Influence of agricultural practices and seasons on the abundance and community structure of culturable pseudomonads in soils under no-till management in Argentina

Background and aims

Members of the genus Pseudomonas are common inhabitants of rhizospheres and soils, and it is known that soil types and crop species influence their population density and structure. 20?×?10⁶ ha are cultivated under no-tillage in Argentina and there is a need to find new biologically-based soil quality indexes to distinguish between sustainable and non-sustainable agricultural practices. Pseudomonads abundance and community structure were analyzed in no-till soils with different agricultural practices, in productive fields along 400 km of Argentinean Pampas.

Methods

We sampled soils and root systems from agricultural plots in which sustainable or non-sustainable agricultural practices have been applied. Samples were collected in summer and winter during 2010 and 2011. Culturable fluorescent and total pseudomonads were enumerated by plating on Gould’s selective medium S1. Colonies from these plates served as DNA source to carry out PCR-RFLP community structure analysis of the pseudomonads-specific marker genes oprF and gacA.

Results

Abundance of total and fluorescent culturable pseudomonads in bulk soils was influenced by seasonal changes and agricultural practices. Rhizospheric counts from the same crop were affected by agricultural treatments. Also, crop species influenced pseudomonads density in the rhizosphere. Combined PCR-RFLP profile of both genes showed a seasonal grouping of samples.

Conclusions

Sustainable soil management seems to promote pseudomonads development in soils, favoring root colonization of crops from those plots. Crop species influence total pseudomonads load of rhizospheres and its community structure. Total or relative pseudomonads load could function as soil quality indicator of good agricultural practices.     

天津汉沽农田土壤－植物系统中汞的分布、迁移和积累

本文研究了受汞污染的农田土壤—植物系统中汞的分布,迁移和积累的规律。土壤中的汞在离污染源3公里的范围内含量最高;主要集中在0一20厘米的土壤上层,几乎不往下迁移。植物可以从土壤和大气中吸收、积累汞。在汉沽区没有发现由于汞污染所造成的植物受害症状。植物中的汞含量与土壤中的汞含量成正相关。土壤汞含量与水稻茎叶汞含量的相关系数为0.836(N=7),与糙米汞含量的相关系数为0.898(N=7)。植物不同部位的汞含量根>叶>茎>种子。不同作物种子比较,糙米>高粱>小麦。在大气中汞含量高的地段,植物地上部分汞含量高于根。土壤、植物中的汞不断地向大气扩散,而大气中的汞随着降雨、降尘等又不断地沉降到土壤和植物的气生表面,并可被植物吸收。汞向其邻近地区扩散的能力较小。     

贵州省环境中汞污染现状与分布特征

贵州是我国汞矿的主要产地,其储量和产量均居全国首位,因此造成了该区域环境受到广泛的汞污染。从大的区域尺度上研究汞的污染分布特征对于了解该区域汞的污染现状有很好的指导作用。通过对贵州省汞污染源及各环境介质中汞污染情况的调查,首先阐释了万山、务川、滥木厂等几个主要汞矿区及燃煤和有机化工等行业的汞污染现状;并从大气、土壤和水体等环境介质方面综合分析了贵州地区汞的暴露水平与分布特征;采用ArcGIS 10.0描绘了各环境介质中总汞及甲基汞的分布特征。结果表明贵州省东北部与西南部汞矿区汞污染程度较高,大气、土壤和水体中的总汞分布呈明显的区域性,汞矿毗邻区域明显高于其他区域,矿区和城镇水体中甲基汞浓度较高,表明汞矿区和人为活动等因素影响水体中的甲基汞的分布。     

Crop monoculture rather than agriculture reduces the spatial turnover of soil bacterial communities at a regional scale

