Probabilistic modelling of soil moisture dynamics of irrigated cropland in the North China Plain

A probabilistic soil moisture dynamic model is used to estimate the soil moisture probability distribution and plant water stress of irrigated cropland in the North China Plain. Soil moisture and meteorological data during the period of 1998 to 2003 were obtained from an irrigated cropland ecosystem with winter wheat and maize in the North China Plain to test the probabilistic soil moisture dynamic model. Results showed that the model was able to capture the soil moisture dynamics and estimate long-term water balance reasonably well when little soil water deficit existed. The prediction of mean plant water stress during winter wheat and maize growing season quantified the suitability of the wheat-maize rotation to the soil and climate environmental conditions in North China Plain under the impact of irrigation. Under the impact of precipitation fluctuations, there is no significant bimodality of the average soil moisture probability density function.

Soil microbial community analysis using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms

Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-fingerprinting method that is commonly used for comparative microbial community analysis. The method can be used to analyze communities of bacteria, archaea, fungi, other phylogenetic groups or subgroups, as well as functional genes. The method is rapid, highly reproducible, and often yields a higher number of operational taxonomic units than other, commonly used PCR-fingerprinting methods. Sizing of terminal restriction fragments (T-RFs) can now be done using capillary sequencing technology allowing samples contained in 96- or 384-well plates to be sized in an overnight run. Many multivariate statistical approaches have been used to interpret and compare T-RFLP fingerprints derived from different communities. Detrended correspondence analysis and the additive main effects with multiplicative interaction model are particularly useful for revealing trends in T-RFLP data. Due to biases inherent in the method, linking the size of T-RFs derived from complex communities to existing sequence databases to infer their taxonomic position is not very robust. This approach has been used successfully, however, to identify and follow the dynamics of members within very simple or model communities. The T-RFLP approach has been used successfully to analyze the composition of microbial communities in soil, water, marine, and lacustrine sediments, biofilms, feces, in and on plant tissues, and in the digestive tracts of insects and mammals. The T-RFLP method is a user-friendly molecular approach to microbial community analysis that is adding significant information to studies of microbial populations in many environments.

Methods for physical separation and characterization of soil organic matter fractions

Turnover of soil organic matter (SOM) is coupled to the cycling of nutrients in soil through the activity of soil microorganisms. Biological availability of organic substrate in soil is related to the chemical quality of the organic material and to its degree of physical protection. SOM fractions can provide information on the turnover of organic matter (OM), provided the fractions can be related to functional or structural components in soil. Ultrasonication is commonly used to disrupt the soil structure prior to physical fractionation according to particle size, but may cause redistribution of OM among size fractions. The presence of mineral particles in size fractions can complicate estimations of OM turnover time within the fractions. Densiometric separation allows one to physically separate OM found within a specific size class from the heavier-density mineral particles. Nutrient contents and mineralization potential were determined for discrete size/density OM fractions isolated from within the macroaggregate structure of cultivated grassland soils. Eighteen percent of the total soil C and 25% of the total soil N in no-till soil was associated with fine-silt size particles having a density of 2.07-2.21 g/cm3 isolated from inside macroaggregates (enriched labile fraction or ELF). The amount of C and N sequestered in the ELF fraction decreased as the intensity of tillage increased. The specific rate of mineralization (mug net mineral N/mug total N in the fraction) for macroaggregate-derived ELF was not different for the three tillage treatments but was greater than for intact macroaggregates. The methods described here have improved our ability to quantitatively estimate SOM fractions, which in turn has increased our understanding of SOM dynamics in cultivated grassland systems.

