Nematode communities indicate diverse soil functioning across a fog gradient in the Namib Desert gravel plains

Soil nematodes are fundamentally aquatic animals, requiring water to move, feed, and reproduce. Nonetheless, they are ubiquitous in desert soils because they can enter an anhydrobiotic state that allows them to persist when water is biologically unavailable. In the hyper‐arid Namib Desert of Namibia, rain is rare, but fog routinely moves inland from the coast and supports plant and animal life. Very little is understood about how this fog may affect soil organisms. We investigated the role of fog moisture in the ecology of free‐living, soil nematodes across an 87‐km fog gradient in the gravel plains of the Namib Desert. We found that nematodes emerged from anhydrobiosis and became active during a fog event, suggesting that they can utilize fog moisture to survive. Nematode abundance did not differ significantly across the fog gradient and was similar under shrubs and in interplant spaces. Interplant soils harbor biological soil crusts that may sustain nematode communities. As fog declined along the gradient, nematode diversity increased in interplant soils. In areas where fog is rare, sporadic rainfall events can stimulate the germination and growth of desert ephemerals that may have a lasting effect on nematode diversity. In a 30‐day incubation experiment, nematode abundance increased when soils were amended with water and organic matter. However, these responses were not evident in field samples, which show no correlations among nematode abundance, location in the fog gradient, and soil organic matter content. Soil nematodes are found throughout the Namib Desert gravel plains under a variety of conditions. Although shown to be moisture‐ and organic matter‐limited and able to use moisture from the fog for activity, variation in fog frequency and soil organic matter across this unique ecosystem may be biologically irrelevant to soil nematodes in situ.     

Quantification of the slug parasitic nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita from soil samples using real time qPCR

Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a nematode parasite that infects and kills several species of slugs. The nematode is produced commercially as a biological control agent for slug pests of agriculture and horticulture. Given the difficulties of distinguishing this species from other nematode species in soil samples, very little is known about its natural ecology or its behaviour and persistence following application for biological control. Here we describe a method to quantify P. hermaphrodita in soil samples based on real time PCR. We designed primers and a dual labelled fluorescent probe that can be used to quantify numbers of P. hermaphrodita and which is capable of distinguishing this species from the morphologically identical Phasmarhabditis neopapillosa. We compared different methods whereby the entire nematode community is extracted prior to DNA extraction, and three methods to extract DNA directly from soil samples. Both nematode extraction and DNA extraction from large (10 g) samples of soil gave reliable estimates of nematode numbers, but methods which extracted DNA from small (1 g or less) soil samples substantially underestimated numbers. However, direct extraction of DNA from soils may overestimate numbers of live nematodes as DNA from dead nematodes was found to persist in soil for at least 6 days. The technique could be modified for detection and quantification of all soil borne parasitic nematodes.     

Granite Rock Outcrops: An Extreme Environment for Soil Nematodes?

We studied soil nematode communities from the surface of granite flatrock outcrops in the eastern Piedmont region of the United States. The thin soils that develop here experience high light intensity and extreme fluctuations in temperature and moisture and host unique plant communities. We collected soils from outcrop microsites in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC) in various stages of succession (Primitive, Minimal, and Mature) and compared soil properties and nematode communities to those of adjacent forest soils. Nematodes were present in most outcrop soils, with densities comparable to forest soils (P > 0.05). Nematode communities in Mature and Minimal soils had lower species richness than forest soils (P < 0.05) and contained more bacterial-feeders and fewer fungal-feeders (P < 0.05). Primitive soils contained either no nematodes (NC) or only a single species (Mesodorylaimus sp., VA). Nematode communities were similar between Mature and Minimal soils, according to trophic group representation, MI, PPI, EI, SI, and CI (P > 0.05). Forest soils had a higher PPI value (P < 0.05), but otherwise community indices were similar to outcrop soils (P > 0.05). Outcrop nematode communities failed to group together in a Bray-Curtis cluster analysis, indicating higher variability in community structure than the Forest soils, which did cluster together. A high proportion of the nematodes were extracted from outcrop soils in coiled form (33-89%), indicating that they used anhydrobiosis to persist in this unique environment.     

