Effect of biofertilizers application on soil biodiversity and litter degradation in a commercial apricot orchard

The aim of the present experiment was to determine if the supply of biofertilizers could differently stimulate the native microbiota, thus determining different patterns of organic material decomposition processes. The microbial composition of soil and litter was investigated by next generation sequencing using a metabarcoding approach. The chemical structure of the decomposing litterbags was investigated through the TG-DTA analysis and NIR spectroscopy. The study was conducted in an apricot orchard in Italy, and two different type of biofertilizers (AMF and Trichoderma spp.) were compared to unfertilized control over one year. Bacteria and fungi in soil, 162 days from litter deposition, evidenced differentiated clusters for control and both biofertilizers; on the other hand, only fungal composition of litterbags was modified as a consequence of Trichoderma spp. supply; no effect was observed in the bacterial community of litterbags. NIR and TG-DTA analysis evidenced a significant change over time of the chemical composition of litterbags with a faster degradation as a consequence of Trichoderma spp. supply testified by a higher degradation coefficient (1.9) than control (1.6) and AMF (1.7). The supply of biofertilizers partially modified the bacteria community of soil, while Trichoderma spp. Influenced the fungal community of the litter. Moreover, Trichoderma spp. Evidenced a faster and higher degradation of litter than AMF-biofertilizers, laying the foundation for an efficient use in orchard

How will a drier climate change carbon sequestration in soils of the deciduous forests of Central Europe?

Global warming is accompanied by increasing water stress across much of our planet. We studied soil biological processes and changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in 30 Hungarian oak forest sites in the Carpathian Basin along a climatic gradient (mean annual temperature (MAT) 9.6\u201312.1 C, mean annual precipitation (MAP) 545\u2013725 mm) but on similar gently sloped hillsides where the parent materials are loess and weathered dust inputs dating from the end of the ice age. The purpose of this research was to understand how a drying climate, predicted for this region, might regulate long-term SOC sequestration. To examine the effects of decreasing water availability, we compared soil parameters and processes in three categories of forest that represented the moisture extremes along our gradient and that were defined using a broken-stick regression model. Soil biological activity was significantly lower in the driest (\u2018\u2018dry\u2019\u2019) forests, which had more than double the SOC concentration in the upper 30 cm layer (3.28 g C/100 g soil \ub1 0.11 SE) compared to soils of the wettest (\u2018\u2018humid\u2019\u2019) forests (1.32 g C/100 g soil \ub1 0.09 SE), despite the fact that annual surface litter production in humid forests was * 37% higher than in dry forests. A two-pool SOM model constrained to fit radiocarbon data indicates that turnover times for fast and slow pools are about half as long in the humid soil compared to the dry soil, and humid soils transfer C twice as efficiently from fast to slow pools. Enzyme activity and fungal biomass data also imply shorter turnover times associated with faster degradation processes in the soils of humid forests. Thermogravimetry studies suggest that more chemically recalcitrant compounds are accumulating in the soils of dry forests. Taken together, our results suggest that the predicted climate drying in this region might increase SOC storage in Central European mesic deciduous forests even as litter production decreases

Mycorrhization of fagaceae forests within mediterranean ecosystems

Mediterranean Fagaceae forests are valuable due to their ecological and socioeconomic aspects. Some profitable plant species, such as Castanea (timber and chestnut), Quercus (timber and cork), and Fagus (timber), encounter in this habitat the excellent edaphoclimatic conditions to develop. All Fagaceae plants are commonly associated to ECM fungal species, which are found in these forests in quite stable communities, mainly enriched in Russulaceae and Telephoraceae species. Currently, the Mediterranean Basin is considered as one of the global biodiversity hotspots, since many of their endemic plant species are not found elsewhere and are now under threat. Due to climate changing and introduction of disease agents, Fagaceae forests are facing an adaptation challenge to both biotic and abiotic threats. Although ECM communities are highly disturbed by climate factors and tree disease incidence, they could play an important role in increasing water availability to the plant and also improving plant tree defense against pathogens. Recent advances, namely, on genomics and transcriptomics, are providing tools for increasing the understanding of Fagaceae mycorrhization process and stress responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Such studies can provide new information for the implementation of the most adequate management policies for protecting threaten Mediterranean forests.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How Perennial Grass has Modified Distribution of Organic Carbon in a Peach Orchard in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

