Metabolic Status of Bacteria and Fungi in the Rhizosphere of Ponderosa Pine Seedlings

We determined the quantity and metabolic status of bacteria and fungi in rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere soil from microcosms containing ponderosa pine seedlings. Rhizosphere soil was sampled adjacent to coarse, fine, or young roots. The biovolume and metabolic status of bacterial and fungal cells was determined microscopically and converted to total and active biomass values. Cells were considered active if they possessed the ability to reduce the artificial electron acceptor 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyltetrazolium chloride (INT) to visible intracellular deposits of INT formazan. A colorimetric assay of INT formazan production was also used to assess dehydrogenase activity. INT-active microorganisms made up 44 to 55% of the microbial biomass in the soils studied. The proportion of fungal biomass that exhibited INT-reducing activity (40 to 50%) was higher than previous estimates of the active proportion of soil fungi determined by using fluorescein diacetate. Comparison between soils from different root zones revealed that the highest total and INT-active fungal biomass was adjacent to fine mycorrhizal roots, whereas the highest total and active bacterial biomass was adjacent to the young growing root tips. These observations suggest that fungi are enhanced adjacent to the fine roots compared with the nonrhizosphere soil, whereas bacteria are more responsive than fungi to labile carbon inputs in the young root zone. Colorimetric dehydrogenase assays detected gross differences between bulk and rhizosphere soil activity but were unable to detect more subtle differences due to root types. Determination of total and INT-active biomass has increased our understanding of the role of spatial compartmentalization of bacteria and fungi in rhizosphere carbon flow.     

Tree Species Composition Influences Enzyme Activities and Microbial Biomass in the Rhizosphere: A Rhizobox Approach

Monoculture causes nutrient losses and leads to declines in soil fertility and biomass production over successive cultivation. The rhizosphere, a zone of usually high microbial activities and clearly distinct from bulk soil, is defined as the volume of soil around living roots and influenced by root activities. Here we investigated enzyme activities and microbial biomass in the rhizosphere under different tree compositions. Six treatments with poplar, willow, and alder mono- or mixed seedlings were grown in rhizoboxes. Enzyme activities associated with nitrogen cycling and microbial biomass were measured in all rhizosphere and bulk soils. Both enzyme activities and microbial biomass in the rhizosphere differed significantly tree compositions. Microbial biomass contents were more sensitive to the changes of the rhizosphere environment than enzyme activities. Tree species coexistence did not consistently increase tested enzyme activities and microbial biomass, but varied depending on the complementarities of species traits. In general, impacts of tree species and coexistence were more pronounced on microbial composition than total biomass, evidenced by differences in microbial biomass C/N ratios stratified across the rhizosphere soils. Compared to poplar clone monoculture, other tree species addition obviously increased rhizosphere urease activity, but greatly reduced rhizosphere L-asparaginase activity. Poplar growth was enhanced only when coexisted with alder. Our results suggested that a highly productive or keystone plant species in a community had greater influence over soil functions than the contribution of diversity.     

青稞根腐病对根际土壤微生物及酶活性的影响

选取甘肃省卓尼县青稞种植区为研究地点,调查青稞根腐病的发病情况,并分别采集其健康植株和发病株根际的土壤,对比分析其土壤微生物生物量(碳、氮、磷)、微生物数量(细菌、真菌、放线菌)以及过氧化氢酶、蔗糖酶、脲酶、碱性磷酸酶、纤维素酶5种酶活性。结果发现,研究区10个采样点均有青稞根腐病的发生,发病率在5%—20%之间,不同地点发病率不同。根腐病的发生,会显著影响青稞根际微生物生物量,导致微生物生物量碳、氮、磷的含量发生变化,其中微生物生物量氮和磷含量整体降低,且不同采样点微生物量不同。土壤微生物数量总体呈现细菌放线菌真菌的趋势,但不同微生物对根腐病发病的响应不同,细菌和放线菌数量因根腐病的发生而减少,真菌的数量则增多;不同采样点土壤微生物数量不相同,细菌和真菌呈现区域性特征,放线菌的数量不呈现地域性。根腐病的发生还造成土壤酶活性的改变,其中蔗糖酶、脲酶、磷酸酶的含量因根腐病的发生而降低,而纤维素酶则升高,过氧化氢酶的变化没有规律。总而言之,根腐病的发生会使青稞根际土壤微生物组成发生改变,碳、氮、磷等物质代谢受到抑制,而能量代谢发生紊乱。因此,研究和防治青稞根腐病就必须重视土壤微生物及土壤酶的作用。     

