Reducing nitrogen runoff from paddy fields with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under different fertilizer regimes

Nitrogen(N) runoff from paddy fields serves as one of the main sources of water pollution. Our aim was to reduce N runoff from paddy fields by fertilizer management and inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF). In northeast China, Shuangcheng city in Heilongjiang province, a field experiment was conducted, using rice provided with 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%,and 100% of the local norm of fertilization(including N, phosphorus and potassium), with or without inoculation with Glomus mosseae. The volume, concentrations of total N(TN),dissolved N(DN) and particulate N(PN) of runoff water were measured. We found that the local norm of fertilization led to 18.9 kg/ha of N runoff during rice growing season, with DN accounting for 60%–70%. We also found that reduction in fertilization by 20% cut down TN runoff by 8.2% while AMF inoculation decreased N runoff at each fertilizer level and this effect was inhibited by high fertilization. The combination of inoculation with AMF and 80% of the local norm of fertilization was observed to reduce N runoff by 27.2%. Conclusively, we suggested that the contribution of AMF inoculation combined with decreasing fertilization should get more attention to slow down water eutrophication by reducing N runoff from paddy fields.     

好氧-厌氧污泥耦合白腐真菌单元对焦化废水的处理

白腐真菌因能分泌胞外木质素降解酶降解难降解有机污染物,而在难降解有机废水处理中具有巨大应用潜力.其研究常采用白腐真菌直接处理废水,很少关注常规生物法耦合白腐真菌的处理方式.基于此,分别采用白腐真菌和好氧-厌氧污泥耦合Phanerochaete Chrysosporium处理焦化废水以考察后者的可行性.在好氧-厌氧污泥耦合P.chrysosporium的处理中,仅采用3 d的处理时间,好氧-厌氧污泥可将6097 mg·L~(-1)的COD和351 mg·L~(-1)的氨氮分别降至1634~1684 mg·L~(-1)和102~117 mg·L~(-1);进而固定化P.chrysosporium将COD和氨氮再次分别降至1322~1372 mg·L~(-1)和16~62 mg·L~(-1).最终COD和氨氮的去除率分别达77%~78%和82%~95%,这表明:好氧-厌氧污泥耦合P.chrysosporium处理焦化废水可在更短的处理周期完成比直接采用白腐真菌处理更好的处理效果,此思路合理可行.     

Application of the Red‐List Index at a National Level for Multiple Species Groups

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Index (RLI) is recognized as one of the key indicators of trends in the status of species. The red‐list assessment done by Finnish authorities of species in Finland is taxonomically one of the most extensive national assessments. We used the Finnish Red Lists from 2000 and 2010 to calculate for the first time the national RLIs for 11 taxonomic groups at different trophic levels and with different life cycles. The red‐list index is calculated on the basis of changes in red‐list categories and indicates trends in the status of biological diversity of sets of species. The RLI value ranges from 0 to 1. The lower the value the faster the set of species is heading toward extinction. If the value is 1, all species in the set are least concern and if the value is 0, all species are (regionally) extinct. The overall RLI of Finnish species decreased. This means that, in Finland, these taxonomic groups were heading toward extinction faster in 2010 than in 2000. Of the analyzed groups of organisms, RLIs of 5 decreased and RLIs of 6 increased. At the national level, the RLIs and status trends varied markedly between species groups. Thus, we concluded that generalizations on the basis of RLIs of a few taxa only may yield a biased view of ongoing trends in the status of biological diversity at the species level. In addition, one overall RLI that includes many different species groups may also be misleading if variation in RLI among species groups is not considered and if RLI values are not presented separately for each group. Aplicación del Índice de la Lista Roja a Nivel Nacional para Grupos de Especies Múltiples     

Global mismatches in aboveground and belowground biodiversity

Human activities are accelerating global biodiversity change and have resulted in severely threatened ecosystem services. A large proportion of terrestrial biodiversity is harbored by soil, but soil biodiversity has been omitted from many global biodiversity assessments and conservation actions, and understanding of global patterns of soil biodiversity remains limited. In particular, the extent to which hotspots and coldspots of aboveground and soil biodiversity overlap is not clear. We examined global patterns of these overlaps by mapping indices of aboveground (mammals, birds, amphibians, vascular plants) and soil (bacteria, fungi, macrofauna) biodiversity that we created using previously published data on species richness. Areas of mismatch between aboveground and soil biodiversity covered 27% of Earth's terrestrial surface. The temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome had the highest proportion of grid cells with high aboveground biodiversity but low soil biodiversity, whereas the boreal and tundra biomes had intermediate soil biodiversity but low aboveground biodiversity. While more data on soil biodiversity are needed, both to cover geographic gaps and to include additional taxa, our results suggest that protecting aboveground biodiversity may not sufficiently reduce threats to soil biodiversity. Given the functional importance of soil biodiversity and the role of soils in human well-being, soil biodiversity should be considered further in policy agendas and conservation actions by adapting management practices to sustain soil biodiversity and considering soil biodiversity when designing protected areas.     

