Root trait plasticity and plant nutrient acquisition in puosphorus limited soil

Title data

Kumar, Amit ; Shahbaz, Muhammad ; Koirala, Manisha ; Blagodatskaya, Evgenia ; Seidel, Sabine ; Kuzyakov, Yakov ; Pausch, Johanna:
Root trait plasticity and plant nutrient acquisition in puosphorus limited soil.
In: Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science. Vol. 182 (2019) Issue 6 . - pp. 945-952.
ISSN 1436-8730
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201900322

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

To overcome soil nutrient limitation, many plants have developed complex nutrient acquisition strategies including altering root morphology, root hair formation or colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The interactions of these strategies and their plasticity are, however, affected by soil nutrient status throughout plant growth. Such plasticity is decisive for plant phosphorus (P) acquisition in P‐limited soils. We investigated the P acquisition strategies and their plasticity of two maize genotypes characterized by the presence or absence of root hairs. We hypothesized that in the absence of root hairs plant growth is facilitated by traits with complementary functions, e.g., by higher root mycorrhizal colonization. This dependence on complementary traits will decrease in P fertilized soils. At early growth stages, root hairs are of little benefit for nutrient uptake. Regardless of the presence or absence of root hairs, plants produced average root biomass of 0.14 g per plant and exhibited 23% root mycorrhizal colonization. At later growth stages of maize, contrasting mechanisms with functional complementarity explained similar plant biomass production under P limitation: the presence of root hairs versus higher root mycorrhizal colonization (67%) favored by increased fine root diameter in absence of root hairs. P fertilization decreased the dependence of plant on specific root traits for nutrient acquisition. Through root trait plasticity, plants can minimize trade‐offs for developing and maintaining functional traits, while increasing the benefit in terms of nutrient acquisition and plant growth. The present study highlights the plasticity of functional root traits for efficient nutrient acquisition strategies in agricultural systems with low nutrient availability.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Additional notes:	BAYCEER153424
Institutions of the University:	Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Earth Sciences Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Earth Sciences > Junior Professor Agroecology Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Earth Sciences > Junior Professor Agroecology > Junior Professor Agroecology - Juniorprof. Dr. Johanna Pausch Research Institutions Research Institutions > Research Centres Research Institutions > Research Centres > Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research- BayCEER
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	500 Science 500 Science > 550 Earth sciences, geology
Date Deposited:	29 Jan 2020 06:50
Last Modified:	24 Jul 2020 07:24
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/53858