Soil moisture dynamics in coastal savanna soils in the tropics under different soil management practices

Abstract

Soil moisture is important for crop cultivation and its adequacy to meet crop-water requirements is determined by the degree of soil management practised and the quantity of water applied to the soil. This study investigates soil moisture dynamics on three plots: Bare (clean, weeds removed), Weedy (kept weedy), and Mulched (cleared of weeds and fully covered with grass mulch) during rainy and dry periods at the Teaching and Research Farm at the University of Cape Coast, in the coastal savanna zone of Ghana. Soil moisture dynamics under different levels of soil compaction were also studied. A Massey Ferguson tractor (MF265) was used to compact the soil at various levels by making 0, 1, 5, 9 and 13 passes. During both the rainy and the dry periods, moisture retention in the soil under bare, weedy and mulched plots increased with depth. During the rainy period, the mean soil moisture retention was in the order: Mulched > Weedy > Bare at both 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm depths. Within a 7–day period, soil moisture measurements from a day after heavy rainfall (intensity > 7 mm h^?1) gave mean moisture losses of 2.7, 4.1 and 3.9% for the Bare, Weedy and Mulched plots, respectively. During the dry period, however, the mean soil moisture retention was of the order: Mulched > Bare > Weedy at both 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm depths. Mean moisture loss during a 7–day dry period was 4.5, 2.9 and 3.4% for the Bare, Weedy and Mulched plots, respectively. Under different levels of soil compaction, the mean moisture retention in the soil increased from 8.3% at 0 pass to 17.8% at 13 passes within the 0–20 cm depth, whilst it decreased from 13.3 to 5.9% from 0 to 13 passes, respectively, within the 20–40 cm depth. It was realized that at less than two passes, the mean soil moisture retention within the 0–20 cm depth was less than the mean moisture retention within the 20–40 cm depth, but the converse happened for more than two passes. The study showed that mulching the soil surface helped to retain enough soil moisture during both the rainy and the dry seasons. Also, soil with high sand content required some sort of soil compaction in order to retain enough moisture at the crop rooting zone.     

沙地彰武松在不同基质上扦插生根性状研究

彰武松在3种基质中插穗生根性状存在显著差异。综合分析生根率、生根性状和根系效果指数等三个因素,发现蛭石基质最好,草炭基质次之,细沙基质较差。草炭基质虽生根率较高,但根系效果指数却没有蛭石好。生根能力较差的细沙基质,生根性状离散度最大。彰武松插穗生根性状的相关分析表明,侧根数、不定根（插穗底部切面不同位置上长出的主根）数、最长不定根长分别与根总长度存在极显著正相关,侧根数、不定根数及最长不定根长相互存在极显著正相关,最长不定根长与最长不定根粗有显著负相关关系。     

Successful vegetative propagation by stem cuttings of Tetraena mongolica Maxim.

Techniques have been developed for the vegetative propagation of Tetraena mongolica,a rare and endangered species endemic to the western Ordos Plateau in the northcentral portion of China.The purpose of the study was to investigate the rooting characteris-tics of the plant species from the aspects of length and ages of cuttings,external hormone concentration,leaf retention,cutting orientations,and cutting positions.The results obtained from the experiments indicated that the rooting ratio of 2-year or 3-year old cuttings was larger than more than of 4-year old cuttings.The influence of external hormone concentration on rooting was ob-vious;the rooting ratio of cuttings was increased by external hormone treatment,especially when treated by ABT1(ABT No.1 Rooting Powder) 50 mg/L for 3 hours,in which case,the rooting ratio reached 91 percent.Leaf retention influenced rooting sig-nificantly;the rooting rate of cuttings became greater as the leaf retention increased.There was no significant difference in rooting capability between south and north orientations of the ortets.The rooting ratio of the cuttings obtained from the distal portions of shoots was significantly larger than those obtained from the middle and the basal portions of the shoots.On day three after treat-ment,calluses started appearing at the incisions of some cuttings dipped in 500 mg/L IAA(indole acetic acid).Most cuttings were healed or swelled,and 6 percent of cuttings rooted on day 6 after treatment.Higher rooting period occurred 7-10 days after the experiment was set up.     

