Zhihong Cao

Interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizae and heavy metals under sand culture experiment

A sand culture experiment was established to determine interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizae and heavy metals. Mycorrhizal infection rates, spore densities, maize root and shoot weights, and heavy metal contents in maize were as indexes of responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Acaulospora laevis, Glomus caledonium and Glomus manihotis) to heavy metals (Cu and Cd). The mycorrhizal infection rates of G. caledonium were the highest among these three mycorrhizal fungi, but the sporulating ability of G. caledonium was the poorest in the heavy metal treatments. The shoot and root weights of non-mycorrhizal plants were usually greater than those of mycorrhizal plants when the Cu concentrations in solutions are less than 3 mg l(-1) or Cd concentrations less than 1 mg l(-1). When Cd concentrations were 0.5 and 1 mg(-1), the root and shoot weights of plants inoculated with A. laevis were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those of other treatments. Copper concentrations in shoots of mycorrhizal plants were higher than those of non-mycorrhizal ones at all Cu concentrations in solution, especially at low Cu concentrations. As to A. laevis, Cu concentrations in roots and shoots of the host were higher than those of non-mycorrhizal plants in these treatments. Thus A. laevis was sensitive to Cu and Cd, especially Cd, and G. caledonium was more tolerant to these two heavy metals. It is suggested that G. caledonium might be a promising mycorrhizal fungus for bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil.

Changes in Diversity and Functional Gene Abundances of Microbial Communities Involved in Nitrogen Fixation, Nitrification, and Denitrification in a Tidal Wetland versus Paddy Soils Cultivated for Different Time Periods

ABSTRACT In many areas of China, tidal wetlands have been converted into agricultural land for rice cultivation. However, the consequences of land use changes for soil microbial communities are poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated bacterial and archaeal communities involved in inorganic nitrogen turnover (nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification) based on abundances and relative species richness of the corresponding functional genes along a soil chronosequence ranging between 50 and 2,000 years of paddy soil management compared to findings for a tidal wetland. Changes in abundance and diversity of the functional groups could be observed, reflecting the different chemical and physical properties of the soils, which changed in terms of soil development. The tidal wetland was characterized by a low microbial biomass and relatively high abundances of ammonia-oxidizing microbes. Conversion of the tidal wetlands into paddy soils was followed by a significant increase in microbial biomass. Fifty years of paddy management resulted in a higher abundance of nitrogen-fixing microbes than was found in the tidal wetland, whereas dominant genes of nitrification and denitrification in the paddy soils showed no differences. With ongoing rice cultivation, copy numbers of archaeal ammonia oxidizers did not change, while that of their bacterial counterparts declined. The nirK gene, coding for nitrite reductase, increased with rice cultivation time and dominated its functionally redundant counterpart, nirS, at all sites under investigation. Relative species richness showed significant differences between all soils with the exception of the archaeal ammonia oxidizers in the paddy soils cultivated for 100 and 300 years. In general, changes in diversity patterns were more pronounced than those in functional gene abundances.

Mechanisms of nitrite accumulation occurring in soil nitrification

Because low concentration of nitrite could be toxic to biological systems and high amounts of nitrite have been observed in a river of northern China since 1990, nitrite from agricultural soil sources should be investigated. In this paper, effects of levels of ammonium-N (NH4+-N), soil pH and nitrification inhibitors on NO2- accumulation, and duration of nitrite in soils were studied. Application of 11.2 mg of nitrapyrin kg(-1) soil or 11.2 mg of sodium azide kg(-1) soil dramatically suppressed nitrite occurrence. Within all incubation times and at all levels of ammonium-N input, we did not detect any measurable NO2-N accumulation in samples of Yellow-brown earth (pH 5.67), but observed huge accumulation in the 2 alkaline soils, Fluvo-aquic loam (pH 7.89) and Fluvo-aquic sand (pH 8.20). The concentrations of nitrite in both alkaline soils were related to ammonium-N levels. The effect of pH on nitrite accumulation was demonstrated by using slurries of Fluvo-aquic sand under continuous aeration and buffers of different pH. Data showed that nitrite concentration increased with the elevated pH, yet that ammonia oxidizers from the original soil (pH 8.2) could adapt to the new medium of low pH (pH 5.35). Dynamic changes of nitrite in soils amended with different rates of nitrite-N were also measured in 6 days. Thereby, we concluded that nitrite was unstable in acid soils, but durable in alkaline soils. The authors suggested that NO2- accumulation in field soils and its subsequent environmental impact should receive more attention.

Pollen and Phytolith Analyses of Ancient Paddy Fields at Chuodun Site, the Yangtze River Delta

A number of paddy fields pertaining to the Majiabang Cultures (5500-3800 years BC) were discovered during the archaeological excavations that were carried out since 1998 at the Chuodun site in the Yangtze River Delta. The pollen and phytolith analyses of two soil profiles from the northeastern part of this site were carried out to trace the agricultural practices of the Neolithic period. The phytolith results showed that rice domestication in the Yangtze River Delta could be traced back to as early as the Majiabang Culture. The pollen assemblage also revealed low levels of aquatic species, similar to that in modern paddy fields. This finding suggested that humans might have removed weeds for rice cultivation during the Neolithic period. Thus, pollen analysis in association with phytolith analysis was a promising method for identifying ancient paddy fields.

Comparison of lipid biomarker and gene abundance characterizing the archaeal ammonia-oxidizing community in flooded soils

In the last years, archaea have been identified as key players in global N cycling, especially in nitrification. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are postulated to belong to the new phylum Thaumarchaeota for which the lipid crenarchaeol should be specific. The ratios between two independent markers for AOA, the ammonia monooxygenase gene and crenarchaeol have been studied in different aerated soils, but so far not in flooded soils. This study investigated ammonia-oxidizing archaea in four paddy soils and a tidal wetland. Ratios were significantly higher in the paddy soils compared to the tidal wetland and in general higher as in upland soils, leading to the assumption that archaeal ammonia oxidizers different from crenarchaeol-containing Thaumarchaeota may play an important role in paddy soils.

