Expanding agroforestry can increase nitrate retention and mitigate the global impact of a leaky nitrogen cycle in croplands.

The internal soil nitrogen (N) cycle supplies N to plants and microorganisms but may induce N pollution in the environment. Understanding the variability of gross N cycling rates resulting from the global spatial heterogeneity of climatic and edaphic variables is essential for estimating the potential risk of N loss. Here we compiled 4,032 observations from 398 published 15N pool dilution and tracing studies to analyse the interactions between soil internal potential N cycling and environmental effects. We observed that the global potential N cycle changes from a conservative cycle in forests to a less conservative one in grasslands and a leaky one in croplands. Structural equation modelling revealed that soil properties (soil pH, total N and carbon-to-N ratio) were more important than the climate factors in shaping the internal potential N cycle, but different patterns in the potential N cycle of terrestrial ecosystems across climatic zones were also determined. The high spatial variations in the global soil potential N cycle suggest that shifting cropland systems towards agroforestry systems can be a solution to improve N conservation.

Inhibition of Elevated Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide to Soil Gross Nitrogen Mineralization Aggravated by Warming in an Agroecosystem.

The response of soil gross nitrogen (N) cycling to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and temperature has been extensively studied in natural and semi-natural ecosystems. However, how these factors and their interaction affect soil gross N dynamics in agroecosystems, strongly disturbed by human activity, remains largely unknown. Here, a 15N tracer study under aerobic incubation was conducted to quantify soil gross N transformation rates in a paddy field exposed to elevated CO2 and/or temperature for 9 years in a warming and free air CO2 enrichment experiment. Results show that long-term exposure to elevated CO2 significantly inhibited or tended to inhibit gross N mineralization at elevated and ambient temperatures, respectively. The inhibition of soil gross N mineralization by elevating CO2 was aggravated by warming in this paddy field. The inhibition of gross N mineralization under elevated CO2 could be due to decreased soil pH. Long-term exposure to elevated CO2 also significantly reduced gross autotrophic nitrification at ambient temperature, probably due to decreased soil pH and gross N mineralization. In contrast, none of the gross N transformation rates were affected by long-term exposure to warming alone. Our study provides strong evidence that long-term dual exposure to elevated CO2 and temperature has a greater negative effect on gross N mineralization rate than the single exposure, potentially resulting in progressive N limitation in this agroecosystem and ultimately increasing demand for N fertilizer.

Global patterns of soil gross immobilization of ammonium and nitrate in terrestrial ecosystems.

Microbial nitrogen (N) immobilization, which typically results in soil N retention but based on the balance of gross N immobilization over gross N production, affects the fate of the anthropogenic reactive N. However, global patterns and drivers of soil gross immobilization of ammonium (INH4 ) and nitrate (INO3 ) are still only tentatively known. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis considering gross N production rates, soil properties, and climate and their interactions for a deeper understanding of the patterns and drivers of INH4 and INO3 . By compiling and analyzing 1966 observations from 274 15 N-labelled studies, we found a global average of INH4 and INO3 of 7.41 ± 0.72 and 2.03 ± 0.30 mg N kg-1  day-1 with a ratio of INO3 to INH4 (INO3 :INH4 ) of 0.79 ± 0.11. Soil INH4 and INO3 increased with increasing soil gross N mineralization (GNM) and nitrification (GN), microbial biomass, organic carbon, and total N and decreasing soil bulk density. Our analysis revealed that GNM and GN were the main stimulators for INH4 and INO3 , respectively. The structural equation modeling showed that higher soil microbial biomass, total N, pH, and precipitation stimulate INH4 and INO3 through enhancing GNM and GN. However, higher temperature and soil bulk density suppress INH4 and INO3 by reducing microbial biomass and total N. Soil INH4 varied with terrestrial ecosystems, being greater in grasslands and forests, which have higher rates of GNM, than in croplands. The highest INO3 :INH4 was observed in croplands, which had higher rates of GN. The global average of GN to INH4 was 2.86 ± 0.31, manifesting a high potential risk of N loss. We highlight that anthropogenic activities that influence soil properties and gross N production rates likely interact with future climate changes and land uses to affect soil N immobilization and, eventually, the fate of the anthropogenic reactive N.

Global gross nitrification rates are dominantly driven by soil carbon-to-nitrogen stoichiometry and total nitrogen.

