Track 2-11: Plant Nutrition and Nutrient Cycling
Description
The distribution and cycling of minerals in various compartments of the ecosystem form one of the important aspects of ecosystem study. The uptake of nutrients through the root system and their release via litter and root decomposition depends upon a number of factors including the species, growth and stage of maturity. The semi-arid grazing land ecosystem at Madurai has developed under short evolutionary grazing histories and low moisture regimes, in which grazing pressure has had dramatic effects on the plant community and biomass (Karunaichamy 1992). The biological cycle includes circulation of nutrients between soil and biotic communities by the phenomena of uptake, retention and loss (Duvigneaud and Denacyer 1970). No systematic studies are available on the nutrient cycling of semiarid grazing land of southern India. Therefore, the present study aims to study the distribution of Ca, Mg and Na in vegetation and to estimate the annual nutrient budget in grazed and ungrazed lands dominated by Chrysopogon fulvus (Spreng) Chiov.
Included in
Nutrient Composition and Flux in a Semi-Arid Grazing Land of Southern India
The distribution and cycling of minerals in various compartments of the ecosystem form one of the important aspects of ecosystem study. The uptake of nutrients through the root system and their release via litter and root decomposition depends upon a number of factors including the species, growth and stage of maturity. The semi-arid grazing land ecosystem at Madurai has developed under short evolutionary grazing histories and low moisture regimes, in which grazing pressure has had dramatic effects on the plant community and biomass (Karunaichamy 1992). The biological cycle includes circulation of nutrients between soil and biotic communities by the phenomena of uptake, retention and loss (Duvigneaud and Denacyer 1970). No systematic studies are available on the nutrient cycling of semiarid grazing land of southern India. Therefore, the present study aims to study the distribution of Ca, Mg and Na in vegetation and to estimate the annual nutrient budget in grazed and ungrazed lands dominated by Chrysopogon fulvus (Spreng) Chiov.
