Soil moisture dynamics and restoration of self‐sustaining native vegetation ecosystem on an open‐cut coal mine

Post‐mining landscape reconstruction on open‐cut coal mines aims to support restoration of self‐sustaining native vegetation ecosystems that in perpetuity require no extra inputs relative to unmined analogs. Little is known about the soil moisture retention capacity of the limited layer of topsoil replaced (often <30 cm deep), impacts of deep ripping of the profile, and the combined impacts of these on plant available water during the mine restoration process. We examined changes in soil moisture parameters (soil water potential, Ψ, and soil water content, Θ) daily using automated soil sensors installed at 30 and 45–65 cm depths on mine restoration sites aged between 3 and 22 years and on adjacent remnant vegetation sites following heavy rainfall events at Meandu mine, southeast Queensland, Australia. Consistent patterns in soil moisture attributes were observed among rehabilitated sites with generally marked differences from remnant sites. Remnant site soil profiles had generally higher Θ after drying than rehabilitated sites and maintained high Ψ for extended periods after rain events. There was a relatively rapid decline of Ψ on reconstructed soil profiles compared with remnant sites although the times of decline onset varied. This response indicated that vegetation restoration sites released soil moisture more rapidly than remnant sites but the rate of drying decreased with increasing rehabilitation age and increased with increasing tree stem density. The rapid drying of mine rehabilitated sites may threaten the survival of some remnant forest species, limit tree growth, and delay restoration of self‐sustaining native ecosystem.     

长白山主要类型森林土壤大孔隙数量与垂直分布规律

利用张力入渗仪测量和计算了长白山自然保护区中4种主要类型土壤(暗棕色森林土、棕色针叶林土、山地生草森林土和山地苔原土)中半径范围分别在≥0.5mm、0.25～0.5mm和0.1～0.25mm的大孔隙数量与分布,并探讨了大孔隙的存在对土壤饱和渗水量的影响.结果表明:暗棕色森林土中大孔隙数量随土壤深度的增加而减少,自地表向下至40cm以内土层的变化较快,在40cm以下土层内的变化较慢;棕色针叶林土和山地苔原土中大孔隙数量随土壤深度的增加而增加;山地生草森林土中大孔隙数量随土壤深度的变化不大.大孔隙占土壤体积的比例虽然很小,却对土壤饱和渗水量的传导起到了重要作用.     

植被发育玄武岩斜坡土体大孔隙尺寸及其主要影响因素

极端异常气候诱发植被发育斜坡发生滑坡灾害的数量逐年攀升,土体大孔隙产生的优先流对其有重要影响.本文结合水分穿透曲线和Poiseulle方程对马卡山植被发育玄武岩斜坡土体大孔隙的半径范围、数量、平均体积进行估算,分析了该区土体大孔隙分布情况及其主要影响因素.结果表明：研究区域主要植被下土体大孔隙半径在0.3~1.8 mm,主要集中在0.5~1.2 mm,1.4~1.8 mm的大半径孔隙相对较少, 而＜1.4 mm的小半径孔隙较多.随着剖面发育,大孔隙表现为上部土层多、下部土层少的特点.大孔隙平均体积决定了稳定出流速率84.7%的变异.在影响大孔隙平均体积大小的诸多因素中,植被根系质量密度与其呈线性关系,相关系数为0.70,土壤有机质含量与其呈线性关系,相关系数为0.64.     

土壤大孔隙及其研究方法

阐述了土壤大孔隙的定义、孔径划分类型及其成因,比较了各种研究方法的适用性和局限性,土壤大孔隙是可以提供优先水流路径的孔隙,其孔径大小为＞0.03mm。大孔隙形状具有多样性,既有形状不规则的袭隙和裂疑,也有近似圆柱状的管道。土壤动物对土壤的挖掘作用,植物根系在土壤中的穿插作用,冻融和干湿交替过程及化学过程是产生大孔隙的主要原因,大也民隙的研究方法分为直接观测法和间接描述法,并各有其适用性和局限性,土壤大孔隙研究的最终目的是调控它,为减少地下水污染、控制养分和水分的流失提供一条新途径。     

Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizae on heavy metal (Zn and Pb) uptake and growth of Lygeum spartum and Anthyllis cytisoides

