Effect of the herbicide glyphosate on glyphosate‐tolerant maize rhizobacterial communities: a comparison with pre‐emergency applied herbicide consisting of a combination of acetochlor and terbuthylazine

A comparison was made of the effect of glyphosate (Roundup^®Plus), a post‐emergency applied herbicide, and of Harness^®GTZ, a pre‐emergency applied herbicide, on the rhizobacterial communities of genetically modified NK603 glyphosate‐tolerant maize. The potential effect was monitored by direct amplification, cloning and sequencing of soil DNA encoding 16S rRNA, rhizobacterial DNA hybridization to commercially available genome‐wide microarrays from the soil bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor, and high‐throughput DNA pyrosequencing of the bacterial DNA coding for 16S rRNA hypervariable V6 region. The results obtained strongly suggest that both herbicides do in fact affect the maize rhizobacterial communities, glyphosate being, to a great extent, the environmentally less aggressive herbicide.     

Restoring biopedturbation in grasslands with anthropogenic focal disturbance

Grassland ecosystems evolved with natural disturbance events on multiple spatial scales in which focal, fine-scale soil disturbance by animals often was imbedded within large-scale grazing disturbance. The resulting plant communities adapted to both broad-scale and fine-scale disturbance that resulted in species-rich plant communities. These natural disturbance regimes have been largely replaced by anthropogenic disturbance. While we generally understand grassland response to modern grazing practices, we know much less about plant community response to soil disturbance imbedded within non-focal grazing. Therefore, we used a tracked vehicle to focally disturb soil in a North American mesic mixed prairie that was either undisturbed prairie or prairie with a recent history of disturbance from either grazing or haying. Successional trajectory and recovery time following focal soil disturbance was similar between grazed and hayed plant communities. Species composition did not differ (P < 0.05) between grazed or hayed prairie and the respective undisturbed prairie. Plant species richness and bare ground increased (P < 0.05) following focal soil disturbance in both grazed and hayed communities, but focal soil disturbance combined with either grazing or haying did not change either plant species richness or bare ground more than (P > 0.05) focal soil disturbance alone. Also, the effect of focal soil disturbance was shortlived with recovery in two growing seasons. Our results suggest that anthropogenic focal soil disturbance is a reasonable mechanism to restore soil disturbance to the grassland ecosystem.     

Impact of rhizobacterial inoculants on plant growth and enzyme activities in soil treated with contaminated bottom sediments

The impact of contaminated bottom sediments on plant growth and soil enzyme activities was evaluated in a greenhouse pot study. The sediments were moderately contaminated with zinc and heavily contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans. The sediments were mixed with soil and planted with either Festuca arundinacea or Tagetes patula. The capacity of two rhizobacterial strains (Massilia niastensis P87 and Streptomyces costaricanus RP92), previously isolated from contaminated soils, to improve plant growth under the chemical stress was tested. Application of sediments to soil was severely phytotoxic to T. patula and mildly to F. arundinacea. On the other hand, the addition of sediments enhanced the soil enzymatic activity. Inoculation with both bacterial strains significantly increased shoot (up to 2.4-fold) and root (up to 3.4-fold) biomass of T. patula. The study revealed that the selected plant growth-promoting bacterial strains were able to alleviate phytotoxicity of bottom sediments to T. patula resulting from the complex character of the contamination.     

