IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v117y2013icp83-92.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Characteristics of fine root system and water uptake in a triploid Populus tomentosa plantation in the North China Plain: Implications for irrigation water management

Author

Listed:
  • Xi, Benye
  • Wang, Ye
  • Jia, Liming
  • Bloomberg, Mark
  • Li, Guangde
  • Di, Nan

Abstract

The form and water uptake characteristics of the fine root system in a 5-year-old triploid Populus tomentosa plantation were investigated to make recommendations related to irrigation water management for P. tomentosa plantation. Fine roots for analysis were collected from 2106 soil cores taken around eight trees. Soil moisture, trunk sap flow and evaporation were measured concurrently for four months in two experimental plots using time-domain reflectometry, thermal dissipation sensors and micro-lysimeters, respectively. Nearly half (44%) of fine roots corresponded to 0.2–0.5mm diameter. Generally, lateral root distribution was even, however, the vertical root profile showed an unusual pattern (nearly an ‘S’ shape). Dense fine roots occurred in surface soil and nearly one third (28%) of total fine roots occurred below 100cm depth, indicating the plantation had developed a dimorphic root system. With increasing distance from the tree, root distribution tended to be shallower. Mean fine root diameter was significantly larger (P<0.05) below 120cm, probably due to soil texture change or/and anoxia. Root water uptake in the 0–20cm layer contributed 58% of that within the 0–90cm soil layer, suggesting surface roots played the major water uptake role in shallow soil (<90cm). On average, P. tomentosa extracted 57% of transpired water from deep soil (>90cm), implying deep roots can contribute significantly to the water relations of mature P. tomentosa plantations. This functional significance of deep roots might be determined by their high length density and relatively large diameter. Based on these results, three irrigation management strategies were recommended: (1) irrigation schedules should be devised based on periodic measurement of the depth to water table; (2) water should be mainly provided to and maintained in the surface 40cm soil; and (3) water should be applied to the zone within 1m from the tree.