Change of PAHs with evolution of paddy soils from prehistoric to present over the last six millennia in the Yangtze River Delta region, China

To evaluate the influence of hydroponics management on soil organic components with evolution of paddy soil over the last six millennia, PAHs, as a biomarker, as well as total organic carbon content were used to explore changes of paddy soil organic carbon in two entirely buried ancient paddy soil profiles. The results showed that hydroponics management can cause organic carbon deposition in rice paddy. The changing of total PAH concentrations was not always in accordance with the changing of total organic carbon contents in layers of the buried ancient paddy soils. The PAHs in 6280 BP prehistoric paddy soil layer was 3-ring>5-ring>4-ring>6-ring, while in layers of the present paddy soil and the prehistoric upland were 3-ring>4-ring>5-ring>6-ring. The contribution of phenanthrene to total PAHs in two profiles and the increasing ratio of phenanthrene to alkylated PAHs from parent material/6280 BP prehistoric upland to 6280 BP paddy suggested substantial increase of the anthropogenic influence of hydroponics management on rice paddy soil. And in view of the (14)C age and bioremains in the two profiles, it was only possible for PAHs to be derived from hydroponics management with evolution of the paddy soils form the Neolithic age. Cadalene could be used as an indicator for biological sources of PAHs released by rice plant residues, and benzo[g,h,i]fluoranthene and benzo[g,h,i]perylene for pyrogenic sources released by field vegetation fires.

Characteristics of Soil Fertility of Buried Ancient Paddy at Chuodun Site in Yangtze River Delta, China

Field investigation and laboratory analysis of 22 ancient paddy soils excavated at Chuodun site, Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, China were carried out in 2003 to (1) understand the basic characteristics of ancient paddy soils, (2) compare the difference of soil fertility between ancient paddy soils and recent paddy soils, and (3) inquire into mechanisms of the sustainability of paddy soil. The oldest paddy soils at Chuodun site can be dated back to Neolithic age, around 6000 aBP. These ancient fields were buried in about 1-m deep from the soil surface and their areas ranged from 0.32 to 12.9 m2 with an average of 5.2 m2. The paddy soils with >5000 pellets phytolith g−1 soil were termed intensively cultivated paddy soils (ICPS) and those with <5 000 pellets phytolith g−1 soil were called weakly cultivated soils (WCPS). The contents of organic carbon (OC), and total N in the former were significantly higher than that in the latter. Ancient paddy soils had higher soil pH and C/N, total and available P, and lower contents of OC, DOC, total N, S, Cu, Fe, and available K, S, Fe, Mn, and Cu compared with recent paddy soils, which were attributed to application of chemical and manure fertilizers, pollution and acidification in recent paddy soils. The variation coefficients of OC and other nutrients in ancient paddy soils with higher PI were greater than that in ancient paddy soils with low PI, which indicated that human activities had a great impact on the spatial variability of soil nutrients. The contents of OC, total N, P and S in ancient paddy soils were higher than that in ancient moss of the same age, which indicated that planting rice during Majiabang culture period was beneficial to the accumulation of those life elements.

Stability of soil organic matter accumulated under long-term use as a rice paddy

To understand the mechanism responsible for the enhanced accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM) under long-term use as a rice paddy, soil samples from the plow layer from 16 fields that have been used for irrigated rice production from 5 to 2000 years in the Hangzhou Bay, China, were analyzed. The humin in silt/clay particles was isolated as a representative relatively stable SOM pool, and isotopic signatures (δ13C, δ15N, and 14C concentration), 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, and biodegradability in an incubation were examined. The amounts of C and N in the bulk soil, silt/clay, and silt/clay-humin increased with increasing period of use as a rice paddy within the east and west zones, respectively. The degree of humification determined for humic acids indicated that the progression of humification did not contribute to the accumulation of C beyond 100 years. The δ15N of silt/clay-humin suggested an increase in organic N derived from chemical fertilizer or recent biological fixation with increasing amount of this fraction. The 14C concentration showed a negative correlation with the amount of silt/clay-humin C. The structural property with regard to 13C NMR spectra and biodegradability of the silt/clay-humin remained constant with the length of use as a rice paddy or 14C concentration. These results suggest that the larger C or N accumulation in the soils with a longer rice paddy history can be attributed to an enhancement in the accumulation of recently generated SOM rather than the stable accumulation of humus over the years.

Turning pig manure into biochar can effectively mitigate antibiotic resistance genes as organic fertilizer

The composting of fresh manure is an effective way to inactivate pathogens and reduce the levels of antibiotics and some antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) prior to its application on agricultural land as organic fertilizer. However, some ARGs could still exist and even be enriched after composting. This study investigated whether converting composted pig manure into biochar could reduce the dissemination of ARGs into the soil in comparison with a compost amendment. We performed a pot experiment using pakchoi (Brassica chinensis), with two pig manure-based composts and the biochar derived from composted pig manure, as organic fertilizers. The distributions of the antibiotic resistome, mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and bacterial community composition in soils during cultivation were evaluated by high-throughput qPCR and Illumina sequencing. The total ARGs and MGEs abundance in the biochar-treated soils were significantly lower than those in the compost-amended soils during cultivation. The total ARGs abundance in the biochar-amended soils was similar to that in the control soils during cultivation. Thus, the dissemination of ARGs from animal waste to the environment can be effectively mitigated by converting manure into biochar.