Papers by Yosef Steinberger
Microbial Ecology, Dec 18, 2023
Agriculture, Apr 25, 2024
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Ecological Engineering, 2016
Increase in human population is accelerating the rate of land use change, biodiversity loss and h... more Increase in human population is accelerating the rate of land use change, biodiversity loss and habitat degradation, triggering a serious threat to life supporting ecosystem services. Existing strategies for biological conservation remain insufficient to achieve a sustainable human-nature relationship and this situation has fueled a debate on the conservation-exploitation dilemma. We need to devise novel strategies, in a mutually inclusive way, which can support biological conservation and secure economic development of deprived populations. Here we propose the use of designer ecosystems which can ensure ecological sustainability while providing ample and some new means of livelihood to local people. Such designer ecosystems may provide a solution to the conservation-exploitation dilemma through lessening population pressure on conserved ecosystems and remediating environmental pollution and ecosystem degradation to secure a broad range of ecosystem services of economic and cultural values.
Ecology and Sustainable Development, 2018
The organic certification process is financially impossible for many tea-farm producers. Differen... more The organic certification process is financially impossible for many tea-farm producers. Differences in soil physicochemical properties, microbial physiological variables, and community structure were investigated in organic and conventional agroecosystems in Nantou County, central Taiwan. Soil samples were collected monthly in 2011 from two study sites: below tea shrub canopies (TI) and between tea shrubs (TII). Abiotic and biotic soil parameters were analyzed using two-way ANOVA to determine the impact of farming type and sampling location. Microbial-community structure and functional diversity were determined based on substrate-induced respiration, indicating the metabolic potential of the microbial community. The results indicate that organic farming can reduce the metabolic quotient (qCO 2) and basal respiration, and increase microbial-community functional diversity and catabolic ability, especially with amino acids and carbohydrates. The addition of fertilizers will decrease the metabolic function of bacterial communities. We attribute these results to the continuous supply of fresh organic matter that maintains long-term carbon bioavailability, improving nutrient supply to yield production.
Journal of Arid Environments, Jun 1, 1983
Excavations made by desert rodents during the late non-growing season (April-August) accumulated ... more Excavations made by desert rodents during the late non-growing season (April-August) accumulated litter amounts varying between 5•2 and 17•6 kgjha and over a l-year period 55•9 kg!ha of litter was buried in such excavations. There was a higher nitrogen content in litter in October, 17•6 ± 0•5 /Lg!g than the rest of the year, 13•5 ± 1•4 /Lg!g. Litter bag studies of decomposition of small quantities of buried litter similar to that accumulated in rodent excavations exhibited higher rates of decomposition than larger quantities of buried litter reported in the literature. Rodent excavating activity increases rates of decomposition and organic matter turnover and may effect the distribution of ephemeral plants in warm desert ecosystems.
Journal of Arid Environments, Mar 1, 1989
Nematodes are one of the most abundant fractions of the soilfaunal biomass in deserts. Studyof a ... more Nematodes are one of the most abundant fractions of the soilfaunal biomass in deserts. Studyof a single autumn dewfall event showed: rapiddiurnal change in soil moisture that was evident to a depth of 30 cm; vertical migration of nematodes that correlates well withchanges in soil moisture; density of nematodes under and outsideof shrub canopies varied in response to moisture but distribution into trophic groups at the two sites wasidentical; the distribution pattern and behavior of Negev nematodes agrees well with those found in American deserts. Findingssupport the hypothesis that rapidresponse ofdesertnematodes to moisture is a significant survival mechanism.
Pedobiologia, May 1, 1988
To determine the effect of agricultural management on the dynamics and functional diversity of so... more To determine the effect of agricultural management on the dynamics and functional diversity of soil nematode communities in a carrot field at Kibbutz Ramat Hakovesh, Israel, soil samples from 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depths were collected during the growing season of carrot. Indices were used to compare and assess the response of soil free-living nematode communities to agricultural management. Eighteen nematode families and 20 genera were observed during the growing period, with Cephalobus, Rhabditidae, Aphelenchus, Tylenchus, and Dorylaimus being the dominant genera/ families. During the planting, mid-season and post-harvest periods the total number of nematodes at both depths was significantly lower (P < 0.01) in the carrot treatment than in the control plots, while during the harvest period at both depths total nematodes and bacterivores were significantly higher in the treatment plots (P < 0.01). The values of the maturity index (MI) at both depths were found to be significantly lower in the treatment plots than in the control plots during the pre-planting period (P < 0.05). Overall, WI, MI and PPI were found to be more sensitive indicators than other ecological indices for assessing the response of nematode communities to agricultural management in a Mediterranean agroecosystem.
