Yosuke Yanai

Effects of charcoal addition on N2O emissions from soil resulting from rewetting air-dried soil in short-term laboratory experiments

Abstract Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the effect of charcoal addition on N2O emissions resulting from rewetting of air-dried soil. Rewetting the soil at 73% and 83% of the water-filled pore space (WFPS) caused a N2O emission peak 6 h after the rewetting, and the cumulative N2O emissions throughout the 120-h incubation period were 11 ± 1 and 13 ± 1 mg N m−2, respectively. However, rewetting at 64% WFPS did not cause detectable N2O emissions (−0.016 ± 0.082 mg N m−2), suggesting a severe sensitivity to soil moisture. When the soils were rewetted at 73% and 78% WFPS, the addition of charcoal to soil at 10 wt% supressed the N2O emissions by 89% . In contrast, the addition of the ash from the charcoal did not suppress the N2O emissions from soil rewetted at 73% WFPS. The addition of charcoal also significantly stimulated the N2O emissions from soil rewetted at 83% WFPS compared with the soil without charcoal addition (P < 0.01). Moreover, the addition of KCl and K2SO4 did not show a clear difference in the N2O emission pattern, although Cl− and SO2− 4, which were the major anions in the charcoal, had different effects on N2O-reducing activity. These results indicate that the suppression of N2O emissions by the addition of charcoal may not result in stimulation of the N2O-reducing activity in the soil because of changes in soil chemical properties.

Effects of successive soil freeze-thaw cycles on soil microbial biomass and organic matter decomposition potential of soils

Abstract Effects of soil freeze-thaw cycles on soil microbial biomass were examined using 8 soil samples collected from various locations, including 4 arable land sites and 2 forest sites in temperate regions and 2 arable land sites in tropical regions. The amounts of soil microbial biomass C and N, determined by the chloroform fumigation and extraction method, significantly decreased by 6 to 40% following four successive soil freeze-thaw cycles (- 13 and 4°C at 12 h-intervals) compared with the unfrozen control (kept at 4°C during the same period of time as that of the freeze-thaw cycles). In other words, it was suggested that 60 to 94% of the soil microorganisms might survive following the successive freeze-thaw cycles. Canonical correlation analysis revealed a significantly positive correlation between the rate of microbial survival and organic matter content of soil (r = 0.948*). Correlation analysis showed that the microbial survival rate was also positively correlated with the pore-space whose size ranged from 9.5 to 6.0 μm (capillary-equivalent-diameter; r = 0.995**), pH(KCI) values (r = 0.925**), EC values (r = 0.855*), and pH (H2O) values (r = 0.778*), respectively. These results suggested that the soil physicochemical properties regulating the amount of unfrozen water in soil may affect the rate of microbial survival following the soil freeze-thaw cycles. The potential of organic matter decomposition of the soils was examined to estimate the effects of the soil freeze-thaw cycles on the soil processes associated with the soil microbial communities. The soil freeze-thaw cycles led to significant 6% increase in chitin decomposition and 7% decrease in rice straw decomposition (p < 0.05), suggesting that the partial sterilization associated with the soil freeze-thaw cycles might disturb the soil microbial functions.

Fungal N2O production in an arable peat soil in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract To clarify the microbiological factors that explain high N2O emission in an arable peat soil in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, a substrate-induced respiration-inhibition experiment was conducted for N2O production. The N2O emission rate decreased by 31% with the addition of streptomycin, whereas it decreased by 81% with the addition of cycloheximide, compared with a non-antibiotic-added control. This result revealed a greater contribution of the fungal community than bacterial community to the production of N2O in the soil. The population density of fungi in the soil, determined using the dilution plate method, was 5.5 log c.f.u. g−1 soil and 4.9 log c.f.u. g−1 soil in the non-selective medium (rose bengal) and the selective medium for Fusarium, respectively. The N2O-producing potential was randomly examined in each of these isolates by inoculation onto Czapek agar medium (pH 4.3) and incubation at 28°C for 14 days. Significant N2O-producing potential was found in six out of 19 strains and in five out of seven strains isolated from the non-selective and selective media, respectively. Twenty-three out of 26 strains produced more than 20% CO2 during the 14-day incubation period, suggesting the presence of facultative fungi in the soil. These strains were identified to be Fusarium oxysporum and Neocosmospora vasinfecta based on the sequence of 18S rDNA, irrespective of the N2O-producing potential and the growth potential in conditions of low O2 concentration.

