• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2015

The use of cover crops has a beneficial effect on sustainable soil management in pear orchards. We aimed to compare changes in soil chemical properties and biota with the use of different cover crops. We tested the effects of five cover plants, including hairy vetch, orchard grass, rattail fescue, rye, and perennial ryegrass. Use of different cover crops had a minimal impact on soil chemical properties through three year experiments. The aboveground biomass was greatest with the use of rye. The potential amounts of returnable N and P were highest when leguminous hairy vetch was used as a cover plant. Changes in the composition of the microbial community were investigated by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. Microbial PLFAs were highest with the use of rattail fescue and lowest with the use of hairy vetch. Minimal changes in the abundances of nematodes and microarthropods suggested that there was no bottom-up control in the soil ecosystem. The results also show that increases in aboveground biomass and nutrient content with the use of cover crops may not promote the abundance of soil organisms.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.41 no.5
• /
• pp.279-284
• /
• 2008

This study was performed to investigate effect of different soil managements on physical properties and microbial activities in volcanic ash citrus orchard soil. Experiment plots had managed to control weeds on soil for 4 years with clean cultivation (CCM) used with herbicide, natural sod cultivation (NSCM), kentucky blue grass sod cultivation (KBG). Soil samples were taken on October, in both 1998 and 2000 from 3 experimental plots. In NSCM, Soil hardness was lower at 11.8 mm than in CCM. And water stable Aggregation coefficient(>0.5 mm) was high at 26.7% compared with CCM. Soil bulk density and porosity showed no significant among the treatments. Soil acid phosphatase was high in sod cultivation plots and the amount of microbial biomass C was about twice higher at $525.4mg\;kg^{-1}$ in KBG than in CCM. Conclusionally, Sod cultivation improved soil physical properties such as aggregation, hardness and increased microbial activities compared with clean cultivation in citrus orchard soil. Soil total PLFA, acid phosphatase, and microbial biomass C contents were investigated on May in nonvolcanic ash citrus soil. Soil samples were collected at 5 sites each; convention cultivation grown with herbicide, natural sod cultivation grown with 1/2 chemicals, organic cultivation. That sites have been managed for 5 years over. PLFA contents were two times higher at $112.2n\;mol\;g^{-1}$ in organic cultivation than in convention cultivation. According to the PLFA indicator, Gram negative bacteria and actinomycetes in organic cultivation were high compared with convention cultivation, which were at 15.1%, 6.6%, respectively. Soil microbial biomass C contents was about twice higher in organic cultivation than in convention cultivation. Soil acid phosphatase was high at 17.6% in organic cultivation compared with convention cultivation.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.687-702
• /
• 2012

The objective of this study was to determine crop rotation effects on potato yield, soil chemical and microbiological properties from a short-term field experiment from 2010 to 2011 in Jeju Island, Korea. Potato cropping systems included continuous and rotation sequences of soybean (Glycine max(L.) Merr.), barley (Hordeum vulgare var. hexastichon), rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) and broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). Crop rotations increased the yields of potato from 31% to 52% compared with continuous potato. Marketable yield of potato was highest under soybean plus rapeseed rotation by $20.97MT\;ha^{-1}$ and lowest under continuous cropping by $11.95MT\;ha^{-1}$. The incidence and severity of scab disease was significantly lower in tubers from crop rotation with soybean plus barley. Differences in marketable tuber yields among rotations were associated with potato scab disease. Especially, incidence and severity of potato scab were strongly correlated with soil pH, exchangeable calcium, and bacteria population of the soil. Crop rotations significantly increased soil pH, available phosphate, exchangeable K and Ca, especially in crop rotations with soybean plus barley or rapeseed. Soil microbial biomass C of crop rotations with soybean plus barley or rapeseed, was also significantly higher compared with monoculture. In conclusion, crop rotation may decrease the incidence of soil-born pathogen by increasing soil chemical properties and soil microbial biomass. Overall, potato crop productivity was generally maintained in rotations that contained soybean plus barley or rapeseed but declined under continuous cropping system.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.41-48
• /
• 2023

