Plant Species and Plant Incubation Conditions Influence Variability in Epiphytic Bacterial Population Size

Abstract The influences of plant species and plant incubation conditions on the variability in bacterial population sizes among leaves were investigated in field and growth chamber studies. Pseudomonas syringae strains TLP2 and Cit7 were inoculated onto plants and population sizes were measured at intervals after inoculation. Total bacterial population sizes were also assessed in field studies. Levels of leaf-to-leaf variability in both P. syringae population size and bacterial community size differed significantly among plant species. For all plant species, variability among leaves in population sizes of inoculated bacteria was consistently greater than the leaf-to-leaf variability in numbers of total bacteria. Considering levels of variability in population size immediately prior to and following incubation under either wet or dry physical conditions, leaf-to-leaf variability in the population sizes of inoculated P. syringae strains increased significantly following incubation under dry, but not under wet, conditions. Measurements of leaf-to-leaf variability immediately prior to and following incubation were positively correlated regardless of whether the incubation was under wet or dry conditions, though the correlation was greater following dry incubation. These data provide insight into the biological and physical factors that may be important in generating variability in bacterial population sizes among leaves, and they have important implications for the design of appropriate strategies for sampling leaf surface microbial populations.     

Changes of Diversity Pattern of Proteolytic Bacteria over Time and Space in an Agricultural Soil

The genetic heterogeneity of neutral metalloprotease (npr) gene fragments from soil proteolytic bacteria was investigated at a cultivated field site with four different soil types and at three different depths in April, July, and October. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analyses of polymerase chain reaction-amplified npr gene fragments were applied to study the dynamic of the npr gene pool with regard to environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to relate differences in npr community structure and richness to the vertical, site, and seasonal variations naturally occurring at the field site under investigation. T-RFLP analysis revealed a noticeable seasonal variability in the community structure of npr-containing bacteria. The data suggest that the composition of the npr proteolytic bacterial population in July differed from those at the other dates. Additionally, the diversity of npr genes decreased with increasing soil depth revealing the highest values in upper layers. The reasons behind the observed patterns in the community structure might be mainly seasonal and vertical variation of the quantity and heterogeneity of available substrates as well as spatial isolation caused by a varying water amount and the connectivity of soil particles among the soil profile. Sequencing and phylogenetical analysis of 120 npr clones from the top soils collected in July revealed that most of the clones exhibit only poor homology to npr genes of isolates previously obtained from various environments, indicating the presence of until now uncharacterized npr coding proteolytic bacteria at the study site.     

Fungal Diversity in Deep Sea Sediments from East Yap Trench and Their Denitrification Potential

Abstract

In recent years, the hadal trenches have been recognized as biological hot spots for deep sea researchers. Due to high hydrostatic pressure, low temperatures, high salinity and low nutrients, the microorganisms in hadal trenches may have unique community structure with potential for biotechnical application. Compared with bacteria and archaea, the diversity and ecological roles of fungi in hadal trenches remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to explore fungal diversity in deep-sea sediments of the Yap trench and their denitrification potential. In the present study, a total of 106 fungal strains were isolated from six sediment samples collected in the East Yap Trench. These fungi belonged to five classes (Dothideomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Sordariomycetes, Cystobasidiomycetes, and Microbotryomycetes), thirteen genera (Acremonium, Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Cystobasidium, Engyodontium, Gliomastix, Lecanicillium, Penicillium, Phoma, Rhodotorula and Trichoderma) and eighteen species, based on morphological identification and ITS-rDNA sequence analysis. Among them, the dominant genus is Cladosporium, which accounting for 42.45% of the total fungal strains. Meanwhile, the denitrification potential of the fungal strains was also examined with two different denitrifying media (nitrate and nitrite as sole substrate, respectively). Two fungal strains (Acremonium sp. and Aspergillus versicolor), were found to be able to produce N₂O ex situ in the presence of nitrite. No fungus was found to produce N₂O by using nitrate. Our results suggest that fungi in hadal sediments, play important roles in nitrogen cycles.     