Soil gross nitrification (GN) is a critical process in the global nitrogen (N) cycle that results in the formation of nitrate through microbial oxidation of ammonium or organic N, and can both increase N availability to plants and nitrous oxide emissions. Soil GN is thought to be mainly controlled by soil characteristics and the climate, but a comprehensive analysis taking into account the climate, soil characteristics, including microbial characteristics, and their interactions to better understand the direct and indirect controlling factors of GN rates globally is lacking. Using a global meta-analysis based on 901 observations from 330 15 N-labeled studies, we show that GN differs significantly among ecosystem types, with the highest rates found in croplands, in association with higher pH which stimulates nitrifying bacteria activities. Autotrophic and heterotrophic nitrifications contribute 63% and 37%, respectively, to global GN. Soil GN increases significantly with soil total N, microbial biomass, and soil pH, but decreases significantly with soil carbon (C) to N ratio (C:N). Structural equation modeling suggested that GN is mainly controlled by C:N and soil total N. Microbial biomass and pH are also important factors controlling GN and their effects are similar. Precipitation and temperature affect GN by altering C:N and/or soil total N. Soil total N and temperature drive heterotrophic nitrification, whereas C:N and pH drive autotrophic nitrification. Moreover, GN is positively related to nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions. This synthesis suggests that changes in soil C:N, soil total N, microbial population size, and/or soil pH due to anthropogenic activities may influence GN, which will affect nitrate accumulation and gaseous emissions of soils under global climate and land-use changes.

Patterns and drivers of global gross nitrogen mineralization in soils.

Soil gross nitrogen (N) mineralization (GNM), a key microbial process in the global N cycle, is mainly controlled by climate and soil properties. This study provides for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the role of soil physicochemical properties and climate and their interactions with soil microbial biomass (MB) in controlling GNM globally. Through a meta-analysis of 970 observations from 337 published papers from various ecosystems, we found that GNM was positively correlated with MB, total carbon, total N and precipitation, and negatively correlated with bulk density (BD) and soil pH. Our multivariate analysis and structural equation modeling revealed that GNM is driven by MB and dominantly influenced by BD and precipitation. The higher total N accelerates GNM via increasing MB. The decrease in BD stimulates GNM via increasing total N and MB, whereas higher precipitation stimulates GNM via increasing total N. Moreover, the GNM varies with ecosystem type, being greater in forests and grasslands with high total carbon and MB contents and low BD and pH compared to croplands. The highest GNM was observed in tropical wet soils that receive high precipitation, which increases the supply of soil substrate (total N) to microbes. Our findings suggest that anthropogenic activities that affect soil microbial population size, BD, soil substrate availability, or soil pH may interact with changes in precipitation regime and land use to influence GNM, which may ultimately affect ecosystem productivity and N loss to the environment.

Sub-Saharan Africa's food nitrogen and phosphorus footprints: A scenario analysis for 2050.

The current study presents the first nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) footprints calculator for Sub-Saharan Africa during 1961-2017 using an adjusted N-Calculator model, by calculating two sets of virtual N factors (VNFs) or virtual P factors (VPFs): one for fertilized farms and one for unfertilized farms. We furthermore calculated the future food footprints of N (NF) and P (PF) under five scenarios include: 1) business as usual [BAU], 2) achieve an equitable diet (EqD) while the plant N and P uptake and all other food losses would be constant at 2017 level [S1], 3) follow the EqD without any changes in plant N and P uptake, but the current ratio of other food losses would increase by 50% [S2], 4) follow the EqD with a 5% less in plant N and P uptake than the current ratio, and the current ratio of other food losses would increase by 50% [S3], and 5) follow the EqD with a 10% greater in plant N and P uptake than the current ratio, while the current ratio of other food losses would decrease by 50% [S4]. NF (kg N cap-1 yr-1) and PF (kg P cap-1 yr-1) increased from 6.7 and 1.1 to 8.3 and 1.5 during 1961-2017, respectively. The national NF (Tg N yr-1) and PF (Tg P yr-1) increased from 1.6 and 0.26 to 7.7 and 1.4, respectively. In 2050, NF would be 9.7, 21.7, 24.1, 27.7, and 15.5 kg N cap-1 yr-1 for the BAU, S1, S2, S3, and S4 scenarios, respectively. While, PF would be 1.8, 5.1, 5.6, 7.3, and 3.0 kg P cap-1 yr-1, respectively. S4 scenario results in much less NF and PF. We suggest applying the S4 scenario with a change of dietary style by reducing the foods consumption with high VNFs and VPFs by 2050.

The food nitrogen footprint for African countries under fertilized and unfertilized farms.

