Characteristics of wood ash and influence on soil properties and nutrient uptake: an overview

Wood industries and power plants generate enormous quantities of wood ash. Disposal in landfills has been for long a common method for removal. New regulations for conserving the environment have raised the costs of landfill disposal and added to the difficulties for acquiring new sites for disposal. Over a few decades a number of studies have been carried out on the utilization of wood ashes in agriculture and forestry as an alternative method for disposal. Because of their properties and their influence on soil chemistry the utilization of wood ashes is particularly suited for the fertility management of tropical acid soils and forest soils. This review principally focuses on ash from the wood industry and power plants and considers its physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics, its effect on soil properties, on the availability of nutrient elements and on the growth and chemical composition of crops and trees, as well as its impact on the environment.     

酸沉降对森林生态系统影响的研究现状及展望

酸沉降影响下物质循环及其不平衡研究;酸沉降对土壤理化性质的影响;森林水化学方面的研究;酸沉降下重金属的活化研究;酸沉降对植物生长的影响研究;酸沉降和气候变化对森林的影响;模拟酸雨对土壤理化性质和植物生长的影响;酸沉降下土壤风化问题的研究;运用模型对酸化问题的研究;森林土壤人为和自然的酸化;酸沉降临界负荷的研究;酸沉降和其它污染物对植物的联合影响;酸化土壤恢复研究等方面介绍了酸沉降对森林生态系统影响的研究现状,并阐明了今后研究的方向及应该注意的问题。     

The Uptake of Calcium and Strontium by Plants from Soils and Nutrient Solutions

Plants have been grown in soils and nutrient solutions containingdifferent Ca/Sr ratios to find out whether there is any biologicaldiscrimination between calcium and strontium. When tomato plants are grown in nutrient solutions containingmolar Ca/Sr ratios from 2/1 to 4,000/1, the shoots do not distinguishbetween the elements, but the roots absorb strontium preferentiallyat low concentrations of this element. Since ion exchange resins show the same phenomenon, though toa less marked extent, this is believed to be a physico-chemicalrather than a biological effect. No chemical reagent has been found which can extract calciumand strontium from soils in the same ratio as plants. Ammoniumacetate extraction may give misleading results for the plant-availableCa/Sr ratios in the soil. Data for the Ca/Sr ratios in barleyand lucerne grown on soils containing ratios from 3/1 to 650/1emphasize this point.     

Ectomycorrhizal fungi inoculation alleviates simulated acid rain effects on soil ammonia oxidizers and denitrifiers in Masson pine forest

Acid rain can cause severe effects on soil biota and nutrient biogeochemical cycles in the forest ecosystem, but how plant-symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi will modulate the effects remains unknown. Here, we conducted a full factorial field experiment in a Masson pine forest by simultaneously controlling the acidity of the simulated rain (pH 5.6 vs. pH 3.5) and the ectomycorrhizal fungi Pisolithus tinctorius inoculation (non-inoculation vs. inoculation), to investigate the effects on ammonia oxidizers and denitrifiers. After 10 months, compared with the control (rain pH 5.6, and non-inoculation), simulated acid rain (pH 3.5) reduced soil nutrient content, decreased archaeal amoA gene abundance and inhibited denitrification enzyme activity. Also, simulated acid rain altered the community compositions of all the examined functional genes (archaeal amoA, bacterial amoA, nirK, nirS and nosZ). However, inoculation with ectomycorrhizal fungi under acid rain stress recovered soil nutrient content, archaeal amoA gene abundance and denitrification enzyme activity to levels comparable to the control, suggesting that ectomycorrhizal fungi inoculation ameliorates simulated acid rain effects. Taken together, ectomycorrhizal fungi inoculation – potentially through improving soil substrate availability – could alleviate the deleterious effects of acid rain on nitrogen cycling microbes in forest soils.     

