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High-throughput, multiplexed-amplicon sequencing has become a core tool for understanding environmental microbiomes. As researchers have widely adopted sequencing, many open-source analysis pipelines have been developed to compare microbiomes using compositional analysis frameworks. However, there is increasing evidence that compositional analyses do not provide the information necessary to accurately interpret many community assembly processes. This is especially true when there are large gradients that drive distinct community assembly processes. Recently, sequencing has been combined with Q-PCR (among other sources of total quantitation) to generate "Quantitative Sequencing" (QSeq) data. QSeq more accurately estimates the true abundance of taxa, is a more reliable basis for inferring correlation, and, ultimately, can be more reliably related to environmental data to infer community assembly processes. In this paper, we use a combination of published data sets, synthesis, and empirical modeling to offer guidance for which contexts QSeq is advantageous. As little as 5% variation in total abundance among experimental groups resulted in more accurate inference by QSeq than compositional methods. Compositional methods for differential abundance and correlation unreliably detected patterns in abundance and covariance when there was greater than 20% variation in total abundance among experimental groups. Whether QSeq performs better for beta diversity analysis depends on the question being asked, and the analytic strategy (e.g., what distance metric is being used); for many questions and methods, QSeq and compositional analysis are equivalent for beta diversity analysis. QSeq is especially useful for taxon-specific analysis; QSeq transformation and analysis should be the default for answering taxon-specific questions of amplicon sequence data. Publicly available bioinformatics pipelines should incorporate support for QSeq transformation and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite glyphosate's wide use for weed control in agriculture, questions remain about the herbicide's effect on soil microbial communities. The existing scientific literature contains conflicting results, from no observable effect of glyphosate to the enrichment of agricultural pathogens such as Fusarium spp. We conducted a comprehensive field-based study to compare the microbial communities on the roots of plants that received a foliar application of glyphosate to adjacent plants that did not. The 2-year study was conducted in Beltsville, MD, and Stoneville, MS, with corn and soybean crops grown in a variety of organic and conventional farming systems. By sequencing environmental metabarcode amplicons, the prokaryotic and fungal communities were described, along with chemical and physical properties of the soil. Sections of corn and soybean roots were plated to screen for the presence of plant pathogens. Geography, farming system, and season were significant factors determining the composition of fungal and prokaryotic communities. Plots treated with glyphosate did not differ from untreated plots in overall microbial community composition after controlling for other factors. We did not detect an effect of glyphosate treatment on the relative abundance of organisms such as Fusarium spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite glyphosate's wide use for weed control in agriculture, questions remain about the herbicides effect on soil microbial communities. The existing scientific literature contains conflicting results, from no observable effect of glyphosate to the enrichment of agricultural pathogens such as Fusarium. We conducted a comprehensive field-based study to compare the microbial communties on the roots of plants that received a foliar application of glyphosate to adjacent plants that did not. The two-year study was conducted in Beltsville, Maryland and Stoneville, Mississippi with corn and soybean crops grown in a variety of organic and conventional farming systems. By sequencing environmental metabarcode amplicons, the prokaryotic and fungal communities were described along with chemical and physical properties of the soil. Sections of corn and soybean roots were plated to screen for the presence of plant pathogens. Geography, farming system, and season were significant factors determining composition of fungal and prokaryote communities. Plots treated with glyphosate did not differ from untreated plots in overall microbial community composition after controlling for other factors. We did not detect an effect of glyphosate treatment on the relative abundance of organisms such as Fusarium spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture, by its intentional design, manipulates the ecological functions of soils. It does so by altering carbon and nutrient inputs; by controlling the plant community; and in the case of tillage, by physically disrupting and redistributing the soil within the soil profile. While there are many studies that contrast soil microbiomes across farming systems, few studies have examined the effect of farming system on the vertical organization of taxa in the soil profile. We hypothesized that large effects of farming systems on edaphic factors would lead to large impacts on the microbial community that would reflect the underlying life history strategy of the microbes. For example, that tillage would increase the proportion of unicellular fungi. Our study compared farming systems that had been in place for 13 years in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Each system is a 3-year rotation of corn (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max), and wheat (Triticum aestivum), managed with either conventional no-till, conventional chisel-till, or using organic methods. We determined the relative effect of long-term farming system management on edaphic factors and the soil microbial community with depth structured sampling (0–5, 5–10, 10-Ap, Ap-30 cm). We found relatively small effects of farming system but substantial effects of depth on edaphic factors and microbial communities. For example, differences in management resulted in subtle differences in %C above the Ap horizon. Fungal gene abundance increased in the organic system relative to the no-till system, although neither fungal nor bacterial richness differed across farming systems. Farming system effects on microbial community composition were greatest in the top 10 cm but did not affect the abundance of unicellular fungi. Several groups including Pseudomonas and Mortierellomycota appear to be sensitive to redistribution by tillage in the organic system, but it is not clear to what extent this effect is due to legacy DNA from tillage. Thirteen-year management of organic and conventional grain farming systems results in modest differences to microbial communities along soil depth profiles 1) Organic treatment results in a increase in soil %C and