increasing Ca, there was no net soil C sequestration at elevated Ca, presumably because relatively stable C is being decomposed to meet microbial and plant N requirements. Ultimately, if the C gained by increased plant production is rapidly lost through decomposition, the shift in N from older soil organic matter to rapidly decomposing plant tissue may limit net C sequestration with increased plant production.     

Response of soil microorganisms to vegetational succession in Ziwuling Forest

This study investigates the changes in soil microbial populations as vegetational succession progress from abandoned farmland to climax forest in the Ziwuling Forest, which is located in the northern part of the Loess Plateau, China. Different organic C and total extractable N between the fumigated and non-fumigated soils were assumed to be released from soil microorganisms. Soil microbial C was calculated using Kec = 0.38 and microbial N was calculated using Ken = 0.45. The released P was converted to microbial biomass P using Kep = 0.40. Soil bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes increased as the vegetational succession progressed. Microbial C was of the highest amount in farmland. Microbial C, N, and P generally increased from abandoned land to climax community. The results indicated significant (P < 0.05) diversities of soil microbial biomass under different vegetation. There was a significant correlation between microbial biomass and soil nutrients. Knowledge about soil microbial populations is important for forecasting vegetational succession and determining the ecological condition of the environment.     

Mycorrhizal fungal identity and diversity relaxes plant-plant competition

There is a great interest in ecology in understanding the role of soil microbial diversity for plant productivity and coexistence. Recent research has shown increases in species richness of mutualistic soil fungi, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), to be related to increases in aboveground productivity of plant communities. However, the impact of AMF richness on plant-plant interactions has not been determined. Moreover, it is unknown whether species-rich AMF communities can act as insurance to maintain productivity in a fluctuating environment (e.g., upon changing soil conditions). We tested the impact of four different AMF taxa and of AMF diversity (no AMF, single AMF taxa, and all four together) on competitive interactions between the legume Trifolium pratense and the grass Lolium multiflorum grown under two different soil conditions of low and high sand content. We hypothesized that more diverse mutualistic interactions (e.g., when four AMF taxa are present) can ease competitive effects between plants, increase plant growth, and maintain plant productivity across different soil environments. We used quantitative PCR to verify that AMF taxa inoculated at the beginning of the experiment were still present at the end. The presence of AMF reduced the competitive inequality between the two plant species by reducing the growth suppression of the legume by the grass. High AMF richness enhanced the combined biomass production of the two plant species and the yield of the legume, particularly in the more productive soil with low sand content. In the less productive (high sand content) soil, the single most effective AMF had an equally beneficial effect on plant productivity as the mixture of four AMF. Since contributions of single AMF to plant productivity varied between both soils, higher AMF richness would be required to maintain plant productivity in heterogeneous environments. Overall this work shows that AMF diversity promotes plant productivity and that AMF diversity can act as insurance to sustain plant productivity under changing environmental conditions.     

载带苯并[a]芘的纳米碳／二氧化硅颗粒引起大鼠氧化应激作用的研究

通过人工制备载带B[a]P的纳米碳(C)和纳米二氧化硅(SiO2)颗粒,采用气管滴注染毒方式,以7.5mg·kg-1(以体重计)的染毒剂量急性染毒大鼠,观察染毒24小时后载带B[a]P的纳米C/SiO2颗粒对机体产生氧化应激损伤的联合毒性效应.结果表明,在急性染毒后大鼠外周血中反映机体脂质过氧化损伤程度指标的丙二醛(MDA)含量表现为染毒组较对照组显著增加(p<0.05),表明纳米颗粒诱发机体发生了氧化应激反应.在急性染毒后各组大鼠肺泡灌洗液中谷胱苷肽过氧化物酶(GSH-PX)和超氧化物岐化酶(T-SOD)活力与对照组相比显著增加(p<0.05)(载带B[a]P的纳米SiO2组除外);载带B[a]P的纳米SiO2组肺泡灌洗液中GSH-PX活力与对照组相比无显著差异,而与单纯纳米SiO2组和B[a]P组比较显著降低,推测与抗氧化酶的一过性增高有关;载带B[a]P的纳米C组肺泡灌洗液T-SOD活力与其单纯纳米C组和单纯B[a]P组比较显著增加(p<0.05),由此表明载带B[a]P的复合纳米C/SiO2颗粒在致机体氧化损伤效应方面二者存在一定的协同作用.     

Forest succession suppressed by an introduced plant-fungal symbiosis

Microbial symbionts can affect plant nutrition, defensive chemistry, and biodiversity. Here we test the hypothesis that symbionts alter the speed and direction of plant succession in communities that are shifting from grasslands to forests. A widespread C3 grass introduced to the United States, Lolium arundinaceum (tall fescue), hosts a fungal endophyte that is toxic to herbivores. In replicated experimental grasslands, the presence of the endophyte in tall fescue reduced tree abundance and size, altered tree composition, and slowed plant species turnover. In addition, consumption of tree seedlings by voles (Microtus spp.) was 65% higher in plots with the endophyte at the one grassland site where these data were collected. Despite its negligible contribution to community biomass, a microbial symbiont suppressed tree establishment, posing an important constraint on the natural transition from grasslands to forests.     