Microgradients of Microbial Oxygen Consumption in a Barley Rhizosphere Model System

A microelectrode technique was used to map the radial distribution of oxygen concentrations and oxygen consumption rates around single roots of 7-day-old barley seedlings. The seedlings were grown in gel-stabilized medium containing a nutrient solution, a soil extract, and an inert polymer. Oxygen consumption by microbial respiration in the rhizosphere (<5 mm from the root) and in bulk medium (>30 mm from the root) was determined by using Fick's laws of diffusion and an analytical approach with curve fitting to measured microprofiles of oxygen concentration. A marked increase of microbial respiration was observed in the inner 0- to 3-mm-thick, concentric zone around the root (rhizosphere). The volume-specific oxygen consumption rate (specific activity) was thus 30 to 60 times higher in the innermost 0 to 0.01 mm (rhizoplane) than in the bulk medium. The oxygen consumption rate in the root tissue was in turn 10 to 30 times higher than that in the rhizoplane. Both microbial respiration and oxygen uptake by the root varied between different roots. This was probably due to a between-root variation of the exudation rate for easily degradable carbon compounds supporting the microbial oxygen consumption.     

Water-soluble carbon in roots of rape and barley: impacts on labile soil organic carbon, arylsulphatase activity and sulphur mineralization

Investigating the impact of plant species on sulphur (S) availability in the rhizosphere soil is agronomically important to optimize S fertilization. Bulk, rhizosphere soils and the roots of field-grown rape and barley were sampled 7 times (every fortnight), from March to June, at plant maturity. Root carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in water extract, along with soil SO₄²⁻-S, labile soil organic-C (HWC) and -N (HWN) in hot water extract, as well as soil arylsulphatase activity were then monitored. The average concentrations of both HWC and HWN were observed in the following decreasing order: rape rhizosphere soil >barley rhizosphere soil >bulk soil. In parallel, the average contents of water extractable-C and -N in rape roots were higher than those in barley roots. These results suggest that soil C and N contents in hot water extract (including rhizodeposition) were correlated with C and N released by roots. Great ARS activities found in rape rhizosphere soil were accompanied by great SO₄²⁻-S mineralization over time. Finally, bulk and rhizosphere soils of rape and barley were pooled from the seven samplings and incubated with the corresponding pooled root water-soluble C of both plant species and glucose-C. After 1 and 9 weeks, a greater net S mineralization (gross mineralization - immobilization) was observed with rape root water-soluble C than with barley root water-soluble C and glucose-C. Conjointly, we found a higher average value of ARS activity in rape rhizosphere than in barley rhizosphere soil. Our findings suggest that plant species, via their rhizodeposition, determine the dynamic of S in soil.     

Predicted microbial biomass in the rhizosphere of barley in the field

Summary Laboratory data for the loss of root material by barley and field data for the growth of barley plants in Syria and in England have been combined to predict the amount of material lost by barley roots during a season, and to predict the resulting microbial biomass in the rhizosphere. The predicted microbial biomass C in the rhizosphere ranged from 10–34% of the total plant biomass C depending mainly upon the value used for rate of loss of root material. Total loss of root material predicted during a season in England constituted 7.7–25.4 percent of C fixed by photosynthesis. The major assumptions made in these calculations are considered, and the predicted values discussed in relation to reported values for soil microbial biomass, CO₂ fluxes from soil and associative nitrogen fixation.     