Detection and Description of Soils with Specific Nematode Suppressiveness

Soils with specific suppressiveness to plant-parasitic nematodes are of interest to define the mechanisms that regulate population density. Suppressive soils prevent nematodes from establishing and from causing disease, and they diminish disease severity after initial nematode damage in continuous culturing of a host. A range of non-specific and specific soil treatments, followed by infestation with a target nematode, have been employed to identify nematode-suppressive soils. Biocidal treatments, soil transfer tests, and baiting approaches together with observations of the plant-parasitic nematode in the root zone of susceptible host plants have improved the understanding of nematode-suppressive soils. Techniques to demonstrate specific soil suppressiveness against plant-parasitic nematodes are compared in this review. The overlap of studies on soil suppressiveness with recent advances in soil health and quality is briefly discussed. The emphasis is on methods (or criteria) used to detect and identify soils that maintain specific soil suppressiveness to plant-parasitic nematodes. While biocidal treatments can detect general and specific soil suppressiveness, soil transfer studies, by definition, apply only to specific soil suppressiveness. Finally, potential strategies to exploit suppressive soils are presented.     

Profiling Nematode Communities in Unmanaged Flowerbed and Agricultural Field Soils in Japan by DNA Barcode Sequencing

Soil nematodes play crucial roles in the soil food web and are a suitable indicator for assessing soil environments and ecosystems. Previous nematode community analyses based on nematode morphology classification have been shown to be useful for assessing various soil environments. Here we have conducted DNA barcode analysis for soil nematode community analyses in Japanese soils. We isolated nematodes from two different environmental soils of an unmanaged flowerbed and an agricultural field using the improved flotation-sieving method. Small subunit (SSU) rDNA fragments were directly amplified from each of 68 (flowerbed samples) and 48 (field samples) isolated nematodes to determine the nucleotide sequence. Sixteen and thirteen operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained by multiple sequence alignment from the flowerbed and agricultural field nematodes, respectively. All 29 SSU rDNA-derived OTUs (rOTUs) were further mapped onto a phylogenetic tree with 107 known nematode species. Interestingly, the two nematode communities examined were clearly distinct from each other in terms of trophic groups: Animal predators and plant feeders were markedly abundant in the flowerbed soils, in contrast, bacterial feeders were dominantly observed in the agricultural field soils. The data from the flowerbed nematodes suggests a possible food web among two different trophic nematode groups and plants (weeds) in the closed soil environment. Finally, DNA sequences derived from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 (COI) gene were determined as a DNA barcode from 43 agricultural field soil nematodes. These nematodes were assigned to 13 rDNA-derived OTUs, but in the COI gene analysis were assigned to 23 COI gene-derived OTUs (cOTUs), indicating that COI gene-based barcoding may provide higher taxonomic resolution than conventional SSU rDNA-barcoding in soil nematode community analysis.     

Extraction of nematodes from Dry Valley Antarctic soils

Nematode density and taxonomic composition from Dry Valley soil processed by the sugar centrifugation (SC) method in Antarctica was compared to those extracted from soils shipped frozen to the USA and processed by either the SC or Baermann Funnel (BF) (at 5°C and 10°C) techniques. Soil selected for the extraction comparisons represented a wide range of soil properties found in the Dry Valleys. More nematodes were recovered from freshly collected Antarctic soil and from stored frozen soil using the SC technique than from BF at either temperature (P<0.05). Temperature had no effect on nematode densities extracted by the BF. Scottnema lindsayae was the most abundant species recovered by all extraction methods, but recovery was significantly lower from stored soils. Thus, nematodes can be extracted qualitatively following frozen storage using SC, but quantitative studies of nematode populations should be based on soils extracted following field sampling.     

Grazing in a porous environment: 1. The effect of soil pore structure on C and N mineralization

The porous soil environment constrains grazing of microorganisms by microbivorous nematodes. In particular, at matric potentials at which water-filled pore spaces have capillary diameters less than nematode body diameters the effect of grazing, e.g. enhanced mineralization, should be reduced ('exclusion hypothesis') because nematodes cannot access their microbial forage. We examined C and N mineralization, microbial biomass C (by fumigation-extraction), the metabolic quotient (C mineralization per unit biomass C), nematode abundance, and soil water content in intact soil cores from an old field as a function of soil matric potential (−3 to −50 kPa). We expected, in accordance with the exclusion hypothesis, that nematode abundance, N and C mineralization would be reduced as matric potential decreased, i.e. as soils became drier. N mineralization was significantly greater than zero for −3 kPa but not for −10, −20 and −50 kPa. Microbial biomass C was less at −50 kPa than at −10 kPa, but not significantly different from biomass C at −3 and −20 kPa. The metabolic quotient was greatest at −50 kPa than any of the other matric potentials. From the exclusion hypothesis we expected significantly fewer nematodes to be present at −50 and −20 kPa representing water-filled capillary pore sizes less than 6 and 15 μm, respectively, than at −3 and −10 kPa. Microbivorous (fungivorous+bacterivorous) nematode abundance per unit mass of soil was not significantly different among matric potentials. Body diameters of nematodes ranged from 9 μm to 40 μm. We discuss several alternatives to the exclusion hypothesis, such as the 'enclosure hypothesis' which states that nematodes may become trapped in large water-filled pore spaces even when capillary pore diameters (as computed from matric potential) are smaller than body diameters. One of the expected outcomes of grazing in enclosures is the acceleration of nutrient cycling. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of Nematophagous Fungi on Numbers and Death Rates of Bacterivorous Nematodes in Arable Soil

