Shade alters the growth and architecture of tropical grasses by reducing root biomass

Solofondranohatra, Cédrique L.; Vorontsova, Maria S.; Dewhirst, Rebecca A.; Belcher, Claire M.; Cable, Stuart; Jeannoda, Vololoniaina; Lehmann, Caroline E. R.

doi:10.1111/btp.12943

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…This phenomenon was reflected in a DM (Gusmão et al, 2020). Solofondranohatra et al (2021) reported that, when plants reach their optimal leaf area index, the shadow on the lower layers of the canopy increases and senescence is higher than the growth of the leaves. Meanwhile, a high forage production and a low accumulation of dead material can be obtained, when 95% of the radiation is intercepted during the vegetative stage (Niinemets, 2018).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the growth of Chetumal grass established in a tropical climate

Calzada-Marín,

Ortega-Jiménez,

Enríquez-Quiroz

et al. 2024

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Objective: To evaluate the growth of Chetumal grass (Urochloa humidicola CIAT 679), in order to determine the optimal moment for the first harvest. Design/Methodology/Approach: A completely randomized experimental block design, with measurements repeated over time, and three repetitions was used. Morphological composition (MC), growth rate (GR), plant height (PH), intercepted radiation (IR), leaf:stem ratio (L:S), leaf:no-leaf ratio (L:NL), and aerial biomass (AB) —as well as leaf biomass (LB), stem biomass (SB), dead material (DM), net growth (NG), and total biomass (TB)— were evaluated every fifteen days, except for the two first samplings, which were carried out on a monthly basis. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of the SAS software and Tukey’s mean comparison test (α£0.05). Results: The morphological composition (MC) of the Chetumal grass was statistically different (p<0.05), during the different growth ages. The maximum accumulation of total biomass (TB) (13,324 kg DM ha-1), leaf biomass (LB) (2,569 kg DM ha-1), and growth rate (GR) (99 kg DM ha-1 d-1) was reached at 135 DAS. On that day, the prairie reached a 68 cm plant height (PH) and 100% intercepted radiation (IR). The L:S ratio decreased from 1.62 to 0.31, while L:NL ratio changed from 1.62 to 0.22. Study Limitations/Implications: The Brachiaria humidicola cv. Chetumal grass reached its highest potential during the rainy season. Findings/Conclusions: The first cut of the Urochloa humidicola cv. Chetumal grass can be carried out at 135 DAS, when the highest accumulation of total biomass (TB), leaf biomass (LB), and growth rate (GR) is recorded.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the growth of Chetumal grass established in a tropical climate

Calzada-Marín,

Ortega-Jiménez,

Enríquez-Quiroz

et al. 2024

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“…This inherent trait underscores the species' pro ciency for sustained survival over an extended period within the canopy's shaded environment. Alternatively, grasses with lower shade adaptation (classi ed as shade avoiders) exhibit increased partitioning preferentially to shoot at the expense of root biomass when exposed to low light environments (Solofondranohatra et al 2021). In naturally dense communities, shoot elongation induced by low red/far-red light may confer a tness advantage, enabling shade-avoiding grasses to adjust their growth patterns, optimize their exposure to sunlight, and rapidly dominate gaps in the canopy (Pierik et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence of winter forage grasses in Silvopastoral Systems: dynamics of appearance and mortality of tillers under Eucalyptus sp. trees and full sunlight

Hernández,

Maneiro,

Viñoles

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The impact of microclimatic changes caused by Silvopastoral Systems (SPS) in subtropical climates on C3 grasses persistence remains unclear, particularly concerning their effects on summer mortality and tiller growth. We hypothesized that the microclimate created by trees with different orientations in SPS would have an impact on the summer C3 grasses' persistence, as measured by the number of tillers per square meter. This study evaluated the survival of two C3 perennial grasses of different tolerance to shade (Dactylis glomerata: tolerant, Festuca arudinacea: moderately tolerant) and a C3 biannual grass typic of moist environments (Holcus lanatus) in full sunlight and SPS with tree rows oriented North-South (NS) and East-West (EW). We observed a decrease in Tiller Population Density (Tiller m− 2) for Holcus in all situations from December to April (P < 0.05) (from 2156 to 22 in NS, 2567 to 0 EW and 4667 to 533 in full sunlight). Festuca also decreased in all conditions but showed a relatively better performance (2867 to 1644 in NS, 3044 to 944 EW and 4500 to 3317 in full sunlight) and Dactylis (1933 to 2633 in NS, 2289 to 2056 EW and 3017 to 1750 in full sunlight). Results showed that Dactylis was more persistent under tree canopy, it presented lower mortality rate, especially in N-S oriented tree rows (P < 0.05). Festuca’s tiller mortality increased under reduced light, while Holcus showed higher mortality during summer, exacerbated under tree cover. These findings suggest that Dactylis could be a promising species for SPS in subtropical climates, particularly regarding summer persistence.

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“…Although the low R:S ratio can be associated to the 50% shade in the nursery, increasing biomass allocation to shoot (Solofondranohatra et al 2021) can result in plants less resilient to fire and drought, once the lower belowground biomass can negatively affect resprouting and water uptake capacities, as well as larger shoots would increase plant transpiration (Giles et al 2021;Solofondranohatra et al 2021). However, despite the decreasing R:S ratio, there was an increase on root biomass with higher CRF rates, which can promote higher belowground carbon storage, nutrient cycling efficiency and erosion resistance (Bardgett et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fertility responses of a native grass: technology supporting native plant production for restoration in Brazil

Oliveira

Forti

Viani

2021

Restoration Ecology

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The UN "Decade on ecosystem restoration" demands urgent actions to bring back native ecosystems from degraded lands. Tree seedlings are widely available for restoration plantings. However, the lack of other life forms available in commercial nurseries constraints grassy biomes restoration. The use of fertilizers is widely common to grow tree seedlings in nurseries and the current technology could be useful to grow native grasses in nurseries and turn the planting technique feasible to restore grassy biomes, such as the Cerrado in Brazil. In this study, we examined the growth and nutritional responses to nutrient availability of the native grass Schizachyrium sanguineum produced in nursery. We produced seedlings by germinated seeds of S. sanguineum on seedbeds containing sand and, after emergence, transferring the plants to 290-cm 3 plastic tubes containing commercial substrate (CS) added with 0, 1, 3, 5, or 7 g/L of controlled-release fertilizer (CRF, NPK 15-09-12) and non-fertilized native soil (NS). After 90 days, we found high seedling survival (>98%) in all trials. In spite of lower nutrient availability, the NS promoted higher seedling tillering and relative height and biomass growths than the non-fertilized CS. However, in general, seedlings showed increased growth, and shoot P and K concentrations with an increase in CRF rates, up to approximately 5 g/L. In addition, higher CRF rates allowed faster grow of S. sanguineum seedlings. Ultimately, we found that S. sanguineum responds positively to fertilization, despite being native from nutrient-poor soil of Cerrado.

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Shade alters the growth and architecture of tropical grasses by reducing root biomass

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 13 publications

References 70 publications

Analysis of the growth of Chetumal grass established in a tropical climate

Analysis of the growth of Chetumal grass established in a tropical climate

Persistence of winter forage grasses in Silvopastoral Systems: dynamics of appearance and mortality of tillers under Eucalyptus sp. trees and full sunlight

Fertility responses of a native grass: technology supporting native plant production for restoration in Brazil

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