Archaeorhizomyces borealis sp. nov. and a sequence-based classification of related soil fungal species

The class Archaeorhizomycetes (Taphrinomycotina, Ascomycota) was introduced to accommodate an ancient lineage of soil-inhabiting fungi found in association with plant roots. Based on environmental sequencing data Archaeorhizomycetes may comprise a significant proportion of the total fungal community in soils. Yet the only species described and cultivated in this class is Archaeorhizomyces finlayi. In this paper, we describe a second species from a pure culture, Archaeorhizomyces borealis NS99-600^T (=CBS138755^ExT) based on morphological, physiological, and multi-locus molecular characterization. Archaeorhizomyces borealis was isolated from a root tip of a Pinus sylvestris seedling grown in a forest nursery in Lithuania. Analysis of Archaeorhizomycete species from environmental samples shows that it has a Eurasian distribution and is the most commonly observed species. Archaeorhizomyces borealis shows slow growth in culture and forms yellowish creamy colonies, characteristics that distinguish A. borealis from its closest relative A. finlayi. Here we also propose a sequence-based taxonomic classification of Archaeorhizomycetes and predict that approximately 500 species in this class remain to be isolated and described.     

气候和土地利用变化影响下生态屏障带水土流失趋势研究

受气候和地形等诸多因素影响，我国"两屏三带"国家生态屏障带中的川滇-黄土高原区域和南方丘陵带水土流失十分严重，自然灾害频发。但是，针对川滇-黄土高原区域和南方丘陵带水土流失时空格局变化，特别是未来气候变化和土地利用变化影响下水土流失变化趋势的研究很少。因此，本研究以川滇-黄土高原区域和南方丘陵带为研究对象，利用修正土壤流失方程（RUSLE）定量分析了该区在2000-2015年水土流失的时空变化规律及其影响因素，并预测了在RCP2.6和RCP4.5的未来气候情景下及土地利用变化条件下水土流失的变化趋势。研究结果表明：（1）黄土高原地区在植被恢复的积极作用下，水土流失显著缓解；（2）川滇地区的西南部因植被盖度的增长和降雨的减少水土流失显著缓解，但四川省境内人口密集区农田面积增加以及降水增加造成水土流失大幅度加剧；（3）南方丘陵带受降水增加影响导致了部分区域的水土流失恶化；（4）在未来气候变化情景下，由于大部分地区降雨将减少使土壤侵蚀趋于缓解，但四川、黄土高原和南方丘陵带大部分地区仍然面临未来农田面积增加带来的水土侵蚀压力。考虑到未来气候变化情景下降雨减少的趋势，建议在黄土高原地区提高草地在土地利用类型中的占比，在减少耗水量的同时维持地表盖度，缓解水土侵蚀；此外，各区域仍需控制农田面积，而且需通过加强坡耕地上保水保土耕作措施降低农田区域的土壤侵蚀压力。     

Management of pine wilt disease vectoring Monochamus alternatus adults using spray and soil application of Metarhizium anisopliae JEF isolates

Chemical control is widely used to control the Japanese pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus alternatus, but strong chemical regulations require an environmentally sound management strategy. In this work, we investigated the use of entomopathogenic fungi and their application as a means of practical pest management. Thirty-two diverse species of fungal isolates were assayed against adult pine sawyer beetles using a contact method under laboratory conditions, and four isolates showed over 70% virulence consequently. These isolates, two each of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae were sprayed on the adult beetles at 1 × 10⁷ conidia/ml in plastic containers, respectively. The M. anisopliae-treated adult beetles showed 67% mortality. M. anisopliae isolates JEF-197 and JEF-279 demonstrated dosage-dependent insecticidal activity. Following the laboratory experiments, semi-field trials were conducted in young pine trees under high (RH 94%) and low (RH 35%) humidity conditions. In the high humidity conditions, most of the adult beetles stayed on the top of the branches. When the two M. anisopliae isolates were sprayed on the beetles, they showed ca. 50–70% insecticidal activity 11 days after application. In contrast, in low humidity conditions, the adult beetles tried to move off the branches and onto the soil. When the beetles reached the JEF-197 and JEF-279-treated soil, we measured >90% insecticidal activity. This work suggests that M. anisopliae was the most virulent entomopathogenic fungus against adult Japanese pine sawyer beetles, and this forest insect could be ecologically controlled by the spray and soil application of the M. anisopliae isolates.     