Drivers of soil net nitrogen mineralization in the temperate grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China

Soil net nitrogen mineralization (NNM) of four grasslands across the elevation and precipitation gradients was studied in situ in the upper 0-10 cm soil layer using the resin-core technique in Xilin River basin, Inner Mongolia, China during the growing season of 2006. The primary objectives were to examine variations of NNM among grassland types and the main influencing factors. These grasslands included Stipa baicalensis (SB), Aneulolepidum Chinense (AC), Stipa grandis (SG), and Stipa krylovii (SK) grassland. The results showed that the seasonal variation patterns of NNM were similar among the four grasslands, the rates of NNM and nitrification were highest from June to August, and lowest in September and October during the growing season. The rates of NNM and nitrification were affected significantly by the incubation time, and they were positively correlated with soil organic carbon content, total soil nitrogen (TN) content, soil temperature, and soil water content, but the rates of NNM and nitrification were negatively correlated with available N, and weakly correlated with soil pH and C:N ratio. The sequences of the daily mean rates of NNM and nitrification in the four grasslands during the growing season were AC > SG > SB > SK, and TN content maybe the main affecting factors which can be attributed to the land use type.

Relationships between precipitation, soil water and groundwater at Chongling catchment with the typical vegetation cover in the Taihang mountainous region, China

Vegetation cover plays an important role in the process of evaporation and infiltration. To explore the relationships between precipitation, soil water and groundwater in Taihang mountainous region, China, precipitation, soil water and water table were observed from 2004 to 2006, and precipitation, soil water and groundwater were sampled in 2004 and 2005 for oxygen-18 and deuterium analysis at Chongling catchment. The soil water was sampled at three sites covered by grass (Carex humilis and Carex lanceolata), acacia and arborvitae respectively. Precipitation is mainly concentrated in rainy seasons and has no significant spatial variance in study area. The stable isotopic compositions are enriched in precipitation and soil water due to the evaporation. The analysis of soil water potential and isotopic profiles shows that evaporation of soil water under arborvitae cover is weaker than under grass and acacia, while soil water evaporation under grass and acacia showed no significant difference. Both delta O-18 profiles and soil water potential dynamics reveal that the soil under acacia allows the most rapid infiltration rate, which may be related to preferential flow. In the process of infiltration after a rainstorm, antecedent water still takes up over 30% of water in the topsoil. The soil water between depths of 0-115 cm under grass has a residence time of about 20 days in the rainy season. Groundwater recharge from precipitation mainly occurs in the rainy season, especially when rainstorms or successive heavy rain events happen.

Population dynamics and responses to management of plateau pikas Ochotona curzoniae

1. Plateau pikas Ochotona curzoniae are considered a pest species on the Tibetan Plateau because they compete with livestock for forage and their burrowing could contribute to soil erosion. The effectiveness of pest control programmes in Tibet has not been measured, and it is not known whether changes in livestock management have exacerbated problems with plateau pikas or compromised their control. This study measured the impact of control programmes and livestock management for forage conservation on populations of plateau pikas in alpine meadow in Naqu District, central Tibet, during 2004 and 2005.2. Current techniques for controlling plateau pikas in spring cause large reductions in abundance, but high density-dependent rates of increase result in no differences between treated and untreated populations by the following autumn. Rates of increase from spring to autumn are not influenced by standing plant biomass or concurrent grazing by yaks Bos grunniens and Tibetan sheep Ovis aries.3. In autumn there was significantly lower biomass outside fenced areas with year-round livestock grazing compared with inside fenced areas with equivalent or higher numbers of plateau pikas but predominantly winter grazing by livestock. Inside fenced areas, control of plateau pikas in spring produced no detectable effect on standing plant biomass at the end of the following summer compared with uncontrolled populations of plateau pikas.4. Regardless of their initial density, populations of plateau pikas declined rapidly over winter outside fenced areas where there was very low standing plant biomass in autumn. However, inside fenced areas with higher plant biomass in autumn, low-density populations of plateau pikas declined more slowly than high-density populations.5. Synthesis and applications. Current control programmes have limited effect because populations of plateau pikas can recover in one breeding season. There was no apparent increase in forage production in areas where plateau pikas were controlled. However, plateau pikas appear to benefit from changes in grazing management, with low-density populations declining less over winter inside fenced areas than elsewhere. It was not evident that control programmes are warranted or that they will improve the livelihoods of Tibetan herders.