酸雨引起森林生态系统钙流失研究进展

酸雨作为一个全球性环境问题,随着我国经济的快速发展,其危害也日益严重。诸多长期观测研究认为酸雨导致森林生态系统营养流失,特别是Ca的流失是酸雨导致森林衰退的一个重要原因。长期酸雨影响下,土壤中的Ca大量流失,在红壤等酸性土壤中表现得尤为严重;此外酸雨也会直接淋溶出植物叶片中的Ca,造成林冠中Ca不同程度的淋溶流失,并可能造成叶片Ca含量下降。且酸雨会导致叶片细胞内Ca稳态的失衡,影响植物的正常生理响应。对于整个森林生态系统而言,酸雨改变了生态系统中Ca生物地球化学循环的特征,大量的Ca从森林生态系统中以地表径流的形式流出系统,导致可利用Ca库的下降和周转速率的上升。酸雨对森林土壤、植物及生态系统各层面中的Ca均造成了长期广泛的影响,深入研究其影响程度与植物的应对机制,对我国酸雨危害区的酸雨防治和森林保育具有重大意义。     

Does soil determine the boundaries of monodominant rain forest with adjacent mixed rain forest and maquis on ultramafic soils in New Caledonia?

Aim To determine the soil characteristics of Nothofagus‐dominated rain forests in an ultramafic region (i.e. soils having high concentrations of metals including Mg, Fe and Ni), and whether soil characteristics may explain the location of monodominant rain forest in relation to adjacent mixed rain forest and maquis (shrub‐dominated vegetation). Location New Caledonia. Methods Soil characteristics were compared among six Nothofagus‐dominated rain forests from a range of altitudes and topographic positions. At four of these sites, comparisons were made with soils of adjacent mixed rain forest and maquis. Results Soil characteristics varied among the monodominant Nothofagus forests, largely due to differences between ultramafic soils and soils influenced by non‐ultramafic intrusions. The soils of all vegetation types had low concentrations of nutrients, particularly P, K and Ca (both total and extractable/exchangeable), and high total concentrations of Ni, Fe, Cr and Mn. There were significant differences between the rain forests and adjacent maquis in soil concentrations of several elements (N, P, Ca, Mg and Mn), more so in surface soils than at depth, but much of this pattern may be caused by effects of vegetation on the soil, rather than of soil on the vegetation. However, there were no significant differences in soil concentrations of any mineral elements between Nothofagus forest and adjacent mixed rain forest. Main conclusions We found no evidence for soil mediation of boundaries of Nothofagus rain forest with mixed rain forest, and little evidence for the boundaries of either forest type with maquis. We suggest that the local abrupt boundaries of these monodominant Nothofagus forests are directly related to temporal factors, such as time since the last wildfire and frequency of wildfire, and that disturbance is therefore a major causal factor in the occurrence of these forests.     

Acidification and release of nutrients from organic matter — a model analysis

A simple, phenomenological model is proposed to describe the behaviour of nett mineralization of nitrogen from the soil organic matter.Experimental evidence shows that nett mineralization of nitrogen is increased following artificial acidification of soil forests. The model seems to describe appropriately this phenomenon and some testable predictions are derived from it. These predictions seem to give a clue to the intriguing difficulty of establishing effects of acid rain in coniferous forest ecosystems.A discussion is also given on how the model can be extended to nutrient elements other than nitrogen.     

