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Deeper Soil Layer (deeper + soil_layer)
Selected AbstractsRoot and rhizome systems of perennial grasses grown in Inner Mongolian grassland, ChinaGRASSLAND SCIENCE, Issue 4 2009Min Ao Abstract The root and rhizome systems of dominant perennial grasses in Inner Mongolian grassland were clarified. We surveyed the vertical distribution of root and rhizome biomass in the natural stands, and the changes of under-ground biomass and the branching pattern of rhizomes for transplanted plants in a container experiment. Most roots of Leymus chinensis, Bromus inermis, Elymus dahuricus and Agropyron cristatum were distributed in the soil depth of 0,10 cm. Roots of E. dahuricus and A. cristatum were distributed in a shallower soil layer, but those of L. chinensis and B. inermis were distributed in a deeper soil layer. Biomass of above-ground parts increased with growth, resulting in a decreasing ratio of under-ground parts to total biomass. Rhizomes of L. chinensis and B. inermis were distributed in the soil depth of 0,10 cm, but E. dahuricus and A. cristatum did not have rhizomes. L. chinensis had longer rhizomes and new ramets were produced away from their mother plant. B. inermis had many short rhizomes and produced daughter plants near their mother plant. [source] Characteristics of soil moisture in permafrost observed in East Siberian taiga with stable isotopes of waterHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 6 2003A. Sugimoto Abstract Soil moisture and its isotopic composition were observed at Spasskaya Pad experimental forest near Yakutsk, Russia, during summer in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The amount of soil water (plus ice) was estimated from volumetric soil water content obtained with time domain reflectometry. Soil moisture and its ,18O showed large interannual variation depending on the amount of summer rainfall. The soil water ,18O decreased with soil moisture during a dry summer (1998), indicating that ice meltwater from a deeper soil layer was transported upward. On the other hand, during a wet summer (1999), the ,18O of soil water increased due to percolation of summer rain with high ,18O values. Infiltration after spring snowmelt can be traced down to 15 cm by the increase in the amount of soil water and decrease in the ,18O because of the low ,18O of deposited snow. About half of the snow water equivalent (about 50 mm) recharged the surface soil. The pulse of the snow meltwater was, however, less important than the amount of summer rainfall for intra-annual variation of soil moisture. Excess water at the time just before soil freezing, which is controlled by the amount of summer rainfall, was stored as ice during winter. This water storage stabilizes the rate of evapotranspiration. Soil water stored in the upper part of the active layer (surface to about 120 cm) can be a water source for transpiration in the following summer. On the other hand, once water was stored in the lower part of the active layer (deeper than about 120 cm), it would not be used by plants in the following summer, because the lower part of the active layer thaws in late summer after the plant growing season is over. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of soil bulk density on seminal and lateral roots of young maize plants (Zea mays L.)JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2004Rolf O. Kuchenbuch Abstract It is well established that increasing soil bulk density (SBD) above some threshold value reduces plant root growth and thus may reduce water and nutrient acquisition. However, formation and elongation of maize seminal roots and first order lateral (FOL) roots in various soil layers under the influence of SBD has not been documented. Two studies were conducted on a loamy sand soil at SBD ranging from 1.25 g,cm,3 to 1.66 g,cm,3. Rhizotrons with a soil layer 7 mm thick were used and pre-germinated plants were grown for 15 days. Over the range of SBD tested, the shoot growth was not influenced whereas total root length was reduced by 30,% with increasing SBD. Absolute growth rate of seminal roots was highest in the top soil layer and decreased with increasing distance from the surface. Increasing SBD amplified this effect by 20,% and 50,% for the top soil layer and lower soil layers, respectively. At the end of the experiment, total seminal roots attributed to approximately 15,% of the total plant root length. Increasing SBD reduced seminal root growth in the lowest soil layer only, whereas FOL root length decreased with SBD in all but the uppermost soil layer. For FOL, there was a positive interaction of SBD with distance from the soil surface. Both, increasing SBD and soil depth