Process rates of nitrogen cycle in uppermost topsoil after harvesting in no-tilled and ploughed agricultural clay soil

No-till is considered an agricultural practice beneficial for the environment as soil erosion is decreased compared to ploughed soils. For on overall evaluation of the benefits and disadvantages of this crop production method, understanding the soil nutrient cycle is also of importance. The study was designed to obtain information about gross soil nitrogen (N) process rates in boreal no-tilled and mouldboard ploughed spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) fields after autumn harvesting. In situ soil gross N transformation process rates were quantified for the 5 cm topsoil in 9 days' incubation experiment using N-15 pool dilution and tracing techniques and a numerical N-15 tracing model. Gross N mineralization into ammonium (NH4+) and NH4+ immobilization were the most important N transformation processes in the soils. The gross mineralization rate was 14% and NH4+ immobilization rate 64% higher in no-till than in ploughing. Regardless of the faster mineralization, the gross rate of NH4+ oxidation into nitrate (NO3-) in no-till was one order of magnitude lower compared the ploughing. The results indicate that the no-tilled soils have the potential to decrease the risk for NO3- leaching due to slower NH4+ oxidation.Peer reviewe

Analyses of Sporocarps, Morphotyped Ectomycorrhizae, Environmental ITS and LSU Sequences Identify Common Genera that Occur at a Periglacial Site

Abstract: Periglacial substrates exposed by retreating glaciers represent extreme and sensitive environments defined by a variety of abiotic stressors that challenge organismal establishment and survival. The simple communities often residing at these sites enable their analyses in depth. We utilized existing data and mined published sporocarp, morphotyped ectomycorrhizae (ECM), as well as environmental sequence data of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) regions of the ribosomal RNA gene to identify taxa that occur at a glacier forefront in the North Cascades Mountains in Washington State in the USA. The discrete data types consistently identified several common and widely distributed genera, perhaps best exemplified by Inocybe and Laccaria. Although we expected low diversity and richness, our environmental sequence data included 37 ITS and 26 LSU operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that likely form ECM. While environmental surveys of metabarcode markers detected large numbers of targeted ECM taxa, both the fruiting body and the morphotype datasets included genera that were undetected in either of the metabarcode datasets. These included hypogeous (Hymenogaster) and epigeous (Lactarius) taxa, some of which may produce large sporocarps but may possess small and/or spatially patchy genets. We highlight the importance of combining various data types to provide a comprehensive view of a fungal community, even in an environment assumed to host communities of low species richness and diversity.Peer reviewe