Soil Moisture Availability at Early Growth Stages Strongly Affected Root Growth of Bothriochloa ischaemum When Mixed With Lespedeza davurica.

ABSTRACT: Rainfall is the main resource of soil moisture in the semiarid areas, and the altered rainfall pattern would greatly affect plant growth and development. Root morphological traits are critical for plant adaptation to changeable soil moisture. This study aimed to clarify how root morphological traits of Bothriochloa ischaemum (a C4 herbaceous species) and Lespedeza davurica (a C3 leguminous species) in response to variable soil moisture in their mixtures. The two species were co-cultivated in pots at seven mixture ratios under three soil water regimes [80% (HW), 60% (MW), and 40% (LW) of soil moisture field capacity (FC)]. At the jointing, flowering, and filling stages of B. ischaemum, the LW and MW treatments were rewatered to MW or HW, respectively. At the end of growth season, root morph

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6090093 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature