scholarly journals Soil denitrifier community size changes with land use change to perennial bioenergy cropping systems

SOIL ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen A. Thompson ◽  
Bill Deen ◽  
Kari E. Dunfield

Abstract. Dedicated biomass crops are required for future bioenergy production. However, the effects of large-scale land use change (LUC) from traditional annual crops, such as corn–soybean rotations to the perennial grasses (PGs) switchgrass and miscanthus, on soil microbial community functioning is largely unknown. Specifically, ecologically significant denitrifying communities, which regulate N2O production and consumption in soils, may respond differently to LUC due to differences in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) inputs between crop types and management systems. Our objective was to quantify bacterial denitrifying gene abundances as influenced by corn–soybean crop production compared to PG biomass production. A field trial was established in 2008 at the Elora Research Station in Ontario, Canada (n  =  30), with miscanthus and switchgrass grown alongside corn–soybean rotations at different N rates (0 and 160 kg N ha−1) and biomass harvest dates within PG plots. Soil was collected on four dates from 2011 to 2012 and quantitative PCR was used to enumerate the total bacterial community (16S rRNA) and communities of bacterial denitrifiers by targeting nitrite reductase (nirS) and N2O reductase (nosZ) genes. Miscanthus produced significantly larger yields and supported larger nosZ denitrifying communities than corn–soybean rotations regardless of management, indicating large-scale LUC from corn–soybean to miscanthus may be suitable in variable Ontario climatic conditions and under varied management, while potentially mitigating soil N2O emissions. Harvesting switchgrass in the spring decreased yields in N-fertilized plots, but did not affect gene abundances. Standing miscanthus overwinter resulted in higher 16S rRNA and nirS gene copies than in fall-harvested crops. However, the size of the total (16S rRNA) and denitrifying bacterial communities changed differently over time and in response to LUC, indicating varying controls on these communities.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen A. Thompson ◽  
Bill Deen ◽  
Kari E. Dunfield

Abstract. Dedicated biomass crops are required for future bioenergy production. However, the effects of large-scale land use change (LUC) from traditional annual crops, such as corn-soybean rotations to the perennial grasses (PGs) switchgrass and miscanthus on soil microbial community functioning is largely unknown. Specifically, ecologically significant denitrifying communities, which regulate N2O production and consumption in soils, may respond differently to LUC due to differences in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) inputs between crop types and management systems. Our objective was to quantify bacterial denitrifying gene abundances as influenced by corn-soybean crop production compared to PG biomass production. A field trial was established in 2008 at the Elora Research Station in Ontario, Canada (n = 30), with miscanthus and switchgrass grown alongside corn-soybean rotations at different N rates (0 and 160 kg N ha-1) and biomass harvest dates within PG plots. Soil was collected on four dates from 2011–2012 and quantitative PCR was used to enumerate the total bacterial community (16S rRNA), and communities of bacterial denitrifiers by targeting nitrite reductase (nirS) and N2O reductase (nosZ) genes. Miscanthus produced significantly larger yields and supported larger nosZ denitrifying communities than corn-soybean rotations regardless of management, indicating large-scale LUC from corn-soybean to miscanthus may be suitable in variable Ontario conditions while potentially mitigating soil N2O emissions. Harvesting switchgrass in the spring decreased yields in N-fertilized plots, but did not affect gene abundances. Standing miscanthus overwinter resulted in higher 16S rRNA and nirS gene copies than in fall-harvested crops. However, the size of the total (16S rRA) and denitrifying communities changed differently over time and in response to LUC, indicating varying controls on these communities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Darmawan ◽  
Tri Atmowidi ◽  
Wasmen Manalu ◽  
Bambang Suryobroto

