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Aim To investigate how the chemical composition of native organic matter of two contrasting soils varies with inputs of biochar and fresh material (including plant roots) and how these underlying changes influence microbial community structure. Methods Corn stover (CS) and CS-derived biochars produced at 350 °C and 550 °C were applied at a dose of 7.2 t C ha−1 to two contrasting soils—an Alfis
The objectives were to investigate (i) the forms and release pattern of P from an ash-rich biochar-amended sandy soil; (ii) the transformation of biochar P in a soil-plant system. Several methodologies (a bioassay test, soluble P extractions, a sequential P fractionation and successive P extractions via resin strips) were used to study the bioavailability and transformation of P in a sandy soil
Arthropod predators and detritivores are among the first colonisers on land surfaces undergoing primary succession. In the absence of higher plants and herbivores, they may either have an allochthonous food source (i.e. of geographically distant origin) or local food source that is sustained by e.g. microorganisms. By studying spiders and collembolans on sites along chronosequences on recently eme
Specialist plant species in calcareous sandy grasslands are threatened by acidification and high nutrient levels in the topsoil. We investigated whether topsoil removal and soil perturbation in degraded sandy grasslands could lead to establishment of specialist species belonging to the threatened xeric sand calcareous grassland habitat. Restoration actions performed in 2006 resulted in increased s
This paper provides a framework to understand the source of the economic value of soil biodiversity and soil ecosystem services and maps out the pathways of such values. We clarify the link between components of the economic value of soil biodiversity and their associated services of particular relevance to soils. We contend that soil biodiversity and associated ecosystem services give rise to two
The influence of soil physicochemical properties on microbial communities can be large, especially in developing soils of glacier forefield chronosequences. However, small-scale expositional differences in bare soils and their impacts on soil microbial communities have so far been largely neglected. Here we studied the changes of microbial communities in three deglaciated unvegetated sites along a
Soils are extremely rich in biodiversity, and soil organisms play pivotal roles in supporting terrestrial life, but the role that individual plants and plant communities play in influencing the diversity and functioning of soil food webs remains highly debated. Plants, as primary producers and providers of resources to the soil food web, are of vital importance for the composition, structure, and
While the effect of disturbance on overall abundance and community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi has been researched in agricultural fields, less is known about the impact in semi-natural grasslands. We sampled two AM plant species, Festuca brevipila and Plantago lanceolata, from an ongoing grassland restoration experiment that contained replicated plowed and control plots. The
Organic material of different origin is commonly used as fertiliser in agricultural practices. Clover and wheat straw are here used to determine the importance of organic amendment for population development of fungal feeding collembolans. Two fungal species, Alternaria infectoria and Mucor hiemalis, were inoculated in three growth substrates, clover amended soil, straw amended soil and non-amende
In this report the function of an eccentric drive (Cyclo Drive) is evaluated. The drive transfers torque between two parallel axes. The eccentric drive is used in a differential in an all-wheel drive system made by BorgWarner. The purpose of the Cyclo Drive is to transfer torque between two parallel-displaced axles without eccentric rotation. The mechanism consists of three discs with the middle
In later time many companies have faced a major strategically change of focus and companies that have previous acted as traditional product manufacturers now describe themselves as providers of complete solutions. Tetra Pak Processing Systems, operating in the liquid food processing industry, has faced an increased level of competition the past years. The globalization of the industry means that c
Understanding the land use history has proven crucial for the conservation of biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. In southern Sweden, very small and fragmented areas of the disturbance-dependent habitat xeric sand calcareous grassland support a large number of threatened and rare plants and animals. In order to find out if historical land use could explain variation in present-day habitat
Understanding factors that limit gene flow through the landscape is crucial for conservation of organisms living in fragmented habitats. We analysed patterns of gene flow in Elater ferrugineus, an endangered click beetle living in old-growth, hollow trees in a network of rural avenues surrounded by inhospitable arable land. Using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data, we aimed to eval
Hot desert ecosystems are characterized by high soil temperatures with large fluctuations annually and diurnally. Thus, one could hypothesize that not only the microbial community would be adapted to high temperatures, but also have a large temperature range conducive for growth. We determined the temperature sensitivity of the soil bacterial community from the Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend National
Background: Laboratory evolution is an important tool for developing robust yeast strains for bioethanol production since the biological basis behind combined tolerance requires complex alterations whose proper regulation is difficult to achieve by rational metabolic engineering. Previously, we reported on the evolved industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain ISO12 that had acquired improved tole
Background and Aim Climate change models are limited by lack of baseline data, in particular carbon (C) allocation to - and dynamics within - soil microbial communities. We quantified seasonal C-assimilation and allocation by plants, and assessed how well this corresponds with intraradical arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) storage and structural lipids (16: 1 omega 5 NLFA and PLFA, respectively)
Detta arbete undersöker om de föreskrifter som ger lag från lägre divisioner automatisk hemmaplan i Svenska Cupen (fotboll) har begränsat de totala intäkter som genereras av hemmalagen i cupen. Rådande föreskrifter för Svenska Cupen gör att majoriteten av matcherna spelas på laget från den lägre divisionens hemmaplan. Data kring publiksnitt och biljettpriser har samlats in för att kunna simulera h
This paper is based on the session ‘Ecosystem services: a useful concept for soil policy making?’ at the Wageningen Applied Soil Conference in September 2011. In that session it was shown from different angles that policy awareness of the dependence of humankind on ecosystem services has resulted in the development of tools for optimal allocation and quantification of ecosystem services and raisin
