The continuous application of biochar in field: effects on P fraction, P sorption and release.

It is unclear how biochar can affect P availability in soil, especially in field under continuous application. In this study, a field experiment was conducted to study the effect of 2-years application of biochar on P availability, P fractionation, P sorption and release in a clay soil. The biochar in this study was produced from rice straw through pyrolysis at 700°C.

Plastic pollution in croplands threatens long-term food security.

Plastic pollution is a global concern given its prevalence in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Studies have been conducted on the distribution and impact of plastic pollution in marine ecosystems, but little is known on terrestrial ecosystems. Plastic mulch has been widely used to increase crop yields worldwide, yet the impact of plastic residues in cropland soils to soil health and crop production in the long term remained unclear.

Fifteen-Year Application of Manure and Chemical Fertilizers Differently Impacts Soil ARGs and Microbial Community Structure.

Manure, which contains large amounts of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), is widely used in agricultural soils and may lead to the evolution and dispersal of ARGs in the soil environment. In the present study, soils that received manure or chemical fertilizers for 15 years were sampled on the North China Plain (NCP), which is one of the primary areas of intensive agriculture in China. High-throughput quantitative PCR and sequencing technologies were employed to assess the effects of long-term manure or chemical fertilizer application on the distribution of ARGs and microbial communities.

Paddy periphyton reduced cadmium accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa) by removing and immobilizing cadmium from the water-soil interface.

Periphyton plays a significant role in heavy metal transfer in wetlands, but its contribution to cadmium (Cd) bioavailability in paddy fields remains largely unexplored. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of periphyton on Cd behavior in paddy fields. Periphyton significantly decreased Cd concentrations in paddy waters.

Profiles of antibiotic resistome with animal manure application in black soils of northeast China.

Black soils (Mollisols) are important soil resources for crop production and maintain food safety in China. For keeping soil fertility, the application of animal manure is commonly practiced in black soils. However, the impact of this application on abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in black soils of China remains unclear.

Impacts on soil microbial characteristics and their restorability with different soil disinfestation approaches in intensively cropped greenhouse soils.

The different impacts, especially on soil physicochemical and microbial characteristics, among disinfestation methods based on different principles (including physical, chemical, and biological) have not been illustrated well. Here, we used steam sterilization, dazomet fumigation, and reductive soil disinfestation (RSD) methods representative of physical, chemical, and biological soil disinfestation, respectively, to disinfest seriously degraded greenhouse soils before watermelon cultivation in one season. Compared with the control, RSD significantly decreased the soil nitrate content by 85.

Planting age of peach affects soil metal accumulation and distribution in soil profile.

Changes in soil available metal, particularly, distribution changes in the soil profile relative to long-term peach cultivation, have not been studied thoroughly. Soil samples at depths of up to 100 cm in the soil profile were taken from peach orchards that were cultivated for 7, 15, and 50 years. We analyzed available metals (Zn, Fe, Mn, Al, and Cu), soil pH, total nitrogen (TN), nitrate nitrogen (NO-N), and ammonium nitrogen (NH-N) in different soil layers (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm, 60-80 cm, and 80-100 cm).

Does animal manure application improve soil aggregation? Insights from nine long-term fertilization experiments.

Manure application is widely recognized as a method of improving soil structure and soil fertility due to additional organic matter and nutrient inputs. However, the salinity of animal manure may have a detrimental effect on soil aggregation. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of long-term animal manure application on soil aggregation, binding agents (soil organic carbon, SOC and glomalin-related soil protein, GRSP), and dispersing agents (e.

Deciphering differences in the chemical and microbial characteristics of healthy and Fusarium wilt-infected watermelon rhizosphere soils.

Plant health is determined by the comprehensive effect of soil physicochemical and biological properties. In this study, we compared the chemical properties and microbiomes of the rhizosphere soils of healthy, Fusarium oxysporum-infected, and dead watermelon plants and attempted to assess their potential roles in plant health and Fusarium wilt expression. The rhizosphere soils were collected from watermelon plants grown in a greenhouse under the same field management practices, and various soil microbial and chemical characteristics were analyzed.

Effect of inoculum and substrate/inoculum ratio on the performance and methanogenic archaeal community structure in solid state anaerobic co-digestion of tomato residues with dairy manure and corn stover.

Effects of methanogenic community of inoculum (liquid anaerobic digestion effluent (L-AD effluent), waste activated sludge (WAS), and anaerobic granular sludge (AGS)) and substrate/inoculum ratio (S/I) on reactor performance in solid state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) were investigated. L-AD effluent, which can provide sufficient microbes and enough buffering capacity to the reactor at an S/I ratio of 6, was found to quickly initiate SS-AD processes. The highest methane production was obtained in reactor inoculated with WAS at an S/I ratio of 2.

[Comparison on fungal molecular ecological networks of agricultural soils with different latitudes in the black soil region of Northeast China].

To investigate the differences of fungal network structures and interaction among fungal species of in black soil region of Northeast China, Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used to reveal the fungal communities in the three long-term fertilization experimental fields. Fungal molecular ecological networks were constructed based on random matrix theory (RMT). The results demonstrated that Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Zygomycota were the dominant phyla and Hypocreales, Pleosporales and Sordariales were the dominant order, but the relative abundance of some dominant taxa significantly varied in different locations.

Spatial variations in soil selenium and residential dietary selenium intake in a selenium-rich county, Shitai, Anhui, China.