Natural resistance of rose petals to microbial attack

Petals of red, yellow and white roses (Rosa damascene Mill.) of the family Rosaceae were extracted with (1:1) methylene chloride/methanol and tested for their antimicrobial activities against four species of Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus), five species of Gram-negative bacteria (Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens) and five species of fungi (Penicillium notatum, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Fusarium oxysporum). All of the crude extracts showed a wide range of antimicrobial activities according to the tested organism and rose's type. Micrococcus luteus was found to be the most susceptible bacteria to all crude extracts. Red and yellow petal extracts showed much higher antibacterial activity than the white petals extract. Bacillus subtilis was found to be the least susceptible to all extracts. The fungus, Penicillium notatum was found to be the most susceptible with white petal extract being the most effective. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Fusarium oxysporum were the least susceptible to all extracts. White roses extract showed much higher antifungal activities against Penicillium notatum than red or yellow roses, therefore, it was subjected to several bioassay guided chromatographic fractionations and purification to isolate the active chemical(s) responsible for the antifungal activity. Chemical structure of the isolated antifungal compounds were identified by spectroscopy techniques and found to be a γ-sitosterol and (Z,Z)-9,12-octadecadienoic acid. Antibacterial activity of the various types of rose extracts were due to complex mixtures of organic compounds which are still under chemical investigation and will be published later.     

Fungitoxicity of lyophilized and spray-dried garlic extracts

Among the compounds discussed for anti-microbial and anti-fungal use allicin (allylthiosulfinate, diallyl disulfide-S-monoxide), an active ingredient of garlic, has attracted considerable attention. The objective of this study is to determine the antifungal activity of a local garlic ecotype (Voghiera) extracts against different pathogens. Primary screening was carried out by the agar plates technique using ethanol garlic extract at four final concentrations against the following organisms: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus spp., Colletotrichum acutatum, Didymella bryoniae, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium avenaceum, Fusarium gramineareum, Gliocladium roseum 47, Pythium splendens, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, Stemphylium vesicarium, Trichoderma longibranchiatum, and Botrytis cinerea. Secondary screening was carried out using a lyophilized and a spray-dried preparation at different concentrations against the organisms selected for the high inhibition garlic effect in the primary screening and compared with the commercial fungicides mancozeb and iprodione. The best results were observed for the spray-dried garlic compound that showed a good fungicidal activity at the concentration of 1.5 g/10 mL while lyophilized garlic at the same concentration exhibithed less inhibition activity against the four fungi analyzed in the second screening.     

Content and bioconcentration factors of mercury by Parasol Mushroom Macrolepiota procera

The carpophores of Parasol Mushroom and underlying soil substrate collected from several unpolluted and spatially distant sites across Poland were examined to know content and bioconcentration potential of mercury by this species. The total mercury content of the caps of Parasol Mushroom for the particular sites ranged from 1.1 ± 1.0 to 8.4 ± 7.4 μ g/g dry matter (total range from 0.05 to 22 μ g/g dm), while in the stalks were from 0.53 ± 0.27 to 6.8 ± 7.1 μ g/g dm (total range from 0.078 to 20 μ g/g dm). A top soil layer (0–10 cm) showed baseline mercury concentration from 0.022 ± 0.011 to 0.36 ± 0.16 μ g/g dm (total range from 0.010 to 0.54 μg/g dm). Parasol Mushroom is an effective mercury accumulator in the carpophores and bioconcentration factor (BCF) values of this element in the caps and depending on the sampling site ranged from 16 ± 6 to 220 ± 110 (total range from 0.52 to 470), while for the stalks were from 7.6 ± 2.6 to 130 ± 96 (total range from 0.52 to 340). It seems reasonable to state that tolerance (maximum allowable concentration) of the total mercury in a single cap of Parasol Mushroom at unpolluted areas should not exceed 25 μ g/g dm. A value greater then 25 μ g/g dm will imply an elevated content due to site pollution problems. Nevertheless, knowledge on highly toxic methylmercury content and its fraction in the total mercury content of Parasol Mushroom is lacking.     

