Effects of irrigation on litterfall, fine root biomass and production in a semideciduous lowland forest in Panama
The effects of irrigation on fine root biomass, root production and litterfaU were measured at the cornmunity level, in a semideciduous lowland forest in Panama. Biomass of roots less than 2 mm in dia. in the first 10 cm of the soil (measured with soil cores), was higber in irrigated (1.80 Mg ha-1) than in non-irrigated plots (1.24 Mg ha-1), During the dry season, productivity of roots (measured with ingrowth cylinders filled with root-free soil), was higher in irrigated (1.6 g m-2 day-l) than in control plots (0,3 g m-2 day-l), In control plots, root productivity was highly seasonal. Maximum root growth into the root-free soil, occurred during the transitions from dry to wet, and from wet to dry season, possibly as a response to water andlor nutrient pulses. Litterfall was not significantly different between irrigated (3,8 g m-2 day-l) and control plots (3,7 g m-2 day-l), The resuHs ofthis study show that root-productivity is limited by the water supply during the dry season, and that water by itself, is not a limiting factor for cornmunity-Ievellitter production.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Holanda Kluwer Academic Publishers
1999
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| Subjects: | FERTILIDAD DEL SUELO, RAICES, BIOMASA, RIEGO, HOJARASCA, SUELO IRRIGADO, AGUA, FACTORES AMBIENTALES, CRECIMIENTO, DIAMETRO, MEDICION, ECUACIONES ALOMETRICAS, |
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