Shitai, a selenium (Se)-rich county in Anhui, China, has been reported for its resident longevity in the last 20 years. A recent survey by the Anhui Bureau of Geological Survey showed that soil Se contents in the Shitai area ranged from 0.05 to 51.

Combinations of soil properties, carbon inputs and climate control the saturation deficit dynamics of stable soil carbon over 17-year fertilizaiton.

The soil organic carbon (SOC) saturation deficit (C) of silt and clay fractions represents the potential for SOC sequestration in a stable form and can influence organic C stabilization efficiency. Little is known, however, about temporal changes of stable soil C and how it is affected by soil properties, climate and C inputs. We investigated the temporal changes in the C of fine fractions (<53 μm) and examined the factors controlling these changes at three dry-land sites with 17-year fertilizer management histories in China.

Selenium Accumulation, Antioxidant Enzyme Levels, and Amino Acids Composition in Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) Fed Selenium-Biofortified Corn.

The effects of selenium (Se)-biofortified corn on the total Se contents, the antioxidant enzyme levels, and the amino acids composition in Chinese mitten crab () during the stage of the fifth shelling to maturity were investigated in the present study. The culture density of crabs was 600 per 667 m², and they were continuously fed 120.4 mg Se from Se-biofortified corn per 667 m² every two days for 90 days.

First report of a cross-kingdom pathogenic bacterium, Achromobacter xylosoxidans isolated from stipe-rot Coprinus comatus.

Coprinus comatus is an edible mushroom widely cultivated in China as a delicious food. Various diseases have occurred on C. comatus with the cultivated area increasing.

Resistance strategies of (common reed) to Pb pollution in flood and drought conditions.

Resistance strategies of clonal organs, and parent and offspring shoots of (common reed) to heavy metal pollution in soils are not well known. To clarify the tolerance or resistance strategies in reeds, we conducted a pot experiment with five levels of Pb concentration (0∼4,500 mg kg) in flood and drought conditions. Lead toxicity had no inhibitory effect on the number of offspring shoots in flood environment; however, biomass accumulation, and photosynthetic and clonal growth parameters were inhibited in both water environment.

Enhancing phosphorus uptake efficiency through QTL-based selection for root system architecture in maize.

Root system architecture (RSA) plays an important role in phosphorus (P) acquisition, but enhancing P use efficiency (PUE) in maize via genetic manipulation of RSA has not yet been reported. Here, using a maize recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, we investigated the genetic relationships between PUE and RSA, and developed P-efficient lines by selection of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that coincide for both traits. In low-P (LP) fields, P uptake efficiency (PupE) was more closely correlated with PUE (r = 0.

Cloning, expression and characterization of a cold-adapted endo-1, 4--glucanase from A1, a symbiotic bacterium of .

Background: Many biotechnological and industrial applications can benefit from cold-adapted EglCs through increased efficiency of catalytic processes at low temperature. In our previous study, A1 which was isolated from a wood-inhabiting termite could secrete a cold-adapted EglC. However, its EglC was difficult to purify for enzymatic properties detection because of its low activity (0.

Effects of engineered application of Eichhornia crassipes on the benthic macroinvertebrate diversity in Lake Dianchi, an ultra-eutrophic lake in China.

An ecological engineering project with confined growth of 1.5 km(2) of Eichhornia crassipes was implemented to remove pollutants in Lake Dianchi. To assess the ecological effects of this project on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages, a 1-year investigation at the areas inside and outside E.

Pedobacter nanyangensis sp. nov., isolated from herbicide-contaminated soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-spore-forming, motile, rod-shaped bacterium, designated Q-4T, was isolated from a herbicide-contaminated soil sample in Nanyang, Henan province, China. Strain Q-4T grew optimally in the LB medium without NaCl supplement at a pH range of 6.0–7.

Use of genotype-environment interactions to elucidate the pattern of maize root plasticity to nitrogen deficiency.

Maize (Zea mays L.) root morphology exhibits a high degree of phenotypic plasticity to nitrogen (N) deficiency, but the underlying genetic architecture remains to be investigated. Using an advanced BC4 F3 population, we investigated the root growth plasticity under two contrasted N levels and identified the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with QTL-environment (Q × E) interaction effects.

Effect of biofumigation and chemical fumigation on soil microbial community structure and control of pepper Phytophthora blight.

Soil biofumigation with brassica plant residues has been shown to significantly suppress soilborne pathogen. However, little published data reported the impact of biofumigation on microbial community structure in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) production systems under field conditions.

Nitrogen removal from Lake Caohai, a typical ultra-eutrophic lake in China with large scale confined growth of Eichhornia crassipes.

An ecological engineering project, with large-scale utilization of Eichhornia crassipes (coverage area ∼4.3km(2)) for pollution control in an open ultra-eutrophic lake, Lake Caohai, was first implemented in 2011. In this study, the efficiency of N removal using E.

Large-scale utilization of water hyacinth for nutrient removal in Lake Dianchi in China: the effects on the water quality, macrozoobenthos and zooplankton.

An ecological engineering project using water hyacinth for nutrient removal was performed in Baishan Bay of a large shallow eutrophic lake, Lake Dianchi in China. In the present study, a systematic survey of water quality, macrozoobenthos and zooplankton inside (IWH), around (AWH) and far away (FWH) water hyacinth mats was conducted in Baishan Bay from August to October 2010. The results showed that the water quality significantly improved at AWH area.