PJB-2024-126
Response of fine root morphology, biomass, productivity, and turnover rate of five tree species on soil salinity gradient in newly reclaimed saline soil
Zhibao Wang, Jing Liang, Shuai Yang, Abdul Majeed Baloch, Xiangbin Gao, Shouchao Yu, Minmin Li, Hong Jiang, Chuanjie Zhou and Yichuan Wang
Abstract
Fine roots (φ≤2 mm) are important participants in plant underground ecological processes and take major role in the energy flow and material cycling of forest ecosystems. The ecological function of fine roots is often influenced by soil saline-alkali characteristics. Therefore, five tree species including Ligustrum lucidum, Salix matsudana, Sapium sebifera, Robinia pseudoacacia and Quercus virginiana whose tree height, diameter at breast height, crown width, and tree age are basically the same in the newly reclaimed salt land on the coast are used as the research object to analyze the response characteristics of fine root morphology, biomass, production, and turnover rates of these five tree species to soil salinity gradients. Results showed that soil salinity gradient greatly affect functional traits of plant fine root. As soil salinity increases, both fine root biomass and productivity of the five tree species decrease with a slower turnover rate in low-salt, medium-salt and high-salt areas. Meanwhile, the growth depth of fine roots becomes shallower, causing niche differentiation of fine roots and changing the allocation strategy of fine root biomass. Fine roots adapt to salt stress environments by changing structural characteristics such as increasing diameter, volume, surface area and reducing total length. The results of this study can provide scientific basis for the selection of saline-alkali land greening tree species and the formulation of saline-alkali land greening strategies
To Cite this article:
Wang, Z., J. Liang, S. Yang, A.M. Baloch, X. Gao, S. Yu, M. Li, H. Jiang, C. Zhou and Y. Wang. 2025. Response of fine root morphology, biomass, productivity, and turnover rate of five tree species on soil salinity gradient in newly reclaimed saline soil. Pak. J. Bot., 57(3): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2025-3(23)
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