雅鲁藏布江下游沿岸湿地建群种植物根际土壤细菌群落结构和多样性特征

了解雅鲁藏布江大峡谷沿岸不同植被根际土壤细菌群落结构和多样性特征对于揭示该区植被与土壤的相互作用具有重要科学意义。采用Illumina Miseq高通量测序技术,研究了雅鲁藏布江沿岸自然分布和生长的艾草Artemisia argyi H. Lév.&Vaniot、白刺花Sophora davidii(Franch)、八宝Hylotelephium erythrostictum(Miq.)H. Ohba、黄刺玫Rosa xanthina Lindl4种典型植被根际土壤细菌群落结构和多样性,并结合植物根际土壤养分含量进行相关性分析。雅鲁藏布江沿岸4种植物根际土壤中共有28门、84纲、156目、262科、599属土壤细菌,其中变形菌门、酸杆菌门、放线菌门是雅鲁藏布江岸边植物根际土壤的优势菌群,相对丰度较高,其次为拟杆菌门、芽单胞菌门、疣微菌门。在门水平上,4种植物根际土壤细菌的群落结构组成表现为黄刺玫和艾草相似,而八宝和另外三种植物相差较大。土壤细菌OTUs(操作分类单元)数和Chaol均以艾草为最高,其值分别是6695和8000.02,以白刺花为最低,其值分别是4563和5113....     

Strong associations between plant genotypes and bacterial communities in a natural salt marsh

Although microbial communities have been shown to vary among plant genotypes in a number of experiments in terrestrial ecosystems, relatively little is known about this relationship under natural conditions and outside of select model systems. We reasoned that a salt marsh ecosystem, which is characterized by twice‐daily flooding by tides, would serve as a particularly conservative test of the strength of plant–microbial associations, given the high degree of abiotic regulation of microbial community assembly resulting from alternating periods of inundation and exposure. Within a salt marsh in the northeastern United States, we characterized genotypes of the foundational plant Spartina alterniflora using microsatellite markers, and bacterial metagenomes within marsh soil based on pyrosequencing. We found significant differences in bacterial community composition and diversity between bulk and rhizosphere soil, and that the structure of rhizosphere communities varied depending on the growth form of, and genetic variation within, the foundational plant S. alterniflora. Our results indicate that there are strong plant–microbial associations within a natural salt marsh, thereby contributing to a growing body of evidence for a relationship between plant genotypes and microbial communities from terrestrial ecosystems and suggest that principles of community genetics apply to this wetland type.     

Nitrogen‐dependent bacterial community shifts in root,rhizome and rhizosphere of nutrient‐efficient Miscanthus x giganteus from long‐term field trials

The perennial energy crop Miscanthus × giganteus is recognized for its extraordinary nitrogen‐use efficiency. While the remobilization of nitrogen (N) to the rhizome after the growth phase contributes to this efficiency, the plant‐associated microbiome might also contribute, as N‐fixing bacterial species had been isolated from this grass. Here, we studied established Miscanthus × giganteus plots in southern Germany that either received 80 kg N ha^?1 a^?1 or that were not N‐fertilized for 14 years. The bacterial communities of the bulk soil, rhizosphere, roots and rhizomes were analysed. Major differences were encountered between plant‐associated fractions. Nitrogen had little effect on soil communities. The roots and rhizomes showed less microbial diversity than soil fractions. In these compartments, Actinobacteria and N‐fixing symbiosis‐associated Proteobacteria depended on N. Intriguingly, N₂‐fixing‐related bacterial families were enriched in the rhizomes in long‐term zero N plots, while denitrifier‐related families were depleted. These findings point to the rhizome as a potentially interesting plant organ for N fixation and demonstrate long‐term differences in the organ‐specific bacterial communities associated with different N supply, which are mainly shaped by the plant.     

Feedbacks of plant identity and diversity on the diversity and community composition of rhizosphere microbiomes from a long‐term biodiversity experiment

