Negligible contribution from roots to soil-borne phospholipid fatty acid fungal biomarkers 18:2ω6,9 and 18:1ω9

The phospholipid fatty acid biomarkers 18:1ω9, 18:2ω6,9 and 18:3ω3,6,9 are commonly used as fungal biomarkers in soils. They have, however, also been found to occur in plant tissues, such as roots. Thus, the use of these PLFAs as fungal biomarkers in sieved soil, which may still contain small remains of roots, has been questioned. We used data from a recent beech tree girdling experiment to calculate the contribution of roots to these biomarkers and were able to demonstrate that not more than 0.61% of 18:1ω9 and 18:2ω6,9 in sieved soil samples originated from roots (but 4% of 18:3ω3,6,9). Additionally, the abundance of the biomarker 18:2ω6,9 in the soil was found to be highly correlated to ectomycorrhizal root colonization, which further corroborates its fungal origin. PLFA biomarkers were substantially reduced in vital roots from girdled trees compared to roots of control trees (by up to 76%), indicating that the major part of PLFAs measured in roots may actually originate from ectomycorrhizal fungi growing inside the roots. We calculated, that even a near to 50% reduction in fine root biomass - as observed in the girdling treatment - accounted for only 0.8% of the measured decrease of 18:2ω6,9. Our results demonstrate that both 18:1ω9 and 18:2ω6,9 are suitable biomarkers for detecting fungal dynamics in soils and that especially 18:2ω6,9 is a reliable biomarker to study mycorrhizal dynamics in beech forests.     

Dominant effects of litter substrate quality on the difference between leaf and root decomposition process above- and belowground

Initial decomposition rates, changes in organic chemical components (acid-insoluble fraction, holocellulose, polyphenols, soluble carbohydrates) and nutrient dynamics (K, Mg, Ca, P, N) were examined for fine roots and leaves of Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa). Litterbag experiments designed to evaluate the relative effects of litter type and position of litter supply in the soil were carried out, considering that root and leaf litter typically occupy different locations and have different substrate qualities. Litterbags of roots and leaves were placed at two positions (on the soil surface and in the humus layer), and collected every 3 months over one year. The mass loss rate and N release were slower during root decomposition in the humus layer than during leaf decomposition on the soil surface. These differences between root and leaf decomposition were mainly caused by the litter type, and the effect of the position on decomposition was relatively small. Root litter was less influenced by position related effects, such as differences in humidity, than leaf litter, and this recalcitrant trait to environmental effects may be responsible for the slower mass loss rate and N release in root decomposition. The results of the present study suggest that fine roots are persistent in the soil and serve an important role in N retention in forest ecosystems because of their litter substrate quality.     

Interaction Between Plant Roots and Soil Water Flow in Response to Preferential Flow Paths in Northern China

Preferential flow is expected to provide preferential channels for plant root growth and variations in soil water flow, but few studies were conducted to imply the impacts of these changes, particularly for preferential flow in stony soils. This study aimed to characterize soil water flow and plant root distribution in response to preferential flow paths and quantitatively describe the relation between plant root distribution and soil water flow. Field dye‐tracing experiments centered on experimental plants were conducted to determine the root length density and soil water flow process. Laboratory analyses were performed to characterize changes in the relative concentration of the accumulated effluent and the degree of interaction between plant roots and soil water flow. The amount of fine plant roots with preferential flow paths decreased with increasing soil depth for all experimental plots. The largest plant roots were recorded in the upper soil layers to a depth of 20 cm. The relative concentration of the accumulated effluent increased with time and decreased with soil depth under saturated soil conditions, whereas a distinct early turning point for the relative concentration of the accumulated effluent was observed in the 0–20‐cm soil columns, and the relative concentration of the accumulated effluent initially decreased and then increased with time under unsaturated soil conditions. This study provides quantitative information with which to characterize the interaction between plant roots and soil water flow in response to preferential flow paths in soil–plant–water systems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

临丰116旱地覆膜栽培的抗旱增产原因分析

在旱地覆膜栽培条件下，临丰116具有良好的苗型结构和产量结构，抗旱节水优势强，叶片功能期长，耐高温，抗干热风，根穗比值大，抗倒伏，不早衰，穗大，粒重，产量高。该品种是旱地覆膜栽培较理想的配套品种。同时探讨了覆膜栽培配套品种的育种目标。     

