Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the spatial correlation between soil water and root distribution in dense-dwarf jujube plantations in the Hilly Loess Region (HLR) of China. The soil coring method was used to sample roots at different depths within the 0–1,000 cm soil profile. The results showed that increase in average annual root depth decreased with increasing jujube stand age. The maximum root depth of the 12-year-old jujube was 520 cm. The difference between the maximum and minimum root depths in the 12-year-old jujube trees was 180 cm. Lateral roots started developing intersection networks 3 years after planting. Soil water fluctuation was not induced by vertical root systems of dense-dwarf jujube plants. With increasing jujube stand age, root depth, dry soil layer depth (below 240 cm) and annual soil water variance within the top 0–200 cm soil layer increased. However, root-zone soil water content decreased with increasing stand age while dry soil layer depth was slightly larger than root depth. The results of this study have important significance to provide vital technical support for jujube cultivation especially under semiarid conditions and were expected to find application in water management for plantations in the HLR.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achat DL, Bakker MR, Trichet P (2008) Rooting patterns and fine root biomass of Pinus pinaster assessed by trench wall and core methods. J For Res 13(03):165–175
Bálványos I, Kursinszki L, Szoke E (2001) The effect of plant growth regulators on biomass formation and lobeline production of Lobelia inflata L. hairy root cultures. Plant Growth Regul 34(3):339–345
Canadell J, Jackson RB, Ehleringer JB, Mooney HA, Sala OE, Schulze ED (1996) Maximum rooting depth of vegetation types at the global scale. Oecologia 108(04):583–595
Chen HS, Shao MA, Li YY (2008) The characteristics of soil water cycle and water balance on steep grassland under natural and simulated rainfall conditions in the Loess Plateau of China. J Hydrol 360(1–4):242–251
Comas LH, Anderson LJ, Dunst RM, Lakso AN, Eissenentat DM (2005) Canopy and environmental control of root dynamics in a long-term study of Concord grape. New Phytol 167(03):829–840
Cui M, Caldwell MM (1997) A large ephemeral release of nitrogen upon wetting of dry soil and corresponding root responses in the field. Plant Soil 191(2):291–299
Dathe A, Fleisher DH, Timlin DJ, Fisher JK, Reddy VR (2014) Modeling potato root growth and water uptake under water stress conditions. Agric For Meteorol 194:37–49. doi:10.1016/j.agrformet
Gale MR, Grigal DF, Harding RB (1991) Soil productivity index: predictions of site quality for white spruce plantations. Soil Sci Soc Am J 55(06):1701–1708
Germino MJ, Reinhardt K (2014) Desert shrub responses to experimental modification of precipitation seasonality and soil depth: relationship to the two-layer hypothesis and ecohydrological niche. J Ecol 102(4):989–997
Gwenzi W, Erik JV, Karen WH, Timothy MB, Ian RP, Christoph H (2011) Spatial analysis of fine root distribution on a recently constructed ecosystem in a water-limited environment. Plant Soil 344:255–272
Jackson RB, Canadell JE, Hleringer JR, Mooney HA, Sala OA, Schulze ED (1996) A global analysis of root distributions for terrestrial biomes. Oecologia 108:389–411
Jose S, Gillespie AR, Seifert JR, Pope PE (2001) Comparisgon of minirhizotron and soil core methods for quantifying root biomass in a temperate alley cropping system. Agrofor Syst 52(2):161–168
Kizito F, Dragila M, Sène M, Lufafa A, Diedhiu I, Dick RP, Selker JS, Dossa E, Khouma M, Badiane A, Ndiaye S (2006) Seasonal soil water variation and root patterns between two semi-arid shrubs co-existing with pearl millet in Senegal, West Africa. J Arid Environ 67(03):436–455
Kleidon A, Heimann M (1998) Optimised rooting depth and its impacts on the simulated climate of an atmospheric general circulation model. Geophys Res Lett 25(03):345–348
Li YS (2001) Effects of forests on water circle on the Loess Plateau. J Nat Resour 16(5):427–432 (In Chinese with English abstract)
López R, Burgos P, Hermoso JM, Hormaza JI, González-Fernándezbet JJ (2014) Long term changes in soil properties and enzyme activities after almond shell mulching in avocado organic production. Soil and Tillage Res 143:155–163