酸雨对植物—害虫—天敌系统的作用

综述了酸雨对植物—害虫—天敌系统的影响和酸雨对害虫的作用机制 ,探讨了模拟酸雨与自然酸雨对生态系统的不同作用 ,并展望了进一步研究和发展的方向。     

模拟酸雨对不同土壤有机碳和作物秸秆分解的影响

为研究酸雨对不同pH值水稻土中有机碳分解的影响,选择酸性（pH 5.48）、碱性（pH 8.18）和中性（pH 6.70）水稻土（分别设置施用秸秆0、15 g·kg^-1土处理）在20 ℃条件下进行40 d的培养试验,各土壤组分别用pH值为6.0、4.5、3.0的模拟雨水将土壤含水量调为400 g·kg^-1(以风干土计).结果表明：秸秆、酸雨和土壤共同对土壤系统CO₂释放产生影响,秸秆的添加可显著提高土壤CO₂释放速率.培养期间,酸雨未显著影响土壤有机碳分解,但对土壤中作物秸秆的分解影响显著. pH 3.0酸雨处理下酸性和碱性土壤中秸秆40 d总分解量比pH 6.0处理高8%;酸雨抑制了中性水稻土中秸秆的分解,pH 3.0酸雨处理下秸秆40 d总分解量比pH 6.0处理低15%.pH 3.0酸雨处理下,酸性水稻土有机碳分解速率分别比中性和碱性水稻土高43%和50%（P<0.05）,秸秆在中性水稻土中分解量分别比其在酸性和碱性水稻土中低17%和16%（P<0.05）.     

有机酸对菜地土壤磷素活化的影响

实验室模拟研究两种有机酸(柠檬酸、草酸)对菜地土壤磷素活化的影响。结果表明:有机酸对菜地土壤磷的活化效果较明显,且随有机酸浓度的增加,土壤磷活化效果越显著。两种有机酸的活化效果为草酸>柠檬酸。有机酸对磷的活化效果与土壤Olsen- P含量、有机质含量呈显著正相关关系。土壤中有效磷的释放随着有机酸浸提时间的延长而逐渐增加。     

Plant Seeds as Mineral Nutrient Resource for Seedlings--A Comparison of Plants from Calcareous and Silicate Soils

Mineral nutrients of seeds constitute a significant source ofessential elements to seedlings and developing individuals ofvascular plants. In spite of their potential ecological significance,seed nutrient pools have attracted little attention with respectto calcifuge–calcicole behaviour of plants. The objectivesof this study were, therefore, to compare concentrations of13 macro- and micronutrients (K, Rb, Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu,Zn, Mo, B, P and S) in seeds and leaves of 35 mainly herbaceousvascular plant species growing on both limestone (calcareous)and silicate (non-calcareous) soils. Concentrations of Rb andCo in seeds of plants originating from limestone soils were,on average, about half of those from silicate soils. Concentrationsof Mn, Mg, Zn and P of seeds were, or tended to be, lower orslightly lower in limestone-soil plants, whereas mean Ca andMo concentrations were higher. Comparing seed and leaf concentrationsof the same species from limestone and silicate soils generallydemonstrated a high P enrichment ratio, but a particularly lowK enrichment ratio in seeds, valid for both types of soil. Itwas also apparent that Fe and Mn, micronutrients which are lessreadily solubilized and taken up by plants on limestone soils,had significantly higher seed:leaf concentration ratios in plantsfrom limestone than from silicate soils, whereas the oppositewas true for Ca. This indicates a ‘strategy’ tosatisfy the demand of seedlings for elements which are lessreadily available in the soil.Copyright 1998 Annals of BotanyCompany Seed, leaf, plant, nutrient, content, calcareous, silicate, acid, soil.     

Clean rain promotes fine root growth and soil respiration in a Norway spruce forest

Soil acidification and N saturation are considered to affect the decomposition of soil organic matter as well as growth and mortality of fine roots in many forest soils. Here we report from a field experiment where ‘clean rain’ has been applied to the soil for about 10 years under a roofed plot of a 71‐year‐old Norway spruce plantation at Solling, Central Germany. Reduced amounts of protons (?78%), sulphate (?53%), ammonium (?86%), and nitrate (?49%) were sprayed on the soil surface of the clean rain plot between 1992 and 2001. In an adjacent roofed control plot, throughfall was collected and immediately re‐sprinkled below the roof construction without any chemical manipulation. One year before the clean rain treatment started, live and dead fine root masses (≤2 mm) were determined from undisturbed soil cores down to 40 cm mineral soil depth. Total live fine root mass was significantly lower in the clean rain plot than in the control plot. After the first sampling, the soil holes were refilled with quartz sand and repeatedly sampled in June 1992, June 1996, and October 2001. There were no differences in live and dead fine root masses between the plots in 1992 and 1996. In 2001, both live and dead fine root masses of the clean rain plot were about twice as high as in the control plot, indicating that fine root growth recovered in the mineral soil following 10 years of clean rain treatment. Moreover, the clean rain treatment significantly reduced the total N concentrations of live fine roots and 1‐year‐old needles. Our results suggest that the reduced N input promoted fine root growth to compensate N deficiency. Reduced Al concentration in soil solution may have contributed to the recovery of fine root growth, however, the toxicity of Al species is largely unknown. Mean annual soil respiration rate was 24% higher in the period from 2000 to 2001, indicating that the clean rain treatment increased respiration of roots and heterotrophic microorganisms within the rhizosphere. Laboratory incubation of samples from the organic horizon and the top mineral soil revealed no differences between the plots in the decay rate of soil organic matter. Our results suggest that strong reductions in atmospheric N deposition from about 30 to 10 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1 and decreasing acid stress can have beneficial effects on growth of fine roots in the mineral soil within a decade. We conclude that biological recovery under reduced atmospheric loads can affect the nutrient and carbon budget of spruce soils in the long run.     

