Relationships among site characteristics,taxonomical structure and functional trait distribution of arthropods in forest,urban and agricultural soils of Southern Italy

Urbanization and agriculture cause alterations in soil biodiversity. As arthropods quickly respond to soil changes, they have been recognized as good indicators of soil quality. This study aimed to evaluate if (1) soil physico-chemical properties act as environmental filters of the functional trait distribution of soil arthropod community; (2) the abundance of certain functional traits is linked to different land uses; (3) the taxonomical and functional approaches provide complementary information about the evaluation of biological soil quality. The study was performed at forest, agricultural and urban sites in downtown and surroundings of Naples. The soils were characterized for texture, pH, organic matter content, water content, total Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations. The forest soils showed the highest organic matter and water contents, and the lowest metal concentrations; the agricultural soils showed the lowest organic matter and water contents and high Cd and Cu concentrations, whereas the urban soils showed high Pb and Zn concentrations. The forest soils showed the highest arthropod density, taxa richness and diversity. The distribution of the functional traits in the arthropod communities of the different land uses highlighted similarity only for the preference to occupy soil and for the percentage contribution of detritivores. The abundance of arthropods living above litter and omnivores were positively correlated to Pb and Zn concentrations, whereas predators were positively correlated to Cu concentrations. The findings suggest that the arthropod identification at order level could be enough to detect differences in functional traits among forest, urban, and agricultural soils.     

Impact of land use on the ecology of uncultivated plant species in the Rwenzori mountain range,mid western Uganda

Rwenzori mountain range is important for its high diversity of unique species and as a water catchment area and yet very fragile to human interference. The study documented the impact of land use on ecology of uncultivated plant species in the Rwenzori mountain range using Bugoye sub‐county as a reference site. The ecological aspects of the plants studied included distribution, abundance and diversity of the plant species in and around the various land uses as well as in degraded, disturbed and undisturbed areas. Land uses identified were; agriculture, built up area and land with other activities (conservation and abandoned fields). The study revealed that agriculture was the main land use category taking up 69.7% of land use area. Plants distributed in and around the land uses were mainly trees with species diversity of 34.5%. Generally, there was no relationship in the distribution of plant species in degraded, undisturbed and disturbed areas (a = 0.01). In disturbed areas, there was vegetation cover especially of plant species that occur as secondary re‐growth, and in degraded areas, the ground was sparsely covered by primary succession species while in the undisturbed areas, plant species growing in a ‘natural. habitat dominated and most of them were climax species.     

Land use impacts on physical properties of 28 years old reclaimed mine soils in Ohio

Reclamation enhances soil quality by improving physical and chemical properties, which helps in restoration of mine soils. Evaluation of the effects of post-reclamation land uses on physical and chemical properties of mine soils helps to identify suitable land uses for mining companies. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of post-reclamation land uses (e.g., forest, hay and pasture) on selected physical properties of soil in relation to undisturbed forest and agricultural land use. Soil samples were collected from the 0- to 5-, 5- to 15- and 15- to 30-cm depths in order to determine particle size distribution, bulk density, water-stable aggregates, mean-weight diameter and soil moisture retention. Cone index and infiltration rate were determined at soil surface. After 28 years of reclamation, bulk density in the surface layer of all land uses in the reclaimed mine soil (RMS) was similar to that of undisturbed forest (1.1 Mg m⁻³) but lower than that of agricultural soils (1.3 Mg m⁻³). However, soil bulk density at lower depths was not affected. The cone index was higher in the RMS-pasture (2.6 MPa) than the RMS-forest (1.4 MPa) and RMS-hay (1.5 MPa) due to the trampling effect of grazing animals. The water-stable aggregates (>2 mm), of 5–8 mm aggregates, were higher in RMS-forest by 24%, 90%, 66%, and under RMS-hay by 13%, 74%, 43% for the 0- to 5-, 5- to 15-, and 15- to 30-cm depths, respectively, than that under undisturbed forest. The mean-weight diameter (0- to 30-cm) of aggregates under RMS-forest and RMS-hay were higher than that under undisturbed forest by 41% and 27%, respectively. The initial infiltration rates at 5 min in RMS under forest, hay and pasture were less by 20%, 53% and 85%, respectively, than that under undisturbed forest (19.3 cm min⁻¹). The reclamation of mine soils with forest and hay improved surface soil bulk density and cone index, and enhanced water infiltration capacity and water-stable aggregates at the lower depths. Therefore, establishment of forest and hay should be encouraged in the RMS.     

