Is there a tradeoff between root foraging for nutrients and soil anoxia in bottomland hardwood species?
Neatrour, Matthew*,1, 2, Jones, Robert1, Golladay, Stephen2, 1 Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA2 J. W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, GA, USA ABSTRACT- Many plants proliferate roots within nutrient-rich soil patches resulting in asymmetric root systems. However, flooding can create soil anoxia, which may be spatially or temporally patchy. When nutrient-rich and anoxic patches coincide, there may be a tradeoff between the benefits of fine root foraging for nutrients and stresses to root systems from soil anoxia. We tested this idea by measuring root system asymmetry and plant growth (aboveground + belowground biomass at harvest) in three bottomland hardwood species (Liquidambar styraciflua, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Nyssa aquatica) that were grown in greenhouse pots (one plant per pot). The same amount of nutrients was either distributed homogeneously (broadcast evenly across the entire pot) or heterogeneously (concentrated in 1/2 of the pot), and pots were either entirely fl
