Topic Editors

Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Niigata 950-2181, Japan
Dr. Hiroki Ikawa
Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center, Sapporo, Japan
Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
Nuclear Science and Engineering Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, Japan

New Advances in Vegetation Dynamics and Soil Systems Related to Biogeochemical Cycles

Abstract submission deadline
closed (31 March 2024)
Manuscript submission deadline
closed (30 June 2024)
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7878

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this MDPI Topic is to bring together novel environmental studies that improve our understanding of vegetation dynamics and soil systems related to biogeochemical cycles under changing environments. Vegetation and soils play a crucial role in two major carbon fluxes (i.e., CO2 uptake via photosynthesis and its efflux via respiration) in global carbon cycles. Over the past decades, numerous environmental studies have been conducted to reveal vegetation dynamics and soil systems that drive biogeochemical cycles which vary spatially and temporally in response to various environmental changes. These studies have made substantial contributions to our understanding of future Earth environments, yet there remain numerous unresolved questions. Nevertheless, recent progress in remote sensing, micrometeorological techniques, isotope and chemical ecology, microbial ecology, soil science, and data analysis hold promise for overcoming these limitations. In this MDPI Topic, we call for papers that make advances in vegetation dynamics and soil systems related to biogeochemical cycles under changing environments. Contributions may include, but are not limited to, the following topics and themes:

  • Remote sensing and micrometeorological techniques
    • Advanced techniques in ecosystem-scale observations
    • Soil–Plant–Atmosphere Continuum theory
    • Big spatio-temporal scale data mining
    • Environmental impacts of agricultural and forest ecosystems
  • Isotope and chemical ecology for understanding soil microbial metabolism
    • Isotope labeling of substrates and organisms
    • Analyses of natural abundances of stable and radioactive isotopes
    • Data fusion using spatial distribution datasets of isotope abundances
  • Microbial ecology in vegetation and soil systems
    • Interactions between microbes and biogeochemical cycles
    • Microbial-animals, -plants, and -microbial interactions
    • Evaluation of active and inactive microbial communities
    • Microbial growth and death responding to the environmental changes
  • Mechanistic or molecular-level analysis of biogeochemical processes that drive the elemental cycle
    • Molecular level analysis of soil and dissolved organic matter employing state-of-the-art techniques such as NMR and FT-ICR-MS
    • Molecular indicators of particular sources or ecological processes
    • Linking small scale processes to ecosystem scale patterns
    • Disentangling plant and microbial organic matter in soils
    • Analyses of material dynamics within soil over short time scale

We welcome contributions that focus on all terrestrial ecosystems.

Dr. Hirohiko Nagano
Dr. Hiroki Ikawa
Dr. Morimaru Kida
Dr. Masataka Nakayama
Topic Editors

Keywords

  • anthropogenic activities
  • biogeochemical cycles
  • climate change
  • global warming
  • isotope signature
  • microbial DNA/RNA analysis
  • molecular level analysis
  • multivariate statistics
  • remote sensing
  • terrestrial ecosystems

Participating Journals

Journal Name Impact Factor CiteScore Launched Year First Decision (median) APC
Environments
environments
3.5 5.7 2014 25.7 Days CHF 1800
Forests
forests
2.4 4.4 2010 16.9 Days CHF 2600
Land
land
3.2 4.9 2012 17.8 Days CHF 2600
Remote Sensing
remotesensing
4.2 8.3 2009 24.7 Days CHF 2700
Soil Systems
soilsystems
2.9 5.3 2017 32.6 Days CHF 1800

