Arsenic Accumulation and Biotransformation Affected by Nutrients (N and P) in Common Blooming-Forming Microcystis wesenbergii (Komárek) Komárek ex Komárek (Cyanobacteria)

Arsenic accumulation and biotransformation in algae was mostly carried out in a medium that contained far higher nutrient concentrations than that in natural freshwaters. The obtained results might have limited environmental validity and result in a failure to describe authentic arsenic biogeochemical cycles in natural freshwater systems. To validate the assumption, arsenic accumulation, and biotransformation in common bloom forming Microcystis wesenbergii was performed under a high nutrient concentration in BG11 medium (N = 250 mg/L, P = 7.13 mg/L), and adjusted low nutrients that mimicked values in natural freshwaters (N = 1.5 mg/L, P = 0.3 mg/L). The growth rate and maximum M. wesenbergii cell density were much lower in the high nutrient set, but more inhibition was shown with increasing ambient iAs(V) concentrations both in the high and low nutrient sets. The proportion of intracellular contents in total arsenicals decreased with increasing iAs(V) concentrations in both high and low nutrient sets but increased with incubation time. Intracellular iAs(III) was not found in the high nutrient set, while it formed high concentrations that could be comparable to that of an extracellular level in the low nutrient set. M. wesenbergii could methylate arsenic, and a higher proportion of organoarsenicals was formed in the low nutrient set. Lower intracellular MMA(V) and DMA(V) concentrations were found in the high nutrient set; contrarily, they presented a higher concentration that could be comparable to the extracellular ones in the low nutrient set. The results demonstrated that different nutrient regimes could affect arsenic accumulation and biotransformation in M. wesenbergii, and low nutrient concentrations could inhibit the excretion of iAs(III), MMA(V) and DMA(V) out of cells. Further investigations should be based on natural freshwater systems to obtain an authentic arsenic accumulation and biotransformation in cyanobacteria.

Integrated Surface-Groundwater Modelling of Nitrate Concentration in Mediterranean Rivers, the Júcar River Basin District, Spain

High nutrient discharge from groundwater (GW) into surface water (SW) have multiple undesirable effects on river water quality. With the aim to estimate the impact of anthropic pressures and river–aquifer interactions on nitrate status in SW, this study integrates two hydrological simulation and water quality models. PATRICAL models SW–GW interactions and RREA models streamflow changes due to human activity. The models were applied to the Júcar River Basin District (RBD), where 33% of the aquifers have a concentration above 50 mg NO3−/L. As a result, there is a direct linear correlation between the nitrate concentration in rivers and aquifers (Júcar r2 = 0.9, and Turia r2 = 0.8), since in these Mediterranean basins, the main amount of river flows comes from groundwater discharge. The concentration of nitrates in rivers and GW tends to increase downstream of the district, where artificial surfaces and agriculture are concentrated. The total NO3− load to Júcar RBD rivers was estimated at 10,202 tN/year (239 kg/km2/year), from which 99% is generated by diffuse pollution, and 3378 tN/year (79 kg/km2/year) is discharged into the Mediterranean Sea. Changes in nitrate concentration in the RBD rivers are strongly related to the source of irrigation water, river–aquifer interactions, and flow regulation. The models used in this paper allow the identification of pollution sources, the forecasting of nitrate concentration in surface and groundwater, and the evaluation of the efficiency of measures to prevent water degradation, among other applications.

Experimental Study on Planting Soil Preparation by Improving River & Lake Silt with Plant Wastes

The physicochemical properties of river & lake silt are complex, and whether it can be directly used as planting soil is worth studying. The calliopsis pot experiment is carried out with planting soil prepared by amendment material, i.e. the organic matrix which is made by fermentation of high-nutrient sludge of a river in Nanjing, the dry excavating sludge in a lake and its flocculated and dewatered sludge together with plant wastes such as wood chips, to study the effects of different types of amendment materials and compounding ratio on plant growth. The results showed that the basic properties and fertility index of the planting soil could be adjusted directionally by adding wood chips or matrix. The overall growth of calliopsis in the planting soil formed by the high-nutrient silt in a river and its compound is the best, but some of the fertility indexes of the planting soil are too high and need to be further adjusted before use; the growth of calliopsis in the improved soil made of dry-excavation silt in a lake is better than that in the original silt, such situation is positively correlated with the amount of improved materials mixed; the difference between the growth of calliopsis in the flocculated silt in a lake and that in its improved planting soil is not significant, but some of the fertility indexes are higher than the standard indexes, and such silt can be slightly adjusted and improved into the planting soil. The field cultivation experiment study of calliopsis is carried out with the dry-excavation silt in a lake mixed with 4% wood chips and the original loess soil in the experimental field, and the growth of calliopsis planted in the dry-excavation silt in a lake is better compared with that of calliopsis planted in original loess soil. The research results can provide ideas and basis for the study on improving river & lake silt into planting soil with plant wastes.