Soil microbes are known to be key drivers of several essential ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, plant productivity and the maintenance of plant species diversity. However, how plant species diversity and identity affect soil microbial diversity and community composition in the rhizosphere is largely unknown. We tested whether, over the course of 11 years, distinct soil bacterial communities developed under plant monocultures and mixtures, and if over this time frame plants with a monoculture or mixture history changed in the bacterial communities they associated with. For eight species, we grew offspring of plants that had been grown for 11 years in the same field monocultures or mixtures (plant history in monoculture vs. mixture) in pots inoculated with microbes extracted from the field monoculture and mixture soils attached to the roots of the host plants (soil legacy). After 5 months of growth in the glasshouse, we collected rhizosphere soil from each plant and used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to determine the community composition and diversity of the bacterial communities. Bacterial community structure in the plant rhizosphere was primarily determined by soil legacy and by plant species identity, but not by plant history. In seven of the eight plant species the number of individual operational taxonomic units with increased abundance was larger when inoculated with microbes from mixture soil. We conclude that plant species richness can affect below‐ground community composition and diversity, feeding back to the assemblage of rhizosphere bacterial communities in newly establishing plants via the legacy in soil.     

Microbial Inoculants with Multifaceted Traits Suppress Rhizoctonia Populations and Promote Plant Growth in Cotton

The suppressive effects of microbial inoculants on cotton seedling mortality were assessed in Rhizoctonia solani‐infested soil. Per cent mortality ranged from 16 to 32 (60–120 days after sowing, DAS) and significant differences were recorded at 120 DAS, especially after drenching with compost tea of Azotobacter sp. and Anabaena torulosa—Trichoderma viride‐biofilmed formulations. The activity of hydrolytic enzymes was reduced in diseased root tissues due to a majority of the microbially inoculated treatments, compared with healthy root tissues. Per cent changes in the amounts of glomalin‐related soil proteins (GRSPs) were 2 to 85% greater than those of the uninoculated experimental controls. These microbial inoculants altered the rhizosphere bacterial communities as evident from the Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) banding patterns and, also reduced the population of R. solani. While the copy numbers of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene of R. solani in the uninoculated (infested soil) were approximately 1.47 × 10¹¹ per g soil, they were 1.34–1.42 × 10⁵ per g soil after the application of A. torulosa, Anabaena laxa and A. torulosa–Bacillus sp. Increases in yield (ranging from 3 to 23%) due to various microbial inoculants relative to uninoculated controls illustrated their promise as plant growth‐promoting and disease‐suppressing agents. This study illustrates the modulation of rhizosphere ecology through microbial inoculants as a mechanism of disease suppression and sustaining plant growth.     

Physical disturbance of an upland grassland influences the impact of elevated UV-B radiation on metabolic profiles of below-ground micro-organisms

This investigation determined the response of soil microbial communities to enhanced UV‐B radiation and disturbance in upland grassland. A factorial field experiment encompassing two levels of UV‐B supplementation (simulating ambient and a 30% increase in stratospheric ozone) and two levels of disturbance (disturbed and undisturbed) was established at Buxton Climate Change Impacts Laboratory, Derbyshire, UK, and maintained for 7 years prior to sampling. Enhanced UV‐B increased microbial utilization of carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, polymers and aromatic compounds present in Biolog® GN plates when inoculated with soils taken from disturbed plots, but did not affect carbon utilization of soil microbial communities associated with undisturbed plots (UV‐B×Disturbance interaction, P<0.05 for each substrate type). UV‐B treatment did not affect numbers of bacteria or fungi. Direct microscopic counts showed fewer bacteria in soil originating from disturbed plots than from undisturbed plots (Disturbance, P<0.001), although a greater number of culturable bacteria and fungi were isolated from disturbed than from undisturbed soils (Disturbance, P<0.001). No UV‐B‐ or disturbance‐related differences in protein, starch or urea hydrolysis were exhibited by bacterial isolates. UV‐B treatment did not affect total plant biomass within undisturbed plots or the biomass of individual groupings of grasses, forbs and mosses. Per cent root length colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was not affected by enhanced UV‐B radiation in the undisturbed plots. Neither AMF nor plant biomass was measured in disturbed plots. The key findings of this study show that UV‐B‐mediated alterations in carbon utilization occurred in soil microbial communities subjected to disturbance, but such changes were not observed in communities sampled from undisturbed grassland. Differences in the catabolic potential of microbial communities from disturbed grassland subjected to enhanced UV‐B are probably related to plant‐mediated changes in resource availability or quality.     

