Soil health improvement by inoculation of indigenous microalgae in saline soil.

Using biological methods to improve saline soils is recognized as an eco-friendly and sustainable way. In this study, two indigenous algae YJ-1 and YJ-2 screened from salinized farmland were inoculated into saline soils with different salinization levels to investigate their potential in enhancing soil health by laboratory microcosm experiment. The results showed that individual inoculation of the two algae quickly resulted in the formation of algal crusts, and the chlorophyll content in the saline soils gradually increased with the incubation time. The soil pH decreased significantly from the initial 8.15-9.45 to 6.97-7.56 after 60-day incubation. The exopolysaccharides secretion and the activities of catalase, sucrase, and urease in saline soils also increased. Microalgal inoculation increased soil organic matter storage, while decreasing the available nutrient contents possibly due to the depletion of microalgal growth. PCA and PCC results identified that microalgal biomass as the predominant variable affecting soil quality. Overall, these data revealed the great potential of microalgae in the amelioration of saline soils, especially in pH reduction and enzyme activity enhancement. This study will provide the theoretical foundation for improving saline soils via algalization.

Microbial Catabolic Activity: Methods, Pertinence, and Potential Interest for Improving Microbial Inoculant Efficiency.

Microbial catabolic activity (MCA) defined as the degrading activity of microorganisms toward various organic compounds for their growth and energy is commonly used to assess soil microbial function potential. For its measure, several methods are available including multi-substrate-induced respiration (MSIR) measurement which allow to estimate functional diversity using selected carbon substrates targeting specific biochemical pathways. In this review, the techniques used to measure soil MCA are described and compared with respect to their accuracy and practical use. Particularly the efficiency of MSIR-based approaches as soil microbial function indicators was discussed by (i) showing their sensitivity to different agricultural practices including tillage, amendments, and cropping systems and (ii) by investigating their relationship with soil enzyme activities and some soil chemical properties (pH, soil organic carbon, cation exchange capacity). We highlighted the potential of these MSIR-based MCA measurements to improve microbial inoculant composition and to determine their potential effects on soil microbial functions. Finally, we have proposed ideas for improving MCA measurement notably through the use of molecular tools and stable isotope probing which can be combined with classic MSIR methods. Graphical abstract describing the interrelation between the different parts and the concepts developed in the review.

Seasonal Variation of Soil Quality in a Semi-deciduous Northern Tropical Forest of Nagaland, India.

To assess the seasonal changes in soil parameters and the soil quality of a semi-deciduous forest in Nagaland, tropical forest soil samples were tested for 10 physical and chemical variables. Apart from clay content, EC, and CEC, the rest of the parameters showed a seasonal mean significant difference at p < .05 level. Based on the principal component analysis, available nitrogen (Nav) and electrical conductivity (EC) were included in a minimum data set and are regarded to best represent the system attributes. In both additive and weighted soil quality method, maximum SQI was recorded in autumn season. The research summarized that seasonal variations can influence soil characteristics and soil quality through its aggregate effects. Considering the result obtained from the present study, the approach we have used in soil quality assessment would be suitable for primarily screening the tropical forest soil status. This would ultimately pave ways for future management and mitigation plans to facilitate the improvement of forest health and aid to biodiversity conservation.

Variability of soil quality indicators along with the different landscape positions of Choke Mountain agroecosystem, upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia.

Understanding the variability of soil quality indicators across topographic positions and agroecosystems (AES) is critical for improving soil fertility, productivity, and environmental sustainability. This study evaluates the variability of soil quality indicators along with the different landscape positions (upper, middle, and lower slopes) among the five AES of the Choke Mountain watershed in the upper Blue Nile Basin. A total of forty soil samples were gathered from Choke Mountain's five AES, upper, middle, and lower landscape positions. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the minimum datasets (MDS) from fourteen soil quality indicators. Using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), the variability of soil quality indices among AES of the Choke, as well as variation with landscape positions, was investigated. The interaction effect of AES and topo-sequence (AES∗topo-sequence) has a substantial effect on three soil quality indicators, including soil silt content, soil pH, and available phosphorus. The highest mean value of silt content was found in the upper position of the hilly and mountainous highlands (AES 5), while the lowest was found in the lower part of the midland plain with black soil (AES 2). The highest mean pH of the soil was found in the lower part of the lowland and valley fragments (AES 1), and the lowest was in the lower position of the midland plain with brown soil (AES 3). The highest record of available P was found in AES 1's middle position and the lowest in AES 3's upper positions. AES had a significant impact on cation exchange capacity (CEC), and both AES and topography had a significant and distinct impact on organic matter (OM). Thus, the study suggests site-specific solutions to improve agricultural productivity and ease the constraints associated with each soil in each topo-sequence and AES.

