Since the 1960s, soil microbiology underwent major changes in methods and approaches and this review focuses on the developments in some selected aspects of soil microbiology. Research in cell numbers of specific bacterial and fungal groups was replaced by a focus on biochemical processes including soil enzyme activities, and flux measurements of carbon and nutrients. Ecologists focused on soil...

Without exogenous rock-derived nutrient sources, terrestrial ecosystems may eventually regress or reach a terminal steady state, but the degree to which exogenous nutrient sources buffer or slow to a theoretical terminal steady state remains unclear. We used strontium isotope ratios (Sr/Sr) as a tracer and measured Sr/Sr values in aeolian dust, soils, and vegetation across a well-constrained 3M...

The amendment of soil with biochar has been demonstrated to have an effect not only on the soil physicochemical properties, but also on soil microbial community composition and activity. Previous reports have demonstrated significant impacts on soil microbial community structure. These impacts are modulated not only by the biochar composition, but also on the soil’s physicochemical characterist...

—We conducted a pot experiment examining the effects of simulated leaf herbivory and supplemental soil nutrients on extrafloral nectary (EFN) glands of Sapium sebiferum seedlings derived from native Chinese and invasive Texas seed stock. We predicted that simulated herbivory and increased soil nutrients would increase EFN activity. We also predicted that Chinese genotypes would have greater EFN...

In order to help farmers to understand soil nutrients, use effectively our soil and protect our environment, at the same time to improve sustainable development of the agricultural system, the topsoil samples were collected form yushu city .The ways of combining Geostatistics with GIS were applied to analyze the spatial variability of soil nutrients, such as Alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen, availa...

In higher plants, roots acquire water and soil nutrients and transport them upward to their aerial parts. These functions are closely related to their anatomical structure; water and nutrients entering the root first move radially through several concentric layers of the epidermis, cortex, and endodermis before entering the central cylinder. The endodermis is the innermost cortical cell layer t...

The object of the study is to analyze the spatial-temporal variability of soil nutrients in the winter wheat growing season, and try to reveal the dynamic change of soil nutrients in winter wheat field. Measurements of soil nitrate nitrogen (NN), total nitrogen (TN) and available potassium (AK) in wheat field were taken at 132 sample points in April and June, 2006. Classical statistical method ...

Nutrient uptake by trees is determined by root interception, soil availability, and tree demand. Fruit trees have low rooting density, especially in the case of dwarfing rootstocks. Mobility in the soil is a key factor in determining nutrient availability, and good management of nutrients requires that supply is matched to demand, in terms of amount, timing and retention in the root-zone, and t...