In a series of microcosm experiments with an arable, sandy loam soil amended with sugarbeet leaf, the short-term (8 weeks) dynamics of numbers of nematodes were measured in untreated soil and in γ-irradiated soil inoculated with either a field population of soil microorganisms and nematodes or a mixed population of laboratory-propagated bacterivorous nematode species. Sugarbeet leaf stimulated an increase in bacterivorous Rhabditidae, Cephalobidae, and a lab-cultivated Panagrolaimus sp. Differences were observed between the growth rates of the nematode population in untreated and γ-irradiated soils, which were caused by two nematophagous fungi, Arthrobotrys oligospora and Dactylaria sp. These fungi lowered the increase in nematode numbers due to the organic enrichment in the untreated soil. We estimated the annually produced bacterivous nematodes to consume 50 kg carbon and 10 kg nitrogen per ha, per year, in the upper, plowed 25 cm of arable soil.     

Utility of nematode community analysis as an integrated measure of the functional state of soils: perspectives and challenges

Soil nematode communities have the potential to provide unique insights into many aspects of soil processes. Since most nematodes are active in soil throughout the year, they can potentially provide a holistic measure of the biotic and functional status of soils. In contrast to other soil microbial groups, representative samples of soil nematode communities are relatively easy to obtain. However, most current nematode ecological information has been survey-based or purely observational in nature, with a persistent focus on detailed taxonomic analysis of nematode communities. The development of a Maturity Index, MI, represents a significant advance in classifying communities and it continues to be refined and developed. But, to develop a wide capacity to use soil nematode information for diagnostic and predictive purposes, particularly for agricultural soils, we need a new, more robust approach, which does not require extensive taxonomic skill and includes more functional criteria. One of the key attributes of nematodes is the relationship between structural form (principally oesophagal feeding apparatus) and function (i.e. trophic group). Nematode form is readily determinable by direct observation of extracted nematodes and high-level taxonomic skills are not needed to assign the major community components to their different trophic and ecological groups. Consequently, the trophic structure of nematode communities is relatively easy to determine and can provide an integrated measure of the status of the other groups on which they feed. Similarly, population numbers and proportions of juveniles and adults can be readily determined, permitting calculation of relative biomass and dynamics of population growth. The size distribution of individuals within the community is likely also to be an indicator of the structural status of soils from a biotic standpoint. However, fundamental gaps remain in our understanding which limit our ability to relate differences in nematode communities to functional differences. There needs to be a greater emphasis on the development and experimental testing of hypotheses, a greater integration of nematology into soil-process related studies, and the development of a specific, soil-nematode related theoretical framework for understanding epidemiological and soil colonisation processes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Xiphinema americanum as Affected by Soil Organic Matter and Porosity

The effects of four soil types, soil porosity, particle size, and organic matter were tested on survival and migration of Xiphinema americanum. Survival and migration were significantly greater in silt loam than in clay loam and silty clay soils. Nematode numbers were significantly greater in softs planted with soybeans than in fallow softs. Nematode survival was greatest at the higher of two pore space levels in four softs. Migration of X. americanum through soft particle size fractions of 75-150, 150-250, 250-500, 500-700, and 700-1,000 μ was significantly greater in the middle three fractions, with the least occurring in the smallest fraction. Additions of muck to silt loam and loamy sand soils resulted in reductions in survival and migration of the nematode. The fulvic acid fraction of muck, extracted with sodium hydroxide, had a deleterious effect on nematode activity. I conclude that soils with small amounts of air-filled pore space, extremes in pore size, or high organic matter content are deleterious to the migration and survival of X. americanum, and that a naturally occurring toxin affecting this species may be present in native soft organic matter.     