The conversion of natural forest to agroforestry plantations and annual cropping systems alters the soil habitat and food resources for biota, including earthworms. Native earthworm species may disappear whereas exotic species with greater tolerance of disturbance and less niche specialisation may thrive. The objective of the study was to compare the earthworm diversity in managed forest and agroforestry systems, which were cultivated for mixed plantation and annual crop production on Mount Gede, Indonesia. All the habitats in the study area were impacted by humans. The forest habitat was a managed forest, with a permanent tree cover, whereas mixed plantation had a partial shrub cover. Meanwhile, homogenous plantation was cultivated with annual crops. Among 3787 individuals collected during July–October 2012, five Oriental earthworm species were identified in the soil communities of Mount Gede: Drawida nepalensis, Notoscolex javanica, Pheretima pura-group, Polypheretima moelleri, and Polypheretima sempolensis. Also, 18 species were found that are reported to be non-Oriental in origin. Anthropogenic disturbance of forests on Mount Gede, due to conversion into plantations, alters the earthworm environment by increasing soil water content, temperature and total phosphorous content, while decreasing organic carbon. N. javanica was the only native species to survive this deforestation, while the exotic Ocnerodrilus occidentalis and Pontoscolex corethrurus thrived, becoming the eudominant species. From the forest area to the mixed and homogenous plantations, the predicted decreasing diversity is evidenced by the lowering trend of Shannon’s diversity index. In conclusion, the land-use change into mixed plantations and annual croplands has reduced earthworm diversity in this region of Mount Gede, Indonesia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2989-3002 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Schelde ◽  
P. Cellier ◽  
T. Bertolini ◽  
T. Dalgaard ◽  
T. Weidinger ◽  
...  

Abstract. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agricultural land are variable at the landscape scale due to variability in land use, management, soil type, and topography. A field experiment was carried out in a typical mixed farming landscape in Denmark, to investigate the main drivers of variations in N2O emissions, measured using static chambers. Measurements were made over a period of 20 months, and sampling was intensified during two weeks in spring 2009 when chambers were installed at ten locations or fields to cover different crops and topography and slurry was applied to three of the fields. N2O emissions during spring 2009 were relatively low, with maximum values below 20 ng N m−2 s−1. This applied to all land use types including winter grain crops, grasslands, meadows, and wetlands. Slurry application to wheat fields resulted in short-lived two-fold increases in emissions. The moderate N2O fluxes and their moderate response to slurry application were attributed to dry soil conditions due to the absence of rain during the four previous weeks. Cumulative annual emissions from two arable fields that were both fertilized with mineral fertilizer and manure were large (17 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1 and 5.5 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1) during the previous year when soil water conditions were favourable for N2O production during the first month following fertilizer application. Our findings confirm the importance of weather conditions as well as nitrogen management on N2O fluxes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 7299-7313 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. van Lent ◽  
K. Hergoualc'h ◽  
L. V. Verchot

Abstract. Deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics may substantially alter soil N-oxide emissions. It is particularly relevant to accurately quantify those changes to properly account for them in a REDD+ climate change mitigation scheme that provides financial incentives to reduce the emissions. With this study we provide updated land use (LU)-based emission rates (104 studies, 392 N2O and 111 NO case studies), we determine the trend and magnitude of flux changes with land-use change (LUC) using a meta-analysis approach (44 studies, 135 N2O and 37 NO cases) and evaluate biophysical drivers of N2O and NO emissions and emission changes for the tropics. The average N2O and NO emissions in intact upland tropical forest amounted to 2.0 ± 0.2 (n = 90) and 1.7 ± 0.5 (n = 36) kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively. In agricultural soils annual N2O emissions were exponentially related to N fertilization rates and average water-filled pore space (WFPS) whereas in non-agricultural sites a Gaussian response to WFPS fit better with the observed NO and N2O emissions. The sum of soil N2O and NO fluxes and the ratio of N2O to NO increased exponentially and significantly with increasing nitrogen availability (expressed as NO3− / [NO3−+NH4+]) and WFPS, respectively; following the conceptual Hole-In-the-Pipe model. Nitrous and nitric oxide fluxes did not increase significantly overall as a result of LUC (Hedges's d of 0.11 ± 0.11 and 0.16 ± 0.19, respectively), however individual LUC trajectories or practices did. Nitrous oxide fluxes increased significantly after intact upland forest conversion to croplands (Hedges's d = 0.78 ± 0.24) and NO increased significantly following the conversion of low forest cover (secondary forest younger than 30 years, woodlands, shrublands) (Hedges's d of 0.44 ± 0.13). Forest conversion to fertilized systems significantly and highly raised both N2O and NO emission rates (Hedges's d of 1.03 ± 0.23 and 0.52 ± 0.09, respectively). Changes in nitrogen availability and WFPS were the main factors explaining changes in N2O emissions following LUC, therefore it is important that experimental designs monitor their spatio-temporal variation. Gaps in the literature on N oxide fluxes included geographical gaps (Africa, Oceania) and LU gaps (degraded forest, wetland (notably peat) forest, oil palm plantation and soy cultivation).