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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17 pages, 2883 KiB  
Article
Effects of Biochar on Soil Inorganic Phosphorus Components, Available Phosphorus, Enzyme Activities Related to Phosphorus Cycle, Microbial Functional Genes, and Seedling Growth of Populus euphratica under Different Water Conditions
by Yuxian Fan, Yudong Chen and Guanghui Lv
Forests 2024, 15(5), 831; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15050831 - 9 May 2024
Viewed by 910
Abstract
Cow dung is a kind of high quality and renewable biological resource. Biochar made from cow dung can be used as a soil amendment to improve soil nutrient status. The relationship between soil water and phosphorus is very close, and the water status [...] Read more.
Cow dung is a kind of high quality and renewable biological resource. Biochar made from cow dung can be used as a soil amendment to improve soil nutrient status. The relationship between soil water and phosphorus is very close, and the water status determines the form, content, and availability of phosphorus. In order to investigate the effects of biochar on soil inorganic phosphorus components, available phosphorus, enzyme activities related to the phosphorus cycle, microbial functional genes, and seedling growth under different soil water conditions were investigated. Field experiments were carried out by setting different water conditions (30%, 60%, and 100%) and biochar addition (0 t hm−2, 2.63 t hm−2, 5.26 t hm−2, and 7.89 t hm−2). The results showed that applying biochar significantly increased the soil’s accessible phosphorus content and the phosphorus content in both the aboveground and subsurface parts of P. euphratica seedlings. This is mainly attributable to biochar’s direct and indirect effects on soil properties. Because biochar is naturally alkaline, it raises soil pH and reduces acid phosphatase activity in the soil around P. euphratica seedlings in the rhizosphere. Perhaps the alkaline phosphatase level first showed an upward trend due to the combined impacts of water and biochar, and then it started to decline when the biochar addition was increased. Soil phosphorus functional genes phoC, phoD, gcd, and pqqc had an increase in copy number with biochar addition but not without treatment. Indirectly, the biochar treatment increased the soil’s phosphorus availability by increasing the population of the phosphate-solubilizing bacteria Fusarium and Sphingomonas. Soil phosphorus availability is positively affected by biochar under various water conditions. This impact is due to chemical and microbiological mechanisms. Full article
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17 pages, 10292 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of the Rhizospheric AMF Community and Nutrient Contents of the Dominant Grasses in Four Microhabitats of the Subalpine Zone in Northwestern Yunnan, China
by Wei Li, Jiqing Yang, Fangdong Zhan, Jiawei Guo, Ya Zhang, Yong Ba, Hengwen Dong and Yongmei He
Forests 2024, 15(4), 656; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15040656 - 3 Apr 2024
Viewed by 838
Abstract
At the southeastern periphery of the Tibetan Plateau, the subalpine ecosystem hosts grasses as some of the most substantial species. However, the community and function of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) around the rhizospheres of grasses in the subalpine zone are still poorly understood. [...] Read more.
At the southeastern periphery of the Tibetan Plateau, the subalpine ecosystem hosts grasses as some of the most substantial species. However, the community and function of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) around the rhizospheres of grasses in the subalpine zone are still poorly understood. In the present study, 28 soils and 11 species of dominant grasses collected from four microhabitats (shrubland, grassland, woodland, and forest) in the subalpine zone of northwestern Yunnan, China, were used to investigate the AMF community by Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology as well as nutrient contents. Among the four microhabitats, the maximum soil nutrient levels around the rhizospheres of grasses were observed in woodland. The nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentrations in Dactylis glomerata shoots were significantly higher than those in the other 10 grass species. The AMF diversity of grassland in summer was substantially greater than that of the other three microhabitats (p < 0.05). Discrepancies were observed within a given plant species across microhabitats; for example, in summer, the nitrogen concentration in the shoot of Iris tectorum in woodland was significantly higher than that in both forest and shrubland (p < 0.05). A total of eight genera were detected in the AMF communities, which were dominated by Glomus, with a relative abundance of 45.4%–94.4% in summer and 60.5%–84.3% in winter. Moreover, the abundance of Glomus was significantly positively correlated with the content of alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen in soil and nitrogen in grasses according to the Mantel test. As a critical nutrient element in soil, nitrogen is beneficial for plant growth. Thus, these results provide a better understanding of the resilience of soil AMF community and the ecological adaptability of grasses in the subalpine ecosystems of northwestern Yunnan. Full article
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15 pages, 2536 KiB  
Brief Report
Vegetation Effects on Phosphorus Runoff from Headwater Catchments in a Cool-Temperate Region with Landslides, Northern Japan
by Jun’ichiro Ide, Rikuto Naito, Yohei Arata, Ryoma Hirokawa, Izuki Endo and Takashi Gomi
Forests 2024, 15(2), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020229 - 25 Jan 2024
Viewed by 956
Abstract
