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Fine roots of Prosopis flexuosa trees in the field. Plant and soil variables that control their growth and depth distribution

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Abstract

Fine root growth in natural vegetation is difficult to predict due to its regulation by soil and plant factors. Field studies in arid ecosystems show a variety of root responses to soil resources and to plant aboveground phenology that sometimes differ from root responses predicted by controlled experiments. There is a pressing need to cover a greater diversity of plant species and ecological scenarios in field studies. In this paper, we have studied fine roots of Prosopis flexuosa trees living with or without access to phreatic water in an inter-dune valley and a dune flank, respectively, in the Central Monte Desert, Argentina. We have described fine root growth over time and at different depths by rhizotron observations and soil core auger samples in relation to soil water and nutrients, tree crown phenology, plant water and nutrient status. We have found that surface soil moisture from rainfall is the variable that best predicts seasonal topsoil fine root growth. Access to groundwater advanced leaf sprouting with respect to rainfall, but did not advance root growth that stayed linked to rainfall in valley and dune flank trees. Trees without access to phreatic water produced deeper and thicker or denser roots, which is consistent with the poor soil resource content of dunes. Variations in rainfall dynamics due to global climate change may have a particular impact on fine roots and ecosystem processes such as biogeochemistry and carbon budget in dune flank trees as well as in valley trees.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica PICT 2007-01222. We thank Dr. Pablo Villagra, Dr Julieta Aranibar, Dr Pablo Meglioli, Dr Peter Searles, Dr Erica Cesca, Margarita Gonzalez Loyarte, Daniel Vicare, José Makita, Hugo Debandi, Janet Bajach, Ana Antunes, Diego Odales, Andrea Dallosta, Florencia Spirito, Bruno del Olmo, Gustavo Varela and Graciela Lopez. We acknowledge the Dirección de Recursos Naturales Renovables of Mendoza province for permission to work inside Telteca Natural Reserve and park rangers for logistical support. We are thankful to the local community members. We also appreciate helpful comments from the reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA (IBIGEO), CONICET, UNSA, Avenida 9 de julio 14 (4405), Rosario de Lerma, Salta, Argentina

    Aranzazú Guevara

  2. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, UNSA, Sede Regional Orán, Rudecindo Alvarado, 751 (4530), San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, Salta, Argentina

    Aranzazú Guevara

  3. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC) CONICET, UNTDF, Bernardo Houssay 200, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    Verónica Pancotto

  4. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, UNCUYO, Almirante, Chacras de Coria, Brown 500, 5519, Mendoza, Argentina

    Leandro Mastrantonio

  5. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones en Zonas Áridas (IADIZA), CONICET, UNCUYO, Av. Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque General San Martín, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    Carla Valeria Giordano

Authors
  1. Aranzazú Guevara
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  2. Verónica Pancotto
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  3. Leandro Mastrantonio
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  4. Carla Valeria Giordano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carla Valeria Giordano.

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Communicated by Zoltan Nagy.

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Guevara, A., Pancotto, V., Mastrantonio, L. et al. Fine roots of Prosopis flexuosa trees in the field. Plant and soil variables that control their growth and depth distribution. Plant Ecol 219, 1399–1412 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-018-0889-0

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