Effect of contrasting farm management on vegetation and biochemical, chemical, and biological condition of moist steepland soils of the South Island high country, New Zealand

Soil Research ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 847 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. McIntosh ◽  
R. S. Gibson ◽  
S. Saggar ◽  
G. W. Yeates ◽  
P. McGimpsey
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Nematode Species ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Exchangeable Cation

A question of economic, social, and land-use importance in the predominantly steep South Island high country tussock grasslands of New Zealand is whether these lands can be sustainably farmed by oversowing introduced grasses and legumes and using fertilisers. To help answer this question, we compared vegetation and soil chemical, biochemical, and biological properties on Brown soils (Dystrudepts) on adjacent land areas which have been differently managed since 1978. One area had never been fertilised or oversown. The other had been oversown with grasses and clovers and received about 1100 kg/ha of sulfur-superphosphate between 1979 and 1997. Oversowing and fertilising reduced the amount of bare ground and transformed the vegetation to a species composition dominated by the introduced adventives Anthoxanthum odoratum and Agrostis capillaris. Fertilising raised soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content, increased A-horizon thickness, and raised exchangeable cation values. All of the phosphorus (P) applied to the fertilised area was accounted for in the top 15 cm of soil, but has accumulated in the relatively unavailable organic form. Oversowing and fertilising significantly (P < 0 . 05) increased microbial biomass C, N, and P relative to values in unfertilised soils. The microbial biomass C: N and C: P ratios were significantly (P < 0 . 05) lower in fertilised soils. Fertilised soils had significantly more (P < 0 . 05) mineralised N than unfertilised soils. Populations of 5 groups of soil fauna (Scarabaeidae, nematodes, enchytraeids, rotifers, tardigrades) were higher in fertilised soils. Nematode species parasitic or pathogenic for clovers were present in greater numbers on fertilised soils. A combination of fertility decline (in particular, P immobilisation as organic P) and nematode damage may be the reason for the low clover cover on fertilised sites, and may explain the widely observed clover ‘flush’ and decline common to oversown high country. We conclude that there is no simple measure of ‘soil quality’ that can be used as a sustainability indicator in moist New Zealand high country. Nor can sustainability be judged purely on biological, biochemical, and chemical critieria. Although many of the effects associated with oversowing and fertilising, such as increased organic matter content of A horizons and increased biological activity, are positive, these effects must be balanced against the economic risk associated with being committed to a high-input farming system, the loss of low-producing but resilient native species, and increase of plant-pathogenic nematodes.

Microbial activity and survival in soils dried at different rates

Soil Research ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
AW West ◽  
GP Sparling ◽  
CW Feltham ◽  
J Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Microbial C

The changes in microbial biomass C, soil respiration, microbial activity (respiration/microbial C) and the content of oxidizable organic C extracted by 0-5 M K2SO4, were measured in four soils of contrasting characteristics (a sand, two silt loam soils and a peat) which were air-dried at 22�C at three different rates in the laboratory. Respiration was also measured on samples of the drying soils rewetted with water. The rates of drying were: <10 h (fast), <33 h (medium) and <62 h (slow); drying was carried out for 6 h on consecutive days, with overnight storage. Measurements were also made on soils stored at field-moisture content over the 15 day duration of the experiment. Respiration and activity declined continuously and in a generally linear manner as the volumetric water content (W,) decreased. The decline in respiration in relation to water content W, was similar for all four soils and for the three rates of drying. Microbial biomass C also declined but generally only after a considerable initial period of drying (after the soils had reached Wv of 0-1-0.3). Extractable C values increased, but only after an initial drying period (Wv below 0.06-0.12). The increases in extractable C were approximately coincident with the decreases in microbial C, but only part of the increase in extractable C could be accounted for by the decrease in microbial C. Rewetting of dried soils caused a marked increase in respiration, particularly when the rewetted soils had reached Wv values where extractable C had begun to increase. The relationship between microbial activity and extractable C was similar for all four soils and was not affected by the rate of drying. The similarity of the microbial responses in these contrasting soils, and the absence of any detectable differences between rates of drying suggest that the microbial communities had similar survival strategies to resist desiccation, and occupied comparable physical niches in the soils, despite these soils having widely differing textures, organic matter content, and soil moisture characteristics.

scholarly journals Response of respiration and nutrient availability to drying and rewetting in soil from a semi-arid woodland depends on vegetation patch and a recent wildfire

