Rooting patterns of co-occurring woody plants on contrasting soils in a subtropical savanna
Watts SE, Archer SR, Boutton TW. 1993. Rooting patterns of co-occurring woody plants on contrasting soils in a subtropical savanna. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 74(2):479
In the Rio Grande Plains of Texas, discrete clusters of woody plants organized around a central Prosopis glandulosa plant have developed recently on upland soils with laterally extensive argillic horizons; groves organized around multiple Prosopis plants have developed where discontinuities in the argillic horizon occur. Woody plant root densities weft significantly (p 0.8 m when the argillic horizon was present. Above ground biomass was lower (4750 vs. 8580 g m-2) and belowground biomass higher (2710 vs. 1800 g m-2) for argillic soils. Prosopis was deep-rooted (>47% of root density and >70% or root biomass below 0.4 m), whereas Zanthoxylum fagara, the dominant understory species, was shallow-rooted (>76% or root density and biomass above 0.4 m). Lateral extension or roots outside duster canopies was minimal, suggesting increases in cluster size and density observed over recent decades may continue. Species differences in root distributions appear to be related to patterns of plant growth, species coexistence, and successional processes documented previously at this site.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Watts, Stephen; Archer, Steven; Boutton, Thomas
- Units
- SODN
- Keywords
- Ecology, Plant Communities, Plant Studies, Soil Science