19.06.2013 Views

drivers of soil respiration of root and microbial ... - Unitus DSpace

drivers of soil respiration of root and microbial ... - Unitus DSpace

drivers of soil respiration of root and microbial ... - Unitus DSpace

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

26<br />

Nitrate affected negatively the carbohydrate metabolism <strong>and</strong> energy economy <strong>of</strong> two plant<br />

species: in respect to ammonium, nitrate nutrition increased <strong>root</strong>-derived CO2 efflux up to<br />

50%;<br />

Carbon costs <strong>of</strong> nitrate reduction were higher for plant species which locate the nitrate<br />

reduction site preferably in <strong>root</strong>s.<br />

Root contribution to the whole plant nitrate reduction process is not stable during a plant<br />

ontogenesis <strong>and</strong> could be more important during the early phases <strong>of</strong> plant growth, following<br />

by a decrease in nitrate reduction in <strong>root</strong>s with time. These, consequently reduces C costs<br />

associated with nitrate reduction for more mature plants.<br />

The speed <strong>of</strong> C cycling through a single plant changes with growing stage. The earlier<br />

evolution <strong>of</strong> CO2 from the <strong>soil</strong> corresponded to the later growing stage <strong>of</strong> corn <strong>and</strong> lupine,<br />

meaning that growth stage could control the metabolic orientation <strong>of</strong> plants, influencing<br />

source (photosynthetically active leaves, which supply a new C) - sink (developing organs<br />

<strong>of</strong> plants, which compete for the new C) interactions, by this accelerating or slowing down<br />

the speed <strong>of</strong> C translocation to <strong>root</strong>s.<br />

All these should be taken into account while modelling <strong>and</strong> interpreting the data <strong>of</strong> CO2<br />

efflux from <strong>soil</strong>, particularly separating estimation <strong>of</strong> individual CO2 sources which contribute to<br />

the total <strong>soil</strong> CO2 efflux.<br />

Effect <strong>of</strong> defoliation management practices on <strong>root</strong> <strong>respiration</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>microbial</strong> activity (Chapter 4)<br />

To study the effect <strong>of</strong> mowing <strong>and</strong> grazing on <strong>soil</strong> <strong>respiration</strong> <strong>of</strong> different origin 5 fence<br />

areas, which prevent the inclosed plots from mowing <strong>and</strong> grazing, were installed in Amplero in<br />

2002. Plots for partitioning <strong>of</strong> <strong>soil</strong> <strong>respiration</strong> were established in managed <strong>and</strong> unmanaged <strong>soil</strong><br />

with further bimonthly measurements <strong>of</strong> <strong>respiration</strong> fluxes during the year 2006 <strong>and</strong> 2007. In 2006<br />

two <strong>soil</strong> sampling for further chemical <strong>and</strong> biochemical analyses were performed: just after the<br />

mowing <strong>and</strong> four months after the mowing. Grassl<strong>and</strong> management, based on plant defoliation<br />

appears to be a suitable management practice, influencing positively the below-ground food-web,<br />

<strong>and</strong> thus SOM transformation <strong>and</strong> nutrient cycling through increasing the quantity <strong>of</strong> easily<br />

available C substrates, shifting to more efficient <strong>microbial</strong> community with enhanced C use

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!