2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1619) ◽  
pp. 20120153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia N. Macedo ◽  
Michael T. Coe ◽  
Ruth DeFries ◽  
Maria Uriarte ◽  
Paulo M. Brando ◽  
...  

Large-scale cattle and crop production are the primary drivers of deforestation in the Amazon today. Such land-use changes can degrade stream ecosystems by reducing connectivity, changing light and nutrient inputs, and altering the quantity and quality of streamwater. This study integrates field data from 12 catchments with satellite-derived information for the 176 000 km 2 upper Xingu watershed (Mato Grosso, Brazil). We quantify recent land-use transitions and evaluate the influence of land management on streamwater temperature, an important determinant of habitat quality in small streams. By 2010, over 40 per cent of catchments outside protected areas were dominated (greater than 60% of area) by agriculture, with an estimated 10 000 impoundments in the upper Xingu. Streams in pasture and soya bean watersheds were significantly warmer than those in forested watersheds, with average daily maxima over 4°C higher in pasture and 3°C higher in soya bean. The upstream density of impoundments and riparian forest cover accounted for 43 per cent of the variation in temperature. Scaling up, our model suggests that management practices associated with recent agricultural expansion may have already increased headwater stream temperatures across the Xingu. Although increased temperatures could negatively impact stream biota, conserving or restoring riparian buffers could reduce predicted warming by as much as fivefold.


2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Nol ◽  
Peter H. Verburg ◽  
Eddy J. Moors

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Morales-Marín ◽  
Howard Wheater ◽  
Karl-Erich Lindenschmidt

Climate and land-use changes modify the physical functioning of river basins and, in particular, influence the transport of nutrients from land to water. In large-scale basins, where a variety of climates, topographies, soil types and land uses co-exist to form a highly heterogeneous environment, a more complex nutrient dynamic is imposed by climate and land-use changes. This is the case of the South Saskatchewan River (SSR) that, along with the North Saskatchewan River, forms one of the largest river systems in western Canada. The SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed (SPARROW) model is therefore implemented to assess water quality in the basin, in order to describe spatial and temporal patterns and identify those factors and processes that affect water quality. Forty-five climate and land-use change scenarios comprehended by five General Circulation Models (GCMs) and three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) were incorporated into the model to explain how total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) export could vary across the basin in 30, 60 and 90 years from now. According to model results, annual averages of TN and TP export in the SSR are going to increase in the range 0.9–1.28 kg km − 2 year − 1 and 0.12–0.17 kg km − 2 year − 1 , respectively, by the end of the century, due to climate and land-use changes. Higher increases of TP compared to TN are expected since TP and TN are going to increase ∼36% and ∼21%, respectively, by the end of the century. This research will support management plans in order to mitigate nutrient export under future changes of climate and land use.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arbindra Timilsina ◽  
Wenxu Dong ◽  
Jiafa Luo ◽  
Stuart Lindsey ◽  
Yuying Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe conversion of natural grassland to semi-natural or artificial ecosystems is a large-scale land-use change (LUC) commonly occurring to saline–alkaline land. Conversion of natural to artificial ecosystems, with addition of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) fertilizer, influences N availability in the soil that may result in higher N2O emission along with depletion of 15N, while converting from natural to semi-natural the influence may be small. So, this study assesses the impact of LUC on N2O emission and 15N in N2O emitted from naturally occurring saline–alkaline soil when changing from natural grassland (Phragmites australis) to semi-natural [Tamarix chinensis (Tamarix)] and to cropland (Gossypium spp.). The grassland and Tamarix ecosystems were not subject to any management practice, while the cropland received fertilizer and irrigation. Overall, median N2O flux was significantly different among the ecosystems with the highest from the cropland (25.3 N2O-N µg m−2 h−1), intermediate (8.2 N2O-N µg m−2 h−1) from the Tamarix and the lowest (4.0 N2O-N µg m−2 h−1) from the grassland ecosystem. The 15N isotopic signatures in N2O emitted from the soil were also significantly affected by the LUC with more depleted from cropland (− 25.3 ‰) and less depleted from grassland (− 0.18 ‰). Our results suggested that the conversion of native saline–alkaline grassland with low N to Tamarix or cropland is likely to result in increased soil N2O emission and also contributes significantly to the depletion of the 15N in atmospheric N2O, and the contribution of anthropogenic N addition was found more significant than any other processes.


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