Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “soil nutrient”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Fine roots, arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphae and soil nutrients in four neotropical rain forests: patterns across large geographic distances.

* It is commonly hypothesized that stand-level fine root biomass increases as soil fertility decreases both within and among tropical forests, but few data exist to test this prediction across broad geographic scales. This study investigated the relationships among fine roots, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and soil nutrients in four lowland, neotropical rainforests. * Within each forest, samples were collected from plots that differed in fertility and above-ground biomass, and fine roots, AM hyphae and total soil nutrients were measured. * Among sites, total fine root mass varied by a factor of three, from 237+/-19 g m-2 in Costa Rica to 800+/-116 g m-2 in Brazil (0-40 cm depth). Both root mass and length were negatively correlated to soil nitrogen and phosphorus, but AM hyphae were not related to nutrients, root properties or above-ground biomass. * These results suggest that understanding how soil fertility affects fine roots is an additional factor that may improve the representation of root functions in global biogeochemical models or biome-wide averages of root properties in tropical forests.

Ecosystem↗

Soil nutrients influence spatial distributions of tropical tree species.

The importance of niche vs. neutral assembly mechanisms in structuring tropical tree communities remains an important unsettled question in community ecology [Bell G (2005) Ecology 86:1757-1770]. There is ample evidence that species distributions are determined by soils and habitat factors at landscape (<10(4) km(2)) and regional scales. At local scales (<1 km(2)), however, habitat factors and species distributions show comparable spatial aggregation, making it difficult to disentangle the importance of niche and dispersal processes. In this article, we test soil resource-based niche assembly at a local scale, using species and soil nutrient distributions obtained at high spatial resolution in three diverse neotropical forest plots in Colombia (La Planada), Ecuador (Yasuni), and Panama (Barro Colorado Island). Using spatial distribution maps of >0.5 million individual trees of 1,400 species and 10 essential plant nutrients, we used Monte Carlo simulations of species distributions to test plant-soil associations against null expectations based on dispersal assembly. We found that the spatial distributions of 36-51% of tree species at these sites show strong associations to soil nutrient distributions. Neutral dispersal assembly cannot account for these plant-soil associations or the observed niche breadths of these species. These results indicate that belowground resource availability plays an important role in the assembly of tropical tree communities at local scales and provide the basis for future investigations on the mechanisms of resource competition among tropical tree species.

Ecosystem↗

Canopy development of a model herbaceous community exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2 and soil nutrients.

To test the prediction that elevated CO2 increases the maximum leaf area index (LAI) through a stimulation of photosynthesis, we exposed model herbaceous communities to two levels of CO2 crossed with two levels of soil fertility. Elevated CO2 stimulated the initial rate of canopy development and increased cumulative LAI integrated over the growth period, but it had no effect on the maximum LAI. In contrast to CO2, increased soil nutrient availability caused a substantial increase in maximum LAI. Elevated CO2 caused a slight increase in leaf area and nitrogen allocated to upper canopy layers and may have stimulated leaf turnover deep in the canopy. Gas exchange measurements of intact communities made near the time of maximum LAI indicated that soil nutrient availability, but not CO2 enrichment, caused a substantial stimulation of net ecosystem carbon exchange. These data do not support our prediction of a higher maximum LAI by elevated CO2 because the initial stimulation of LAI diminished by the end of the growth period. However, early in development, leaf area and carbon assimilation of communities may have been greatly enhanced. These results suggest that the rate of canopy development in annual communities may be accelerated with future increases in atmospheric CO2 but that maximum LAI is set by soil fertility.

Journal Article↗

Resistance and tolerance of Terminalia sericea trees to simulated herbivore damage under different soil nutrient and moisture conditions.

