Salinity-induced changes in the microbial use of sugarcane filter cake added to soil

Five laboratory incubation experiments were carried out to assess the salinity-induced changes in the microbial use of sugarcane filter cake added to soil. The first laboratory experiment was carried out to prove the hypothesis that the lower content of fungal biomass in a saline soil reduces the decomposition of a complex organic substrate in comparison to a non-saline soil under acidic conditions. Three different rates (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0%) of sugarcane filter cake were added to both soils and incubated for 63 days at 30°C. In the saline control soil without amendment, cumulative CO2 production was 70% greater than in the corresponding non-saline control soil, but the formation of inorganic N did not differ between these two soils. However, nitrification was inhibited in the saline soil. The increase in cumulative CO2 production by adding filter cake was similar in both soils, corresponding to 29% of the filter cake C at all three addition rates. Also the increases in microbial biomass C and biomass N were linearly related to the amount of filter cake added, but this increase was slightly higher for both properties in the saline soil. In contrast to microbial biomass, the absolute increase in ergosterol content in the saline soil was on average only half that in the non-saline soil and it showed also strong temporal changes during the incubation: A strong initial increase after adding the filter cake was followed by a rapid decline. The addition of filter cake led to immobilisation of inorganic N in both soils. This immobilisation was not expected, because the total C-to-total N ratio of the filter cake was below 13 and the organic C-to-organic N ratio in the 0.5 M K2SO4 extract of this material was even lower at 9.2. The immobilisation was considerably higher in the saline soil than in the non-saline soil. The N immobilisation capacity of sugarcane filter cake should be considered when this material is applied to arable sites at high rations. The second incubation experiment was carried out to examine the N immobilizing effect of sugarcane filter cake (C/N ratio of 12.4) and to investigate whether mixing it with compost (C/N ratio of 10.5) has any synergistic effects on C and N mineralization after incorporation into the soil. Approximately 19% of the compost C added and 37% of the filter cake C were evolved as CO2, assuming that the amendments had no effects on the decomposition of soil organic C. However, only 28% of the added filter cake was lost according to the total C and d13C values. Filter cake and compost contained initially significant concentrations of inorganic N, which was nearly completely immobilized between day 7 and 14 of the incubation in most cases. After day 14, N re-mineralization occurred at an average rate of 0.73 µg N g-1 soil d-1 in most amendment treatments, paralleling the N mineralization rate of the non-amended control without significant difference. No significant net N mineralization from the amendment N occurred in any of the amendment treatments in comparison to the control. The addition of compost and filter cake resulted in a linear increase in microbial biomass C with increasing amounts of C added. This increase was not affected by differences in substrate quality, especially the three times larger content of K2SO4 extractable organic C in the sugarcane filter cake. In most amendment treatments, microbial biomass C and biomass N increased until the end of the incubation. No synergistic effects could be observed in the mixture treatments of compost and sugarcane filter cake. The third 42-day incubation experiment was conducted to answer the questions whether the decomposition of sugarcane filter cake also result in immobilization of nitrogen in a saline alkaline soil and whether the mixing of sugarcane filter cake with glucose (adjusted to a C/N ratio of 12.5 with (NH4)2SO4) change its decomposition. The relative percentage CO2 evolved increased from 35% of the added C in the pure 0.5% filter cake treatment to 41% in the 0.5% filter cake +0.25% glucose treatment to 48% in the 0.5% filter cake +0.5% glucose treatment. The three different amendment treatments led to immediate increases in microbial biomass C and biomass N within 6 h that persisted only in the pure filter cake treatment until the end of the incubation. The fungal cell-membrane component ergosterol showed initially an over-proportionate increase in relation to microbial biomass C that fully disappeared at the end of the incubation. The cellulase activity showed a 5-fold increase after filter cake addition, which was not further increased by the additional glucose amendment. The cellulase activity showed an exponential decline to values around 4% of the initial value in all treatments. The amount of inorganic N immobilized from day 0 to day 14 increased with increasing amount of C added in comparison to the control treatment. Since day 14, the immobilized N was re-mineralized at rates between 1.31 and 1.51 µg N g-1 soil d-1 in the amendment treatments and was thus more than doubled in comparison with the control treatment. This means that the re-mineralization rate is independent from the actual size of the microbial residues pool and also independent from the size of the soil microbial biomass. Other unknown soil properties seem to form a soil-specific gate for the release of inorganic N. The fourth incubation experiment was carried out with the objective of assessing the effects of salt additions containing different anions (Cl-, SO42-, HCO3-) on the microbial use of sugarcane filter cake and dhancha leaves amended to inoculated sterile quartz sand. In the subsequent fifth experiment, the objective was to assess the effects of inoculum and temperature on the decomposition of sugar cane filter cake. In the fourth experiment, sugarcane filter cake led to significantly lower respiration rates, lower contents of extractable C and N, and lower contents of microbial biomass C and N than dhancha leaves, but to a higher respiratory quotient RQ and to a higher content of the fungal biomarker ergosterol. The RQ was significantly increased after salt addition, when comparing the average of all salinity treatments with the control. Differences in anion composition had no clear effects on the RQ values. In experiment 2, the rise in temperature from 20 to 40°C increased the CO2 production rate by a factor of 1.6, the O2 consumption rate by a factor of 1.9 and the ergosterol content by 60%. In contrast, the contents of microbial biomass N decreased by 60% and the RQ by 13%. The effects of the inoculation with a saline soil were in most cases negative and did not indicate a better adaptation of these organisms to salinity. The general effects of anion composition on microbial biomass and activity indices were small and inconsistent. Only the fraction of 0.5 M K2SO4 extractable C and N in non-fumigated soil was consistently increased in the 1.2 M NaHCO3 treatment of both experiments. In contrast to the small salinity effects, the quality of the substrate has overwhelming effects on microbial biomass and activity indices, especially on the fungal part of the microbial community.