In this study, the distribution of the total and humified organic carbon in a peach orchard tilled-irrigated on the row and perennial grassed on the inter-row space after 16 years of cultivation were evaluated. The TOC has shown differences not statistically significant in the 0-20 cm horizon, whereas the difference in the row vs. inter-row 20-40 cm horizon was significant. The highest content of humic substances was found in the 0-20 cm of the inter-row with perennial grass vs. row tilled soil: the absence of tillage increases the accumulation of humified compounds. DRIFT and TG-DTA analysis pointed out only some small structural variation in the humic fraction of the samples taken from the layer at depth 20-40 cm

Diffuse reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopy and thermal analysis applied to humic substances

Spectroscopic (DRIFT) and thermal (TG-DTA) analyses were carried out to investigate the structure of humic acids formed in different environments: a soil developed under Norwegian spruce (Picea abies, (L.) Karst) subalpine forests of north Italy and two kinds of coals (Sphagnum peat and leonardite-North Dakota). The samples taken from forest soil were classified in relation to vegetal cover at different old age (grassland, young and old forest). The thermal patterns and DRIFT spectroscopy showed different structural modifications can be ascribed to interaction between soil and vegetal cover. The main structural changes in grassland and both forests appeared in carbohydrates, aliphatics and aromatics content. Particularly different was the humic acid composition from old forest because it did not preserve any memory of molecules derived from plants. Similarly, the thermal and DRIFT analyses of humic acids from peat and leonardite showed considerable structural differences in relation to their formation ways. In leonardite the disappeared of all features of plant residues, contrary to peat, and the carbon skeletons containing aromatic units indicated an increase of humification rank

Physicochemical regeneration of high silica zeolite Y used to clean-up water polluted with sulfonamide antibiotics

High silica zeolite Y has been positively evaluated to clean-up water polluted with sulfonamides, an antibiotic family which is known to be involved in the antibiotic resistance evolution. To define possible strategies for the exhausted zeolite regeneration, the efficacy of some chemico-physical treatments on the zeolite loaded with four different sulfonamides was evaluated. The evolution of photolysis, Fenton-like reaction, thermal treatments, and solvent extractions and the occurrence in the zeolite pores of organic residues eventually entrapped was elucidated by a combined thermogravimetric (TGA–DTA), diffractometric (XRPD), and spectroscopic (FT-IR) approach. The chemical processes were not able to remove the organic guest from zeolite pores and a limited transformation on embedded molecules was observed. On the contrary, both thermal treatment and solvent extraction succeeded in the regeneration of the zeolite loaded from deionized and natural fresh water. The recyclability of regenerated zeolite was evaluated over several adsorption/regeneration cycles, due to the treatment efficacy and its stability as well as the ability to regain the structural features of the unloaded material

Can Organic Farming Contribute to Carbon Sequestration? A Survey in a Pear Orchard in Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy.

In this study, the distribution of the total and humified organic carbon in a peach orchard tilled-irrigated on the row and perennial grassed on the inter-row space after 16 years of cultivation were evaluated. The TOC has shown differences not statistically significant in the 0-20 cm horizon, whereas the difference in the row vs. inter-row 20-40 cm horizon was significant. The highest content of humic substances was found in the 0-20 cm of the inter-row with perennial grass vs. row tilled soil: the absence of tillage increases the accumulation of humified compounds. DRIFT and TG-DTA analysis pointed out only some small structural variation in the humic fraction of the samples taken from the layer at depth 20-40 cm

Hydrogen production dynamic during cheese whey Dark Fermentation: New insights from modelization

The modelization of non methanogenic anaerobic environments can be particularly challenging owing to the variability of the metabolic products. In particular, both hydrogen production and consumption take place at the same time due to the simultaneous occurrence of Dark Fermentation (DF) and homoacetogenis. The goal of this study is to investigate the kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of the biochemical pathways involved in the fermentation of ultrafiltered cheese whey; to this aim, a continuous digester was operated under three different Hydraulic Retention Times (6, 9 and 12 h) and fixed pH (5.5). A mathematical model, based on a variable stoichiometry approach, was implemented and calibrated; the proposed model allowed the determination of the parameters governing the most relevant pathways, namely homoacetogenesis and butyric and ethanol-type DF. A special focus was given to the quantification of the hydrogen turnover rate; the model proved to be an effective tool, in addition to widely adopted techniques such as microbial and isotopic analysis, for obtaining a deeper comprehension of the crucial aspects governing the non-methanogenic process