Journal of Arid Environments, Nov 1, 2020
Revegetation with native leguminous shrub Caragana microphylla in the Horqin Sandy Land, China, h... more Revegetation with native leguminous shrub Caragana microphylla in the Horqin Sandy Land, China, has been reported to increase plant coverage and diversity, and ameliorate abiotic soil property. However, comprehensive investigation of soil microbial-community composition after revegetation in this area has been rarely conducted. In this study, DNA of sand dunes restored for a period of 12 and 30 years, and an unrestored sand dune (control), was extracted and sequenced using Illumina Miseq. The results indicated that revegetation of C. microphylla significantly altered soil microbial communities as reflected by the significantly different bacterial and fungal composition and fungal diversity between the restored dunes and the control; however, there was no significant difference in soil microbial composition between the dunes restored for different years. Specifically, microbial consortia that involved in a wide range of ecological function, including recalcitrant organic carbon decomposition, plant-microbe symbiosis and nitrogen fixation, were enriched on restored dunes particularly on the 30year restored dune. The changes in soil microbial communities were significantly correlated with the content of soil organic carbon (SOC) and the proportions of labile and recalcitrant organic carbon in SOC, which may indicate a mutual-regulated ecological improvement between soil abiotic and biotic processes along sand dune restoration.
Journal of Arid Environments, May 1, 2016
Abstract After 30 years of rehabilitation, moss-dominated crusts (biocrusts) formed under the can... more Abstract After 30 years of rehabilitation, moss-dominated crusts (biocrusts) formed under the canopies of Caragana microphylla shrubs on shifting sand dunes in the Horqin Sandy Land, China. Their impact on the spatiotemporal distribution of macro/micronutrients beneath the shrubs was determined. Soils were collected from 0 to 1 and 1–5 cm layers at three locations: two beneath shrubs (with/without biocrusts), the third at between-shrub interspaces, at end August 2013 (end wet season) and early June 2014 (end dry season). The biocrusts beneath shrubs enhanced macro/micronutrient enrichment (except extractable Ca), particularly in the 0–1 cm layer. Such positive effects exhibited seasonal dependence, i.e., the availability of phosphorus and micronutrients (iron, manganese, copper, zinc) in the 0–1 cm layer under biocrusts was significantly higher than at the other two sampling sites at end of dry season; no similar trend was observed at end of wet season. Significant increases in phosphorus and micronutrient availability were observed at end of dry season compared to wet season in both sampling layers at all sites, except topsoil beneath C. microphylla without biocrusts. This means that the colonization of moss-dominated crusts beneath C. microphylla can accumulate essential macro/micronutrients and partly compensate for the deficiency of essential nutrients in Horqin Sandy Land.
Biology and Fertility of Soils, Jan 9, 2015
The topography significantly affects microclimatic conditions and the physical properties of soil... more The topography significantly affects microclimatic conditions and the physical properties of soil along and between slopes of different orientations in desert ecosystems. The goal of the present study was to determine the relationship between slope orientation and bacterial, as well as fungal, community composition both in bulk soil and soil particle-size fractions at different time points throughout the seasons (very dry autumn and moister winter). The soil bacterial and fungal community composition was assessed by 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene respectively ITS fingerprinting after PCR amplification of extracted DNA from soil. Our results indicate that bacterial community composition was mainly affected by the different sampling time points, whereas fungal community composition was affected by both slope orientation and sampling time point. Soil fractionation revealed that these differences are mainly due to shifts of fungal communities in the clay fractions.
Pedobiologia, May 1, 1984
Nematology
Summary The invasive Australian tree, Acacia saligna, has been the subject of numerous studies in... more Summary The invasive Australian tree, Acacia saligna, has been the subject of numerous studies investigating its ecological impact. However, the effect of its invasion on the soil free-living nematode population has yet to be researched. In this study, we examined the impact of A. saligna on the soil free-living nematode population in a coastal dune site with a Mediterranean climate during three sampling periods. Soil samples were collected from beneath the canopies of A. saligna trees, the native dominant shrub Retama raetam, and bare soil plots as a control. Our findings reveal that A. saligna increases the density of the soil free-living nematode population and changes its trophic and taxonomic composition. While the nematode diversity and functional index scores did not significantly differ between sampling locations, they did differ between the different sampling times, highlighting the seasonal dynamics of the soil nematode population in Mediterranean sand dunes.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
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Papers by Yosef Steinberger