Variation in tissue element concentrations in Quercus ilex L. over a range of different soils

In order to study the variability in nutrient concentrations in four tissues of Q. ilex in relation to soil properties, we selected fifteen stands in both Quercus ilex forests and Q. ilex-Pinus halepensis mixed forests. These stands had developed on soils derived from eight different parent materials. Three soil groups were differentiated according to their chemical properties: calcareous soils, siliceous soils, and volcanic soils. Across sites, nutrient concentrations were generally less variable in current-year tissues than in older tissues. Nitrogen and potassium showed the lowest variability among sites, their concentrations in current-year leaves ranging from 1.17% to 1.39% for N and from 0.53% to 0.68% for K. There were few statistically significant correlations between tissue element concentrations, the most frequent being the antagonistic relationship between calcium and magnesium. Nitrogen concentration in current-year leaves was negatively correlated with soil chemical fertility (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). This may reflect a nutritional imbalance between nitrogen and other nutrients, some of which may be more limiting than nitrogen to Q. ilex growth in Catalonia forests. Negative correlations were also found between plant magnesium and soil calcium, and positive correlations between plant calcium and soil calcium.     

元江干热河谷植物叶片解剖和养分含量特征

研究了元江干热河谷旱田植物(旱季可浇灌,水分较好)和山坡半萨王纳植被中(自然状况,水分较差)共20种的叶片形态解剖特征,以及7种山坡植物叶片养分含量特征.结果表明,山坡植物叶片比叶重大,气孔密度大,气孔长度小,海绵组织/栅栏组织的值小等.元江干热河谷山坡植物叶片养分含量低,1.3%＞Ca＞N＞K＞1%＞Mg＞P＞S.除氮元素外,其它元素种间差别1～3倍.与热带植物群落叶片养元素含量相比,热带雨林＞元江山坡植物＞东南亚沙地旱生林和巴西矮卡廷加群落,表明元江干热河谷植物叶片具有明显的旱生性形态解剖特征,且叶片养分含量也较低.     

Kinetics of soil cadmium desorption under simulated acid rain

Soil acidification can result in the release of heavy metals stabilized by soil components into soil solution, and therefore it causes ecological risk. The kinetics of Cd desorption from two Chinese soils (ultisol and oxisol) distributed in the acid rain sensitive areas of southern China, were studied using a flow-stirred method under simulated acid rain conditions. Cd desorption was well described by the first-order kinetic equation. Percentages of Cd desorbed were 80–99% in ultisol and 25–28% in oxisol, respectively. Cd desorption, regarded as a heterogeneous diffusion in soils, could be also fitted by the Elovich equation. The desorption process could be divided into a fast reaction and a slow reaction, which were corresponded to the exchangeable and the specific sorbed Cd, respectively. The obtained results are essential to understand the process of heavy metal release under acid deposition conditions and to evaluate the ecological risk of acid deposition in those acid rain sensitive areas of China.     