Limnological characteristics and zooplankton community structure of Mediterranean coastal lagoons undergoing restoration

Entre 1999 i 2003 es va desenvolupar un projecte Life de restauració a la maresma de La Pletera, afectada per un pla urbanització, i a la llacuna del Ter Vell, amb un elevat grau d'eutròfia (aiguamolls del Baix Ter, NE Península Ibèrica). L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és establir el funcionament d'ambdós ecosistemes, analitzar-ne la problemàtica ambiental i avaluar els efectes de la restauració. A la maresma de la Pletera, es va analitzar el paper de la hidrologia en la composició i dinàmica dels nutrients i del zooplàncton en cinc llacunes, tres de les quals havien estat creades dins el projecte de restauració com a nous refugis per una espècie de peix amenaçada (Aphanius iberus). La hidrologia es va caracteritzar per un llarg període de confinament sense entrades d'aigua, interromput de manera irregular per inundacions puntuals. La dinàmica del nitrogen inorgànic es va relacionar amb les entrades d'aigua, mentre que la del fòsfor, del nitrogen total i de la matèria orgànica es va relacionar amb els processos d'acumulació i reciclatge intern durant el confinament. El zooplàncton es va analitzar mitjançant la combinació d'aproximacions taxonòmiques i de mides. L'estructura de mides de la comunitat es va veure més afectada per les interaccions tròfiques (depredació i competència) mentre que l'estructura taxonòmica va ser més sensible a factors abiòtics (nutrients). El ràpid creixement de la població A. iberus en les noves llacunes va suggerir que aquestes havien proporcionat l'hàbitat adequat per a l'espècie, almenys a curt termini. Les actuacions de restauració a la llacuna del Ter Vell es van centrar en la millora de la qualitat de l'aigua mitjançant (1) la construcció d'uns aiguamolls per depurar l'aigua d'entrada i (2) el dragat del sediment en diversos punts. Simultàniament a la restauració, però de forma independent, la gestió agrícola de l'aigua va reduir dràsticament el cabal d'entrada d'aigua dolça a la llacuna, provocant un canvi en el règim hídric. Es van analitzar els efectes a curt termini d'aquest canvi sobre la limnologia i el zooplàncton de la llacuna. Abans del canvi, la hidrologia era artificial ja que s'havia prolongat l'entrada d'aigua dolça d'acord amb la demanda agrícola, i per tant la llacuna presentava una elevada taxa de renovació de l'aigua i majors concentracions de nutrients. Després del canvi, la hidrologia va dependre més del clima, es van reduir les entrades d'aigua i es va allargar el període de confinament. La composició y dinàmica dels nutrients va tendir a assemblar-se a l'observada a les llacunes de la maresma, mentre que la comunitat del zooplàncton no ho va fer. L'estat ecològic de la llacuna va millorar després del canvi en el règim hídric.

