A method for quantifying living roots of Spartina (cordgrass) and Juncus (needlerush) |
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Authors: | Y P Hsieh C H Yang |
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Institution: | 1. Wetland Ecology Program Division of Agricultural Sciences, Florida A and M University, 32307, Tallahassee, Florida
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Abstract: | Quantifying living roots in a marsh is a necessary but difficult task in wetland research. The two main difficulties usually encountered are distinguishing living from dead roots and processing a dense mat of fine roots. We found that living roots of salt-marsh plants release much more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in boiling water than dead roots. Based on the finding, we developed a DOC procedure to quantify living roots of Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemerianus. The DOC released in boiling water is a function of root activity, and the amount released can be used to calculate the living root biomass of a sample. The amount of living roots determined by the DOC method correlated well with the amount of living roots determined by the manual, sorting method (r2 = 0.78, p<0.01). The DOC method is more objective, precise, and much less tedious than the manual sorting method. |
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