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Zhou J, Jia R, Brown RW, Yang Y, Zeng Z, Jones DL, Zang H. The long-term uncertainty of biodegradable mulch film residues and associated microplastics pollution on plant-soil health. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 442:130055. [PMID: 36303333 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Biodegradable mulch film potentially offers an encouraging alternative to conventional (petroleum-based) plastic films. Since biodegradable films are more susceptible to rapid degradation, more microplastics (MPs) are likely to be generated than conventional films within the same time frame, probably leading to more severe MPs pollution and associated effects. However, the effect of biodegradable mulch film residues and associated MPs pollution on plant-soil health remains uncertainty. Here, we evaluated the potential effect of bio-MPs pollution on soil carbon (C) and nutrient (i.e., N and P) cycling, soil biology (microorganisms and mesofauna), and plant health, as these are crucial to agroecosystem functioning and the delivery of key ecosystem services. Unlike the inert (and therefore recalcitrant) C contained within petroleum-based MPs, at least 80% of the C from bio-MPs is converted to CO2, with up to 20% immobilized in living microbial biomass (i.e., < 0.05 t C ha-1). Although biodegradable films are unlikely to be important in promoting soil C storage, they may accelerate microbial biomass turnover in the short term, as well as CO2 production. Compared to conventional MPs, bio-MPs degradation is more pronounced, thereby inducing greater alterations in microbial diversity and community composition. This may further alter N2O and CH4 emissions, and ultimately resulting in unpredictable consequences for global climate warming. The extent to which this may occur, however, has yet to be shown in either laboratory or field studies. In addition, bio-MPs have a large chance of forming nanoplastics, potentially causing a stronger toxic effect on plants relative to conventional MPs. Consequently, this would influence plant health, crop productivity, and food safety, leading to potential health risks. It is unclear, however, if these are direct effects on key plant processes (e.g. signaling, cell expansion) or indirect effects (e.g. nutrient deficiency or acidification). Overall, the question as to whether biodegradable mulch films offer a promising alternative to solve the conventional plastic legacy in soil over the long term remains unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhou
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Rong Jia
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Robert W Brown
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Yadong Yang
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Zhaohai Zeng
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Davey L Jones
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK; SoilsWest, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6105, Australia
| | - Huadong Zang
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
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Mahanes SA, Bracken MES, Sorte CJB. Climate Change Amelioration by Marine Producers: Does Dominance Predict Impact? THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2022; 243:299-314. [PMID: 36716485 DOI: 10.1086/721229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
AbstractClimate change threatens biodiversity worldwide, and assessing how those changes will impact communities will be critical for conservation. Dominant primary producers can alter local-scale environmental conditions, reducing temperature via shading and mitigating ocean acidification via photosynthesis, which could buffer communities from the impacts of climate change. We conducted two experiments on the coast of southeastern Alaska to assess the effects of a common seaweed species, Neorhodomela oregona, on temperature and pH in field tide pools and tide pool mesocosms. We found that N. oregona was numerically dominant in this system, covering >60% of habitable space in the pools and accounting for >40% of live cover. However, while N. oregona had a density-dependent effect on pH in isolated mesocosms, we did not find a consistent effect of N. oregona on either pH or water temperature in tide pools in the field. These results suggest that the amelioration of climate change impacts in immersed marine ecosystems by primary producers is not universal and likely depends on species' functional attributes, including photosynthetic rate and physical structure, in addition to abundance or dominance.
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Contrasting Responses of Soil Nematode Trophic Groups to Long-Term Nitrogen Addition. Ecosystems 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-022-00803-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Soil Nematodes as the Silent Sufferers of Climate-Induced Toxicity: Analysing the Outcomes of Their Interactions with Climatic Stress Factors on Land Cover and Agricultural Production. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2022; 195:2519-2586. [PMID: 35593954 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-022-03965-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Unsustainable anthropogenic activities over the last few decades have resulted in alterations of the global climate. It can be perceived through changes in the rainfall patterns and rise in mean annual temperatures. Climatic stress factors exert their effects on soil health mainly by modifying the soil microenvironments where the soil fauna reside. Among the members of soil fauna, the soil nematodes have been found to be sensitive to these stress factors primarily because of their low tolerance limits. Additionally, because of their higher and diverse trophic positions in the soil food web they can integrate the effects of many stress factors acting together. This is important because under natural conditions the climatic stress factors do not exert their effect individually. Rather, they interact amongst themselves and other abiotic stress factors in the soil to generate their impacts. Some of these interactions may be synergistic while others may be antagonistic. As such, it becomes very difficult to assess their impacts on soil health by simply analysing the physicochemical properties of soil. This makes soil nematodes outstanding candidates for studying the effects of climatic stress factors on soil biology. The knowledge obtained therefrom can be used to design sustainable agricultural practices because most of the conventional techniques aim at short-term benefits with complete disregard of soil biology. This can partly ensure food security in the coming decades for the expanding population. Moreover, understanding soil biology can help to preserve landscapes that have developed over long periods of climatic stability and belowground soil biota interactions.
