Simulation of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) root system development under Mediterranean conditions

Manschadi, Ahmad M.; Sauerborn, Joachim; Stützel, Hartmut; Göbel, W.; Saxena, M. C.

doi:10.1016/s1161-0301(98)00044-6

Cited by 43 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The RLD of intercropped faba bean was decreased somewhat in most soil layers, compared to that of sole-cropped faba bean, although the decrease of RLD did not result in a decline in the yield or nutrient uptake (Table 2 and see Li et al 1999Li et al , 2003. Additionally, faba bean had a shallow root distribution, regardless of the cropping system, which is consistent with the result of Manschadi et al (1998), who demonstrated that the RLD of faba bean decreased considerably with depth, and that by the start of podfilling, around 60% of the roots were still in the top 15 cm of soil. This would result in lower competition for soil resources with the deeper-rooted maize.…”

Section: Interspecific Interactions and Spatial Root Distributionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Root distribution and interactions between intercropped species

et al. 2005

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Even though ecologists and agronomists have considered the spatial root distribution of plants to be important for interspecific interactions in natural and agricultural ecosystems, few experimental studies have quantified patterns of root distribution dynamics and their impacts on interspecific interactions. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the relationship between root distribution and interspecific interactions between intercropped plants. Roots were sampled twice by auger and twice by the monolith method in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)/maize (Zea mays L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.)/maize intercropping and in sole wheat, maize, and faba bean up to 100 cm depth in the soil profile. The results showed that the roots of intercropped wheat spread under maize plants, and had much greater root length density (RLD) at all soil depths than sole wheat. The roots of maize intercropped with wheat were limited laterally, but had a greater RLD than sole-cropped maize. The RLD of maize intercropped with faba bean at different soil depths was influenced by intercropping to a smaller extent compared to maize intercropped with wheat. Faba bean had a relatively shallow root distribution, and the roots of intercropped maize spread underneath them. The results support the hypotheses that the overyielding of species showing benefit in the asymmetric interspecific facilitation results from greater lateral deployment of roots and increased RLD, and that compatibility of the spatial root distribution of intercropped species contributes to symmetric interspecific facilitation in the faba bean/maize intercropping.

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Section: Interspecific Interactions and Spatial Root Distributionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Root distribution and interactions between intercropped species

et al. 2005

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“…Reinforcement generally decreases with increasing soil depth, although root cohesion may locally increase with increasing soil depth where root area ratio increases. The occurrence of high RAR or root density values at greater depths probably originates from a nutrient rich layer (Weaver and Clements 1938) or more moist soil conditions (Manschadi et al 1998) at certain depths. The results (Fig.…”

Section: Root Cohesionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Root tensile strength and root distribution of typical Mediterranean plant species and their contribution to soil shear strength

et al. 2008

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In Mediterranean environments, gully erosion is responsible for large soil losses. It has since long been recognized that slopes under vegetation are much more resistant to soil erosion processes compared to bare soils and improve slope stability. Planting or preserving vegetation in areas vulnerable to erosion is therefore considered to be a very effective soil erosion control measure. Re-vegetation strategies for erosion control rely in most cases on the effects of the above-ground biomass in reducing water erosion rates, whereas the role of the below-ground biomass is often neglected or underestimated. While the above-ground biomass can temporally disappear in semi-arid environments, roots may still be present underground and play an important role in protecting the topsoil from being eroded. In order to evaluate the potential of plant species growing in Mediterranean environments to prevent shallow mass movements on gully or terrace walls, the root reinforcement effect of 25 typical Mediterranean matorral species (i.e. shrubs, grasses herbs, small trees) was assessed, using the simple perpendicular model of Wu et al. (Can Geotech J 16:19-33, 1979). As little information is available on Mediterranean plant root characteristics, root distribution data were collected in SE-Spain and root tensile strength tests were conducted in the laboratory. The power root tensile strength-root diameter relationships depend on plant species. The results show that the shrubs Salsola genistoides Juss. Ex Poir. and Atriplex halimus L. have the strongest roots, followed by the grass Brachypodium retusum (Pers.) Beauv. The shrubs Nerium oleander L. and the grass Avenula bromoides (Gouan) H. Scholz have the weakest roots in tension. Root area ratio for the 0-0.1 m topsoil ranges from 0.08% for the grass Piptatherum miliaceum (L.) Coss to 0.8% for the tree Tamarix canariensis Willd. The rush Juncus acutus L. provides the maximum soil reinforcement to the topsoil by its roots (i.e. 304 kPa). Grasses also increase soil shear strength significantly (up to 244 kPa in the 0-0.1 m topsoil for Brachypodium retusum (Pers.) Beauv.). The shrubs Retama sphaerocarpa (L.) Boiss. and Anthyllis cytisoides L. are increasing soil shear strength to a large extent as well (up to 134 and 160 kPa respectively in the 0-0.10 m Plant Soil (

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“…We did not measure the distribution of maize roots belowground in the present study, but other researchers have indicated that cereals can spread their roots underneath a legume crop and root deeply and extensively in the soil profile (Adiku et al, 2001). Pea plants have a shallow rooting depth under semiarid environments (Gan et al, 2011), with a limited competitiveness for resources with cereal crops (Manschadi et al, 1998). Additionally, pea plants may provide some portion of the fixed‐N to the maize (Xiao et al, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Belowground Interspecies Interaction Enhances Productivity and Water Use Efficiency in Maize–Pea Intercropping Systems

et al. 2015

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Intercropping is shown to have yield advantages compared with sole cropping, but it is unknown how much yield advantage is due to belowground interspecies interactions. Here we determined grain yield, land equivalent ratio (LER), and water use efficiency (WUE) of maize (Zea mays L.)–pea (Pisum sativum L.) intercropping and quantified the magnitude of the contribution by belowground interspecies interactions. Field experiments were conducted at Wuwei (37°96′ N, 102°64′ E), northwest China, in 2009 and 2010. Treatments included sole maize, sole pea, and three maize–pea intercropping systems that, respectively, had no root‐barrier (M–P), plastic sheet barrier (PM–P), and nylon mesh barrier (NM–P). The plastic sheet and nylon mesh barriers were vertically placed to 1‐m deep between the two intercrop strips; this allowed the quantification of belowground interspecies interactions. On a per hectare basis, the maize–pea intercropping increased grain yields by an average of 31.3% and improved WUE by 21.9% compared with the corresponding sole maize and sole pea. The LER value was 1.33 for the M–P system, suggesting that the grain yield produced by the maize–pea intercrops per hectare is equivalent to the yield that sole crops would produce with 33% additional farmland. The M–P system had the yield of 11,034 kg ha−1, which was 21.9% greater compared with the PM–P system and 9.7% greater compared with the NM–P system. The comparison of the three intercropping systems revealed that belowground interspecies interactions contributed 59.3% of the increased yields and 88.9% of the improved WUE. Of the increased yield, about 40% was due to water movement between the two strips and the remaining 19% was due to root overlapping activity. We conclude that sharing resources in the rooting zones between the intercrops serve as a major mechanism responsible for the large yield and WUE advantages for the maize–pea intercropping in arid areas.

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Simulation of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) root system development under Mediterranean conditions

Cited by 43 publications

References 29 publications

Root distribution and interactions between intercropped species

Root distribution and interactions between intercropped species

Root tensile strength and root distribution of typical Mediterranean plant species and their contribution to soil shear strength

Belowground Interspecies Interaction Enhances Productivity and Water Use Efficiency in Maize–Pea Intercropping Systems

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