Nutrient Acquisition by Plants: An Ecological Perspective

358 Pages·2005·3.12 MB·English

by  N.B. Comerford (auth.)

Ecological Studies,Vol. 181
Analysis and Synthesis
Edited by
M.M.Caldwell,Logan,USA
G.Heldmaier,Marburg,Germany
R.B.Jackson,Durham,USA
O.L.Lange,Würzburg,Germany
H.A.Mooney,Stanford,USA
E.-D.Schulze,Jena,Germany
U.Sommer,Kiel,Germany
Ecological Studies
Volumes published since 2000 are listed at the end ofthis book.
H.BassiriRad (Ed.)
Nutrient Acquisition
by Plants
An Ecological Perspective
With 46 Figures and 17 Tables
1 23
Prof.Dr.Hormoz BassiriRad
Department ofBiological Sciences
University ofIllinois at Chicago
845 West Taylor Street
Chicago,IL 60607
USA
ISSN 0070-8356
ISBN 3-540-24186-8 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
Library ofCongress Control Number:2004118098
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Preface
The adaptation and evolution ofterrestrial plants depend,to a large extent,on
their ability to acquire nutrients.Therefore,factors governing plant nutrient
acquisition are central to our understanding of plant ecology and evolution.
The mechanisms that control plant nutrient uptake and how plants respond
to changes in the environment have helped our understanding of the forces
that govern today’s plant communities,and are also likely to be indispensable
in models designed to predict how plant communities will respond to pro-
jected changes in the global climate.A modern and integrated treatment of
these mechanisms is the motivation for the production of this volume.Even
though there are other excellent books that deal with plant nutrition (e.g.,
Barber 1995;Marschner 1995;Tinker and Nye 2000),a number of major dif-
ferences make the content ofthis volume very timely.
First,this volume does not deal with the broader concept of plant nutri-
tion.Rather,the emphasis here is on factors that control plant nutrient acqui-
sition.Recent methodological advances in the imaging ofroot growth,archi-
tecture and turnover, as well as isotope techniques, have rapidly filled the
information gap that once hindered progress in our understanding ofthe pat-
terns and mechanisms ofnutrient acquisition by native terrestrial plants.This
volume reflects on many ofthose mechanisms and patterns.Second,and per-
haps more important,other books in this area often discuss nutrient uptake
by plants from an agronomic perspective.In contrast,the focus ofthis volume
is largely ecological.Consequently,many of the chapters discuss root system
characteristics that have evolved to cope with conditions that are only rarely
experienced by crop plants,e.g.,heterogeneity of soil nutrients in time and
space.
Given the importance of the factors that control available nutrients at the
root surface,we devoted two chapters to soil nutrient bioavailability.Chap-
ter1 deals with soil physiochemical factors and Chapter2 with biogeochemi-
cal nutrient cycling controlling the release of nutrients from soil organic
reservoirs. Chapter 3 highlights soil spatial and temporal heterogeneity of
nutrient bioavailability.Nitrogen fixation and its contribution to soil N avail-
VI Preface
ability are covered in Chapter4.Chapter5 addresses the regulation of nutri-
ent uptake by internal plant demand and use efficiency. The focus of the
remaining chapters is on root characteristics,particularly those that are to
date understudied,e.g.,kinetics of uptake (Chap.6),architecture (Chap.7),
life span (Chap.8),and mycorrhizal symbiosis (Chap.9).Two further chapters
deal with nutrient uptake and how it responds to key components of global
change. Chapter 10 deals with changes in root zone temperature, whereas
Chapter 11 considers plant nutrient uptake responses to changes in UV-B,
ozone, and atmospheric CO concentration. Finally, Chapter 12 presents a
2
synthesis of the book,emphasizing the need for an integrated view of plant
nutrient uptake based in particular on molecular biology and biogeochem-
istry.
Most chapters have a nitrocentric/nitrophilic perspective, reflecting the
fact that the literature is dominated by studies of plant nitrogen uptake.
This focus is justified, given the N limitation of primary productivity in
many native systems.There is growing recognition,however,that the balance
between the availability of N and other nutrients, e.g., N to P ratios
(Aerts and Chapin 2000),or the availability ofmicronutrients (Hungate et al.
2004) may be more critical components of plant nutrition than N dynamics
alone.
It was noted above that an adequate treatment of topics such as soil
physical and chemical factors, which have received only limited coverage
here,would require its own volume.Several other areas fall outside the scope
of this book,but are indispensable to the understanding of nutrient intake
by plants.For example,this volume covers very little about recent method-
ological approaches in field nutrient uptake studies.Advances in stable iso-
tope technology and affordability have made stable isotopes a popular
approach in assessing nutrient uptake.Also,ion uptake into the root,and its
eventual transport to the shoot,are influenced by root anatomical character-
istics, but this field remains incredibly understudied. Readers interested in
this area of research are referred to McCully (1995), Clarkson (1996), and
Peterson et al. (1999) for issues and perspectives on anatomical and struc-
tural aspects of roots that control nutrient uptake. The readers are also
encouraged to examine a recent volume of the Ecological Studies Series
edited by de Kroon and Visser (2003),whose content is very complementary
to this book.
Finally,compiling this volume represents the efforts ofmore than just one
person.This work would not have been possible without the input from my
co-authors who were extremely patient with me.Due to an inevitable lag asso-
ciated with the production ofthe book,some ofthe very newest literature may
not appear in the various chapters.However,every effort has been made to
reduce this citation gap to a minimum.In particular,I thank Vince Gutschick
and John Lussenhop who provided numerous feedback on many issues per-
Preface VII
taining to nutrient uptake by plants.Last,but not least,I owe much to Jacque-
line Charette-BassiriRad who devoted considerable time helping me with var-
ious editorial aspects.
Chicago,March 2005 Hormoz BassiriRad
References
Aerts R,Chapin FS III (2000) The mineral nutrition ofwild plants revisited:a re-evalua-
tion ofprocesses and patterns.Adv Ecol Res 30:1–67
Barber SA (1995) Soil nutrient bioavailability:a mechanistic approach,2nd edn.Wiley,
New York
Clarkson DT (1996) Root structure and the site of ion uptake.In:Waisel Y,Eshel A,