Resource availability, degree of herbivore damage, genetic variability, and their interactions influence the allocation of investment by plants to resistance and tolerance traits. We evaluated the independent and interactive effects of soil nutrients and moisture, and simulated the effects of herbivore damage on condensed tannins (resistance) and growth/regrowth (tolerance) traits of Terminalia sericea, a deciduous tree in the Kalahari desert that constitutes a major component of livestock diet. We used a completely crossed randomized-block design experiment to examine the effects of nutrients, water availability, and herbivore damage on regrowth and resistance traits of T. sericea seedlings. Plant height, number of branches, internode length, leaf area, leaf mass for each seedling, combined weight of stems and twigs, and root mass were recorded. Condensed tannin concentrations were 22.5 and 21.5% higher under low nutrients and low soil moisture than under high nutrient and high water treatment levels. Tannin concentrations did not differ significantly between control and experimental seedlings 2 mo after simulated herbivore damage. Tannin concentrations correlated more strongly with growth traits under low- than under high-nutrient conditions. No trade-offs were detected among individual growth traits, nor between growth traits and condensed tannins. T. sericea appeared to invest more in both resistance and regrowth traits when grown under low-nutrient conditions. Investment in the resistance trait (condensed tannin) under high-nutrient conditions was minimal and, to a lesser degree, correlated with plant growth. These results suggest that T. sericea displays both resistance and tolerance strategies, and that the degree to which each is expressed is resource-dependent.

Adaptation, Biological↗

[Response of fine roots to soil nutrient spatial heterogeneity].

The spatial heterogeneity is the complexity and variation of systems or their attributes, and the heterogeneity of soil nutrients is ubiquitous in all natural ecosystems. The scale of spatial heterogeneity varies considerably among different ecosystems, from tens of centimeters to hundred meters. Some of the scales can be detected by individual plant. Because the growth of individual plants can be strongly influenced by soil heterogeneity, it follows that the inter-specific competition should also be affected. During the long process of evolution, plants developed various plastic responses with their root system, including morphological, physiological and mycorrhizal plasticity, to maximize the nutrient acquisition from heterogeneous soil resources. Morphological plasticity, an adjustment in root system spatial allocation and architecture in response to spatial heterogeneous distribution of available soil resources, has been most intensively studied, and root proliferation in nutrient rich patches has been certified for many species. The species that do respond may have an increased rate of nutrient uptake, leading to a competitive advantage. Scale and precision are two important features employed in describing the size and foraging behavior of root system. It was hypothesized that scale and precision is negatively related, i. e., the species with high scale of root system tend to be a less precise forager. The outcomes of different research work have been diverse, far from reaching a consensus. Species with high scale are not necessarily less precise in fine root allocation, and vice versa. The proliferation of fine root in enriched micro-sites is species dependent, and also affected by other factors, such as patch attributes (size and nutrients concentration), nutrients, and overall soil fertility. Beside root proliferation in nutrient enriched patches, plants can also adapt themselves to the heterogeneous soil environment by altering other root characteristics such as fine root diameter, branch angle, length, and spatial architecture of root system. Physiological and mycorrhizal plasticity can add some influence on the morphological plasticity to some extent, but they are less studied. Roots located in different patches can quickly regulate their nutrient uptake kinetics within different nutrient patches, and increase overall nutrient uptake. Physiological response may, to certain extent, reduce morphological response, and is meaningful for plant growth on soils with frequently changing spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Mycorrhizal plasticity has been least studied so far. Some researches revealed that mycorrhiza, rather than fine root, proliferated in enriched patches. But, it is not the case with other studies. The proliferation of mycorrhiza within enriched patches is more profitable in term of carbon invest. The effect of fine root proliferation on nutrient uptake is complex, depending on ion mobility and whether or not neighboring plant exists. The influence of root plasticity on the growth of plants is species specific. Some species (sensitive species) gain growth benefit, while others don't. The ability of an individual plant to response to heterogeneous resources has significant effect on its competitive ability and its fate within the community, and eventually shapes the composition and structure of the community.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Ecological role of reindeer summer browsing in the mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) forests: effects on plant defense, litter decomposition, and soil nutrient cycling.