Long‐term deepened snow promotes tundra evergreen shrub growth and summertime ecosystem net CO2 gain but reduces soil carbon and nutrient pools

Arctic climate warming will be primarily during winter, resulting in increased snowfall in many regions. Previous tundra research on the impacts of deepened snow has generally been of short duration. Here, we report relatively long‐term (7–9 years) effects of experimentally deepened snow on plant community structure, net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE), and soil biogeochemistry in Canadian Low Arctic mesic shrub tundra. The snowfence treatment enhanced snow depth from 0.3 to ~1 m, increasing winter soil temperatures by ~3°C, but with no effect on summer soil temperature, moisture, or thaw depth. Nevertheless, shoot biomass of the evergreen shrub Rhododendron subarcticum was near‐doubled by the snowfences, leading to a 52% increase in aboveground vascular plant biomass. Additionally, summertime NEE rates, measured in collars containing similar plant biomass across treatments, were consistently reduced ~30% in the snowfenced plots due to decreased ecosystem respiration rather than increased gross photosynthesis. Phosphate in the organic soil layer (0–10 cm depth) and nitrate in the mineral soil layer (15–25 cm depth) were substantially reduced within the snowfences (47–70 and 43%–73% reductions, respectively, across sampling times). Finally, the snowfences tended (p = .08) to reduce mineral soil layer C% by 40%, but with considerable within‐ and among plot variation due to cryoturbation across the landscape. These results indicate that enhanced snow accumulation is likely to further increase dominance of R. subarcticum in its favored locations, and reduce summertime respiration and soil biogeochemical pools. Since evergreens are relatively slow growing and of low stature, their increased dominance may constrain vegetation‐related feedbacks to climate change. We found no evidence that deepened snow promoted deciduous shrub growth in mesic tundra, and conclude that the relatively strong R. subarcticum response to snow accumulation may explain the extensive spatial variability in observed circumpolar patterns of evergreen and deciduous shrub growth over the past 30 years.     

Biochar soil amendments in prairie restorations do not interfere with benefits from inoculation with native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Little of the historical extent of tallgrass prairie ecosystems remains in North America, and therefore there is strong interest in restoring prairies. However, slow‐growing prairie plants are initially weak competitors with the fast‐growing yet short‐lived weedy plant species that are typically abundant in recently established prairie restorations. One way to aid establishment of slow‐growing plant species is through adding soil amendments to prairie restorations before planting. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form mutualisms with the roots of most terrestrial plants and are particularly important for the growth of slow‐growing prairie plant species. As prairie ecosystems are adapted to fires that leave biochar (charred organic material) in the soil, adding biochar as well as AM fungal strains from undisturbed remnant prairies into the soil of prairie restorations may improve restoration outcomes. Here, we test this prediction during the first four growing seasons of a prairie restoration. When prairie plant seedlings were inoculated prior to planting into the field with AM fungi derived from remnant prairies, that one‐time inoculation significantly increased growth of five of the nine tested plant species through at least two growing seasons. This long‐term benefit of AM fungal inoculation was unaffected by biochar addition to the soil. Biochar application rates of at least 10 tons/ha significantly decreased Coreopsis tripteris growth but acted synergistically with AM fungal inoculation to significantly improve survival of Schizachyrium scoparium. Overall, inoculation with native AM fungi can help promote prairie plant establishment, but concomitant use of biochar soil amendments had relatively little effect.     

