Pedosphere最新文献

Nitrogen (N) plays a key role in crop growth and production; however, data are lacking especially regarding the interaction of biochar, grass cover, and irrigation on N leaching in saturated soil profiles. Eighteen soil columns with 20-cm diameter and 60-cm height were designed to characterize the effects of different grass cover and biochar combinations, i.e., bare soil + 0% biochar (control, CK), perennial ryegrass + 0% biochar (C1), Festuca arundinacea + 0% biochar (C2), perennial ryegrass + 1% biochar (C3), perennial ryegrass + 2% biochar (C4), perennial ryegrass + 3% biochar (C5), F. arundinacea + 1% biochar (C6), F. arundinacea + 2% biochar (C7), and F. arundinacea + 3% biochar (C8), on periodic irrigation infiltration and N leaching in homogeneous loess soils from July to December 2020. Leachates in CK were 10.2%–35.3% higher than those in C1 and C2. Both perennial ryegrass and F. arundinacea decreased the volumes of leachates and delayed the leaching process in the 1%, 2%, and 3% biochar treatments, and the vertical leaching rate decreased with biochar addition. The N leaching losses were concentrated in the first few leaching tests, and both total N (TN) and nitrate (NO₃^-)-N concentrations in CK and C1–C8 decreased with increasing leaching test times. Biochar addition (1%, 2%, and 3%) could further reduce the leaching risk of NO₃^--N and the NO₃^--N loss decreased with biochar addition. However, compared to 1% biochar, 2% biochar promoted the leaching of TN under both grass cover types. The N leaching losses in CK, C1, C2, C3, C4, C6, and C7 were primarily in the form of NO₃^--N. Among these treatments, CK, C1, and C2 had the highest cumulative leaching fractions NO₃^--N (> 90%), followed by those in C3, C4, C6, and C7 (> 80%). The cumulative leaching fraction of NO₃^--N decreased with increasing leaching test times and biochar addition, and 3% biochar addition (i.e., C5 and C8) reduced it to approximately 50%. The one-dimensional advective-dispersive-reactive transport equation can be used as an effective numerical approach to simulate and predict NO₃^--N leaching in saturated homogeneous soils. Understanding the effects of different biochar and grass combinations on N leaching can help us design environmentally friendly interventions to manage irrigated farming ecosystems and reduce N leaching into groundwater.

Estimating heavy metal (HM) distribution with high precision is the key to effectively preventing Chinese medicinal plants from being polluted by the native soil. A total of 44 surface soil samples were gathered to detect the concentrations of eight HMs (As, Hg, Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Pb, and Cd) in the herb growing area of Luanping County, northeastern Hebei Province, China. An absolute principal component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model was used to quantify pollution source contributions to soil HMs. Furthermore, the source contribution rates and environmental data of each sampling point were simultaneously incorporated into a stepwise linear regression model to identify the crucial indicators for predicting soil HM spatial distributions. Results showed that 88% of Cu, 72% of Cr, and 72% of Ni came from natural sources; 50% of Zn, 49% of Pb, and 59% of Cd were mainly caused by agricultural activities; and 44% of As and 56% of Hg originated from industrial activities. When three-type (natural, agricultural, and industrial) source contribution rates and environmental data were simultaneously incorporated into the stepwise linear regression model, the fitting accuracy was significantly improved and the model could explain 31%–86% of the total variance in soil HM concentrations. This study introduced three-type source contributions of each sampling point based on APCS-MLR analysis as new covariates to improve soil HM estimation precision, thus providing a new approach for predicting the spatial distribution of HMs using small sample sizes at the county scale.

Hydrolysis of organic phosphorus (P) by soil phosphatases is an important process of P cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, significantly affected by nitrogen (N) and/or P fertilization. However, how soil acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities respond to N and/or P fertilization and how these responses vary with climatic regions, ecosystem types, and fertilization management remain unclear. This knowledge gap hinders our ability to assess P cycling and availability from a global perspective. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the global patterns of soil ACP and ALP activities in response to N and/or P addition. We also examined how climatic regions (arctic to tropical), ecosystem types (cropland, grassland, and forest), and fertilization management (experiment duration and fertilizer type and application rate) affected changes in soil phosphatases after fertilization. It was shown that N fertilizer resulted in 10.1% ± 2.9% increase in soil ACP activity but a minimal effect on soil ALP activity. In contrast, P fertilizer resulted in 7.7% ± 2.6% decrease in soil ACP activity but a small increase in soil ALP activity. The responses of soil ACP and ALP activities to N and/or P fertilization were largely consistent across climatic regions but varied with ecosystem types and fertilization management, and the effects of ecosystem types and fertilization management were enzyme-dependent. Random forest analysis identified climate (mean annual precipitation and temperature) and change in soil pH as the key factors explaining variations in soil ACP and ALP activities. Therefore, N input and ecosystem types should be explicitly disentangled when assessing terrestrial P cycling.