大别造山带北部的中生代火山岩

大别造山带北部的北淮阳中生代火山喷发岩带形成于后造山阶段的晚侏罗世—早白垩世。火山岩可以划分为２个独立的火山旋回,分别对应于高钾钙碱性系列（ＨＫＣＡ）和钾玄岩系列（ＳＨＯ）,从岩石构造组合和岩石地球化学数据提供的约束条件分析,前者形成于晚侏罗世的陆内挤压环境,造山带是有“山根”的增厚陆壳,而早白垩世钾玄岩系列岩石的出现表征着造山带已发生“去根”作用,北淮阳处于陆壳减薄的拉张环境     

Hydraulic traits that buffer deep-rooted plants from changes in hydrology and climate

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems are often defined by the presence of deeply rooted phreatophytic plants. When connected to groundwater, phreatophytes in arid regions decouple ecosystem net primary productivity from precipitation, underscoring a disproportionately high biodiversity and exchange of resources relative to surrounding areas. However, groundwater-dependent ecosystems are widely threatened due to the effects of water diversions, groundwater abstraction, and higher frequencies of episodic drought and heat waves. The resilience of these ecosystems to shifting ecohydrological–climatological conditions will depend largely on the capacity of dominant, phreatophytic plants to cope with dramatic reductions in water availability and increases in atmospheric water demand. This paper disentangles the broad range of hydraulic traits expressed by phreatophytic vegetation to better understand their capacity to survive or even thrive under shifting ecohydrological conditions. We focus on three elements of plant water relations: (a) hydraulic architecture (including root area to leaf area ratios and rooting depth), (b) xylem structure and function, and (c) stomatal regulation. We place the expression of these traits across a continuum of phreatophytic habits from obligate to semi-obligate to semi-facultative to facultative. Although many species occupy multiple phreatophytic niches depending on access to groundwater, we anticipate that populations are largely locally adapted to a narrow range of ecohydrological conditions regardless of gene flow across ecohydrological gradients. Consequently, we hypothesize that reductions in available groundwater and increases in atmospheric water demand will result in either (a) stand replacement of obligate phreatophytic species with more facultative species as a function of widespread mortality in highly groundwater-dependent populations or (b) directional selection in semi-obligate and semi-facultative phreatophytes towards the expression of traits associated with highly facultative phreatophytes in the absence of species replacement. Anticipated shifts in the expression of hydraulic traits may have profound impacts on water cycling processes, species assemblages, and habitat structure of groundwater-dependent woodlands and riparian forests.     

Nitrate attenuation in soil and shallow groundwater under a bottomland hedgerow in a European farming landscape

In many agricultural areas, hedgerows give rise to strong expectations of reducing the inputs of excess nitrate to the groundwater and rivers. This study aims to analyse the spatial and seasonal influences of a hedgerow on nitrate dynamics in the soil and groundwater. Nitrate (NO₃^?) and chloride (Cl^?) concentrations were measured with spatially dense sampling in the unsaturated soil and in the groundwater along a transect intersecting a bottomland oak (Quercus rubor) hedgerow after the growing season and during the dormant season. We explain NO₃^? dynamics by using Cl^? as an index of tree‐root extension and water transfer. At the end of the growing season, NO₃^? is entirely absorbed by the trees over a large and deep volume corresponding to the rooting zone, where, in contrast Cl^? is highly concentrated due to root exclusion. However, these observed patterns in the soil have no influence on the deep groundwater composition at this season. During the dormant season, water transfer processes feeding the shallow groundwater layer are different upslope and downslope from the hedgerow in relation to the thickness of the unsaturated zone. Upslope, the shallow groundwater is fed by rainwater infiltration through the soil which favours Cl^? dilution. Right under the hedge and downslope, the rapid ascent of the groundwater near the ground surface prevents rainwater input and Cl^? dilution. Under the hedgerow the highest concentrations of Cl^? coincide with the absence of NO₃^? in the shallow groundwater layer and with high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon. The absence of NO₃^? during the dormant season seems to be due to denitrification in the hedgerow rooting zone when it is rapidly saturated by groundwater. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

四合木硬枝扦插生根特性的研究

从插穗长度与龄级、外源激素浓度、插穗留叶量、插穗着生部位等方面研究了四合木硬枝扦插生根特性。结果表明：2～3 a生枝条的生根率显著高于4 a以上生枝条的生根率;外源激素浓度对生根有明显的影响,使用50 mg·L-1 ABT1浸泡3 h,生根率可达91%;留叶量的多少对生根有显著影响,随着留叶量的增多,生根率升高;从南、北两个采穗方向采集的插穗,生根率、生根插穗的平均生根数和平均根长之间差异均不显著;采用上部带梢枝条制成的插穗,生根率极显著高于由枝条中部和下部制成的插穗;插后3 d开始出现愈伤组织,并有少量插穗开始生根,插后6 d大部分插穗已愈合、膨大,插后7～10 d为生根高峰期。