Multi-level assessment of soil quality – linking reductionistic and holistic methodologies

Soil quality is often used as a qualitative, general term. However, quantification is an important feature of the scientific approach to nature. On the other hand, addressing specific soil parameters as indicators of soil quality includes a reduction of the whole soil system. Therefore, results obtained by specialized methodologies ought to be evaluated by methods integrating the soil characteristics in situ. In this presentation, results are given from an investigation of the tilth of two differently managed loamy soils. One of the soils had been managed for decades with a forage crop system (labeled FCS), which included fertilization with farmyard manure, while the other had been grown with a continuous cereal system (labeled CCS), receiving no input of organic matter. In the field, the structure of the top 30-cm soil layer was described visually (spade analysis) and by studying the fragmentation behavior (soil drop test). Further, the field measurements included determination of soil strength by a torsional shear box method. In the laboratory, shear strength was determined on bulk soil sampled in metal cylinders, and tensile strength was estimated from crushing tests of individual, differently sized aggregates. The FCS soil appeared porous, with crumbs as structural units, while the CCS soil was compact with blocks as structural units. The soil drop test yielded the highest degree of fragmentation for the FCS soil. The torsional shear box method showed the CCS soil to have the highest bulk soil strength. This was confirmed by the laboratory shear annulus method. Finally, the tensile strength measurements revealed a much higher strength of 8-16, 4-8 and 2-4 mm dry aggregates from the CCS soil as compared to the FCS soil, while 1-2 mm aggregates were strongest in the FCS soil. This indicates a higher friability for the FCS soil, which is in accordance with the soil behavior in the field tests. In conclusion, the quality of the FCS soil – as evaluated by its mechanical behavior – was found to be higher than that of the CCS soil. An important result is the good correlation between the integrating field methods and the differentiating laboratory methods. This means that the quantifying, reductionistic scientific approach is not conflicting with the ‘holistic’ descriptions in the field

Biotic and abiotic binding and bonding mechanisms in soils with long-term differences in management

During the last decades Denmark has experienced a growing interest in low-input farming systems like organic farming. These systems rely on a high soil fertility to maintain nutrient availability and plant health. Soil aggregation contributes to this fertility, because it is crucial to soil porosity, aeration and infiltration of water. This paper reports a study of two pairs of differently managed, neighboring fields. The aim was to elucidate long-term effects of the different farming systems on physical and biological variables with influence on bonding and binding mechanisms of soil aggregation. Each pair consists of an organically grown dairy farm soil, based on a forage crop rotation system, including grass (Org-FCS(G)) and a conventionally managed soil. One of the conventional farms has a forage crop rotation with annual cash crops and no grass (Conv-FCS(NG)) and one has been grown continuously with small grain cereals and rape (Conv-CCS). Our results indicate that the Org-FCS(G) soils stimulate biotic soil aggregating agents as measured by extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) and hyphal length measurements, respectively. Generally, the Conv-CCS soil, which relies exclusively on synthetic fertilisers and cereal production, offered poor conditions for the biotic binding and bonding agents. Nevertheless this soil contained a large amount of stable macro-aggregates. This is explained by the physical results, which indicated that the strong macro-aggregation was due to clay dispersion and cementation processes rather than to biotic processes

Carbohydrates in hot water extracts of soil aggregates as affected by long-term management

Microbial carbohydrates are immediate by-products of microbial metabolism and play an important role in the formation and stabilization of soil structure. The effect of long-term management on soil carbohydrate content and monosaccharide composition was investigated in five. Danish sandy loams under organic and conventional management with animal manure and mineral fertilizers. Hot-water (80°C)extraction was used to measure the distribution and composition of carbohydrates in aggregate size. Carbohydrates released to hot water were determined after hydrolysis as reducing sugars equivalent to glucose. The monosaccharide composition in hot-water extracts was analyzed as the corresponding alditol acetates. Sites with a history of long-term continuos management practices were used. Three treatments from the >100 year Askov long-term field experiment were used to show results of contrasting fertilization on soil carbohydrate content. These were all grown to a four-course crop rotation. Total carbohydrate content was signifcantly infuenced by long-term management practices, with a signifcantly higher carbohydrate content in soils fertilized with either mineral fertilizers or animal manure (1200 to 800 mg C kg-1 DM aggregate)than in an unfertilized soil (600 to 500 mg C kg-1 DM aggregate). These results were as true for micro-aggregates (,0.25 mm)as for the 0.5–1. 0mmand 4.0–8.0 mm fractions. The organically managed soil (>40years) was sited at a commercial farm with forage crop rotations, organic manure and nouse of crop protection chemicals. These results showed signifcantly higher levels of carbohydrate both in micro-aggregate and macro-aggregates (1200 to 900 mg C kg-1 DM aggregate) than an adjacent conventionally managed soil with annual cash crop, mineral fertilizers and use of cropprotection chemicals (960 to 760 mg C kg-1 DM aggregate). Carbohydrate Ccontent generally increased as aggregate size decreased in both soils. Monosaccharide distribution was generally similar among three aggregate size classes studied. In all soils the content of monosaccharide was highest in micro-aggregates and lowest in macro-aggregates. Mannose and galactose were normally the most common monosaccharides in the hot-water extracts of aggregate fractions, indicating a predominantly microbial origin

