scholarly journals Crop Domestication, Root Trait Syndromes, and Soil Nutrient Acquisition in Organic Agroecosystems: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marney E. Isaac ◽  
Victoria Nimmo ◽  
Amélie C. M. Gaudin ◽  
Andrea Leptin ◽  
Jennifer Elise Schmidt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Nutrient Acquisition ◽  
Root Trait ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Plant Domestication ◽  
Crop Domestication ◽  
Low Input ◽  
Acquisition Strategies

Selecting crops that express certain reproductive, leaf, and root traits has formed detectable, albeit diverse, crop domestication syndromes. However, scientific and informal on-farm research has primarily focused on understanding and managing linkages between only certain domestication traits and yield. There is strong evidence suggesting that functional traits can be used to hypothesize and detect trade-offs, constraints, and synergies among crop yield and other aspects of crop biology and agroecosystem function. Comparisons in the functional traits of crops vs. wild plants has emerged as a critical avenue that has helped inform a better understanding of how plant domestication has reshaped relationships among yield and traits. For instance, recent research has shown domestication has led important economic crops to express extreme functional trait values among plants globally, with potentially major implications for yield stability, nutrient acquisition strategies, and the success of ecological nutrient management. Here, we present an evidence synthesis of domestication effects on crop root functional traits, and their hypothesized impact on nutrient acquisition strategies in organic and low input agroecosystems. Drawing on global trait databases and published datasets, we show detectable shifts in root trait strategies with domestication. Relationships between domestication syndromes in root traits and nutrient acquisition strategies in low input systems underscores the need for a shift in breeding paradigms for organic agriculture. This is increasingly important given efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets of Zero Hunger via resilient agriculture practices such as ecological nutrient management and maintenance of genetic diversity.

scholarly journals Trade-Offs in Phosphorus Acquisition Strategies of Five Common Tree Species in a Tropical Forest of Puerto Rico

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Yaffar ◽  
Camille E. Defrenne ◽  
Kristine G. Cabugao ◽  
Stephanie N. Kivlin ◽  
Joanne Childs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phosphatase Activity ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Root Trait ◽  
Soil P ◽  
P Acquisition ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Acquisition Strategies ◽  
Common Tree

Tree species that are successful in tropical lowlands have different acquisition strategies to overcome soil phosphorus (P) limitations. Some of these strategies belowground include adjustments in fine-root traits, such as morphology, architecture, association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and phosphatase activity. Trade-offs among P-acquisition strategies are expected because of their respective carbon cost. However, empirical evidence remains scarce which hinders our understanding of soil P-acquisition processes in tropical forests. Here, we measured seven fine-root functional traits related to P acquisition of five common tree species in three sites of the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico. We then described species-specific P-acquisition strategies and explored the changes in fine-root trait expression from 6 months before to 6 months after two consecutive hurricanes, Irma and María, passed over the island. We found that variations in root trait expression were driven mainly by the large interspecific differences across the three selected sites. In addition, we revealed a trade-off between highly colonized fine roots with high phosphatase activity and fine roots that have a high degree of branching. Furthermore, the former strategy was adopted by pioneer species (Spathodea campanulata and Cecropia schreberiana), whereas the latter was adopted by non-pioneer species (mostly Dacryodes excelsa and Prestoea montana). Additionally, we found that root trait expression did not change comparing 6 months before and after the hurricanes, with the exception of root phosphatase activity. Altogether, our results suggest a combination of structural and physiological root traits for soil P acquisition in P-poor tropical soils by common tropical tree species, and show stability on most of the root trait expression after hurricane disturbances.

scholarly journals Impacts of Arctic Shrubs on Root Traits and Belowground Nutrient Cycles Across a Northern Alaskan Climate Gradient

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weile Chen ◽  
Ken D. Tape ◽  
Eugénie S. Euskirchen ◽  
Shuang Liang ◽  
Adriano Matos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Layer ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Nutrient Acquisition ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Climatic Gradient ◽  
Acquisition Strategies ◽  
Deciduous Shrubs ◽  
Absorptive Roots ◽  
Northern Alaska ◽  
N Pool

