Distribution of microorganisms in soil aggregates: Effect of aggregate size

The distribution of microorganisms in soil aggregates with different diameters was determined using a “washing and sonic vibration” method. In humic rendzina the number of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi located in aggregates measuring 3 to 1 and ≤0.5 mm was greater than in those of 7 to 5 mm.Pseudomonas were more numerous in aggregates of ≤0.5 mm than in those of 3 to 1 mm and spore-forming aerobic bacteria—in aggregates measuring 3 to 1 mm than in those of 7 to 5 mm. The number of microorganisms growing on asparagine agar andArthrobacter-Corynebacterium increased as 7-5<3-1<0.5 and 7-5<0.5<3-1 mm, respectively. In podzolic loess spore-forming aerobic bacteria inhabited preferentially aggregates measuring 7 to 5 mm,Arthrobacter-Corynebacterium aggregates of ≤0.5 mm. The number of bacteria was greater in aggregates of 3 to 1 than in those measuring ≤0.5 mm. Aggregates of various diameters differed also in the number of some microorganisms both in the outer and inner parts and the partition ratio of microorganisms between these parts. Differences were more numerous in the humic rendzina aggregates.     

Investigating the effects of anaerobic and aerobic post-treatment on quality and stability of organic fraction of municipal solid waste as soil amendment

The use of OFMSW for biogas and compost production is considered as a sustainable strategy in saving valuable landfill space while producing valuable product for soil application. This study examines the effects of anaerobic and aerobic post-treatment of OFMSW on the stability of anaerobic digestate and compost and soil quality using seed germination tests. Anaerobic digestion of OFMSW was carried out for fifteen days after which the residual anaerobic digestate was subjected to aerobic post-treatment for seventy days. Seed germination tests showed that fresh feedstock and digestates collected during anaerobic digestion and during the early stages of aerobic post-treatment were phytotoxic. However, phytotoxic effects were not observed in soils amended with the fully stabilised anaerobic digestate compost, ADC. It was also found that seed germination increases with dilution and incubation time, suggesting that lower soil application rates and longer lag periods between soil application of ADC and planting can reduce the amount of biodegradable organics in the ADC, thus enhancing the benefits of ADC as soil amendment.     

干旱条件下AM真菌对植物生长和土壤水稳定性团聚体的影响

采用分室培养系统,模拟正常水分和干旱胁迫两种环境条件,探讨不同丛枝菌根真菌(arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,AMF)对紫花苜蓿(Medicago sativa L.)生长和土壤水稳性团聚体的影响.试验条件下,Glomus intraradices对苜蓿根系的侵染率均显著高于Acaulospora scrobiculata和Diversispora spurcum接种处理.正常水分条件下,供试AM真菌均能显著提高植株生物量及磷浓度.干旱胁迫显著抑制了植株生长和菌根共生体发育,总体上菌根共生体对植株生长没有明显影响,接种D.spurcum甚至趋于降低植株生物量;同时,仅有G.intraradices显著提高了植株磷浓度.AM真菌主要影响到＞2mm的水稳性团聚体数量,以G.intraradices作用效果最为显著.在菌丝室中,G.intraradices显著提高了总球囊霉素含量.研究表明AM真菌对土壤大团聚体形成具有积极作用,而菌根效应因土壤水分条件和不同菌种而异,干旱胁迫下仅有G.intraradices对土壤结构和植物生长表现出显著积极作用.在应用菌根技术治理退化土壤时,需要选用抗逆性强共生效率高的菌株,对于不同AM真菌抗逆性差异的生物学与遗传学基础尚需进一步研究.     