Rhizosphere effect and fine-root morphological adaptations in a chronosequence of silver birch stands on reclaimed oil shale post-mining areas

Mining activities create wastelands that require reclamation. The relief of abandoned opencast oil shale mining area is rugged, and the mining spoil is extremely stony and alkaline (pH 8), with low N and organic content. Planting of fast-growing deciduous tree species such as silver birch (Betula pendula) on post-mining area is the best means to accelerate the development of a new forest ecosystem in such harsh conditions. A chronosequence of silver birch stands (1, 2, 3, 5, 29, 40 years old) was investigated to reveal changes in bulk soil (S) and rhizosphere (R) properties, in rhizosphere effect on bacterial activity and diversity, and in fine-root morphological adaptations in relation to stand development. The rhizosphere effect on bacterial activity was measured as a rhizosphere/soil (R/S) ratio and on species diversity as a similarity (%) between rhizosphere and bulk soil bacterial communities. Bacterial species diversity was determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique and was expressed as Shannon diversity index. Biolog EcoPlates were used to determine the summed activity of cultivable bacteria in rhizosphere and bulk soil. Short-root morphological parameters were measured using WinRHIZO™ Pro.Soil pH and available P concentration decreased logarithmically, and N% and organic matter concentration increased linearly with increasing stand age. During the first 30 years of stand development SIR increased an order, from 0.18 to 1.90 mg C g⁻¹. Bulk soil bacterial diversity increased logarithmically with stand age. The bacterial diversity was higher in rhizosphere than in bulk soil. Rhizosphere effect on bacterial activity was low a year after planting, increased more than two times in the next 2 years, and decreased thereafter rapidly with stand age. Rhizosphere effect, indicating plant support to rhizosphere microbial communities, was highest when soil conditions were still poor, but trees had already overcome the transplant shock. All short-root morphological parameters showed certain trends with age. Specific short-root length varied between 56 and 313 m g⁻¹ and decreased logarithmically with stand age and soil improvement. The fastest changes in short-root morphology, rhizosphere effect, and soil pH occurred during the early development of silver birch stands - in the first 5 years; P nutrition and N use efficiency improved simultaneously. Rhizosphere effect and short-root morphological adaptation have an important role in soil and stand development on oil shale post-mining area, and silver birch is a promising tree species for reclamation of alkaline mining spoil.     

Stimulated saprotrophic fungi in arable soil extend their activity to the rhizosphere and root microbiomes of crop seedlings

Saprotrophic fungi play an important role in ecosystem functioning and plant performance, but their abundance in intensively managed arable soils is low. Saprotrophic fungal biomass in arable soils can be enhanced with amendments of cellulose-rich materials. Here, we examined if sawdust-stimulated saprotrophic fungi extend their activity to the rhizosphere of crop seedlings and influence the composition and activity of other rhizosphere and root inhabitants. After growing carrot seedlings in sawdust-amended arable soil, we determined fungal and bacterial biomass and community structure in roots, rhizosphere and soil. Utilization of root exudates was assessed by stable isotope probing (SIP) following ¹³CO₂-pulse-labelling of seedlings. This was combined with analysis of lipid fatty acids (PLFA/NLFA-SIP) and nucleic acids (DNA-SIP). Sawdust-stimulated Sordariomycetes colonized the seedling's rhizosphere and roots and actively consumed root exudates. This did not reduce the abundance and activity of bacteria, yet higher proportions of α-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidia were seen. Biomass and activity of mycorrhizal fungi increased with sawdust amendments, whereas exudate consumption and root colonization by functional groups containing plant pathogens did not change. Sawdust amendment of arable soil enhanced abundance and exudate-consuming activity of saprotrophic fungi in the rhizosphere of crop seedlings and promoted potential beneficial microbial groups in root-associated microbiomes.     