The goal of this study was to investigate the spatial turnover of soil bacterial communities in response to environmental changes introduced by the practices of soybean monoculture or crop rotations, relative to grassland soils. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used to analyse bacterial diversity in producer fields through three successive cropping cycles within one and a half years, across a regional scale of the Argentinean Pampas. Unlike local diversity, which was not significantly affected by land use type, agricultural management had a strong influence on β‐diversity patterns. Distributions of pairwise distances between all soils samples under soybean monoculture had significantly lower β‐diversity and narrower breadth compared with distributions of pairwise distances between soils managed with crop rotation. Interestingly, good agricultural practices had similar degree of β‐diversity as natural grasslands. The higher phylogenetic relatedness of bacterial communities in soils under monoculture across the region was likely determined by the observed loss of endemic species, and affected mostly to phyla with low regional diversity, such as Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and the candidates phyla SPAM and WS3. These results suggest that the implementation of good agricultural practices, including crop rotation, may be critical for the long‐term conservation of soil biodiversity.     

Distribution and partitioning of mercury in a river catchment impacted by former mercury mining activity

Mercury distribution and partitioning was studied in the River Idrijca system, draining the area of the former Idrija mercury mine, Slovenia. Mercury dynamics were assessed by speciation analysis of mercury in water and river bed sediment samples during a 2-year study at locations on the River Idrijca and its major tributaries. Simultaneously, the influence of some major physico-chemical parameters that influence the fate of mercury in the aquatic environment was investigated. The distribution of mercury species in the River Idrijca catchment indicated contamination from mine tailings distributed in the town of Idrija and erosion of contaminated soils. The partitioning between dissolved and particulate mercury phases in river water was found to be mostly controlled by the variable content of suspended solids resulting from changing hydrological conditions and complexation with various ligands present in river water, among which dissolved organic carbon (DOC) seems to be the most important. Overall results indicate that mercury is transported downstream from the mining area mainly as finely suspended material including colloids rather than in the dissolved phase. This riverine transport occurs mostly during short, but extreme hydro-meteorological conditions when remobilization of mercury from the river bed sediments occurs. A significant part of the mercury particulate phase in water corresponds to cinnabar particles. During its transport, important Hg transformation mechanisms that increase the risk of mercury uptake by biota take place, evidenced by the increase in the relative contribution of reactive mercury (Hg_R), dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) and monomethylmercury (MeHg) downstream from the Idrija mine. However, our data revealed relatively low methylation efficiency in this contaminated river system. We attribute this to the site specific physico-chemical conditions responsible for making inorganic mercury unavailable and limiting the capacity of methylating bacteria.     

The net flux of carbon from agricultural soils in Canada 1970–2010

Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils influence soil quality and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Land use, management practices, soil characteristics, and climate influence such changes. Using the Century model we estimated the rate of SOC change in agricultural soils of Canada for the period 1970 to 2010. This estimation was based on the estimated SOC change for 15% of the 1250 agriculturally designated soil landscape of Canada (SLC) polygons. Simulations were carried out for two to five crop rotations and for conventional and no‐tillage. The results indicate that the agricultural soils in Canada, whose SOC are currently very close to equilibrium, will stop being a net source of CO₂ and will become a sink by the year 2000. Rates of carbon change for the years 1970, 1990, and 2010 were estimated to be ?67, ? 39, and 11 kgC ha^?1. The rate of decline in the carbon content of agricultural soils in Canada has slowed considerably in the 1990s as a result of an increase in the adoption of no‐tillage management, a reduction in the use of summer fallowing, and an increase in fertilizer application. We estimate that the proportion of agricultural land storing SOC will have increased from 17% in 1990 to 53% by the year 2000.     

Bioavailability of arsenic in soil and mine wastes of the Tamar valley,SW England

ABSTRACT

The southern part of the Tamar valley area in SW England is highly mineralised and mines in the region were the world's principal producers of tin, copper and arsenic during the mid nineteenth century. The Devon Great Consols Mine, covering 67.6 ha (167 acres) is situated in this area. Residues from the mining activity resulted in unvegetated spoil tips and local soils highly contaminated with As (range 120–52600 μg/g As). Sequential chemical extraction procedures were conducted on eight surface samples (0–15 cm) taken from a 2.0 km long transect from within the mine site to agricultural grassland. The proportion of water extractable As in agricultural top soils was lower (0.05–0.3%) than the values obtained for mine wastes (0.02–1.2%). Arsenic was found to be concentrated in the Fe-organic and residual fractions, which accounted for up 93 % of the total As in mine spoil and nearby soils.     