溶液pH值及模拟酸雨对两种磺酰脲类除草剂在土壤中行为的影响

采用平衡振荡法和土柱淋洗法,研究了溶液pH及模拟酸雨对土壤中苄嘧磺隆和甲磺隆行为的影响.结果表明,Freundlich方程能较好地描述苄嘧磺隆和甲磺隆的吸附等温线,水-土壤系统pH升高能明显地降低这两种除草剂在土壤中的吸附,促进其在土壤中的迁移,且吸附常数(K_f)与土壤有机质含量、粘土含量呈正相关,而与土壤pH呈负相关.pH值高的模拟酸雨对除草剂在土壤中淋溶贡献较大,且淋溶量随雨量的增大而增大.除草剂在土壤中的淋溶与土壤性质密切相关,有机质含量和粘粒含量较高的土壤对除草剂的持留能力较强.     

模拟酸雨对土壤呼吸影响的研究进展

土壤呼吸是陆地生态系统与大气环境之间进行碳交换的主要途径,在全球碳循环和碳平衡中占有极其重要的地位。全球变化背景下,由于人类活动而导致日益严重的酸雨问题,其对土壤呼吸的影响越来越受到国内外学者的广泛关注。酸雨导致土壤酸化,对土壤微生物代谢活动、植物地上地下生长以及凋落物分解等产生影响,进而影响土壤呼吸。该文综述了模拟酸雨对森林生态系统和农田生态系统土壤呼吸影响的三种结果,即抑制、促进和无影响;酸雨影响土壤呼吸的差异受到酸雨酸性、酸雨处理持续时间以及植被类型、植物生长季节、植被演替阶段以及土壤理化性质等生物和非生物因素的综合影响。低强度和高强度酸雨都倾向于降低土壤呼吸的温度敏感性(Q_(10))。从影响土壤呼吸的四个关键的生物因子,即光合作用、凋落物、微生物、根系生物量,分析了模拟酸雨影响土壤呼吸的潜在机制;但是酸雨影响土壤呼吸的过程复杂,使得土壤呼吸对酸雨的部分响应机理仍存在不确定性。在此基础上总结了现有研究存在的不足,提出了今后需要给予重点关注的四个方面的研究:(1)不同类型生态系统对酸雨响应的研究;(2)土壤各组分呼吸对酸雨响应的研究;(3)模拟酸雨与其他外界因素的共同作用研究;(4)与土壤呼吸相关的生物因子对酸雨响应的研究。     

Constraint on woody cover in relation to nutrient content of soils in western southern Africa

The influence of soil nutrients on woody plants is poorly understood. Are trees – fire and other disturbance factors being equal – generally promoted by nutrient‐rich or by nutrient‐poor soils? To determine the edaphic parameters controlling woody cover, we sampled soils and summed the extent of the crowns of trees and tall shrubs on 364 plots at 20 sites in Namibia and adjacent South Africa, ranging from desert lichen‐fields to caesalpiniaceous woodland with associated mean annual rainfall of 11 mm to 535 mm. Our analysis included the macro‐nutrients N, P, Mg, K and Ca and the trace elements Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn. A boundary line analysis showed that woody cover was densest, with the greatest large‐scale heterogeneity, at intermediate nutrient contents, but consistently constrained at extreme nutrient richness as well as poverty. If aridity exerted the ultimate constraint at extreme nutrient richness, no such correlation with climate apparently applies at extreme nutrient poverty, where our graphs show an ‘oligotrophic decline’. Notwithstanding the importance of water, we suggest that extreme nutrient richness and poverty both favour grasses over tree seedlings. This is because catabolic dystrophy – a regime in which the supply of catabolic nutrients shortfalls their demand – is unlikely in environments where nutrient richness allows catabolic rates to match anabolic rates or where nutrient poverty constrains anabolic rates. We also reason that surpluses of photosynthate resulting from dystrophy can be allocated to lignin and that the potential for woody growth thus corresponds to soils of intermediate nutrient content. This explains why woody cover is consistently but not homogeneously densest in nutritionally intermediate plots in our dataset. Hence, the abundance of woody plants in various biomes may be determined partly by soil nutrient content, particularly of Cu, Zn, and other elements indispensible for catabolism.     