Soil Environmental Conditions and Microbial Build-Up Mediate the Effect of Plant Diversity on Soil Nitrifying and Denitrifying Enzyme Activities in Temperate Grasslands

Random reductions in plant diversity can affect ecosystem functioning, but it is still unclear which components of plant diversity (species number – namely richness, presence of particular plant functional groups, or particular combinations of these) and associated biotic and abiotic drivers explain the observed relationships, particularly for soil processes. We assembled grassland communities including 1 to 16 plant species with a factorial separation of the effects of richness and functional group composition to analyze how plant diversity components influence soil nitrifying and denitrifying enzyme activities (NEA and DEA, respectively), the abundance of nitrifiers (bacterial and archaeal amoA gene number) and denitrifiers (nirK, nirS and nosZ gene number), and key soil environmental conditions. Plant diversity effects were largely due to differences in functional group composition between communities of identical richness (number of sown species), though richness also had an effect per se. NEA was positively related to the percentage of legumes in terms of sown species number, the additional effect of richness at any given legume percentage being negative. DEA was higher in plots with legumes, decreased with increasing percentage of grasses, and increased with richness. No correlation was observed between DEA and denitrifier abundance. NEA increased with the abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria. The effect of richness on NEA was entirely due to the build-up of nitrifying organisms, while legume effect was partly linked to modified ammonium availability and nitrifier abundance. Richness effect on DEA was entirely due to changes in soil moisture, while the effects of legumes and grasses were partly due to modified nitrate availability, which influenced the specific activity of denitrifiers. These results suggest that plant diversity-induced changes in microbial specific activity are important for facultative activities such as denitrification, whereas changes in microbial abundance play a major role for non-facultative activities such as nitrification.     

金马河温江段河岸带不同生境植物物种多样性与土壤理化性质的动态变化

为评价植被恢复过程中生物多样性和土壤性质的变化,对2015和2018年金马河温江段河岸带内河滩地、砾石地、芦苇地、斑茅地和沙坑地5种生境的植物多样性和土壤理化性质进行了比较分析.结果表明,2015年金马河温江段河岸带共有32科80属113种草本植物,2018年共有57科118属161种草本、灌木植物,以河滩地和斑茅地的...     

Using Phylogenetic,Functional and Trait Diversity to Understand Patterns of Plant Community Productivity

Background

Two decades of research showing that increasing plant diversity results in greater community productivity has been predicated on greater functional diversity allowing access to more of the total available resources. Thus, understanding phenotypic attributes that allow species to partition resources is fundamentally important to explaining diversity-productivity relationships.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Here we use data from a long-term experiment (Cedar Creek, MN) and compare the extent to which productivity is explained by seven types of community metrics of functional variation: 1) species richness, 2) variation in 10 individual traits, 3) functional group richness, 4) a distance-based measure of functional diversity, 5) a hierarchical multivariate clustering method, 6) a nonmetric multidimensional scaling approach, and 7) a phylogenetic diversity measure, summing phylogenetic branch lengths connecting community members together and may be a surrogate for ecological differences. Although most of these diversity measures provided significant explanations of variation in productivity, the presence of a nitrogen fixer and phylogenetic diversity were the two best explanatory variables. Further, a statistical model that included the presence of a nitrogen fixer, seed weight and phylogenetic diversity was a better explanation of community productivity than other models.

Conclusions

Evolutionary relationships among species appear to explain patterns of grassland productivity. Further, these results reveal that functional differences among species involve a complex suite of traits and that perhaps phylogenetic relationships provide a better measure of the diversity among species that contributes to productivity than individual or small groups of traits.     

Soil Changes in Model Tropical Ecosystems: Effects of Stand Longevity Outweigh Plant Diversity and Tree Species Identity in a Fertile Volcanic Soil

Plant or community longevity can strongly influence soil fertility, yet it is seldom among the functional traits considered in studies of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. For 11 years we tracked the influences of plant longevity, life-form richness, and tree species identity on 12 soil chemical properties in model ecosystems on an allophanic Andisol in the humid lowlands of Costa Rica. The design employed three levels of plant longevity: 1 year and 4 years (trees cut without biomass removal and replanted to same species), and uncut; two levels of life-form diversity (tree alone, or tree plus palm plus giant perennial herb); and three eudicot, non-nitrogen (N)-fixing tree species. The site’s Andisol proved remarkably resistant to treatment-induced loss of fertility. Although the magnitude of changes was low, most properties declined during the early phases of plant growth, then stabilized or increased. The greatest declines occurred in stands of shortest life span, where organic matter inputs were low and leaching rates were high. In contrast, massive depositions of organic matter every 4 years sustained or augmented surface-soil cation concentrations, pH, organic carbon (SOC), and extractable phosphorus (P). An increase in diversity from one life form to three led to more SOC and calcium (Ca), whereas potassium (K) decreased due to a species effect: high K uptake by the giant herb. The most notable tree-species effects concerned P: It increased under the species that had the highest litterfall and may facilitate apatite weathering; it decreased under the species of highest tissue-N concentrations. Through its effects on soil exposure and organic matter returns, plant longevity exerted greater influence on more soil properties than either diversity or species identity.     

Plant Diversity Impacts Decomposition and Herbivory via Changes in Aboveground Arthropods

Loss of plant diversity influences essential ecosystem processes as aboveground productivity, and can have cascading effects on the arthropod communities in adjacent trophic levels. However, few studies have examined how those changes in arthropod communities can have additional impacts on ecosystem processes caused by them (e.g. pollination, bioturbation, predation, decomposition, herbivory). Therefore, including arthropod effects in predictions of the impact of plant diversity loss on such ecosystem processes is an important but little studied piece of information. In a grassland biodiversity experiment, we addressed this gap by assessing aboveground decomposer and herbivore communities and linking their abundance and diversity to rates of decomposition and herbivory. Path analyses showed that increasing plant diversity led to higher abundance and diversity of decomposing arthropods through higher plant biomass. Higher species richness of decomposers, in turn, enhanced decomposition. Similarly, species-rich plant communities hosted a higher abundance and diversity of herbivores through elevated plant biomass and C:N ratio, leading to higher herbivory rates. Integrating trophic interactions into the study of biodiversity effects is required to understand the multiple pathways by which biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning.     

垃圾渗滤液中好氧反硝化菌的筛选及其反硝化条件优化

从江苏省常州市某垃圾渗滤液处理厂的纯氧曝气池中提取活性污泥,筛选获得1株高效好氧反硝化菌CZ1。根据菌株形态、生理生化特性进行初步鉴定,并结合该菌株的16S rDNA基因序列分析,判定该菌株为蜡样芽胞杆菌(Bacillus cereus)。研究了菌株的好氧反硝化特性,结果表明,以硝酸钾为唯一氮源,CZ1在24h内对硝酸盐氮的去除率达到97.69%。同时考察了碳源种类、C/N、温度、初始pH以及溶解氧对该菌株好氧反硝化能力的影响,通过单因素实验获得其最佳好氧反硝化条件:温度35℃,丁二酸钠为唯一碳源,C/N为6,初始pH值为7.0~7.5,转速为160 r/min。     

Seasonal Variability in Abundance and Diversity of Soil Gymnamoebae Along a Short Transect in Southeastern USA

The abundance and diversity of gymnamoebae in three subsoils varying in compaction and water retention along a 1.2 m transect were documented as the local climatic conditions changed from late summer 1999 through mid-summer 2000. The mean density of gymnamoebae for the loose soil (1,655/g) was greater than either the most compact (1,468/g) or moderately compact soil (851/g). Minimum densities occurred in middle and late summer for all soils while significant (F = 38.803, < or = 0.0002) density peaks at 3.212/g occurred in early summer in the most compact soil, 2.928/g in the least compact, and 2,209/g in the moderately compact soil. Limax non-eruptive gymnamoebae (mt 2) correlated (r = 0.49, p < or = 0.016) with moisture while eruptive limax gymnamoebae ( 3) correlated with temperature (r = 0.07, p < or = 0.024), moisture (r = 0.58, p < or = 0.001) and precipitation (r = 0.46, p < or = 0.029). Flattened or discoid amoebae (mt 4) dominated throughout most of the survey, and the two limax groups showed inverse relationships. Chi-square analyses showed significant differences in the numbers of limax eruptive gymnamoebae compared to all other morphotypes on all but one sampling period.     