Green infrastructure influences soil health: Biological divergence one year after installation.

Global threats to soils remain one of the greatest concerns and challenges of the 21st century. Built landscapes have profound local and global effects because they create urban heat islands, increase habitat fragmentation, and reduce biological diversity. Additionally, impervious surfaces alter natural watersheds and reduce infiltration increasing runoff that leads to erosion and soil degradation. To combat these effects, green infrastructure (GI) practices, like water harvesting rain gardens, are implemented in the Southwest United States to restore natural ecological function, yet little is known about how GI impacts soil health. Soil health can be measured using indicators that include physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that support ecosystem processes. This study aimed to evaluate changes in water holding capacity, bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity, Gibbs free energy, species richness and Shannon diversity in response to rain gardens that received different inputs (frequency and amount) and sources of harvested water (rain, municipal, greywater) one year after installation. We hypothesized that soil health indicators in GI diverge from the unaltered control treatment one year following installation. Although physical and chemical indicators were comparatively less sensitive to GI treatments than biological indicators, they varied within treatments after one year of GI management (pH increased: H = 36.37; p-value = 0.00; electrical conductivity decreased: H = 33.94; p-value = 0.00). Overall, we observed significantly higher soil microbial diversity (F = 4.29; p-value = 0.015) and richness (F = 4.02; p-value = 0.019) in surface soils in GI treatments after one year of management. Our findings suggest GI practices enhanced soil biological health which may lead to positive feedbacks that assist gradual changes in the abiotic environment thus enhancing soil health over time. These findings have broad implications for effectively assessing the success of GI management practices over short time periods using soil biological health indicators.

Temporal characterisation of soil-plant natural recovery related to fire severity in burned Pinus halepensis Mill. forests.

Despite Mediterranean ecosystems' high resilience to fire, both climate and land use change, and alterations in fire regimes increase their vulnerability to fire by affecting the long-term natural recovery of ecosystem services. The objective of this work is to study the effects of fire severity on biochemical soil indicators, such as chemical composition or enzymatic activity, related to time after fire and natural vegetation recovery (soil-plant interphase). Soil samples from three wildfires occurring 3, 15 and 21 years ago were taken in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (semiarid climate). Sampling included three fire severity levels in naturally regenerated (and changing to shrublands) Pinus halepensis Mill. forests. In the short-term post-fire period, phosphorus concentration, electrical conductivity and urease activity were positively linked to fire severity, and also influenced ß-glucosidade activity in a negative relationship. During the 15-21-year post-fire period, the effects related to medium-high fire severity were negligible and soil quality indicators were linked to natural regeneration success. The results showed that most soil properties recovered in the long term after fire (21 years). These outcomes will help managers and stakeholders to implement management tools to stabilise soils and to restore burned ecosystems affected by medium-high fire severity. Such knowledge can be considered in adaptive forest management to reduce the negative effects of wildfires and desertification, and to improve the resilience of vulnerable ecosystems in a global change scenario.

Impact of potato cultivation and cattle farming on physicochemical parameters and enzymatic activities of Neotropical high Andean Páramo ecosystem soils.