Resilience and restoration of tropical and subtropical grasslands,savannas, and grassy woodlands

Despite growing recognition of the conservation values of grassy biomes, our understanding of how to maintain and restore biodiverse tropical grasslands (including savannas and open‐canopy grassy woodlands) remains limited. To incorporate grasslands into large‐scale restoration efforts, we synthesised existing ecological knowledge of tropical grassland resilience and approaches to plant community restoration. Tropical grassland plant communities are resilient to, and often dependent on, the endogenous disturbances with which they evolved – frequent fires and native megafaunal herbivory. In stark contrast, tropical grasslands are extremely vulnerable to human‐caused exogenous disturbances, particularly those that alter soils and destroy belowground biomass (e.g. tillage agriculture, surface mining); tropical grassland restoration after severe soil disturbances is expensive and rarely achieves management targets. Where grasslands have been degraded by altered disturbance regimes (e.g. fire exclusion), exotic plant invasions, or afforestation, restoration efforts can recreate vegetation structure (i.e. historical tree density and herbaceous ground cover), but species‐diverse plant communities, including endemic species, are slow to recover. Complicating plant‐community restoration efforts, many tropical grassland species, particularly those that invest in underground storage organs, are difficult to propagate and re‐establish. To guide restoration decisions, we draw on the old‐growth grassland concept, the novel ecosystem concept, and theory regarding tree cover along resource gradients in savannas to propose a conceptual framework that classifies tropical grasslands into three broad ecosystem states. These states are: (1) old‐growth grasslands (i.e. ancient, biodiverse grassy ecosystems), where management should focus on the maintenance of disturbance regimes; (2) hybrid grasslands, where restoration should emphasise a return towards the old‐growth state; and (3) novel ecosystems, where the magnitude of environmental change (i.e. a shift to an alternative ecosystem state) or the socioecological context preclude a return to historical conditions.     

Edaphic correlates of feedstock‐associated diazotroph communities

Miscanthus × giganteus and Panicum virgatum are potential promising bioenergy feedstock crops suitable for the temperate zone. The energy efficiency and sustainability of bioenergy production could be improved by reducing their fertilizer inputs – particularly energy intensive nitrogen fertilizers. Miscanthus is known to benefit from nitrogen fixation by associative diazotrophs. However, because the effects of edaphic‐, management‐, and plant‐related factors on feedstock‐associated diazotroph communities have not yet been characterized, it is not currently possible to optimize the nitrogen contribution to feedstock crops from associated diazotroph communities. To address this critical knowledge gap, we characterized the bacterial and diazotroph communities in the rhizosphere and endophytic compartments of both species at eight research sites across Illinois. We also quantified the nifH gene abundance in the rhizosphere soil as well as a range of soil chemistry parameters at these sites. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed that diazotroph and bacterial communities in the rhizosphere varied primarily among sites, with very small differences between host species. Conversely, diazotroph and bacterial communities in the endophytic compartments differed significantly between plant species, but did not vary substantially among sites. Finally, nifH gene abundance in the rhizospheres of both species varied substantially from site to site and was positively correlated with soil iron concentration as well as soil ammonium concentration, and negatively correlated with abundance of other soil nutrients including calcium, total nitrogen, and nitrates. These results indicate the potential edaphic drivers of associative diazotroph communities in feedstock rhizospheres and suggest that manipulating bioavailable iron content in the soil is a potential direction for investigating the optimization of these communities to improve their nitrogen contribution to crops.     

Links between soil microbial communities and plant traits in a species‐rich grassland under long‐term climate change

Climate change can influence soil microorganisms directly by altering their growth and activity but also indirectly via effects on the vegetation, which modifies the availability of resources. Direct impacts of climate change on soil microorganisms can occur rapidly, whereas indirect effects mediated by shifts in plant community composition are not immediately apparent and likely to increase over time. We used molecular fingerprinting of bacterial and fungal communities in the soil to investigate the effects of 17 years of temperature and rainfall manipulations in a species‐rich grassland near Buxton, UK. We compared shifts in microbial community structure to changes in plant species composition and key plant traits across 78 microsites within plots subjected to winter heating, rainfall supplementation, or summer drought. We observed marked shifts in soil fungal and bacterial community structure in response to chronic summer drought. Importantly, although dominant microbial taxa were largely unaffected by drought, there were substantial changes in the abundances of subordinate fungal and bacterial taxa. In contrast to short‐term studies that report high resistance of soil fungi to drought, we observed substantial losses of fungal taxa in the summer drought treatments. There was moderate concordance between soil microbial communities and plant species composition within microsites. Vector fitting of community‐weighted mean plant traits to ordinations of soil bacterial and fungal communities showed that shifts in soil microbial community structure were related to plant traits representing the quality of resources available to soil microorganisms: the construction cost of leaf material, foliar carbon‐to‐nitrogen ratios, and leaf dry matter content. Thus, our study provides evidence that climate change could affect soil microbial communities indirectly via changes in plant inputs and highlights the importance of considering long‐term climate change effects, especially in nutrient‐poor systems with slow‐growing vegetation.     

