Yunfa Qiao

Nodule Formation and Development in Soybeans (Glycine max L.) in Response to Phosphorus Supply in Solution Culture

Phosphorus (P) is necessary for growth and nitrogen fixation, and thus its deficiency is a major factor limiting legume production in most agricultural soils. The effect of phosphorus supply on nodule development and its role in soybeans (Glycine max L.) was studied in a nutrient solution. Plants were inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum and grown for 35 days in a glasshouse at a day and night temperature of 25℃ and 15℃, respectively. Although increasing P supply increased the concentrations of P and N in the shoots and roots, the external P supply did not significantly affect the P concentration in the nodules, and the N fixed per unit nodule biomass decreased with increasing P supply. The nitrogen content in the shoots correlated well with the P content (r=0.92(superscript **)). At an inoculation level of 102 cells mL^(-1), the P supply did not affect the number of nodules; however, at inoculation levels of 10^(3.5) and 10^5 cells mL^(-1), increasing P supply increased both the number and size of nodules. Irrespective of the inoculation level, increasing P supply increased the nodule biomass relative to the biomass of the host plant. It is suggested that the P deficiency specifically inhibited the nodule development and thereby the total N2 fixation.

Impact of Soil Management on Organic Carbon Content and Aggregate Stability

Abstract Soil cultivation influences organic carbon storage and soil structures. To evaluate the impact of different soil‐management practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and aggregate stability in black soils, SOC in whole soil, various size aggregates, and density‐separated fractions from three long‐term experiments (20 years) was examined. The three soil‐management systems were grassland (GL), bare land (BL), and croplands. The croplands had two treatments: nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer application (NP) and NP together with organic manure (NPM). The SOC in the 0‐ to 10‐cm layer decreased in the order NPM>GL>NP>BL and also declined with the soil depth. The SOC of GL increased by 9.7% as compared to NP after 20 years of natural vegetation restoration. The SOC of NPM increased by 11% over NP after 13 years of organic manure application. The percentages of water‐stable aggregate (>0.25 mm) (WSA>0.25mm) decreased in the order GL>BL>NPM>NP in the top 0‐ to 20‐cm horizon. WSA>2mm, the most important fraction for carbon (C) storage in GL and NPM, accounted for 33 and 45% of the whole soil for GL in the depths of 0–10 and 10–20 cm, respectively, and 25 and 18% for NPM in the same soil layers. A significant positive correlation was found between the C stored in WSA>2mm and total SOC (r=0.81, P<0.05) and between the mean weight diameters (MWD) of aggregates and total SOC (r=0.78, P<0.05). Water‐stable aggregate0.25–2mm was the largest fraction of WSA>0.25mm, ranging from 54 to 72% for the 0‐ to 10‐cm layer and 46 to 71% for the 10‐ to 20‐cm layer; thus these aggregates would play a major role in soil sustainability as well as the resistance to soil erosion. The organic carbon (OC) of heavy fraction (HF) accounted for 94–99% of the OC in the WSA0.25–2mm, whereas free particulate organic matter (fPOM) and occluded particulate organic matter (oPOM) contributed a minor fraction of the OC in the WSA0.25–2mm, suggesting that C sequestration in HF could enhance the stability of aggregates and C pools in black soil.

Phosphorus Deficiency Delays the Onset of Nodule Function in Soybean

ABSTRACT Effects of phosphorus (P) deficiency on nodulation were examined in soybean grown in nutrient solution for 7 weeks. Increasing P supply increased shoot growth of nitrogen (N2)-fixing plants from week 5 and that of nitrate-fed plant from week 4 after treatment. Nitrogen (N2)-fixing plants had a greater P requirement for maximum growth at week 5. Increasing P supply from 1 to 16 μ M increased N concentration in N2-fixing plants at week 4 but did not affect it from week 5. By contrast, P deficiency increased N concentration in nitrate-fed plants. Increasing P supply improved nodule formation from week 3. Nodule mass was affected more by P supply than nodule number, which, in turn, was affected more than plant growth. However, P supply did not decrease nodule specific N2 fixation from week 5. The results suggest that P deficiency impaired symbiotic N2 fixation through delaying onset of nodule function and decreasing nodule development.

Carbon dioxide emission from black soil as influenced by land-use change and long-term fertilization.