The Andean Páramos are high mountain ecosystems whose soils are essential for the management of South American water resources, but research on anthropic impacts to these soils is currently minimal and insufficient. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivation and livestock on the physicochemical parameters and enzymatic activities that determine the soil quality of the Neotropical high Andean Páramo ecosystem in the Nevados National Natural Park (Nevados NNP) in Colombia. It was hypothesised that sites with potato crops and livestock farming would exhibit significant changes in soil physicochemical parameters and enzymatic activities compared with Páramo sites that have been conserved without agriculture. Samples were collected from soils under potato cultivation, livestock and Páramo (subject to the lowest degree of human intervention possible), on three farms in the El Bosque District at three different altitudes (Buenos Aires, El Edén and La Secreta) during two seasons (dry and rainy). The results showed that none of the physical parameters under study presented statistically significant differences due to the type of use (livestock, potato crop or Páramo), season of sampling (dry or rainy season) or altitude (different farms). The chemical parameters that statistically significantly differed due to land use were organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, calcium, potassium, and ammonium and those that showed statistically significant differences associated with the sampling timing were organic carbon, nitrogen, cation exchange capacity, total carbon, C/N and nitrate. Additionally, there were differences in organic carbon due to the altitude of the farms. With respect to enzymatic activities, those of ß-glucosidase, phosphodiesterase and urease significantly decreased in soils under potato cultivation and livestock relative to those of Páramo, but those of acid phosphatase and protease increased significantly under potato cropping and livestock. The activities of ß-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, phosphodiesterase and protease were higher during the dry season than the rainy season, and the activities of ß-glucosidase, acid phosphatase and urease decreased statistically in the lower-altitude farm (La Secreta). These decreases in enzymatic activities are attributable to changes in the organic carbon of the soil. This study provides a novel insight on the relationships between land use and the physicochemical parameters and enzymatic activities of Páramo soils (which have been minimally studied to date) at different altitudes and during different seasons. The results suggest that changes in agricultural practices should be implemented to maintain the organic carbon of soil and, therefore, its enzymatic activities.

Effects of land use and land cover on selected soil quality indicators in the headwater area of the Blue Nile basin of Ethiopia.

Understanding changes in soil quality resulting from land use and land management changes is important to design sustainable land management plans or interventions. This study evaluated the influence of land use and land cover (LULC) on key soil quality indicators (SQIs) within a small watershed (Jedeb) in the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia. Factor analysis based on principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine different SQIs. Surface (0-15 cm) soil samples with four replications were collected from five main LULC types in the watershed (i.e., natural woody vegetation, plantation forest, grassland, cultivated land, and barren land) and at two elevation classes (upland and midland), and 13 soil properties were measured for each replicate. A factorial (2 × 5) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that LULC and altitude together significantly affected organic matter (OM) levels. However, LULC alone significantly affected bulk density and altitude alone significantly affected bulk density, soil acidity, and silt content. Afforestation of barren land with eucalypt trees can significantly increase the soil OM in the midland part but not in the upland part. Soils under grassland had a significantly higher bulk density than did soils under natural woody vegetation indicating that de-vegetation and conversion to grassland could lead to soil compaction. Thus, the historical LULC change in the Jedeb watershed has resulted in the loss of soil OM and increased soil compaction. The study shows that a land use and management system can be monitored if it degrades or maintains or improves the soil using key soil quality indicators.

SF Box--a tool for evaluating the effects on soil functions in remediation projects.

Although remediation is usually aimed at reducing the risks posed by contaminants to human health and the environment, it is also desirable that the remediated soil within future green spaces is capable of providing relevant ecological functions, e.g., basis for primary production. Yet while addressing a contamination problem by reducing contaminant concentration and/or amounts in the soil, the remedial action itself can lead to soil structure disturbances, decline in organic matter and nutrient deficiencies, and in turn affect a soil's capacity to carry out its ecological soil functions. This article presents the Soil Function Box (SF Box) tool that is aimed to facilitate integration of information from suggested soil quality indicators (SQIs) into a management process in remediation using a scoring method. The scored SQIs are integrated into a soil quality index corresponding to 1 of 5 classes. SF Box is applied to 2 cases from Sweden (Kvillebäcken and Hexion), explicitly taking into consideration uncertainties in the results by means of Monte Carlo simulations. At both sites the generated soil quality indices corresponded to a medium soil performance (soil class 3) with a high certainty. The main soil constraints at both Kvillebäcken and Hexion were associated with biological activity in the soil, as soil organisms were unable to supply plant-available N. At the Kvillebäcken site the top layer had a content of coarse fragment (ø > 2 mm) higher than 35%, indicating plant rooting limitations. At the Hexion site, the soil had limited amount of organic matter, thus poor aggregate stability and nutrient cycling potential. In contrast, the soil at Kvillebäcken was rich in organic matter. The soils at both sites were capable of storing a sufficient amount of water for soil organisms between precipitation events.