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 5093-5101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Sun ◽  
W. S. Meyer ◽  
G. R. Koerber ◽  
P. Marschner
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Available N ◽  
Drying And Rewetting ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Vegetation Patches ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. Semi-arid woodlands, which are characterised by patchy vegetation interspersed with bare, open areas, are frequently exposed to wildfire. During summer, long dry periods are occasionally interrupted by rainfall events. It is well known that rewetting of dry soil induces a flush of respiration. However, the magnitude of the flush may differ between vegetation patches and open areas because of different organic matter content, which could be further modulated by wildfire. Soils were collected from under trees, under shrubs or in open areas in unburnt and burnt sandy mallee woodland, where part of the woodland experienced a wildfire which destroyed or damaged most of the aboveground plant parts 4 months before sampling. In an incubation experiment, the soils were exposed to two moisture treatments: constantly moist (CM) and drying and rewetting (DRW). In CM, soils were incubated at 80 % of maximum water holding capacity (WHC) for 19 days; in DRW, soils were dried for 4 days, kept dry for another 5 days, then rewetted to 80 % WHC and maintained at this water content until day 19. Soil respiration decreased during drying and was very low in the dry period; rewetting induced a respiration flush. Compared to soil under shrubs and in open areas, cumulative respiration per gram of soil in CM and DRW was greater under trees, but lower when expressed per gram of total organic carbon (TOC). Organic matter content, available P, and microbial biomass C, but not available N, were greater under trees than in open areas. Wild fire decreased the flush of respiration per gram of TOC in the open areas and under shrubs, and reduced TOC and microbial biomass C (MBC) concentrations only under trees, but had little effect on available N and P concentrations. We conclude that the impact of wildfire and DRW events on nutrient cycling differs among vegetation patches of a native semi-arid woodland which is related to organic matter amount and availability.

EFFECT OF CROP ROTATION AND FERTILIZATION ON SOME BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF A LOAM IN SOUTHWESTERN SASKATCHEWAN

1984 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. O. BIEDERBECK ◽  
C. A. CAMPBELL ◽  
R. P. ZENTNER
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Organic N ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Rotation Length ◽  
Continuous Type ◽  
Mineralizable N ◽  
P Fertilizer ◽  
Potentially Mineralizable N

Effects of rotation length, fallow-substitute crops, and N and P fertilizer on some physical and biological properties of a Brown Chernozemic loam in southwestern Saskatchewan were determined over a period of 16 yr. After 12 yr, the erodible fraction in the top 15 cm of soil (i.e., < 0.84 mm) was inversely related to trash conserved and thus rotation length. Soil organic N (in the top 15 cm) increased from 0.18 to 0.20% in continuous-type rotations receiving an average 32 kg N∙ha−1∙yr−1 and adequate P, but it did not increase in continuous wheat receiving P only, nor in fallow rotations, except the one that included fall rye (Secale cereale L.). This N increase was credited partly to fertilizer and partly to more efficient use and cycling of subsoil NO3-N via plant roots and crop residues. After 10 yr, well-fertilized continuous-type rotations had a 13% greater C content than fallow rotations and continuous wheat receiving only P. In the top 7.5 cm of soil under the four rotations examined in detail, bacterial numbers were lowest in fallow-wheat, intermediate in fallow-wheat-wheat, higher in continuous wheat receiving N and P, and highest in continuous wheat receiving only P. Similarly, microbial biomass C in these four rotations was 180, 226, 217 and 357 kg∙ha−1; biomass N was 52, 65, 54 and 72 kg∙ha−1; and biomass C/N ratios were 3.4, 3.5, 4.1 and 5.1, respectively. Differences in biomass C/N, respiration rates and numbers of bacteria, actinomycetes and yeasts indicated both quantitative and qualitative microbial changes and reflected increasing rotation length and differences in fertility. Potentially mineralizable N (No) was 192 kg∙ha−1 for adequately fertilized continuous wheat, and exceeded No in fallow-wheat by 45%, in fallow-wheat-wheat by 17% and in continuous wheat receiving only P by 25%. The latter rotation contained a large but fairly inactive microbial population. We concluded that land degradation caused by frequent summerfallowing can be arrested and the decline in amount and quality of organic matter reversed by use of available agronomic technology. Key words: Microbial biomass, microbial activity, potentially mineralizable N, respiration, soil erodibility

scholarly journals The effect of various composts on vegetable green mass on two soil types

