Strategy of fine root expansion of Phyllostachys pubescens population into evergreen broad- leaved forest

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1258.2013.00023

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Roots, particularly fine roots, play an important role in interspecies competition. Our objective was to study the spatial distribution, morphological characteristics and growth rates of fine roots in both bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) and broad-leaved trees to better understand the mechanisms of expansion of bamboo into evergreen broad-leaved forest.

Methods We continuously sampled P. pubescens forest (PPF), bamboo-broad-leaved mixed forest (BMF) and evergreen broad-leaved forest (EBF) perpendicular to a bamboo-broad-leaved forest interface on Dagang Mountain, Jiangxi Province, China. The live fine root biomass, specific root length (SRL), root length density (RLD), fine root growth and turnover rates were comparatively analyzed by soil core and ingrowth methods.

Important findings Fine root biomass of PPF (1201.60 g·m^-2) was much larger than that of BMF (601.18 g·m^-2) and EBF (204.88 g·m^-2). Vertical stratification of bamboo fine roots in BMF was found to shift from lower to upper soil layers, SRL of bamboo significantly increased by 123.42% and average RLD of bamboo was 210.0% greater than that of broad-leaved trees. In addition, both growth and turnover rates of bamboo fine roots were faster than those of trees. Findings indicated that P. pubescens, with wide, precise, flexible and fast nutrient access and space-occupation abilities, would outcompete trees belowground, resulting in expansion of its population into evergreen broad-leaved forest.

Key words: Dagang Mountain, evergreen broad-leaved forest, expansion of Phyllostachys pubescens population, fine root strategy

LIU Jun, YANG Qing-Pei, SONG Qing-Ni, YU Ding-Kun, YANG Guang-Yao, QI Hong-Yan, SHI Jian-Min. Strategy of fine root expansion of Phyllostachys pubescens population into evergreen broad- leaved forest[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2013, 37(3): 230-238.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2013.00023

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2013/V37/I3/230

Figures/Tables 9

Table 1 Characteristics of three forest stands at bamboo-broad-leaved forest interface in experimental area (mean ± SE)

林分 Stand	植物高度 Plant hight (m)	胸径 DBH (cm)	密度 Density (ind.·hm^-2)
毛竹林 PPF	13.83 ± 1.72	10.07 ± 1.76	5 100
竹阔混交林 BMF	12.66 ± 1.53	9.45 ± 1.27	2 100
竹阔混交林 BMF	14.37 ± 2.72	16.30 ± 13.43	1 800
常绿阔叶林 EBF	14.95 ± 2.74	17.76 ± 9.35	1 078

Table 2 Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of fine root biomass in different forest stands at bamboo-broad-leaved forest interface in experimental area

因子 Factor	df	MS	F	p
林分 Stand	2	11.139	165.811	<0.001^***
季节 Season	3	0.009	0.141	0.935
土壤层次 Soil layer	2	7.731	115.083	<0.001^***
林分×季节 Stand × season	6	0.096	1.425	0.209
林分×土壤层次 Stand × soil layer	4	0.156	2.315	0.060
季节×土壤层次 Season × soil layer 林分×季节×层次 Stand × season × soil layer 误差 Error	6 12 144	0.072 0.033 0.067	1.077 0.496	0.379 0.915

Fig. 1 Comparison of fine root biomass in three soil layers (0-20, 20-40, 40-60 cm) of three forest stands perpendicular to bamboo-broad-leaved forest interface in experimental area (mean ± SE). Different letters indicate signi?cant difference among fine root biomass in the same soil layers at different forest stands (p < 0.05, least significant difference, LSD). BMF, bamboo and broad-leaved mixed forest; EBF, evergreen broad-leaved forest; PPF, Phyllostachys pubescens forest.

Fig. 2 Variation in vertical distribution pattern of fine root biomass of Phyllostachys pubescens (A) and broad-leaved trees (B) when they competed in experimental area (mean ± SE). Different lowercase letters indicate signi?cant difference of proportion of fine root biomass of Phyllostachys pubescens or broad-leaved trees at the same soil layer between pre- and in-competition periods (p < 0.05, analysis of variance).

Fig. 3 Variation in specific root length (SRL) of Phyllostachys pubescens (A) and broad-leaved trees (B) when they competed in experimental area (mean ± SE). Different lowercase letters indicate signi?cant difference of SRL of P. pubescens or broad-leaved trees at the same soil layer between pre- and in-competition periods (p < 0.05, analysis of variance).

Fig. 4 Comparison of root length density (RLD) in three soil layers (0-20, 20-40, 40-60 cm) of the three forest stands at bamboo-broad-leaved forest interface in the experimental area (mean ± SE). Different letters indicate signi?cant difference among fine root RLD in the same soil layer at different forest stands (p < 0.05, least significant difference, LSD). BMF, bamboo and broad-leaved mixed forest; EBF, evergreen broad-leaved forest; PPF, Phyllostachys pubescens forest.

Fig. 5 Comparison of root length density (RLD) of Phyll- ostachys pubescens and broad-leaved trees in bamboo and broad-leaved mixed forest in the experimental area (mean ± SE). Different letters indicate signi?cant difference of fine root RLD between P. pubescens and broad-leaved trees in the same soil layer (p < 0.05, analysis of variance). FBM, fine root of broad-leaved trees; FPM, fine root of P. pubescens.

Fig. 6 Comparison of annual production dynamics of fine root between Phyllostachys pubescens and broad-leaved trees in experimental area (mean ± SE). FBM, fine root of broad- leaved trees; FPM, fine root of P. pubescens.

Fig. 7 Comparison of turnover rate of fine root between Phyllostachys pubescens and broad-leaved trees in experimental area (mean ± SE). Same letters indicate no signi?cant difference of turnover rate of fine root between P. pubescens and broad-leaved trees (p > 0.05, analysis of variance). EBF, evergreen broad-leaved forest; PPF, Phyllostachys pubescens forest.

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