Qualidade superficial de um solo sob sistemas de manejo utilizados para produção de forragens no estado do Piauí / Superficial soil quality under management systems for pasture in the state of Piaui, Brazil

Essa pesquisa objetivou avaliar o índice de qualidade do solo em sistemas de manejos sob pastagens e leguminosa em relação à mata secundária. Foram coletadas amostras de solo, na profundidade de 0 a 10 cm, nos seguintes ambientes: mata nativa dos Cocais sem qualquer exploração ou interferência antrópica; pastagem formada com capim-tanzânia e manejada no método de pastejo rotacionado com taxa de lotação fixa e, áreas com capim-tifton e povoamento de Leucena, manejadas para produção de feno. Todas as áreas foram implantadas no ano de 2000. Avaliaram-se o carbono orgânico, carbono da biomassa, indicadores químicos, físicos e biológicos de qualidade do solo. O carbono orgânico e da biomassa microbiana e o indicadores físicos não apresentaram diferenças entre os sistemas estudados. Os sistemas estudados e a mata apresentaram elevados quociente microbiano indicando matéria orgânica mais sujeita a transformações. A mata mostrou valores de diversidade de fauna superiores, em função da presença de serrapilheira com diversos tipos de substratos. O ordenamento dos ambientes para a qualidade de solo revelou que os sistemas estudados ficaram próximos ao ambiente de referência. O adequado manejo do capim Tifton e da Leucena para produção de feno e do capim Tanzânia em pastejo contribui para a manutenção das qualidades físicas, químicas e biológicas do solo em relação à mata nativa.

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the soil quality index under pastures and legumes systems. Soil samples were collected, at 0-10 cm depth, in the sites: native forest; pasture with Tifton grass; pasture with Tanzania grass under rotational grazing; Leucaena tress. We evaluated soil chemical, physical and biological properties. Soil organic C and microbial biomass did not show differences between the sites. Soil microbial quotient was higher under Tifton grass and native forest. The soil physical properties did not have significant differences. The native forest showed high values of soil fauna diversity, in function of the presence of a burlap with diverse types of substrates. The soil quality index allowed to infer on the changes imposed for agricultural practices, with respect to the soil physical, chemical and biological indicators.

Frações de carbono e nitrogênio de um Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico sob diferentes usos na Amazônia brasileira / Carbon and nitrogen fractions in a dystrophic Red Yellow Latosol (Oxisol) soil under different uses in the Brazilian Amazon

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar indicadores de qualidade de um Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico sob vegetação nativa de floresta, pastagem (Brachiaria brizantha cv. marandu), plantio convencional, cultivo mínimo e sistema de plantio direto. Foram determinados o carbono e o nitrogênio da biomassa microbiana do solo, o carbono orgânico e o nitrogênio total do solo, quocientes microbianos para carbono e nitrogênio e relações entre carbono orgânico e nitrogênio total do solo (C/N tot) e entre carbono e nitrogênio da biomassa microbiana (C/N mic). As amostras foram coletadas em Cerejeiras/RO, em duas profundidades (0-10 e 10-20 cm) nos cinco tratamentos, com cinco repetições. A análise estatística consistiu na análise de dados discrepantes, pelo método de Chauvenet, e dos pressupostos das variâncias, pelo teste de Bartlett e de Shapiro-Wilk, seguidos do teste de Kruskal-Wallis, entre os tratamentos, e comparação das variáveis entre as profundidades, pelo teste de Mann-Whitney, e ainda da análise de agrupamentos utilizando o método de Ward, todos ao nível de 5 por cento de probabilidade. Os diferentes usos do solo influenciam as variáveis avaliadas, com exceção da relação C/N tot, sendo que as variáveis microbiológicas demonstram-se mais sensíveis às mudanças do uso e manejo do solo. O sistema de plantio convencional é o tratamento que apresenta maior homogeneidade entre as profundidades. A análise de agrupamentos evidencia que o solo sob plantio direto, sistema de cultivo mínimo e plantio convencional apresenta semelhanças entre si, assim como, o solo sob vegetação nativa de floresta e pastagem também se assemelham.

