Topography controls snowpack accumulation and hence growing-season length, soil water availability, and the distribution of plant communities in the Colorado Front Range alpine. Nutrient cycles in such an environment are likely to be regulated by interactions between topographically determined climate and plant species composition. We investigated variation in plant and soil components of inter...

salinity is one of major stresses which can severely limit plant production, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions. the present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of salinity stress on some physio-biochemical parameters in nitre bush plants (nitraria schoberi). thus, an experiment was carried out under natural conditions and salinity stress was induced by a combination of diffe...

Abiotic stress can alter key physiological constituents and functions in green plants. Improving the capacity to monitor this response in a non-destructive manner is of considerable interest, as it would offer a direct means of initiating timely corrective action. Given the vital role that plant pigments play in the photosynthetic process and general plant physiological condition, their accurat...

Background & Aim: Milk thistle [Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn] is an annual or biennial plant, native to the Mediterranean area, which has spread in north and south of Iran. A fruit of milk thistle contains a relatively high amount (approx. 20%) of oil, which exhibits wound-healing, anti-burn, and hepatoprotective properties. Experimental: In this research, a pot experiment wa...

Theory argues that both soil conditions and aboveground trophic interactions have equivalent potential to limit or promote plant diversity. However, it remains unexplored how they jointly modify the niche differences stabilising species coexistence and the average fitness differences driving competitive dominance. We conducted a field study in Mediterranean annual grasslands to parameterise pop...

plant cover is one of the most important factors affecting infiltration rate of water into the soil and decreasing runoff. distribution of plants in arid and semi-arid areas is almost patchy and form different patterns. one of the fascinating patterns is ring-shaped growth pattern. ring patterns of varying size are formed by clonally reproducing grasses, sedges and even shrubs growing in resour...

Theory argues that both soil conditions and aboveground trophic interactions are equally important for 14 determining plant species diversity. However, it remains unexplored how they modify the niche di erences 15 that stabilise species coexistence and the average fitness di erences driving competitive dominance. 16 We conducted a field study in Mediterranean annual grasslands to parameterise p...

BACKGROUND The importance of soil biota in the composition of mature plant communities is commonly acknowledged. In contrast, the role of soil biota in the early establishment of new plant communities and their relative importance for soil abiotic conditions are still poorly understood. AIMS AND METHODS The aim of this study was to understand the effects of soil origin and soil fungal communi...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are considered both ecologically and physiologically important to many plant communities. As a result, any alteration in AMF community structure following soil nitrogen (N) enrichment may impact plant community function and contribute to widespread changes in grassland productivity. We evaluated the responses of AMF communities to N fertilization ( 100 kg N ha...