Although nitrogen (N) is a limiting factor for food production (FP) in Africa, and African food security is seriously threatened by the phenomenon of soil N depletion, there is a dearth of information that shows the points to focus on throughout the chain of FP and food consumption (FC) in all African countries to minimize N loss while securing food N supply. Food N footprint (NF) is an indicator for tracing the losses of reactive N (Nr) with regard to the FP and FC chain. This is the first study to calculate the food NF for all African countries under fertilized and unfertilized farms, by calculating two sets of virtual N factors (VNFs; kg Nr released to the environment kg-1 N in consumed product): one for unfertilized farms (the unfertilized scenario) and one for fertilized farms (the fertilized scenario). The fertilized and unfertilized VNFs were utilized to calculate a weighted average set of VNFs (the combined scenario). From the percentage of farms that utilize N fertilizer, and the N percentage in production that comes from soil depletion, the proportion used for the combined scenario was determined. Soil N depletion factors (SNDFs; kg N taken from the unfertilized soil kg-1 N in food consumed) were also computed to identify the quantity of N extracted from the soil for food production. We have also provided the changes in N inputs, N outputs, and N use efficiency (NUE) for North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) during the last 57 years. The average total N input to croplands increased from 24 and 19 kg N ha-1 yr-1 in 1961-1965 to 100 and 42 kg N ha-1 yr-1 in 2010-2017 for North Africa and SSA, respectively. The NUE declined from 109% and 67% (1961-1965) to 47% and 63% (2010-2017) for North Africa and SSA, respectively. The total average per-capita food NF was 11 and 5.8 kg N cap-1 yr-1 in unfertilized farms; 21 and 14 kg N cap-1 yr-1 in fertilized farms; and 19 and 7.5 kg N cap-1 yr-1 under the combined scenario for North Africa and SSA, respectively. Vegetable-fruit and beef have the highest SDNFs in Africa. FP in Africa contributes approximately 70% of the total food NF. Therefore, if possible, the best way for Africans to reduce soil N depletion and N emissions is to encourage the production and consumption of livestock and crops products with less VNF and SNDF. However, African people do not have this luxury of choice because of poverty and ignorance. Therefore, African policy-makers must adopt integrated approaches that provide effective tools to control the production of animals and crops in conjunction with the improvement of NUE. Trying to completely change the African agricultural system is impossible, but strategies must be developed to reduce soil depletion in a gradual way, as well as a shift towards low-VNF foods.

[Effects of optimized fertilization on nematode community in greenhouse soils]. / 优化施肥对设施蔬菜地土壤线虫群落的影响.

Excessive fertilization easily leads to the degradation of greenhouse vegetable fields, therefore rational fertilizations are important to maintain the production and sustainable development of vegetable. In this study, two fertilization treatments (optimized fertilization and conventional fertilization, noted as OF and CF, respectively) under continuous tomato-pepper cropping were arranged to investigate soil physicochemical properties, abundance and trophic groups of nematode and vegetable yield. The results showed that OF could maintain soil pH at the relatively higher level and increase the yield of tomato and pepper by 9.0% and 6.9% compared to CF treatment. In contrast to CF, OF increased nematode quantity and the relative abundance of bacterivores, but decreased the relative abundance of fungivores and plant-parasites, more obviously in the growth season of tomato. No obvious differences in plant parasite index, diversity, and richness were observed between CF and OF treatments across all sampling stages of tomato and pepper. Nematode channel ratio ranged from 0.39 to 0.64 in CF treatment, which was significantly lower than that in OF treatment (0.67-0.84), suggesting that the decomposition of food network was dominated by fungi in CF treatment but by bacteria in OF treatment. Based on soil physicochemical properties, nematode groups and vegetable yield, we concluded that optimized fertilization could not only increase vegetable growth but also improve soil ecological environment.

Soil gross nitrogen transformations along the Northeast China Transect (NECT) and their response to simulated rainfall events.

Climate changes are predicted to increase extreme rainfall events in semiarid and arid region in Northern Hemisphere. Nutrient cycles will be affected by the precipitation changes but so far only very little is known how soil N transformations may respond. Here we investigated gross soil N transformation rates and their response to simulated rainfall events across Northeast China Transect (NECT). The results showed that gross N mineralisation rate, nitrification rate and nitrification to mineralisation ratio significantly increased as the humidity index decreased along NECT, resulting in NO3(-) as the predominant inorganic N form. These characteristics could increase the risk of NO3(-) losses but at the same time reduce the risk of N losses via volatilization in the semiarid and arid region. The soil-plant ecosystems have developed effective N conservation strategies in the long term with respect to the prevailing climate in arid region. However, compared to humid soils more dramatic changes of soil N transformation rates are likely to occur in arid soils, after sudden soil moisture increases. Soil N conservation mechanisms in arid regions were drastically affected when the heavy rainfall frequently occurred. Arid ecosystems are expected to be more vulnerable than humid ecosystems in response to extreme rainfall events.

