Nutrient Foraging in Ten Southeast Coastal Plain Plant Species

Plant root system response to nutrient heterogeneity was tested in ten plant species of varying life form and successional status. All plants tested are native to the South Carolina coastal plain. Morphological responses of the root system (scale, precision and discrimination) and overall plant response (sensitivity) to increasing nutrient heterogeneity were tested. Ten individuals of each species were placed into four treatments which had varying nutrient distribution but the same overall nutrient addition. Plants were harvested when roots reached pot edge. I observed high variation in scale (mass and extent of a root system), precision (the ability to proliferate roots in nutrient patches) and sensitivity (growth benefits gained as nutrient heterogeneity increases; measured as total biomass). No significant discrimination responses were observed, although greatest mean root density occurred at intermediate fertility levels for all species. I tested the hypothesis that scale and precision would be negatively correlated, and I did not observe this relationship in these plant species. However, in herbaceous species scale and precision were positively correlated. Sensitivity was not closely related to precision indicating that proliferating roots in fertile patches does not always yield growth benefits in heterogeneous soils. Further, some sensitive species had very low precision suggesting that other characteristics lead to positive growth response in heterogeneous environments. Plasticity of root uptake rates and demography of roots are proposed as two other mechanisms which may play important roles in plant sensitivity responses. Scale was negatively correlated to sensitivity for herbaceous plants suggesting that plants that monopolize the most soil space are not able to gain benefits from nutrient patches within the soil matrix. There was no trend observed to suggest that plant life form was correlated with precision or sensitivity. However, scale was greater in herbs than in woody plants, possibly because the two life forms develop at different times.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Department dc:contributor.department

Biology

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1998

Author dc:creator

• Einsmann, Juliet Caroline

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Jones, Robert H.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Mitchell, Robert J.
• Mou, Paul P.
• Nilsen, Erik T.

• morphological plasticity
• nutrient heterogeneity
• root distribution
• South Carolina

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-6198-115334

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36849