2017 ◽  
pp. 179-183
Author(s):  
Judit Szűcsné Szolomájer ◽  
Marianna Makádi ◽  
Ibolya Demeter ◽  
Attila Tomócsik ◽  
Tibor Aranyos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Test Plant ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Supply Capacity

Composting of sewage sludges makes easier the utilization of sewage sludge in the agriculture and the composts in good quality could increase the nutrient content of soil. Due to the composting process, the sewage sludge composts with high organic matter content can be utilized in the same way as other composts or farmyard manure.Composts produced in different ways have different effects on the physical, chemical and biological properties of different soils, although their positive effects have already proved in the literature. In our study the effects of composts from different composting processes were investigated in soil-plant systems. The different physical and chemical properties of the two examined soil types (arenosol and chernozem)strongly influenced the nutrient supply capacity of composts which could be characterized by the growth of ray-grass as a test plant in the pot experiment. In this work we examined the effects of three different composts on the green weight of plants on the fourth and eighth weeks after the treatment and sowing.

scholarly journals Effects of different soil management practices on soil properties and microbial diversity

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Gajda ◽  
Ewa A. Czyż ◽  
Anthony R. Dexter ◽  
Karolina M. Furtak ◽  
Jarosław Grządziel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Soil Microbial Activity ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage

AbstractThe effects of different tillage systems on the properties and microbial diversity of an agricultural soil was investigated. In doing so, soil physical, chemical and biological properties were analysed in 2013-2015, on a long-term field experiment on a loamy sand at the IUNG-PIB Experimental Station in Grabów, Poland. Winter wheat was grown under two tillage treatments: conventional tillage using a mouldboard plough and traditional soil tillage equipment, and reduced tillage based on soil crushing-loosening equipment and a rigid-tine cultivator. Chopped wheat straw was used as a mulch on both treatments. Reduced tillage resulted in increased water content throughout the whole soil profile, in comparison with conventional tillage. Under reduced tillage, the content of readily dispersible clay was also reduced, and, therefore, soil stability was increased in the toplayers, compared with conventional tillage. In addition, the beneficial effects of reduced tillage were reflected in higher soil microbial activity as measured with dehydrogenases and hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate, compared with conventional tillage. Moreover, the polimerase chain reaction – denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis showed that soil under reduced till-age had greater diversity of microbial communities, compared with conventionally-tilled soil. Finally, reduced tillage increased organic matter content, stability in water and microbial diversity in the top layer of the soil.

EFFECT OF LONG-TERM PIG SLURRY AND SOLID CATTLE MANURE APPLICATION ON SOIL CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. NDAYEGAMIYE ◽  
D. CÔTÉ
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Humic Acids ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Cattle Manure ◽  
Pig Slurry

Chemical and biological properties were evaluated in 1987 on an acidic silty loam soil following a long-term field study established in 1978 and cultivated with silage corn. Treatments included a control, solid cattle manure (20, 40 and 60 Mg ha−1 FYM) and pig slurry (60, 120 m3 ha−1 SLU) applied every 2 yr and annually, respectively. No fertilizer was applied. The results of this study have shown that neither treatment significantly affected soil pH values, total-N contents and C:N ratios compared to the control. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil was significantly higher with FYM treatment than with control or SLU application. The highest rates of FYM and SLU have also increased (P < 0.05) soil organic carbon, microbial activity and potentially mineralizable nitrogen. The soil microflora populations (bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, ammonifiers and nitrifiers) were greatly improved by both treatments. There were no significant differences in organic matter content or the relative amount of humic and fulvic acids between FYM and SLU plots. In spite of these results, FYM application (40 and 60 Mg ha−1) did affect more significantly the distribution of organic carbon in HA and the E4/E6 quotients than SLU additions. Humic acids extracted from SLU amended soils had a lower C content and lower E4/E6 ratios than humic acids from FYM soils. Long-term SLU application did not contribute to decreased organic matter content, CEC and humic acids yield, probably because of optimal organic residues returned to the soil by the corn crops. The FYM application generally improved soil chemical and biological properties. For a sustainable soil productivity, long-term SLU application should then be avoided in rotation in which small amounts of plant residues are returned, especially on soils with low organic matter contents. Key words: Organic matter, microbial activity, nitrogen mineralization potential, CEC, solid cattle manure, pig slurry

scholarly journals Changes in physical properties of sandy soil after long-term compost treatment

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
József Tibor Aranyos ◽  
Attila Tomócsik ◽  
Marianna Makádi ◽  
József Mészáros ◽  
Lajos Blaskó
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Sandy Soil ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Compost Application