Deciduous shrubs are expanding across the graminoid-dominated nutrient-poor arctic tundra. Absorptive root traits of shrubs are key determinants of nutrient acquisition strategy from tundra soils, but the variations of shrub root traits within and among common shrub genera across the arctic climatic gradient are not well resolved. Consequently, the impacts of arctic shrub expansion on belowground nutrient cycling remain largely unclear. Here, we collected roots from 170 plots of three commonly distributed shrub genera (Alnus, Betula, and Salix) and a widespread sedge (Eriophorum vaginatum) along a climatic gradient in northern Alaska. Absorptive root traits that are relevant to the strategy of plant nutrient acquisition were determined. The influence of aboveground dominant vegetation cover on the standing root biomass, root productivity, vertical rooting profile, as well as the soil nitrogen (N) pool in the active soil layer was examined. We found consistent root trait variation among arctic plant genera along the sampling transect. Alnus and Betula had relatively thicker and less branched, but more frequently ectomycorrhizal colonized absorptive roots than Salix, suggesting complementarity between root efficiency and ectomycorrhizal dependence among the co-existing shrubs. Shrub-dominated plots tended to have more productive absorptive roots than sedge-dominated plots. At the northern sites, deep absorptive roots (>20 cm depth) were more frequent in birch-dominated plots. We also found shrub roots extensively proliferated into the adjacent sedge-dominated plots. The soil N pool in the active layer generally decreased from south to north but did not vary among plots dominated by different shrub or sedge genera. Our results reveal diverse nutrient acquisition strategies and belowground impacts among different arctic shrubs, suggesting that further identifying the specific shrub genera in the tundra landscape will ultimately provide better predictions of belowground dynamics across the changing arctic.

scholarly journals Root morphology and mycorrhizal symbioses together shape nutrient foraging strategies of temperate trees

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (31) ◽  
pp. 8741-8746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weile Chen ◽  
Roger T. Koide ◽  
Thomas S. Adams ◽  
Jared L. DeForest ◽  
Lei Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Nutrient Acquisition ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Temperate Trees ◽  
Nutrient Foraging

Photosynthesis by leaves and acquisition of water and minerals by roots are required for plant growth, which is a key component of many ecosystem functions. Although the role of leaf functional traits in photosynthesis is generally well understood, the relationship of root functional traits to nutrient uptake is not. In particular, predictions of nutrient acquisition strategies from specific root traits are often vague. Roots of nearly all plants cooperate with mycorrhizal fungi in nutrient acquisition. Most tree species form symbioses with either arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi. Nutrients are distributed heterogeneously in the soil, and nutrient-rich “hotspots” can be a key source for plants. Thus, predicting the foraging strategies that enable mycorrhizal root systems to exploit these hotspots can be critical to the understanding of plant nutrition and ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. Here, we show that in 13 sympatric temperate tree species, when nutrient availability is patchy, thinner root species alter their foraging to exploit patches, whereas thicker root species do not. Moreover, there appear to be two distinct pathways by which thinner root tree species enhance foraging in nutrient-rich patches: AM trees produce more roots, whereas EM trees produce more mycorrhizal fungal hyphae. Our results indicate that strategies of nutrient foraging are complementary among tree species with contrasting mycorrhiza types and root morphologies, and that predictable relationships between below-ground traits and nutrient acquisition emerge only when both roots and mycorrhizal fungi are considered together.

Crop Domestication and Gender

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lincoln Taiz ◽  
Lee Taiz
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Plant Domestication ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Crop Domestication ◽  
Fertile Crescent ◽  
And Gender

“Crop Domestication and Gender” traces the rise of permanent settlements and incipient agriculture from the Pre-pottery Neolithic to the Pottery Neolithic in the Levant, together with the iconographic changes that show a shift from the predominance of zoomorphic forms to female forms concurrent with the increasing importance of agriculture. It discusses relevant geographic features, climactic periods and changes in temperature, rainfall and glaciation while exploring the important transitional cultures and the artifacts that reveal the progress of agricultural development and plant domestication. Domestication of the founder crops of the Fertile Crescent are described, together with markers in the archaeological record that distinguish wild plants from domesticated plants. The abundance of female figurines at the Neolithic village of Sha’ar Hagolan and the presence of cryptic agricultural symbols at Hacilar and Çatalhüyük, support a close association of women, cats, and agriculture, most famously exemplified by the so-called “grain bin goddess“ of Çatalhüyük.

scholarly journals Functional Trait Responses to Strip Clearcutting in a Moso Bamboo Forest