Evaluation of mercury level in waters, bottom sediments and soils in selected rural areas

The studies carried out aimed at evaluation of the mercury level in waters, bottom sediments and soils in selected rural areas, during the season of mercury biocides application and after their withdrawal from agricultural use. Generally, in the period between 1976-1980 the mercury level in 1268 environmental samples has been examined. Shallow dug wells of bad technical state and wrong location particularly exposed to contamination, have been selected for the studies. Mercury level has been determined after mineralization with concentrated acids by means of flameless method of atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results have been compared with standards for mercury level in drinking waters (1 microgram/l) and in surface waters (5 micrograms/l), with the Warren-Devault criterion for soils (0.25 mg/kg) and with the value 1 mg/kg adopted as maximum natural mercury level in bottom sediments. The results have also been the subject to statistical analysis by means of the Tsao-Fei method and t-test. Mercury level in well waters, surface waters, bottom sediments and soils varied according to the region and the year of study and were respectively: 0.08-26.00 micrograms/l; 0.00-25.20 micrograms/l; 0.02-91.91 mg/kg; 0.01-24.94 mg/kg. Mercury levels of several dozen micrograms/l (waters) and several dozen mg/kg (bottom sediments and soils) have been recorded only in a few cases. A statistically significant decrease of mercury level in the environment of the regions investigated coincided with mercury biocides withdrawal from agricultural practice in our country.     

汞矿山环境汞污染研究进展

汞矿山开采对周边环境的汞污染一直受到关注,尽管全球多数汞矿山已经相继停产、闭坑,但这些废弃的汞矿山仍然通过采矿所遗留的尾矿等固体废弃物、坑道废水和污染的土壤等对当地的环境和居民健康产生着持续的影响和危害.本文总结了环境样品中各形态汞的分析方法,评述了全球范围内汞矿的分布以及汞矿山开采和冶炼过程所造成的环境影响,提出了对于污染治理和风险评价的展望.     

Phosphorus in agricultural soils: drivers of its distribution at the global scale

Phosphorus (P) availability in soils limits crop yields in many regions of the World, while excess of soil P triggers aquatic eutrophication in other regions. Numerous processes drive the global spatial distribution of P in agricultural soils, but their relative roles remain unclear. Here, we combined several global data sets describing these drivers with a soil P dynamics model to simulate the distribution of P in agricultural soils and to assess the contributions of the different drivers at the global scale. We analysed both the labile inorganic P (P_ILAB), a proxy of the pool involved in plant nutrition and the total soil P (P_TOT). We found that the soil biogeochemical background corresponding to P inherited from natural soils at the conversion to agriculture (BIOG) and farming practices (FARM) were the main drivers of the spatial variability in cropland soil P content but that their contribution varied between P_TOT vs. P_ILAB. When the spatial variability was computed between grid cells at half‐degree resolution, we found that almost all of the P_TOT spatial variability could be explained by BIOG, while BIOG and FARM explained 38% and 63% of P_ILAB spatial variability, respectively. Our work also showed that the driver contribution was sensitive to the spatial scale characterizing the variability (grid cell vs. continent) and to the region of interest (global vs. tropics for instance). In particular, the heterogeneity of farming practices between continents was large enough to make FARM contribute to the variability in P_TOT at that scale. We thus demonstrated how the different drivers were combined to explain the global distribution of agricultural soil P. Our study is also a promising approach to investigate the potential effect of P as a limiting factor for agroecosystems at the global scale.     