Strategies for the isolation of cellulolytic fungi for composting of wheat straw

It was shown that inoculation of straw with cellulolytic fungi offers potential for manipulating and improving the composting of cellulose waste, where the C:N ratio is not optimal for composting. In this paper we report on a screening strategy used to isolate novel cellulolytic fungi from field samples. The screen comprised of two phases. In phase I, 300 cellulolytic fungi were isolated to pure culture from field samples collected from Hawaii, China and the UK. Isolates were selected on the basis of high cellulolytic activities and growth rates on cellulose agar. A total of 137 lead isolates progressed to an unreplicated phase II screen to rapidly identify strains that improved quality of the resulting compost over and above that of the uninoculated control. Compost quality was assessed by measuring C:N ratio, water holding capacity, water content and potential and polysaccharide content of the resulting compost. Effect on the aggregate stability of soil and the growth of wheat seedlings was assessed when compost was added to a sandy loam soil. Performance of each isolate was quantified by allocating a utility score for each compost analysed. Utility scores were based on the sum of the logged ranked score in each assay. The 10 highest scoring isolates were subsequently processed through a replicated phase II screen and the best performing isolates identified by calculating utility scores as before. Significantly lower C:N ratios, higher water-holding capacities and improved aggregate stabilities were obtained with some inoculated treatments compared to the uninoculated control, whilst the results obtained for polysaccharide content and plant growth showed no significant differences. Isolate 304, isolated from decomposing vegetation obtained from Egham, Surrey, UK, and identifed as a Trichurus sp., appeared the most effective inoculant, significantly decreasing the C:N ratio by 36% and increasing the aggregate stability of soil by 54% compared to the uninoculated control. As a result of adopting this screening strategy, it has been possible to identify cellulolytic fungi that can, under non-sterile (laboratory) conditions, significantly improve the quality of compost. This screening approach therefore offers real possibilities for selecting microbial inoculants in low-tech agricultural practices.     

The porosity of soil aggregates from bulk soil and from soil adhering to roots

Summary Total porosity and pore-size distribution (p.s.d.) were determined in soil aggregates taken in plots planted with maize and treated with farmyard manure and three rates of compost. Soil aggregates were collected from the soil adherent to the maize roots (root soil aggregates) and from bulk soil (bulk soil aggregates). Mercury intrusion porosimetry was used to evaluate the total porosity and the p.s.d. Treatments did not affect the total porosity of the bulk soil aggregates. The same was observed for the root soil aggregates. However the total porosity of the root soil aggregates was always lower than that of the bulk soil aggregates. The loss of total porosity was found to be due to a decrease in the percentage of larger pores with respect to the total.     

Mycorrhizosphere interactions to improve plant fitness and soil quality

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are key components of soil microbiota and obviously interact with other microorganisms in the rhizosphere, i.e. the zone of influence of plant roots on microbial populations and other soil constituents. Mycorrhiza formation changes several aspects of plant physiology and some nutritional and physical properties of the rhizospheric soil. These effects modify the colonization patterns of the root or mycorrhizas (mycorrhizosphere) by soil microorganisms. The rhizosphere of mycorrhizal plants, in practice a mycorrhizosphere, harbors a great array of microbial activities responsible for several key ecosystem processes. This paper summarizes the main conceptual principles and accepted statements on the microbial interactions between mycorrhizal fungi and other members of rhizosphere microbiota and discusses current developments and future trends concerning the following topics: (i) effect of soil microorganisms on mycorrhiza formation; (ii) mycorrhizosphere establishment; (iii) interactions involved in nutrient cycling and plant growth; (iv) interactions involved in the biological control of plant pathogens; and (v) interactions to improve soil quality. The main conclusion is that microbial interactions in the rhizosphere of mycorrhizal plants improve plant fitness and soil quality, critical issues for a sustainable agricultural development and ecosystem functioning. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Microbiological and chemical properties of soil associated with macropores at different depths in a red-duplex soil in NSW Australia

Some agricultural soils in South Eastern Australia with duplex profiles have subsoils with high bulk density, which may limit root penetration, water uptake and crop yield. In these soils, a large proportion (up to 80%) of plant roots maybe preferentially located within the macropores or in the soil within 1–10 mm of the macropores, a zone defined as the macropore sheath (MPS). The chemical and microbiological properties of MPS soil manually dissected from a 1–3 mm wide region surrounding the macropores was compared with that of adjacent bulk soil (>10 mm from macropores) at 4 soil depths (0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, 40–60 cm and 60–80 cm). Compared to the bulk soil, the MPS soil had higher organic C, total N, bicarbonate-extractable P, Ca⁺, Cu, Fe and Mn and supported higher populations of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., cellulolytic bacteria, cellulolytic fungi, nitrifying bacteria and the root pathogen Pythium.In addition, analysis of carbon substrate utilization patterns showed the microbial community associated with the MPS soil to have higher metabolic activity and greater functional diversity than the microbial community associated with the bulk soil at all soil depths. Phospholipid fatty acids associated with bacteria and fungi were also shown to be present in higher relative amounts in the MPS soil compared to the bulk soil. Whilst populations of microbial functional groups in the MPS and the bulk soil declined with increasing soil depth, the differentiation between the two soils in microbiological properties occurred at all soil depths. Soil aggregates (< 0.5 mm diameter) associated with plant roots located within macropores were found to support a microbial community that was quantitatively and functionally different to that in the MPS soil and the bulk soil at all soil depths. The microbial community associated with these soil aggregates thus represented a third recognizable environment for plant roots and microorganisms in the subsoil.     

