Introduction: In Malaysia, excessive nutrients from livestock waste management systems are currently released to the environment. Particularly, large amounts of manure from intensive pig production areas are being excreted daily and are not being fully utilised. Alternatively, the excess manure can be applied as an organic fertiliser source in neighbouring cropping systems on the small landholdings of the pig farms to improve soil fertility so that its nutrients will be available for crop uptake instead of being discharged into water streams. Thus, there is a need for better tools to analyse the present situation, to evaluate and monitor alternative livestock production systems and manure management scenarios, and to support farmers in the proper management of manure and fertiliser application. Such tools are essential to quantify, and assess nutrient fluxes, manure quality and content, manure storage and application rate to the land as well as its environmental effects. Several computer models of animal waste management systems to assist producers and authorities are now available. However, it is felt that more development is needed to adopt such models to the humid tropics and conditions of Malaysia and other developing countries in the region. Objectives: The aim is to develop a novel model to evaluate nutrient emission scenarios and the impact of livestock waste at the landscape or regional level in humid tropics. The study will link and improve existing models to evaluate emission of N to the atmosphere, and leaching of nutrients to groundwater and surface water. The simulation outputs of the models will be integrated with a GIS spatial analysis to model the distribution of nutrient emission, leaching and appropriate manure application on neighbouring crop lands and as an information and decision support tool for the relevant users.
Outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to consumptions of fresh, or partially processed, agricultural products are a growing concern in industrialized and developing countries. The incidence of human pathogens on fresh fruits and vegetables is often related to the use of recycled wastewaster in surface irrigation as well as high amounts of animal manure in agricultural management practice. Thereby the soil inhabiting fauna plays an important role in the transport and dissemination of microorganisms. The focus of the proposed project is on nematodes, well known vectors for bacteria and viruses in soil. The major goals are to: (1) survey human pathogens in soil and on/in free-living and plant parasitic nematodes in agriculture field sites irrigated with recycled wastewater or fertilized with fresh animal manure in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, (2) assess the function of nematodes as vectors in transmitting bacteria from microbial hot spots to plants, and (3) localize bacteria on and/or within the nematode and identify bacterial factors required for survival in the nematode host. Understanding the mechanisms involved in dissemination of human pathogens by nematodes will enhance the ability to develop practical means to minimize contamination of fresh produce and increase safety in food production.
The aim of P2 within the Research Unit 'The Forgotten Part of Carbon Cycling: Organic Matter Storage and Turnover in Subsoils (SUBSOM)' is to contribute to the understanding of the different sources and stabilization processes of subsoil organic matter. This will be achieved by the analysis of the soil organic matter composition in topsoil versus subsoil by 13C NMR spectroscopy in bulk soils as well as organo-mineral associations. This will be done on a number of soil profiles differing in parent material and mineralogy and therefore also in the relevance of organo-mineral associations for subsoil C stabilization. In addition, a specific sampling approach will allow to differentiate three zones associated with the dominating effect of (1) leaching of DOC (the 'bulk soil' between trees), (2) root litter decomposition (the 'root-affected zone'), and (3) direct rhizodeposition of root exudates (the 'rhizosphere' sensu strictu). The contribution of above-ground versus below-ground litter is differentiated by the analysis of cutin and suberin biomarkers. Organic matter derived from microbial sources will be identified by the microbial signature of polysaccharides in the subsoil through the analysis of neutral sugars and amino sugars. Organo-mineral associations will be further characterized by N2-BET analyses to delineate the coverage of the mineral phase with organic matter. With these analyses and our specific analytical expertise at the submicron scale (nanoSIMS) we will participate in selected joint experiments of the research unit.