[Characteristics of Nitrogen Deposition in Daiyun Mountain National Nature Reserve].

G78 nitrogen deposition collector was used to investigate the background value of local nitrogen deposition flux in Daiyun Mountain National Nature Reserve of Fujian province. The results showed that dry and wet nitrogen deposition of Daiyun Mountain National Nature Reserve was 2.30 kg·hm-2 and 14.79 kg·hm-2 from March to October in 2015. 53% of dry deposition was in the form of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON, 1.21 kg·hm-2). The main form of inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in dry deposition was NO3- deposition (0.71 kg·hm-2), with NH4+ deposition (0.37 kg·hm-2) being lower compared to NO3- deposition. DON and DIN flux in wet deposition was 5.38 kg·hm-2 and 9.41 kg·hm-2, respectively. DIN flux in wet deposition was mainly in the form of NH4+ deposition (6.07 kg·hm-2). Wet nitrogen deposition flux was found positively correlated with local precipitation. Wet nitrogen deposition in Daiyun Mountain National Nature Reserve might have significant negative effects on local water resource.

Mechanisms for the retention of inorganic N in acidic forest soils of southern China.

The mechanisms underlying the retention of inorganic N in acidic forest soils in southern China are not well understood. Here, we simultaneously quantified the gross N transformation rates of various subtropical acidic forest soils located in southern China (southern soil) and those of temperate forest soils located in northern China (northern soil). We found that acidic southern soils had significantly higher gross rates of N mineralization and significantly higher turnover rates but a much greater capacity for retaining inorganic N than northern soils. The rates of autotrophic nitrification and NH3 volatilization in acidic southern soils were significantly lower due to low soil pH. Meanwhile, the relatively higher rates of NO3(-) immobilization into organic N in southern soils can counteract the effects of leaching, runoff, and denitrification. Taken together, these processes are responsible for the N enrichment of the humid subtropical forest soils in southern China.

[Effects of strong reductive approach on remediation of degraded facility vegetable soil].

High application rate of chemical fertilizers and unreasonable rotation in facility vegetable cultivation can easily induce the occurrence of soil acidification, salinization, and serious soil-borne diseases, while to quickly and effectively remediate the degraded facility vegetable soil can considerably increase vegetable yield and farmers' income. In this paper, a degraded facility vegetable soil was amended with 0, 3.75, 7.50, and 11.3 t C x hm(-2) of air-dried alfalfa and flooded for 31 days to establish a strong reductive environment, with the variations of soil physical and chemical properties and the cucumber yield studied. Under the reductive condition, soil Eh dropped quickly below 0 mV, accumulated soil NO3(-) was effectively eliminated, soil pH was significantly raised, and soil EC was lowered, being more evident in higher alfalfa input treatments. After treated with the strong reductive approach, the cucumber yield in the facility vegetable field reached 53.3-57.9 t x hm(-2), being significantly higher than that in un-treated facility vegetable field in last growth season (10.8 t x hm(-2)). It was suggested that strong reductive approach could effectively remediate the degraded facility vegetable soil in a short term.

[Effects of organic material amendment on vegetable soil nitrate content and nitrogenous gases emission under flooding condition].

Applying large amount of nitrogen fertilizer into vegetable field can induce soil NO(3-)-N accumulation, while rapidly removing the accumulated NO(3-)-N can improve vegetable soil quality and extend its service duration. In this study, a vegetable soil containing 360 mg N x kg(-1) was amended with 0, 2500, 5000, and 7500 kg C x hm(-2) of ryegrass (noted as CK, C2500, C5000, and C7500), respectively, and incubated in a thermostat at 30 degrees C for 240 h under flooding condition, aimed to investigate the effects of organic material amendment on vegetable soil nitrate concentration and nitrogenous gases emission. By the end of the incubation, the soil NO(3-)-N concentration in CK was still up to 310 mg N x kg(-1). Ryegrass amendment could remove the accumulated NO(3-)-N effectively. In treatments C2500, C5000, and C7500, the duration for the soil NO(3-)-N concentration dropped below 10 mg N x kg(-1) was 240 h, 48 h, and 24 h, respectively. After the amendment of ryegrass, soil pH increased significantly, and soil EC decreased, with the increment and decrement increased with increasing amendment amount of ryegrass. The cumulative emissions of soil N2O and N2 in ryegrass amendment treatments amounted to 270-378 mg N x kg(-1), and the N2O/N2 ratio ranged from 0.6 to 1.5. Incorporating with ryegrass under flooding condition could rapidly remove the accumulated NO(3-)-N in vegetable soil, but the high N2O emission during this process should be attached importance to.