differences in %C depth distribution 2) No difference in richness and evenness among farming systems 3) A 30 cm depth profile represents a much greater environmental gradient for microbial abundance and diversity than differences among long-term row-crop farming systems that differ in tillage, fertility and pest management [Display omitted] • Depth had larger effect than farming system on microbial community. • Farming system effects were concentrated in top 10 cm. • Farming systems altered the distribution of some taxa across depth increments. • No effect of farming system on abundance of unicellular fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The building sector is responsible for a great share of the final energy demand and national CO2 emissions in countries like Germany. Nowadays, low quality thermal energy demands in buildings are mainly satisfied with high-quality sources (e.g. natural gas fired in condensing boilers). Exergy analysis, pursuing a matching in the quality level of energy supplied and demanded, pinpoints the great necessity of substituting high-quality fossil fuels by other low quality energy flows, such as waste heat. In this paper a small district heating system in Kassel (Germany) is taken as a case study. Results from preliminary steady-state and dynamic energy and exergy analysis of the system are presented and strategies for improving the performance of waste-heat based district heating systems are derived. Results show that lowering supply temperatures from 95 to 57.7°C increases the final exergy efficiency of the systems from 32% to 39.3%. Similarly, reducing return temperatures to the district heating network from 40.8 to 37.7°C increases the exergy performance in 3.7%. In turn, the energy performance of all systems studied is nearly the same. This paper shows clearly the added value of exergy analysis for characterising and improving the performance of district heating systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is an obvious and indisputable need for an increase in the efficiency of energy utilisation in buildings and in the energy supply system within communities. Heating, cooling and lighting appliances in buildings account for more than one third of the world''s primary energy demand. In turn, building stock is a major contributor to energy-related environmental problems and CO2 emissions. There are great potentials to be obtained through a more efficient supply of energy and rational use of energy in buildings. An optimisation of the exergy flows in buildings and related supply structures, similar to other thermodynamic systems such as power stations, can help in identifying the potential of increasing efficiency in energy utilisation. Through analyses, it can be shown that calculations based on the energy conservation and primary energy concept alone are inadequate for gaining a full understanding of all important aspects of energy utilisation processes. The high potential for a further increase in the efficiency of; for example, boilers, cannot be quantified exclusively by performing energy analyses—the energy efficiency is close to 100%; however, this potential can be demonstrated by using an exergy analysis, whereby the exergy efficiency of a common gas boiler is about 8%. It is necessary to work out new and more efficient ways to supply energy to satisfy the demand for energy services. This paper outlines the international co-operative work in the general framework of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the ECBCS Annex 49 “Low Exergy Systems for High Performance Buildings and Communities” [Annex 49, Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems—Low Exergy Systems for High Performance Buildings and Communities, homepage: http://www.annex49.com, 2007]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Exergy is naturally related to the concept of quality of energy. Therefore, exergy analysis has been widely applied in parallel with energy analysis in order to find the most rational use of energy. Within the built environment a wide margin for exergy saving may be found. Actually, buildings require mostly low quality energy for thermal uses at low temperatures and nowadays their energy demand is mainly satisfied with high quality sources. Exergy analysis of renewable energy-based climatisation systems may be considered an emerging field, where different and often contrasting approaches are followed. Then, in this paper a comprehensive and critical view on the most recent studies on this topic is presented. Special attention is paid to the methodological aspects specifically related to climatisation systems and renewables, and to the comparison of the results. Main renewable energy-based heating and cooling systems are considered in detail. Finally, conclusions regarding the state of the art and possible trends on this field are derived, with the aim to highlight future research issues and promote further developments of this method. Furthermore, conclusions regarding the usability of the exergy method as a tool to promote a more efficient use of available energy sources are also derived. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In urban landscapes, humans are the most significant factor determining belowground diversity, including earthworms. Within the framework of the Global Urban Soil Ecology and Education Network (GLUSEEN), a multi-city comparison was carried out to assess the effects of soil disturbance on earthworms. In each of five cities (Baltimore, USA; Budapest, Hungary; Helsinki and Lahti, Finland; Potchefstroom, South Africa), covering four climatic and biogeographical regions, four habitat types (ruderal, turf/lawn, remnant and reference) were sampled. The survey resulted in 19 species belonging to 9 genera and 4 families. The highest total species richness was recorded in Baltimore (16), while Budapest and the Finnish cities had relatively low (5–6) species numbers. Remnant forests and lawns supported the highest earthworm biomass. Soil properties (i.e. pH and organic matter content) explained neither earthworm community composition nor abundance. Evaluating all cities together, earthworm communities were significantly structured by habitat type. Communities in the two adjacent cities, Helsinki and Lahti were very similar, but Budapest clearly separated from the Finnish cities. Earthworm community structure in Baltimore overlapped with that of the other cities. Despite differences in climate, soils and biogeography among the cities, earthworm communities were highly similar within the urban habitat types. This indicates that human-mediated dispersal is an important factor shaping the urban fauna, both at local and regional scales. • Earthworm communities varied within and among urban habitat types. • Remnant forests and urban lawns were the most favorable habitats for earthworms. • Different mechanisms lead to high similarity of urban earthworm assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]