Plant, Soil and Environment, 2018 (vol. 64), issue 8
Impact of nitrogen fertilization on soil respiration and net ecosystem production in maizeOriginal Paper
Shirley LAMPTEY, Lingling LI, Junhong XIE
Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(8):353-360 | DOI: 10.17221/217/2018-PSE 
Agriculture in the semi-arid is often challenged by overuse of nitrogen (N), inadequate soil water and heavy carbon emissions thereby threatening sustainability. Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of nitrogen fertilization levels (N0 - 0, N100 - 100, N200 - 200, N300 - 300 kg N/ha) on soil water dynamics, soil respiration (Rs), net ecosystem production (NEP), and biomass yields. Zero nitrogen soils decreased Rs by 23% and 16% compared...
Luxury transpiration of winter wheat and its responses to deficit irrigation in North China PlainOriginal Paper
Yueping LIANG, Yang GAO, Guangshuai WANG, Zhuanyun SI, Xiaojun SHEN, Aiwang DUAN
Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(8):361-366 | DOI: 10.17221/331/2018-PSE
Reducing crop luxury transpiration is an important step in improving water productivity; water shortage regions are potential hotspots for studying physiological water conservation. This study investigated the amount of luxury transpiration in winter wheat and its responses to different irrigation treatments in North China Plain. The results showed that luxury transpiration existed and increased with growth of winter wheat and after rainfall. In each sampling day, the amount of luxury transpiration under full irrigation was significantly higher than that under deficit irrigation. The average amount of luxury transpiration was 258.87 g/m
Water demands and biomass production of sorghum and maize plants in areas with insufficient precipitation in Central EuropeOriginal Paper
Michaela ŠKEŘÍKOVÁ, Václav BRANT, Milan KROULÍK, Jan PIVEC, Petr ZÁBRANSKÝ, Josef HAKL, Michael HOFBAUER
Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(8):367-378 | DOI: 10.17221/274/2018-PSE
Evapotranspiration and transpiration measurements represent a tool for the assessment of crop water demand. The aim of this study was to compare sorghum and maize with respect to its potential for forage production in areas with insufficient precipitation in Central Europe. The values of the actual evapotranspiration (ETa, Bowen ratio balance method), transpiration (sap flow method), leaf area index (LAI) and biomass production of sorghum and maize were measured continuously in years 2010-2012. Sorghum stand provided higher ETa in comparison with maize...
Degradation of trinitrotoluene by transgenic nitroreductase in Arabidopsis plantsOriginal Paper
Bo ZHU, Hongjuan HAN, Xiaoyan FU, Zhenjun LI, Jianjie GAO, Quanhong YAO
Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(8):379-385 | DOI: 10.17221/655/2017-PSE
The explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a highly toxic and persistent environmental pollutant. TNT is toxic to many organisms, it is known to be a potential human carcinogen, and is persistent in the environment. This study presents a system of phytoremediation by Arabidopsis plants developed on the basis of overexpression of NAD(P)H-flavin nitroreductase (NFSB) from the Sulfurimonas denitrificans DSM1251. The resulting transgenic Arabidopsis plants demonstrated significantly enhanced TNT tolerance and a strikingly higher capacity to remove TNT from their media. The highest specific rate constant of TNT disappearance...
Detecting herbicide-resistant Apera spica-venti with a chlorophyll fluorescence agar testOriginal Paper
Alexander Ingo LINN, Pavlína KOŠNAROVÁ, Josef SOUKUP, Roland GERHARDS
Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(8):386-392 | DOI: 10.17221/110/2018-PSE
Reliable tests on herbicide resistance are important for resistance management. Despite well-established greenhouse bioassays, faster and in-season screening methods would aid in more efficient resistance detection. The feasibility of a chlorophyll fluorescence agar-based test on herbicide resistance in Apera spica-venti L. was investigated. Herbicide resistant and sensitive A. spica-venti seedlings were transplanted into agar containing pinoxaden and pyroxsulam herbicides. Chlorophyll fluorescence was measured and the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/F
Nitrate addition inhibited methanogenesis in paddy soils under long-term managementsOriginal Paper
Jun WANG, Tingting XU, Lichu YIN, Cheng HAN, Huan DENG, Yunbin JIANG, Wenhui ZHONG
Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(8):393-399 | DOI: 10.17221/231/2018-PSE
Rice fields are a major source of atmospheric methane (CH4). Nitrate has been approved to inhibit CH4 production from paddy soils, while fertilization as well as water management can also affect the methanogenesis. It is unknown whether nitrate addition might result in shifts in the methanogenesis and methanogens in paddy soils influenced by different practices. Six paddy soils of different fertilizer types and groundwater tables were collected from a long-term experiment site. CH4 production rate and methanogenic archaeal abundance were determined with and without nitrate addition in the microcosm incubation. The structure...
Consumption of atmospheric methane by soil in a lowland broadleaf mixed forestOriginal Paper
Jiří DUŠEK, Manuel ACOSTA, Stanislav STELLNER, Ladislav ŠIGUT, Marian PAVELKA
Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(8):400-406 | DOI: 10.17221/183/2018-PSE
Soils of forest ecosystems can release or consume methane (CH4) depending on their specific hydrological regime. Our study reported the consumption of CH4 by soil in a lowland broadleaf mixed temperate forest in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). The motivation of our study was to determine the importance of CH4 fluxes in context of carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes of a broadleaf mixed forest. CH4 and CO