Phosphorous cycling and biogeochemistry in a Venezuelan-flooded savanna

In 1970, a programme of land recuperation started in Venezuelan savannas, strongly affected by the seasonality of precipitation; therefore, a network of dykes has been built to alleviate the floods and retain water throughout the dry period. Under the dyked system, the environment has been altered, allowing a change in the herbaceous vegetation towards aquatic species and an increase in primary production. It is assumed that a considerable quantity of nutrients is lost from the ecosystem through the floodgates, a situation that could be worsened with the climate change. This contribution describes the atmospheric input and total output in stream run-off of phosphorous (P) in a flooded savanna. Internal pools of the biogeochemical cycle of P associated with terrestrial compartments are described. In the flooded savanna, a large amount of P is immobilised (29.6?kg?ha^?1) in their above ground biomass by grasses, and in soil microbial biomass. The P budget was nearly balanced, as measured losses were cancelled out by the inputs in rainfall. Soils act as a sink, retaining P coming either from precipitation or from desorption/mineralisation processes. That interruption can be maximised, and losses of P and other nutrients can be minimised with an adequate management of the floodgate.     

Not just the usual suspects: insect herbivore populations and communities are associated with multiple plant nutrients

The relationship between plant nutrient content and insect herbivore populations and community structure has long interested ecologists. Insect herbivores require multiple nutrients, but ecologists have focused mostly on nitrogen (an estimate of plant protein content), and more recently phosphorus (P); other nutrients have received little attention. Here we document nutrient variation in grass and forb samples from grassland habitats in central Nebraska using an elemental approach; in total we measured foliar concentrations of 12 elements (N and P, plus S, B, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Zn, Fe, Mn, and Cu). We detected significant variability among sites for N, P, Mg, Na, K, and Cu. We next used a model selection approach to explore how this nutritional variation and plant biomass correlate with grasshopper densities (collectively and at the feeding-guild level), and principal component analysis to explore nutrient correlations with grasshopper community species composition. When all grasshoppers were pooled, densities varied among sites, but only P was associated with abundance of the elements shown to vary between sites. Different responses occurred at the feeding-guild level. For grass specialists, densities were associated with N, plus P, Mg, and Na. For forb specialists, N and P were often associated with density, but associations with Na and K were also observed. Finally, mixed-feeder abundance was strongly associated with biomass, and to a lesser extent P, Mg, Na, and Cu. At the community level, B, Ca, Zn, and Cu, plus biomass, explained > 30% of species composition variation. Our results confirm the positive association of N and P with insect herbivore populations, while suggesting a potential role for Mg, Na, and K. They also demonstrate the importance of exploring effects at the feeding-guild level. We hope our data motivate ecologists to think beyond N and P when considering plant nutrient effects on insect herbivores, and make a call for studies to examine functional responses of insect herbivores to dietary manipulation of Mg, Na, and K. Finally, our results demonstrate correlations between variation in nutrients and species assemblages, but factors not linked to plant nutrient quality or biomass likely explain most of the observed variation.     

计划烧除攀枝花苏铁林区地面覆盖物对苏铁生长和土壤理化性质的影响

选择攀枝花苏铁林下计划烧除试验后苏铁及其根系周围土壤(0~15 cm)为对象,研究火烧对攀枝花苏铁植株生长、叶片生理和苏铁根系周围土壤理化性质的影响,以期为区域攀枝花苏铁种群恢复和生态环境保护提供理论依据.结果表明:计划烧除区域苏铁成年树的株数及株高没有显著变化,新生叶片数目和幼苗株数相对未烧除区域显著增加,增幅分别达201.66%和317.7%;烧除区域苏铁植株新生叶片叶绿素a、叶绿素b、叶绿素a+b,可溶性糖、蛋白质含量,硝酸还原酶(NR)、谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)活性,叶片碳(C)、氮(N)、磷(P)、钾(K)含量,C/N、N/P比与对照区域新生叶片相比无显著性差异,只有类胡萝卜素含量显著降低.计划烧除改变了苏铁根围土壤(0~15 cm)的理化性质,表现在烧除后的土壤含水量、pH值及总N、P、K含量显著降低;但是,火烧显著提高了土壤有机碳(TOC)、硝态氮(NO3--N)、铵态氮(NH4+-N)含量,微生物量C、N含量也略有升高;这说明火烧有利于增加苏铁林下土壤养分(N)的有效性,为烧除后苏铁快速恢复生长提供有利条件.     