Changes in physiological groups of microorganisms in soil following wildfire

Abstract: Physiological groups of soil microorganisms were investigated in a forest ( Pinus pinaster Sol.) to asses their response to wildfire-induced soil changes. Microbial fluctuations were recorded 1 month and 1 year after the fire, both in the field and during controlled soil incubations. In both the burned and the unburned soil, starch-mineralizing microbes predominated over cellulose-mineralizing microbes; there were a relatively high number of ammonium-producers, whereas nitrite and nitrate producers were scarce. In the short term, burning produced a decreasing to nearly undetectable number in cellulase-producers whilst amylase-producers, and especially, ammonifying microbes increased, and the nitrifying groups did not change. One year after the wildfire, the burning effect was slightly overcome by cellulolytic microorganisms and the amylolytic population was slightly decreased; the improvement of ammonifiers was reduced, ammonium oxidizers were positively affected and nitrite oxidizers continued to be unaffected by the fire. The trends of populations during soil incubation indicated that, in the long term, the effect of burning will probably be nil on ammonifiers, somewhat negative on cellulolytic and amylolytic microbes and slightly positive on nitrite- and nitrate-formers.     

Evaluation of Bacillus thuringiensis bioinsecticidal protein effects on soil microorganisms

The effect of B. thuringiensis and its crystal protein on plant growth and on functional groups of microorganisms is not well understood. Soybean (Glycine max) var. Br 322 was grown in non-sterile soil infested with three B. thuringiensis (Bt) inocula: insecticidal crystal protein producer (Cry+), a mutant non-producer (Cry–), or insecticidal crystal protein (ICP), at a rate of 10⁷ cells g^–1 dry soil or 1.25 mg of protein g^–1 dry soil. Non-inoculated plants were maintained as control. Measurements were carried out on soil samples before sowing (time zero) and after sowing and inoculation (5, 15, 25, 35 and 45 d) on samples of rhizosphere soil. The effect of spore and crystal protein produced by B. thuringiensis on the populations of functional groups of microorganisms (bacteria including actinomycetes and fungi) involved in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon (cellulolytic, amylolytic and proteolytic), phosphorus (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi), and nitrogen (number of nodules and proteolytic) were evaluated. Population sizes of culturable heterotrophic bacteria and saprophytic fungi were also evaluated. No difference was found in heterotrophic bacterial populations inoculated with B. thuringiensis. Difference was observed in functional groups of C-cycling microorganisms. Nodule formation and plant growth were increased by Cry+ strain and ICP when compared with uninoculated plants. Crystal protein did not show any effect on arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) colonization. However, a deleterious effect was observed with Cry+ and Cry– strains that inhibited colonization of AM fungi when compared with uninoculated plants.     

Intensification of the aerobic bioremediation of an actual site soil historically contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) through bioaugmentation with a non acclimated, complex source of microorganisms

Background  

The biotreatability of actual-site polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated soils is often limited by their poor content of autochthonous pollutant-degrading microorganisms. In such cases, inoculation might be the solution for a successful bioremediation. Some pure and mixed cultures of characterized PCB degrading bacteria have been tested to this purpose. However, several failures have been recorded mostly due to the inability of inoculated microbes to compete with autochthonous microflora and to face the toxicity and the scarcity of nutrients occurring in the contaminated biotope. Complex microbial systems, such as compost or sludge, normally consisting of a large variety of robust microorganisms and essential nutrients, would have better chances to succeed in colonizing degraded contaminated soils. However, such sources of microorganisms have been poorly applied in soil bioremediation and in particular in the biotreatment of soil with PCBs. Thus, in this study the effects of Enzyveba, i.e. a consortium of non-adapted microorganisms developed from composted material, on the slurry- and solid-phase aerobic bioremediation of an actual-site, aged PCB-contaminated soil were studied.     