Livestock exclusion reduces the spillover effects of pastoral agriculture on soil bacterial communities in adjacent forest fragments

Forest-to-pasture conversion is known to cause global losses in plant and animal diversity, yet impacts of livestock management after such conversion on vital microbial communities in adjoining natural ecosystems remain poorly understood. We examined how pastoral land management practices impact soil microorganisms in adjacent native forest fragments, by comparing bacterial communities sampled along 21 transects bisecting pasture–forest boundaries. Our results revealed greater bacterial taxon richness in grazed pasture soils and the reduced dispersal of pasture-associated taxa into adjacent forest soils when land uses were separated by a boundary fence. Relative abundance distributions of forest-associated taxa (i.e., Proteobacteria and Nitrospirae) and a pasture-associated taxon (i.e., Firmicutes) also suggest a greater impact of pastoral land uses on forest fragment soil bacterial communities when no fence is present. Bacterial community richness and composition were most related to changes in soil physicochemical variables commonly associated with agricultural fertilization, including concentrations of Olsen P, total P, total Cd, delta ¹⁵N and the ratio of C:P and N:P. Overall, our findings demonstrate clear, and potentially detrimental effects of agricultural disturbance on bacterial communities in forest soils adjacent to pastoral land. We provide evidence that simple land management decisions, such as livestock exclusion, can mitigate the effects of agriculture on adjacent soil microbial communities.     

Lizard diversity and agricultural disturbance in a Caribbean forest landscape

Understanding the impact of agriculture on biodiversity is critical for effective conservation management. Our goal was to determine the impact of agricultural disturbance on the lizard fauna of Los Haitises National Park and the surrounding region in the Dominican Republic. This region has a history of extensive agricultural disturbance followed by abrupt abandonment. Abundance and diversity were surveyed in six habitats: relatively undisturbed hilltop (mogote), four habitats disturbed by agriculture (pasture, oil palm plantation, cacao plantation, conuco or home garden), and one forested habitat. Three of these habitats (pasture, cacao plantation, conuco) were also examined at different stages of activity or abandonment. Glue-trap grids were used to sample each habitat. In general, species richness was lower in more heavily or recently disturbed habitats. Richness was lowest in active agricultural habitats where only 54% of the region's lizard species were detected. Notably, agricultural systems differed considerably in their ability to support a diverse lizard assemblage. Abandoned agricultural habitats had slightly higher richness than their active counterparts, but still contained only 69% of the region's species. By contrast, nearly every native species, including several never observed in agriculturally disturbed habitats, were detected on the undisturbed hilltops (mogotes). These mogotes may have served as refugees for species that could not tolerate disturbance when the region was being heavily exploited for agriculture. Overall, our results suggest that the continued protection of the park, and its mogotes in particular, will be required to maintain the region's lizard diversity.     

Ecological risk assessment of metals in roadside agricultural soils: A modified approach

The threat of metal contamination of roadside agricultural soils poses severe ecological risks throughout the globe due to dual contamination by intensive agriculture and traffic-related activities. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess ecological risks posed by metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn) in intensively cultivated roadside agricultural soils of Punjab, India. The results of the contamination assessment factors i.e. Contamination Factor (CF) and Enrichment Factor (EF) indicated that the studied soils were moderately to highly contaminated with metals. It was observed that the Modified Risk Index (MRI), which is based upon EF, indicated the ecological risks of metals more efficiently than the traditional Ecological Risk Index (RI), which is based upon CF in the present study. The MRI values indicated that the metals posed considerable to high risk in 67.86% samples as compared to only 7.14% samples based upon RI values. Thus, MRI can be considered as a more efficient risk indicator in comparison to RI. Spatial distribution maps of MRI indicated to higher metal contamination in inner urban parts of study area due to higher traffic and industrial activities.     