Nutrients and antinutrient constituents of Amaranthus caudatus L. Cultivated on different soils

This study investigated variations in the concentration of nutrients, antinutrients and mineral content of Amaranthus caudatus harvested from different soil types at various stages of maturity. Four out the five soils namely; sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, clayey loam and loam were experimentally formulated from primary particles of silt, clay and sand in line with the United State Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) soil triangle protocol. The unfractionated soil was used as the control. After harvesting at pre-flowering (61 days after planting), flowering (71 days after planting) and post-flowering (91 days after planting) stages, nutrient and antinutrient analyses were carried out following Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and other referenced methods while the Inductively Coupled Plasma- Optical Emission Spectrometer was used to determine mineral compositions of the plant samples. The results of the study revealed that particle size and physicochemical properties of the soil influenced the number of minerals deposited in plant tissues. It was further observed that the nutritional properties of the plant change as plant ages. For an optimal yield of vitamins A and E, clayey loam proved to be the best soil particularly when A. caudatus is harvested before flowering but for vitamin C, sandy clayey loam yielded the highest output at the same stage. Similarly, clayey loam and loam soils yielded the highest proximate compositions at flowering and pre-flowering; however, mineral elements (micro and macro) were highest in control and loam soils.     

Distribution and bioaccumulation of trace elements and lanthanides in apples from Northwestern Italy

BackgroundTransfer of metals from soil to plant is a possible route of contamination for the food chain. This investigation focused on the occurrence of 40 elements in the “Red Apple of Cuneo”, an Italian excellence and a Protected Geographical Indication (P.G.I.). Four cultivars were considered: Red Delicious (Jeromine) and Gala (Bukeye, Brookfield, Schniga).MethodsTrace elements and rare earth elements (REEs) detection was performed by an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) previous homogenization of samples and microwave acid digestion. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni correction was employed to for statistical analysis.ResultsConcentrations of metals in the four apples cultivars were quite comparable, Al and Rb were the most represented nonessential elements while Fe, Cu and Zn between the essential; REEs were found at negligible concentrations. Bioaccumulation factors demonstrated an extremely low capacity of bioaccumulation from soil to fruit.ConclusionsThe analysis performed on the “Red Apple of Cuneo” has shown that this product is safe for human consumption since metals were recovered at concentrations of no concern and lower than those registered in apples from other countries.Since each production area is characterized by a typical elemental pattern the multielemental profile based on the analysis of 40 elements could be useful to relate products to their region of origin. Differences between the four apple cultivars were instead not significant to discriminate between them.     

地被植物对广东常绿阔叶林土壤养分的指示作用

为了解地被植物群落对土壤养分的响应和指示作用,利用指示种分析(ISA)法研究了广东常绿阔叶林地被植物与土壤养分的关系。结果表明,速效氮(AN)、速效磷(AP)、速效钾(AK)和有机质(OM)的综合作用对地被植物分布有显著影响(P0.05),且以速效磷有机质速效钾速效氮。地被植物的组成与分布在不同AP和OM梯度中均有显著差异(P 0.05),但在不同AK和AN梯度中差异不显著。土壤AN≤270 mg/kg的指示种是广东蛇葡萄(Ampelopsis cantoniensis)和油点草(Tricyrtis macropoda),270～360 mg/kg的指示种是狗骨柴(Tricalysia dubia);AP≤2 mg/kg的指示种是华山姜(Alpinia chinensis);AK≤100mg/kg的指示种是赤楠蒲桃(Syzygiumbuxifolium),AK为100～150mg/kg的指示种是十字苔草(Carexcruciate),AK150 mg/kg的指示种是金钗凤尾蕨(Pterisfauriei);OM 0.8%的指示种是箬竹(Indocalamustessellatus),OM≤0.6%的指示种是华山姜(Alpinia chinensis)和蔓胡颓子(Elaeagnus glabra),OM为0.6%～0.8%的指示种是豆腐柴(Premna microphlla)。利用有效的地被植物调查方式来监测森林的土壤状况为森林经营管理及土壤健康评价带来方便。地被植物指示种对土壤养分的响应不但能为研究地的立地条件提供理论支撑,还能为该物种的人工栽培提供理论依据,这对于生物多样性保育、生境恢复的引种栽培有重要意义。     