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。     

不同丛枝菌根真菌侵染对土壤结构的影响

为了定量化比较研究接种丛枝菌根真菌后,根际、菌根际和菌丝际土壤结构的变化,采用四室分根装置,比较中性紫色土接种不同AM真菌后,菌根际、根际、菌丝际和非根际土壤平均重量直径(MWD)、几何平均直径(GMD)和大于0.25mm团聚体总量(R_0.25)的变化。结果表明:接种3个菌种后菌丝际EEG和有机质含量均呈高于菌根际的趋势。菌丝密度和易提取球囊霉素相关蛋白(EEG)与MWD、GMD和R_0.25呈显著正相关,菌根际和菌丝际土壤水稳性R_0.25与菌丝密度显著正相关,相关系数分别为0.777和0.671。接种G. mosseae的菌根际土壤R_0.25值显著高于其它分室土壤,而接种G.etunicatum的菌丝际土壤R_0.25值显著高于其它分室土壤。试验结果在一定程度上说明不同菌种对土壤结构均有不同程度的影响,反映了丛枝菌根真菌生态功能的多样性。     

Controls for rhizosphere microorganisms to study effects of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae on Artemisia tridentata

Seven treatments were set up to test the effects of vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungi and other rhizosphere microorganisms on the growth of Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata. Soil sievings had no significant effect on root or shoot mass. Spores and surface-sterile spores were a poor inoculum source, but roots and fresh soil caused 45–75% mycorrhizal infection. Whereas root-inoculated plants still had low growth responses by the end of the experiment, fresh soil inoculum caused the greatest response, and partial fresh inoculum caused a lesser response. These results suggest that fresh soil is an appropriate inoculum for this plant-fungal-soil system, and that the major effect on plant growth of the fresh soil inoculum is from the mycorrhizal fungi and not from the other microorganisms, because the sievings had no effect on plant growth. In addition, soil dilution plating of saprophytic fungi showed 85% species similarity between sterile and fresh soil inoculum by the end of the experiment. Since the effects of non-VA microorganisms are complex and varied, we suggest that researchers work out the type of mycorrhizal controls that best suit their system.     

Possible role of soil microorganisms in aggregation in soils

In many soils, roots and fungal hyphae, especially those of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi, stabilize macroaggregates (>250 μm diameter); organic residues, bacteria, polysaccharides and inorganic materials stabilize microaggregates (<250 μm). This review discusses the factors (including other organisms) which affect VAM hyphae and their extracellular polysaccharides in soil, and the subsequent effect on stability of aggregates. The review also discusses the possible role of other organisms, including ectomycorrhizal fungi, in the stability of soil, and suggests future research.     

Influence of aerobic microorganisms upon virus survival in soil

Survival of human poliovirus type 1 in a sandy loam soil appeared to be deleteriously influenced by aerobic microorganisms. This effect was determined by comparing the survival of virus in soil under four different possible combinations of aerobic versus anaerobic (H2-CO2) atmosphere and sterile versus nonsterile condition. Storage of samples was done in humid chambers to prevent soil desiccation. The effect attributed to aerobic microorganisms was measurable and statistically significant at all three incubation temperatures used in the study (1, 23, and 37 degrees C), with the increase in inactivation rate attributable to aerobic microorganisms generally being two to threefold. No comparable effect was observed to occur for anaerobic microorganisms under the sets of conditions employed in the study.     

Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on soil structure and aggregate stability of a vertisol

The influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on aggregate stability of a semi-arid Indian vertisol was studied in a pot experiment in which Sorghum bicolor (L.) was grown as test plant for 10 weeks. Pasteurized soil inoculated with AM fungi was studied with pasteurized and unpasteurized soils as references. A part of the soil in each pot was placed in nylon mesh bags to separate effects of roots and hyphae. The sorghum plants were planted outside the mesh bags which permitted AM hyphae to enter while excluding roots. Aggregate stability of the soil was determined by wet-sieving and turbidimetric measurements. Development of the AM fungi was quantified as colonized root length and external hyphal length. Soil exposed to growth of roots and hyphae (outside mesh bags) showed aggregates with larger geometric mean diameter (GMD) in pasteurized soil inoculated with AM fungi than in pasteurized uninoculated soil. There was no significant difference in GMD of the inoculated, pasteurized soil and the unpasteurized soil. No significant effects of inoculation or plant growth were found in pasteurized soil exposed to hyphal growth only (inside the mesh bags). However, the unpasteurized soil had significantly higher GMD than the pasteurized soil, irrespective of plants and inoculum. Turbidimetric measurements of soil exposed to roots and hyphae (outside mesh bags) showed the highest aggregate stability for the inoculated pasteurized soil. These results demonstrate that AM fungi contribute to the stabilization of soil aggregates in a vertisol, and that the effect is significant after only one growing season. The effect was associated with both AM hyphae and the stimulation of root growth by AM fungi. The contribution from plant roots and AM hyphae to aggregate stability of different size fractions is discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Growth responses of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal tropical forage species to different levels of soil phosphate

Three tropical forage legumes, Stylosanthes capitata, Pueraria phaseoloides and Centrosema macrocarpum, and one grass, Brachiaria dictyoneura, were grown in a sterile phosphate deficient soil amended with soluble or rock phosphate at rates ranging from 0 to 400 mg kg^-1 soil. The effects of inoculation with Glomus manihotis on mycorrhizal infection and plant growth were assessed. Early growth and nodulation of P. phaseoloides in soil with and without rock phosphate fertilizer were also determined. In the legumes, mycorrhizal infection was high at all P levels and sources, except for a significant decrease of infection in S. capitata at high levels of superphosphate. Plant growth was significantly increased by phosphate fertilizer and mycorrhizal inoculation. Mycorrhizal responses were more pronounced at low P levels with both P sources. In B. dictyoneura mycorrhizal infection was decreased with increasing additions of P. No effects of mycorrhizal inoculation (except with no added P) were observed. Growth and nodulation of P. phaseoloides were greatly stimulated by mycorrhizal inoculation.     

亚热带退化森林不同恢复方式对土壤团聚体胶结物质及稳定性的影响

退化森林的恢复一直是林业和生态学研究的热点。良好的森林土壤结构有助于林木生长发育,作为土壤最基本的结构单元,土壤团聚体组成和稳定性是衡量土壤肥力和质量的重要指标,其团聚结构的形成依靠土壤胶结物质。然而,土壤胶结物质与团聚体稳定性之间的关系尚不确定。为探明亚热带退化森林的不同恢复方式对团聚体稳定性的影响及其潜在机制,以自然恢复的次生林为对照(CK),选取了亚热带三种常见的人工林：一代杉木林(P1)、二代杉木林(P2)和黄山松林(P3),测定土壤团聚体稳定性及其胶结物质的含量,并分析了各胶结物质对团聚体稳定性的影响。研究发现：不同森林恢复方式显著影响了土壤pH值、碳氮比、速效磷含量、团聚体的组成和稳定性。所有森林类型中,三种人工林的团聚体稳定性显著高于CK,P2的大团聚体所占比例最大,团聚体稳定性最高。恢复方式显著影响了土壤游离氧化铁含量、菌根密度和易提取球囊霉素相关土壤蛋白(EEG)含量。团聚体稳定性与游离氧化铁含量、菌根密度呈正相关,但与EEG含量呈负相关。研究结果表明,亚热带退化森林的人工恢复比自然恢复更有助于增强土壤团聚体稳定性,土壤游离氧化铁、菌根密度和EEG是显著影响团聚体稳定...     

Organic matter components and aggregate stability after the application of different amendments to a horticultural soil

The effects of usual or recommended rates of application of five organic amendments (24 t/ha yr of MSW compost, sewage sludge, and ovine manure, 2.4 t/ha yr of commercial vermicompost, and 100 l/ha yr of a commercial humic acids solution) on the soil contents of organic matter, total humified substances, humic acids, carbohydrates and microbial gums, and the structural stability of aggregates were investigated. Four and five years after the beginning of the experiment, significant increments in most of the parameters studied were found after the application of organic residues, whereas the two commercial amendments did not produce any significant change, suggesting that rates recommended by the producers and imposed by their high prices are too low to be useful. MSW compost yielded the highest increases, even if the amount of organic matter applied as ovine manure was very similar. Organic matter and carbohydrates appeared to be the parameters most closely related to soil aggregate stability.