The Influence of Summer Climate on Avian Community Composition in the Eastern Boreal Forest of Canada

Understanding the relative influence of environmental variables, especially climate, in driving variation in species diversity is becoming increasingly important for the conservation of biodiversity. The objective of this study was to determine to what extent climate can explain the structure and diversity of forest bird communities by sampling bird abundance in homogenous mature spruce stands in the boreal forest of the Québec-Labrador peninsula using variance partitioning techniques. We also quantified the relationship among two climatic gradients, summer temperature and precipitation, and bird species richness, migratory strategy, and spring arrival phenology. For the bird community, climate factors appear to be most important in explaining species distribution and abundance because nearly 15% of the variation in the distribution of the 44 breeding birds selected for the analysis can be explained by climate. The vegetation variables we selected were responsible for a much smaller amount of the explained variation (4%). Breeding season temperature seems to be more important than precipitation in driving variation in bird species diversity at the scale of our analysis. Partial correlation analysis indicated that bird species richness distribution was determined by the temperature gradient, because the number of species increased with increasing breeding season temperature. Similar results were observed between breeding season temperature and the number of residents, short-distance and long-distance migrants, and early and late spring migrants. Our results suggest that the northern and southern range boundaries of species are not equally sensitive to the temperature gradient across the region.

Off-road sampling reveals a different grassland bird community than roadside sampling: implications for survey design and estimates to guide conservation

Grassland bird species continue to decline steeply across North America. Road-based surveys such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) are often used to estimate trends and population sizes and to build species distribution models for grassland birds, although roadside survey counts may introduce bias in estimates because of differences in habitats along roadsides and in off-road surveys. We tested for differences in land cover composition and in the avian community on 21 roadside-based survey routes and in an equal number of adjacent off-road walking routes in the grasslands of southern Alberta, Canada. Off-road routes (n = 225 point counts) had more native grassland and short shrubs and less fallow land and road area than the roadside routes (n = 225 point counts). Consequently, 17 of the 39 bird species differed between the two route types in frequency of occurrence and relative abundance, measured using an indicator species analysis. Six species, including five obligate grassland species, were more prevalent at off-road sites; they included four species listed under the Canadian federal Species At Risk Act or listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada: Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii), Baird’s Sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii), the Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus), and McCown’s Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii). The six species were as much as four times more abundant on off-road sites. Species more prevalent along roadside routes included common species and those typical of farmland and other human-modified habitats, e.g., the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), the Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia), and the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Differences in avian community composition between roadside and off-road surveys suggest that the use of BBS data when generating population estimates or distribution models may overestimate certain common species and underestimate others of conservation concern. Our results highlight the need to develop appropriate corrections for bias in estimates derived from roadside sampling, and the need to design surveys that sample bird communities across a more representative cross-section of the landscape, both near and far from roads. 

The influence of mineral solubility and soil solution concentration on the toxicity of copper to Eisenia fetida Savigny

The OECD 14 d earthworm acute toxicity test was used to determine the toxicity of copper added as copper nitrate (Cu(NO3)(2)), copper sulphate (CuSO4) and malachite (Cu-2(OH)(2)(CO3)) to Eisenia fetida Savigny. Cu(NO3)(2), and CuSO4 were applied in both an aqueous (aq) and solid (s) form, Cu-2(OH)(2)(CO3) was added as a solid. Soil solution was extracted by centrifugation, and analysed for copper. Two extractants [0.01 M CaCl2 and 0.005 M diethylenetriminpentaacetic acid (DTPA)] were used as a proxy of the bioavailable copper fraction in the soil. For bulk soil copper content the calculated copper toxicity decreased in the order nitrate > sulphide > carbonate, the same order as decreasing solubility of the metal compounds. For Cu(NO3)(2) and CuSO4, the LC50s obtained were not significantly different when the compound was added in solution or solid form. There was a significant correlation between the soil solution copper concentration and the percentage earthworm mortality for all 3 copper compounds (P less than or equal to 0.05) indicating that the soil pore water copper concentration is important for determining copper availability and toxicity to E. fetida. In soil avoidance tests the earthworms avoided the soils treated with Cu(NO3)(2) (aq and s) and CuSO4 (aq and s), at all concentrations used (110-8750 mug Cu g(-1), and 600-8750 mug Cu g(-1) respectively). In soils treated with Cu-2(OH2)CO3, avoidance behaviour was exhibited at all concentrations greater than or equal to3500 mug Cu g(-1). There was no significant correlation between the copper extracted by either CaCl2 or DTPA and percentage mortality. These two extractants are therefore not useful indicators of copper availability and toxicity to E. fetida.

