RESEARCH NEWS

• 
  Bacterial Mobility Facilitated by Soil Depth and Intact Structure

  The development of field management practices for reducing pathogenic pollution of water systems is slow because of a lack of understanding of the dynamics of microbial transport through subsurface soil profiles, which are heterogeneous both geochemically and structurally.

  Apr 23, 2021
• 
  Mycorrhizal Type May Play an Important Role in Regulating Rhizosphere Priming

  Root exudation is critical in influencing soil organic matter (SOM) decay via the rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) with a cascade of changes in microbial communities and enzyme activities, which can rival the effects of temperature and moisture. “Although the vast majority of plants allocate carbon (C) to root-associated mycorrhizal fungi, we still do not have a clear understanding of how roots and their associated mycorrhizal fungi mediate the RPE,” said Prof. WANG Peng from the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  Apr 22, 2021
• 
  The Physiological Characteristics of Specific Microbial Taxa Regulate the Function of Microbial Assemblages

  Microorganisms are the drivers of soil organic carbon mineralization, and the activity of soil microorganisms directly affects the turnover rate of soil carbon.Contact YUE Qian Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Tel: 86-24-83970324 E-mail: yueqian@iae.ac.cn Web: http://english.iae.cas.cn

  Apr 21, 2021
• Researchers Demenstrate How Importance of Microbial Charcateristics in Soil Organic Matter Formation

  The researchers estimated microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by 18O-labelled H2O incubation method and found that N addition (low, ambient and high N addition) and soil horizon (organic vs. mineral layer) affected microbial CUE and NUE, however no obvious change regulation was observed. In addition, researchers also found a polynomial correlation between microbial CUE and NUE, with the inflection point at CUE=0.4. Regression analysis showed that the variation in microbial community structure and the phosphorus stoichiometry imbalance were two main factors that affected microbial nutrient use efficiency.

  Apr 01, 2021
• Researchers Reveal the Effects of Nitrogen Addition on Soil Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen Use Efficiencies

  The researchers measured SOC, microbial physiological parameters (microbial biomass carbon (MBC), carbon use efficiency (CUE), turnover rate) and residue index (amino sugar (AS)) and found that SOC was positively correlated with MBC and AS, and negatively correlated with mean annual temperature and precipitation (MAT and MAP). In addition, the general linear model with physiological parameters and residue index was more effective in simulating SOC content.

  Apr 01, 2021
• How Sulphur Deposition Affects Soil Nematode Community Structure

  The researchers measured chemical and biological properties of the soil samples and found that S addition had a significant impact on richness and diversity of soil nematodes, but not on total abundance of soil nematodes and the relative abundance of Cervidellus and Aphelenchus (the dominant nematode species).

  Mar 30, 2021
• 
  Scientists Found Eco-strategies of Soil Microbes Control Temperature Sensitivity of Organic Matter Decomposition

  To test this hypothesis, Dr. Hui Li and her colleagues from the research group of Soil Chemistry in Institute of Applied Ecology, CAS analyzed Q10 of SOM decomposition in 13 sites of natural temperate mixed forests along a mean annual temperature (MAT) gradient of -1.9 to 5.1 °C.

  Mar 26, 2021
• Fatty Acid Methyl Ester-based Microemulsion Effectively Increases the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Removals in Soils

  In a study published in Journal of Hazardous Materials, a research group led by GONG Zongqiang from the Shenyang Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) proposed a fatty acid methyl ester-based microemulsion to remediate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated soils.

  Mar 09, 2021
• 
  Scientists Have Series of Discoveries on Soil Microbial Carbon Pump and Carbon Storage Mechanism

  The mechanism of soil carbon turnover and sequestration is a hot and difficult point in carbon biogeochemical cycling research. The improvement of soil carbon sink function is closely related to key issues such as food security, water body quality, biodiversity maintenance, land health conservation (e.g., the black soil protection in particular), the international development strategy of Carbon Neutrality, and global climate crisis.

  Feb 09, 2021
• Researchers Reveal How Nitrogen and Water Addition Influence Inorganic Phosphorus Components in the Soil of Semi-arid Grasslands

  Phosphorus is a limiting nutrient affecting the primary productivity of terrestrial ecosystems. In semi-arid grasslands, soil phosphorus mainly exists in the form of mineral-bound inorganic phosphorus (up to 75% of total phosphorus in calcium-rich soil), which is an important soil phosphorus pool but is difficult to be directly used by plants.

  Jan 22, 2021