基于小波变换的土壤有机碳与其影响因子多尺度相关分析

基于GIS,采用小波变换和相关分析方法,以广东山区表层(0～20 cm)土壤有机碳密度及其影响因子(包括归一化植被指数NDVI、海拔、坡度和坡向)作为分析对象,选取4条样带,使用一维离散小波变换对分析对象进行多尺度分解,在栅格尺度上定量分析土壤有机碳密度与其影响因子相关关系的多尺度响应特征.结果表明: 研究区土壤有机碳密度与其影响因子具有不同程度的尺度相关性.NDVI在2、8和16 km尺度、海拔在8和16 km尺度下的控制作用最强;坡度的控制作用极弱,尺度相关性不显著;坡向在大于2 km尺度表现为随尺度增加而增大的负相关作用.不同样带的土壤有机碳密度受不同影响因子的制约,NDVI和海拔是影响广东山区土壤有机碳密度分布的主要因子,坡度和坡向仅在个别样带、较大尺度上起作用.     

Assessment of Soil Arsenic,Chromium, Mercury,and Lead at an Agricultural Landscape Scale

Knowledge of arsenic and heavy metal concentrations and distributions is essential in the design of environmental regulatory strategies. The present study was undertaken as a preliminary survey on soil contamination in a representative agricultural area of southwestern China. The objectives were: (1) to characterize the variability of As, Cr, Hg, and Pb; (2) to assess the effect of land use (vegetable land and paddy fields) on these elements; and (3) to identify their natural or artificial origins. Samples from 119 sites were collected and analyzed in 2006. Land use map units were delineated at a scale of 1:2000 from field survey. Analysis of variance, correlation analysis, factor analysis, and a geographic information system were adopted to investigate the spatial distributions and sources of the elements. The average concentrations of the elements were 6.26 mg As kg^?1, 52.90 mg Cr kg^?1, 0.066 mg Hg kg^?1, and 33.13 mg Pb kg^?1. Mean contents of Hg and Pb were markedly higher than their background levels indicating the risk of mercury and lead pollution (p < 0.05). Mean concentration of Pb was significantly higher in paddy fields than vegetable land (p < 0.05). The variability of Cr was associated with topography, while Hg was controlled by human activities and atmospheric deposition. The high heterogeneities of As and Pb were mainly ascribed to land use and the consequent agricultural management practices. The results of the study will assist planners and policymakers in developing effective policies to protect soils from long-term arsenic and heavy metal accumulation.     

Mercury in the soil at the mouth of the Angara and Belaya interfluve (Irkutsk region)

The results of investigation of soils in the mouth of the Angara and Belaya interfluve within the zone of influence of a chemical plant in Usol’e-Sibirskoe are considered. Estimations of the degree, scale, and character of the areal distribution of mercury, as well as sulfate and chloride ions are given. The prevalence of surface run off of mercury over soil run off is given. The main fields of anomalous concentrations of mercury and anions occur in the industrial zone of a chemical plant. A correlation of mercury with organic carbon and sulfate ion for the humus horizons and with oxides of iron and aluminum, manganese, titanium, and phosphorus for the mineral horizons of the studied soils was established.     

Building soil suppressiveness against plant-parasitic nematodes

Damage caused by plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) represents significant losses in agriculture worldwide. Sustainable and non-agrochemical practices have been sought out for the last few years aiming the reduction of PPN outbreaks, as such practices represent less interference in the soil health. In addition, certain soils naturally show high levels of suppressiveness against nematodes. Natural suppressive soils do not allow PPN increment by a balance in soil biotic and abiotic conditions. Such soils must be better understood by which components are responsible for their natural suppressiveness. Hence, keeping, stimulating or and even creating suppressive conditions in agricultural rhizosphere has been studied and applied to reduce PPN populations. There are many aspects that implicate in soil suppressiveness against PPN, such as microbiota activities, organic matter amount, chemical composition and physical constitution. However, any of those conditions is a single driver in suppressive soils against PPN. In this context, we intend to bring up an overview concerning the natural occurrence of suppressive soils against the most devastating PPNs worldwide and discuss the means used to induce suppressiveness in agricultural fields by sustainable management practices.     