Mammalian herbivores commonly alter the concentrations of secondary compounds in plants and, by this mechanism, have indirect effects on litter decomposition and soil carbon and nutrient cycling. In northernmost Fennoscandia, the subarctic mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) forests are important pasture for the semidomestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). In the summer ranges, mountain birches are intensively browsed, whereas in the winter ranges, reindeer feed on ground lichens, and the mountain birches remain intact. We analyzed the effect of summer browsing on the concentrations of secondary substances, litter decomposition, and soil nutrient pools in areas that had been separated as summer or winter ranges for at least 20 years, and we predicted that summer browsing may reduce levels of secondary compounds in the mountain birch and, by this mechanism, have an indirect effect on the decomposition of mountain birch leaf litter and soil nutrient cycling. The effect of browsing on the concentration of secondary substances in the mountain birch leaves varied between different years and management districts, but in some cases, the concentration of condensed tannins was lower in the summer than in the winter ranges. In a reciprocal litter decomposition trial, both litter origin and emplacement significantly affected the litter decomposition rate. Decomposition rates were faster for the litter originating from and placed into the summer range. Soil inorganic nitrogen (N) concentrations were higher in the summer than in the winter ranges, which indicates that reindeer summer browsing may enhance the soil nutrient cycling. There was a tight inverse relationship between soil N and foliar tannin concentrations in the winter range but not in the summer range. This suggests that in these strongly nutrient-limited ecosystems, soil N availability regulates the patterns of resource allocation to condensed tannins in the absence but not in the presence of browsing.

Analysis of Variance↗

[Effect of stand condition improvement on surface soil nutrient losses of hilly land Dendrocalamus latiflorus plantations].

A comparative study on the soil nutrient losses of hilly land shoot-used Dendrocalamus lati florus plantations at the Nanjing stated-owned forest farm, Fujian Province showed that the losses of soil N, P and K under three treatments of stand condition improvement varied with season, and 90% or more of these losses appeared from April to September, with the order of overall ploughing > strip ploughing > control. There was no significant difference of N and P losses among the three treatments, while the K loss was markedly higher under overall ploughing than the control.

China↗

[The status and changes of soil nutrients in rhizosphere of cultivated Atractylodes lancea].

OBJECTIVE: To find the status and changes of the soil nutrients in rhizosphere of Atractylodes lancea. METHOD: Total nitrogen (total N), available K, available P, organic matter (ORG), available nitrogen and pH in rhizosphere soil of the wild growing A. lancea in 3 sites, MS, LT and MFS, and the cultivated ones with different ages in LT were detected. RESULT: The contents of total nitrogen (total N), available K, available P, organic matter (ORG), available nitrogen and pH value in rhizosphere soil were significant different between MS, LT and MFS (P < 0.01). The results of the 6 detected parameters in MS were the lowest, in MFS were the highest and in LT were in the middle. The total N, ORG and available N in the cultivated A. lancea were lower than that in the wild ones (P < 0.01) and available P and pH value in the cultivated A. lancea were higher than that in wild ones (P < 0.01) and there was no difference in available K between the wild and cultivated ones in LT (P > 0.05); 3 available P in rhizosphere soil of the two years old A. lancea were higher than of the one year old A. lancea (P < 0.01) and there were no difference of total N, ORG, available N, available K and pH value in rhizosphere soil of A. lancea between one year and two years plant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: It is indicated that the growth of A. lancea in Mt. Mao is faced nutrient stress.

Atractylodes↗

Basal area growth of sugar maple in relation to acid deposition, stand health, and soil nutrients.

