A comparison of rooting environments in containers of different sizes |
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Authors: | J Townend A L Dickinson |
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Institution: | (1) Division of Biological Sciences, Institute of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ Lancaster, UK;(2) Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Merlewood Research Station, LA11 6JU Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, UK;(3) Present address: Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Aberdeen, Meston Building, ABg 2UE Aberdeen, UK |
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Abstract: | Experiments on plants are often carried out in growth chambers or greenhouses which necessitate the use of an artificial rooting
environment, though this is seldom characterized in detail. Measurements were made to compare the rooting environment in large
boxes (0.25 m3) with that in small pots (0.19, 0.55 and 1.90 dm3) in naturally lit chambers.
Diurnal temperature fluctuations of 14.6, 11.6 and 7.7°C occurred in the post compared with only 1.9°C in the boxes. Soil
drying to a matric potential of-50 kPa was approximately 25 times faster in the pots. The mean heights of 2 year old Sitka
spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) seedlings grown throughout their second growing season in the three sizes of pots were 38, 62 and 92% of the
mean height of those grown in the boxes. Soil solution nutrient concentrations in the boxes were considerably increased by
soil drying, an aspect which seems to have received little attention in experiments involving artificially imposed drought.
An alternative system of constraining the roots of individual plants within nylon fabric bags, embedded in larger volumes
of soil, to facilitate harvesting of complete root systems is described. The importance of the rooting environment in determining
the outcome of physiological experiments is also briefly discussed. |
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Keywords: | Picea sitchensis pot size rooting environment |
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