Do cropping system and fertilization rate change water-stable aggregates associated carbon and nitrogen storage?

Soil aggregates not only store carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) but hold a critical role in determining the nutrients supply, crop productivity, and climate change mitigation. However, the impact of cropping system and N fertilization on aggregate-associated C and N in both topsoil and subsoil remains unclear. Here, we assessed the effect of cropping systems (wheat-soybean vs. wheat-maize cropping systems) and N fertilization rates (0 N; medium N, 120 kg N ha-1; high N, 240 kg N ha-1) on soil water-stable aggregates distribution, as well as aggregate-associated C and N based on a field study in North China Plain. Our study suggests that the variations of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks were more affected by N fertilization than short-term cropping systems. In the wheat-soybean system, medium N increased the SOC stock by 19.18% and 15.73% as compared to high N in the topsoil and subsoil, respectively. Additionally, medium N resulted in 6.59-18.11% higher TN stock in the topsoil for both wheat-soybean and wheat-maize cropping systems as compared to 0 N and high N. Notably, the water-stable macroaggregates (> 0.25 mm) in the topsoil occupied more than 70% of the soil, which increased under medium N in the wheat-soybean cropping system. In conclusion, medium N fertilization combined with a legume-based cropping could be used to improve SOC stock, promote soil aggregation, and enhance aggregate-associated C.

Seasonal and diurnal surveillance of treated and untreated wastewater for human enteric viruses.

Understanding the abundance and fate of human viral pathogens in wastewater is essential when assessing the public health risks associated with wastewater discharge to the environment. Typically, however, the microbiological monitoring of wastewater is undertaken on an infrequent basis and peak discharge events may be missed leading to the misrepresentation of risk levels. To evaluate diurnal patterns in wastewater viral loading, we undertook 3-day sampling campaigns with bi-hourly sample collection over three seasons at three wastewater treatment plants. Untreated influent was collected at Ganol and secondary-treated effluent was sampled at Llanrwst and Betws-y-Coed (North Wales, UK). Our results confirmed the presence of human adenovirus (AdV), norovirus genotypes I and II (NoVGI and NoVGII) in both influent and effluent samples while sapovirus GI (SaVGI) was only detected in influent water. The AdV titre was high and relatively constant in all samples, whereas the NoVGI, NoVGII and SaVGI showed high concentrations during autumn and winter and low counts during the summer. Diurnal patterns were detected in pH and turbidity for some sampling periods; however, no such changes in viral titres were observed apart from slight fluctuations in the influent samples. Our findings suggest that viral particle number in wastewater is not affected by daily chemical fluctuations. Hence, a grab sample taken at any point during the day may be sufficient to enumerate the viral load of wastewater effluent within an order of magnitude while four samples a day are recommended for testing wastewater influent samples.

Stoichiometric constraints on the microbial processing of carbon with soil depth along a riparian hillslope.

Soil organic matter (SOM) content is a key indicator of riparian soil functioning and in the provision of ecosystem services such as water retention, flood alleviation, pollutant attenuation and carbon (C) sequestration for climate change mitigation. Here, we studied the importance of microbial biomass and nutrient availability in regulating SOM turnover rates. C stabilisation in soil is expected to vary both vertically, down the soil profile and laterally across the riparian zone. In this study, we evaluated the influence of five factors on C mineralisation (Cmin): (i) substrate quantity, (ii) substrate quality, (iii) nutrient (C, N and P) stoichiometry, (iv) soil microbial activity with proximity to the river (2 to 75 m) and (v) as a function of soil depth (0-3 m). Substrate quality, quantity and nutrient stoichiometry were evaluated using high and low molecular weight 14C-labelled dissolved organic (DOC) along with different nutrient additions. Differences in soil microbial activity with proximity to the river and soil depth were assessed by comparing initial (immediate) Cmin rates and cumulative C mineralised at the end of the incubation period. Overall, microbial biomass C (MBC), organic matter (OM) and soil moisture content (MC) proved to be the major factors controlling rates of Cmin at depth. Differences in the immediate and medium-term response (42 days) of Cmin suggested that microbial growth increased and carbon use efficiency (CUE) decreased down the soil profile. Inorganic N and/or P availability had little or no effect on Cmin suggesting that microbial community growth and activity is predominantly C limited. Similarly, proximity to the watercourse also had relatively little effect on Cmin. This work challenges current theories suggesting that areas adjacent to watercourse process C differently from upslope areas. In contrast, our results suggest that substrate quality and microbial biomass are more important in regulating C processing rates rather than proximity to a river.

