Structural and Functional Organization of the Root System: A Comparative Study on Five Plant Species.

ABSTRACT: Plants are affected by soil environments to the same extent that they affect soil functioning through interactions between environmental and genetic factors. Here, five plant species (broad bean, pea, cabbage, fennel, and olive) grown under controlled pot conditions were tested for their ability to differently stimulate the degradation of standard litter. Litter, soil C and N contents were measured for evaluating chemical changes due to plant presence, while soil microbial abundance was evaluated to assess if it had a positive or negative catalyzing influence on litter decomposition. The architecture and morphological traits of roots systems were also evaluated by using specific open-source software (SmartRoot). Soil chemical and microbiological characteristics were significantly influence

SUBMITTER: Sofo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7601878 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature