abstract: There is a growing consensus that photodegradation accelerates litter decomposition in drylands, but the mechanisms are not well understood. In a previous field study examining how exposure to solar radiation affects decomposition of 12 leaf litter types over 34 months in the Sonoran Desert, litter exposed to UV/blue wavebands of solar radiation decayed faster. The concentration of water-soluble compounds was higher in decayed litter than in new (recently senesced) litter, and higher in decayed litter exposed to solar radiation than other decayed litter. Microbial respiration of litter incubated in high relative humidity for 1 day was greater in decayed litter than new litter and greatest in decayed litter exposed to solar radiation. Respiration rates were strongly correlated with decay rates and water-soluble concentrations of litter. The objective of the current study was to determine why respiration rates were higher in decayed litter and why this effect was magnified in litter exposed to solar radiation. First, I evaluated whether photodegradation enhanced the quantity of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in litter by comparing DOC concentrations of photodegraded litter to new litter. Second, I evaluated whether photodegradation increased the quality of DOC for microbial utilization by measuring respiration of leachates with equal DOC concentrations after applying them to a soil inoculum. I hypothesized that water vapor sorption may explain differences in respiration among litter age or sunlight exposure treatments. Therefore, I assessed water vapor sorption of litter over an 8-day incubation in high relative humidity. Water vapor sorption rates over 1 and 8 days were slower in decayed than new litter and not faster in photodegraded than other decayed litter. However, I found that 49-78% of the variation in respiration could be explained by the relative amount of water litter absorbed over 1 day compared to 8 days, a measure referred to as relative water content. Decayed and photodegraded litter had higher relative water content after 1 day because it had a lower water-holding capacity. Higher respiration rates of decayed and photodegraded litter were attributed to faster microbial activation due to greater relative water content of that litter. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2019

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Im Abstrom von Uranbergbauobjekten (Sachsen, Deutschland) wurden Uran, Radium-226 und Arsen in unterschiedlichen Feuchtgebieten untersucht. Dabei wurden Wasser (vor¬wiegend neutrale bis leicht basische pH-Werte), Sedimente und im Wasser befindlicher Bestandesabfall (CPOM) beprobt. Zur Klärung der Genese der Urangehalte im Sediment erfolgten Untersuchungen an Pb-Isotopen. Sie zeigen u. a., dass das Uran in den obersten Zentimetern des Sediments (organische Auflage) aus der wässrigen Phase und nicht von ca. 300 Millionen Jahre alten Erzteilchen stammt. Für die Verlagerung von Radionukliden und Arsen aus dem Wasserkörper in das Sediment wird ein neuer Weg aufgezeigt. Eine Fixierung dieser Stoffe an Bestandesabfällen (plant litter) ist möglich. Allochthoner Bestandesabfall (Blätter, Früchte, Zweige von Alnus spec. und Quercus spec.) weist nach Kontakt mit kontaminiertem Wasser (ca. 100 - 300 µgU L-1) Urangehalte von 50 - 2.000 µgU g-1 auf. Im Vergleich zu Uran sind Ra-226 und Arsen labiler am Bestandesabfall gebunden. Für die Genese der Gehalte in den subhydrischen Auflagen sind die Herkunft des (autochthonen bzw. allochthonen) Bestandesabfalls und der Abbau eine entscheidende Rolle. Sedimente aus leicht abbaubaren Bestandesabfällen (z.B. Lemna spec., Algen) weisen im Vergleich mit allochthonen Bestandesabfällen (von Bäumen) deutlich geringere Urangehalte auf. Exemplarisch wurde für einen aus allochthonen Bestandesabfällen bestehenden Sedimentkern mittels Cs-137-Bestimmung eine maximale Uranfestlegung von 1 – 2 g m-² a-1 ermittelt. Neben allochthonem Bestandesabfall führen Eisen- und Manganhydroxide, die unmittelbar an den Sickerwasseraustrittstellen ausfallen, bei relativ geringen Arsen- und Radiumkon¬zentrationen im Wasser zu hohen Arsen- bzw. Radiumgehalten im Sediment (As ≤ 5 mg g-1; Ra-226 ≤ 25 Bq g-1). Unter reduktiven Bedingungen werden Ra-226 und Arsen jedoch leicht freigesetzt. Ausgehend von den Untersuchungsergebnissen wird eine mögliche Anordnung für eine naturnahe passive Sickerwasserbehandlung vorgeschlagen.

Litter decomposition requires the presence of corresponding degradative enzymes, produced mainly by fungi. Forest soils show considerable spatial heterogeneity of distribution of these enzymes at diferent scales. Moreover, enzyme pruduction varies during the year, usually accompanied by the change in fungal community composition. In this work I examined if this spatial heterogeneity can be seen even at a scale of an individual leaf and whether the fungal community differs among enzyme activity hotspots and inactive parts of the leaves. Another goal was isolation of celulytic fungi from cellulose litterbags incubated on forest floor using particle filtration and dilution-to-extinction method. In a broadleaved forest dominated by oak leaves at different stages of decay were collected: senescent leaves on twigs, and leaves after 2, 10 and 22 months of decomposition. Ten leaves per season were taken for analysis of cellobiohydrolase activity over the leaf surface. Leaves were attachmed onto melted agarose plate and leaf surface was covered with low melting point agarose containing fluorescently labelled substrate. For each leaf a map of enzyme activity was created and area with the high and low enzyme activity was identified. From both sites a square of approx. 1 cm2 was cut out, DNA was extracted and fungal...

The solar radiation in general and UV radiation in particular has been recognized to stimulate plant litter decomposition through photochemical mineralization of photosensitive organic molecules, such as lignin, facilitating microbial decomposition, with great relevance role in dryland ecosystems where microbial activity is low, however little is known about how photodegradation could influence other ecosystems without moisture limitations and under what conditions may be favored, therefore the mechanisms has not yet been established. Decomposition in tropical ecosystem is a complex process and can be induced by a number of environmental factors with certain differences when compared to arid and semi-arid ecosystems. To assess the mechanisms underlying UV-B photodegradation, we designed a 300 days field experiment at a tropical ecosystem with high levels of annual precipitation and exposure litter to three levels of radiation combined with a biocide treatment. Results show that the removal of UV-B radiation decelerated plant litter decomposition during the later stage compared to litter exposure to full sun, however shaded litter had similar mass loss compared to litter exposed to full sun. Furthermore, differences in the decay constant among radiation treatments due to UV-B effect is independent of lignin loss. Overall, our study suggest that UV-B contributes to the plant litter decomposition through carbon losses, however, had no effect on nitrogen, neither lignin nor cellulose loss. However, more studies are needed in order to investigate the positive and negative effects of UV exposure on microbial activity in tropical ecosystems. / A radiação solar em geral e a radiação ultravioleta (UV) em particular têm sido reconhecida por estimular a decomposição da serapilheira através da mineralização fotoquímica de moléculas fotossensíveis, como a lignina, facilitando a decomposição microbiana, com um papel de grande relevância em ecossistemas áridos onde a atividade microbiana é baixa, no entanto pouco se sabe como a fotodegradação pode influenciar outros ecossistemas como por exemplo os mais úmidos e sob quais condições a fotodegradação é favorecida, portanto os mecanismos ainda não foram estabelecidos. Decomposição em ecossistemas tropicais é um processo complexo e pode ser influenciado por vários fatores ambientais e com certas diferenças quando comparada com ecossistemas áridos e semiáridos. Para avaliar os mecanismos subjacentes à fotodegradação via radiação UV-B, um experimento de campo de 300 dias foi estabelecido em um ecossistema tropical com alto índice de precipitação anual onde a serapilheira foi exposta a três níveis de radiações diferentes, combinada com um tratamento com biocida. Resultados mostram que a remoção da radiação UV-B desacelerou a decomposição da serapilheira durante o último estágio do experimento comparado com a serapilheira exposta a radiação ambiente, no entanto a serapilheira quando sombreada teve perda de massa similar à exposta a radiação ambiente. Além disso, diferenças na taxa de decaimento entre os tratamentos de radiação devido ao efeito da radiação UV-B foram independentes da perda de lignina. No geral, nosso estudo sugere que a radiação UV-B contribui com a decomposição da serapilheira através da perda de carbono, no entanto não teve efeito na perda de massa de nitrogênio, lignina e celulose. Portanto, mais estudos são necessários para investigar o efeito positivo e negativo da exposição à radiação UV-B na atividade microbiana e na decomposição da serapilheira em ecossistemas tropicais.