The hypothesis tested in this paper is that, because the freshest water occurs in the largest soil pores (macropores), plants of low to moderate transpiration rate can survive in salinized soil because they preferentially extract water from macropores. The hypothesis predicts that a plant growing in a macroporous soil should have greater growth under a given salinity treatment than a similar plant growing in a soil with the same mineralogy but without macropores. This hypothesis was tested by growing bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) in the greenhouse in pots filled with either a commercial fritted clay (a highly macroporous soil) or the same clay ground to a finer texture and sieved to remove macropores and produce a microporous soil. The pots sat in pans filled with salt water. Half of the pots were irrigated once a day with fresh water and the other half received no fresh water. Plants growing in the macroporous soil had greater growth for a given salinity treatment than the plants growing in the microporous soil under both the irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. Under the irrigated condition for the highest salinity treatment, the non-reproductive fresh weight per plant, total dry weight per plant and fruit fresh weight per plant was 114 g, 12 g and 50 g, respectively, for the macroporous soil and 47 g, 4.5 g and 5 g, respectively, for the microporous soil. The results of this study provide evidence to suggest that a better understanding of what constitutes a good structure in a saline soil may aid us in our efforts to improve the management of saline soils. We suggest that it may be possible to increase the agricultural production on salinized land by no-tillage agriculture which preserves macroporosity. Possible obstacles could be the tendency of field saline-sodic soils to swell and the unavailability of relatively fresh irrigation water in areas with saline soils.     

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.     

Cellulosic biofuel crops alter evapotranspiration and drainage fluxes: Direct quantification using automated equilibrium tension lysimeters

An increasing number of crops are being considered as potential sources of biomass for both conventional (e.g., maize/corn) and cellulosic (e.g., switchgrass, miscanthus, and hybrid poplar) biofuels. Studies investigating the hydrologic characteristics of these crops are often conducted at either the field scale with a focus on evapotranspiration (ET) or at the plot scale where experiments generally rely on soil water storage dynamics and residual water balances. While this has led to many important insights into crop–soil water interactions under these crops, there does not appear to be any multiyear direct comparisons of the drainage fluxes under this range of biofuel crops. Furthermore, important advancements in drainage flux measurement technologies have yet to be applied to quantify hydrologic fluxes below a range of biofuel crops. Here, we use soil water content (SWC) probes and automated equilibrium tension lysimeters (AETL) to characterize detailed differences in soil water storage and drainage fluxes under conventional and cellulosic biofuel crops. The results of this study suggest that there are significant differences between subsurface water fluxes under some conventional and cellulosic biofuel crops, such as 75% greater average annual drainage and more rapid drainage accumulation under switchgrass relative to maize.     

长白山北坡两种类型森林土壤的大孔隙特征

运用亮蓝溶液染色示踪法和图像分析技术,对长白山北坡棕色针叶林土和暗棕色森林土大孔隙特征及分布进行研究,探讨影响2种类型土壤大孔隙形成的因素．结果表明：由水平剖面染色面积随土层深度的变化情况,可间接得出大孔隙在垂直土壤剖面上的变化规律;随着土层深度的增加,2种土壤的染色面积均呈减少趋势;在24h内,棕色针叶林土较暗棕色森林土大孔隙流的运移深度多10～20cm,且其大孔隙流路径多,相同面积上,前者达6条,后者只有1条;大孔隙流的存在可以使水分在土壤中的运移速度增加2～3倍;生物因素是2种土壤大孔隙形成的主要因素,由土壤动物运动形成的大孔隙数量较多,直径多为2～4mm．     

四面山阔叶林土壤大孔隙特征与优先流的关系

为研究土壤大孔隙数量、分布特征与优先流发生之间的关系,在使用亮蓝染色法划分林地优先流发生区域基础上,利用穿透曲线理论方法,对重庆四面山典型亚热带阔叶林土壤剖面染色和未染色区域内的土壤大孔隙进行了量化分析.结果表明：研究林地土壤剖面内大孔隙半径多在0.3～3.0 mm,大孔隙率为6.3%～10.5%,随着土壤深度的增加,大孔隙呈现出聚集态的分布特征.各孔径范围内,染色区域的土壤大孔隙数量较未染色区域高出约1个数量级.半径＞0.3 mm,尤其是半径＞1.5 mm的大孔隙数量,是影响林地优先流发生的主要通道.森林土壤0.3～3.0 mm孔径范围内,大孔隙数量与其对应的土壤水分稳定出流速率呈显著的正相关关系,其中在0.7～1.5 mm和1.5～3.0 mm孔径范围内大孔隙数量与稳定出流速率相关程度最大,相关系数分别为0.842和0.879.发生优先流的染色区内大孔隙联通状况优于未染色区,两区中1.5～3.0 mm孔径范围内的联通大孔隙数量差异最大,相差78.3%.染色区内大孔隙数量随土壤深度的增加逐渐减少,“漏斗”状的孔隙分布特征可以形成有效的水压梯度,有利于水分优先运移.