The geomagnetic field shields our habitat against solar wind and radiation from space. Due to the geometry of the field, the shielding in general is weakest at high latitudes. It is also anomalously weak in a region around the south Atlantic known as South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), and the global dipole moment has been decreasing by nearly 10 percent since direct measurements of field intensity became possible in 1832. Due to our limited understanding of the geodynamo processes in Earths core, it is impossible to reliably predict the future evolution of both dipole moment and SAA over the coming decades. However, lack of magnetic field shielding as would be a consequence of further weakening of dipole moment and SAA region field intensity would cause increasing problems for modern technology, in particular satellites, which are vulnerable to radiation damage. A better understanding of the underlying processes is required to estimate the future development of magnetic field characteristics. The study of the past evolution of such characteristics based on historical, archeo- and paleomagnetic data, on time-scales of centuries to millennia, is essential to detect any recurrences and periodicities and provide new insights in dynamo processes in comparison to or in combination with numerical dynamo simulations. We propose to develop two new global spherical harmonic geomagnetic field models, spanning 1 and 10 kyrs, respectively, and designed in particular to study how long the uninterrupted decay of the dipole moment has been going on prior to 1832, and if the SAA is a recurring structure of the field.We will combine for the first time all available historical and archeomagnetic data, both directions and intensities, in a spherical harmonic model spanning the past 1000 years. Existing modelling methods will be adapted accordingly, and existing data bases will be complemented with newly published data. We will further acquire some new archeomagnetic data from the Cape Verde islands from historical times to better constrain the early evolution of the present-day SAA. In order to study the long-term field evolution and possible recurrences of similar weak field structures in this region, we will produce new paleomagnetic records from available marine sediment cores off the coasts of West Africa, Brazil and Chile. This region is weakly constrained in previous millennial scale models. Apart from our main aim to gain better insights into the previous evolution of dipole moment and SAA, the models will be used to study relations between dipole and non-dipole field contributions, hemispheric symmetries and large-scale flux patterns at the core-mantle boundary. These observational findings will provide new insights into geodynamo processes when compared with numerical dynamo simulation results.Moreover, the models can be used to estimate past geomagnetic shielding above Earths surface against solar wind and for nuclide production from galactic cosmic rays.
In forest ecosystems ectomycorrhizal fungi are responsible for the mobilization of mineral nutrients from soil organic matter (SOM) resulting in a marked increase in productivity of their symbiotic host plants. In return the fungi obtain a significant amount of photosynthetic products from these plants, allowing the formation of an extensive hyphal system. These hyphae constitute a major part of soil biomass and, ultimately, a major source for SOM formation. While plant-fungal nutrient exchange has been analyzed extensively, this proposal is focused on the fungal contribution to SOM formation and on the processes leading to the acquisition of nutrients by the fungi. These two processes will be studied separately and in a quantitative way using isotopic labeling in soil bioreactors. Analysis of the fate of 13C labeled fungal material (Laccaria bicolor) in soil bioreactors will tell how fast and to what extent the various fractions of hyphal biomass are transformed into non-living SOM. As potential molecular or structural markers for SOM formation from fungal hyphae we will analyze characteristic remnants of fungal hyphae in SOM using scanning electron microscopy, DNAfragments using a PCR approach for the fungal rRNA internal transcribed spacerregions and biochemical markers like fatty acids and ergosterol. The impact of ectomycorrhizal mycelia supported by Pinus sylvestris plantlets on 13C- and 15N-labeled SOM and on microbial biomass will be analyzed in separate soil bioreactor experiments.
Die Akkumulation und Stabilität der organischen Bodensubstanz resultiert aus der Balance zwischen den zwei biologisch regulierten Prozessen der Humifizierung und der Mineralisation. Boden-Mikroorganismem sind in besonderem Umfang in diesen Prozessen involviert, wobei neben Bakterien Bodenpilze eine herausragende Rolle spielen. Die Enzymgruppe der Laccasen ist in der Lage organische Moleküle aus der Streu und aus dem Humus vollständig zu mineralisieren. Das laufende Projekt befasst sich mit der Analyse der räumlichen und saisonalen Variabilität von Diversitäts- und Expressionsprofilen der Laccasegene.
The biogeochemical interface (BGI) in this project is defined as the organo-mineral surface of soil particles colonized by microorganisms. In the preceding project it was demonstrated that the different soil particle size fractions were associated with specifically structured microbial communities, a characteristic amount of soil organic carbon, and a specific capacity for adsorption of the organic chemicals phenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol, respectively. While the diversity of the microbial community was responsive to fertilization-determined additional organic soil carbon in the larger particle size fractions, it was unaffected in clay. Stable isotope probing with 13C-labelled phenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol revealed that the soil organic carbon in the BGIs also affected the diversity of microorganisms involved in the degradation of these chemicals. All these results are yet only based on studying one soil with three organic carbon variants (Bad Lauchstädt) and only two organic compounds. The objective of this 2nd phase project is to apply the innovative technology developed in the 1st phase for studying the BGI processes with soil organic carbon variants from another soil (Ultuna, SPP 1315 site) and with the chiralic anilide Fungicide metalaxyl as an additional compound. This 2nd phase SPP 1315 project will also, in a collaborative effort with two other SPP 1315 partners, investigate (1) the importance of BGIs for the entantio-selective degradation of metalaxyl and (2) the role of soil microorganisms in the formation of bound residues, respectively. Furthermore, the project will utilize stable isotope probing and next-generation DNA sequencing to link the structural and functional diversity of the microbial communities responsible for metabolism of organic chemicals in the different BGIs determined by particle size fractions and soil organic carbon variants.
