Abstract
In order to estimate the potential utilization of N2-fixing (heterocystous) cyanobacteria as natural biofertilizers in the Valencian rice fields (Spain), the distribution and seasonal variation of these microorganisms in water and sediment samples were evaluated, and the relationships among cyanobacterial abundance and physical and chemical characteristics of soil and water were investigated. N2-fixing cyanobacteria were present in all the samples analyzed (25 sampling points sampled three times per year during two years). The relative cyanobacterial abundance in soil and water followed contrasting patterns, maximum presence in soil coincided with minimum abundance in water. Correlation analysis showed that cyanobacterial abundance in the two phases (water and sediment) was influenced more by water than by soil properties. Salinity, mineralization variables, and soluble reactive phosphate (SRP) correlated positively with heterocystous cyanobacteria presence. Furthermore, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and the ratio DIN: SRP correlated negatively with cyanobacterial abundance. However DIN: SRP ratio better described the cyanobacterial distribution, with a threshold effect: below the Redfield ratio value (7.2 in mass units) cyanobacterial abundance was clearly higher.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
APHA (1980) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewaters, 15th edn. APHA, Washington DC
Broady PA (1989) Survey of algae and other terrestrial biota at Edward VII Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land. Antarctic Science 1(3):215–224
Downing JA, McCauley E (1992) The nitrogen:phosphorus relationship in lakes. Limnol Oceanogr 37(5):936–945
Earle JC, Duthie HC, Scruton DA (1987) Factors influencing the distribution of phytoplankton in 97 headwater lakes in insular Newfoundland. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 44:639–649
Forés E, Comín FA (1989) Balances de nitrógeno y fósforo en arrozales del delta del Ebro (España). Bol R Soc Hist Nat (Sec Biol) 84(3–4):247–257
Howarth RW Marino R (1990) Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in the plankton of lakes and estuaries: a replay to the comment by Smith. Limnol Oceanogr 35(8):1859–1863
Kerby NW, Rowell P (1992) Potential and commercial applications for photosynthetic prokaryotes. In: Mann NH and Carr NA (eds) Photosynthetic prokaryotes. (Biotechnology handbooks vol 6). Plenum Press, New York, pp 233–254
Kratz WA, Myers J (1955) Nutrition and growth of several blue-green algae. Am J Bot 42:282–287
Marino R, Howarth RW Shames J, Prepas EE (1990) Molybdenum and sulfate as controls on the abundance of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in saline lakes in Alberta. Limnol Oceanogr 35(2):245–259
Paerl HW (1988) Nuisance phytoplankton blooms in coastal, estuarine, and inland waters. Limnol Oceanogr 33(4):823–847
Paulsen DM, Paerl HW Bishop PE (1991) Evidence that molybdenum-dependent nitrogen fixation is not limited by high sulfate concentrations in marine environments. Limnol Oceanogr 36(7): 1325–1334
Pick FR, Lean DRS (1987) The role of macronutrients (C,N,P) in controlling cyanobacterial dominance in temperate lakes. New Zeal J Mar Fresh Res 21:425–434
Potts M (1995) Desiccation tolerance of prokaryotes. Microbiol Rev 58(4):755–805
Prosperi C, Boluda L, Luna C, Fernández-Valiente E (1992) Environmental factors affecting in vitro nitrogenase activity of cyanobacteria isolated from rice-fields. J Appl Phycol 4(3):197–204
Quesada A, Sánchez-Maeso E, Fernández-Valiente E (1995a) Seasonal variations in the physical and chemical characteristics of a shallow water ecosystem, the rice-fields of Valencia, Spain. Arch Hydrobiol 132(4):494–511
Quesada A, Sánchez-Maeso E, Ferndndez-Valiente E (1995b) Seasonal variations of chemical properties of rice-fields soils from Valencia, Spain. Comm Soil Science Plant Anal 26(1,2):1–19
Roger PA, Kulasooriya SA (1980) Blue-green algae and rice. IRRI, Los Baños, Philippines
Roger PA, Santiago-Ardales S, Reddy PM, Watanabe I (1987) The abundance of heterocystous blue-green algae in rice soils and inocula used for application in rice fields. Biol Fertil Soils 5:98–105
Roger PA, Jimenez R, Santiago-Ardales S (1991) Methods for studying blue-green algae in ricefields: distributional ecology, sampling strategies, and estimation of abundance. IRRI Res. Paper Set. 150, Los Baños, Philippines
Roger PA, Zimmerman WJ, Lumpkin TA (1993) Microbiological management of wetland rice fields. In: Metting FB (ed) Soil microbiological ecology. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, pp 417–455
Smith RJ (1988) Calcium-mediated regulation in the cyanobacteria? In: Rogers LJ, Gallon JR (eds) Biochemistry of the algae and cyanobacteria. Oxford Science Publications, Oxford, pp 185–200
Smith VH (1983) Low nitrogen to phosphorus ratios favor dominance by blue-green algae in lake phytoplankton. Science (Wash) 221:669–671
Smith VH (1990) Nitrogen, phosphorus, and nitrogen fixation in lacustrine and estuarine ecosystems. Limnol Oceanogr 35(8):1852–1859
Trimbee AM, Prepas EE (1987) Evaluation of total phosphorus as a predictor of the relative biomass of blue-green algae with emphasis in Alberta lakes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 44:1337–1342
Waiser MJ, Robarts RD (1995) Microbial nutrient limitation in prairie saline lakes with high sulfate concentration. Limnol Oceanogr 40(3):566–574
Whitton BA, Aziz A, Francis P, Rother JA, Simon JW Tahmida ZN (1988) Ecology of deepwater rice-fields in Bangladesh. I. Physical and chemical environment. Hydrobiologia 169:3–22
Yongding L, Shanghao L (1989) Species composition and vertical distribution of blue-green algae in rice field soils, Hubei, China. Nova Hedwigia 48(1–2):55–67
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Correspondence to: A. Quesada.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Quesada, A., Fernández-Valiente, E. Relationship between abundance of N2-fixing cyanobacteria and environmental features of Spanish rice fields. Microb Ecol 32, 59–71 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00170107
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00170107