Periodic carbon flushing to roots of Quercus rubra saplings affects soil respiration and rhizosphere microbial biomass

Patterns of root/shoot carbon allocation within plants have been studied at length. The extent, however, to which patterns of carbon allocation from shoots to roots affect the timing and quantity of organic carbon release from roots to soil is not known. We employed a novel approach to study how natural short-term variation in the allocation of carbon to roots may affect rhizosphere soil biology. Taking advantage of the semi-determinate phenology of young northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.), we examined how pulsed delivery of carbon from shoots to roots affected dynamics of soil respiration as well as microbial biomass and net nitrogen mineralization in the rhizosphere. Young Q. rubra exhibit (1) clear switches in the amount of carbon allocated below-ground that are non-destructively detected simply by observing pulsed shoot growth above-ground, and (2) multiple switches in internal carbon allocation during a single growing season, ensuring our ability to detect short-term effects of plant carbon allocation on rhizosphere biology separate from longer-term seasonal effects. In both potted oaks and oaks rooted in soil, soil respiration varied inversely with shoot flush stage through several oak shoot flushes. In addition, upon destructive harvest of potted oaks, microbial biomass in the rhizosphere of saplings with actively flushing shoots was lower than microbial biomass in the rhizosphere of saplings with shoots that were not flushing. Given that plants have evolved with their roots in contact with soil microbes, known species-specific carbon allocation patterns within plants may provide insight into interactions among roots, symbionts, and free-living microbes in the dynamic soil arena.     

增温对高寒灌丛根际和非根际土壤微生物生物量碳氮的影响

本文对青藏高原东缘窄叶鲜卑花高寒灌丛生长季根际和非根际土壤微生物生物量碳和氮对增温的响应进行研究.结果表明: 窄叶鲜卑花灌丛生长季初期根际和非根际土壤微生物生物量碳和氮均显著高于生长季中期和末期.在多数时期,增温对根际土壤微生物生物量碳和氮的影响不显著.在非根际土壤中,增温对土壤微生物生物量碳和氮的影响因不同生长季节而不同: 增温使生长季初期土壤微生物生物量碳显著降低,而使土壤微生物生物量氮显著提高;生长季中期增温使土壤微生物生物量碳和氮显著提高;而在生长季末期增温对土壤微生物生物量碳和氮的影响不显著.土壤微生物生物量碳和氮的根际效应也因不同生长季节而不同: 土壤微生物生物量碳和氮在生长季初期表现为负根际效应,而在生长季中期表现为正根际效应;在生长季末期,土壤微生物生物量碳表现为负根际效应,土壤微生物生物量氮则表现为正根际效应.增温在生长季初期使土壤微生物生物量碳和氮的根际效应显著提高,而在生长季中期和末期使土壤微生物生物量碳和氮的根际效应降低.本研究初步阐明了气候变暖背景下高寒灌丛根际和非根际土壤生物学过程变化机理.     

五节芒对重金属污染土壤微生物生物量和呼吸的影响

选择3个五节芒在重金属污染地的定居点作为研究样地,其中两个为Pb/Zn矿尾矿砂堆积地（W：黄岩铅锌尾矿;Y：三门铅锌尾矿）,一个为冶炼厂附近污染农田（N）,分别测定其根围与根际土壤微生物基础呼吸、微生物量碳、微生物量氮、土壤理化特性和土壤重金属含量.结果表明：根际土壤微生物基础呼吸和微生物量氮均显著地高于根围土壤（P<0.05）,除了N样地外,微生物量碳在根围与根际之间差异不显著（P>0.05）.根际土壤有机碳、总氮（Y样地除外）和离子交换量（N样地除外）低于根围土壤.根际重金属（Pb、Zn、Cu、Cd）总量与DTPA（二乙三胺五乙酸）可提取量普遍低于根围土壤.冗余分析（RDA）表明,根围和根际土壤微生物与土壤理化特性呈不同程度的正相关,而与土壤重金属含量呈现不同程度的负相关.主分量及回归分析同样证明土壤微生物总体变化与土壤理化特性呈正相关（根围R²=0.653;根际R²=0.690）,而与重金属含量呈负相关（根围R²=0.610;根际R²=0.662）.     