Lavbundsarealerne ved Fussingø

På engene ved Fussingø Hovedgård blev der i 1997-2001 gennemført en tværfaglig undersøgelse af forskellige græsmarksstrategier, som afgræsning, slæt eller driftsophør, ud fra ønsket om at kunne øge naturkvaliteten under miljøvenlig græsmarksdrift og samtidig forbedre landbrugsproduktionen under sådanne forhold. Med henblik på at få en generel beskrivelse af engarealerne er der indsamlet nøgledata vedrørende geologi, afstrømningsforhold, arealernes driftshistorie, klima, hydrologi og vegetationen på arealerne. Der er benyttet en kombination af ældre beskrivelser og nye registreringer. Engområdet er beliggende i en tunneldal, som stort set følger Skals å forløbet. Der er tørveaflejringer med mindre lag af ler og kalkgytje indlejret lokalt. I den øverste meter af jordlaget er humusindholdet ca. 60%. Der var et højt N-indhold i jorden, men med stor variation indenfor området (1,8-2,7%). Den potentielle netto kvælstof mineralisering var betydeligt højere end det niveau man normalt finder på mineraljord. Afstrømningsoplandet ved Fussingø er på 1948 ha, og det består af fire del-oplande, der afvander til Skals å systemet. Lavbundsarealet på 411 ha udgør 21% af det samlede oplandsareal. Lavbundsarealet består bl.a. af 44% vådområder, som ikke udnyttes landbrugsmæssigt, og af 20% vedvarende græsningsarealer. Engarealerne, som indgik i forsøget, blev i perioden før 1955 og i perioden efter 1987 drevet med græsmarksdrift. I den mellemliggende periode var der mere eller mindre intensiv drift af arealerne med både græsmarksdrift og salgsafgrøder. Klimaet i forsøgsperioden var specielt ved at nedbøren i forårsperioden var stigende gennem de år forsøget varede, og arealerne blev mere og mere fugtige i vækstperioden. Med hensyn til fugtighed var der betydelige forskelle i vandstand fra græsningsfold til græsningsfold. Vegetationen var kulturpræget på østarealet og naturpræget på vestarealet. En forklaring på dette forhold kan være, at der på østarealet var en højere N-mineralisering og et højere indhold af plantetilgængeligt K. Danske lavbundsarealer kan variere meget, og der er ikke grundige beskrivelser af alle lavbundsarealer som af arealerne på Fussingø. Man kan derfor ikke sige, hvor stor en del af de danske lavbundsarealer, der har samme forhold som arealerne, der indgik i undersøgelsen. Ud fra gamle kortoptegnelser er det tidligere vurderet, at en tredjedel af Danmarks lavbundsarealer har humusjord og dermed tilsvarende jordtype som engene ved Fussingø

Den danske dyrkningsjords tilstand og kvalitet - konsekvenser af trafik og jordbearbejdning

Et alsidigt sædskifte og/eller tilførsel af organisk stof til jorden giver en god jordkvalitet (her defineret som en gunstig jordstruktur). Ensidige driftsformer kan i sig selv give anledning til en dårlig jordkvalitet. Jordpakning via trafik på jorden kan eliminere de gode effekter af et godt sædskifte og tilførsel af organisk stof. Trafik på jorden og i endnu højere grad intensiv jordbearbejdning øger risikoen for, at jordens lermineraler dispergeres til vandfasen. Dette kan give tilslemning og skorpedannelse på jorden og indebærer endvidere en risiko for nedvaskning af de vigtige lermineraler fra dyrkningslaget. Der bør foretages undersøgelser af omfanget af denne proces med de i dag anvendte bearbejdningsteknikker. Komprimering af jorden under normal bearbejdningsdybde via pløjning med hjulet i furebunden og via kørsel med meget tunge maskiner er i dag en realitet for stort set hele den danske landbrugsjord. Det anbefales stærkt, at landbruget overgår til pløjesystemer med alle fire hjul ’på land’ (’on-land’ pløjning). Det anbefales ligeledes, at belastningen (vægten) ved kørsel på forårs- og efterårsvåd jord ikke overstiger 6 tons på enkelt-aksel og 8-10 tons på boogi-aksel. Anvendelse af bæltekøretøjer er muligvis en løsning på pakningsproblemet. Det forudsætter dog, at de anvendte maskiner giver anledning til reelt meget lave marktryk (<50 kPa) over hele trædefladen. Der bør gennemføres flere undersøgelser af, hvorvidt de i dag tilgængelige bæltekøretøjer opfylder disse kriterier ved alle arbejdsoperationer