Nitrogen exchanges: testing the hypothesis of a country without agricultural production

Today, finding data on agricultural nitrogen balances is quite easy. Calculations of such balances are carried out by most of the European countries as an indicator of environmental pollution attributable to the agricultural sector. In France, average values of agricultural nitrogen balances show an excess of 1.5 to 2 million tons of nitrogen. This excess is enormous. What would the balance of a country be if agricultural activity were stopped? In the following article, a country (France is used as an example) without agriculture is studied in order to assess its nitrogen balance. Using a previously published model describing nitrogen input and output of a given country, nitrogen flows are identified. Inputs include deposition, fixation, and products not intended for agricultural use. Outputs are reduced to zero if agriculture disappears (in France, agriculture is the only sector exporting products containing nitrogen). All flows are calculated considering the hypothesis of disappearance of agriculture. Nitrogen requirements to feed people and pets in France are estimated based on medical and veterinary data (recommended daily amounts for proteins and/or usual average consumption). Indeed, most of the food that nourishes the French population is produced nationally. If agriculture stops, it will be necessary to import food from foreign countries. Results show an unexpectedly high excess (for a country without agriculture having a structure similar to France: number of human beings and pets) of 1.5 million tons of nitrogen. An attempt to calculate an agricultural balance with the same data gives a result close to 3 million tons. Differences in French agricultural balances found in the literature can mainly be explained by values taken into account for deposition and fixation (values used here are at least 300,000 tons higher than values used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). In conclusion, nitrogen excess in agriculture is partly due to social demand; agriculture does not only produce food but also includes many other functions (landscape management, employment, and preservation of culture, for example). As a consequence, efforts that do not involve suppressing agriculture should be made to figure out alternative ways of production.     

Sustainable Coastal Development: The Dual Mandate and a Recommendation for "Commerce Managed Areas"

Pitting the dynamicism and uncertainty inherent in undisturbed coastal ecosystems against the stability and predictability required of human‐dominated landscapes creates the paradox of the dual mandate. We describe a gradient of estuarine types ranging from systems that experience little human intrusion—conservation estuaries—to those that are dominated by people or extractive uses—production and urban‐industrial estuaries. Future approaches to managing these estuarine resources will require a division of the concept of marine protected areas into at least two subcategories: “conservation” managed areas (C_ConservationMAs) and “commerce” managed areas (C_CommerceMAs). The latter includes conditions where humans are not only a core feature of the landscape but also where extractive uses drive a large part of the local, regional, and even national economy. System reliability and predictability of ecosystem services are integral components of any management scheme in C_CommerceMAs. By recognizing this division managers can construct appropriate baselines that encompass the biodiversity and ecological integrity inherent in relatively undisturbed estuaries (or portions thereof), or the ecosystem health and system reliability that characterize urban‐industrial systems. The terms ecosystem restoration and ecosystem rehabilitation are also distinguished; the former term is used to describe practices that return ecosystems to optimum biological integrity, whereas the latter term is applied to the health of human‐dominated estuaries where the goal is to manage natural processes and functions. Our proposed approach does not mean that ecosystem quality is sacrificed in urban‐industrial or production systems; to the contrary, contaminant source control, suitable sediment and water quality, and the human endeavors to address them are just as important to sustaining commercial activity as they are to the well‐being of extant biota. So too, are the conservation and preservation of existing critical habitat (proximate reservoirs of biodiversity) in urban‐industrial systems, and rehabilitation of habitats that support species coadapted to the presence of humans.     

