Chrysotile dissolution in the rhizosphere of the nickel hyperaccumulator Leptoplax emarginata.

Ni phytoextraction processes need further understanding of the interactions between Ni availability in soils and its absorption by plant roots. The large metal uptake and root exudation by hyperaccumulator species could accelerate the weathering process of Ni-bearing phases in the rhizosphere. The aim of this work was to quantify the weathering of a Ni-bearing mineral phase in the rhizosphere of the Ni-hyperaccumulator Leptoplax emarginata. The studied mineral was chrysotile which was characterized by a low Ni solubility. Column experiments were performed to assess the effect of the Ni-hyperaccumulator L. emarginata and the contribution of rhizobacteria on the dissolution rate of chrysotile. Mineral weathering was monitored by measuring Ni and Mg transferred to leachates or plants throughout the experiment. Results showed that L. emarginata increased chrysotile dissolution by more than 2-fold . The hyperaccumulator L. emarginata accumulated 88% on average of total mobilized Ni. Inoculation with Ni-resistant bacteria in the rhizosphere of L. emarginata had no significant effect on chrysotile dissolution or plant accumulation of Ni in this context. Finally, after 15 weeks of culture, 1.65% of total Ni in the system was mobilized in the planted treatments compared with 0.03% in the unplanted treatments.

A new approach to estimate soil organic carbon content targets in European croplands topsoils.

Adopting land management practices that increase the stock of soil organic carbon (SOC) in croplands is widely promoted as a win-win strategy to enhance soil health and mitigate climate change. In this context, the definition of reference SOC content and stock values is needed to provide reliable targets to farmers, policymakers, and stakeholders. In this study, we used the LUCAS dataset to compare different methods for evaluating reference SOC content and stock values in European croplands topsoils (0-20 cm depth). Methods gave generally similar estimates although being built on very different assumptions. In the absence of an objective criterion to establish which approach is the most suitable to determine SOC reference values, we propose an ensemble modelling approach that consists in extracting the estimates using different relevant methods and retaining the median value among them. Interestingly, this approach led us to select values from the three different approaches with similar frequencies. Using estimated bulk density values, we obtained a first rough estimate of 3.5 Gt C of SOC storage potential in the cropland topsoils that we interpret as a long-term aspirational target that would be reachable only under extreme changes in agricultural practices. The use of additional methods in the ensemble modelling approach and more valid statistical spatial estimates may further refine our approach designed for the estimation of SOC reference values for croplands.

Biotic and abiotic experimental identification of bacterial influence on calcium isotopic signatures.

In this study, we tested experimentally the influence of plant and bacterial activities on the calcium (Ca) isotope distribution between soil solutions and plant organs. Abiotic apatite weathering experiments were performed under two different pH conditions using mineral and organic acids. Biotic experiments were performed using either apatite or Ca-enriched biotite substrates in the presence of Scots pines, inoculated or not with the rhizosphere bacterial strain Bulkholderia glathei PML1(12), or the B. glathei PML1(12) alone. For each experiment, the percolate was collected every week and analyzed for Ca concentrations and Ca isotopic ratios. No Ca isotopic fractionation was observed for the different abiotic experimental settings. This indicates that no Ca isotopic fractionation occurs during apatite dissolution, whatever the nature of the acid (mineral or organic). The main result of the biotic experiments is the 0.22 ‰ (44)Ca enrichment recorded for a solution in contact with Scots pines grown on the bacteria-free apatite substrate. In contrast, the presence of bacteria did not cause Ca isotopic fractionation of the solution collected after 14 weeks of the experiments. These preliminary results suggest that bacteria influence the Ca isotopic signatures by dissolving Ca from apatite more efficiently. Therefore, Ca isotopes might be suitable for detecting bacteria-mediated processes in soils.

Influence of forest trees on the distribution of mineral weathering-associated bacterial communities of the Scleroderma citrinum mycorrhizosphere.

In acidic forest soils, availability of inorganic nutrients is a tree-growth-limiting factor. A hypothesis to explain sustainable forest development proposes that tree roots select soil microbes involved in central biogeochemical processes, such as mineral weathering, that may contribute to nutrient mobilization and tree nutrition. Here we showed, by combining soil analyses with cultivation-dependent analyses of the culturable bacterial communities associated with the widespread mycorrhizal fungus Scleroderma citrinum, a significant enrichment of bacterial isolates with efficient mineral weathering potentials around the oak and beech mycorrhizal roots compared to bulk soil. Such a difference did not exist in the rhizosphere of Norway spruce. The mineral weathering ability of the bacterial isolates was assessed using a microplaque assay that measures the pH and the amount of iron released from biotite. Using this microplate assay, we demonstrated that the bacterial isolates harboring the most efficient mineral weathering potential belonged to the Burkholderia genus. Notably, previous work revealed that oak and beech harbored very similar pHs in the 5- to 10-cm horizon in both rhizosphere and bulk soil environments. In the spruce rhizosphere, in contrast, the pH was significantly lower than that in bulk soil. Because the production of protons is one of the main mechanisms responsible for mineral weathering, our results suggest that certain tree species have developed indirect strategies for mineral weathering in nutrient-poor soils, which lie in the selection of bacterial communities with efficient mineral weathering potentials.

Atmospheric particulate deposition in temperate deciduous forest ecosystems: interactions with the canopy and nutrient inputs in two beech stands of Northeastern France.