Sustainable Approaches to the Management of Plant-parasitic Nematodes and Disease Complexes

Physical, chemical, and biological factors of soil may reduce damage caused by plant-parasitic nematodes. Suppression of plant-parasitic nematodes is particularly challenging in soils in which there are short crop sequences, sequential susceptible host crops, or infestations of multiple nematode species. In southern Indiana, a watermelon production system involving rotations with soybean and corn does not suppress Meloidogyne incognita, but several aspects of such systems can be modified to reduce nematode damage in an integrated management approach. Cash crops with resistance to M. incognita can be used to reduce population densities of M. incognita. Small grains as cover crops can be replaced by cover crops with resistance to M. incognita or by crops with biofumigation potential. Mycorrhizal fungal inoculations of potting mixes during transplanting production of watermelon seedlings may improve early crop establishment. Other approaches to nematode management utilize soil suppressiveness. One-year rotations of soybean with corn neither reduced the soil-borne complex of sudden death syndrome (SDS) nor improved soybean root health over that in soybean monoculture. Reduced tillage combined with crop rotation may reduce the activity of soil-borne pathogens in some soils. For example in a long-term trial, numbers of Heterodera glycines and severity of foliar SDS symptoms were reduced under minimum tillage. Thus, sustainable management strategies require holistic approaches that consider entire production systems rather than focus on a single crop in its year of production.     

Observations on the population dynamics, life cycle and ecology of the plant parasitic nematode Rotylenchus robustus

In a forest nursery growing Sitka spruce Rotylenchus robustus was most numerous at a soil depth of 10–19 cm, the vertical distribution being associated with that of the tree roots. Although no consistent seasonal fluctuations in nematode numbers were obvious there was a seasonal pattern in the relative frequency with which adult and larval nematodes were recovered.
Experimentally, the life cycle of R. robustus was completed in 14–18 months depending upon the time of year when nematodes were added to the trees. Soil moisture content of less than 8.7% (pF 3.8) restricted the movement of 50% of the population. The overall mean basal temperature for the completion of the life cycle of R. robustus was calculated to be 6.5°C.
Soil temperature was considered to be the dominant factor controlling the rate of development under field conditions in Scotland; only occasionally did soil moisture become limiting.     

江苏省不同农业区土壤线虫群落分布特征

调查了江苏省不同农业区农田土壤线虫群落多样性,分析了土壤线虫数量和群落结构与土壤环境因子的关系,并探讨了土壤线虫对土壤健康的生物指示作用.结果表明： 农田土壤线虫共鉴定出2纲7目19科41属.6个农业区的土壤线虫的密度、群落组成均具有一定的差异性.沿海农业区的线虫数量最多(每100 g干土400条),显著高于徐淮、宁镇扬和沿江农业区(P＜0.05),而沿江农业区的土壤线虫数量最少(每100 g干土232条),这可能是由于土壤质地、年均降雨量和年均气温等因素的差异造成的.地理位置相近的农业区线虫优势属相似.相关性分析结果显示,土壤线虫数量与土壤有机质、全氮、速效氮、速效钾和速效磷均呈显著正相关关系;RDA分析表明,土壤全氮含量、速效磷及pH对线虫群落种属组成影响较大.分析江苏省农田土壤线虫群落空间分布特征,可为农田土壤生态系统健康状况评价提供数据支撑.     

Effects of precipitation on parasite burden along a natural climatic gradient in southern Africa – implications for possible shifts in infestation patterns due to global changes

As a consequence of environmental change, it is expected that shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns will influence parasite communities and their hosts with unpredictable impact. Parasites play a vital role in ecosystems but there is only limited quantitative data which describe the effects of environmental parameters under natural conditions. We investigated the influence of rainfall, relative humidity and temperature on the prevalence, abundance and infection intensity of nematodes in southern Africa by studying the gastro‐intestinal helminth community of the striped mouse Rhabdomys pumilio. Along a precipitation gradient from the Cape of South Africa to northern Namibia we trapped 470 mice over a geographical distance of about 1400 km. Faecal egg counts of 439 sampled individuals and dissections of 161 gastro‐intestinal tracts revealed 15 different helminth species. The most abundant nematode species harboured in 62.6% of all infected mice were the oxyurid Syphacia obvelata followed jointly by two species (Heligmonina spira and Neoheligmonella capensis) of the subfamily Nippostrongylinae (43.7%). We found a significant positive correlation between mean annual precipitation (rainfall and relative humidity) and nematode infestation rates of animals and a negative correlation with temperature. In addition, we found associations between precipitation and different qualitative measurements of parasite burden (mean nematode species richness, mean number of nematode worms and infection intensity per individual host). The similarity in nematode species composition decreased with distance between all study sites. Our study indicates for the first time an association between climatic variables and parasite prevalence and abundance along a continuous natural climatic gradient in a small mammal. These results might be incorporated in the development of models which can predict possible threats for the balance of ecosystems and shifts in infestation patterns due to global changes.     

