Ozone exposure of field-grown winter wheat affects soil mesofauna in the rhizosphere
2009
Schrader, Stefan | Bender, Jürgen | Weigel, Hans-Joachim
A 2-year open-top chamber experiment with field-grown winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Astron) was conducted to examine the effects of ozone on plant growth and selected groups of soil mesofauna in the rhizosphere. From May through June in each year, plants were exposed to two levels of O3: nonfiltered (NF) ambient air or NFþ 40 ppb O3 (NFþ). During O3 exposure, soil sampling was performed at two dates according to different plant growth stages. O3 exposure reduced above- and below-ground plant biomass in the first year, but had little effect in the second year. The individual density of enchytraeids, collembolans and soil mites decreased significantly in the rhizosphere of plants exposed to NF+ in both years. Differences were highest around anthesis, i.e. when plants are physiologically most active. The results suggest that elevated O3 concentrations may influence the dynamic of decomposition processes and the turnover of nutrients.
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Bibliographic information
Publisher Elsevier
ISSN 0013-9327 | 0269-7491This bibliographic record has been provided by Thünen-Institut