土壤B[a]P叠加污染对蚯蚓体腔细胞SOD、POD和MDA的毒性效应

采用累积试验方法,研究土壤苯并[a]芘（B[a]P）多次叠加污染对赤子爱胜蚓（Eisenia foetida）体腔细胞超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化物酶（POD）和丙二醛（MDA）的毒性效应.结果表明,随着土壤中B[a]P暴露时间的延长,蚯蚓体腔细胞的SOD、POD活力和MDA含量呈初期（1～14 d）下降速率较快,尔后（14～56 d）下降速率减小的变化趋势.在叠加污染条件下,0～ 20 cm深度土壤中蚯蚓体腔细胞SOD活力和MDA含量在14d时分别比一次污染低20.97％和15.96％,POD活力比一次污染高20.44％;而在＞20～40 cm深度土壤中蚯蚓体腔细胞SOD、POD活力和MDA含量在14d时分别比一次污染低52.89％、18.00％和70.60％.表明B[a]P叠加污染土壤中蚯蚓体腔细胞的毒性效应低于一次污染.     

黑土微生物量和酶活性对邻苯二甲酸二丁酯污染的响应

邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(di-n-butyl phthalate,DBP)是一种在环境中广泛存在的有毒有机化合物,已被我国列为优先控制污染物之一。本研究探讨了不同浓度的DBP污染对黑土呼吸、微生物量以及黑土酶活性的影响。结果表明,DBP污染处理的黑土呼吸速率和微生物量碳较对照均显著增加;微生物氮在DBP污染过程中呈"降低-升高-降低"波动性变化;微生物磷与DBP污染浓度呈显著负相关;DBP对黑土多酚氧化酶表现为先促进后抑制,对转化酶和蛋白酶活性表现为低浓度促进而高浓度抑制;在DBP污染过程中脲酶呈现被激活状态;黑土过氧化氢酶和酸性磷酸酶均受到DBP污染的显著抑制。通过相关性分析发现,土壤微生物量、土壤酶活性与DBP污染浓度之间存在着高度的相关性。由此可推断,DBP污染改变了黑土呼吸、微生物量和酶学活性的代谢特征,进而有可能影响了黑土的生态系统功能,威胁到黑土的可持续利用。     

Seasonal variations in plant species effects on soil N and P dynamics

It is well established that plant species influence ecosystem processes, but we have little ability to predict which vegetation changes will alter ecosystems, or how the effects of a given species might vary seasonally. We established monocultures of eight plant species in a California grassland in order to determine the plant traits that account for species impacts on nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Plant species differed in their effects on net N mineralization and nitrification rates, and the patterns of species differences varied seasonally. Soil PO4- and microbial P were more strongly affected by slope position than by species. Although most studies focus on litter chemistry as the main determinant of plant species effects on nutrient cycling, this study showed that plant species affected biogeochemical cycling through many traits, including direct traits (litter chemistry and biomass, live-tissue chemistry and biomass) and indirect traits (plant modification of soil bioavailable C and soil microclimate). In fact, species significantly altered N and P cycling even without litter inputs. It became particularly critical to consider the effects of these multiple traits in order to account for seasonal changes in plant species effects on ecosystems. For example, species effects on potential rates of net N mineralization were most strongly influenced by soil bioavailable C in the fall and by litter chemistry in the winter and spring. Under field conditions, species effects on soil microclimate influenced rates of mineralization and nitrification, with species effects on soil temperature being critical in the fall and species effects on soil moisture being important in the dry spring. Overall, this study clearly demonstrated that in order to gain a mechanistic, predictive understanding of plant species effects on ecosystems, it is critical to look beyond plant litter chemistry and to incorporate the effects of multiple plant traits on ecosystems.     

滦河流域不同土地利用类型土壤微生物量C、TN、TP垂直分异规律及其影响因子研究

根据2009年4月份在滦河流域采集的25个土壤样点的数据资料,对不同土地利用类型土壤微生物量C、TN、TP质量分数特征、垂直分异规律、表聚性及与影响因子进行研究。结果表明：土壤微生物量C、TN、TP在土壤表层（0～10cm）的平均表聚系数分别为0.22、0.19和0.14,并且河滩地、林草地的土壤微生物量C、TN质量分数明显高于水稻田和旱田土壤,而农田系统土壤中TP质量分数相对占优。土壤微生物C、TN、TP的剖面分布均表现出从表层向下减少的总趋势,并以40cm为界,不同土地利用类型土壤、同层观测值的显著性差异有所不同。土壤微生物量C、TN与土壤含水率呈极显著正相关（P〈0.01）,与粉粒呈显著正相关（P〈0.05）,与土壤容重呈极显著负相关,与气温、降水量呈负相关。TP与气温、降水量呈极显著正相关,与容重负相关,与其它因子没有明显相关关系。