高寒草甸植物群落中相似性、物种多样性与地上生物量的年际变异性

相似性似说通过物种构成的相似性来解释物种丧失是如何影响生物量的变异性的,但还没有得到检验。本研究通过设置在青藏高原东部地区的高寒草甸植物群落中的74个永久样方．采集3年(1999～2001)植物生长高峰期的群落数据,试图检验物种构成的相似性是如何解释物种多样性对地上生物量年际变异性的影响。结果表明：随着物种丰富度增加,生物量变异性降低;而随着均匀度的增加,生物量的变异性尽管在均匀度中等程度时似乎保持在同一水平,但总体上呈下降趋势;物种构成上的相似性解释了地上生物量变异性的大部分,而且随着物种构成上的相似性的增加,生物量的变异性降低;物种丰富度和均匀度均与物种构成上的相似性没有显著相关关系。这些结果表明：尽管生物多样性的丧失可能不必导致物种丰富群落中物种构成上的相似性,但相似性与地上生物量的变异性的因果联系可能是稳健的．由于本研究是在自然群落中进行的,对物种构成的相似性没有进行直接控制,因此,要深入理解相似性是如何影响生物多样性对生态系统功能变异性的效应的机制,可能还需要直接对物种构成的相似性进行控制的实验研究。     

Changes in Indoleacetic Acid Oxidase Activity Associated with Plant Water Potential

The effect of plant water potential on the activity of indoleacetic acid oxidase was examined. It was found that with increasing plant water deficit the activity of indoleacetic acid oxidase increased. Higher activies of this enzyme are known to be associated with older tissues and lower endogenous auxin levels. It is suggested that while water stress may adversely affect a variety of physiological processes, increases in the activity of indoleacetic acid oxidase may provide plants with a drought adaption mechanism.     

长湖水生植物多样性及其变化

研究了湖北省第三大湖泊长湖水生植物多样性的现状及其长期变化,并探讨了多样性丧失的机理及多样性恢复与保护的有效途径。主要结论：(1)长湖现有水生植物98种,多度最大的是微齿眼子菜(Potamogeton maackianus)、密齿苦草(Vallisneria denseserrulata)、野菱(Trapa incisa)、双角菱(T.bispinosa)、菹草(Potamogeton crispus)、紫萍(Spirodela polyrhiza)、穗花狐尾藻(Myriophyllum spicatum)、轮叶黑藻(Hydrilla verticillata)、满江红(Azolla imbricata)。(2)长湖现有水生植物群丛类型14个,群落物种多样性指数最高的是芡实 野菱 双角菱群丛(Euryale ferox Trapa incisa T.bispinosa Ass.),其次为轮叶黑藻 密齿苦草|大茨藻群丛(Hydrilla verticillata Vallisneria denseserrulata Najas marioa Ass.)与竹叶眼子菜 穗花狐尾藻群丛(Potamogeton malaianus Myriophylhum spicatum Ass.)。(3)20年来,已有6种水生植物和7个水生植物群丛类型从长湖消失,植被覆盖率下降了54．85％,全湖平均单位面积生物量下降了69．78％。(4)多样性丧失的主要原因是过度养殖、过度打草和耙捞作业,以及由此导致的湖水透明度的大幅度下降。(5)多样性恢复的有效途径是政府部门的行政干预与经济支持。     

The Influence of Tropical Plant Diversity and Composition on Soil Microbial Communities

There is growing interest in understanding the linkages between above- and belowground communities, and very little is known about these linkages in tropical systems. Using an experimental site at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, we examined whether plant diversity, plant community composition, and season influenced microbial communities. We also determined whether soil characteristics were related to differences in microbial communities. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition revealed that microbial community composition differed across a plant diversity gradient (plots contained 1, 3, 5, or over 25 species). Plant species identity also was a factor influencing microbial community composition; PLFA composition significantly varied among monocultures, and among three-species combinations that differed in plant species composition. Differences among treatments within each of these comparisons were apparent in all four sampling dates of the study. There was no consistent shift in microbial community composition between wet and dry seasons, although we did see significant changes over time. Of all measured soil characteristics, soil C/N was most often associated with changes in microbial community composition across treatment groups. Our findings provide evidence for human alteration of soil microbial communities via the alteration of plant community composition and diversity and that such changes are mediated in part by changes in soil carbon quality.     

