The Effects of Decomposing Roots on the Growth of Grassland Plants

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Abstract
Anthoxanthum odoratum, Holcus lanatus, Hypochoeris radicata, Lolium perenne, Plantago lanceolata and Rumex acetosa (i.e., treatment species) were grown separately on a nutrient poor soil and their roots were left to decompose. Each species, except for H. lanatus and H. radicata, was then grown as a test species on the soils where those roots had decayed, so that there were all combinations of treatment species and test species. The growth and nutrient uptake of the plants was measured. The roots of R. acetosa had the greatest inhibiting effect on the growth of the 4 spp., when decomposition occurred in water-saturated soil, but not in moist soil (field capacity), nor in dry soil. P was deficient when decomposition had occurred in wet soil. The uptake of P by the following test species was negatively correlated with the amount of P removed in the shoots of the previous treatment species. The growth rate of test species was greater after decomposition in dry soil than in wet soil. P was less limiting after decomposition had occurred in dry soil, and the P concentration in the shoots of the test species was then positively correlated with the amount of P in the roots of the treatment species before decomposition. The effect of decomposing roots on the subsequent growth of plants apparently depends mainly upon the P content of the decomposing roots, the soil moisture content of the soil during decomposition and the interaction of these 2 factors.

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