The objective of the present study was to improve the biomass productivity of newly isolated freshwater green microalga Parachlorella sp. This was accomplished by culture conditions optimization, including CO₂ concentration, superficial gas velocity, and light intensity, in 0.5 L bubble column photobioreactors. The supplied CO₂ concentration and gas velocity varied from 0.032% (air) to 10% and 0.02 m/s - 0.11 m/s, respectively, to evaluate their effects on growth kinetics. Next, to maximize the production rate of Parachlorella sp., a lumostatic operation based on a specific light uptake rate (q_e) was applied. From these results, the optimal CO₂ concentration in the supplied gas and the gas velocity were determined to be 5% and 0.064 m/s, respectively. For the lumostatic operation at 10.2 µmol/g/s, biomass productivity and photon yield showed significant increases of 83% and 66%, respectively, relative to cultures under constant light intensity. These results indicate that the biomass productivity of Parachlorella sp. can be improved by optimizing gas properties and light control as cell concentrations vary over time.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.21-34
• /
• 2011

We determined potential meso-scale benthic-pelagic ecosystem coupling in the north equatorial Pacific by comparing surface chl-a concentration with sediment bacterial abundance and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration (indication of active biomass). Water and sediment samples were latitudinally collected between 5 and $11^{\circ}N$ along $131.5^{\circ}W$. Physical water properties of this area are characterized with three major currents: North Equatorial Current (NEC), North Equatorial Count Current (NECC), and South Equatorial Current (SEC). The divergence and convergence of the surface water occur at the boundaries where these currents anti-flow. This low latitude area ($5{\sim}7^{\circ}N$) appears to show high pelagic productivity (mean phytoplankton biomass=$1266.0\;mgC\;m^{-2}$) due to the supplement of high nutrients from nutrient-enriched deep-water via vertical mixing. But the high latitude area ($9{\sim}11^{\circ}N$) with the strong stratification exhibits low surface productivity (mean phytoplankton biomass=$603.1\;mgC\;m^{-2}$). Bacterial cell number (BCN) and ATP appeared to be the highest at the superficial layer and reduced with depth of sediment. Latitudinally, sediment BCN from low latitude ($5{\sim}7^{\circ}N$) was $9.8{\times}10^8\;cells\;cm^{-2}$, which appeared to be 3-times higher than that from high latitude ($9{\sim}11^{\circ}N$; $2.9{\times}10^8\;cells\;cm^{-2}$). Furthermore, sedimentary ATP at the low latitude ($56.2\;ng\;cm^{-2}$) appeared to be much higher than that of the high latitude ($3.3\;ng\;cm^{-2}$). According to regression analysis of these data, more than 85% of the spatial variation of benthic microbial biomass was significantly explained by the phytoplankton biomass in surface water. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that benthic productivity in this area is strongly coupled with pelagic productivity.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.34-41
• /
• 2001

It is well known that bioassay on the low organic matters in water have developed from the two methods. One is assimilable organic carbon(AOC) that makes use of the maximum growth biomass of the pure strains for the standard substrates, the other is biodegradable dissolved organic carbon(BDOC) that determines the fraction of dissolved organic carbon(DOC) available for microbial utilization. The purpose of this study was to upgrade the measurement method of BDOC in natural water or drinking water. BBOC was determined by means of the bacterial growth and the DOC decrease at the same time. The origin inoculums were used to the suspended bacteria from Han River water, The initial optimum biomass and incubation time for initial DOC were induced by variation of nutrient repression and inoculums. The time reached to minimum DOC was selected as incubation time. The initial optimum biomass for Han river water was about 1000~5000 CFU/mL, respectively. In a sufficient biomass, suitable incubation time was about 3~5 day. It was indirectly calculated BDOC on maximum growth rate by measuring growth yield of indigenous bacteria. But it was difficult to adapt growth yield coefficient because of irregular bacterial growth. The measured 3 day BDOC was close to BDOC calculated with our proposed experimental equation between DOC and BDOC. It shows that the quantification of BDOC with this experimental equation can be used indirectly.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.317-323
• /
• 2010

