Microbial degradation of two carbamate insecticides and their main metabolites in soil

Degradation studies in soil of the insecticides aldicarb and carbofuran and their metabolites (aldicarb sulfoxide, aldicarb sulfone; 3-ketocarbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran) were carried out using laboratory systems under controlled conditions (temperature, water content, light). The insecticides were added to soil samples and subsamples of the soil were analyzed at different times to assess both the bacterial abundance and the concentration of the different chemicals. The epifluorescence direct count method was applied to the subsamples to estimate microorganism numbers (N/g soil). Untreated samples of soil were used as controls for evaluating the effects of the application of the insecticides on microbial abundance. Subsamples treated with the pesticides were analyzed using HPLC and the DT 50 s of the different compounds studied were calculated. The DT 50 values show that neither the parent compounds nor the transformation products have a high persistence in soil and there is a general increase in the concentration of microorganisms as the pesticides diminish.     

Butachlor Degradation in Tropical Soils: Effect of Application Rate,Biotic-Abiotic Interactions and Soil Conditions

The degradative characteristics of butachlor (N-Butoxymethyl-2-chloro-2′,6′-diethyla- cetanilide) were studied under controlled laboratory conditions in clay loam alluvial (AL) soil (Typic udifluvent) and coastal saline (CS) soil (Typic endoaquept) from rice cultivated fields. The application rates included field rate (FR), 2-times FR (2FR) and 10-times FR (10FR). The incubation study was carried out at 30°C with and without decomposed cow manure (DCM) at 60% of maximum water holding capacity (WHC) and waterlogged soil condition. The half-life values depended on the soil types and initial concentrations of butachlor. Butachlor degraded faster in AL soil and in soil amended with DCM under waterlogged condition. Microbial degradation is the major avenue of butachlor degradation from soils.     

Some Guiding Concepts for Conservation Biology

Abstract: The search for generalities in ecology has often been thwarted by contingency and ecological complexity that limit the development of predictive rules. We present a set of concepts that we believe succinctly expresses some of the fundamental ideas in conservation biology. (1) Successful conservation management requires explicit goals and objectives. (2) The overall goal of biodiversity management will usually be to maintain or restore biodiversity, not to maximize species richness. (3) A holistic approach is needed to solve conservation problems. (4) Diverse approaches to management can provide diverse environmental conditions and mitigate risk. (5) Using nature's template is important for guiding conservation management, but it is not a panacea. (6) Focusing on causes not symptoms enhances efficacy and efficiency of conservation actions. (7) Every species and ecosystem is unique, to some degree. (8) Threshold responses are important but not ubiquitous. (9) Multiple stressors often exert critical effects on species and ecosystems. (10) Human values are variable and dynamic and significantly shape conservation efforts. We believe most conservation biologists will broadly agree these concepts are important. That said, an important part of the maturation of conservation biology as a discipline is constructive debate about additional or alternative concepts to those we have proposed here. Therefore, we have established a web‐based, online process for further discussion of the concepts outlined in this paper and developing additional ones.     

Effects of climatic data low-pass filtering on the ICBM temperature- and moisture-based soil biological activity factors in a cool and humid climate

The air temperature (T_air), total precipitation (TP) and potential evapotranspiration (PET) are standard input data for soil carbon dynamic models, i.e., for calculating temperature and moisture effects on soil biological activity. The resolution needed depends on objectives, the complexity of models and inbuilt pedotransfer functions. The Introductory Carbon Balance Model (ICBM) soil climate front end model calculates a multiplicative soil-temperature (r_{e_temp}) and -moisture (r_{e_wat}) factor with a daily time-step to estimate soil biological activity, i.e., r_{e_crop} = r_{e_temp} × r_{e_wat}. Our objective was to determine how much r_{e_temp}, r_{e_wat} and r_{e_crop} are affected by low-pass filtering of the climatic input data for a cool, humid temperate region. To achieve this we conducted spectral analysis on T_air, TP, PET and r_{e_crop} in the frequency domain. Thereafter we applied Fourier low-pass filters of 5, 15, 30, 60 and 180 days on T_air, TP, PET and tracked their effects through the soil climate model's state variables and outputs. This was done using a sandy and a heavy clay soil and an 89-year daily time-series from a meteorological station in Quebec (Canada). The Fourier spectra showed that the variance for T_air, PET and r_{e_crop} was dominated by an annual cycle, as could be expected. There was no yearly cycle for TP. The variation in r_{e_temp} explained most of the variance in r_{e_crop}. The soil climate module outputs were not sensitive to low-pass filtering of PET. A daily time-step was needed to avoid overestimating r_{e_crop} for the sandy soil. Using a weekly time-step for TP and T_air allowed us to explain about 80% of the variance in r_{e_crop} for the heavy clay soil. This study also indicates that the standard leaf (and green) area index functions for calculating transpiration should receive more attention, since they have significant effects on the state and output variables.     