As wood harvests are expected to increase to satisfy the need for bio-energy in Europe, quantifying atmospheric nutrient inputs in forest ecosystems is essential for forest management. Current atmospheric measurements only take into account the <0.45 µm fraction and dry deposition is generally modeled. The aims of this study were to quantify atmospheric particulate deposition (APD), the >0.45 µm fraction of atmospheric deposition, below the canopy, to study the influence of the canopy on APD, and to determine the influence of APD below canopy to nutrient input-output budgets with a focus on base cations calcium, magnesium and potassium, and phosphorus. APD was sampled every four weeks by passive collectors. We divided APD into an organic and a mineral fraction, respectively POM and MDD. MDD was divided into a soluble and a hardly soluble fraction in hydrogen peroxide, referred to as S-MDD and H-MDD, respectively. In order to better understand the influence of the canopy on APD, we studied APD in three pathways below the canopy (litterfall, stemflow and throughfall), and in open field. Our results indicated that APD in throughfall (123 ± 64 kg ha(-1)year(-1)) was significantly higher and synchronic with that in open field (33 ±9 kg ha(-1)year(-1)) in the two study sites. This concerned both POM and MDD, suggesting a large interception of APD by foliar surfaces, which is rapidly washed off by rain within four weeks. Throughfall H-MDD was the main pathway with an average of 16 ± 2 kg ha(-1)year(-1). Stemflow and litterfall were neglected. In one study site, canopy intercepted about 8 kg ha(-1)year(-1) of S-MDD. Although base cations and phosphorus inputs by APD are lower than those of <0.45 µm deposition, they contributed from 5 to 32% to atmospheric deposition and improved the nutrient budget in one of the study sites.

Mineral weathering by bacteria: ecology, actors and mechanisms.

Soil microbes play an essential role in the environment by contributing to the release of key nutrients from primary minerals that are required not only for their own nutrition but also for that of plants. Although the role of fungi in mineral weathering is beginning to be elucidated, the relative impact of bacteria in this process and the molecular mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Here, we discuss the ecological relevance of bacterial weathering, mainly in the soil and especially in acidic forest ecosystems, which strongly depend on mineral weathering for their sustainability. We also present highlights from recent studies showing molecular mechanisms and genetic determinants involved in the dissolution of complex minerals under aerobic conditions. Finally, we consider the potential applications of genomic resources to the study of bacterial weathering.

Impact of ectomycorrhizosphere on the functional diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities from a forest stand in relation to nutrient mobilization processes.

The ectomycorrhizal symbiosis alters the physicochemical and biological conditions in the surrounding soil, thus creating a particular environment called ectomycorrhizosphere, which selects microbial communities suspected to play a role in gross production and nutrient cycling. To assess the ectomycorrhizosphere effect on the structure of microbial communities potentially involved in the mobilization of nutrients from the soil minerals in a poor-nutrient environment, we compared the functional diversity of soil and ectomycorrhizosphere bacterial communities in a forest stand. Two hundred and sixty-four bacterial strains and 107 fungal strains were isolated from the bulk soil of an oak (Quercus petraea) stand and from oak-Scleroderma citrinum ectomycorrhizosphere and ectomycorrhizae, in two soil organo-mineral horizons (0 to 3 cm and 5 to 10 cm). They were characterized using two in vitro tests related to their capacities to mobilize iron and phosphorus. We demonstrated that the oak-S. citrinum ectomycorrhizosphere significantly structures the culturable bacterial communities in the two soil horizons by selecting very efficient strains for phosphorus and iron mobilization. This effect was also observed on the diversity of the phosphate-solubilizing fungal communities in the lower soil horizon. A previous study already demonstrated that Laccaria bicolor-Douglas fir ectomycorrhizosphere structures the functional diversity of Pseudomonas fluorescens population in a forest nursery soil. Comparing to it, our work highlights the consistency of the mycorrhizosphere effect on the functional diversity of bacterial and fungal communities in relation to the mineral weathering process, no matter the fungal symbiont, the age and species of the host tree, or the environment (nursery vs forest). We also demonstrated that the intensity of phosphorus and iron mobilization by the ectomycorrhizosphere bacteria isolated from the lower soil horizon was significantly higher compared to that which was isolated from the upper horizon. This reveals for the first time a stratification of the functional diversity of the culturable soil bacterial communities as related to phosphorus and iron mobilization.

Root-associated bacteria contribute to mineral weathering and to mineral nutrition in trees: a budgeting analysis.

The principal nutrient source for forest trees derives from the weathering of soil minerals which results from water circulation and from plant and microbial activity. The main objectives of this work were to quantify the respective effects of plant- and root-associated bacteria on mineral weathering and their consequences on tree seedling growth and nutrition. That is why we carried out two column experiments with a quartz-biotite substrate. The columns were planted with or without pine seedlings and inoculated or not with three ectomycorrhizosphere bacterial strains to quantify biotite weathering and pine growth and to determine how bacteria improve pine growth. We showed that the pine roots significantly increased biotite weathering by a factor of 1.3 for magnesium and 1.7 for potassium. We also demonstrated that the inoculation of Burkholderia glathei PML1(12) significantly increased biotite weathering by a factor of 1.4 for magnesium and 1.5 for potassium in comparison with the pine alone. In addition, we observed a significant positive effect of B. glathei PMB1(7) and PML1(12) on pine growth and on root morphology (number of lateral roots and root hairs). We demonstrated that PML1(12) improved pine growth when the seedlings were supplied with a nutrient solution which did not contain the nutrients present in the biotite. No improvement of pine growth was observed when the seedlings were supplied with all the nutrients necessary for pine growth. We therefore propose that the growth-promoting effect of B. glathei PML1(12) mainly resulted from the improved plant nutrition via increased mineral weathering.