Plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant species
Plant growth is constrained not only by the availability of soil nutrients, but also by the physical underground space where it grows. However, few studies have considered the effect of dimensional variations of soil space on the growth of a large set of plants and whether the effect differs among p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007725 |
| _version_ | 1818497807529541632 |
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| author | Ran Dong Shuo-Shuo Gao Bi-Cheng Dong Fang-Li Luo Jun-Qin Gao Fei-Hai Yu |
| author_facet | Ran Dong Shuo-Shuo Gao Bi-Cheng Dong Fang-Li Luo Jun-Qin Gao Fei-Hai Yu |
| author_sort | Ran Dong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant growth is constrained not only by the availability of soil nutrients, but also by the physical underground space where it grows. However, few studies have considered the effect of dimensional variations of soil space on the growth of a large set of plants and whether the effect differs among plant functional groups. We grew each of 19 common grassland plant species from three functional groups (grasses, legumes, and forbs) in three types of soil space [a cylindrical space of 15 cm in diameter and 15 in height (D15H15), a cylindrical space of 30 cm in diameter and 15 cm in height (D30H15), and a cylindrical space of 15 cm in diameter and 60 cm in height (D15H60)] with the same amount of essential nutrients. Irrespective of plant functional groups, plant species performed better in the soil with deeper vertical space (D15H60) than in the soil with shallower vertical space (D15H15 and D30H15) in terms of root biomass. Shoot mass and/or total mass in the different types of soil space varied with species. Within each functional group, species with larger body sizes tended to accumulate more shoot mass in soils with deeper vertical space (D15H60), while those with smaller body sizes did not respond differently. These results suggest that the dimensional variations of soil space, especially variations in the vertical dimensions, can be a key factor influencing the performance of plant species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T18:49:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5538137353834a49b99095c78c7fea75 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T18:49:58Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-5538137353834a49b99095c78c7fea752022-12-22T01:37:21ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-09-01142109300Plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant speciesRan Dong0Shuo-Shuo Gao1Bi-Cheng Dong2Fang-Li Luo3Jun-Qin Gao4Fei-Hai Yu5School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; The Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection in the Yellow River Basin of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Corresponding authors.School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; The Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection in the Yellow River Basin of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; The Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection in the Yellow River Basin of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology/Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, Zhejiang Province, China; Corresponding authors.Plant growth is constrained not only by the availability of soil nutrients, but also by the physical underground space where it grows. However, few studies have considered the effect of dimensional variations of soil space on the growth of a large set of plants and whether the effect differs among plant functional groups. We grew each of 19 common grassland plant species from three functional groups (grasses, legumes, and forbs) in three types of soil space [a cylindrical space of 15 cm in diameter and 15 in height (D15H15), a cylindrical space of 30 cm in diameter and 15 cm in height (D30H15), and a cylindrical space of 15 cm in diameter and 60 cm in height (D15H60)] with the same amount of essential nutrients. Irrespective of plant functional groups, plant species performed better in the soil with deeper vertical space (D15H60) than in the soil with shallower vertical space (D15H15 and D30H15) in terms of root biomass. Shoot mass and/or total mass in the different types of soil space varied with species. Within each functional group, species with larger body sizes tended to accumulate more shoot mass in soils with deeper vertical space (D15H60), while those with smaller body sizes did not respond differently. These results suggest that the dimensional variations of soil space, especially variations in the vertical dimensions, can be a key factor influencing the performance of plant species.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007725Plant functional groupsPhysical spaceRoot responsesSpatial dimensionsSpace variation |
| spellingShingle | Ran Dong Shuo-Shuo Gao Bi-Cheng Dong Fang-Li Luo Jun-Qin Gao Fei-Hai Yu Plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant species Ecological Indicators Plant functional groups Physical space Root responses Spatial dimensions Space variation |
| title | Plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant species |
| title_full | Plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant species |
| title_fullStr | Plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant species |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant species |
| title_short | Plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant species |
| title_sort | plasticity in responses to dimensional variations of soil space in 19 grassland plant species |
| topic | Plant functional groups Physical space Root responses Spatial dimensions Space variation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007725 |
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