Factors affecting microbial formation of nitrate-nitrogen in soil and their effects on fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency

Mineralization of soil organic matter is governed by predictable factors with nitrate-N as the end product. Crop production interrupts the natural balance, accelerates mineralization of N, and elevates levels of nitrate-N in soil. Six factors determine nitrate-N levels in soils: soil clay content, bulk density, organic matter content, pH, temperature, and rainfall. Maximal rates of N mineralization require an optimal level of air-filled pore space. Optimal air-filled pore space depends on soil clay content, soil organic matter content, soil bulk density, and rainfall. Pore space is partitioned into water- and air-filled space. A maximal rate of nitrate formation occurs at a pH of 6.7 and rather modest mineralization rates occur at pH 5.0 and 8.0. Predictions of the soil nitrate-N concentrations with a relative precision of 1 to 4 microg N g(-1) of soil were obtained with a computerized N fertilizer decision aid. Grain yields obtained using the N fertilizer decision aid were not measurably different from those using adjacent farmer practices, but N fertilizer use was reduced by >10%. Predicting mineralization in this manner allows optimal N applications to be determined for site-specific soil and weather conditions.     

Effects of the nematofauna on microbial energy and matter transformation rates in European grassland soils

The effect of the nematofauna on the microbiology and soil nitrogen status was studied in 6 major European grassland types (Northern tundra (Abisko, Sweden), Atlantic heath (Otterburn, UK), wet grassland (Wageningen, Netherlands), semi-natural temperate grassland (Linden, Germany), East European steppe (Pusztaszer, Hungary) and Mediterranean garigue (Mt. Vermion, Greece). To extend the range of temperature and humidity experienced locally during the investigation period, soil microclimates were manipulated, and at each site 14 plots were established representing selected combinations of 6 temperature and 6 moisture levels. The investigated soils divided into two groups: mineral grassland soils that were precipitation fed (garigue, wet grassland, seminatural grassland, steppe), and wet organic soils that were groundwater fed (heath, tundra). Effects of the nematofauna on the microflora were found in the mineral soils, where correlations among nematode metabolic activity as calculated from a metabolic model, and microbial activity parameters as indicated by Biolog and ergosterol measurements, were significantly positive. Correlations with bacterial activity were stronger and more consistent. Microbial parameters, in turn, were significantly correlated with the size of the soil nitrogen pools NH4, NO3, and Norganic. Furthermore, model results suggested that there were remarkable direct effects of nematodes on soil nitrogen status. Calculated monthly nematode excretion contributed temporarily up to 27% of soluble soil nitrogen, depending on the site and the microclimate. No significant correlation among nematodes and microbial parameters, or nitrogen pools, were found in the wet organic soils. The data show that the nematofauna can under favourable conditions affect soil nitrogen status in mineral grassland soils both directly by excretion of N, and indirectly by regulating microbial activity. This suggests that the differences in nitrogen availability observed in such natural grasslands partly reflect differences in the activity of their indigenous nematofauna. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs

Nematodes are the most abundant invertebrates in soils and are key prey in soil food webs. Uncovering their contribution to predator nutrition is essential for understanding the structure of soil food webs and the way energy channels through soil systems. Molecular gut content analysis of consumers of nematodes, such as soil microarthropods, using specific DNA markers is a novel approach for studying predator–prey interactions in soil. We designed new specific primer pairs (partial 18S rDNA) for individual soil‐living bacterial‐feeding nematode taxa (Acrobeloides buetschlii, Panagrellus redivivus, Plectus velox and Plectus minimus). Primer specificity was tested against more than 100 non‐target soil organisms. Further, we determined how long nematode DNA can be traced in the gut of predators. Potential predators were identified in laboratory experiments including nine soil mite (Oribatida, Gamasina and Uropodina) and ten springtail species (Collembola). Finally, the approach was tested under field conditions by analyzing five mite and three collembola species for feeding on the three target nematode species. The results proved the three primer sets to specifically amplify DNA of the respective nematode taxa. Detection time of nematode DNA in predators varied with time of prey exposure. Further, consumption of nematodes in the laboratory varied with microarthropod species. Our field study is the first definitive proof that free‐living nematodes are important prey for a wide range of soil microarthropods including those commonly regarded as detritivores. Overall, the results highlight the eminent role of nematodes as prey in soil food webs and for channelling bacterial carbon to higher trophic levels.     