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Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess Plateau. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12020246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The bottom-up effects of vegetation have been documented to be strong drivers of the soil food web structure and functioning in temperate forests. However, how the forest type affects the stability of the soil food web is not well known. In the Ziwuling forest region of the Loess Plateau, we selected three typical forests, Pinus tabuliformis Carrière (PT), Betula platyphylla Sukaczev (BP), and Quercus liaotungensis Koidz. (QL), to investigate the soil nematode community characteristics in the dry (April) and rainy (August) season, and analyzed their relationships with the soil properties. The results showed that the characteristics of the soil nematode communities and their seasonal variations differed markedly among the forest types. Compared to P. tabuliformis (PT), the B. platyphylla (BP) and Q. liaotungensis (QL) forests had higher plant diversity and more easily decomposed litters, which were more effective for improving the soil resource availability, thus, leading to more beneficial effects on the soil nematode community. In both the dry and rainy season, the soil nematode abundance was the highest in the BP forest. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H’), Pielou’s evenness index (J’), and nematode channel ratio index (NCR) were higher, while the Simpson dominance index (λ) and plant parasite index (PPI) were lower, in the BP and QL forests compared with in the PT forest. From the dry to rainy season, the total nematode abundance and the abundance of fungivores, bacterivores, and omnivore-predators, significantly increased in the QL and PT forests, and the values of the Wasilewska index (WI), maturity index (MI), H’, J’, λ, and NCR showed the most significant seasonal variability in the PT forest, which were mainly driven by changes in the soil labile C and N and the moisture content between the two seasons. Generally, the seasonal stability of the soil nematode communities was the highest in the BP forest and the poorest in the PT forest, probably due to variations in the plant diversity. Our results suggest the importance of tree species and diversity as bottom-up regulating factors of the soil food web structure, function, and seasonal stability, which has important implications for sustainable forest management in the Loess Plateau and other temperate regions.
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Wang B, Wu L, Chen D, Wu Y, Hu S, Li L, Bai Y. Grazing simplifies soil micro-food webs and decouples their relationships with ecosystem functions in grasslands. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:960-970. [PMID: 31529564 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Livestock grazing often alters aboveground and belowground communities of grasslands and their mediated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling processes at the local scale. Yet, few have examined whether grazing-induced changes in soil food webs and their ecosystem functions can be extrapolated to a regional scale. We investigated how large herbivore grazing affects soil micro-food webs (microbes and nematodes) and ecosystem functions (soil C and N mineralization), using paired grazed and ungrazed plots at 10 locations across the Mongolian Plateau. Our results showed that grazing not only affected plant variables (e.g., biomass and C and N concentrations), but also altered soil substrates (e.g., C and N contents) and soil environment (e.g., soil pH and bulk density). Grazing had strong bottom-up effects on soil micro-food webs, leading to more pronounced decreases at higher trophic levels (nematodes) than at lower trophic levels (microbes). Structural equation modeling showed that changes in plant biomass and soil environment dominated grazing effects on microbes, while nematodes were mainly influenced by changes in plant biomass and soil C and N contents; the grazing effects, however, differed greatly among functional groups in the soil micro-food webs. Grazing reduced soil C and N mineralization rates via changes in plant biomass, soil C and N contents, and soil environment across grasslands on the Mongolian Plateau. Spearman's rank correlation analysis also showed that grazing reduced the correlations between functional groups in soil micro-food webs and then weakened the correlation between soil micro-food webs and soil C and N mineralization. These results suggest that changes in soil micro-food webs resulting from livestock grazing are poor predictors of soil C and N processes at regional scale, and that the relationships between soil food webs and ecosystem functions depend on spatial scales and land-use changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Liji Wu
- College of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
| | - Dima Chen
- College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China
| | - Ying Wu
- Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Shuijin Hu