Microbial and biochemical soil quality indicators and their potential for differentiating areas under contrasting agricultural management regimes

The aim of this study was to examine interrelationships between functional biochemical and microbial indicators of soil quality, and their suitability to differentiate areas under contrasting agricultural management regimes. The study included five 0.8 ha areas on a sandy-loam soil which had received contrasting fertility and cropping regimes over a 5 year period. These were organically managed vegetable, vegetable -cereal and arable rotations, an organically managed grass clover ley, and a conventional cereal rotation. The organic areas had been converted from conventional cereal production 5 years prior to the start of the study. All of the biochemical analyses, including light fraction organic matter (LFOM) C and N, labile organic N (LON), dissolved organic N and water-soluble carbohydrates showed significant differences between the areas, although the nature of the relationships between the areas varied between the different parameters, and were not related to differences in total soil organic matter content. The clearest differences were seen in LFOM C and N and LON, which were higher in the organic arable area relative to the other areas. In the case of the biological parameters, there were differences between the areas for biomass-N, ATP, chitin content, and the ratios of ATP: biomass and basal respiration: biomass. For these parameters, the precise relationships between the areas varied. However, relative to the conventionally managed area, areas under organic management generally had lower biomass-N and higher ATP contents. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus colonization potential was extremely low in the conventional area relative to the organic areas. Further, metabolic diversity and microbial community level physiological profiles, determined by analysis of microbial community metabolism using Biolog GN plates and the activities of eight key nutrient cycling enzymes, grouped the organic areas together, but separated them from the conventional area. We conclude that microbial parameters are more effective and consistent indicators of management induced changes to soil quality than biochemical parameters, and that a variety of biochemical and microbial analyses should be used when considering the impact of management on soil quality. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organic pollutants in animal products

It is necessary to assess the contamination of animal products by pollutants in order to protect human health. This can be achieved by understanding the processes whereby contaminants are introduced into the food chain. Such contamination can arise from the atmospheric deposition on to crops and soil or via contaminated feed. These processes are described and quantified with particular reference to the deposition of organic pollutants onto pasture. The transfer of the contaminants from the fodder and feed to the animal is also described. Finally, these processes are put in context by the illustration of how they are used in regulatory exposure models.

Edaphic influences on plant community adaptation in the Chiquibul forest of Belize

Edaphic variables figure significantly in plant community adaptations in tropical ecosystems but are often difficult to resolve because of the confounding influence of climate. Within the Chiquibul forest of Belize, large areas of Ultisols and Inceptisols occur juxtaposed within a larger zone of similar climate, permitting unambiguous assessment of edaphic contributions to forest composition. Wet chemical analyses, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy were employed to derive chemical (pH, exchangeable cations, CEC, total and organic C, total trace elements) and physical (texture, mineralogy) properties of four granite-derived Ustults from the Mountain Pine Ridge plateau and four limestone-derived Ustepts from the San Pastor region. The soils of these two regions support two distinct forests, each possessing a species composition reflecting the many contrasting physicochemical properties of the underlying soil. Within the Mountain Pine Ridge forest, species abundance and diversity is constrained by nutrient deficiencies and water-holding limitations imposed by the coarse textured, highly weathered Ultisols. As a consequence, the forest is highly adapted to seasonal drought, frequent fires and the significant input of atmospherically derived nutrients. The nutrient-rich Inceptisols of the San Pastor region, conversely, support an abundant and diverse evergreen forest, dominated by Sabal mauritiiformis, Cryosophila stauracantha and Manilkara spp. Moreover, the deep, fine textured soils in the depressions of the karstic San Pastor landscape collect and retain during the wet season much available water, thereby serving as refugia during particularly long periods of severe drought. To the extent that the soils of the Chiquibul region promote and maintain forest diversity, they also confer redundancy and resilience to these same forests and, to the broader ecosystem, of which they are a central part. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of metal pollution on soil macroinvertebrate burrow systems

