ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC DAMAGE CAUSED BY SEDIMENT FROM AGRICULTURAL NONPOINT SOURCES1

Environmental and economic damages caused by agricultural nonpoint source inputs of sediment and associated pollutants are examined. Widespread water quality problems are identified in lakes, rivers, and estuaries in agricultural areas, and billions of dollars of on-site and offsite costs result from this eroded soil every year. Some water bodies have been irretrievably damaged, and expensive rehabilitation programs are needed to remedy in-place water pollution problems if Clean Water Act goals are to be achieved. Unless effective abatement and rehabilitation programs are established, billions of dollars of benefits to future generations will not be realized as more waters become irretrievably damaged, and billions more will continue to be spent by government to treat symptoms of these sediment-related problems.     

The Chemistry of Throughfall, Stemflow and Soil Water Beneath Oak Woodland and Moorland Vegetation in Upland Wales

The chemistry of bulk precipitation, throughfall, stemflow and soil waters beneath an oak wood (Quercus petraea) canopy and soil waters under moorland vegetation were measured at two sites on acid brown podzolic soils near Llyn Brianne in rural mid-Wales, UK. Between March 1986 and November 1988, precipitation was 4354 mm and annual interception losses from the oak canopy averaged 13% of incident precipitation. Throughfall and stemflow were more acid and concentrations of most solutes were increased 2- to 4-fold compared with bulk precipitation. Nitrate was the only solute retained within the tree canopy. Throughfall collected beneath patches of bracken on the forest floor was less acidic but contained substantially higher concentrations of major ions than bulk precipitation and oak throughfall. the moorland soil was more acidic, contained more exchangeable calcium but less exchangeable aluminium and potassium than the woodland soil. Soil waters beneath both vegetation types were acidic (mean pH range 4.5-4.9) and dominated by sodium and chloride. with the exception of calcium, soil water solute concentrations were greater beneath oak. These differences are ascribed to larger atmospheric inputs beneath the oak canopy compared with the shorter grasses, combined with the effect of differences in nutrient dynamics and water fluxes. Variations in soil water aluminium chemistry are explained in terms of ion exchange and podzolisa-tion processes. the water quality implications of increased upland afforestation of moorland by broadleaved trees are discussed.     

土地资源利用保护与农业生态建设

本文阐述了国内外土地后备资源现状及存在问题,解剖了土壤肥力演化机制和土壤资源保护的关系,介绍了我国生态农业建设的研究进展,指出了今后的主攻方向。     

多层次模糊综合评判在林业土壤评价中的应用

本文以四川部分林业土壤为例,应用多层次模糊综合评判法进行土壤资源的质量评价。采取聘请众多专家分级、打分的办法制定评价标准和确定评价因素权数。实施了专家系统与综合评判的联合运用技术,并探讨了提高土壤质量评级精度的“加细”评判问题。最后,通过比较多层次模糊综合评判法与传统法(评分法)的评价结果,指出前者具有更强的客观性和全面性。     

Assessment of Soil Cover Degradation and Desertification in Northern Lowland Dagestan

New principles of the assessment of soil cover degradation and desertification, the scale and intensity of destructive processes manifestation are determined.     

Differences in nitrous oxide fluxes from red soil under different land uses in mid-subtropical China

Red soil may play an important role in nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions due to its recent land use change pattern. To predict the land use change effect on N₂O emissions, we examined the relationship between soil N₂O flux and environmental determinants in four different types of land uses in subtropical red soil. During two years of study (January 2005-January 2007), biweekly N₂O fluxes were measured from 09:00 to 11:00 a.m. using static closed chamber method. Objectives were to estimate the seasonal and annual N₂O flux differences from land use change and, reveal the controlling factors of soil N₂O emission by studying the relationship of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), water filled pore space (WFPS) and soil temperature with soil N₂O flux. Nitrous oxide fluxes were significantly higher in hot-humid season than in the cool-dry season. Significant differences in soil N₂O fluxes were observed among four land uses; 2.9, 1.9 and 1.7 times increased N₂O emissions were observed after conventional land use conversion from woodland to paddy, orchard and upland, respectively. The mean annual budgets of N₂O emission were 0.71-2.21 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ from four land use types. The differences were partly attributed to increased fertilizer use in agriculture land uses. In all land uses, N₂O fluxes were positively related to soil temperature and DOC accounting for 22-48% and 30-46% of the seasonal N₂O flux variability, respectively. Nitrous oxide fluxes did significantly correlate with WFPS in orchard and upland only. Nitrous oxide fluxes responded positively to MBC in all land use types except orchard which had the lowest WFPS. We conclude that (1) land use conversion from woodland to agriculture land uses leads to increased soil N₂O fluxes, partly due increased fertilizer use, and (2) irrespective of land use, soil N₂O fluxes are under environmental controls, the main variables being soil temperature and DOC, both of which control the supply of nitrification and denitrification substrates.     