Ma SC, Li FM, Xu BC, Huang ZB (2008) Effects of root pruning on the growth and water use efficiency of winter wheat. Plant Growth Regul 57(3):233–241
Ma LH, Wu PT, Wang YK (2011) Spatial distribution of roots in a dense jujube plantation in the semiarid hilly region of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Plant Soil 354:57–68. doi:10.1007/s11104-011-1041-2
Ma LH, Wu PT, Wang YK (2012) Root distribution chronosequence of a dense dwarfed jujube plantation in the semiarid hilly region of the Chinese Loess Plateau. J For Res 19(1):62–69. doi:10.1007/s10310-012-0387-5
Ma LH, Liu XL, Wang YK, Wu PT (2013) Effects of drip irrigation on deep root distribution, rooting depth and soil water profile of jujube in a semiarid region. Plant Soil 373:995–1006
Mahouachi J, Arbona V, Gomez-Cadenas A (2007) Hormonal changes in papaya seedlings subjected to progressive water stress and re-watering. Plant Growth Regul 53(1):43–51
Monteiro ROC, Coelho RD, Monteiro PFC, Whopmans J, Lennartz B (2013) Water consumption and soil moisture distribution in melon crop with mulching and in a protected environment. Rev Bras Frutic 35(2):555–564
Mubarak I, Mailhol JC, Angulo-Jaramillo R, Bouarfa S, Ruelle P (2009) Effect of temporal variability in soil hydraulic properties on simulated water transfer under high-frequency drip irrigation. Agric Water Manag 11:1547–1559
Nepstad DC, de Carvalho CR, Davidson EA, Jipp PH, Lefebvre PA (1994) The role of deep roots in the hydrological and carbon cycles of Amazonian forests and pastures. Nature 372(6507):666–669
Page V, Blösch RM, Feller U (2012) Regulation of shoot growth, root development and manganese allocation in wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes by light intensity. Plant Growth Regul 67(3):209–215
Parker MM, Van Lear DH (1996) Soil heterogeneity and root distribution of mature loblolly pine stands in piedmont soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60:1920–1925
Raven JA, Edwards D (2001) Roots: evolutionary origins and biogeochemical significance. J Exp Bot 52(Suppl 1):381–401
Rhoades CC (1996) Single-tree influences on soil properties in agroforestry: lessons from natural forest and savanna ecosystems. Agrofor Syst 35(1):71–94
Ruiz-Sánchez MC, Plana V, Ortuño MF, Tapia LM, Abrisqueta JM (2005) Spatial root distribution of apricot trees in different soil tillage practices. Plant Soil 272(1–2):211–221
Stone EL, Kalisz PJ (1991) On the maximum extent of tree roots. For Ecol Manage 46(01):59–102
Sutton RF, Tinus RW (1983) Root and root system terminology. For Sci 29(Supplement 24):a0001–z0001
Wang L, Wang QJ, Wei SP, Shao MA, Li Y (2008) Soil desiccation for loess soils on natural and regrown areas. For Ecol Manage 255(7):2467–2477
Wang ZQ, Liu BY, Liu G, Zhang YX (2009) Soil water depletion depth by planted vegetation on the Loess Plateau. Sci China Ser D Earth Sci 52(6):835–842
Wang Q, Hou F, Dong S, Xie B, Li A, Zhang H, Zhang L (2014) Effects of shading on the photosynthetic capacity, endogenous hormones and root yield in purple-fleshed sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam). Plant Growth Regul 72(2):113–122
Xie Z, Jiang D, Cao W, Dai T, Jing Q (2003) Relationships of endogenous plant hormones to accumulation of grain protein and starch in winter wheat under different post-anthesis soil water statusses. Plant Growth Regul 41(2):117–127
Yang WZ (2001) Soil water resources and afforestation in Loess Plateau. J Nat Resour 16(5):433–438 (In Chinese with English abstract)
Zhu X, Li Y, Peng X, Zhang S (1983) Soils of the loess region in China. Geoderma 29(3):237–255
Acknowledgments
We thank research assistant Yuhong Zhou, Xia Zhao and Junhuan Lu for assisting with the experiments during the period of study. We also thank Zhiyong Gao for helping with soil moisture measurements. We thank the reviewers, Kelly Kopp and Astrid Jacobson for reviewing the English and raising valuable suggestions. This work was jointly supported by the Special Foundation of National Science & Technology Supporting Plan (Grant No. 2011BAD29B04).
Conflict of interest
The authors are pleased to declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, X., Zhu, D., Wang, Y. et al. Soil water and root distribution under jujube plantations in the semiarid Loess Plateau region, China. Plant Growth Regul 77, 21–31 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-015-0031-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-015-0031-4