草原区矿产开发对景观格局和初级生产力的影响——以黑岱沟露天煤矿为例

煤炭是我国的主要能源,大型露天煤矿的开发推动了地区经济与社会的发展,但同时也引发了区域生态环境问题。因此,探讨矿产开发对区域景观格局的影响,并阐明景观格局动态与生态系统初级生产力的关系,对生态环境的保护具有重要意义。以内蒙古草原区的黑岱沟露天煤矿为例,利用3S(RS、GIS和GPS)技术,在野外实地调查的基础上,分析了1987年以来矿产开发导致的土地利用/覆盖变化、景观格局动态及其与生态系统初级生产力之间的关系,主要结果如下:(1)提出了界定最适研究区范围的方法,认为沿矿区边界向外建立10 km的缓冲区是该研究最适研究区域的大小;(2)草地和耕地是研究区主要的土地利用/覆盖类型,但是在过去20多年间其面积在逐渐减少,而工矿仓储用地及住宅用地面积在急剧增加;(3)矿产开发导致景观格局发生变化,并且在两种不同的空间尺度(研究区和矿区)上表现出总体变化趋势的一致性,但在后期有较大差异;(4)初级生产力变化呈现下降趋势,并且矿区的降低更为突出;(5)以生长季降水量为控制因子的偏相关分析表明,景观配置(平均斑块周长面积比、景观形状指数)与初级生产力呈正相关关系,在研究区尺度上尤其显著,但在矿区尺度上,景观结构组成(斑块密度、均匀度指数和多样性指数)更为重要,与初级生产力呈显著负相关;(6)受复垦规模和演替进程的影响,局限在矿区排土场上的植被重建尚不能改变研究区尺度景观-生态系统初级生产力之间的关系。可见,景观格局的变化以及景观格局与生态系统初级生产力之间的关系均存在尺度依赖性。     

Fate of mercury in a terrestrial biological lab process using Polypogon monspeliensis and Cyperus odoratus

Abstract

Mercury has been extracted in Queretaro, Mexico since the 1960s. The mining wastes were open-air disposal and these mercury wastes have polluted the zone. The aim of this research was to evaluate mercury's fate in lab scale terrestrial reactors considering the following mercury species: soluble, interchangeable, strongly bound, organic, and residual ones. Soils were sampled in two former mines of Pinal de Amoles, Queretaro, Mexico (N 20° 58′ to 21° 21′ and West 99° 26′ to 99° 43′) with initial mercury concentrations were 424?±?29 and 433?±?12?mg?kg^?1 for “La Lorena” and “San Jose” former mines, respectively. Two vegetal species Polypogon monspeliensis and Cyperus odoratus were used and 20 reactors were constructed for the lab process. Total mercury was removed to 49–79% from both soils. Mercury elemental, exchangeable, and organic species had the most removal or exchange in the process. Metal uptake, by the plants, was of 5–6% for P. monspeliensis and 5–15% for C. odoratus. Also, mercury fate was estimated to the atmosphere to be 3.3–4.5?mg m^?2 h^?1 for both soils.     

A ribosomal RNA gene intergenic spacer based PCR and DGGE fingerprinting method for the analysis of specific rhizobial communities in soil

A direct molecular method for assessing the diversity of specific populations of rhizobia in soil, based on nested PCR amplification of 16S-23S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) intergenic spacer (IGS) sequences, was developed. Initial generic amplification of bacterial rDNA IGS sequences from soil DNA was followed by specific amplification of (1) sequences affiliated with Rhizobium leguminosarum "sensu lato" and (2) R. tropici. Using analysis of the amplified sequences in clone libraries obtained on the basis of soil DNA, this two-sided method was shown to be very specific for rhizobial subpopulations in soil. It was then further validated as a direct fingerprinting tool of the target rhizobia based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The PCR-DGGE approach was applied to soils from fields in Brazil cultivated with common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) under conventional or no-tillage practices. The community fingerprints obtained allowed the direct analysis of the respective rhizobial community structures in soil samples from the two contrasting agricultural practices. Data obtained with both primer sets revealed clustering of the community structures of the target rhizobial types along treatment. Moreover, the DGGE profiles obtained with the R. tropici primer set indicated that the abundance and diversity of these organisms were favoured under NT practices. These results suggest that the R. leguminosarum-as well as R. tropici-targeted IGS-based nested PCR and DGGE are useful tools for monitoring the effect of agricultural practices on these and related rhizobial subpopulations in soils.     