Soil nematodes and desiccation survival in the extreme arid environment of the antarctic dry valleys

Soil nematodes are capable of employing an anhydrobiotic survivalstrategy in response to adverse environmental conditions. TheMcMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica represent a unique environmentfor the study of anhydrobiosis because extremes of cold, salinity,and aridity combine to limit biological water availability.We studied nematode anhydrobiosis in Taylor Valley, Antarctica,using natural variation in soil properties. The coiled morphologyof nematodes extracted from dry valley soils suggests that theyemploy anhydrobiosis, and these coiled nematodes showed enhancedrevival when re-hydrated in water as compared to vermiform nematodes.Nematode coiling was correlated with soil moisture content,salinity, and water potential. In the driest soils studied (gravimetricwater content <2%), 20–80% of nematodes were coiled.Soil water potential measurements also showed a high degreeof variability. These measurements reflect microsite variationin soil properties that occurs at the scale of the nematode.We studied nematode anhydrobiosis during the austral summer,and found that the proportion of nematodes coiled can vary diurnally,with more nematodes vermiform and presumably active at the warmesttime of day. However, dry valley nematodes uncoiled rapidlyin response to soil wetting from snowmelt, and most nematodeactivity in the Dry Valleys may be confined to periods followingrare snowfall and melting events. Anhydrobiosis represents animportant temporal component of a dry valley nematode's lifespan. The ability to utilize anhydrobiosis plays a significantrole in the widespread distribution and success of these organismsin the Antarctic Dry Valleys and beyond.     

Review of Pasteuria penetrans: Biology,Ecology, and Biological Control Potential

Pasteuria penetrans is a mycelial, endospore-forming, bacterial parasite that has shown great potential as a biological control agent of root-knot nematodes. Considerable progress has been made during the last 10 years in understanding its biology and importance as an agent capable of effectively suppressing root-knot nematodes in field soil. The objective of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of the biology, ecology, and biological control potential of P. penetrans and other Pasteuria members. Pasteuria spp. are distributed worldwide and have been reported from 323 nematode species belonging to 116 genera of free-living, predatory, plant-parasitic, and entomopathogenic nematodes. Artificial cultivation of P. penetrans has met with limited success; large-scale production of endospores depends on in vivo cultivation. Temperature affects endospore attachment, germination, pathogenesis, and completion of the life cycle in the nematode pseudocoelom. The biological control potential of Pasteuria spp. have been demonstrated on 20 crops; host nematodes include Belonolaimus longicaudatus, Heterodera spp., Meloidogyne spp., and Xiphinema diversicaudatum. Pasteuria penetrans plays an important role in some suppressive soils. The efficacy of the bacterium as a biological control agent has been examined. Approximately 100,000 endospores/g of soil provided immediate control of the peanut root-knot nematode, whereas 1,000 and 5,000 endospores/g of soil each amplified in the host nematode and became suppressive after 3 years.     

植被恢复方式对松嫩草原重度退化草地土壤线虫群落特征的影响

应用类群属数、个体密度、多样性指数和功能类群指数等群落参数,研究植被恢复方式对松嫩草原重度退化草地土壤线虫群落特征的影响．结果表明：围栏封育和种植碱茅均能明显改善重度退化草地土壤线虫群落环境,但种植碱茅较围栏封育更能显著提高土壤线虫的个体密度和群落多样性．各处理样地线虫个体密度和类群属数表聚性明显,其中碱茅样地个体密度表聚性更强．对功能类群指数的统计表明,种植碱茅和围栏封育均显著改变了土壤线虫群落中r-选择和k-选择植物寄生线虫的比例．与自由生活线虫相比,植物寄生线虫对重度退化草地植被恢复更敏感．种植碱茅更利于松嫩草原重度退化草地土壤线虫群落的恢复与重建．