Elevated Concentrations of Pesticides and PCBs in Soils at the Southern Caspian Sea (Iran) are Related to Land Use

Soil contamination by organochlorine pesticides or PCBs is almost undocumented for Iran. Here we report a soil survey in Mazandaran and Guilan provinces that hold >30% of the agricultural areas of Iran where pesticide use is widespread. Concentration of DDTs, HCHs, cyclodienes, and PCBs were measured in 45 soil samples from different agricultural land uses and forest land. The average concentrations of ∑DDT (37 μg kg^?1) and ∑HCH (21 μg kg^?1) in agricultural soils are among the largest ever reported and exceed international soil screening standards. All residues were larger in agricultural than in forest soil. Within agricultural land, ∑DDT were largest for tea gardens, lindane was largest in rice fields, and cyclodiens largest in citrus orchards. The ratio of (DDD + DDE)/DDT is an index of the extent of DDT degradation in soil and was lower in tea gardens than in other soils (0.7 versus 2–5), indicating either ongoing DDT input or lower degradation rate in the tea gardens that are more acid than the other soils (pH 4.5 versus 6.5–7.0). The o,p′–DDT/p,p′–DDT ratio was about 3 in forest soils, suggesting that DDT is derived from dicofol application and not from technical DDT as in agricultural soils. The PCB 28, 180, and 138 showed the highest mean concentration compared with other PCB congeners in all land uses. This survey is the first of this kind for Iran and illustrates that concentrations of organochlorine pesticide in soil are relatively large.     

Soil Characteristics and the Accumulation of Inorganic Nitrogen in an Arid Urban Ecosystem

Urbanization represents the extreme case of human influence on an ecosystem. Biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen (N) in cities is very different from that of non-urban landscapes due to the large input of reactive forms of N and the heterogeneous distribution of various land uses that alters landscape connections. To quantify the likely effects of human activities on soil N and other soil properties in urban ecosystems, we conducted a probability-based study to sample 203 plots randomly distributed over the 6,400 km² Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) area, which encompasses metropolitan Phoenix with its 3.5 million inhabitants. Soil inorganic N concentrations were significantly higher in urban residential, non-residential, agricultural, transportation, and mixed sites than in the desert sites. Soil water content and organic matter were both significantly higher under urban and agricultural land uses, whereas bulk density was lower compared to undeveloped desert. We calculated that farming and urbanization on average had caused an accumulation of 7.23 g m⁻² in soil inorganic N across the CAP study area. Average soil inorganic N of the sampled desert sites (3.23 g m⁻²) was much higher than the natural background level reported in the literature. Laboratory incubation studies showed that many urban soils exhibited net immobilization of inorganic N, whereas desert and agricultural soils showed small, but positive, net N mineralization. The large accumulation of inorganic N in soils (mostly as nitrate) was highly unusual in terrestrial ecosystems, suggesting that in this arid urban ecosystem, N is likely no longer the primary limiting resource affecting plants, but instead poses a threat to surface and groundwater contamination, and influences other N cycling processes such as denitrification.     

Environmental causes and consequences of forest clearance and agricultural abandonment in central New York, USA

Aim Climate, topography and soils drive many patterns of plant distribution and abundance across landscapes, but current plant communities may also reflect a legacy of past disturbance such as agricultural land use. To assess the relative influences of environmental conditions and disturbance history on vegetation, it is important to understand how these forces interact. This study relates the geographical distribution of land uses to variation in topography and soils; evaluates the consequences of land‐use decisions for current forests; and examines the effects of agricultural land use on the chemical properties of forest soils. Location Tompkins County occupies 1250 km² in central New York's Finger Lakes region. Like much of eastern North America, this area underwent forest clearance for agriculture during the 1800s and widespread field abandonment and forest recovery during the 1900s. The current landscape consists of a patchwork of forests that were never cleared, forests that developed on old fields and active agricultural lands. Methods We investigated relationships among topography, soils and land‐use decisions by gathering information about land‐use history, slope, aspect, elevation, soil lime content, soil drainage and accessibility in a geographic information system (GIS). To assess the effects of agriculture on forest soil chemistry, we measured pH, organic matter content and extractable nutrient concentrations in field‐collected soil samples from 47 post‐agricultural and uncleared forests. Results Steeper slopes, less accessible lands and lower‐lime soils tended to remain forested, and farmers were more likely to abandon fields that were steeper, farther from roads, lower in lime and more poorly drained. Slope had by far the greatest impact on patterns of clearance and abandonment, and accessibility had a surprisingly strong influence on the distribution of land uses. The effects of other factors varied more, depending for example on location within the county. Current forest types differed accordingly in topography and soil attributes, particularly slope, but they also showed much overlap. Post‐agricultural and uncleared forest soils had similar chemical properties. Forests on lands abandoned from agriculture 80–100 years before had slightly higher pH and nutrient concentrations than adjacent, uncleared forests, but these changes were small compared to environmental variation across the county. Main conclusions Despite differential use of lands according to their topography and soils, the substantial influence of accessibility and the relatively small scale of land‐use decisions allowed for broad similarity among forest types. Thus, the topography and soil differences created by land‐use decisions probably contribute little to landscape‐level patterns of diversity. Subtle changes in forest soil chemistry left from past agriculture may nevertheless affect plant distribution and abundance at finer scales.     