Response of microbial activity and biomass in rhizosphere and bulk soils to increasing salinity

Background and aims

The impact of salinity on microbes has been studied extensively but little is known about the response of soil microbial activity and biomass to increasing salinity in rhizosphere compared to bulk (non-rhizosphere) soil.

Methods

Barley was grown for 5 weeks in non-saline loamy sand to which salt (NaCl) was added. The electrical conductivity in the saturated extract (ECe) was 1, 13 and 19 dS m^?1 for non-saline and two saline soils. Pots without plants were prepared in the same manner and placed next to those with plants. The water content in all pots was maintained at 75 % of water-holding capacity by weight. After 5 weeks the planted and unplanted pots were harvested to collect rhizosphere and bulk soil, respectively. The collected soil was then used for an incubation experiment. The EC levels in the pot experiment (EC1, EC13 and EC19, referred to as original) were either maintained or increased by adding NaCl to adjust the EC to 13, 19, 31 and 44 dS m^?1. CO₂ release was measured continuously for 20 days, microbial biomass C (MBC) was measured at the start and the end of the incubation experiment.

Results

In general, cumulative respiration and microbial biomass C concentration in rhizosphere and bulk soil decreased to a similar extent with increasing adjusted EC. However, compared to the treatments where the EC was maintained, the percentage decrease in cumulative respiration when the EC was increased to EC44 was smaller in rhizosphere than in bulk soil.

Conclusion

Overall, the reduction of cumulative respiration with increasing salinity did not differ between rhizophere and bulk soil. But microbes in rhizosphere soil were more tolerant to high EC than those in bulk soil which could be due to the greater substrate availability in the rhizosphere even after the soil was removed from the roots.     

Belowground responses of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea asperata</Emphasis> seedlings to warming and nitrogen fertilization in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

The impacts of global climatic change on belowground ecological processes of terrestrial ecosystems are still not clear. We therefore conducted an experiment in the subalpine coniferous forest ecosystem of the eastern edges of the Tibetan Plateau to study roots of Picea asperata seedlings and rhizosphere soil responses to soil warming and nitrogen availability from April 2007 to December 2008. The seedlings were subjected to two levels of temperature (ambient; infrared heater warming) and two nitrogen levels (0 or 25 g m⁻²year⁻¹ N). We used a free air temperature increase from an overhead infrared heater to raise both air and soil temperature by 2.1 and 2.6°C, respectively. The results showed that warming alone significantly increased total biomass, coarse root biomass and fine root biomass of P. asperata seedlings. Both total biomass and fine root biomass were increased, but coarse root biomass was significantly decreased by nitrogen fertilization and warming combined with nitrogen fertilization. Warming induced a prominent increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) and NO₃ ⁻-N of rhizosphere soil, while nitrogen fertilization significantly decreased SOC and NH₄ ⁺-N of rhizosphere soil. The warming, fertilization and warming × N fertilization interaction decreased soil microbial C significantly, but substantially increased soil microbial N. These results suggest that nitrogen deposition combined with warmer temperatures under future climatic change possibly will have no effect on fine root production of P. asperata seedlings, but could enhance the nitrification process of their rhizosphere soils in subalpine coniferous forests.     