Land‐use change and soil management play a vital role in influencing losses of soil carbon (C) by respiration. The aim of this experiment was to examine the impact of natural vegetation restoration and long‐term fertilization on the seasonal pattern of soil respiration and cumulative carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from a black soil of northeast China. Soil respiration rate fluctuated greatly during the growing season in grassland (GL), ranging from 278 to 1030 mg CO2 m−2 h−1 with an average of 606 mg CO2 m−2 h−1. By contrast, soil CO2 emission did not change in bareland (BL) as much as in GL. For cropland (CL), including three treatments [CK (no fertilizer application), nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium application (NPK), and NPK together with organic manure (OM)], soil CO2 emission gradually increased with the growth of maize after seedling with an increasing order of CK < NPM < OM, reaching a maximum on 17 August and declining thereafter. A highly significant exponential correlation was observed between soil temperature and soil CO2 emission for GL during the late growing season (from 3 August to 28 September) with Q10 = 2.46, which accounted for approximately 75% of emission variability. However, no correlation was found between the two parameters for BL and CL. Seasonal CO2 emission from rhizosphere soil changed in line with the overall soil respiration, which averaged 184, 407, and 584 mg CO2 m−2 h−1, with peaks at 614, 1260, and 1770 mg CO2 m−2 h−1 for CK, NPK, and OM, respectively. SOM‐derived CO2 emission of root free‐soil, including basal soil respiration and plant residue–derived microbial decomposition, averaged 132, 132, and 136 mg CO2 m−2 h−1, respectively, showing no difference for the three CL treatments. Cumulative soil CO2 emissions decreased in the order OM > GL > NPK > CK > BL. The cumulative rhizosphere‐derived CO2 emissions during the growing season of maize in cropland accounted for about 67, 74, and 80% of the overall CO2 emissions for CK, NPK, and OM, respectively. Cumulative CO2 emissions were found to significantly correlate with SOC stocks (r = 0.92, n = 5, P < 0.05) as well as with SOC concentration (r = 0.97, n = 5, P < 0.01). We concluded that natural vegetation restoration and long‐term application of organic manure substantially increased C sequestration into soil rather than C losses for the black soil. These results are of great significance to properly manage black soil as a large C pool in northeast China.

Genotypic variation in phosphorus utilisation of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Murr.] grown in various sparingly soluble P sources

This study compared the utilisation of sparingly soluble P among soybean genotypes selected from 3 geographical regions with contrasting soil pH. Plants of 5 genotypes from each region were grown for 72 days in soil columns supplied with hydroxyapetite (Ca-P), AlPO4 (Al-P), or FePO4 (Fe-P) at a rate of 25 mg P/kg soil. NaH2PO4 (Na-P) was used as control at the same rate. Shoot weights ranged from 2.4 to 5.9 g/plant. On average, the genotypes selected from calcareous soils of north-west China produced the highest shoot biomass whereas those from neutral soils of the north-east region the least. Root biomass and root surface area followed the same trend. In contrast, the root-to-shoot weight ratio was highest in Fe-P and lowest in Na-P while root length in Na-P and Fe-P was greater than in the other P forms. The genotypes from the north-east region had higher P concentration in the shoot than those from the other 2 regions. Total P uptake ranged from 9.0 to 15.9 mg/plant for Na-P, and from 6.3 to 12.4 for the sparingly soluble P. Average total P uptake was the highest for the genotypes from the north-west region, and was greatest in Na-P and lowest in Fe-P. The genotypes from the north-east region displayed the greatest ability to use sparingly soluble P, and those from the north-west the least relative to Na-P. Total P uptake from the sparingly soluble P correlated highly with plant biomass production, N2 fixation and nodulation, and seed P, while the relative P uptake correlated highly with P concentration in shoots but neither correlated with root carboxylate release nor leachate pH. The results suggest that there is a substantial genotypic variation in utilisation of sparingly soluble P, which is related to early vigour, nodulation, and seed P reserve but not to origin site pH or root exudation.