The water-wind erosion crisscross region of the northern Loess Plateau in China is under constant pressure from severe erosion due to its windy and dry climate and intensive human activities. Identifying sustainable land use patterns is key to maintaining ecosystem sustainability in the area. Our aim was to appraise the impacts of different land use regimes on the dynamics of soil total organic C (TOC), total N (TN), and microbes in a typical watershed in the northern Loess Plateau to identify suitable land use types that can maintain soil fertility and sustainability. A field experiment was performed in Liudaogou watershed in Shenmu City, Shaanxi Province, China, where the dynamics of soil TOC and TN, microbial biomass C and N, microbial respiration, and net N mineralization in six typical land use types, dam land, rainfed slope land, deciduous broadleaf forest, evergreen coniferous forest, shrubland, and grassland, were measured in three different growing seasons. Land use type and season significantly affected TOC, TN, and the dynamics of microbial biomass and activity. As the most anthropogenically disturbed land use pattern, dam land was an optimal land use pattern for TOC sequestration due to its higher TOC and TN, but lower microbial activity. Soil TOC, TN, and microbial properties demonstrated a decreasing trend after natural grassland was converted to shrubland, forest, and rainfed slope land. Shrubland with exotic N-fixing Korshinsk peashrub (Caragana korshinskii Kom.) can maintain TOC, TN, and microbial properties similar to those in grassland. Soil TOC, NH₄⁺-N, TN, moisture, and extractable C were the principal indexes for soil microbial biomass and activity and explained 88.90% of the total variance. Thus, grassland was the optimal land use pattern in the water-wind erosion crisscross region of the northern Loess Plateau to maintain ecosystem stability and sustainability.

The mental model that fertilizer nitrogen (N) acts as a replacement for N mineralized from soil organic matter (SOM) needs to be revisited. Soil organic matter, the storehouse of N in soil, is one of the most important indicators of soil health. It supplies more N to crop plants than the current-year fertilizer N even when applied at high rates. Limited research shows that the application of fertilizer N above the optimum levels on a long-term basis deteriorates soil health by mineralizing SOM and depleting the soil N pool. Because soil N includes portions of fertilizer N applied in several previous years, year after year application of fertilizer N below the optimum levels will also lead to a gradual decline in soil N pool or soil health. To sustain high crop yield levels, fertilizer N needs to be applied on a long-term basis neither above nor below the optimum levels to ensure that soil health in terms of sustaining supply of soil N is maintained, if not enhanced.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to evolve at a rapid pace, with many potential applications related to soil science. Even so, human experience and perception play an invaluable role in characterizing soil properties, especially qualitative properties that may elude sensing/computer-based modeling approaches. The elegant solution to this conundrum relies on the synthesis of computer-aided predictive modeling with human insight and knowledge.

Biodegradable plastic film mulch (PFM) is considered an alternative to non-biodegradable PFM to mitigate the negative impacts of residual film. However, the agronomic performance of biodegradable PFM in comparison to non-biodegradable PFM still needs to be tested. In this study, we evaluated the effects of biodegradable and non-biodegradable PFM on soil physicochemical properties, microbial community, and enzyme activities, as well as maize growth performance. Biodegradable and non-biodegradable PFM both increased soil temperature, water content, N content, and microbial biomass and maize yield by up to 30%, but decreased soil enzyme activities as compared to no mulching (control, CK). Most soil physicochemical properties, microbial community, and enzyme activities were similar under non-biodegradable and biodegradable PFM at the early stages of maize growth. However, at the late stages, soil temperature, water content, mineral N, NO₃^--N, ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) activity, and total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) decreased under biodegradable PFM owing to film fragmentation. White PFM increased soil temperature, water content, and total PLFAs at the early stages of maize growth but decreased soil mineral N and total PLFAs at the late stages, as compared to black PFM. As soil temperature and N availability were the major factors affecting soil microbial community, microbial activity decreased after the fragmentation of biodegradable PFM, owing to the decreased soil temperature, water content, and mineral N. Notably, biodegradable PFM could decrease NO₃^--N accumulation in topsoil by decreasing N transformation due to the lower microbial and N-related enzyme (e.g., AMO) activities, compared with non-biodegradable PFM, which may avoid negative environmental impacts, such as NO₃^--N leaching or gas emission after harvest. Maize yield, height, aboveground biomass, and N uptake under biodegradable PFM were similar to those under non-biodegradable PFM during maize growth, implying that biodegradable PFM has no negative impact on crop growth and yield. In general, biodegradable PFM was equivalent to non-biodegradable PFM in terms of maize yield increase and N uptake, but was environmentally friendly. Therefore, biodegradable PFM can be used as an alternative to non-biodegradable PFM in semi-arid areas for sustainable agricultural practices.

