Beyond grazing, managed grasslands provide ecological services that may offer economic incentives for multifunctional use. Increasing biodiversity of plant communities may maximize net primary production by optimizing utilization of available light, water, and nutrient resources; enhance production stability in response to climatic stress; reduce invasion of exotic species; increase soil OM; re...

* Linkages between plant growth rate and root responses to soil moisture heterogeneity were investigated. * Root dynamics were studied using genetically identical shoots (Vitis vinifera cv. Merlot) with genetically distinct root systems that promote higher (HSV) and lower (LSV) shoot growth rates (1103P and 101-14 Mgt, respectively). Three quantities of irrigation replenished different amounts ...

Oil leakage causes soil contamination and induces changes in the physical and mechanical properties of soils. In areas contaminated with oil products such as gasoline, the implementation of civilian operations requires determination and prediction of soil behavior in the existing conditions. In this research work, the effect of oil contamination by gasoline obtained from the National Oil Compan...

Soil contamination by silver nanoparticles (AgNP) is of potential environmental concern but little work has been carried out on the effect of such contamination on ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF). EMF are essential to forest ecosystem functions as they are known to enhance growth of trees by nutrient transfer. In this study, soil was experimentally contaminated with AgNP (0, 350 and 790 mg Ag/kg) a...

Investigating the responses of trees to the heterogeneous distribution of nutrients in soil and simultaneous presence of neighboring roots could strengthen the understanding of an influential mechanism on tree growth and provide a scientific basis for forest management. Here, we conducted two split-pot experiments to investigate the effects of nutrient heterogeneity and intraspecific competitio...

The abundance of Pratylenchus scribneri in soil and root habitats was compared in potato and corn plots during 1986-88. Nematodes were extracted from 100-cm(3) soil samples and the roots contained within the samples. The percentage of the population recovered from soil, similar among years and crops, averaged ca. 50% at the beginning and end of the growing season and ca. 20% from early to late ...

soil compaction has become a widespread problem in the world and is one of the factors involved in land degradation and declining crop yields, especially in the arid and semi-arid agriculture. the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of subsoil compaction on morphological, physiological and agronomic aspects of wheat .the research was carried out in the experimental farms of anb...

Soil structural deterioration from continuous cropping systems can adversely affect crop development. Conservation tillage systems are useful to control soil degradation, but may lead to excessive soil compaction, negatively impacting crop growth. Physical measurements were made during 1994 on a Chernozemic loam soil (Petrocalcic Paleudoll) with a petrocalcic horizon at a depth of 1.2 m in Balc...

Plant-soil interactions can strongly influence root growth in plants. There is now increasing evidence that root-root interactions can also influence root growth, affecting architecture and root traits such as lateral root formation. Both when species grow alone or in interaction with others, root systems are in turn affected by as well as affect rhizosphere pH. Changes in soil pH have knock-on...

mycorrhizal symbiosis increase nutrient uptake and enhance plant growth by elaborating root system. the positive effects of mycorrhizal symbiosis on the growth, physiology and ecology of various plants have been recognized. the symbiotic relations between mycorrhizal fungi and date palm with regard to nutrient uptake by this plant have not yet been explored and studied in iran. this project was...