Preliminary estimates of the potential for carbon mitigation in European soils through no-till farming

In this paper we estimate the European potential for carbon mitigation of no-till farming using results from European tillage experiments. Our calculations suggest some potential in terms of (a) reduced agricultural fossil fuel emissions, and (b) increased soil carbon sequestration. We estimate that 100% conversion to no-till farming would be likely to sequester about 23 Tg C y^–1 in the European Union or about 43 Tg C y^–1 in the wider Europe (excluding the former Soviet Union). In addition, up to 3.2 Tg C y^–1 could be saved in agricultural fossil fuel emissions. Compared to estimates of the potential for carbon sequestration of other carbon mitigation options, no-till agriculture shows nearly twice the potential of scenarios whereby soils are amended with organic materials. Our calculations suggest that 100% conversion to no-till agriculture in Europe could mitigate all fossil fuel-carbon emissions from agriculture in Europe. However, this is equivalent to only about 4.1% of total anthropogenic CO₂-carbon produced annually in Europe (excluding the former Soviet Union) which in turn is equivalent to about 0.8% of global annual anthropogenic CO₂-carbon emissions.     

Unexpected stimulation of soil methane uptake as emergent property of agricultural soils following bio‐based residue application

Intensification of agriculture to meet the global food, feed, and bioenergy demand entail increasing re‐investment of carbon compounds (residues) into agro‐systems to prevent decline of soil quality and fertility. However, agricultural intensification decreases soil methane uptake, reducing, and even causing the loss of the methane sink function. In contrast to wetland agricultural soils (rice paddies), the methanotrophic potential in well‐aerated agricultural soils have received little attention, presumably due to the anticipated low or negligible methane uptake capacity in these soils. Consequently, a detailed study verifying or refuting this assumption is still lacking. Exemplifying a typical agricultural practice, we determined the impact of bio‐based residue application on soil methane flux, and determined the methanotrophic potential, including a qualitative (diagnostic microarray) and quantitative (group‐specific qPCR assays) analysis of the methanotrophic community after residue amendments over 2 months. Unexpectedly, after amendments with specific residues, we detected a significant transient stimulation of methane uptake confirmed by both the methane flux measurements and methane oxidation assay. This stimulation was apparently a result of induced cell‐specific activity, rather than growth of the methanotroph population. Although transient, the heightened methane uptake offsets up to 16% of total gaseous CO₂ emitted during the incubation. The methanotrophic community, predominantly comprised of Methylosinus may facilitate methane oxidation in the agricultural soils. While agricultural soils are generally regarded as a net methane source or a relatively weak methane sink, our results show that methane oxidation rate can be stimulated, leading to higher soil methane uptake. Hence, even if agriculture exerts an adverse impact on soil methane uptake, implementing carefully designed management strategies (e.g. repeated application of specific residues) may compensate for the loss of the methane sink function following land‐use change.     

