Does elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations affect wood decomposition?

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that wood tissues generated under elevated atmospheric [CO₂] have lower quality and subsequent reduced decomposition rates. Chemical composition and subsequent field decomposition rates were studied for beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) twigs grown under ambient and elevated [CO₂] in open top chambers. Elevated [CO₂] significantly affected the chemical composition of beech twigs, which had 38% lower N and 12% lower lignin concentrations than twigs grown under ambient [CO₂]. The strong decrease in N concentration resulted in a significant increase in the C/N and lignin/N ratios of the beech wood grown at elevated [CO₂]. However, the elevated [CO₂] treatment did not reduce the decomposition rates of twigs, neither were the dynamics of N and lignin in the decomposing beech wood affected by the [CO₂] treatment, despite initial changes in N and lignin concentrations between the ambient and elevated [CO₂] beech wood. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Review of elevated atmospheric CO2 effects on agro-ecosystems: residue decomposition processes and soil C storage

A series of studies using major crops (cotton [Gossypium hirsutum L.], wheat [Triticum aestivum L.], grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.] and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]) were reviewed to examine the impact of elevated atmospheric CO₂ on crop residue decomposition within agro-ecosystems. Experiments evaluated utilized plant and soil material collected from CO₂ study sites using Free Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) and open top chambers (OTC). A incubation study of FACE residue revealed that CO₂-induced changes in cotton residue composition could alter decomposition processes, with a decrease in N mineralization observed with FACE, which was dependent on plant organ and soil series. Incubation studies utilizing plant material grown in OTC considered CO₂-induced changes in relation to quantity and quality of crop residue for two species, soybean and grain sorghum. As with cotton, N mineralization was reduced with elevated CO₂ in both species, however, difference in both quantity and quality of residue impacted patterns of C mineralization. Over the short-term (14 d), little difference was observed for CO₂ treatments in soybean, but C mineralization was reduced with elevated CO₂ in grain sorghum. For longer incubation periods (60 d), a significant reduction in CO₂-C mineralized per g of residue added was observed with the elevated atmospheric CO₂ treatment in both crop species. Results from incubation studies agreed with those from the OTC field observations for both measurements of short-term CO₂ efflux following spring tillage and the cumulative effect of elevated CO₂ (> 2 years) in this study. Observations from field and laboratory studies indicate that with elevated atmospheric CO₂, the rate of plant residue decomposition may be limited by N and the release of N from decomposing plant material may be slowed. This indicates that understanding N cycling as affected by elevated CO₂ is fundamental to understanding the potential for soil C storage on a global scale. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A comparison of four different fine root production estimates with ecosystem carbon balance data in a Fagus–Quercus mixed forest

The controversy on how to measure fine root production of forests (P) most accurately continues. We applied four different approaches to determine annual rates of P in an old-growth temperate Fagus sylvatica–Quercus petraea stand: sequential soil coring with minimum–maximum calculation, sequential coring with compartmental flow calculation, the ingrowth core method, and a recently developed root chamber method for measuring the growth of individual fine roots in situ. The results of the four destructive approaches differed by an order of magnitude and, thus, are likely to introduce large errors in estimating P. The highest annual rates of P were obtained from the sequential coring approach with compartmental flow calculation, intermediate rates by sequential coring with minimum–maximum calculation, and low ones by both the root growth chamber and ingrowth core approaches. A carbon budget for the stand was set up based on a model of annual net carbon gain by the canopy and measurements on carbon sink strength (annual leaf, branch and stem growth). The budget implied that a maximum of 27% of the net carbon gain was available for allocation to fine root growth. When compared to the carbon budget data, the sequential coring/compartmental flow approach overestimated annual fine root production substantially; whereas the ingrowth core and root growth chamber approaches grossly underestimated P rates. With an overestimation of about 25% the sequential coring/minimum–maximum approach demonstrated the best agreement with the carbon budget data. It is concluded that the most reliable estimate of P in this temperate forest will be obtained by applying the sequential coring/minimum–maximum approach, conducted with a large number of replicate samples taken on a few dates per season, in conjunction with direct root growth observation by minirhizotrons.     

Assessment of Pollution-Induced Microbial Community Tolerance to Heavy Metals in Soil Using Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria and Biolog Assay

This study attempted to investigate if the tolerance of soil bacterial communities in general, and autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in particular, evolved as a result of prolonged exposure to metals, and could be used as an indigenous bioindicator for soil metal pollution. A soil contaminated with copper, chromium, and arsenic (CCA) was mixed with an uncontaminated garden soil (GS3) to make five test soils with different metal concentrations. A modified potential ammonium oxidation assay was used to determine the metal tolerance of the AOB community. Tolerance to Cr, Cu, and As was tested at the beginning and after up to 13 months of incubation. Compared with the reference GS3 soil, the five CCA soils showed significantly higher tolerance to Cr no matter which form of Cr (Cr³⁺, CrO₄ ^2?, or Cr₂O₇ ^2?) was tested, and the Cr tolerance correlated with the total soil Cr concentration. However, the tolerance to Cu²⁺, As³⁺, and As⁵⁺ did not differ significantly between the GS3 soil and the five CCA soils. Community level physiological profiles using Biolog microtiter plates were also used to examine the chromate tolerance of the bacterial communities extracted after six months of exposure. Our results showed that the bacterial community tolerance was altered and increased as the soil Cr concentration was increased, indicating that the culturable microbial community and the AOB community responded in a similar manner.     