Response of denitrifying communities to successive soil freeze–thaw cycles

The effect of soil freeze–thaw cycles on the denitrification potential was examined based on the C2H2 inhibition method. The gross N2O production curve of the soil sample (incubation with C2H2) showed minor changes between the freeze–thaw treatment and the unfrozen control. However, kinetics analysis revealed that the initial production rate, an indicator of the population density of denitrifying communities, decreased (P = 0.043) and the specific growth rate constant, an indicator of the activity of denitrifying communities, increased (P = 0.039) as a result of the freeze–thaw cycles in five of six soil samples examined. The increase in the specific growth rate constant suggested the stimulation of the activity of denitrifying communities that survived after the freeze–thaw cycles and may explain the minor suppression on the gross N2O production in spite of decreasing the population density of denitrifying communities that was suggested by the initial production rate. The net N2O production curve of the soil sample (incubation without C2H2) showed a remarkable change in one out of six soil samples, and in that one soil sample, N2O release to the atmosphere was largely stimulated (7.6 times) by the freeze–thaw cycles. However, the stimulation of the N2O release by the freeze–thaw cycles was even observed in two other selected soil samples (4.6 and 1.8 times), suggesting that an imbalance in the N2O-producing and N2O-reducing activities of denitrifying communities might complementally explain the N2O release stimulated by the freeze–thaw cycles.

Cropland soil–plant systems control production and consumption of methane and nitrous oxide and their emissions to the atmosphere

Abstract Croplands are an important source of atmospheric methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), both potent greenhouse gases. Reduction of cropland CH4 and N2O emissions is expected to mitigate climate change. However, large uncertainty remains in the assessment and prediction of these emissions, which prevents us from establishing appropriate mitigation options and strategies. The uncertainty is attributed mainly to the high spatiotemporal variability in emissions (e.g., emission spikes of N2O). Understanding and quantifying how hotspots of CH4 and N2O production in soil and then hot moments of their emissions occur would help reduce the uncertainty. This review focuses on soil–plant systems, particularly the rhizosphere, as possible hotspots of production and consumption of CH4 and N2O. It is well known that the rhizosphere controls CH4 emission strongly, though each process of production and consumption remains to be quantified. On the other hand, surprisingly little attention has been paid to N2O, besides the fact that plant roots strongly control nitrification and denitrification. We review the current knowledge of cropland CH4 and N2O emissions, and conclude that soil–plant interactions strongly affect cropland emissions of both gases, in which functions of plant roots affecting biogeochemical factors (e.g., availability of oxygen, labile organic carbon and inorganic nitrogen) in the rhizosphere and phenological changes are particularly important. In relation to the status of current knowledge, we discuss future research needed.

Soil Frost Control: Its Application to Volunteer Potato Management in a Cold Region

The earlier onset of persistent snowcover since the late 1980s has narrowed the time window for soil-surface cooling without insulating snowcover, drastically reducing the soil frost depth in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. In crop fields managed by rotation, small potato tubers left unharvested in the fall survive the winter and emerge as weeds during spring–summer (volunteer potatoes). To eliminate them, soil frost depths are manipulated by artificially controlling snowcover thickness, guided by numerical soil-temperature model prediction. Field trials demonstrated that soil frost depths were predicted within accuracy of several centimeters. The optimal soil frost depth of 0.3–0.4 m is proposed as a compromise between the elimination of volunteer potatoes and permissible soil frost depth to prevent negative effects on agriculture in the following spring. The numerical model also facilitates decision-making related to the work schedule of snow plowing practices (yukiwari in Japanese). This method is adopted by local potato producers, who manage farmland on a large scale. This method represents a new agricultural technology that is useful for adaptation to climate change.

Optimum soil frost depth to alleviate climate change effects in cold region agriculture

On-farm soil frost control has been used for the management of volunteer potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.), a serious weed problem caused by climate change, in northern Japan. Deep soil frost penetration is necessary for the effective eradication of unharvested small potato tubers; however, this process can delay soil thaw and increase soil wetting in spring, thereby delaying agricultural activity initiation and increasing nitrous oxide emissions from soil. Conversely, shallow soil frost development helps over-wintering of unharvested potato tubers and nitrate leaching from surface soil owing to the periodic infiltration of snowmelt water. In this study, we synthesised on-farm snow cover manipulation experiments to determine the optimum soil frost depth that can eradicate unharvested potato tubers without affecting agricultural activity initiation while minimising N pollution from agricultural soil. The optimum soil frost depth was estimated to be 0.28–0.33 m on the basis of the annual maximum soil frost depth. Soil frost control is a promising practice to alleviate climate change effects on agriculture in cold regions, which was initiated by local farmers and further promoted by national and local research institutes.