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All plants must obtain a number of inorganic mineral elements from their environment to ensure successful growth and development of both vegetative and reproductive tissues. A total of 14 mineral nutrients are considered to be essential. Several other elements have been shown to have beneficial functions. A plant's ability to obtain adequate amounts of essential minerals depends critically on the availability of these minerals in the soil. Mineral deficiencies impact plant growth by affecting key components of photosynthesis and/or metabolism. The occurrence of deficiency symptoms throughout the plant can differ from older to younger leaves, depending on whether the mineral can be mobilised in the phloem from older senescing tissues to young growing regions of the plant. Mineral fertilisers are used widely in agricultural systems to support crop yields. In addition, fertilisers can be used to ensure that crops are of sufficient quality in terms of their mineral composition. Key Concepts Plants require 14 essential mineral elements to grow and complete their life cycle. Some mineral elements are required in greater quantities (macronutrients) than others (micronutrients). Other mineral elements have been identified as having beneficial or even essential roles for some plants. Mineral nutrients have many functions, including structural, metabolic, osmotic and signalling roles. Mineral nutrients are taken up in ionic form by plant roots from the soil solution. When a plant has insufficient mineral nutrients, deficiency symptoms occur in different tissues, depending on whether the mineral can be mobilised in the phloem from older senescing tissues to young growing regions of the plant. Mineral and organic forms of nutrients are applied as fertilisers in agricultural systems to sustain crop yields and quality.
All plants must obtain a number of inorganic mineral elements from their environment to ensure successful growth and development of both vegetative and reproductive tissues. A total of 14 mineral nutrients are considered to be essential. Several other elements have been shown to have beneficial functions. A plant's ability to obtain adequate amounts of essential minerals depends critically on the availability of these minerals in the soil. Mineral deficiencies impact plant growth by affecting key components of photosynthesis and/or metabolism. The occurrence of deficiency symptoms throughout the plant can differ from older to younger leaves, depending on whether the mineral can be mobilised in the phloem from older senescing tissues to young growing regions of the plant. Mineral fertilisers are used widely in agricultural systems to support crop yields. In addition, fertilisers can be used to ensure that crops are of sufficient quality in terms of their mineral composition. Key Concepts Plants require 14 essential mineral elements to grow and complete their life cycle. Some mineral elements are required in greater quantities (macronutrients) than others (micronutrients). Other mineral elements have been identified as having beneficial or even essential roles for some plants. Mineral nutrients have many functions, including structural, metabolic, osmotic and signalling roles. Mineral nutrients are taken up in ionic form by plant roots from the soil solution. When a plant has insufficient mineral nutrients, deficiency symptoms occur in different tissues, depending on whether the mineral can be mobilised in the phloem from older senescing tissues to young growing regions of the plant. Mineral and organic forms of nutrients are applied as fertilisers in agricultural systems to sustain crop yields and quality.
In the lowland rain forest of SW Cameroon, a field experiment tested whether ectomycorrhizal hyphal connections might affect the growth and survival of seedlings of a principal tree species, Microberlinia bisulcata, close to its adults. Nursery‐raised seedlings were planted into fine‐, medium‐, and coarse‐mesh root bags, and as no‐bag controls, in replicate subplots. The bags prevented fungal hyphae, and fine‐ and medium‐sized roots, respectively, entering from the outside forest floor root mat. Harvests were taken after 1 and 2 yr, with non‐destructive recording in between. Seedlings grew in typically low‐light locations. Survivorship did not differ between treatments (33%), but seedlings grew significantly better in terms of stem dry mass by harvest 2 in the medium‐mesh compared with other treatments. Treatment 1 to 3 seedlings had stem masses 25, 44, and 5% higher than controls, respectively. Using a method of differences across treatments, the positive effect of ectomycorrhizas on growth was 13.6%, while the negative effect of root competition (RCM) was 31.2% (net outcome = 17.6%). Adjustment was made to account for root penetration damaging some mesh bags. Differences in growth in replicate subplots were, however, much larger than those for treatments. Elemental analysis of seedling plant parts showed few differences between treatments, but phosphorus was high in stems, aluminum and iron were very high in roots, and copper was deficiently low in leaves. Soil analyses revealed very low copper levels, suggesting with the seedling results that this element was critically limiting for seedlings. Ectomycorrhizas are probably important for copper uptake (as for phosphorus), so roots may have been competing for this element. Because seedlings were growing in the shade and the soil was inhibitory to roots, they could not form network connections enough to positively out‐balance root competition. The efficacy of ectomycorrhizal networks for at least seedling establishment in this forest is low.
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