Quantifying the contribution of riparian soils to the provision of ecosystem services.

Riparian areas, the interface between land and freshwater ecosystems, are considered to play a pivotal role in the supply of regulating, provisioning, cultural and supporting services. Most previous studies, however, have tended to focus on intensive agricultural systems and only on a single ecosystem function. Here, we present the first study which attempts to assess a wide range of ecological processes involved in the provision of the ecosystem service of water quality regulation across a diverse range of riparian typologies. Specifically, we focus on 1) evaluating the spatial variation in riparian soils properties with respect to distance with the river and soil depth in contrasting habitat types; 2) gaining further insights into the underlying mechanisms of pollutant removal (i.e. pesticide sorption/degradation, denitrification, etc.) by riparian soils; and 3) quantify and evaluate how riparian vegetation across different habitat types contribute to the provision of watercourse shading. All the habitats were present within a single large catchment and included: (i) improved grassland, (ii) unimproved (semi-natural) grassland, (iii) broadleaf woodland, (iv) coniferous woodland, and (iv) mountain, heath and bog. Taking all the data together, the riparian soils could be statistically separated by habitat type, providing evidence that they deliver ecosystem services to differing extents. Overall, however, our findings seem to contradict the general assumption that soils in riparian area are different from neighbouring (non-riparian) areas and that they possess extra functionality in terms of ecosystem service provision. Watercourse shading was highly habitat specific and was maximal in forests (ca. 52% shade cover) in comparison to the other habitat types (7-17%). Our data suggest that the functioning of riparian areas in less intensive agricultural areas, such as those studied here, may be broadly predicted from the surrounding land use, however, further research is required to critically test this across a wider range of ecosystems.

Spatial patterns and environmental constraints on ecosystem services at a catchment scale.

Improved understanding and prediction of the fundamental environmental controls on ecosystem service supply across the landscape will help to inform decisions made by policy makers and land-water managers. To evaluate this issue for a local catchment case study, we explored metrics and spatial patterns of service supply for water quality regulation, agriculture production, carbon storage, and biodiversity for the Macronutrient Conwy catchment. Methods included using ecosystem models such as LUCI and JULES, integration of national scale field survey datasets, earth observation products and plant trait databases, to produce finely resolved maps of species richness and primary production. Analyses were done with both 1×1km gridded and subcatchment data. A common single gradient characterised catchment scale ecosystem services supply with agricultural production and carbon storage at opposing ends of the gradient as reported for a national-scale assessment. Species diversity was positively related to production due to the below national average productivity levels in the Conwy combined with the unimodal relationship between biodiversity and productivity at the national scale. In contrast to the national scale assessment, a strong reduction in water quality as production increased was observed in these low productive systems. Various soil variables were tested for their predictive power of ecosystem service supply. Soil carbon, nitrogen, their ratio and soil pH all had double the power of rainfall and altitude, each explaining around 45% of variation but soil pH is proposed as a potential metric for ecosystem service supply potential as it is a simple and practical metric which can be carried out in the field with crowd-sourcing technologies now available. The study emphasises the importance of considering multiple ecosystem services together due to the complexity of covariation at local and national scales, and the benefits of exploiting a wide range of metrics for each service to enhance data robustness.

Experimental evidence for drought induced alternative stable states of soil moisture.

Ecosystems may exhibit alternative stable states (ASS) in response to environmental change. Modelling and observational data broadly support the theory of ASS, however evidence from manipulation experiments supporting this theory is limited. Here, we provide long-term manipulation and observation data supporting the existence of drought induced alternative stable soil moisture states (irreversible soil wetting) in upland Atlantic heath, dominated by Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull. Manipulated repeated moderate summer drought, and intense natural summer drought both lowered resilience resulting in shifts in soil moisture dynamics. The repeated moderate summer drought decreased winter soil moisture retention by ~10%. However, intense summer drought, superimposed on the experiment, that began in 2003 and peaked in 2005 caused an unexpected erosion of resilience and a shift to an ASS; both for the experimental drought manipulation and control plots, impairing the soil from rewetting in winter. Measurements outside plots, with vegetation removal, showed no evidence of moisture shifts. Further independent evidence supports our findings from historical soil moisture monitoring at a long-term upland hydrological observatory. The results herald the need for a new paradigm regarding our understanding of soil structure, hydraulics and climate interaction.