Abstract
Diurnal variation in ion content of the solution bathing roots of two plants growing together in sand culture was analysed for three pairs of grass-legume species (Lolium multiflorum andTrifolium pratense; Zea mays andGlycine hispida; Avena sativa andVicia sativa) and their monospecific controls. Biomass and nitrogen content of plants were determined.
Ion concentration (NO −3 , NO −2 , NH +4 , and K+) and pH of root solutions were measured for Lolium-Trifolium plant pairs and controls at 6 hours intervals over 36 h, starting at 8 am within a circadian cycle. Root solutions were regularly depleted in NO −3 by the grasses (Lolium-Lolium control) throughout the cycle. For associations involving the legume (Lolium-Trifolium and Trifolium-Trifolium), NO −3 depletion was followed by NO −3 enrichment at night, from late afternoon to early morning; the enrichment was more marked for the Lolium-Trifolium association. Solutions which did not contain NO −2 ions, were enriched by trace amounts of NH +4 ions, largely depleted in K+ and alkalanized for all associations throughout the cycle.
Repeating the experiment with the three pairs of species at the vegetative phase of development confirmed the previous results: NO −3 enrichment during the night for associations with legumes. When the experiment was repeated with older plants which had almost completed their flowering stage, depletion only was observed and no NO −3 enrichment.
These data suggest that NO −3 enrichment results from N excretion from active nodulated roots of the legume, accounting for the increase in both biomass and nitrogen content of the companion grass in grass-legume association. The quantitative importance and periodicity of nitrogen excretion as well as the origin of nitrate enrichment are discussed.
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Wacquant, J.P., Ouknider, M. & Jacquard, P. Evidence for a periodic excretion of nitrogen by roots of grass-legume associations. Plant Soil 116, 57–68 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02327257
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02327257