Understanding plant water-use patterns is important for improving water-use efficiency and for sustainable vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid regions. However, seasonal variations in water sources and their control by different sand-fixing plants in water-limited desert ecosystems remain poorly understood. In this study, stable isotopic ratios of hydrogen (δ²H) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) in precipitation, soil water, groundwater, and xylem water were determined to document seasonal changes in water uptake by three representative plant species (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv., Amygdalus pedunculata Pall., and Salix psammophila) in the northeastern Mu Us sandy land, Northwest China. Based on the depth distribution and temporal variation of measured gravimetric soil water content (SWC), the soil water profile of the three species stands was divided into active (0.01 g g^-1 < SWC < 0.08 g g^-1, 20% < coefficient of variation (CV) < 45%), stable (0.02 g g^-1 < SWC < 0.05 g g^-1, CV < 20%), and moist (0.08 g g^-1 < SWC < 0.20 g g^-1, CV > 45%) layers. Annually, P. sylvestris, A. pedunculata, and S. psammophila obtained most water from deep (59.2% ± 9.7%, moist layer and groundwater), intermediate (57.4% ± 9.8%, stable and moist layers), and shallow (54.4% ± 10.5%, active and stable layers) sources, respectively. Seasonally, the three plant species absorbed more than 60% of their total water uptake from the moist layer and groundwater in the early (June) dry season; then, they switched to the active and stable layers in the rainy season (July–September) for water resources (50.1%–62.5%). In the late (October–November) dry season, P. sylvestris (54.5%–66.2%) and A. pedunculata (52.9%–63.6%) mainly used water from stable and moist layers, whereas S. psammophila (52.6%–70.7%) still extracted water predominantly from active and stable layers. Variations in the soil water profile induced by seasonal fluctuations in precipitation and groundwater levels and discrepancies in plant phenology, root distribution, and water demand are the main factors affecting the seasonal water-use patterns of artificial sand-fixing plants. Our study addresses the issue of plant water uptake with knowledge of proportional source-water use and reveals important implications for future vegetation restoration and water management in the Mu Us sandy land and similar desert regions around the world.

Solar energy captured by photosynthetic plants in the photic zone is recognized as the main driver for the formation of organic matter utilized by soil communities. However, the contribution of organic transformation to the linkage of solar energy and microbial metabolism of soils is reduced when the vadose zone is saturated. In contrast to the conventional biophotoelectrochemistry via photosynthesis with phytoplankton during the periodic saturation of soils, recent studies suggest that non-phototrophic microorganisms in soils and sediments are able to conduct light-dependent metabolism to sustain their functionality with photosensitizers under illumination. These interactions and processes utilize long-distance electron transfer networks to interconnect diverse electron transfer chains that channel photoexcited electrons into the opaque zone for soil communities. Such an emerging process not only allows for a better understanding of biogeochemical processes such as soil carbon sequestration and mitigation, but also shows great potential for environmental treatment such as the bioremediation of contaminated soils. Therefore, we suggest that biophotoelectrochemistry via photoelectric effect can have significant, heretofore unappreciated, theoretical and practical values.

Sediment deposition is one of the most significant processes in small watersheds characterized by gentle long hillslopes in the black soil (Mollisol) region of Northeast China, as indicated by severe ephemeral gully and gully erosion on hillslopes and very low sediment concentrations in river systems. Few reviews have been conducted to summarize the related research in this region. The objectives of this review were to identify the potential factors influencing sediment deposition, review related studies, and propose future research needs in the black soil region of Northeast China. Sediment deposition is controlled by the deficit between sediment transport capacity of flow and sediment load. Hence, all factors affecting flow transport capacity and sediment load directly affect sediment deposition. For a specific small watershed, the change in slope gradient along the flow path is the key factor affecting sediment deposition. Shelterbelts, ridge tillage systems, terraces, grass strips, road distribution, ponds and reservoirs, and land-use patterns also influence the spatial distribution and rate of deposition. The trace method has been widely used to quantify sediment deposition in this region. The results of cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs), lead-210 (²¹⁰Pb), and magnetic susceptibility reveal that serious deposition occurs on the back and foot slopes. Distinct deposition occurs in front of contour shelterbelts. Future studies should focus on the methodology, spatial and temporal variations, dominant influencing factors and their mechanisms, and the potential effects on land productivity within specific small watersheds and across the black soil region. This review provides insights into the sediment deposition process in small watersheds characterized by gentle, long hillslopes.