13C在草原土壤呼吸区分中的应用

区分草原土壤呼吸的主要目的在于准确估算草原生态系统土壤碳蓄积和碳源、 汇潜力,为预测气候变化提供科学依据。论文主要论述了稳定同位素¹³C在草原土壤呼吸区分方面的应用。主要在以下几个方面进行了阐述:①碳同位素区分土壤呼吸的两种主要标记方法——脉冲标记法和持续标记法,其中脉冲标记法包括单次脉冲标记法和重复脉冲标记法,持续标记法包括FACE实验标记法和¹³C自然丰度标记法,也介绍了利用核爆产生的¹⁴C标记;②应用碳稳定同位素区分土壤呼吸的理论依据和计算方法;③土壤呼吸稳定同位素组成的取样方法和测定,包括静态箱-Keeling Plot法、 静态箱平衡状态法和动态箱连接红外分析仪法等;④指出了减小静态箱-Keeling Plot法测定土壤呼吸碳同位素值的误差需采取的措施。     

Ammonia volatilization and availability of Cu, Zn induced by applications of urea with and without coating in soils

Ammonia volatilization and the distribution of Cu and Zn were investigated in two types of soil treated with coated and uncoated urea. The rate of ammonia volatilization in two weeks after fertilizing with coated urea was 8% in soil 1 (soil derived from river alluvial deposits in Dongting Lake Plain) and 5.15% in soil 2 (red soil derived from quaternary red clay), about half the rates observed when fertilizing with common urea, implying that the hydrolysis speed of the coated urea was lower than for common urea, and that the coated urea can increase nitrogen use efficacy. As for the availability of Cu and Zn, their concentrations decreased in the first week after fertilization, and then increased, which was contrary to the effect of treatment on soil pH. For example, when the pH was 7.99, there was 0.79 mg/kg exchangeable Cu and 0.85 mg/kg exchangeable Zn in the soil derived from river alluvial deposits in Dongting Lake Plain. However, the concentrations of exchangeable Cu and Zn were generally lower for the common urea treatments than those with the coated urea because the peak pH for the common urea treatment was greater. The concentrations of these elements correlated well with pH in the range 4-8 in second order polynomial fits.     

Nitrogen deposition alters soil chemical properties and bacterial communities in the Inner Mongolia grassland

Nitrogen deposition has dramatically altered biodiversity and ecosystem functioning on the earth; however, its effects on soil bacterial community and the underlying mechanisms of these effects have not been thoroughly examined. Changes in ecosystems caused by nitrogen deposition have traditionally been attributed to increased nitrogen content. In fact, nitrogen deposition not only leads to increased soil total N content, but also changes in the NH₄⁺-N content, NO₃^--N content and pH, as well as changes in the heterogeneity of the four indexes. The soil indexes for these four factors, their heterogeneity and even the plant community might be routes through which nitrogen deposition alters the bacterial community. Here, we describe a 6-year nitrogen addition experiment conducted in a typical steppe ecosystem to investigate the ecological mechanism by which nitrogen deposition alters bacterial abundance, diversity and composition. We found that various characteristics of the bacterial community were explained by different environmental factors. Nitrogen deposition decreased bacterial abundance that is positively related to soil pH value. In addition, nitrogen addition decreased bacterial diversity, which is negatively related to soil total N content and positively related to soil NO₃^--N heterogeneity. Finally, nitrogen addition altered bacterial composition that is significantly related to soil NH₄⁺-N content. Although nitrogen deposition significantly altered plant biomass, diversity and composition, these characteristics of plant community did not have a significant impact on processes of nitrogen deposition that led to alterations in bacterial abundance, diversity and composition. Therefore, more sensitive molecular technologies should be adopted to detect the subtle shifts of microbial community structure induced by the changes of plant community upon nitrogen deposition.     

Degradation of pyrene by immobilized microorganisms in saline-alkaline soil

Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is very difficult in saline-alkaline soil due to the inhibition of microbial growth under saline-alkaline stress. The microorganisms that can most effectively degrade PAHs were screened by introducing microorganisms immobilized on farm byproducts and assessing the validity of the immobilizing technique for PAHs degradation in pyrene-contaminated saline-alkaline soil. Among the microorganisms examined, it was found that Mycobacterium sp. B2 is the best, and can degrade 82.2% and 83.2% of pyrene for free and immobilized cells after 30 days of incubation. The immobilization technique could increase the degradation of pyrene significantly, especially for fungi. The degradation of pyrene by the immobilized microorganisms Mucor sp. F2, fungal consortium MF and co-cultures of MB+MF was increased by 161.7% (P < 0.05), 60.1% (P < 0.05) and 59.6% (P < 0.05) after 30 days, respectively, when compared with free F2, MF and MB+MF. Scanning electron micrographs of the immobilized microstructure proved the positive effects of the immobilized microbial technique on pyrene remediation in saline-alkaline soil, as the interspace of the carrier material structure was relatively large, providing enough space for cell growth. Co-cultures of different bacterial and fungal species showed different abilities to degrade PAHs. The present study suggests that Mycobacterium sp. B2 can be employed for in situ bioremediation of PAHs in saline-alkaline soil, and immobilization of fungi on farm byproducts and nutrients as carriers will enhance fungus PAH-degradation ability in saline-alkaline soil.