The aim of this study was to assess quality indicators of a dystrophic Red Yellow Latosol (Oxisol) soil under native forest, pasture (Brachiaria brizantha cv. marandu), conventional tillage, minimum tillage system and no till system. It was determined the soil carbon and soil nitrogen in the microbial biomass, organic carbon and total nitrogen, ratios for microbial carbon and nitrogen and relationships between organic carbon and total nitrogen (C/N tot) and between carbon and soil nitrogen in the microbial biomass (C/N mic). The soil samples were collected in the Municipality of Cerejeiras/RO, at two depths (0-10 and 10-20 cm) in five treatments with five replications. The statistical analysis consisted of outliers analysis by Chauvenet method, and assumptions of variances by Bartlett's test and Shapiro-Wilk, followed by Kruskal-Wallis, between treatments, and comparison the variables between the depths, by Mann-Whitney' test, and the group analysis using Ward's method, all at 5 percent probability. The results show that different uses influence the variables, except for ration C/N tot, and the microbiology variables showed themselves more sensitive to changes in land use and management than other. The conventional tillage is the treatment that has greater homogeneity among the depths. The group analysis shows that the soil under no till system, minimum tillage system and conventional tillage have similarities among well as the soil under native forest and pasture are similar.

Sustitución de la sabana nativa con plantaciones de Pinus caribaea (Pinaceae) en Venezuela: efecto sobre parámetros indicadores de cambios en el carbono del suelo

Substitution of native savanna by Pinus caribaea (Pinaceae) plantations in Venezuela: effect on parameters that indicated changes in soil carbon content. A great extension (615 000 ha) of native savannas of the eastern plains of Venezuela have been replaced by plantations of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis; however, only scarce information exists about the impact of this land use on carbon dynamics in soils. We studied the effect of temporal variability and the substitution on the total organic carbon (TOC), water-soluble carbon (WSC), microbial biomass C (Cmic), basal respiration (BR), microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2) and Cmic/Corg ratio. Selected chemical properties and biological parameters of soils were measured under 3 and 29 year old forest plantations of P. caribaea and an adjacent native savanna which was considered the control. At each site, nine soil composite samples were collected (0-10 cm depth). The studied parameters did not show a defined pattern in relation to temporal variability. Higher carbon preservation occurs in soil microbial biomass under pine plantations. The basal respiration rate and qCO2 suggests that there is a more efficient microbial carbon utilization in the plantations. The Cmic/Corg ratio shows that the microbial biomass has an important stock of soil carbon in pine plantations. The conversion of savannas to pine plantations can increase soil carbon in the eastern plains of Venezuela, but this must be balanced with the ecological importance of natural savannas ecosystems. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (4): 2041-2053. Epub 2008 December 12.

Una gran extensión (615000 has) de las sabanas nativas de los Llanos Orientales de Venezuela está siendo reemplazada por plantaciones de Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis; sin embargo, hasta ahora existe escasa información sobre el impacto de este manejo del suelo sobre los parámetros indicadores de la dinámica del carbono en el suelo. El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar el efecto de la variabilidad temporal y la sustitución sobre el contenido de carbono orgánico total (COT), carbono hidrosoluble (CHS), carbono microbiano (Cmic), respiración basal (RB), cociente metabólico microbiano (qCO2) y la relación Cmic/Corg. Las propiedades químicas y parámetros biológicos seleccionados fueron determinados en plantaciones de P. caribaea de 3 y 29 años de edad y en una sabana nativa adyacente a estas plantaciones, la cual fue considerada como control. En cada sitio de muestreo recolectamos nueve muestras compuestas (0-10 cm de profundidad). Los parámetros estudiados no mostraron un patrón definido in relación a la variabilidad temporal. Hay mayor preservación del carbono dentro de la biomasa microbiana presente en suelos de Uverito en plantaciones de pinos. La tasa de respiración basal y el cociente metabólico indican que en estos suelos existe una comunidad microbiana poco activa, la cual es más eficiente en la utilización del carbono en las plantaciones de pino. La relación Cmic/Corg indica que en las plantaciones la biomasa microbiana constituye una importante reserva del carbono en el suelo. La sabana nativa a plantaciones de pino caribeño en estos suelos puede ser considerada un manejo efectivo para incrementar la calidad del suelo en los llanos orientales de Venezuela, siempre y cuando se tome en cuenta la importancia ecológica de las sabanas.