Abstract Studying the long-term effect of composted sewage sludge application on chemical, physical and biological properties of soil, an experiment was established in 2003 at the Research Institute of Nyíregyháza in Hungary. The applied compost was prepared from sewage sludge (40%), straw (25%), bentonite (5%) and rhyolite (30%). The compost was ploughed into the 0-25 cm soil layer every 3rd year in the following amounts: 0, 9, 18 and 27 Mg ha−1 of dry matter. As expected, the compost application improved the structure of sandy soil, which is related with an increase in the organic matter content of soil. The infiltration into soil was improved significantly, reducing the water erosion under simulated high intensity rainfall. The soil compaction level was reduced in the first year after compost re-treatment. In accordance with the decrease in bulk density, the air permeability of soil increased tendentially. However, in the second year the positive effects of compost application were observed only in the plots treated with the highest compost dose because of quick degradation of the organic matter. According to the results, the sewage sludge compost seems to be an effective soil improving material for acidic sandy soils, but the beneficial effect of application lasts only for two years.

scholarly journals Physical attributes of a Dystroferric Red Latosol (Oxisol) under different management systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandro Campos Pinto ◽  
Wantuir Filipe Teixeira Chagas ◽  
Francisco Hélcio Canuto Amaral
Keyword(s):  
Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Particle Density ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Red Latosol

The relationship of management and soil quality may be evaluated by the behavior of soil physical, chemical and biological properties. In the assessment of soil structure, it is sought attributes in the view of measuring the porosity and the distribution of pores by size and its implication to permeability and rigidity of the pores, as well as the stability of the units that composes soil structure. The aim of this research was to assess the structure of a Dystroferric Red Latosol (Oxisol) under conventional corn crop, conventional coffee crop, eucalyptus crop and an equilibrium reference (native vegetation), by the determination of the particle density, bulk density, calculated total porosity, microporosity, macroporosity, moisture saturation, determined total porosity, blocked pores and aggregated stability. Soil under native vegetation presented the lowest values of particle density, probably due to the greatest soil organic matter content in this environment. It was verified a tendency of increasing blocked pores and decreasing bulk density. As expected, bulk density varied from 0.87 to 1.03 g cm-3, showing an inversely proportional distribution related to total porosity. The largest values of geometric mean diameter presented by the soil under native vegetation are due to thegreater structuration degree of this soil, which contributes to the stabilization of the aggregates in this environment. The native vegetation environment presented a better soil physical quality in relation to other land uses.

scholarly journals Response of respiration and nutrient availability to drying and rewetting in soil from a semi-arid woodland depends on vegetation patch and a recent wild fire

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 8723-8745
Author(s):  
Q. Sun ◽  
W. S. Meyer ◽  
G. Koerber ◽  
P. Marschner
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Available N ◽  
Wild Fire ◽  
Drying And Rewetting ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Vegetation Patches ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. Semi-arid woodlands, which are characterised by patchy vegetation interspersed with bare, open areas, are frequently exposed to wild fire. During summer, long dry periods are occasionally interrupted by rainfall events. It is well-known that rewetting of dry soil induces a flush of respiration. However, the magnitude of the flush may differ between vegetation patches and open areas because of different organic matter content which could be further modulated by wild fire. Soils were collected from under trees, under shrubs or in open areas in unburnt and burnt sandy Mallee woodland, where part of the woodland experienced a wild fire which destroyed or damaged most of the aboveground plant parts four months before sampling. In an incubation experiment, the soils were exposed to two moisture treatments: constantly moist (CM) and drying and rewetting (DRW). In CM, soils were incubated at 80% of maximum water holding capacity for 19 days; In DRW, soils were dried for four days, kept dry for another five days, then rewet to 80% WHC and maintained at this water content until day 19. Soil respiration decreased during drying and was very low in the dry period; rewetting induced a respiration flush. Compared to soil under shrubs and in open areas, cumulative respiration per g soil in CM and DRW was greater under trees, but lower when expressed per g TOC. Organic matter content, available P, and microbial biomass C, but not available N were greater under trees than in open areas. Wild fire decreased the flush of respiration per g TOC in the open areas and under shrubs, and reduced TOC and MBC concentrations only under trees, but had little effect on available N and P concentrations. We conclude that of the impact wild fire and DRW events on nutrient cycling differ among vegetation patches of a native semiarid woodland which is related to organic matter amount and availability.

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