Previous studies have shown in noncalcareous soils that acid deposition may have increased soil leaching of basic cations above the input rate from soil weathering and atmospheric depositions. This phenomenon may have increased soil acidity levels, and, as a consequence, may have reduced the availability of these essential nutrients for forest growth. Fourteen plots of the Forest Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Network in Québec were used to examine the relation between post-industrial growth trends of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and acid deposition (N and S), stand decline rate, and soil exchangeable nutrient concentrations. Atmospheric N and S deposition and soil exchangeable acidity were positively associated with stand decline rate, and negatively with the average tree basal area increment trend. The growth rate reduction reached on average 17% in declining stands compared with healthy ones. The results showed a significant sugar maple growth rate reduction since 1960 on acid soils. The appearance of the forest decline phenomenon in Québec can be attributed, at least partially, to soil acidification and acid deposition levels.

Acer↗

[Effect of different fertilization system on soil nutrient budget].

A long-term experiment was carried out on a damp palm soil about ten years under the condition of nutrient recycling and reutilization. The quantity of crop nutrients transferred from the system, and the nutrient budget of N, P and K in soil were studied. The results of a ten-year field experiment indicated that the use of nutrients recycled in the farming systems with appropriate amount of fertilizers applied according to the soil nutrient supplying ability could not only produce high crop yield, but also balance the soil nutrient budget, so that, there were no significant surplus of nutrients (mainly inorganic nitrogen) which might emit or leach out of soil into environment.

Agriculture↗

Soil nutrient effects on oviposition preference, larval performance, and chemical defense of a specialist insect herbivore.

This study examined the effects of increased leaf nitrogen in natural host-plants (Plantago spp.) on female oviposition preference, larval performance, and larval chemical defense of the butterfly Junonia coenia. Increased availability of soil nutrients caused the host-plant's foliar nitrogen to increase and its chemical defense to decrease. Larval performance did not correlate with increases in foliar nitrogen. Larval growth rate and survival were equivalent across host-plant treatments. However, larvae raised on fertilized host-plants showed concomitant decreases in chemical defense as compared to larvae reared on unfertilized host-plants. Since most butterfly larvae cannot move long distances during their first few instars and are forced to feed upon the plant on which they hatched, J. coenia larval chemical defense is determined, in large part, by female oviposition choice. Female butterflies preferred host-plants with high nitrogen over host-plants with low nitrogen; however, this preference was also mediated by plant chemical defense. Female butterflies preferred more chemically defended host-plants when foliar nitrogen was equivalent between host-plants. J. coenia larvae experience intense predation in the field, especially when larvae are not chemically well defended. Any qualitative or quantitative variation in plant allelochemical defense has fitness consequences on these larvae. Thus, these results indicate that females may be making sub-optimal oviposition decisions under a nutrient-enriched regime, when predators are present. Given the recent increase in fertilizer application and nitrogen deposition on the terrestrial landscape, these interactions between female preference, larval performance, and larval chemical defense may result in long-term changes in population dynamics and persistence of specialist insects.

Analysis of Variance↗

Seasonal changes in population of some selected earthworm species and soil nutrients in cultivated agroecosystem.

Studies were conducted on population dynamics of Metaphire posthuma, Lampito mauritii and Dichogaster bolaui in cultivated pedoecosystem of desert region of Rajasthan. The populations of aclitellate and clitellate M. posthuma, L. mauritii and D. bolaui were maximum in rainy season and minimum in summer season. The abundant population of these worms were found during the months of July to October. The species M. posthuma breed throughout the year except in extreme summer but L. mauritii breed twice in a year in the field. However, D. bolaui breed once in a year. Among these earthworm species D. bolaui with relative density of 44.2% was the most dominant species in cultivated land while L. mauritii and M. posthuma contributed 33.3% and 22.5% of density, respectively. The total population of earthworms showed significant positive correlation with different soil nutrients.

Agriculture↗

Influence of environmental factors on antagonism of fungi by bacteria in soil: nutrient levels.