Improving soil nutrient availability increases carbon rhizodeposition under maize and soybean in Mollisols

Rhizodeposited carbon (C) is an important source of soil organic C, and plays an important role in the C cycle in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. However, interactive effects of plant species and soil nutrient availability on C rhizodeposition remain unclear. This experiment examined the effect of soil nutrient availability on C rhizodeposition of C4 maize and C3 soybean with contrasting photosynthetic capacity. The soils (Mollisols) were collected from three treatments of no fertilizer (Control), inorganic fertilizer only (NPK), and NPK plus organic manure (NPKM) in a 24-year fertilization field trial. The plants were labelled with 13C at the vegetative and reproductive stages. The 13C abundance of shoots, roots and soil were quantified at 0, 7days after 13C labelling, and at maturity. Increasing soil nutrient availability enhanced the C rhizodeposition due to the greater C fixation in shoots and distribution to roots and soil. The higher amount of averaged below-ground C allocated to soil resulted in greater specific rhizodeposited C from soybean than maize. Additional organic amendment further enhanced them. As a result, higher soil nutrient availability increased total soil organic C under both maize and soybean systems though there was no significant difference between the two crop systems. All these suggested that higher soil nutrient availability favors C rhizodeposition. Mean 80, 260 and 300kgfixedCha-1 were estimated to transfer into soil in the Control, NPK and NPKM treatments, respectively, during one growing season.

Root and Microbial Contributions to Soil Respiration during a Soybean Growing Season

Soil respiration is an important process for carbon geochemical cycling. Based on our five long‐term fertilizer experiments, soil respiration was measured using pot experiments with or without planting soybean. Soil respiration rates and soybean root biomass were determined at different observation times. Soil respiration rates due to soil microbial activity could be estimated by extrapolating a newly derived regressive equation at zero root biomass. Soil microbial respiration rates in the control were also observed directly, ranging from 16.0 to 42.7 mg carbon (C) m−2 h−1. Average soil microbial respiration rates from the regression analyses and direct observations were 32.9 and 27.8 mg C m−2 h−1, respectively. The average proportions of soil respiration rates due to the soybean growth were 63.0% using the regressive equation and 69.8% from direct observation. Therefore, the application of these two methods could provide new insight for separating plant root respiration from soil microbial respiration, which is important for estimating their individual contributions to atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Changes in Soil Organic Carbon and Carbon Fractions Under Different Land Use and Management Practices After Development From Parent Material of Mollisols

Abstract Soil organic carbon (SOC) is important to soil nutrient status in agroecosystems. Some of the soils of the Northeast of China, noted for their high SOC content, suffer from serious soil erosion to the point of having the parent material exposed or near the surface, which has raised concerns for food security. The Chinese Mollisols were derived from loamy Quaternary loess that developed from parent material. To effectively restore parent material to productive soils, information on the effects of land use/management practices on SOC concentration and C fractions in loess parent material of Chinese Mollisols is needed. The main objective of this study was to investigate the changes in C sequestration and C density fractions by physical and chemical fractionation (humic substances) occurring in the process of soil development from parent material under different management practices and land use. Six treatments were imposed in plots of loess parent material in a 5-year experiment: (1) natural fallow without weed control; (2) alfalfa; (3) soybean-maize rotation (S-M), straw of unfertilized maize removed; (4) S-M, straw of chemically fertilized maize removed; (5) S-M, straw of chemically fertilized maize and dried soybean powder incorporated; (6) S-M, biomass, including grain, of chemically fertilized maize incorporated. The SOC content increased by 15% to 77% depending on treatments. In the process of soil development, the C fractions of the parent material changed rapidly. The heavy fraction C pool accounted for a larger proportion of total SOC (78%–89%) than both the free light fraction (2.1%–10.2%) and the occluded light fraction (1.3%–12.9%) pools. The occluded light fraction was more sensitive than the free light fraction as indicator of soil C changes because of different land use and management practices. Humin accounted for a larger proportion (29.9%–54.7%) of SOC than fulvic acid (18.0%–34.4%), which was larger than the humic acid fraction (11.8%–14.8%). Our results indicate that SOC increase in loess parent material depends on types and amounts of organic matter inputs. The treatments, in which aboveground crop biomass and grain were incorporated, contributed more to C sequestration, distributions of density fraction, and humic substances than the treatments without organic matter. Management practices maximizing biomass inputs are recommended to restore SOC in degraded Chinese Mollisols in order to restore their fertility.