西沙永兴岛抗风桐与海岸桐群落凋落叶分解及中型土壤动物的贡献

我国南海诸岛主要是珊瑚岛。植物凋落物分解是生态系统元素循环的关键环节,但目前关于南海珊瑚岛生态系统凋落物分解的研究还是空白。以我国西沙群岛的优势树种抗风桐（Pisonia grandis）和海岸桐（Guettarda speciosa）为研究对象,采用凋落物袋法,分别于分解期间的第3、6、9、13和15个月取样,探究中型土壤动物对两种植物群落中凋落物分解过程中质量损失和养分释放的影响。结果表明：与没有中型土壤动物存在的情况（0.1 mm凋落物袋）相比,分解开始后的6个月内,中型土壤动物存在（2 mm凋落物袋）使抗风桐和海岸桐凋落叶分解速率分别提高了12.3%和4.8%（P<0.05）;分解6-15个月期间,中型土壤动物存在使抗风桐和海岸桐凋落叶分解速率分别提高了33.0%和12.3%（P<0.05）。中型土壤动物排除显著影响了不同分解阶段凋落叶总碳（Total carbon,TC）、总氮（Total nitrogen,TN）、纤维素、木质素和半纤维素的残留率变化。中型土壤动物群落组成受土壤温度显著影响（P<0.05）,它们对凋落叶分解的贡献可能主要受优势类群如真螨目和寄螨目的影响。相较海岸桐,抗风桐凋落叶的分解周期更短,中型土壤动物对其的贡献更大;选用抗风桐作为南海珊瑚岛退化植被恢复或新建的先锋种对促进生态系统元素循环更有利。     

三江源区生态系统和土壤保持服务对未来气候变化的响应特征

气候变化条件下的生态系统响应特征对生态系统服务的提升和生态环境保护具有重要意义。现有气候变化评估多以全球或区域大尺度研究为主,不适合局地小尺度。以2015年为基准,根据局地特征改进了综合顺序分类系统（CSCS）,模拟了未来不同温室气体排放模式下三江源地区自然植被分布,同时分析了植被覆盖度及土壤保持功能的时空变化。研究结果表明：①在2080年的不同排放情境下,三江源地区的降水和气温增长主要发生在生长季（5—9月）和半湿润地区,其中,高排放情境的增幅最大（42.21 mm和4.93℃）;②三江源地区潜在自然植被主要由草地转化为森林,植被覆盖度和土壤保持服务在不同排放情境下均呈现由西北向东南增加的趋势,与水热规律一致,其中高排放情境的增幅最大,低排放最小;③ 利用三江源地区原生裸地演替特点和多年NPP改进的CSCS模型,模拟精度提高了24%。研究成果为局地小尺度生态系统气候响应特征提供了必要的手段和规律认识。     

Trophic level and basal resource use of soil animals are hardly affected by local plant associations in abandoned arable land

Plants provide resources and shape the habitat of soil organisms thereby affecting the composition and functioning of soil communities. Effects of plants on soil communities are largely taxon‐dependent, but how different functional groups of herbaceous plants affect trophic niches of individual animal species in soil needs further investigation. Here, we studied the use of basal resources and trophic levels of dominating soil meso‐ and macrofauna using stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in arable fallow systems 3 and 14–16 years after abandonment. Animals were sampled from the rhizosphere of three plant species of different functional groups: a legume (Medicaco sativa), a nonlegume herb (Taraxacum officinale), and a grass (Bromus sterilis). We found virtually no consistent effects of plant identity on stable isotope composition of soil animals and on thirteen isotopic metrics that reflect general food‐web structure. However, in old fallows, the carbon isotope composition of some predatory macrofauna taxa had shifted closer to that of co‐occurring plants, which was particularly evident for Lasius, an aphid‐associated ant genus. Trophic levels and trophic‐chain lengths in food webs were similar across plant species and fallow ages. Overall, the results suggest that variations in local plant diversity of grassland communities may little affect the basal resources and the trophic level of prey consumed by individual species of meso‐ and macrofauna belowground. By contrast, successional changes in grassland communities are associated with shifts in the trophic niches of certain species, reflecting establishment of trophic interactions with time, which shapes the functioning and stability of soil food webs.