Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improved plant growth and nutrient acquisition of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta under variable soil water conditions

Desert ephemeral plants play an important role in desert ecosystem.Soil water availability is considered as the major restrictive factor limiting the growth of ephemeral plants.Moreover,arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi（AM fungi） are widely reported to improve the growth of desert ephemerals.The present study aimed to test the hypothesis of that AM fungi could alleviate drought stress of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta,and AM fungal functions reduced with the improvement of soil water content.A pot experiment was carried out with three levels of soil water contents（4.5%,9.0%,and 15.8%（w/w））,and three AM inoculation treatments（Glomus mosseae,Glomus etunicatum and non-inoculation）.The results indicate that mycorrhizal colonization rate decreased with the increase of soil water availability.Inoculation improved plant growth and N,P and K acquisition in both shoots and roots regardless water treatments.When comparing the two fungi,plants inoculated with G.mosseae performed better than those inoculated with G.etunicatum in terms of plant growth and nutrient acquisition.These results showed that ameliorative soil water did not suppress arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal functions in improving growth and nutrient acquisition of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta.

Influence of a Flood Event on Salinity and Nutrients in the Changshan Archipelago Area (Northern Yellow Sea)

River discharge can deliver nutrients to the coastal zone and change the hydrologic properties of the water column. Soon after a flash flood from the Yalu River (Northeast China) in August 2010, we investigated the salinity and nutrient concentrations, as well as other environmental conditions in the Changshan Archipelago area, located approximately 100 km west of the river mouth in the northern Yellow Sea. Diluted water was mainly observed in the upper layers shallower than 15 m, with surface salinity between 18.13 and 30.44 in the eastern study area and between 28.16 and 29.72 in the western area. Surface salinity showed a significant negative correlation with concentrations of dissolved nutrients (P < 0.05), but not with that of Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), dissolved oxygen (DO), particulate materials or pH. The average concentrations of nitrite, nitrate, and silicic acid decreased from the surface layer to bottom layer and were significantly higher in the east area than in the west area (P < 0.05). In contrast, average ammonium and phosphate concentrations were highest in the bottom layer of both areas, with no significant spatial differences. DO varied between 6.06 and 8.25 mg L-1 in the surface layer, and was significantly higher in the eastern area than in the western area in the surface and middle layers. Chl-a concentration was constantly below 4.09 μg L-1. Our work demonstrated the strong influences of Yalu River on proportions of various nutrient components in the Changshan Archipelago area. Silicic acid and total inorganic nitrogen levels were significantly elevated comparing to phosphate in the eastern area. Such changes can potentially induce phosphate limit to phytoplankton growth.

Comparative productivity of Prosopis cineraria and Tecomella undulata based agroforestry systems in degraded lands of Indian Desert

Tree-crop interactions were monitored by measuring tree growth characters of Prosopis cineraria L. and Tecomella undulata L. and yields of Vigna radiata （L） in agroforestry systems in degraded lands of Indian Desert. Potential competition for resource between the trees and associated crop was analyzed by measuring soil water contents, soil organic matters and NH4-N at different depths of soil layers i.e., 0-25 cm, 25-50 cm and 50-75 cm in the experimental plots. The plots size were 16 m × 18 m （D1）, 20 m × 18 m （D2） and 32 m × 18 m （D3） with tree densities of 208, 138 and 104 trees.ha^-1 after June 2002, respectively. Results showed that tree height increased by 3% to 7% during June 2002 to June 2004. Collar diameter increased by 30% and 11% in D1, 23% and 19% in D2 and 18% and 36% in D3 plots, respectively, in P. cineraria and T. undulata in two years period. The increase in crown diameter was 9% to 18% in P. cineraria and 11% to 16% in T. undulata. Tree growth was relatively greater in 2002 than in 2003. Yield of V. radiata increased linearly from D1 to D3 plots. Lowest soil water content at 1 m distance from tree base indicated greater utilization of soil water within the tree rooting zone. Concentrations of soil organic matters and NH4-N were the highest （p〈0.05） in 0-25 cm soil layer. P. cineraria was more beneficial than T. undulata in improving soil conditions and increasing crop yield by 11.1% and thus more suitable for its integration in agricultural land. The yield of agricultural crop increased when density of tree species was appropriate （i.e., optimum tree density）, though it varied with tree size and depended upon resource availability. The result indicated bio-economic benefits of optimum density of P. cineraria and T. undulata over traditional practices of maintaining random trees in farming system in arid zones.

