期刊
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
卷 3, 期 5, 页码 1330-1339出版社
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.543
关键词
Agroforestry; cocoa; edaphic conditions; Ghana; ground-penetrating radar; oxygen isotopes; root function; Theobroma cacao; tree physiology
资金
- International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- International Development Research Centre
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant
Tree root distribution and activity are determinants of belowground competition. However, studying root response to environmental and management conditions remains logistically challenging. Methodologically, nondestructive in situ tree root ecology analysis has lagged. In this study, we tested a nondestructive approach to determine tree coarse root architecture and function of a perennial tree crop, Theobroma cacao L., at two edaphically contrasting sites (sandstone and phyllitegranite derived soils) in Ghana, West Africa. We detected coarse root vertical distribution using ground-penetrating radar and root activity via soil water acquisition using isotopic matching of 18O plant and soil signatures. Coarse roots were detected to a depth of 50cm, however, intraspecifc coarse root vertical distribution was modified by edaphic conditions. Soil 18O isotopic signature declined with depth, providing conditions for plantsoil 18O isotopic matching. This pattern held only under sandstone conditions where water acquisition zones were identifiably narrow in the 1020cm depth but broader under phyllitegranite conditions, presumably due to resource patchiness. Detected coarse root count by depth and measured fine root density were strongly correlated as were detected coarse root count and identified water acquisition zones, thus validating root detection capability of ground-penetrating radar, but exclusively on sandstone soils. This approach was able to characterize trends between intraspecific root architecture and edaphic-dependent resource availability, however, limited by site conditions. This study successfully demonstrates a new approach for in situ root studies that moves beyond invasive point sampling to nondestructive detection of root architecture and function. We discuss the transfer of such an approach to answer root ecology questions in various tree-based landscapes.
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