Distribution of the frankincense tree Boswellia papyrifera in Eritrea: the role of environment and land use

Aim We determined the present and past distribution, and the abundance, of Boswellia papyrifera in Eritrea, and the environmental and land‐use factors determining its distribution limits. Location Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa. Methods In 1997 a Boswellia field survey was conducted in 113 village areas covering four administrative regions. Species occurrence was related to rainfall, air temperature and length of growing period. Additionally, the relationship between the abundance of Boswellia trees and selected physical and chemical soil factors, topography and land‐use types was determined for five study areas (with a total of 144 plots) situated along an altitude gradient of 800–2000 m a.s.l. Results The geographical distribution of B. papyrifera was limited to the south‐western and southern parts of the country between 800 and 1850 m altitude receiving a mean annual rainfall of 375–700 mm, with a growing period of 45–100 days. Species abundance was affected by, in order of importance: altitude, land‐use intensity and soil organic matter. Most trees were found in hilly areas; tree density increased from the foot slope to the hill summit; no trees occurred in valleys. Land‐use intensity, especially agriculture, fallow and grazed areas, had a profound negative effect on tree abundance. Natural regeneration of the species was promoted in areas where grazing by livestock was not allowed or regulated. Main conclusions The distribution of B. papyrifera in Eritrea has decreased during past decades, mainly due to an increasing human population, resulting in the conversion of woodlands into agricultural fields and increasing livestock pressure hindering natural regeneration. Consequently, Boswellia trees are found mainly in hilly areas on steep slopes with shallow soils of low fertility. The species appears to be able to adapt to these harsh growing conditions: in adjacent countries it was also found in comparable growth habitats.     

不同类型人类活动干扰对河岸带外来植物群落的影响——以北京永定河为例

强烈的人类活动对自然生境的扰动促进了外来植物侵入河岸带,但不同类型的人类活动干扰对外来植物的影响有所不同。按照不同人类活动干扰类型设置了山峡段、平原段和城市段,通过比较河段间河岸带外来植物群落特征的差异,探讨不同人类活动干扰类型对河岸带外来植物群落的影响。结果表明:(1)永定河河岸带共有维管束植物27科72属101种,外来植物13科28属29种。外来种比例高达28.7%,其中82.4%的国外外来种来自美洲和亚洲。(2)不同河段间的外来植物群落的物种构成和优势度呈现出显著性差异。外来种比例由山峡段的20.9%,上升至平原段和城市段的30.2%和25.5%;而优势度由12.1%,分别上升至13.4%和17.5%。(3)不同河段间的外来植物群落生活型结构有显著性差异。多年生草本植物在山峡段比例最高,达到66.7%,在平原段和城市段较低,分别为46.2%和30.8%;而一年生草本植物在城市段比例最高,达到69.2%,在平原段和山峡段较低,分别为53.8%和33.3%。(4)平原段属于农业干扰类型,其河岸带外来植物主要以农业类杂草为主,如禾本科的假稻(Leersia japonica)和菊科的钻叶紫菀(Aster subulatu);城市段是城市干扰类型,外来植物中入侵种比例和优势度较高,典型入侵种为反枝苋(Amaranthus retroflexus)和牛筋草(Eleusine indica)等。北京永定河不同河段河岸带外来植物的种类构成特点,反映了河岸带外来植物受快速城市化、农业活动等不同人类活动干扰的影响呈逐渐扩大的趋势。     

Soil microbial community of abandoned sand fields

Microbiological evaluation of sandy grassland soils from two different stages of secondary succession on abandoned fields (4 and 8 years old fallow) was carried out as a part of research focused on restoration of semi-natural vegetation communities inKiskunság National Park in Hungary. There was an apparent total N and organic C enrichment, stimulation of microbial growth and microbial community structure change on fields abandoned by agricultural practice (small family farm) in comparison with native undisturbed grassland. A successional trend of the microbial community was found after 4 and 8 years of fallow-lying soil. It consisted in a shift of r-survival strategy to more efficient C economy, in a decrease of specific respiration and metabolic activity, forced accumulation of storage bacterial compounds and increased fungal distribution. The composition of microbial phospholipid fatty acids mixture of soils abandoned at various times was significantly different.     

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.     