A reduction in the numbers of macroinvertebrates present in soil may have a negative effect on soil structure, infiltration rates, and gas exchanges. Soil pollution by metal is known to have a detrimental effect on soil macrofauna. The aim of the present study was to evaluate (1) direct and indirect effects of soil pollution on soil macroinvertebrate bioturbation and (2) effects of the two macroinvertebrate communities found in a polluted and a nonpolluted area (one supposed sensitive, the other tolerant to metals) on burrow systems parameters. Macroinvertebrate porosity was studied using X-ray tomography. Three-dimensional reconstructions and characterisation of the burrow system were obtained using image analysis. Results showed that metal pollution principally affected the spatial distribution of macropores (more macropores were found near the soil surface) and the shape of the burrow system (branching rate was higher in the polluted soil), whereas soil macroinvertebrate composition principally affects burrow density parameters (the number of burrows was higher for the sensitive macroinvertebrate community).

Phosphorus sorption and availability in soils amended with animal manures and sewage sludge

Soils that receive large applications of animal wastes and sewage sludge are vulnerable to releasing environmentally significant concentrations of dissolved P available to subsurface flow owing to the gradual saturation of the soil's P sorption capacity. This study evaluated P sorption (calculated from Langmuir isotherms) and availability of P (as CaCl2-P and resin P) in soils incubated for 20 d with poultry litter, poultry manure, cattle slurry, municipal sewage sludge, or KH2PO4, added on a P-equivalent basis (100 mg P kg(-1)). All the P sources had a marked negative effect on P sorption and a positive effect on P availability in all soils. In the cattle slurry- and KH2PO4- treated soils, the decreases in P sorption maximum (19-66%) and binding energy (25-89%) were consistently larger than the corresponding decreases (7-41% and 11-30%) in poultry litter-, poultry manure-, and sewage sludge-treated soils. The effects of cattle slurry and KH2PO4 on P availability were, in most cases, larger than those of the other P sources. In the poultry litter, poultry manure, and sewage sludge treatments, the increase in soil solution P was inversely related (R-2 = 0.75) to the input of Ca from these relatively high Ca (13.5-42 g kg(-1)) sources. Correlation analyses implied that the magnitude of the changes in P sorption and availability was not related to the water-extractable P content of the P sources. Future research on the sustainable application of organic wastes to agricultural soils needs to consider the non-P- as well as P-containing components of the waste.

Differences in phosphorus retention and release in soils amended with animal manures and sewage sludge

Excessive levels of P in agricultural soils pose a threat to local water quality. This study evaluated (i) time-dependent changes in soil P sorption (expressed as a phosphorus sorption index, PSI) and P availability (as resin P) during incubation (100 d) with poultry litter, cattle slurry, sewage sludge, or KH2PO4, added on a P-equivalent basis (100 mg P kg(-1)), and (ii) the subsequent kinetics of P release, measured by repeated extractions with a mixed cation-anion exchange resin. Soil exchangeable Ca and ammonium oxalate-extractable Fe and Al were also determined at 100 d of incubation. The small decrease in P sorption in the litter and sludge treatments (25%), compared with that in the slurry and KH2PO4 treatments (52%) between 20 and 100 d of incubation was attributed partly to the formation of new adsorption sites for P. Subsequent P release was described by a power equation: Resin P = a(extraction number)(b), where the constants a and b represent resin P obtained with a single extraction and the rate of P release per resin extraction, respectively. On average, the rate of P release decreased in the order: KH2PO4 and slurry > litter > sludge, and was inversely related to exchangeable Ca content of the incubated soils (R-2 = 0.57). The slower rates of P release in the litter and sludge treatments (P < 0.001) are attributed to the large values for exchangeable Ca (1050-2640 and 1070-2710 mg kg(-1), respectively) in these amended soils. Future research concerned with short-term declines in environmentally harmful levels of P in recently amended soils should consider the differential effects of the amendments on soil P dynamics.