Bioconcentration potential and contamination with mercury of pantropical mushroom Macrocybe gigantea

The mushroom Macrocybe gigantea collected from the native stands in the Yunnan Province of China can be considered a species that efficiently bioconcentrates mercury (Hg) because the values of the bioconcentration factor (BCF) calculated for this element were well above unity, i.e., for caps, the BCF ranged from 4.8 to 24 and, for stipes, from 3.6 to 18. The Hg content of the composite samples of caps of the fruit bodies collected in the wild ranged from 0.48 to 1.78 mg kg^?1 dry matter and of stipes from 0.36 to 1.70 mg kg^?1 dry matter, whereas 0.37 and 0.25 mg kg^?1 dry matter were observed for farmed specimens. M. gigantea, because of a large biomass of the fruit bodies that emerge in a cluster, is an important food item in Yunnan, but knowledge on mineral composition and content of this species is largely absent. This study estimated the lifetime average daily dose intake of Hg through mushroom as well as the incremental lifetime cancer risk and non-cancer health hazard to consumers of this mushroom.     

丛枝菌根真菌对不同含盐量湿地土壤中芦苇生长的影响

采用温室盆栽实验的方法,研究接种Claroideoglomus etunicatum(CE)、Rhizophagus intraradices(RI)、Funneliformis mosseae(FM)和Glomus versiforme(GV)对非盐渍化和盐渍化湿地土壤上芦苇(Phragmites australis)菌根侵染率、生物量、矿质营养吸收、C∶N∶P生态化学计量比和Na+、Cl-含量的影响,旨在为我国湿地生态系统的生态恢复和盐碱化修复提供理论依据和技术支持.结果表明,在2种湿地土壤上4种AM真菌的平均菌根侵染率为2.5%~38%,接种CE的侵染率显著高于其它接种处理;盐渍化湿地土壤上芦苇菌根侵染率与非盐渍化湿地土壤间无显著性差异,非盐渍化湿地土壤芦苇生物量、矿质营养元素的吸收显著高于盐渍化湿地土壤,而Na+和Cl-的含量显著低于盐渍化湿地土壤.对于非盐渍化湿地土壤,接种GV处理显著增加了芦苇地上部的干重,促进了芦苇地上部对N、P、K、Ca和Mg等5种营养元素的吸收,接种GV和RI则显著促进了芦苇根部对P和K的吸收;4种接种处理显著降低了芦苇地上部N∶P,接种FM和GV显著降低了根部C∶N和C∶P;4种接种处理也显著降低了芦苇地上部Cl-的含量,接种RI处理显著降低了芦苇地上部Na+的含量.对于盐渍化湿地土壤,4种接种处理对芦苇生物量、矿质营养吸收和Na+、Cl-的含量均没有显著性影响.结果也表明,AM真菌对于不同含盐量湿地土壤芦苇生长的影响表现出不同的菌根效应,在非盐渍化湿地土壤上对芦苇生长的有益作用明显好于盐渍化湿地土壤.应结合相应的技术措施进一步通过野外实地实验筛选接种效果好的AM真菌菌种,探讨菌根技术对不同含盐量湿地土壤上芦苇生长的实际作用.     

丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)对铯胁迫宿根高粱生长及根际土壤酶的影响

通过盆栽试验研究了接种透光球囊霉(Glomus diaphanum)、摩西球囊霉(Glomus mosseae)、地表球囊霉(Glomus versiforme)及幼套球囊霉(Glomus etunicatum)等4种丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)对铯污染下宿根高粱生长及根际土壤酶活性的影响.结果表明,与未接种对照相比,接种AMF处理均显著增加了宿根高粱的株高和根长,同时增强了过氧化氢酶、蔗糖酶活性及根系活力(P0.05),且以接种G.etunicatum增强效果最好,上述酶活性和根系活力分别相当于对照的1.11、2.25和4.04倍,而接种Glomus diaphanum最显著增强了酸性磷酸酶活性,使其提高了24.53 mg·g-1·d-1·FW(P0.05),宿根高粱对铯的耐性指数均高于对照,说明AMF在一定程度上能缓解铯污染胁迫对根际土壤酶的抑制作用,进而减轻核素铯对植物的毒害;接种AMF处理显著抑制了脲酶活性,表明脲酶可作为反应土壤核素铯污染的一个有效指标.同时也表明AMF有效地增强了宿根高粱对核素铯的耐性能力.