Dataset Information

Above- and below-ground biomass relationships of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit in different plant stands.

ABSTRACT: The above and below-ground biomass (AGB and BGB) relationship is often used to assess the impact of biotic and abiotic effects on the growth and development of individual plants. The AGB and BGB relationship of the same tree species in different habitats can change significantly because of environmental stress. To investigate how the tree size, the biomass allocation and BGB/AGB ratio of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit varied according to spacing and mixed plant patterns in a valley-type savanna of southwest China, we examined the growth of L. leucocephala, and sampled 23 individuals for biomass measurement in each of four treatments (close/wide spacing of Leucaena leucocephala monocultures, mixed plantation of Leucaena leucocephala and Eucalyptus camaldulensis, and mixed plantation of Leucaena leucocephala and Eucalyptus citriodora), and then determined the regression relationships between AGB and BGB of L. leucocephala in different plant stands. Our results indicated that mixed planting significantly reduced all growth metrics for the tree sizes of L. leucocephala and increased the value of BGB/AGB. Changing plant spacing in monocultures had a significant impact on AGB and TB (Total Biomass) of L. leucocephala, but it had no significant effect on the other metrics. Within mixed plant schemes, L. leucocephala significantly reduced the biomass allocation to leaves and small roots and increased the allocation to coarse root biomass. There were no significant differences in tree size and biomass allocation of L. leucocephala between different spacing regimes in monocultures or between different mixtures in mixed plant stands. The correlation between BGB and AGB of L. leucocephala in all plant stands was consistent with the model of allometric growth, and AGB can be used to accurately estimate BGB. Interestingly, the correlations were not exactly the same. BGB and AGB in monoculture showed isometric growth, and their values in mixed plant stands showed allometric growth. BGB also increased faster than AGB. The findings indicated that L. leucocephala allocated more biomass to the root system when it was planted with Eucalyptus.

SUBMITTER: Liu F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6237305 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Above- and below-ground biomass relationships of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit in different plant stands.

Liu FangYan F Gao ChengJie C Chen Min M Li Kun K

PloS one 20181115 11

The above and below-ground biomass (AGB and BGB) relationship is often used to assess the impact of biotic and abiotic effects on the growth and development of individual plants. The AGB and BGB relationship of the same tree species in different habitats can change significantly because of environmental stress. To investigate how the tree size, the biomass allocation and BGB/AGB ratio of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit varied according to spacing and mixed plant patterns in a valley-type sav ...[more]

PMID: 30439967

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Project description:Biomass allocation is an essential concept for understanding above- vs. below-ground functions and for predicting the dynamics of community structure and ecosystem service under ongoing climate change. There is rare available knowledge of grazing effects on biomass allocation in multiple zonal alpine grassland types along climatic gradients across the Northern Tibetan Plateau. We collected the peak above- and below-ground biomass (AGB and BGB) values at 106 pairs of well-matched grazed vs. fenced sites during summers of 2010-2013, of which 33 pairs were subject to meadow, 52 to steppe and 21 to desert-steppe. The aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) was represented by the peak AGB while the belowground net primary productivity (BNPP) was estimated from ANPP, the ratio of living vs. dead BGB, and the root turnover rate. Two-ways analyses of variance (ANOVA) and paired samples comparisons with t-test were applied to examine the effects of pasture managements (PMS, i.e., grazed vs. fenced) and zonal grassland types on both ANPP and BNPP. Allometric and isometric allocation hypotheses were also tested between logarithmically transformed ANPP and BNPP using standardized major axis (SMA) analyses across grazed, fenced and overall sites. In our study, a high community-dependency was observed to support the allometric biomass allocation hypothesis, in association with decreased ANPP and a decreasing-to-increasing BNPP proportions with increasing aridity across the Northern Tibetan Plateau. Grazing vs. fencing seemed to have a trivial effect on ANPP compared to the overwhelming influence of different zonal grassland types. Vegetation links above- and below-ground ecological functions through integrated meta-population adaptive strategies to the increasing severity of habitat conditions. Therefore, more detailed studies on functional diversity are essentially to achieve conservation and sustainability goals under ongoing climatic warming and intensifying human influences.

Dataset Information

Above- and below-ground biomass relationships of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit in different plant stands.

Publications

Above- and below-ground biomass relationships of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit in different plant stands.

Similar Datasets

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