The addition of 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0% glucose to a soil (K) amended with either 6% kaolinite (K6K) or montmorillonite (K6M) or the adjustment of the C/N ratio of the soils from 23/1 to 10/1 with NH(4)NO(3) eliminated the inhibition of Aspergillus niger by Serratia marcescens, regardless of whether the fungus and bacterium were inoculated into the same or separate sites in the soils. The adjustment of the C/N ratio to 15/1 or of the C/P ratio from 1,000/1 to 100/1 with KH(2)PO(4) did not eliminate the antagonism. However, with the higher glucose and NH(4)NO(3) amendments, S. marcescens died out in the K and K6K (but not in the K6M) soils, apparently due to reductions in pH that resulted from the increased metabolism induced by added nutrients. In soils amended with CaCO(3), S. marcescens did not die out, but the inhibition of A. niger by S. marcescens or Agrobacterium radiobacter was eliminated or reduced by the addition of glucose, but not of NH(4)NO(3), and was influenced by the clay mineralogy and pH of the soils. When NH(4)NO(3) was added to the soils adjusted with CaCO(3) to pH values above 6.0, growth of A. niger was inhibited, regardless of whether bacteria were present or not, as a result of the volatilization of NH(3). Bacillus cereus and another species of Bacillus did not inhibit A. niger under any of the environmental conditions. There was a direct correlation between the degree of inhibition and the rate of glucose utilization by the various bacteria, indicating that the antagonism of A. niger by some bacteria in soil was the result primarily of a competition for carbon and that this competition was influenced by other environmental factors, such as pH and clay mineralogy.

Journal Article↗

Long-term effects of sustained beef feedlot manure application on soil nutrients, corn silage yield, and nutrient uptake.

A field study was initiated in 1992 to investigate the long-term impacts of beef feedlot manure application (composted and uncomposted) on nutrient accumulation and movement in soil, corn silage yield, and nutrient uptake. Two application strategies were compared: providing the annual crop nitrogen (N) requirement (N-based rate) or crop phosphorus (P) removal (P-based rate), as well as a comparison to inorganic fertilizer. Additionally, effects of a winter cover crop were evaluated. Irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) was produced annually from 1993 through 2002. Average silage yield and crop nutrient removal were highest with N-based manure treatments, intermediate with P-based manure treatments, and least with inorganic N fertilizer. Use of a winter cover crop resulted in silage yield reductions in four of ten years, most likely due to soil moisture depletion in the spring by the cover crop. However, the cover crop did significantly reduce NO3-N accumulation in the shallow vadose zone, particularly in latter years of the study. The composted manure N-based treatment resulted in significantly greater soil profile NO3-N concentration and higher soil P concentration near the soil surface. The accounting procedure used to calculate N-based treatment application rates resulted in acceptable soil profile NO3-N concentrations over the short term. While repeated annual manure application to supply the total crop N requirement may be acceptable for this soil for several years, sustained application over many years carries the risk of unacceptable soil P concentrations.

Agriculture↗

Spiramycin fermentation residue-derived biochar regulates soil nutrient cycling, microbial communities, and antibiotic resistance gene dynamics.

Spiramycin fermentation residues (SFR) are hazardous wastes enriched with residual antibiotics, yet they can serve as potential feedstocks for resource recovery after appropriate treatment. In this study, SFR-derived biochar (SFR-BC) was produced by pyrolysis and applied to agricultural soil to evaluate its effects on soil properties, microbial communities, potential pathogenic bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). A 60-day soil incubation experiment was conducted with one control and three SFR-BC application rates of 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0%. SFR-BC improved soil physicochemical properties, nutrient status, enzyme activities, and microbial alpha diversity. Metagenomic analysis showed that SFR-BC altered the abundance of functional genes associated with carbon and nitrogen cycling, indicating shifts in microbial functional potential. SFR-BC also changed bacterial co-occurrence patterns, with the high-dose treatment showing a more complex and highly connected network structure during incubation. In addition, high-dose SFR-BC reduced several potential pathogenic bacteria, including major plant pathogenic taxa. SFR-BC decreased soil ARG abundance by 9.38%-33.67% and MGE abundance by 6.49%-27.89% relative to the control, showing a dose-dependent reduction in antibiotic resistance-related genetic elements. Network and PLS-PM analyses further indicated that ARG variation was statistically associated with soil physicochemical properties, microbial diversity, potential bacterial hosts, and MGEs. Overall, these results suggest that SFR-BC can improve short-term soil nutrient status and reduce ARGs, MGEs, and several potential pathogenic taxa under controlled incubation conditions, providing useful evidence for the potential valorization of antibiotic fermentation residues through pyrolysis.

