• Characterization of turnover times of fine roots is essential to understanding patterns of carbon allocation in plants and describing forest C cycling. We used the rate of decline in the ratio of 14 C to 12 C in a mature hardwood forest, enriched by an inadvertent 14 C pulse, to investigate fine-root turnover and its relationship with fine-root diameter and soil depth. • Biomass and ∆ 14 C va...

Carbon and nutrient stocks in below-ground biomass have rarely been investigated in tropical montane forests. Inthepresentstudy, theamountsofcarbon,nitrogen,phosphorus, sulphur,potassium,calciumandmagnesium in root biomass were determined by soil coring and nutrient analysis in forests at three altitudes (1900, 2400 and 3000m) in the Ecuadorian Andes. Root biomass increased markedly from 2.8 kg...

The identification of plant functional traits that can be linked to ecosystem processes is of wide interest, especially for predicting vegetational responses to climate change. Root diameter of the finest absorptive roots may be one plant trait that has wide significance. Do species with relatively thick absorptive roots forage in nutrient-rich patches differently from species with relatively f...

Precise measurements of root system architecture traits are an important requirement for plant phenotyping. Most of the current methods for analyzing root growth require either artificial growing conditions (e.g. hydroponics), are severely restricted in the fraction of roots detectable (e.g. rhizotrons), or are destructive (e.g. soil coring). On the other hand, modalities such as magnetic reson...

Soil waterlogging reduces gas exchange between the soil and the atmosphere, leading to oxygen deprivation in the rhizosphere. Brachiaria spp. are the most widelysown forage grasses in tropical America. Among commercial Brachiaria grasses, B. humidicola shows superior tolerance to waterlogged soils based on maintenance of growth and reduced leaf chlorophyll loss and senescence. However, little i...

• Minirhizotron techniques were used to examine root lifespan in Vitis labruscana (Concord grape) for roots born in four different years that varied in rainfall. • Experimental vines were given irrigation (irrigated or not) and canopy pruning treatments (minimal or balanced). Root survival was assessed from 1997 through 2000 and analysed using Cox proportional hazards regression. Model covariat...

the effect of salicylic acid (sa) on induction of resistance against root-knot nematode (meloidogyne javanica) and the effect of m. javanica to induce biochemical defense responses in tomato (solanum lycopersicum l.) roots at six-leaf stage were investigated. meanwhile, the effect of different concentrations of sa on mortality of second stage juveniles of m. javanica was examined. changes in th...

Roots growing under low water potential commonly exhibit a marked decrease in growth rate and in diameter. Using median longitudinal sections of fixed maize (Zea mays L. cv WF9 x Mo 17) seedling roots, we investigated the cellular basis for these effects. Cortical cells in the shortened elongation zone of water stressed roots were longer than cortical cells in the comparable location of well-wa...

We give bounds for the coefficients of a polynomial as functions of the diameter of its roots, hence we obtain polynomials with minimal diameters and small degree