Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native Soil
Functional response traits of four perennial grass species (Imperata cylindrica, Cenchrus ciliaris, Sporobolus diander, and Cynodon dactylon) growing on the fly ash dump and referral site having native soil were evaluated with the objective of selecting species suitable for rapid development of vege...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.805568/full |
| _version_ | 1819294778320224256 |
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| author | Vijay Kumar Vijay Kumar Cherukuri Raghvendra Babu |
| author_facet | Vijay Kumar Vijay Kumar Cherukuri Raghvendra Babu |
| author_sort | Vijay Kumar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Functional response traits of four perennial grass species (Imperata cylindrica, Cenchrus ciliaris, Sporobolus diander, and Cynodon dactylon) growing on the fly ash dump and referral site having native soil were evaluated with the objective of selecting species suitable for rapid development of vegetation cover on the fly ash dumps. All the four species showed spectacular plastic responses in functional traits of plants grown on the fly ash dump and are induced by habitat and hence are adaptive. The traits associated with the root system such as root length, spread, the volume of the substratum occupied by the root system, and root biomass showed greater plasticity than the traits of the shoot system such as shoot biomass, the mean number of tillers per clump, and mean height of tillers. For instance, for all the grass species, the ratio of root/shoot biomass was higher for fly ash grown plants as compared to that of plants grown in native soil. The highest ratio was recorded for C. dactylon (5.61 ± 2.36) and I. cylindrica (5.37 ± 2.36) whereas the lowest ratio was recorded for C. ciliaris (1.87 ± 0.44). This suggests greater allocation of resources to root than to shoot by the species for space exploitative growth that enables them to acquire nutrients from nutritionally poor and unfavorable substratum like fly ash dump. Such a strategy enables species to establish and regenerate on barren areas that include fly ash dumps. The higher root length, spread, biomass, and root/shoot ratio in plants of all the species grown on fly ash as compared to plants grown on the native soil substantiate that plasticity in functional traits enabled the species to adapt to stressed habitats. The plastic responses observed are specific to the trait, specific to the species, and specific to the environment. This is evident by the quantitative differences in the responses between traits within a species, between species, and between habitats. The phenotypic plasticity induced by the fly ash altered the relationships between functional traits of the plants. This is evident by the marked differences in the r-values for different character associations between plants grown on fly ash dump and native soil. The results suggest that all the four grass species evaluated can be used for the rapid development of vegetation cover on the fly ash dumps to mitigate environmental contamination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T04:31:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e84f865dd8542869f91b30c796fbf13 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T04:31:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e84f865dd8542869f91b30c796fbf132022-12-21T17:15:24ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2022-03-011310.3389/fpls.2022.805568805568Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native SoilVijay Kumar0Vijay Kumar1Cherukuri Raghvendra Babu2Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems, University of Delhi, New Delhi, IndiaDepartment of Botany, Shivaji College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, IndiaCentre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems, University of Delhi, New Delhi, IndiaFunctional response traits of four perennial grass species (Imperata cylindrica, Cenchrus ciliaris, Sporobolus diander, and Cynodon dactylon) growing on the fly ash dump and referral site having native soil were evaluated with the objective of selecting species suitable for rapid development of vegetation cover on the fly ash dumps. All the four species showed spectacular plastic responses in functional traits of plants grown on the fly ash dump and are induced by habitat and hence are adaptive. The traits associated with the root system such as root length, spread, the volume of the substratum occupied by the root system, and root biomass showed greater plasticity than the traits of the shoot system such as shoot biomass, the mean number of tillers per clump, and mean height of tillers. For instance, for all the grass species, the ratio of root/shoot biomass was higher for fly ash grown plants as compared to that of plants grown in native soil. The highest ratio was recorded for C. dactylon (5.61 ± 2.36) and I. cylindrica (5.37 ± 2.36) whereas the lowest ratio was recorded for C. ciliaris (1.87 ± 0.44). This suggests greater allocation of resources to root than to shoot by the species for space exploitative growth that enables them to acquire nutrients from nutritionally poor and unfavorable substratum like fly ash dump. Such a strategy enables species to establish and regenerate on barren areas that include fly ash dumps. The higher root length, spread, biomass, and root/shoot ratio in plants of all the species grown on fly ash as compared to plants grown on the native soil substantiate that plasticity in functional traits enabled the species to adapt to stressed habitats. The plastic responses observed are specific to the trait, specific to the species, and specific to the environment. This is evident by the quantitative differences in the responses between traits within a species, between species, and between habitats. The phenotypic plasticity induced by the fly ash altered the relationships between functional traits of the plants. This is evident by the marked differences in the r-values for different character associations between plants grown on fly ash dump and native soil. The results suggest that all the four grass species evaluated can be used for the rapid development of vegetation cover on the fly ash dumps to mitigate environmental contamination.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.805568/fullfly ashsoilgrass speciesphenotypic plasticityfunctional traitsbiomass allocation |
| spellingShingle | Vijay Kumar Vijay Kumar Cherukuri Raghvendra Babu Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native Soil Frontiers in Plant Science fly ash soil grass species phenotypic plasticity functional traits biomass allocation |
| title | Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native Soil |
| title_full | Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native Soil |
| title_fullStr | Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native Soil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native Soil |
| title_short | Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native Soil |
| title_sort | phenotypic responses of some functional traits in four native perennial grass species grown on fly ash dump and native soil |
| topic | fly ash soil grass species phenotypic plasticity functional traits biomass allocation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.805568/full |
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