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The formation and quality of soil organic matter (SOM) highly depends on the input of organic material and microbial enzymatic activities. Soil extractions with specific nonpolar and polar extractives can be used to identify qualitative changes in SOM. The aim of this paper was to understand the correlations among microbial enzymatic activity and specific organic fractions in acidic spruce forest soil. Klason lignin (KL), acid soluble lignin (ASL), holocellulose (HC), SOM content, and potential enzymatic activity (FDA and phosphatase) was measured and analyzed. We sampled Dystric Cambisol of forest spruce stands (Picea abies) in Tatra National Park (Slovakia). The SOM fractions were determined gravimetrically based on their extractivity in nonpolar (dichloromethane (DME)) and polar (acetone (AE), ethanol (EE), water (WE)) solvents Total extractives content was 0.079% and nonpolar extractives 0.036%. The mean amount of polar extractives tented to increase in the order EE

The aim of the study was to compare the effect of windthrow treatments established after the windstorm in 2004 on the activity of enzyme dehydrogenase (DHA) in forest topsoils. We also focused on the effect of the recent windthrow (May 2014) on the DHA in topsoil. Soil samples were collected in July 2014 from four sites in the Tatra National Park: EXT - tree trunks and wood debris extracted after the windstorm in 2004, NEX - area left for self-regeneration after the windstorm in 2004, REX - tree trunks and wood debris extracted after the windstorm (May 2014), REN - Norway spruce stand set as a control plot. We measured pH, dry weight %, soil organic matter (SOM), carbon content in microbial biomass (Cblo) and DHA. Dehydrogenase activity at studied plots was the lowest at the EXT plot and the highest values were measured at the REN plot. DHA at NEX was similar to REN suggesting comparable ecological conditions at these plots comparing to EXT. Carbon content in microbial biomass at plots reflected intensity of dehydrogenase activity in sequence EXT < REX < NEX < REN.

We studied soil PLFAs composition and specific soil properties among transect of small-scale fen in Stankovany, Slovakia. The aim of this study was to determine potential differences in the microbial community structure of the fen transect and reveal correlations among PLFAs and specific soil characteristics. PCA analyses of 43 PLFAs showed a separation of the samples along the axis largely influenced by i14:0, 16:1ω5, br17:0, 10Me16:0, cy17:0, cy17:1, br18:0 and 10Me17:0. We measured a high correlation of sample scores and distance from fen edge (Kendall’s test τ = 0.857, P < 0.01). Kendall’s test showed a negative correlation of PLFAs content (mol%) and distance from the fen border for Gram (+) bacteria, Actinomycetes, mid-chain branched saturated PLFAs and total PLFAs. The redundancy analysis of the PLFA data set for the eight samples using PLFAs as species and 21 environmental variables identified soil properties significantly associated with the PLFA variables, as tested by Monte Carlo permutation showing most significant environmental variables including dichlormethan extractables, water extractables, Klason lignin, acid-soluble lignin, holocellulose, total extractables, organic matter content, total PLFA amount, bacterial PLFA and total nitrogen negatively correlated to axis 1 and dry weight and carbonate carbon positively correlated to axis 1. The amounts of Klason lignin, acid-soluble lignin, holocellulose total extractables, total PLFA, bacterial PLFA and total nitrogen were significantly correlated positively to the distance from fen border while moisture and total carbonate carbon were correlated negatively.

To increase their reproductive success, ancestral males must show preferences for fertile females. Gravid females are infertile, and, thus, should be less preferred by males compared with non-gravid females. We investigated this idea by manipulating salient cues of pregnancy with a sample of Slovak females who were rated by males. Physical attractiveness of putatively pregnant females was lower compared with non-gravid females. In line with the idea that pursuing short-term and long-term relationships creates different costs to males, physical attractiveness of putatively pregnant females was lower for short-term compared with long-term possible relationship. Older males and uncommitted males rated females as more attractive compared with younger and committed males. Our results suggest that putatively pregnant females are less attractive due to the costs of selecting an infertile partner, or due to male unwillingness to invest in biologically unrelated children., Author(s): Pavol Prokop [sup.1] [sup.2] , Martina Zvaríková [sup.1] , Milan Zvarík [sup.3] , Peter Fedor [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.7634.6, 0000000109409708, Department of Environmental Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, [...]

Humans show strong preferences for large, "charismatic" animals. However, the ultimate reasons for these innate preferences remain unclear.In our research, we investigate the affective components of human attitudes toward animals, as well as the willingness to pay (WTP) for their conservation in a sample of N = 549 Slovak people using an online questionnaire.From the use of structural equation modelling, we discovered that particularly large animals trigger both biophobic (fear) and biophilic (admiration) emotions in humans, and as a result, these emotions have contrasting effects on the WTP for animal conservation. Both fear and admiration of animals were influenced by the same emotions triggered by non‐animal objects. Beliefs in the magical power of animals did not directly influence the WTP animal conservation, but was mediated by the admiration of large, non‐animal objects. Females showed greater WTP animal conservation than males, irrespectively of the size of the species.Therefore, we believe that biophobic responses from large animals and non‐animal objects in contemporary humans were inherited from our mammalian ancestors, who were targets of predation by large prehistoric reptiles throughout a significant part of mammalian evolutionary history. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contamination of soils with heavy metals, such as nickel (Ni), is a major environmental concern due to increasing pollution from industrial activities, burning of fossil fuels, incorrect disposal of sewage sludge, excessive manure application and the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. Excess Ni induces leaf chlorosis and inhibits plant growth, but the mechanisms underlying growth inhibition remain largely unknown. A detailed analysis of root development in Arabidopsis thaliana in the presence of Ni revealed that this heavy metal induces gravitropic defects and locally inhibits root growth by suppressing cell elongation without significantly disrupting the integrity of the stem cell niche. The analysis of auxin-responsive reporters revealed that excess Ni inhibits shootward auxin distribution. Furthermore, we found that PIN2 is very sensitive to Ni, as the presence of this heavy metal rapidly reduced PIN2 levels in roots. A transcriptome analysis also showed that Ni affects the expression of many genes associated with plant cell walls and that Ni-induced transcriptional changes are largely independent of iron (Fe). In addition, we raised evidence that excess Ni increases the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and disturbs the integrity and orientation of microtubules. Together, our results highlight which processes are primarily targeted by Ni to alter root growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]