Forest vegetation and soils in headwaters can control runoff and surface erosion. However, it remains unclear how vegetation affects nutrient exports from cool-temperate forest headwaters during intense rain events that transport sediment-associated nutrients, such as phosphorus (P). To clarify this, we targeted an [...] Read more.
Forest vegetation and soils in headwaters can control runoff and surface erosion. However, it remains unclear how vegetation affects nutrient exports from cool-temperate forest headwaters during intense rain events that transport sediment-associated nutrients, such as phosphorus (P). To clarify this, we targeted an upstream landslide area and analyzed P contents in surface soils and total P (TP) in stream water of the undisturbed (UF) and landslide-bearing forest (LB) catchments. The soil P content was higher in the UF catchment than in the LB catchment, but differences in the average TP concentration and load during low flows between these catchments were not significant. Conversely, the overall runoff and the TP load were three and ten times higher in the LB catchment than in the UF catchment, respectively, during a rain event with daily precipitation of 49 mm, despite the soil P content being much lower in the LB catchment. Particulate P (PP) accounted for more than 90% of the TP load during the rain event in the LB catchment, whereas dissolved P accounted for more than 80% of the TP load in the UF catchment. Therefore, soil surface mobility strongly affected P transport in the forest catchments. Our study suggests that vegetation not only reduces PP loads by controlling runoff, but also influences stream P forms in cool-temperate forests. Full article
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16 pages, 3901 KiB  
Article
Interannual Variation and Control Factors of Soil Respiration in Xeric Shrubland and Agricultural Sites from the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico
by Gabriela Guillen-Cruz, Emmanuel F. Campuzano, René Juárez-Altamirano, Karla Liliana López-García, Roberto Torres-Arreola and Dulce Flores-Rentería
Land 2023, 12(11), 1961; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12111961 - 24 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1563
Abstract
Arid and semi-arid ecosystems dominate the RS variability due to the multiple changing factors that control it. Consequently, any variation, in addition to climate change and land use change, impacts the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Here, the effect of [...] Read more.
Arid and semi-arid ecosystems dominate the RS variability due to the multiple changing factors that control it. Consequently, any variation, in addition to climate change and land use change, impacts the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Here, the effect of the interannual variation and the controlling factors of RS in native xeric shrublands and agricultural systems is investigated. This study was conducted in four sites per condition for two years (2019 to 2020), where RS and the soil properties were measured. The RS presented a higher variation in the xeric shrubland. The agricultural plots showed the highest RS (0.33 g CO2 m−2 hr−1) compared to the xeric shrubland (0.12 g CO2 m−2 hr−1). The soil water content was the main controlling variable for RS in both land uses. However, soil temperature affected RS only in agricultural plots. The variation in the RS under different land uses confirms that changes in the soil and environmental conditions (i.e., season) control the RS. In addition, if current management practices are maintained in agricultural sites and under a temperature increase scenario, a significant increase in the RS rate is expected. Full article
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15 pages, 2444 KiB  
Article
Volatilization or Recovery of Fairway Foliar Nitrogen Fertilizer via Time and Spray Oil Inclusion
by Nathaniel L. Leiby and Maxim J. Schlossberg
Environments 2023, 10(10), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10100176 - 5 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1818
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is the essential plant nutrient needed by turfgrass in the greatest quantity. Urea and urea-based liquids are arguably the safest, least expensive, and subsequently most popular soluble N fertilizers. Unfortunately, urea fertilizer application to turfgrass is often subject to NH3 [...] Read more.
Nitrogen (N) is the essential plant nutrient needed by turfgrass in the greatest quantity. Urea and urea-based liquids are arguably the safest, least expensive, and subsequently most popular soluble N fertilizers. Unfortunately, urea fertilizer application to turfgrass is often subject to NH3 volatilization: a deleterious phenomenon from both environmental and agronomic perspectives. The objective of this research was to quantify the efficacy of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) golf course fairway foliar fertilization by urea-based N fertilizers as influenced by a petroleum-derived spray oil (PDSO) containing Cu II phthalocyanine colorant (Civitas Turf DefenseTM Pre-M1xed, Intelligro LLC, Mississauga, ON, Canada). In 2019 and 2020, a maintained creeping bentgrass fairway received semimonthly 9.76 kg ha–1 soluble N treatment either alone or in combination with Civitas at a rate of 27 L ha–1. In the 48 h following foliar application, fertilizer N loss as NH3 ranged from 1.3 to 5.5% and corresponded directly to fertilizer urea content but not Civitas inclusion. In the 1 to 14 d following semimonthly treatment, Civitas had either a beneficial (methylol urea and UAN) or negligible (urea) effect on canopy mean dark green color index. Once cumulative N inputs exceeded 47 kg ha–1, creeping bentgrass fairway shoot growth and N nutrition were consistently increased by Civitas complementation of commercial liquid N fertilizer. Over the 2-yr study, absolute mean percent fertilizer N recovery from plots treated by Civitas-complemented foliar liquid N treatment exceeded their ’N only’ counterparts by 8.7%. Full article
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