Root growth, appearance and disappearance in perennial grasses: Effects of the timing of water stress with or without defoliation

Flemmer, Andrea; Busso, Carlos; Fernández, Osvaldo Alberto; Montani, Tomás

doi:10.4141/p00-189

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In contrast, the BG biomass was not significantly correlated with soil moisture, and it increased even during the summer dry period (Figure 9b). A similar response of the BG biomass to dry soil has also been found in manipulative experimental studies: Zhang and Davies (1989) showed that root dry weight increased after a reduction in soil moisture, and Flemmer et al (2002) demonstrated that the root growth of rangeland perennial grasses was not reduced after defoliation. Flemmer et al (2002) suggested furthermore that maintenance of root growth by defoliated plants may allow greater soil exploration and access to water resources to sustain regrowth in their native, semiarid environments.…”

Section: Relationships With Plant Growthsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…A similar response of the BG biomass to dry soil has also been found in manipulative experimental studies: Zhang and Davies (1989) showed that root dry weight increased after a reduction in soil moisture, and Flemmer et al (2002) demonstrated that the root growth of rangeland perennial grasses was not reduced after defoliation. Flemmer et al (2002) suggested furthermore that maintenance of root growth by defoliated plants may allow greater soil exploration and access to water resources to sustain regrowth in their native, semiarid environments. A study by Anderson et al (1995) showed that the assimilation rate was not reduced during the early stages of the dry period in shrub-steppes, and, likewise, our observations showed that transpiration is maintained at a certain fraction (0Ð4) of R n (Figure 4).…”

Section: Relationships With Plant Growthsupporting

confidence: 72%

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Response of plant growth to surface water balance during a summer dry period in the Kazakhstan steppe

Iijima

Kawaragi

Ito

et al. 2007

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:In drylands, water deficit is the primary factor limiting plant growth. In the present study, surface energy balance and plant growth (above-ground and below-ground biomass) were measured continuously during the 2002 growing season in semiarid grassland in the northern part of Kazakhstan, Central Asia. Although there was above normal total rainfall during the 2002 growing season (May-November; 244 mm over 183 days), there was a dry period during July and August. Evaporative water was effectively supplied by precipitation and surface soil moisture during the wet season (May and June), during which time above-ground biomass increased. During the early stages of the dry period, mature plants were likely to tap deeper sources of soil moisture, representing stored snowmelt water. As the soil moisture content decreased during the summer dry period due to the high levels of evapotranspiration and lack of precipitation, the evaporative fraction and above-ground biomass rapidly decreased, whereas the below-ground biomass increased. These results suggest that in summer, soil moisture acts to store water, and that soil moisture is essential for plant growth as a direct source of water during the dry period in natural grasslands in the Kazakhstan steppe.

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Section: Relationships With Plant Growthsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Relationships With Plant Growthsupporting

confidence: 72%

Response of plant growth to surface water balance during a summer dry period in the Kazakhstan steppe

Iijima

Kawaragi

Ito

et al. 2007

Hydrological Processes

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“…This result would lead to a greater litter amount to be decomposed under water stress. A continued root turnover in S. clarazii and S. tenuis under rainfed conditions would also contribute to maintain high levels of soil Bray and Kurtz extracted phosphorus (Becker et al 1997;Flemmer et al 2002).…”

Section: Soil Bray and Kurtz Extracted Phosphorusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Phosphorus Concentration under the Canopy of Perennial Grasses of Different Successional Stages Exposed to Water Stress

Busso

Bolletta

2008

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis

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In this field study, the effects of water-stress, rainfed, or irrigated conditions on soil phosphorus (P) concentration under the canopy of the native grasses of semi-arid Argentina (late seral Stipa clarazii Ball., early serals S. tenuis Phil., and S. gynerioides Wild. Ex Steud) at different developmental stages and sampling dates during 1996 and 1997 were determined. Plants grew in a uniform matrix such that each plant of S. clarazii and S. tenuis was surrounded by four plants of S. gynerioides. In September 1996, Bray and Kurtz extracted soil P concentrations were greater under plants of S. clarazii if water stress was imposed during the vegetative stage than under rainfed conditions. Bray and Kurtz extracted soil P concentrations were either similar or between 8.7 to 31% greater under plants of S. clarazii than under those of the other two species. The higher nutrient concentration under S. clarazii than under S. gynerioides and S. tenuis may explain previously measured increases in density, frequency, and cover throughout a long-term span (years) in the late over the earlier seral perennial grasses under field exclosures to domestic livestock or appropriate grazing management conditions.