Microbial hydrogen cycling in agricultural systems – plant beneficial or detrimental?

Hydrogen-oxidising bacteria play a key role in maintaining the composition of gases within the atmosphere and are ubiquitous in agricultural soils. While studies have shown that hydrogen accumulates in soil surrounding legume nodules and the soil surface, soils as a whole act as a net sink for hydrogen, raising questions about how hydrogen is internally recycled by soils. Can the energy derived from hydrogen oxidation be directly funnelled into plants to promote their growth or does it only act as a booster for other plant-growth promoting bacteria? Moreover, while the fertilisation effect of hydrogen on plants has previously been shown to be beneficial, questions remain about the upper limit of hydrogen uptake by plants before it becomes detrimental. Agricultural practices such as fertilisation may impact the balance of hydrogen-oxidisers and hydrogen-producers in these ecosystems, potentially having detrimental effects on not only agricultural land but also global biogeochemical cycles. In this perspectives piece, we highlight the importance of understanding the contribution of hydrogen to agricultural soils and the effects of agricultural practices on the ability for bacteria to cycle hydrogen in agricultural soils. We propose a framework to gain better insights into microbial hydrogen cycling within agroecosystems, which could contribute to the development of new agricultural biotechnologies.     

Mercury in Fish-eating Communities of the Andean Amazon,Napo River Valley,Ecuador

This exploratory study aimed to examine the relationship between fish eating habits, human mercury levels, and mercury levels in fish in three communities of the Napo River Valley, Ecuadorian Andean Amazon, a region without gold mining but with significant deforestation and volcanic soils with naturally high mercury levels. By recognizing the politicoeconomic factors which cause deforestation, the cultural factors which influence diet, and the biogeochemical factors which contribute to mercury levels, this study employs an ecosystem approach. Interviews on diet were conducted, hair samples from 99 individuals were collected, and samples of commonly eaten fish were taken. Samples were analyzed using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CVAFS). Two rural communities were found to have higher fish consumption and hair mercury levels (8.71 μg/g and 5.32 μg/g) as compared to an urban community (1.87 μg/g). A sequential analysis of hair established mercury levels by month. No seasonal tendencies were noted. Piscivorous fish (0.36 μg/g) were found to be more contaminated in mercury than herbivorous fish (0.05 μg/g). The study shows that sociocultural factors are important in determining mercury exposure. The two village communities consume different species of fish with different frequencies, leading to differential exposure and mercury concentrations in hair samples. The levels of mercury in these two villages were similar to those found in Brazil where neurobehavioral tests showed a correlation between these relatively low levels of mercury and decreased psychomotor capacities. These findings are concerning and should be followed by further studies on the multiple factors that affect the health status of these exposed communities.     

Risk Assessment of Metals from Consuming Vegetables, Fruits and Rice Grown on Soils Irrigated with Waters of the Ebro River in Catalonia, Spain

The concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) were determined in samples of various edible vegetables (artichoke, cauliflower, lettuce, tomato), fruits (apple, mandarin, orange, pear) and rice grown in soils irrigated with water from the Ebro River in Tarragona Province (Catalonia, Spain). Although all food items were randomly acquired in various localities of the area, the local origin was always verified. Arsenic was only detected in rice (all samples) and apple (one sample), while Cd and Hg could not be detected in any of the samples. In general terms, metal concentrations were quite similar or lower than the levels recently reported in the literature. The health risks caused by metal exposure from consuming these agricultural products were assessed for the Catalan population living in the zone under evaluation. For all elements, when the lower bound values were considered, the Hazard Quotient (HQ) was <1, while using the Upper bound values, only for As (children and male seniors) HQ was >1. The intake of the analyzed elements through consumption of the nine selected food items does not mean additional health risks for the consumers of the area.