Despite the large contribution of rangeland and pasture to global soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, there is considerable uncertainty about the impact of large herbivore grazing on SOC, especially for understudied subtropical grazing lands. It is well known that root system inputs are the source of most grassland SOC, but the impact of grazing on partitioning of carbon allocation to root tissue production compared to fine root exudation is unclear. Given that different forms of root C have differing implications for SOC synthesis and decomposition, this represents a significant gap in knowledge. Root exudates should contribute to SOC primarily after microbial assimilation, and thus promote microbial contributions to SOC based on stabilization of microbial necromass, whereas root litter deposition contributes directly as plant-derived SOC following microbial decomposition. Here, we used in situ isotope pulse-chase methodology paired with plant and soil sampling to link plant carbon allocation patterns with SOC pools in replicated long-term grazing exclosures in subtropical pasture in Florida, USA. We quantified allocation of carbon to root tissue and measured root exudation across grazed and ungrazed plots and quantified lignin phenols to assess the relative contribution of microbial vs. plant products to total SOC. We found that grazing exclusion was associated with dramatically less overall belowground allocation, with lower root biomass, fine root exudates, and microbial biomass. Concurrently, grazed pasture contained greater total SOC, and a larger fraction of SOC that originated from plant tissue deposition, suggesting that higher root litter deposition under grazing promotes greater SOC. We conclude that grazing effects on SOC depend on root system biomass, a pattern that may generalize to other C4-dominated grasslands, especially in the subtropics. Improved understanding of ecological factors underlying root system biomass may be the key to forecasting SOC and optimizing grazing management to enhance SOC accumulation.

This article describes a neutral particle analyzer/isotope separator (ISEP) developed for measurement of the relative hydrogen isotope composition of Joint European Torus (JET) plasmas. The ISEP deployed on the JET can be regarded as a prototype of an instrument proposed for measurement of the spatial profile of the ratio of the density of deuterium and tritium ions in the plasma, nD(r)/nT(r), in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The ISEP makes simultaneous measurements of the energy distribution of efflux of hydrogen isotope atoms (H, D, and T) from the plasma. From such measurements it is possible to deduce the radial profile of the relative hydrogen isotope ion composition of the plasma and radial transport of ions of one isotope across the plasma of another isotope species. The main elements of the ISEP are (a) use of a thin carbon foil for reionization of the incident atoms, thereby eliminating gas stripping cells and gas sources of conventional neutral particle analyzers (NPAs), (b) acceleration of secondary ions in order to access the regime of higher detection efficiency of the NPA and to better separate ion pulses from neutron/γ-ray induced pulses in scintillator detectors, (c) E‖B dispersion of the secondary ions in specially designed nonuniform magnetic and electric fields to provide focusing in the detector plane, increased throughput and greater contrast between neighboring isotopes, and (d) counting of energy and mass analyzed secondary ions using detectors consisting of thin [1⩽t (μm)⩽7] CsI(Tl) scintillators deposited directly on miniature thin window photomultiplier tubes mounted in vacuum. The ISEP has high contrast between atoms of neighboring masses (⩾103 for E≈5 keV and much greater at higher energies), and high detection efficiency (0.06⩽ε⩽0.83 for atoms of 5⩽ (keV)⩽150. ISEP detectors have very low sensitivity to neutrons and γ rays (⩽10−7 of ion sensitivity), making it feasible to use the ISEP in JET DT experiments without any shielding. Only a modest amount of neutron/γ-ray shielding would be required in the ITER for similar applications of the ISEP. The initial experiments on JET plasmas using the ISEP demonstrate well the capabilities of the instrument for measurement of the hydrogen isotope composition of the plasma and the energy distribution function of isotope ions.

This article describes the overall design of the Joint European Torus ͑JET͒ motional Stark effect ͑MSE͒ diagnostic. The principle of this diagnostic has been proven on other tokamaks ͑TFTR and DIII-D͒ but its implementation on JET involves specific difficulties associated with optical access and neutral beam geometry. The solutions adopted for the access problem include the use of a novel ''Air Amici'' prism for beam deviation and low Verdet coefficient glass for the relay optics. MSE signals from the different beam sources are distinguished by their Doppler shift; the diagnostic uses the ϩ components of the Stark spectrum to avoid contamination with signals from different beam sources. The optimum viewing location for good space resolution across the plasma profile is also one that allows good accuracy in the reconstruction of the q profile from the measurements. An assessment of the optical throughput predicts a measurement accuracy of the polarization angle of better than 0.15°with 1-10 ms time resolution.

Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) is considered a promising sustainable alternative to chemical soil fumigation (CSF), and has been shown to be effective against soilborne diseases, plant-parasitic nematodes, and weeds in several crop production systems. Nevertheless, limited information is available on the effects of ASD on crop yield and quality. Therefore, a field study was conducted on fresh-market tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in two different locations in Florida (Immokalee and Citra), to evaluate and compare the ASD and CSF performances on weed and nematodes control, and on fruit yield and quality. In Immokalee, Pic-Clor 60 (1,3-dichloropropene + chloropicrin) was used as the CSF, whereas in Citra, the CSF was Paldin™ [dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) + chloropicrin]. Anaerobic soil disinfestation treatments were applied using a mix of composted poultry litter (CPL) at the rate of 22 Mg·ha−1, and two rates of molasses [13.9 (ASD1) and 27.7 m3·ha−1 (ASD2)] as a carbon (C) source. In both locations, soil subjected to ASD reached highly anaerobic conditions, and cumulative soil anaerobiosis was 167% and 116% higher in ASD2 plots than in ASD1 plots, in Immokalee and Citra, respectively. In Immokalee, the CSF provided the most significant weed control, but ASD treatments also suppressed weeds enough to prevent an impact on yield. In Citra, all treatments, including the CSF, provided poor weed control relative to the Immokalee site. In both locations, the application of ASD provided a level of root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne sp.) control equivalent to, or more effective than the CSF. In Immokalee, ASD2 and ASD1 plots provided 26.7% and 19.7% higher total marketable yield as compared with CSF plots, respectively. However, in Citra, total marketable yield was unaffected by soil treatments. Tomato fruit quality parameters were not influenced by soil treatments, except for fruit firmness in Immokalee, which was significantly higher in fruits from ASD treatments than in those from CSF soil. Fruit mineral content was similar or higher in ASD plots as compared with CSF. In fresh-market tomato, ASD applied using a mixture of CPL and molasses may be a sustainable alternative to CSF for maintaining or even improving marketable yield and fruit quality.