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“…An up-to-date synthesis of the major findings published up to 1996 dealing with the main stresses in the region on grass and/or shrub responses, as well as more basic studies on the ecophysiology of the species was presented by Busso (1997). Research is ongoing on subjects related to animal diet (Lindström et al, 2001;Pisani et al, 2000Pisani et al, , 2001Bontti and Bóo, 2002;Distel et al, 2005), mineral composition and nutrient dynamics (Moretto et al, 2001;Distel et al, 2003;Moretto and Distel, 2003;Gil et al, 2003a,b;Busso and Lobartini, 2004;Fernández, 2004, 2005), fire Castelli and Lázzari, 2002;Bóo et al, 2004), seed bank, germination and establishment (de Villalobos and Peláez, 2001;de Villalobos et al, 2001de Villalobos et al, , 2002de Villalobos et al, , 2005aMayor et al, 2003), stress and defoliation (Moretto and Distel, 1999;Flemmer et al, 2002aFlemmer et al, , 2003Fuertes et al, 2003a,b;Becker et al, 2005), root growth (Saint Pierre et al, 2002, 2004aFlemmer et al, 2002b), phytolitic studies , species replacement (Fuertes et al, 2003c), mycorrhiza (Saint Pierre et al, 2000 and management (Fernández and Distel, 1999;Distel and Bóo, 2002).…”

Section: Ecological Deterioration Of the Caldenalmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenge of rangeland degradation in a temperate semiarid region of Argentina: The Caldenal

2009

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The phytogeographical region known as the Caldenal comprises an area of approximately 10 million ha in the central temperate part of Argentina (35-408 S, 62-668 W). The original physiognomy of the vegetation consisted of a gramineous steppe with isolated shrubs and trees. Rangeland deterioration was initiated in the early-1900s with the introduction of livestock by the colonizing European ranchers. After a few decades of inappropriate use, the Caldenal proved to be a fragile environment. Major environmental impacts were: (a) The replacement of the most abundant palatable grasses Poa ligularis, Stipa clarazii, S. tenuis, Piptochaetium napostaense and Digitaria californica by low nutritive unpalatable grasses such as Stipa gynerioides, S. tenuissima, S. ambigua, S. bracychaeta and Elyonurus muticus; (b) The conversion of extensive areas dominated by grasses to a scrubland. There, frequent species are: Condalia microphylla, Lycium chilense, Prosopis alpataco, Larrea divaricata and Chuquiraga erinacea; (c) Depletion of plant cover resulting in incipient but increasing soil erosion in extensive areas. With the purpose of reversing this situation, the remit initiated 25 years ago was to develop management guidelines conducive to sustainable productivity while preserving the natural resources of the region. This work provides a comprehensive assessment of the impact of major stresses (drought, herbivory, fire) on grass and shrub responses, as well as more basic studies on the ecophysiology of these species. We have gained knowledge which is extremely useful to initiate rangeland utilization based on scientific information, facilitating increased sustainable rangeland productivity while preserving the natural resources.

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Root growth, appearance and disappearance in perennial grasses: Effects of the timing of water stress with or without defoliation

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

Response of plant growth to surface water balance during a summer dry period in the Kazakhstan steppe

Response of plant growth to surface water balance during a summer dry period in the Kazakhstan steppe

Soil Phosphorus Concentration under the Canopy of Perennial Grasses of Different Successional Stages Exposed to Water Stress

The challenge of rangeland degradation in a temperate semiarid region of Argentina: The Caldenal

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