reduced root length by a reduction of number of FOL roots formed while the length of individual FOL roots was not influenced. Hence, increasing SBD may reduce spatial access to nutrients and water by (i) reducing seminal root development in deeper soil layers, aggravated by (ii) the reduction of the number of FOL roots that originate from these seminal roots. Einfluss der Bodendichte auf Seminal- und Lateralwurzeln von jungen Maispflanzen (Zea mays L.) Es ist bekannt, dass zunehmende Bodendichte (SBD) oberhalb eines Grenzwertes das Wurzelwachstum von Pflanzen und die Wasser- und Nährstoffaufnahme reduziert. Bildung und Wachstum der Seminal- und der Lateralwurzeln erster Ordnung (FOL) von Mais in Bodenschichten verschiedenen Abstands von der Bodenoberfläche unter dem Einfluss verschiedener Bodendichten wurde bisher nicht beschrieben. Zwei unabhängige Versuche wurden mit einem lehmigen Sandboden durchgeführt. Vorgekeimte Maiskörner wurden in Rhizotrone mit einer etwa 7,mm dicken Bodenschicht eingesetzt, die Bodendichten lagen im Mittel der Rhizotrone zwischen 1,25 g,cm,3 und 1,66 g,cm,3. Die Versuchsdauer betrug 15 Tage. Über den Bereich der geprüften SBD wurde das Sprosswachstum nicht beeinflusst, während die Gesamtwurzellänge mit zunehmender SBD um bis zu 30,% abnahm. Die absolute Wachstumsrate der Seminalwurzeln war in der obersten Bodenschicht am höchsten und nahm mit zunehmendem Abstand von der Bodenoberfläche ab. Seminalwurzeln trugen zu ca. 15,% zur Gesamtwurzellänge bei. Zunehmende SBD reduzierte das Wachstum der Seminalwurzeln nur in der untersten Bodenschicht. Demgegenüber wurden die Längen der FOL in allen außer der obersten Schicht bei zunehmender SBD verringert. Bei den FOL wurde eine positive Interaktion zwischen SBD und Abstand von der Bodenoberfläche festgestellt. Sowohl zunehmende SBD als auch zunehmende Tiefe reduzierte die Wurzellänge durch eine Verringerung der Anzahl an FOL, während deren Länge nicht beeinflusst wurde. Folglich kann zunehmende SBD die räumliche Zugänglichkeit zu Wasser und Nährstoffen für die Pflanzen dadurch beeinflussen, dass (i) die Entwicklung von Seminalwurzeln in tieferen Bodenschichten reduziert wird und dass dieser Effekt verstärkt wird durch (ii) die verringerte Bildung von FOL an Seminalwurzeln. [source] Spatial patterns of desert annuals in relation to shrub effects on soil moistureJOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010J. Li Abstract Questions: What are the effects of a shrub (Haloxylon ammodendron) on spatial patterns of soil moisture in different seasons? How does productivity of understorey annuals respond to these effects? Are such effects always positive for annuals under shrubs? Location: South Gurbantunggut Desert, northwest China. Methods: Using geostatistics, we explored seasonal patterns of topsoil moisture in a 12 × 9-m plot over the growing season. To determine spatial patterns of understorey annuals in response to H. ammodendron presence, biomass of annuals was recorded in four 0.2 × 5.0-m transects from the centre of a shrub to the space between shrubs (interspace). We also investigated vertical distribution of root biomass for annuals and soil moisture dynamics across soil profiles in shrub-canopied areas and interspaces. Results: Topsoil moisture changed from autocorrelation in the wet spring to random structure in the dry season, while soil moisture below 20 cm was higher in shrub-canopied areas. Across all microhabitats, soil moisture in upper soil layers was higher than in deeper soil layers during the spring wet season, but lower during summer drought. Topsoil was close to air-dry during the dry season and developed a ,dry sand layer' that reduced evaporative loss of soil water from deeper layers recharged by snowmelt in spring. Aboveground biomass of understorey annuals was lowest adjacent to shrub stems and peaked at the shrub margin, forming a ,ring' of high herbaceous productivity surrounding individual shrubs. To acclimate to drier conditions, annuals in interspaces invested more root biomass in deeper soil with a root/shoot ratio (R/S) twice that in canopied areas. Conclusions: Positive and negative effects of shrubs on understorey plants in arid ecosystems are commonly related to nature of the environmental stress and tested species. Our results suggest there is also microhabitat-dependence in the Gurbantunggut Desert. Soil water under H. ammodendron is seasonally enriched in topsoil and deeper layers. Understorey annuals respond to the effect of shrubs on soil water availability with lower R/S and less root biomass in deeper soil layers and develop a ,ring' of high productivity at the shrub patch margin where positive and negative effects of shrubs are balanced. [source] | ||||||||||