Kafkafi U (eds) Plant roots – the hidden half.Marcel Dekker,New York,pp 483–510
de Kroon H,Visser EJ (2003).Root ecology.Ecological Studies,vol 168.Springer,Berlin
Heidelberg New York
Hungate BA,Stiling PD,Dijkstra P,Johnson DW,Ketterer ME,Hymus GJ,Hinkle CR,
Drake BG (2004) CO elicits long-term decline in nitrogen fixation. Nature
2
304:129–129
Marschner H (1995) Mineral nutrition ofhigher plants,2nd edn.Academic Press,New
York
McCully M (1995) How do real roots work? Some new views of root structure.Plant
Physiol 109:1–6
Peterson CA,Enstone ED,Taylor JH (1999) Pine root structure and its potential signifi-
cance for root function.Plant Soil 217:205–213
Tinker PB,Nye PH (2000) Solute movement in the rhizosphere.Oxford University Press,
Oxford,England
Contents
1 Soil Factors Affecting Nutrient Bioavailability . . . . . . . . 1
N.B.Comerford
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Release ofNutrients from the Soil Solid Phase . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Nutrient Movement Through the Soil Solution . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Nutrient Uptake by the Root System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Modeling Nutrient Bioavailability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Decomposition and Mineralization ofNutrients
from Litter and Humus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
C.E.Prescott
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2 Decomposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.1 Early (Litter) Decomposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.1.1 Moisture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.1.2 Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.1.3 Litter Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2.1.4 Nitrogen Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.2 Completeness ofDecomposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.3 Late-Stage Decomposition
(Humus and Soil Organic Matter) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.2.3.1 Moisture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.2.3.2 Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2.3.3 Humus Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.2.3.4 Nitrogen Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
X Contents
2.2.3.5 Soil Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.2.3.6 Labile Carbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.3 Nutrient Mineralization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3 Integrated Root Responses to Variations in Nutrient Supply 43
D.Robinson
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2 Spatial and Temporal Variations in Soil Nutrient Supplies . 44
3.3 Single Roots and Root Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.4 Local and Systemic Response Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.4.1 Local Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.4.2 Systemic Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.5 Emergent Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4 Internal Regulation ofNutrient Uptake
by Relative Growth Rate and Nutrient-Use Efficiency . . . . 63
V.P.Gutschick,J.C.Pushnik
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.2 Phenomenology ofUptake Rate Responding
to Nutrient-Use Efficiency and Growth Rate . . . . . . . . . 65
4.2.1 The Evolutionary and Ecological Perspective
ofPhysiological Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4.2.2 A View from Physiology:Response ofGrowth Rate
to Nutrient Availability,Cost,and Utility . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.2.3 Does a Simple Model Predict an Optimal Uptake
Capacity and Root Allocation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4.3 Toward a Model ofUptake Regulation in Response
to Nutrient Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.3.1 Predicted Response to an Intrinsic,Physiological
or Developmental Limit on Relative Growth Rate . . . . . . 71
4.3.1.1 Do Internal N and Carbohydrate Pools Explain Responses
ofV to Photosynthetic N Utility and to Developmental
max
Limitations on Relative Growth Rate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Contents XI
4.3.2 Applying the Model:Differences
from Simple Functional Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.4 Additional Questions:Stress,Root Turnover,
Low Set Points ofWoody Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.4.1 Role ofRoot Lifetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.4.2 Effects ofWater Stress and Salinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.4.3 Why Is Uptake so Low in Some Species? . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Appendix:Definitions ofTerms and Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5 Biological Nitrogen Fixation Associated
with Angiosperms in Terrestrial Ecosystems . . . . . . . . . 89
J.I.Sprent
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5.2 Cyanobacteria and Their Symbioses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2.1 Free-Living Nitrogen-Fixing Cyanobacteria . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2.2 Cyanobacterial Symbioses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
5.2.3 Cycads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
5.2.4 Gunnera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.3 Non-nodulating Associations Between Angiosperms
and Non-photosynthetic Nitrogen-Fixing Microorganisms . 94
5.3.1 Loose Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
5.3.2 Endophytic Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.3.2.1 Kallar Grass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.3.2.2 Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.3.2.3 Sugarcane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
5.4 Nodulated Plants:Symbioses with Frankiaand Rhizobia . . 96
5.4.1 Actinorhizal Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
5.4.2 Parasponia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
5.4.3 Legumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
5.5 Ecological Role and Uses ofNodulated Plants . . . . . . . . 103
5.5.1 Actinorhizal Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.5.2 Legumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.5.2.1 Nodulated and Non-nodulated Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.5.2.2 Geographical Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.5.2.3 Dry,Flooded and Saline Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
5.5.2.4 Possible Chemical Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
5.5.2.5 Rhizobial Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106