Variation in soil organic carbon mineralization and microbial community structure induced by the conversion from double rice fields to drained fields北大核心CSCD

Land use conversion is an important factor influencing the carbon gas exchange between land and atmosphere. The effect of land use conversion on soil organic carbon mineralization and microbial function is important for soil organic carbon sequestration and stability. This research studied the effects of land use conversion on soil chemical properties, organic carbon mineralization and microbial community structure after two years of conversion from double rice cropping (RR) to maize-maize (MM) and soybean-peanut (SP) double cropping systems in southern China. The results showed that soil pH significantly decreased by 0.50 (MM) and 0.52 (SP, P = 0.002), and dissolved organic carbon significantly increased by 23%- 35% (P = 0.016). No significant difference was found in soil organic carbon mineralization rate with the land use conversion, though the accumulated mineralization decreased after 13 days of incubation (P = 0.019). Land use conversion from paddy to upland significantly changed soil microbial community structure. The total PLFAs, bacterial, gram-positive bacterial (G+), gram-negative bacterial (G-) and actinomycetic PLFAs decreased significantly (P < 0.05), the ratio of fungal PLFAs to bacterial PLFAs (F/B) increased significantly (P = 0.006). But no significant differences in microbial groups were found between MM and SP. The accumulated mineralization at the beginning period of the incubation were significantly positively correlated with soil actinomycetic PLFAs (P = 0.034). After 13 days of incubation, soil F/B showed a positive correlation with the accumulated mineralization (P = 0.004). However, soil microbial community structure(P = 0.014)and total PLFAs(P = 0.033)showed a positive correlation with the accumulated mineralization after 108 days of incubation. Our results indicated that after conversion from paddy soils to drained soils, soil pH and total nitrogen are the key factors regulating the variations in soil microbial community structure and biomass, and then influencing soil organic carbon mineralization.     

Characteristics of soil fauna community in the decomposition of Deyeuxia arundinacea litters北大核心CSCD

This study aimed to understand the soil fauna characteristics during the litter decomposition process of perennial herb Deyeuxia arundinacea. The litters were put in 6-, 30-, and 260-mesh litterbags to investigate their mass loss and the dynamics of soil faunal community during Aug. 2013 to Jul. 2014. Faster decomposition rate of Deyeuxia arundinacea in different meshes was found in the early period than in mid- and end-periods. Among different mesh sizes, 6-mesh had the fastest decomposition rate, followed by 30-mesh and 260-mesh. A total of 2218 individuals of soil fauna were obtained in different meshes, with 958, 737 and 523 individuals in 30-, 260- and 6-mesh respectively. Oribatida and Poduridae were the dominant groups, accounting for 73.22% of total individuals. The soil animal individual and group densities shared a very similar trend among the decomposition bags of three aperture sizes, all with obvious characteristics of seasonal dynamic distribution. During the 12 months of decomposition, the density of soil animal groups did not show significant difference between the 6 mesh and 260 mesh decomposition bags except for May. Correlation analysis showed that the group density was highly significantly correlated with average monthly temperature and rainfall, and the individual density significantly correlated with the average monthly temperature. The results indicated that the structure and diversity of soil fauna community of Deyeuxia arundinacea are influenced by hydrothermal conditions. The findings help in understanding the effect of soil fauna to perennial herb litter decomposition.     

西安市近郊土壤肥力调查与评价

通过监测土壤肥力评价常用的有机质、全氮、全磷、全钾、有效磷、速效钾、p H等7项评价指标,对西安市近郊4个方位的土壤肥力进行了评价。结果表明:在西安市近郊的4个方位上,土壤中p H值普遍在8.5左右,显略碱性;有机质的含量普遍处于稍缺状态,北郊的有机质含量相对比较丰富,最高为2.64%;全氮含量相对较好,全钾含量均处于较缺状态,北郊的全钾含量较高,为4.17 g/kg;全磷含量均处于0.66 g/kg左右,属中等状态;有效磷含量处于中等含量水平,南郊较低,平均为7.3 mg/kg,最低至3 mg/kg;速效钾含量东郊为37.93 mg/kg,含量较少,处于较缺状态,其余3个郊区均处于稍缺状态。     

施用粪肥蔬菜基地抗生素残留的研究进展

从施用粪肥的土壤及蔬菜中抗生素的含量与分布特征、抗生素残留对土壤微生物数量、酶活性及对蔬菜产量、品质的影响方面进行了综述,为进一步对施用粪肥蔬菜基地抗生素残留的研究提供参考。结果表明:规模养殖场产生的畜禽粪便作为有机肥料施入蔬菜基地,可造成土壤抗生素残留污染,并可通过干扰土壤微生物的群落结构与功能及土壤酶活性而影响土壤肥力,甚至可被作物吸收累积从而危及农产品质量安全。     

Accelerated anaerobic dechlorination of DDT in slurry with Hydragric Acrisols using citric acid and anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS)

The application of electron donor and electron shuttle substances has a vital influence on electron transfer,thus may affect the reductive dechlorination of 1,1,1-trichoro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane(DDT) in anaerobic reaction systems.To evaluate the roles of citric acid and anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate(AQDS) in accelerating the reductive dechlorination of DDT in Hydragric Acrisols that contain abundant iron oxide,a batch anaerobic incubation experiment was conducted in a slurry system with four treatments of(1) control,(2) citric acid,(3) AQDS,and(4) citric acid + AQDS.Results showed that DDT residues decreased by 78.93%–92.11% of the initial quantities after 20 days of incubation,and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-ethane(DDD) was the dominant metabolite.The application of citric acid accelerated DDT dechlorination slightly in the first 8 days,while the methanogenesis rate increased quickly,and then the acceleration effect improved after the 8th day while the methanogenesis rate decreased.The amendment by AQDS decreased the Eh value of the reaction system and accelerated microbial reduction of Fe(III) oxides to generate Fe(II),which was an efficient electron donor,thus enhancing the reductive dechlorination rate of DDT.The addition of citric acid + AQDS was most efficient in stimulating DDT dechlorination,but no significant interaction between citric acid and AQDS on DDT dechlorination was observed.The results will be of great significance for developing an efficient in situ remediation strategy for DDT-contaminated sites.