Observations on the rooting patterns of some agroforestry trees in an arid region of north-western India

Abstract

The present study deals with root architecture of 6-year-old trees of 9 indigenous and 3 exotic species growing in and climate of north-western India. Observations, made on excavated root systems (3 tree rephcates of each species) showed large variation in horizontal and vertical spread of roots. In Morus alba, Melia azedarach and Populus deltoides, the roots were confined to 80 cm, while m Prosopis cineraria, Acacia nilotica and Eucalwtus terettcornis, roots penetrated more deeply to 233 cm. The number of total roots ranged from 103 in Acacia catechu to 1932 in Eucalyptus teretwornis, and 62 to 80% of the roots were less than 2 mm in diameter. The primary roots were more horizontal than the secondary roots. The total root biomass varied from 2.2 kg in Acacia catechu to 30.6 kg -~ tree in Popuhts deltoides, and top 30 cm soil contained 42 to 78% of the total biomass. The imphcations of the results are discussed in the context of the ecological niche of the species, and its usefulness in agroforestry systems.

Evaluation of Bent Trees in Juvenile Teak (<em>Tectona grandis</em> L.f.) Plantations in Costa Rica: Effects on Tree Morphology and Wood Properties

“…During the first years, the low branches [34] and low diameter growth in relation to the tree's height [7] prevent teak from having the morphological structure required to support the moments created by the wind against the biomass accumulated in the upper parts of the tree, which bends the stem without causing uprooting, as normally occurs with this species.…”

Productivity of Cyamopsistetragonoloba in Prosopis cineraria and Tecomellaundulata based agroforestry systems in Western arid region of India

“…Studies reports (Jones et al, 1998;Canadell et al, 1996) that roots of trees and shrubs can reach a depth of more than 10 m and in some cases more than 30 m below ground. In absence of effective management many trees root in surface soil and outcompete crops though the depth to which trees root depends on the availability of soil water and nutrients in the soil profile, which itself is affected by crop uptake (Sinclair et al, 2000).Greater SWC in top soil layer in P. cineraria plot might also be due to soil water use by this species from deeper soil layers because of deep rooting behaviour of P. cineraria (Shankarnarayan et al, 1987;Tejwani, 2001;Toky and Bist, 1992). Increased SWC with increase in growth of P. cineraria tree (Figure 6a) may also be related to its capacity to absorb water through foliage during rain (Bhatt and Lahiri, 1964), which was relatively greater in September than in August 2013 (Figure 1b).…”

A study of water use in leucaena-grass systems

“…This zone contained an average of 43% of total leucaena roots. Other observations made by Toky and Bisht (1992) were that between 78 to 84 % of the total root biomass were contained from the surface to 0.3 m depth. Whereas, Dhyani and collaborators (1996) found that L.…”

“…Lateral root spread of leucaena (28 months old) was 1.35 m (Dhyani et al 1999), while Toky and Bisht (1992) observed 1.43 m of horizontal root movement in leucaena 6 years old. According to Govindarajan (1996), leucaena root spread in 4 year old trees was relatively low (1.5 m) in comparison to single leucaena trees (same age) with more than 2 m of spread; however root spread declined drastically beyond 2.5 m.…”

“…In contrast, the fine roots component (roots <2 mm diameter) consists of a long exploratory system with the main role of water and nutrient uptake (Akinnifesi et al 2004). Toky and Bisht (1992) In agroforestry systems, it is possible to manipulate tree root systems by removing or reducing the tree shoots as this will reduce the size and abundance of root activity in the soil (Akinnifesi et al 2004). Different types of pruning in agroforestry included pollarding, coppicing and lopping according the species used (Chesney, 2012).…”