Post‐burning germination responses of woody invaders in a fire‐prone ecosystem

It has been frequently recognised that there is a positive feedback between plant invasion and fire underlying invasion success in fire‐prone ecosystems. Accordingly, the response of woody alien species germination to fire may have direct implications on their invasiveness in those ecosystems, particularly when fruit ripening occurs in the fire season. Here, we experimentally evaluated the germination response of some of the main woody invaders of the Chaco Serrano dry woodlands (Gleditsia triacanthos, Cotoneaster glaucophyllus, Ligustrum lucidum, Pyracantha angustifolia and Melia azedarach), which fruit in the seasons of highest fire frequency. Seeds were subjected to heat‐shock treatments that simulated a range of heat intensities, and the species were classified according to their germination response as heat sensitive, tolerant or stimulated. Since Gleditsia triacanthos has indehiscent fruits that fall from the plant and might be exposed to flames, its germination response was also assessed of seeds exposed to fruit burning. Germination responses to heat varied among the invasive species. G. triacanthos seeds experienced increased germination under very low and low heat indexes; it was therefore classified as heat stimulated. The other four species showed no change in germination under very low heat indexes and were therefore considered heat tolerant. However, all species were sensitive to high heat as indicated by their significant decline in germination. G. triacanthos would have limited capacity to recruit from seeds following flaming combustion of its fruits. The prevalence of heat‐tolerant rather than heat‐stimulated germination responses suggests that the occurrence of frequent and seasonal fires in this subtropical savanna system might delay rather than boost the expansion of these invasive species in the system. Yet, the presence of heat‐stimulated germination in one of the studied species warns against generalisation, even within the same ecosystem, and further supports the idiosyncratic nature of invasion success. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.     

Is diversification history of maize influencing selection of soil bacteria by roots?

A wide range of plant lines has been propagated by farmers during crop selection and dissemination, but consequences of this crop diversification on plant-microbe interactions have been neglected. Our hypothesis was that crop evolutionary history shaped the way the resulting lines interact with soil bacteria in their rhizospheres. Here, the significance of maize diversification as a factor influencing selection of soil bacteria by seedling roots was assessed by comparing rhizobacterial community composition of inbred lines representing the five main genetic groups of maize, cultivated in a same European soil. Rhizobacterial community composition of 21-day-old seedlings was analysed using a 16S rRNA taxonomic microarray targeting 19 bacterial phyla. Rhizobacterial community composition of inbred lines depended on the maize genetic group. Differences were largely due to the prevalence of certain Betaproteobacteria and especially Burkholderia, as confirmed by quantitative PCR and cloning/sequencing. However, these differences in bacterial root colonization did not correlate with plant microsatellite genetic distances between maize genetic groups or individual lines. Therefore, the genetic structure of maize that arose during crop diversification (resulting in five main groups), but not the extent of maize diversification itself (as determined by maize genetic distances), was a significant factor shaping rhizobacterial community composition of seedlings.     