Diss. (sammanfattning). Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

The solar radiation in general and UV radiation in particular has been recognized to stimulate plant litter decomposition through photochemical mineralization of photosensitive organic molecules, such as lignin, facilitating microbial decomposition, with great relevance role in dryland ecosystems where microbial activity is low, however little is known about how photodegradation could influence other ecosystems without moisture limitations and under what conditions may be favored, therefore the mechanisms has not yet been established. Decomposition in tropical ecosystem is a complex process and can be induced by a number of environmental factors with certain differences when compared to arid and semi-arid ecosystems. To assess the mechanisms underlying UV-B photodegradation, we designed a 300 days field experiment at a tropical ecosystem with high levels of annual precipitation and exposure litter to three levels of radiation combined with a biocide treatment. Results show that the removal of UV-B radiation decelerated plant litter decomposition during the later stage compared to litter exposure to full sun, however shaded litter had similar mass loss compared to litter exposed to full sun. Furthermore, differences in the decay constant among radiation treatments due to UV-B effect is independent of lignin loss. Overall, our study suggest that UV-B contributes to the plant litter decomposition through carbon losses, however, had no effect on nitrogen, neither lignin nor cellulose loss. However, more studies are needed in order to investigate the positive and negative effects of UV exposure on microbial activity in tropical ecosystems. / A radiação solar em geral e a radiação ultravioleta (UV) em particular têm sido reconhecida por estimular a decomposição da serapilheira através da mineralização fotoquímica de moléculas fotossensíveis, como a lignina, facilitando a decomposição microbiana, com um papel de grande relevância em ecossistemas áridos onde a atividade microbiana é baixa, no entanto pouco se sabe como a fotodegradação pode influenciar outros ecossistemas como por exemplo os mais úmidos e sob quais condições a fotodegradação é favorecida, portanto os mecanismos ainda não foram estabelecidos. Decomposição em ecossistemas tropicais é um processo complexo e pode ser influenciado por vários fatores ambientais e com certas diferenças quando comparada com ecossistemas áridos e semiáridos. Para avaliar os mecanismos subjacentes à fotodegradação via radiação UV-B, um experimento de campo de 300 dias foi estabelecido em um ecossistema tropical com alto índice de precipitação anual onde a serapilheira foi exposta a três níveis de radiações diferentes, combinada com um tratamento com biocida. Resultados mostram que a remoção da radiação UV-B desacelerou a decomposição da serapilheira durante o último estágio do experimento comparado com a serapilheira exposta a radiação ambiente, no entanto a serapilheira quando sombreada teve perda de massa similar à exposta a radiação ambiente. Além disso, diferenças na taxa de decaimento entre os tratamentos de radiação devido ao efeito da radiação UV-B foram independentes da perda de lignina. No geral, nosso estudo sugere que a radiação UV-B contribui com a decomposição da serapilheira através da perda de carbono, no entanto não teve efeito na perda de massa de nitrogênio, lignina e celulose. Portanto, mais estudos são necessários para investigar o efeito positivo e negativo da exposição à radiação UV-B na atividade microbiana e na decomposição da serapilheira em ecossistemas tropicais.

<div>In fire-prone forests, tree taxa and burn temperature are the major controllers of the chemical and physical properties of pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM), the aromatic carbon-rich product of the incomplete combustion of plant biomass, that accumulates in soil in such settings. These controls also dictate how soil microbes can degrade plant C once it enters into soil as previous studies demonstrate that increased fire temperature results in low PyOM degradability but also impacts the decomposition of the original soil. However, we know little about how taxa and temperature of C-inputs impact the production and accumulation of cellular residues from soil microbes, which can be the dominant source of stabilized soil organic matter in many ecosystems. </div><div>This work presents the results of the analysis of soil microbial amino sugars, as proxies for soil microbial necromass, from long-term soil incubation experiments, 180 and 600 days, that were amended with jack pine (JP) and red maple (RM) wood or their PyOM produced at 300°C or 450°C. Both wood taxa amendments resulted in an increase in microbial sugar residues compared to non-amended soils but RM, the taxa with the highest proportion of soluble sugars and low tannin content, exhibited the highest percentage increase. Soils amended with PyOM exhibited lower amino sugar content as compared to their wood but no difference compared to controls (non-amended soils). There was no difference in soil amino sugars observed between the PyOM derived from the two taxa nor between the temperature of pyrolysis, possibly due to only small amounts of bioavailable C and N in the PyOM. Total amino sugar concentrations varied significantly between PyOM and fresh wood treatments, with PyOM treatments yielding 659 – 730 μg/ g soil while wood treatments yielded 757 – 930 μg/ g soil early in incubations. While fungal-derived amino sugars were dominated in all treatments, longer soil incubation time, 600 days vs 180 days, resulted in a proportionately greater decrease bacterial-derived amino sugars. Overall, at 180 days, PyOM treatments exhibited 19-27% of soil N and 4-5% of soil C quantifiable as amino sugars while wood treatments exhibited 27-28% of total soil N and 6-7% of total soil C as amino sugars. This work shows, for the first time, that on a per C or per N basis, PyOM versus fresh wood addition to soils will result in a net depletion of microbial residues. The variable response in amino sugars between treatments and incubation time highlights the importance and dynamic nature of the physicochemical characteristics of organic matter input to soil in controlling the contribution of soil microbial residues to that soil. </div><div><br></div>