The conversion of the corn/soybean ecosystem to no-till agriculture may result in a carbon sink

Mitigating or slowing an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO₂]) has been the focus of international efforts, most apparent with the development of the Kyoto Protocol. Sequestration of carbon (C) in agricultural soils is being advocated as a method to assist in meeting the demands of an international C credit system. The conversion of conventionally tilled agricultural lands to no till is widely accepted as having a large-scale sequestration potential. In this study, C flux measurements over a no-till corn/soybean agricultural ecosystem over 6 years were coupled with estimates of C release associated with agricultural practices to assess the net biome productivity (NBP) of this no-till ecosystem. Estimates of NBP were also calculated for the conventionally tilled corn/soybean ecosystem assuming net ecosystem exchange is C neutral. These measurements were scaled to the US as a whole to determine the sequestration potential of corn/soybean ecosystems, under current practices where 10% of agricultural land devoted to this ecosystem is no-tilled and under a hypothetical scenario where 100% of the land is not tilled. The estimates of this analysis show that current corn/soybean agriculture in the US releases ∼7.2 Tg C annually, with no-till sequestering ∼2.2 Tg and conventional-till releasing ∼9.4 Tg. The complete conversion of land area to no till might result in 21.7 Tg C sequestered annually, representing a net C flux difference of ∼29 Tg C. These results demonstrate that large-scale conversion to no-till practices, at least for the corn/soybean ecosystem, could potentially offset ca. 2% of annual US carbon emissions.     

Nitrogen Fixation in Soils and Canals of Rehabilitated Raised-Fields of the Bolivian Altiplano1

Raised-field agricultural systems were exploited extensively by pre-Columbian Andean civilizations and now are used less extensively by contemporary Bolivian and Peruvian farmers as a method for farming the perennially wet soils of the intermontane pampas of the Andean high altiplano. The raised-field agricultural systems are linear or semi-linear raised planting platforms interspersed with shallow, parallel canals filled with water. The elevated planting platforms raise the critical rooting zone of crops such as potatoes, quinoa, or barley above perennially saturated soils. A hypothesized advantage of the raised-field system is that agricultural production can be increased by exploiting the ability of bacteria and Azolla fililculoides to fix nitrogen in the canals adjacent to the planting platforms. To test this hypothesis, nitrogen fixation was estimated in situ in the water column of canals, in the soils of planting platforms, in the soils of a dry hillside field, and in the sediments and water column of marshes and totora beds. Nitrogen fixation was significantly greater in the canals of the raised-field systems and in marshes compared to planting platforms and the hillside field. These data support the theory that pre-Hispanic agricultural prosperity of the Andes, as well as other regions of Central and South America, was partially supported by extensive development of raised-field agriculture and probable exploitation of nitrogen fixation.     

Restoration of Highly Impacted Subalpine Campsites in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon

The effects of intensive recreation impacts and restoration amendments on soil parameters were assessed at four campsites in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, northeastern Oregon. Sites (2,215‐ to 2,300‐m elevation) are characterized by shallow granitic soils, an Abies lasiocarpa/Pinus albicaulis overstory, and a Vaccinium scoparium understory. In fall 1995, plots were established at four campsites on three subalpine lakes in which soils were scarified, compost amended, and planted to native species. In summer 1998, we sampled surface soils (0–15 cm) on undisturbed sites (between and under vegetation) and unamended and compost‐amended campsite soils. Samples were analyzed for total organic C, total N, potentially mineralizable N (PMN), NH₄, soil moisture, microbial biomass, basal 5‐day respiration rates, and microbial community carbon utilization profiles. Unamended campsite soils had significantly lower levels of PMN, microbial biomass, basal respiration, and number of substrates metabolized in carbon utilization profiles. Compost addition elevated all these impacted parameters on campsite soils, although the increase in basal respiration rate was neither statistically significant nor sufficient to approach rates found underneath vegetation on undisturbed soils. Only the number of substrates metabolized in the carbon utilization profiles was significantly higher on compost‐amended soils than on undisturbed soils. Levels of PMN indicate that campsite soils may lack sufficient N for rapid plant regeneration, whereas amended and undisturbed soils contained adequate quantities of available N. This work suggests that compost amendments can ameliorate impacts to soil chemistry and microbial populations caused by camping, without exceeding the N fertility found on undisturbed soils.