Theme 1-1: Rangeland/Grassland Ecology--Oral Sessions

Description

Root mass fraction (RMF) was proposed as a stable measurement of plant resource partitioning that can represent plant acquisition–conservation trade‐offs. We examined the effects of soil resources availability on RMF of abundant annual plant species of water-limited rangeland. We used data from controlled experiments in which nine species were grown under variable water and nitrogen availabilities and their root and shoot biomass were examined at flowering time. In legumes we examined also presence of N2-fixation. In all of the species, reduced water and/or nitrogen availability was associated with increased RMF. However, the magnitude of variation in RMF found between the resource availability treatments was different among the annual species. At the intra-specific level, plant size was negatively related to RMF. Finally, in legumes RMF corresponded to the species’ N2-fixation status.

Download

Share

COinS
 

Plant Root Mass Fraction Response to Soil Resource Limitation in the Context of Dry Mediterranean Rangeland

Root mass fraction (RMF) was proposed as a stable measurement of plant resource partitioning that can represent plant acquisition–conservation trade‐offs. We examined the effects of soil resources availability on RMF of abundant annual plant species of water-limited rangeland. We used data from controlled experiments in which nine species were grown under variable water and nitrogen availabilities and their root and shoot biomass were examined at flowering time. In legumes we examined also presence of N2-fixation. In all of the species, reduced water and/or nitrogen availability was associated with increased RMF. However, the magnitude of variation in RMF found between the resource availability treatments was different among the annual species. At the intra-specific level, plant size was negatively related to RMF. Finally, in legumes RMF corresponded to the species’ N2-fixation status.