Nutrient availability is a critical component of agroecosystems, and is relevant to both above- and below- ground interactions. The principal objective of this study was to determine how the cessation of fertilization affects the communities of weeds and soil organisms in a corn/wheat field. Changes in dominant weed species, substrate-induced respiration, and the population density of nematodes and microarthropods were evaluated. Microbial substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and the population density of microarthropods decreased following the cessation of fertilization and were partly correlated with the aboveground weed biomass. The cessation of organic fertilizer application but continuing application of inorganic fertilizer reduced the population density of nematodes. In response to the cessation of fertilization, weed communities were dominated by species with little dependency on fertilization. Amaranthus retroflexus was identified as the most dominant species in the corn field; however, it was replaced by Digitaria ciliaris after the cessation of fertilization. In the wheat field, the cessation of fertilization led to a rapid reduction in the biomass of most weeds, except for Vicia angustifolia, supposedly as the result of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Additionally, the fact that weed biomass was partially correlated with SIR or the population density of microarthropods may reflect a mutual feedback between soil organisms and weeds. The results indicate that the cessation of fertilization alters communities of weeds and soil organisms through changes in weed biomass and interactions with symbiotic microorganisms.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.294-302
• /
• 2016

Background: Crop rotation plays an important role in improving soil chemical properties, minimizing the presence of disease pathogens, and assists in neutralizing autotoxic effects associated with allelochemicals. Methods and Results: Five rotation crops of sudan grass, soybean, peanut, sweet potato, and perilla were cultivated for one year with an aim to reduce yield losses caused by repeated cropping of ginseng. In 2-year-old ginseng grown in the same soil as a previous ginseng crop, stem length and leaf area were reduced by 30%, and root weight per plant was reduced by 56%. Crop rotation resulted in a significant decrease in electrical conductivity, $NO_3$, and $P_2O_5$ content of the soil, whereas organic matter, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, and Zn content remained-unchanged. Soil K content was increased following crop rotation with sudan grass and peanut only. Rotation with all alternate crops increased subsequent ginseng aerial plant biomass, whereas root weight per plant significantly increased following crop rotation with perilla only. A significant positive correlation was observed between root rot ration and soil K content, and a significant negative correlation was observed between ginseng root yield and the abundance of actinomycetes. Crop rotation affected the soil microbial community by increasing gram negative microbes, the ratio of aerobic microbes, and total microbial biomass whereas decreases were observed in actinomycetes and the ration of saturated fatty acids. Conclusions: In soil exhibiting crop failure following replanting, crop rotation for one year promoted both soil microbial activity and subsequent ginseng aerial plant biomass, but did not ameliorate the occurrence of root rot disease.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.229-243
• /
• 2011

Consumers' interest and government's support for the fruits rapidly increased organic fruit productions. This study was examined to compare the soil physicochemical and microbial properties of orchards soil in conventionally and organically management systems. Organic cultivation had lower soil bulk density, solid phase, and penetration resistance than the conventional cultivation. Soil pH and organic matter contents increased from March to August, and the values were greater in the organic cultivation than the conventional cultivation. Total nitrogen (N) and phosphorous concentrations decreased from March to August, and the organic soils had greater N but lower phosphorous concentrations than the conventional soils. Soil microbial carbon biomass increased 36% and 15% for organic and conventional cultivations, respectively, from March to August. Soil microbial N biomass was greater in June than March or August, and the organic cultivation had a greater biomass N compared to the conventional cultivation. Soil dehydrogenase and chitinase activities were greater in June than in March or August. ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity declined in both cultivations, while the phosphatase activity increased. Organic cultivation had greater enzyme activities in March, June, and August, except for the acid phosphatase activity in June.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.105-112
• /
• 2010

Applications of plant residues and green manures generally improve the properties of soil under conventional farming system. Therefore, we investigated the improvement of selected soil physical properties, bulk density, porosity, and water content, soil penetration resistance, and soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) content as affected by different management practices: 1) conventional tillage without rice straw or green manure crop treatment (TNT, check plot), 2) no-tillage amended with rice straw (NTRS), 3) no-tillage amended with rye (NTR), 4) no-tillage amended with Chinese milk vetch (NTCMV), 5) no-tillage without rice straw or green manure crop treatment (NTNT), The values of bulk density, porosity, and water content ranged from 1.22 to 1.37 Mg $m^3$, from 48.3 to 54.0%, and from 35.0 to 40.2%, respectively. The management practices might positively influence the changes in the selected soil properties, especially in the second experimental year. The soil penetration resistance and SMBC content were also improved after applying rice straw and green manure crops as comparing with TNT. Therefore, applications of the rice straw and green manure crop management practices under no-tillage system positively influenced soil physical properties and soil microbial activities in paddy field.