Dissolution of phosphorus from animal bone char in 12 soils

Heat-treated animal bone char (ABC) has not previously been evaluated for its potential as a phosphorus (P) fertilizer. ABC, Gafsa phosphate rock (GPR) and triple superphosphate fertilizer (TSP) were incubated in 12 soils. Dissolved-P was assessed by extraction with NaOH and bioavailability with the Olsen extractant. The rate of P dissolution from ABC was described almost equally well by the Elovich and Power equations. After 145 days, the fraction of P dissolved ranged from 0 to 73% and to 56% for ABC and GPR, respectively. The most important soil properties determining P dissolution from ABC were pH and P sorption. P dissolution was not significant at soil pH > 6.1 (ABC) and > 5 (GPR) and the lower the pH, the greater the Dissolved-P. Dissolved-P also correlated positively and significantly with inorganic P sorption, measured by the Freundlich isotherm and the P sorption index of Bache and Williams (1971). Soil pH and P sorption index could be combined in multiple regression equations that use readily measured soil properties to predict the potential for ABC dissolution in a soil. Dissolution of P from GPR correlated with soil pH and exchangeable acidity. In comparison with GPR, ABC was a better source of available P, assessed by Olsen-P. In most soils, ABC increased Olsen-P immediately after application, including soils of relatively high pH in which GPR was ineffective. ABC is a P fertilizer of solubility intermediate between GPR and TSP.

Detecting local adaptation in widespread grassland species - the importance of scale and local plant community

1 Adaptation of plant populations to local environments has been shown in many species but local adaptation is not always apparent and spatial scales of differentiation are not well known. In a reciprocal transplant experiment we tested whether: (i) three widespread grassland species are locally adapted at a European scale; (ii) detection of local adaptation depends on competition with the local plant community; and (iii) local differentiation between neighbouring populations from contrasting habitats can be stronger than differentiation at a European scale. 2 Seeds of Holcus lanatus, Lotus corniculatus and Plantago lanceolata from a Swiss, Czech and UK population were sown in a reciprocal transplant experiment at fields that exhibit environmental conditions similar to the source sites. Seedling emergence, survival, growth and reproduction were recorded for two consecutive years. 3 The effect of competition was tested by comparing individuals in weeded monocultures with plants sown together with species from the local grassland community. To compare large-scale vs. small-scale differentiation, a neighbouring population from a contrasting habitat (wet-dry contrast) was compared with the 'home' and 'foreign' populations. 4 In P. lanceolata and H. lanatus, a significant home-site advantage was detected in fitness-related traits, thus indicating local adaptation. In L. corniculatus, an overall superiority of one provenance was found. 5 The detection of local adaptation depended on competition with the local plant community. In the absence of competition the home-site advantage was underestimated in P. lanceolata and overestimated in H. lanatus. 6 A significant population differentiation between contrasting local habitats was found. In some traits, this small-scale was greater than large-scale differentiation between countries. 7 Our results indicate that local adaptation in real plant communities cannot necessarily be predicted from plants grown in weeded monocultures and that tests on the relationship between fitness and geographical distance have to account for habitat-dependent small-scale differentiation. Considering the strong small-scale differentiation, a local provenance from a different habitat may not be the best choice in ecological restoration if distant populations from a more similar habitat are available.

Folsomia candida (Collembola): A "standard" soil arthropod

Folsomia candida Willem 1902, a member of the order Collembola (colloquially called springtails), is a common and widespread arthropod that occurs in soils throughout the world. The species is parthenogenetic and is easy to maintain in the laboratory on a diet of granulated dry yeast. F. candida has been used as a "standard" test organism for more than 40 years for estimating the effects of pesticides and environmental pollutants on nontarget soil arthropods. However. it has also been employed as a model for the investigation of numerous other phenomena such as cold tolerance, quality as a prey item, and effects of microarthropod grazing on pathogenic fungi and mycorrhizae of plant roots. In this comprehensive review. aspects of the life history, ecology, and ecotoxicology of F candida are covered. We focus on the recent literature, especially studies that have examined the effects of soil pollutants on reproduction in F candida using the protocol published by the International Standards Organization in 1999.

Species divergence and trait convergence in experimental plant community assembly

Despite decades of research, it remains controversial whether ecological communities converge towards a common structure determined by environmental conditions irrespective of assembly history. Here, we show experimentally that the answer depends on the level of community organization considered. In a 9-year grassland experiment, we manipulated initial plant composition on abandoned arable land and subsequently allowed natural colonization. Initial compositional variation caused plant communities to remain divergent in species identities, even though these same communities converged strongly in species traits. This contrast between species divergence and trait convergence could not be explained by dispersal limitation or community neutrality alone. Our results show that the simultaneous operation of trait-based assembly rules and species-level priority effects drives community assembly, making it both deterministic and historically contingent, but at different levels of community organization.