[Effects of applying controlled-release fertilizer and its combination with urea on nitrous oxide emission during rice growth period].

By the method of static chamber, a field experiment was conducted to study the effects of applying controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) and its combination with urea on the N2O emission during rice growth period. Four treatments, i.e., no fertilization (CK), urea (U), urea and CRF with a ratio of 3:7 (U+C), and CRF (C) were installed, and the N application rate in treatments U, U+C, and C was the same. Compared with treatment U, treatments U+C and C decreased the N2O emission during rice growth season by 40.4% and 59.6%, and decreased the emission at midseason aeration stage by 65.1% and 83.9%, respectively (P < 0.05). Compared with that in treatment C, the N2O emission in treatment U+C had a slight decrease, and decreased by 53.9% at midseason aeration stage. Applying CRF increased rice yield, and the increment in treatments C and U+C was 7.8% and 9.8%, respectively, as compared to treatment U. Applying CRF delayed the peak time of soil inorganic nitrogen concentration, resulting in the reduction of N2O emission at midseason aeration stage. During rice growth season, no significant correlation was observed between N2O flux and soil Eh or soil temperature.

[Effects of nitrogen fertilization on soil respiration during maize growth season].

In order to understand how nitrogen (N) fertilization affects soil respiration, a pot experiment with splitting-root compartment and by root-cutting was conducted in a greenhouse. The experiment had four treatments, i. e., unplanted and N-unfertilized (CKO), unplanted but fertilized with 150 mg N x kg(-1) CKN), planted maize (Zea mays L.) but N-unfertilized (MO), and planted maize and fertilized with 150 mg N x kg(-1) (MN). Soil respiration, soil basal respiration, root respiration, and rhizospheric microbial respiration were measured simultaneously. In unplanted soils (treatments CKO and CKN), soil respiration rate (soil basal respiration) ranged from 13.41 to 77.27 mg C x m(-2) x h(-1), and N fertilization had less effect; while in planted soils, the averaged soil respiration rate in treatment MN amounted to 138.54 mg C x m(-2) x h(-1), and was 17.7% higher (P < 0.05) than that in treatment MO. This increment mainly occurred at tasselling and flowering stages. During maize growth season, the contribution of soil basal respiration, root respiration, and rhizospheric microbial respiration to soil respiration in treatments MN and MO was 36.2%, 45.9%, and 17.9%, and 35.5%, 36.9%, and 37.6%, respectively.

[Response of soil nitrification characteristics in subtropical area to air-drying].

Populations and activities of nitrifier can be significantly influenced by air-drying. A 35-day incubation study was conducted to determine the effects of air-drying on nitrification potential of four acid subtropical soils after applying 0 and 150 mg x kg(-1) of ammonium bicarbonate. Four soils, designated QR, QU, SR and SU, derived from Quaternary red earth and Tertiary red sandstone, were collected from rice and upland field. The results indicated that, without ammonium input, the responses of nitrification in upland soils to air-drying were insignificant (p > 0.05). The nitrification ratio in fresh and air-dried samples of soil QU were 48% and 54% respectively, and 76% and 78% for SU; however, air-drying did have a significant effect on the nitrification in paddy soils (p < 0.01). Nitrification ratios were 40% and 89% for fresh and air-dried samples of QR, 76% and 94% for SR, and there was a lag-phase of the nitrification in air-dried paddy soils. Ammonium input would accelerate nitrification and make the nitrification ratios of fresh samples significantly higher than those of air-dried ones. In generally, land-use type presents a significant impact on the response of nitrification to air-drying effect, and there was a significant interaction of land-use type and fertilization.

[Influence of land-use type on moisture-effect of nitrification in subtropical red soils].