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Linghao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yongfei Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Shao Y, Zhang W, Eisenhauer N, Liu T, Ferlian O, Wang X, Xiong Y, Liang C, Fu S. Exotic earthworms maintain soil biodiversity by altering bottom-up effects of plants on the composition of soil microbial groups and nematode communities. BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS 2019; 55:213-227. [PMID: 33911324 PMCID: PMC7610695 DOI: 10.1007/s00374-019-01343-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Bottom-up effects of plants on soil communities can be modified by the activity of exotic earthworms, by altering resource availability for soil food webs through feeding, burrowing, and casting activities. The present study explored effects of plants (planting of shrubs) on soil micro-food webs (composition of soil microbial and nematode communities), and whether these effects were altered by the activity of exotic earthworms (exotic earthworms addition). Planted shrubs resulted in a non-significant increase of bacterial biomass and significantly increased the abundance of different nematode trophic groups and total nematode biomass, indicating that planted shrubs had significant bottom-up effects on soil bacteria and nematodes. Planted shrubs decreased nematode diversity, evenness, and richness, but increased nematode dominance in the plots where the abundance of exotic earthworms was not amended. By contrast, these effects of shrub presence on soil biodiversity were not found in the plots that received exotic earthworms. In addition, planted shrubs increased the total energy flux to the nematode community. By contrast, the elevated activity of exotic earthworms mitigated the increase in total energy flux to nematodes in the presence of shrubs, and increased the ratio of fungal to bacterial PLFAs. Both of these changes indicate reduced energy flux in the plots with added exotic earthworms. Nematode diversity decreased, while nematode dominance increased with increasing total energy flux to nematodes, probably because few species benefited from high energy flux. Our study indicates that exotic earthworms can maintain soil biodiversity by reducing the energy flux through soil food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanhu Shao
- Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded, Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Weixin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded, Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded, Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Olga Ferlian
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai Academy of, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Yanmei Xiong
- Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China
| | - Chenfei Liang
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbon Cycling in Forest Ecosystems and, Carbon Sequestration, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin’an 311300, China
| | - Shenglei Fu
- Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded, Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
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Sun F, Pan K, Li Z, Wang S, Tariq A, Olatunji OA, Sun X, Zhang L, Shi W, Wu X. Soybean supplementation increases the resilience of microbial and nematode communities in soil to extreme rainfall in an agroforestry system. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 626:776-784. [PMID: 29358146 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Revised: 12/30/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
A current challenge for ecological research in agriculture is to identify ways in which to improve the resilience of the soil food web to extreme climate events, such as severe rainfall. Plant species composition influence soil biota communities differently, which might affect the recovery of soil food web after extreme rainfall. We compared the effects of rainfall stress up on the soil microbial food web in three planting systems: a monoculture of the focal species Zanthoxylum bungeanum and mixed cultures of Z. bungeanum and Medicago sativa or Z. bungeanum and Glycine max. We tested the effect of the presence of a legume on the recovery of trophic interactions between microorganisms and nematodes after extreme rainfall. Our results indicated that all chemical properties of the soil recovered to control levels (normal rainfall) in the three planting systems 45 days after exposure to extreme rain. However, on day 45, the bulk microbial community differed from controls in the monoculture treatment, but not in the two mixed planting treatments. The nematode community did not fully recover in the monoculture or Z. bungeanum and M. sativa treatments, while nematode populations in the combined Z. bungeanum and G. max treatment were indistinguishable from controls. G. max performed better than M. sativa in terms of increasing the resilience of microbial and nematode communities to extreme rainfall. Soil microbial biomass and nematode density were positively correlated with the available carbon and nitrogen content in soil, demonstrating a link between soil health and biological properties. This study demonstrated that certain leguminous plants can stabilize the soil food web via interactions with soil biota communities after extreme rainfall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, People's Republic of China
| | - Kaiwen Pan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China.
| | - Zilong Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, People's Republic of China
| | - Sizhong Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, People's Republic of China
| | - Akash Tariq
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, People's Republic of China
| | - Olusanya Abiodun Olatunji
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoming Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China
| | - Weiyu Shi
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Karst Environment, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xiaogang Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China
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