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
Yaxiong Zheng ◽  
Fengying Guan ◽  
Shaohui Fan ◽  
Yang Zhou ◽  
Xiong Jing
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Moso Bamboo ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen Content ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Functional Characteristics ◽  
Functional Features

Functional characteristics reflect plant strategies and adaptability to the changing environment. Determining the dynamics of these characteristics after harvesting would improve the understanding of forest response strategies. Strip clearcutting (SC) of moso bamboo forests, which significantly reduces the cutting cost, has been proposed to replace manual selective harvesting. A comparison of restoration features shows that 8 m is the optimal cutting width. However, the precise response of functional features to the resulting harvest-created gap remains unclear. In this study, three SC plots were selected which was performed in February 2019, with three unharvested plots as a control (C). The study focused on 10 functional traits, including leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), nitrogen/phosphorus ratio (N:P), wood density (WD), fine root biomass (FRB), specific fine root length (SRL), and root length density (RLD). A one-way ANOVA was used to compare differences in functional traits and soil nutrients between treatments. Strip clearcutting significantly reduced the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents (p < 0.05). In terms of functional characteristics, SC significantly decreased LA and increased LNC, LPC, and N:P (p < 0.05). However, SC had no significant effect on fine root traits (p > 0.05). This study highlighted that root trait, soil content of total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) returned to the level of uncut plots after a year’s recovery. The LPC, LNC, and N:P were negatively correlated with LA, and LDMC and WD were negatively correlated with SLA, while the effect of SC on fine root traits was limited (p > 0.05). Fine root traits (FRB, RLD, and SRL) were positively associated with SOC, TN, and TP, but negatively correlated with TK. The changes in soil nutrient content caused by the removal of biomass were normal. Increased light and the rapid growth of new trees will increase nutrient regressions; therefore, these results further confirm the feasibility of SC.

scholarly journals Is nitrogen transfer among plants enhanced by contrasting nutrient-acquisition strategies?

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANÇOIS P. TESTE ◽  
ERIK J. VENEKLAAS ◽  
KINGSLEY W. DIXON ◽  
HANS LAMBERS
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Acquisition ◽  
Nitrogen Transfer ◽  
Acquisition Strategies

Plant nutrient-acquisition strategies change with soil age

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
H LAMBERS ◽  
J RAVEN ◽  
G SHAVER ◽  
S SMITH
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Acquisition ◽  
Plant Nutrient ◽  
Acquisition Strategies ◽  
Soil Age

Aureococcus anophagefferens (Pelagophyceae) genomes improve evaluation of nutrient acquisition strategies involved in brown tide dynamics 1

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric R. Gann ◽  
Alexander R. Truchon ◽  
Spiridon E. Papoulis ◽  
Sonya T. Dyhrman ◽  
Christopher J. Gobler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Acquisition ◽  
Brown Tide ◽  
Aureococcus Anophagefferens ◽  
Acquisition Strategies

scholarly journals Phosphorus-acquisition strategies of canola, wheat and barley in soil amended with sewage sludges

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Nobile ◽  
D. Houben ◽  
E. Michel ◽  
S. Firmin ◽  
H. Lambers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Specific Root Length ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Sewage Sludges ◽  
P Acquisition ◽  
Acquisition Strategies ◽  
P Content ◽  
P Fertilizer ◽  
Available Soil Phosphorus

Abstract Crops have different strategies to acquire poorly-available soil phosphorus (P) which are dependent on their architectural, morphological, and physiological root traits, but their capacity to enhance P acquisition varies with the type of fertilizer applied. The objective of this study was to examine how P-acquisition strategies of three main crops are affected by the application of sewage sludges, compared with a mineral P fertilizer. We carried out a 3-months greenhouse pot experiment and compared the response of P-acquisition traits among wheat, barley and canola in a soil amended with three sludges or a mineral P fertilizer. Results showed that the P-acquisition strategy differed among crops. Compared with canola, wheat and barley had a higher specific root length and a greater root carboxylate release and they acquired as much P from sludge as from mineral P. By contrast, canola shoot P content was greater with sludge than with mineral P. This was attributed to a higher root-released acid phosphatase activity which promoted the mineralization of sludge-derived P-organic. This study showed that contrasted P-acquisition strategies of crops allows increased use of renewable P resources by optimizing combinations of crop and the type of P fertilizer applied within the cropping system.

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