Charcoal↗

Growth of Azotobacter vinelandii on Soil Nutrients.

Azotobacter vinelandii cells grew well in a medium made from soil and distilled water which contained little or no carbohydrate. They utilized p-hydroxybenzoic acid and other phenolic acids, soil nitrogen, and water-soluble mineral substances. Seventeen soils which supported excellent growth of A. vinelandii contained 11 to 18 different phenolic acids each, including p-hydroxybenzoic, m-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, p-coumeric, syringic, cis- and trans-ferrulic, and other unidentified aromatic acids. Three white, chalky "caliche" soils which were taken from areas where no plants grew failed to support the growth of A. vinelandii, and these contained no, two, and three phenolic acids, respectively. A. vinelandii did not fix nitrogen when growing in dialysates of soils which contained numerous phenolic acids. Growth was ample and rapid in most of the soils tested, but cell morphology was different from that usually seen in chemically defined, nitrogen-free media which contain glucose.

Journal Article↗

Aeolian dust in Colorado Plateau soils: nutrient inputs and recent change in source.

Aeolian dust (windblown silt and clay) is an important component in arid-land ecosystems because it may contribute to soil formation and furnish essential nutrients. Few geologic surfaces, however, have been characterized with respect to dust-accumulation history and resultant nutrient enrichment. We have developed a combination of methods to identify the presence of aeolian dust in arid regions and to evaluate the roles of this dust in ecosystem processes. Unconsolidated sandy sediment on isolated surfaces in the Canyonlands region of the Colorado Plateau differs greatly in mineralogical and chemical composition from associated bedrock, mainly aeolian sandstone. Detrital magnetite in the surficial deposits produces moderately high values of magnetic susceptibility, but magnetite is absent in nearby bedrock. A component of the surficial deposits must be aeolian to account for the abundance of magnetite, which formed originally in far-distant igneous rocks. Particle-size analysis suggests that the aeolian dust component is typically as much as 20-30%. Dust inputs have enriched the sediments in many elements, including P, Mg, Na, K, and Mo, as well as Ca, at sites where bedrock lacks calcite cement. Soil-surface biologic crusts are effective dust traps that apparently record a change in dust sources over the past several decades. Some of the recently fallen dust may result from human disturbance of land surfaces that are far from the Canyonlands, such as the Mojave Desert. Some land-use practices in the study area have the potential to deplete soil fertility by means of wind-erosion removal of aeolian silt.

Colorado↗

Oak canopy effects on the distribution patterns of two annual grasses: the role of competition and soil nutrients.

Within the oak woodlands of California there is often a distinct shift in the botanical composition between the open grassland and the herbaceous understory beneath oak canopy. Botanical sampling at two woodland sites indicated that the annual grass Bromus diandrus was dominant under deciduous blue oak canopy, while a congener, Bromus hordeaceus, was dominant in open grassland. We examined the relative importance of congeneric competition and edaphic factors in creating these differences in species distribution in two separate field experiments that manipulated both congeneric and intraspecific competition, as well as soil type. We used the demographic measure of relative reproductive rate as an index of population growth. In general, demographic performance correctly predicted the distribution of the two annual grasses in the field. Our results indicate that reduced abundance of B. hordeaceus under canopy reflects the negative effects of competition with B. diandrus. In contrast, B. diandrus is little affected by competition from B. hordeaceus. The reduced abundance of B. diandrus in open grassland may result, in part, from its inability to adapt as well as B. hordeaceus to lower nutrient availability in soils of the open grassland.

Journal Article↗