Summary
One of the major factors affecting the production and stability of ethylene (C2H4) in soil is its water content. This study was conducted to determine the effect of unsaturated vs. saturated conditions on the production and stability of C2H4 in soil. L-Methionine and D-glucose were added alone and in combination at 1.0 and 5.0 g kg-1 soil, respectively. The addition of l-methionine significantly promoted C2H4 production at field capacity to a much greater extent than under waterlogged conditions. Glucose was equally effective under both moisture regimes, while the combined application of both amendments (l-methionine and d-glucose) led to the release of significantly higher amounts of C2H4 under saturated conditions. Antibiotic experiments revealed that under aerobic conditions, l-methionine may be more efficiently converted to C2H4 by soil fungi, while in glucose-amended soil, both bacteria and fungi are active in generating C2H4. C2H4 was more stable under saturated conditions. The magnitude of C2H4 removal from the headspace after 3 days of incubation under unsaturated conditions (25.7%) was comparable to that after 6 days under saturated conditions (24.1%). The loss of C2H4 was approximately 10-fold greater in non-sterilized soil than in sterilized (autoclaved) soil, both maintained at field capacity, indicating that a biotic component has a major influence on C2H4 stability. Kinetic analysis revealed that the C2H4 loss/degradation in nonautoclaved soil under aerobic conditions followed a firstorder reaction, with a rate constant (k) of 0.115 day-1 and a half-life (t 1/2) of 6.0 days.
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Arshad, M., Frankenberger, W.T. Production and stability of ethylene in soil. Biol Fertil Soils 10, 29–34 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336121
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336121