Genotype and rhizobium inoculation modulate the assembly of soybean rhizobacterial communities

Rhizosphere bacterial communities are vital for plants, yet the composition of rhizobacterial communities and the complex interactions between roots and microbiota, or between microbiota, are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the structure and composition of rhizobacterial communities in two soybean cultivars and their recombinant inbred lines contrasting in nodulation through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing in two years of field trials. Our results demonstrate that soybean plants are able to select microbes from bulk soils at the taxonomic and functional level. Soybean genotype significantly influenced the structure of rhizobacterial communities and resulted in dramatically different co‐occurrence networks of rhizobacterial communities between different genotypes of soybean plants. Furthermore, the introduction of exogenous rhizobia through inoculation altered soybean rhizobacterial communities in genotype‐dependent manner. Rhizobium inoculation not only stimulated the proliferation of potential beneficial microbes but also increased connections in rhizobacterial networks and changed the hub microbes, all of which led to the association of distinctive bacterial communities. Taken together, we demonstrated that the assembly of soybean rhizobacterial communities was determined by both genotype and the introduction of exogenous rhizobia. These findings bolster the feasibility of root microbiome engineering through inoculation of specific microbial constituents.     

Effects of first‐ and second‐generation bioenergy crops on soil processes and legacy effects on a subsequent crop

To develop a more sustainable bio‐based economy, an increasing amount of carbon for industrial applications and biofuel will be obtained from bioenergy crops. This may result in intensified land use and potential conflicts with other ecosystem services provided by soil, such as control of greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, and nutrient dynamics. A growing number of studies examine how bioenergy crops influence carbon and nitrogen cycling. Few studies, however, have combined such assessments with analysing both the immediate effects on the provisioning of soil ecosystem services as well as the legacy effects for subsequent crops in the rotation. Here, we present results from field and laboratory experiments on effects of a standard first‐generation bioenergy crop (maize) and three different second‐generation bioenergy crops (willow short rotation coppice (SRC), Miscanthus × giganteus, switchgrass) on key soil quality parameters: soil structure, organic matter, biodiversity and growth and disease susceptibility of a major follow‐up crop, wheat (Triticum aestivum). We analysed a 6‐year field experiment and show that willow SRC, Miscanthus, and maize maintained a high yield over this period. Soil quality parameters and legacy effects of Miscanthus and switchgrass were similar or performed worse than maize. In contrast, willow SRC enhanced soil organic carbon concentration (0–5 cm), soil fertility, and soil biodiversity in the upper soil layer when compared to maize. In a greenhouse experiment, wheat grown in willow soil had higher biomass production than when grown in maize or Miscanthus soil and exhibited no growth reduction in response to introduction of a soil‐borne (Rhizoctonia solani) or a leaf pathogen (Mycosphaerella graminicola). We conclude that the choice of bioenergy crops can greatly influence provisioning of soil ecosystem services and legacy effects in soil. Our results imply that bioenergy crops with specific traits might even enhance ecosystem properties through positive legacy effects.     

Soil CO2 venting as one of the mechanisms for tolerance of Zn deficiency by rice in flooded soils

We sought to explain rice (Oryza sativa) genotype differences in tolerance of zinc (Zn) deficiency in flooded paddy soils and the counter‐intuitive observation, made in earlier field experiments, that Zn uptake per plant increases with increasing planting density. We grew tolerant and intolerant genotypes in a Zn‐deficient flooded soil at high and low planting densities and found (a) plant Zn concentrations and growth increased with planting density and more so in the tolerant genotype, whereas the concentrations of other nutrients decreased, indicating a specific effect on Zn uptake; (b) the effects of planting density and genotype on Zn uptake could only be explained if the plants induced changes in the soil to make Zn more soluble; and (c) the genotype and planting density effects were both associated with decreases in dissolved CO₂ in the rhizosphere soil solution and resulting increases in pH. We suggest that the increases in pH caused solubilization of soil Zn by dissolution of alkali‐soluble, Zn‐complexing organic ligands from soil organic matter. We conclude that differences in venting of soil CO₂ through root aerenchyma were responsible for the genotype and planting density effects.