Air-drying is always accompanied by soil moisture loss. The different influences of air-drying on soil nitrification might due to the different nitrification responses to moisture changing of acid subtropical soils. So, after applying 0 and 150 mg x kg(-1) of ammonium bicarbonate, a 35-day incubation study was conducted to determine the nitrification potential of four acid subtropical soils under 5 soil moisture levels, namely 30% water-holding capacity (WHC), 45% WHC, 60% WHC, 75% WHC and 90% WHC. Four soils, designated QR, QU, SR and SU, derived from Quaternary red earth and Tertiary red sandstone, were collected from rice and upland field. The results indicated that the soil nitrification was significantly influenced by the moisture content (p < 0.01), and the nitrification sensitivities to soil moisture content varied with land-use types. For the treatments without ammonium input, the ranges of nitrification ratio were 11% and 8% in upland soils, QU and SU respectively, which were obviously lower than those in paddy soils (35% for QR, and 20% for SR). The ammonium input would increase the ranges of nitrification ratio which were 56%, 26%, 31%, and 26% for soil QR, QU, SR, and SU, respectively. And the ammonium input would accelerate soil acidification under high moisture levels. In a word, the land-use type presents a significant influence on the nitrification response to moisture content, which might lead to the difference of air-drying effect.

[Modeling the ammonia volatilization from common urea and controlled releasing urea fertilizers in paddy soil of Taihui region of China by Jayaweera-Mikkelsen model].

The ammonia volatilization on the Typic Gleyi-stagnic Anthrosol with application of common urea and controlled release urea (LP-S100) fertilizers in the rice seasons in paddy soil of Taihui region of China was modeled by Jayaweera-Mikkelsen model. Results showed great difference of ammonia volatilization from two type fertilizers was detected with lysimeter experiment in the rice season. Nitrogen loss via ammonia volatilization after common urea application with conventional ways was 29%-35%, while only 5% of controlled release urea-N was volatilized. The Jayaweera-Mikkelsen model was over estimated the total amount of ammonia volatilization in the whole season, and great deviation from the measured data was obvious for the higher volatilization from common urea fertilizer. The estimated data were 2.95-4.19 times of the measures one for common urea treatments, while they were 1.19-1.40 times of those measured for LP-S100 treatments. The order of magnitude quotient was one of the indicators to evaluate the model estimation. The value of it was 0.8, which indicated the estimation of the model need improvement. Though sensitive analysis for the five parameters in the model was tested and amended the parameter of the concentration of NH4+ -N, a limited term was inducted in the model operation. The amended model got better results as the ratio of estimation to measured data was decreased to 1.12-1.28. The alga activity in the paddy field influenced ammonia volatilization and might make the failure of the model estimation of the original model.

[Effects of long-term fertilization on phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities in paddy red soil].

Soil samples were collected from the paddy fields at the Ecological Experimental Station of Red Soil, Chinese Academy of Sciences under different treatments of long-term fertilization, and their phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and enzyme activities were determined. The results showed that soil enzyme activities, nutrient contents, microbial biomass, and PLFAs varied greatly with different fertilizations. Fertilization increased the kinds and amount of soil PLFAs. Compared with fertilized soil, unfertilized soil had more fungal PLFAs but less bacterial PLFAs, indicating that fungus was more adaptable to infertile soils than bacteria. Soils applied with NPK and organic fertilizer had higher amount of total PLFAs, which was 3.22 and 1.79 times higher than that under N fertilization and no fertilization. It was indicated that balanced fertilization with NPK or applying organic fertilizer was more beneficial to the growth of plants. Fertilization could also increase soil enzyme activities, and soil urease and phosphatase activities could be used as the indicators of soil fertility.

[Effects of fungicide chlorothalonil on soil nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions].

A 14 d incubation test at 60% WHC and 25 degrees C was conducted to study the effects of fungicide chlorothalonil at its application rates of 0, 5.5 mg x kg(-1) (field application rate, FR), 110 mg x kg(-1) (20FR) and 220 mg x kg(-1) (40FR) on the nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from acidic, neutral, and alkaline soils. The results indicated that the effects of chlorothalonil on the two gases emissions depended on its application rate and soil type. Comparing with no chlorothalonil application, the chlorothalonil at 20FR and 40FR inhibited the N2O emission from acid soil significantly, while that at FR, 20FR and 40FR stimulated the N2O emission from neutral soil, with the strongest effect at FR. Higher application rates (20FR and 40FR) of chlorothalonil inhibited the N2O emission from alkaline soil at the early stage of incubation, but stimulated it at late incubation stage. Chlorothalonil at FR had no obvious effects on the CO2 emission from test soils, but that at 20FR and 40FR promoted the CO2 emission from acid soil while inhibited it from neutral and alkaline soils significantly.