Differences in rhizosphere carbon-partitioning among plant species of different families

Interspecific variations in carbon (C) allocation and partitioning in the rhizosphere were investigated on 12 Mediterranean species belonging to different family groups (grasses, legumes, non-legume forbs) and having different life cycles. Plants grown individually in artificial soil, in a greenhouse and inoculated with rhizosphere microflora were labelled with ¹⁴CO₂ for 3 h at the vegetative stage. Rhizosphere respiration was measured during 6 days after which labelled C partitioning between shoots, roots, soil, root washing solution and respiration was estimated. The percentage of assimilated ¹⁴C allocated below ground differed significantly between species (41 – 76%) but no significant difference was found between grasses, legumes and non-legume forbs. When expressed as percentage of below-ground ¹⁴C, rhizosphere respiration was significantly smaller for non-legume forbs (42%) than for grasses (46%) and legumes (51%). Consequently more ¹⁴C was incorporated into root biomass in the former. Half-life of ¹⁴CO₂ evolution through respiration ranged from 23 h in legumes to 27 h for non-legume forbs and 37 h for grasses. This suggested differences in microbial activities due to quantities and quality of root exuded C. Rhizosphere respiration was positively correlated with the amount of ¹⁴C in the solution used to wash the roots on one hand, and root N concentration on the other hand. This led to a functional hierarchy between plant family groups of the overall rhizosphere activity. It went from non-legume forbs being the less active (except Crepis sancta)in terms of respiration and exudation, to grasses and then legumes, the most active but also the richest in nitrogen.     

连香树人工林根系分泌物输入季节性变化及其驱动的根际微生物特性研究

根系分泌物介导的根际过程具有重要的生态学效应,但目前有关植物尤其是濒危珍稀植物根系分泌物及其介导的土壤生物地球化学循环过程的原位季节动态研究甚少。本文以阿坝州茂县大沟流域30年生的国家二级濒危保护植物连香树人工林为研究对象,于2014年4、7、9和12月利用原位收集装置对连香树根系分泌物进行原位收集;并同步分析了根际土壤微生物特性的变化。结果表明：（1）根系分泌物C和N分泌速率均呈现明显的季节动态变化,其中,夏季最高,冬季最低。（2）根际土壤微生物碳、氮及土壤酶活性显著高于非根际,表现出正的根际效应;根际效应也与根系分泌物输入表现出类似的季节动态规律,即夏季（7月）最高,而冬季（12月）最低。（3）进一步相关分析表明：根系分泌物分泌速率与土壤微生物碳、氮及土壤酶活性根际效应值呈线性正相关,表明根系分泌物输入是驱动根际微生物活性的重要因子,揭示连香树根系碳输入对根际土壤过程和功能的季节响应。未来研究应加强根系分泌物输入与土壤生物地球化学循环过程的偶联效应与机制研究。     

Development of specific rhizosphere bacterial communities in relation to plant species, nutrition and soil type

Rhizosphere microbial communities are important for plant nutrition and plant health. Using the culture-independent method of PCR-DGGE of 16S rDNA for community analyses, we conducted several experiments to investigate the importance of pH, soil type, soil amendment, nutritional status of the plant, plant species and plant age on the structure of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere. At the same time, we assessed the spatial variability of bacterial communities in different root zone locations. Our results showed that the bacterial community structure is influenced by soil pH and type of P fertilization. In a short-term experiment (15–22 days) with cucumber and barley growing in a N deficient or a P deficient soil, the bacterial community structure in the rhizosphere was affected by soil type and fertilization but not by plant species. In a 7.5-week experiment with three plant species (chickpea, canola, Sudan grass) growing in three different soils (a sand, a loam and a clay), the complex interactions between soil and plant effects on the rhizosphere community were apparent. In the sand and the loam, the three plant species had distinct rhizosphere communities while in the clay soil the rhizosphere community structures of canola and Sudan grass were similar and differed from those of chickpea. In all soils, the rhizosphere community structures of the root tip were different from those in the mature root zone. In white lupin, the bacterial community structure of the non-cluster roots differed from those of the cluster roots. As plants matured, different cluster root age classes (young, mature, old) had distinct rhizosphere communities. We conclude that many different factors will contribute to shaping the species composition in the rhizosphere, but that the plant itself exerts a highly selective effect that is at least as great as that of the soil. Root exudate amount and composition are the key drivers for the differences in community structure observed in this study.     