Nitrogen enrichment regulates calcium sources in forests

Nitrogen (N) is a key nutrient that shapes cycles of other essential elements in forests, including calcium (Ca). When N availability exceeds ecosystem demands, excess N can stimulate Ca leaching and deplete Ca from soils. Over the long term, these processes may alter the proportion of available Ca that is derived from atmospheric deposition vs. bedrock weathering, which has fundamental consequences for ecosystem properties and nutrient supply. We evaluated how landscape variation in soil N, reflecting long‐term legacies of biological N fixation, influenced plant and soil Ca availability and ecosystem Ca sources across 22 temperate forests in Oregon. We also examined interactions between soil N and bedrock Ca using soil N gradients on contrasting basaltic vs. sedimentary bedrock that differed 17‐fold in underlying Ca content. We found that low‐N forests on Ca‐rich basaltic bedrock relied strongly on Ca from weathering, but that soil N enrichment depleted readily weatherable mineral Ca and shifted forest reliance toward atmospheric Ca. Forests on Ca‐poor sedimentary bedrock relied more consistently on atmospheric Ca across all levels of soil N enrichment. The broad importance of atmospheric Ca was unexpected given active regional uplift and erosion that are thought to rejuvenate weathering supply of soil minerals. Despite different Ca sources to forests on basaltic vs. sedimentary bedrock, we observed consistent declines in plant and soil Ca availability with increasing N, regardless of the Ca content of underlying bedrock. Thus, traditional measures of Ca availability in foliage and soil exchangeable pools may poorly reflect long‐term Ca sources that sustain soil fertility. We conclude that long‐term soil N enrichment can deplete available Ca and cause forests to rely increasingly on Ca from atmospheric deposition, which may limit ecosystem Ca supply in an increasingly N‐rich world.     

Water pulses and biogeochemical cycles in arid and semiarid ecosystems

The episodic nature of water availability in arid and semiarid ecosystems has significant consequences on belowground carbon and nutrient cycling. Pulsed water events directly control belowground processes through soil wet-dry cycles. Rapid soil microbial response to incident moisture availability often results in almost instantaneous C and N mineralization, followed by shifts in C/N of microbially available substrate, and an offset in the balance between nutrient immobilization and mineralization. Nitrogen inputs from biological soil crusts are also highly sensitive to pulsed rain events, and nitrogen losses, particularly gaseous losses due to denitrification and nitrate leaching, are tightly linked to pulses of water availability. The magnitude of the effect of water pulses on carbon and nutrient pools, however, depends on the distribution of resource availability and soil organisms, both of which are strongly affected by the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of vegetation cover, topographic position and soil texture. The inverse texture hypothesis for net primary production in water-limited ecosystems suggests that coarse-textured soils have higher NPP than fine-textured soils in very arid zones due to reduced evaporative losses, while NPP is greater in fine-textured soils in higher rainfall ecosystems due to increased water-holding capacity. With respect to belowground processes, fine-textured soils tend to have higher water-holding capacity and labile C and N pools than coarse-textured soils, and often show a much greater flush of N mineralization. The result of the interaction of texture and pulsed rainfall events suggests a corollary hypothesis for nutrient turnover in arid and semiarid ecosystems with a linear increase of N mineralization in coarse-textured soils, but a saturating response for fine-textured soils due to the importance of soil C and N pools. Seasonal distribution of water pulses can lead to the accumulation of mineral N in the dry season, decoupling resource supply and microbial and plant demand, and resulting in increased losses via other pathways and reduction in overall soil nutrient pools. The asynchrony of resource availability, particularly nitrogen versus water due to pulsed water events, may be central to understanding the consequences for ecosystem nutrient retention and long-term effects on carbon and nutrient pools. Finally, global change effects due to changes in the nature and size of pulsed water events and increased asynchrony of water availability and growing season will likely have impacts on biogeochemical cycling in water-limited ecosystems.