Root length and distribution in the mineral soil of a mixed deciduous forest (experimental forest Aelmoeseneie) [East-Flanders, Belgium]
1998
Walle, I. vande | Willems, S. | Lemeur, R. (Gent Univ. (Belgium). Lab. of Plant Ecology)
Root length and root mass were studied in two different forest stands : an oak-beech stand and an ash stand, both in the "Aelmoeseneie" experimental forest at Gontrode, Belgium. In the oak-beech stand, the length of the finest roots ( 1 mm) was significantly higher than the length of the other diameter classes (1-2 and 2-5 mm) in the upper 60 cm of the mineral soil. Because of large variances, this significance could not be found in the ash forest. In this ash forest type, the length of the finest roots in the upper mineral soil layer (0-15 cm) was higher than all the other lengths, both considering the vertical root length distribution within the ash plot, and comparing the ash plot to the oak-beech stand. For the root mass, only the amount of roots with a diameter between 2 and 5 mm in the upper mineral soil layer of the ash plot was significantly higher than the others. Specific root length (m root/g D.M.) is calculated for both the oak-beech and the ash plot. These values can be used to convert biomass data into root length data, which gives a better indication of the water uptake capacity of the forest stand.
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