A technique for studying rhizosphere processes in tree crops: soil phosphorus depletion around camellia (Camellia japonica L.) roots

Rhizosphere studies on tree crops have been hampered by the lack of a satisfactory method of sampling soils at various distances in the rhizosphere. A modified root study container (RSC) technique developed for annual crops, grasses and legumes was used to study the mechanisms by which camellia plants (Camellia japonica L.) utilise soil P in the glasshouse and field. Plants belonging to the Camellia family (e.g. tea) have the ability to utilise P from relatively unavailable native P sources and for this reason camellia plants were selected for this study.In the glasshouse trial, the RSCs were filled with a Recent soil, treated with P fertilisers; North Carolina phosphate rock (NCPR), diammonium phosphate (DAP), mono calcium phosphate (MCP) and single superphosphate (SSP) at 200 g P g^-1 soil. A planar mat of roots was physically separated by a 24 m polyester mesh and the soil on the other side of this mesh was cut into thin slices parallel to the rhizoplane and analysed for pH, and different forms of P (organic, P_o and inorganic, P_i) to understand P depletion at different distances from camellia roots. In the field trial this technique was modified and used to study the rhizosphere processes in mature camellia trees fertilised with only SSP and NCPR.In both field and glasshouse trials, all P fertilisers increased all the bulk soil P fractions except NaOH-P_o over unfertilised soil with the greatest increases being in the H₂SO₄-P_i fraction in the NCPR treatment and NaOH-P_i in the SSP treatment. Resin-P, NaOH-P_i and H₂SO₄-P_i were significantly lower in the rhizosphere soil compared to the bulk soil whereas NaOH-P_o was higher in the rhizosphere soil than in the bulk soil. Plant and microbial P uptake were thought to be the major causes for the low resin-P rather than P fixation by Fe and Al because the NaOH-P_i fraction which is a measure of Fe-P and Al-P, also decreased in the rhizosphere soil. The rhizo-deposition of NaOH-P_o suggests that labile inorganic P was immobilized by rhizosphere microbes which were believed to have multiplied as a result of carbon exudates from the roots. A marked reduction in pH (about 0.2–0.4 in the glasshouse and 0.2 in the field trial) was observed near the rhizoplane compared to that in the bulk soil in all treatments. The pH near the rhizoplane as well as in the bulk soil was highest for NCPR treated soil. The increase in pH in the NCPR treatment over the control was consistent with the number of protons consumed during the dissolution of NCPR. In both trials, the dissolution of NCPR in the rhizosphere was higher than in the bulk soil due to lower pH and plant uptake of solution P in the rhizosphere. The RSC technique proved to be a viable aid to study the rhizosphere processes in tree crops.     

丛枝菌根化翅果油树幼苗根际土壤微环境

以我国二级濒危保护植物翅果油(Elaeagnus mollis)为供试植物, 通过温室盆栽试验, 研究接种丛枝菌根真菌对翅果油树幼苗根际土壤微生态环境的影响。试验设计分4个组: 摩西球囊霉(Glomus mosseae)单独接种组(GM)、脆无梗囊霉(Acaulospora delicata)单独接种组(AD)、混合接种组(GM + AD)、不接种的对照组(CK)。测定了菌根侵染率、生物量、根际微生物数量、土壤pH值、土壤酶活性及其对N、P营养的影响等指标。结果显示: 菌根真菌对3个接种组均有侵染, 其中, GM + AD的侵染率最大(90.5%), 生态学效应最好; 与对照组相比, 接种组的生物量均明显提高(p < 0.05), 其中GM + AD组生物量显著增加, 是CK组的2.2倍; AM菌根对根部微生物种群数量产生一定的影响, 主要是使根面上的细菌、放线菌、固氮菌的数量显著增加(p < 0.05); AM菌根使根际pH值降低, 与菌根侵染率呈显著负相关关系(p < 0.05); 接种组根际土壤磷酸酶、脲酶、蛋白酶的活性增加, 根际土壤的磷酸酶、蛋白酶的活性增加量与菌根侵染率呈极显著相关关系(p < 0.01); 接种组的根际土壤中, 可直接被植物吸收利用的N、P元素出现富集现象, 与菌根侵染率呈显著相关关系(p < 0.05)。研究表明: 丛枝菌根的形成改善了翅果油树幼苗的微生态环境, 提高了根际土壤肥力。     