Advanced receptor modeling of near–real–time, ambient PM2.5 and its associated components collected at an urban–industrial site in Toronto, Ontario

AbstractPM2.5 and other atmospheric pollutants were continuously monitored at high time resolution for 1 year at an urban–industrial location in Toronto, ON, Canada's largest city. The data collected for these pollutants were examined to determine seasonal trends and potential sources. Advanced receptor models including residence time weighted concentration (RTWC) and simplified quantitative transport bias analysis (sQTBA) trajectory ensemble models (TEM) and conditional probability function (CPF) were applied to these data to identify potential local and regional sources of pollution impacting this receptor site. Seasonal trends showed that concentrations of PM2.5 were more frequently high in winter than in any other season. Median concentrations of lead and arsenic were highest in fall while median levels of chromium were not significantly different over the four seasons. The black carbon–derived measurement commonly known as Delta C (i.e., BC370nm–BC880nm) had its greatest abundance in winter and lowest levels in summer. The seasonality of Delta C is indicative of the impact of residential wood combustion near the receptor site. CPF indicated that lead and iron had the most unidirectional radial plots with sectors located west–southwest of the receptor being the most likely local source regions. Winter CPF for Delta C is almost of equal strengths in all directions suggestive of near–uniform isotropic local impacts. The sQTBA model provided the most satisfactory spatial representation of impacting sources. The strongest sources of PM2.5 identified by the sQTBA model were both local and transboundary in origin. More potential source regions were found in winter and summer than in spring and fall

Two-Stage Fungal Pre-Treatment for Improved Biogas Production from Sisal Leaf Decortication Residues

Sisal leaf decortications residue (SLDR) is amongst the most abundant agro-industrial residues in Tanzania and is a good feedstock for biogas production. Pre-treatment of the residue prior to its anaerobic digestion (AD) was investigated using a two-stage pre-treatment approach with two fungal strains, CCHT-1 and Trichoderma reesei in succession in anaerobic batch bioreactors. AD of the pre-treated residue with CCTH-1 at 10% (wet weight inoculum/SLDR) inoculum concentration incubated for four days followed by incubation for eight days with 25% (wet weight inoculum/SLDR) of T. reesei gave a methane yield of 0.292 ± 0.04 m3 CH4/kg volatile solids (VS)added. On reversing the pre-treatment succession of the fungal inocula using the same parameters followed by AD, methane yield decreased by about 55%. Generally, an increment in the range of 30–101% in methane yield in comparison to the un-treated SLDR was obtained. The results confirmed the potential of CCHT-1 followed by Trichoderma reesei fungi pre-treatment prior to AD to achieve significant improvement in biogas production from SLDR

Soil biochemistry and microbial activity in vineyards under conventional and organic management at Northeast Brazil.

The São Francisco Submedium Valley is located at the Brazilian semiarid region and is an important center for irrigated fruit growing. This region is responsible for 97% of the national exportation of table grapes, including seedless grapes. Based on the fact that orgThe São Francisco Submedium Valley is located at the Brazilian semiarid region and is an important center for irrigated fruit growing. This region is responsible for 97% of the national exportation of table grapes, including seedless grapes. Based on the fact that organic fertilization can improve soil quality, we compared the effects of conventional and organic soil management on microbial activity and mycorrhization of seedless grape crops. We measured glomerospores number, most probable number (MPN) of propagules, richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) species, AMF root colonization, EE-BRSP production, carbon microbial biomass (C-MB), microbial respiration, fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic activity (FDA) and metabolic coefficient (qCO2). The organic management led to an increase in all variables with the exception of EE-BRSP and qCO2. Mycorrhizal colonization increased from 4.7% in conventional crops to 15.9% in organic crops. Spore number ranged from 4.1 to 12.4 per 50 g-1 soil in both management systems. The most probable number of AMF propagules increased from 79 cm-3 soil in the conventional system to 110 cm-3 soil in the organic system. Microbial carbon, CO2 emission, and FDA activity were increased by 100 to 200% in the organic crop. Thirteen species of AMF were identified, the majority in the organic cultivation system. Acaulospora excavata, Entrophospora infrequens, Glomus sp.3 and Scutellospora sp. were found only in the organically managed crop. S. gregaria was found only in the conventional crop. Organically managed vineyards increased mycorrhization and general soil microbial activity