Soil microbes mediate the effects of environmental variability on plant invasion

Many studies indicate that increases in resource variability promote plant invasion. However, it remains unknown to what extent these effects might indirectly be mediated by other organisms. To test this, we grew eight alien species in pot-mesocosms with five different native communities under eight combinations of two nutrient-availability, two nutrient-fluctuation and two soil-microbe treatments. We found that when plants grew in sterilized soil, nutrient fluctuation promoted the dominance of alien plants under low nutrient availability, whereas its effect was minimal under high nutrient availability. However, the opposite pattern was found when plants grew in living soil. Analysis of the soil microbial community suggests that this might reflect that nutrient fluctuation strongly increased the soil fungal pathogen diversity under high nutrient availability, but slightly decreased it under low nutrient availability. Our findings indicate that besides its direct influence, environmental variability could also indirectly affect plant invasion via changes in soil-microbial communities.

PENGELOLAAN UNSUR HARA TERPADU DALAM BUDIDAYA TANAMAN PORANG (REVIEW)

Elephant food yam (Amorphophallus muelleri Blume) is an important tuber plant that is grown in most of the tropical countries including Indonesia and is a very profitable export commodity. Soil nutrients availability is one of the most important factors that determine the production of elephant food yam plants. However, there is no single nutrient source, either from inorganic fertilizers or organic fertilizers or biological fertilizers, which is able to meet all the nutrient needs of the plants grown. Therefore, integrated nutrient management (INM) of elephant food yam plants seems to be a way out to maintain sustainable production and increase profitability. This paper reviews the results of research on various issues of INM-based production management for elephant food yam plants and analyzes the extent of research on the use of INM both in Indonesia and abroad. The benefits of integrated nutrient management are well documented for vegetable crops. However, it is still very little available for elephant food yam plants, especially in Indonesia. Integrated nutrient management (INM) is a very important technological innovation to be applied to elephant food yam cultivation. Elephant food yam is a high nutrient consumeplant, so a wise and precise combination of inorganic and organic fertilizers as well as bio-fertilizer will result in sustainable and sinergistic use of soil nutrients of elephant foot yams. Therefore, recommendations for research need for INM of elephant food yam should be carried out in order to increase the production of it in a sustainable manner.

Trimethylamine-N-Oxide Pathway: A Potential Target for the Treatment of MAFLD

Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is a molecular metabolite derived from the gut flora, which has recently emerged as a candidate risk factor for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). TMAO is mainly derived from gut, where the gut microbiota converts TMA precursors into TMA, which is absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal mucosa, and then transformed into TMAO by hepatic flavin monooxygenases (FMOs) in the liver. High-nutrient diets rich in TMA precursors, such as red meat, eggs, and fish, are the main sources of TMAO. Excessively consuming such diets not only directly affects energy metabolism in liver, but also increases the concentration of TMAO in plasma, which promotes the development of MAFLD by affecting bile acid metabolism, unfolded protein response, and oxidative stress. In this review, we focused on the relationship between TMAO and MAFLD and summarized intervention strategies for reducing circulating TMAO concentration, aiming at providing new targets for the prevention and treatment of MAFLD.

Effect of Potassium and Zinc Nutrition on Growth and Yield of Short Duration Maize (Zea mays L.) under Dryland Vertisols

Background: The black soils (vertisols) are often considered to be high in potassium content however; under intensive cultivation of high nutrient demanding crop like maize; the soil available potassium might not be sufficient to fulfil the demand. Moreover; the interaction between potassium and micronutrients like zinc has to evaluated for higher crop yield under dryland condition. Methods: The experiment was laid out in factorial RBD design with two factors, i.e., potassium (K) and zinc (Zn), with three levels of each (K1- 30 kg K2O ha-1, K2- 60 kg K2O ha-1, K3- 90 kg K2O ha-1; Zn1- 20 kg ZnSO4 ha-1, Zn2- 30 kg ZnSO4 ha-1 and Zn3- 40 kg ZnSO4 ha-1). Result: Statistical interpretation of experimental data revealed that application of potassium at 60 kg K2O ha-1 and 30 kg of ZnSO4 ha-1 resulted improved plant height, number of functional leaves plants-1, leaf area index, dry matter accumulation, grain yield, stover yield and shelling percentage in maize. Interestingly positive interaction has also been recorded between potassium and zinc nutrition.