Variation for plant characters and for performance of softwood cuttings of Rosa canina ‘Inermis’ seedlings

Summary Thirty, one-season-old Rosa canina Inermis seedlings (8–12 mm in diameter) were grown in the greenhouse. After 5 months, single-node softwood cuttings were made of each plant. Analysis of variance demonstrated marked differences between the internode length, number of leaflets per leaf and the leaf area of the original seedling, and between the time of axillary bud-break, axillary sprout length and weight of adventitious roots of their 23-day-old cuttings. Clonal root weight of cuttings was highly significantly correlated with: number of leaflets per leaf (r=–0.65), leaf area (r=+0.65), and days to axillary bud-break (r=+0.62). The origin of heterogeneity among Inermis seedling rootstocks, its probable effect on the flower production of cut roses and its possible use in the selection for clonal rootstocks are discussed.     

Aluminium tolerance in wheat: correlating hydroponic evaluations with field and soil performances*

The objective of this study was to correlate root length of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes grown in Al-containing, acidic hydroponic solutions, with root weights from acid-soil experiments and field scores from Brazilian acid-field trials. A total of 43 wheat genotypes, primarily from Brazil, were evaluated by growing seedlings for 4 days in hydroponic solutions containing 0.0–4.0 mg/l Al. The root growth rate of all the genotypes was reduced with the addition of Al to the solution and the Al-sensitive and Al-tolerant wheat genotypes were clearly identified. Genotypes with intermediate Al-tolerance levels showed variable root lengths in response to Al stress. Correlations between root length or a root tolerance index (RTI) in the Al solutions versus acid-soil experiments and acid-field trials were highly significant (r = 0.71–0.85, P < 0.01). The most significant correlation was observed among seedlings grown in 1 mg/1 Al. This study presents evidence that this short duration and simple screening technique provides a highly significant correlation with previous acid-soil Al-tolerance evaluations. Furthermore, the data obtained suggest that hydroponic screening of wheat seedlings for Al tolerance may be used in breeding programmes or in screening germplasm collections.     

植物根系固坡效应模拟及稳定性数值分析

随着生态环境保护的要求日益提高,植物护坡工程的理论和实践研究得到了发展。由于植物根系及其分布的随机性和复杂性,根土相互作用机理以及根系固坡的定量化研究工作还很不深入。本文对根系固土力学机制和根土复合介质抗剪强度模型进行了评述,将根系对土体的强度贡献以“表观凝聚力”表示,采用数值方法对植物根系固坡效应及其稳定性进行了分析,考虑根系强度增量以及护坡深度,在多种情况下进行了边坡整体安全系数计算。分析结果可为植物根系的力学效应评判、护坡植物的选取,以及其优化布设等纵深研究方面提供了理论基础。     

INDUCTION OF SOMATIC EMBRYOS AND REGENERATION OF PLANTLETS FROM RICE ROOTS

<正> The number of somatic embryos and regenerated plantlets were directly induced from irra-diated rice roots of the variety Taipei 309(Oryza sativa L.).For the induction of somatic em-bryos,the suitable age of roots was no more than 7 days after seed culture on the medium and thesections near tip were more vigorous than those near base of a root;the number of somatic em-bryos induced by the media with 1.11mg/L2,4-D plus 0.47mg/L NAA and 2.21mg/L 2,4-Dplus 1.86mg/L NAA was much higher than that induced by 1.11mg/L 2,4-D alone;10～20 Gyand 40 Gy of γ irradiation were the most favourable for increasing somatic embryo number onthe media of 2.21mg/L 2,4-D plus 1.86mg/L NAA and 1.11mg/L 2,4-D plus 0.47mg/L NAAor 1.11mg/L 2,4-D alone respectively.The highest number of regenerated plantlets was fromthat cultured on the medium of 1.11mg/L 2,4-D plus 0.47mg/L NAA and irradiated with 30～40 Gy of γ rays.     

Effects of soil bulk density on seminal and lateral roots of young maize plants (Zea mays L.)

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.     

伐后竹蔸清理技术研究

分析了现有竹林伐后竹蔸(桩根)清理技术的缺点,即人工挖掘劳动强度较大,劈裂腐烂法其林地更新速度较慢,化学腐蚀法的剩余化学试剂会对大气环境造成一定污染等,设计了一种质量轻、体积小、移动方便、功效高,且能在地形土质复杂的稠密竹林内移动作业的竹蔸清理设备.