生态养殖河田鸡对林下植被多样性及土壤的影响

通过林下人工种草养殖河田鸡,调查林下生态养殖区与对照区的林木蓄积量、林地植被多样性指标、土壤理化性状、土壤侵蚀性。结果显示,林下生态养殖区内林木蓄积量显著高于对照区(P0.05);植被多样性与对照相比差异不显著(P0.05);土壤含水量、土壤pH值、硝态氮和铵态氮与对照相比均有所提高;林下生态养殖区下坡位的土壤侵蚀模数为120 t·km~(-2),与对照区相比总体土壤侵蚀量下降770 t·km~(-2),降幅达95.1%。     

鄂尔多斯沙地不同退牧年限植物群落多样性及变异性研究

根据内蒙古鄂尔多斯退牧还草工程近30年的12个样地植被数据,将其按植被盖度分为半流动沙地(退牧5～10年)、半固定沙地(退牧15～20年)和固定沙地(退牧25～30年),以空间代替时间顺序采用α多样性指数(Simpson指数、Shannon-Wiener指数和Pielou指数)以及β变异性Sorenson指数的方法,分析了退牧年限与沙地植被群落多样性和变异性的关系.结果表明:(1)退牧20年为群落敏感期,Simpson指数和Shannon-Wiener指数在退牧30年间变化趋势相近,均匀度Pielou指数变化幅度较大,退牧15年物种分布最均匀,退牧20年时均匀度最小且随退牧年限先上升后下降;(2)草本层在退牧5～10年中Shannon-Wiener指数(0.99)和Pielou均匀度指数(1.25)较高,退牧15～20年后草本层逐渐被灌木半灌木层替代;(3)退牧5～20年的半流动与半固定沙地群落变异性大,退牧20～30年群落变异性相对较小;退牧5～20年,当地优势种油蒿(Artemisia ordosica)种群和羊柴(Hedysarum laeve)种群变异系数相近约为1.2,退牧30年左右油蒿变异系数是羊柴2倍多且油蒿种群发展较快.研究表明,退牧5～10年敏感期需禁牧管理,退牧15年灌木丛多样性和优势性较稳定宜采取轻度放牧管理,退牧30年左右,油蒿种群与羊柴种群种间竞争加剧,且前者有替代后者的趋势,管理时应注意防止群落组成结构单一化.     

广佛地区典型湿地类型植物多样性与土壤因子的关系

为了解土壤影响湿地植物多样性的主要因子,在广佛地区9大湿地类型选取18个样地作为研究对象,通过样方调查以及内业试验获得湿地群落物种组成分布、植物多样性、土壤状况等数据,运用方差分析、典范冗余分析(RDA)、典范对应分析(CCA)对群落分布、植物多样性与土壤因子之间的相关性进行分析。经实地调查,统计出湿地植物312种,隶属90科198属,以禾本科(Gramineae)、莎草科(Cyperaceae)、菊科(Compositae)等为优势科。草本植物占绝对优势,占79.17%。主成分评价结果表明, 近海及海岸湿地土壤养分水平较高。RDA排序分析结果表明土壤因子对植物多样性影响较大的指标是土壤有机质、全氮、全磷、全钾、碱解氮;CCA排序结果表明土壤环境因子对湿地草本植物群落分布主要影响因子为pH、速效钾、有效磷。各研究结果表明,湿地生态系统比陆地生态系统更为复杂和脆弱,植物群落与土壤环境因子之间的关系也更为复杂,湿地植被的分布格局、群落多样性、群落结构和土壤条件及其相互关系受到人为干扰的类型和强度影响更加明显。