农牧交错带土地沙化的本质及其形成研究

通过对陕北农牧交错带不同类型沙化土地土体构型、土壤质地、元素组成和理化性质的分析,研究了土地沙化的本质。结果表明：受风沙作用影响,土壤中细粒物质逐渐减少,颗粒组成变粗;表层消失,最终被流沙所取代,原土壤剖面被覆盖在沙层之下;土壤有机质及养分含量减少,保水保肥性能降低,生产力不断下降;现代土壤形成过程以侵蚀和风沙沉积为主,物质淋溶和化学风化微弱。研究区土地沙化可划分为：风沙侵蚀为主、风沙蚀积平衡、风沙沉积为主和土壤形成发育4个阶段;沙化土地的类型有：肥力衰退质地粗化、表层剥蚀、片沙覆盖、流动沙丘与固定沙丘等5种。     

生物土壤结皮的分布影响因子及其监测

生物土壤结皮在荒漠化地区广泛分布。本文详细论述了生物土壤结皮的分布规律及其影响因素,如海拔高度、土壤、维管植物群落水分条件和干扰,以及生物土壤结皮在生态系统和景观变化监测和评价中的作用等。同时对中国西北地区生物土壤结皮的生态学研究和开发应用提供了研究的重点和方向。     

红壤茶树根层土壤基础呼吸作用和酶活性

对不同树龄茶树根层土壤的呼吸作用(包括代谢熵qCO2)和土壤酶(脲酶、转化酶和酸性磷酸单酯酶)活性进行了研究、不同树龄茶树根层土壤日基础呼吸作用强度(36．23—58．52mg·kg^-1·d^-1)和日代谢墒(0．30一0．68)都以40和90年茶树较为接近,分别显著大于和小于10年树龄茶树根层土壤;服酶活性(41．48—47、72mg·kg^-1·d^-1)则三者间差异不大,虽然随树龄增长而下降;转化酶活性(189．29—363．40mg·kg^-1·d^-1)也随树龄增长而下降,并且10年茶树根层土壤显著大于40和90年树龄茶树;而酸性磷酸单酯酶活性(444．22—828．32mg·kg^-1·d^-1)相反,随树龄增长而增强．结果表明,土壤基础呼吸作用、代谢熵和3种土壤酶活性都与茶树树龄、土壤pH、土壤有机碳、土壤全氮、土壤可活性酚总量、及土壤微生物生物量密切相关．     

福建省耕地土壤重金属含量和可浸提性研究

测定了福建省6市、县耕地土壤中的Cu、Zn、Cd、Ni、Pb、Hg、As等7种重金属元素的全量和可浸提态含量,并对测定结果进行了数理统计。结果表明,福建省耕地土壤存在着不同程度的重金属污染,但依元素不同而不同,重金属可浸提态含量占全量的10.0?52.2 Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb、Ni的可浸提态含量与全量之间的相关达极显著水平,Zn、Cd、Pb、As等4元素含量之间存在着显著正相关,而Ni则只与Zn元素有极显著正相关,Cu和Hg与其它重金属元素的相关则均不显著。     

东海水域中上层鱼类资源的空间异质性

定量描述鱼类分布的空间变异,有利于从生态学意义上理解其空间分布及其与环境的关系,本文利用地理信息系统将东海区中上层鱼类资源密度空间化,运用空间自相关指数Geary c和变异函数理论分析其空间自相关和空间变异,东海区中上层鱼类资源空间分布平均场的Geary c指数为0．25,各向同性随机变异占总变异的19．1％,表明其空间分布具有较高的自相关特性,空间分布上各向变异不一致,其中45°和135°方向上变异曲线斜率急剧变化,表明这两个方向上存在重要的环境动力过程,各年份平均资源密度与相关变异(C)正相关,而与随机变异(C0)不存在相关,表明年际密度变化主要由空间自相关引起,变异曲线分维数(D)与密度呈负相关,说明密度的增加是由于鱼类在空间上的集聚程度增高引起的。     

短期内15N标记的铵盐和硝酸盐在青藏高原高寒草甸中的运移规律

运用15N稳定性同位素示踪技术,对高寒草甸植物和土壤微生物固持沉降氮的能力及沉降氮在小嵩草(Kobresia pygaea)草甸中的运移规律进行了研究.施肥2周后,NO-3-15N和NH+4-15N的总恢复率分别为73.5%和78%.无论是NO-3-15N,还是NH+4-15N,植物所固持的15N总是比土壤有机质或者是土壤微生物固持的多.4周后,70.6%的NO-3-15N和57.4%的NH+4-15N被固持在土壤和植物中.其中,土壤有机质所固持的15N均下降了很多,而植物所固持的15N却变化很小.同前面的结果相比,较多的NO-3-15N为土壤微生物所固持.在施肥6周和8周后,NO-3-15N的总恢复率分别为58.4%和67%,而NH+4-15N的总恢复率分别为43.1%和49%.植物和土壤微生物所固持的NO-3-15N比NH+4-15N多.在整个实验期间,植物固持的NO-3N较多,而且比土壤微生物固持了较多的15N.由于无机氮的含量一直很低,无机氮库所固持的15N一般不超过1%.上述结果意味着短期内植物在高寒草甸中对沉降氮的去向起着决定作用.