Comparative productivity of Prosopis cineraria and Tecomella undulata based agroforestry systems in degraded lands of Indian Desert

Tree-crop interactions were monitored by measuring tree growth characters of Prosopis cineraria L.and Tecomella undulata L.and yields of Vigna radiata(L) in agroforestry systems in degraded lands of Indian Desert.Potential competition for resource between the trees and associated crop was analyzed by measuring soil water contents, soil organic matters and NH4-N at different depths of soil layers i.e., 0-25 cm, 25-50 cm and 50-75 cm in the experimental plots.The plots size were 16 m × 18 m(D1), 20 m × 18 m(D2) and 32 m × 18 m(D3) with tree densities of 208, 138 and 104 trees·ha-1 after June 2002, respectively.Results showed that tree height increased by 3% to 7% during June 2002 to June 2004.Collar diameter increased by 30% and 11% in D1, 23% and 19% in D2 and 18% and 36% in D3 plots, respectively, in P.cineraria and T.undulata in two years period.The increase in crown diameter was 9% to 18% in P.cineraria and 11% to 16% in T.undulata.Tree growth was relatively greater in 2002 than in 2003.Yield of V.radiata increased linearly from D1 to D3 plots.Lowest soil water content at 1 m distance from tree base indicated greater utilization of soil water within the tree rooting zone.Concentrations of soil organic matters and NH4-N were the highest(p<0.05) in 0-25 cm soil layer.P.cineraria was more beneficial than T.undulata in improving soil conditions and increasing crop yield by 11.1% and thus more suitable for its integration in agricultural land.The yield of agricultural crop increased when density of tree species was appropriate(i.e., optimum tree density), though it varied with tree size and depended upon resource availability.The result indicated bio-economic benefits of optimum density of P.cineraria and T.undulata over traditional practices of maintaining random trees in farming system in arid zones.

Row Spacing in Relation to Competition for Limited Resources in Soybean (Glycine Max L. Merrill)

Growing soybeans in different row-spacings introduces competition. Competition begins when the immediate supply of a single necessary factor falls below the combined demands of all plants. This paper reviews the main competition factors of genotypes, light, water, nutrients and weed in responses to row spacings for the past four decades. It demonstrated that responses of soybean genotypes to row width differ among cultivars, which depend on seasonal rainfall and irrigation. Determinate types produce more yield in narrow-rows, and cultivars with lodging resistance should be adopted in narrow-spacings, but indeterminate soybean should also be used to optimize yields in certain system. Narrow-compared with wide-row soybean (Glycine max) cultivation increases light interception (LI) and dominant components for the increase come from LAI, light extinction coefficients and branch types. Water use efficiency (WUE) and evapotranspiration are not influenced by row spacing, but seed yield could be increased if irrigation is applied. Nutrient uptake is significantly affected by row spacing, seed yields and uptake of N, P, K in plants increases with decreasing row spacing, and the effects depend on the fertilizer levels. Other factors rather than row spacing affect nitrogen fixation. Weed density, peak time and periodicity of weed emergence are not affected by row spacing, but better complementary weed control by the herbicides at the used doses can be obtained in narrow spacing due to the reduced weed number and dry weight. More researches are required to investigate the physiological responses, nutrient and water uptake and translocation, light utilization at different layers of canopy and soil environment changes in different row-spacings.

Functional traits influence plant survival depending on environmental contexts and life stages in an old-growth temperate forest

Aims Functional traits are usually used to predict plant demographic rates without considering environmental contexts.However,previous studies have consistently found that traits have low explanatory power for plant demographic rates.We hypothesized that accounting for environmental contexts instead of focusing on traits alone could improve our understanding of how traits influence plant demographic rates.Methods We used generalized linear mixed-effect models to analyse the effects of functional traits(related to leaf,stem,seed and whole plant),environmental gradients(soil nutrients,water and elevation)and their interactions on the survival dynamics of 14133 saplings and 3289 adults in a 9-ha old-growth temperate forest plot.Important Findings We found that environmental variables,neighbour crowding and traits alone(i.e.main effects)influenced plant survival.However,the effects of the latter two variables varied between saplings and adults.The trait–environment interactions influenced plant survival,such that resource conservative traits increased plant survival under harsh conditions but decreased survival under mild conditions.The elevational gradient was the most important environmental factor driving these effects in our plot.Our results support the hypothesis that functional traits influence plant survival depending on environmental contexts in local communities.These results also imply that one species with limited trait variation cannot occupy all environments,which can promote species diversity.