Suggested Citation

  • Xi, Benye & Wang, Ye & Jia, Liming & Bloomberg, Mark & Li, Guangde & Di, Nan, 2013. "Characteristics of fine root system and water uptake in a triploid Populus tomentosa plantation in the North China Plain: Implications for irrigation water management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 83-92.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:117:y:2013:i:c:p:83-92
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2012.11.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377412002910
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2012.11.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gardenas, A.I. & Hopmans, J.W. & Hanson, B.R. & Simunek, J., 2005. "Two-dimensional modeling of nitrate leaching for various fertigation scenarios under micro-irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 74(3), pages 219-242, June.
    2. Gong, Daozhi & Kang, Shaozhong & Zhang, Lu & Du, Taisheng & Yao, Limin, 2006. "A two-dimensional model of root water uptake for single apple trees and its verification with sap flow and soil water content measurements," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 83(1-2), pages 119-129, May.
    3. Clothier, Brent E. & Green, Steven R., 1994. "Rootzone processes and the efficient use of irrigation water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 1-12, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiao, Maqian & Yang, Wenhan & Hu, Wei & Clothier, Brent & Zou, Songyan & Li, Doudou & Di, Nan & Liu, Jinqiang & Liu, Yang & Duan, Jie & Xi, Benye, 2021. "The optimal tensiometer installation position for scheduling border irrigation in Populus tomentosa plantations," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    2. Zhang, Zhongdian & Huang, Mingbin, 2021. "Effect of root-zone vertical soil moisture heterogeneity on water transport safety in soil-plant-atmosphere continuum in Robinia pseudoacacia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    3. Xi, Benye & Bloomberg, Mark & Watt, Michael S. & Wang, Ye & Jia, Liming, 2016. "Modeling growth response to soil water availability simulated by HYDRUS for a mature triploid Populus tomentosa plantation located on the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 243-254.
    4. He, Qinsi & Li, Sien & Kang, Shaozhong & Yang, Hanbo & Qin, Shujing, 2018. "Simulation of water balance in a maize field under film-mulching drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 252-260.
    5. He, Yuelin & Xi, Benye & Li, Guangde & Wang, Ye & Jia, Liming & Zhao, Dehai, 2021. "Influence of drip irrigation, nitrogen fertigation, and precipitation on soil water and nitrogen distribution, tree seasonal growth and nitrogen uptake in young triploid poplar (Populus tomentosa) pla," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    6. He, Yuelin & Li, Guangde & Xi, Benye & Zhao, Hui & Jia, Liming, 2022. "Fine root plasticity of young Populus tomentosa plantations under drip irrigation and nitrogen fertigation in the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    7. Xue, Bing & Jiang, Yan & Wang, Qijie & Ma, Bin & Liang, Xue & Hou, Zhen’an & Li, Fangfang & Cui, Yirui, 2023. "Quantification of the water exchange in an agroforestry system under the background of film-mulching drip irrigation of farmland," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Meng, Wenjie & Xing, Jinliang & Niu, Mu & Zuo, Qiang & Wu, Xun & Shi, Jianchu & Sheng, Jiandong & Jiang, Pingan & Chen, Quanjia & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2023. "Optimizing fertigation schemes based on root distribution," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    2. Phogat, V. & Skewes, M.A. & Cox, J.W. & Alam, J. & Grigson, G. & Šimůnek, J., 2013. "Evaluation of water movement and nitrate dynamics in a lysimeter planted with an orange tree," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 74-84.
    3. Zhang, You-Liang & Feng, Shao-Yuan & Wang, Feng-Xin & Binley, Andrew, 2018. "Simulation of soil water flow and heat transport in drip irrigated potato field with raised beds and full plastic-film mulch in a semiarid area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 178-187.
    4. Mubarak, Ibrahim & Mailhol, Jean Claude & Angulo-Jaramillo, Rafael & Bouarfa, Sami & Ruelle, Pierre, 2009. "Effect of temporal variability in soil hydraulic properties on simulated water transfer under high-frequency drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1547-1559, November.
    5. Chen, Dianyu & Wang, Youke & Liu, Shouyang & Wei, Xinguang & Wang, Xing, 2014. "Response of relative sap flow to meteorological factors under different soil moisture conditions in rainfed jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) plantations in semiarid Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 23-33.
    6. Fan, Yubing & Wang, Chenggang & Nan, Zhibiao, 2014. "Comparative evaluation of crop water use efficiency, economic analysis and net household profit simulation in arid Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 335-345.
    7. Behera, S. & Jha, Madan K. & Kar, S., 2003. "Dynamics of water flow and fertilizer solute leaching in lateritic soils of Kharagpur region, India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 77-98, December.
    8. Cameira, M.R. & Pereira, A. & Ahuja, L. & Ma, L., 2014. "Sustainability and environmental assessment of fertigation in an intensive olive grove under Mediterranean conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 346-360.
    9. Morillo, J. García & Martín, M. & Camacho, E. & Díaz, J.A. Rodríguez & Montesinos, P., 2015. "Toward precision irrigation for intensive strawberry cultivation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 43-51.
    10. Phogat, V. & Skewes, Mark A. & Mahadevan, M. & Cox, J.W., 2013. "Evaluation of soil plant system response to pulsed drip irrigation of an almond tree under sustained stress conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 1-11.
    11. Liao, Renkuan & Wu, Wenyong & Hu, Yaqi & Xu, Di & Huang, Qiannan & Wang, Shiyu, 2019. "Micro-irrigation strategies to improve water-use efficiency of cherry trees in Northern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 388-396.
    12. Lu, Junsheng & Hu, Tiantian & Geng, Chenming & Cui, Xiaolu & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang, 2021. "Response of yield, yield components and water-nitrogen use efficiency of winter wheat to different drip fertigation regimes in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    13. Wei, Qi & Wei, Qi & Xu, Junzeng & Liu, Yuzhou & Wang, Dong & Chen, Shengyu & Qian, Wenhao & He, Min & Chen, Peng & Zhou, Xuanying & Qi, Zhiming, 2024. "Nitrogen losses from soil as affected by water and fertilizer management under drip irrigation: Development, hotspots and future perspectives," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    14. Wang, Zhen & Li, Jiusheng & Li, Yanfeng, 2014. "Simulation of nitrate leaching under varying drip system uniformities and precipitation patterns during the growing season of maize in the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 19-28.
    15. Che, Zheng & Wang, Jun & Li, Jiusheng, 2022. "Modeling strategies to balance salt leaching and nitrogen loss for drip irrigation with saline water in arid regions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    16. Zhu, Yan & Yang, Jinzhong & Ye, Ming & Sun, Huaiwei & Shi, Liangsheng, 2017. "Development and application of a fully integrated model for unsaturated-saturated nitrogen reactive transport," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PA), pages 35-49.
    17. Fan, Yubing & Wang, Chenggang & Nan, Zhibiao, 2018. "Determining water use efficiency of wheat and cotton: A meta-regression analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 48-60.
    18. Hardie, Marcus & Green, Steve & Oliver, Garth & Swarts, Nigel & Clothier, Brent & Gentile, Roberta & Close, Dugald, 2022. "Measuring and modelling nitrate fluxes in a mature commercial apple orchard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    19. Home, P. G. & Panda, R. K. & Kar, S., 2002. "Effect of method and scheduling of irrigation on water and nitrogen use efficiencies of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 159-170, June.
    20. Li, Xudong & Zhao, Yong & Xiao, Weihua & Yang, Mingzhi & Shen, Yanjun & Min, Leilei, 2017. "Soil moisture dynamics and implications for irrigation of farmland with a deep groundwater table," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 138-148.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:117:y:2013:i:c:p:83-92. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.