玉米幼苗根际土壤微生物活性对芘污染的响应

用根际袋法土培试验研究了玉米幼苗根际与非根际土壤微生物量碳、微生物熵、代谢熵和土壤酶活性对不同芘污染水平(50、200、800mg·kg-1,记为T1、T2、T3)的响应差异。结果表明,较低浓度芘可适当的刺激玉米幼苗的生长,而较高浓度芘则抑制幼苗生长,其抑制作用随芘处理浓度的提高而增强;芘对玉米根系的影响要大于对茎叶的影响。玉米幼苗能够明显促进土壤中芘的去除。根际和非根际土壤中芘的去除率分别为56.67%-76.18%和32.64%-70.44%,根际土壤中芘的平均去除率比非根际土壤高16.06%。同处理中根际土壤芘含量显著低于非根际土壤,随着芘处理浓度的提高其差异更加显著。根际土壤微生物量碳、微生物熵、多酚氧化酶活性、脱氢酶活性和磷酸酶活性均高于非根际土壤,代谢熵低于非根际土壤,且其差异随芘处理浓度的提高而增大。在不同芘污染水平下,微生物量碳、微生物熵和脱氢酶活性根际和非根际土壤为T1T2T3,代谢熵为T3T2T1;多酚氧化酶活性根际土壤为T2T1T3,非根际土壤为T1T2T3;磷酸酶活性根际土壤为T3T1T2,非根际土壤为T1T2T3。土壤中残余芘含量与土壤微生物量碳、微生物熵、多酚氧化酶、脱氢酶和磷酸酶活性呈显著负相关,与代谢熵呈显著正相关。     

Effects of above-ground plant species composition and diversity on the diversity of soil-borne microorganisms

A coupling of above-ground plant diversity and below-ground microbial diversity has been implied in studies dedicated to assessing the role of macrophyte diversity on the stability, resilience, and functioning of ecosystems. Indeed, above-ground plant communities have long been assumed to drive below-ground microbial diversity, but to date very little is known as to how plant species composition and diversity influence the community composition of micro-organisms in the soil. We examined this relationship in fields subjected to different above-ground biodiversity treatments and in field experiments designed to examine the influence of plant species on soil-borne microbial communities. Culture-independent strategies were applied to examine the role of wild or native plant species composition on bacterial diversity and community structure in bulk soil and in the rhizosphere. In comparing the influence of Cynoglossum officinale (hound's tongue) and Cirsium vulgare (spear thistle) on soil-borne bacterial communities, detectable differences in microbial community structure were confined to the rhizosphere. The colonisation of the rhizosphere of both plants was highly reproducible, and maintained throughout the growing season. In a separate experiment, effects of plant diversity on bacterial community profiles were also only observed for the rhizosphere. Rhizosphere soil from experimental plots with lower macrophyte diversity showed lower diversity, and bacterial diversity was generally lower in the rhizosphere than in bulk soil. These results demonstrate that the level of coupling between above-ground macrophyte communities and below-ground microbial communities is related to the tightness of the interactions involved. Although plant species composition and community structure appear to have little discernible effect on microbial communities inhabiting bulk soil, clear and reproducible changes in microbial community structure and diversity are observed in the rhizosphere. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.