Transgenic Bt corn expressing the Cry3Bb insecticidal protein active against corn rootworm (CRW) (Diabrotica spp.; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) was released for commercial use in 2003 and is expected to be widely adopted. Yet, the direct and indirect risks to soil microorganisms of growing this CRW-resistant Bt corn versus applying insecticides to control the rootworm have not been assessed under...

Soil carbon (C) storage is dependent upon the complex dynamics of fresh and native organic matter cycling, which are regulated by plant and soil-microbial activities. A fundamental challenge exists to link microbial biodiversity with plant-soil C cycling processes to elucidate the underlying mechanisms regulating soil carbon. To address this, we contrasted vegetated grassland soils with bare so...

Studies to the feasibility to characterize soil types by soil microbiological and biochemical analysis focus on the existence of microbial and biochemical characteristics distinctive to individual soil types. Many authors have attempted to elucidate relationships between microbiological and physico-chemical properties of different soil types (DUTZLER-FRANZ, 1977a, b; KHAZIYEV and KHABIROV, 1983...

The effects of the colonization of an abandoned grassland by forest trees and the associated microenvironmental changes on soil properties and the microbial activity of soil were studied along a 170 m transect established on a former pasture colonized by Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) in Central Slovakia. The transect with a 5×5 m grid of sampling points crosses all successional stages from...

With global change expected to alter aspects of the carbon (C) cycle, empirical data describing how microorganisms function in different environmental conditions are needed to increase predictive capabilities of microbially-driven decomposition models. Given the importance of accelerated C fluxes during early decay in C cycling, we characterized how varying litter qualities (maple vs. oak) and ...

Thinning management is used to improve timber production, but only a few data are available on how it influences ecosystem C sink capacity. This study aims to clarify the effects of thinning on C sinks of larch plantations, the most widespread forests in Northeastern China. Both C influx from biomass production and C efflux from each soil respiration component and its temperature sensitivity we...

Sewage-sludge may improve soil fertility but there is concern about effects of sludge metals on soil micro-organisms and microbial processes. In a series of laboratory incubations of soil–sludge mixes, effects of varying sludge metal (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) contents on respiration, biomass C and N, and N mineralization were measured. Individual metals were added to a standard sludge in separate...

The aim of this study was to investigate the response of soil microbial parameters to nutrient management practices involving organic amendments, farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost (VC), crop residues (CR) and biofertilizers (BF) in rice–wheat and rice–wheat–mung bean cropping system of the IndoGangetic Plains, India. Soil microbial biomass C (Cmic), basal respiration, ergosterol, glomalin, so...

Elevated atmospheric CO2 may alter decomposition rates through changes in plant material quality and through its impact on soil microbial activity. This study examines whether plant material produced under elevated CO2 decomposes differently from plant material produced under ambient CO2. Moreover, a long-term experiment offered a unique opportunity to evaluate assumptions about C cycling under...

OBJECTIVE To study the impacts of abundance of woodlice, termites, and mites on some functional aspects of soil in order to elucidate the specific role of soil fauna in improving soil fertility in desert. METHODS Fauna-rich sites were selected as experimental sites and adjacent areas were taken as control. Soil samples were collected from both sites. Soil respiration was measured at both site...