Access to deeper soil water and water-conserving traits should reduce water stress for ectomycorrhizal fungi, permitting function during drought. Here, we explored whether epigeous fruiting of ectomycorrhizal fungi during drought was facilitated by access to deep soil water, how much water was lost from sporocarps, and how sporocarp surface to volume ratios affected water-loss rates. We used ox...

We compared the pore morphology of an arid lands vesicular soil horizon in a disturbed and undisturbed state. This surface vesicular horizon is characterized by non-connected pores that hinder soil water infiltration and thus plays a central role in arid ecosystem hydrodynamics. Disturbance is hypothesized to result in a change in pore morphology that could alter water movement through the hori...

In many Arkansas cotton fields, factors such as inefficient tillage operations, extremely dry weather and traffic pressure may result in a compacted soil layer or hardpan. Soil compaction dramatically increases soil strength and can restrict cotton root penetration, leading to suppressed cotton height and lint yield (Taylor and Earl Burnett, 1963). This problem may be exacerbated by soilborne p...

Introduction: The characteristics of Martian soils are a matter of clear importance when considering the problems that can arise for a rover traversing areas where loose particles are predominant – as Opportunity had the mischance to comprove by itself. The study of Martian surficial materials has been the subject of a number of works, mainly concerned with the texture, constitution, origin and...

Stemflow from Japanese red cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) enters forest soil at a low pH. We evaluated the responses of the root system of Japanese red cedar saplings to acidic conditions, used to simulate this situation, in two different growth media, a brown forest soil (BS) and a Yahagi sand (YS). Soils were acidified by the addition of solutions at pH 2.0, 3.0 and 5.5 (control). Root morpholo...

The abundance and diversity of archaeal assemblages were analyzed in soils collected from Gyorae Gotjawal forest, Jeju, Korea. Gotjawal soil refers to soil derived from a lava-formed forest, characterized by high organic matter content, fertility, and poor rocky soil. Using domain-specific primers, archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences were PCR amplified for clone library construction, and a total o...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Water-saving ground cover rice production systems (GCRPS) are gaining popularity in many parts of the world. We aimed to describe the characteristics of root growth, morphology, distribution, and water uptake for a GCRPS. METHODS A traditional paddy rice production system (TPRPS) was compared with GCRPS in greenhouse and field experiments. In the greenhouse, GCRPS where ro...

There are few data on fine root biomass and morphology change in relation to stand age. Based on chronosequences for beech (9-140 years old), oak (11-140 years) and alder (4-76 years old) we aimed to examine how stand age affects fine root biomass and morphology. Soil cores from depths of 0-15 cm and 16-30 cm were used for the study. In contrast to previously published studies that suggested th...