To overcome the limitation in spatial and temporal resolution of methane oceanic measurements, sensors are needed that can autonomously detect CH4-concentrations over longer periods of time. The proposed project is aimed at:- Designing molecular receptors for methane recognition (cryptophane-A and -111) and synthesizing new compounds allowing their introduction in polymeric structure (Task 1; LC, France); - Adapting, calibrating and validating the 2 available optical technologies, one of which serves as the reference sensor, for the in-situ detection and measurements of CH4 in the marine environments (Task 2 and 3; GET, LAAS-OSE, IOW) Boulart et al. (2008) showed that a polymeric filmchanges its bulk refractive index when methane docks on to cryptophane-A supra-molecules that are mixed in to the polymeric film. It is the occurrence of methane in solution, which changes either the refractive index measured with high resolution Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR; Chinowsky et al., 2003; Boulart et al, 2012b) or the transmitted power measured with differential fiber-optic refractometer (Boulart et al., 2012a; Aouba et al., 2012).- Using the developed sensors for the study of the CH4 cycle in relevant oceanic environment (the GODESS station in the Baltic Sea, Task 4 and 5; IOW, GET); GODESS registers a number of parameters with high temporal and vertical resolution by conducting up to 200 vertical profiles over 3 months deployment with a profiling platform hosting the sensor suite. - Quantifying methane fluxes to the atmosphere (Task 6); clearly, the current project, which aims at developing in-situ aqueous gas sensors, provides the technological tool to achieve the implementation of ocean observatories for CH4. The aim is to bring the fiber-optic methane sensor on the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) from their current Level 3 (Analytical and laboratory studies to validate analytical predictions) - to the Levels 5 and 6 (Component and/or basic sub-system technology validation in relevant sensing environments) and compare it to the SPR methane sensor, taken as the reference sensor (current TRL 5). This would lead to potential patent applications before further tests and commercialization. This will be achieved by the ensemble competences and contributions from the proposed consortium in this project.
Whether primordial bodies in the solar system possessed internally-generated dynamos is a fundamental constraint to understand the dynamics and timing of early planetary formation. Paleointensity studies on several meteorites reveal that their host planets possessed magnetic fields within an order-of magnitude of the present Earths field. Interpretation of paleointensity data relies heavily on fundamental knowledge of the magnetic properties of the magnetic carriers, such as the single to multidomain size threshold or how the saturation magnetization varies as a function of grain size, yet very little knowledge exists about these key parameters for some of the main magnetic recorders in meteorites: the iron-nickel alloys. Moreover, most meteorites have experienced some amount of shock during their histories, yet the consequence of even very small stresses on paleointensity data is poorly known.We wish to fill these gaps by magnetically characterizing Fe-Ni alloys as a function of grain size and by determining how absolute and relative paleointensity data are biased by strain levels lower than those petrologically observable (less than 4-5 GPa). For example, our preliminary work shows that an imposed stress of 0.6 GPa will reduce absolute paleointensity estimates by 46Prozent for single domain magnetite-bearing rocks. In general, paleointensity determinations possess inherent disadvantages regarding measurement precision and the inordinate amount of human time investment. We intend to overcome these limitations by extending and improving our fully automated magnetic workstation known as the SushiBar.
Organic matter (OM) composition and dynamic in subsoils is thought to be significantly different from those in surface soils. This has been suggested by increasing apparent 14C ages of bulk soil OM with depth suggesting that the amount of fresh, more easily degradable components is declining. Compositional changes have been inferred from declining ä13C values and C/N ratios indicative for stronger OM transformation. Beside these bulk OM data more specific results on OM composition and preservation mechanisms are very limited but modelling studies and results from incubation experiments suggest the presence and mineralization of younger, 'reactive carbon pool in subsoils. Less refractory OM components may be protected against degradation by interaction with soil mineral particles and within aggregates as suggested by the very limited number of more specific OM analysis e.g., identification of organic compound in soil fractions. The objective of this project is to characterize the composition, transformation, stabilization and bioavailability of OM in subsurface horizons on the molecular level: 1) major sources and compositional changes with depth will be identified by analysis of different lipid compound classes in surface and subsoil horizons, 2) the origin and stabilization of 'reactive OM will be revealed by lipid distributions and 14C values of soil fractions and of selected plant-specific lipids, and 3) organic substrates metabolized by microbial communities in subsoils are identified by distributional and 14C analysis of microbial membrane lipids. Besides detailed analyses of three soil profiles at the subsoil observatory site (Grinderwald), information on regional variability will be gained from analyses of soil profiles at sites with different parent material.
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