Zhu Renbin, Wang Qing, Ding Wei, Wang Can, Hou Lijun, Ma Dawei
Institute of Polar Environment, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei City, Anhui Province 230026, P. R China.
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, P. R China.
Sci Rep. 2014 Nov 14;4:7055. doi: 10.1038/srep07055.
Most studies on phosphorus cycle in the natural environment focused on phosphates, with limited data available for the reduced phosphine (PH3). In this paper, matrix-bound phosphine (MBP), gaseous phosphine fluxes and phosphorus fractions in the soils were investigated from a penguin colony, a seal colony and the adjacent animal-lacking tundra and background sites. The MBP levels (mean 200.3 ng kg(-1)) in penguin colony soils were much higher than those in seal colony soils, animal-lacking tundra soils and the background soils. Field PH3 flux observation and laboratory incubation experiments confirmed that penguin colony soils produced much higher PH3 emissions than seal colony soils and animal-lacking tundra soils. Overall high MBP levels and PH3 emissions were modulated by soil biogeochemical processes associated with penguin activities: sufficient supply of the nutrients phosphorus, nitrogen, and organic carbon from penguin guano, high soil bacterial abundance and phosphatase activity. It was proposed that organic or inorganic phosphorus compounds from penguin guano or seal excreta could be reduced to PH3 in the Antarctic soils through the bacterial activity. Our results indicated that penguin activity significantly increased soil phosphine formation and phosphorus contribution, thus played an important role in phosphorus cycle in terrestrial ecosystems of maritime Antarctica.
大多数关于自然环境中磷循环的研究都集中在磷酸盐上，关于还原态磷化氢（PH3）的数据有限。本文对一个企鹅聚居地、一个海豹聚居地以及相邻的无动物苔原和背景地点的土壤中基质结合磷化氢（MBP）、气态磷化氢通量和磷组分进行了研究。企鹅聚居地土壤中的MBP水平（平均200.3 ng kg-1）远高于海豹聚居地土壤、无动物苔原土壤和背景土壤中的水平。野外PH3通量观测和实验室培养实验证实，企鹅聚居地土壤产生的PH3排放量远高于海豹聚居地土壤和无动物苔原土壤。总体而言，高MBP水平和PH3排放受到与企鹅活动相关的土壤生物地球化学过程的调节：企鹅粪便中充足的磷、氮和有机碳养分供应、高土壤细菌丰度和磷酸酶活性。有人提出，来自企鹅粪便或海豹排泄物的有机或无机磷化合物可通过细菌活动在南极土壤中还原为PH3。我们的结果表明，企鹅活动显著增加了土壤磷化氢的形成和磷的贡献，从而在南极海洋陆地生态系统的磷循环中发挥了重要作用。
